Datasheet

Part I: Surviving Setup

Notice anything else missing in that product lineup? That’s right: There’s no Embedded

version of Windows Vista. Yet.

Confusingly, you also have to choose how you’ll acquire Windows Vista. In addition

to the most typical method—simply getting it with a new PC—you can purchase retail

boxed copies of Windows Vista and other not-quite-retail versions of the software. It’s

confusing—but then that’s why you’re reading this chapter, no?

Here’s my advice: Don’t get bogged down in semantics or complicated counting exercises.

With a little bit of knowledge about how these product editions break down and are

sold, you can whittle the list down quite a bit very easily. Then you can evaluate which

features are available in which editions and choose the one that’s right for you based on

your needs.

Understanding the Differences and Choosing

the Right Version

The first step is to understand the differences between each Vista product edition. Then

you need to understand the various ways in which you can acquire Windows Vista, either

as a standalone product or as an upgrade to an existing version of Windows (including,

confusingly, Windows Vista itself). Finally, you can weigh the various trade-offs of each

option—features, price, and so on—and choose accordingly.

Step 1: Whittling Down the Product Editions List

I was really just having some fun at Microsoft’s expense in the previous section; it’s pos-

sible to categorize the Windows Vista product editions into four basic flavors. To do so,

you need to temporarily forget about the differences between 32-bit versions and 64-bit

versions (don’t worry; I’ll get to that) and just skip over the versions that aren’t relevant.

Once you do this, the following list emerges:

Windows Vista Home Basic

Windows Vista Home Premium

Windows Vista Business

Windows Vista Ultimate

Microsoft originally planned an Itanium version of Windows Vista, which would

run on high-end workstations. However, the company canceled this project dur-

ing the beta process due to a lack of customer interest. Thus, the mainstream

PC platform of the future is now secure: It will be 64 bits, and it will be x64, not

Itanium.

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