Since the advent of the personal computer, users have wanted three things in an operating system:
power, stability, and usability. Windows Vista has all these and more in abundance. It features an
indefatigable 32-bit architecture, complete with built-in networking and the capability to run almost
every piece of Windows software on the market, as well as a new interface. (You can also obtain the
64-bit version for your 64-bit machine that contains all of the same functionality, but offers better
performance, assuming you can get the correct device drivers for your system.)
What does all this mean to the consumer, the person sitting at a desk 52 weeks a year who just
wants to be a productive computer user? It means a lot. It means a fast, up-to-date operating system
with a slew of advanced features that ensure the computer will almost never crash. It means
an operating system that can host the emerging multitude of 32-bit software applications, some
of which offer amazing facilities for professional audio and video recording, editing, and broadcasting.
It means a new interface, which gives users tremendous control over how the system performs
its tasks and how it maintains its connections to peripherals and to other computers.
In this chapter, I’ll give you an overview of Windows Vista: what’s new, what’s different, and
what’s under the hood. I’ll compare Windows Vista with previous versions of Windows. In later
chapters, I’ll expand on most of the topics I’ll introduce in this chapter, but you’ll find a lot here to
whet your appetite.
◆What is Windows Vista?
◆What’s new in Windows Vista?
◆Should you upgrade to Windows Vista?
◆How is Windows Vista different from other operating systems?
◆What are the features of Windows Vista architecture?
What Is Windows Vista?
In a nutshell, Windows Vista is the latest version of the Windows NT family of operating systems,
or OSes, which includes Windows 2000 and Windows XP. Windows Vista Business comprises a
feature set designed for business users. Microsoft has actually come out with five editions of Vista:
Ultimate
This edition contains everything and is the most expensive (and hardware intensive)
edition. I can see that many gamers and higher end users will love this edition, but it’s probably
overkill for most businesses.
Enterprise
Microsoft has targeted this edition at large businesses with a global presence. This
edition contains many features that the business with a global presence won’t need, such as
additional layers of security designed to prevent access from external sources. For example, this
is the minimum edition that supports Microsoft’s new Bit Locker technology, which encrypts
your entire hard drive in a way that makes it impossible for anyone stealing your machine to
access the drive, even if they install the drive in another machine.
Business
This is the edition that contains the features that most business users will want. Yes,
it includes many of the eye-grabbing graphics such as Aero Glass, but you won’t see most of the
media center additions originally found in Windows XP Media Edition. Aero Glass is the new
Vista interface that lets you see through title bars and other screen elements. The “Aero Glass
UI” section of the chapter describes this feature in greater detail.
Home Premium
This is the replacement for Windows XP Media Center Edition and will
appeal to home users who need Windows to do a bit more than just let the kids do homework.
Home Basic
This edition provides the basics for home users. It’s the edition that you want if
you really don’t need Aero Glass or any of the other fancy Vista features, but do need the extra
security that Vista provides.
Windows Vista does offer a lot of eye candy and other features that will certainly attract both
home and business users. However, the main attraction for administrators is security. Microsoft
has ripped out a considerable amount of the code that appeared in previous versions of Windows
and rewrote it with security in mind. You’ll find that from a security perspective Vista lets you do considerably less than Windows XP did. None of the accounts run with administrator privileges anymore, even though someone in the Administrator group can temporarily raise their privileges as needed. Users will now see additional warnings about actions they’re taking and won’t be able to perform some tasks at all. For example, you’ll find that gaining access to the root directory of a local hard drive is much tougher with Vista. I'll show you how all of these new security features work as the book progresses, but for administrators, this is the main event.
Vista also has the distinction of being Microsoft’s last 32-bit operating system. Future Windows
desktop operating systems will use 64 bits (or higher). Using 64 bits provides a lot of perks for the administrator. The “Differences between 32-bit and 64-bit Architectures” section of the chapter discusses these perks in detail.
home and business users. However, the main attraction for administrators is security. Microsoft
has ripped out a considerable amount of the code that appeared in previous versions of Windows
and rewrote it with security in mind. You’ll find that from a security perspective Vista lets you do considerably less than Windows XP did. None of the accounts run with administrator privileges anymore, even though someone in the Administrator group can temporarily raise their privileges as needed. Users will now see additional warnings about actions they’re taking and won’t be able to perform some tasks at all. For example, you’ll find that gaining access to the root directory of a local hard drive is much tougher with Vista. I'll show you how all of these new security features work as the book progresses, but for administrators, this is the main event.
Vista also has the distinction of being Microsoft’s last 32-bit operating system. Future Windows
desktop operating systems will use 64 bits (or higher). Using 64 bits provides a lot of perks for the administrator. The “Differences between 32-bit and 64-bit Architectures” section of the chapter discusses these perks in detail.
