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Software Windows Vista Goes Gold
Brandon Hill (Blog) - November 8, 2006 2:00 PM
Print E-mail del.icio.us 72 comment(s) - last by Pirks.. on Nov 16 at 9:44 PM
Microsoft wraps up development of Windows Vista

Microsoft announced today that Windows Vista has been released to manufacturing. Vista will mark the first big shift in Microsoft consumer operating systems in over 5 years.

With Vista, Microsoft promises increased security with an improved firewall and Windows Defender and User Account Control. Other fresh additions include integrated desktop search, Internet Explorer 7.0, Windows Sidebar, Windows Sideshow, built-in system diagnostics, improved gaming support, fully integrated Speech Recognition as well as support for Windows SuperFetch, Windows ReadyBoost and Windows ReadyDrive.

Windows Vista will be available in four distinct retail versions:

  • Windows Vista Home Basic, $199/$99.95 (full/upgrade)
    Provides a basic platform for home users who want to keep tabs on email and Internet activity. Comes standard with Vista's new Search Explorer, Sidebar and Parental Controls.

  • Windows Vista Home Premium, $239/$159
    Builds on Home Basic by adding the Windows Aero interface, Windows Media Center functionality, Windows Tablet PC technology and integrated DVD burning.

  • Windows Vista Business, $299/$199
    Supports the Aero user interface, offers improved document managing and Windows Tablet PC functionality.

  • Windows Vista Ultimate, $399/$259
    Vista Ultimate combines the functionality of Vista Home Premium and Vista Business.

According to Neowin, the RTM version of Vista will be available for MSDN subscribers sometime after November 10, while businesses should begin receiving their copies on or shortly after November 30. Vista will be launched into the retail sector on January 30, 2007.

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Why so long?
By Le Québécois on 11/8/2006 2:51:29 PM , Rating: 5
quote:
...while businesses should begin receiving their copies on or shortly after November 30. Vista will be launched into the retail sector on January 30, 2007.


I mean, if the product as gone gold and will be release to businesses around the 30th of November why do normal customers have to wait a full 2 months to get it?

I think this will just incite pirates to release it before that and since people (who know how to use pirates stuff) will go with those versions even more since the retail will only be on the market 2 months later.

Not that I'm in any rush to get it because I will wait for the DirectX 10 videocards to be cheaper before upgrading my whole system for Vista (I need to upgrade anyway, can barely play games at 1024 on medium now...).

But still...2 months.




RE: Why so long?
By Assimilator87 on 11/8/2006 2:56:55 PM , Rating: 2
Yeah, there distribution methods are retarded. I'll probably try to get it before the retail launch because I still haven't tried it yet. Doesn't MS allow people to use pirated versions of Vista? I thought they just disabled the 3D features.


RE: Why so long?
By sotti on 11/8/2006 2:58:51 PM , Rating: 2
No after 30 days it almost completely locks you out of the OS.


RE: Why so long?
By Le Québécois on 11/8/2006 2:59:26 PM , Rating: 3
Pirates will always find a way, that I'm sure of it.

So belive me when I say their versions will be completely functional.


RE: Why so long?
By Le Québécois on 11/8/06, Rating: -1
RE: Why so long?
By Pirks on 11/8/06, Rating: 0
RE: Why so long?
By Le Québécois on 11/8/06, Rating: 0
RE: Why so long?
By Le Québécois on 11/8/06, Rating: 0
RE: Why so long?
By Le Québécois on 11/9/06, Rating: 0
RE: Why so long?
By Le Québécois on 11/9/06, Rating: 0
RE: Why so long?
By TomZ on 11/9/2006 5:52:05 PM , Rating: 3
I've had that done to me before also. But, like you, I don't give a shit about my rating either. I mean really, what's the point? If you say something that makes sense, people will recognize that and respond regardless of your cumulative rating. I think people should say what they think and if others don't like it, then fine, mod the post into oblivion - who cares.


