The Windows Vista RTM software Compatibility List is not a Microsoft release. The Redmond juggernaut has announced some while back, at the beginning of December, that it will not make a software compatibility list available for Windows Vista. Brad Goldberg, Microsoft's general manager for Windows client product management, had confirmed at that time the fact that Microsoft would not repeat the history of Windows XP Service Pack 2.

Instead of delivering a mammoth list of all the Vista compatible software, Microsoft has shifted its efforts on the Windows Vista Application Compatibility toolkit. However, as was the case with Windows Vista Release Candidate 1, a compatibility list for Vista RTM has been put together outside of Microsoft.

Iexbeta, where users will be able to find the Windows Vista RC 1 Compatibility List, has now posted an encyclopedic Windows Vista RTM Software Compatibility List. I've browsed through it and I have selected a few items that at this point in time are not compatible with Vista.

Adobe Premiere 7.0 and Pinnacle Studio 10, System Mechanic 7.0 / PRO 7.0, RealNetworks/Listen.com Rhapsody 2.1 Build 0.243, ACDSee Pro v9.0b55, Fahrenheit, Trackmania Nations, Sacred, Symantec Partition Magic 8.0, Agnitum Outpost 4.0 and Nero 7.2.7.0 Premium Edition among others offer limited support or are not compatible at all with Vista.

However, Microsoft now enjoys an infrastructure that will allow it to push updates for Vista at any given time. In fact, Jim Allchin, Co-president of Microsoft's Platforms & Services Division has mentioned that updating brand-new Windows Vista on the first boot will not be uncommon.