Microsoft VISTA

[TrinireturnofGamez]

  Vista will TRY and eliminate piracy.. as we'v seen thus far pirates will make their own version of Vista if they have to (/me running custom made windows XP with built in firefox ,download accelerator etc.)   ,  or will modify the games and software to  run on XP as we'v seen with doom 3 running on 98 .   
   though vista promises to bring alot to the table, the 3d interface will automatically unload itself from the RAM when playing an intensive game, it will have built in benchmark features , supposedly better security  and  file systems ..

[disciple]

all these anti-piracy methods gonna do , is hassle those who have legitimate copies of the software ( like the activation scheme with xp..)

those who pirate on a large scale, and those who know how to obtain pirated software, will always get it..
granted it will take some time for vista's methods to be cracked, it is not a matter of 'if' but WHEN

humans thought it up, and humans will defeat it..

[disciple]

like channa from a cold doubles, the plot thickens....

Windows Starter 2007 (Previously Windows Vista Starter Edition). This version does not use the Vista branding because it will not include the Aero graphics display found in the Vista line of products, and will only ship in a 32-bit version.

Windows Vista Home Basic (and Home Basic N). A simple version of Windows Vista that is aimed at single PC homes. Windows Vista Home Basic is the baseline version of Windows Vista, and the version that all other product editions will build from. Home Basic N is aimed at the EU and will lack Windows Media Player.

Windows Vista Home Premium. Whole home entertainment and personal productivity throughout the home and on the go. As a true superset of Home Basic, Windows Vista Home Premium Edition will include everything from Home Basic, as well as Media Center and Media Center Extender functionality (including Cable Card support).

Windows Vista Business (and Business N) (Previously Windows Vista Professional Edition). Windows Vista Business is roughly analogous to XP Pro today. This version is aimed at business decision makers and IT managers and generalists. Business N is aimed at the EU and will lack Windows Media Player.

Windows Vista Enterprise. Optimized for the enterprise, this version will be a true superset of Windows Vista Pro Edition. It will also include unique features such as Virtual PC, the multi-language user interface (MUI), and the Secure Startup/full volume encryption security technologies ("Cornerstone"). There is no analogous XP version for this product.

Windows Vista Ultimate. The best operating system ever offered for a personal PC, optimized for the individual. Windows Vista Ultimate Edition is a superset of both Vista Home Premium and Vista Business, so it includes all of the features of both of those product versions, plus other features.
What's missing from this list is Windows Vista Small Business Edition, which was to have been a superset of Vista Business with additional features presumably geared towards small businesses. As I noted in my September 2005 write-up, however, all of the product names were then placeholders and could have changed before the final product is released. This week, it's clear what those changes are. For more information, please refer to my Windows Vista Product Editions Preview on the SuperSite for Windows; I'll be republishing this document to match the known changes soon.

http://www.windowsitpro.com/windowspaulthurrott/Article/ArticleID/49450/windowspaulthurrott_49450.html

we all knew there'd be multiple versions. what i'd like to know now, is the pricing scheme..  i think starter 2007 will get the least love.. cept for in developing countries..  ( but then, why buy a crippled OS, when you can get a full solution, for free ( linux, bsd) )

[TinyGrasshopper]

I was looking at a demo of the alpha on www.dl.tv and they were showing some of the proposed child safety stuff as well as control panel and other basic stuff. The start menu isn't like the typical menu anymore. It's a explorer-like tree-list that exists inside the frequently accessed programs list. The control panel's interface is  better. Apparently you could lock games according to the esrb rating in addition to a number of other granular controls over the access to games based on the ratings. What I'd like to know is would that mean that games' esrb rating would be digitally signed somehow? The general interface just seems kinda weird though. I guess it's just foreign. There don't seem to be a static menu by default, just a bunch of context sensitive ones that sit below the toolbar.

[Jdcrys_Shinkuu]

hmmmm all interesting info. But ill wait for the first service pack to install vista.

