Finally, all GeForce 8800 users can download the latest Windows Vista 32bit/64bit BETA ForceWare drivers directly from NVIDIA. The bad news:
- DirectX 10 NVIDIA SLI support for GeForce 8800 GPUs will be available in a future driver
- DirectX 9 and OpenGL NVIDIA SLI support for GeForce 8800 GPUs will be available on January 31, 2007 in a new driver from NVIDIA

Download: ForceWare 100.54 Vista 32bit (29.4 MB), ForceWare 100.54 Vista 64bit (41.8 MB)

Since the very first public beta campaigns, Windows Vista Ultimate was said to have "extras", which would be unveiled once Vista was public. Now, Microsoft has stashed those extras in with Windows Update. At this point, those extras include Texas Hold 'Em, Bitlocker, EFS enhancements, and various security patches. There will probably be more as Microsoft makes them.

Acer now offers a full range of LCD monitors, ready and tested by WHQL (Windows Hardware Quality Labs) for Windows Vista compliance. Acer's widescreen LCD monitor lines include 20", 22", 24" and 26" sizes with 16:10 display ratio to give plenty of onscreen space for applications, and extra room on the side for Vista's Sidebar, Office2007, Vista Media Center, Internet Explorer 7's Tab Browsing, Navigation, Preview pane or Reading Pane modes of Explorer. Acer LCD monitors will now carry a Vista-certified logo, indicating clearly to purchasers that the devices can enable additional or enhanced capabilities. The corresponding lines/models are: ALxx1x series for Value, Xxxx series for X, ALxx2x series for Office, and ALxx5x series for the Performance and Gamers line.

On Jan. 30 the most significant product launch in Microsoft Corp.'s history culminates in the release to consumers of the Windows Vista operating system and Microsoft Office 2007. Starting tomorrow, these two flagship products will be available in more than 70 countries, in 19 languages (with 99 languages anticipated by the end of the year), and at more than 39,000 retail stores and online. The launch marks the achievement of an unprecedented collaboration between Microsoft and its customers and partners, and ushers in an era in which personal computing is easier, safer and more enjoyable than ever before.

AMD has released its first Catalyst driver for Vista to feature WHQL certification. The driver works with both 32bit and 64bit versions of the new operating system and is based on the same driver as the 7.1 Catalyst for Windows XP, so it is currently using the same number system. CrossFire multi-GPU support has been enabled but Alternate Frame Rendering is still unavailable, and only the 32bit version can play HD-DVDs and Blu-ray disks. The driver introduces native OpenGL support for Vista and features a redesigned Catalyst Control Center. You can download these drivers here.

When users were upgrading to Windows XP, the procedure was that users could simply insert their old Windows 98 or Windows 2000 CD at the appropriate time during a clean install without the need for the old OS to be installed at the time. However, Microsoft has decided to change this for Vista, and now requires a fully installed and activated version of your old OS already on the machine. This comes as an attempt to prevent illegal use of upgrade CDs, but could be inconvenient and time consuming when the time comes to reinstall. The new procedure for a reinstall is as follows:

• Install your old copy of Windows XP
• Activate it either online or over the phone
• Install Vista

A couple days back, we reported that both European and American online vendors were selling copies of Windows Vista early. The very popular American source, Newegg, was only offering it in three-packs. Now however, they are offering single-packs, and have quite a deal for OEM builders.

• Windows Vista Home Basic costs $100, 50% of the $200 retail version.
• Windows Vista Home Premium costs $120, 50% of the $240 retail version.
• Windows Vista Business costs $150, 50% of the $300 retail version.
• Windows Vista Ultimate costs $200, 50% of the $400 retail version.

All the links posted are for the 32 bit version, I found a 64-bit single DVD of Windows Vista Home Basic, Business, and Ultimate.

Apple boot camp is one of the features the Intel Macs have been boasting, allowing a Macintosh to boot into Windows. A very fine example of this was found in a Macintosh store. For the low price of 1900 Euros, a customer can buy himself an iMac with Windows Vista Ultimate pre-loaded on it. The iMac has a 24" screen (1080p resolution), Core 2 Duo, 1GB of DDR2, and a 7300GT, among other features. The copy of OS X 10 Tiger has iLife 06 and Frontrow pre-installed.

