Windows 7 Secrets (Paperback)

Chapter One

Basic differences between the Windows 7 product editions Which Windows 7 product editions you can safely avoid Differences between the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows 7 Determining the best Windows 7 for you Choosing between the home and business versions Choosing between Windows 7 Home Premium and Professional Features available in all Windows 7 versions Choosing Windows 7 Ultimate

If you haven''t purchased Windows 7 yet-or you''d like to know whether or not it''s worth upgrading from the version you do have to a more capable version-this chapter is for you. Here, we''ll explain the differences between the many Windows 7 product editions and help you pick the version that makes the most sense for you.

The Way We Were: XP and Vista Product Editions

Back in 2001, life was easy: Microsoft released Windows XP in just two product editions, Windows XP Home Edition and Windows XP Professional Edition. The difference between the products was fairly obvious, and with its enhanced feature set, XP Pro was the more expensive and desirable version, as one might expect.

Over time, however, Microsoft muddied the waters with a wealth of new XP product editions. Three major product editions were added: Windows XP Media Center Edition (which received three major releases and one minor update between 2002 and 2005), Windows XP Tablet PC Edition (which received two major releases between 2002 and 2005), and Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, which took most of XP Pro''s feature set and brought it to the x64 hardware platform. Other XP versions, such as XP Embedded and XP Starter Edition, can''t really be considered mainstream products, because they targeted specific usage scenarios and were never made broadly available to consumers.

tip

You may occasionally hear Windows 7''s product editions referred to as SKUs. This term stands for stock keeping unit. While we typically use the more common terms product edition, version, and product versions throughout this book instead, these terms are all pretty much interchangeable.

Following is a list of the major Windows XP versions that Microsoft shipped between 2001 and 2006. In a moment, we''ll compare these products with their corresponding Vista versions:

Windows XP Starter Edition (underdeveloped countries only) Windows XP Embedded (sold in embedded devices only) Windows XP Home Edition Windows XP Home Edition N (European Union only) Windows XP Media Center Edition Windows XP Tablet Edition Windows XP Professional Edition Windows XP Professional Edition N (European Union only) Windows XP Professional Edition K (South Korea only) Windows XP Professional x64 Edition Windows XP for Itanium-based systems

All Windows XP product versions, except Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, and Windows XP for Itanium-based systems, were available only in 32-bit versions.

note The N and K versions of Windows exist because of antitrust-related actions against Microsoft around the world. These versions are each limited in some way and have proven unpopular with customers. Obviously, Microsoft wouldn''t even make them unless they were so required.

For Windows Vista, Microsoft surveyed the market and came away with two observations. First, its experiment splitting the Windows XP (and Microsoft Office) product lines into multiple product editions had proven enormously successful for the company. Second, customers appeared willing to pay a bit more for premium product SKUs, such as XP Media Center Edition, that offered extra features. It doesn''t take a rocket scientist to see that Microsoft''s experiences over the past few years led directly to the situation we had with Windows Vista: the company created six core Vista product editions, two of which were considered premium versions. Or, if you include the so-called N and K editions (for the European Union and South Korea, respectively), there were actually nine product editions. Or, if you count the 32-bit and x64 (64-bit) versions separately, since they are in fact sold separately for the most part, there were 17 product editions. Add the (RED) version of Windows Vista Ultimate-which was originally available only with select new PCs from Dell and, eventually, at retail-and you''ve got 18. Or something. Here''s the list:

Windows Vista Starter Windows Vista Home Basic Windows Vista Home Basic (x64) Windows Vista Home Premium Windows Vista Home Premium N (European Union only) Windows Vista Home Premium (x64) Windows Vista Home Premium N (x64) (European Union only) Windows Vista Business Windows Vista Business K (South Korea only) Windows Vista Business N (European Union only) Windows Vista Business (x64) Windows Vista Business K (x64) (South Korea only) Windows Vista Business N (x64) (European Union only) Windows Vista Enterprise Windows Vista Enterprise (x64) Windows Vista Ultimate Windows Vista Ultimate (x64) Windows Vista Ultimate Product (RED) Edition

In addition to spamming the market with an unbelievable number of product editions, Microsoft also increased the number of ways in which customers could acquire Windows Vista. As always, most individuals simply got Vista with a new PC, and some continued to purchase retail boxed copies of Windows Vista. Then there were the not-quite-retail versions of the software, called OEM versions, which were technically supposed to be sold only to PC makers, but were widely available online; and a new option called Windows Anytime Upgrade that enabled you to upgrade from one version of Vista to another. It was confusing. And it''s still that confusing, because these purchase options are all available with Windows 7 as well. But then that''s why you''re reading this chapter, right?

