US Department Of Interior getting ready for Windows Vista

The US Department of the Interior (DOI) has issued a bulletin that it will adopt the high-end Enterprise Edition of Windows Vista, which contains a number of advanced security features. This declaration comes as some major federal agencies are having second thoughts about deploying Windows Vista on their computers.

With more than 70,000 PC users, technology officials at the DOI appear set to migrate to Windows Vista. Hord Tipton, chief information officer, states in a bulletin issued last month that any new Microsoft platform computers must be capable of running Windows Vista.

Enterprise Windows Vista-ready PCs must have at least a 1 GHz processor, 1 GB of system memory, and a 400-GB hard drive, according to Microsoft.

However, the DOI still needs to iron out compatibility issues before the migration takes place. “Vista should not be used until formal testing and approval is complete,” the bulletin notes. Further, new PCs purchased by the department “must default to Windows XP until Windows Vista has been approved.”

While the department shows readiness to embrace Windows Vista, some other federal agencies are taking a different approach.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), for instance, may pass on upgrading its 45,000 desktop and laptop computers from Windows XP to Vista in part because of compatibility concerns, according to FAA CIO Dave Bowen.

The US Department of Transportation (DOT), meanwhile, imposed an “indefinite moratorium” on upgrading desktop and laptop computers with Windows Vista citing concern over costs and compatibility issues, according to a recent DOT memo.

Last month, US Government Federal agencies have been ordered to implement a common security configuration setting for all Windows XP and Vista systems based on the standards developed by National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Microsoft and several other organizations. The order issued in a memorandum by de facto federal CIO Karen Evans to agency CIOs may pave the way to the eventually adoption of Microsoft Vista.

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