Is there any reason (licensing etc.) that I couldn’t use Vista Home edition for a small business? or Do I need to get the Vista business edition?

No reason whatsoever......not to !

No legal reason prevents you to use Vista Home Edition to run your business. The Home Edition lacks some features Microsoft supposes to be of interest for business only, i.e. the capability to join to hierarchical domain, the built-in fax servuce, enhanced security architecture and so on. As counterpart the Business Edition lacks multimedia tools as they are not allowed in a working environment. The Vista Ultimate offers the full spectrum of facilities. In one word the Vista multiple editions are guided by commercial strategies but have nothing to do with legal issues. So choose the Vista Edition besst suited to your purposes, either they are personal or related to a small business.

I agree with the above. BUT why Vista while the much better Windows 7 will become available just 17 days from today? i_Xp/VistaUser

The location of the computer makes no difference. As to how you got the dvd may matter. You can't put a OEM DVD on another brand or type of computer. I sure wouldn't buy Vista!! I agree. The issue at a company is things like Active Directory integration, Remote Desktop, IIS, and better file granularity.None are supported in the Home edition. Contact your system admin for more details. If you are at a small office I suspect you can use Vista all day long. Learn how to use best practices to help avoid data loss. Playing to the angels Les Paul (1915-2009)