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Tom's Hardware Looks at Microsoft Vista Beta
RockClimbingFool writes "Tom's Hardware has a pretty good overview of what the current beta version of Microsoft Windows Vista has to offer. The article is written from an average user's perspective, specifically highlighting exactly which differences the average computer user can expect to see from Windows XP to Windows Vista. It covers everything from IE7, to the new Windows Aero interface, to brand new games." But if you'd like your eye candy open source and downloadable now, check out Lunapark6's review of the current version of Ubuntu Dapper, with "emphasis placed on helping someone set up the system for everyday desktop usage."
Yippee....
http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/05/31/windows_vis ta/print.html
Yeah, my submission was only the italizied part. That other garbage is just submission crapping.
Necessary I don't know, but it is useful because so many people out there are totally unaware of the great features offered by alternative OSes. Regarding Ubuntu, in no particular order: Aero-like features already available via Xgl (while Vista is not yet released), centralized package management system, 1-click full system update and security patches installation (under Windows, MS-only software is upgraded), generally easier to use than Windows (according to one of my family member who is an average desktop computer user), easy to install, no drivers to download from the hardware vendors (the kernel recognize everything by default), etc.
So your mom would have an easier time installing windows?
Well, yes, most likely.
If I'm not up to "read" 40 pages of screenshots, what, besides gfx of the UI (which has been already backported to XP as "skins") has changed in Windows?
o ws_Vista. Some notable features include:
A rather extensive list can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Features_new_to_Wind
-New network stack
-New audio stack
-New driver framework
-New printing architecture
-New windowing system (DWM)
There are a substantial number of 'behind the scenes' changes in Vista. But for some reason the Slashdot crowd seems to think that the UI is the only thing that's changed. Oh well.
Not hard at all. http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/05/31/windows_vis ta/print.html
I love my sig.
Yeh, I can answer some of these questions (this is all publicly available stuff):
> Will the Bluetooth protocol stack be less problematic than XP's? I hope so.
Yes, they've expanded profile support substantially.
> Will they support WPA2 natively, without 170MB of updates?
You bet.
> Will IPV6 be native?
Yes -- IPv6 is a first class citizen in Vista, the entire OS has been scrubbed for v6 blockers, and they actively want people running v6 only during the betas (since it's expected to be a major use case in certain environments).
> How about IPSEC support? Will it actually work this time?
It should. Remove the firewall block, and it should Just Work anywhere you like. You _do_ have to Opt-In though.
> How bad is the new Windows shell?
MONAD is hardcore. I was dismissing it until I got the low-voice, "no dude, you _need_ to spend a day with it" thing from someone I respected. It's an utter tragedy that it's not inbox, especially considering how much else still is. *sighs*
> Is it close enough to Bash or even csh to be useful?
It's different. Very arguably better, in a non-textual world.
> What's Task Manager like? Do I still have to wait seconds for it to appear when a process runs amok?
No, it's just as annoying. What's the use of a high priority screen to spawn task manager if you're still stuck fighting with your broken process? Grrr.
> Does the UI remain responsive during heavy calculations (I do a lot of 3D)?
Perf is a big question right now. Everyone's running debug builds so crashes can actually be traced back.
> Can I install games without worrying about which version of DirectX is installed?
DX10, with a big ol' DX9 compat layer.
> Will the new version of Office install things I'll have to disable, like toolbars, fast find, and Word integration into Outlook express?
Unknown.
> Do I still need to press Ctrl+Alt+Delete to do things?
I hit it all the time to pull up Task Manager and Switch User.
It's Slashdot... Slashdot is where the Linux geeks hang out. If you don't like it, maybe you should read the MSDN forums or something?
n
Kind of. More like Linux pretender wanna-be geeks. Or Linux geeks who have to use Windows at work.
My blog has gotten most of its hits from my Slashdot sig. Click here to check out the most popular software:
http://extremetracking.com/open;sum?login=wrperso
For the record, in case things change:
Browser: Firefox 1.5 - 45.33%
Operating System: Windows XP - 60.97%
Most of us here have huge interest in how Vista turns out, if only because our employers will put it on our machines.
I got my Linux laptop at System76.
Ars Technica "tour". While it doesn't take up 30+ pages, it also doesn't spend an inordinate amount of time covering what's changed in Windows Solitaire..