Wednesday, December 02, 2009
The Affiliate Code - $65K Every Month For Free!
========================================
New Mind Boggling Product From Michael Jones. New Killer System For Online Wealth... Michael Jones Shows You Exactly How He Is Doing It As An Affiliate
- 7 Figures A Year Promoting Other People Products
* Generate serious income quickly and easily
* Finally get the online success you deserve
* Set it up once, profit forever
Check it out You owe it to yourself
Labels:
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Michael Jones,
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The Affiliate Code
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
4 Tips For Raising Your Search Engine Rankings
Xtream Global Advertising Specialist Free to Join
Search engine rankings are an important factor to consider when you have a web site that needs more traffic. If your web site doesn’t have a good position in the rankings then it will be hard to find.
Since most searchers click on the first few results, you need to make sure that your web site is ranked highly enough so that people can easily find it on the first page of search engine results. Although no search engine optimization company can guarantee a high rankings for your site permanently, often times hiring a web marketing company will pay off many times over. For those of you doing it yourself or those of you that want to ensure your marketing company is doing a good job, here are some tips for raising the search engine rankings of your web site.
1. Content
Content is an important factor in high search engine rankings. Make sure that you have plenty of content throughout your site with your target keywords in the articles. It’s also worth doing a search for web sites similar to yours and taking a look at their articles for ideas. Keywords are an important factor and they should be used throughout the content of your website.
2. Web Site URL
Your web site’s URL can help you rank higher with the search engines if it contains your keywords. However, don’t think that naming your site after your keywords will always help your rankings – you need to do more than just that. But still, it is one of the factors in improving a search engine ranking.
3. Search Terms
Search terms should be written out in text, instead of graphics. If you use pictures, be sure to give them alt tags. If you want a good rank in search engines then these things that may seem small should be considered, as search engines can read the text but not the graphics.
4. Page Title
The title of your page is very important, and if you choose the title properly then it can surely make a big difference in search engine ranking. Terms such ‘free article on safe children's toys’, or ‘contact the children's toy expert today’ are good to use as titles on pages containing such content. The titles themselves are very specific to the page and also may not have much competition being as specific as they are. The title area is the most important place to include your keyword phrases, so make sure that you utilize it.
Master these four tips and you’ll be on your way to getting free traffic. Look for other tips to keep your site moving up.
=============================================
Xtream Business Opportunity Join Now for Free
Search engine rankings are an important factor to consider when you have a web site that needs more traffic. If your web site doesn’t have a good position in the rankings then it will be hard to find.
Since most searchers click on the first few results, you need to make sure that your web site is ranked highly enough so that people can easily find it on the first page of search engine results. Although no search engine optimization company can guarantee a high rankings for your site permanently, often times hiring a web marketing company will pay off many times over. For those of you doing it yourself or those of you that want to ensure your marketing company is doing a good job, here are some tips for raising the search engine rankings of your web site.
1. Content
Content is an important factor in high search engine rankings. Make sure that you have plenty of content throughout your site with your target keywords in the articles. It’s also worth doing a search for web sites similar to yours and taking a look at their articles for ideas. Keywords are an important factor and they should be used throughout the content of your website.
2. Web Site URL
Your web site’s URL can help you rank higher with the search engines if it contains your keywords. However, don’t think that naming your site after your keywords will always help your rankings – you need to do more than just that. But still, it is one of the factors in improving a search engine ranking.
3. Search Terms
Search terms should be written out in text, instead of graphics. If you use pictures, be sure to give them alt tags. If you want a good rank in search engines then these things that may seem small should be considered, as search engines can read the text but not the graphics.
4. Page Title
The title of your page is very important, and if you choose the title properly then it can surely make a big difference in search engine ranking. Terms such ‘free article on safe children's toys’, or ‘contact the children's toy expert today’ are good to use as titles on pages containing such content. The titles themselves are very specific to the page and also may not have much competition being as specific as they are. The title area is the most important place to include your keyword phrases, so make sure that you utilize it.
Master these four tips and you’ll be on your way to getting free traffic. Look for other tips to keep your site moving up.
=============================================
Xtream Business Opportunity Join Now for Free
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
What I Have Learned As A Beginner To Internet Online Business
Like tens of thousands of people who often venture online exploring ways to make a little extra money, I have been looking for ways that would allow me to eventually live a life with residual income and financial freedom.
Obviously, I did not know how except for the fact that many are making millions of dollars every year from Internet.
But I learned fast, after having paid a lot of money to the so-called Internet gurus. I realised that there were a lot of scams, hyped-up promises, and just plain sure-way-to-loose-your-hard-earned-money programs. Very quickly, it became obvious to me that the promises of make-tons-of-money-with-no-effort-all-for-free had to be challenged because this is not true at all! What you get for nothing would be nothing. I learnt now how I should look every time before I leapt.
