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Windows Vista now available for preorder via Amazon (1 Viewer)

Ronald Epstein

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Just preordered two copies of Windows Vista Ultimate UPGRADE
through AMAZON for both my desktop and laptop.

Came to just over $500, which is awfully expensive for two
operating systems -- but what is one to do?

I am sure that those looking to buy VISTA will probably opt
for the less expensive BUSINESS/PREMIUM/BASIC versions.

Just letting you know that Amazon has these on preorder and
for those that need it FAST they do offer next-day shipping.
 

Bryan X

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Yeah, I'm just going with Premium. I've had Ulitmate RC2 on my PC for months now and I just don't use the extra features Ultimate gives me over Premium.

I have a gift card I got for Christmas to buy an upgrade for my desktop and then I have a 'free' upgrade to Premium for my wife's laptop that I bought her for Christmas. My son will have to live with XP because his PC specs won't handle Vista very well. He's due for a new computer anyway.
 

Robert Crawford

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I thought you were thinking of getting a new computer in 2007? If so, why didn't you just wait until you bought it while they workout the kinks in this new operating system?




Crawdaddy
 

Ronald Epstein

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Good Question!

Velocity Micro has my current computer in their shop but has
essentially rebuilt the entire computer with new components in
an effort to solve the problems I have been having.

This means I won't have to upgrade my computer as quickly
as I had anticipated.

Buying these two copies of Vista will not be a wasted
expenditure even if I do buy another computer with it
installed.

As long as I remove Vista from my old computer, I can
use it on any other computer in my home or (I presume)
give it to a family member.
 

Robert Crawford

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However, are the new components going to give you more memory and larger HD to operate your system? Are they upgrading the components from those that came with your computer to those that they are currently putting into new computers their building today? In otherwords, not refurbished parts, but brand new components that are currently going into new computers of today.
 

Ronald Epstein

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Oh heck, my computer is a monstrous rig with a dual core
processor and 2gb of ram and a brand new Nvidia 256mb video card.

It will work quite well with Vista.

I was originally looking to move up to dual core 2, but will wait
till the end of next year when quad processors drop.
 

Paul_Sjordal

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If you end up with any extra copies of Vista, you could always send them to me. ;)

Anyway, $250 for an upgrade (not even the full version) is completely insane. I might consider getting Premium in a year or so, but not any time soon.
 

Rob Gillespie

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For those who are buying Vista, what are your reasons for doing so? What will Vista do for you that XP does not? In what way will it enhance or improve the way you get your 'stuff' done?

I'm genuinely interested, as we have clients considering the move now.
 

Ronald Epstein

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Rob,

Having beta tested VISTA right through RC2, I just love
the improvements to the interface.

Really, at this point, I would recommend upgrading for
those who want to migrate to the new OS for its improved
functionality but can tolerate initial bugs.

For businesses, I think it would be best to wait a few months
until service packs are released that will fix initial bugs.
 

Glenn Overholt

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Vista is supposed to be 'more' secure against hackers, that is why I am getting it. I haven't been hacked, and I don't plan on getting hacked, but upgrades for XP will be fewer and fewer.

Ron - thanks for the heads up about Amazon having it for pre-order. I not only did that, but I added "The Looker" to the order, as that's supposed to be released on the 30th too!

Glenn
 

Bryan X

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Actually, as they always have, Microsoft OS upgrades do contain the full operating system. You get absolutely nothing extra by purchasing the 'full' version versus the 'upgrade'. The only difference between the two is the fact that with the upgrade you have to verify that you own a previous version. It doesn't even have to be installed on your PC (it will just ask you to insert the disc briefly to verify you have it). So you can in fact do a complete clean install with the upgrade disc.
 

nolesrule

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$250 for an operating system, upgrade or not, is ridiculous. Of course, Microsoft has chosen to re-purpose what an operating system is by making it more important than the hardware and programs that it is supposed to be serving, so it's no surprise.
 

Bryan X

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Well, to be fair, the $250 Ultimate is not really aimed at the average computer users. The Premium and Basic versions are what's aimed at the home market and those are $150 and $100 respectively.

Personally I wouldn't pay $250 for Ultimate either because I wouldn't use the features. But I'm glad MS has released different levels of the operating system so I can choose the one that fits my needs and price. For me Premium does that nicely.

The market will reveal if their prices are ridiculous or not. Vista is hardly a 'must' upgrade. XP is still capable for the majority of home users. If people think it's overpriced, it won't sell and Microsoft will discount it. If not, well...
 

Ronald Epstein

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After careful consideration, I canceled my Amazon order for
the ULTIMATE versions and went with HOME PREMIUM.

For the life of me, I can't see what features in the ULTIMATE
make it that much more enticing than the PREMIUM. Plus, it's
$100 less in price per copy.
 

Bryan X

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Like you Ron, I've been running Ultimate from beta up through RC1. I haven't yet used any of the features that are exclusive to Ultimate.

According to an MS Website table, these are the three things you get by installing Ultimate over Premium:

- Advanced business back up featuress
- Business networking and remote desktop
- Windows Bit-Locker Drive Encryption

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvist...s/default.mspx

Not worth $100 to me either. Heck, if Basic included the Aero interface I could probably get by with that. Media center functionality is nice, but nothing I can't live without.
 

Ray Chuang

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In my opinion, most high-end home computers will use Vista Home Premium Edition. This edition functions exactly like the Windows XP Media Center edition.
 

Chris

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Functionally, all versions (except for basic) have at their heart the same guts. It's all about the different add ons. Are the addons worth it? The difference between Vista Home Premium and Vista Ultimate for the home user is this: BitLocker. And I'm telling you that's the one feature most users will NOT want.

So, if you're a home user, the only differences you have between Vista Premium and Ultimate are:

* Support to join a Windows 2003 / Longhorn Domain
* Support for Business RDP (Remote Desktop) through a server
* Support for Shadow Backups to Server and Registry Images to Server
* Bitlocker

So, here it is:

If you have a Windows 2003 Active Directory Domain in your house or you want BitLocker, then Ultimate is it. If you don't have a server, half of the functions that make Vista Ultimate different from Vista Premium won't work, so they become irrelevent (remote backup, join a domain, and connection to server images). So, it becomes: Do you want to pay extra for BitLocker?

Even if you like the idea of Bitlocker, it only functions on your C:, so if you have multiple drives or partitions, Bitlocker doesn't see or protect any of them. And the system performance hit is significant.

Ultimate seems like a good idea for those that need to have it all. But I think 99.99999% of users will NEVER NEVER use the 3 features that are the only features that make Ultimate different from Premium.
 

Carlo_M

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Times like these I'm glad I have access to a corporate edition (via work) :D

If I didn't, I'd probably build a new system and get the OEM version, which tends to be discounted pretty heavily. Or find a buddy in college and have them get the academic version. ;)
 

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