Windows Strata?

Paul, Actually, it was Kit Ong who reported it first: http://geekswithblogs.net/kit/archive/2008/10/08/125702.aspx

A little OT, but can 32 bit Vista SP1 see 4 GB RAM? I can buy it cheaply for the cheapo ACER laptop, or can just swap one 1GB stick for a 2GB stick, but that may disable dual channel. Wae, were are you? The Guru cannot take vacation without permission!!!

tayme As I've been saying for months now, this year's PDC/WinHEC combo is game changing. Windows "7", Live Mesh, whatever Windows Strata turns out to be... Between PDC, WinHEC, the US elections and my birthday it's going to be an interesting two weeks.

DRWAM, you can use 4GB with Vista SP1, it should see all of it. Installing different sized DIMMs (e.g. 1GB and 2GB) should not disable dual channel mode.

Can you upgrade from Vista Ultimate 32bit to 64bit?

shark47, no, as far as I know upgrade between 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows is technically impossible. You'll have to do clean install

Dipsh If you have retail full package product then you got DVDs for both 32-bit and 64-bit (At least I did on my pre-SP1 copy of Ultimate that I just checked)

3GB it is! [or will be at least] Thanks, and sorry for the OT but there's a sale, and you all know that I like to go cheap on my tech stuff:) Doc Would love 64 bit, but I'm not sure if this would handle it. Besides, the idea was to spend less for the kids laptop...er, I mean wife's laptop now! But to get more performance for a few more pennies is just to tempting to pass, so I must... cannot....trying , but not succeeding to resist!!!

I want to see Windows SkyNet....

Since it's MS product name or code name or whatever...I am thinking that they can pronounce it as they please...no debate to be had. --tayme

"Since it's MS product name or code name or whatever...I am thinking that they can pronounce it as they please...no debate to be had." Yes, because whatever Microsoft does IS the standard. Right, "waethorn"?

strata is one of those odd collective words that can be both singular or plural The plural of stratum is strata The plural of strata is stratæ For example, the strata at site A is much thinner than the strata at site B but both these stratæ are thinner than the strata at site C. Pedantic enough, yet? :-)

But is stratæ acceptable in the English language? We need an English professor, I think. Of course, Mike is always right...in his opinion anywho. --tayme

If your notebook has integrated graphics going with 3gig of RAM (1 -1gig, 1-2gig) you video performance may suffer. That is because "Dual Channel" configuration is only possible when both memory slots have the same size/speed memory sticks. So either 2 1gig, or 2 2gig sticks. Integrated graphics dont have dedicated video memory like a dedicated video card, so they use the slower system memory, made even slower in single channel mode. Vista will see between 3.26 - 3.5gig. Its worth in IMHO to just go with 4gig. Now if that notebook has a dedicated GPU, my points are mute.

bettieblu, your Wikipedia article states that "it is not required that identical modules be used, but this is often recommended for best compatibility", hence you can't guarantee that DRWAM's notebook will NOT work in dual channel mode with 3GB RAM.

"Pedantic enough, yet? :-)" Not really. You have to go nucular to be really pedantic. Think different. Go nucular.

Shark. That word truly irritates me when I hear it. I was introduced a few times as a Nucular Radiologist. Arrg! I thought I heard Palin say it at the debate, too, twice, then pronouncing it correctly the third time. I guess I could be wrong, but it sure did sound like it. Double arrg! What's pleural for 'moose'?

Doc, the mispronunciation by Palin was intentional. She intentionally says 'nucular' and 'Iyraq' because it apparently helps her connect with 'Joe Six-pack'. She accidentally said 'nuclear' once during the debate before correcting herself. :-)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nucular Usage by politicians U.S. presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush, as well as Presidential Candidate Walter Mondale and Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin, have all used this pronunciation.[5][6][7] [8]

tayme I never said it wasn't optional for Democrats trying to get GOP votes, just that it was mandatory for the RNC. 1) All members of A are C 2) Some members of B are C Given statements 1 and 2 you seem to think that statement 1 cannot be true if statement 2 is also true. I'm guessing you either did badly on your SAT or forgot a lot of logic from listening to too much talk radio. Perhaps a basic logic course might help.

