Alpha authors
- Dan Ackerman
- Rich Brown
- David Carnoy
- Bonnie Cha
- Brian Cooley
- Wayne Cunningham
- Robert Dubbin
- Matthew Elliott
- John Falcone
- Jasmine France
- Kent German
- Will Greenwald
- Lori Grunin
- Justin Jaffe
- David Katzmaier
- James Kim
- Nicole Lee
- Lara Luepke
- Kevin Massy
- Tom Merritt
- Tim Moynihan
- Rafe Needleman
- David Rudden
- Philip Ryan
- Michelle Thatcher
- Robert Vamosi
- Elsa Wenzel
- Molly Wood
- Felisa Yang
September 05, 2006, 10:48 AM PDTMicrosoft announces Windows Vista pricing
Posted by: Robert Vamosi Last Friday, Microsoft released Windows Vista RC1 (build 5564) to a limited group of testers, with a broad public release expected by the end of this month. Today, Microsoft announced official pricing for the new operating system. Pricing for full retail versions of the software will be Windows Vista Ultimate, $399; Windows Vista Business, $299; Windows Vista Home Premium, $239; and Windows Vista Home Basic, $199. For more, see this News.com article. Permalink | 37 comments
July 19, 2006, 1:46 PM PDTWindows Vista build 5472 released
Posted by: Robert Vamosi
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May 31, 2006, 11:00 AM PDTBumpy transitions
Posted by: Robert Vamosi
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In my job at CNET I need to use a variety of different PCs for different purposes. While I can easily handle the transition from Windows 98 SE to Windows 2000 or XP--this has become second nature--the transition from Windows Vista beta 2 back to Windows XP or earlier has been surprisingly rough. There are some paradigm shifts regarding file structure within the OS that simply don't translate to the earlier versions. That, and there are a few new features within Windows Vista that you won't want to part with once you start using them.
Search
Apple OS X users already know how easy it is to find any app, any file, anywhere on their hard drive, then save those searches in temporary virtual folders. Now Windows Vista users will have those same opportunities. Unfortunately, when I transition back to Windows XP, I feel truly lost.
With Windows XP, I often find myself having to go to Control Panel, then to one subgroup then another subgroup just to find an obscure application, make a change, or get some system information. With Windows Vista, I simply type in what I want in the Start menu. It's easy--and it's addictive.
File structure
To make these Vista blogs visual, I've been collecting screenshots on a USB drive and porting them over to a production machine at work. I could e-mail them, but I also use the USB drive for file storage. On other operating systems, in order to save to the USB drive, I have to select My Computer, then choose the drive I want, and so on. With Vista, I simply click the arrow next to the word Computer in the file path to see what drive options I have available. This may seem like a small thing, but when you're moving dozens of files from machine to machine, every second counts.
I can also group files by author or other metadata. These groupings are virtual in that the files don't physically move on the drive, only in their associations with folders and directories. It's an odd concept but a useful one. For example, I can save a search in a virtual folder, keeping items together temporarily for a specific task. Afterward, I can delete the search folder, yet the individual files remain in their respective physical locations.
Gadgets
One cool feature that fortunately I can replicate on my Windows XP systems is the new Windows Vista Gadgets (or widgets). At first I didn't like gadgets, but now I get it. Opera 9 beta 1 allows me to add widgets to my Windows XP desktop, and I've started doing so after spending these last few days with Vista.
In Vista, gadgets can be dragged anywhere on the desktop, but they also live along the far right-hand side of the desktop in what Microsoft calls the Vista Sidebar (which you can turn off if you really don't like it). I think the sidebar is useful; it's screen real estate that would otherwise go unused. Now, in addition to seeing an analog representation of the current time, I also keep up with the latest headlines from News.com via the discreet little RSS gadget I have positioned there.
Permalink | 31 comments
May 31, 2006, 10:54 AM PDTVista's self-diagnosis tools
Posted by: Robert Vamosi
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Over the holiday weekend, I successfully installed Microsoft Office 2007 beta 2 and other software, such as CA eTrust Antivirus for Vista. I also installed a few familiar Windows XP comforts, such as Trillian Basic. The latter, although it did install, wouldn't run under Vista.
If you remember back to the days when Windows 95 made the transition from 16-bit apps to 32-bit apps, apps simply crashed, often leaving you to wonder what happened. Rather than simply crashing apps within the operating system, Vista now displays a message stating whether or not the program is compatible. In the case of Trillian, the operating system protected itself by turning off some visual elements (although finding out which elements have been disabled isn't exactly clear). I decided to dig down and see if I could learn more.
There's a whole section of the Control Panel devoted to problem reports and solutions. Here you see a log file of all the recent activity within Vista. In theory, you can request additional information about the event. I chose a problem I had running a DVD movie in Windows Media Player on Saturday--in fact, I had several instances where the media player simply froze and had to be restarted. By checking a box next to the event, Vista calls home to Microsoft to learn more about what happened and presumably offer up a fix. In this case, after several minutes, I was informed that no solution was available. This is a beta, so I'm not going to be too critical.
