Windows Vista -The Upcoming OS

Microsoft Office 2007

2006-12-03T22:04:00.000-08:00



Microsoft Word 2007
Maintainer:	Microsoft
Stable release:	12.0.4518.1014 (November 6, 2006^[18]) _[+/-]
Preview release:	N/A _[+/-]
OS:	Microsoft Windows
Use:	Office suite
License:	Proprietary
Website:	www.microsoft.com/office/preview

The 2007 Microsoft Office System, also known as Microsoft Office 2007 (or O07), is the most recent version of Microsoft's productivity suite. Formerly known as Office 12 in the initial stages of its beta cycle, it is scheduled to be made available to volume license customers on November 30, 2006, with general availability following in early 2007. Office 2007 contains a number of new features, the most notable of which is the entirely new graphical user interface called the Ribbon, replacing the menus and toolbars that have been the cornerstone of Office since its inception.

Office 2007 also includes new applications and server-side tools. Chief amongst these is Groove, a collaboration and communication suite for smaller businesses which was originally developed by Groove Networks before being acquired by Microsoft in 2005. Also included is Office Sharepoint Server 2007, a major revision to the server platform for Office applications, which supports "Excel Services", a client-server architecture for supporting Excel workbooks that are shared in real time between multiple machines, and are also viewable and editable through a web page.

While Office 2007 includes many new features, one has been removed entirely: Microsoft FrontPage is no longer being developed; its successor is the Microsoft Expression line of products.

Development

The first beta of Microsoft Office 2007, referred to as Beta-1 in emails sent to a limited number of testers, was released on November 16, 2005. The Beta-1 Technical Refresh was released to testers on March 13, 2006. The Technical Refresh fixed issues in installing with Windows Vista build 5308. Office 2007 Beta 2 was announced by Bill Gates at WinHEC 2006, and was initially released to the public at no cost from Microsoft's web site. However, because of an unprecedented number of downloads, a fee of $1.50 (£0.79) has been introduced for each product downloaded after Wednesday, 2nd August 2006. The beta was updated on September 14, 2006 in Beta 2 Technical Refresh (Beta2TR). It includes an updated user interface, better accessibility support, improvements in the robustness of the platform, and greater functionality. The beta applications will continue to function after February 1, 2007, but in a reduced functionality mode. If users download the Technical Refresh to update Beta 2, then users can use its full functionality until March 15, 2007 for client products and May 31, 2007 for server products. The Beta program ended on November 8, 2006, when Microsoft declared the product "Ready to Market" (RTM) and started manufacturing the final product. Because of this, the beta has been completely removed for download. Office 2007 will be available for enterprise users by November 30, 2006. The end user version will be available in the beginning of 2007.

Editions and pricing

The 2007 Microsoft Office system will be distributed in eight editions:

**Microsoft Office 2007 System Editions and Pricing**
Edition	Availability	Pricing		Retail box
Edition	Availability	Retail	Upgrade	Retail box
Microsoft Office Ultimate 2007^[1]	Retail	$679	$539	No box shot available
Microsoft Office Enterprise 2007	Volume License only	N/A	N/A	No box shot available
Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2007	Volume License only	N/A	N/A	No box shot available
Microsoft Office Professional 2007	Retail	$499	$329
Microsoft Office Small Business 2007	Retail	$449	$279	No box shot available
Microsoft Office Standard 2007	Retail	$399	$239	No box shot available
Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007	Retail / OEM	$149	N/A
Microsoft Office Basic 2007	OEM only	N/A	N/A	No box shot available

Notes:

Additional tools include: Enterprise Content Management, Electronic Forms, and Windows Rights Management Services capabilities

Microsoft Office Suite Comparison

Microsoft Office Suite Comparison

	Basic 2007	Home & Student 2007	Standard 2007	Small Business 2007	Professional 2007	Ultimate 2007	Professional Plus 2007	Office Enterprise 2007
Word 2007	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Excel 2007	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
PowerPoint 2007		Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Publisher 2007				Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Outlook 2007	Yes		Yes				Yes	Yes
Access 2007					Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
OneNote 2007		Yes				Yes		Yes
Outlook 2007 with Business Contact Manager (BCE)				Yes	Yes	Yes
InfoPath 2007						Yes	Yes	Yes
Communicator 2007							Yes	Yes
Groove 2007						Yes		Yes

New features

User interface

Office Button

The new result-oriented user interface, "Ribbon", will be featured in the core applications of Microsoft Office: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access and the mail editor of Outlook. These applications have been selected for the UI overhaul, because those applications center around document authoring^[2] and present a multitude of options to the same regard. The rest of the applications in the suite will also be upgraded to the new UI eventually^[3]. According to Microsoft, the new UI centers on the principle of helping people focus on what they want to do, rather than bothering with the details of how to do it.

Debuting in the Beta 1 refresh is the Office button. It replaces the File menu and provides access to functionality common across all Office applications, including but not limited to Opening, Saving, Printing, and Sharing a file. Users can also choose color schemes for the interface.

The Ribbon

The Ribbon, a panel that houses the command buttons and icons, organizes commands as a set of Tabs, each grouping relevant commands. Each application has a different set of tabs which expose the functionality that application offers. For example, while Excel has a tab for the Graphing capabilities, Word does not feature the same. Instead it has tabs to control the formatting of the document. Within each tab, various related options may be grouped together. The Ribbon is designed to make the features of the application more discoverable and accessible with fewer mouse clicks^[4] as compared to the menu-based UI used until Office 2003.

Some tabs, called Contextual Tabs, appear only when certain objects are selected. Contextual Tabs expose functionality specific only to the object with focus. For example, selecting a picture brings up the Pictures tab, which presents options for dealing with the picture. Similarly, focusing on a table exposes table-related options in a specific tab. Contextual tabs remain hidden when the object it works on are not selected.

Galleries

Gallery in a contextual tab for a SmartArt

Galleries are a new UI construct which show, as graphic representations, formatting options that can be applied to various elements. For example, document styles, document title page styles, slide designs etc are presented as galleries, which let people have an idea of what they are selecting, rather than sifting through multitude of options, as would have been the case had the UI design been a dialog-box centric one. Galleries help by presenting a much larger list of pre-rendered potential formatting options, rather than have the user figure them out by mixing and matching dialog box options.

The use of Galleries to simplify document layout production has appeared previously in Microsoft's low-end office suite Microsoft Works and in other desktop publishing software, such as The Print Shop.

Live Preview

Microsoft Office 2007 also introduces a feature called "Live Preview", which temporarily applies formatting on the focussed text or object, when any formatting button is moused-over. The temporary formatting is removed when the mouse pointer is moved from the button. This allows users to have a preview of how the option would affect the appearance of the object, without actually applying it.

Mini Toolbar

Mini toolbar, which pops up near the selected text whenever some text is selected, provides easy access to most used formatting commands. When the mouse pointer is away from it, the toolbar becomes semi-transparent to allow almost unobstructed view of what's beneath. But when the mouse pointer moves over it, it becomes opaque and ready for use. It also appears above the right-click menu when a user right-clicks on a selection of words.

Other UI features

Super-tooltips, that can house formatted text as well as images, are used to provide detailed descriptions of what most buttons do.
The Quick Access toolbar, which sits in the title bar, serves as a repository of most used functions, regardless of which application is being used, such as save, undo/redo and print.
Zoom slider present in the bottom-right corner, allowing for dynamic and rapid magnification of a document.

