Windows Vista
By Parrish Reinoehl, Pathfinder Networks
July 2006
Last September I wrote about Microsoft’s new operating system, Windows Vista. At the time I was testing a very early beta of the software and there were quite a few features missing. Microsoft has since released many new beta versions and has now begun the Customer Preview Program where any PC user can now download and install Vista beta 2 to try out on their own.
Since my first article about Vista, Microsoft has dramatically backed off on their release date. Originally Vista was slated to be available about now- but that date has now moved to January of 2007. I expect that date will slip again (but not as severely) before Vista is actually widely available.
I’ve had beta 2 build 5384 running for a few days now and am finding it to be much more stable and responsive than the earlier builds. That’s not to say I have not experienced any problems with it- because I have. One big issue has been with driver support. I’ve had trouble finding drivers for my sound card, USB scanner, and my HP LaserJet 1300 printer. This is not Microsoft’s fault though- the hardware manufacturers have to write new drivers for Vista. Most newer hardware will have drivers available by the time Vista is released. Older hardware, however, may simply not work with Vista. For the most part beta 2 it’s a stable, well running build. I’m actually writing this article using Vista and the beta of Office 12 (there are also big changes in store for you Office users).
I’m still finding it frustrating using the new way Vista displays folders and files. I guess I’m too big a fan of the old Windows Explorer and am finding it difficult to let go of that mentality. For those of you familiar with Windows Explorer (not to be confused with Internet Explorer) you simply open My Computer then you can browse your drives. It’s very easy to navigate between your folders and find what you are looking for- assuming you know where you need to look. In Vista that’s mostly all changed. While you can still browse your files and folders through My Computer the entire interface has been changed. It doesn’t seem to be as intuitive as it once was (but, again, this is likely because I’m so familiar with the “old” way of doing things). Vista tries to force you to search for your files based on their type and content- instead of browsing folders for them. Instead of having the user try to remember where you put all your various documents and photos Microsoft is now working to have the operating system do the work of finding those files for us. To be fair, this is the way we should have been doing things all along. Why worry about using folders to organize and store your files if the operating system can pull up the document you want with just a quick search? This technology is called Virtual Folders.
Microsoft has also included a new feature in Vista they are calling the Sidebar. This is an area of your desktop containing Gadgets. These gadgets are small programs that are constantly running in small windows on your desktop. Don’t worry- they don’t eat up any of your usable desktop space as any other programs you open will simply open over the top of the gadgets. The gadgets are customizable and can be purchased from many sources. They are actually quite useful. On my sidebar I have a gadget showing my current CPU and RAM usage levels (it looks exactly like a speedometer/tachometer in your car), a gadget with a slideshow of my photos, and a gadget of a clock. You can add or take away as many as you like. One other useful gadget is a calculator. Whenever you need to use a calculator you can simply click on the calculator gadget to do your calculations- all without going to the Start menu and opening the calculator program.
Without any doubt Vista is great to look at- assuming you have the horsepower to run it. My first impression of the look and feel of Vista is Mac. Yes, that’s right, Vista reminds me of a Mac. From the Start menu changes to the new Sidebar it all looks very “Mac’ish”. That’s not necessarily a bad thing either. New PC users will find Vista much more intuitive to use than previous Windows versions. But, experienced PC users will experience a learning curve as you adjust to the new interface. This new interface is called Aero Glass and uses 3d rendering and transparency quite extensively. Your programs will now have a somewhat transparent effect around the outside edges of the program window. This allows you to more easily see what program window is open below your current window. Drop shadows are also now present- this gives all open programs and windows the effect that they are floating on your desktop. The desktop icons are much larger and more detailed than ever before. Even the desktop wallpaper has a more natural feel to it.
With these good-looks comes a heavy price. The hardware requirements for Vista are quite a jump from any previous version of Windows. At a very minimum you will need an 800 MHz processor, 512mb RAM, a DirectX 9 capable graphics card, and a 20GB hard drive. Keep in mind- that minimum hardware is what Microsoft is calling Vista-Capable. This means you won’t get the fancy Glass desktop or other features that make Vista stand out. Vista will also run exceedingly slow on a PC with those specs- I’d never recommend anyone running it on a PC of that level.
To get the full experience out of Vista you will need to have at least a 1.5ghz processor, 1GB of RAM, a true DirectX9 3D 128MB video card (such as an nVidia or ATI video card), and a 40GB or larger hard drive.
The primary areas to look out for are the RAM and video cards. I’m currently running Vista beta 2 on a 3.2 GHz AMD Athlon64 processor with 1GB DDR RAM, a 128MB nVidia GeForce 5950 video card, and a 160GB SATA hard drive. Even with those specs Vista can be slow at times. To get the most out of my system I would need to bump my machine to 2GB of RAM and change my video card out for a newer 256MB version.
If you’d like to take Vista out for a test drive you can now do so. Microsoft has opened up the beta program to any user that would like to join. You can simply visit http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/getready
and download your own copy. You will need a broadband connection and a DVD burner to burn the file to disc- the download is 3.4GB in size. You can also order the DVD for a nominal price. If you’d simply like to see if your PC is capable of running Vista you can run download and run the Windows Vista Upgrade Visor by visiting http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/getready/upgradeadvisor
If you do decide to try out the Vista beta version keep in mind that you will be completely erasing your current operating system and files- this is not something a casual PC user is going to want to undertake. But, for the more experienced and adventurous out there it can be an exciting experience! The current beta version will expire on June 1, 2007- so you can play around with a new operating system for free for about a year.
We will also have a PC running Vista Beta 2 setup in our storefront in the next few weeks. Stop on by if you’d like to take a look and see what’s coming.
About the Author:
Parrish Reinoehl is President of Pathfinder Networks; a Niles based technology consulting firm specializing in providing affordable computer services to small businesses and home users including networks, PC support, sales, and service. Pathfinder Networks can be reached at 269-684-7696 or via email at parrish@pathfindernetworks.com
Pathfinder Networks website is http://www.PathfinderNetworks.com
Visit our retail location at 1920 S. 11th St., Niles, MI (in Belle Plaza).
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