Windows Vista = Windows Me II? Adrian Kingsley-Hughes tackles the "Does Vista = Windows ME II?" subject in a ZDNet blog post.

First, let's clear the air with this statement: Vista sales are strong.

Windows ME was marketed to home users, not corporations. The same will not be true with Vista. There is an enterprise edition and there are countless features specifically designed to replace XP Pro on corporate networks. A year from now when a large company orders hundreds of PCs from Dell, they won't request XP - an eight-year-old operating system with (likely) dwindling legacy support. Back in 2000, companies could easily bypass ME in favor of Windows 2000, a new corporate OS. It's a different world today and there are three options that are not realistic for most large companies: 1) sticking with XP, 2) moving to Linux desktops and 3) moving to Macs. The path of least resistance will be moving to Vista, thereby solidifying its place as the dominant OS.

I'm certainly not advising people to rush out and purchase Vista. Far from it. I remain convinced that upgrading your operating system (in the Windows world) is really not something that most users should do themselves. Buying a new PC is the best way to upgrade your operating system. The other route is a clean install performed by a trained technician. If your existing PC will "do" everything you need to "do", why upgrade? If your existing PC is used to check email and surf the Internet there is absolutely no compelling reason (at this time) to upgrade to Vista. None. If your interest lies in the very latest multimedia hardware and software and the next generation of PC games, then Vista is in your future.

Did I mention the killer app? Vista Media Center. What else? I saw a print ad for Halo 2 yesterday. The ad featured this statement: "Windows Vista Required". Slowly, PC Gamers will be forced to move to Vista.

How could Vista be improved? Well, if Microsoft were to grant me a one-on-one sit-down with their head of development and their head of sales, I would say this:

   - We want ONE version of Vista: Ultimate Edition.

   - Lower the retail price by $65

   - No more BS on hardware requirements. Tell people the truth, namely, they'll need at least 2 GB of RAM and new hardware