RE: Why so long?
By Le Québécois on 11/10/06, Rating: 0
RE: Why so long?
By Pirks on 11/16/2006 9:44:13 PM , Rating: 3
cmon, tomz is just a lucky sob :))
it's a karma you know
it's just because he's tomz and not pirks or you ;)


RE: Why so long?
By Sharky974 on 11/9/2006 10:09:14 PM , Rating: 1
Yeah but it's getting more and more a pain in the ass.

Make no mistake pirates are losing this war. A certain small niche will still pirate, but it gets more and more difficult with WGA, and I'm betting Vista will make it more difficult yet

Hell, the current XP pirating tools suck. It'll be worse with Vista...


RE: Why so long?
By nunya on 11/9/2006 4:06:26 AM , Rating: 2
The way it was explained at a Microsoft event I attended was that a pirated copy will give you access to the internet and that's it. And the homepage it loads is a page with the option to buy a legit copy.


RE: Why so long?
By sotti on 11/8/2006 2:58:10 PM , Rating: 2
It's because hardware vendors don't have their ducks in a line yet.

I have not seen a single final driver from any sound card or video card manufacturer.

MSDN and Business users get vista, not because they are going to start using them in production, but for testing purposes so that they can begin to really plan for the implementation of the OS as consumers get their hands on it.


RE: Why so long?
By GreenEnvt on 11/8/2006 3:15:12 PM , Rating: 3
Well no, Vista isn't out yet, so no one will have final drivers yet.

ATI/AMD have released Radeon beta drivers designed for the RTM/Gold build of Vista, that as close as you'll get until Vista is released.


RE: Why so long?
By sotti on 11/8/2006 4:09:14 PM , Rating: 2
Yes and if you look closely those are RTM Beta drivers.

Meaning yes, they are for the final version of vista, but the drivers themselves are still beta.


RE: Why so long?
By kkwst2 on 11/8/06, Rating: -1
RE: Why so long?
By Le Québécois on 11/8/06, Rating: -1
RE: Why so long?
By sotti on 11/8/2006 4:14:08 PM , Rating: 3
Not for driver development, but for them to test and find out where vista is interms of current drivers, compatibility with exsisting apps that the companies need, ect...

There is alot of testing that will need to be done before even a company of 100 could roll it out.

They release it early for companies so they can begin doing that kind of validation.


RE: Why so long?
By InsaneScientist on 11/8/2006 3:13:41 PM , Rating: 4
*sigh* I know, it bugs me too...

It does make sense, though, once you know the reason.

According to my understanding, what it boils down to is this: There is a certain amount of time that it takes companies like HP and Gateway to get their products out the door and onto store shelves.
If Microsoft couldn't have Vista done by at least August (I think... I might be off a bit), then those companies that build computers and ship them to brick and mortar stores would be at a serious disadvantage during the Christmas season when compared to purely online computer retailers (i.e. Dell) who could put Vista on everything during the Christmas season.

If you were a normal person, and you had the option of buying a computer that had XP, or a similar computer with a similar price, but that had Vista, which would you pick?

So they (HP, Gateway, etc.) complained, and sinct it was a valid complaint, Microsft postponed the consumer launch to after the Christmas season... in this case January 30th.

With Volume Licence customers, though, that's not an issue, so Microsoft is going ahead and releasing it to them now. (In my opinion, a smart move... because by the time the Retail version comes out, some of the initial bugs will probably have been found and patched.


RE: Why so long?
By Le Québécois on 11/8/06, Rating: 0
RE: Why so long?
By Pirks on 11/8/2006 5:23:19 PM , Rating: 1
why would ms care about pirates _in this case_? pirates actually do good to vista - they promote it! look at any common bittorrent guy - he has the opportunity to test pirated RTM right now, not waiting for january. so there is a chance this guy will like vista so much that he goes out and purchases it in january - ms wins!


