Customer Reviews
This OS Rocks your world! 
2008-07-09
I installed the 64-bit version. It's great because it recognizes all the 4GB I have (vs. those people that only got like 3.2GB or so in 32-bit). 64-bit lets you upgrade > 4GB TOTAL RAM (system RAM + graphics card + other devices). It's pretty cool because Vista SuperFetch uses all the extraneous RAM as disc-cache and it makes my system really fast. Like as I used my computer, it learns what programs and files I use so it just gets faster to load them because it pre-copies them to RAM and launches them from RAM instead of the HD. That's such an awesome technology unique to Vista!
It also defaults the turn-off to "S3 sleep" instead of shutting down so when I turn the computer on, it takes like 5 seconds to come on and I'm back to exactly where I was. I read it only uses like 2 Watts in that state so it's pretty practical. And it doesn't have to re-cache everything to my extra RAM...unlike rebooting the computer. I'm thinking about going 8GB to make it even better now since RAM is dirt cheap!
The instant search is pretty useful and fast since it indexes everything you want to be able to search in. I'm getting used to "googling" (so to speak) my apps and files instead of going through menu trees like usual. You can even choose what to index and not index so it reduces the extraneous information.
I only had a few problems with old apps. I easily found newer versions or substitutes. For some old games, I got them all to work by some internet searching. It's amazing that people found solutions to run games that shouldn't work. With either some adjustments, or replacement 64-bit files, etc they worked! Hey, I guess some people can't live without their favorite game to figure all this out! :)
The voice recognition feature is pretty cool. It takes an hour or so to go through the tutorial and maybe some more time to remember all the commands but it's actually pretty decent. Controlling the computer is a bit clumsy since you can do it faster with a mouse, but I guess if you have your hands tied... But when you get it recognize most of your voice it can be faster than typing a document or email and it's pretty accurate too.
The new task manager called "Reliability and Performance Monitor" rocks. It shows so much more stuff that the XP one.
Direct 3D 10 is pretty nice. It makes a lot of graphics effects possible and looks a whole lot better.
One disappointing is the Vista Ultimate Extras. They never really come out with anything new for a long time. And when they do it's pretty useless, unless you like to play those little games they have. But I guess it's a matter of preference. I suppose the main feature is the drive encryption if you have a laptop with secrets and stuff.
Overall, I'd have to say that this OS makes me never want to use XP ever again...much more than XP made me not want to use 2000. If you are building a new system with new certified components, get this OS in 64-bit! You might not think so now, but as RAM gets cheaper and cheaper...and new powerful apps come out (esp. 64-bit)...you will find yourself upgrading your RAM. I suspect that I will have 16 GB of RAM before moving to Windows 7! ;)
Works great, looks good 2008-07-07
Best things:
Instance search - Can start typing in a program and it makes it easy to find what I'm looking for
Media Center - Connects with my Xbox 360 for sharing media great
Gadgets - Neat way to view traffic/weather/personal pictures
Aero - User interface looks pretty slick and cool
Solutions - When something breaks (video card has crashed several times for me), it will tell you which component broke and also will give potential solutions
Not so great things:
Can actually run on older hardware (Have installed on 5+ year old laptop), but when done so it lacks the cool aero effects
Needs 1Gb of RAM to function well
User access control is a bit annoying (asks you when you want to install something). However, I found that after I got my system first set up I rarely see that prompt
Overall, I like it quite a bit. I wouldn't run XP if I had the hardware to do an upgrade, although I would say that I would just buy a new computer rather then perform an upgrade.
Microsoft Still Has Further to Go 
2008-07-05
While my husband and I have enjoyed getting some of the latest gadgets and software, operating systems have not been one of the items we were willing to try as soon as they came out. The first versions of past Windows operating systems have always fallen short, only require service packs to fix their shortcomings. Usually the first or second service pack bring the operating system closer to what it should have been upon release. That's why I was looking forward to getting Windows Vista Ultimate with Service Pack 1.
Yet, I still find that Windows Vista has a ways to go even after the first service pack. While it seems to be reasonably stable - I have had fewer crashes with this software that with the completely up to date Windows XP Professional that was up there before - but there are still some irritants and problems. First, there is the constant request for permission to complete operations I initiated, which, while I am sure I can disable, I never think of at a convenient time. Second, I have a Microsoft keyboard with fingerprint reader to automate password entry for certain websites and to log onto the computer and it is not supported in Windows Vista, even though the keyboard is relatively new. Third, I cannot get Yahoo! Music to install, giving an error saying in effect that Windows XP or later is required. (Hopefully, Yahoo! Music's merger with Rhapsody will resolve this). Fourth, my laser printer (HP 1012) doesn't have a driver for (and thus does not work with) Windows Vista. Finally, even with much more than the required memory, the system still seems to run quite slow.
All in all, Windows Vista with Service Pack 1 might be worth getting if you have the a new system with the latest hardware, a lot of memory, and no older programs that are important to you. To me, it doesn't seem worth spending the money to upgrade to Windows Vista at this time - maybe with the next Service Pack.
