Microsoft is all over the news today after they revealed the official product name for the next version of the Windows operating system. But the actual product won't be available for another year (possibly longer).

They missed a huge opportunity to come up with a unique name, and I'd like to know how much money they spent before deciding on "Vista". I just google'd "vista" and it shows 20,400,000 results. Nice.

The Register put together this informative, concise description of what Vista will offer, according to the announcement video (Microsoft passes da Vista baby):

The corporate video accompanying the announcement went some way to filling in the details. It seems using Vista will, at last, enable you to: sit in front of a computer, show someone your tablet PC, show someone else your mobile phone, get into cars while carrying a laptop and walk through sun-soaked rooms with highly polished floors, even while being buffeted by pulses of multicoloured light.

According to the video, it will also make you clear - confident - connected. Which sounds like the job description for a Microsoft major accounts manager, or possibly a mafia hitman.

Oh well, at least Microsoft can start printing up the baseball caps, T-shirts and coffee cups that journalists, partners and developers will be happily dropping into wastepaper bins within minutes of the official launch.