The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group Windows Vista Ultimate Ash Nallawalla ash@melbpc.org.au |
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Ash Nallawalla writes "Without doubt, Windows Vista is a great operating system for home and business users" |
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Microsoft Windows Vista (Vista) was released in late January 2007 and I have
had the pleasure of playing with its Beta versions for the previous 18 months.
It is an operating system (OS) and it succeeds Windows XP. All PCs need an
operating system to run applications — your programs such as a word processor,
Web browser and so on. Disclaimer I must begin with a disclaimer. I wrote "playing" because I have used it only on my own desktop on a spare hard disk, not on one of those optimised Ferrari laptops or souped up desktops that were handed out to many testers in my group. I don't have a spare, usable PC that can support Vista and which I can run regularly. Since I am not ready to throw out two lightly used printers and buy ones that support Vista, I have not yet made it my primary operating system. In addition, my main home office software also does not work in Vista. This was all very disappointing, but I expect many of our members to be in a similar situation, so it is a realistic testing environment. |
My desktop is a two-year-old Pentium 4 (pre Core Duo) with 1 GB RAM and a WDDM-standard
graphics card that works well with Vista's Aero feature. However, the Vista
Upgrade Advisor says that it is only suitable for Vista Business, not Ultimate.
I have read many user comments suggesting that one should have at least 2 GB RAM
to enjoy Vista (IBM suggests 4 GB is optimal, Dells says 2 GB), but for my use
(mostly browsing the Web, Von) and using Microsoft Office), 1 GB does the job.
Editions
Windows Vista is available in five editions in Australia; there is also a
Starter Edition for so-called emerging
markets (the poorer nations where software piracy is common). Consumers can
choose from three versions:
Small businesses can choose from:
Medium and large businesses can choose from:
Which Version is Right for You?
You can explore http://www.windowsvista.com to see the official description
of each edition and their thousands of features, but to save you time, I suggest
that you avoid the Home Basic edition, as it is too crippled to be useful.
Backups are not included, for example.
It is interesting that the different editions will be supported by Microsoft for
a different number of years (and this is reflected in the pricing). The two Home
editions and Ultimate will be supported for five years and the
Business/Enterprise editions will be supported for 10 years.
The true home user would be satisfied with the Home Premium edition, but any
home user with the slightest wish to be a home office user (say, to send faxes,
to use drive encryption and keep shadow copies) should get the Ultimate edition.
Choosing the right version of Vista is dependent on the PC configuration you
have, or plan to get. The US Dell site
http://snipurl.com/1cpt7 — (see Hardware Requirements) compares three PCs
with varying specifications:
Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor
You should also use the Microsoft tool known as Upgrade Advisor (6.6 MB download
from http://snipurl.com/lcqc9) to see if your current PC can handle Vista.
You might be prompted to download and install msxml6.msi to run this tool. My
desktop PC was diagnosed as being suitable for Vista Business and not Home
Premium or Ultimate, possibly because my audio device (C-Media) could not be
identified properly. I don't have a TV card but Media Center runs DVDs just
fine.
Your Old Software?
Don't forget your existing collection of software. In my case I have Adobe
Acrobat 5 (full version), Macromedia Studio MX (2002) and a small collection of
software that are also 2-3 years old and probably incompatible.
Not surprisingly, Microsoft has the Expression series of software that is Vista
compatible and I have been using a beta of Expression Web Designer, which will
replace my old Dreamweaver. Whether the Web developer community is ready to
switch or upgrade the OS is to be seen.
Why do old applications fail? Many were written to run at Administrator
privilege, which is not possible in Vista. Some took shortcuts that worked only
with older operating systems. Microsoft has gone to great lengths to fix
weaknesses that are present in old software. For example, guidelines to
developers include that they may not replace the system files and Registry keys
that come from Microsoft.
Works with Vista or Certified?
When choosing a PC that comes pre-loaded with Vista, look for the "Certified for
Vista" sticker http://snipurl.com/1cqnr
This is shorthand for "No specs necessary", namely, you don't need to read the
fine print to find out if a computer or peripheral will work with Vista - in
fact, more than just work. "Works with Vista" is a lower grade certification and
will be found on less critical items such as peripherals. Note that there were
interim logos marked "Windows Vista Premium Ready" and "Windows Vista Capable"
which were meant to be used prior to the launch. Such software or hardware might
not work properly with the released version.
To move your old data to a Vista PC, you should use Windows Easy Transfer
http://snipurl.com/1cqno which can use a
cable, DVD, external drive and so on. You can download the free transfer tool
from the same page.
What's Different in Vista?
For this article I will assume that most readers here use Windows XP or are
familiar with it. If my memory serves me well, there was a significant
difference between Windows XP and Windows 98. With Windows Vista, there is once
again a small learning curve, but nothing to fear. Things aren't always where
they used to be, which will annoy power users more so than novices, but the main
thing is - Vista is easy to use.