SmartArt

SmartArt, found under the Insert tab in the ribbon in PowerPoint, Word, Excel, and Outlook, is a new group of easily editable and formatted diagrams. There are 115 preset SmartArt graphics layout templates (as of Beta 2 Technical Refresh) in categories such as list, process, cycle, and hierarchy. When an instance of a SmartArt is inserted, a Text Pane appears next to it to guide the user through entering text in the hierarchical levels. Each SmartArt graphic, based on its design, maps the text outline, automatically resized for best fit, onto the graphic. There are a number of "quick styles" for each graphic that apply largely different 3D effects to the graphic, and the graphic's shapes and text can be formatted through shape styles and WordArt styles. In addition, SmartArt graphics change their colors, fonts, and effects to match the document's theme.

Microsoft Word 2007's help feature recommends SmartArt graphics for organization charts of fewer than 30 shapes that have 3D effects (such as bevels and glows) applied to them. It suggests Microsoft Visio organization charts for charts of up to 1000 shapes that must be precisely customizable.

File formats

Main article: Microsoft Office Open XML

Microsoft Office will use a new file format, OpenXML as the default file format. It is based on XML and uses the ZIP file container. According to Microsoft, this file format, which is compressed, will be up to 75% smaller than the current Microsoft Office file formats.^[5] Microsoft had initially announced that it will support export to Portable Document Format in Office 2007. However, due to legal objections from Adobe Systems, Office 2007 will not have PDF support out of the box, but rather as a separate free download.^[6]^[7] Office 2007 documents can also be exported as XPS documents, via a plug-in that also has to be separately downloaded.

User Assistance System

In Microsoft Office 2007, the Office Assistants have been completely removed because of the much improved help system. One feature of the new help system is the extensive use of Super Tooltips which explains each button or what each function performs.

Collaboration features

Microsoft Office Groove 2007

Microsoft Office 2007 includes features geared towards collaboration and data sharing. As such, Microsoft Office 2007 features server components for applications such as Excel, which work in conjunction with SharePoint Services, to provide a collaboration platform SharePoint works with Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, which is used to host a SharePoint site, and uses IIS and ASP.NET 2.0. Excel server exposes Excel Services, which allows any worksheet to be created, edited and maintained via web browsers. it features Excel Web Access, the client-side component which is used to render the workseet on a browser, Excel Calculation Service which is the server side component which populates the worksheet with data and perform calculations, and Excel Web Service that exposes Excel functionalities as individual web services. Sharepoint can also be used to host Word documents for collaborative editing, by sharing a document. SharePoint can also be used to hold PowerPoint slides in a Slide Library, from which the slides can be used as a formatting template. It will also notify users of a slide automatically in case the source slide is modified. Also by using SharePoint, Powerpoint can manage shared review of presentations. Any SharePoint hosted document can be accessed from the application which created the document or from other applications such as a browser of Microsoft Office Outlook.

Microsoft Office 2007 also includes Groove, which brings collaborative features to a peer-to-peer paradigm. Groove can host documents, including presentations, workbooks and others, created in Microsoft Office 2007 application in a shared workspace, which can then be used in collaborative editing of documents. Groove can also be used in managing workspace sessions, including access control of the workspace. To collaborate on one or more documents, a Workspace has to be created, and then those who are to work on it have to be invited. Any file shared on the workspace are automatically shared among all participants. The application also provides real-time messaging, including one-to-one as well as group messaging, and presence features, as well as monitoring workspace activities with alerts, which are raised when pre-defined set of activities are detected. Groove also provides features for conflict resolution for conflicting edits. Schedules for a collaboration can also be decided by using a built-in shared calendar, which can also be used to keep track of the progress of a project. However, the calendar is not compatible with Microsoft Outlook.

Themes and Quick Styles

Microsoft Office 2007 puts a huge emphasis on Document Themes and Quick Styles. The Document Theme defines the colors, fonts and graphic effects for a document. The new Office Theme file format (.THMX) is shared between Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook email messages. Almost everything that can be inserted into a document is automatically styled to match the overall document theme creating a consistent document design. Similar themes are also available for data reports in Access and Project or shapes in Visio.

Quick Styles are galleries with a range of styles based on the current theme. There are quick styles galleries for text, tables, charts, SmartArt, WordArt and more. The style range goes from simple/light to more graphically/darker.

Application-specific changes

Microsoft Office Word

Blog authoring using Word 2007 (also, note the word count displayed in the bottom-left)

Blog entries^[8] can be authored in Word itself and uploaded directly to a blog. Supported blogging sites include Windows Live Spaces, SharePoint, Blogger, Community Server etc.
All new professional style sheets (quick styles) and ability to switch easily among them
Word count listed by default in the status bar. The word count dynamically updates as you type.
New contextual spell checker catches incorrect usage of correctly spelled words, such as in "I think we will loose this battle".
Translation tool tip option available for English (U.S.), French (France), and Spanish (International Sort). When selected, hovering the mouse cursor over a word will display its translation in the particular language. Non-English versions have different sets of languages. Other languages can be added by using a separate multilingual pack.
Automated generation of citations and bibliographies according to defined style rules, including APA, Chicago, and MLA. Changing style updates all references automatically. Connect to web services to access online reference databases.
Rearchitected native mathematical equation support with TeX-like linear input/edit language or GUI interface. Also supports the Unicode Plain Text Encoding of Mathematics ([1])
Preset gallery of cover pages with fields for Author, Title, Date, Abstract, etc. Cover pages follow the theme of the document (found under the Page Layout tab).
Document comparison engine updated to support moves, differences in tables, and also easy to follow tri-pane view of original document, new document, and differences.
Fullscreen reading layout that shows two pages at a time with maximal screen usage, plus a few critical tools for reviewing.
Document Inspector which strips word documents of information such as author name and comments and other "metadata".
Building Blocks, which lets one save frequently used content, so that they are easily accessible for further use. Building blocks can have data mapped controls in them to allow for form building or structured document authoring.

Microsoft Office Outlook

RSS reader in Outlook 2007

As a major change in Outlook 2007, Exchange 5.5 support has been dropped. Like Evolution and Entourage, Outlook now works only with Exchange 2000 and above.
Outlook now indexes^[9] the e-mails, contacts, tasks, calendar entries, RSS feeds and other items, to speed up searches. As such, it features word-wheeled search, which displays results as characters are being typed in.
Search folders, which are saved searches, have been updated to include RSS feeds as well. Search folders can be created with a specific search criteria, specifying the subject, type and other attributes of the information being searched. When a search folder is opened, all matching items for the search are automatically retrieved and grouped up.
Outlook now supports text-messages and SMSs, when used in conjunction with Exchange Server 2007 Unified Messaging.
Outlook includes a reader for RSS feeds, which used the Windows Common Feeds Store. RSS subscription URLs can be shared via e-mails. RSS feed updates can also be pushed to a mobile device.
Outlook can now support multiple calendars being worked with, simultaneously. It also includes a side-by-side view for calendars, where each calendar is displayed in a different tab, and allows easy comparison of them. Outlook also supports web calendars. Calendars can be shared with other users.
Calendar view shows which tasks are due.
Flagged e-mails and notes can also be converted to Task items.
Outlook includes a To Do Bar, which integrates the calendar, appointments and tasks items, in a concise view.
Online or Offline editing of all Microsoft office 2007 documents via a SharePoint site. All edits are automatically synchronized.
Contacts can be shared among users, via e-mail, Exchange server or a SharePoint site.
Attachment preview allows users to view Office e-mail attachments in the reading pane rather than having to open another program.

