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Windows Vista appears in eight different versions. Fortunately, most people only need to concern themselves with four, and you can probably winnow the list down to two or three pretty quickly.
 | You'll find plenty of upgrade routes and plenty of opportunity to spend more money through the Windows Anytime Upgrade program, which lets you upgrade from Home Basic Edition to Home Premium, Home Basic to Ultimate, Home Premium to Ultimate, or Business Edition to Ultimate. That's also why it's important for your financial health to get the right version the first time. |
With Windows Anytime Upgrades, you log on to the Internet or call a Microsoft "partner," hand over your credit card number, and upgrade on the spot. You don't get a new box or a new CD. All you get is a new product key and the instructions for installing the software from media that's already in your possession — plus or minus a few big downloads.
In a nutshell, Vista's eight versions (and targeted customer bases) look like this:
- Windows Starter 2007 (Microsoft doesn't even call it "Vista"), a severely stunted version. Starter is only available in specific developing countries.
- Vista Home Basic Edition, directed at first-time home computer users who are looking for a bargain.
- Vista Home N matches Home Basic, except Windows Media Player has been removed.
- Vista Home Premium Edition has all the features home users want and need, as well as many features that appeal to folks with small businesses.
- Vista Business Edition aims for small-business users — those who work for companies without computer departments — who have little interest in the fun side of PCs.
- Vista Business N includes everything in the Business Edition except for Windows Media Player.
- Vista Enterprise Edition has all the extra bells and whistles needed to attach the PC to a large corporate network, plus several enhanced security features.
- Vista Ultimate includes everything in both the Home Premium and Enterprise Editions, plus extra goodies that may change from time to time.
Before you tear your hair out trying to determine whether you bought the right version, or which edition you should buy your best friend, rest assured that choosing the right version is much simpler than it first appears.
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