"With the Vista launch imminent, you may be wondering what version you should be buying. Thanks to the four primary versions available, this is no easy task. Many will be swaying towards the Ultimate Edition, but should you save your cash?"
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Member since:
2005-07-06
It's simple, if you don't have a need to have both Media Center and TabletPC, and the Ultimate Extras aren't of intrest to you, then definately do not get Ultimate.
Hell, even if you don't buy Ultimate and later decide you want/need it then you can get an "express upgrade", basically paying the difference between what you got and Ultimate (or whatever version you end up buying), and you get a new product key to unlock those features.
Member since:2006-02-06
Unlocking features sounds a lot like they are installed already even if one is only getting the Basic edition. Does that mean Vista will always use about 2.5GB regardless what version because the rest is dormant waiting to be 'unlocked'?
In the age of 500gig hard drives that might not matter much to some people but me and I'm sure enough others only want on our hd what I/we selected and currently have a need for. Ok, maybe the odd game we're not playing right now but maybe next month again. 1.5 gig is still a lot of space to be wasted.
W2k still does it for me in the Windows universe, all tweaked and hand-tuned, MacOS X looks a lot better and the new iTV looks appealing, and Linux and BSD are still a lot more exciting than the previous two.
A very personal opinion of course...
Member since:2005-07-06
Well, I really don't know if it is just unlocking features or if you will actually have to pop in your DVD, but everything does come on one DVD.
AppleTV is such a joke. $300 for a device that an Xbox360 can do PLUS console gameing. And even then the 360 can do a LOT more.
Maybe if it was around $150... maybe... but $300 is WAAAY to much for that device.
Member since:
2006-03-23
not a tough decision for me 
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Why assume that all Windows users are gonna buy Vista?
I know I'm certainly not -- I'm quite happy with Win95 OSR2 and Win2k on my boxes at home, and the corporate IT folks where I work are sticking with XP until at least 2008, and probably later.
For the money you folks shell out for Ultimate I can buy a pair of useful PCs. :-)
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2006-01-10
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And this shows how much Microsoft doesn't care about the average user, doesn't it? Say if my dad buys a PC, preloaded with Windows Vista Home and he has a problem...and I want to help him. No go. Thanks very much Microsofts!!! Vista represents incredibly poor value for money, and I hope our Australian CHOICE magazine does a damning review of it, cos that's all it deserves.
Dave
Member since:2006-07-28
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Well, in reality, they are the same thing. I cannot see remote assistance working unless you have a remote desktop to look at, etc.
Sure, you can install VNC (free) or PC Anywhere (proprietary and costly imho), but that makes it awkward, as it has to be installed, configured, which would be beyond my dad, and be a p.i.t.a for me to setup over the phone with him.
I'd love to move him to GNU/Linux, but he's using a winmodem, so alas...plus he's used to Windows and doesn't want to switch. Then there's the issue of administration, which would be far beyond his basic capabilities.
I honestly cannot recommend Vista, it's far overpriced.
Dave
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2006-07-26
I just ordered a laptop for my girlfriend and paid $10 for a future upgrade to Vista.
It got me thinking. Everyone is talking about whether or not Vista is worth the $400 or whatever it costs. For people building a PC from components, yeah, they'll have to ask themselves that, but the majority of people will just have to ask if Vista is worth $10 than Windows XP, or if Ultimate is worth $40 more than some other version of Vista. Then I'm sure there will be people saying that Vista is not worth the $10 shipping on the free upgrade price.