Microsoft Office Outlook can also include an optional Business Contact Manager which allows management of business contacts and their sales and marketing activities. Phone calls, e-mails, appointments, notes and other business metrics can be managed for each contact. It can also keep a track of billable time for each contact on the Outlook Calendar. Based on these data, a consolidated report view can be generated by Microsoft Office Outlook with Business Contact Manager. The data can be further analyzed using Microsoft Office Excel. This data can also be shared using SharePoint services.

Microsoft Office OneNote

Microsoft Office OneNote 2007

OneNote now supports multiple notebooks.
Notebooks can be shared across multiple computers. Anyone can edit even while not connected and changes are merged automatically across machines when a connection is made. Changes are labeled with author and change time/date.
Notebook templates.
Word-wheeled search is also present in OneNote, which also indexes notes.
Synchronization of Tasks with Outlook 2007. Also Outlook can send mails to OneNote, or open pages in OneNote that are linked to task, contacts, appointments/meetings.
Support for tables. Using tabs to create tabular structure automatically converts it to a table.
OCR is performed on images (screen clips, photos, scans) so that any text in them is searchable.
Audio and video recordings are also tagged and indexed, so that they can be searched.
Notes can have hyperlinks among themselves, or from outside OneNote to a specific point on a page.
Embedding documents in notes.
Extensibility support for add-ins.
Drawing tools for creating diagrams in OneNote.
Typing any arithmetic expression, followed by "=" results in the result of the calculation being displayed.
Send to Microsoft OneNote, via which any application can print to a virtual printer for OneNote and the "printed" document is imported to the notebook, and any text is indexed for searching.
OneNote Mobile is included for Smartphones and some PocketPC devices. Syncs notes two-way with OneNote. Takes text, voice, and photo notes.

Microsoft Office Access

Microsoft Office Access 2007

Access now includes support for a broader range of data types, including documents and images.
Referential integrity checks. If any information is entered which doesn't have a related entry in another table, Access offers to either remove the entry or update the other table. (Note: This feature has existed since Access 2.0)
Whenever any table is updated, all reports referencing the table are also updated.
Dropdown lists for a table can be modified in place.
Lookup Fields, which get their values by "looking up" some value in a table, have been updated to support multi valued lookups.
Many new preset schemata are included.
Access can synchronize with Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 and Office SharePoint Server 2007. This is a compelling feature that enables a user to use Access reports while using a server-based, backed-up, IT managed version of the data.

Microsoft Office Excel

Color Scales and Data Bars

Excel 2007, showing function completion and shortcut key tooltips

Support up to 1,048,576 rows and 16,384 columns in a single worksheet.^[10]
Conditional Formatting introduces support for three new features — Color Scales, Icon Sets and Data Bars
- Color Scales, which automatically color the background of a group of cells with different colors according to the values.
- Icon sets, which precede the text in a cell with an icon that represent some aspect of the value of the cell with respect to other values in a group of cells, can also be applied. Icons can be conditionally applied to show up only when certain criteria is met, such as a cross showing up on an invalid value, where the condition for invalidity can be specified by the user.
- Data Bars show as a gradient bar in the background of a cell the contribution of the cell value in the group.
Column titles can optionally show options to control the layout of the column.
Multithreaded calculation of formulae, to speed up large calculations, especially on multi-core/multi-processor systems.
User Defined Functions (UDF), which are custom functions written to supplement Excel's set of built-in functions, supports the increased number of cells and columns. UDFs now can also be multithreaded. Server side UDFs are based on the .NET Managed code.
Importing data from external sources, such as a database, has been upgraded. Data can also be imported from formatted tables and reports, which do not have a regular grid structure.
Formula Autocomplete, automatically suggests function names, arguments and named ranges, and automatically completing them if desired, based on the characters entered. Formulae can refer to a table as well.
CUBE functions which allow importing data, including set aggregated data, from data analysis services, such as SQL Server Analysis Services.
Page Layout view, to author spreadsheets in a way that mirrors the formatting that will be applied when printed.
PivotTables, which are used to create analysis reports out of sets of data, can now support hierarchical data by displaying a row in the table with a "+" icon, which, when clicked, shows more rows regarding it, which can also be hierarchical. PivotTables can also be sorted and filtered independently, and conditional formatting used to highlight trends in the data.
Excel features a new charting engine, which supports advanced formatting, including 3D rendering, transparencies and shadows. Chart layouts can also be customized to highlight various trends in the data.

Microsoft Office PowerPoint

Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007

Improvements to text rendering to support text based graphics.
Rendering of 3D graphics.
Support for tables and enhanced support for table pasting from Excel.^[11]
Slide Library, which lets you reuse any slide or presentation as a template. Any presentation or slide can be published to the Slide Library.
Any custom-designed slide library can be saved.
Presentations can be digitally signed.
Improved Presenter View.^[12]
Added support for Widescreen Slides.^[13]

Microsoft Office InfoPath

Microsoft Office InfoPath 2007

InfoPath designed forms can now be used from a browser.
A form can be sent out to people via e-mail. Such forms can be filled out from Outlook 2007 itself.
Automatic conversion of forms in Word and Excel to InfoPath forms. Forms can also be exported to Excel.
Forms can be published to a network share or to SharePoint server.
Adding data validation, using validation formulae, and conditional formatting features without manually writing code.
Print Layout view for designing forms in a view that mirror the printed layout. Such forms can be opened using Word as well.
Ability to use Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Office Access, or other databases as back-end data repository.
Multiple views for the same forms, to expose different features to different class of users.
Template Parts, used to group Office InfoPath controls for use later. Template parts retain its XML schema.

Microsoft Office Visio

Microsoft Office Visio 2007

PivotDiagrams, which are used to visualize data, show data groups and hierarchichal relationships.
Visual modification of PivotDiagrams by dragging data around levels, to restructure the data relationships.
PivotDiagrams can show aggregate statistical summaries for the data and show them.
Shapes can be linked with external data sources. Doing so, the shapes are formatted according to the data. The data, and hence the shapes, are updated periodically. Such shapes can also be formatted manually using the Data Graphics feature.
AutoConnect : Link easily two shapes.^[14]
Data Link : Link data to shapes.^[15]
Data Graphics : Dynamic objects (text and images) linked with external data.^[16]
New Theme behaviour and new shapes.^[17]

Microsoft Office Publisher

Microsoft Office Publisher 2007

Templates automatically fill out with information such as company name, logo etc, wherever applicable.
Frequently used content can be stored in Content Store for quick access.
A document can be automatically converted from one publication type, such as a newsletter, to another publication type, say a web page.
Save as PDF supports Commercial printing quality PDF.
Catalog Merge can create publication content automatically by retrieving data, including text, images and other supported types, from an external data source.
Design Checker, which is used to find design inconsistencies, has been updated.