Building a business online is just like building a brick-and-mortar business offline. So you need both a good plan and a marketable product. Some friends advised that I should build a website around my personal interest or hobbies because it’d be fun doing so. That way, when the going gets tough, the motivation to persevere would be more likely to prevail. However I found that my own interest and hobbies were not necessarily what the market was looking for. In fact, I realized that I should look at other people’s interest instead.
The easiest way to get into business online is through affiliate programs which allow you to sign up as an affiliate member. You earn a referral commission from selling the program owners’ products.
These products are usually information products such as electronic books (eBook) and software that can be delivered as a file that is then downloaded directly to your customers' computers. They could be repeatedly reproduced and downloaded and sold at no cost. There’s no packing, shipping and delivery cost. Owing to this, affiliate program owners usually pay their affiliates high commissions (50% or more).
I learnt that it is best for beginners to start by joining a few affiliate programs, followed by announcing this to as many friends as possible to prompt them to visit my websites.
At the same time I was strongly advised against the use of “Spam”. Suddenly I found my list of friends to be pathetically short! Hardly 100 names!
I was feeling really inadequate after finding that many Internet entrepreneurs actually had a mailing lists of well over 5000, 10,000, 100,000…….
To start off, I needed a website, although people do make money without a website. By joining an affiliate program I did not have to worry about creating a website of my own because many affiliate programs do offer websites for free.
However I was advised to learn how to modify the website to differentiate it from many others having the same program so that I would have some advantages over others.
As I said, I had a miserable mailing list hence I needed to build one for visitors by their subscribing to my online newsletters. Oh yes, I have heard it a thousand times in my short stay in this business – “The money is in the list...that all important list which begins the flow of "traffic" …No list...No traffic...No traffic...No sales..”
I send these people my regular newsletter via “autoresponder” provided by the program and over time, I hope to develop a relationship with many of the visitors.
A newsletter allows me to share information and resources with my subscribers resulting in a positive rapport, friendship and eventually trust.
There’s a 30-day guide which is really cool. It takes me step by step each day to improve my business incrementally. The tips and tricks given are especially for professional business working from home. It exposes me to many possibilities, among other things, of how to drive traffic to my site. And I find joy in doing so especially in my pyjamas!
The program allows me to join a discussion forum. It is like walking into a big library, the only difference is that this is better because all the members have similar interest i.e. Internet business. This is where I find answers and solutions to my questions and problems. I find active and successful members discussing their latest findings, for instance, the best websites and software to use to improve our businesses. Another advantage in taking part in the discussion is that other members or visitors get to know my website located in my “signature file”.
Yes, I also learnt how to place my adverts. Here are some of the things that I’ve looked into:
1) The various locations where I can place an ad such as newsgroups, forums, ezines, and web sites.
2) How to post information to a mailing list or newsgroup for free but using a signature file to promote my websites.
3) How the program helps me to set up autoresponders to take away the chore of responding to visitors manually.
4) How to write articles and submit them to article directories to get free advertisement for life.
5) I’ve created a Blog of my own. It is an excellent way to provide visitors and customers with information at their fingertips, just a click away. I keep it fresh and alive by posting interesting articles on Internet business on a regular basis. The articles in the Blog also offer me free advertisement because each article carries a link to my websites.
In conclusion, if you want to make money on the Internet, it is a real possibility. But please do not expect something for nothing. You need to invest in your effort, time, commitment and at least some financial input. Once you’ve decided, go for it and. …..DON'T EVER GIVE UP!
=======================================
Xtream Global Marketing Home Business Opportunity Click Here to Join Now
Obviously, I did not know how except for the fact that many are making millions of dollars every year from Internet.
But I learned fast, after having paid a lot of money to the so-called Internet gurus. I realised that there were a lot of scams, hyped-up promises, and just plain sure-way-to-loose-your-hard-earned-money programs. Very quickly, it became obvious to me that the promises of make-tons-of-money-with-no-effort-all-for-free had to be challenged because this is not true at all! What you get for nothing would be nothing. I learnt now how I should look every time before I leapt.
Building a business online is just like building a brick-and-mortar business offline. So you need both a good plan and a marketable product. Some friends advised that I should build a website around my personal interest or hobbies because it’d be fun doing so. That way, when the going gets tough, the motivation to persevere would be more likely to prevail. However I found that my own interest and hobbies were not necessarily what the market was looking for. In fact, I realized that I should look at other people’s interest instead.
The easiest way to get into business online is through affiliate programs which allow you to sign up as an affiliate member. You earn a referral commission from selling the program owners’ products.
These products are usually information products such as electronic books (eBook) and software that can be delivered as a file that is then downloaded directly to your customers' computers. They could be repeatedly reproduced and downloaded and sold at no cost. There’s no packing, shipping and delivery cost. Owing to this, affiliate program owners usually pay their affiliates high commissions (50% or more).
I learnt that it is best for beginners to start by joining a few affiliate programs, followed by announcing this to as many friends as possible to prompt them to visit my websites.
