Once upon a time, Windows didn’t come in different versions or flavors. You bought Windows and it was Windows from A to Z, or technically W to S. Some might call it better times, but times change and so have market demands. Since now we have 5 versions of Windows for the consumer market - although some insist to round-up to a bazillion, it only seems fair to be able to upgrade between versions when it is required, thus Windows Anytime Upgrade was born.

Up until May, Anytime Upgrade was only accessible through a proprietary online ordering system provided by Microsoft, limiting the availability and accessibility of those who either don’t have a credit card or simply aren’t comfortable with purchasing online. From May till now, Microsoft has been quietly offering these Upgrade Packs, an off-the-shelve product for Anytime Upgrade. Not much has been said about these packs, and it’s not even mention on Microsoft’s own website which made me wonder what Microsoft intends to do with these.

A Microsoft spokesperson had this to say,

When did Windows Anytime Upgrade become available through these Upgrade Packs?

The initial version of Windows Anytime Upgrade was available at consumer launch in North America and EMEA on January 30th in the form of a card with a product key. Since then, we’ve redesigned the SKU to also offer a pack with a DVD and a product key inside. The English version of this pack was made available in the North America, EMEA and APAC markets in May, with localized SKUs made available in June. In the US market, the Windows Anytime Upgrade Pack is available as a service upgrade at retailers and can be purchased on Amazon or at Circuit City and Best Buy. In EMEA and APAC customers can purchase the pack through several different software distributors and retailers.

How does that work – is a reseller still involved in some way? Or are the bits available directly from MS on CD/DVD (with a new product key)?

Upgrade Packs are available through direct retail in response to requests from our retail partners. Direct retail offers customers the choice of another way to acquire WAU, coexisting with the online WAU model. When customers purchase the upgrade at windowsanytimeupgrade.com, they receive a digital certificate download and product key. With the upgrade pack, customers insert the DVD, enter the product key and proceed with the upgrade. The bits are also available on a WAU DVD that they can purchase at the same time.

To me this sounds like the ideal alternative for Anytime Upgrades. From a user’s point-of-view, purchasing software online is a scary thing. The question everyone asks is, what happens if you lose the electronic key or digital license? Even with all the fanciness and wrapping of “Digital Locker“, it is still a tough choice over something you can hold on to and gather dust on your bookshelf.

If anyone’s interested in upgrading their version of Windows Vista to Ultimate for any other reason than to enjoy the luxuries of Windows Ultimate Extras - because they don’t exist, then check out these Upgrade Packs.

Source: Long Zheng

Microsoft has launched new tools to help partners navigate two of the company’s more complicated offerings: product licensing and the Windows Vista client operating system.

The licensing tool, called Microsoft LicenseWise, builds upon a previously released tool for Microsoft customers, Product License Advisor. Product License Advisor helps customers configure an IT environment and generate a report online that would tell them what licences they would need and the cost, Mike Oldham, general manager for Microsoft’s worldwide licensing and pricing, said at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference in Denver.

LicenseWise picks up, for Microsoft’s business partners, where that tool leaves off, he said. It allows a partner to access a quote a customer generated in Product License Advisor, build its own pricing into it and then generate a proposal back to the customer for how much it would cost to license those products through the partner.

Microsoft’s complicated licensing schemes have long been a headache for partners and customers, but the company has made a concerted effort in the past several years to simplify the process, Oldham said. For instance, just two years ago Microsoft had 74 licensing models customers could choose from; now they have nine, he said.

More information about LicenseWise can be found on Microsoft’s partner website.

Source: Bink.nu

Some information has come to light regarding Vista SP1 (Service Pack 1). This information is provided by Bink.nu.

Just when Microsoft had customers, partners and competitors all believing that it was going to delay the first service pack for Vista — not releasing a first beta of it until just before year-end — the company is set to deliver Beta 1 of Vista SP1 in mid-July.

(November 2007 is also the release-to-manufacturing target for Windows Server 2008, sources say. Microsoft won’t provide an RTM date for Windows Server 2008, other than to say it is still on track to RTM before the end of 2007.)

Sick of that annoying orange flower? It’s really simple to change your user account picture. Simply logon to the account you want to change the image, then complete the following:

1. Go to Start, then Control Panel.
2. Double click on User Accounts near the bottom of the window.
3. Click on Change your picture.
4. Choose a new picture, or if you want to select a saved image, click on Browse for more pictures….
5. Click Change Picture.
6. Close the User Accounts window.

