VISTA general impression

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I'm not sweating the resource use.. just wondering where the increased
functionality is?
Also, I agree that OS's will not get smaller but they can and should get
more efficient to match what has happened on the hardware side of computing.
Every change involves a learning curve which involves the resource of time.
And as you wisely pointed out Alan, time is a key resource.
Change for the sake of form and instead function is not just a waste of
hardware, it also waste time in needless learning curves. Power users do
care about function instead of form leading the way on improvments.
 
Tons of coolness in Vista.

- Many device drivers have been moved out of kernel mode into user-mode,
making the system less prone to blue screens and able to recover better when
things mess up (ie sound card, video card, etc)
- New WDDM display driver technology: The new "visual candy" isn't just a
theme - it takes advantage of a NEW WAY of outputting to the screen. It
would be too much to explain it here, but suffice it to say that it beats
Mac's OSX display pipeline and earlier Windows display pipelines hands-down.
- Completely re-architectured network stack that allows auto-tuning and uses
new algorithms to signifigantly increase throughput over the network
compared to XP, especially over high latency links. Also, the network stack
can run on more than one processor (in the past, it was locked onto one
processor, as is the case for most other OS'es), so Vista is capable of 10GE
networks and beyond.
- Re-architectured sound subsystem that supports hi-fi sound natively now
(this used to have to be hacked up by the hardware developers and didn't
work like it should), and is a more performant model. one of the end-user
benefits of this is you can change the volume of individual programs without
modifying other programs volume.
- Improvements in NTFS allow applications to use transactions. In the past,
NTFS only ensured its metadata was consistant, and you still ran the risk of
loosing file data if you lost power. Now, applications can use database-like
transactioning so if it looses power its files will be in a consistant
state.
- System Restore uses a service called "volume shadow copy" to work. This is
a tool that tracks changes that you make to files in the background, saving
old versions of the file up to a certain point. The way it works is at the
filesystem block level, and only tracks the parts of the file that change -
using a lot less disk space than the previous implementation. It works MUCH
MUCH better than before. Also, you can access these previous versions of
your files thru the shell - right-click a file, click properties, and click
previous versions. Even works on folders.
- Offline files works alot better - when syncronizing files to a server, it
only uploads the parts of the files that change (lots faster). Plus, the UI
has been updated to be much more intuitive.
- New DISK I/O services allows programs to control the priority of their
disk access. This allows disk-intensive programs such as disk defragmneter
to run in the background at low priority, but when you start using the disk
the defragmenter backs off and lets you get your work done. The indexer also
does this, and windows also makes startup programs do this as well - so
these things can run without affecting your ability to use your computer.
- Perf - many improvements in the way windows internally allocates and
manages memory
- New color mapping technology allows high-contrast monitors and printers to
work
- New print spooling language allows more precise printing and interop
- Native support for *correct* high-dpi scaling of the display. The OS is no
longer tied to pixels - it will look great on tomarrow's high-dpi monitors.
- UAC (User Account Control) allows users to control which programs have
admin access to the system, preventing programs from accessing the computer
in the background without user consent
- Metadata support built-in to explorer and search indexer - add metadata to
your files and use explorer UI to list and sort files based on their
metadata tags
- New search indexer allows awesome new UI called "stack by" and virtual
folders. Stack by allows you to group the files inside of a folder into
"stacks" on-the-fly, that act like folders based on any property you want -
size, type, etc. Virtual Folders are saved searches that look like a folder.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head.

And, in response to a "new and improved product" should do more on less
resources - BULL! If everybody thought like that we'd still be using 2 MHz
processors on a text-based display. Software is an abstraction layer to
hardware. You can't have a crazy complex software without a complex enough
hardware layer beneath it to form the basis for the abstraction layer. You
can't build a large house without the propper foundation.
 
I must admit to having encountered a few "crashes" on MS stuf and also
on non-MS stuff.

For some of the non-MS stuff the application keeps on running. For Word
2007 beta a message appears that it has stopped responding, closes and
opens and runs as if nothing ever happened.

Now that seems sorta cool at this stage in the development of an OS. A
self-healing OS?
 
Thanks Jimmy.. this is exactly what I was looking for; a real run down on
just what the added functionality is. Now I can believe the extra 8 GB or
so for the OS isn't just bloted programming...
 
