More Vista stories

You're going to get dead bored of Vista stories this week, from Bill Gates doing a launch webcast tonight through to the official launch tomorrow. A roundup of today's stories includes:

BBC : Microsoft to launch Vista Hard Sell

Ovum Research suggesting that 15% of PCs will be on Vista by the end of the year - over 100,000,000 worldwide!

Mentions that Microsoft have peldged to continue support for XP until 2011. David Mitchell from Ovum suggests that there is almost a fashion element to the Vista launch:

"Part of the appetite is 'something new for something new's sake'," said Mr Mitchell.

ZDNet: Bill Gates to grace London with his presence

Reports that Bill will be in the UK for the launch, seemingly though by co-incidence as he needs to attend the "Microsoft Government Leaders' Conference" in Scotland. Interesting way to get confirmation that there is actually a Microsoft Government.

News.com - Buying Vista? Get a guarantee

Heeds a valuable consumer warning that just because a PC is marked as being Vista ready, that not all applications will necessarily work on it.

To their credit, Microsoft themselves even admit this:

"Just because a machine came back Vista-positive, I am not ready to make the assumption that all the features of Vista will run on this machine," said Michael Cherry, lead analyst for Windows and Mobile at Directions on Microsoft.

Which is definitely something you need to bear in mind. Cherry's advice:

"If it says (a PC) will run Vista, you still want to think about which features are important, and in talking to a vendor, you want to get an assurance that the unit (you are buying) will, in fact, accomplish those things you want."

News.com - Vista Guide

Really useful guide to lots of things Vista - a good reference point.

The Register - Is Vista ready for you?

A slightly more cynical piece, but still covers an interesting user experience and a good barometer chech on issues that you can experience. Let the buyer beware!