At the same time I was strongly advised against the use of “Spam”. Suddenly I found my list of friends to be pathetically short! Hardly 100 names!
I was feeling really inadequate after finding that many Internet entrepreneurs actually had a mailing lists of well over 5000, 10,000, 100,000…….
To start off, I needed a website, although people do make money without a website. By joining an affiliate program I did not have to worry about creating a website of my own because many affiliate programs do offer websites for free.
However I was advised to learn how to modify the website to differentiate it from many others having the same program so that I would have some advantages over others.
As I said, I had a miserable mailing list hence I needed to build one for visitors by their subscribing to my online newsletters. Oh yes, I have heard it a thousand times in my short stay in this business – “The money is in the list...that all important list which begins the flow of "traffic" …No list...No traffic...No traffic...No sales..”
I send these people my regular newsletter via “autoresponder” provided by the program and over time, I hope to develop a relationship with many of the visitors.
A newsletter allows me to share information and resources with my subscribers resulting in a positive rapport, friendship and eventually trust.
There’s a 30-day guide which is really cool. It takes me step by step each day to improve my business incrementally. The tips and tricks given are especially for professional business working from home. It exposes me to many possibilities, among other things, of how to drive traffic to my site. And I find joy in doing so especially in my pyjamas!
The program allows me to join a discussion forum. It is like walking into a big library, the only difference is that this is better because all the members have similar interest i.e. Internet business. This is where I find answers and solutions to my questions and problems. I find active and successful members discussing their latest findings, for instance, the best websites and software to use to improve our businesses. Another advantage in taking part in the discussion is that other members or visitors get to know my website located in my “signature file”.
Yes, I also learnt how to place my adverts. Here are some of the things that I’ve looked into:
1) The various locations where I can place an ad such as newsgroups, forums, ezines, and web sites.
2) How to post information to a mailing list or newsgroup for free but using a signature file to promote my websites.
3) How the program helps me to set up autoresponders to take away the chore of responding to visitors manually.
4) How to write articles and submit them to article directories to get free advertisement for life.
5) I’ve created a Blog of my own. It is an excellent way to provide visitors and customers with information at their fingertips, just a click away. I keep it fresh and alive by posting interesting articles on Internet business on a regular basis. The articles in the Blog also offer me free advertisement because each article carries a link to my websites.
In conclusion, if you want to make money on the Internet, it is a real possibility. But please do not expect something for nothing. You need to invest in your effort, time, commitment and at least some financial input. Once you’ve decided, go for it and. …..DON'T EVER GIVE UP!
=======================================
Xtream Global Marketing Home Business Opportunity Click Here to Join Now
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Traffic, Web Traffic Is The Key
Drive Traffic in the Direction that you want it go, Get Xtream Global Marketing Click here to join now!
........................................................
In the internet business there's a saying that goes something like "traffic is the key." As you know in order to make sales you have to have customers. On the internet the only way to have customers is to have visitors to your web site. And how does this happen? Well it CAN happen in several ways BUT some are worthless. Let's talk about those first...
Perhaps the most worthless is the random chance that a person will type the url to your web site. There really is no chance at all really save an act of God because why would they type something randomly? and why you? So people need to know who you are or what your product is in order to make their way to your site. In other words you need to advertise in order to create web traffic. A slightly better way is to have a link on another of your own, or somebody else's web site. The only Problem is in order to get people to your site there has to be people going to those other websites which again necessitates advertising. So "traffic is the key" but advertising is the key to traffic. So lets talk about advertising now.
Internet advertising is helped, actually driven by the search engines. The higher you rank on the search engine for a give entry the more people will visit your site. This is because people are lazy and don't want to work to find what they want to find. It also makes sense because everyone thinks that the top results are the most applicable to what they want, and this is the idea. So web traffic is the key, advertising is the key to web traffic, and ranking high on the search engine is the key to good advertising. So lets talk about search engine ranking now.
Search engine ranking is somewhat of a mystery and those who have figured out the most secrets are the best at advertising on the internet. Links to other pages is good, keyword relevance is good, and selling something that a lot of people want is good too. The other thing to remember is that it is pointless to get lots of people to see your page if they are not interested in what you are selling. This brings up the concept of targeted web traffic--getting people who want what you've got specifically to your site.
Anyway, these "gurus" who have been at it for years like to give out helpful information (at a price) and tools that make it easier to come up with effective sales sites. This product is one of those tools that helps to bring targeted web traffic to you, making you a more effective internet seller.
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Xtream Global Ultimate Affiliates Receive FREE Upgrades to more than 12 Traffic Exchanges join to today click here.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Why Submit Articles?
Xtream Global Marketing – USA based online Internet Advertising Agency-Online Super Store for Internet Marketers. Free to Join Take Action Now. Make Money at Home.
................................................
