Windows Vista is coming! Well, that's not exactly breaking news since we've been aware of "Vista" (under the codename "Longhorn") for at least five years. But Microsoft is still holding to the line that it will ship before this year is out. Touching, really, as most prognosticators with a decent track record are now pointing to first quarter of 2007 as the ship date (which really means late summer 2007 as the earliest you'd want to install it in production).

But in order to keep the hype going, Microsoft has launched a new Web site to whet your appetite. This merely redirects you to this URL and, for serious IT professionals, there's a further redirection to a "Resources for IT Professionals" site where the real lowdown on the new desktop system can be found - and has been found for well over a year.

Still, hype is something the Redmond marketing machine knows a lot about and windowsvista.com is nothing if it's not a marketing tool.

One potentially valuable part of the site, though, is the advisors, which can help you pinpoint the correct version of Vista as well as the hardware you'll need to support that version.

The five different editions of Windows Vista (with their Microsoft descriptions) are:

* Windows Vista Home Basic - "Designed to deliver improved reliability, security, and usability to home PC users who just want to do the basics with their PCs."

* Windows Vista Home Premium - "Whether you choose to use your PC to write e-mail and surf the Internet, for home entertainment, or to track your household expenses, Windows Vista Home Premium delivers a more complete and satisfying computing experience."

* Windows Vista Business - "This will help you lower your PC management costs, improve your security, enhance your productivity, and help you stay better connected."

* Windows Vista Enterprise - "Designed to meet the needs of large global organizations with highly complex IT infrastructures. Windows Vista Enterprise can help you lower your IT costs while providing additional layers of protection for your sensitive data."

* Windows Vista Ultimate - "If you want all of the best business features, all of the best mobility features, and all of the best home entertainment features that Windows Vista has to offer, Windows Vista Ultimate is the solution for you. With Windows Vista Ultimate you don't have to compromise."