Today's Tip : What’s in Your Edition of Vista?

What’s in Your Edition?


Technically, Windows Vista is just the latest in a long line of business-class
operating systems that started with Windows NT more than a decade ago.
Practically, the changes in this new member of the Windows family are equal parts
evolution and revolution.
In some ways, that’s not surprising. The gap between Windows XP and Windows Vista
spanned more than fi ve years. In operating system terms, that’s two generations. So it’s
not surprising that Windows Vista incorporates a broad swath of platform pieces and
infrastructure, including sweeping changes to networking and security, support for
new classes of hardware, new capabilities for creating and playing digital media, and a
distinctive new interface.






Introducing the Windows Vista Family
Windows Vista is available in four retail versions and one corporate edition, all available
worldwide, along with a handful of specialized versions tailored to specific markets.
Although at first glance that might seem like too many choices, there’s actually a
solid rationale behind the mix of products. Here’s a brief introduction to each member
of the Windows Vista family (for a more detailed look at what features are included
with each edition, see Appendix A, “Windows Vista Editions at a Glance.”)

l Windows Vista Home Basic This entry-level edition, the successor to Windows
XP Home Edition, includes the core elements of the new Windows Vista interface,
notably Internet Explorer 7, Windows Media Player 11, Windows Movie
Maker, and Windows Mail. It’s perfectly suited for simple e-mail and web browsing,
and it runs most programs written for Windows Vista. It rips and burns CDs
(but not DVDs), and it works well on a simple home or small business network.
Using Windows Vista Home Basic, you’re limited to either the Windows Vista
Standard interface or the Windows Vista Basic interface.
l
Windows Vista Home Premium As the name suggests, this edition includes all
the features found in Windows Vista Home Basic, plus the noteworthy addition
of the Windows Vista Aero user experience and Windows Media Center features.
(For all practical purposes, this is the successor to Windows XP Media Center
Edition.) It also adds support for Tablet PC features (assuming you have compatible
hardware), a more robust Backup program, the ability to create and edit
DVDs, and support for high-definition content in Windows Movie Maker.
l
Windows Vista Business Like its predecessor, Windows XP Professional, this
edition is designed for use in the workplace. Using Windows Vista Business, you
can connect to a corporate domain, create image-based backups, encrypt files,
host a Remote Desktop session, take full advantage of Tablet PC features, and use
roaming user profiles—to name just a few of its many business-oriented features.
Although this edition offers basic multimedia capabilities, such as the ability to
play video clips and music CDs, it doesn’t include Windows DVD Maker, or Windows
Media Center.

Windows Vista Enterprise This edition is not for sale through retail channels
and is available only to corporate and institutional customers through Volume Licensing
programs. It’s essentially identical to Windows Vista Business, with the
addition of Windows BitLocker drive encryption, support for multiple languages
in the Windows user interface, and additional licenses that allow you to run up
to four additional copies of Windows Vista using Virtual PC 2007.


Windows Vista Ultimate The most expansive (and expensive) retail edition of
Windows Vista combines all the features found in the other editions. Thus, it
includes Media Center features, just like Windows Vista Home Premium, and
support for multiple physical CPUs and the Volume Shadow Service, just like
Windows Vista Business. It also includes access to a suite of premium products
and services called Ultimate Extras.