Knowing what you now know about the value of incoming links, how would you like to have your links promoted by hundreds and Thousands of internet marketers, some even emailing your articles to their lists of subscribers? These would all be one-way INCOMING links to your site, and it can be totally free, but for a small amount you can send them to thousands and go completely viral overnight!
That’s what we can do with articles!
An article is just a story about something you know about or are interested in. It can be as short as 300 words or as long as say 1,500 generally.
The best way I’ve found to write an article is to decide what I’m going to write about, and then think about how I would explain this story to a friend over the phone or in an email. I go over the conversation in my head then start writing without stopping to fix typos, spelling, grammar or even worrying about it making sense. If I head down a different path, and get off track, I keep going along with it and keep writing until I come back to the storyline.
After a few paragraphs I find I have trouble writing as quickly as my thoughts emerge, so I never have a problem with finding enough content to put in the article using this technique. I understand there are many other ways to write articles and loads of tips and tricks but just remember “the ONE thing” above “We must be able to start anything!”
After we have produced an Article we then need to get it published on the web with our signature containing a link back to our website!
===============================================
Xtream Global Home Based Business Opportunity Join Now for Free.
................................................
Knowing what you now know about the value of incoming links, how would you like to have your links promoted by hundreds and Thousands of internet marketers, some even emailing your articles to their lists of subscribers? These would all be one-way INCOMING links to your site, and it can be totally free, but for a small amount you can send them to thousands and go completely viral overnight!
That’s what we can do with articles!
An article is just a story about something you know about or are interested in. It can be as short as 300 words or as long as say 1,500 generally.
The best way I’ve found to write an article is to decide what I’m going to write about, and then think about how I would explain this story to a friend over the phone or in an email. I go over the conversation in my head then start writing without stopping to fix typos, spelling, grammar or even worrying about it making sense. If I head down a different path, and get off track, I keep going along with it and keep writing until I come back to the storyline.
After a few paragraphs I find I have trouble writing as quickly as my thoughts emerge, so I never have a problem with finding enough content to put in the article using this technique. I understand there are many other ways to write articles and loads of tips and tricks but just remember “the ONE thing” above “We must be able to start anything!”
After we have produced an Article we then need to get it published on the web with our signature containing a link back to our website!
===============================================
Xtream Global Home Based Business Opportunity Join Now for Free.
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google adsense,
targeted
Sunday, August 16, 2009
You Need Your Own Website Whether or Not You Sell Online
Xtream Global Marketing – Pace Setters for Internet Advertising
====================================
Whether your business exists solely on the internet or in a traditional bricks-and-mortar storefront, you will benefit from an online presence. Customers, potential employees or business partners and perhaps even investors can quickly and easily find out more about your business and the products or services you have to offer from your website.
Most affiliate marketers do not realize the importance of creating quality website content to the success of an affiliate business. Providing a constant stream of fresh, compelling content is vital to branding your name and your business. You can't do this with a cookiecutter affiliate website; you need one of your own.
Customers research and compare product specifications, quality, and prices. If you are an online affiliate marketer, a cookiecutter affiliate website will build the mailing list of the product owner; you need your own website to brand your name, your business, and your unique selling proposition. If you plan on selling offline, many of your customers will still appreciate being able to research from home.
Many consumers these days research products online before they buy from a bricks-and-mortar store, so if you provide them with the info they seek as well as the ability to purchase immediately, you may capture customers that would otherwise have ended up buying from your off-line competition.
A well-designed website can project the image and professionalism of a much larger company onto your little home business, so spend some time designing your site carefully.
Internet marketing research firms predict that the number of online consumers will grow at a rate of 30 to 50 percent over the next few years. These numbers alone should be enough to persuade you that your business should have a website presence.
A poorly designed website can ruin your business image by sending entirely the wrong message, so take the time to build a phenomenal site. There are many websites offering professionally-designed templates with prices from free on up. Then you need a domain name and hosting provider and grab a mentor while you're at it. You'll be up and running before you know it.
========================================
Xtream Global Marketing Work At Home Business Opportunity. Get Started Today Click Here !!!!
====================================
Whether your business exists solely on the internet or in a traditional bricks-and-mortar storefront, you will benefit from an online presence. Customers, potential employees or business partners and perhaps even investors can quickly and easily find out more about your business and the products or services you have to offer from your website.
Most affiliate marketers do not realize the importance of creating quality website content to the success of an affiliate business. Providing a constant stream of fresh, compelling content is vital to branding your name and your business. You can't do this with a cookiecutter affiliate website; you need one of your own.
Customers research and compare product specifications, quality, and prices. If you are an online affiliate marketer, a cookiecutter affiliate website will build the mailing list of the product owner; you need your own website to brand your name, your business, and your unique selling proposition. If you plan on selling offline, many of your customers will still appreciate being able to research from home.
Many consumers these days research products online before they buy from a bricks-and-mortar store, so if you provide them with the info they seek as well as the ability to purchase immediately, you may capture customers that would otherwise have ended up buying from your off-line competition.
