I'm downloading Vista Business - is it worth it?

Being an engineering student at my university, we have access to loads of free programs, including loads of Microsoft operating systems and such. Taking a look on the site this evening, I came across Windows Vista Business! What is included in Vista Business? Will I have Aero with this version?

What a nice surprise tonight! Thank you Iowa State!

 

Yes, it will have Aero, but probably not any Media Center functionality. However, you could upgrade to Ultimate (won't be much after getting VB) for both though.

 

Yeah, I just checked out the comparison chart. I have XP Media Center Edition right now, and quite frankly, never use it. So I'm not fussed about missing that. It just finished downloading, soooo now it's time to back up all my stuff and make the switch! Do you think this DVD will be bootable? I want to do a completely fresh install, rather than an upgrade, if possible.

 

Oh also, will programs like Diskeeper, RegScrubXP, TuneXP and the lot that I use oh, so frequently on XP, be useful/necessary on Vista?

 

tunexp and regscrubxp wud probably be of no use as theit made for xp maybe diskkeeper may be of sumuse but then agn i aint sure

 

since installing vista rtm, i have not used any of the extra so-called performance enhancement apps or performance tweaks - vista itselfs runs very clean and efficient

cheers ...

 

Pretty much any utility that was designed to keep XP clean is probably not going to work in Vista...tweaked/locked down kernel, 64bit OS, different driver model, etc, etc.

But I'd like to at least think that Vista will be better at cleaning up it's own poop more than XP can.

 

Yeah, I've got Vista running now, and I must say that I'm pretty horribly impressed. Though, is it just the Business version that doesn't come preloaded with any games?! *Gasp!* If so, is there any place I can download those (solitaire, chess, hearts, etc) from Microsoft legally and free?

Also, since I've installed Vista I've been told to install virus protection. I'll install NOD32 if I need to, but is it even necessary? I thought Vista was supposed to be virus free for quite a long time. So should I install it or not?

 

i use avast.home (free) in conjunction with built.in windows defender - so far so good!

cheers ...

 

really? and i thought that windows games are standard/default

search the net on"vista game pack" or copy (using vista explorer) them from a friend

cheers ...

 

Vista Business definitely doesn't come with games. I just found a post searching for Vista Game Pack that confirmed it. The only Vista Game Pack I can find is, ironically enough, only for Windows XP. So I guess I'll have to see if I can find anyone that'll send me the files - I don't know anyone that plans on buying Vista though.

 

So Areo, how does it work? I've found a button in my quick launch that turns on that 3D windows switcher, but is that all there is to the Aero Glass experience, or am I missing something? If there's more, which I hope there is, can anyone help me to customize my Aero settings?

 

try alt-tab

 

Can you take some screenshots of Vista Business?

 

hehe, alt+tab is the normal program switcher, just way cooler, and I found out that windows+tab does the real Aero program switcher. Give me a few minutes and I'll take a bunch of screen shots of the OS.

 

Ok, here we can see the Sidebar, Gadget menu, a photo folder, and the Aero Glass features of translucent window bars and the window preview coming out of the taskbar.



Just an Aero Glass window switcher view.



Windows Image and Fax viewer is no more. It's been replaced with this awesome bit of easy photo editing software that is fast, and will one-click optimize color, contrast, brightness of photos. It works amazingly well.



The very impressive and simple Windows Movie Maker with drag and drop scenes (pictures/videos), transitions, effects, and end credits maker.



Thanks to Aero Glass, this is a snapshot of the maximizing animation that happens very quickly and smoothly.



Shows the Welcome Center, Control Panel, and typical results for searching iTunes in the start menu (iTunes links, music, files, etc).

Please, let me know if there's anything more you want to see, and I'll be happy to oblige.

 

In some ways, probably. It seems to me though, that Microsoft has taken their usual route of simply making it better able to *live* in its own poop.

They've completely avoided some of the most problematic areas. The registry, for example, is still there, just like in the old days, at least as messy as it ever was, with no mechanism to clean it. Instead, they've come up with advanced algorithms to make up for the lost efficiency by prefetching data more aggressively.

 

Not directed at you, Jalf, but I think Vista probably was pretty revolutionary for Microsoft. I have no proof, but from the looks of the people that have used it, and the way Microsoft's embraced Vista, I think the new OS will break a lot of the stereotypes of Windows.

I mean, the graphics enhancements, the users have said its more stable, the way Windows Photo Gallery, Windows Movie Maker and Windows Media Player has changed to make it more easier to use and add more features is a good thing. And the cool thing is Vista came out with their "Time Machine" before Mac OS X Leopard .

By the way, thanks for the Vista shots loesjoel! Could you take some shots of Aero in action by video, like opening new windows, minimizing, etc. and post it on YouTube?

 

Yeah, I'll try making some videos if you can tell me what program I can use to capture the videos.