There are a number of places you can buy Windows Vista from, and it’s seperated into two categories:

Online
You can buy it online here from the Windows Marketplace (recommended), as well from Amazon and PC World. You can probably buy it from most OEM retailers as well, by purchasing it with a new computer.

Offline
Most high-street shops should sell it - PC World, Curry’s, Dixons and all the top leading brands. Just pop in and pick up a copy off the shelf.

This is the boxshot of Windows Vista Ultimate - the black curved case with the genuine final DVD disc.

Very simple answer to this one and you probably won’t like it - 5600 was RC1 (Release Candidate 1, basically a possible candidate version of the operating system which is in such good quality it’s a possibility it could be shipped as that) but there was no 5601 - oh no, it skipped straight to 5700.

It’s just how the build branches work - they did it before with Beta 1, and they did it again! It didn’t improve by 128 different versions, in essence only 28 in total hence the build number now.

Windows Vista has been released as Beta 2, build number 5384.4. This is a significant milestone for the “Longhorn” program. As of 23rd May 2006, the following are available for download to MSDN Operating System subscribers and above, Microsoft technical testers via Microsoft Connect, and via TechNet Plus shipments available in the July shipment:

 Windows Vista Business Beta 2 (x86 and x64)
 Windows Vista Enterprise Beta 2 (x86 and x64)
 Windows Vista Home Premium Beta 2 (x86 and x64)
 Windows Vista Ultimate Beta 2 (x86 and x64)
 Windows Vista Home Basic Beta 2 (x86 and x64)
 Microsoft “Longhorn” Server Beta 2 (x86 and x64)
 Microsoft “Longhorn” Server Core Beta 2 (x86 and x64)

 These are available in English, German and Japanese. You can use a key from Windows Vista 5342 and above to activate your copy of Windows Vista Beta 2.

Updated for post-Beta 2
Windows Vista had released Vista for download at the Beta 2 stage of development, but now the site has closed. It will re-open to access the RC1 (Release Client 1) client later in the year.

Recently, Microsoft released “Build 5342″ of Windows Vista. Not many people are quite sure what it is, or where to get it so here’s the best answer I can give.

The latest build of Windows Vista is 5342, and because it’s not a CTP and because it’s not a beta build, it’s purely an “interim build”. Microsoft released it because they are heading towards the milestone of Beta 2 of which will be public. Due to the timeframe of Vista’s final release has been pushed back to January 2007, expect this in April/May perhaps.

They also wanted the technical testers (the guys who have access to Microsoft Connect and the beta newsgroups) to see that they have fixed loads of bugs ready for Beta 2… a bit like a confidence boost to the testers.

 MSDN and TechNet, TechNet Plus, and Microsoft Partners will not be getting this build either in download form or physical media form except the technical testers.

There’s a 32-bit and a 64-bit version waiting for those who haven’t downloaded it yet, but feedback is only valid until Beta 2 is released.

Microsoft have released a website which enables you to sign up to either: Beta 2 of Windows Vista, Beta 2 of 2007 Microsoft Office System, and Beta 2 of Microsoft Exchange “12″. These will be out from April onwards, and exact dates are not confirmed.

Technically you can only get these if you are from the United States, Canada, French Canada and Spanish (Latin America) regions. However, as this is all done via e-mail and the TechNet Flash newsletter in your inbox, you should be able to participate none the less.

Updated for post-Beta 2
Windows Vista had released Vista for download at the Beta 2 stage of development, but now the site has closed. It will re-open to access the RC1 (Release Client 1) client later in the year.

After Microsoft announced the final editions of Windows Vista, the question arose of which version will actually run on your computer depending on your processor architecture.

With the 7 editions they announced of Windows Vista (including the N Editions which come without Media Player), they will all support 32 bit and 64 bit computers. The only exception is Windows Vista Starter which is a very basic version of Windows Vista to be sold in developing countries and will only run on 32 bit systems.

Windows Vista Starter will not have Windows Aero or many of the advanced features of Vista as we will see. It will only be sold in separate language editions for emerging economies such as China, India, Brazil and Malaysia. It will not be sold in the USA or in Europe, whilst only the N Editions will be available in Europe.

