Best Edition of Windows Vista

It used to be easy to select an operating system but it is not the case any more. With Windows Vista, Microsoft has unleashed five different editions, each of which targets a specific group of users. Get the wrong edition of Vista, and you'll end up wishing you were back with XP or opening your wallet again for the version you should have purchased in the first place. The good news is that it's pretty easy to learn which version of Vista is right for you and it might not even be the one that costs the most.

Vista Home Basic

The Home Basic version of Vista is the one probably no one wants, yet those purchasing low-priced new computers with the idea that getting Vista will be part of the bargain may not be able to avoid it.

That's because Home Basic is designed to run on hardware that might not otherwise be able to support full-featured versions of Vista. So the first thing that Home Basic dispenses with is the signature Aero interface - the headline feature that arguably makes Vista what it is.

Without Aero, Home Basic lacks the snazzy, semi-transparent windows of other versions of Vista, in addition to plenty of other visual niceties that come with Aero. Home Basic also lacks Windows Media Centre, which is essential for juggling a variety of multimedia tasks.

Home Basic does have the improved search capabilities, improved security, and updated hardware support, but much of what Home Basic offers can already be provided by XP and some decent add-on utilities.

If you're buying a new computer in hopes of getting Windows Vista in the deal, it would be worth your while to pay up for a better version of Vista or else purchase a PC that already comes with an upgraded version