Subject: Windows Vista

Today, November 30, Microsoft releases Windows Vista Business; the newest, most secure business version of Windows to date. (The release of Windows Vista Home is scheduled for early 2007.) In this month's ELM Bulletin we will address various features of Windows Vista, the available versions and whether or not now is the time to upgrade.

Windows Vista: Overview - Having once had a reputation for poor security, Microsoft has in recent years made a comeback, to the point that it now makes regular and significant contributions to the security of the computers where we spend most of our day. With Windows Vista Microsoft makes its most ambitious response to desktop security since Windows XP was released in 2001. Many of the security features included with the recently released Internet Explorer 7 (see October's ELM Bulletin for details) will only work in the Windows Vista operating system. The two predominant features of Windows Vista are briefly covered below:

1 - Aero Interface - The single, most noticeable feature of Windows Vista will be its Aero interface which will be available only on the higher end versions of Vista. Within Aero ALT-TAB will display live thumbnail views of active tasks rather than that task's default icon. Transparent interface components will no longer obscure the data behind them. The Aero interface is said to be as far beyond the Windows XP interface as the Windows XP interface was beyond the Windows 98 interface.

 

2 - Security - To my mind the greatest advantage of Windows Vista will not be in its "eye candy" (which I generally disable) but in its enhanced security. Prominent among its security features is User Account Control which limits computer account and running process access to system resources as well as preventing Internet Explorer 7 from modifying your files and/or settings without your knowledge or approval.  While this will limit the extent to which users can install software on their system it will also limit many types of malware from auto-installing. Windows Vista also includes a firewall, spam protection and Microsoft's Malicious Software Removal Tool to enhance your system's security.

Windows Vista: System Requirements - Microsoft has established two sets of system requirements for Windows Vista: Vista Capable and Vista Premium Ready. The specifics of each is noted below:

1 - Vista Capable - Supports the Windows Vista core experience (security, reliability and information organization)

- 800MHz processor

- 512Mb memory

- DirectX 9 capable graphics card

- 20Gb minimum hard disk drive with 15Gb free (normal hard disk drive)

2 - Vista Premium Ready - As above,  plus Windows Aero interface and additional Premium specific features (may require additional hardware)

- 1GHz processor

- 1Gb memory

- DirectX 9 capable graphics processor with Hardware Pixel Shader 2.0 and WDDM (Windows Display Driver Model) support

- 128Mb graphics memory (supports display resolutions up to 1920 X 1200) or 512Mb graphics memory (supports display resolutions up to 2560 X 1600)

- 40Gb minimum hard disk drive with 15Gb free (normal hard disk drives supported but hybrid flash memory/hard disk drive recommended)

- DVD-ROM drive

Windows Vista: Versions - Five editions of Windows Vista will be available, which have been briefly listed below (for more detail please visit the official Windows Vista website). Two additional versions of Vista may be available in the European Union to address specific anti-trust issues (Windows Vista Home N and Windows Vista Business N). An Enterprise Edition will also be available for multi-national organizations.

1 - Windows Vista Home Basic - Enhanced security over previous Windows versions

 

2 - Windows Vista Home Premium - Adds Aero interface, document collaboration and Windows Media Center to Windows Vista Home Basic

 

3 - Windows Vista Business - Lacks Windows Media Center, has backup and networking functionality, recommended for most businesses

 

4 - Windows Vista Ultimate - Adds multi-media and Windows BitLocker Drive Encryption to Windows Vista Business

 

5 - Windows Vista Starter - Available only in emerging markets, not scheduled for release in North America or other high income regions.

Windows Vista: Is It For You, Now? - Well, yes and no. Windows Vista is certainly the most significant update to the Windows series of operating systems since Windows 95 and as such is most definitely a recommended update. However, many current office systems may not be capable of taking advantage of all that Windows Vista has to offer since older systems not meet the requirements stated above may result in increased cost due to lost performance which could outweigh the benefits of Windows Vista.

ELM Computer Systems recommends that you do not upgrade to Windows Vista at this time unless it is offered as the only option on new computer systems you are purchasing. Our reasons for making this recommendation are listed below:

1 - Windows XP is not yet at the end of its product life cycle and will continue to be supported by Microsoft until approximately two years after the release of Windows Vista. For many businesses this represents a period where they may obtain their desired return on investment in Windows XP.

 

2 - While not as inherently secure as Windows Vista, Windows XP remains a very reliable operating system, having had most of the "kinks" worked out of it and with a multitude of tools available to address almost any security issue. Windows XP will also continue to enjoy a higher level of software compatibility than Windows Vista until vendors begin to widely release products specifically designed for Windows Vista.

 

3 - Windows Vista is a new operating system and it is possible that issues similar to those which arose when Windows XP was first released could reduce the overall benefit of Windows Vista. It is also possible that systems with older hardware components (such as graphics, network and sound adaptors) may encounter driver incompatibility issues with Windows Vista by which these components may not function as well as under Windows XP.