arstechnica.com— Ars Technica gives a wonderfully indepth visual tour of Windows Vista Beta 2, with an eye to what it can offer you.
Jun 1, 2006View in Crawl 4
Ok, I'm just wondering what exactly are the 12 GB used for exactly? are all the window textures like 90,000x90,000 or something? From what I've seen there isn't all that much more funtionality and it looks a little bit better. Which would warrant a few hundred MB at the absolute most. w...t...f...
Anyone notice that a lot of windows in those screenshots don't have title bars? Apparently they're dropping them for windows that have the bread crumb menus at the top.
Windows has its problems, but so do Linux and OSX.Personally, I prefer my Macs to the windows computers that my parents and finacee use... though I do miss the good old days of DOS. I think that the USB support issu is interesting. Windows and OSX handle USB in different ways, and I cannot decide which I like better. Windows has the advantage that it is so dumb that I can use my digital camera as a flashcard reader for storing data, and it is slightly less likely to corrupt a flashdrive thats just pulled out (good thing, since my college doesnt let users access the "eject" command for USB devices on lab computers). On the other hand, Mac has some great applications to access info on drives, and I much prefer the way that it mounts drives. Also, 90% of the time I prefer how it keeps the Unix drive ID hidden and lets me work with simple names. While it is cometimes useful, the C, D, E etc... of windows can be anoying.anyway...
"Oh boy, there are so many ways Windows sucks. I am not sure where to start. I'll just start off with the registry. It S U C K S. When will Microsoft finally amputate the registry and copy OS X's use of bundles and xml property lists?"But if they did "copy" whatever then the hating would still go on since its not an "original" idea, right?
Yes, very well spoken. Digg does become quite tiresome. And about real computer professionals not really caring, as long as the box gets the job done, thankyou very much for explaining that so eloquently. Many people just do not understand that one computer cannot be used perfectly for everything. And NO ONE is an expert on every OS. No one.
I see a lot of people being modded down for their comments on the "new" features not being original. It kind of saddens me in a way, because it makes me thing that those doing the modding down aren't really opening their eyes. I'll be right up front with you guys. I don't like Microsoft. But I'll also be the first to admit that they are really good at what they do. Now, what I would love, is to see Microsoft do things right with Vista. I would love to see some innovation, some truly new features, and over all a ground breaking OS that will make me want to go buy a copy for my home computer the day it comes out. Unfortunately, even now at Beta 2, none of that is the case. What exactly are they doing that is new? "Gadgets?" OS X had that last year. Search? OS X and Linux both have been doing that for multipe years. New interface? Is it new? or is it Explorer with more theming and special effects just laid over top of it, along with some new "web content". Is the horrid "web content" finally gone, if it is explorer? I can say, that I think the new file operation dialogs are very nice. It's a plesant change over the tired floating file or crumpled paper from Windows 95 that we still have in XP. Areo looks pretty good as a whole, but it needs to be come PART of the shell, not a theme for the shell.Speaking of shells, what about "cmd" or "command.com"? Where is our new CLI? Are we still running crippled DOS? The last Vista build I used, that was infact the case. When all is said and done, all of these "innovations" are just more of the same crap that everyone else is doing. There's nothing new going on. I would love, *LOVE* to see MS take Vista to the next level. To give us something we can really be excited about, and break away from the fanboy flamewars. So far, however, I'm just not seeing that. And now, I shall be burried :)