Microsoft Office Project

Ability to create custom templates.
Any change in the project plan or schedule highlights everything else that is affected.
Analyze changes without actually committing them. Changes can also be done and undone programmatically, to automate analysis of different changes.
Improved cost resource management and analysis for projects.
Project data can be used to automatically create charts and diagrams in Microsoft Office Excel and Microsoft Office Visio, respectively.
The project schedule can be managed as 3D Gantt chart.
Sharing project data with the help of SharePoint services.

Microsoft SharePoint Designer

Microsoft office SharePoint Designer 2007

Supports features and constructs that expose SharePoint functionality.
Supports ASP.NET 2.0 and Windows Workflow Foundation.
Support for creating workflows and data reports, from external data sources.
Allows XML data to be displayed using XSLT

Server Components

SharePoint Server 2007

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 allows sharing and collaborative editing of Office 2007 documents. It allows central storage of documents and management of Office documents, throughout the enterprise. These documents can be accessed either by the applications which created them, Microsoft Office Outlook 2007, or a web browser. Documents can also be managed through pre-defined policies that let users create and publish shared content, through a SharePoint site.

SharePoint server allows searching of all Office documents which are being managed by it, centrally, thereby making data more accessible. It also provides access control for documents. Specialized server components can plug into the SharePoint server to extend the functionality of the server, such as Excel Services exposing data analysis services for Excel services. Data from other data sources can also be merged with Office data.

SharePoint also lets users personalize the SharePoint sites, filtering content they are interested in. SharePoint documents can also be locally cached by clients for offline editing; the changes are later merged.

Forms Server 2007

Microsoft Office Forms Server 2007 allows InfoPath forms to be accessed and filled out using any browser, including mobile phone browsers. Forms Server 2007 also supports using a database or other data source as the back-end for the form. Additionally, it allows centralized deployment and management of forms. Forms Server 2007 hosted forms also support data validation and conditional formatting, as does their InfoPath counterpart. It also supports advanced controls like Repeating section and Repeating table. However, some InfoPath controls cannot be used if it has to be hosted on a Forms server.

Groove Server 2007

Microsoft Office Groove Server 2007 is for centrally managing all deployments of Microsoft Office Groove 2007 in the enterprise. It enables using Active Directory for Groove user accounts, and create Groove Domains, with individual policy settings.

Project Server 2007

Microsoft Office Project Server 2007 allows one to centrally manage and coordinate projects. It allows budget and resource tracking, and activity plan management. The project data and reports can also be further analyzed using Cube Building Service. The project management data can be accessed from a browser .

Project Portfolio Server 2007

Microsoft Office Project Portfolio Server 2007 allows creation of a project portfolio, including workflows, hosted centrally, so that the information is available throughout the enterprise, even from a browser. It also aids in centralized data aggregation regarding the project planning and execution, and in visualizing and analyzing the data to optimize the project plan. It can also support mutiple portfolios per project, to track different aspects of it. It also includes reporting tools to create consolidated reports out of the project data.

PerformancePoint Server 2007

Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server 2007 is a performance management (PM) application that encompassed business scorecarding, analysis, planning, forecasting, consolidation and financial reporting. PerformancePoint allows creation of strategic plans and detailed budgets and scorecards and link them together with rules that express their relationships. Forecasts can be made for individual divisions, and compared as well. Consolidated forecasts can also be made. It also includes the Business Modeler that allows creation and management of roles, workflows, rules and information. PerformancePoint centrally stores all data so that they can be simultaneously worked on by multiple users.

Windows Vista

2006-12-03T21:55:00.000-08:00

Windows Vista is the name of the latest release of Microsoft Windows, a line of graphical operating systems used on personal computers, including home and business desktops, notebook computers, and media centers. Prior to its announcement on July 22, 2005, Vista was known by its codename Longhorn. On November 8, 2006, Windows Vista development was completed and is now in the release to manufacturing stage. Some editions were available to volume license customers, MSDN and TechNet subscribers through November 2006;^[1] Microsoft has stated that the scheduled release date for worldwide availability is January 30, 2007.^[2] These release dates come more than five years after the release of its predecessor, Windows XP, making it the longest time span between major releases of Windows.

According to Microsoft,^[3] Windows Vista contains hundreds of new features, some of the most significant of which include an updated graphical user interface and visual style dubbed Windows Aero, improved searching features, new multimedia creation tools such as Windows DVD Maker, and completely redesigned networking, audio, print, and display sub-systems. Vista also aims to increase the level of communication between machines on a home network using peer-to-peer technology, making it easier to share files and digital media between computers and devices. For developers, Vista introduces version 3.0 of the .NET Framework, which aims to make it significantly easier for developers to write high-quality applications than with the traditional Windows API.

Microsoft's primary stated objective with Vista, however, has been to improve the state of security in the Windows operating system.^[4] One of the most common criticisms of Windows XP and its predecessors has been their commonly exploited security vulnerabilities and overall susceptibility to malware, viruses and buffer overflows. In light of this, then 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. Microsoft claimed that it prioritized improving the security of Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 above finishing Windows Vista, significantly delaying its completion.^[5]

During the course of its development, Vista has been the target of a number of negative assessments by various groups. Criticism of Windows Vista has included protracted development time, more restrictive licensing terms, the inclusion of a number of new Digital Rights Management technologies aimed at restricting the copying of protected digital media, and the usability of new features such as User Account Control.

Development

The Windows Vista Codename (Longhorn) logo

Microsoft started work on their plans for "Longhorn" in May 2001,^[6] prior to the release of Microsoft's Windows XP operating system. It was originally expected to ship sometime late in 2003 as a minor step between Windows XP and "Blackcomb" (now known as Windows "Vienna"). Indeed, Longhorn, Vista's original codename, was an allusion to this plan. While Whistler-Blackcomb is a large ski resort in British Columbia, Longhorn Saloon & Grill is the name of an après bar between the two mountains that Whistler's visitors pass to reach Blackcomb. Gradually, "Longhorn" assimilated many of the important new features and technologies slated for "Blackcomb", resulting in the release date being pushed back a few times. Many of Microsoft's developers were also re-tasked with improving the security of Windows XP. Faced with ongoing delays and concerns about feature creep, Microsoft announced on August 27, 2004 that it was making significant changes. "Longhorn" development basically started afresh, building on the Windows Server 2003 codebase, and re-incorporating only the features that would be intended for an actual operating system release. Some previously announced features, such as WinFS and NGSCB, 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.^[7]

After "Longhorn" was named Windows Vista, an unprecedented beta-test program was started, which has involved hundreds of thousands of volunteers and companies. In September 2005, Microsoft started releasing regular Community Technology Previews (CTP) to beta testers. The first of these was distributed among 2005 Microsoft Professional Developers Conference attendees, and was subsequently released to Microsoft Beta testers and Microsoft Developer Network subscribers. 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 in large part 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. 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 more than five million people. Two release candidates followed this in September and October, both of which were made available to a large number of users.

While Microsoft had originally hoped to have the operating system available worldwide in time for the 2006 holiday season, it was announced in March 2006 that the release date would be pushed back to January 2007, so as to give the company – and the hardware and software companies which Microsoft depends on for providing device drivers – additional time to prepare. 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 most lengthy operating system development project in the company's history has come to an end.

New or improved features

Windows Vista has a long list of new features, changes, and improvements. Recent development builds of Windows Vista, Microsoft employee blogs, and published documentation (including a near-complete list of features in the Windows Vista Product Guide) have collectively identified most of the features that Microsoft intends to include when the product is released.

