Windows Vista vs Windows XP

[Ztrl]

With the release of Windows Vista many home computer users are probably wondering if now is the right time to make the jump to Microsoft's latest addition to the Windows family. Some are perhaps concerned about security and stability, while many are probably wondering why they should even switch to Windows Vista, because Microsoft Windows XP seems to be doing the job.

The short answer is that there are several reasons for upgrading. For example, Windows Vista has:

• New features
  
  
• Improved security
  
  
• Better overall user experience
  

I'll introduce you to each of these elements, and you can make your own decision.


Discover new features in Windows Vista
Windows Vista offers a considerable number of new and improved features over Windows XP. Some of these great new features include:

• Windows Aero: Windows Vista features a totally different look for its interface—a cleaner, transparent look with impressive graphic quality, not to mention Live Icons and the new Windows Flip 3D feature. Windows Aero requires a higher-end video graphics card; otherwise, Windows Vista is displayed using Windows Basic. Check with your computer manufacturer, or use the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor to see whether your video card is ready for Windows Aero.

• Windows Sidebar: Windows Vista offers a panel (transparent, if you're using Windows Aero) that displays your selection of Windows gadgets—mini-applications that perform useful functions, such as a clock, a calendar, a Microsoft Office Outlook inbox representation, and currency exchange.

• Windows Search: One of the most helpful new features in Windows Vista, you can now search for files or applications from almost anywhere. Unlike in Windows XP, with Window Search, you can simply type a few letters of your search request, and the results appear on the fly—a helpful feature when looking for a file or application from the Start menu. For example, type fir, and Windows Firewall entries appear in the Start menu.



Windows Aero is a wonderfully new, graphics-powered user interface.

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These are just a few of the new features that might attract your attention. Of course, there are many more features and improvements for you to explore in Windows Vista.


Enjoy better security
People are concerned about security these days—not only Windows security but also how to protect themselves and their families when using their home computers. Microsoft has addressed both of these issues head on in Windows Vista. Some of the improved security features in the new operating system include:

• Parental Controls: Windows Vista includes Parental Controls that let you as the computer administrator set highly specific boundaries for other users, including separate standard user accounts for family members, especially children. You can set rules such as which sites a certain user can or cannot access and hours during which a particular user can use the computer; you can also curtail access to specific applications and view where other users have been on your computer and on the Web.

• Windows Vista User Account Control (UAC): UAC is a new security feature that lets you operate Windows Vista more as a standard user than as a true administrator, where you have complete access to everything. Features that UAC protects, denoted with a multi-colored shield, require your permission or validation before you can access them.

• Windows Firewall: Windows Vista now features two different firewalls: the standard firewall that was available in Windows XP and Windows Firewall with Advanced Features. The latter offers true firewall protection, including bidirectional filters, meaning that both incoming and outgoing data are scanned.



With Windows Vista's Parental Controls, you can set very specific rules and usage limitations for individual users.

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Other security features, such as BitLocker Drive Encryption, are available in some editions of Windows Vista. All Windows Vista editions feature the latest version of Windows Defender, Microsoft's anti-spyware application.


An improved user experience
The overall user experience in Windows Vista goes far beyond what is available in Windows XP. Some of the things that I've found really enjoyable are:

• The new Start menu: The Start menu displays everything within the context of a single menu. Instead of having to scroll through a list of applications (which took up considerable screen real estate in Windows XP), you can now view a single, collapsible Start menu.

• Improved folders: My Documents, My Music, My Videos, and so on are simplified and appear simply as Documents, Music, Videos. These folders are always present when you search folders. For example, if you're in the Documents folder, folder representations of Music, Videos, Searches, and so on, appear on the left side of the Documents folder.

• Live Icons: When you're using Windows Aero, you can hover your mouse over open windows in the task bar and see a live representation of what's running in them. You can get the same preview by using the Windows Flip 3D feature or even by pressing ALT+TAB to toggle windows and folders, which makes navigation much easier.



Searching folders is considerably easier in Windows Vista.

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These are just a few of the new features that might attract your attention. Of course, there are many more features and improvements for you to explore in Windows Vista.


Make the jump
There are many more reasons than I've shown why Windows Vista is a more user-friendly operating system than Windows XP. Beyond all that, it's a much faster operating system. The days of waiting several minutes for Windows XP to load are over; Windows Vista loads within 45 seconds and is ready to go almost instantly. If you have to install Windows Vista, you can perform a full installation in about 30 minutes. If you're still on the fence about switching to Windows Vista, visit Windows Vista Get Ready at www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/getready.

[Paranoid]

XD

I have the RC2 version, I'm thinking I should switch to the final release soon. Vista is the best!

[Ztrl]

You should upgrade real fast-like...RC2 is worlds away from the RTM release.

[viruszero]

I've heard that Vista isn't fully compatible yet with some games/software. (In one test a Vista user did, they ran world of warcraft, it managed only 30-50 fps at best, while XP's was never below 55 fps.)

And while Vista may have some nice improvements, what about the auto updater, can it be disabled or are we stuck with being forced to accept updates we may not want (such as ones which may not affect us, ex- ie updates when we don't use ie anyway).

[Ztrl]

Automatic Updates are basically the same as they are in XP.

As for the game incompatabilities that's not Microsoft's doing. It's the game designers. They chose not to make their games Vista compatible. All it would have taken is a few lines of code..

[Paranoid]

yea, but over time, all the new stuff is gonna be made with Vista. All you need to use is Vista compatible. Its just some old programs. This kind of thing happens with all new operating systems. This wont last that long.

