Yesterday I downloaded and installed the latest version of Windows Vista, Build 5536. This is the Pre-RC1 build, so after this we should see what probably is the closest build to the final release next year. My conclusion so far: Vista is shaping up to what Microsoft wants it to be. Some improvements are small and hardly noticeable, but others are definitely visible – or should I say: noticeable. Performance has gone up on my PC. Vista feels more responsive and quicker on it’s feet. Yes, this release is miles away from the crappy beta2 community release (the one that probably did more harm than good to Microsoft’s PR. So let’s have a look at some of the the good, bad and ugly.
Here are some things that I consider to be good in this release so far:
The Good:
- Performance is up from previous beta’s
- Install under 30 minutes
- Stability improved
- Slight improvements in GUI (Icons, personalize desktop)
- User Account Control (UAC) improved
- Better device recognition (drivers)
- Program Compatibility Wizard: let’s you install pre-Vista applications (not all, obviously)
- Some new sidebar gadgets (weather)
- My screen no longer refreshes twice when I use my KVM switching back and forth
The Bad:
- Still not all hardware recognized out-of-the-box (drivers; sound card)
- Some automatic shortcuts do not disappear (i.e. after you installed Windows Live Messenger
- Do we really need all the eye-candy?
The Ugly:
- UAC still pops up way too many times: folks, just have a better look at Mac OSX and it’s keychain!
- Media Center still not working with my TV-card and will crash Vista
- Sync Center (replacement of ActiveSync) still does not allow sync with my mobile phone and Outlook 2007
- Interface for Control Center still confusing and way too complex
- My U3 enabled USB stick won’t work properly
Now, since I work with Mac OS X as well, I notice a lot of features and things that Microsoft obviously copied (what else is new?) from OS X (and the next OS X: Leopard):
- Keychain (UAC – bad!)
- Screenshot tool (Snipping Tool)
- Dashboard, Widgets (Sidebar Gadgets)
- Time machine (Volume Shadow Copy: makes a hidden backup of previous versions of files, this is NOT System Restore)
- iPhoto (Photo Gallery)
- iMovie (Windows Movie Maker)
- Expose (Windows 3D flip)
- Drive encryption (BitLocker)
However, OS X lacks some features that Vista has, for instance the firewall. OS X had no control panel for the firewall, so no out-of-the-box blocking for those ET-phone-home apps or a Fishing filter for your browser. On the other hand: Leopard will have native multiple desktops and Vista doesn’t.
So, the bottom line is, will Vista be able to perform and will it lure XP users into upgrading? Well, I think what will be key here is the hardware you have. If you have a nice new PC or laptop with the new Pentium Dual Core and some other nice spec, you probably do want to upgrade. On the other hand I feel that people that do not like change, will hate Vista. On the other hand: people might be getting used to that sooner than you’d think.
One thing is for sure: in 2007 I definitely am going to buy a new Dual Core PC.