[edit] End-user features

The appearance of Windows Explorer has changed significantly from Windows XP.

Windows Aero: a new hardware-based graphical user interface, named Windows Aero – an acronym (possibly a backronym) for Authentic, Energetic, Reflective, and Open. The new interface is intended to be cleaner and more aesthetically pleasing than previous Windows, including new transparencies, animations and eye candy.
Windows Shell: The new Windows shell is significantly different from Windows XP, offering a new range of organization, navigation, and search capabilities. Windows Explorer's task pane has been removed, integrating the relevant task options into the toolbar. 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. The Start menu has changed as well; it no longer uses ever-expanding boxes when navigating through Programs. Even the word "Start" itself has been removed in favor of a blue Windows Orb.
Windows Search (also known as Instant Search or search as you type): significantly faster and more thorough search capabilities. Search boxes have been added to the Start menu, Windows Explorer, and several of the applications included with Vista. By default, Instant Search indexes only a small number of folders such as the start menu, the names of files opened, the Documents folder, and the user's e-mail.

Windows Gadgets

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). Gadgets can also be placed on other parts of the Desktop, if desired. The technology bears some resemblance to the older Active Channel and Active Desktop technologies introduced with Windows 95 OEM Service Release 2.5, but the gadgets technology is more versatile, and is not integrated with the Internet Explorer browser in the same way as Active Desktop.
Windows Internet Explorer 7: new user interface, tabbed browsing, RSS, a search box, improved printing, Page Zoom, Quick Tabs (thumbnails of all open tabs), a number of new security protection features, and improved web standards support.^[8]
Windows Media Player 11, a major revamp of Microsoft's program for playing and organizing music and video. New features in this version include word wheeling (or "search as you type"), a completely new and highly graphical interface for the media library, photo display and organization, and the ability to share music libraries over a network with other Vista machines, Xbox 360 integration, and support for other Media Center Extenders.
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. Backups are incremental, storing only the changes each time, minimizing the disk usage. It also features CompletePC Backup which backs up an entire computer as an image onto a hard disk or DVD. CompletePC Backup can automatically recreate a machine setup onto new hardware or hard disk in case of any hardware failures.
Windows Mail: A replacement for Outlook Express that includes a completely replaced mail store that improves stability, and enables real-time search. New Junk mail filtering.^[9]

Windows Update in Windows Vista RTM with Windows Ultimate Extras

Windows Calendar is a new calendar and task application.
Windows Photo Gallery, a photo and movie library management application. WPG 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, which provides the ability to create video DVDs based on a user's content.
Windows Meeting Space is the replacement for NetMeeting. Users can share applications (or their entire Desktop) with other users on the local network, or over the Internet using peer-to-peer technology.
Windows Media Center, which was previously exclusively bundled as a separate version of Windows XP, known as Windows XP Media Center Edition, will be incorporated into the Home Premium and Ultimate editions of Windows Vista.

Purble Place was included as a game in Windows Vista.

Games: Every game included with Windows has been rewritten to take advantage of Vista's new graphics capabilities. New games include Chess Titans, Mahjong Titans and Purble Place. The Games section will also hold links and information to all games on the user's computer. One piece of information that will be shown is the game's ESRB rating.

Previous Versions

Previous Versions automatically creates backup copies of files and folders, with daily frequency. 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.^[10]
The Windows Mobility Center is a new control panel that centralizes the most relevant information related to mobile computing (e.g. brightness, sound, battery level / power scheme selection, wireless network, screen orientation, presentation settings, etc.).
Windows Update: Software and security updates have been simplified, now operating solely via a control panel instead of as a web application. Mail's spam filter and Defender's definitions will also be automatically updated via Windows Update.
Parental controls: Allows administrators to control which websites, programs, and games each standard user can use and install.
Windows SideShow: Enables the auxiliary displays on newer laptops or on supported Windows Mobile devices. It is meant to be used to display Device gadgets while the computer is on or off.
Speech recognition is fully integrated into Vista. It is an improved version of Microsoft Speech Recognition currently working under Office 2003, with a better interface, a rich and flexible set of commands, and an extensive command-and-control capability to activate the computer by voice. Unlike the Office 2003 version, which works only in Office and WordPad, it works for dictation in multiple applications. In addition, it currently supports several languages: English US and UK, Spanish, French, German, Chinese (Classical and Simplified), and Japanese. Switching between the languages is, however, still quite inconvenient though not impossible. The quality of recognition (accuracy in dictation) is very high, at least as good as Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9 ('high recognition' normally means no less than 98% accuracy). For comparative data and evaluations of Windows Vista Speech (WSR) see http://speech.even-zohar.com. For discussions, files and information see the Yahoo Microsoft Speech Group (http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/ms-speech).
Many new fonts, including several designed especially for screen reading, and new high-quality Chinese (Yahei, JhengHei), Japanese (Meiryo) and Korean (Malgun) fonts. See Windows Vista typefaces. ClearType has also been enhanced and enabled by default.
Touchscreen support will be included as part of Tablet PC, which will be incorporated as a standard component.^[11]
Problem Reports and Solutions, a new control panel which allows users to see previously sent problems and any solutions or additional information that is available.
Improved audio controls allow the system-wide volume or volume of individual audio devices and even individual applications to be controlled separately.
Full Symbolic links support has been made available for the first time to Windows users in Vista.^[12]
System Performance Assessment is a benchmark used by Windows Vista to regulate the system for optimum performance. Games can take advantage of this feature, reading the data produced by this benchmark in order to fine-tune the game details. The benchmark tests CPU, RAM, Graphics acceleration (2D and 3D) and disk access.^[13]

Core technologies

Windows Vista is intended to be a technology-based release, to provide a solid base to include advanced technologies, many of which will be related to how the system functions, and hence not readily visible to the user. An example of this is the complete restructuring of the architecture of the audio, print, display, and networking subsystems; while the results of this work will be clearly 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 respectively) to improve system performance by caching commonly-used programs and data. 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 in order to allow Windows Vista to make intelligent decisions about what content should be present in system memory at any given time.

As part of the complete 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. Prior versions of Windows typically needed third-party wireless networking software to work properly; this is no longer the case with Vista, as it includes more comprehensive wireless networking support.

For graphics, Vista introduces a new Windows Display Driver Model, as well as major revision to Direct3D. 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. 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. It features improved load balancing between CPU and GPU and also optimizes data transfer between them.^[14]

At the core of the operating system, many improvements have been made to the memory manager, process scheduler, heap manager, and I/O scheduler. A Kernel Transaction Manager has been implemented that gives applications the ability to work with the file system and registry using atomic transaction operations.