Missing from the problem reports, however, are third-party apps, such as Trillian Basic.
There's another viewer that relates your system performance to specific events. As you load and use more software, the graph on this viewer heads downward as the system slows. However, if there's a particularly buggy app running and really dragging your system down, you'll see a notable drop on the chart. I don't have a buggy app right now, but in the Microsoft demos they were able to click on an event near the decline and determine that by loading software X the system suffered. By removing software X, they showed how the performance graph turned upward again.
If only all software diagnosis could this easy.
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May 29, 2006, 10:00 PM PDTSoftware glitches within Windows Vista
Posted by: Robert Vamosi
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A few days ago, I mentioned downloading a few software apps onto my Windows Vista beta 2 machine. I had trouble with Adobe Flash, so I wondered why downloads from the Adobe site were so...slow. Today I attempted to download Adobe Acrobat Reader 7.07 and experienced the same slowness connecting to the Adobe download site. For comparison, I had a Windows XP box sitting nearby and was able to connect to Adobe and download the reader in less time than with Vista. I suspect the slowness has something to do with Adobe's ability to read your machine's OS, then match the right page. Vista doesn't yet appear on Adobe's OS drop-down menu, so for the time being, choose XP.
On the other hand, I had no trouble downloading and installing the free version of Trillian, but I can't get it to run under Vista. I can get into preferences and make changes, but I can't get the app itself to run. There's a tiny dialog box that flashes on the screen when it attempts to start, but the message comes and goes so fast I can't read it. It's something about the visual display not being right. It's possible that Trillian hasn't yet been optimized for Windows Vista.
One major change within Vista is that Microsoft is kicking everything out of the system kernel as part of its new security ethos. That means third-party antivirus and even firewall apps will have to be redesigned to be compatible with Vista. The first company to do so is CA. I blogged this a few days ago, but I just had the chance to sign up. It's a pretty generous offer. Not only do you get its fast and effective antivirus app for free, but it's also giving Microsoft Windows Vista beta 2 users one year of signature-file updates and technical support for free. I suspect other antivirus and firewall vendors will follow suit--after all, it's a great way to beta-test antivirus and firewall apps on the new OS.
Permalink | 6 comments
May 27, 2006, 10:29 PM PDTWindows Vista eats laptop batteries for lunch
Posted by: Robert Vamosi
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In yesterday's installment, I loaded some drivers and applications on Vista. Part of that day was spent away from an electrical outlet. The dual-core Acer TravelMate 8200 rated pretty highly in our CNET review, especially in terms of battery life, yet I returned to my desk midmorning yesterday to find that Vista had shut down prematurely because I'd run out of battery life.
So I spent nearly all of my Saturday trying to prove this. I must admit that my colleague at CNET News.com Ina Fried also tipped me off to this potential bug in Vista, so I volunteered to investigate. Short of a full-on CNET Labs test, I decided upon three simple tests. First, operating on a fully charged battery, I would play a DVD movie in Windows Media Player 9 on Windows XP and record that time, then I'd repeat the above in Windows Media Player 11 on Windows Vista running with Aero (Microsoft's new 3D graphics system). Finally, I'd run the test again in Windows Media Player 11 in Windows Vista Standard mode. It's the new Vista graphics system, called GPU, that's the issue; when it's engaged, it really eats up battery life.
If you don't already know, Vista will run differently depending on the hardware. Lower-end machines will have a choice between Windows Vista Classic and Windows Vista Standard, which both give you many of the features in the new OS but without the 3D graphics. Higher-end machines will have those choices, plus Windows Vista Basic, which gives you more features, and Windows Vista Aero (the version with all the 3D bells and whistles). Mostly to get Aero, you must have a relatively new graphics card with a lot of built-in video memory.
One thing I found in conducting the test is that Microsoft doesn't make it easy to switch between these modes. For desktop users, it's a moot point; you have AC power. But if you're working on a notebook and want to conserve every last second of battery life, you'll want to switch to a less graphics-intensive envirnoment. To do so in Vista, you first need to find Personalization And Appearance in the Control Panel, then choose Personalization > Visual Appearance. From Visual Appearance, click to Appearance Settings, then click "Open Classic appearance properties." Under Color Schemes, you have all the choices listed above, plus four monochromatic color schemes. The process of reducing or increasing your graphics output is not exactly intuitive.
OK, so what did I find? Under Windows XP, my Acer TravelMate 8200 enjoyed a comfortable 3 hours and 15 minutes of battery life--more than enough to watch any major motion picture released these days. But under Windows Vista Aero, my battery life dropped considerably, to a mere 2 hours. Under Windows Vista Standard, battery life did improve--to a whopping 2 hours and 15 minutes--better, but not enough to justify doing without all the glitz and glammor of Vista Aero.
