Windows Vista comes with high system requirements and it’s not just the processor and memory that needs to be fresh but also the graphics circuit that will have a lot of work to do. The result is a graphical user interface (GUI) that many will most likely enjoy. However, not everyone wants flashy effects with the operating system and with laptops and notebooks more and more will most likely turn these off, for other reasons as well. Manufacturers has namely noticed that Windows Vista and its Aero Glass interface consume considerably more power than what Windows XP does, which simply means that the battery will be drained faster.
Microsoft has admitted to that Vista’s graphically demanding interface requires more from the hardware and thus consume more power, but at the same time that is working on tuning this until the launch.
“The Windows Vista Aero theme and components which implement it can use more resources than previous versions of the operating system,” Microsoft product manager Mike Burk said in a statement.”
In the end it’s not a fun position to be in as a system builder as they’ve been struggling for long to improve the battery time, while the next generation operating system by Microsoft actually makes things worse. Among other things, it has put high hopes in the coming hybrid harddrive technology that will reduce power consumption but the question is if not most people will chose to reduce the graphics and gain some more time when Vista arrives.