A well-designed website can project the image and professionalism of a much larger company onto your little home business, so spend some time designing your site carefully.
Internet marketing research firms predict that the number of online consumers will grow at a rate of 30 to 50 percent over the next few years. These numbers alone should be enough to persuade you that your business should have a website presence.
A poorly designed website can ruin your business image by sending entirely the wrong message, so take the time to build a phenomenal site. There are many websites offering professionally-designed templates with prices from free on up. Then you need a domain name and hosting provider and grab a mentor while you're at it. You'll be up and running before you know it.
========================================
Xtream Global Marketing Work At Home Business Opportunity. Get Started Today Click Here !!!!
Saturday, August 08, 2009
Being Successful in Affiliate Marketing
HARNESS THE POWER OF THE INTERNET GET XTREAM
=================================
The best way to be successful in affiliate marketing is to understand the goods and services you are selling and match these goods and services to the correct audiences online. When you conduct research online, you will notice that people who have the same tastes in clothing, food, hobbies, and other pursuits congregate in the same areas. These areas are popular websites, chat rooms and open forums, and blog sites. Before joining any affiliate marketing program, you should investigate popular markets online to see what people are interested in buying. Once you have a better understanding of these groups, then you can choose a company to work for. This will make selling products much easier.
Depending on the time you have to devote to affiliate marketing, you may be able to join more than one program as long as the programs do not promote competing products. When you work for more than one company, your chances to increase your profits are much higher. By catering to different audiences online, you will be able to maximize your profits in very little time. For many in the affiliate marketing business, understanding the products and markets is the key to their success.
In addition to placing ads in various places online, you can also create your own website and market that as well. Your website can entice customers to purchase products from the company you are working for by providing additional information, articles, and other items. You can also prepare a monthly newsletter so customers will return often to purchase additional products. This will mean additional commissions each time you are successful in attracting repeat business. Marketing your website and the products are all you need to be successful in this field.
While there are many other home business ideas you can take advantage of, affiliate marketing is one of the most fun. As you conduct research, you may get your own ideas for products to sell online. Once you know how to find markets, you can begin targeting more markets in order to increase your earnings. Those who become experts in affiliate marketing are able to bring as much as they want each month. Being able to control your income and work the hours you want to work are just some of the big rewards you will receive when you join an affiliate marketing program. Companies reward those who perform well by offering them higher commissions, the ability to train others and earn a commission off their sales, and much more.
=================================
The best way to be successful in affiliate marketing is to understand the goods and services you are selling and match these goods and services to the correct audiences online. When you conduct research online, you will notice that people who have the same tastes in clothing, food, hobbies, and other pursuits congregate in the same areas. These areas are popular websites, chat rooms and open forums, and blog sites. Before joining any affiliate marketing program, you should investigate popular markets online to see what people are interested in buying. Once you have a better understanding of these groups, then you can choose a company to work for. This will make selling products much easier.
Depending on the time you have to devote to affiliate marketing, you may be able to join more than one program as long as the programs do not promote competing products. When you work for more than one company, your chances to increase your profits are much higher. By catering to different audiences online, you will be able to maximize your profits in very little time. For many in the affiliate marketing business, understanding the products and markets is the key to their success.
In addition to placing ads in various places online, you can also create your own website and market that as well. Your website can entice customers to purchase products from the company you are working for by providing additional information, articles, and other items. You can also prepare a monthly newsletter so customers will return often to purchase additional products. This will mean additional commissions each time you are successful in attracting repeat business. Marketing your website and the products are all you need to be successful in this field.
While there are many other home business ideas you can take advantage of, affiliate marketing is one of the most fun. As you conduct research, you may get your own ideas for products to sell online. Once you know how to find markets, you can begin targeting more markets in order to increase your earnings. Those who become experts in affiliate marketing are able to bring as much as they want each month. Being able to control your income and work the hours you want to work are just some of the big rewards you will receive when you join an affiliate marketing program. Companies reward those who perform well by offering them higher commissions, the ability to train others and earn a commission off their sales, and much more.
Labels:
Affiliate,
affiliate marketing,
Business,
hobbies,
Internet,
Marketing,
marketing online
Sunday, August 02, 2009
Windows Vista Ultimate Review

Xtream Global Marketing – USA based online Internet Advertising Agency-One-Stop Super Store for Internet Marketing Tools, Resources,plus More. Every Marketers Dream Come True. Work at Home Business Opportunity.