Microsoft have learned their lesson from Windows XP – instead of having different versions which do different things, such as “Media Center Edition” for those who predominantly want to watch and listen to media, they have set different versions for different lifestyles. Within the editions of Windows Vista, they have separated them into two sets, “Home” and “Business”

This article was updated on 27th February 2006 - Microsoft announced the final editions that Vista will ship in, and because of rules and regulations within the European Community, Microsoft will offer an “N” product which means there will be “No Media Player” so that they can give other manufacturers a chance. You can still download Media Player afterwards, but it’s mainly for developing and smaller companies of which produce media players. Although the “N” editions are not listed here, there should be at least one of these versions as “N” available in the EU.

 Windows Vista Ultimate
If you want all of the best business features, all of the best mobility features, and all of the best home entertainment features that Windows Vista has to offer, Windows Vista Ultimate is the solution for you. With Windows Vista Ultimate you don’t have to compromise.

 Windows Vista Enterprise
Windows Vista Enterprise is designed to meet the needs of large global organizations with highly complex IT infrastructures. Windows Vista Enterprise can help you lower your IT costs while providing additional layers of protection for your sensitive data.

 Windows Vista Business
Regardless of the size of your organization, Windows Vista Business will help you lower your PC management costs, improve your security, enhance your productivity, and help you stay better connected.

 Windows Vista Home Premium
Whether you choose to use your PC to write e-mail and surf the Internet, for home entertainment, or to track your household expenses, Windows Vista Home Premium delivers a more complete and satisfying computing experience.

 Windows Vista Home Basic
Windows Vista Home Basic is designed to deliver improved reliability, security, and usability to home PC users who just want to do the basics with their PCs.

 Windows Vista Starter
A very basic version of Windows, only supporting Aero Express (no Glass or transparency) and is to be sold in developing countries. This edition will only ship in 32-bit and won’t be available to North America, Western Europe, or Australia.

Microsoft announced the new slogan for Windows Vista to be “Clear, Confident, Connected” but this has confused a lot of people because they don’t actually know what it means. Hopefully this article should clear things up a bit.

Clear
This is to signify the new user interface for the user. The word “clear” directly talks about the “clear-transparency” in Aero Glass which is one of the visually most important features of Vista, and also that you can find things easier and the general layout is more clear for the user. With better file management structure such as Virtual Folders which drags together all of the same file type from your hard drives together into a folder for easier viewing, and the new Windows Search and the later integration of WinFS (Windows File System).

Confident
This is to show that Vista is now “confident about security” basically. With Windows Defender (Microsoft AntiSpyware) being part of Vista as standard, as well as other virus and malware protecting technologies, it really is the most secure version of Windows to date (we hope). With Windows Internet Explorer being the main gateway between the computer and the potentially-virus-ridden-Internet, they have also boosted the security there so that it picks up phishing websites, potentially unsafe websites and blocks harmful codes.

Connected
With a brand new Network Center, Vista is meant to be the ultimate operating system for connectivity. It’ll be much easier to synch your mobile devices with the computer, you’ll have much quicker access to wireless networks and other connections, and you’ll be able to send files to someone the other end of the room like it was the simplest of tasks. With a new network stack as well to make networking much more efficient, IP protocol version 6.0 (IPv6) looks promising for the user, as well as the developer to create new applications using these technologies.

You’re looking quite ahead into the future if you are asking that question. There will be many releases of different bits of software, mainly operating systems but there will be quite a few that are directed at certain types of customer.

 Windows Vista Beta 1 – beta version of the next client operating system from Microsoft
Released to testers only 3rd August 2005.

 Windows Server “Longhorn” Beta 1 – beta version of the next server operating system
Released to testers only 3rd August 2005.

 Windows Server 2003 R2 – update from Windows Server 2003 and has many new features
Released 7th December 2005.

 Windows Small Business Server 2003 R2 – update from Small Business Server 2003 for simple management
Released 1st half of 2006.

 Windows Server “Longhorn” Beta 2 – beta version updated from Beta 1
Released Q2-Q3 of 2006.

 Windows Vista – the released-to-manufacturers edition of the next client operating system from Microsoft
Released 2nd half of 2006.