[viruszero]

My laptop says vista capable but until it's absolutely necessary I won't upgrade. (I'll probably end up buying a new laptop before I'd upgrade. And by the time I buy a new one Vista will be the standard...)

[Ztrl]

Vista ran every application and game I've thrown at it. The list is over 200 programs in total.

[_Zero]

I'm still confused about the whole 32 bit and 64 bit thing my tech-obsessive friend was elaborating on earlier... someone clarify?

[Ztrl]

Alright.


To understand why 64-bit operating systems are a logical step in the evolution of the PC, consider this background information. Often the maximum size of the physical memory on a computer is less than the amount needed for all running programs. This is especially true when multiple processes or applications execute simultaneously. The solution for this is that programs store some of their data on the hard drive and copy it back and forth to physical memory as needed.

This solution is often referred to as “virtual memory,” in which the computer simulates having large amounts of contiguous physical memory. A paging table is responsible for moving segments of virtual memory into physical memory as necessary. If the amount of memory demanded by all running processes exceeds the available physical memory (RAM), the paging table stores low-priority processes on the hard drive in the page file, which is much slower than RAM. When the user needs these processes, the page table remaps them into physical memory, where the user can access them at high speeds (see Figure 1). The total number of addresses available in the virtual memory – the total amount of data the computer can keep in its working area for applications – is determined by the width of the registers on the computer processor.



Figure 1. The paging table moves segments of virtual memory into physical memory as needed to provide more memory to running processes.

Until recently, almost all consumer PCs used 32-bit processors. The bit size of a processor refers to the size of the address space it can reference. A 32-bit processor can reference 2^32 bytes, or 4 GB of memory. These 32-bit processors were standard at a time when 4 GB was thought to be more than enough memory space for software applications on Windows. When a process, such as running a program, is created on an x86 Windows computer with a 32-bit processor, the operating system allocates its 4 GB of virtual memory, irrespective of the actual physical memory installed on a system. Half of that allocated memory is user-accessible memory, while the other half is for kernel processes such as drivers. Modern computing systems increasingly confront the 4 GB ceiling thanks to memory-intensive applications and the need to store multiple processes in memory simultaneously.

In 2003, AMD released the first widely accepted 64-bit processor aimed at consumers, the Athlon 64, and coined AMD64 as the name for the new instruction set. Microsoft refers to the instruction set as x64, which parallels the widely accepted x86 nomenclature used for the instructions that run on most 32-bit processors. Per preferred Microsoft naming conventions, Windows Vista x64 Edition refers to the 64-bit version of Windows Vista in this article.

Processors capable of referencing larger address spaces provide the opportunity to use more physical memory than ever before, potentially reducing the overhead spent moving processes in and out of physical memory. The 64-bit processors are theoretically capable of referencing 2^64 locations in memory, or 16 exabytes, which is more than 4 billion times the number of memory locations 32-bit processors can reference. However, all 64-bit versions of Microsoft operating systems currently impose a 16 TB limit on address space and allow no more than 128 GB of physical memory due to the impracticality of having 16 TB of RAM. Processes created on Windows Vista x64 Edition are allotted 8 TB in virtual memory for user processes and 8 TB for kernel processes to create a virtual memory of 16 TB.

To summarize, the ability of Windows Vista x64 Edition to add address more memory space than previous versions of Windows helps minimize the time spent swapping processes in and out of memory by storing more of them in RAM.

The transition to the 64-bit architecture is overwhelmingly driven by the limitations of the x86 architecture in terms of addressing memory. Applications running on Windows Vista x64 Edition should theoretically experience improved performance because of the larger quantity of available memory, even if the application is running within the WoW64 layer. Much like the advantage offered by increasing physical memory in a 32-bit system, the larger memory space on Windows Vista x64 Edition allows more processes to actively reside in the system RAM simultaneously.

This change potentially eliminates or reduces time spent loading and switching between processes, a condition that can lead to “thrashing” when all the processor’s efforts are spent merely loading and switching between threads. To reap the benefits of a 64-bit operating system such as Windows Vista x64 Edition, you should invest in a large amount of RAM (4 GB or more) and a compatible motherboard.

For Windows Vista x64 Edition, Microsoft also requires a digital signature on all drivers. By requiring new, signed drivers, Microsoft aims to reduce failures and improve stability by shining a spotlight on vendor responsibility for bugs. With Windows Vista x86, administrators can install unsigned drivers, but Microsoft continues to discourage their use. All nonlegacy National Instruments drivers will be digitally signed and available for both the 32-bit and 64-bit editions of Windows Vista after Microsoft releases the OS.

I hope I wasn't too technical..I simplified it as much as I could. >__>;

[Fusion]

We can't forget the disadvantages of running on a 64-bit OS: Most 32-bit programs will not function properly, even with Vista.

[Ztrl]

That is not true Fusion. 64 bit can run 32 bit and 16 bit applications. Just not by default, and that's for security reasons.

[_Zero]

It made sense. Thanks, Ztrl! ^^ So does this mean that any application I throw at Vista from XP, 95/98 and WinNT 3.1 will work? But then one would have to change the settings? Right. Thank you. ^^

[Ztrl]

That's basically what it means. I just wouldn't try the 95/98 apps...They open your system to a lot more problems then they are worth.

[SLA¥ΣR]

The reason I can't get Vista yet are because of the following:

1.) Here are my computer specs:
1.60 GHz AMD Duron processor
192MB RAM
28.5 Hard Disk Space


2.) My mom can't afford all that we'd need for Vista, on top of getting the OS itself