Windows Vista
(Part of the Microsoft Windows family)
Screenshot
Screenshot of Windows Vista
Developer
Microsoft
Web site: Windows Vista: Homepage
Release information
Release date:	RTM: November 8, 2006; Vol. Microsoft Windows is a series of Software Operating systems and Graphical user interfaces produced by Microsoft. Events 1519 - Hernán Cortés enters Tenochtitlán and Aztec ruler Moctezuma welcomes him with great a Celebration Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Lic. : November 30, 2006; Retail: January 30, 2007 info
Current version:	6. Events 1700 - Battle of Narva — A Swedish army of 8500 men under Charles XII defeats Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1648 - Eighty Years' War: The Treaty of Münster is signed ending the conflict between the Netherlands and Spain Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. 0 Service Pack 1 (SP1) (Build 6001) (6001. 18000. 080118-1840), February 4, 2008 info
Source model:	Closed source / Shared source
License:	MS-EULA
Kernel type:	Hybrid kernel
Available language(s):	Multilingual
Update method:	Windows Update, Windows Server Update Services, SCCM
Platform support:	x86, x86-64
Default user interface(s):	Graphical user interface
Support status
Current
Further reading
Development of Windows Vista Features new to Windows Vista Management features new to Windows Vista Security and safety features new to Windows Vista Technical features new to Windows Vista Windows Vista I/O technologies Windows Vista networking technologies Features removed from Windows Vista Windows Vista editions Criticism of Windows Vista

Windows Vista (pronounced /ˈvɪstə/) is a line of operating systems developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, Tablet PCs, and media center PCs. Events 211 - Roman Emperor Septimius Severus dies leaving the Roman Empire in the hands of his two quarrelsome sons 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Proprietary software is Computer software on which the producer has set restrictions on use private modification copying, or republishing. Shared Source is Microsoft 's framework for sharing Computer program Source code with third parties A software license (or software licence in commonwealth usage is a Legal instrument governing the usage or redistribution of copyright protected software In Computer science, the kernel is the central component of most computer Operating systems (OS Hybrid kernel is a kernel architecture based on combining aspects of Microkernel and Monolithic kernel architectures used in Computer In the Philosophy of language, a natural language (or ordinary language) is a Language that is spoken or written in phonemic-alphabetic or phonemically-related Windows Update is a service provided by Microsoft for users of Microsoft Windows which provides updates for the Operating system and its installed components WSUS (1023 FM) is a Class A Radio station serving the Sussex County New Jersey, area System Center Configuration Manager, formerly Systems Management Server (SMS is a Systems management software product by Microsoft for managing large In Computing, a platform describes some sort of Hardware architecture or Software framework (including Application frameworks, that allows See also X86 assembly language The generic term x86 refers to the most commercially successful Instruction set architecture in the history of Personal x86-64 is a Superset of the x86 instruction set architecture. The user interface (or Human Computer Interface) is the aggregate of means by which people&mdash the users '&mdash interact with the System Development of Windows Vista occurred over the span of five and a half years starting in earnest in May 2001 prior to the release of Microsoft 's Windows XP Windows Vista (formerly codenamed Longhorn) has many new features compared with previous Microsoft Windows versions covering most aspects of the operating Windows Vista contains a range of new technologies and features that are intended to help Network administrators and Power users better manage their systems There are a number of security and safety features new to Windows Vista, most of which are not available in any prior Microsoft Windows Operating system Windows Vista (formerly codenamed Windows "Longhorn") has many significant new features compared with previous Microsoft Windows versions covering Windows Vista, Microsoft 's current Windows Operating system as of 2008 includes a number of new I/O functions Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 contain a new networking stack named Next Generation TCP/IP stack, which brings large improvements in all areas of network-related While Windows Vista contains many new features, a number of capabilities and certain programs that were a part of Windows XP are no longer present or changed resulting Windows Vista is available in six different marketing editions This article covers only the criticism that applies specifically to Vista An operating system (commonly abbreviated OS and O/S) is the software component of a Computer system that is responsible for the management and coordination Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational Computer technology Corporation, which rose to dominate the Home computer A personal computer ( PC) is any Computer whose original sales price size and capabilities make it useful for individuals and which is intended to be operated A desktop computer is a Personal computer (PC in a form intended for regular use at a single location as opposed to a mobile Laptop or portable computer A laptop computer, also known as a notebook computer, is a small Personal computer designed for mobile use. A Tablet PC is a Notebook or slate-shaped Mobile computer, equipped with a Touchscreen or Graphics tablet/screen hybrid technology which allows The term media center refers either to a dedicated Computer appliance or to a specialized Personal computer Software, both of which are adapted for Prior to its announcement on July 22, 2005, Windows Vista was known by its codename "Longhorn". Events 1099 - First Crusade: Godfrey of Bouillon is elected the first Defender of the Holy Sepulchre of The Kingdom of Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Microsoft codenames are the Codenames given by Microsoft to products it has in development before these products are given the names by which they appear on store ^[1] Development was completed on November 8, 2006; over the following three months it was released in stages to computer hardware and software manufacturers, business customers, and retail channels. Events 1519 - Hernán Cortés enters Tenochtitlán and Aztec ruler Moctezuma welcomes him with great a Celebration Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. On January 30, 2007, it was released worldwide,^[2] and was made available for purchase and download from Microsoft's website. Events 1648 - Eighty Years' War: The Treaty of Münster is signed ending the conflict between the Netherlands and Spain Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational Computer technology Corporation, which rose to dominate the Home computer ^[3] The release of Windows Vista comes more than five years after the introduction of its predecessor, Windows XP, the longest time span between successive releases of Microsoft Windows. Windows XP is a family of 32-bit and 64-bit Operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on Personal computers including home and Microsoft Windows is a series of Software Operating systems and Graphical user interfaces produced by Microsoft.

Windows Vista contains many changes and new features, including an updated graphical user interface and visual style dubbed Windows Aero, improved searching features, new multimedia creation tools such as Windows DVD Maker, and redesigned networking, audio, print, and display sub-systems. Windows Vista (formerly codenamed Longhorn) has many new features compared with previous Microsoft Windows versions covering most aspects of the operating In Computing, skins may be associated with themes as custom graphical appearances ( GUIs) that can be applied to certain software and Windows Aero is the Graphical user interface and the default theme in most editions of Windows Vista, an Operating system released by Microsoft Windows Search (formerly known as Windows Desktop Search or WDS on Windows XP and Windows Server 2003) is an indexed Desktop Windows DVD Maker is an application included in premium editions (Home Premium and Ultimate of Windows Vista that is designed to enable the creation of Vista also aims to increase the level of communication between machines on a home network, using peer-to-peer technology to simplify sharing files and digital media between computers and devices. A home network is a residential Local area network, and is used to connect multiple devices within the home For other uses of the term see Peer-to-peer (disambiguation For peer-to-peer networks used for file sharing see File sharing A computer file is a block of Arbitrary Information, or resource for storing information which is available to a Computer program and is usually Digital media (as opposed to analog media) usually refers to Electronic media that work on digital Codes. Windows Vista includes version 3. 0 of the .NET Framework, which aims to make it significantly easier for software developers to write applications than with the traditional Windows API. A software developer is a person or organization concerned with facets of the software development process wider than design and coding a somewhat broader scope of The Windows API, informally WinAPI, is Microsoft's core set of Application programming interfaces (APIs available in the Microsoft Windows Operating

Microsoft's primary stated objective with Windows Vista, however, has been to improve the state of security in the Windows operating system. ^[4] One common criticism of Windows XP and its predecessors has been their commonly exploited security vulnerabilities and overall susceptibility to malware, viruses and buffer overflows. For criticism applying to several or all versions of Microsoft Windows, see Criticism of Microsoft Windows. In Computer security, the term vulnerability is applied to a weakness in a system which allows an attacker to violate the integrity of that system Malware, a Portmanteau word from the words '''mal'''icious and soft'''ware''', is software designed to infiltrate or damage a computer system without A computer virus is a Computer program that can copy itself and infect a computer without permission or knowledge of the user In Computer security and programming, a buffer overflow, or buffer overrun, is an anomalous condition where a process attempts to In light of this, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates announced in early 2002 a company-wide "Trustworthy Computing initiative" which aims to incorporate security work into every aspect of software development at the company. If you would like to experiment with Wikipedia please copy The term Trustworthy Computing (TwC has been applied to computing systems that are inherently secure available and reliable Microsoft stated that it prioritized improving the security of Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 above finishing Windows Vista, thus delaying its completion. Windows XP is a family of 32-bit and 64-bit Operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on Personal computers including home and Windows Server 2003 (also referred to as Win2K3 is a server Operating system produced by Microsoft. ^[5]

While these new features and security improvements have garnered positive reviews, Vista has also been the target of much criticism and negative press. Criticism of Windows Vista has targeted high system requirements, its more restrictive licensing terms, the inclusion of a number of new digital rights management technologies aimed at restricting the copying of protected digital media, lack of compatibility with certain pre-Vista hardware and software, and the number of authorization prompts for User Account Control. This article covers only the criticism that applies specifically to Vista Digital rights management ( DRM) is a generic term that refers to Access control technologies used by hardware manufacturers publishers and Copyright holders User Account Control ( UAC) is a technology and security infrastructure introduced with Microsoft 's Windows Vista Operating system. As a result of these and other issues, Vista has seen adoption and satisfaction rates lower than Windows XP. ^[6]