Just for the record; MS ACCESS has done this for the last 2 versions.. I
think, I can't remember just when an app. crash restarted ACCESS with your
work saved and recoverable. The same applies with the later versions of MS
Word.
 
The new security goes beyond what you can achieve with XP running as a
limited user. Drivers and services have better security. User accounts no
onger run in session 0. Vista has Address Space Layout Randomization. Vista
has Bitlocker. Vista has parental controls. These are just a few of the
improved or new security features. Here's a good list of what's new.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Features_new_to_Windows_Vista
 
Ok here's some more I just though of :)

- You can use USB thumbsticks as extra memory for your computer if you are
in a pinch - this will theoretically be faster than the system having to use
the hard drive.
- Windows supports true image-based backups of your computer now - called
Complete PC Backup. It will take a snapshot of all your hard drives (if you
want), save them as a disk image, and either burn it to a DVD or save it to
a hard disk. If you chose the latter, you can even do incremental backups.
Restore is easy - pop in your windows dvd, boot to recovery, and perform the
complete pc recovery. You can even recover to different hard disks that are
either the same size or larger than the ones backed up, and it works fine
with Windows' software implementation of RAID.
- Services now run in the context of another window session, which adds a
huge layer of seperation between services and normal programs that didn't
exist before.
- Windows now enforces the idea of integrity - every program runs in a
certain integrity mode (ie low rights, standard rights, and admin rights).
Every securable object on the system (such as folders, files, registry keys,
etc) also have an integrity value that specifies the minimum integrity level
a program needs to modify it. For example, a low-integrity program cannot
write to standard or admin-level objects. Windows also seperates different
integrity levels, so for example, a low rights program cannot "hijack" a
standard or admin rights window. This is how the new protected mode in IE7
works on Vista, an MS expects more internet-based applications to
voluntarily run their programs in low-rights mode in order to protect the
system.
- The hibernation technology in vista is much faster.
- Windows supports a new technology that allows many more updates to happen
without restarting the computer or the program affected. This goes for
windows OS updates as well as third-party applications. Imagine - applying a
hotfix to word without shutting it down. The application has to support
this - it won't work on older applications.

- JB

Vista Support FAQ
http://www.jimmah.com/vista/
 
Jimmy,
All well and good, if it WORKED.
;um;yes things are new;and yes there are lots of innovations;theoretically
good;however;I think people ;unlike yourself;and other pro's;ie power users
it ppl etc. are not at all with UAC;not ONE bit. All well and good in
theory;and maybe even practice; but more than most will see UAC as a pain in
the *** and;if given the opportunity;ie home use;even some admin ppl; will
IMMEDIATELY turn it off.
Moving the graphics to the gpu makes sense;however;no;zero;zilch flash
of brilliance with Aero; Come on;if Mac can do visual stuff like 3d
icons;what's MS's deal with the "eye candy" in Aero??;LAME
Network; ok I'll give Network a break; I realize a new stack is a hard thing
to get 100% good with. However,wi-fi;which many ppl are moving to;should be
a concern;as at this point;in development;encryption is still causing
issues;drops;cloggin the network etc. The new stack is FAST; I like that;and
pretty solid now, and all in all i'de give Network a B+;(just because it's
still beta;and it's not 100% yet)
The other innovations;that you point out,may all be great;getting to
know how to effectively do stuff;in anything new;is always a challenge.
Jeff
 
Jimmy.. your website is a must for VISTA newbies... it's great. I must say
theat program access permissions and I/O management is sounding more and
more like main frame land... I think I'm gonna like exploring VISTA...
thanks again for your input here and your website
 
The entire tcp/ip stack has been rewritten. This is reported by MS to
result in more robust connectivity and downloads speeds of x2 to x10 of XP.
And of course ipv6 is now native.
 
I'm not quite sure what you mean about 3D icons. Do you mean vector-drawn
icons? I think MS is considering doing these in the next release.

As for Aero being lame - that's kind of a personal opinion. The technology
used to show aero is really very cool.

As for UAC, I don't think very many "home users" will do many tasks that
will cause this thing to pop up. And, I don't see that as the big problem
for Home users.

