...or wasn't the entire point of video game consoles to avoid the hassles and pains involved in ensuring everything was up-to-date on your computer? As far as it goes, Microsoft's Xbox update process is pretty painless, and if Sony learns from that, theirs should be as well. That said, I really liked not having to update my Famicom's OS.
I think the RC nomenclature for Microsoft is when they have something that they can give to ISVs and say, here test your software against this. They've certainly been saying that for Vista, and before that, IIRC, Office 2003.
You have a really good point - but I think your frustration is misdirected. The reason that Microsoft, or any other software company releases betas is to gather anecdotal evidence: how do particular configurations work? Are there apps that break and need updating? Is there something they just forgot?
Where I understand your frustration is that individual media outlets tend to grab evidence that sells papers. Slashdot editors maybe happier reporting this, than the rejected story I submitted yesterday about the future directions on Windows. So yeah, I'm tired of people predicting that it will or won't work. But Microsoft gathers that very anecdotal evidence and understands what needs to be fixed and what doesn't!:)
My experience with RC1 has been mixed. Do I think it's light years ahead of the disaster that was Beta2? Yes, absolutely. It's stable enough to use as an everyday operating system. Is it ready for showtime? Eh. Perhaps. Is it what we have waited six years for? Heck, no. Where are all the interesting bits gone?
The more interesting question is that of nomenclature. I agree that this is Beta3 - but more because an RC everywhere else is something that is ready to go, it just needs spit and polish to get it ready, fix a couple of bugs. Then again, this is what Microsoft is telling people to test their applications against to check for breakages, so yes, I suppose you could call it a "Certification Beta" or what have you. But call it what you may, I think it's the Ultimate version, with all the games, and goodies, that needs more time. Enterprise-wise, it looks stable enough for use - networking is better than XP (even though it's a new stack), group policy has been better fine tuned, UAC is usable enough, and hardware detection is light-years ahead of XP. All of those basic things are ready and if thats what enterprise customers are expected to get, then I think it's good to go, after they fix the occaisonal dialog box with three different fonts.
I just wish there was something truly innovative to encourage an upgrade. Halo 2 doesn't count, especially for business!
I've had good results with Priority Master in XP, with only the occaisonal issue (video card lock up once or twice). Since I've moved to Vista, though, I've not really used it - but I suppose you could write a set of VBscript or - ugh - batch files that just launch the program in whatever priority you want, and replace the entries on your desktop/start menu with shortcuts to those script/batch files?
IIRC, HDMI cables are necessary if you need to view HDCP encrypted content - or you get a "low-quality" version of the image. Considering that most studios are not using the image constraint token till 2010, it seems that HDMI cable or no, no one's likely to need it for a while. Should it be included in a $600 package and is Sony cheaping out? Perhaps. But do you absolutely need it right now? No.
There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamed of in your philisophy, Horatio. DRM and conspiracy is not the answer to every question. If you want to read why Aero Glass gets turned off, read this article. If an application tries to draw directly to the front buffer instead of the back buffer, Aero Glass shuts down and you're staring at Aero Basic. Virtual PC 2004 was never designed to work with Aero Glass: it writes to the front buffer and the compositing manager shuts down - which means no Aero Glass.
For examples of unsigned applications that doesn't break Aero: GAIM. Miranda. Firefox. VLC. We could go on and on.
Yes, it does work in LiveCD mode, but anything more exotic that Windows/286 is still experimental. That said, if you need to just fsck or fdisk or something like that, it'll run off a CD quite happily. I've not tried it out with a USB key, but chances are if you're using a computer which uses DOS as it's OS of choice, it doesn't have a boot from USB option... I totally understand your pain.
I downloaded the full version, instead of the base, but it requires constant attention and keypresses to get through the installer. It does ship with a number of really useful utilities, though, and it does run Worms beautifully, even under Vista*:)
*Note: Virtual PC breaks Aero:(
I'd have to agree with that assessment. I think people were thinking on the lines of Lego Mindstorms-like drag and drog interface, and this is clearly not that, nor is it intended to be such a development tool. I have to admit, its a lot of fun using the Mindstorms, but it was very limiting. This is intended for people who already know C# (or something like it) and have ideas for games, or those learning C# and are looking for a good outlet on which to practice. As far as those two goals go, this is likely to be successful. The only thing that Microsoft has skimped on is documentation, which would be helpful for someone just starting out. But bravo to Microsoft for taking the first step.
