The problem is, Vista is here to stay, and bellyaching about all the problems early adoption brings with it doesn't actually help people come to grips with Vista or the issues that come with it.

I was talking with Rain Recording's Bill Paschick who speaks highly of Vista's potential; he also warns that it will take time to realize. Paschick and I agree on the idea that nobody should migrate from XP to Vista "at gunpoint," but there's a danger of losing support for non-Vista systems in the industry's rush to wake up and smell the coffee.

"Now we're getting to a point where the next processor that comes out may not run on XP. We all have to get prepared." Says Paschick.

The writing is indeed on the wall. Paschick says musicians and recording pros will need to migrate eventually, but at the moment, "Ultimately, there isn't any huge wow factor - yet- to say 'let's go to Vista because it promises A, B, and C' that you can't do on XP."

According to Bill Paschick, the important question to ask now is: Do you want to record for the next two years without serious issues, or do you want to be prepared for what will happen 24 months down the road.

"Every 24-36 months, anybody whether they are a project studio guy all the way up to the people who are hundreds of dollars an hour for production time, retooling is the nature of the business."

"People ask us all the time (when purchasing Rain Recording products) 'How long will this computer last me?' And I say as long as you don't think of anything more you want to do with it from now. But of course, everyone thinks of more things to do with it."

For me, the bottom line is finding a happy medium between what works now and what I know might not be supported with upgrades or even tech support in two years. My current system is about a year out of date in terms of the latest hard drive speeds and the amount of RAM. Running XP for another year to two years seems like a good option for me personally as I've settled on my editing solutions and there are plenty options.

For someone who needs a new machine in the next three to six months, the choices are tougher. Rain Recording's website offers a list of products from a wide range of manufacturers that are considered "compatible" with Vista. Paschick says the issue of "Vista-native" versus "Vista-compatible" is being addressed for future updates to the list, but as near as I can tell, even without addressing that issue the list is an excellent resource for those who feel a Vista machine is in their future.

If you plan on getting a new machine in the next six months, it's clear that you'll have much more homework to do. That said, I did quite a nice interview with Bill Paschick and Rain Recording UK's Robin Vincent about all these issues and much more. You might find several answers to burning questions thanks to their words of wisdom, so keep checking back, that interview (in several parts) could be of help when it comes to what will work with Vista and what's not such a hot investment. Stay tuned.