Windows Vista self-guided tour

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2005-08-08 12:34pm

Microsoft TechNet has a self-guided tour of Windows Vista out highlighting some of the new features, some of which of interest to power users and IT professionals.

Xon · Post by **Xon** » 2005-08-08 01:03pm

Vista already has the feature I want; Filesystem Quality of Service.

No longer will an anti-malware scan or other disk intensive activity cause a harddrive to become inaccessable to otherstuff using it.

Durandal · Post by **Durandal** » 2005-08-08 02:39pm

I see that they've finally implemented a "sudo"-like approach to administrative actions. Wonder how many poorly-designed apps this is going to break.

Tiger Ace · Post by **Tiger Ace** » 2005-08-08 03:09pm

Nice, I actully like this.

Kinda makes me think how little aside from games is keeping me from going to a Mac.

Akaramu Shinja · Post by **Akaramu Shinja** » 2005-08-08 03:25pm

Emulated OGL through D3D when using Windowed mode with AeroGlass running. I was really looking forward to Vista too

The Kernel · Post by **The Kernel** » 2005-08-08 03:27pm

My question is whether Windows Rot and registry bloat is still going to be an issue.

Akaramu Shinja · Post by **Akaramu Shinja** » 2005-08-08 03:31pm

The Kernel wrote:My question is whether Windows Rot and registry bloat is still going to be an issue.

Considering the improvement over it with 2k and XP, I'd be surprised if it actually got worse. Well, maybe not surprised..but..sad

The Kernel · Post by **The Kernel** » 2005-08-08 03:35pm

Akaramu Shinja wrote:
The Kernel wrote:My question is whether Windows Rot and registry bloat is still going to be an issue.
Considering the improvement over it with 2k and XP, I'd be surprised if it actually got worse. Well, maybe not surprised..but..sad

Yeah, but it's still a problem. Windows XP is more robust, but you still can't go a year without having to reformat and reinstall. Plus, I've noticed that it's damn easy to kill a Windows XP install doing hardware replacements. These are the things I really want to see changed, there is no good reason why I should have to reinstall my OS on a regular basis.

Tiger Ace · Post by **Tiger Ace** » 2005-08-08 03:39pm

Kernel, any idea why? I keep my system in shape, 2 years without a re-install and its rock stable with a pair of small quirks.

Maybe its because I rarely add programs and keep stuff maintained all the time.

The Kernel · Post by **The Kernel** » 2005-08-08 03:49pm

Tiger Ace wrote:Kernel, any idea why? I keep my system in shape, 2 years without a re-install and its rock stable with a pair of small quirks.

Maybe its because I rarely add programs and keep stuff maintained all the time.

Yes, I have an idea why, I tend to install a lot of different software on my PC's. But so what? The number of software installs shouldn't have an effect on the stability of the OS. We shouldn't be forced to minimalize.

After all, the average Linux distro installs with thousands of applications, yet there is no adverse hit to the stability of the OS.

Tiger Ace · Post by **Tiger Ace** » 2005-08-08 03:51pm

I know, its very agrevating that whenever my program list reachs 150 I need to start trimming down.

Search is another area where Windows needs improvements that will hopefully come with Vista, but I imagine the importence will diminsh with virtual folders, which looks great, even if Mac also has it years before.

Seggybop · Post by **Seggybop** » 2005-08-08 04:52pm

Akaramu Shinja wrote:Emulated OGL through D3D when using Windowed mode with AeroGlass running. I was really looking forward to Vista too

That only has relevance if you neglect to install your video card maker's drivers (which have their own real OGL implementation). I don't think anyone who actually cares is going to be forgetting to do that.

Akaramu Shinja · Post by **Akaramu Shinja** » 2005-08-08 05:53pm

Seggybop wrote:
Akaramu Shinja wrote:Emulated OGL through D3D when using Windowed mode with AeroGlass running. I was really looking forward to Vista too
That only has relevance if you neglect to install your video card maker's drivers (which have their own real OGL implementation). I don't think anyone who actually cares is going to be forgetting to do that.

Um, what? No. AeroGlass keeps Windows in constant D3D drawing mode, which means you can't have OGL calling to the G.Card at the same time without causing flicker. This is why they catch the OGL calls and wrap them into D3D. This is only relevant when AeroGlass is being used (thus not fullscreen OGL or when AeroGlass is disabled).

Xon · Post by **Xon** » 2005-08-08 08:16pm

The Kernel wrote:My question is whether Windows Rot and registry bloat is still going to be an issue.

Well they are going to include performance monitoring software which watches for software changes which massively impact of system performance. There is also going to be a new prefetch system which loads commonly used applications into memory before the user actually uses them("yay!" cry RAM Manufacturers).

The Kernel wrote:Yes, I have an idea why, I tend to install a lot of different software on my PC's. But so what? The number of software installs shouldn't have an effect on the stability of the OS. We shouldn't be forced to minimalize.

Baddly written installers, Windows software with very baddly writter installers is common as dirt. Properly written MSI files are a god-send, they allow the OS to cleanly uninstall something in a safe and reliable way.

Custom-biuld shit is that; shit.

