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You can read a lot about Windows Vista in the news today.  Microsoft took this feature out, pushed back the release this many days, or someone at Microsoft is saying this about the next version of the Windows operating system.  What I’m not hearing much about is the fact that this is going to be the biggest change in the Windows Platform since perhaps Windows 3.1 moving to Windows 95.  Although Microsoft has not yet released their official hardware requirements for the platform and are unlikely to do so until sometime this summer, their guides to enterprise hardware planning already show that an incredible amout of computing power will be needed to achieve the full “Vista Experience.”  I’m not sure if this is being down played purposefully or not.

Of course for a help desk this could mean potential troubles if your computers are more than two years old.  Several of the computers in my work place will need out right replacement and the rest will need new video cards, more RAM, and perhaps DVD Burners to support Windows Vista functions that many of our customers will be using.  All this requires a lot of planning and thinking.

Here at the University I’ve been placed on a Windows Vista team whose purpose is to investigate ways to deploy the new operating system across and enterprise.  The main focus of our group will be deployment via Microsoft Systems Management Server, however, other avenues such as Windows Deployment Services (a sort of Next-generation RIS), Unattended setups, and Ximage.  This is one of the first groups that I’ve gotten to participate in that is above my every day job and that really excites me.  I think that I can stand to learn alot both about Windows Vista deployment and more in general about how these types of groups operate.  Plus a chance to network is always a good thing.

I’ve been working on the Help Desk’s official Windows Vista deployment plan.  Its becoming quite lengthy actually, at the moment.  It details our current Windows XP environment, our computing needs, the customizations that we will require for Windows Vista, testing plans, and finally a deployment schedule.  This is an exciting time to be an IT professional.  New operating system releases have always interested me greatly, I’ve just never been able to be so involved - and it’s nice that I am this time around.

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