So many people out there are still running machines that can hardly run XP, let alone the next generation of Windows. So now we have to ask ourselves the big question. Do we have enough hardware power to really run the new OS?

Although Longhorn isn’t slated to be available until “holiday 2006,” some PC users are already wondering what kinds of PCs will be able to run the next version of Windows.

Microsoft officials at the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) here this week in Seattle attempted to provide some answers, vague as though they were.

In the past, Microsoft used WinHEC to deliver a very detailed set of hardware reference specs to the OEMs who attend the event so that they can build new PCs that would be able to run whichever version of Windows was on tap.

At last year’s WinHEC, developer sources said that Microsoft was going to recommend the “average” Longhorn PC feature a dual-core CPU running at 4 to 6GHz; a minimum of 2 gigs of RAM; up to a terabyte of storage; a 1 Gbit built-in, Ethernet-wired port and an 802.11g wireless link; and a graphics processor that runs three times faster than those on the market.

Microsoft declined to comment on the rumored specs and never went public with any recommended Longhorn specs at last year’s show.

At this year’s WinHEC, Microsoft offered up only the most basic of guidelines as to what PC makers should do to make their PCs “Longhorn-ready.” During a session at this week’s show, Mark Croft, a group product manager in the Windows product management group, told PC makers that most existing mainstream 32- and 64-bit CPUs from mainstream manufacturers should run Longhorn.

While dual-core CPUs will run Longhorn better, “Longhorn does run on mainstream processors,” Croft said. [Read the rest]