Looking Ahead to Windows Vista: Part I Choose Your Weapon... Joe Moran
Choose Your Weapon
If you bought a new computer or upgraded the operating system for an older PC anytime in the last few years, you may have spent some time trying to figure out which version of XP to buy, because although XP Professional is the version specifically designed for business use, a fair number of small businesses also run Windows XP Home Edition due to its ubiquity at retail locations — or perhaps because although it's outwardly similar to XP Professional it usually costs $70 to $100 less.
A decision regarding which version of Windows Vista to run may be a bit trickier given that Microsoft will offer no fewer than a half-dozen versions of the new OS. Although there are now actually almost as many (five) versions of XP, three of them are designed for specific kinds of hardware, like Tablet PCs, living-room systems, or PCs with 64-bit CPUs.
Like XP, all versions of Windows Vista will have certain capabilities in common, but each one will provide a somewhat different mix of features targeted to the needs of specific market segments rather than to particular kinds of hardware.
For corporate customers, Microsoft will offer two flavors of Vista — Windows Vista Business and Windows Vista Enterprise. The former is a general-purpose operating system that's roughly analogous to Windows XP Professional, while Vista Enterprise is intended primarily for large and complex organizations (it will add features like a built-in copy of Virtual PC to emulate previous Windows operating systems for older "legacy" applications.)
There will also be three consumer-oriented flavors of Windows Vista — Home Basic, Home Premium, and Ultimate. As its name implies, Vista Home Basic will be a rudimentary operating system that will provide necessary security and productivity features but will omit many bells and whistles (like the Aero interface, for instance.)
Home Premium will add features relevant to entertainment and digital media, like the ability to record live TV or author DVDs. Vista Ultimate aims to be a enthusiast's or business power user's no-compromise option — it represents the best of all worlds and includes the features from all other versions of Vista. (The final version, Windows Vista Starter, is a stripped-down and lower-cost operating system designed primarily for emerging markets.)
At the time of this writing, the business versions of Windows Vista are scheduled for release in November, with the consumer versions following (relatively) close behind in January 2007. Since Vista will be here before you know it, the time to start thinking about it is now.
Next month: In Part 2 we'll look at Vista's new features in more detail and explore how they can benefit your business.
Part 3 will cover the hardware a PC needs in order to run the various versions of Microsoft's Vista.
Joe Moran spent six years as an editor and analyst with Ziff-Davis Publishing and several more as a freelance product reviewer. He's also worked in technology public relations and as a corporate IT manager, and he's currently principal of Neighborhood Techs, a technology service firm in Naples, FL. He holds several industry certifications, including Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) and Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA).
