It has been a little over five years since Microsoft’s Windows XP operating system was first introduced to the public. Windows XP brought with it a plethora of new features, but for most people, Windows XP’s most welcome feature was its enhanced stability over Windows 98. In a nutshell, Windows XP successfully merged the compatibility found in Windows 98 with the stability found in Windows NT/2000, thanks to its usage of the NT codebase, and of course it sported a brand new user interface with a new start menu and security enhancements.
Now Microsoft’s set to introduce Windows Vista, their first 3D operating system. The new OS boasts several additional new features and enhancements, and in this article we’ll discuss some of these in more detail. We’ve got quite a bit of info here to go over (6,000+ words), so we’ll go ahead and get started.
When Windows XP debuted in 2001, Microsoft offered just two versions of the OS: Windows XP Home Edition and Windows XP Professional Edition. It was a pretty simple task choosing which OS was right for you, most hardware enthusiasts opted for WinXP Pro due to its better security and multi-processor support (among other features), but over time Microsoft introduced additional versions of Windows XP – for tablet PC users Microsoft offered Windows XP Tablet PC Edition, while for home theater PC users, Windows Media Center Edition was highly popular.
Most recently, Microsoft introduced Windows XP x64 Edition for 64-bit users, but this OS has been slow to take off thanks to the dearth of 64-bit software and drivers in the consumer space.
For the launch of Windows Vista, Microsoft has developed 6 variants of the OS: Windows Vista Starter (which we won’t discuss here), Vista Home Basic, Vista Home Premium, Windows Vista Business, Windows Vista Enterprise, and Windows Vista Ultimate.
Each of these versions are available in both 32-bit and 64-bit flavors, and each supports a wide range of features. We’ve included the following chart to help summarize exactly which of these new features the various operating systems do and don’t support:
| Windows Vista Feature Support |
| Home Basic | Home Premium | Business | Enterprise | Ultimate |
| Vista Basic User Interface | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows Aero User Interface | | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Instant Search throughout the OS | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Automatic content organization | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Internet Explorer 7+ | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| IE 7+ with RSS Feed Support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Support for applications built on WinFX | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows SuperFetch | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows ReadyBoost | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Low Priority I/O (runs lower priority processes in the background) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Automatic HDD defragmentation | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows Mail (replaces Outlook Express) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows Calendar | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows Sidebar (Vista gadgets) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows Photo Gallery | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Themed Slide shows | | Yes | | | Yes |
| Windows Media Player 11 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows Media Center | | Yes | | | Yes |
| Media Center -- CableCard support | | Yes | | | Yes |
| Support for Media Center Extenders (incl Xbox 360) | | Yes | | | Yes |
| Windows Movie Maker | Yes | Yes | | | Yes |
| Windows DVD Maker | | Yes | | | Yes |
| Games Explorer | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Updated Games | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| New premium games | | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Universal Game Controller Support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Speech Recognition | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Accessibility Settings/Ease of Access Center | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Welcome Center | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| XPS Document Support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Small Business Resources | | | Yes | | Yes |
| Windows Fax and Scan | | | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Network Center | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Network Diagnostics and Troubleshooting | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Improved Wireless Networking | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Wireless Network Provisioning (centrally manages wireless network settings such as which wireless networks are allowed and which security protocols are on each computer) | | | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| User Account Control | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows Security Center | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows Defender | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows Firewall | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| IE 7+ Protected Mode | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| IE 7+ Fix My Settings | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Anti-phising in IE 7+ | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Anti-phising in Windows Mail | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows Update | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Parental Controls | Yes | Yes | | | Yes |
| Fewer hangs, crashes, and reboots | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Service Hardening | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Built-in performance self-tuning and hardware diagnostics | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Next-gen TCP/IP Stack | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Dual IPv6 and IPv4 support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows ReadyDrive | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows Display Driver Model | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows Easy Transfer | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 64-bit CPU Support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Fast Startup, Shutdown, Sleep | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Support for 2 Processors (2 CPU sockets) | | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Backup and recovery of user files and folders | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Scheduled