After reading over 30 or so post in other forums where folks are asking how to open up the case just to get to the Vista DVD inside, I decided to help out a little..
Most people have spent days, and in some cases even weeks pulling and yanking on the case, pinching the tabs on the swinging door etc.
1. On the top of the box, cut along the grooves on either side of the Microsoft Certificate of Authenticity label.
2. On the top left coner of the plastic case you will see a small piece of RED flimsy tape or tab just kinda hanging out of the case itself. Peel the red tabbed label off the front of the box and discard.
3. Holding the box with the Windows logo facing you, grasp the red tab on the top of the box, and pull it to the right to open the box as shown here.
HAHA i did my work experience in Microsoft a while back, when in the package design section for a day we were shown a variety of cases, none of the students had even the slightest clue how to open the packaging!(my girlfriend thought there was a box inside it and the plastic outside was just a security container!- because you couldn't open it!) The look on the guys(microsoft designer) face was priceless! Needless to say we came up with a recommendation that lots of "PULL HERE" sticker should be added, and sure enough we saw them on the packages a while after-Fmjc is living proof! :D
I would have to agree that the "longform case" as i beleive it is called is pretty cool, not to mention the shiny(on both sides) DVD