Aero
The main improvement you will notice is the visual brilliance. We were privy to
the detailed stages of development taken by Microsoft's design team and we
understand why the final design is so good and usable. I don't mean the
"transparent window edges" that are the first thing you will notice, but the
overall graphics wizardry that makes the OS a delight to use.
If using a laptop on battery power, you should turn off Aero, as the extra CPU
requirements of this 3-D feature will gobble up 20-40 minutes of usable time.
User Account Control (UAC)
Microsoft has done a great job with improving security - some would say to
excess. In Windows XP, many people ran their PCs with a single account that had
Administrator privilege. This meant that uninvited nasty programs were very
likely to run with Administrative privilege and cause the most damage. In Vista,
you are always a standard user even when logged in as Administrator. Every time
you perform some system-related task such as installing some program, Vista will
prompt you to either supply the Administrator password or confirm that you
really want to do this. All such task buttons are marked with the Windows shield
to signify that it requires Administrator privilege.
UAC ensures that applications do not run with Administrator privileges all the
time, so that malware, viruses, root kits or trojans do not sneak in. You can
turn off UAC, but that is like leaving your front door open.
Not Enough RAM?
Vista has a great feature called ReadyBoost, which enables us to increase the
computer's RAM by plugging in a flash drive. This made a great difference to my
Vista experience! To use Windows ReadyBoost, PCs must have access to a
non-volatile flash memory drive with at least 1 GB of storage capacity. The
flash drive must also meet the requirements for random reads and random writes
specified in the Windows Vista Logo "Storage-0009 WLP" specification:
* 5 MB/sec throughput for random 4 kB reads across the entire device
* 3 MB/sec throughput for random 512 kB writes across the entire device
All the 32-bit versions can only address 4 GB of RAM, but the 64-bit versions
handle up to 8 GB for Home Basic, 16 GB for Home Premium, and more than 128 GB
for the rest.
SuperFetch
SuperFetch anticipates what data you will need, based on previous behaviour, and
puts it in RAM, so the system will respond quickly. As you can expect, more RAM
is always better, but remember the maximum 4 GB RAM that a 32-bit machine will
handle.
Internet Explorer (IE)
Apart from the visual improvements such as tabs, IE has become more secure and
runs in protected mode. It runs with very low privileges and cannot modify your
files or write to the Registry keys. Trusted sites show a green background in
the address bar and bad sites show red.
Networking
A new set of public APIs (application programming interface) have been written
under the label Windows Filtering Platform. The TCP/IP stack has been completely
re-written, Internet Protocol (IP) V4 and V6 have a single stack and the
internal system calls and hooks have been removed. The result is that old
network scanning, firewall and antivirus applications may fail. Microsoft is
working with the networking community to ensure that new applications are
Vista-aware.
Sideshow
A great hardware feature is Windows SideShow. New laptops have an additional,
smaller display on the side or the lid where you can see email subject lines,
appointments and the like without requiring you to boot up the computer. The
remote control for a Media Centre PC will display information about the videos
and TV programs available to you.
Digital picture frames were really hot at CES this year (I went as a guest of
Microsoft). Wireless picture frames all over your home can display images from
your PC via Windows Media Connect.
General Security
Without doubt, Microsoft has engineered security into every corner of this OS.
It has taken into account the fact that most consumers are not computer experts
and need a quick fix. An example of this is the "Fix My Settings" option in IE,
which can get your settings back on track.
Parental Controls enable parents to make it impossible for children access
material that is not suitable for them. You can control which programs they may
use and at what times. They can run reports later to see what the children have
done on the PC.
Multimedia
Now you can organise your picture, video and music collections better, without
needing third-party applications. You can purchase music online - Windows Media
Player 11 has a new look and is integrated with the online purchase mechanism.
It can burn data to DVD and can span multiple CDs. Windows DVD Maker enables you
to make DVDs from video that was taken with your digital video camera. While
this won't displace third-party applications, it gives you more features. I had
a hardware problem that blocked the audio, so I could not appreciate the
multimedia features.
Email and Newsgroups
Outlook Express has been replaced with a beefed up application known as Windows
Mail. It has a very quick search feature, a junk mail filter, phishing filter
and you can access newsgroups through your ISP.
Pricing
Windows Vista pricing varies so much that you should check online price
comparison sites. I found that the price for Vista Ultimate ranged from $615 to
$719. If you are eligible for academic pricing, or want to get an upgrade
edition, it will be much lower. Buying it with a new PC will be another cheap
route.
Conclusion
Without doubt, Windows Vista is a great operating system for home and business
users. Make sure that your current software and hardware will run on Vista by
searching the Web for discussions on those topics. For once I am unsure when I
can afford to leave Windows XP and move entirely to Vista but it should be in
the next 2-3 months. If you don't have old hardware or software, you'll get
there before me. Later this year I will cover other aspects of Vista that
deserve to be featured in detail, such as the multimedia and business features.
Reprinted from the April 2007 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
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