Development

Main article: Development of Windows Vista

The Windows Vista Codename (Longhorn) logo

Microsoft began work on Windows Vista, known at the time by its codename "Longhorn" in May 2001,^[7] five months prior to the release of Windows XP. Development of Windows Vista occurred over the span of five and a half years starting in earnest in May 2001 prior to the release of Microsoft 's Windows XP It was originally expected to ship sometime late in 2003 as a minor step between Windows XP and "Blackcomb", which was planned to be the company's next major operating system release. Gradually, "Longhorn" assimilated many of the important new features and technologies slated for "Blackcomb", resulting in the release date being pushed back several times. Many of Microsoft's developers were also re-tasked with improving the security of Windows XP and Windows Server 2003, both of which had been the target of a number of high-profile security lapses. ^[5] Faced with ongoing delays and concerns about feature creep, Microsoft announced on August 27, 2004 that it had revised its plans. Feature creep (or feeping creaturism) is the proliferation of features in a product such as Computer software. Events 479 BC - Greco-Persian Wars: Persian forces led by Mardonius are routed by Pausanias, the Spartan "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " The original "Longhorn", based on the Windows XP source code, was scrapped, and Longhorn's development started anew, building on the Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 codebase, and re-incorporating only the features that would be intended for an actual operating system release. Windows XP is a family of 32-bit and 64-bit Operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on Personal computers including home and Some previously announced features such as WinFS were dropped or postponed, and a new software development methodology called the "Security Development Lifecycle" was incorporated in an effort to address concerns with the security of the Windows codebase. WinFS (short for Windows Future Storage) is the code name for a data storage and management system based on Relational databases developed by The Trustworthy Computing Security Development Lifecycle is a Software development process used and proposed by Microsoft to reduce software maintenance ^[8]

After "Longhorn" was named Windows Vista in July 2005, an unprecedented beta-test program was started, involving hundreds of thousands of volunteers and companies. A software release is the distribution whether public or private of an initial or new and upgraded version of a Computer software product In September of that year, Microsoft started releasing regular Community Technology Previews (CTP) to beta testers. A software release is the distribution whether public or private of an initial or new and upgraded version of a Computer software product The first of these was distributed at the 2005 Microsoft Professional Developers Conference, and was subsequently released to beta testers and Microsoft Developer Network subscribers. Microsoft 's Professional Developers Conference (or PDC) is a conference for Software developers normally Windows developers The Microsoft Developer Network ( MSDN) is the portion of Microsoft responsible for managing the firm's relationship with developers hardware developers interested The builds that followed incorporated most of the planned features for the final product, as well as a number of changes to the user interface, based largely on feedback from beta testers. Windows Vista was deemed feature-complete with the release of the "February CTP", released on February 22, 2006, and much of the remainder of work between that build and the final release of the product focused on stability, performance, application and driver compatibility, and documentation. Events 1495 - King Charles VIII of France enters Naples to claim the city's throne Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Beta 2, released in late May, was the first build to be made available to the general public through Microsoft's Customer Preview Program. It was downloaded by over five million people. Two release candidates followed in September and October, both of which were made available to a large number of users. ^[9]

While Microsoft had originally hoped to have the consumer versions of the operating system available worldwide in time for Christmas 2006, it was announced in March 2006 that the release date would be pushed back to January 2007, in order to give the company – and the hardware and software companies which Microsoft depends on for providing device drivers – additional time to prepare. In computing a device driver or software driver is a Computer program allowing higher-level computer programs to interact with a Hardware device Through much of 2006, analysts and bloggers had speculated that Windows Vista would be delayed further, owing to anti-trust concerns raised by the European Commission and South Korea, and due to a perceived lack of progress with the beta releases. However, with the November 8, 2006 announcement of the completion of Windows Vista, Microsoft's lengthiest operating system development project came to an end. Events 1519 - Hernán Cortés enters Tenochtitlán and Aztec ruler Moctezuma welcomes him with great a Celebration Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ^[10]

New or improved features

Main article: Features new to Windows Vista

End-user features

The appearance of Windows Explorer has changed since Windows XP. Windows Vista (formerly codenamed Longhorn) has many new features compared with previous Microsoft Windows versions covering most aspects of the operating This article is about the Windows file system browser For the similarly named internet browser see Internet Explorer Windows Explorer is a

• Windows Aero: The new hardware-based graphical user interface is named Windows Aero, which Jim Allchin has said is an acronym for Authentic, Energetic, Reflective, and Open. Windows Aero is the Graphical user interface and the default theme in most editions of Windows Vista, an Operating system released by Microsoft James "Jim" Edward Allchin (born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1951 is a former executive at Microsoft, where he was responsible for many of the . ^[11] The new interface is intended to be cleaner and more aesthetically pleasing than those of previous Windows, including new transparencies, live thumbnails, live icons, and animations, thus providing a new level of eye candy. Laptop users report however that battery life is shortened with the feature enabled. A laptop computer, also known as a notebook computer, is a small Personal computer designed for mobile use. ^[12][13]
• Windows Shell: The new Windows shell is significantly different from Windows XP, offering a new range of organization, navigation, and search capabilities. In Computing, Windows Shell is the most visible aspect of the Microsoft Windows line of Operating systems The shell is the container inside of which the Windows Explorer's task pane has been removed, integrating the relevant task options into the toolbar. This article is about the Windows file system browser For the similarly named internet browser see Internet Explorer Windows Explorer is a A "Favorite links" pane has been added, enabling one-click access to common directories. The address bar has been replaced with a breadcrumb navigation system. Breadcrumbs or breadcrumb trail are a navigation technique used in User interfaces Its purpose is to give users a way to keep track of their location within programs The preview pane allows users to see thumbnails of various files and view the contents of documents. The details pane shows information such as file size and type, and allows viewing and editing of embedded tags in supported file formats. A tag is a non-hierarchical keyword or term assigned to a piece of information (such as an Internet bookmark, digital image or Computer file) The Start menu has changed as well; it no longer uses ever-expanding boxes when navigating through Programs. For the keyboard button that activates the start menu see Windows key. The word "Start" itself has been removed in favor of a blue Windows Orb (also called "Pearl").
• Instant Search (also known as search as you type) : Windows Vista features a new way of searching called Instant Search, which is significantly faster and more in-depth (content-based) than the search features found in any of the previous versions of Windows. Windows Vista (formerly codenamed Longhorn) has many new features compared with previous Microsoft Windows versions covering most aspects of the operating In Computing, incremental find is a User interface interaction method to progressively search for and filter through text ^[14]

• Windows Sidebar: A transparent panel anchored to the side of the screen where a user can place Desktop Gadgets, which are small applets designed for a specialized purpose (such as displaying the weather or sports scores). The Windows Sidebar is a Widget engine for Microsoft Gadgets, which is anchored to the side of the desktop. Microsoft Gadgets are light-weight single-purpose applications that can sit on the user's computer desktop or are hosted on a web page Gadgets can also be placed on other parts of the desktop.
• Windows Internet Explorer 7: New user interface, tabbed browsing, RSS, a search box, improved printing,^[15] Page Zoom, Quick Tabs (thumbnails of all open tabs), Anti-Phishing filter, a number of new security protection features, Internationalized Domain Name support (IDN), and improved web standards support. In the area of Graphical user interfaces a tabbed document interface ( TDI) is one that allows multiple Documents to be contained within a single window RSS is a family of Web feed formats used to publish frequently updated works – such as Blog entries news headlines audio and video – in a standardized IE7 in Windows Vista runs in isolation from other applications in the operating system (protected mode); exploits and malicious software are restricted from writing to any location beyond Temporary Internet Files without explicit user consent.

Windows Media Player 11

• Windows Media Player 11, a major revamp of Microsoft's program for playing and organizing music and video. Windows Media Player ( WMP) is a digital media player and media library application developed by Microsoft that is used for playing Windows Media Player ( WMP) is a digital media player and media library application developed by Microsoft that is used for playing New features in this version include word wheeling (or "search as you type"), a new GUI for the media library, photo display and organization, the ability to share music libraries over a network with other Vista machines, Xbox 360 integration, and support for other Media Center Extenders. The Xbox 360 is the second Video game console produced by Microsoft, and was developed in cooperation with IBM, ATI, and SiS. Windows Media Center Extenders (officially "Extender for Windows Media Center") are set-top boxes that are configured to connect via a Network link to a
• Backup and Restore Center: Includes a backup and restore application that gives users the ability to schedule periodic backups of files on their computer, as well as recovery from previous backups. Backup and Restore Center is a component included in Windows Vista that allows users to access file Backup utilities built into the operating system Backups are incremental, storing only the changes each time, minimizing disk usage. It also features Complete PC Backup (available only in Ultimate, Business, and Enterprise versions) which backs up an entire computer as an image onto a hard disk or DVD. Complete PC Backup can automatically recreate a machine setup onto new hardware or hard disk in case of any hardware failures. Complete PC Restore can be initiated from within Windows Vista or from the Windows Vista installation CD in the event the PC is so corrupt that it cannot start up normally from the hard disk.
• Windows Mail: A replacement for Outlook Express that includes a new mail store that improves stability,^[16] and features integrated Instant Search. Windows Mail is an e-mail and newsgroup client included in Windows Vista and later versions It has the Phishing Filter like IE7 and Junk mail filtering that is enhanced through regular updates via Windows Update. Email filtering is the processing of E-mail to organize it according to specified criteria ^[17]
• Windows Calendar is a new calendar and task application. This article describes Windows Vista Calendar application For Windows 3
• Windows Photo Gallery, a photo and movie library management application. Windows Photo Gallery is a photo management tagging and editing tool that is included in Windows Vista. It can import from digital cameras, tag and rate individual items, adjust colors and exposure, create and display slideshows (with pan and fade effects) and burn slideshows to DVD.
• Windows DVD Maker, a companion program to Windows Movie Maker that provides the ability to create video DVDs based on a user's content. Windows DVD Maker is an application included in premium editions (Home Premium and Ultimate of Windows Vista that is designed to enable the creation of Users can design a DVD with title, menu, video, soundtrack, pan and zoom motion effects on pictures or slides.
• Windows Media Center, which was previously exclusively bundled as a separate version of Windows XP, known as Windows XP Media Center Edition, has been incorporated into the Home Premium and Ultimate editions of Windows Vista. Windows Media Center is an application designed to serve as a home-entertainment hub. Windows XP has been released in several editions since its original release in 2001
• Games and Games Explorer: Games included with Windows have been modified to showcase Vista's graphics capabilities. Games for Windows is a gaming platform and Marketing campaign by Microsoft that dates back at least to 2005, and was revised in 2006. New games are Chess Titans, Mahjong Titans and Purble Place. Chess Titans is a Computer game of Chess developed by Oberon Games and included in premium editions of Windows Vista. Mahjong Titans is a Computer game version of Mahjong solitaire developed by Oberon Games and included in the Home Premium Business Enterprise and Ultimate Purble Place is a computer game developed by Oberon Games and included in Windows Vista. A new Games Explorer special folder holds shortcuts and information to all games on the user's computer.

