Life
Cycle
How long should an operating
system last? Microsoft has issued guidelines for the life cycle on their
operating systems. In a nutshell, at a minimum they expect everyone
to upgrade every 3 to 5 years.
- First 3 years
- licenses will be available with standard and online support.
- 4th year
- licenses may no longer be available, only online and paid support.
- 5th year
- only online support is available and may be terminated after providing
12 months advanced notice.
- After 6 years
- you can continue to use the version, but there will probably be no
support from Microsoft. In other words you are on your own.
Vista Versions Comparison Chart
| Feature |
Home Basic |
Home Premium |
Business |
Ultimate |
| BitLocker Drive Encryption |
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| Multilingual User Interface |
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| Domain Join |
|
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| Remote Desktop |
|
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|
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| Complete Backup & Restore |
|
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|
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| Shadow Copy Backup |
|
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|
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| Offline Files & Folders |
|
|
|
|
| Encrypting File System |
|
|
|
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Aero
A noticeably new element of the Aero experience is the translucent effect of Aero Glass, featuring dynamic reflections and smooth animations. The glass windows create an open, lightweight environment.
Windows Flip and Windows Flip 3D, provide a new way to confidently manage the windows on your desktop, so you can see them in a new visually striking, yet convenient way.
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| Premium Games |
|
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| Tablet & Touch Technology |
|
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|
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| Meeting Space |
|
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| Media Center |
|
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| DVD Maker |
|
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| Parental Controls |
|
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Defender
Helps protect your computer against pop-ups, slow performance, and security threats caused by spyware and other unwanted software. It features Real-Time Protection, a monitoring system that recommends actions against spyware when it's detected and minimizes interruptions and helps you stay productive. |
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Instant Search
Quickly find and organize the information on your desktop. You can now "tag" your files with properties that are relevant to how you think about those files. You can then run more targeted searches and create personalized views of the search results without worrying about where the files are stored on your PC. |
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Windows History
| Year |
Version |
| 1983 |
Windows |
| 1985 |
Windows 1.0 |
| 1987 |
Windows 2.0 |
| Windows 286 |
| 1988 |
Windows 386 |
| 1990 |
Windows 3.0 |
| 1991 |
Windows 3.0a w/Multimedia |
| 1992 |
Windows for Workgroups |
| 1993 |
Windows NT 3.1 |
| 1994 |
Windows for Workgroups 3.11 |
| Windows NT 3.5 |
| 1995 |
Windows NT 3.51 |
| Windows 95 |
| 1996 |
Windows NT 4.0 |
| Windows CE 1.0 |
| 1997 |
Windows CE 2.0 |
| 1998 |
Windows 98 |
| Windows CE 3.0 |
| 1999 |
Windows 98 Second Edition |
| Windows CE 3.1 |
| 2000 |
Windows 2000 |
| Windows ME (Mellennium) |
| 2001 |
Windows XP 32 & 64 bit Editions |
| 2003 |
Windows Server 2003 |
| 2006 |
Vista - Corporate Release |
| 2007 |
Vista 2007 - Public Release |
| 2008 |
Vista SP1 |
| Windows Server 2008 |
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Auto
Update Policy
There has been concern over
the terms in Microsofts Auto Update Policy. The
licenses of these updates say, You acknowledge and agree
that Microsoft may automatically check the version of the OS Product
and/or its components that you are utilizing and may provide upgrades
or fixes to the OS Product that will be automatically downloaded to
your computer.
What this means is that updates
can be installed without you knowing it. For example, XPs
Media Player pulls down upgrades and then alerts you. You have the option
to click OK to install the newer version. However, if you ever clicked
the always trust Microsoft box while browsing the Web, it
will also install mods for media codecs without any notice.
To disable such downloading,
see the white paper at www.microsoft.com/WindowsXP/pro/techinfo/administration/manageautoupdate
One thing you cant
get around is Microsofts DRM (digital rights management) scheme.
This built-in XP feature silently downloads and installs revocation
lists. These lists prevent revoked programs from playing
DRM-encoded content.
Getting silent
upgrades like this is alarming because Microsoft has pumped out many
buggy patches that themselves needed patching. Microsoft,
by mistake, shipped the Nimda worm in its Korean edition of Visual Studio.Net.
The following Privacy Statement
was copied from Microsofts web pages.
Windows Update is committed
to protecting your privacy. To provide you with the appropriate list
of updates, Windows Update must collect a certain amount of configuration
information from your computer. None of this configuration information
can be used to identify you. This information includes:
- Operating-system version
number
- Internet Explorer version
number
- Version numbers of other
software for which Windows Update provides updates
- Plug and Play ID numbers
of hardware devices
- Region and Language setting
The configuration information
collected is used only to determine the appropriate updates and to generate
aggregate statistics. Windows Update does not collect your name, address,
e-mail address, or any other form of personally identifiable information.
Windows Update also collects
the Product ID and Product Key to confirm that you are running a valid
licensed copy of Windows. A valid licensed copy of Windows ensures that
you will receive on-going updates from Windows Update. The Product ID
and Product Key are not retained beyond the end of the Windows Update
session.
Windows Update also tracks
and records how many unique machines visit its site and whether the
download and installation of specific updates succeeded or failed. In
order to do this, the Windows operating system generates a Globally
Unique Identifier (GUID) that is stored on your computer to uniquely
identify it. The GUID does not contain any personally identifiable information
and cannot be used to identify you.Windows Update records the GUID of
the computer that attempted the download, the ID of the item that you
attempted to download and install, and the configuration information
listed above.
Other than
using this information to determine needed updates, the bigger fear
is what else will Microsoft do with this information in the future.
There is nothing stated that they wont change their minds.
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