Security-related technologies

Improved security was the primary design goal for Vista.^[4] Microsoft’s Trustworthy Computing

initiative, which aims to improve public trust in its products, has had a direct effect on the development of Vista. Security-related technologies include:

User Account Control (UAC) is a new security technology that allows Windows to operate effectively as a "standard" user with fewer privileges. This was often a difficult thing to do in previous versions of Windows, because the previous "limited" user accounts proved too restrictive and incompatible with a large proportion of application software. When an action requiring administrative rights is requested, the user will first be prompted to confirm their action (or be asked for an administrator password if they are not themselves an administrator). UAC asks for credentials in a Secure Desktop mode, where the entire screen is blacked out and temporarily disabled, to present only the elevation UI. This is to prevent spoofing of the UI or the mouse by the application requesting elevation and for preventing application-based Shatter attacks. UAC also provides files and registry virtualization. In Windows Explorer, if there is a virtualized version of a file related to the current directory, a Compatibility Files button appears that will take you to the virtual location to view that file. IE7 Protected Mode relies on UAC.
Integrity mechanism restrict write access to securable objects by lower integrity processes, much the same way that user account group membership restricts the rights of users to access sensitive system components.
User Interface Privilege Isolation (UIPI) prevents processes from sending selected window messages, hook and attach to processes running with higher integrity.
Windows Firewall with Advanced Security: Supports filtering both incoming and outgoing traffic. It's also possible to create advanced packet filter rules. Rules can be configured for services by its service name chosen by a list, without needing to specify the full path file name.
Windows Defender: Microsoft's Anti-spyware product has been incorporated into Windows, offering protection against spyware and other threats. Changes to various system configuration settings (such as new auto-starting applications) are blocked unless the user gives consent. The new version uses Windows Automatic Updates to receive definition updates, also works properly with standard user accounts, and has integration with IE and Windows Mail so that downloads and mail attachments are scanned when they are downloaded, which reduces the risk of accidentally downloading malicious software.
BitLocker Drive Encryption is a data protection feature that provides encryption for the entire OS volume that will only be included in the Enterprise and Ultimate editions of Vista. Bitlocker can work in conjunction with a Trusted Platform Module chip that is on a computer's motherboard.^[15]
Windows Service Hardening prevents Windows Services from doing operations on file systems, registry or networks which they are not supposed to by automatically running each service in a separate user account, thereby preventing entry of malware by piggybacking on system services.
Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR) to prevent Return-to-libc buffer overflow attacks.
Windows Filtering Platform enables software such as firewall products to perform activities such as packet inspection. Anti-virus software can also use the file system mini filter to participate in file system activities.
Kernel Patch Protection protects the integrity of the kernel for the 64-bit version from malicious attacks and from inadvertent reliability problems that result from patching. This is not actually a new security feature in Windows Vista; it was first supported on the x64 (AMD64/EM64T) CPU architecture versions of Microsoft Windows including Microsoft Windows Server 2003 SP1 and Microsoft Windows XP Professional x64 Edition. Kernel Patch Protection monitors if key resources used by the kernel or kernel code itself has been modified and will initiate a shut down of the system if unauthorized patches of certain data structures or code are detected. Kernel Patch Protection has been designed to protect against threats such as rootkits, although it cannot currently prevent attacks exploiting hardware-based virtualization;^[16] this was demonstrated by the Blue pill.
Code Integrity (CI) protects Windows Vista by verifying that system binaries haven’t been tampered with by malicious code and by ensuring that there are no unsigned drivers running in kernel mode on the system. CI starts as Windows starts up. The boot loader checks the integrity of the kernel, the Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL), and the boot-start drivers. After these binaries have been verified, the system starts and the memory manager calls CI to verify any binaries that are loaded into the kernel’s memory space. The binaries are verified by looking up their signatures in the system catalogs. Aside from the kernel memory space, CI verifies binaries loaded into a protected process and system installed dynamic libraries that implement core cryptographic functions.
Internet Explorer 7's new security and safety features include a phishing filter, IDN with anti-spoofing technology, and better integration of system-wide parental controls. For added security, ActiveX controls are disabled by default. Also, Internet Explorer operates in a "protected mode" sandbox which operates with lower permissions than the user, preventing it from accessing or modifying anything besides the Temporary Internet Files directory.^[17] Also, for better security, Internet Explorer is no longer integrated with the explorer shell (local files typed in IE are opened using the explorer shell and Web sites typed in the explorer shell are opened using the default web browser).
Added new SSL and TLS extensions, which enable the support of both AES and new ECC cipher suites. The support for AES is not available in Microsoft Windows 2000 or Windows Server 2003.

Business technologies

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 to make a compelling case for businesses still running Windows NT, 2000, and XP desktops.

The WIM image format (Windows IMage) is the cornerstone of Microsoft's new deployment and packaging system. WIM files, which contain an image of Windows Vista, can be maintained and patched without having to rebuild new images. Windows Images can be delivered via Systems Management Server or Business Desktop Deployment technologies. 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.
Windows Deployment Services replaces Remote Installation Services for deploying Vista and prior versions of Windows.
Approximately 800 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.^[18]

Services for UNIX has been renamed "Subsystem for UNIX-based Applications", and is included with the Enterprise and Ultimate editions of Vista. Network File System (NFS) client support is also included.
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. Version 3.0 includes several new technologies:

Presentation: The Windows Presentation Foundation or WPF, formerly code-named Avalon: a new user interface subsystem and framework based on Direct3D (DirectX), and vector graphics, which will make use of 3D computer graphics hardware and Direct3D technologies. See Windows Graphics Foundation. It provides the foundation for building applications and blending together application UI, documents, and media content.
Communication: The Windows Communication Foundation or WCF, formerly code-named Indigo: a service-oriented messaging subsystem which will enable applications and systems to interoperate locally or remotely using Web services.
Workflow: The Windows Workflow Foundation or WF: was announced in August 2005, and allows task automation and integrated transactions using workflows. It is the programming model, engine and tools for building workflow enabled applications on Windows.
Identity: Windows CardSpace or WCS, formerly code-named InfoCard, is a software 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.^[19]

These technologies will also be 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 4.0), 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.

There are some issues for software developers using some of the graphics APIs in Vista. Games or programs which are built on Vista's version of DirectX, 10, will not work on prior versions of Windows, as DirectX 10 is not backwards-compatible with DirectX 9.^[20] According to a Microsoft blog, there are three choices for OpenGL implementation on Vista. 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. A legacy ICD, the kind already provided by independent hardware vendors targeting Windows XP, will disable the Desktop Window Manager, noticeably degrading user experience under Windows Aero. A Vista-compatible ICD takes advantage of a new API, and will be fully compatible with the Desktop Window Manager.^[21] At least two primary vendors, ATI and NVIDIA, are expected to provide full Vista-compatible ICDs in the near future.^[22]

Deprecated features

Some notable Windows XP features and components have been replaced or removed in Windows Vista. Perhaps the most significant of these is the removal of Windows Messenger, the network Messenger Service, HyperTerminal, MSN Explorer, and the replacement of NetMeeting with Windows Meeting Space. 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.x era. The "Hardware profiles" startup feature has been removed as well, along with support for older motherboard technologies like the EISA bus and APM. WinHlp32.exe, used to display 32-bit .hlp files, is no longer included in Windows Vista as Microsoft considers it obsolete.^[23] This has resulted in a number of older programs not being able to display Help when running on Vista. In addition, Microsoft prohibits software manufacturers from re-introducing it with their products. However, WinHlp32.exe can still be installed manually from Microsoft's Download Center.

telnet.exe is no longer installed by default, but is still included as an installable feature.^[24]

Postponed features

During the course of development, a number of features that had been announced or discussed publicly are no longer slated to be included with the initial release of Windows Vista.