Windows Mobility Center. Windows Mobility Center is a component of Microsoft Windows, introduced in Windows Vista, that centralizes the most relevant information to mobile computing

• Windows Mobility Center is a control panel that centralizes the most relevant information related to mobile computing (brightness, sound, battery level / power scheme selection, wireless network, screen orientation, presentation settings, etc. Windows Mobility Center is a component of Microsoft Windows, introduced in Windows Vista, that centralizes the most relevant information to mobile computing ).
• Windows Meeting Space replaces NetMeeting. Windows Meeting Space (codenamed Windows Collaboration) is the name of a Peer-to-peer collaboration program in Windows Vista that supports Microsoft NetMeeting is a VoIP and multi-point Videoconferencing client included in many versions of Microsoft Windows (from Windows 95 OSR2 Users can share applications (or their entire desktop) with other users on the local network, or over the Internet using peer-to-peer technology (higher versions than Starter and Home Basic can take advantage of hosting capabilities, Starter and Home Basic editions are limited to "join" mode only)
• Shadow Copy automatically creates daily backup copies of files and folders. Shadow Copy (also called Volume Snapshot Service or VSS, or Previous Versions in Windows Vista) is a feature introduced with Windows XP Users can also create "shadow copies" by setting a System Protection Point using the System Protection tab in the System control panel. The user can be presented multiple versions of a file throughout a limited history and be allowed to restore, delete, or copy those versions. This feature is available only in the Business, Enterprise, and Ultimate editions of Windows Vista and is inherited from Windows Server 2003. Windows Server 2003 (also referred to as Win2K3 is a server Operating system produced by Microsoft. ^[18]

Windows Update with Windows Ultimate Extras

• Windows Update: Software and security updates have been simplified,^[19] now operating solely via a control panel instead of as a web application. Windows Update is a service provided by Microsoft for users of Microsoft Windows which provides updates for the Operating system and its installed components Windows Ultimate Extras are optional features offered to users of Windows Vista Ultimate Edition. Windows Update is a service provided by Microsoft for users of Microsoft Windows which provides updates for the Operating system and its installed components In Software engineering, a web application or webapp is an application that is accessed via Web browser over a network such as the Internet Windows Mail's spam filter and Windows Defender's definitions are updated automatically via Windows Update. Users who choose the recommended setting for Automatic Updates will have the latest drivers installed and available when they add a new device.
• Parental controls: Allows administrators to control which websites, programs and games each standard user can use and install. Parental controls are options typically included in Digital television services computer and video games, or computer software This feature is not included in the Business or Enterprise editions of Vista.
• Windows SideShow: Enables the auxiliary displays on newer laptops or on supported Windows Mobile devices. Windows SideShow is a technology introduced in Windows Vista that enables Windows PCs to drive a variety of auxiliary display devices connected to the main PC It is meant to be used to display device gadgets while the computer is on or off.
• Speech recognition is integrated into Vista. Windows Speech Recognition is a Speech recognition application included in Windows Vista, the most recently released version of Microsoft Windows. ^[20] It features a redesigned user interface and configurable command-and-control commands. Unlike the Office 2003 version, which works only in Office and WordPad, Speech Recognition in Windows Vista works for any accessible application. In addition, it currently supports several languages: British and American English, Spanish, French, German, Chinese (Traditional and Simplified) and Japanese.
• New fonts, including several designed for screen reading, and improved Chinese (Yahei, JhengHei), Japanese (Meiryo) and Korean (Malgun) fonts. In typography a font (also fount) is traditionally defined as a complete character set of a single size and style of a particular Typeface. ClearType has also been enhanced and enabled by default. ClearType is the Microsoft implementation of Subpixel rendering technology aiming to improve the appearance of text on certain types of Computer display
• Problem Reports and Solutions, a control panel which allows users to view previously sent problems and any solutions or additional information that is available. Problem Reports and Solutions is a Control Panel applet included in Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008.
• Improved audio controls allow the system-wide volume or volume of individual audio devices and even individual applications to be controlled separately. New audio functionalities such as Room Correction, Bass Management, Speaker Fill and Headphone virtualization have also been incorporated.
• Windows System Assessment Tool is a tool used to benchmark system performance. The Windows System Assessment Tool ( WinSAT) is a module of Microsoft Windows Vista which measures various performance characteristics and capabilities of Software such as games can retrieve this rating and modify its own behavior at runtime to improve performance. The benchmark tests CPU, RAM, 2-D and 3-D graphics acceleration, Graphics Memory and Hard disk space. ^[21][22]
• Windows Ultimate Extras: The Ultimate edition of Windows Vista provides, via Windows Update, access to some additional features. Windows Ultimate Extras are optional features offered to users of Windows Vista Ultimate Edition. These are a collection of additional MUI language packs, Texas Hold 'Em (a Poker game), BitLocker and EFS enhancements which allow users to backup their encryption key online in a Digital Locker, and Windows Dreamscene, which enables the use of videos in MPEG and WMV formats as the desktop background. Multilingual User Interface ( MUI) is the name of a Microsoft technology for Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Office and other applications that BitLocker Drive Encryption is a Full disk encryption feature included with Microsoft 's Windows Vista Ultimate, Windows Vista Enterprise The Encrypting File System (EFS is a file system driver that provides Filesystem-level encryption in Microsoft Windows ( 2000 and later operating Windows DreamScene is a utility that allows Videos and other optimized Animations to be used as desktop wallpapers. The Moving Picture Experts Group, commonly referred to as simply MPEG, is a Working group of ISO / IEC charged with the development of video and Windows Media Video ( WMV) is a compressed Video file format for several proprietary Codecs developed by Microsoft. On April 21st 2008, Microsoft launched two more Ultimate Extras; a new Windows sound scheme, and a content pack for Dreamscene.
• Disk Management: The Logical Disk Manager in Windows Vista supports shrinking and expanding volumes on-the-fly. The Logical Disk Manager is an implementation of a logical volume manager for Microsoft Windows NT, developed by Microsoft and Veritas Software
• Reliability and Performance Monitor includes various tools for tuning and monitoring system performance and resources activities of CPU, disks, network, memory and other resources. It shows the operations on files, the opened connections, etc.
• S3 Sleep State as a default enabled feature that will typically draw only about 2 to 3 watts of power while it sleeps, and it will take only a few seconds to pick up where you left off before it went dormant. ^[23]

Core technologies

Main article: Technical features new to Windows Vista

Windows Vista is intended to be a technology-based release, to provide a base to include advanced technologies, many of which are related to how the system functions and thus not readily visible to the user. Windows Vista (formerly codenamed Windows "Longhorn") has many significant new features compared with previous Microsoft Windows versions covering An example is the complete restructuring of the architecture of the audio, print, display, and networking subsystems; while the results of this work are visible to software developers, end-users will only see what appear to be evolutionary changes in the user interface.

Vista includes technologies such as ReadyBoost and ReadyDrive which employ fast flash memory (located on USB drives and hybrid hard disk drives) to improve system performance by caching commonly used programs and data. ReadyBoost is an operating system feature included with Microsoft 's Windows Vista Operating system. Windows Vista, Microsoft 's current Windows Operating system as of 2008 includes a number of new I/O functions Flash memory is non-volatile computer memory that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed A hybrid drive or Hybrid Hard Drive (HHD is a type of large-buffer computer hard disk drive. This manifests itself in improved battery life on notebook computers as well, since a hybrid drive can be spun down when not in use. Another new technology called SuperFetch utilizes machine learning techniques to analyze usage patterns to allow Windows Vista to make intelligent decisions about what content should be present in system memory at any given time. Windows Vista, Microsoft 's current Windows Operating system as of 2008 includes a number of new I/O functions Machine learning is a subfield of Artificial intelligence that is concerned with the design and development of Algorithms and techniques that allow computers to "learn"

As part of the redesign of the networking architecture, IPv6 has been fully incorporated into the operating system and a number of performance improvements have been introduced, such as TCP window scaling. Internet Protocol version 6 ( IPv6) is an Internet Layer protocol for packet -switched internetworks. The TCP window scale option is an option to increase the TCP receive window size above its maximum value of 65536 bytes Earlier versions of Windows typically needed third-party wireless networking software to work properly, but this is not the case with Vista, which includes more comprehensive wireless networking support.

