Windows Vista Business Upgrade - DVD Retail Boxed

Preferred combination for small business users: Windows Vista Business and Microsoft Office Professional 2007.

The Windows Vista Business operating system is designed to meet the needs of business organisations of all sizes. For small businesses, Windows Vista Business will help keep PCs running smoothly and more securely so you will be less reliant on dedicated IT support. For larger organisations, Windows Vista Business provides dramatic new infrastructure improvements, enabling your IT staff to spend less time focused on the day-to-day maintenance of PCs and more time adding strategic value to your organisation. Windows Vista Business also offers powerful new ways to organie, find, and share information while staying better connected whether you are in the office or on the road. This helps your business to run more efficiently than ever before.

More manageable, reliable, and secure

For small businesses, Windows Vista Business includes new technology and tools to ensure your PCs are always up-to-date, more secure, and running smoothly. For instance, Windows Vista Business will make your PCs safer with built-in protection against malicious software, or malware. You will be warned of impending hardware failures long before you risk losing any important business data. An array of sophisticated new backup technologies helps protect your information even in the event of a catastrophic hardware failure.

For larger organisations, Windows Vista Business has been designed from the ground up to improve the deployment and management of the operating system. For instance, image-based installation is now the default method for installing the Windows Vista operating system, and the images are no longer hardware-dependent. These two key design principles enable your organisation to dramatically reduce the number of images you are required to manage and streamline the process of deploying new PCs and updating existing PCs.

For businesses of any size, Windows Vista Business is designed to allow your IT department to configure users systems so that they can log onto their PCs as standard users instead of as administrators. Windows Vista Business enables the use of standard user accounts without the compatibility and usability issues that could occur in previous versions of Windows. This new capability significantly reduces the likelihood of a malicious attack causing damage to your organisation's PCs.

Easier, faster access to information

Windows Vista Business has a new user interface, named Windows Aero, which is designed to deliver new levels of efficiency for any business user. This new interface makes it easy to navigate through the operating system and from application to application. For instance, Windows Aero helps you juggle multiple tasks at once by providing a three-dimensional, real-time, animated view of all your open applications and documents.

In addition to these navigation improvements, Windows Vista Business makes it easier than ever to manage huge volumes of business documents. By integrating search throughout the operating system and providing new ways to organise files, Windows Vista Business helps you quickly find exactly what you are looking for.

For those who are not full-time IT professionals but have roles that require them to support their organisations PCs, Windows Vista Business includes Small Business Resources. This built-in how-to guide leads you through everyday tasks and troubleshooting in easy-to-follow, non-technical language.

More mobile and better connected

Windows Vista Business is designed to help you easily and quickly connect with your organisation, your customers, and your partners, whether you are in the office or on the road. Windows Vista Business includes all of the essential infrastructure required to more securely connect you to your business information whether you are sitting at your desk, working at home, connected to a WiFi hotspot, or even if you are using your cell phone to connect to the Internet.

To help you be more productive when you are away from your desk, Windows Vista Business includes Tablet PC technology that lets you interact with your Tablet PC-compatible computer using a digital pen or your fingertip instead of a keyboard. The new Tablet PC features in Windows Vista Business include improved handwriting recognition and simpler ways to navigate through documents and applications without a keyboard.

Computers that include Windows Vista Business and an auxiliary Windows SideShow display will also allow you to access critical business information even when your computer is turned off. Windows Vista Business also makes it easy for you to share documents and collaborate with colleagues, partners, and customers - even if a network is not available. Additionally, Windows Vista Business helps you get the most out of your portable PC by making it quick and easy to manage key mobility settings.

Regardless of whether your organisation is big or small, Windows Vista Business will help you lower your PC management costs, improve your security, enhance your productivity, and stay better connected than ever before.

Top 10 Reasons to Get Windows Vista Business

1. Help protect your business - and your peace of mind. Built-in security features and the ability to add password protection to files helps protect your PCs and your data.

2. Create a data safety net. Back up files, capture an image of everything on your hard disk drives, and create daily restore points of your files as you work.

3. Stop searching. Find. Instant Search helps you find information and resources on your PC and Windows Aero helps you quickly navigate through open files and programs.

4. Work virtually anywhere. Access important business data with innovative security technologies and set up ad-hoc collaboration sessions with clients and colleagues.

