I use this computer to watch TV/DVD movies and surf the web. I'm retired so I have plenty of time on my hands. I also beta test for MS. I have tested this operating system since July of 2005. It was not until about February of 2006, on all 3 of my computers, that all of the drivers were installed. I have seen many improvements from that time until now. I also had tried using 3 different TV tuner cards. 1 Haupauge WinTV-Go FM(does not work even now) 2 Pinnacle PCTV 110i(nope and still no) 3 AverMedia UltraTV 1500(at last one that works) As can be seen not all TV tuner cards work. These cards need to have hardware encoders to work. There are several manufacturers card that do work but I cannot recommend them as I have not used them.
About Windows Vista
Vista comes in 5 different versions. Vista Basic - This is the version that has least features-No Media Center-No Aero interface. It does have Photo Gallery-Basic Aero UI - Windows Flip-Instant Search-UAC Plus many other security features-Internet-bundled applications-networking features-speech recognition-Welcome Center. This will run on most any computer with at least a 1ghz CPU and 512 meg memory.
Now all of the next versions are Aero capable, which means you need a video card that has at least 128 meg memory-directx 9 and shader 2.0 capable with 1gig of system memory. Using a Dual Displays, the video card needs 256 meg memory also for best experience the better the video card the better the experience. Of course a dual-core cpu with dual-channel will give the best experience of all.
Vista Home Premium is the one most home users will want. It has a Media Center that enables handling all your Videos, Pictures, Music and if you have a Vista Capable TV tuner card, your recorded TV Shows.
Vista Business/Enterprise Now I did not beta test this. But I do know that it does not have Media Center. But is mainly oriented to the business side .
Vista Ultimate For everybody's information , for a Limited time if you buy the Full Version of Vista Ultimate, you can buy 2 product keys for Vista Home Premium for $49.99 each. Ultimate is just that. It has all the features of Home Premium and Business. Plus a few added. Mostly business types or hobbyist will be the ones to buy this. Caveat: At this time Family Discount is not working-I'll let you know here when it is working. Good news MS thinks they have this fixed.
X86(32bit) or X64(64 bit)??
At this time I run Vista X32. I have used the X64 version and it works well. Many ofthe 32 bit programs work. The problem is that There are no applications that use the 64bit yet. So I'm waiting for when a application that will take advantage of 64 bits. That is when I'll switch to X64. I suggest that everyone does the same.
Is it better than Windows XP
I think it is. But you have to decide for your self. I can tell you mostly what it has. I prefer Vista but have to have XP for beta testing other things.
For those who are not Computer Knowledgeable
If you have not worked with a new Operating System like Vista before. I recommend that you buy a OEM PC, like from Dell, HP or whatever is your favorite. Check the reviews of the PC's. As I see it there are only 2 Versions that really matter and that is Home Premium for most consumers and Ultimate for those who use their computers for both business and home. If you still want to install on your current PC. Check with the manufacturer that they have Vista compatible drivers. Chipset drivers are needed. I know that VIA K8M800 and up support Vista, also nVidia nForce 3 chipsets and up do also. As far as ATI , this I don't know, I do know some of their chipset support Vista, I just don't know which ones. If you added any hardware, make sure that Vista is or will be supported. For example in December I bought a multifunction printer, before I bought it , I checked the manufacturer website and it said that in January they would have Vista compatible drivers available. They are now supplied and my scanner, printer and fax is working very well with Vista.
Installing Vista Home Premium
Now I will mention that the Operating System comes on a DVD. Why? Because all 7 versions from Vista Home Basic to Vista Ultimate is on the one dvd. Because Vista is componetized the different versions use different components. Also the DVD includes more drivers than were on any other Windows version. Plus 32 bit and 64 bit are on separate DVD's. Now MS has completely eliminated the Dos style of installation of Windows. It copies a mirror image of a basic version of Vista on to the harddrive-it then expands this image then restarts into Vista. At this time if your hardware is detected it is installed if the drivers are on the dvd. Now I have always recommended a clean install. Now when beta testing I did not have a chance to do a clean install of a upgrade. Today(01/29/2007) I learned that you can only do a upgrade from within 2K/XP, that has been installed and activated or from a Preview version of Vista. This is a change that has been made from all the other upgrade versions. Will there be complaints-yes. Will it bother me - no. Chipsets that I know work with Vista, nVidia nForce 3 and up, Via K8M800 and up. ATI chipset I have not used so cannot tell you. Now if you are building your own Vista PC. Be sure that the motherboard you chose is certified for Windows Vista. Plus chose your hardware carefully as many may not have drivers. Since my first build with the MSI motherboards, I have since checked their website and they have a few that are already certified. So check your favorite manufacturer to see if the motherboard you want or have is certified. For best experience get at least 1 gig of memory and a Video card with 256 meg memory-directx 9 capable. Also make sure all your other hardware is compatible. One thing I always do is get system drivers before I install a new OS. One way is to run Upgrade Advisor. This should tell you what software is compatible and hardware. It will also tell you what version your computer will run.