For graphics, Vista introduces a new Windows Display Driver Model and a major revision to Direct3D. Windows Display Driver Model ( WDDM, also WVDDM) is the Graphic driver architecture for Video card drivers running Microsoft Windows Direct3D is part of Microsoft 's DirectX API. Direct3D is only available for Microsoft's various Windows Operating systems ( Windows The new driver model facilitates the new Desktop Window Manager, which provides the tearing-free desktop and special effects that are the cornerstones of Windows Aero. Desktop Window Manager ( DWM, previously Desktop Compositing Engine or DCE) is a Compositing window manager, introduced with Windows Vista Screen tearing is a Phenomenon in Video where a previously rendered frame overlaps a newly rendered frame creating a torn look as two parts Direct3D 10, developed in conjunction with major display driver manufacturers, is a new architecture with more advanced shader support, and allows the graphics processing unit to render more complex scenes without assistance from the CPU. A shader in the field of Computer graphics is a set of software instructions which is used by the graphic resources primarily to perform rendering effects It features improved load balancing between CPU and GPU and also optimizes data transfer between them. ^[24]

At the core of the operating system, many improvements have been made to the memory manager, process scheduler and I/O scheduler. An operating system (commonly abbreviated OS and O/S) is the software component of a Computer system that is responsible for the management and coordination The Heap Manager implements additional features such as integrity checking in order to improve robustness and defend against buffer overflow security exploits, although this comes at the price of breaking backward compatibility with some legacy applications. In Computer security and programming, a buffer overflow, or buffer overrun, is an anomalous condition where a process attempts to An exploit (from the same word in the French language, meaning "achievement" or "accomplishment" is a piece of Software, a chunk of data or ^[25] A Kernel Transaction Manager has been implemented that enables applications to work with the file system and Registry using atomic transaction operations. Kernel Transaction Manager (KTM is a component of the Windows Operating system kernel in Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 that enables In Computing, a file system (often also written as filesystem) is a method for storing and organizing Computer files and the data they contain to make The Windows registry is a directory which stores settings and options for the Operating system for Microsoft Windows 32-bit versions 64-bit versions and In Database systems atomicity (or atomicness) is one of the ACID transaction properties

Security-related technologies

A User Account Control consent dialog.

Main article: Security and safety features new to Windows Vista

Improved security was a primary design goal for Vista. There are a number of security and safety features new to Windows Vista, most of which are not available in any prior Microsoft Windows Operating system ^[4] Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing initiative, which aims to improve public trust in its products, has had a direct effect on its development. The term Trustworthy Computing (TwC has been applied to computing systems that are inherently secure available and reliable This effort has resulted in a number of new security and safety features.

User Account Control is perhaps the most significant and visible of these changes. User Account Control ( UAC) is a technology and security infrastructure introduced with Microsoft 's Windows Vista Operating system. User Account Control is a security technology that makes it possible for users to use their computer with fewer privileges by default, with a view to stopping malware from making unauthorized changes to the system. This was often difficult in previous versions of Windows, as the previous "limited" user accounts proved too restrictive and incompatible with a large proportion of application software, and even prevented some basic operations such as looking at the calendar from the notification tray. In Windows Vista, when an action requiring administrative rights - such as installing/uninstalling software or making system-wide configuration changes - is performed, the user is first prompted for an administrator name and password; in cases where the user is already an administrator, the user is still prompted to confirm the pending privileged action. Regular use of the computer such as running programs, printing, or surfing the Internet does not trigger UAC prompts. User Account Control asks for credentials in a Secure Desktop mode, where the entire screen is blacked out, temporarily disabled, and only the authorization window is active and highlighted. The intent is to stop a malicious program misleading the user by interfering with the authorization window, and to hint to the user the importance of the prompt.

Internet Explorer 7's new security and safety features include a phishing filter, IDN with anti-spoofing capabilities, and integration with system-wide parental controls. Windows Internet Explorer (formerly Microsoft Internet Explorer abbreviated MSIE) commonly abbreviated to IE, is a series of graphical In the field of computer security phishing is the Criminally Fraudulent process of attempting to acquire sensitive information such as usernames Passwords An internationalized domain name ( For added security, ActiveX controls are disabled by default. ActiveX is a Component object model (COM developed by Microsoft for Windows. Also, Internet Explorer operates in a "protected mode" which operates with lower permissions than the user and it runs in isolation from other applications in the operating system, preventing it from accessing or modifying anything besides the Temporary Internet Files directory. ^[26] Microsoft's anti-spyware product, Windows Defender, has been incorporated into Windows, providing protection against malware and other threats. Windows Defender, formerly known as Microsoft AntiSpyware, is a software product from Microsoft to prevent remove and Quarantine Spyware Changes to various system configuration settings (such as new auto-starting applications) are blocked unless the user gives consent.

Another significant new feature is BitLocker Drive Encryption, a data protection technology included in the Enterprise and Ultimate editions of Vista that provides full disk encryption for the entire operating system volume. BitLocker Drive Encryption is a Full disk encryption feature included with Microsoft 's Windows Vista Ultimate, Windows Vista Enterprise Full disk encryption (or whole disk encryption) is a kind of Disk encryption software or hardware which encrypts every Bit of data An operating system (commonly abbreviated OS and O/S) is the software component of a Computer system that is responsible for the management and coordination In the context of computer Operating systems volume is the term used to describe a single accessible storage area with a single File system, typically (though not BitLocker can work in conjunction with a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) cryptoprocessor (version 1. In Computing, Trusted Platform Module (TPM is both the name of a published Specification detailing a Secure cryptoprocessor that can store cryptographic A secure cryptoprocessor is a dedicated Computer or Microprocessor for carrying out Cryptographic operations embedded in a packaging with multiple 2) embedded in a computer's motherboard, or with a USB key. A motherboard is the central or primary Printed circuit board (PCB making up a complex electronic system such as a modern Computer or Laptop ^[27] However, as with other full disk encryption technologies, BitLocker is vulnerable to a cold boot attack, especially where TPM is used as a key protector without a boot PIN being required too. Full disk encryption (or whole disk encryption) is a kind of Disk encryption software or hardware which encrypts every Bit of data In Cryptography, a cold boot attack, platform reset attack, cold ghosting attack or iceman attack is a type of Side channel attack In Cryptography, a key is a piece of information (a Parameter) that determines the functional output of a cryptographic algorithm A personal identification number (PIN is a secret numeric Password shared between a user and a system that can be used to authenticate the user to the system ^[28]

A variety of other privilege-restriction techniques are also built into Vista. An example is the concept of "integrity levels" in user processes, whereby a process with a lower integrity level cannot interact with processes of a higher integrity level and cannot perform DLL–injection to a processes of a higher integrity level. The security restrictions of Windows services are more fine-grained, so that services (especially those listening on the network) have no ability to interact with parts of the operating system they do not need to. On Microsoft Windows Operating systems a Windows service is a long-running executable that performs specific functions and which is designed not to require user intervention Obfuscation techniques such as address space layout randomization are used to increase the amount of effort required of malware before successful infiltration of a system. Obfuscation is the concealment of meaning in Communication, making it Confusing and harder to Interpret. Address space layout randomization (ASLR is a computer security technique which involves randomly arranging the positions of key data areas usually including the base of the Malware, a Portmanteau word from the words '''mal'''icious and soft'''ware''', is software designed to infiltrate or damage a computer system without Code Integrity verifies that system binaries haven’t been tampered with by malicious code.

As part of the redesign of the network stack, Windows Firewall has been upgraded, with new support for filtering both incoming and outgoing traffic. Windows Firewall is a Personal firewall, included with Microsoft 's Windows XP and newer operating systems Advanced packet filter rules can be created which can grant or deny communications to specific services.

Business technologies

Main article: Management features new to Windows Vista

While much of the focus of Vista's new capabilities has been on the new user interface, security technologies, and improvements to the core operating system, Microsoft is also adding new deployment and maintenance features. Windows Vista contains a range of new technologies and features that are intended to help Network administrators and Power users better manage their systems

• The Windows Imaging Format (WIM) is the cornerstone of Microsoft's new deployment and packaging system. The Windows Imaging Format (WIM is a File -based Disk image format. WIM files, which contain a HAL-independent image of Windows Vista, can be maintained and patched without having to rebuild new images. A hardware abstraction layer ( HAL) is an Abstraction layer, implemented in software between the physical hardware of a Computer and Windows Images can be delivered via Systems Management Server or Business Desktop Deployment technologies. System Center Configuration Manager, formerly Systems Management Server (SMS is a Systems management software product by Microsoft for managing large Images can be customized and configured with applications then deployed to corporate client personal computers using little to no touch by a system administrator. ImageX is the Microsoft tool used to create and customize images. The Windows Imaging Format (WIM is a File -based Disk image format.
• Windows Deployment Services replaces Remote Installation Services for deploying Vista and prior versions of Windows. Windows Deployment Services is a technology from Microsoft for network-based installation of Windows operating systems Remote Installation Services is a Microsoft -supplied server that allows PXE BIOS -enabled computers to remotely execute boot environment variables
• Approximately 700 new Group Policy settings have been added, covering most aspects of the new features in the operating system, as well as significantly expanding the configurability of wireless networks, removable storage devices, and user desktop experience. Group Policy is a feature of Microsoft Windows NT family of operating systems that provides centralized management and configuration of computers and remote users in an Vista also introduced an XML based format (ADMX) to display registry-based policy settings, making it easier to manage networks that span geographic locations and different languages. ^[29]

