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 enlarge | From: Microsoft Software
Category: Software
List Price: $129.95
Buy New: $82.99
You Save: $46.96 (36%)
New (32) Used (2) from $82.99
Rating:  63 reviews
Sales Rank: 73
Format: Cd-rom
Platform: Windows Vista
Media: DVD-ROM
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Operating System: Windows Vista
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3
Dimensions (in): 19.7 x 19.7 x 19.7
MPN: 66I-02388
Model: 66I-02388
UPC: 882224661324
EAN: 0882224661263
ASIN: B0013O54P8
Release Date: March 19, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: factory sealed
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| Customer Reviews:
 It's prettier than XP, but otherwise the same thing with a few more bugs May 22, 2008
24 out of 30 found this review helpful
Please note that I am just rating the OEM system that came with my new HP laptop I bought a month ago. It is Vista home premium with SP1. I rather like it. I have read numerous reviews that don't like it so much, so I am giving my experience here for those, like me, are considering a new computer with pre-installed Vista. My question was: How is Vista better than XP?
Answer: It looks better!
I am not joking. The only attraction is the aero effect thing where a little bit of each window is slightly transparent, the windows also pop up with a magical effect, like a balloon. It disappears the same way too, with some transparency worked in. It has an option of extra large icon that's really big if you want it, though that takes up screen space fast. The files are also a little bit open you so you can see a file or two in there, but in XP you can see stuff inside too, as many as four things, so the open trick isn't much of an improvement. Also, you can get these things called "Vista Gadgets" for the desktop, like a little calender or a battery charge indicator or even a quick search to amazon that just sits there as part of the desktop. Other program covers it, but otherwise it runs on its own without bothering anything.
(And why do I want a quick search to amazon, you might ask, if I already have it bookmarked as a favorite page? Well you see, you still have to click to open a webpage first before you can click your favorite. With the amazon gadget, you just type directly into it what you want, and a webpage will pop up without you having to click to open it! Really saves on the finger energy, you know?)
Other than this, there is nothing to Vista whatsoever that is different from XP. There is heightened security measures in the form of "OS fearfulness", but I always disable those things as much as possible because they are nothing but a nuisance. Whenever you want to do something it asks, "Are you sure?" It can't tell if something is wrong, mind you. It just keep asking YOU, and you have to keep assuring it like it is a scared child. And I can't disable all of it because then it nags constantly, "Security setting is set too low! Please raise it!"
There are a few minor inconveniences. First, the standard picture viewer will not display GIF images, unlike the one in XP. The help part explicitely states that the viewer will ONLY display bmp and jpg format pictures. Also, the Windows Mail, the equivalent of Outlook Express, no longer has the contact pane where you can just double click any contacts and opening a black email to write. You have to open the contact file each time.
Also, the included Internet Explorer has a ton of problems. It freezes every time I go to my hotmail account. I know, they are both Microsoft, so why can't they get along? Who knows. It freezes on certain other sites too, for no particular reason. I don't have any trouble with the old IE in XP, but Vista does not allow you to downgrade. (My Netscape in Vista manages hotmail and other pages just fine, so that's what I use.)
A friend warned that my old programs might not install in Vista. I've installed a few now. So far, everything works.
So here is the conclusion: except for the pretty translucent aero effect, Vista is identical to XP in every way if you don't think about the few bugs. So if you are into pretty (like me), do get it. It looks cool! It's fun watching the windows pop open and then vanish when you close it! But if you think that sounds stupid, then there is no question XP with SP2 is better in the sense that it is more stable and have fewer bugs.
I have to admit that I am slightly disappointed that the aero thing is all that I am getting out of a brand new operating system. Considering how long it took Microsoft to work on Vista, I thought it'd be a lot more exciting. Maybe they have been concentrating on programming "Are you sure" into every move anybody makes. Back when I upgraded from Windows 95 to XP, there were a so many fun new impressive things to enjoy. So the next time another new Windows come out, I won't bother with it.
 Great Experience May 22, 2008
1 out of 6 found this review helpful
Using Vista is a wonderful experience. My upgrade from XP was seamless. Before I upgraded I ran the Upgrade Advisor so that I knew before hand which programs were incompatible and whether or not my computer was suitable. My only casualty was Symantec Antivirus. I was quit surprised that it is not compatible with Vista. Anyhow, I switched to Norton Internet Security and that works great.