Due to scheduling issues, the Windows PowerShell, code-named Monad, will not be included in Windows Vista. However, it is available as a separate download [2].
Owing to significant difficulties in getting third-party developers to support the system (particularly due to the lack of support for writing for the Trusted Operating Root using .NET managed code), the Next-Generation Secure Computing Base architecture was abandoned for Windows Vista.^[25] Some aspects of the NGSCB initiative, such as support for Trusted Platform Module chips, are still present, though its role is now limited to being a provider of cryptographic functions which will support BitLocker Drive Encryption.

Support for Intel's Extensible Firmware Interface was originally slated to be included with Vista, but has been removed due to what Microsoft has described as a lack of support on desktop computers.^[26] The UEFI 2.0 specification (which replaces EFI 1.10) was not completed until early 2006, and as of mid-2006, no firmware manufacturers have completed a production implementation. Microsoft has stated that it intends on incorporating 64-bit UEFI support into a future update to Vista, but 32-bit UEFI will not be supported.^[27]

PC-to-PC Sync, a technology for synchronizing folders on multiple computers using peer-to-peer technology, was removed due to quality concerns. Microsoft plans to release it after Vista's release.^[28]

Visual styles

Windows Vista has four distinct visual styles.^[29]

Windows Aero: Vista's premier visual style is built on a new desktop composition engine called Desktop Window Manager. Windows Aero introduces support for 3D graphics (Windows Flip 3D), translucency effects (Glass), window animations and other visual effects, and is intended for mainstream and high-end graphics cards. To enable these features, the contents of every open window is stored in video memory to facilitate tearing-free movement of windows. As such, Windows Aero has significantly higher hardware requirements than its predecessors. 64 MB of graphics memory is the minimum requirement, depending on resolution used.^[30] Windows Aero (including Windows Flip 3D) is not planned for inclusion in the Starter and Home Basic editions, and requires Windows Genuine Advantage to be passed.^[31]

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 (developing markets) 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. 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. For computers with graphics cards that are not powerful enough to support Windows Aero, this is the default graphics mode.

Windows Classic: An option for corporate deployments and upgrades, Windows Classic has the look and feel of 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 theme supports "Color schemes" which are a collection of color settings. Windows Vista includes six classic color schemes, comprised of four high-contrast color schemes, as well as the default colour schemes from Windows 95 and Windows 2000.

"Windows Aero" style. "Windows Vista Standard" is similar in appearance but without the glass effects around windows.

"Windows Vista Basic" visual style.

"Windows Classic" visual style.

Hardware requirements

According to Microsoft, computers capable of running Windows Vista are classified as Vista Capable and Vista Premium Ready.^[32] A Vista Capable or equivalent PC needs to have at least 800 MHz processor, 512 MB RAM and a DirectX 9 class graphics card, and will be capable of supporting the high end Vista graphics, including the Aero user interface. A Vista Premium Ready PC will take advantage of Vista's "high-end" features but will need at least a 1.0 GHz processor, 1 GB main memory, and an Aero-compatible graphics card with at least 128 MB graphics memory and supporting the new Windows Display Driver Model. The company also offers a Release Candidate of Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor^[33] from its Web site to determine the ability of a PC to run Vista in its various guises. The utility runs on Windows XP and Windows Vista.

Microsoft lists some Vista capable hardware on their web site. The "Vista Premium Ready" laptops they specify have Intel Core 2 Duo T5500 or above CPUs and 1 GB memory.^[34]

While Microsoft specifies 1 GB of main memory (RAM), Nigel Page of Microsoft has indicated that 2 GB is the ideal configuration for 64-bit Vista which processes data chunks that are double the size of those for 32-bit Vista, hence requiring double the memory.^[35]

Windows Vista's "Basic" and "Classic" interfaces will 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 FX family and later, the ATI Radeon 9500 and later, Intel's GMA 950 integrated graphics, and a handful of VIA chipsets and S3 Graphics discrete chips are supported.^[36] Though some XGI Technology Volari chips were DirectX 9 (including the Volari V3XT which was available in PCI cards), with XGI's exit from the graphics card business it appears none of its chips are supported as of Vista Beta 2.

Microsoft has not specifically stated whether an AGP or PCI Express (PCIe) video card is a requirement for Windows Aero, but they recommend PCIe video due to their greater bandwidth.^[37] There are some PCI cards available that are compatible with Windows Vista as well. After testing with release candidates, it has been proven that Windows Aero performs smoothly on DirectX 9 AGP video cards.

**Windows Vista system requirements**
	Vista Capable^[30]	Vista Premium Ready^[30]
Processor	800 MHz	1 GHz
Memory	512 MB RAM	1 GB RAM
Graphics Card	DirectX 9 capable	DirectX 9 capable GPU with Hardware Pixel Shader v2.0 and WDDM Driver support
Graphics Memory	N/A	128 MB RAM supports up to 2,756,000 total pixels (e.g. 1920 × 1200) or 512 MB+ for greater resolutions such as 2560x1600^[38]
HDD capacity	20 GB	40 GB
HDD free space	15 GB	15 GB
HDD type	Normal	Normal, but hybrid flash memory/hard disk drive recommended
Other drives	N/A	DVD-ROM

Editions and pricing

A diagram representing the most common editions of Windows Vista.

Windows Vista will ship in six editions.^[39] All editions will be available in both 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit (x64) architectures, except Windows Vista Starter which will only be available for 32-bit architectures. Microsoft maintains a detailed Product Guide that describes the various editions of Windows Vista, including detailed comparison charts of all features.

On September 5, 2006, USD pricing was announced for the four editions they plan on making available through retail channels.^[40] New license and upgrade license SKUs of each edition will be made available.

**Windows Vista editions and pricing**
Edition	Description	Pricing (USD)		Retail box
Edition	Description	Retail	Upgrade	Retail box
Windows Vista Starter	Much like Windows XP Starter Edition, this edition will be limited to emerging markets such as Colombia, India, Russia, Mexico, Brazil, Thailand, and Indonesia, mainly to offer a legal alternative to using unauthorized copies. It will not be available in the United States, Canada, or Europe.^[41] It will have many significant limitations, such as only allowing a user to launch three applications with a user interface at once, not accepting incoming network connections, a physical memory limit of 256 MB, and will run only in 32-bit mode.^[42] Additionally, only Duron, Sempron and Geode processors from AMD, and Intel's Celeron and Pentium III processors are supported.	No pricing announced		No box shot available
Windows Vista Home Basic	Similar to Windows XP Home Edition, Home Basic is intended for budget users not requiring advanced media support for home use. The Windows Aero theme with translucent effects will not be included with this edition. 64-bit Home Basic will support up to 8 GB of physical memory, and will be supported until 2012.	$199.00	$99.95
Windows Vista Home Premium	Containing all features from Home Basic, this edition will also support more advanced features aimed for the home market segment, such as HDTV support and DVD authoring. Extra premium games, mobile and tablet PC, network projector, touchscreen, and auxiliary display (via Windows SideShow) support, and a utility to schedule backups are also included. Home Premium supports 10 simultaneous peer network connections (compared to 5 in Home Basic). The version of Meeting Space included will also allow for interaction (in Home Basic, you may only view meetings), but Remote Desktop sessions may only be received, not controlled, in this edition. This edition is comparable to Windows XP Media Center Edition. 64-bit Home Premium will support up to 16 GB of physical memory, and will be supported until 2012.	$239.00	$159.00
Windows Vista Business	Comparable to Windows XP Professional and Windows XP Tablet PC Edition, and aimed at the business market. Includes all the features of Home Premium with the exception of Windows Media Center and related technologies, Parental Controls, and Windows DVD and Movie Maker HD (the regular Movie Maker is included). Includes the IIS web server, fax support, Rights Management Services (RMS) Client, file system encryption, dual processor (two sockets) support, system image backup and recovery, offline file support, a full version of Remote Desktop, ad-hoc P2P collaboration capabilities, Previous Versions (Windows ShadowCopy), and several other business features not in Home Premium. 64-bit Business supports 128 GB of memory, and will be supported until 2017.	$299.00	$199.95
Windows Vista Enterprise	This edition is aimed at the enterprise segment of the market, and is a superset of the Business edition. Additional features include multilingual user interface support, BitLocker Drive Encryption, and UNIX application support. This edition will not be available through retail or OEM channels, but through Microsoft Software Assurance.^[43] 64-bit Enterprise supports 128 GB of memory, and will be supported until 2017.	Part of Software Assurance enterprise licensing		No box shot available
Windows Vista Ultimate	This edition combines all the features of the Home Premium and Enterprise editions, a game performance tweaker (WinSAT), and "Ultimate Extras". Microsoft has so far had little to say regarding Ultimate Extras, but they are expected to include special online services for downloadable media, as well as additional customer service options. The Ultimate edition is aimed at high-end PC users, gamers, multimedia professionals, and PC enthusiasts. 64-bit Ultimate supports 128 GB of memory, and will be supported until 2012.	$399.00	$259.00