• Services for UNIX has been renamed "Subsystem for UNIX-based Applications," and is included with the Enterprise and Ultimate editions of Vista. Microsoft Windows Services for UNIX ( SFU) is a software package produced by Microsoft which provides a Unix subsystem and other parts of a full Unix Network File System (NFS) client support is also included. Network File System (NFS is a Network file system protocol originally developed by Sun Microsystems in 1983 allowing a user on a client Computer to access
• Multilingual User Interface – Unlike previous version of Windows which required language packs to be loaded to provide local language support, Windows Vista Ultimate and Enterprise editions support the ability to dynamically change languages based on the logged on user's preference. Multilingual User Interface ( MUI) is the name of a Microsoft technology for Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Office and other applications that It is not possible to change the language, even for all users, in Windows Vista Home.
• Wireless Projector support

Developer technologies

Windows Vista includes a large number of new application programming interfaces. Chief among them is the inclusion of version 3.0 of the .NET Framework, which consists of a class library and Common Language Runtime. In Computer science, a library is a collection of Subroutines used to develop Software. The Common Language Runtime (CLR is the Virtual machine component of Microsoft's. Version 3. 0 includes four new major components:^[30]

• Windows Presentation Foundation is a user interface subsystem and framework based vector graphics, which makes use of 3D computer graphics hardware and Direct3D technologies. The Windows Presentation Foundation (or WPF) formerly code-named Avalon, is a graphical subsystem in. The user interface (or Human Computer Interface) is the aggregate of means by which people&mdash the users '&mdash interact with the System Vector graphics is the use of geometrical primitives such as points lines, Curves and shapes or Polygon (s which are all based 3D computer graphics (in contrast to 2D computer graphics) are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer Direct3D is part of Microsoft 's DirectX API. Direct3D is only available for Microsoft's various Windows Operating systems ( Windows It provides the foundation for building applications and blending together application UI, documents, and media content. It is the successor to Windows Forms. Windows Forms is the name given to the Graphical user interface application programming interface (API included as a part of Microsoft's.
• Windows Communication Foundation is a service-oriented messaging subsystem which enables applications and systems to interoperate locally or remotely using Web services. Windows Communication Foundation, or just WCF, is a programming framework used to build applications that inter-communicate A Web service (also Web Service) is defined by the W3C as "a software system designed to support interoperable machine-to-machine interaction
• Windows Workflow Foundation provides task automation and integrated transactions using workflows. Windows Workflow Foundation (WF is a Microsoft technology for defining executing and managing Workflows This technology was first released in November 2006 as a A workflow is a depiction of a sequence of operations declared as work of a person work of a simple or complex mechanism work of a group of persons work of an organization of staff It is the programming model, engine and tools for building workflow-enabled applications on Windows.
• Windows CardSpace is a component which securely stores digital identities of a person, and provides a unified interface for choosing the identity for a particular transaction, such as logging into a website. Windows CardSpace ( codenamed InfoCard) is Microsoft's client software for the Identity Metasystem.

These technologies are also available for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 to facilitate their introduction to and usage by developers and end users.

There are also significant new development APIs in the core of the operating system, notably the completely re-architected audio, networking, print, and video interfaces, major changes to the security infrastructure, improvements to the deployment and installation of applications ("ClickOnce" and Windows Installer 4. ClickOnce is a Microsoft technology for deploying Windows Forms or Windows Presentation Foundation -based software also called Smart clients The Windows Installer (previously known as Microsoft Installer, codename Darwin) is an engine for the installation maintenance and removal of software 0) , new device driver development model ("Windows Driver Foundation") , Transactional NTFS, mobile computing API advancements (power management, Tablet PC Ink support, SideShow) and major updates to (or complete replacements of) many core subsystems such as Winlogon and CAPI. Windows Driver Foundation (WDF is a set of Microsoft tools that aid in the creation of device drivers for Windows 2000 and later versions of Windows Transactional NTFS (abbreviated TxF is a component of Windows Vista and later operating systems A Tablet PC is a Notebook or slate-shaped Mobile computer, equipped with a Touchscreen or Graphics tablet/screen hybrid technology which allows Windows SideShow is a technology introduced in Windows Vista that enables Windows PCs to drive a variety of auxiliary display devices connected to the main PC In computing Winlogon is the component of Microsoft Windows Operating systems that is responsible for handling the Secure attention The Cryptographic Application Programming Interface (also known variously as CryptoAPI, Microsoft Cryptography API, or simply CAPI) is an Application

There are some issues for software developers using some of the graphics APIs in Vista. Games or programs which are built solely on the Windows Vista-exclusive version of DirectX, version 10, cannot work on prior versions of Windows, as DirectX 10 is not available for previous Windows versions. Microsoft DirectX is a collection of Application programming interfaces (APIs for handling tasks related to Multimedia, especially Game programming and Microsoft DirectX is a collection of Application programming interfaces (APIs for handling tasks related to Multimedia, especially Game programming and Also, games which require the features of D3D9Ex, the updated implementation of DirectX 9 in Windows Vista are also incompatible with previous Windows versions. ^[31] According to a Microsoft blog, there are three choices for OpenGL implementation on Vista. OpenGL ( Open G raphics L ibrary is a standard specification defining a cross-language Cross-platform API for writing applications that produce An application can use the default implementation, which translates OpenGL calls into the Direct3D API and is frozen at OpenGL version 1. 4, or an application can use an Installable Client Driver (ICD) , which comes in two flavors: legacy and Vista-compatible. In computing a device driver or software driver is a Computer program allowing higher-level computer programs to interact with a Hardware device A legacy ICD disables the Desktop Window Manager, a Vista-compatible ICD takes advantage of a new API, and is fully compatible with the Desktop Window Manager. Desktop Window Manager ( DWM, previously Desktop Compositing Engine or DCE) is a Compositing window manager, introduced with Windows Vista ^[32] At least two primary vendors, ATI and NVIDIA provided full Vista-compatible ICDs. The multinational NVIDIA Corporation ( (ɪnˈvɪdiə specializes in the manufacture of graphics-processor technologies for Workstations ^[33] However, hardware overlay is not supported, because it is considered as an obsolete feature in Vista. Hardware overlay, a type of Video overlay, is a method of rendering an image to a display screen with a dedicated memory buffer inside computer Video ATI and NVIDIA strongly recommend using compositing desktop/Framebuffer Objects for same functionality. The frame buffer object architecture (FBO is an extension to OpenGL for doing flexible off-screen rendering including rendering to a texture ^[34]

Removed features

Main article: Features removed from Windows Vista

Some notable Windows XP features and components have been replaced or removed in Windows Vista, including Windows Messenger, the network Messenger Service, HyperTerminal, MSN Explorer, Active Desktop, and the replacement of NetMeeting with Windows Meeting Space. While Windows Vista contains many new features, a number of capabilities and certain programs that were a part of Windows XP are no longer present or changed resulting Windows Messenger is a proprietary Instant messaging client by Microsoft that is included in the Windows XP Operating system Messenger Service is a network-based system notification service included in some versions of Microsoft Windows. HyperACCESS is the name for a number of successive computer communications software made by Hilgraeve. MSN Explorer is a Web browser, developed by Microsoft, that integrates MSN and Windows Live features such as Windows Live Hotmail Active Desktop is a feature of Microsoft Internet Explorer 40 's optional Windows Desktop Update that allows the user to add HTML content Microsoft NetMeeting is a VoIP and multi-point Videoconferencing client included in many versions of Microsoft Windows (from Windows 95 OSR2 Windows Meeting Space (codenamed Windows Collaboration) is the name of a Peer-to-peer collaboration program in Windows Vista that supports Windows Vista also does not include the Windows XP "Luna" visual theme, or most of the classic color schemes which have been part of Windows since the Windows 3. Luna is the codename for the default visual theme of Windows XP. x era. The "Hardware profiles" startup feature has also been removed, along with support for older motherboard technologies like the EISA bus, APM and Game port support (though game port support can be enabled by applying an older driver). The Extended Industry Standard Architecture (in practice almost always shortened to EISA and frequently pronounced "eee-suh" is a bus standard for IBM compatible Advanced Power Management ( APM) is an API developed by Intel and Microsoft which enables an Operating system running an IBM-compatible The game port is the traditional connector for Video game input devices on X86 -based PCs. The game port is the traditional connector for Video game input devices on X86 -based PCs. ^[35] IP over FireWire (TCP/IP over IEEE 1394) has been removed as well. The IEEE 1394 interface is a serial bus Interface standard for high-speed communications and Isochronous real-time data transfer frequently ^[36] The IPX/SPX Protocol is also removed, however it can be enabled by a third-party plugin. ^[37]

Editions

Main article: Windows Vista editions

Windows Vista ships in six editions. Windows Vista is available in six different marketing editions ^[38] These are roughly divided into two target markets, consumer and business, with editions varying to cater for specific sub-markets. For consumers, there are four editions, with three available for developed countries. Windows Vista Starter edition is limited to emerging markets. The term emerging markets is used to describe a nation's social or business activity in the process of rapid Industrialization. Windows Vista Home Basic is intended for budget users with low needs. Windows Vista Home Premium covers the majority of the consumer market, and contains applications for creating and using multimedia. The home editions cannot join a Windows Server domain. A Windows Server domain is a logical group of computers running versions of the Microsoft Windows operating system that share a central directory database For businesses, there are two editions. Windows Vista Business is specifically designed for small and medium-sized businesses,^[39] while Windows Vista Enterprise^[40] is only available to customers participating in Microsoft's Software Assurance program. Small and medium enterprises (also SMEs, small and medium businesses, SMBs, and variations thereof are companies whose headcount or Microsoft Software Assurance (SA is a Microsoft maintenance program aimed at business users who use Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Office, and other server and desktop Windows Vista Ultimate contains the complete feature-set of both the Home and Business editions, as well as a set of Windows Ultimate Extras, and is aimed at enthusiasts. Windows Ultimate Extras are optional features offered to users of Windows Vista Ultimate Edition.