Watch what you get 
2008-07-03
Amazon apparently either doesn't know or doesn't care about the differences between 32-bit vs 64-bit, OEM vs retail, and who knows what else because they lump all these categories together in big listings like this one, with no indication what you're going to get when you open the box--if yours came with a box, which incidentally mine didn't.
I followed a link to this page from an old retail version I was viewing. The link said this version was newer. I scoured the page for any details about 32/64 bit, and whether it was OEM...all there was was a picture of a box of Windows Vista Ultimate--with multiple product images to view! so I figured that's what would be coming in the mail.
Wrong. I got "promotional" (read: OEM) 32-bit only DVDs in paper sleeves, no box at all. Gee Amazon, thanks for the lovely pics though.
I guess they really don't know the difference, otherwise why not have these listed under different product categories according to type.
It's better than you think (and I'm a Mac user) 
2008-06-25
Windows Vista Ultimate (now at SP1) has gotten a LOT of bad press. Yes, some of this negative press has been earned. There are good things here though. The best feature about Vista is an important one, security. Microsoft actually maintains a blog about Vista security. One post there really convinced me that security alone is reason to move from XP to Vista if you're going to stay in the Windows world. (http://blogs.msdn.com/windowsvistasecurity/archive/2008/01/23/windows-vista-security-one-year-later.aspx)
I'm a Mac user though, and I've got Vista running very well on my machine. Like it or not, there are times even Mac people want to run some Window's software and I've got an entire internal hard drive dedicated to Vista. My personal set up has been to install Vista using BootCamp on a 2nd hard drive in my MacPro. I've done this because it gives me the option to run Vista and give it the full power the hardware will provide.
The majority of the time I use Vista though is through VMWare Fusion. This allows me to run my Windows environment without needing to leave my Macintosh environment. Vista is just another window on my desktop. It works really well. This is how I load maps onto my GPS device and do the accounting for my business in QuickBooks Pro, since the Windows version seems to be superior.
Good things:
Security is much stronger than in XP.
It's got a nice looking interface.
Bad things:
It is does run slower than Windows XP when running on the same machine, probably due to the nice looking interface I gave as a "good" thing.
Start up time for the OS seems pretty long.
I've got the "Ultimate" version of Vista but choosing which version of Vista to buy seems far too confusing.
The software license for Vista Ultimate edition does allow for running the software under emulation, so if you plan on doing a similar thing as I do, such as running Vista on your Mac, with Vista Ultimate you can definitely do that. I haven't tried "lesser" versions running on a Mac, but I'm sure you can find information about that online.
It's OK 2008-07-17
Not crazy about Vista- it keeps asking if I want to leave this page, etc etc etc- It was fairly easy to install despite other's complaints about the complexity. My computer fared well without issues.
prisrob
Good product, but not without flaws. 2008-07-11
As has been reported by many other reviewers, there are significant problems with Vista. Yet despite its flaws, it is a great user friendly product, which explains in large part its continued dominance as the desktop operating system.
The main advantage over Home Premium is... 2008-07-10
File encryption. This version has file encryption. If that is something you need for your business, then this would be the edition you are looking for. This version, as it's name says, has everything. If you do not want the media center, or other items, I would say, look at other versions first.
Not as Universal as XP 2008-07-10
I have been a windows user since the original 95 and have upgraded my machines according every time the new operating systems come along. Some have been great and some have been downright horrible (Window's ME anyone?).
Vista lies somewhere in the middle. For those trying to convert from mac to PC it might be a good ideas, as it borrows heavily from the Macintosh OX model. But those of us used to generic windows will find that it takes a lot of time to get to know VISTA, and still things remain complicated.
But once you get used to VISTA there are a lot of perks, such as easier searching mechanisms, a new clock system, and the invent of widgets. But on the same token it takes a lot more RAM, and might not be the best choice for machines with less than 2gz of ram.
Why I elected not to "upgrade" to Vista from XP 2008-07-10
Oh the downside of Amazon Vine -- the need to select products quickly, before you really have a chance to find out whether they'll be good for you. So I can't really review this product, other than to set forth the reasons why, after I did a ton of research after I requested this, I decided to stick with XP.
1. Cnet.com did a detailed analysis of the differences between Vista and XP and found them dead even overall. Vista had some nifty little interfaces with the internet and some multimedia improvements, but didn't improve on speed or any of the applications I use most frequently (word processing, email and web browsing).
2. A web search revealed that numerous people have had problems with upgrading and I didn't want to uninstall XP and all related programs so I could do a fresh installation. Everything I have works with XP and is configured for it.
3. My computer is not new. Vista apparently works best with newer computers.
4. Comparisons to ME, the worst OS Microsoft ever released. Fool me once...
5. Too many reported problems, and even the people who like Vista reported that it wasn't much better than XP.
So, in short, lots of potential downside with insufficient upside to make up for the risk. If I get a new computer anytime soon, I will load Vista, but for now, I'll stick with XP.
Sorry that this wasn't more helpful!