People who complain about Vista just need to take time out to research its compatibility with their application software and the suitability of their computer. There is an abundance of information out there to help, including the Upgrade Advisor.
 Thought it would be good... May 16, 2008
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
I just bought a new iMac and wanted to install the new Windows Vista on it. Not so tough, right?
The installation itself was long, but easy enough, no problems there. But then I actually tried using Vista.
But, first of all, I should mention that at the time of this writing this product is titled "Windows Vista Home Premium with SP1 Upgrade." To me this sounded like I was going to get Windows Vista Home Premium plus the upgrade to SP1. What it really means is you get the upgrade version of Windows Vista Home Premium with SP1, meaning you have to already have Windows 2000, XP, or Vista installed. The joke of the whole thing is that all four - or is it five, maybe six - editions of Vista are on the one disc. You actually have to tell the installer which one you bought so it installs the right one. I know that sounds ridiculous, but I swear to you that's how it went down.
Back to the quality of Vista itself. The installation was complete, so let's try this very pretty version of Windows out! Connecting to my wireless network was no problem. Connecting to my wireless mouse and keyboard was another thing. This took a lot of work. To figure out how to connect these guys I had to open the read me file, which was a pdf. Oh wait, Vista can't read pdfs right out of the box. So now I've got to download some fancy reader. Then I tried adding some music, forget it. I just ended up downloading iTunes which worked with no problems. If I want to chat, I've got to download a chat program. Ended up downloading firefox because IE7 is still just as broken as IE6.
Frustrated I switched back to OS X and started using that. Just like the commercial said, "it just works." When I plugged in my printer it recognized it right away, no problems. It recognized that there was no keyboard and mouse plugged in so it recognized my bluetooth ones right away. Automatically connected to my wireless network, and most importantly, read my pdfs with no guff.
Dear Windows,
I thought you had changed. Guess I was wrong.
-Joel
Don't do it, you'll be sorry. I know I am May 16, 2008
16 out of 22 found this review helpful
I used this to upgrade from Home Basic which came installed on my Dell laptop. It wouldn't install because it said I needed SP1. So I downloaded SP1 then did the upgrade (the whole process took about 12 hours). First problem - no speakers. On-line chat with Dell resolved that. Then I discovered my BitDefender now said it had expired, although it had 655 days left. To top it all off, most of the premium features didn't work (Aero, Sync Center). I was 3 hours on-line with Microsoft, with the tech connected to my computer. He didn't know what he was doing and I finally ended it. Dell tried to reinstall SP1, saying it looked like it didn't install correctly. But it didn't work, since it was already there. Then they tried to do a system restore, but the "Repair Computer" option wasn't there. I ended up having to redo the partitions and reinstall Vista from the disks that came with the laptop, making it less than "out of the box" - meaning I then had to reinstall the drivers. What I thought would be fun and make life a little easier, computer wise ended up sucking 3 days out of my life. Fortunately thanks to Dell (and the $$ I paid for a three year gold warranty) my computer will be fine. But I bought a Dell desktop with XP this morning :)
horrible, bug prone operating system May 16, 2008
8 out of 11 found this review helpful
For me, the measure of any operating system today is a) the frequency of bugs, b) ease of virus attacks, and c) when there is a bug, the time and ease with which it can be resolved. Vista is relatively untested on b). On a) and c), this is probably my worst experience ever with an operating system. The first problem I had was corruption of the Windows Installer. I spent 12 hours on the phone with Microsoft and was elevated through several levels of advanced tech support. After all of this, their response was "your Windows Installer has been corrupted by something in Microsoft Outlook." So , their final advice was to wipe out my hard disk, and reload everything. When I told them I no longer had my disks for Outlook (which I last installed in '04), they said I would have to buy a new version -- though the corruption was caused by 2 of their programs. I couldn't waste the time, so bought a new version of Outlook. Recently I had hardware problems with my new pc, so was sent a replacement by Dell. Have been reloading all my soft/hardware, and guess what -- major problems with Vista. Truly extraordinary. I feel Microsoft really should suffer for this horrific piece of software. Too bad they're such a huge monopoly, or they would either be out of business or on their death bed.
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