Back when Vista was first released, sbisson and I reviewed it for PC Plus. By the magic of syndication, you can read it most easily on the TechWeb site. Here's what we think of the four versions anyone can go out and buy; click through for all the details.
Windows Vista Home Basic
The cheapest version of Vista is limited in scope
Windows Vista Business
Full networking capabilities, but no entertainment
Windows Vista Home Premium
The best value version of Vista includes Media Center
Windows Vista Ultimate
The most comprehensive version of Windows will cost you...

Note to all my Blu-ray fan friends; I wrote this reporting Microsoft's views, not my own. But the interactivity I've seen on HD DVD titles has been superior. What Blu-ray interactive features will blow me away?

read Microsoft's facts, figures and HD DVD fandom, courtesy of the eloquent and convincing Kevin Collins, and see some of the interactive features that did impress me

First of a little backlog of articles that have come out recently...

If you've used an Oystercard on the London tube, you've used what is called Near Field Communications (NFC). You get the card near the reader rather than having to make physical contact. Such contactless tickets or passes are common in Europe; key fobs, for example, open office doors across the UK. In Hong Kong you can use the same Octopus card to pay for bus, train and ferry journeys or to buy a cup of coffee or an ice cream when you get off the bus. And anything that's small enough to build into something the size of a credit card can be built into a device you already own, a device you already carry with you every day - your phone.

In some surveys people claim they'd be more worried about leaving their phone at home than leaving their wallet behind; with NFC, your phone can be your wallet. It can be your train ticket, your library card, your supermarket loyalty card, your gym membership, your cinema ticket, even your credit card. According to Nokia's Gerhard Romen, "touch becomes the new click".
And if you want to know why France will get it before we do, read my piece at TechWeb