 Windows Server “Longhorn” Beta 3 – beta version updated from Beta 2
Released Q1-Q2 of 2006.

 Windows Server “Longhorn” – won’t be called Longhorn, but it’ll be released none the less
Released 1st half of 2007.

 Windows Small Business Server “Longhorn” – the next generation of simple server management
Released Q3-Q4 of 2007.

 2008/9 onwards -
Service Pack for Windows Vista
Service Pack for Windows Server “Longhorn”
Windows “Vienna” (next client on)
Beta 1 of Windows Server “Blackcomb/Vienna” (next server on)

Microsoft has always stuck to their “vague schedules” quite well over the years; normally they will narrow down smaller products into the four quarters of the year. Windows Live Messenger will be out in Q3 of 2006 for example. Windows Server 2003 R2 was a big release for Microsoft, and because it is a larger beta and more important, it is vaguer in the target release and is usually segregated into halves of the year – they said it will be released in 2H of 2005 and it was.

Windows Vista has been pushed further and further away because of various things; security issues, getting mega bugs fixed, loads of things have pushed it back. However, at the moment the unconfirmed schedule looks like this:

 Beta 1: 27th July 2005 - 1pm (Pacific Standard Time)
 Beta 2: 20th May 2006 - 5pm (Pacific Standard Time)
 Release Client 1: 9th September 2006 - 5pm (Pacific Standard Time)
 Release to Manufacturer: Early November 2006
 Expect to see it in the shops: 30th January 2007

Obviously, things could change horribly and it might be delayed another few months… however now that RC1 is released, I think the schedule will stay fairly fixed as the main problems were getting a half-stable build out to testers in the first place. However, a lot of speculation has gone on about the holiday season of 2006; you should actually see Windows Vista finally arriving spring time of 2007.

If you already have a version of Windows Vista installed, you can upgrade it to any better edition of Vista really easily. If you are running Windows Vista Home Basic, Home Premium or Business, using the Windows Anytime Upgrade you can update to the Ultimate Edition and get every single feature that Vista has to offer, plus more with Ultimate Extras.

 Upgrade to a higher and better edition of Windows Vista (doesn’t apply to Vista Ultimate users)

1. Go to then Control Panel.
2. You may need to switch to Classic view in the left hand pane, then click Windows Anytime Upgrade.

 It is highly recommended that before you jump in straight away and upgrade to a new edition of Windows Vista, that you Compare the editions of Windows Vista just so you can make a thorough decision of what you need and don’t need, thus saving you money.

3. Check through the comparison matrix and decide what you need in an operating system, and then select one of the options at the bottom of the screen.
4. If Windows isn’t already activated, click the Activate Windows now button to activate online.
5. Click on the Begin upgrade process button at the bottom to go to one of Microsoft’s certified retailers websites and purchase a new edition of Windows Vista. 
6. Once you have bought the upgrade, you will need to download a small program which helps you upgrade your system before the upgrade. 
7. You will need a Windows Anytime Upgrade disc. This will probably be in the same box of which you originally bought Windows Vista in. Search around for it and keep it to hand. If you don’t have it, you may have bought it along with the upgrade.
8. Let the program you downloaded run, and follow the instructions on from there.

Amazon.com recently published prices for Vista of which it will be selling copies of. You can pre-order a copy of Vista of which will be available from 30th January 2007, and the different editions and versions stand as follows:

These prices are now official, but ultimately it’s up to how much the software vendor’s charge.  Above are the suggested retail prices only, so they will vary from place to place. The $ prices are taken from each page of the Windows Vista editions whilst the other conversions are simply taken from the original price.

These are some of the logos for Windows Vista and other related “Longhorn” applications and technologies. Some are likely to change, such as the Windows Server “Longhorn” and the .net Framework 3.0 logos, but these should do for the time being. Please take heed of the notes below.

	Large image - Transparent PNG - (Microsoft server download)
	Large image - Transparent PNG - (Local server download)
	Large image - Transparent PNG - (Local server download)
	Large image - Transparent PNG - (Local server download)

 Please note, this is very important. The “Windows Server Longhorn” and the “.net Framework 3.0″ logos are not official logos as Microsoft are still working on marketing and production images and other things. These can be used but they are still not official Microsoft logos. The other two, “Windows Vista” and “Windows Internet Explorer 7″ are official logos.