=======================================================
Windows Vista is Microsoft's first new operating system in more than five years and the successor to Windows XP. However, it is not worth rushing out to purchase. If you desperately need to buy a new PC (if your old one died or you've been waiting and waiting for Vista to be released), then by all means do so; there's nothing wrong with Windows Vista. But there's no one compelling feature within Windows Vista that cries out to switch over, neither the enhanced graphic capabilities (Aero) nor the improved system performance features (truthfully, our Windows XP doesn't crash). As for security, Microsoft's biggest improvements in Windows Vista are within the Enterprise or 64-bit editions, editions most home users will not be running. Windows Vista is not the Apple Mac OS X 10.4 killer one hoped for (or feared). Nor are there specific big-name software packages written exclusively for Windows Vista--most software available today is compatible with both Windows XP and Windows Vista. But the extensive tie-ins to Microsoft.com and Live.com, and the many, many interdependences upon Internet Explorer 7 left us desperately wanting more (and often best-of-breed) alternatives. Hard core Microsofties who live and breathe within the MSN, Live.com, and Microsoft desktop software ecosystem will rejoice with the release of Windows Vista, but for the rest of us who are product agnostic, who use Firefox, Google Desktop, ZoneAlarm, GMail, and Corel WordPerfect, Windows XP SP2 will suffice nicely until some killer program necessitates that we all upgrade to Windows Vista.
There are six major editions of Windows Vista; we're reviewing four. We chose not to review Windows Vista Enterprise (available only to volume license customers) and Windows Vista Starter (available only outside the United States). Windows Vista Ultimate includes everything, and this is the edition getting the most promotion from Microsoft. It is not the edition most people will find packaged on their shiny new PCs or will end up with after an upgrade of existing hardware. See our feature comparison chart to know which edition is right for your specific needs, and check the following individual reviews for more details:
Windows Vista Business
Windows Vista Home Premium
Windows Vista Home Basic
Setup and installation
The Windows Vista DVD disc includes a Windows Imaging (WIM) format of the code, so whether you buy the Home Basic edition or the Ultimate edition, the code remains the same; only the product key unlocks your specific set of features. This means users who opt for the lesser editions can always upgrade (assuming they have the proper hardware) by downloading some additional code and securing a new product key online. However, all features--even if you paid for them--are dependent on specific hardware configurations being present; if you don't have the proper graphics hardware, for example, you'll simply never see the Aero graphic effects on that old Dell computer in your basement.
Hardware requirements for Windows Vista should not be taken lightly. In a controversial move to garner positive reviews, Microsoft sent hundreds of bloggers (not including CNET) free copies of Windows Vista Ultimate; Microsoft did not send boxed copies, rather the software giant sent top-of-the-line Acer Ferrari laptops with the operating system preinstalled. So even Microsoft seems to admit that the best performance is only available on top-of-the-line machines manufactured within the last year or so.
That said, many people will still want to upgrade their current Windows XP SP2. This will keep all your current data and applications, importing them directly into the new operating system. To see which edition(s) of Windows Vista your current computer can handle, visit the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor to find specific hardware recommendations so you don't buy the wrong edition. Most people will find either Windows Vista Home Basic or Windows Vista Home Premium to be their best choice. While Windows Vista does make a backup of your previous operating system before installing, it is always recommended that you backup your current Windows XP system yourself, just in case.
Rather than upgrade, we recommend you perform a clean installation. With a clean installation, you keep all your current on the Windows XP drive and install only the data and applications you want to run on Windows Vista. A clean install can be accomplished by buying a new PC with Windows Vista already installed, partitioning an existing Windows XP machine to dual-boot into Windows Vista, or adding a new hard drive to an existing Windows XP machine.
Our clean installations took anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour, depending on the hardware in the system. It's pretty much an automated process, with the installer first copying the WIM image onto the new hard drive or partition then expanding that image. Once again, we experienced an uncomfortably long plateau at "Expanding: 27 percent"; as with previous builds, we waited between two and five minutes before the expansion continued. About halfway through, the installer reboots and continues the installation in Windows Vista.
During the installation, Windows Vista will load the drivers included within the installation image, but it will also download additional drivers from a much larger database at Microsoft. This assumes, however, that one has an always-on Internet connection; dial-up users may find that upon completion of the installation process some drivers are missing.
Once fully installed, Windows Vista first asks for your country or region, then time and currency, and, finally, the desired keyboard layout. Next, you'll choose a username, a user icon, and a password. Then select your desktop wallpaper and security settings: Automatic, Install Important Updates Only, or Ask Me Later. After reviewing the computer's time and date settings, there's one more message: "Please wait while Windows checks your computer's performance." Here, Microsoft grades your computer on a five-point scale, with the overall rating based on your system's lowest score (in our case, that was for the video card).
Windows Vista includes new musical tones written by veteran musician Robert Fripp. Compared to the familiar start-up tones of Windows XP, Windows Vista's are lighter, almost spritely. The sounds for User Account Control and Log Off are also perkier than those found in similar security warnings within Windows XP.
New on the Windows Vista desktop is a Welcome Center which contains links to frequently asked questions such as, "How do you configure your printer?" and "How do you connect to your Internet service?" There is also room for some sales opportunities, either with manufacturer specials or online offers from Microsoft, such as the Windows Live OneCare service. Frankly, we think it is better for you to look beyond the Windows ecosystem for e-mail, Internet browsers, and security applications.
