Windows Vista: Compare editions

No matter what you do with a PC, Windows Vista can make a big difference. Now updated with Service Pack 1, your choices keep getting better and better. Here's a quick look at what comes in each of the editions.

		Home Basic	Home Premium	Business	Ultimate
Most secure Windows ever with Windows Defender and Windows Firewall
Quickly find what you need with Instant Search and Windows Internet Explorer 7
Elegant Windows Aero desktop experience includes glass-like menu bars, Windows Flip 3D, and Live Thumbnails
Best choice for laptops through features like Windows Mobility Center and Tablet PC support
Share documents and collaborate with Windows Meeting Space
Use a secondary screen on your mobile PC or extend your display to other devices using Windows SideShow
All-in-one media center functionality makes any room a media room using Windows Media Center and Media Center Extenders
Protect against hardware failure with Windows Complete PC Backup and Restore
Scan, fax, and receive documents and images with Windows Fax and Scan
Automatically back up your files with Scheduled Backup
Remotely access your business resources and applications with Remote Desktop Connection
Easier networking connectivity helps you stay connected wherever and whenever you like with the Network and Sharing Center
Better protect your data against loss with Windows BitLocker Drive Encryption
Easily make DVDs with Windows DVD Maker
Have more fun on your PC with three new premium games: Chess Titans, Mahjong Titans, and InkBall
Create high-definition (HD) movies with Windows Movie Maker in HD

 

Windows Vista Home Premium

Windows Vista Home Premium is a great choice for going beyond e-mail and web surfing to improve personal productivity and enjoy all kinds of digital entertainment. You can search for anything on your computer from virtually anywhere, so you'll save lots of time. You'll get improved performance and better protection for your PC, your personal information, and your family. You'll find more ways to have fun with your music, TV, games, and digital media. Plus, if you have a laptop, you'll love the new way your computer connects to wireless networks and manages battery life.

Easier

Get things done more easily and intuitively

The first thing you'll notice about Windows Vista Home Premium is that your desktop experience has never looked better. But behind the translucent good looks, the Windows Aero experience is all about making it easier to focus on your content and to find and keep track of what you're doing.

You won't have to open a window to see what's in it because live taskbar thumbnails and Live Icons will show you. And when you have a lot of programs open, you can quickly locate and select the one you want using Windows Flip and Windows Flip 3D.

Find what you need in less time

Your life probably moves at warp speed, so you can't afford to spend a lot of time searching on your computer for the things you need.

Now, virtually anything on your PC is never more than a few keystrokes away with Instant Search. To quickly find the holiday letter you're working on, that Halloween photo of your youngest child, or the e-mail invitation to your friend's barbecue, you can simply start typing in the Search box on the Start menu.

It's easier and faster to find anything, no matter where you may have saved it, with the consistent, streamlined menus, toolbars, and preview panes in the improved Explorers in Windows Vista. Explorers include Search boxes too, so you can search within a particular type of information, such as all your documents. You can organize your files any way that you want and immediately sort and filter information based on file type, saved date, or the name of the file creator. Watch this demo to see how Windows Vista helps you find and organize information.

When you're surfing the web, you can end up with a lot of open browser windows. Now you can see all your open windows on one page and use tabbed browsing to easily flip through them. Plus, web search from the toolbar in Windows Internet Explorer 7 makes it easier than ever to find what you're looking for.

Some days you can feel like you're overloaded with information and spending a lot of your time opening browsers and applications to find what you need. It seems like there should be an easier way for you to keep track of airfares, traffic maps, news updates, and other information you care about. Now you can with Windows Sidebar and gadgets.

Enjoy easier setup and hands-off maintenance

Windows Vista Home Premium makes it easier than ever to set up and maintain your new PC. Get up and running fast using Windows Easy Transfer to automatically copy your files, photos, music, e-mail, and settings from your old PC to your new Windows Vista-based PC.

After your computer is set up, you will appreciate how Windows Vista works in the background to take care of itself and reduce the amount of technical maintenance you need to do. New performance technologies can help improve the responsiveness of your most-used applications and decrease the time it takes you to download files.

System disruptions are kept to a minimum with little or no effort required from you. New self-healing technology automatically identifies and fixes problems, and built-in diagnostics alert you to disk failure, defective memory, and other potential issues so they can be resolved before affecting your everyday tasks.

Safer

Benefit from advanced security features

It's likely that safety is one of your top concerns. We worked very hard on this area in the years since we developed Windows XP, and the result of that work is the most secure version of Windows yet.

