World Famous Comics: Windows Vista Home Premium with SP1
Windows Vista Home Premium with SP1
From: Microsoft Software Average Rating: Binding: DVD-ROM Format: CD-ROM Label: Microsoft Software Model: 66I-02387 Platform: Windows Vista Release Date: March 19, 2008
Features:
User-friendly software combines the features of Windows Vista Home Basic with even more impressive and user-friendly capabilities
Features Windows Aero, an efficient and visually stunning interface that makes it easier to accomplish multiple tasks at once by providing a three-dimensional, real-time, animated view of all of your open applications, and documents
By integrating search throughout the operating system, helps you quickly find and organize large collections of documents, pictures, movies, videos, and music
Includes Windows Tablet and Touch Technology that enables you to interact with your Tablet PC-compatible computer with a digital pen or your fingertip instead of having to use a keyboard
Includes all of the Windows Media Center capabilities for turning your PC into an all-in-one home entertainment center; enjoy music, photos, and DVD movies
Product Description: This is the preferred edition of Windows for home desktop and mobile PCs. Windows Vista Home Premium delivers the productivity and entertainment that you need from your PC at home or on the go. It includes Windows Media Center, which helps you more easily enjoy your digital photos, TV, movies, and music. Plus, you'll have the peace of mind of knowing that your PC has a whole new level of security and reliability. Whether you're balancing your checkbook, studying for school on your mobile PC, watching a downloaded or recorded movie, or sharing your favorite photos with friends on a custom DVD, the experience is much better on a PC running Windows Vista Home Premium.
Windows DVD Maker - Burn your photo slide shows & home movies to a professional-looking video DVD and watch them on a DVD player or PC Windows Movie Maker - Capture, edit, and publish your digital home movies in standard or high-definition format Instant Search & Windows Internet Explorer 7 - Quickly find what you need Elegant Windows Aero desktop experience with glass-like menu bars, Windows Flip 3D, & Live Thumbnails Automatic backup of your files, such as your valuable digital photos, music, movies, documents Built-in parental controls
System Requirements 800 MHz processor & 512 MB of system memory 20 GB hard drive with at least 15 GB of available space Super VGA graphics support
Amazon.com: Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 is the preferred edition for home desktop and mobile PCs. It provides a breakthrough design that brings your world into sharper focus while delivering the productivity, entertainment, and security you need from your PC at home or on the go.
Compare Windows Vista editions.
Use Instant Search to quickly find the information you need.
Windows Vista Aero provides spectacular visual effects such as glass-like interface elements that you can see through.
The redesigned Windows Media Center in Windows Vista lets you enjoy your media throughout your home, even on your Xbox 360.
Improved Reliability and Performance Windows Vista with Service Pack 1 and improvements delivered by hardware and software partners increase the reliability, performance, and compatibility of Windows Vista-based PCs.
With Windows Vista with SP1, many of the most common causes of operating system crashes and hangs have been addressed. Windows Vista includes new, innovative technologies that help pinpoint and diagnose issues reported anonymously by Windows Vista-based PCs from millions of users who have elected to have their PC send us system information.
Windows Vista with SP1 supports a number of important new technology standards, so it will keep making your PC easier and more enjoyable to use for years to come.
Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 delivers more ease of use, security, and entertainment to your PC at home and on the go. Here it is: the preferred edition of Windows for home desktop and mobile PCs. Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 delivers the productivity and entertainment that you need from your PC at home or on the go. It includes Windows Media Center, which helps you more easily enjoy your digital photos, TV, movies, and music. Plus, you'll have the peace of mind of knowing that your PC has a whole new level of security and reliability. All together, Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 redefines enjoyment in home computing.
It starts with a breakthrough design that makes your PC easier to use every day. With Windows Aero, you'll experience dynamic reflections, smooth gliding animations, transparent glass-like menu bars, and the ability to switch between your open windows in a new three-dimensional layout. Instant desktop search capabilities, coupled with powerful new ways to organize and visualize your information, means you can instantly find and use the e-mails, documents, photos, music, and the other information you want, when you need it.
Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 also helps keep your personal information, your PC, and your family computing experience safer than in previous versions of Windows. For example, Windows Internet Explorer 7 in Windows Vista includes automated defenses against malicious software and fraudulent websites so you can use your PC online with greater confidence. Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 also provides automatic backup of your files, such as your valuable digital photos, music, movies, documents, and other files, so you can relax and focus on the things you care about most. And, by using the built-in parental controls, parents can help ensure their children's computer use is appropriate and safer.
And what about fun? A major advance in Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 is the dramatically improved digital entertainment experience. Windows Media Center makes organizing and enjoying photos, music, DVDs, recorded TV, and home movies easier and more fun. Enjoy the entertainment on your PC or even on your TV in the living room with an Xbox 360 wirelessly networked to your PC. Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 makes it easier to burn your photo slide shows and home movies to a professional-looking video DVD that your friends and family can watch on a DVD player or PC whenever they like. Combined with unbeatable support for gaming and music, Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 delivers a complete home entertainment experience.
If you want a PC that can keep up with you while you're on the go, then you'll appreciate how Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 helps you get the most from your mobile PC. It provides simplified power management, easier wireless networking, and streamlined ways to sync with the devices that keep you connected. Because it's incredibly flexible, you can even draw and write by hand on a Tablet PC, and enjoy all of your entertainment through Windows Media Center when you're on the road, in a coffee shop, or relaxing on the couch. Mobile computing has never been like this before.
Finally, Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 makes it easier than ever to set up and maintain your new PC. There are new features that make it easier to transfer all of your data and settings from your old PC to your new one and technology that helps keep your system running quickly and reliably over time.
Whether you're balancing your checkbook, studying for school on your mobile PC, watching a downloaded or recorded movie at home, or sharing your favorite photos with friends on a custom DVD, the experience is much better on a PC running Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1.
Windows Sidebar gives you quick access to gadgets like picture slide shows, Windows Media Player controls, or news headlines. You pick the gadgets you want to see in Windows Sidebar.
Use Flip 3D to navigate through open windows using the scroll wheel on your mouse.
Safety Windows Vista with Service Pack 1 helps protect your family and your personal information from threats from malicious software and phishing scams and helps you keep your PC backed-up and running smoothly.
Parental Controls help parents keep children safer while using PCs through convenient tools to manage and monitor children's computer use, access to websites, and ability to play certain games and use certain applications.
PCs running Windows Vista are 60% less likely to be infected with viruses, worms and rootkits than PCs running Windows XP SP2.
Windows Internet Explorer 7 helps protect your PC and your personal information against malicious software, fraudulent websites, and online phishing scams. New phishing attacks are more than 25 times as common as new viruses, and over 20,000 fraudulent phishing websites are created every month. Internet Explorer 7 is now blocking nearly one million inadvertent attempts to access fake phishing sites per week.
Help defend your PC against pop-ups, slow performance, and security threats caused by spyware and other unwanted software with Windows Defender. Windows Defender in Windows Vista automatically scans Internet Explorer 7 downloads to help bring spyware to your attention before it can infect your computer.
More easily back-up the content on your PC--including digital photos, music, movies, and documents--with Scheduled and Network Backup.
Entertainment Windows Vista with SP1 is more entertaining. With Windows Media Center, you can enjoy your digital photos and music on your TV as well as on your PC. And it can turn your PC into a digital video recorder, so you can record TV and watch it on your schedule, not theirs.
Sit back and enjoy recorded TV, photos, music, home videos, games and DVDs from the comfort of your couch with Windows Media Center.
Access and project your TV, music, photos, and movies to any room in your house using an Xbox 360 console connected to your wired or wireless home network. It's like having your Media Center PC wherever you have an Xbox 360!
Author and burn movies, photos, and music to DVDs you can play on your PC or a DVD player with Windows DVD Maker.
Live the game! It's easier for you to find, play, and manage your games with GAMES EXPLORER. Games Explorer provides detailed information including when you last played, game genre, and rating of your games. With DirectX 10, play vivid and engaging games with unrivalled realism. Also, use the same game controller with both your PC and your Xbox 360 system.
Ease It's easier and faster than ever to find, use, manage and share the information on your PC or on the Web with Windows Vista with SP1.