First off all OS's are great for different people. The reason I don't like Apple is because they BASH PCs (have you seen their commercials?). I'm sure the developers on the OS X team however just want to make good software.Now to Windows. As someone mentioned before Windows lets so many other developers build onto their platform while Apple pre defines what is on the machine. Windows is by design and by virtue of its market an OS that requires extensibility and backwards compatibility not only for users but for developers. So before you bash Microsoft understand the tough job they have to live up to. They have to cater to nearly 90% of the market. Believe it or not... MS can't just do what they want; they have to listen to developers and to users.On the side of innovation let me name a few things "under the covers".If you believe this is just a rehash of XP then you are sadly misinformed. Most of the innovation have to deal with giving developers (the people who make great applications) the means to create some awesome stuff. If you have any idea of what an OSs functionality is then you'd understand this is a very important function of the OS.For example Microsoft has created something called Avalon or Windows Presentation Foundation which lets developers design some truly awesome apps relatively easily. Not to mention Aero is implemented using WPF (that's why you have a true 3D vector engine pushing the UI). As one of th MS employees said "if you can think it up you can probably do it." Take a look at these video to see what Avalon can do: mms://wm.microsoft.com/ms/msnse/0509/25408/PDC_2005_NorthFaceDemo_MBR.wmvmms://wm.microsoft.com/ms/msnse/0602/27129/KarstenJ_WPF_MIX_MBR.wmvThey have restructured the OS for security implementing things like file vitalization and UAC. Lot of stuff going on here... check out videos at channel 9 and the Microsoft blogs for more info.MS is moving to a design where drivers no longer run in kernel mode but instead in user mode. What does this mean? If you have a bugged driver provided by some company it won't take down the system (no more blue screens caused by poorly written drivers). Not to mention this is a security feature.A completely redone network stack. Faster, more efficient, and secure. Not to mention the cool new P2P innovations in Vista such as people-near-me, automatic adhoc p2p networks, and true p2p because Vista can get passed the limitations of NATs. This means ANY developer can use p2p transparently without having to design their own work around.What about the re-designed audio stack? More control, more fidelity and of course easier for devs to do more robust and powerful stuff easily. Yes, there's the new Aero interface, sidebar, system (not just desktop) search, and IE7 (have you tried the quick tabs view? really neat and great functionality) and although these things may not be new ideas MS gives them a nice spin and does a good job of implementing them.Really there is way to much to talk about in this small forum and my descriptions are vague. If you want to see into the black box that is Microsoft, the things they're doing and the type of people that work there I encourage you to take a look at this site:<a class="user" href="http://channel9.msdn.com/">http://channel9.msdn.com/</a>
knotonJun 2, 2006
Ok, I'm just wondering what exactly are the 12 GB used for exactly? are all the window textures like 90,000x90,000 or something? From what I've seen there isn't all that much more funtionality and it looks a little bit better. Which would warrant a few hundred MB at the absolute most. w...t...f...
pauldonnellyJun 2, 2006
Anyone notice that a lot of windows in those screenshots don't have title bars? Apparently they're dropping them for windows that have the bread crumb menus at the top.
xionerJun 2, 2006
Windows has its problems, but so do Linux and OSX.Personally, I prefer my Macs to the windows computers that my parents and finacee use... though I do miss the good old days of DOS. I think that the USB support issu is interesting. Windows and OSX handle USB in different ways, and I cannot decide which I like better. Windows has the advantage that it is so dumb that I can use my digital camera as a flashcard reader for storing data, and it is slightly less likely to corrupt a flashdrive thats just pulled out (good thing, since my college doesnt let users access the "eject" command for USB devices on lab computers). On the other hand, Mac has some great applications to access info on drives, and I much prefer the way that it mounts drives. Also, 90% of the time I prefer how it keeps the Unix drive ID hidden and lets me work with simple names. While it is cometimes useful, the C, D, E etc... of windows can be anoying.anyway...
agimatJun 2, 2006
"Oh boy, there are so many ways Windows sucks. I am not sure where to start. I'll just start off with the registry. It S U C K S. When will Microsoft finally amputate the registry and copy OS X's use of bundles and xml property lists?"But if they did "copy" whatever then the hating would still go on since its not an "original" idea, right?
gocleaverJun 2, 2006
Yes, very well spoken. Digg does become quite tiresome. And about real computer professionals not really caring, as long as the box gets the job done, thankyou very much for explaining that so eloquently. Many people just do not understand that one computer cannot be used perfectly for everything. And NO ONE is an expert on every OS. No one.