After closing the Welcome Center, you'll notice to the far right there is a shaded sidebar populated with three example Gadgets ("widgets" to everyone else), tiny desktop applets that display content, such as RSS feeds. In one Gadget, a slide show of images from the sample photo library display; in the next, the current time; finally, there's a Gadget for subscribed RSS feeds. We downloaded and installed Firefox 2, made Firefox our default browser, and quickly set up a few RSS feed subscriptions. Guess what? The Windows Vista Gadget was unresponsive to our efforts, displaying only the default MSN feeds from Microsoft. Microsoft says the default RSS Gadget feeds off a common store of RSS feeds within Windows Vista, and firefox hasn't yet adopted the API for that store. You have to use Internet Explorer 7 or choose a Firefox-friendly Gadget instead. By clicking the + symbol atop the sidebar, you'll see a panel of available Gadgets, with a link out to the Web to find even more. The Gadgets are not fixed to the sidebar; they can be dragged across the desktop. And even the sidebar itself can be disabled to allow for a full desktop view. An icon located within the taskbar will restore the sidebar at any time.
The familiar Start menu features some cosmetic changes for Windows Vista. Aside from the distinctive rounded icon, the Start menu now includes a built-in Search function. We would have preferred to have access to Search directly from the desktop rather than digging down a level or two. The All Programs list now displays as an expandable/collapsible directory tree, something Windows should have offered years ago. The new Start menu is divided in half, with access to documents, pictures, music, games, recent items, My Computer, network, Control Panel, default programs, and Help along the right-hand side.
Also new within Start is an Instant Off button. This button caches all your open files and processes, allowing you to turn off your laptop or desktop quickly without all the "cleaning up files" messages you see in previous versions. We like the feature, but on our Acer Travelmate 8200, Instant Off and closing the lid to hibernate sometimes produced limbo states where the laptop simply wouldn't wake up again, forcing us to reboot.
In Windows Vista, files become unmoored from the traditional directory tree structure--kind of. The more ambitious plan of including a whole new file system was scrapped early on; instead, Windows Vista relies on metatags, which are keywords linked to files to make them searchable. With metatags, you can create virtual file folders based on a variety of search terms. Say you're doing a report on mountains, any file that is keyword-enabled to include "mountains" will be grouped into a virtual folder without physically dragging that file to a new location. The downside is that older files (say you upgraded your system from Windows XP or imported data from an earlier version of Windows) will have to be retroactively metataged in order to be searched. Also different is the file path displayed within Windows Explorer. Gone are the backslashes, replaced with arrows that offer drop-down menus of alternative folders. We liked this efficient feature.
Finally, there's a compatibility wizard buried deep within Windows Vista. Most Windows XP applications we loaded performed just fine. Operating under the hood, Windows Vista convinces native Windows XP applications that they're running on Windows XP. Should you need to run an older application, say from Windows 95, the compatibility wizard allows you to tweak the display resolution and emulate Windows 95 for that program. For example, we were able to run a Windows 95-optimized game demo on our Windows Vista test system.
Features
There are too many individual features within Windows Vista Ultimate Edition to call out--seriously. However, our gut feeling is that most of the significant bells and whistles are designed for the Enterprise-level customers, not the home user. Having a large number of features should not be confused with actually providing significant value to all users across the board. We would have preferred fewer features executed extremely well rather than an uneven mix of this and that, a one-size-fits-all operating system. And we disagree with Microsoft's seemingly arbitrary division of features within individual editions.
Common to all editions of Windows Vista are ad hoc backup and recovery, instant Search, Internet Explorer 7 browser, Windows Media Player 11, Windows Mail e-mail client, Windows Calendar, Windows Photo Gallery, performance tuning and self-diagnostics, Internet protocol IPv6 and IPv4 support, Windows ReadyDrive, a maximum of 4GB RAM support on 32-bit editions (up to 128GB RAM on some 64-bit editions), Windows Sync Center for mobile devices, Windows Mobility Center for presentations on the road, User Account Control security protection, Windows Security Center, Windows Defender antispyware, Windows Firewall, Windows Meeting Space for ad hoc wireless meetings, Remote Desktop for working from home, XPS document support for PDF-like files, improved peer-to-peer networking, improved VPN support, and improved power management. Included within certain editions (and thus also included within the Ultimate edition) are Windows Media Center, Windows Tablet PC, Windows Movie Maker, Windows DVD Maker, Parental Controls, Windows SideShow for remote gadgets, domain join for Windows Small Business Server, Group Policy support, Client-side file caching, Roaming User Profiles for remote server access, Windows Fax and Scan, Windows ShadowCopy to create file backups, Windows Rights Management Services to protect documents, Windows BitLocker hard drive encryption, integrated smart card management, and various Windows Ultimate Extras to be named later. Despite many feature changes within Windows Vista, Microsoft has held onto its original marketing promise of providing users with Clear, Confident, and Connected solutions.
