Ankur Gupta Online

Windows Vista is on the shelves! Available for the general public, not only for enterprises, everyone can upgrade the current Windows XP or buy the brand new OS from Microsoft.

Due to different reasons like high hardware requirements, software incompatibility or the price, some people cannot afford to do the migration, at least not in the near future. Of course there are also the conservative users who attached themselves too much to the XP that now they hesitate to make the move believing in its endurance.

For either of the cases presented above, I thought it would be interesting and useful to present you some Vista feature alternatives available for Windows XP. The presentation will consist in showing some Vista features and linked to them, the alternative for the XP users.

The New Vista look

Windows Vista includes a redesigned user interface and visual style, named Windows Aero. Aero is intended to be cleaner and more aesthetically pleasing than previous Windows versions, including transparencies, window animations and eye candy.

Solution:

In order to transform the ordinary Windows XP visual style into a Vista-like one you need to use a Windows theme that resembles to the original one created by Microsoft. The only problem is that Windows XP can use only Microsoft themes. While Microsoft didn’t bother to create and provide a Vista-like theme for the XP users, you need to use a custom made one. Thank God, there are plenty of themes available for free. For instance, I can recommend you to try Royale Vista, a great looking theme that includes wallpapers and fonts, all to create a similar look to Vista. Back to the compatibility problem, it can be fixed. Click here to consult a detailed guide and you will get a brand new look for your XP. Read the rest of this entry »

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Microsoft internal documentation reveals workaround for Vista Upgrade DVDs with no need for a previous version of Windows

DailyTech reported on Monday that Microsoft no longer performs disc checks during an operating system install. In the past, when performing a clean install, a user could boot from an install CD and insert a disc from a previous version of Windows for upgrade compliance.

However, per Microsoft’s new licensing requirements for Vista, users are required to install a Windows Vista Upgrade from within Windows XP. When this occurs, the Windows XP license is forfeited and the Windows Vista installation process can take place.

DailyTech has confirmed a new workaround proposed by Paul Thurrott (via Microsoft internal documents).

This workaround allows users to perform a “clean install.” The process is a bit tedious, but is not hard at all to complete. Users have to perform these simple steps to perform a clean install of Vista without a previous version of Windows installed with an upgrade DVD: Read the rest of this entry »

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Microsoft today detailed three new distribution methods for customers looking to buy, upgrade or license multiple copies of Windows Vista. One such method involves Microsoft selling a copy of its operating system via the Internet for the user to download onto his or her system, marking a first for the software giant.

Microsoft will make Windows Vista and Microsoft Office 2007 available for direct download via Windows Marketplace starting January 30 at suggested retail prices (but without the discs, packaging and manuals of the retail version). Windows Vista editions offered through Windows Marketplace will be available in English only, in either 32-bit or 64-bit versions. Windows Marketplace visitors also can find a wide variety of Windows-compatible hardware and software, including products carrying the Certified for Windows Vista logo Read the rest of this entry »

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