Getting the right anti-virus, personal firewall, disk imaging and other system-level tools will take some time. Most of the major vendors are working hard to have these ready by the end of January, and some will just make it.

Vista has a much-improved personal firewall over XP, even over the one that was in XP Service Pack 2: Vista's firewall handles both inbound and outbound connections (XP only covered inbound traffic). So you might want to evaluate what comes built-in versus what you have been using previously.

VAR Tip: You should obtain the latest updates from your system software vendor and test to make sure that it can be installed and function properly on Vista. In some cases, you will need to purchase new versions.

Vista also comes with Internet Explorer v7 and Media Player v11 built-in.

VAR Tip: Get some experience with both of these technologies before you install Vista for the first time.

Finally, there is a new version of .Net framework that ships as part of Vista. If you have developed .Net applications you need to ensure that they will work properly.

Which Version Of Vista Is Best For The Channel?

There are several different versions of Vista with different retail prices. VARs and system builders will most likely be interested in the top three configurations: Vista Business, Vista Enterprise (which is only available to OEMs) and Vista Ultimate (which include Media Center). All three of these versions include support for Tablet PCs and BitLocker disk encryption, as well as wireless network provisioning tools, image backup and recovery and dual-CPU support. The less expensive versions of Vista are missing some or all of these features.

Microsoft sells Vista in a confusing array of options, including upgrades from XP and upgrading from the OEM to full versions of Vista. The OEM license, one that the channel will likely pre-install on computers they build, cannot be transferred to another machine without being upgraded to a full license. Thus, system builders can get a leg up in supporting customers that do change out their hardware by offering the full Vista license and making this clear in their sales literature.

If you have a subscription with MSDN or Microsoft's Technet support services, you can download and buy Vista via these methods. And Microsoft also sells Vista licenses online via Windowsmarketplace.com. You can also pay for a volume license and then download Vista online.