Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium is an operating system that has been a long time coming. It includes the core functions that most appeal to home and small business users, such as Windows Firewall and Windows Defender. It also features a new, blazingly fast Desktop search system.

Mobile users will appreciate the Windows Mobility Center, and Vista's full support for Tablet PCs. Video buffs will be pleased by the HD version of Moviemaker and Windows DVD Maker, which make it easy to transfer video to DVD media. Last but not least, Windows Media Center brings photos, videos, and music together.

The news isn't limited to entertainment. Vista also includes the ability to schedule backups; collaboration tools, such as Windows Meeting Space; and perhaps the most well-known feature, the Windows Aero interface.

Installation is surprisingly simple, and, depending on the speed of your computer, surprisingly fast. Unlike previous versions of Windows, which often required you to baby-sit the installation process, the new Vista installer asks a few questions upfront and can then perform the installation on its own. All in all, this is one of the easiest Windows installation systems we have seen.

The new Aero interface is impressive. The bad news is that it requires a graphics card that supports DirectX 9.0 or later, and a minimum of 128MB of dedicated graphics memory. Don't despair if your graphics card doesn't meet Aero's tough requirements. Vista will still function, with a Desktop and user interface that looks remarkably like Windows XP.

A new Sidebar serves as a place to dock gadgets, which are small, single- or limited-function applets. Vista comes with a small collection of gadgets, including a clock and an RSS Feed reader. The Sidebar takes up some Desktop space, but you can disable it if you prefer. As more gadgets are released, the Sidebar will become a useful way to organize them.

Security is one area that shows major improvements, including reduced user privileges. Vista runs applications as if you were a normal user, even if you are logged in as an administrator. This means you can't accidentally launch a rogue application, such as a Trojan, that could use the admin privileges to take over the system.

A new anti-malware application, Windows Defender can detect spyware and other malicious activity. Like Windows Firewall, Windows Defender performs well, although we found its capabilities to be basic and not as feature rich as third-party products that perform the same function.

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium offers a number of new operating system features that may well have been worth the wait.


Pros: Aero interface is visually appealing, better security systems than previous versions of Windows
Cons: Use of Windows Genuine Advantage for checking licenses, older applications may not work well, older PCs may need significant upgrades to work well with Vista