Windows Vista is officially launched for consumers on Jan 30th.
There are hell a lot of reviews on there on the internet. Also this is plus 1. In most of the reviews many small things and good things has been missed out. Everybody write only about Flip 3D, Thumbnail preview which is most obvious to us and leave out many small things that are there in OS. I am also yet to experience the full OS but I am sharing with you what I have discovered so far.
Hey OS X
Another thing is that Mac users are saying that "Windows Vista" is nothing new but all copied from OS X. I seriously doubt who copied who. The widgets (Dashboards in OS X) is not first in Windows Vista or Also not first in OS X. It was StarDock corporation who first started destopX (earlier known as "Object packs") and then by Yahoo! (Also yahoo bought from Konfabulator). This was later adopted in OS X with little modifications. Similarly desktop search was not first in OS X. Desktop Search was there already by google. Even Microsoft has always had indexing service for fast searching. Only thing it was not properly implemented or not properly used. So there is this kind of argument saying "I am the first" is ridicules. There is a lot of things to criticize MAC but this article not for it.
Windows History
Windows evolved from DOS to Windows Vista Today. There are lot sorry huge changes to operating system over the years. When I started working with windows 3.11 it required just 60 MB (max) HDD, 4 MB RAM to run the OS and it was pretty good for use. I also installed Microsoft Word 6.0 for word processing and I was having Lotus 123 (windows based).
Then Microsoft released Windows 95, whose requirement became bigger as the content grew bigger. It required at least a Pentium class machine with 32 MB RAM and 200 MB of free space. Windows 95 was very much advanced when compared to windows 3.11. It had a lousy internet explorer. Network connections were much different and lot more. The whole experience was very nice.
Then Microsoft released Windows 98, which included internet explorer 4 and tight integration of Internet explorer and windows Shell (which gave raise to lot of problems later). The Internet began to grew at these stages quiet rapidly. Windows 98 was living very well and it had around the same requirement as windows 95 but it was far slower than windows 95. Boot time was more than windows 95. Meanwhile there was server products from Microsoft.
Then came windows 2000, which is based on NT (New Technology). It had far more requirements compared to windows 98. Windows 2000 was a workstation product of server editions. It seemed that Microsoft is merging DOS and NT or abandoning DOS. The driver database was getting huge in windows 2000. There was broad support for hardware platforms with windows 2000.
Then came Windows Me, Millennium edition. This is a sandwich edition between windows 2000 and windows XP. Actually I used windows Me a lot than windows 98. Windows Me had good driver bundles. Does not require you to insert CD all the time as it keeps backup of the required files. Networking was far easier than before, it installs many NIC (Network interface card) drivers itself and Connects to proxy server automatically and so on. It had preliminary system restore functionality.
Then it was Windows XP. It was seriously superb to see whole new LUNA theme. Progress bar, Title bar, Fonts, Clear Type, Tile View thumbnail view, shell enhancements, IE 6, inbuilt Data Access utilities and lot more. I should say windows XP was far better than any other pervious operating system. I did not imagine networking would be easier when compared to previous editions.
Longhorn in START
Windows XP when launched is the most stable OS in windows history. To be honest I have never seen a single blue screen of death with my 5 years of experience in Windows XP. But it occasionally hangs may be solely not due to OS alone but with the software's I loaded. Windows XP had lot of security issues when it was exposed to internet. There started big problems for Microsoft. They had to stabilize the existing windows before they can move on to upcoming product. Thus they made windows a more secure with windows XP SP1. But still it was very much vulnerable to attacks and more frequently the whole system was down due to vulnerabilities. The "Longhorn" (now Windows Vista) was already begun and coding was started based on Windows XP code base. Due to all security drawbacks Microsoft had to pause longhorn development and started on Windows XP SP2. It fixed many critical issues. According to sources, there are 50% complete overhaul of windows XP. But yet those were not enough. The Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer wanted Windows XP SP2 as a separate windows release rather as a Service Pack which was opposed by Jim Allchin, who wanted it to be delivered as service pack keeping customer in view point. That is still today where Microsoft is able to grab hold on Windows XP SP2 until release of Windows Vista.
