Heartland

Does anyone have any decent info on

(1) when it might eventually be released
(2) what hardware requirements will be needed to
run the full graphical version ("aero glass")

I've just bought a PC with

Pentium 4 - 3.0 Ghz / 2048 MB RAM (DDR 3200 400Mhz)
256 MB Radeon 9600 graphics chip / 200 Gb HDD

I'm hoping to be able to run full graphical version
very responsively - Am I being over optimistic ?

Yes.

Expecting your hardware not to have fossilised by the time Microsoft sees fit to release Longhorn (now officially named Windows Vista, just so you know) is entirely over optimistic

Seriously, I wouldn't base any buying decision right now on what Microsoft are releasing whenever. They've switched release dates and dropped features more times than anyone cares to remember. If it's out in a time period where you still have that computer as your primary box, it's still debatable as to whethe aero will have been released in the first edition.

clicky

Doesn't tell you anything really.

"CPU — PC systems should have a modern CPU."

They're finally moving to PPC?