RE: Why so long?
By jonmcc33 on 11/8/06, Rating: 0
RE: Why so long?
By rushfan2006 on 11/9/2006 10:54:26 AM , Rating: 2
Personally, and let me disclaimer this as being fully my own theory and thinking and its not based on any data from any magazine, news site or whatever....BUT...I think it has little to do with anything but PR to the corporate customers of MS.

You know, a "benefit" a way of saying "thank you we value your *large* amount of business..."...to the corporations who have long standing customer relationships with MS and buy their software in allotments of 1000's at a time.

I think that is all this is...like being any "club" where "membership has its benefits" kind of thing...

I think they right well could handle the distribution to EVERYONE this month, but they choose not to...for the above reason.



Upgrade to vista ultimate
By OutsidaII on 11/8/2006 2:07:04 PM , Rating: 2
I thought you couldn't upgrade to Vista Ultimate?




RE: Upgrade to vista ultimate
By Brandon Hill (blog) on 11/8/2006 2:10:28 PM , Rating: 2
Suggested retail price for full package product, $399.00 USD. Suggested upgrade retail price, $259.00 USD.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/getready/edi...


RE: Upgrade to vista ultimate
By Spivonious on 11/8/2006 2:11:38 PM , Rating: 4
This comes up every time Vista Ultimate is mentioned. You can't get an upgrade coupon for Ultimate by buying XP Pro now. This has nothing to do with retail upgrade versions of Vista.


RE: Upgrade to vista ultimate
By GreenEnvt on 11/8/2006 2:11:41 PM , Rating: 4
No, you just read it wrong.
MS is offering cheap upgrades to people who recently bought new machines that have XP on them. Ultimate edition is not included in this program.
You can upgrade to it, you just need to buy it at the normal price.


RE: Upgrade to vista ultimate
By EBH on 11/8/06, Rating: -1
RE: Upgrade to vista ultimate
By SexyK on 11/8/2006 2:42:01 PM , Rating: 1
quote:
um no
there is no way to upgrade to ultimate

its a totally different install than the other versions of vista


Umm... way to spread misinformation. You can definitely purchase an upgrade to Ultimate.


By InsaneScientist on 11/8/2006 3:02:16 PM , Rating: 4
Actually, he is quite correct.

XP can be upgraded to Ultimate just the same as any other version of Vista.

Case in point: One of the things that the beta testers (like me) have been testing is the upgrade feature in the Vista installer. A few of the more experienced beta testers have gotten keys for multiple versions of Vista, but for the most part, since presumably Microsoft wants us to find the bugs in every feature, most beta testers have had access to only one of the versions: Windows Vista Ultimate.
Ant the upgrade process has been working fine through the development cycle for a while.... why would they now take it out?

Vista Ultimate has the same core as the rest of the versions of Vista... it's like the difference between XP Home, Pro, and MCE. All have the same core... it's the features that are different.
In the case of Vista, there are more versions, but how they did it remains the same... just the features outside the core of the operating system is changed... nothing internally, and the core is what makes the difference as far as upgrading is concerned...

If the core of the operating system was different, it would be far harder to put all three home versions of Vista (Home basic, Home Premium, and Ultimate) on a single DVD, with only the code you enter differentiating between verstions.
From what I understand, you could use a Vista Ultimate CD to install Home Basic, if you had a Home Basic key... or (somewhat more likely) you could install Ultimate from a Home Basic CD, if you had an Ultimate key.

They did it that way so that consumers could easily upgrade to a more advanced version of Vista if they wanted to... Need the MCE features but only have Home Basic? Go online and buy the upgrade key to Home Premium, enter it into Windows, insert your Vista Home Basic DVD so that it can copy the Home Premium files that it didn't copy before, and you're good to go.
Same with Ultimate.
Now why on earth (technologically) could you upgrade from XP to Vista Home (or Premium), and then upgrade to Ultimate, but not be able to go straight from XP to Ultimate?