Here''s our advice: don''t get bogged down in semantics or complicated counting exercises. With a little bit of knowledge about how these product editions break down and are sold, you can whittle the list down quite a bit very quickly and easily. Then, you can evaluate which features are available in which editions and choose the one that''s right for you based on your needs.

Windows 7 Product Editions: Only a Little Bit Simpler

As with Windows Vista, Windows 7 will ship in many different product editions. On the surface, this seems confusing-just as confusing, in fact, as the Vista product line. But this time, Microsoft made a few commonsense changes to the product lineup that should make things easier on most people. So assume the Lotus position, breathe deeply, and relax. It''s not as bad as it sounds.

For starters, though there are, in fact, almost as many Windows 7 product editions as there were for Windows Vista, most individuals will only need to consider a handful of commonsense product editions. And with Windows 7, unlike with Vista, these product editions are all true supersets of each other, so there are no overlapping feature sets, as there were with some of the Vista product editions. That''s good news, both for those migrating to Windows 7 and for those Windows 7 users who think they might want a more powerful product edition.

Consider a typical issue with the Windows Vista product editions. In that version of Windows, the Windows Vista Business edition didn''t include Windows Media Center, a fun digital media application that was part of the Home Premium product. But business users enjoy digital media too, especially when traveling, and they told Microsoft that this division in the feature set didn''t make sense.

Okay, here''s what Microsoft is offering with Windows 7:

Windows 7 Home Basic (developing markets only) Windows 7 Starter Windows 7 Starter x64 Windows 7 Home Premium Windows 7 Home Premium (x64) Windows 7 Home Premium N (European Union only) Windows 7 Professional Windows 7 Professional (x64) Windows 7 Enterprise Windows 7 Enterprise (x64) Windows 7 Ultimate Windows 7 Ultimate (x64)

Why not just have one or two product editions, as we did back when Windows XP first shipped? Microsoft says that it has over one billion Windows users worldwide and that their needs are diverse and cannot all be met with a single product. So it has instead moved to a "Russian nesting doll" model, where as you increment up the list of Windows 7 product editions, features or capabilities are simply adopted from the previous editions. They are true supersets of each other, and additive, not arbitrarily different.

Understanding the Differences and Choosing the Right Version

The first step is to understand the differences between each Windows 7 product edition. Then, you need to understand the various ways in which you can acquire Windows 7, either as a standalone product or as an upgrade to an existing version of Windows (including, confusingly, Windows 7 itself). After that, you can weigh the various trade-offs of each option-features, price, and so on-and act accordingly.

Let''s do it.

Step 1: Whittling Down the Product Editions List

While the clinically sarcastic will dryly complain that there is precious real-world difference between Vista''s 18 product editions and Windows 7''s 12, that''s just a smoke screen. In the real world, most people will have to choose only between two Windows 7 product editions. To get to this number, we need to temporarily forget about the differences between 32-bit and 64-bit versions (don''t worry, we''ll get to that) and just skip over the versions that really don''t matter. Once we do this, the following list emerges:

Windows 7 Starter (32-bit or x64) Windows 7 Home Premium (x64) Windows 7 Professional (x64) Windows 7 Ultimate (x64)

Okay, this is four options, not two, but it''s still a much more manageable list than what we started with. Before we whittle this down to just two options, let''s take a closer look at the four options now in front of us. After all, there were 12 product editions in the original list. How did we cut it down this far so quickly?

Here''s how.

Windows 7 Home Basic

You don''t need or want Windows 7 Home Basic. But it''s even simpler than that: you can''t get it anyway. That''s because Windows 7 Home Basic is available only with new PCs in emerging markets. You can''t get it in the U.S., Europe, or any other developed area.

So unless you''re buying a PC in one of the few countries in which you can acquire Windows 7 Home Basic, you probably won''t hear much more about this product. And if you are buying such a PC, your computing needs are pretty basic, so it''s unlikely that you''re ready for this book just yet.

The K and N Editions Aren''t for You, Either

Whatever Windows 7 versions are being offered in Korea (with a K moniker) or in Europe (with an N moniker), they''re designed to satisfy the antitrust regulations and rulings in those locales, and you should also ignore them. Why? Because these versions are more limited than the non-K and non-N Windows 7 versions that are sold in South Korea and the EU, respectively. And they don''t cost any less, so there''s no reason to even consider them, even if you do live in these areas.