5. Manage your technology yourself. Configure, administer, and control everything from usersÂ’ browser settings to networked hardware with easy-to-use tools.

6. Organize it your way. Find and organize your files without having to remember the name of the folders they are in with help from the new Windows Vista Explorers.

7. Simplify your work world. Add custom tags to your files for quick retrieval and handle more of your creative in-house with digital media tools.

8. Have the most current information at your fingertips. Use the one-stop Windows Sync Center to synchronize key information stored on your PDA, portable PC, or mobile phone.

9. Share your work when you are on the go. Share files and folders easily with teams and individuals with more accessible sharing features.

10. Be ready. Anything is possible. Grow with confidence knowing that your systems can expand with your business and that you can transfer information and settings easily.

Vista Flash Feature:

ReadyBoost

• Allows user to speed up their data cache by using Flash memory
• Basically stores data location info to dramatically speed up HDD access
• Cache data is encrypted (128-bit) whether USB is encrypted or not
• Kingston USB drives from the DT II upwards – not DTSP or DTEP (SD and CF cards also possible though untested yet)
• None of the software on these drives is Vista compliant yet (currently under test)

Upgrade Information for Microsoft Windows Vista Business Upgrade

Upgrade Paths from Previous Versions
For many of you, the Windows Vista experience will begin with the purchase of a new PC. For others, the experience begins by upgrading your current PC, and it's important to understand your upgrade options. Your choices depend on the version of Windows that is currently running on your PC and the type of computer hardware you have to run certain features. HereÂ’s how you can start planning for an upgrade to Windows Vista.

The options
You can upgrade from your current edition of Microsoft Windows XP or Windows 2000 to a corresponding or better edition of Windows Vista by purchasing and installing an upgrade copy of Windows Vista.

Installation options
You can upgrade in-place, which means you can install Windows Vista and retain your applications, files, and settings as they were in your previous edition of Windows.

Clean install

Upgrading to Windows Vista with a clean install means that you should use Windows Easy Transfer to automatically copy all your files and settings to an extra hard drive or other storage device, and then install Windows Vista. After the installation is complete, Windows Easy Transfer will reload your files and settings on your upgraded PC. You will then need to reinstall your applications.

Notes:

If you are currently using Windows 2000 Professional or Windows XP Professional x64, you are eligible for an upgrade copy to a corresponding or better edition of Windows Vista, but a clean install is required. Upgrade copies are not available for versions of Windows earlier than Windows 2000. These earlier versions of Windows require you to install a full copy of Windows Vista. If the edition of Windows Vista that you choose to install will result in a loss of functionality over your current edition of Windows, you will need to do a clean install, or install Windows Vista to a new partition on your PC.

While selecting the edition of Windows Vista that's right for you, it's important to clearly understand what hardware your PC will need to ensure the features you want will run reliably. If you plan on adding Windows Vista to your current Windows XP-based computer, we suggest that you run the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor to ensure that your PC is ready for the edition of Windows Vista that you choose to install.

Visit www.windowsvista.com/upgradeadvisor to download.



System Requirements for Microsoft Windows Vista Business Upgrade

PCs that meet the following requirements can deliver a premium Windows Vista experience including the new Windows Aero look and feel. Recommended requirements include:

• 1 GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor1
• 1 GB of system memory
• Support for DirectX 9 graphics with a WDDM driver, 128 MB of graphics memory (minimum)2, Pixel Shader 2.0 and 32 bits per pixel
• 40 GB of hard drive capacity with 15 GB free space
• DVD-ROM drive3
• Audio output capability
• Internet access capability

1) Processor speed is specified as the nominal operational processor frequency for the device. Some processors have power management which allows the processor to run at lower rate to save power.
2) If the GPU uses shared memory, then no additional graphics memory is required beyond the 1 GB system memory requirement; If the GPU uses dedicated memory then 128 MB is required.
3) A DVD-ROM may be external (not integral, not built into the system).

Minimum Requirements:

• Processor 800 MHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor1
• System Memory 512 MB
• GPU SVGA (800x600)
• HDD 20 GB
• HDD Free Space 15 GB
• Optical Drive CD-ROM drive2

1) Processor speed is specified as the nominal operational processor frequency for the device. Some processors have power management which allows the processor to run at a lower rate to save power.
2) The CD-ROM may be external (not integral, not built into the system).