Of course, even if the core was different, why would that even matter? When upgrading from Windows 2000, the XP installer just updated the system files, but when upgrading from a 9x OS (very different OS core), it pretty much threw out all the system files and started from scratch. Even if Vista Ultimate was different, why wouldn't M$ be able to do that again?

In short, there's no technological reason for them to have made it impossible to upgrade to Vista Ultimate... and they didn't.

Rest easy... you can upgrade to Ultimate just fine. ;)


RE: Upgrade to vista ultimate
By vanka on 11/8/2006 3:04:30 PM , Rating: 3
quote:
um no
there is no way to upgrade to ultimate

its a totally different install than the other versions of vista

Yeah, you're right; Microsoft had nothing better to do (and the time to do it, since you know Vista is ahead of schedule) than to create a completely different install for Vista Ultimate. Never mind that Microsoft has released information establishing the existence of a Vista Ultimate Upgrade SKU, you obviously know more than Microsoft about their product editions. </sarcasm>

Here's the break down on Vista upgrades:
+Products eligible for Vista upgrade pricing:
-Windows XP (all versions)
-Windows 2000 Professional (not sure about server versions)
+Upgrade details
-XP will be able to be upgraded to Vista
-Users of Win2k will be required to perform a clean install, even if they purchased the upgrade SKU

Break down of Vista Express Upgrade program:
XP Home -> Vista Home Basic
XP MCE -> Vista Home Premium
XP Pro -> Vista Business
XP Tablet -> Vista Business
There is no upgrade to Vista Ultimate through the Express Upgrade program because there is no comparable XP version.


RE: Upgrade to vista ultimate
By RaptorEye on 11/8/2006 8:12:17 PM , Rating: 2
Does this include XP Home Edition Upgrade Version, i bought that as a upgrade from 98SE, but I'm wondering if u can upgrade from a upgrade version... P:


RE: Upgrade to vista ultimate
By timmiser on 11/8/2006 2:45:06 PM , Rating: 3
I think this means if you currently own any version of XP, you can buy the ultimate version upgrade edition. The reason their is no free upgrade coupon offer is because there is no existing XP version at the Ultimate price point.


RE: Upgrade to vista ultimate
By masteraleph on 11/8/2006 4:03:53 PM , Rating: 2
Exactly.

Note that Windows 2000 also qualifies for upgrade


RE: Upgrade to vista ultimate
By FITCamaro on 11/8/2006 9:28:46 PM , Rating: 2
There's no discounted upgrade program for people who buy a computer before its available.

There's always an upgrade version.


I'd buy Ultimate...
By therealnickdanger on 11/8/2006 2:42:43 PM , Rating: 1
... just for that cool box! LOL I can't wait to get my copy!




RE: I'd buy Ultimate...
By mac noob on 11/8/06, Rating: -1
RE: I'd buy Ultimate...
By mac noob on 11/8/06, Rating: -1
RE: I'd buy Ultimate...
By mac noob on 11/8/06, Rating: -1
RE: I'd buy Ultimate...
By sdsdv10 on 11/8/2006 5:22:31 PM , Rating: 5
Are you just slow or what? Once you post a comment you can not mod another comment either up or down. See for yourself, you have posted in this thread and now the "Worth Reading" and "Not Worth Reading" choices are gone. Don't go busting on the person who posted as they haven't modded you down, other readers have (those who haven't posted). Finally, why do you care that people mod you down. Say your peace and be done with it. Jeez what a dope.


RE: I'd buy Ultimate...
By mac noob on 11/8/06, Rating: -1
RE: I'd buy Ultimate...
By spwrozek on 11/8/2006 7:02:59 PM , Rating: 2
I seriously hope people don't have that much time on their hands...


RE: I'd buy Ultimate...
By sdsdv10 on 11/8/2006 9:55:44 PM , Rating: 2
OMG!?!?!?