G80 owners worldwide are probably wondering why they do not have even a beta driver for their high-end expensive graphics card. The reason is very simple: the driver is not stable. Games that are stable on any other video card using any other driver are great on Windows Vista. However, once the G80 was plugged in with the current driver, the test system was prone to frequent and unpredictable reboots. With Windows Vista launching in a matter of days, we sure hope NVIDIA can make a stable driver for the launch of Microsoft's brand new operating system.

While most of us do not own or run Vista, Microsoft is already working on the first Service Pack for the new OS. It includes upgrades like the "Powershell" which is to replace the good old Windows "Shell". The Service Pack will be released in the second half of 2007. Anyone worried about Vista and stability, may take this as a good reason to wait before upgrading to the new OS.

With the release date of Windows Vista drawing ever closer, ASUSTek Computer Inc. (ASUS) is now offering 4 motherboard models that are designed especially for the new operating system. Packed with ASUS special features like ScreenDUO, AI Remote, AP Trigger, TPM and ASAP (ASUS Accelerated Propeller), ASUS is proud to be the first motherboard manufacturer in the industry to attain the Windows Windows Vista Premium logo. The four new models include: M2N32-SLI Premium Vista Edition, P5B Premium Vista Edition, M2N-Plus Vista Edition and P5B-Plus Vista Edition. For more information on the new motherboards, please visit the company homepage.

Windows Vista is available on Newegg. And with an exception to the $150 OEM copy of Windows Vista Business (x86), all of the OEM Vista's come in packs of three.

• A three pack of 32-bit Home Basic will cost $280, which is roughly $93 a copy, making it $3 a copy more expensive than the $90 OEM copy of Windows XP Home.
• A three pack of 64-bit Home Premium will cost $350. This translates to nearly $117 per copy, making it $7 more expensive per copy than the $110 OEM copy of Windows XP Media Center.
• A three pack of 32-bit Business will cost $450. That turns into $150 a copy, which is $10 more expensive than a single OEM copy of Windows XP Professional.
• A three pack of 32-bit Ultimate will cost $600, making it $200 a copy for an OEM buyer.

All of the figures posted do not include Newegg's $5 shipping fee, which is not charged for a copy of Windows XP. It should also be noted that every version of Vista except for Home Premium is only for a 32 bit computer, and Home Premium is only available for a 64 bit computer.

Overclockers.co.uk, one of the major computer parts suppliers in the UK, looks like it is beginning to sell Windows Vista ten days before schedule. Apparently the site told the Inquirer that it is now selling and shipping the software, and Vista is certainly listed as in-stock instead of pre-order. Although none of the upgrade or retail versions are available yet, you can get your hands on both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Home Basic, Home Premium, Business and Ultimate, all OEM. If you're interested look here.

Company of Heroes, one of the best RTS games of 2006, may be the first game to be patched to use DirectX10. The patch, which can be expected sometime in March, will redo a lot of the textures. It will also add several new features, streamline the graphics engine, and generally make things look prettier. The DX10 version of Company of Heroes will actually run faster than the DX9 version, however once you add in all the additional gameplay features THQ plans on adding, the two versions of Company of Heroes will perform about the same.

Although there is little doubt that many people already planned to use the web as a source for Windows Vista, consumers will soon be able to legally download the finished version of the operating system. When the boxed versions of Vista hit the stores on 30th January, users will also have to ability to download it via Microsoft's Windows Marketplace, although the prices will be the same as it will be in shops. The online purchases will also allow users to upgrade to a more expensive version of Vista, or buy an additional license at a reduced price. Recommend prices for the OS are $199 for Home Basic, $239 for Home Premium, $299 for Business and $399 for Ultimate.