Member since:
2006-07-16
Microsoft has missed another golden opportunity to wrest users back from Mac and Linux. With XP, it confused users by creating a crippled Home Edition and the more versatile (and more desired) Pro version of Windows. Now, with Vista, it has further compounded its mistake by adding even more supersets and subsets of the same operating system. Not only is this confusing for consumers, it also adds extra revenue to MS's already deep pockets by causing some people to buy additional licenses for the version they want (versus the crappy version they got.) What Microsoft should have done is create a simple, "Windows Core OS" that is highly modularized and expandable but very reasonably priced. Extra functionality could simply be added by purchasing separate "PLUS!" packs that are priced according to the features they add. For example: need Media Center features? Buy the Media Center plus pack. Want Tablet or bitlocker encryption? Purchase the Corporate Plus pack. Want Aero Glass? Purchase the Theme pack. You get the picture. Users wanting a lean mean system could utilize the Core OS and little else. Others could go the whole hog and create the "Ultimate" experience. I don't know why people over at Microsoft haven't thought of this yet. It makes the most sense.
Member since:2005-07-09
There is a program called vlite that does something now quite similar to your Windows Core OS. It takes the humongous vista dvd install and shrinks it down to be able to fit in a cd! Post install disk consumption drops by 4 gigs as well! And this program is in beta at the moment. Cant wait for the final to come out.
It is quite surprising to me how heavy Vista seems to be in just metrics in terms of disk usage. What did Microsoft put in there?!?! And makes me wonder what that vlite program is stripping out! I have yet to use it mind you for the simple fact that I dont have a copy of Vista.
Member since:2005-09-03
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2006-01-10
I suppose I'll end up with the Vista Business edition at some point. Ultimate seems a tad expensive for what it offers. In the UK this company is apparently already shipping Vista -
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/search_results.php?sortby=&groupid=33...
Member since:
2005-07-06
It might do my taxes, or fetch beer from the fridge, but no matter which way you look at it, 400 bucks is 400 bucks. There is no way I can justify spending 400 bucks on a home OS, especially considering what the alternatives (including other versions of Windows) give you. I'm pretty sure you can build systems to run the thing for less than that.
With that amount of money, I could:
Get a cheap, new computer
Get an XBox 360 premium
Get a Nintendo Wii + controller + 2 games
Get a snazzy new video card
Pay a month of car payment + insurance
Buy two months worth of groceries
Buy a ticket to London
Go skiing for a weekend
Member since:2006-06-03
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2006-06-01
no you should not buy it.
In germany it will cost 549€.
For 659€ you get a Mac Mini, with Front Row, ilife 06 (07 very soon) and Mac OS X Leopard (very soon). Leopard will do a lot more than Vista, even Tiger can do the same as Vista, and I think even better.
So for 100€ more, you get a hole Computer - not just a Operating System! And you get the ability to install windows, if you like.
So it's just stupid to pay 549€ for just an OS, when you can get a wohle Computer with a lot of great software (Front Row, PhotoBooth, iPhoto, iMovie, iWeb and GarageBand of course!); and a Operating system that can do a lot more than vista.
Edited 2007-01-23 20:29
Member since:
2006-03-12
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2005-07-08
$400 seems seriously outrageous to me no matter what they are offering. I only use windows at work, so the argument is strictly academic in my case, but seriously - $400? I can't fathom dropping that kind of cash on OS software, but then again I have the same problem when I look at Mac hardware. Maybe I'm just a cheapass...
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2005-07-23
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2006-06-24
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is good EXCEPT for FPSes: a gamepad is inadequate to play them.
Well, it's certainly not as good as a mouse and keyboard, but it's still playable. After all, Halo, Halo2 and Gears of War were huge successes.
I haven't tried a FPS with the Wiimote and nunchuk, but I've heard it's not all bad, either.
As an aside, I think the main problem with Linux at the moment is the user interface: plain ugly
Well, that I strongly disagree with. IMO, the UI lookes *better* than Windows', and just as good as OS X's.
and inconsistent across applications.
Not really, at least not any more than in Windows. Just look at the variety of File Open/Save dialogs in Windows apps, or the various widget styles, and so on.
In fact, GTK apps can now be themed to look like Qt apps. Soon Gnome apps will be able to use KDE File dialogs, toos, so the small UI inconsistencies will be even less important.