All editions except Windows Vista Starter support both 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit (x64) processor architectures. The range of Integer values that can be stored in 32 bits is 0 through 4294967295 or −2147483648 through 2147483647 using Two's complement encoding See also X86 assembly language The generic term x86 refers to the most commercially successful Instruction set architecture in the history of Personal '64-bit' CPUs have existed in Supercomputers since the 1960s and in RISC -based workstations and servers since the early 1990s. x86-64 is a Superset of the x86 instruction set architecture.

In the European Union, Home Basic N and Business N versions are also available. The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in These come without Windows Media Player, due to EU sanctions brought against Microsoft for violating anti-trust laws. The European Union Microsoft competition case is a case brought by the European Commission of the European Union (EU against Microsoft for abuse of its Similar sanctions exist in South Korea. South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea and often referred to as Korea ( Korean: 대한민국 tɛː

Dell and Microsoft partnered up to support (PRODUCT) RED. Microsoft released the Windows Vista Ultimate (PRODUCT) RED that exclusively will come together with Dell (PRODUCT) RED Computers.

See also: Windows Vista 64

Visual styles

Windows Vista has four distinct visual styles. ^[41]

Windows Aero

Vista's premier visual style, Windows Aero, is built on a new desktop composition engine called Desktop Window Manager. Windows Aero is the Graphical user interface and the default theme in most editions of Windows Vista, an Operating system released by Microsoft Desktop Window Manager ( DWM, previously Desktop Compositing Engine or DCE) is a Compositing window manager, introduced with Windows Vista Windows Aero introduces support for 3D graphics (Windows Flip 3D) , translucency effects (Glass), live thumbnails, window animations, and other visual effects, and is intended for mainstream and high-end graphics cards. In Optics, transparency (also called pellucidity) is the Material property of allowing To enable these features, the contents of every open window are stored in video memory to facilitate tearing-free movement of windows. Screen tearing is a Phenomenon in Video where a previously rendered frame overlaps a newly rendered frame creating a torn look as two parts As such, Windows Aero has significantly higher hardware requirements than its predecessors. 128 MB of graphics memory is the minimum requirement, depending on resolution used. ^[42] Windows Aero (including Windows Flip 3D) is not included in the Starter and Home Basic editions.

Windows Vista Standard

This mode is a variation of Windows Aero without the glass effects, window animations, and other advanced graphical effects such as Windows Flip 3D. Like Windows Aero, it uses the Desktop Window Manager, and has generally the same video hardware requirements as Windows Aero. This is the default mode for the Windows Vista Home Basic Edition. The Starter Edition does not support this mode.

Windows Vista Basic

This mode has aspects that are similar to Windows XP's visual style with the addition of subtle animations such as those found on progress bars. A progress bar is a component in a Graphical user interface used to convey the progress of a task such as a download or file transfer It does not employ the Desktop Window Manager; as such, it does not feature transparency or translucency, window animation, Windows Flip 3D or any of the functions provided by the DWM. The Basic mode does not require the new Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) for display drivers, and has similar graphics card requirements to Windows XP. Windows Display Driver Model ( WDDM, also WVDDM) is the Graphic driver architecture for Video card drivers running Microsoft Windows For computers with graphics cards that are not powerful enough to support Windows Aero, this is the default graphics mode.

Windows Classic

Windows Classic resembles Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003, does not use the Desktop Window Manager, and does not require a WDDM driver. As with prior versions of Windows, this visual style supports "color schemes," which are a collection of color settings. Windows Vista includes six classic color schemes, comprised of four high-contrast color schemes and the default color schemes from Windows 98 and Windows 2000. Windows 98 ( codenamed Memphis) is a graphical Operating system released on 25 June 1998 by Microsoft and the successor to Windows 95 Windows 2000 (also referred to as Win2K) is a preemptive, interruptible graphical and business-oriented Operating system designed to work with

"Windows Aero" visual style.

"Windows Vista Basic" visual style.

"Windows Classic" visual style.

Hardware requirements

Computers capable of running Windows Vista are classified as Vista Capable and Vista Premium Ready. ^[43] A Vista Capable or equivalent PC is capable of running all editions of Windows Vista although some of the special features and high end graphics options may require additional or more advanced hardware. A Vista Premium Ready PC can take advantage of Vista's "high-end" features. ^[44] These two classifications are on the low side and may be insufficient for adequate speed and responsiveness; some have given their own unofficial viewpoint as to what they believe would be a recommended system specification for smooth operation. ^[45][46]

Windows Vista's "Basic" and "Classic" interfaces work with virtually any graphics hardware that supports Windows XP or 2000; accordingly, most discussion around Vista's graphics requirements centers on those for the Windows Aero interface. As of Windows Vista Beta 2, the NVIDIA GeForce 6 series and later, the ATI Radeon 9500 and later, Intel's GMA 950 and later integrated graphics, and a handful of VIA chipsets and S3 Graphics discrete chips are supported. The GeForce 6 Series ( Codenamed NV40) is Nvidia 's sixth generation of GeForce graphics chipsets. The Radeon R300 (introduced August 2002) is the third generation of Radeon graphics chips from ATI Technologies. The Intel Graphics Media Accelerator, or GMA, is Intel 's current line of graphics processors (GPUs built into various Motherboard chipsets Although originally supported, the GeForce FX 5 series has been dropped from newer drivers from NVIDIA. The last driver from NVIDIA to support the GeForce FX series on Vista was 96. 85. ^[47][48] Microsoft offers a tool called the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor^[49] to assist Windows XP and Vista users in determining what versions of Windows their machine is capable of running. Although the installation media included in retail packages is a 32-bit DVD, customers without a DVD-ROM or customers who wish for a 64-bit install media are able to acquire this media through the Windows Vista Alternate Media program. ^[50] The Ultimate edition includes both 32-bit and 64-bit media. ^[51] Beware that the digitally downloaded version of Ultimate includes only one version, either 32 bit or 64 bit from Windows Marketplace.

Service Packs

Microsoft occasionally releases service packs for its Windows operating systems to fix bugs and also add new features. The display resolution of a Digital television or Computer display typically refers to the number of distinct pixels in each dimension that can be displayed A hard disk drive ( HDD) commonly referred to as a hard drive, hard disk, or fixed disk drive, is a Non-volatile storage device DVD (also known as " Digital Versatile Disc " or " Digital Video Disc " - see Etymology)is DVD (also known as " Digital Versatile Disc " or " Digital Video Disc " - see Etymology)is A service pack (in short SP) is a collection of updates fixes and/or enhancements to a software program delivered in the form of a single installable package

Service Pack 1

Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) was released on February 4, 2008 alongside Windows Server 2008 to OEM partners after a five-month beta test period. Events 211 - Roman Emperor Septimius Severus dies leaving the Roman Empire in the hands of his two quarrelsome sons 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Windows Server 2008 is the most recent release of Microsoft Windows ' server line of Operating systems Released to manufacturing on 4 February An original equipment manufacturer, or OEM is typically a company that uses a component made by a second company in its own product or sells the product of the second company The synchronized release date of the two operating systems reflects the merging of the workstation and server kernels back into a single code base for the first time since Windows 2000. In Computer science, the kernel is the central component of most computer Operating systems (OS In Computer science, source code (commonly just source or code) is any sequence of statements or declarations written in some Human-readable Windows 2000 (also referred to as Win2K) is a preemptive, interruptible graphical and business-oriented Operating system designed to work with MSDN subscribers were able to download SP1 on February 15, 2008. The Microsoft Developer Network ( MSDN) is the portion of Microsoft responsible for managing the firm's relationship with developers hardware developers interested Events 590 - Khosrau II is crowned as king of Persia 1637 - Ferdinand III becomes Holy Roman Emperor 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common SP1 became available to current Windows Vista users on Windows Update and the Download Center on March 18, 2008. Windows Update is a service provided by Microsoft for users of Microsoft Windows which provides updates for the Operating system and its installed components Events 37 - The Roman Senate annuls Tiberius ' will and proclaims Caligula emperor 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common ^[54][55][56] Initially, the service pack only supported 5 languages, English, French, Spanish, German and Japanese. Support for the remaining 31 languages was released in 14 April 2008. Events 43 BC - Battle of Forum Gallorum: Mark Antony, besieging Julius Caesar 's assassin Decimus Junius Brutus in 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common ^[57]

A whitepaper published by Microsoft near the end of August 2007 outlined the scope and intent of the service pack, identifying three major areas of improvement: reliability and performance, administration experience, and support for newer hardware and standards. A white paper is an authoritative report or guide that often addresses problems and how to solve them

One area of particular note is performance. Areas of improvement include file copy operations, hibernation, logging off on domain-joined machines, JavaScript parsing in Internet Explorer, network file share browsing,^[55] Windows Explorer ZIP file handling,^[58] and Windows Disk Defragmenter. Windows Disk Defragmenter is a Computer program included in Microsoft Windows designed to increase access speed (and sometimes increase the amount of usable space ^[59] The ability to choose individual drives to defragment is being reintroduced as well. ^[55]

Service Pack 1 introduces support for some new hardware and software standards, notably the exFAT file system,^[55] 802.11n wireless networking,^[60] IPv6 over VPN connections,^[60] and the Secure Socket Tunneling Protocol. exFAT (Extended File Allocation Table aka FAT64 is a proprietary File system suited especially for Flash drives introduced by Microsoft for embedded devices IEEE 80211n is a proposed amendment to the IEEE 80211-2007 Wireless networking standard to significantly improve network throughput over previous standards such Secure Socket Tunneling Protocol (SSTP is a form of VPN tunnel that provides a mechanism to transport PPP traffic through an SSL channel Booting a system using Extensible Firmware Interface on x64 systems is also being introduced;^[55] this feature had originally been slated for the initial release of Vista but was delayed due to a lack of compatible hardware at the time. The Extensible Firmware Interface ( EFI) is a specification that defines a software Interface between an Operating system and platform Firmware x86-64 is a Superset of the x86 instruction set architecture.

