Arbitron Software and Microsoft Windows Vista™

This page is dedicated to providing you with information regarding Arbitron software and Windows Vista, Microsoft’s newest operating system.

Windows XP Professional Remains the Recommended Operating System
Frequently Asked Questions
Application Summary
Windows Vista Version Summary
Get Additional Support

Windows XP Professional Remains
the Recommended Operating System

Arbitron recommends that clients who plan to purchase a new computer have it installed with Microsoft Windows XP Professional. See the helpful purchasing hints in the FAQ section regarding purchasing a computer with Windows XP Professional.

Arbitron began testing its programs on Windows Vista in mid-2006. That process continues and is expected to run throughout 2007. So far many programs have required little or no changes to accommodate Windows Vista; others will require significant code changes to work with Windows Vista.

Whether or not an Arbitron program will be Windows Vista compatible will be handled on a case-by-case basis. Please check the Application Summary at the bottom of the page for a program-by-program summary.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Why are you not making all programs Windows Vista compatible?

Arbitron is in the process of streamlining its software offerings. This will allow us to offer our clients a simplified approach to software and funnel the “best of” features from multiple applications into fewer, yet more powerful, programs. As part of this process, some programs will be retired in the near future. Putting effort into programs with short shelf lives takes away from the opportunity to bring new, exciting and requested features to our clients.

We also factored into our decision the pace of Windows Vista acceptance in the business community. History has shown that business users are typically slower adopters of a new Microsoft operating system. It’s very possible that some of our programs with short shelf lives will be retired before Windows Vista is the business community’s operating system of choice. See the Application Summary for program-specific information.

I thought all new computers only came with Windows Vista. How can I get a new computer with Windows XP?

Be prepared to shop for Windows XP and ask for it.
Don’t accept the statement “Microsoft doesn’t offer XP anymore”; Microsoft has committed to offer Windows XP through 12/31/2007.
If you shop online, check the “business” site (not the “home” site) of the major computer distributors. On one manufacturer’s Web site, the home computers offered only Windows Vista, while the business computers offered Windows XP almost exclusively.
You may have to avoid the local “big-box” stores—their staffs may not be equipped to handle your needs. See the second point above.

What application versions will be supported?

All applications that become Windows Vista compatible will be compatible with the Windows Vista Business version.

Regarding Windows Vista Ultimate and Windows Vista Enterprise:

Some applications will support them. Others will not.
See the Windows Vista Version Summary for details.

What versions will not be supported in any applications?

At this point we do not plan to support:

Windows Vista Basic
Windows Vista Home Premium

Although Arbitron applications may run on these unsupported versions of Windows Vista, Arbitron will not offer telephone or on-site support for issues that arise due to operating system incompatibility. Users who load or run an Arbitron application on either of these operating systems do so at their own risk.

Where can I get additional information on the different versions of Windows Vista?

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/editions/default.mspx

Why aren’t you supporting the home editions of Windows Vista?

Arbitron applications are designed to perform on business computers and operating systems. As implied by their names, Windows Vista Basic and Windows Vista Home Premium Editions are not designed for business purposes.

Application Summary

Product (listed alphabetically)	Is the most recent version Windows Vista compatible?	Will this product be Windows Vista compatible?	If so, when and in what version?	Notes
MediaMasterSM	Unknown. Not fully tested.	TBD
Media Professional®	No known issues at this time. Not yet fully tested.	TBD	v. 10.4 Releases 7/07	Help files require a patch. Special install instructions when using a Windows Vista network.
PPM Analysis Tool™	No known issues at this time. Not yet fully tested.	Yes	TBD
PrintPlus®	No	Yes	v. 9.0 (late summer 2007)
QualitapSM	Yes, v. 10.0 (for Windows Vista Business only).	Yes		Support for additional versions of Windows Vista to be added in a future release.
SmartPlus®	No	Yes	v. 9.0 (late summer 2007)
SmartReportsSM	No (dependency on SmartPlus)	Yes	v. 2.0 (late summer 2007)	SmartReports has a dependency upon Microsoft® IIS, which is not part of Windows Vista Home versions.
Tapscan™	Unknown. Not fully tested.	Yes	v. 9.7 (July 2007)	Not recommended to load on a Windows Vista machine at this point.
Tapscan Custom CoverageSM	Yes, v. 3.2	Yes
TVScan®	Unknown. Not fully tested.	TBD		Not recommended to load on a Windows Vista machine at this point.
Zipcode Analyzer™	Unknown. Not fully tested.	TBD

WINDOWS VISTA VERSION SUMMARY :

If a program will be made Vista compatible, the table below shows which
version(s) of Vista will be supported. Please see the Application Summary table regarding the Vista compatibility status for a given application.

Application	Windows Vista Basic	Windows Home Premium	Windows Vista Business	Windows Vista Ultimate	Windows Vista Enterprise
MediaMaster	No	No	TBD	No	No
Media Professional	No	No	Yes	No	No
PPM Analysis Tool	No	No	Yes	No	No
PrintPlus	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Qualitap	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
SmartPlus	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
SmartReports	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Tapscan	No	No	Yes	No	No
Tapscan Custom Coverage	No	No	Yes	No	No
TVScan	No	No	TBD	No	No
Zipcode Anlayzer	No	No	TBD	No	No

Additional Support

Additional support is available from Arbitron Customer Support at 1-800-543-7300.

Windows Vista™ is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.