There are thousands of advertisers and scammers out there, so it's good to know that you can take steps to prevent malicious software from infiltrating your PC. Your first line of defense in Windows Vista is Windows Firewall, which helps provide protection as soon as you turn on your computer. And Windows Defender can help you reduce the number of pop-ups and lessen the security threats posed by spyware and other unwanted software.

Surf more safely

After hearing the news stories about phishing scams, hackers, viruses, and worms, you may have the feeling that your PC is a constant target. But you can help decrease these online security threats by using Internet Explorer 7 and taking advantage of new capabilities in it that provide:

• Anti-phishing technology, which helps protect your personal information from fraudulent websites.

• Dynamic security protection that helps lower the risk of your system being damaged or disrupted.

• Internet Explorer protected mode, which helps reduce the likelihood of hackers taking over your browser and delivering malware to your system.

Help protect your family and your PC

If you share your PC with your family, you probably have concerns that your kids could accidentally install malicious software or change something important, such as deleting all your favorites. With User Account Control, you can set up a user account for each family member, so a child will be prompted for a password when attempting to change system settings, install any additional software, or to use certain websites or games. And each family member can have their own set of favorites and desktop layouts.

Wouldn't you love to be able to supervise what your kids are doing on their computer without feeling like you're the PC police? With Parental Controls, you can manage your children's computer use by setting time limits and rules for accessing the web and PC games. And you can tailor the controls to suit the age level and personal interests of each child.

Lastly, even though you know it's essential to back up all your priceless digital photos, music, movies, and documents, have you actually done it? If you're like many people, you may think it will be a lot of trouble and take a lot of time. But you won't even have to think about it when you set up a scheduled backup.

More entertaining

Enjoy home entertainment in a whole new way

Having fun shouldn't be hard work. Now, you can easily make your PC the center of a complete home entertainment experience with Windows Vista Home Premium.

Explore the options your entire digital entertainment library can offer with the easy-to-navigate Windows Media Center. For instance, you only need a cable TV connection and a TV tuner card to record TV shows and watch them whenever you like with no monthly fee. You can easily play DVDs, download movies, and even try something different like viewing your photos in a cinematic slide show or browsing your music collection by cover art.

Best of all, you don't have to stay in one room with your PC. You can take Windows Media Center to the next level and stream all of your digital entertainment on TVs throughout your home with support for Xbox 360 and other consumer electronics connected to your home network.

Get creative with your digital images, and then share them

You love your digital camera and you've probably taken hundreds of digital photos representing just as many memories. Maybe you've even downloaded most of them to your PC. But have you looked at them much since you did that? Would it be easy to find the ones from the London trip with your best friend two years ago?

There are many ways to get more enjoyment out of your photos with Windows Photo Gallery. First, you can organize them with tags, dates, and ratings so they are easier to find. You can crop them, correct red-eye effects, and adjust exposure and color with easy-to-use tools. And you can have fun creating slide shows with themes, cool transitions, and video as well as still photos.

You've been remembering scenes from the great vacation you just had with your two sisters who live far away. You took some beautiful pictures and even shot a little video. You can share some of the photos with Cindy through e-mail, but Nancy doesn't want to receive personal e-mail at work and doesn't have e-mail at home. Luckily, they each own a DVD player. So you can easily make a slide show for both of them and burn it to professional-looking video DVDs with Windows DVD Maker. What a great way to stay close.

Your dad is going to turn 80 in a few months and there is going to be a small family party. He is adamant about no gifts, but it doesn't seem right not to somehow mark such a milestone. Over the years you've amassed an awesome collection of photos and videos of him with your kids. You can easily edit and publish a digital home movie in standard or high-definition format with the updated Windows Movie Maker. Can you think of a more delightful way to celebrate?

Play your heart out

You never used to understand people's obsession with computer games. But lately you've been bonding with your son over his favorite game, LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures. And though you won't admit it to many people, you've taken to playing Spider Solitaire on your lunch breaks. Welcome to habitual fun and to improved gaming support in Windows Vista Home Premium.

For one thing, you and your son will be impressed with the hyper-realistic visuals and incredible performance. For another, you'll be able to fully explore next generation gaming options: with a DirectX 10 graphics card and the technology built into the operating system, only Windows Vista can run the latest, most graphically advanced PC games in the market.

A seemingly limitless choice of games compatible with Windows is great, but it could sometimes be challenging to find and launch them. Now, you can conveniently access all of your games, and information about them, in a single location on your PC using the Games Explorer.

Look for Games for Windows branded titles-from the simple to the spectacular-for every age and ability. Plus, have more fun with old favorites on your PC such as Spider Solitaire and Minesweeper, as well as three new premium games: Mahjong Titans, Chess Titans, and InkBall.