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...or wasn't the entire point of video game consoles to avoid the hassles and pains involved in ensuring everything was up-to-date on your computer? As far as it goes, Microsoft's Xbox update process is pretty painless, and if Sony learns from that, theirs should be as well. That said, I really liked not having to update my Famicom's OS.
I think the RC nomenclature for Microsoft is when they have something that they can give to ISVs and say, here test your software against this. They've certainly been saying that for Vista, and before that, IIRC, Office 2003.
Where I understand your frustration is that individual media outlets tend to grab evidence that sells papers. Slashdot editors maybe happier reporting this, than the rejected story I submitted yesterday about the future directions on Windows. So yeah, I'm tired of people predicting that it will or won't work. But Microsoft gathers that very anecdotal evidence and understands what needs to be fixed and what doesn't! :)
My experience with RC1 has been mixed. Do I think it's light years ahead of the disaster that was Beta2? Yes, absolutely. It's stable enough to use as an everyday operating system. Is it ready for showtime? Eh. Perhaps. Is it what we have waited six years for? Heck, no. Where are all the interesting bits gone?
The more interesting question is that of nomenclature. I agree that this is Beta3 - but more because an RC everywhere else is something that is ready to go, it just needs spit and polish to get it ready, fix a couple of bugs. Then again, this is what Microsoft is telling people to test their applications against to check for breakages, so yes, I suppose you could call it a "Certification Beta" or what have you. But call it what you may, I think it's the Ultimate version, with all the games, and goodies, that needs more time. Enterprise-wise, it looks stable enough for use - networking is better than XP (even though it's a new stack), group policy has been better fine tuned, UAC is usable enough, and hardware detection is light-years ahead of XP. All of those basic things are ready and if thats what enterprise customers are expected to get, then I think it's good to go, after they fix the occaisonal dialog box with three different fonts.
I just wish there was something truly innovative to encourage an upgrade. Halo 2 doesn't count, especially for business!
I've had good results with Priority Master in XP, with only the occaisonal issue (video card lock up once or twice). Since I've moved to Vista, though, I've not really used it - but I suppose you could write a set of VBscript or - ugh - batch files that just launch the program in whatever priority you want, and replace the entries on your desktop/start menu with shortcuts to those script/batch files?
IIRC, HDMI cables are necessary if you need to view HDCP encrypted content - or you get a "low-quality" version of the image. Considering that most studios are not using the image constraint token till 2010, it seems that HDMI cable or no, no one's likely to need it for a while. Should it be included in a $600 package and is Sony cheaping out? Perhaps. But do you absolutely need it right now? No.
For examples of unsigned applications that doesn't break Aero: GAIM. Miranda. Firefox. VLC. We could go on and on.
IIRC, DOSbox is based on FreeDOS. So unless the DOSbox devs have changed the installer code, I'd suppose not.
I know it's not the same as WfWG3.11, but what about ReactOS? Still a long way to go, but you can begin to run applications on it. And it's 100% FOSS.
Yes, it does work in LiveCD mode, but anything more exotic that Windows/286 is still experimental. That said, if you need to just fsck or fdisk or something like that, it'll run off a CD quite happily. I've not tried it out with a USB key, but chances are if you're using a computer which uses DOS as it's OS of choice, it doesn't have a boot from USB option... I totally understand your pain.
I downloaded the full version, instead of the base, but it requires constant attention and keypresses to get through the installer. It does ship with a number of really useful utilities, though, and it does run Worms beautifully, even under Vista* :)
*Note: Virtual PC breaks Aero :(
I'd have to agree with that assessment. I think people were thinking on the lines of Lego Mindstorms-like drag and drog interface, and this is clearly not that, nor is it intended to be such a development tool. I have to admit, its a lot of fun using the Mindstorms, but it was very limiting. This is intended for people who already know C# (or something like it) and have ideas for games, or those learning C# and are looking for a good outlet on which to practice. As far as those two goals go, this is likely to be successful. The only thing that Microsoft has skimped on is documentation, which would be helpful for someone just starting out. But bravo to Microsoft for taking the first step.