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Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium
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Product Description
Windows Vista Home Premium is the preferred edition for home desktop and mobile PCs. It provides a breakthrough design that brings your world into sharper focus while delivering the productivity, entertainment, and security you need from your PC at home or on the go.Windows Vista Home Premium delivers the productivity and entertainment that you need from your PC at home or on the go. It includes Windows Media Center, which helps you more easily enjoy your digital photos, TV, movies, and music. Plus, you'll have the peace of mind of knowing that your PC has a whole new level of security and reliability. All together, Windows Vista Home Premium redefines enjoyment in home computing. It starts with a breakthrough design that makes your PC easier to use every day. With Windows Aero, you'll experience dynamic reflections, smooth gliding animations, transparent glass-like menu bars, and the ability to switch between your open windows in a new three-dimensional layout. Instant desktop search capabilities, coupled with powerful new ways to organize and visualize your information, means you can instantly find and use the e-mails, documents, photos, music, and the other information you want, when you need it. Windows Vista Home Premium also helps keep your personal information, your PC, and your family computing experience safer than in previous versions of Windows. For example, Windows Internet Explorer 7 in Windows Vista includes automated defenses against malicious software and fraudulent websites so you can use your PC online with greater confidence. Windows Vista Home Premium also provides automatic backup of your files, such as your valuable digital photos, music, movies, documents, and other files, so you can relax and focus on the things you care about most. And, by using the built-in parental controls, parents can help ensure their children's computer use is appropriate and safer. And what about fun? A major advance in Windows Vista Home Premium is the dramatically improved digital entertainment experience. Windows Media Center makes organizing and enjoying photos, music, DVDs, recorded TV, and home movies easier and more fun. Windows Vista Home Premium makes it easier to burn your photo slide shows and home movies to a professional-looking video DVD that your friends and family can watch on a DVD player or PC whenever they like. Combined with unbeatable support for gaming and music, Windows Vista Home Premium delivers a complete home entertainment experience. If you want a PC that can keep up with you while you're on the go, then you'll appreciate how Windows Vista Home Premium helps you get the most from your mobile PC. It provides simplified power management, easier wireless networking, and streamlined ways to sync with the devices that keep you connected. Because it's incredibly flexible, you can even draw and write by hand on a Tablet PC, and enjoy all of your entertainment through Windows Media Center when you're on the road, in a coffee shop, or relaxing on the couch. Mobile computing has never been like this before. Finally, Windows Vista Home Premium makes it easier than ever to set up and maintain your new PC. There are new features that make it easier to transfer all of your data and settings from your old PC to your new one and technology that helps keep your system running quickly and reliably over time. Whether you're balancing your checkbook, studying for school on your mobile PC, watching a downloaded or recorded movie at home, or sharing your favorite photos with friends on a custom DVD, the experience is much better on a PC running Windows Vista Home Premium.
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Average User Rating:
3.0
out of
5
Number of Ratings:
14
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User Reviews for
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium
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Vista Info
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Reviewed
June 8 2007 7:06:25 PM
12
out of
12
users found this recommendation helpful.
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Ratings:
4
out of 5
Pros:
New |
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Cons:
New With Vista Home Premuim, you get almost everything a home user will need. What you do not get with the Operating System, you will likely be able to find third party solutions for now, or later in the year. There are exceptions to this, make sure you choose the Vista that is right for you.
The primary consideration with a new Vista computer is more than just the Operating System. In choosing the hardware, make certain you get twice the amount of RAM required. The math is simple here, a Vista Premuim installation on a computer with 512 (home basic) 1034 (other versions) simply is not enough - it is akin to installing XP on a computer with 128 MB RAM. You WILL need additional RAM if you are installing other applications, and who doesn't do that? We all add things on later and this should be one of the primary concerns you have.
Another primary concern is that if you plan on using hardware DEP, you do need a processor that is capale of taking full advantage of this technology integrated into Windows Vista. You need 64-bit processing capability (or dual core 32-bit that is extensible), the actual hardware DEP extension, and hardware virtualization. Without these three critical items, you will be unable to fully implement the security solution (which is becoming more necessary as time wears on).
Vista is reasonably secure, and one of the methods implemented in the new Operating System is User Account Control. This amounts to a new layer of kernel protection, along with things like the confirmation dialog when certain activities are detected (like running a program). While some view these new features as an annoyance, the additional layer of security should give most people a new level of confidence in personal communications, e-commerce, and websurfing unavailable in previous versions of Windows.
The bottom line on this is do you need it? With the recent announcement by Microsoft to extend support for XP to 2014, you may not need to adopt the new Operating system right away. Microsoft promises service packs for Vista every 18 months, which means it should have the stability and reliability that we have come to depend on with XP SP2 in about three years. While I did beta test for Vista, I do not run it on my main computer. I'm not comfortable with trusting my client data to an as yet unproven Operating System.
However for the home user, this may be exactly what you have been looking for, and waiting for. I do recommend seeing if you can "test drive" a system that isn't "controlled environment" like a friends house. See the responsiveness. See the new features. Then decide if this is a must have, or a must wait.
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I HATE Windows Vista
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Reviewed
October 6 2007 6:27:09 AM
6
out of
7
users found this recommendation helpful.
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Ratings:
1
out of 5
Pros:
I like the preview windows on the taskbar |
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Cons:
Everything! Numerous errors, various software incompatabilities, "easy transfer" not so easy, have to multi approve every application! You know, I did my best to go into Vista with an open mind. I had no choice, really, buying a new laptop through Dell and needing a built in camera, but I'm reasonably intelligent, I figured, "How bad could it be?"