Windows Vista
Windows vista has a better code base of windows server 2003 and is much more stable than Windows XP. It is more secure and it has built in firewall, Antispyware (Windows Defender) for security attacks. Windows also included User Account Control where even administrators will run under limited privilege and can elevate the privilege for special administrator tasks .
Windows Vista has Five Editions
- Windows Vista Home Basic – Has windows vista core experience but lacks 3D graphics interface.
- Windows Vista Home Premium – has All essential features for Home User with media center
- Windows Vista Business – All Vista features without media center
- Windows Vista Ultimate – A Complete set of all windows vista features
- Windows Vista Enterprise – Edition for Enterprise only available in volume licensing
First of all I should ask why there are these many editions of vista. At first I thought it was very bad to have this many versions and it will confuse the customers. But after the release of pricing of products it was quiet reasonable to have different flavors as most of the home users do not use business functionality and will pay the cost without using the feature where was Business users who will seldom use media center functionalities neither want those. Thus the cost factor gets distributed here.
Should you upgrade ? if yes to which version ?
This is very good question , whether should you upgrade your windows XP to windows Vista. Windows Vista has more hardware requirement than windows XP. You may running smoothly in your windows xp but it will not guarantee you that you will be able run Windows Vista Smoothly. So first go to www.windowsvista.com and get the windows vista upgrade adviser. Run the software and check whether your system can support windows vista. If not you cannot upgrade to windows vista. If yes, then just don't start believing you can install. You check with your motherboard manufacturer site that your motherboard can support windows vista. It is recommended to have 1 GB of RAM to run your windows vista smoothly. There might be a possibility that many desktops could easily support windows vista, if you have purchased a good one, with external graphics card of at least 128MB graphics memory.
If your PC supports everything then you can upgrade. Then decide on which version. If you are a home user and if you do not have multiple PC's and if you need full Vista functionality choose Windows Vista Home premium. For most of the users even if you are business users except that you need "Remote Desktop" and other advanced communication features you can choose Home premium. If you do not want much of entertainment but if you need all communication and business advantages choose Windows Vista Business. Let's say if you want both then Choose ULTIMATE.
How much does it cost ?
If you are buying a new system then you may get bundled with system maker otherwise you can buy OEM Software in the market.
Approximate street pricing of Windows Vista Software's in Singapore
OEM
Windows Vista Home Basic (OEM)* – SGD $138 – Compare to SGD $100 to Windows XP Home OEM
Windows Vista Home Premium (OEM)* – SGD $177 - Compare to SGD $100 to Windows XP Home OEM
Windows Vista Business (OEM)* – SGD $224 - Compare to SGD $200 to Windows XP Pro OEM
Windows Vista ultimate (OEM)* - SGD $303 - Compare to SGD $200 to Windows XP Pro OEM
Comparing the Windows XP OEM pricing it is really not expensive because you have lot many features and applications when compared to windows XP Home or Pro.
*Note: OEM Licensing is tied to the PC. Thus the license dies out with the PC and you may not be able to transfer it. Even the system builders (DELL, HP, etc) are installing OEM license and hence you cannot transfer the license. It is considered that once you have installed it is tied to the PC. That is why OEM pricing is very low compared to Retail Pricing.
Retail Pricing*
Windows Vista Home Basic – SGD $199
Windows Vista Home Basic (Upgrade)
Windows Vista Home Premium - SGD 454.76
Windows Vista Home Premium (Upgrade) - SGD 309.86
Windows Vista Business - SGD 563.75
Windows vista Business (Upgrade) - SGD 382.62
Windows Vista Ultimate - SGD 698
Windows Vista Ultimate (upgrade) – SGD 468
* Note : All prices stated are approximate and in Singapore Dollars. Actual price may vary according to stores. Please check the stores for latest prices.
When you are going for retail options you have a benefit of transferring license. Thus you decide on which editions to buy. For myself I bought windows Vista Ultimate (Upgrade).
Little trick using Upgrade DVD for Retail Install
There is no patch, illegal crack or illegal key is required. You just need windows Vista upgrade DVD that's all. First you install booting from the DVD and DO NOT KEY in the Product key when asked. It will install trial version for 30 days. After installing, install again for upgrade DVD. So you get a full retail version for the price of upgrade.
Next Part
As this part is getting very long I will continue to post the next part very soon with my experiences on windows vista ultimate.
Good night