At a discussion of flash memory technologies to be included in Windows Vista and "Longhorn" here at TechEd 2006 this morning, Microsoft"s program manager for Windows Client Performance Matt Ayres confirmed that inclusion of hybrid hard drives will be a requirement for mobile systems that carry the Vista Premium logo, beginning in June 2007.
In the Windows Logo Device Program Requirements document, version 3.01, quietly released by Microsoft last Friday, storage requirement #0005, whose description has typically read, "Hybrid disk drives or systems that implement a hybrid disk drive must meet the requirements outlined here," is now followed by this phrase: "This requirement will go into effect for premium mobile systems in June 1 2007."