Computers are in transition: Technologies such as the PCI Express bus and all-digital video connectors are supplanting their predecessors. More important, Microsoft's new Windows Vista is right around the corner. Anyone who's thinking of buying PC hardware in the next few months must keep an eye on the future.
If the transition to Windows XP is any lesson, the biggest potential hassle of a Vista upgrade is lack of support for legacy hardware and peripherals. Before moving to the new OS, check with your printer, scanner, and other peripheral manufacturers to learn whether they plan to offer Vista drivers for your product.
Microsoft has created the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor, a free program that examines your system's hardware and attached peripherals to identify possible driver and hardware conflicts, as well as other compatibility problems.
If you're ready to buy a PC now, with an eye toward upgrading to Vista down the road, stick to a Vista Premium Ready machine rather than choosing one that supports only Vista Basic (be sure to see Microsoft's description of the various Vista releases). And no matter which version of Vista you plan to run, don't buy any less than 1GB of RAM.
Posted by
virani62
Monday, October 12, 2009
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