uownedgeJun 2, 2006
I see a lot of people being modded down for their comments on the "new" features not being original. It kind of saddens me in a way, because it makes me thing that those doing the modding down aren't really opening their eyes. I'll be right up front with you guys. I don't like Microsoft. But I'll also be the first to admit that they are really good at what they do. Now, what I would love, is to see Microsoft do things right with Vista. I would love to see some innovation, some truly new features, and over all a ground breaking OS that will make me want to go buy a copy for my home computer the day it comes out. Unfortunately, even now at Beta 2, none of that is the case. What exactly are they doing that is new? "Gadgets?" OS X had that last year. Search? OS X and Linux both have been doing that for multipe years. New interface? Is it new? or is it Explorer with more theming and special effects just laid over top of it, along with some new "web content". Is the horrid "web content" finally gone, if it is explorer? I can say, that I think the new file operation dialogs are very nice. It's a plesant change over the tired floating file or crumpled paper from Windows 95 that we still have in XP. Areo looks pretty good as a whole, but it needs to be come PART of the shell, not a theme for the shell.Speaking of shells, what about "cmd" or "command.com"? Where is our new CLI? Are we still running crippled DOS? The last Vista build I used, that was infact the case. When all is said and done, all of these "innovations" are just more of the same crap that everyone else is doing. There's nothing new going on. I would love, *LOVE* to see MS take Vista to the next level. To give us something we can really be excited about, and break away from the fanboy flamewars. So far, however, I'm just not seeing that. And now, I shall be burried :)
Closed AccountJun 3, 2006
I'd rather tour a toilet factory
jhaksJun 12, 2006
First off all OS's are great for different people. The reason I don't like Apple is because they BASH PCs (have you seen their commercials?). I'm sure the developers on the OS X team however just want to make good software.Now to Windows. As someone mentioned before Windows lets so many other developers build onto their platform while Apple pre defines what is on the machine. Windows is by design and by virtue of its market an OS that requires extensibility and backwards compatibility not only for users but for developers. So before you bash Microsoft understand the tough job they have to live up to. They have to cater to nearly 90% of the market. Believe it or not... MS can't just do what they want; they have to listen to developers and to users.On the side of innovation let me name a few things "under the covers".If you believe this is just a rehash of XP then you are sadly misinformed. Most of the innovation have to deal with giving developers (the people who make great applications) the means to create some awesome stuff. If you have any idea of what an OSs functionality is then you'd understand this is a very important function of the OS.For example Microsoft has created something called Avalon or Windows Presentation Foundation which lets developers design some truly awesome apps relatively easily. Not to mention Aero is implemented using WPF (that's why you have a true 3D vector engine pushing the UI). As one of th MS employees said "if you can think it up you can probably do it." Take a look at these video to see what Avalon can do: mms://wm.microsoft.com/ms/msnse/0509/25408/PDC_2005_NorthFaceDemo_MBR.wmvmms://wm.microsoft.com/ms/msnse/0602/27129/KarstenJ_WPF_MIX_MBR.wmvThey have restructured the OS for security implementing things like file vitalization and UAC. Lot of stuff going on here... check out videos at channel 9 and the Microsoft blogs for more info.MS is moving to a design where drivers no longer run in kernel mode but instead in user mode. What does this mean? If you have a bugged driver provided by some company it won't take down the system (no more blue screens caused by poorly written drivers). Not to mention this is a security feature.A completely redone network stack. Faster, more efficient, and secure. Not to mention the cool new P2P innovations in Vista such as people-near-me, automatic adhoc p2p networks, and true p2p because Vista can get passed the limitations of NATs. This means ANY developer can use p2p transparently without having to design their own work around.What about the re-designed audio stack? More control, more fidelity and of course easier for devs to do more robust and powerful stuff easily. Yes, there's the new Aero interface, sidebar, system (not just desktop) search, and IE7 (have you tried the quick tabs view? really neat and great functionality) and although these things may not be new ideas MS gives them a nice spin and does a good job of implementing them.Really there is way to much to talk about in this small forum and my descriptions are vague. If you want to see into the black box that is Microsoft, the things they're doing and the type of people that work there I encourage you to take a look at this site:<a class="user" href="http://channel9.msdn.com/">http://channel9.msdn.com/</a>