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2005-07-23
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2006-01-02
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> Nobody's going to buy it, and if they do use it, it'll
> be pirated.
Most of them would be copied anyway, raising the price _that high_ will just decrease the number of those who would buy it as a standalone product. The alternative would be paying money for one of the cripled versions, and then see people who copied it running the complete system.
And please dont refer to copyright infringement as "piracy", piracy was meant as a word to describe selling of copied goods, aka commercial counterfeiting, not just copying something for private use.
Member since:2005-11-11
//Vista ultimate is $700.
I mean FFS, who the F__K would spend $700 on a desktop OS? They need a right slapping.
Nobody's going to buy it, and if they do use it, it'll be pirated. $700 can go a long way elsewhere, eg, A holiday, or pay off extra on the mortgage.
Ridiculous.//
For $700AUD and a free CD (say Ubuntu for arguement's sake) I can get a whole brand new computer with a decent LCD display and a printer/scanner and a far better OS and a complete set of desktop applications.
It would make no sense at all for me to blow that $700AUD on a copy of Vsta Ultimate and end up with only a round bit of shiny plastic to show for it.
Agreed. Ridiculous.
Edited 2007-01-24 03:36
Member since:
2005-07-28
Member since:
2006-12-18
When I spoke to friends in the US, I thought the full retail version of Ultimate was expensive.
When I called my local software shop here in Sydney, they quoted me $750, citing MS' actual pricing structure here in Oz.
I could by my entire year's worth of University textbooks for that, and have change for beers afterwards. That could even buy me a somewhat decent PC for doing my Uni work and run Linux.
What a crock - with pricing like that no wonder people are pirating their software. Not even XP Pro was even close to that the last time I checked.
Member since:2005-07-06
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2005-07-13
In Canada, CDW has Vista ultimate listed at:
OEM - $259 CDN (about $220 USD)
Retail - $505 CDN (about $400 USD)
Upgrade - $311 CDN (about $250 USD)
The OEM is shipping now, the Retail/Upgrade are (I assume) not shipping until consumer launch.
Does the OEM version have the "per-machine" that volume manufacturers like Dell/HP have with their licensing? Or is it transferable since it's a non-manufacturer specific OEM license?
Not really tripping over myself looking to install Vista, but there's a huge delta between the OEM and the Retail pricing, so I'm just curious.
Member since:2007-01-24
I was about to post the same thing. Who actually pays full price for these things?
From newegg.com (USD):
Home: $99.99
Home Premium: $119.99
Business: $149.99
Ultimate: $199.99
http://promotions.newegg.com/msvista/Vista_Products.html
64 bit versions are the same price.
Edited 2007-01-24 05:21
Member since:2006-03-13
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Those are the oem licenses. In other words, non-transferable to another computer, whereas the retail versions are more expensive but can be moved to a new machine as long as you stop using it on the old machine.
Member since:2007-01-24
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2005-07-06
Its going to be difficult to decide given that they have not released any information on the 'extras' which are going to be bundled with Windows Vista ultimate.
If it includes free, unlimited access to a whole heap of 'paid for services' which is under the Live brand, then it might be a persuasive argument to purchase a copy.
With that being said, when it is released; one has to take into account the fact that 2 or so months later Fedora Core 7 will be released, with a over hauled way of how hardware is detected, the operating system loaded etc; Ubuntu will have another edition out, Novell would have shipped Service Pack 1 for their Linux desktop, and OpenSuSE a few months after the release of Fedora Core 7.
What Microsoft will have to do is justify that $399 for their ultimate edition; considering that Ultimate will be geared towards enthusiast crowd, the same bunch that could quite easily install Linux (or some other *NIX for that matter), its going to be interesting as to whether people will be willing to upgrade.
What I hope is that with these new standards coming on stream, core parts such as DBUS and HAL stablising, it should provide the stable grounding for third party software vendors to write for - which hopefully will spur on adoption by 'technical knowledgeable users'.
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2005-07-09
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2006-01-12
