1. What is Windows Vista?
- Windows Vista is the next release in Microsoft's Windows product line.

2. What does " Vista " mean?
- " Vista " as Microsoft envisions it represents the expanding possibilities that Windows presents to its users as a means to organize, manage, and generally make their "Digital Life" easier. When envisioned, the word " Vista " produces images of clarity and this is Microsoft's vision for the next version of Windows.

3. What does "Connected, Clear, and Confident" mean?
- Microsoft's tag line for its next version of Windows means three things: connected signifies how it will be easier to connect to any network or connect any device to your computer; clear means that it will be easier to organize your large amounts of email or data without clutter or confusion; and confident means that Microsoft is making large strides to reclaim customer confidence in their Windows based PCs by making them more secure, more reliable, and easier to use.

4. When will Windows Vista be available to MSU Students?
- July 1, 2007

5. Is Windows Vista designed more for consumers or for business users?
- There will be major versions of Vista targeting each type of user. The version MSU will support on university owned computers is Windows Vista Business.

1. How do I know if my computer can run Windows Vista?
- If you don't meet all the requirements you may be able to upgrade certain hardware components to meet Microsoft's specifications for Windows Vista. Contact the ITS Help Desk with any questions at 325-0631.

• Processor: 2.4 GHz Pentium 4
• Memory: 2 GB
• Video Card: DirectX 9 capable with 256 MB video memory
• Hard Disk: 80 GB
• Optical Drive: DVD-ROM
• Operating System: Windows Vista

For more information, visit Microsoft's Windows Vista "Get Ready" Web site here

2. What if I don't meet all the requirements?
- If you don't meet all the requirements you may be able to upgrade certain hardware components to meet Microsoft's specifications for Windows Vista. Contact the ITS Help Desk with any questions at 325-0631.

3. Will there be a 64-bit edition?
- Yes, typically the 32-bit and 64-bit editions will ship on each DVD for Windows Vista. You can choose to install either, however, a lot of software and hardware drivers do not yet work with the 64-bit version and won't for awhile

4. Will I be able to upgrade from Windows 9x/Me/2000/XP?
- You will only be able to perform an upgrade install of Windows Vista from Microsoft Windows XP Professional - and then only if your computer meets the minimum hardware requirements described above. Microsoft is providing an Upgrade Advisor tool available for free download here.

5. What kind of installation does the ITS Help Desk recommend?
- The ITS Help Desk recommends in most cases that you perform a clean install of your operating system, especially if you have been using your computer for quite some time without a reformat. Also, the "upgrade" license for Vista will not allow a perfectly clean install.

1. What is new about the Windows Vista user interface?
- Many things have changed in the new version of Windows's user interface. Most noticeably are the new start menu, the window transparencies (viewable only on a Windows Vista Premium Ready PC or better), and the new Windows Sidebar.

2. What is AERO Glass?
- AERO is an acronym that stands for Authentic, Energetic, Reflective, and Open and describes the new look of Windows Vista. The "Glass" moniker refers to the transparency now built into almost all of the screens in Windows.

3. Why can't I see the transparency?
- You won't be able to see the transparency unless your computer's graphics processor meets the minimum requirements for a Windows Vista Premium Ready PC. If your graphics processor does meet the requirements and you still can't see the transparency, then you may need to install the latest driver for your graphics processor. You may contact the ITS Help Desk at 325-0631 for assistance.

4. What is the sidebar and what can I do with it?
- The Windows Vista Sidebar is a new feature that loads and displays itself in the right-hand portion of your screen when you log onto your computer. The Sidebar may display all kinds of "mini-applications" called "Gadgets." Windows Vista ships with a default array of "Gadgets" for things like the calculator, an RSS ticker, a photo slideshow, and several others. Microsoft will provide a place for others to develop their own Gadgets and have them available for download.

5. How has the start menu changed?
- The Start Menu has been modified to no longer expand to huge sizes across your screen. Instead, all your programs will be listed right in the Start Menu's default size and you can scroll through them there. There has also been a more convenient search feature placed at the bottom of the programs listing. You may type in even just a portion of a program name, document name, email, or the like and have the results displayed right in the Start Menu for your easy access.

6. How do I use the integrated search?
- The new and improved integrated search will be embedded throughout the new version of Windows. You'll see it in the upper right hand corner of most Explorer windows in Vista. It will also be available in the Start Menu at the bottom of the programs listing. For more information on how to effectively use Windows Vista's integrated search and other organizational tools.

7. What happened to the "My Documents," "My Pictures," and "My Music" folders?
- The "My Documents," "My Pictures," and "My Music" folders have all been replaced in Windows Vista with new, more functional "Explorers." "My Documents" is replaced by the Document Explorer, "My Pictures" by the Pictures Explorer, and "My Music" by the Music Explorer.

1. What is User Account Control and how does it work?
- Windows Vista features major enhancements to its security feature set; the primary change being User Account Control, or UAC. UAC makes Windows Vista run at the lowest level of privileges needed to perform its current task. Whenever elevated privileges are required to perform a new task, such as install new software, the user is prompted to enter them in to a dialogue warning box (if the user account is a "limited user") or to simply confirm that they wish to proceed with this action (if the user account is an "administrator"). What this means is that even if the user account is an administrator on the computer, for most of the time the user is operating on the machine, they are actually operating as a limited user. This increases security on the computer so that no unwanted Malware programs or viruses may be installed without the user knowing.

