Program to label PCs "Vista ready"

Microsoft announced a new program to label PCs "Windows Vista ready" if they can handle the new operating system going on sale in January. But the stickers don't tell the whole story, because some of the labeled PCs may only be able to run a bare-bones version of Vista.

Vista will be available in six versions but the "Windows Vista Capable PC" stickers may appear on systems that can run only Windows Vista Home Basic, which doesn't include the graphics system that's a highlight of the new software. The stickers can be applied on systems with current-generation processors, at least 512 megabytes of memory and a DirectX 9-class graphics processor.

A Microsoft spokeswoman characterized the specifications as a "baseline," saying that "customers buying PCs today that exceed the Windows Vista Capable PC baseline are more likely to be able to take advantage of the premium experiences in Windows Vista when they upgrade."

She said Microsoft will provide minimum-hardware requirements for full versions of Vista "in the coming months."

Paper to cut down on stock listings

The New York Times next week joins a growing list of newspapers doing away with some or all of the stock tables in their business pages, an increasingly popular tactic in an industry desperate to cut costs.

New York Times Co.'s flagship paper will cut the current six pages of financial tables and replace them with two pages of summary information starting Tuesday, saying the change will help control newsprint costs.

The Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and Denver's Rocky Mountain News are among other newspapers that have or plan to cut stock listings from weekday editions.

Full financial tables will continue to be published in the Sunday edition of The New York Times, including stocks, bonds and mutual funds. It will also move much of its weekday financial data to its Web site.

Compiled from Seattle Times staff and Reuters