Better connected

Stay productive and entertained with your mobile PC

If you want a PC that can keep up with you while you're on the go, then you'll appreciate how Windows Vista Home Premium helps you get the most from your mobile PC.

You'll especially appreciate not worrying about battery life. With Fast Sleep and Resume, you can go for weeks without fully shutting down your laptop. Simply press the power button to pause and then resume your computer session in just seconds while conserving your battery life in sleep mode.

Does wireless networking seem complicated or even unsafe to you? Using the Network and Sharing Center can help make it easier for you to connect more securely to wireless networks when you're away from home and to set up a more secure wireless network at home.

It can often feel like you spend some days-especially weekends-running all over town. For your mobile devices to be useful, they may need to be in sync with your PC at home. You can use Sync Center to keep your supported mobile devices up to date with your calendar. And you can save time by using one location, the Windows Mobility Center, to quickly access and set your key mobile preferences.

You and your best friend are on your city's parks committee and are managing a volunteer rebuilding project. If you both have Windows Vista, you can collaborate face to face using Windows Meeting Space to share plans, schedules, and pictures of the project over a wired network, a wireless local area network, or an ad hoc wireless network.

Perhaps you often handwrite your shopping list on your Tablet PC or make funny sketches for your kids while you're watching their dance lesson or ballgame. You'll find improvements that make the pen feel more natural and help you scroll down webpages more easily. And you won't have to write out URLs and e-mail addresses you've used before because AutoComplete lists possible matches from previous letters or series of letters.

Take your entertainment on the go

If you have a ton of digital music, photos, and video stored on your PC, you'll value new features in Windows Media Player 11 that can help you manage your impressive media collection. And the best part is being able to easily connect to a variety of portable players so you can take it all with you wherever you go.

Windows Vista Ultimate

If you use the same computer at home and for your daily work, Windows Vista Ultimate is an excellent choice. You can smoothly shift between the things you want to do and the things you need to do. For fun, you'll love the extensive options you get for music, images, live and recorded TV, and online entertainment. For work, you'll find improved document sharing and networking support. If your PC is a laptop, you'll appreciate how easily you can manage and extend your battery life. And you'll get the most advanced, layered security protection of any Windows release yet.

Easier

See what you're doing, find what you need

The first things you'll notice about Windows Vista Ultimate are its elegant looks and how it helps you with essential tasks. It's easier to work with and visualize your information with Windows Aero. You can conveniently arrange and manage your open windows using Windows Flip and Flip 3D. And you won't have to click to see your content because live taskbar thumbnails reveal it.

Every day you have to hit the ground running at full speed. Now, with Instant Search, you have a faster way to find whatever you need on your PC, on your network, or on the Internet. Whether you're looking for an e-mail from a colleague, a picture of your mom, a spreadsheet from last quarter, or the website for your kid's homework, you only need to start typing in the Search box on the Start menu.

It's easier and faster to find anything, no matter where you may have saved it, with the consistent, streamlined menus, toolbars, and preview panes in the improved Explorers in Windows Vista. Explorers include Search boxes too, so you can search within a particular type of information, such as all your documents.

You can organize your files any way that you want and immediately sort and filter information based on file type, saved date, or the name of the file creator. Watch this demo to see how Windows Vista helps you find and organize information.

Back up without fuss, roll back file changes

If you've used a PC for long, chances are good that you know the sick feeling you get in your stomach after you've accidentally deleted a picture or a document you spent hours writing. And you know you can avoid that feeling by routinely backing up your files. But you can find yourself procrastinating because it seems like it will take a lot of time and trouble.

Now you can avoid the procrastination because you can easily use the Windows Backup and Restore Center. If you want to back up just your files and data, you can choose Automatic Backup. Or you can choose Windows Complete PC Backup and Restore, which can get your entire PC back to normal in one easy step if you experience a catastrophic hardware failure.

What do you do if you've made a lot of changes to a document and realize you want to go back to a previous version? In the past, you had only the version you'd most recently saved. Now, Shadow Copy automatically creates and archives copies of your files as you work on them. So if you accidentally saved over a document or a document becomes corrupted, you can easily retrieve any previous version of that file.

Use multiple languages

Windows Vista Ultimate is available in 35 languages-simultaneously. If you have a multilingual household or are learning a new language, you can install as many languages as you want and even switch between them as easily as logging off and back on again. And if your family shares a single PC, each family member can use his or her preferred language to interact with the PC.