But once you've seen Vista Aero in action, it's really hard to do without. Microsoft's planning its whole Vista marketing campaign around Aero, though in reality many, many people will upgrade only to a relatively bland Vista Standard or Basic--sure you'll have built-in search and a new file structure, but it's the transparent windows and flip 3D effect you'll be wanting. For that, you'll need to buy a whole new machine with Windows Vista preinstalled. If you've bought a new PC within the last two years, I'd recommend staying with Windows XP until you absolutely need to upgrade, then buy a new Windows Vista machine.
Check back tomorrow to see what I uncover next.
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May 26, 2006, 2:13 PM PDTEarly signs of trouble
Posted by: Robert Vamosi
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I'll mention again that I'm running Windows Vista beta 2 on a Acer TravelMate 8200 laptop. This model includes a 2GHz Intel Core Duo T2500 processor, 2GB of 533MHz RAM, a discrete ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 graphics card with 256MB of dedicated GDDR3 VRAM, and a 120GBhard drive. This laptop certainly qualifies under Microsoft's Premium recommendations for installing Vista.
Once installed, I used the new Windows Vista Welcome Center to orient myself and install additional drivers. Missing were drivers for my IPMI, my PCI serial port, and my USB 2.0 Web Camera; attempts to download drivers from Microsoft failed, but none of these components are crucial for my work.
What is crucial is the Internet. While I had instant Internet access, I didn't have Firefox nor the various Flash and Shockwave components that are required today. Firefox 1.5 installed on Vista without incident, however, viewing CNET requires Macromedia Flash, and I had trouble getting that to work. For some reason, it took multiple attempts to install before Flash would operate properly within Firefox. My experience was worse using Vista's default browser, Internet Explorer 7. In IE, the Adobe site was inaccessible for some reason. Once Flash did install on both browsers, I was surprised when my chosen video still didn't play properly.
I had a new set of postinstallation problems: although the device manager shows that the Acer TravelMate High Definition Audio Device driver installed (version 6.0.5384.4, dated 6/21/06), it would not run. I had no sound on my laptop. When I queried Vista for solutions, it said there were none.
Being clever, I asked the Vista Device Manager to search my Windows XP partition (I strongly recommend dual-booting your test Windows Vista machine; you'll be much happier). From the XP partition I was able to install a working driver from Realtek Semiconductor (driver version 5.10.0.5191, dated 11/17/05). Giddy with success, I then asked Vista to search the Windows XP partition for the USB 2.0 Webcam driver, and again it found one (Logitech, version 9.4.0.1111, dated 11/18/05). No such luck repairing my IPMI or PCI serial port this way, however.
Using Vista's new "Performance rating and tools" diagnostic tool, I discovered that my installed Vista drivers (the ones that came native with the Vista operating system, not the ones I added manually) are also causing problems. According to the diagnostic tool, several drivers are not performing correctly and therefore are preventing my laptop from going to sleep or hibernating properly. At this juncture, I don't plan on "contacting the vendors or updating them," as Microsoft advises.
My final task for this first day is to install Trillian, the multiparty instant-messaging application. Trillian also installed QuickTime 6, which blanked my desktop display a few times before asking for a reboot. This happened again when I tried to launch and configure Trillian. Vista has a built-in display defense, and I noticed several times it tried to warn me that some app was causing a disturbance, but the message came and went too fast. As configured, Trillian won't load. I'll continue to hack away at this.
Final observation, as I load new apps, Vista seems slower to reboot.
All in all, my experiences today were about average for a first day with a new OS. No matter how hard Microsoft tries to make things simple, there will be drivers that won't install correctly and other minor glitches. That said, it really wasn't a productive day, so expect to spend some downtime with your new operating system. Check back tomorrow to see what I discover next.
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May 25, 2006, 2:39 PM PDTLiving with Windows Vista beta 2
Posted by: Robert Vamosi
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For the record, I have experienced some difficulties, and these events occurred very early in the beta process. Before Microsoft made clear the hardware expectations, I had problems getting the new Aero graphics to work under the September 2005 CTP release, but once I started using high-end Acer laptops, such as an Acer Ferrari 4000, I've had no problems whatsoever. In fact, I just reloaded Windows Vista beta 2 (release 5384.4) on a partition within my Acer TravelMate 8200 and didn't experience a single glitch. Microsoft has available a Get Ready page with specs for merely running the operating system or getting the full 3D graphics effects. Since this code is still in beta, it is recommended that you don't make Vista your sole operating system at this time. To reserve your beta copy, sign up here.
Microsoft changed its installation procedure with Vista. The code arrives as a compressed image that is first copied onto your hard drive, then expanded. I choose a clean install, then used Windows Easy Transfer to copy over my Internet settings and Favorites, but I could also copy over my user accounts, folders, program settings or e-mail settings, contacts, and messages from Windows XP.
Microsoft also says it has separated the Vista code from the various drivers. Upon installation, some basic drivers are installed, but a separate download adds specific drivers for your hardware. Microsoft feels that its enterprise customers will appreciate this, creating fewer images of the OS to roll out across a wide variety of workstations. For the home user, however, it means a faster install. My installation took 45 minutes, start to finish.
Check back tomorrow to read about my first day of living with Windows Vista.
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