Things That Bugged Me in the (Interminable) WinHEC Keynotes

We weren't able to blog live during most of the more than 3 1/2 hours of keynotes that opened this year's WinHEC (Windows Hardware Engineering Conference) at the Seattle Convention Center. Well, fair enough--Microsoft had warned us that it was disabling Wi-Fi during the keynotes and it's rude to type while Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates and others are talking about the wonderful world of Windows Vista that awaits us in about eight months.

Besides, most of the first speeches were basically executive summaries of what we heard, in greater depth, at the Vista reviewer's workshop yesterday. But a couple of items did give me pause.

One was Microsoft's logo programs, intended to help people identify systems that can run Vista, and (going forward) peripherals that will support Vista features. This sounds like a good idea, but Microsoft has really muddied the waters by creating two different levels of Vista-readiness, each with its own logo.

There's Windows Vista Capable and then there's Windows Vista Premium Ready. Vista Capable machines will be able to upgrade to the OS and run what Microsoft describes as "core" features. You'll need a CPU that runs at 800MHz or faster, 512MB of RAM, DirectX 9 graphics, and 15GB of free hard drive space.

But to experience Vista in all its flashy graphics glory (i.e. the Aero interface), you need a Windows Vista Premium Ready machine, which requires much beefier hardware, including either a 1GHz or 64-bit processor; 1GB of RAM; a DirectX 9 graphics processor that supports a WDDM (Windows Display Driver Module) driver, Pixel Shader 2.0 (the latter in hardware), and 32 bits per pixel (a high measure for color depth). Additionally, the processor must have enough video memory to support your monitor (the lowest bar for this is 64MB for a single display with less than 1,310,720 pixels.

Confused? Wondering how your system stacks up? Microsoft has created a Windows Vista: Get Ready web site with a downloadable app that will check your system and tell you if it's up to snuff for Vista. The site will also tell you which of the six Vista versions you'll want (based on the tasks you wish to perform using the OS).

But back to logos. A similar dichotomy applies to device labels. There will be a Works with Windows Vista logo, and a Certified for Windows Vista logo; the former will work, the latter will support advanced Vista features--SideShow would be an example. It seems to me, though, that a lot of buyers will find these logos more confusing than helpful.

The other thing that bothers me a bit is Microsoft's FlexGo program that aims to help people in developing countries get basic Windows computers. Based on pay-as-you-go programs that are popular for cell phones in these nations, FlexGo puts time-metering technology into these computers; purchasers lay out a third to half the cost of the system up front, and after using it for a certain amount of time they must make small payments or the system will lose functionality or lock down completely. After making enough payments, they will own the system outright (see IDG News reporter Elizabeth Montalbano's news story on the program).

But as Microsoft executives proudly showed the list of multinational tech firms who are collaborating on the program (including chipmakers, system vendors, software vendors, retailers and even financial institutions), I couldn't help feeling that for all the photos of happy-looking women in saris, FlexGo is as much a cynical effort to reach new markets as it is a philanthropic venture. No one talked about how much people would actually wind up paying for these bare-bones PCs, or whether they might better use the money for more basic necessities. I'd want answers to these questions before I applauded the initiative.