Vista RC1 Options

[impala454]

Just installed this tonight, pretty sweet... the flip3d task switching is freakin tight as hell. last time I installed it was beta 1, and this version seems way more polished.

also didn't realize they have their own new document format... "xps" (similiar to pdf). don't know much about it, but they have a 300 page document full of color photos & tables and the entire document is like 12 MB

[Seeker]

i tried it, wasn't impressed, no reason for me to upgrade to it from xp

[Hartmann]

Way more polished, still uses too much memory. I was at near 100% with only a few applications open. Quite frankly, it looks like OS X with transparency.

[impala454]

hmm i haven't really paid much attention to the memory usage yet but i'll see when i get home.

i'm not exactly sure how this:


looks like this:

[Hartmann]

Have you actually used OS X? Everything is pretty much the same. The animations, the way that information is presented, etc.

Oh, you have an analog clock in the top right. Why?! What's the point?!

Also, I love that one screenshot is bigger than the other Automatic degradation... Also, the windows that are open are presenting two different types of information. Instead of having Spotlight results open in the Mac, open the system preferences.

Oh, and the colors are opposite, covenient. White vs. Black.

Go use OS X (a lot) and then use Vista, then get back to me. Looking at a screenshot does nothing.

[impala454]

Looking at a screenshot does nothing.

uhh... except show that they don't look alike? unless I'm mistaken that the first pic is OSX.

[Mommy]

it doesnt look like OS X to me....it looks like a fancier version of XP. I want it

[Hartmann]

uhh... except show that they don't look alike?  unless I'm mistaken that the first pic is OSX.

At first glance... Now use both of them and you'll see that their interfaces are very similiar (minus the os x buttons being on the top left)

The animations, the fades, etc. all are pretty much exact replicas. Again, for someone who hasn't used OS X, you seem to make a lot of assumptions with a simple screenshot. In that case, Linux and WinXP are exact opposites because the taskbar in Linux is thicker.

[impala454]

Again, for someone who hasn't used OS X, you seem to make a lot of assumptions with a simple screenshot.

so... when i sit down at a mac, it doesn't look like the one in the screenshot?

you're saying stuff like "well the animations are the same, blah blah", but how the hell else do you animate a window coming up onto the screen? what were you expecting in vista? an animated dog to run up and take a shit on the screen to make the window come back up?

there's also a lot of very nicely redone interfaces in there. there's an interface that lets you see your running process, it organizes them by company, shows both the task and associated process id(s), whether they make any outside connections, etc. there's also a similiar interface for any open/waiting/etc connections and all associated info (local IP, remote IP, protocol, etc), which also links to/from the process interface. the flip3d shit is really cool too.

as for the sidebar thing w/the clock, i actually left it up there and removed the clock from my taskbar. i don't know if i'll keep the sidebar thing but i stuck a calendar & weather "gadget" in there for now to mess with it. there's some ms document i was going through with all the specific changes between xp & vista. i'll pick some stuff out of it and take some more screenshots at home.

[Hartmann]

so... when i sit down at a mac, it doesn't look like the one in the screenshot?

you're saying stuff like "well the animations are the same, blah blah", but how the hell else do you animate a window coming up onto the screen?  what were you expecting in vista?  an animated dog to run up and take a shit on the screen to make the window come back up?

there's also a lot of very nicely redone interfaces in there.  there's an interface that lets you see your running process, it organizes them by company, shows both the task and associated process id(s), whether they make any outside connections, etc.  there's also a similiar interface for any open/waiting/etc connections and all associated info (local IP, remote IP, protocol, etc), which also links to/from the process interface.  the flip3d shit is really cool too.

as for the sidebar thing w/the clock, i actually left it up there and removed the clock from my taskbar.  i don't know if i'll keep the sidebar thing but i stuck a calendar & weather "gadget" in there for now to mess with it.  there's some ms document i was going through with all the specific changes between xp & vista.  i'll pick some stuff out of it and take some more screenshots at home.

The screenshot looks the same, but you're using that and that alone to make the assumption that just because that looks a little different (different colors, different bars) everything is different.

They have the same fade and drop down to the taskbar, just like OS X. They could have left it completely out, could they not have? WinXP doesn't have animated minimize and maximize or close.

Also, the "Show All current running programs" is an OS X clone to the T.

The running processes thing, yeah, I have that in OS X. I can even see the contents of the packets if it's connected to the net.

Flip3D eh? Yeah, been done. It was available in Linux oh, I dunno, 4 years ago. They have not done anything innovative with Vista, just "improved" existing technology. Hell, even MS has admitted to not being innovators.

