Table 1-8: Reliability Features
| Feature | Windows 8 | Windows 8 Pro | Windows RT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Push Button Reset | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Connected Standby | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Table 1-9: Power User Features
| Feature | Windows 8 | Windows 8 Pro | Windows RT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Language packs | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Better multiple monitor support | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Table 1-10: Business Features
| Feature | Windows 8 | Windows 8 Pro | Windows RT |
|---|---|---|---|
| BitLocker and BitLocker To Go | - | Yes | - |
| Boot from VHD | - | Yes | - |
| Client Hyper-V | - | Yes | - |
| Domain Join | - | Yes | - |
| Encrypting File System (EFS) | - | Yes | - |
| Group Policy | - | Yes | - |
| Remote Desktop (host) | - | Yes | - |
| Remote Desktop (client) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| VPN client | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Offline Files | - | Yes | - |
Choosing Between Windows 8 and Windows 8 Pro
Now that you are armed with the information in the previous tables, choosing between Windows 8 and Windows 8 Pro should be relatively straightforward. You just need to consider whether you need any of the following Pro-only features. If you do, then you should get Windows 8 Pro.
• Upgrades from Windows 7 Professional, Ultimate: If you intend to perform an in-place upgrade with an existing PC and are currently running Windows 7 Professional or Ultimate, you will need to purchase Windows 8 Pro.
• BitLocker and BitLocker To Go: These features provide full-disk encryption for fixed and removable disks, respectively, providing protection for your data even when the drive is removed and accessed from elsewhere.
• Client Hyper-V: Microsoft’s server-based virtualization solution makes its way to the Windows client for the first time, providing a powerful, hypervisor-based platform for creating and managing virtual machines.
• Boot from VHD: This new capability allows you to create a virtual hard disk, or VHD, in Client Hyper-V and then boot your physical PC from this disk file rather than from a physical disk.
• Domain join: If you need to sign in to an Active Directory-based domain with Windows 8, you will need Windows 8 Pro (or Enterprise).
• Encrypting File System: EFS is somewhat de-emphasized in Windows 8 thanks to BitLocker and BitLocker To Go, but it provides a way to encrypt individual drives, folders, or even files, protecting them from being accessed externally should the drive be removed from your PC.
• Group Policy: Microsoft’s policy-based management technology requires an Active Directory domain and thus Windows 8 Pro.
Remote Desktop (host): While any Windows 8 PC or device can use a Remote Desktop client to remotely access other PCs or servers, only Windows 8 Pro can host such a session, allowing you or others to remotely access your own PC.
All of the aforementioned features are discussed in Chapter 14.
• Windows Media Center: For a small fee, Windows 8 Pro users can purchase Windows Media Center, a feature that used to be included in higher-end versions of Windows. This feature is not available to Windows 8 (or Windows RT for that matter). And it hasn’t been upgraded since Windows 7 shipped.
And that’s it. It really hasn’t been this easy to choose between Windows product editions in over a decade.
What’s Unique in Windows 8 Enterprise?
Windows 8 Enterprise is a superset of Windows 8 Pro. That is, it includes all of the features and capabilities in Windows 8 Pro plus provides some unique new features of its own. These include: