Datasheet
WHAT’S NEW IN WINDOWS VISTA?
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went to Linux and mostly stayed there.) NT, which stood for New Technology for a while until
Microsoft decided that it didn’t stand for anything anymore when NT 4.0 arrived, had a com-
pletely different underpinning of code than Windows 9
x
. NT was designed for stability, and as
a result, it crashed much less frequently than Windows 9
x
. Unfortunately, though, NT wasn’t
nearly as compatible as Windows 9
x
with legacy hardware and software. Most games and much
audio and video software wouldn’t run on NT, and it was picky about the hardware on which it
would run. (Actually, this wasn’t “unfortunate” at all—it was deliberate on Microsoft’s part and
probably wise. But the result was far from great for many users.)
So, for the last half-dozen years, users have essentially had to decide between stability and com-
patibility. This led to a lot of unhappy users, some of whom couldn’t run the software they wanted,
and others who kept losing work or at least having to reboot their computers more than they should
have had to.
The Windows 9
x
line culminated in Windows Me, which tacked some stability and restoration
features onto the Windows 9
x
code base. NT culminated in Windows 2000 Professional, which
featured increased compatibility with applications over NT (which wasn’t saying all that much—
many games still didn’t run on Windows 2000 Professional), a smooth user interface, and usability
enhancements.
Windows 2000 Professional was arguably the most stable operating system that Microsoft had
produced until Windows XP came along. (Some old-timers reckoned Windows NT 3.51 was more
stable.) But Windows 2000 Professional’s stability came at a price: It had no interest in running any
games or other demanding software that wouldn’t conform to its stringent requirements. And while
it was compatible with quite an impressive range of legacy hardware, many items still wouldn’t
work. Even up-to-date hardware could be problematic, especially if it connected via Universal Serial
Bus (USB).
Since the late 1990s, Microsoft had been promising to deliver a consumer version of Windows that
melded the stability of NT and the compatibility of Windows 9
x
. In Windows XP Home Edition, that
version of Windows finally arrived. According to Microsoft, Windows XP Professional was a strict
superset of Home Edition, as well as of all the desktop clients that preceded Professional.
NOTE
Windows 2003 Server is a separate version of Windows, designed for use on servers. It does
everything that Windows XP Professional does and adds a comprehensive set of tools for manag-
ing and administering a network. It's designed to run on a network file server or application
server. Chapter 20, “Connecting to Domains,” and 21, “Introduction to Server 2003,” cover it.
Vista isn't a server operating system; Microsoft designed it for desktop use. The server version,
probably called Windows Server 2007, won't arrive for a while yet.
What’s New in Windows Vista?
This section outlines the most striking and appealing new features in Windows Vista. Of course,
the biggest feature for users is the new Aero Glass user interface, but really, that’s just eye candy.
Administrators will spend considerable time looking at the new security features, which are def-
initely a step in the right direction. Microsoft has improved security significantly in this release of
Windows.
Aero Glass UI
The new Aero Glass user interface (UI) will bedazzle you with spectacular graphic effects, pure
and simple. You can’t point to many things that the Aero Glass user gets that the non–Aero Glass
user doesn’t except a little bit of added help. It can be argued that an attractive user interface does
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