Microsoft wants PC buyers to recognize a machine running its forthcoming Windows Vista operating system from afar.
The software giant has already set out the minimum hardware requirements for a PC to run the operating system.
Now it’s begun sharing ideas on how to design a Vista PC as part of what it calls the Vista Industrial Design Toolkit.
The kit, which has been distributed to about 70 different companies, offers PC and peripherals manufacturers as well as product design firms a number of ideas on ways to shape PCs and related hardware to complement the operating system’s new features.
The kits, whose design ideas remain under wraps at the moment but are believed to convey ideas of simplicity and elegance, comes as Microsoft pushes to release Windows Vista in the coming months.
The software giant, which recently reset its timetable for Vista’s release—it promised to deliver the OS to businesses in November 2006 and pushed back its general release until January 2007—is expected to release its Vista RC1 (release candidate 1), a near-final beta version of the OS, in late August, for example.
“We developed the Industrial Design Toolkit as a way to easily show our partners how they can build PCs and devices that reflect the creativity and uniqueness of the Windows Vista UI, with the end goal of creating to a deeper level of cohesion between Windows Vista and the hardware that supports it,” a Microsoft spokesperson said in an e-mail to eWEEK.
Read the full story on eWEEK.com: Microsoft Wants Vista PCs to Pop