Are you for real? You only get one mod vote per login. To take you from the starting 2 to -1 would take three, yes that is three, different logins. Do you really believe the original poster is coming back to mod you down with three different logins? Are you looking to be the "-1" king?

Get a clue, then get a life and then let it go. Man, your user name is so apropos.


RE: I'd buy Ultimate...
By mac noob on 11/8/06, Rating: -1
RE: I'd buy Ultimate...
By sdsdv10 on 11/8/2006 10:13:43 PM , Rating: 3
quote:
by mac noob on November 8, 2006 at 8:24 PM
keep em coming
i got all day


Dear DT readers, I ask you, nay I beg you, please give this fine commenter, mac nood, all that he asks for and I will be eternally grateful. Indulge his paranoid fantasies regarding rogue commenters generating multiple logins just to down mod his insightful writings. I thank you.


RE: I'd buy Ultimate...
By Sharky974 on 11/9/2006 10:17:45 PM , Rating: 2
With google autofill, it takes like two seconds to sign up for most things.



RE: I'd buy Ultimate...
By sdsdv10 on 11/9/2006 11:16:56 PM , Rating: 2
Sharky974, sorry to drag you down into this but it isn't that simple. Daily Tech and anandtech.com use the same login registration system. So while you could you google autofill, the login system does not allow a user to register the same email address twice, nor does it allow users with email addresses from free sites like Yahoo, Google, Hotmail etc. You must have a valid and seperate email address from a ISP or work for each login registered. What does this mean, well it means that in addition to registering a minimun of three times here at Daily Tech the offender would need to set up three non-free email addresses. So would have to reiterate what was stated above, "do you really think someone has that much free time...?"


what's diff between upgrade and full?
By poohbear on 11/8/2006 10:18:13 PM , Rating: 2
can someone explain the diff between full and upgrade versions? does upgradae mean i MUST have winxp installed and that's the only way i can install vista? whereas full means i can install vista from scratch on a formated hdd? is that the only diff?




RE: what's diff between upgrade and full?
By llamaboy on 11/9/2006 12:33:21 AM , Rating: 2
With all the MS operating systems that I'm aware of, there is no functional difference between Full & Upgrade versions of Windows.

You should be to use the media in exactly the same way regardless of the version; meaning you can 'upgrade' with the Full version and install fresh with the Upgrade version.

The only difference is if you attempt a fresh install with the Upgrade version you are prompted to insert valid media from a previous version of Windows.

That being said, it's possible that Vista will be different, but I wouldn't think so.


By poohbear on 11/9/2006 1:56:00 AM , Rating: 2
ic, so i CAN do a fresh install w/ an upgrade version? sweet. I'm seeing coupons wherein u can buy WinXP MCE for $120 and get a free upgrade to Vista Premium after it's released, that's a sweet deal yea?


Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor says...
By bupkus on 11/8/2006 3:22:30 PM , Rating: 2
1. I will likely find Windows Vista Business Edition my Windows of choice; it must be checking my extensive Office software.
2. My hardware is adequate.
3. I will need to upgrade drivers for my printer and audio.
4. My fax modem will not work with Vista; must see manufacturer's website.
Download Advisor at
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/getready/upg...
getready/upgradeadvisor/default.mspx
I'm in no hurry to reinstall all my s**t, yet again. I suppose in a half year I will be ready to explore all the... who am I kidding. I love new technology, and since I have an Action Pack Subscription I'll be getting all this stuff and eager to try it out. I don't suppose my 6150 chipset will be enough video power. :p




By vanka on 11/8/2006 4:28:57 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
1. I will likely find Windows Vista Business Edition my Windows of choice; it must be checking my extensive Office software.

