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| From: Microsoft Software
List Price: $269.99
Buy New: $135.00
You Save: $134.99 (50%)
New (41) Used (4) from $135.00
Rating:  117 reviews
Sales Rank: 163
Format: Dvd-rom
Platform: Windows Vista
Media: DVD-ROM
Edition: Home Premium
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: No
Operating System: Windows Vista
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3
Dimensions (in): 0.1 x 0.1 x 0
MPN: 66I02387
Model: 66I-02387
UPC: 882224661256
EAN: 0882224661256
ASIN: B0013O54OE
Release Date: March 19, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 16-20 of 117
 I'm going back to XP June 22, 2008
Mirek2
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I hate it. It offers no real advantages over XP, is slower, works with less stuff, and keeps freezing up. I'm downgrading to XP...
 Product came quickly and installed easily July 5, 2008
Joseph E. Mercier (Trinity National Forest)
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
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
 I'll stay with XP for now July 6, 2008
Glenn Ware (Colorado USA)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
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.
Good OS but you better have the right requirements March 26, 2008
Daniel McKinnon (Tewksbury, MA USA)
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
Windows Vista has gotten a lot of flack and negativity and I will be one of the minority? to disagree. Microsoft spend many years developing this operating system and I feel that they succeeded with improving the flagship OS of PCs overall. The biggest difference with Vista vs XP and earlier OSs is the overall look and feel. Mac OS X had beautified the OS experience for many years and Microsoft had to change things up to compete in the market. With their new 'Aero' look letting you tile windows in 3D and integrating a sidebar with the OS, this is the prettiest Windows you have ever used. A new black system bar replaces the XP blue look and I think it's much easier on the eyes.
With all the improvements spoken of here, my favorites are without a doubt the new Instant Search that lets you easily search for files from any Explorer window (very hard to go back to XP without this) and the way pictures are managed in Vista. I have XP and Vista systems at home but whenever I want to scan through photos I always go to the Vista machine for speed and performance benefits.
Along with these improvements you also get Internet Explorer 7, Windows Media Center, Enhanced Backup and Restore. For computer newbies it's a pleasant experience, for veterans it might take some time to get used to the newest flavor of Windows but it shouldn't take that long.
Negatives that jump out to me are the massive system requirements that are needed. If you install this on a system with anything less than 2 GIG of RAM you are asking for trouble but with the reqs of systems purchased today that shouldn't be much of an issue. The same issues go for graphics cards. If you don't have a decent one you can't use many of the Aero effects that are part of Vista.
Home Premium will be the version most people use and SHOULD use as this has a boatload more features than Home Basic.
All in all a great effort by Microsoft that will only improve over time with the myriad of service packs which are released.
**** RECOMMENDED
Windows Vista SP1 versus the world. March 28, 2008
R. Ocampo (North America)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
Disclosure: I use Windows for work and Mac OS X 10.5.2 for home.
Let's talk about Windows Vista Service Pack 1...
Finally after months of beta testing Service Pack 1 (SP1) for Vista, Microsoft re-releases Windows Vista which comes integrated with SP1. What has changed from the original Windows Vista release? First of all don't go looking for visual enhancements as Vista is already an all new operating system with lots of eye-candy to start with. So SP1 is meant to address kinks and bugs not found by the original beta testers. As with any operating system update, one can expect a more reliable and stable performing system. Whether or not it is readily apparent, a more reliable system is a faster system due to better programming efficiency. While Windows world will always bring tons of new third-party hardware, so one can expect better support for even newer products.
SP1 contains code update which is why current Vista users installing this update can expect a good solid wait in installation time. Try 1 hour. Results, of course, vary per system configuration and amount of hardware and peripherals installed.
More importantly, SP1 is meant to address their business customers. Because with the initial release of Vista, Business users didn't want to make the jump. Heck, regular users didn't want to make the jump. This major update is meant to give them another chance at making the upgrade while promising better deployment.
As we have seen from the release of Vista, existing Windows XP customers have not readily embraced this new OS. And those who made the jump found themselves reinstalling back to XP. (On the other hand, the opposite is true for Apple's Mac OS X 10.5 release. A majority made the switch from 10.4 rather than be left behind). With Windows users, they prefer to be left behind.
