WAIT FOR MICROSOFT WINDOWS VISTA AND OFFICE 2007 TO SHOCK YOU!

There are just a few times in one’s career when software hits like a bolt of lightning and you find yourself saying, “This is really good. Where have you been all of my life!”

My big shockers were WordPerfect 4.2 in the 80’s, Netscape in 90’s, Dragon in 1997, Microsoft’s handwriting recognition in 2002, and Microsoft OneNote in 2003.

Lightning is about to hit again – twice this time. And it will hit hard smack dab in early 2007.

If you drive to Redmond, WA these days and wander around the Microsoft campus, you’ll see a wonderful banner that says “Lightning Strikes Twice.” It’s a reference to Windows Vista with its powerful speech and handwriting tools, and Office 2007 with a completely revamped interface unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. Both will both release at the same time.

Wait for them to strike. If you’re thinking about upgrading, make arrangements to upgrade to these new software programs after January 1, 2007. They are incredibly good and well worth the wait.

But if you’re upgrading your hardware this fall, be careful. There are two types of computers being sold this fall:

• Windows Vista Compatible: Capable of running the basic components of the new operating system.
• Windows Vista Premium Ready: Capable of running all of the tools and special effects provided by the new operating system.
  

To see the changes in Office 2007 visit:

http://www.microsoft.com/office/preview/default.mspx

To read what you need to know to make your computer Windows Vista Compatible/Premium ready visit:

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/windowsvista/evaluate/hardware/vistarpc.mspx

If you want to run at all of the speech and handwriting recognition tools comfortably as well as see all of the special effects provided by the new Aero interface, consider the following hardware:

• 3.0 GHz processor or faster
• 2 GB of RAM or more (I would push for 4 GB of RAM)
• 120 MB video card (An upgraded video card is necessary to see all the special effects)
• USB headsets for speech recognition
• Wacom board for handwriting recognition (Read the upcoming October post to learn how the handwriting recognition works differently now that it is part of the Windows Vista operating system on desktop and laptop computers. Tablet PC users and ultra mobile users will feel right at home.)