Sarevok · Post by **Sarevok** » 2005-08-09 03:37am

Akaramu Shinja wrote:
Seggybop wrote:
Akaramu Shinja wrote:Emulated OGL through D3D when using Windowed mode with AeroGlass running. I was really looking forward to Vista too
That only has relevance if you neglect to install your video card maker's drivers (which have their own real OGL implementation). I don't think anyone who actually cares is going to be forgetting to do that.
Um, what? No. AeroGlass keeps Windows in constant D3D drawing mode, which means you can't have OGL calling to the G.Card at the same time without causing flicker. This is why they catch the OGL calls and wrap them into D3D. This is only relevant when AeroGlass is being used (thus not fullscreen OGL or when AeroGlass is disabled).

Interesting. So is GDI being replaced D3D for desktop applications ?

Akaramu Shinja · Post by **Akaramu Shinja** » 2005-08-09 07:10am

Only when you use AeroGlass. Of course, this means that if you have a semi-modern graphics card, your GUI will actually be faster than if you used the lower settings.

Xon · Post by **Xon** » 2005-08-09 07:17am

Under Vista, GDI calls are passed over to the Avalon layer(aka DirectX+stuff).

And GDI calls have been accelerated since the mid-90s, that isnt going to change anytime soon.

Xon · Post by **Xon** » 2005-08-09 07:19am

Destructionator XIII wrote:That actually looks pretty decent. It seems that they have strengthened the command line and they new administrative account security looks promising.

While the Monad commandline will not be in the client version of Vista (aka Vista Pro & Vista Home) it will be in the server versions and it will also be an optional DL from Microsoft the Vista client-versions once Monad is released.

Akaramu Shinja · Post by **Akaramu Shinja** » 2005-08-09 07:49am

Oh and might I point out as an MSH beta tester, piping .NET objects is teh SEXAY

Xon · Post by **Xon** » 2005-08-09 07:59am

Yes, a .NET shell which moves objects around is rather nice. The proposed auto-completion and context sensitive help at the commandline is even better.

One interesting things is the apparent improvements in the audio layer, from this Microsoft blog it sounds rather interesting.

labrat · Post by **labrat** » 2005-08-09 08:00am

Yes, I have an idea why, I tend to install a lot of different software on my PC's. But so what? The number of software installs shouldn't have an effect on the stability of the OS. We shouldn't be forced to minimalize.

It's what you install not how much. My install is 2 years old and running smooth as (would have been 3 but upgradeing is nessecary).

After all, the average Linux distro installs with thousands of applications, yet there is no adverse hit to the stability of the OS.

Wrong. A miss behaving app will bring down any os. My install of mandrake 9.2 was really screwed by a bad XMMS install.

Durandal · Post by **Durandal** » 2005-08-09 09:58am

Has anything changed with the Registry? That would have to be Windows' Number 1 instability culprit.

Akaramu Shinja · Post by **Akaramu Shinja** » 2005-08-09 11:04am

A bit from an article about the system registry and Vista.

This afternoon, Microsoft's Greg Sullivan confirmed the company's official exodus away from the System Registry as a key component, and toward what are now being called "application manifests"--individual, secure files for applications to store their own configuration data, and for other purposes. It turns out that, as Microsoft moves toward gradual adoption of what was dubbed this morning Windows Communication Foundation (formerly and more affectionately known as "Indigo"), a single file for storing the configurations and data attributes of all running components in the system, may eventually no longer be necessary.

"This has been an ongoing design goal of ours," Sullivan told us. "The Registry has served its purpose well for managing the settings and keys required to do configuration--particularly application installation and behavior--but that model has also been fraught with some challenges that we've had to face. So it's been a long-term goal for us to evolve that." However, Sullivan added, there are still over 600 million people using Windows XP and, therefore, using local System Registries. The challenge over the next several years will be to migrate to a Registry-free world without breaking applications.

One approach to implementing this exodus, Sullivan revealed to us for the first time, will be a new system that provides non-administrative users with a "virtual Registry," ostensibly at first for the sake of protecting the main Registry from abuse. This way, said Sullivan, "not every user has to be an administrator to accomplish something. But when we're able to virtualize the Registry, we can actually provide a standard user with a way to have a meaningful interaction, including installing applications that write to the Registry, but in a way that doesn't necessarily permanently harm or affect what the administrator has set up." Conceivably, a virtual Registry could be used by older Windows applications that still require it, within a future system - probably far later than Vista - that no longer provides the Registry as a standard service.

From here

Sharp-kun · Post by **Sharp-kun** » 2005-08-09 11:15am

Durandal wrote: Wonder how many poorly-designed apps this is going to break.

and how many people will declare the OS crap and advise people not to use it, as it "breaks apps".

Praxis · Post by **Praxis** » 2005-08-09 01:01pm

Akaramu Shinja wrote:
The Kernel wrote:My question is whether Windows Rot and registry bloat is still going to be an issue.
Considering the improvement over it with 2k and XP, I'd be surprised if it actually got worse. Well, maybe not surprised..but..sad

Windows 98 -> Windows ME...

It's not entirely unprecedented...

I'd heard that MS intended to dump the registry, though.

Right, google always works...
http://www.tomshardware.com/hardnews/20 ... 72553.html

This afternoon, Microsoft's Greg Sullivan confirmed the company's official exodus away from the System Registry as a key component, and toward what are now being called "application manifests"--individual, secure files for applications to store their own configuration data, and for other purposes. It turns out that, as Microsoft moves toward gradual adoption of what was dubbed this morning Windows Communication Foundation (formerly and more affectionately known as "Indigo"), a single file for storing the configurations and data attributes of all running components in the system, may eventually no longer be necessary.

I wonder where they got that idea?