I think the biggest problem for home users will be applications that
improperly assume that they have admin power and so do NOT ask for the admin
power. Now, I know MS will do their best to find these apps and put an
"application compatability shim" into Vista to recognize them and make them
work without the user ever knowing about it, but there will still be alot of
programs that MS won't get to.

These programs will throw an error saying "admin needed" or whatnot and the
user will be confused because they are an admin.

However, this is a transitory pain point caused by the thousands of
applications that do not follow Microsoft's (6-year-old) guidelines on how
to program against modern versions of Windows.

So, as we move into the release time-frame and after, we will see most
programs designed not to use admin powers, and the ones that do will
automatically ask for it, and things will be generally much more well
behaved than what we have now.

As for power users or sysadmins, I think there will be a line drawn in the
sand - some of them will be UAC proponents (like yours truely), and some
will absolutely hate it. I don't think there will be a middle way.

Kind of like a Captain Kirk vs Captain Picard issue I suppose ... however, I
think in the end everyone will agree it is better than the way it was in XP.

As for your other issues, these are beta issues with the software, problems
caused by beta drivers, and maybe some hardware issues as well. because of
all the changes that has been made in Vista, the device manufacturers are
going to be doing some major work to get their stuff to work right, and you
are seeing that unfinished work right now.

As for using all the new features, you are very correct - finding them and
taking advantafe of them is a challenge. That is why MS has invested all
this time in designing a fresh UI. We'll see well it works in the next few
years.

- JB

Vista Support FAQ
http://www.jimmah.com/vista/
 
Right now VISTA is bloted and buggy - it IS beta, but it is aiming at good
inovations. I like the program access rights. I like using a jump drive for
a RAM boost. I'm sorry that windows explorer was redesigned; it seems too
MAC like and limited. I miss a menu bar and the instant screen real-estate
saving functionality. The "eye candy" I could do without; it is an example
of change for the sake of change instead of function and it really isn't
impressive compared to the MAC . But graphics advancements that will take
advantage of newer DPI print technology is a plus for VISTA. 10GB
networking? Not needed until fiber optic infrastructure is mainstream in
most cities. Most of the cities in the state where I live have a hard time
even getting sidewalks.
I hope XP won't be "sun downed" any time soon though.
I will probably wait until the first SP for VISTA arrives to invest in it.
 
That appears to have been the principal cause of 'incompatibility' for some
xp games.
 
Colin,
OK,
I agreed with the stuff about network;except;it seems my thread was
snipped;because I did say that the new stack is FASTER;just the wi-fi
encryption issues;still need to be addressed; and it's still beta;so I would
assume most of these issues will be resolved. At least at RTM.
So all in all; it's nice;but like Jimmy points out further below;UAC is
going to be an area where a line is drawn
And;more innovative "eye candy" would be nice;instead of just glass borders.
All in all;I'm very happy with Vista;never going back to xp;and since
this is beta;here's to hoping it just gets better from here!!!
Jeff
 
I figure that the 3d desktop will become more clearly a real gain as ISV's
take advantage of it. And they sure will.
 
I think it all boils down to the age-old question "What's your time worth to
you?" Can you (personally) leverage the capabilities of Vista in such a way
as to use your own time more effectively? And if so, how much? Enough to
build a new $500 machine, $1,000 machine? $1,500 machine? For some people
the answer will be "Yes", for others the answer will be "No". It all depends
on how you use your computer and how much time you invest in learning just
what you can do that you couldn't do before.

One thing's for sure. The much-overlooked "search" feature, from which Vista
gets its name, will eventually become so commonplace people will look back
at the way we did things in earlier versions of Windows and wonder how we
ever got along without it. The notion of a filesystem as a "single
searchable object" is just too new. And the notion of filename, location,
and type being the key factors in organizing and finding info is too deeply
ingrained in people to see the "higher view" - the "vista". Plus, Vista is
just a first step in that direction. It will get better as the years roll
by.
 
- New search indexer allows awesome new UI called "stack by" and
virtual folders. Stack by allows you to group the files inside of
a folder into "stacks" on-the-fly, that act like folders based on
any property you want - size, type, etc. Virtual Folders are
saved searches that look like a folder.
Click to expand...

I thought that user studies had shown MSFT that this feature was of
no real use?
 
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