My main problem though, for the "cool" features the memory takes a hit. I would not be posting anything about the look if these neat things that are already present in OS X didn't eat up so much memory in Vista. If they fix that, then a lot of current WinXP users will upgrade.

I wasn't trying to make this a "my OS is better" thread, I was just pointing out what was already known, Microsoft is not a company of innovation, just repackaging and slight improvement for their architecture. I mean, they tried to innovate with WinFS and that went down in flames when they realized a database driven file system was the dumbest thing ever.

As an aside, I just feel like MS is building cool for the sake of building it, not functionality. WinXP is functional, it does its job and that's it. It seems like they are adding these new "features" into Vista just for the hell of it. I'm sorry but animations aren't going to help my grandparents write an e-mail. And don't give me the "Well Apple does it, blah blah blah", that's because Apple's target market is different. MS is targeting the everyday user and business. They don't care about these niche markets of developers and designers.

[impala454]

The screenshot looks the same, but you're using that and that alone to make the assumption that just because that looks a little different (different colors, different bars)  everything is different.

so... you're saying it's wrong to look at pictures of two things to determine if they look different? you're losin me here man.

They have the same fade and drop down to the taskbar, just like OS X. They could have left it completely out, could they not have?

again, how is this an original idea? it's only logical that if you have a small item, and make it big, it will fade exactly like it does. it's not some revolutionary OS functionality geezus.

Also, the "Show All current running programs" is an OS X clone to the T.

The running processes thing, yeah, I have that in OS X. I can even see the contents of the packets if it's connected to the net.

again, how is this original? showing more detail of processes was the next logical step.

Flip3D eh? Yeah, been done. It was available in Linux oh, I dunno, 4 years ago. They have not done anything innovative with Vista, just "improved" existing technology. Hell, even MS has admitted to not being innovators.

who gives a shit if it's been done in linux? i don't use linux, nor did i claim anything was innovative. all i said is that it was cool.

My main problem though, for the "cool" features the memory takes a hit. I would not be posting anything about the look if these neat things that are already present in OS X didn't eat up so much memory in Vista. If they fix that, then a lot of current WinXP users will upgrade.

as much as a microsoft follower as you seem to be, i'm sure you tested vista a ton to determine this. like i said before i'll check out my memory usage when i get home... but my machine ran it like a champ.

I wasn't trying to make this a "my OS is better" thread,

could have fooled me. i make a post about some neat things i see in vista and you post about how your OS supposedly already has them and then go on to rant about microsoft.

I was just pointing out what was already known, Microsoft is not a company of innovation, just repackaging and slight improvement for their architecture.

that's great, thank you for the observation. so are you implying that some other company is innovative or does not simply "slightly improve and repackage" their software?

As an aside, I just feel like MS is building cool for the sake of building it, not functionality.

and in this same post you're defending Apple??!?! LOL! I actually think it's great that MS is heading more towards the interesting gfx and warm fuzzies and such. I like the fact that my 3d card will get a little use other than gaming.

WinXP is functional, it does its job and that's it. It seems like they are adding these new "features" into Vista just for the hell of it. I'm sorry but animations aren't going to help my grandparents write an e-mail. And don't give me the "Well Apple does it, blah blah blah", that's because Apple's target market is different. MS is targeting the everyday user and business. They don't care about these niche markets of developers and designers.

How is Apple's OSX target market different than Microsoft's Vista target market?

[Hartmann]

I am going home from work but I'll reply when I get back. Basically, you're saying that the Microsoft features are cool and I'm saying they already exist, so yeah, they may be cool, but they're nothing new.

By looks in my original statement (way up top) my meaning was that the features (the fade, etc.) look exactly the same. I never meant the desktops just alike.

And yes, I've used Vista since back when it was one of the 50-- Longhorn builds.

And yes, there are innovative companies.

More when I get home. Again, I am not trying to defend Apple. I have my own problems with their OS. My whole point was to point out that Vista is nothing special.

[impala454]

By looks in my original statement (way up top) my meaning was that the features (the fade, etc.) look exactly the same.

right, so let me ask this question a third time. how else would you expect a window fade down/up to work/look?

And yes, I've used Vista since back when it was one of the 50-- Longhorn builds.

sweet so now you're comparing beta OSs to complete off the shelf ones..

Again, I am not trying to defend Apple. I have my own problems with their OS.

Well of course you wouldn't be defending them, because I don't believe anyone in this thread has said anything bad about Apple.

My whole point was to point out that Vista is nothing special.

Any particular reason you felt compelled to make this point?

[Spectatrix]

Jesus H. Christ, Impala, chill out. You're making a mountain out of a mole hill here.

[Rocky]

The things that matter in Vista, have nothing to do with the eye candy.