IF01152
What You
Get With Windows Vista.
Given the multitude of features available on Windows Vista, I'm sure to leave
out someone's favorite, but I do want to highlight a couple of items that should
be high on your business's priority list:
1. Improved Security: Vista includes Microsoft Defender (antispyware) and
Internet Explorer 7 (which includes a phishing filter and antispoofing
technology), as well as Microsoft Windows Firewall technology—all essential for
maintaining your technology infrastructure.
2. User
Account Control: Many business users log into their PCs as administrators,
so that they can have full access to all features and functions in Windows.
However, this can create a variety of security issues. With UAC, you can log
into Windows as a standard user but easily perform certain tasks as an
administrator (such as install software). This makes administrator access more
manageable and more secure.
3. Improved
Software Setup and Maintenance: Vista enables your IT staff to create and
store "images," which are system software configurations that can be easily
replicated on new PCs. That means the average time to set up a new PC will be
reduced, and upgrading software on existing PCs will be a snap. Add those
together and you get a reduction in IT costs.
4. Instant
Search: Search is the name of the game for document-heavy companies. This
function should make it easier for you and your employees to find files and
documents in a data-intensive environment.
5. Windows
Meeting Space: For businesses with offices on opposite sides of the country,
around the world, or simply in the next area code, online conferences can make
life easier. Vista lets you share your Windows desktop with coworkers online as
well as easily share files (and jointly edit them, too).
6. Windows
Aero: The new graphical user interface is fast and looks very slick. Here's
my fair warning on Windows Aero: In order to use this feature, you'll need to
make sure that your computing hardware is "Vista Premium Ready," as opposed to
"Vista Capable." The difference between the two will be most striking in the
graphical interface: Vista on a Vista Capable machine will look more like
Windows 2000, but the hardware requirements for it will be significantly less
than for Vista Premium Ready. Chances are that equipment you have purchased in
the last two years will be Vista Capable. It's also likely that very little of
your current equipment is going to be Vista Premium Ready unless you've already
been buying higher-end gear.
Microsoft will offer business-class versions of Vista, giving you the choice of
which mode you want to operate in. Be sure to match the hardware, software
version, and mode to the features you want in your Vista upgrade.
Let me know if you need anything else.
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