Notes:

"Home Basic N" and "Business N" editions of Windows Vista will additionally be available in the European Union. These editions will ship without Windows Media Player, according to the EU sanctions brought against Microsoft for violating anti-trust laws.^[44]
An "Express Upgrade" program is available for providing free or low-cost upgrades for people who purchase computers with Windows XP between October 26, 2006 and March 15, 2007.^[45] The precise costs vary between OEM manufacturers; Dell, for example, will offer free upgrades from Windows XP Professional to Windows Vista Business, while upgrades from Windows XP Home to Windows Vista Home Basic will cost $45 USD.
Around the end of August, a number of web sites were reporting that "additional license" SKUs will be available as well with a 10% discount off the retail price;^[46] this was based on pricing information that appeared on Amazon.com; the pricing information for these additional license SKUs was removed shortly afterwards. Microsoft has not commented publicly on the availability or pricing of additional licenses for Windows Vista.
All editions of Windows Vista will ship on the same DVD. It is the license key purchased that determines which version will be installed. After the product key is entered, the user will choose whether to install the 32-bit or 64-bit version of that edition (except for Starter edition). The features of the Home Premium and Ultimate editions may be "unlocked" at any time by purchasing a one-time upgrade license through a Control Panel tool called Windows Anytime Upgrade. The Business edition will also be upgradable to Ultimate. Such licenses will be sold by Microsoft's partners and OEMs, but not directly by Microsoft.

Packaging

All retail editions of Windows Vista will come packaged in a clear, hard-plastic case, "designed to be user-friendly, the new packaging is a small, hard, plastic container that [will] protect the software inside for life-long use".^[47] The case will open sideways to reveal the Windows Vista DVD suspended in a clear plastic case. The Windows Vista disc itself uses a holographic design similar to the discs that Microsoft has produced since Windows 2000.

Criticism

Main article: Criticism of Windows Vista

Criticisms of Windows Vista include protracted development time, more restrictive licensing terms, the inclusion of a number of technologies aimed at restricting the copying of protected digital media, and the usability of the new User Account Control security technology. Reviewers have also noted similarities between Vista's Aero interface and that of Apple's Mac OS X operating system, particularly around the use of transition effects. Moreover, some concerns have been raised about many PCs meeting "Vista Premium Ready" hardware requirements and Vista's pricing.

Licensing: The introduction of license restrictions on retail buyers legally transferring their copy of Vista was criticized heavily and has since changed. Before, the licensing terms for Vista only allowed buyers of retail copies of Vista to transfer their software to a new machine one time.^[48] If a user wanted to move their software a second time, he or she would have to contact Microsoft via phone, proving they hold a valid license, to get a code to allow the move. Since then, Microsoft has responded to the complaints and has modified the EULA to read: "You may uninstall the software and install it on another device for your use. You may not do so to share this license between devices."^[49] As with Windows XP, separate rules will apply for OEM versions of Vista installed on new PCs; these are not legally transferrable.^[50] The cost of Windows Vista has also been criticised by some as too high. 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.^[51]

Digital Rights Management: Another common criticism concerns the integration of new forms of Digital Rights Management into the operating system, specifically High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) and the Image Constraint Token (ICT), which reduces the quality of high-definition video content if the video card and monitor are not HDCP-enabled.^[52] The criticism against HDCP may be misplaced, however, as it is still unclear as to whether all high definition media will be subject to HDCP protection.^[52]

User Account Control: Concerns have been raised about the new User Account Control security technology. While Yankee Group analyst Andrew Jaquith believes that critical security vulnerabilities may be "reduced by as much as 80 percent", he also noted that "while the new security system shows promise, it is far too chatty and annoying".^[53]

Kernel Patch Protection: The Kernel Patch Protection feature (also known as "Patchguard") on 64-bit versions of Vista that locks down the OS kernel has been criticised by computer security company McAfee who claim that since PatchGuard also prevents third-party security companies from getting inside the OS, they cannot activate crucial security measures in their software to protect the OS from intruders.^[54] Microsoft's argument is that this will keep miscreants out of the OS and prevent the incidence of attacks, and it is something for which customers have been asking. Firewall maker Agnitum and others have argued that the Patchguard can be circumvented by hackers and that some security software makers must use similar methods.^[55]^[56] McAfee has also stated that Vista will be even less secure than previous versions of Windows.^[57] However, security vendor Kaspersky Lab claims that it is not more difficult in Vista for anti-virus software to work, and that it would not make sense for Microsoft to stop working with security companies because it would make their system more vulnerable to attacks.^[58] Sophos adds that Microsoft does not need to open PatchGuard for third party developers, instead, they should use the APIs Microsoft supplies them.^[59]

Similarity with Mac OS X: Another criticism is a claim by some that Windows Vista emulates specific features in Apple Computer's Mac OS X. Long-time Mac columnist and book author John Rizzo noted in an eWeek article that Vista incorporated features which OS X has had for some time such as fast searching and Smart Folders functionality, and that the icons, terminology and visual appearance mimic those of OS X.^[60] Others have come to a similar conclusion that Aero is an imitation of Aqua.^[61] Apple highlighted similarities during the keynote presentation at the Worldwide Developers Conference in August 2006, with Bertrand Serlet showing screenshots of Vista and OS X side-by-side.^[62]^[63]

Hardware Requirements: Some controversy and concerns have arisen over how the increase in hardware specifications required to take advantage of many of Vista's new features may impact both personal and business users.^[64]^[65] While most PCs purchased after 2002 will be able to meet Vista’s minimum “Windows Vista Capable” requirements, many laptops and low-end to midrange desktops with integrated graphics will not be able to meet “Windows Vista Premium Ready” requirements and will therefore not be able to run advanced features such as the Aero Glass interface.^[66]^[67]