backup of user files | | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Backup of user files to a network device | | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows ShadowCopy (creates point-in-time copies of files for easy retrieval) | | | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| System image-based backup and recovery | | | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Encrypting file system | | | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop deployment tools for managed networks | | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Policy-based quality of service for networking | | | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows Rights Management Services Client | | | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Control over installation of device drivers (allows admin to set policies on installation of devices and drivers) | | | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Network Access Protection Client Agent (restricts clients who lack current security updates or virus signatures from joining the network) | | | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Pluggable logon authentication software (enables ISVs and organizations to implement their own authentication methods) | | | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Integrated smart card management | | | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows BitLocker Drive Encryption (provides full volume encryption and boot integrity) | | | | Yes | Yes |
| Support for simultaneous installation of multiple user interface languages | | | | Yes | Yes |
| All worldwide user interface languages (36 total) available | | | | Yes | Yes |
| Subsystem for UNIX-based applications | | | | Yes | Yes |
| Virtual PC Express (Makes it possible to run a previous OS and previous apps at the same time as Vista | | | | Yes | Yes |
| Windows Anytime Upgrade (Upgrade a version or edition of Windows quickly and easily by going online) | Yes | Yes | Yes | | |
| Windows Ultimate Extras (valuable tips, services, and software for customers with Vista Ultimate) | | | | | Yes |
| Improved peer networking | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Improved VPN support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Improved power management | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Simultaneous Server Message Block peer network connections | 5 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Windows HotStart (enables users to play music with the touch of a button w/o waiting for the PC to start) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows Mobility Center (enables users to quickly access and set key mobile system settings from one location) | Partial | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Sync Center (keeps digital media devices, smartphones, and other devices synchronized in 1 common place) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows Tablet PC w/integrated pen/digital ink input | | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows Tablet PC touch screen support | | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows Tablet PC handwriting recoginition improvements | | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows Tablet PC usability and navigation improvements | | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows SideShow | | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows Meeting Space | View Only | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Improved file and folder sharing | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Network Projection | | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Presentation Settings | | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Remote desktop (enables access to documents and programs on a PC remotely from across a home network or across the Internet from another PC) | Client Only | Client Only | Client and Host | Client and Host | Client and Host |
| Domain join for Windows Small Business Server | | | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Domain join for Windows Server | | | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Group Policy Support | | | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Offline files and folder support (enables users to work offline and then automatically synchronize network files with the server when reconnected) | | | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Client-side caching | | | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Roaming user profiles (allows users to access the same set of data using different PCs) | | | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Folder redirection | | | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Centralized power management through group policy | | | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Internet Information Server | | | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Max RAM (32-bit version) | 4GB | 4GB | 4GB | 4GB | 4GB |
| Max RAM (64-bit version) | 8GB | 16GB | 128+GB | 128+GB | 128+GB |
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For most enthusiasts, the debate around which flavor of Vista to upgrade to is going to revolve around Vista Home Premium or Vista Ultimate Edition. As you can see in the table above, Vista Home Premium is loaded with features, but Microsoft has added additional goodies into the Ultimate Edition, enough that some users may think twice on this decision. Vista Ultimate adds features such as system image-based backup and recovery, as well as encrypting file system and Windows BitLocker, the Ultimate Edition of Vista even supports up to 128GB+ of system memory. For some users, the $100 price premium Microsoft is charging for the upgrade version of Ultimate may be worth it considering these features.
If you end up opting for one of the lesser versions of Vista, such as Home Basic or Premium, and decide you’d rather have the Ultimate Edition of Vista, Microsoft will also be offering their Windows Anytime Upgrade program.
Anytime Upgrade allows users to electronically upgrade to higher-end versions of Vista. Microsoft says that Anytime Upgrade pricing will be slightly less expensive than the difference in pricing for the boxed versions listed above, so that $100 premium between Vista Home Premium Upgrade and Vista Ultimate Upgrade may be just $80 or $90. Microsoft hasn’t determined Anytime Upgrade pricing yet, as the service won’t be launched until January 2007, so we won’t know the exact amount until then.
Since all versions of Vista will ship on the same DVD, it should be a pretty seamless upgrade process for end users.
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