Microsoft Lays Out Vista Requirements

Vista will miss its release deadline, but Microsoft has indicated that it wants customers to get ready for the revamped version of its flagship Windows operating system. On Thursday, Microsoft launched its campaign with a website detailing system requirements.

The Get Ready website lists the requirements for the minimum hardware requirements for a Vista capable machine. It details the requirements for machines capable of running low-end versions of Vista as well as the high-end versions that sport Vista's new, sleek user interface called Aero.

The announcement was made less than a week before Microsoft's annual Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) at Seattle at which Microsoft and hardware manufacturers tout their cutting edge products that run on Microsoft's platform.

Computer vendors have been working with Microsoft to release computers that are ready for Vista. The first "Windows Vista Capable" machines started appearing in stores in April.

Microsoft announced in March that it would delay the release of Windows Vista till January 2007. The delay meant that Microsoft would miss the chance to offer its product during the Christmas shopping season.

Windows Vista is slated to Microsoft's biggest upgrade of the Windows operating system since its launch of Windows 95 a decade ago. But analysts have said that the launch of Windows Vista might be tempered by the rising popularity of the open source Linux which is gaining users.