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Windows Vista Leaks ... Again!
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?"
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
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
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.