Finally, LaptopVideo2Go.com has leaked one of the most anticipated NVIDIA ForceWare drivers for GeForce 8800 Series working with Windows Vista 32/64bit. According to other users the driver performs really well, but be carefull because it is not WHQL certified. Use at your own risk. Click here to download the NVIDIA ForceWare X 100.30 Vista driver for 8800 Series of video cards.

The British Educational Communications and Technology Agency is warning public schools to not buy Windows Vista. They claim that deploying Microsoft's next generation operating system is risky to say the least, and the benefits are as of yet unclear. The main reason behind this is the lack of "must-have" features, and a lot of "technical, financial and organisational challenges associated with early deployment". In response to this, Microsoft claims that individual consumers (such as schools) should try the product out for themselves before saying yay or nay to it. The Agency warned UK schools not to deploy Vista for at least another year.

Today, the Windows Vista operating system has been selected by the editors at CNET as a winner of the "Best of CES 2007" award in the computers and hardware category at the 2007 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Windows Vista, scheduled to be broadly available on Jan. 30, 2007, was honored for enhancements and innovations that provide users with an experience that is easier, safer, more entertaining and better connected, at home or on the go.

Microsoft's license terms for the retail version of Vista, its latest operating system, have caused more confusion over what the user is allowed to do - this time regarding the number of processors. The terms of the agreement state that the OS can only be installed on a "single device," which is to be expected, however it continues to state that the software may only be used "on up to two processors on that device at one time." What this means for multi-core systems with more than two cores is unknown, but with gaming moving closer and closer to being dependent on more than one CPU, this may confuse gamers. The description of what a single processor means is a bit of a grey area because it could either be argued as an individual CPU unit or an individual core, so no doubt Microsoft will clear up the matter in the near future.

(Compton, CA) - January 8, 2007 - The new Belkin Easy Transfer Cable for Windows Vista lets you quickly transfer your MP3s and photos as well as your files and emails from your Windows XP-based computer to your PC running Windows Vista. This Cable provides the easiest and quickest way to ready you for the use of your new Windows Vista-based computer.The 8-foot Cable connects to your computers' USB ports. The Windows Easy Transfer Wizard then automatically appears, letting you choose what items to copy.

Further testing by Intel and Microsoft has found that integrated graphics can run the Vista Aero interface just fine. It may not be the best choice for laptop users (the same ones using these integrated graphics chipsets, as it drains laptop batteries very quickly. However, Aero Glass sure does look pretty, which matters to some people more than battery life.

NVIDIA ForceWare 97.46 Vista Drivers Released

NVIDIA has released the following WHQL certified drivers for use with Windows Vista RTM 32/64bit version that will enable you to test the basic features and capabilities of the new operating system. For a full list of fixed issues, please view the release notes.

Download:
ForceWare 97.46 Vista Driver x86 RTM 32bit (38.5MB)
ForceWare 97.46 Vista Driver x64 RTM 64bit (47.6MB)

Both AMD and NVIDIA are having trouble making good Vista compatible drivers for their graphics cards. The main problems lie in multi-GPU support. While both companies will certainly have a driver for Vista x86 by January 30th, it will be harder to support than the XP version. NVIDIA has also hinted that they will work on an x64 driver after making an x86 driver, instead of doing both at once.

People who were testing the RC1 copy of Windows Vista, the most distributed of all the betas, got a nasty holiday surprise on new years eve. Windows Media Center uses MPEG 2 decoder and Dolby Digital components, which are definitely not free. Microsoft pays the respective owners of the decoders for a license, which expired for Windows Vista RC1 users on December 31st. Microsoft cannot renew the license, and has declined to say whether or not the license could have been extended. The rest of Windows Vista RC1 will still work until June 2007.

NVIDIA's new DirectX10 cards should finally have the potential to take advantage of their new technology after an announcement by the company that it plans to release a Vista driver for the 8800 cards towards the end of January. Because these cards have so far been unable to run DirectX10 applications, their performance in this area has been a mystery, but hopefully this will begin the next generation of Windows based gaming. The G80 driver has suffered two month delays and this should hopefully satisfy those who purchased the cards wanting to be DirectX10 ready - although they will still have to wait for the games to be released before they can reap the benefits it has to offer.