 If you wish to use these images, you can save any of the images even the thumbnails above and use them on your own server or website. Under no circumstances link back directly to this site, because it totally uses up all my bandwidth. If anyone does, I’ll simply take down the images.

 Remember, VistaBase has no affiliation with Microsoft - the Microsoft Windows trademark, the Windows flag, “Windows”, “.net”, “.net Framework”, “Internet Explorer” and “Longhorn” as well as other brands and images and such-like are copyright as well as loads of other things by Microsoft Corporation. VistaBase has nothing to do with Microsoft, except the owner works for them… and even then it’s actually nothing to do with Vista anyway. Don’t ask… long story…

With so many new features, graphics and general capabilities expected in Vista, it’s not easy to keep track of what’s actually useful to everyday users of the Windows operating system. Here’s 10 features of which I’ve thought of, which could very much make the difference for users who have Windows XP now to upgrade to Windows Vista when it’s released. OK so don’t bite my head off for mentioning the Sidebar or the new Windows Aero… but sometimes what things do are better than how they look!

1 Parental Controls
 There is a demonstration relating to this article. Click here to view it.
This feature will definitely be used by families all over the world. Not only can it restrict what your child (or user) does and see’s whilst logged into their account, it can limit which games they can play (even the standard ones in case you find that Solitaire is far too raunchy) but can also limit when the user logs in, which means you really can limit what time they go to bed!

2 Virtual Folders
 There is a demonstration relating to this article. Click here to view it.
This new technology enables you to search and store many of the same types of file. Even though you can search for files with specific names, you can now search and organise files that all have the same names of all types, varieties and over networked drives. You could create a virtual folder labelled “Italy” and it will search everywhere possible for files, pictures, videos and everything else for what you specified and then organise them… but doesn’t move a single file. Instead it acts as if you were where the actual file was, but all of them are together in that virtual folder (find out more here).

3 Image based installations
If you have a load of computers on your network and they are all the same - being video cards, hard drives, and other hardware, instead of having to install a copy of Vista on each machine and configure it, you can simply setup one computer with how it needs to run and create an image of it to install everywhere else. It can also be really useful for slipstreaming your application installations and you can automate these setup scenarios to save yourself time as well.

4 USB Memory as… memory
Set up using AutoPlay options, you can configure external memory such as USB flash memory drives to act as pagefile memory on your computer. Essentially, if you have 512MB RAM on your machine and things are starting to get slow, you can add a 512MB USB memory drive to your machine and essentially speed things up. Quite cool.

5 Faster installations
Windows Vista (on occasion in beta, but will be able to eventually) install in about 20 minutes depending on the type of installation you have. If you have a staged installation (find out more here) it’ll be even faster.

6 BitLocker Volume Encryption
Microsoft came up with a great idea… instead of letting each user decide what files and folders need protecting on their computers or their user accounts, Windows Vista will simply encrypt the lot which saves the user time and effort, but also helps in case your computer is lost or stolen because nobody else can access your work then (find out more here) The standard XP-based NTFS permissions are still available for now…

7 User Account Controls (UAC)
With Vista, you don’t need to keep logging in as an administrator to perform simple administrative tasks. The reason why most computers running Windows XP were attacked were because any user had access to system files and important operating-system files which then infected the entire system. Now in Vista, if you want to do something and it requires administrative privileges such as change certain settings, it will prompt for an administrator’s password.

8 Protected Administrator Account
Works very closely with UAC, it asks administrators when they are about to potentially make a huge mistake whether they want to do it or not. If you’re playing with the registry and see’s you playing with some really important strings, it’ll ask you whether you want to go through with the action. Computer courtesy… very similar to a patient asking a doctor in surgery, “are you sure you want to cut open my vena cava, or not, because if you do, I’ll almost certainly die a little bit…”.

9 Secure Bootup
If enabled, BitLocker hardware installed on the motherboard does a very quick check of whether the system has been modified or tampered with - if it has, it’ll “lockdown” and ask for the recovery key which was created when the administrator of that computer enabled the security.

10 Error Feedback Support for Administrators
There is new support for which when an error occurs with the system, a message will be flagged for the administrator even before the error occurs on the computer in question and before the user gets told. This means that essentially, by the time that you reload the application again and do the same thing, it could well be fixed.