Most Windows Vista-based PCs boot in less than a minute, which can be an improvement over Windows XP boot times.
The Windows Vista sleep and resume features can bring your PC to life in a snap. The vast majority of Windows Vista-based PCs resume from sleep in less than six seconds.
See everything you're working on more clearly with Windows Aero and quickly switch between windows or tasks using Windows Flip 3D.
Find it fast! Simply type something about a file, picture, or song, such as a word contained in a document or e-mail message, the artist of a song, or the date a picture was taken, and Instant Search will bring back any matches instantly.
Organize a lifetime of photos and movies with ease using Windows Photo Gallery. Tag your photos by date, keyword, star rating or any identifying label you choose--so you can find them anytime you want them.
Display live information, like weather, stocks, and news, directly on your desktop with easy-to-use Gadgets and Windows Sidebar.
View multiple web pages simultaneously with Quick Tabs in Windows Internet Explorer 7.
Get up and running faster than ever with Windows Easy Transfer that automatically copies your files and settings from your old PC.
Mobility With special features to help you go mobile, Windows Vista with SP1 makes computing and connecting away from home or the office easier than ever.
Work the way you want with touch and digital input and handwriting. Tablet and Touch Technology makes your notebook PC experience truly personal.
Set up a wireless network at home with Network and Sharing Center--so you can experience the freedom of working virtually anywhere in your home. Then easily find and join a wireless network at your favorite hotspot--so you can stay productive wherever you go.
Optimize your power and mobile settings centrally with Windows Mobility Center.
Easily sync and manage your music, contacts and pictures across your devices and other PCs with Sync Center.
Share your desktop or any program with Windows Meeting Space. Co-edit documents, and pass notes in class, a favorite hotspot, or where no network exists.
Worst Experience I've Ever Had With Windows I've been a satisfied user of Windows for over a decade. For all its flaws, I've always been able to navigate it just fine and do everything I wanted to do with it. I've never had any reason to want to switch to another OS. XP was perfect for me.
A few weeks ago, my old computer died. Something wrong with the power connection and I figured it was time for a new one anyway. So I ordered a Toshiba Satellite, and it showed up on my doorstep with Vista.
I was nervous... I've heard a lot of bad things about Vista. All kinds of horror stories, really. Lucky me, now I have my own. The one and only positive thing I can say about Vista is it looks nice. I like the groovy way the windows fade in and out. Too bad aesthetics doesn't make an operating system run right.
The first thing I did was install some of my favorite old programs. Or at least, try to install -- they didn't work. I searched online and found people saying that there was no easy way to run the programs I wanted to run in Vista, and that I'd have to risk damaging the system to change it in order to fix it. Great. Fortunately, I found a DOS emulator to allow me to run those programs inside another program. It was a pain to use, but it got the job done.
Next, I went to install my favorite game, which is about 3 years old and was made for Windows XP. I popped in the CD, opened the AutoRun menu, clicked "Install" and.... nothing happened. It didn't work. The menu was in Flash player, so I figured maybe the Flash player in my new computer was outdated. I tried to close the window to install the latest version of Flash, but it wouldn't close. I tried to open the Task Manager to close the process, and the Task Manager wouldn't work. I opened the shut down menu and selected "Restart". Nothing. Tried again, and selected "Shut Down." Nothing. Pressed the power button on my computer. Nada. Finally I held it down for 10 seconds and forced the computer off. I restarted, installed the latest Flash player, and tried to install my game again. Same thing --> install failed, computer wouldn't let me turn it off, and I had to shut it off manually.
The next time I turned the computer on, I was surprised to find that the colors had been set to a very poor, low level -- my computer looked like it was the 1980s! I clicked on the explanation button, and Windows told me it had set my colors to a lower level because either there was a problem with my graphics card, or there is a program running that only runs with lower quality graphics. Well, no different programs running than any other time I started the computer, so it's not that, and considering the computer is only a few days old, I doubt it's the graphics card either! I followed Vista's instructions to change the appearance back to normal, opening the Appearance window and going to select the standard Vista color scheme... except... wait for it... it WASN'T THERE! The highest color scheme in the menu was the Stone Age one I had.
I threw in the towel and tossed my new computer aside. You win, Vista.