@Doc: I've told numerous people about this before so it's not a strange question by any means: 1) New systems support something called "asynchronous/asymmetric dual-channel" memory. That means you CAN install RAM in un-like pairs. It runs faster than single-channel, but slower than the standard synchronous dual-channel. 2) 64-bit versions of Windows will always be able to utilize a full 4GB of RAM, unless your video memory is shared. 32-bit versions will be able to address up to 4GB of address space, so hardware resources will always take up a portion of that (usually 1/2 to 7/8's of a GB). 3) Vista SP1 will reports the INSTALLED RAM, not the usable RAM, which is going to be less on a 32-bit system. Vista RTM reports the usable RAM, which is the amount of installed RAM minus hardware resource allocation and shared video memory. 4) The performance benefits in Vista of going from 2GB of synchronous dual-channel to 3GB of async dual-chan will be minimal, and isn't worth the extra money. 5) Given point 4, going from 2GB to anything above is really only a big deal on 64-bit versions of Windows. If it's 32-bit, don't expect it to be a performance notebook, so stick with 2GB and save a few bucks. 6) Your Acer notebook came with Windows, so only Acer supports it. You'd have to contact them if you want a 64-bit install DVD. They would have to support it on that model before they'll provide one though, so your chances of getting one are slim. Microsoft doesn't support OEM versions, so you can't order a replacement disc from them. 7) Retail versions of Vista (except for Ultimate) come in ONLY 32-bit versions. You can order 64-bit media from Microsoft for RETAIL VERSIONS ONLY. Ultimate comes with both discs in a retail package (only). 8) Next time, if you want to be able to upgrade to 4GB, look for a notebook that ships with the 64-bit. Ask for a product demo in the store if the sales reps don't know (they usually don't have a clue in the first place). Check under System Properties to see - press the WinKey + Pause/Break to get to System Properties. It will say if it's 32-bit or 64-bit. Hope that helps.

Thanks gang. You are all the best. I owe you all a drink. If you need drugs or just want to sell them them to wall street buttheads [ especially the suicidal ones or any one at AIG or Lehman], just let me know as I have a script pad ready:)

If the execs at AIG are suicidal, they're sure doing a good job of hiding it. BTW, is this statement accurate: "Server 2008 is slightly newer than Vista and would be acceptable as a server (obviously) or as a lighter weight gaming/ desktop platform than Vista. By default, a lot of the bloat that was in Vista is disabled by default in Server 2008. However, if you want, Server 2008 can basically be transformed into full featured Vista. So if want to install legit Windows on another machine, give this a look. " http://forumst.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?t=943060

"a lot of the bloat that was in Vista is disabled by default in Server 2008" Actually counters this statement: "if you want, Server 2008 can basically be transformed into full featured Vista" It can't be, actually, and it requires a lot of work to get it even close. Server 2008 suffers from another type of "bloat", and that's all the server services running in the background. Paul already talked about the silliness of such claims, as did Ed Bott. They are the same codebase. Performance due to services isn't an argument because those services can be turned off in Vista. With computers coming with Windows Vista now, what's the point?

Sorry, Mike...but again, you are wrong. I can name many current and past GOP members of the Senate and Congress that do not pronounce it Nucular, thus your statement "it was mandatory for the RNC." is incorrect, wrong, flawed. Your sampling was much too small and unbalanced. Much like the samplings of the current polls regarding the 2008 Presidential election. Nice try, though. Come on, Mike...say it. 3 short, 1 syllable words - "I WAS WRONG" Most of us are able to do that...Heck, even John McCain did regarding the Keating 5 (by the way, of which 4 were Dems) fiasco...and Barack Obama cannot even tell us why he continually associates himself with questionable characters such as Bill Ayers and Reverand Wright. Its not about whether he condones or denounces what they did or said...just that he has a habit of long term relationships with them. Not that I think that McCain is the right person for the job...just that he is the lesser or 2 evils at this point. --tayme