Two areas have seen changes in SP1 that have come as the result of concerns from software vendors. One of these is desktop search; users will be able to change the default desktop search program to one provided by a third party instead of the Microsoft desktop search program that comes with Windows Vista, and desktop search programs will be able to seamlessly tie in their services into the operating system. Desktop search is the name for the field of search tools which search the contents of a user's own Computer files, rather than searching the Internet ^[56] These changes come in part due to complaints from Google, whose Google Desktop Search application was hindered by the presence of Vista's built-in desktop search. Google Inc is an American public corporation, earning revenue from advertising related to its Internet search, e-mail, online Google Desktop is Desktop search software made by Google for Mac OS X, Linux, and Microsoft Windows. In June 2007, Google claimed that the changes being introduced for SP1 "are a step in the right direction, but they should be improved further to give consumers greater access to alternate desktop search providers. "^[61] The other area of note is a set of new security APIs being introduced for the benefit of antivirus software that currently relies on the unsupported practice of patching the kernel (see Kernel Patch Protection). Kernel Patch Protection ( KPP) informally known as PatchGuard, is a feature of X64 editions of Microsoft Windows that prevents patching ^[62][63]

An update to DirectX 10, named DirectX 10. 1,^[55] makes mandatory several features which were previously optional in Direct3D 10 hardware. Graphics cards will be required to support DirectX 10. 1. ^[64] SP1 includes a kernel (6001) that matches the version shipped with Windows Server 2008.

The Group Policy Management Console (GPMC) is being replaced by the Group Policy Object Editor. Group Policy is a feature of Microsoft Windows NT family of operating systems that provides centralized management and configuration of computers and remote users in an An updated downloadable version of the Group Policy Management Console was released soon after the service pack.

SP1 enables support for hotpatching, a reboot-reduction servicing technology designed to maximize uptime. It works by allowing Windows components to be updated (or "patched") while they are still in use by a running process. Hotpatch-enabled update packages are installed via the same methods as traditional update packages, and will not trigger a system reboot. ^[65]

In late April 2008, a compatibility issue was discovered between SP1 and Microsoft Dynamics' Retail Management System. Microsoft Dynamics is a line of Business software owned and developed by Microsoft, though the individual products were originally created by other companies and known SP1 downloads from Windows Update were temporarily halted until a fix could be applied. Windows Update is a service provided by Microsoft for users of Microsoft Windows which provides updates for the Operating system and its installed components No estimate was given for the fix. Users of RMS were advised not to install the service pack if they haven't already. As of May 25, 2008, SP1 was available for download from Windows Update again. Events 1085 - Alfonso VI of Castile takes Toledo Spain back from the Moors. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common ^[66]

Criticism

Main article: Criticism of Windows Vista

Windows Vista has received a number of negative assessments. This article covers only the criticism that applies specifically to Vista Criticism targets include protracted development time, more restrictive licensing terms, the inclusion of a number of technologies aimed at restricting the copying of protected digital media,^[67] and the usability of the new User Account Control security technology. User Account Control ( UAC) is a technology and security infrastructure introduced with Microsoft 's Windows Vista Operating system. Reviewers have also noted some similarities between Vista's Aero interface and that of Apple's Aqua interface for the Mac OS X operating system. Apple Inc, ( formerly Apple Computer Inc, is an American Multinational corporation with a focus on designing and manufacturing Consumer electronics Aqua is the Graphical user interface and primary visual theme of Apple Inc Mac OS X (mæk oʊ ɛs tɛn is a line of computer Operating systems developed marketed and sold by Apple Inc, the latest of which is pre-loaded on all currently Moreover, some concerns have been raised about many PCs meeting "Vista Premium Ready" hardware requirements and Vista's pricing. When asked by Gizmodo at CES what Microsoft product could have used more polish before release, Microsoft founder Bill Gates replied, "Ask me after we ship the next version of Windows. Gizmodo is a popular technology Weblog about Consumer electronics. The International Consumer Electronics Show (CES is a Trade show held each January in Las Vegas, Nevada, and is sponsored If you would like to experiment with Wikipedia please copy Then I'll be more open to give you a blunt answer. "^[68][69]

Hardware requirements

While Microsoft claimed "nearly all PCs on the market today [2005] will run Windows Vista",^[70] the higher requirements of some of the "premium" features, such as the Aero interface, have impacted many upgraders. According to The Times in May 2006, the full set of features "would be available to less than 5 percent of Britain’s PC market". The Times is a daily national Newspaper published in the United Kingdom since 1785 when it was known as The Daily Universal Register. ^[71] This continuing lack of clarity eventually led to a class action against Microsoft as people found themselves with new computers that were unable to run the new software despite the assurance of "Vista Capable" designations. ^[72] The court case has made public internal Microsoft communications that indicate that senior executives have also had difficulty with this issue. For example, the lack of an appropriate graphics chip so hobbled Vista features that vice president Mike Nash commented "I now have a $2,100 e-mail machine. ”^[73]

Slow file operations

When released, Vista performed file operations such as copying and deletion more slowly than other operating systems. Large copies required when migrating from one computer to another seemed difficult or impossible without workarounds such as using the command line. This inability to efficiently perform basic file operations attracted strong criticism. ^[74] After six months, Microsoft confirmed the existence of these problems by releasing a special performance and reliability update,^[75] which was later disseminated through Windows Update, and is included in Service Pack 1. ^[76]

Licensing and cost

The introduction of additional licensing restrictions has been criticized. A software license (or software licence in commonwealth usage is a Legal instrument governing the usage or redistribution of copyright protected software Criticism of upgrade licenses pertaining to Windows Vista Starter through Home Premium was expressed by Ars Technica's Ken Fisher, who noted that the new requirement of having a prior operating system already installed was going to cause irritation for users who reinstall Windows on a regular basis. Ars Technica (ˌɑrz ˈtɛknɨkə Latin for "Art of Technology" is a Technology -related Website that caters to PC enthusiasts covering technology ^[77] It has been revealed that an Upgrade copy of Windows Vista can be installed clean without first installing a previous version of Windows. On the first install, Windows will refuse to activate. The user must then reinstall that same copy of Vista. Vista will then activate on the reinstall, thus allowing a user to install an Upgrade of Windows Vista without owning a previous operating system. ^[78] As with Windows XP, separate rules still apply to OEM versions of Vista installed on new PCs: Microsoft asserts that these versions are not legally transferable (although whether this conflicts with the right of first sale has yet to be decided clearly legally). The first-sale doctrine is a limitation on Copyright that was recognized by the U ^[79] The cost of Windows Vista has also been a source of concern and commentary. A majority of users in a poll said that the prices of various Windows Vista editions posted on the Microsoft Canada website in August 2006 make the product too expensive. ^[80] A BBC News report on the day of Vista's release suggested that, "there may be a backlash from consumers over its pricing plans—with the cost of Vista versions in the US roughly half the price of equivalent versions in the UK. "^[81]

Digital rights management

Another common criticism concerns the integration of new forms of digital rights management into the operating system, specifically the introduction of the Protected Video Path. Digital rights management ( DRM) is a generic term that refers to Access control technologies used by hardware manufacturers publishers and Copyright holders The Protected Media Path is a set of technologies creating a "Protected Environment" first included in Microsoft 's Windows Vista Operating system This architecture is designed such that "premium content" from HD DVD or Blu-ray Disc may mandate that the connections between PC components be encrypted. not insert the publicly disclosed HD DVD key into this article for the time being Devices such as graphic cards must be approved by Microsoft. Depending on what the content demands, the devices may not pass premium content over non-encrypted outputs, or they must artificially degrade the quality of the signal on such outputs or not display it all. There is also a revocation mechanism that allows Microsoft to disable drivers of compromised devices in end-user PCs over the Internet. ^[82] Peter Gutmann, security researcher and author of the open source cryptlib library, claims that these mechanisms violate fundamental rights of the user (such as fair use), unnecessarily increase the cost of hardware, and make systems less reliable (the "tilt bit" is a particular worry; if triggered, the entire graphic subsystem performs a reset) and vulnerable to denial-of-service attacks. Peter Gutmann is a computer scientist in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand. Open source is a development methodology which offers practical accessibility to a product's source (goods and knowledge cryptlib is an Open source cross-platform software security toolkit Fair use is a doctrine in United States copyright law that allows limited use of copyrighted material without requiring permission from the rights holders such as use for ^[83] Proponents have claimed that Microsoft had no choice but to follow the demands of the movie studios, and that the technology will not actually be enabled until after 2010;^[84][85] Microsoft also noted that content protection mechanisms have existed in Windows as far back as Windows Me, and that the new protections will not apply to any existing content (only future content). Windows Millennium Edition, or Windows Me (IPA pronunciation, iː is a hybrid 16-bit / 32-bit graphical Operating system released on 14 September ^[86]