For Clear, Microsoft cites its new Aero graphics. Aero is part of the Windows Presentation Foundation, a subgroup of the .Net Foundation Framework, an underlying foundation for developers to build new applications. One applet is the New York Times Times Reader, the first of many products written exclusively for Windows Vista but hardly a compelling reason by itself to upgrade. Though video playback and, yes, even the tiny icons on Windows Vista are now crisp and colorful with Aero, unless you watch YouTube videos all day, you won't really need Aero, nor will you miss the tiny preview windows enabled on your desktop display. Also new is Microsoft's Adobe PDF-like file format called XPS (Extensible Page System); however, any Windows XP SP2 machine can view XPS-created pages with downloads of the .Net 3 Framework Foundation and the Internet Explorer 7 browser.
For Confident, Microsoft touts new security enhancements within Windows Vista. You shouldn't encounter User Account Control (UAC) except when changing system configurations or installing new software, and even then, wouldn't you--in this age of downloadable spyware--prefer to know when an executable file is about to run? While UAC notifies you of pending system changes, it doesn't always require a password. Microsoft's more controversial method to lock down the system kernel, PatchGuard, is only available in the 64-bit editions of Windows Vista; most home users will not run these editions. Another celebrated security feature works only within Windows Mail, which most people are unlikely to use. And finally, the jury is still out on whether Internet Explorer 7 is more secure than, say, Firefox 2. Windows Vista also includes a built-in but limited two-way firewall and free Windows Defender antispyware, which ranked poor in competitive testing done by Download.com.
For Connected, Microsoft points to the new peer-to-peer possibilities, some of which are the result of its acquisition of Groove several years ago. From within Windows Explorer (which displays different toolbar options for exploring documents, photos, or music) you can move any file into a Public Folder and then mark the file or folder for sharing on a network. Within the Business and Ultimate editions you can further mark individual files for remote access.
Performance
Upon installation, Windows Vista rates each system's overall hardware performance, with the final score reflecting your system's lowest individual score. This is handy. For example, if you suspect that everything's running a little slow, you might find that your hard drive is returning the lowest score. Windows Vista will then recommend a faster hard drive or a drive with larger compatibility. Mostly, though, the video card will be the sore spot for most users. There's also an event log viewer to show, for example, after a specific software install your system performance started to degrade, and that uninstalling the software may restore your overall performance.
Under the hood, Microsoft has moved device drivers for DVD burners and printers out of the system kernel; Microsoft says that a majority of system crashes can be traced to improperly installed third-party device drivers. Thus Windows Vista hopes to vanquish the dreaded Blue Screen of Death common to earlier releases of Windows. Indeed, after testing several early builds, we found Windows Vista to be remarkably stable and robust.
Support
Along with the performance monitors, Microsoft has improved the Help section considerably. There is a static FAQ, but it also links to Microsoft online and allows outreach to other users for help, either via a forum or direct PC-to-PC help. Of these, we really like a feature available on some, not all, FAQs that allows you to automate the solution by executing a script. This method doesn't teach you how to do it in the future, but it will accomplish the task at hand. For example, if you choose to update a device driver, Windows Vista will darken the desktop; highlight and open the Start menu, the Control Panel, and the Device Manager; then pause to ask you what device you want to update. It's like having a technician at your desktop, walking you though the process. There's an increasing reliance on user-generated support forums, which leads us to believe that Microsoft is shying away from its own live technical support. At press time, Microsoft's final support policy was unavailable.
Conclusion
Perhaps we're spoiled, but after more than five years of development, there's a definite "Is that all?" feeling about Windows Vista. Like cramming an info-dump into a book report the night before it's due, there certainly are a lot of individual features within the operating system, but the real value lies in their execution--how the user experiences (or doesn't experience) these--and like the info-dump, we came away shaking our heads, disappointed. Compared with Mac OS X 10.4, Windows Vista feels clunky and not very intuitive, almost as though it's still based on DOS (or at least the internal logic that made up DOS). Despite the addition of a system-wide, built-in Search, and various efforts to break away from staidly old directory trees, you still need to drill down one level to even access Search. And there are far too many dependencies on Microsoft products; this is not a very objective operating system, as preference is always given to Microsoft products (of which there are many), from MSN Search to RSS feeds only from Internet Explorer. But is Windows Vista a bad operating system? No. It's just a disappointment for PC users who hoped that Microsoft would deliver something truly exciting to finally leapfrog ahead of Apple. They failed. But stick around; this is just Windows Vista 1.0. Windows Vista Service Pack 1 is due out sometime before the end of the year. Windows Vista SP1 promises to fix what's known to be wrong within Windows Vista and should offer a few concrete reasons to switch.
Monday, January 14, 2008
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