2. What's new with the Windows Firewall?
- The new Windows Firewall will feature a robust filtering system for both incoming and outgoing traffic from a computer. This will provide protection not only for your personal computer from malicious traffic coming in from the outside, but also protection for the outside world from your computer should it become infected with a virus. This feature along with a more robust set of customization options will make this version of the Windows Firewall much more effective.

3. Microsoft always says that their next Windows is going to be more stable and Vista is no different. What improvements have they made in Vista to increase stability and reliability?
- One of the main annoyances with Windows XP and previous versions of Windows are the unexpected hangs and crashes. Many of these crashes are caused by a Windows Service (a small program that runs in the background of Windows) or other program becoming unresponsive. In Windows XP and other prior versions of the operating system, these services and programs ran in the same space as the core of the operating system. In Windows Vista, these services and programs now run separately from the core operating system and thus when they crash or otherwise become unresponsive, Windows Vista should be better at recovering from the calamity.
Along with this "Service Hardening" in Windows Vista, Microsoft has also introduced new technology that will reduce the number of restarts needed by allowing programs to restart their services without needing to restart the entire computer.

4. Is there any new protection against spyware/malware?
- Windows Vista will include the final release version of Windows Defender, Microsoft's new anti-spyware and anti-malware program. Windows Defender integrates with Windows Updates to monitor the date of the spyware definition file and automatically download updates. This means that you will continually have the most up-to-date coverage. Windows Defender monitors your system in real time alerting you the moment it detects a spyware or malware threat, similar to how an antivirus program works.

1. What is new in IE 7.0?
- There are many new features for the newest version of Internet Explorer. Microsoft has made improvements to security by adding the Phishing Filter, ActiveX control opt-in, Protected Mode, and Fix My Settings; printing a Web site has become much easier with the new print preview function where you can resize margins by clicking and dragging, remove headings with the push of a button, and shrink the entire Web site to fit on a printed page. There are a vast array of other new features including built in RSS support, Page Zoom, and tabbed browsing.

2. Will Internet Explorer 7.0 be available for Windows XP?
- Yes. However not all functionality will be there. In Internet Explorer 7 for Windows XP there will be no Protected Mode, nor will there be any parental controls as those are based on the built in Parental Controls in Windows Vista.

3. How does the Phishing Filter work?
A. The new Phishing Filter in IE 7.0 will automatically alert users to the fact that they may be at an untrustworthy site. This protection works in three ways:

• The URL of the Web site is checked against an online database of known Phishing Web sites that is maintained by Microsoft's partners. This database is updated several times an hour with new information.
• The URL is checked against a list of legitimate sites that is stored on the user's local computer.
• It analyzes the site for characteristics of known Phishing Web sites.

If the Phishing Filter determines that the site is suspect, it will change the color of the Internet Explorer Address bar accordingly: yellow for a suspect site, and red for a confirmed Phishing site. A warning will display on the screen, further advising a user to beware. In the case that a site returns a red warning bar and is a confirmed Phishing site, the page will be blocked by the Phishing filter until the user clicks a link in the browser window to be allowed to proceed to the site.

4. What information is being sent by the Phishing filter?
- Microsoft says that the only information that is submitted is the URL for the site currently being visited. It should be noted that Microsoft itself is not maintaining the database of Phishing sites, instead, they have partnered with several industry leaders in Online Reputation Services. You can read more about Microsoft's Industry partners here.

5. What does Page Zoom do?
- Page Zoom is a new accessibility feature included in Internet Explorer 7.0 to help improve the user experience. You can increase or decrease the size of the entire page, graphics and all. This makes it much easier to read that tiny fine print at the bottom of many Web sites and can increase the size of small thumb-nail images for easier viewing. The Page Zoom feature is controlled by an icon in the lower right hand corner of the browser.

6. How is printing easier in IE 7.0?
- Printing has really been stepped up in Internet Explorer 7.0. The new Print Preview function makes it easy to resize margins, remove headers and footers, or shrink text and images to fit the printed page. You can drag the margin sizes with your mouse cursor and removing headers and footers is as easy as clicking a button on the new tool bar.

7. What can I do with RSS in IE 7.0?
- Internet Explorer 7 includes built-in RSS feed support. If you clicked on a link to an RSS feed in IE 6, you would be looking at the raw XML data. Not so in Internet Explorer 7. When you click on a link for an RSS feed in IE 7, you'll be taken to a page where you can view a summary of the feed and choose to add it to your favorite feeds list which is now managed in the Favorites Center. You can then add these feeds to the RSS ticker Windows Vista Sidebar Gadget.

8. How does Protected Mode protect me better?
- Protected mode is available only to those users that are running Internet Explorer 7 on Windows Vista. Protected Mode forces IE 7 to run in an "isolated" space so that it does not have access to anything on your hard drive except for the Temporary Internet Files folder. This means that any malicious Web sites trying to install software on your computer will not be able to copy data or malicious programs to any of your important Windows system folders, only to temporary internet folders where it is easy to clean them up.

9. What does "Fix My Settings" do for me?
- "Fix My Settings" is a feature built into Internet Explorer 7 that warns a user when his or her internet settings are at an unsafe level. The information bar will display a warning which cannot be hidden or removed until the settings are fixed to safe levels. To fix the settings, you simply have to click on the information bar and choose "Fix My Settings" from the menu that appears.