Consider the Windows 7 N edition, which is sold only in EU markets. This product came about because of a 2004 EU ruling that required Microsoft to offer versions of Windows without the Windows Media Player included. The requirement for a separate version of Windows was intended to enhance competition in the market for media players, such as the downloadable RealPlayer application.

But because Microsoft sells its N versions for the same price as its full-featured Windows versions, demand for the N versions never materialized. Until there''s a big price difference, consumers will continue to interpret N to mean Not Interested. Ditto for the K versions, though we''re having trouble coming up with a witty K-related word to help you remember why. All you need to remember is that you should forget these versions ever existed.

You''re Not the Enterprise

Windows 7 Enterprise is a special version of Windows 7 that is aimed at Microsoft''s largest corporate customers. It is functionally identical to Windows 7 Ultimate, but there is one difference between the two products: whereas Windows 7 Ultimate is available at retail (both with new PCs and as stand-alone software), Windows 7 Enterprise is available only through Microsoft''s corporate volume licensing subscription programs. Because of the unique way in which you must acquire this version, chances are good you won''t be hunting around for Windows 7 Enterprise. That said, if you do get a PC from work with Windows 7 Enterprise on it, you''re using the functional equivalent of Windows 7 Ultimate.

32-bit Versions of Windows 7

The differences between 32-bit (x86) versions of Windows 7 and 64-bit (x64) versions are more complex, but here''s the weird bit: though virtually every single PC sold over the past several years was x64 compatible, virtually every single copy of Windows that went out the door before Windows 7 was, in fact, a 32-bit version.

No more. With Windows 7, it''s time to leave the 32-bit world behind for good, and the first step is to run a 64-bit version of Windows 7. These versions of Windows 7 are fully compatible with most of the 32-bit software that runs on 32-bit versions of the OS, and they are likewise just about as compatible with the wide number of hardware devices that are available on the market.

The biggest reason to go 64-bit is RAM: after all, 64-bit versions of Windows 7 can access far more RAM than 32-bit versions (up to 192GB, depending on which version of Windows 7 you''re talking about, compared to less than 4GB of RAM in 32-bit versions).

Folks, with one minor exception, it''s time to say good-bye to 32-bit versions of Windows. So with Windows 7, almost universally, we recommend that you seek out 64-bit (x64) versions instead.

What is the one exception? Many netbook computers come with a version of Intel''s Atom microprocessor that is incompatible with the x64 instruction set, and thus with x64 versions of Windows 7. On such a PC, you will need to use a 32-bit version of Windows 7 instead. And that''s just fine: given the limited usage scenarios for these computing lightweights, that''s perfectly acceptable. It''s also the exception to the rule.

Step 2: Whittling a Little Further

Rationale aside, you may be looking back over the preceding list and thinking, well, hold on a second there: that''s still four product editions. Is Microsoft really simplifying anything? Yes, because the vast majority of Windows 7 users will really have to consider only two of these product editions:

Windows 7 Home Premium Windows 7 Professional

Microsoft and its partners will focus most of their efforts selling Windows 7 Home Premium and Professional to the retail and consumer markets (and Enterprise to volume licensing business customers). That means most consumers will simply have two options when it comes to Windows 7: Home Premium and Pro-just like with XP when that OS first shipped.

Meanwhile, Ultimate and Starter are, by definition, niche products that are available only to address low-volume but important markets. But what really makes this work is the previously mentioned "Russian stacking doll" structure whereby each version is a true superset of the one below it. This is a huge and important change.

Step 3: Understanding the Differences Between the Product Editions

Once you''ve whittled the list down to two or four contenders, it''s time to evaluate them and understand which features are available in each product edition. There are various ways to present this kind of information, but we find that tables, logically divided by category, are easy on the eyes and mind. Tables 1-1 through 1-9 summarize how the product editions stack up.

Step 4: Making the Right Product Edition Choice

Armed with the information in the preceding tables, we can think of Windows 7 as being divided into four basic product categories, each of which is neatly covered by a single product edition.

First up is Windows 7 Starter, which covers the bare-bones end of the market (netbooks and other very low-end PCs). Starter edition offers basic functionality, but has some serious limitations, not the least of which is that it can run only three applications at a time.

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from Windows 7 Secretsby Paul Thurrott Rafael Rivera Copyright © 2009 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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