Actually it's probably just seeing that you have XP Pro installed. (That is what you have installed right?) In my experience, the Vista Upgrade Adviser does the following when it sees these XP versions:
*XP Home - recommends an upgrade to Vista Home Basic or Premium depending on hardware
*XP MCE - recommends an upgrade to Vista Home Premium
*XP Pro - recommends an upgrade to Vista Business, no matter the hardware (I haven't tried it on an XP Pro system with a TV Tuner, it may recommend an upgrade to Vista Ultimate)


About Windows Vista Ultimate price.
By Le Québécois on 11/8/06, Rating: 0
By masteraleph on 11/9/2006 8:06:18 AM , Rating: 2
Vista Business is priced the exact same way that XP Pro is, MSRPwise anyways. You're right that Ultimate seems awfully expensive...though the upgrade price is somewhat more reasonably in line ($60 more than the XP Pro/Vista Business price).


By porkster on 11/9/2006 9:48:03 AM , Rating: 2
If it is, then you could probably rate it by how many seek it off torrent download. Priracy has a direct link to products that out price themselves. If the price is right lal would buy.



yeeehaaaa
By mforce on 11/8/2006 3:45:01 PM , Rating: 2
They did it , MS actually did it they released Vista. I just can't tell you how glad I am , now all my problems are gone , no more viruses , no more spyware I bet it works like a charm and doesn't even need a SP 1 to patch those pesky critical vulnerabilities . Good old MS , I just love em' ...




Excited!
By THEREALJMAN73 on 11/8/2006 8:39:15 PM , Rating: 2
I cannot wait to go pick up my copy. I have been running the same system for 4 years now and just waiting for a good reason to upgrade.

Vista seems like as good a reason as I can think.

From the little I have used Vista I think MS has a winner of a OS on their hand.




May God help MS.....
By msva124 on 11/9/2006 1:17:52 AM , Rating: 2
Many people are content with Windows XP. To get them to upgrade, you need to keep everything they liked about the old OS, in addition to making some new features that noticably improve their computing experience. The attraction of the new features is lukewarm at best, so I hope for Microsoft's sake they made sure all of the good things about XP are still there. If performance, stability, or compatibility with all of my current apps has suffered, I for one will not be making the switch.




Here's what I'm wondering
By shaw on 11/9/2006 2:38:28 AM , Rating: 2
So, if Windows Vista is a total build up from scratch then techniqually the old tricks for fixing the various NT cores isn't gonna work anymore.

Plus I'm curious if any networking is different on the server end. MCSE Vista soon?




Pricing
By Myrandex on 11/10/2006 11:18:45 AM , Rating: 2
Anyone notice the difference in pricing seems a little weird:
Home Basic Upgrade $100 -> Home Premium Upgrade $140: $40
Home Basic Full $140 -> Home Premium Full $200: $60

I would've imagined that the price difference would be the same, but I guess not.




Hate To Sound Like A Fanboy, But....
By UserDoesNotExist on 11/8/2006 4:51:26 PM , Rating: 2
I totally dig the case that's pictured.

So, where's the manadatory "it's just vaporware" comment whenever a story about Vista is released? Hm?




By INeedCache on 11/9/2006 4:56:42 AM , Rating: 2
Ah yes, the Microsoft naysayers begin to crawl out from under their rocks. They know, they just know, Vista will suck, because they know everything! I'd love to know what stuff you use and think is great, so we could see how far removed from reality you likely are. And MICROSUCKS, how original. Oh, and funny, as I laughed for hours after reading your very well thought out post. PT Barnum was right, and sometimes they make lame posts like yours.


Moderated
By Spar on 11/11/06, Rating: -1
Why bother?
By parkerlewis on 11/8/06, Rating: -1
RE: Why bother?
By das mod on 11/8/06, Rating: -1
RE: Why bother?
By parkerlewis on 11/8/06, Rating: -1
"We can't expect users to use common sense. That would eliminate the need for all sorts of legislation, committees, oversight and lawyers." -- Christopher Jennings

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