Vista, Vista, Vista, Vista, Vista and Vista

Otacon · 27 Feb 2006 at 16:51

afraser2k said:
The lighter edition of Vista that runs on older equipment could be interesting as a threat to Linux on old hardware (like turning old PC's into routers/firewalls).

I doubt that. If only from a market share point of view, there will be a stronger case for Linux/Unix based gateway boxes over Windows based ones.

And not to mention the fact that you can do one for free.

thefranklin · 27 Feb 2006 at 17:08

Great. Can't wait for people to brag "I am running BF2 with 128 GB Ram" Or would we have to wait for like bf4 before we can get 2 64 GB sticks?

NathanE · 27 Feb 2006 at 17:09

Only thing I don't like about the editions is the word "Ultimate". So cheesy... they should have used "Professional" for that edition.

All we need now are some price lists!

PinkPig · 27 Feb 2006 at 17:17

NathanE said:
Only thing I don't like about the editions is the word "Ultimate". So cheesy... they should have used "Professional" for that edition.

Except that it's not "professional", it includes optional media features that aren't at all likely to be needed outside of home computing.

Duke · 27 Feb 2006 at 17:30

Sounds good to me.. more choice for home users etc

PinkPig · 27 Feb 2006 at 17:33

dirtydog said:
:/

Looks like the XP Home equivalent will be Vista Home Premium then. I wonder why they're bothering with the 'Basic' version if it's going to be as crippled as Paul Thurrott says.

I imagine the cost of the Home Premium edition, even to OEMs, is going to be quite a lot - cheap systems, especially without proper 3D hardware, intended for use in email and word processing (a very large number of people don't use much more than that) would do better to save the money and have a cut down version. Nothing wrong with that.

Borden · 27 Feb 2006 at 17:37

Looks like i'll be getting Home Premium or Ultimate depending on the price.

Looking at the last comparison table, it says that Home Premium will only support one physical CPU. Does this mean that X2 Athlons won't be supported or am i getting confused?

dirtydog · 27 Feb 2006 at 17:38

PinkPig said:
I imagine the cost of the Home Premium edition, even to OEMs, is going to be quite a lot - cheap systems, especially without proper 3D hardware, intended for use in email and word processing (a very large number of people don't use much more than that) would do better to save the money and have a cut down version. Nothing wrong with that.

I'd agree, except it apparently doesn't include the new Aero interface which I presume means the glass windows and so on? That seems hard to believe though. Bear in mind that these effects will apparently not need particularly high system requirements - just a basic cheap DX9 card (or onboard gfx) for example which any new Dell already comes with.

NathanE · 27 Feb 2006 at 17:47

Yes that's true but the fact is Aero Glass is a "value-added feature" that is reserved for the higher priced editions.

The target market for Home Basic is going to be low end "word processor"-style systems, probably being sold to first time PC buyers. Therefore the omission of Aero Glass in that edition is not really a problem.

afraser2k · 27 Feb 2006 at 17:59

Otacon said:
I doubt that. If only from a market share point of view, there will be a stronger case for Linux/Unix based gateway boxes over Windows based ones.

And not to mention the fact that you can do one for free.

There's still a lot of people who don't want the hastle of setting up Linux though and prefer the Windows interface. It won't make a huge dent in Linux obviously but could be preferred over Linux in the situation I face at work with some desktops.

In my own departments case I could see Vista Basic be welcomed for our old experiment desktops that are still running Windows NT due to various complications in drivers and hardware requirements of 2000/XP. Vista Basic, if done properly, would be ideal in this type of situation.

I don't think there will be a huge market for the light edition but it provides another option.

Kainz · 27 Feb 2006 at 18:00

Ultimate has to be the dumbest name ever, guess they reckon they'll get more sales by naming it that since the clueless hardcore gamers will opt for it for some silly reason. I'll prolly go for one of the home editions. Not looked at it all properly yet on Thurrots supersite, will check it out later.

dirtydog · 27 Feb 2006 at 18:01

NathanE said:
Yes that's true but the fact is Aero Glass is a "value-added feature" that is reserved for the higher priced editions.

The target market for Home Basic is going to be low end "word processor"-style systems, probably being sold to first time PC buyers. Therefore the omission of Aero Glass in that edition is not really a problem.

Actually if they kept it so it had the Windows XP look and feel in its entirety then I might be more tempted to upgrade to Vista than I am now

Seriously though, I think the decision to leave Aero out of that edition to be a big mistake for Microsoft.

Otacon · 27 Feb 2006 at 18:03

afraser2k said:
There's still a lot of people who don't want the hastle of setting up Linux though and prefer the Windows interface. It won't make a huge dent in Linux obviously but could be preferred over Linux in the situation I face at work with some desktops.

But if you're going to pay to get the OS, why not simply buy a hardware router?

Kainz said:
Ultimate has to be the dumbest name ever, guess they reckon they'll get more sales by naming it that since the clueless hardcore gamers will opt for it for some silly reason.

Vista Fatal1ty?

dirtydog · 27 Feb 2006 at 18:04

LOL don't give them ideas

Kainz · 27 Feb 2006 at 18:22

Otacon said:
Vista Fatal1ty?

Oh please no!

PinkPig · 27 Feb 2006 at 18:32

dirtydog said:
Seriously though, I think the decision to leave Aero out of that edition to be a big mistake for Microsoft.

Why? In my opinion it's not an issue in the slightest, people buying a cheap PC to send email with don't care about a snazzy 3D interface, especially since it would push the price up all round.

dirtydog · 27 Feb 2006 at 18:34

PinkPig said:
Why? In my opinion it's not an issue in the slightest, people buying a cheap PC to send email with don't care about a snazzy 3D interface, especially since it would push the price up all round.

It wouldn't have to push the price up would it? Why? As I said, even the most bog standard Dell would have the onboard DX9 graphics required to run Aero. And it certainly wouldn't cost Microsoft more to include the functionality on the DVD.

Caged · 27 Feb 2006 at 19:19

mark1 said:
Looking at the last comparison table, it says that Home Premium will only support one physical CPU. Does this mean that X2 Athlons won't be supported or am i getting confused?

Microsoft licensing is on a per-socket basis. If it fits in one socket, then it counts as a single CPU.

Kainz · 27 Feb 2006 at 19:35

If its a dual/tri/quad core bugger then it still counts as one physical cpu.

afraser2k · 27 Feb 2006 at 20:06

Otacon said:
But if you're going to pay to get the OS, why not simply buy a hardware router?

Vista Fatal1ty?

Does it come with built-in wallhacks/aimbots?