Windows Vista promises a host of enhancements that will not only improve the computing experience, but also advance mobile communication. Indeed, such features as a mobility center that combines common notebook-focused features, a suite of enhanced security tools, and a Network and Sharing Center that brings together network-related information all promise to work together to bring about a polished, reliable and secure computing experience.

Although these mobility features might tempt organizations to expedite the migration of their notebook computers ahead of their desktop PCs, this would be an ill-advised move. First, migration to Vista or any new platform promises to be a complex process. Planning and validation for a migration of this complexity should be done as a "top down" initiative across the whole enterprise, with a roll-out schedule based on business requirements, as opposed to individual ad hoc implementations. Second, even the best-planned Vista migration is likely to encounter unforeseen problems that are best worked out from a fixed location, that is, from the desktop. Third, Vista's security features, while attractive, offer nothing specific to notebooks and are nearly all available from third parties on XP. Organizations requiring near-term mobile security would be better advised to use the third-party tools than to rush, and possibly compromise, their Vista migrations.

Microsoft promotes Vista as a remedy to a myriad of mobility challenges - power management, network awareness, offline access to important data, multiple displays, grab-and-go docking and readability - and the new features do make headway in these areas. Although Vista's mobility features are useful, they are not essential. None of them, nor the sum, constitute an immediate "must have" for any organization. As a result, organizations should resist the idea of early migration ahead of desktop computers, unless specific business issues are being addressed.

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AS a sole proprietor doing tax preparation and planning, I will not migrate to Vista until 2008 or 2009, or later if my software companies migrate to Vista do not support make the transition. I have 3 operational computers now, and only one of which may need upgrading in 2007. Why spend the $ for an upgrade in either software or hardware until necessary,
I think that the majority of users feel the same way, since I still read questions about Win98, me, 2000 etc. from the ordinary folks ( a Bushism)
Ray Simm