Windoze Longhorn : Hardware Requirements

[RoyGBiv]

Spokespersons for Microsoft US contacted by Tom's Hardware Guide declined to address Page's reported remarks directly. The spokesperson, however, told us, "minimum system requirements for Windows Vista will not be known until summer 2006 at the earliest." The few requirements that Microsoft can officially confirm are limited to "a modern Intel Pentium- or AMD Athlon-based PC" with 512 MByte of RAM and a dedicated graphics card with DirectX 9.0 support.

Now, as anyone who was around when 98 and 2000 gave way to the XP versions is aware, the reported system requirements for that OS were about half of what is actually necessary to maintain a stable system running without severe problems. It will run with 128MB of RAM, but you really need 256, and if you want to do anything with the sytem that requires anything above minimum, 512MB to 1GB are actually recommended.

As is typical with these kinds of things, this is not official. This is in fact an article at Tom's Hardware (full article) based on information presented at a conference by a Microsoft strategist in Australia. The parent company so far refuses to offer direct comment except for what is mentioned above.

Two truly shocking issues stand out. One is that the new operating system may only function well using DDR3 system memory, which by the way isn't even commercially available except for specific markets and won't be until a few months after Longhorn's reported release date. When it comes, it will be expensive. Second, and probably more important, are the requirements imposed upon the graphics system. The days of on-board graphics sharing system memory or getting by with a cheap card because you don't do anything that requires heavy graphics use are gone. Longhorn will have heavier graphics requirements than many modern games. The new Vista portion of the OS completely changes the way the OS renders system displays, putting hefty requirements on the graphical processing unit. The requirement for this sytem will likely be a card with 256MB of RAM, and again, to get anything out of it you'll need 512MB or more. Those cards don't really exist as a mainstream consumer product, and those that do are incredibly expensive.

Naturally, prices will eventually fall on the new pieces of hardware required for this sytem, but it leaves those of us who must use MS apps for some tasks in a precarious position. We've already spent hundreds, possibly thousands of dollars (or more if you administer a network) on computer hardware, a significant investment. The vast majority of that hardware, in a single day when the new OS is released, will be not only outdated, but unusable for those who wanted or needed to upgrade.

More than any other release of the Windoze OS, this one seems designed specifically to boost hardware sales by forcing those who must use MS to upgrade significantly or purchase entirely new systems.

Meanwhile, I write this on a system built in the late-90's now running a modern Linux distro with absolutely no problems.

[strategery blunder]

1. Your link to the article is broken

That said, I'm surprised Micro$hit hasn't deliberately crashed every computer on the market for profit. They would milk it for all it's worth, too.

[bemildred]

2. I run Win98SE, when I have to.

I paid the MS price for it, and when I can no longer use it
for whatever reason, I won't use any form of Windoze at all.
But I'm the sort of guy that still misses DOS.

[RoyGBiv]

5. I miss DOS too ...

I get all nostaligic for command lines. :-)

I was recently going to set up an old BBS program I had, partly for the sake of nostalgia and as a diversion since I ran a BBS years ago and miss doing so, but also for a practical use that no modern method of communication I can find adequately duplicates without significant costs involved. Turns out I can't do it. Seems anything compiled in Borland Pascal, which this is, generates a Runtime 200 error (division by 0) when running under a Windoze 2000+ environment.

I think I still have a Windoze 98 serial # around here somewhere ... now to find install disks.

[salvorhardin]

6. Try compiling it under Free Pascal

http://www.freepascal.org

[charlie]

3. First Vista viruses have already emerged

http://www.computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/holes/story/0,10801,103682,00.html

[RoyGBiv]

4. Corrected Link ...

Bah...I annoy myself sometimes. Left out a slash.

http://www.tomshardware.com/hardnews/20050908_110000.html

[Xithras]

7. It's the iD Software model.

For many years iD software was infamous for releasing games that wouldn't actually run well on any current hardware. This forced gamers to upgrade their PC's, and jumpstarted many of the 3D technologies computers use today.

It looks like MS is trying the iD trick. Release an OS that won't run on any hardware currently on the market and force everyone to upgrade. This will both benefit the PC industry AND make sure that everyone gets locked into their DRM nightmare. I mean, what the heck is up with that DVD technology? You can't watch it with full clarity unless your monitor supports that certain technology, but there isn't a single monitor on the market anywhere that supports it?

MS is missing one detail from the iD model. People bought into iD because they offered something that nobody else did: Realistic 3D worlds generations beyond anything their competitors could do. Microsoft, on the other hand, is just offering the same old OS with a few doodads tossed in. Their customers CAN go somewhere else to get the same thing. You can get every feature found in a $3,000 Vista capable system in a $2,000 Mac, or a $1,200 Linux box.