Easily fax and scan

Once in a while you might need to send or receive a fax or scan a document or image. You have flexible, integrated faxing and scanning capabilities in one convenient location with Windows Fax and Scan. For faxing, you don't need a fax machine. And if you have a locally connected or network-connected scanner, you can scan documents and images with a single click.

Enjoy easier setup and simplified maintenance

If being an IT support person isn't your idea of fun, you can relax. For one thing, you can get up and running fast using Windows Easy Transfer to automatically copy your files, photos, music, e-mail, and settings from your old PC to your new Windows Vista-based PC.

After your computer is set up, you will be pleased that system disruptions are kept to a minimum with little or no effort on your part. Built-in diagnostics alert you to disk failure, defective memory, and other potential issues so they can be resolved before affecting your everyday tasks.

Behind the scenes, new self-healing technology can automatically identify and fix problems as they occur. And your system's performance is more consistent with Windows SuperFetch, which tracks when you use programs and ensures that you have faster access to them.

Smaller home and business networks can use the Network and Sharing Center to visually check the connection status of PCs and devices and troubleshoot connection problems. No additional IT support is required.

Safer

Benefit from advanced security features

It is likely that safety is one of your chief concerns. We have worked very hard on this area in the years since we developed Windows XP, and the result of that work is the most secure version of Windows yet.

You know that there are thousands of advertisers and spammers out there, so it's good to know that you can take steps to help protect your PC from many types of malicious software. Your first line of defense in Windows Vista is the more easily configured, automatically running Windows Firewall. And Windows Defender can help you reduce the number of pop-up ads and lessen the security threats caused by spyware and other unwanted software.

Feel safer on the web

The news stories about phishing scams, hackers, viruses, and worms may leave you feeling that your PC is a constant target. But you can help decrease these online security threats by taking advantage of the new capabilities in Windows Internet Explorer 7 that provide:

• Anti-phishing technology, which helps protect your personal information from fraudulent websites.

• Dynamic security protection that helps lower the risk of your system being damaged or disrupted.

• Internet Explorer protected mode, which helps reduce the likelihood of hackers taking over your browser and delivering malware to your system.

Help protect your family and your PC

If you share your PC with your family, you probably have concerns that your kids could accidentally install malicious software or change something important, such as deleting all your favorites. With User Account Control, you can set up a user account for each family member, so a child will be prompted for a password when attempting to change system settings, install any additional software, or to use certain websites or games. And each family member can have their own set of favorites and desktop layouts.

You want to be able to supervise what your kids are doing on their computer without feeling like you�re the PC police. With Parental Controls, you can set time limits for your children's computer use and manage their access to the web and to PC games. And you can tailor the controls to suit the age level and personal interests of each child.

Help protect confidential information

If you have confidential information on your laptop, you want to do everything possible to safeguard it with the help of multiple layers of protection in Windows Vista Ultimate. For one thing, to help prevent sensitive business information and data from being shared outside of your company, you can password-protect shared documents with the Encrypting File System.

And you can help ensure the integrity of valuable information on your PC with Windows BitLocker Drive Encryption. Your entire hard drive is encrypted so that only you can access that information-even if your PC is lost, stolen, or decommissioned.

Help protect your business

Windows Vista Ultimate includes support for joining a network domain-a standard business networking feature that enables improved security and manageability for business PCs. An updated Group Policy infrastructure helps system administrators save time and reduce security risks by configuring wireless network settings, removable storage devices, printers, Internet Explorer, and even power-management settings centrally and automatically.

In addition, Windows Vista Ultimate includes the essential IT infrastructure features found in Windows Vista Business and Windows Vista Enterprise so that your PCs and IT infrastructure can grow along with your business.

More entertaining

Explore all your digital home entertainment options

You spend a lot of your time working hard, so you want it to be simple to relax and have fun in your home. You can easily make your PC the center of a complete home entertainment experience with Windows Vista Ultimate.

Did you know you don't need to buy a special box or pay a monthly fee to record TV? With a TV tuner and a cable connection, you're ready to go. And that's just one part of how you can enjoy your entire digital entertainment library on your PC or on your television with Windows Media Center.

Use your mouse or an optional remote control to easily play DVDs, download movies, and even try something different like viewing your photos in a cinematic slide show or browsing your music collection by cover art.

Best of all, you're not limited to staying in the room where you keep your PC. With Xbox 360 support and other consumer electronics connected to your home network, you can stream your movies and music to TVs throughout your home.

Get more pleasure from your digital images

You love your digital camera and you've probably taken hundreds of digital photos representing just as many memories. Maybe you've even downloaded most of them to your PC. But have you looked at them much since you did that? Would it be easy to find specific ones from that amazing Switzerland trip with your best friend two years ago?