Let's back track...
Like any major operating system introduction (or any major software upgrade release), we can always expect integration problems which cannot be totally eliminated due to each user's individuality in hardware configuration and usage. In Apple's case, they have more control in the integration of their hardware and software. Apple decides which hardware to use and how to code their software properly. Because of this limited choice (versus the virtually unlimited software and hardware options available to custom PC builders) they will obviously encounter less problems than their Windows counterpart.
So in Microsoft's defense (although being a bigger company their poor coding and blatant rip-off of features and GUI is inexcusable), they have more to work with. It's not like Dell is the only company assembling a PC. We have the average Joe and hardcore gamers hand-picking everything from motherboard, memory and peripherals. If Apple is having compatibility problems with the few third-party add-ons, then Microsoft is entitled to have more leeway.
With the release of SP1 once again we can't expect to please everyone. However, people with newer system set-ups shouldn't generally have any problems. If you have a system more than two years old, I honestly don't think you are entitled to cry foul and state how slow this OS can be and unstable. But then again...
The problem with Microsoft is that...
They try not to alienate their users by trying to include everyone to upgrade. They list the minimum system requirement on the box as: 800MHz processor, 512MB system memory, CD ROM and VGA monitor. Come on!
When Apple releases their latest operating system you can be sure certain older models will not be included. And even if that particular "old" model is well capable of running the software, Apple will make sure to code their software to refrain from installing if you even try. So being an ever loyal Mac user, you end up purchasing one of the the latest and fastest machines available that comes loaded with the latest OS.
On the other hand, Microsoft is the opposite. They will try to make their latest and greatest OS run on your old 800MHz machine that runs only 512MB of memory on a VGA monitor. Then you come back complaining they released the poorest OS on the planet with empty promises that you can't even enjoy the reason why you upgraded to Windows Vista in the first place - the GUI of Windows Aero. In all honesty, it's okay to cut out old systems. You're not only doing yourself a favor in dealing with user headaches, you're also doing them a favor in enjoying what they already have. If they have an 800MHz system and only 512MB of memory until now, do you think upgrading to Windows Vista will make their experience any better?
So guess which company comes out the wiser and which company gets bad press and user feedback.
Another problem with Vista is that...
We have four flavors to choose from - Windows Vista Home Basic, Home Premium, Business and Ultimate. As if the unaffordable pricing won't confuse our pockets, we have to now decipher what we really need.
Without going into details, don't waste any more money that you are wasting and skip the Home Basic vesion. Home Premium will equip you with Media Center, while the Business version won't have it but instead come equipped with advanced backup features and better networking capability. Can't decide? Why there happens to be the Ultimate version which comes with what the Home Premium and Business version has and another feature called "Windows BitLocker Drive Encyption".
Here's an idea, you've already spent time and money to create all these features. Why not just introduce just two variations - one version caters to the Business server market and the other version caters to everyone else. (Yes, just like what Apple does). This is more cost effective on product packaging and and less strain spending on marketing just to educate everyone what the difference is.
With the time saved, your programmers can concentrate on making the OS even more stable and your marketing department can be more creative in beating Apple's ads.
Why upgrade from Windows XP...
Visually speaking, eye-candy. Windows Aero is visually stunning. Giving you a 3D perspective allows for efficiency in organization and a better overall user experience. Of course this comes at a price of being able to afford a faster processor and more memory.
Search. The counter-part of Mac's Spotlight. Find anything anywhere.
Integrated Windows Media Center. Better equip yourself with a tuner card if you want to make full use of this feature.
Better back up and restore capabilities to help protect user data.
Recommendation...
If you're buying a new PC or you have a relatively new system that MORE than meets not the "minimum system requirements" but the "recommended system requirements" I wouldn't hesitate to upgrade to Vista. It's been out for quite some time and majority of respectable software and hardware makers have had their hands on compatibility issues at this time.
SP1 doesn't make Windows Vista perfect. But the fact that you've reached this far in considering the upgrade, perhaps it's about time you make the jump (again, make sure you have a newer system to enjoy the experience).
Finally, I would skip this version and just go straight for Windows Vista Ultimate for just a few more dollars.
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