Technology at Berkeley Site Navigation:
Related Links:
Q: Am I licensed to use MS Windows Vista already?
A: If your department participates in the Microsoft Consolidated Campus Agreement (MCCA), then you are licensed. If your department does not participate in MCCA and is considering upgrading to Vista, now would be a good to consider the advantages of moving to MCCA. It is important to note that there are a number of versions of Vista. Information about the different versions can be found in the Versions section of What is MS Vista. Details about the different ways to purchase Vista (MCCA vs. Select) can be found in the Licensing & Activation section.
Q: Will my hardware and drivers work with Vista?
A: There have been a number of questions about what hardware is needed to run Vista Enterprise. For the most part, computers purchased in the past 2-3 years should work fine. The one issue machines will most likely encounter is a video card/system that can't take advantage of all the features of the Windows Aero graphics system. These features are not at all necessary to run Vista in a work environment. If you are unsure, Microsoft offers a tool called Windows Updgrade Advisor, which provides a compatibility report on hardware and drivers.
Q: Will my applications work with Vista?
A: A Vista applications compatibility chart is posted on the UC Berkeley CalShare Windows Vista site. There you can see names of and results for applications that have been tested to date. The list will be constantly updated as we continue testing and collecting test results from other sources (e.g. from colleagues at other campuses). Common productivity applications and most campus-licensed software have already been tested. If you have done application testing and don't see results already posted on the CalShare site, we encourage you to add them to the list.