[W1nTry]

Grasshopper has obviously never seen Mac OS X... as always Billy is copying the ideas of his old school mate. Blah  :p

[TinyGrasshopper]

I've seen OSX. Granted it's not intimately, just instore and on other people's machines. I realise that all the niceties are just ripped from OSX. When I say static menus, I mean a menu per program. Vista's windows don't seem to have an actual menu bar just menus littered about the toolbar. I'm sure it'll work just fine, it just seems a little weird fom a distance.

[Spazosaurus]

There's a new Vista CTP that came out sometime yesterday. They say it is now feature complete and the GUI very closely resembles what the final GUI will look like. I guess this is our first real idea of what the much anticipated/hyped os will look like.

[TrinireturnofGamez]

  Reasons why Vista won't suck :
 
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,1931913,00.asp ....
 
 Basically its bigger of an overhaul than Windows XP was , and will run on 32 bit platforms .

[W1nTry]

Sounds like alot of PR so far. And I laughed at the reference they made at the end:
Win3.1 to WinXP OR OS9 to OS X. I hope it is all that they say it will be, but the article does omit a few thigns like:
Sure DX10 is integrates the desktop into a 3D (OS X) type interface... but what they don't tell you is that OpenGL will no longer be natively supported and it will be run ON TOP OF DX10. Which as we all know will slow things down...
With the dawn of the Windows media formats (should they GOD forbid gain market dominance), with DRM and platform security becoming a reality, it'll lock Linux and the other free variants out LEGALLY. (see the intel viiv article from prior).
The point out that the aero interface will use a 128MB video card and up. This is great from a hardware manufacturer point of view... but where does that leave ALL those integrated boards? (the non 6200TC and X300HM). Can anyone spell FORCING upgrades.
And lastly we won't know how secure it is till they have viruses (or lack thereof) for it. It could turn out just as bad. I agree with MS on 1 point about security. Windows is the dominant OS and therefore there are alot more hackers, etc out there to write malicious software. So... lets say VIsta continues MS reign as the majority out there... doesn't that mean they'll have just as many ppl hacking away code to @#$% you over? I mean if they made it ultimately secure then what would all those security outfits (see Symantec, etc) do??? that industry is TOO large to have MS sink it in 1 fell swoop. I do hope for greatly improved security, but I see it as just a minor obsticle for all those malware writers out there to find a way over. Time will tell.
I won't be upgrading in a hurry, as Vista looks to be forcing major hardware overhauls which don't come cheap, especially to a gamer. Plus OS X may run on an X86 built-by-urself rig soon. So if you want looks, just us that.

[TinyGrasshopper]

Sure DX10 is integrates the desktop into a 3D (OS X) type interface... but what they don't tell you is that OpenGL will no longer be natively supported and it will be run ON TOP OF DX10. Which as we all know will slow things down...

This is what's pissing me off. It's obvious that they're squeezing out OpenGL further locking down their platform as the only viable gaming platform out there.

[W1nTry]

Hmm here's a MUST read if you planning on switching:
VISTA IS A MEMORY HOG

[disciple]

*gulp*

Our source reported that Vista runs ok with 1024Mb of system memory but no-doubt 2048Mb would be much better.

2 gigs for comfort?  wah i look like I runnin? a Cray?

[Czar]

*gulp*

Our source reported that Vista runs ok with 1024Mb of system memory but no-doubt 2048Mb would be much better.

2 gigs for comfort? wah i look like I runnin? a Cray?

2GB of RAM ain't really that much when you think about it...hell...I'm running with 2GB in my PC right now...but then again...this machine was built with the primary focus of playing games...but I've always made a conscious decision to increase the amount of RAM that I put into each new machine that I built...I remember when I got my first machine, it was 8MB...then 16...64...256...512...1GB...and now finally 2GB.

RAM is so inexpensive now compared to years gone by...even the machine I ordered for my folks the other day has 1GB in it...and all they gonna do is browse the internet, check email, do some business letters in Word form time to time and keep track of their invoicing...certainly nothing worthy of 1GB of RAM...but the difference in price between that and 512MB was negligible imo...and it gives them lots of headroom.

