| Thursday, November 09, 2006 |
| Tonight's Tech Check...Windows Vista! |
Greetings Fox 6 viewers, and thanks for checking in with us after our vacation from Tech Check!
Tonight, Sam and I talked about Windows Vista - how much it's going to cost you, and which version of it you're going to need.
Here's the main thing to remember about Vista: The newest and best features of Vista will only run on a computer with high end specs - if your computer is more than two years old, or if it's a bargain basement computer that is relatively new, or if it's anything less than a top of the line laptop - chances are, you're going to miss out. To really enjoy all of Vista's new features, like the slick Aero interface, you're going to need a computer with at least a 1 Ghz processor, 1 Gigabyte of Ram and a dedicated Video card with an updated driver and AT LEAST 128mb of dedicated ram. Most casual computer users don't have a system like that, and few office systems are equipped with high end video cards. Next week, we'll cover alternative, next generation operating systems that look just as good as Vista, and don't have system requirements in the stratosphere
Here's the price list for the four major Vista packages: (For more info on what each edition contains, check out the links at the bottom of the article.)
Windows Vista Home Basic. Upgrade: $99.00 Full: $199.00 You should probably avoid this edition of Vista, as it quite stripped down. Try Ubuntu instead, if price is a big issue (or stick with Windows Xp!)
Windows Vista Home Premium. Upgrade: $159 Full: $239.00 A good choice for most home users, if you don't need advanced networking features.
Windows Vista Business. Upgrade: $199.95 Full: $299 Comparable to Windows XP professional, Vista Business contains networking and fax features that make it useful in a business environment, but leaves out Media center and movie making capabilities found in Home Premium.
Windows Vista Ultimate. Upgrade: $259.00 Full: $399 WOW! That's a lot of money for an operating system!!! For your big investment here, you get all of the best features of Windows Vista Business and Windows Vista Home Premium, along with some other nifty features like Podcast software, DVD ripping software and the ability to tweak your system to perform better on games.
Here are some links to articles with excellent, up to date information on Windows Vista:
Wikipedia article on Vista (very thorough!) CLICK HERE
Paul Thurrott: Windows Vista complete: CLICK HERE
PcMag: What you need to know about upgrading to Vista. CLICK HERE
John Dvorak: Caveat Emptor; watch out for Vista's activation scheme! CLICK HERE
Buying a computer now, but want to upgrade? Microsoft is offering a discount coupon towards upgrading to Vista. CLICK HERE
Not ready to upgrade to Vista? Check this out: Twenty tips for keeping Windows XP fresh. CLICK HERE
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posted by Chase Thompson @ 7:20 PM   |
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| 2 Comments: |
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Great tips and info....thanks!
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Great tips and info....thanks!