Comparing Windows Vista editions
Which one's right for you?
By Walter Glenn
Over the past year or so of working with Windows Vista,
I've gotten all kinds of questions from clients, friends, and family. What are
the cool new features? Is it really more secure?
Will I have to upgrade my computer hardware?
As Windows Vista went gold and information about the
various editions was released, I started hearing a new question. Which edition
will I need? With six editions of Windows Vista available, the choice can seem
daunting. By the end of this article, I hope you'll see that the choice
really just boils down to two or three editions and isn't difficult
at all.
The editions
Six editions of Windows Vista are available:
| • | Windows Vista Starter. This edition
is intended for (and sold only in) emerging markets. It's an inexpensive
way for people in those markets to get Windows Vista. |
| • | Windows Vista Home Basic. This
edition includes core features such as integrated search tools, Windows Photo Gallery, improved security, parental controls, and speech recognition. It has a simpler interface than the Windows Aero user experience (which features translucent windows). It's intended for basic
needs like Internet access and e‑mail. |
| • | Windows Vista Home Premium. This
edition provides a premium home computing experience, adding the Windows
Aero user experience with Windows Flip 3D navigation, Windows Media Center, Windows Movie Maker, and Windows DVD Maker. It also adds scheduled and network file backup and support for Tablet PC features. |
 |
| Windows Media Center, included with Windows Vista Home Premium and Windows Vista Ultimate, allows computers with a TV tuner to record and play TV shows |
| • | Windows Vista Business. This edition
is intended for businesses of all sizes. It does not feature the media
capabilities of Windows Vista Home Premium but does include the Windows Aero
user experience. It also includes several features important to businesses, such
as advanced backup features and Remote Desktop. |
| • | Windows Vista Enterprise. This
premium business edition is available only through volume licensing to organizations covered by the Microsoft Software
Assurance program. |
| • | Windows Vista Ultimate. This edition
provides a superset of all the features of the other editions of Windows Vista,
including the media capabilities of Windows Vista Home Premium and the business
features of Windows Vista Business. It adds Windows BitLocker Drive Encryption to help protect data on a lost or stolen PC. Windows Vista Ultimate also offers Windows Ultimate Extras, free downloads that extend functionality or provide new features. |
Narrowing the field
Whether you are a home or business user, you really need
concern yourself with only a few editions, so let's start by narrowing the
field a bit.
You can eliminate both Windows Vista Starter and Windows
Vista Enterprise from consideration right away. Windows Vista Starter
is sold only with new PCs in emerging markets and is not available at all to countries and regions with more developed technology markets, such as the United States, Canada, the European Union, Japan, and Australia. Windows Vista Enterprise is sold through volume
licensing, so if your company licenses it, you'll be using it. Not much choice
there.
This leaves four main editions for consideration:
| • | Windows Vista Home Basic |
| • | Windows Vista Home Premium |
| • | Windows Vista Business |
| • | Windows Vista Ultimate |
It's tempting to consider the first three of these
editions (Home Basic, Home Premium, and Business) as roughly analogous to Windows XP Home Edition, Windows XP Media Center Edition, and Windows XP Professional. However, the disparity
of features between Windows Vista Home Basic and Home Premium is greater than
that between Windows XP Home Edition and Windows XP Media Center Edition. Home Basic does not include the Windows Aero user experience, Windows Mobility Center (a single place to adjust common mobile PC settings), or Tablet PC capabilities. Home Basic also does not include
other media features like Windows Movie Maker or Windows DVD Maker.
 |
| Windows Vista DVD
Maker, available in Windows Vista
Home Premium and Windows Vista Ultimate, enables you to create DVDs of your home movies and photos |
For me (and I suspect for most people), this pretty much
eliminates Windows Vista Home Basic from the competition. I don't recommend it to
anyone who asks, because Home Premium provides so many more features
for a relatively small price difference. That isn't to say that Home Basic doesn't have its place. On low-end computers used primarily for
e‑mail and Internet access, it might be an ideal choice. But if you're the type
of person who likes a richer set of features, Home Basic is probably not for you.
Choosing the right edition
And then there were three. For most people, the choice of
Windows Vista editions will come down to the following:
| • | Windows Vista Home Premium. For the
vast majority of home users, Windows Vista Home Premium is the edition of
choice. It's also likely to be bundled with the majority of new desktop
computers sold, because most manufacturers are now invested in providing computers with Windows Media
Center capabilities. This edition also offers significant
mobility features and will likely be included with most mobile PCs. |
| • | Windows Vista Business. For most
business users, Windows Vista Business will be the right choice. With
significant business features like Remote Desktop and the ability to connect to
a domain—and without the added weight of Windows Media
Center—Windows Vista Business makes a good fit for businesses of any size. |
| • | Windows Vista Ultimate. For anyone
who needs both Windows Media Center and business functionality, Windows Vista Ultimate
is, well, the ultimate choice. It's also a great choice for anyone who just
wants the best and is attracted to the possibility of an ever-growing list of
new features through Windows Ultimate Extras. Of course, it also works well for
anyone who has the money and doesn't want to worry about which features are
needed. If, like me, you mostly use a single computer that has to pull
business, gaming, and entertainment duties, Windows Vista Ultimate is a perfect
choice. |
With Windows Anytime Upgrade, you're covered anyway
Windows Anytime Upgrade
gives people who purchase
Windows Vista Home Basic, Home Premium, or Business the ability to upgrade
to a more powerful edition at any time, online, for a price that should be
equal to or less than what the upgrade edition would cost.
In other words, if you decide on Windows Vista Home Premium or Business now,
and then later decide that you need the extras that Windows Vista Ultimate
provides, you can simply buy a new product key online, unlock the new
edition, and you're good to go.
More information
If you're interested in learning more about the different Windows Vista editions, see the Windows Vista Editions Overview page and the comparison of key features on the Microsoft website. Paul Thurott's SuperSite for Windows has detailed comparison charts showing the features included in each edition.
About the author
Walter Glenn is a writer and consultant based in Huntsville, Alabama. He is the author of numerous books, articles, and white papers on Windows and other Microsoft technologies. You can visit his website at www.walterglenn.com.
Have a comment for this columnist? Enter your feedback using the tool below. (You'll see the comment box after you click one of the buttons.) Note that although the columnist will read your feedback, personal replies are not possible due to the volume of feedback received.
Product key
A sequence of 25 letters and numbers. To activate Windows, you must enter the product key.
Domain
A collection of computers on a network that share a common database and security policy. A domain is administered as a unit with common rules and procedures, and each domain has a unique name.
Help and How-to