[TrinireturnofGamez]

  Ram is cheap , 2 gigs isn't ...  i payed about 100 USD for my gig of RAM , now you can get 1 gig for 70 US or so.. but 2 gigs? and high speed DDR II isn't cheap ....  even if prices go down it will cost more than 150 US .... wtf @ vista!   
  Mike h0e soft getting out of hand .
  though i heard a rumour that when running a game the OS will swap to HD to minimize performance impact

    I building a new rig octoberish anyway, it will run vista.. but not as well as i'd imagined....   

  Vista seriously looking like a move to help out hardware manufacturers , even windows XP can configure itself  to take up less than 64mb of RAM ( school pcs)
 
  But look on the  bright side ,  it means that pcs will push higher specs  ,  your average dell with integ video  will  be able to play any game  you can lay your hands on.... albeit slow .

[disciple]

what i lookin at is why i need 2 gigs in vista to operate at the same level 512 in XP gives?


yes i understand that with each iteration minimum requirements will raise.. but jeez.. what so special about vista that it needs 2 gigs to stretch out?  i was under the impression that the real meat of vista was aero, being handled by your gfx card(which itself supposed to be  somewhat recent to take on  aero's piggy)..

also, considering that WinFS was stripped out.. i assume with journalised filing with built in SQL capabilities will require a fair sized chunk as well when it is released later on



mostly , i thinkin in terms of laptops.. SODIMMs normally run a bit pricier e.g. $140 for a 1 gig stick for my model.. 

as you said, your machine is made for sweating games, so 2 gigs is what you put in as an enthusiast.. wah about joe sixpack? why he need 2 gigs to run word, azureus and perhaps windows live messenger?

also.. seein that 2 gigs is wah you rockin now to get tha extra edge, how much you gonna have to up the ante to get a similar performance boost in vista? 

to 4 gigs?
(yes i know, eventually we normally reach and surpass min and avg. specs.. but this sayin that right out the gate, you need to be packin some heat exponentially hotter that what you rockin now)


lol@ trini 'ram cheap, 2 gigs isn't'  ... aint that the truth?



yeh.. i rem those days single digit ram days..  had a 4 megs, 1/2 meg cirrus logic 2d gfx card (plip plip!!) , 40 mghz AMD 486 clone and a 420 meg hard drive..with win 3.11

but yuh eh ole veteran unless u rock a monochrome monitor on a 286 with 2 floppys and no hard drive..lol
 

[W1nTry]

I agree with some of the parts of the above posts. Firstly this strikes me as something MS is doing to boost Hardware sales... 2GB though can be cheap, for a cut down PC (which i am sure is the majority out there) is totally impractical. Secondly it COULD mean a basic rig will play older games easily... however I say COULD because rem there will be a cut down version of Vista without the Aero interface.... so no need for powerful graphics to run it properly. And I think that added cost of a better video solution will turn away many businesses in favour of a less pretty but still functional version. Lastly, what is eating up all these resources??? the interface??? backgroung tasks??? did MS load the whole of MS Office and any other MS related app they could find into RAM??? (now this isn't an impossible idea eh) If they preloaded alot of THEIR apps into RAM early, then THEIR apps would run FASTER by default, thus making the competitors look slow and outdated.. (more monopolostic crap etc). But anyways, if its the interface then how did APPLE get it AQUA to run on a machine with 256MB of ram :p

[TinyGrasshopper]

That headline seemed a bit unreasonable. I doubt Microsoft is gonna sit on their laurels with this beta and let the final product have similar hardware requirements. And we don't really know what was going on in that system. It is obvious that'll it have higher hardware needs though, but I think we should wait and see.

[TinyGrasshopper]

Samsumg seems very pleased with the possiblity of it though
http://www.tgdaily.com/2006/03/09/dram_vista/

[Heady]

its like a reading spanish O.o