14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has poured a consistent amount of effort into smoothing out the transition from Windows XP to its latest and most secure platform to date, Windows Vista. With in excess of 82% of the world's desktops running XP, Microsoft understood it had to ensure support for the migration to Windows Vista. The fact of the matter is that Vista will continue to erode XP's market share and to take the place of its predecessor, and this fact has become obvious as Windows XP has dropped from 85.30% in December 2006 to 82.65% in April 2007. At the same time, Vista has exploded from 0.16% in December of last year to 3.02% this April.
This is why Microsoft has made available a complete suite of no less than nine free tools designed to streamline the deployment and management of Windows Vista. Windows senior product manager Alex Heaton promised that participants at the Microsoft's Tech-Ed 2007 conference at the start of the upcoming month will be spoiled with DVDs containing all the free Windows Vista deployment tools. However, you certainly don't have to wait, or even go to Tech-Ed 2007 in order to get your hands on the goods in question.
Following the first 100 days of availability, Windows Vista has delivered a superb performance. Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates was the one to reveal that approximately 40 million licenses of Vista have been shipped worldwide in the first five weeks. This has indeed ensured that Microsoft has moved past Linux and Mac OS X with the Vista installed base.
Below you will be able to access the full list of Windows Vista free deployment tools along with download links and a short description from Microsoft.
1. Microsoft Solution Accelerator for Business Desktop Deployment (BDD) 2007 - Download planning, building, and technical guidance, templates, and scripts to facilitate deployment of Windows Vista and the 2007 Microsoft Office system.
2. Windows Vista Hardware Assessment - The Windows Vista Hardware Assessment solution accelerator is an inventory, assessment, and reporting tool that will find and determine if computers on a network are ready to run the Windows Vista operating system.
3. Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit 5.0 - The Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT) version 5.0 contains the necessary tools and documentation to evaluate and mitigate application compatibility issues before deploying Microsoft Windows Vista, a Windows Update, or a new version of Windows Internet Explorer in your environment.
4. Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor - The Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor will help you to determine if your Windows XP-based PC can run Windows Vista. You can also use the Upgrade Advisor to determine if your Windows Vista-based PC is ready for an upgrade to a more powerful edition of Windows Vista.
5. Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 - Virtual PC 2007 is a powerful software virtualization solution that allows you to run multiple PC-based operating systems simultaneously on one workstation, providing a safety net to maintain compatibility with legacy applications while you migrate to a new operating system.
6. Volume Activation Management Tool (VAMT) 1.0 (x86) - The Volume Activation Management Tool enables IT professionals to automate and centrally manage the volume activation process using a Multiple Activation Key (MAK). VAMT v1.0 is only available as a US-EN (x86) release.
7. Key Management Service (x86) for Windows Server 2003 SP1 and Later - Key Management Service for Windows Server 2003 SP1 and later enables enterprise customers to activate Windows Vista Volume Licensing client machines.
8. Microsoft Windows Key Management Service Management Pack for Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 - Monitor and report the health of Microsoft Windows Key Management Services ability to support Windows client activation requests in volume licensed environments.
9. Windows PowerShell 1.0 - the new command line shell and scripting language for Windows Vista.