After installing the files on the harddrive it will ask After answering language, currency and time. It will ask for the product key which is for each specific version of Vista. (For your information: if you choose not to enter a product key and instead press next-you can try other versions for a 30 day evaluation after which you will need to enter your product key or reinstall.) From here it will start putting the image on the harddrive-expanding and installing the hardware. Then it will reboot again. From there it will then run a wizard that will help setup your PC. It will ask for a single user name and optional password. You have a choice of 8 pictures for your username. It can be changed later. Next screen you enter PC name and chose from selection of 5 desktop backgrounds. Then you will setup the time and local date. Finally you setup the network if connected to home,work or public network.
From there it goes to a performance rating wizard- during which it gives some idea of Vista. You then goto the welcome screen where you log into your desktop. From here it is fairly simple.
Using Vista Home Premium
Now the first thing on the desktop is the Welcome Center. This is where you are welcomed to Vista. It is here that you can view details of your computer and operating system. Here are demos that show some of the features of Vista and how to use. Here you can get to the control panel, add users and find out what's new in Vista. There are many things you can do here. Plus there are offers from MS.
There are so many things to tell about, so all I'm going to do a general description of the features of this new Operating System.
User Account Control
This is a new feature for Windows, in that if you are on a administration account. If you want to add a new program and ask if you want to continue to install. In a limited account, it will ask for a administration password to continue. This can be mildly annoying but I would rather be annoyed a little than a whole bunch if program or backdoor was installed that I would prefer to not have on my PC.
Vista Firewall
Is not the best as exception rules need to be created. Plus it is not made easy in Vista. So for Vista, I have to recommend to use a third party firewall. There are some free on the internet, not as many as there used to be. There are also some commercial ones.
PatchGuard
This is a security feature that is only available on X64 Versions of Vista. There are some programs that want to add their own code to the kernal of the operating system. Kernal = core of the operating system where all the input/output devices (hardware) communicate with each other. If these programs add bad code and something goes wrong, that product is not blamed but MS is. Other operating systems have had this for a while, about time WIndows had it don't you think.
IE7 in Vista
IE runs in protected mode, which isolates the browser from the rest of the computer. IE7 now includes something that the other browsers have included for quite a while. Tabbed browsing has been finally included in IE. IE starts up only slightly faster than Firefox. Both will display a webpage at no noticeable speed difference. Now I still prefer IE to Firefox for tabbed pages, but that is my personal preference. IE also includes a popup stopper and a phising filter. Parental control is better in Vista. You can set time limits that your kids can be online, also set what websites they can goto. Another thing you can set what programs you don't want them running or what games they play. With UAC if you visit a website that wants to install a program-it can not as UAC asks if you want it.
Media Center
Media Center is only in Home Premium and Ultimate. When Media Center is started, it asks to be setup either custom or Express. I have always done a Express setup. Then you are in Media Center. Now I have a TV tuner that works with Vista. During installation of Vista, the TV tuner card drivers are installed. In Media Center you can now setup the TV. By answering a few questions, you setup the channels, TV Guide and if you have a Media Center Remote it is also setup. After setting up you can now record TV shows/movies. Burn them to DVD's with automatically divided into chapters. You can then watch these DVD's on a regular DVD Player connected to your regular TV. You can also be watching a TV show and are called away to do something, you can pause the show then when you come back not miss one second of the show. You can also have more than one TV tuner card so that you can watch one show and record another. One thing if like me you like to watch TV and do other things like write or surf the internet, when Media Center is at full screen-it captures the pointer so it can not be used otherwise. Minimize then pull to fill screen-then you can use the pointer to do other things.