Bad.
From the first day, I have had little more than headaches with this operating system. First off, it's a pain in the butt to have to relocate every stinking program and utility that I use because category titles have changed, lists of programs are "reorganized" to supposedly make it easier to find, actually making it harder because I was used to the setup in XP. Why do the icons and programs have to change pictures or titles or both? It truly just makes my life with a new computer more difficult.
So, installing my trusty favorite software onto my shiny new laptop, I discovered that 80% of my favorite games no longer work with my computer. :-( Seriously, tears. Some of these I've loved for years! What am I supposed to do now? And so begins the ever so lovely process of tracking down patches (if available), trying to get some tech support that I don't have to pay for (since this machine is less than a week out of the box!), and serious angst over not being able to run programs that should just work on my new computer! I can't even describe the joy. :-p
Then, there are all the lovely pecadillos of learning how all the hardware on the new computer works and interfaces with the provided software through Vista. I got the built in webcam option thinking to make my life easer, but lo, the finicky thing doesn't want to work with its own microphone. I tried many different tactics to try and get it to work, and I know it does because I accidentally recorded some sound once ... it was a convoluted path that I was unable to rediscover (I'm no programmer, you know) ... though I eventually got sound to work by using an external connected microphone, which was also a simple, easy joy to set up and get working (please note dripping sarcasm). Other hardware issues include difficulties with having to set up and re-set up and re-set up the bluetooth full size keyboard that I purchased as an accessory, which is fine, now that I got the hang of how it's done ... but I really would have liked not having to learn it 4 times already. Why can't it just continue to recognize this particular device? It's not like I moved it anywhere ...
Seriously, I know it's nicer to say nothing at all, but the truth needs to be told! I'm seriously upset that this garbage operating system was thrust on me. I've had more system and program errors in the last week of using this brand new computer with Vista on it than I have had in the last three months with my trusty XP PC. I didn't love XP at first either, but at least XP doesn't bing at me every time I try to start a program. "Do you want to run this?" * click click * YES! *bing* "We don't recognize blah, do you still want to run this program?" Umm ... that's Mozilla Firefox ... yesss!!! Just run the program already! Gosh, I appreciate that it's an extra level of security, but OMG, as if the hacker couldn't just click yes too already! It is so gosh darned annoying ... every time I start some of the programs I use daily!
I have to say at least one good thing. I can think of one ... I guess I like that I can get a preview of the various open windows when I'm navigating on the taskbar. I appreciate that little feature.
As far as I'm concerned, I really don't like Vista at all. In fact, hate is pretty close to my level of frustration. I'm going to try to get Dell to take this laptop back and install XP on it for me instead... I hear it's a pain to do it yourself, and often people are having difficulty with no sound after making the switch. I'm shooting to get Dell to do it free of charge ... after all, they forced th
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It's too early to send it out!
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Reviewed
August 19 2007 10:11:41 PM
4
out of
5
users found this recommendation helpful.
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Ratings:
3
out of 5
Pros:
it look nicer, more options, more gadgets. more security |
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most of my favorite programs are not vista compatible! they sent this out too early! the voice recognition is bad, very bad! Did not like it at all! to everyone: DO NOT BUY VISTA! IT DOESN'T WORK WITH MOST OF YOUR PROGRAMS! my favorite games, my favorite chat programs, my basic JAVA runing softwares, ALL EATING DUST IN THE CORNER OF MY DESKTOP! stick with xp for now, till things workout with Microsoft n their Vista!
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Microsoft thinks it can sell anything inc JUNK
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Reviewed
September 9 2008 3:31:46 PM
0
out of
0
users found this recommendation helpful.
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Ratings:
1
out of 5
Pros:
fairly inexpensive |
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| Cons:
Unix, XP, CPM all better OSs I am an "early adopter" computer user that harkens back to CPM days when Windows grabbed the market with an inferior product and heavy marketing. They have learned a valuable lesson -- with expensive advertising they can sell anything, including JUNK. Cudos to their marketing dept. Plus...a 512 K memory slot on my Thinkpad T30 went bad so I now have an expensive doorstop. (oops...I can go back to running XP thank goodness)
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MUCH Better Than What I Was Hearing
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Reviewed
March 13 2008 1:35:14 AM
0
out of
0
users found this recommendation helpful.
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Ratings:
4
out of 5
Pros:
Very easy to use and very similar to XP in many ways |
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| Cons:
Has some very minor bugs that I'm sure will be ironed out. Windows marketing could be better. My compliments about Windows Vista and my coplaints against MAC Leopard are much to long to list here. All I can say is that after trying both of them out, Vista is the clear winner for me. I can go almost anywhere with Vista's IE7. That was not the case with MAC Leopard's Safari. A lot of the secondary features are also easier to use on Vista than on MAC. BTW, anything that I rated as just OK are things that I haven't given that much thought to. But still, in my view, Windows vista is the clear winner here.
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Works Very Well
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Reviewed
August 26 2008 4:36:28 AM
0
out of
1
users found this recommendation helpful.
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Ratings:
5
out of 5
Pros:
It allows you to keep orginized. |
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Cons:
You need to have at least 4GB of RAM Conpared to XP, it works very well. When you have a computer with Vista that has 4gb of ram, it is like a computer that works regular computer that has XP.
This program keeps you orginized and has a great look to it.
I highly recomend it!
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