Now, with Windows Photo Gallery, you have better and more flexible ways to make the most of your digital photos and home videos. For one thing, you can create keyword "tags" and a star rating system to manage and organize them, and then use built-in Instant Search to find them again quickly.

You can easily crop them, fix red eye, and even adjust the exposure and color. And the coolest thing is being able to choose from several themes and templates to create slide shows of your still photos and videos, set them to music, and even watch them on your TV.

Share the fun and enjoy it on the go

Your mom is turning 75 in a couple of months. She insists that she doesn't need any more stuff. So what can you do for a gift? She recently spent a week with you and you got some great photos and videos of her with your kids. You can easily create a photo slide show and burn it to a professional-looking video DVD with Windows DVD Maker. Then you'll all have a great time watching it on her DVD player at her party.

You also can capture, edit, and publish your digital home movies in standard or high-definition format with the updated Windows Movie Maker and Windows Movie Maker HD.

Get deep into your games

You used to wonder how people can be so obsessed with computer games. But lately you've been bonding with your daughter over her favorite game, The Sims 2. And now you've taken to playing FreeCell on your lunch breaks. Welcome to habitual fun and to improved gaming support in Windows Vista Ultimate.

For one thing, you and your kids will be impressed with the hyper-realistic visuals and incredible performance. For another, you'll be able to fully explore next generation gaming options: with a DirectX 10 graphics card and the technology built into the operating system, only Windows Vista can run the latest, most graphically advanced PC games in the market.

A seemingly limitless choice of games compatible with Windows is great, but it could sometimes be challenging to find and launch them. Now, you can conveniently access all of your games, and information about them, in a single location on your PC using the Games Explorer.

Look for Games for Windows branded titles-from the simple to the spectacular-for every age and ability. Plus, have more fun with old favorites on your PC such as Spider Solitaire and Minesweeper, as well as three new premium games: Mahjong Titans, Chess Titans, and InkBall.

Better connected

Stay productive and entertained with your mobile PC

If you're like many people, you have a laptop at work and sometimes take it home or on the road with you. You'll appreciate how Windows Vista Ultimate helps you get the most from your mobile PC while you're on the go.

You'll especially appreciate not worrying about battery life. With Fast Sleep and Resume, you can go for extended periods of time without fully shutting down your laptop. Simply press the power button to pause and then resume your computer session in just seconds while conserving your battery life in sleep mode.

If you often have to leave your office for meetings, it can seem like you're constantly managing transitions between being plugged in, using battery power, and using wireless. You can save time and worry by using one location, the Windows Mobility Center, to quickly access and set key mobile system settings. You can even adjust power options to maximize your PC's battery life.

Improved wireless networking and support for the most up-to-date wireless security standards helps you connect to wireless networks in the workplace, at home, or in public hotspots with more confidence, privacy, and ease.

Take your Tablet PC further

If your mobile computing is done on a Tablet PC, you'll notice significant improvements in pen-and-ink functionality, navigation, and handwriting recognition. For instance, pen flicks make it easier to scroll down webpages. You won't have to write out URLs and e-mail addresses you've used before because AutoComplete lists possible matches from previous letters or series of letters. And you'll find built-in support for touch screens.

Access one computer from another one, virtually anywhere

If you use both a desktop PC and a laptop, it's likely that at some point you'll need to get something off your desktop computer when you're on the road with your laptop. You can use the Remote Desktop Connection feature to more easily and securely access your documents and programs remotely. When you're able to gain remote access from across your home network, a work network, or across the Internet from another computer, you can get work done wherever you have a network connection.

Keep in touch, in sync, and informed

You probably depend on network connectivity pretty regularly. Now, keeping connected is easier. If there is a problem with your network connectivity, the new Network Diagnostics tool is designed to help you identify and solve the problem quickly and easily. In fact, most common problems are automatically fixed for you.

When you're collaborating on a project with a small group of Windows Vista users, you can use Windows Meeting Space to meet face to face and share documents over a wired network, a wireless local area network, or an ad hoc wireless network.

If you're like a lot of people, you don't use just a PC. You probably have a cell phone and maybe other devices or servers for your information. So you know it can be a challenge trying to keep all the information synchronized. The new Sync Center in Windows Vista Ultimate offers one convenient place where you can easily keep other PCs, server shares, shared documents, digital media devices, Smartphones, Pocket PCs, and other devices synchronized with your PC.

Take your entertainment on the go

If you have a ton of digital music, photos, and video stored on your PC, you'll value new features in Windows Media Player 11 that can help you manage your media collection and easily connect to a variety of portable players so you can take it all with you.