Photo Gallery
Here you can store your photo's with metatags to make finding them more easily. A friend has well over 10,000 photos. Using Vista helps her keep them well organized and easy to find. There are other tools to improve the quality. They are limited but handy for the amateur in all of us.
Music
Here you can organize in groups or by favorites or lists. I myself have not used this(yet) so that is about all I can tell you.
DVD Movies
Right from the time of installing, you can play DVD Movies in either Media Center or Media Player 11.I usually play in Media Player as I like doing other things at the same time.
Now right I have to say that pictures, videos and TV all look sharper and clearer in Vista than in XP.
DVD Maker
With DVD Maker you can take your videos, pictures and burn them to dvd's. I have done this and it is very easy to use. The DVD's , made by this is playable on that regular dvd player you have hooked up to your tv.
Backup and Recovery
Now this does work but you can only folders instead of either changed or just added files so the backup files can get rather big.
Games
There are some old favorites Hearts,Mine Sweeper and Solitaire. There are 2 new games just for kids. Ink Ball and Purple Place Purple Place which is for the younger kids. Plus 1 new one Chess Titans which is a pretty good chess program-I have played it . Even at novice level the ~!@#$%^&*~!@#$% game beats me everytime
Search Search is improved throughout the OS. It is faster and more thorough than in any other Window OS.
My final thoughts on this Operating System If your satisfied with your current OS, stay with it as there are many applications that still does not work with this OS. Many developers have said that they will not release Vista compatible software till Vista is available to the public. But I think Vista Home Premium and Ultimate is superior to all previous versions of Windows. The current system, this is on runs very nicely with Vista. Now I do plan on building a new pc and this one will be running Windows XP Pro SP2 and Windows Home Server Beta. After I build a new pc(one after that) this will go to my granddaughters with Vista Home Premium.
I also think it is much more stable I also think it is much more stable I also say it is much more stable I also the year is much more stable next set loose a total value is much more stable also tried it is much more stable thing I also think it is much more stable I also the year is much more stable At first many will say that Vista is just warmed over XP. But as they use over time and as better programs using the API's and graphics, they will see it's way more than that.
One added fun fact
Since this is all over the net. Say you bought the Home Premium version of Vista and you want to try Ultimate to see if you want it. During installation, when it asks for the Product Key-do not put one in. Just press the next button-from there you can chose any of the versions. Chose Ultimate, it will then proceed to install. You then get a free 30 day trial. By the way this will install clean this way and another tidbit-it means you have to install Vista again-but if you opted for same as you bought- just start the install in that version of Vista-and walha- you have a clean install using the upgrade product key.
Anti virus
For a free anti-virus try Avast-it works in both x86 and X64 versions. There is a small performance hit only barely noticable. Myself I use MS OneCare soon to be available in X64 compatiblity.
In con statement I said slight performance hit-once ATI and nVidia gets the drivers right-I think Vista will be way better than XP.
Expensive?
On this I disagree with many people. Vista Home premium is the equivelant of Windows 95. In 1995 I bought Windows 95(Full) at Kmart for $250. Home Premium(Full) can be bought for $240 or less. Plus Home Premium is 100x more advanced. Ultimate is for those business people who travel and also use their laptops at home. Tech Geeks will want the best of the best. Home Premium is for those who want to use the computer at home. It has all the capabilities that a home user needs.
Family Discount
One thing MS added was that buyers of Vista Ultimate(Full or Upgrade) can buy 2 more keys for Vista Home Premium Upgrade for about $50 each. Which means if you buy Ultimate Upgrade or full(Upgrade $259 or less) that you can also buy 2 keys for Vista Home Premeium for about $50 each. Total cost about $359 which can save families a lot of money How long this will last I don't know, I have heard that after July, MS will decide if they want to continue doing this.
Update
Recently I was watching a DVD movie and at the same time recorded a movie on Turner Classic Movies channel. The TV or DVD movie was with out any faults.
New With Vista who needs Partition Magic
This I discovered by accident. In Administraive Services you can shrink or divide a harddrive into another partion, even the drive that your system(Vista) is on. This can be done in both Ultimate/Home Premium.
Sorry I accidently DELETED The Previous review and had to re install(lucky I Had a copy)This was back in January of 2006.
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