User Account Control

While UAC is considered an important part of Vista's security infrastructure as it blocks software from silently gaining administrator privileges without the users' knowledge, it has been widely criticized for generating too many prompts, even for regular tasks like installing software or renaming folders in protected areas. This has led many users to consider it annoying and tiresome, with some consequently either turning it off or putting it in auto-approval mode. ^[87] Responding to this criticism, Microsoft altered the implementation to reduce the number of prompts with SP1. ^[65] Though the changes have resulted some improvement, it has not alleviated the concerns completely. ^[88]

Software Protection Platform

Vista includes an enhanced set of anti-piracy technologies, based on Windows XP's WGA, called Software Protection Platform (SPP). The Copyright infringement of Software (also known as software piracy) refers to several practices which involve the unauthorized copying of computer Windows XP is a family of 32-bit and 64-bit Operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on Personal computers including home and Windows Genuine Advantage ( WGA) is an anti- piracy system created by Microsoft that enforces Microsoft Windows online validation of the authenticity ^[89] A major component of this is a new reduced functionality mode, which Vista enters when it detects that the user has "failed product activation or of that copy being identified as counterfeit or non-genuine",^[90] which is described in a Microsoft white paper as follows: "The default Web browser will be started and the user will be presented with an option to purchase a new product key. There is no start menu, no desktop icons, and the desktop background is changed to black. [. . . ] After one hour, the system will log the user out without warning". ^[91] This has been criticized for being overly draconian,^[92][93] especially given reports of "false positives" by SPP's predecessor,^[94] and at least one temporary validation server outage. ^[95][96] Microsoft removed the reduced functionality mode in Service Pack 1 in favor of prominent notices on systems not found to be genuine. ^[97]

Reception

Businesses' intended purchase rates and satisfaction ratings for Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Mac OS X Leopard, based on information from ChangeWave collected in February 2008^[6]

Before the release of Windows Vista, expectations for the new operating system were high, fueled by both promises of new features, higher security, and an improved user interface, as well as the five year period since the release of Windows XP. Mac OS X version 105 “Leopard” is the sixth major release of Mac OS X, Apple’s desktop and server Operating system for Macintosh As a result, many consumers and businesses planned on upgrading to Vista. However, by its release, it had not delivered on some of its planned features and was largely met with harsh criticism (see above). This prompted many businesses to delay upgrading to Vista and even caused some people who had upgraded to Vista to replace their installations with Windows XP or other operating systems. These results, publicized by online reviews and articles, further led to low adoption levels of Windows Vista and largely negative public review, as reflected by its title from PC World as the biggest tech disappointment of 2007^[98] and from InfoWorld as #2 of Tech's all-time 25 flops. PC World is a global Computer magazine published monthly by IDG. InfoWorld is an Information technology online media and events business operating under the umbrella of InfoWorld Media Group a division of IDG (International ^[99] The market share for Windows Vista, taking the median from various sources, was 9. 03% as of February 2008. ^[100]

Within its first month, 20 million copies of Vista were sold, double the amount of Windows XP sales within its first month in October 2001, five years earlier. ^[101] However, PC World reports that adoption of Windows Vista is going at a much slower rate compared to the adoption of Windows XP. Within the first year of its release, the percentage of Windows XP users visiting PC World's website reached 36%; in the same time frame, however, Windows Vista adoption reached only 14%, with 71% of users still running XP. ^[102] Due to Vista's relatively low adoption rates and continued demand for Windows XP, Microsoft is allowing continued sales of Windows XP and has extended XP's support lifecycle to April 8, 2014. Events 217 - Roman Emperor Caracalla is Assassinated (and succeeded by his Praetorian 2014 ( MMXIV) will be a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ^[103][104] There have been reports of Vista users downgrading their operating systems, as well as reports of businesses planning to skip Vista, though some recommend that small businesses should indeed migrate to Vista as a stepping-stone in transforming computers and technologies. ^[105][106] Many computer manufacturers are shipping Windows XP restore disks along with new computers with Vista Business and Ultimate editions pre-installed, possibly to help small to mid-sized businesses^[107] for a limited time^[108], as well as new computers with XP or Linux pre-installed. Linux (commonly pronounced ˈlɪnəks A study conducted by ChangeWave in March 2008 shows that the percentage of corporate users who are "very satisfied" with Vista is dramatically lower than other operating systems, with Vista at 8%, compared to the 40% who say they are "very satisfied" with Windows XP. ^[109]

Business adoption of Vista has been slower than expected; while businesses do tend to delay upgrading their operating systems, there have been reports of businesses who were considering upgrading to Vista prior to its release now intending to skip Vista entirely due to upgrade costs and the estimated release of Windows 7 in late 2009 (as of May 27th, 2008). Windows 7, (formerly codenamed Blackcomb and later Vienna) is the working name for the next major version of Microsoft Windows and ^[110] According to InformationWeek, in December 2006, 6% of business enterprises were expected to employ Vista within the first year, yet as of October 2007, only about 1% of enterprise PCs were actually using Vista. ^[111] ChangeWave also reported that 53% of new business computers bought in the next quarter will be equipped with Windows XP as opposed to the only 20% of businesses buying computers equipped with Microsoft's latest OS. ^[112] Furthermore, while a large number of businesses have already bought licenses to run Windows Vista, many of these companies are delaying deployment. ^[113]

There have been a number of organizations who have denounced Vista due to its problems. For example, in October 2007, The Dutch Consumers' Association called for a boycott of Windows Vista after the software giant refused to offer free copies of Windows XP to users who had problems with Vista. ^[114] InfoWorld is also conducting a "Save Windows XP" petition to prompt Microsoft to further extend XP's support and sales to prevent people using legacy hardware or who dislike Vista from being forced to use Microsoft's latest OS. ^[115] A user on the generally pro-open source website Slashdot has compiled a list of organizations who have boycotted Windows Vista. Slashdot, often abbreviated as /, is a technology-related news Website owned by SourceForge Inc ^[116]

Amid the negative reviews and reception, there has also been significant positive review of Vista, most notable from among gamers and the advantages brought about with DirectX 10, which allows for better gaming performance and more realistic graphics, as well as support for many new capabilities brought about in new video cards and GPUs. ^[117]

On February 29, 2008, Microsoft announced that it will lower the price of the Vista operating system sold at retail outlets in order to aid in its adoption. Leap years Although the modern calendar counts a year as 365 days a complete revolution around the sun takes approximately 365 days and 6 hours 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common ^[118] These price cuts only apply to the retail versions sold in shops which account for less than 10% of total Vista sales. Vista Ultimate, for example, will see a 20% drop in its price, from US$399 to US$319. The United States dollar ( sign: $; code: USD) is the unit of Currency of the United States; it has also been The United States dollar ( sign: $; code: USD) is the unit of Currency of the United States; it has also been ^[119]

On April 24, 2008, Microsoft announced that Vista sales has passed the 140 million mark. Events 1479 BC - Thutmose III ascends to the throne of Egypt, although power effectively shifts to Hatshepsut (according to 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common ^[120]

On June 3, 2008, in response to XP's demand Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced that Vista's license would allow a legal downgrade to XP, even beyond the June 30 cutoff date of XP's sales. Events 350 - Roman usurper Nepotianus, of the Constantinian dynasty, proclaims himself Roman Emperor, entering 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Steve Anthony Ballmer (born March 24 1956 is an American Businessman. ^[121]

See also

• History of Microsoft Windows
• Comparison of Microsoft Windows versions
• Microsoft Office 2007 — the current release of Microsoft Office that was released simultaneously with Windows Vista. In 1983 Microsoft announced the development of Windows, a Graphical user interface (GUI for its own Operating system ( MS-DOS) that had shipped General information Basic general information about Windows DOS -based ( MS-DOS / 9x -based NT Microsoft Office 2007 (officially called 2007 Microsoft Office system) is the most recent Windows version of the Microsoft Office system, Microsoft's Microsoft Office is a set of interrelated desktop applications servers and services collectively referred to as an Office suite, for the Microsoft Windows and
• Windows Vista 64

Notes and references

External links

Microsoft

• Microsoft Windows Vista — Microsoft Windows Vista homepage
• Microsoft Windows Vista Upgrade Info — Windows Vista Upgrade planning
• Microsoft Windows Vista Product Guide — Contains complete, feature-by-feature comparisons of the various Windows Vista editions
• Microsoft Windows Vista Hardware Design — Hardware Design for Windows Vista — News for Driver Developers and Hardware Engineers
• Microsoft Technet — Windows Vista: Resources for IT Professionals
• MSDN — Windows Vista Developer Center on MSDN
• The Windows Vista Blog — Official blog of the Windows Vista Team
• See Windows Vista — Official Microsoft website with information on how the new Windows Vista Operating System works
• The behavior of reduced functionality mode in Windows Vista – Microsoft support explaining the Reduced functionality mode.

Reviews and screenshots

• Windows Vista Screenshots Gallery — Collection of Vista Screenshots from Different Builds
• Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows — Windows Vista Activity Center
• How secure is Window's new Vista?
• Features of Windows Vista
• Windows Vista 32-bit and 64-bit Performance Compared
• Windows Vista Ultimate — CNET review
• Windows XP vs. Vista: The Benchmark Rundown — Tom's Hardware Guide review
• Windows Vista Software Compatibility List — ieXbeta's Wiki
• Windows Vista Feature Comparison — Yes/No Feature Comparison of Vista Versions

Criticism

• CNET — Hollywood, Microsoft align on new Windows
• Technology Review — Will Windows Upgrade Hand Power To Big Media?
• Bad Vista – Free Software Foundation

Security vulnerabilities

• Vulnerability Report: Microsoft Windows Vista including known unpatched vulnerabilities from Secunia
• Vista vulnerabilities from SecurityFocus