Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Windows Vista Leaks ... Again!

Posted by samzenpus on from the look-at-it-now dept.

10101001011 writes "The latest build of Windows Vista (5231) has been leaked to the public, again. This latest build includes some major revamping of Windows Media Player, including a smart interface. Also, IE 7 now sports tabs a la Firefox, under the address bar. Are these leaks accidental, or is Microsoft actually trying to pull a 360?"

10 of 424 comments (clear)

  1. Internet Explorer - now menubar free? by antsquish · · Score: 3, Interesting
    Looking at the screenshots here: it appears that Internet Explorer has shed itself of a menubar! Any news on this?
  2. Re:WMP11 by The+Slashdotted · · Score: 4, Interesting
    Hopefully, it won't sneak DRM in, when ripping from non-DRM source.

    Hopefully, it'll support Ogg Vorbis.

    Hopefully, some OSS developers will bring life back into CDex.

    Hopefully, it won't report that I'm infringing on Paris Hilton's copywrite.

    Hopefully, if you want a vision of the future, you'll imagine a boot stamping on a human face - forever.

  3. Re:Nothing to see here by DaHat · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Your average consumer doesn't understand an operating system very much... if you tell them about all of the work done under the hood to make it faster, more reliable and easer to use... they aren't likely to care, they just want to be able to use it and have it look nice.

    If in addition to changing the plumbing you change the faucets (ie things the user sees) they are much more likely to accept that things have changed.

    Yes, Vista has a new UI... but you should not forget about the backend things that have been done... two of my favorites are the new networking stack and the audio stack being brought into user land... what does that mean? Application level audio control! You will be able to raise the volume for the movie you are watching (that was no doubt ripped from a DVD and has low volume) and not go deaf when someone IM's you.

    --
    Help Brendan pay off his student loans
  4. Re:Screenshot 2 by SimilarityEngine · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Relatedly... why has the titlebar of one of the windows in screenshot 3 been blurred? You can still read the title in the taskbar! D'oh!

    --
    Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. - Voltaire
  5. transparency makes reading difficult by backslashdot · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The transparency effect against a black background .. makes the text hard to read (look at the IE window title in this one (note in some of the screenshots they intentionally blurred text, but not in the IE window in this shot):

    http://www.neowin.net/staff/cashman/vist5321_2.jpg

  6. Re:interesting... by xao+gypsie · · Score: 4, Interesting

    If he's using XP now, presumably like most of those idjits out there, he'll jump for joy when Vista comes out
    I resent that comment. I would call my self an informed user, with plenty of Linux experience. However, I get windows xp for free because I am a grad student, and currently don't have any need to switch over. But when Vista is actually released, I have no desire to run an OS that does not come with all the features that are available. That annoys me to no end. When I say, "when I get tired of XP", I mean in about a year or two when I am looking to upgrade. So you might want to quit putting all those 'idjits' into a pigeonhole and realize that there are informed users who use XP who also find that the Vista nonsense is the last straw...

    --


    xao
    http://TheHillforum.hopto.org
  7. Re:Nothing to see here by Powertrip · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Yes, but have you ever tried to 'turn-down' the volume of MSN Messenger? You can't -- unless of course, you turn down the entire 'WAV' slider....then you can't hear your DVD no matter how the volume is set within the Media Player app. With audio control brought to an application level, I am hoping that I could 'mute' the ouput from messenger while leaving the other media player alone.

  8. Think about it. by ninja_assault_kitten · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The people who install the leaked version are software pirates. Pirates don't typically make software companies a lot of money. By leaking a product people want to people who never would have made you money in the first place, you get people talking about it. Seems like a great strategy for MS or any other software company for that matter.

  9. Re:I have a MSDN copy of Vista by xerotime · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I have a full legal msdn copy of longhorn beta 1 and let me tell you first hand. it sucks. I have two gigs of ram...and its slow. it lags continously and only is efficeent half the time. when the Vista beta comes out i'll let ya know if its any faster. for now...i'm dissappointed.

  10. Re:Nothing to see here by mattbrundage · · Score: 4, Interesting

    From DVDDemystified:

    Many people complain that the audio level from DVD players is too low. In truth the audio level is too high on everything else. Movie soundtracks are extremely dynamic, ranging from near silence to intense explosions. In order to support an increased dynamic range and hit peaks (near the 2V RMS limit) without distortion, the average sound volume must be lower. This is why the line level from DVD players is lower than from almost all other sources. So far, unlike on CDs and LDs, the level is much more consistent between discs. If the change in volume when switching between DVD and other audio sources is annoying, you may be able to adjust the output signal level on some players or the input signal level on some receivers, but other than that, there's not much you can do.

    DVD Audio Levels

    --
    Matthew Brundage
    Silver Spring, MD