Right now, I'm hard at work on my work computer trying to figure out how I can UPgrade to XP from Vista on my brand spanking new personal computer, as I heard that option was available. I really was hoping I could make Vista work... but, despite being an experienced Windows user (many call me an expert), I have totally failed.
I just can't make Vista work.
I'll stay with XP for now I tried Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 to see if it was worth upgrading my home XP machine to Vista. I just can't find any compelling reason to upgrade to Vista. I have I gig of memory in my home machine and with XP it runs fine. With Vista I have to turn off the Aero graphics due to limited memory on my machine. Once the Aero graphics are turned off the system runs close to the speed of XP but you loose the major feature upgrade of Vista which is the improved graphics.
I have a MCSE so I'm very familiar with Microsoft OS's but I just don't find Vista to be very intuitive. Seems to me that they put pretty front ends on the same interfaces that are running once you get through the new front ends on system preferences and configuration. I find it harder to move around Vista and find things, and I have given it a good chance to become familiar with but still find it non intuitive.
I've had issues with the wireless on Vista. Easy to connect to my linksys but the connection keeps falling off and and then adds a new connection with a new name to the wireless list. I have had no issues with XP or my Mac 10.5 on my linksys router. Not sure why Vista is struggling but it has become a pain to deal with, especially when someone non technical is using the laptop and I'm not home and the connection drops.
So, if you are an XP user I wouldn't waist the money on the upgrade. Stay with XP unless you are looking to purchase a new PC or laptop and then you will be stuck with Vista whether you like it or not.
Product came quickly and installed easily After hearing so many horror stories about Vista I ordered with some trepedation. I installed Vista on a Mac using bootcamp. Total no brainer and after a couple of weeks of use no problems. Happy consumer here
Messy Installing this edition of Windows Vista has been rather frustrating. I suppose it's too early to judge definitively whether it has been worth it. Despite my machine bearing a "Windows Vista capable" sticker, it proved to be something less than that. It took seven hours to upgrade from Windows XP. I ran the advisory program beforehand to determine if my laptop could handle Vista. The results said "OK", but when the OS was finally loaded it turned out my computer was woefully short on RAM, and several of the drivers wouldn't work (including the printer.) I managed to track down drivers on the web that would work, and installed more memory myself. So it took me a couple of days to get everything in order. I'm still getting annoying notices about "program incompatibility", so I still have some tweaking to do.
Basically, Vista is just a somewhat more souped up version of XP--it's just another Microsoft program, nothing revolutionary. Although the media center is kind of cool, and the backup system is proving to be useful. I was cursing Microsoft the first few days I ran this, but am getting used to it. (I suppose I'll have to if I want to keep using their products, when XP is finally phased out.) I'm thinking of trying Ubuntu for comparison's sake. This whole experience has kind of opened my eyes about alternatives in operating systems, so it hasn't been a waste. You could do worse than trying Vista, although be forewarned about the problems I mentioned before.
Definitely A Step Up Over Vista Basic... Before receiving my review copy of Home Premium, I had been using the Home Basic Edition of Vista, so I was very interested in what the upgrade would offer. All versions of Vista are on the same disc, and one can update easily using the "Anytime Upgrade" feature, but I never got around to it. Interestingly, having now used both, their best points are are same ones that cause the most headaches. For the first time, Microsoft rewrote their OS from the source code up, which they claimed would increase security. They are right-not one virus has been able to attack my system. The only problem with this is that you must replace all of your security programs as a bare minimum. Products were rushed to market-Norton 2007 was such a disaster that purchasers were given the new version free as one of the updates. Updating from Basic, I really liked the Aero Glass interface ("No, we are not copying Apple!" the lawyers say...), as well as the Media Center capabilities. It actually includes most of the features of the "Ultimate Edition". But why can't one make a mirror copy of your hard drive for backups here? Nothing that you can't add from Norton, etc., but it would be nice. And if you thought Windows XP hogged computer resources, you haven't seen anything yet. In the end, if you have XP, there is no reason to rush to Vista-in fact, 200 new computers were just purchased where I work, and Windows XP was specified and installed on all of them. (The bugs are out of it by now.)
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