Windows: Vista beta released to Developers

Plain Old Jane · 08-12-2005, 09:46 AM

Last anyone I know heard, the next incarnation of windows was going to be called Longhorn, it was going to be a Digital Rights Management nightmare, with all kinds of things that makes the internet unfun.

Microsoft has released a beta version of a new windows version called Vista to developers, this new version as said by TTT correspondant Colin "TestTube Baby", is said to be "more apple-ized, which looks to be true.

As far as I am concerned, Microsoft has been on my shit list since they dumped DOS (sniffle) but I would say they are headed back towards a more noble (read: linux-y) path.

It looks like a good build, with rendered icons and new features like being able to sort files by author, importance, and title. (not just name) I also believe they are allowing to rename file suffixes again, which is a big plus, I hate having to run: cmd, then cd to the directory, then dir to see what the cmd is calling the file, then typing: "rename colinsPSOporn.avi weekend_at_bernies.mpeg"

Another good thing is the enlarged icons for larger resolutions, and rendered folder previews, in XP, the folder is shown with 4 small thumbnails, but in Vista, the folder is rendered with a few pics shown at an angle hanging out of the folder. It is really quite pretty.

I believe that is what windows has lacked in the past (besides a stable build) and what Apple always excelled in, pretty renderings.

While I will need to see some more info on its own DRM protocols before I go out of my way to purchase it, I think this build is actually a pretty good looking one.

thecreeper · 08-12-2005, 10:42 AM

i still haven't seen any images of this yet, but after using a Mac off and on this summer, i can say i don't particularly care for all the eye candy like in OS X. It certainly looks bitchin', but jesus, the computer was a 2.4 ghz with 512mb of ram and it chugged trying to run Photoshop, Dreamweaver, and Firefox together. that shouldn't happen.

raublekick · 08-12-2005, 12:16 PM

Quote:

I also believe they are allowing to rename file suffixes again, which is a big plus, I hate having to run: cmd, then cd to the directory, then dir to see what the cmd is calling the file, then typing: "rename colinsPSOporn.avi weekend_at_bernies.mpeg"

this was never ommitted, they just made it default to hiding extensions. uncheck that option in the folder view properties and set it to all folders.

and the eye candy might be a hinderance to gaming from what i've heard. microsoft might do a weird OpenGl/directx hybrid to do the flashy things in Vista, which will prevent other programs (i.e. games) from running OpenGL. it is a good way to force developers into DirectX/Direct3D.

i don't think the DRM crap is really going to go through, i haven't heard much at all about it since the beta came out and there have been tons of DRM scares in the past few months that have really gone nowhere.

i'm with creep though, i really don't like the "flashiness" of OSX.

i really wish Microsoft, Gnome, KDE, or Apple would make a customizable shell for "experts" and enable downloading of custom shells. like themes, but more in depth. WinXP is the best interface of an OS i've used yet, but i still think i could tweak some aspects to fit my personal bill.

Mr Biglesworth · 08-12-2005, 12:25 PM

anyone know when 64 bit windows is gonna be officially out?

GT2000 · 08-12-2005, 03:08 PM

Not sure on a release date for x64, waiting on it though, will most likely switch over to it when it's fully supported. As for Vista, a friend who works in the IT field will be getting a copy for his job soon so he can start getting aquainted, I'll be waiting for word from him on how it is.

Plain Old Jane · 08-13-2005, 03:00 PM

I meant to post this link when I wrote it but I forgot.

Albino Black Sheep did a screenshot by screenshot review, its pretty.

http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/image/vista/1

buttons up top for next and previous.

(thankfs for the tip.)

thecreeper · 08-13-2005, 05:03 PM

looks nice, some neat additions, but i am not seeing any huge reason to get it right away.

Mike · 08-13-2005, 05:03 PM

One of the guys from my work got it as he's on the MSDN. The Longhorn was just the codename ... XP had a codename as well, as did 98/95, but I've gotten them all in my extreme old age. I haven't seen it running yet.

THe only thing that interests me is the full catalogueing ... you can type in a word and in realtime it scans your computer and gives you all of the documents / programs that have that word in it. Among other things, this is incredibly effective. OSX Tiger rolled out with this feature, and it's a great feature to have.

For developers, ximage sounds great, as do the newly added GD Compression tools for the new IIS.

Other than that, it ... seems more like just another update, something worthy of a service pack, not an entirely new OS. Whatever, it'll make obtaining XP even easier

Cid · 08-13-2005, 05:06 PM

Just an aside, but DOS sucked nuts. It was probably one thing Microsoft did RIGHT, dumping it (well, as "dumped" as they could get at least). If you've ever used a UNIX based OS, you'd completely hear me on the DOS thing. DOS was one of Window's biggest downfalls.

thecreeper · 08-13-2005, 05:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cid

Just an aside, but DOS sucked nuts. It was probably one thing Microsoft did RIGHT, dumping it (well, as "dumped" as they could get at least). If you've ever used a UNIX based OS, you'd completely hear me on the DOS thing. DOS was one of Window's biggest downfalls.

agreed.

johnny · 08-14-2005, 10:07 AM

vista is looking pretty sharp in those photos on albino black sheep. i'm probably going to want to check it out when it's released. (i'd rather be running gentoo or ubuntu linux, but xp is a fine os anyways, and it seems like vista will be a good improvement on xp.)

Mike · 08-14-2005, 09:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cid

Just an aside, but DOS sucked nuts. It was probably one thing Microsoft did RIGHT, dumping it (well, as "dumped" as they could get at least). If you've ever used a UNIX based OS, you'd completely hear me on the DOS thing. DOS was one of Window's biggest downfalls.

omg I agree with Cid!

Mr Biglesworth · 08-14-2005, 10:00 PM

i liked dos for its simplicity... it let me do things without the politics. if i wanted to delete a file, it would let me, provided dos wasn't running on it. I get mad at windows sometimes because it doesn't grant me the absolute power i need.

Plain Old Jane · 08-14-2005, 11:13 PM

I wrote a longish post on why i liked dos and how its all we had and we were greatful and how we had to walk 15 miles to school in my day, uphill both ways. yadda yadda.

Suffice to say, given the context of the time in which it was built, it was a damn good piece of software and a great deal more stable than the OSes that have been spurned by its childe Windows.

I just perfer it, it didnt suck nuts, I could weave in and out of batch code and augment the autoexec without needing special permission or other bullshit. I could read and look at pictures and even write in my favorite program DOS EDIT when I wanted to, and I did often. I even played the original sim city on it.

I appreciate DOS in the same was I appreciated Windows 3.11, its what I grew up with.

johnny · 08-15-2005, 07:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Plain Old Jane

its what I grew up with.

then i guess you grew up with an os that sucked balls.

thecreeper · 08-15-2005, 04:12 PM

the thumbs down really made that post johnny.

08-12-2005, 09:46 AM	#1
Plain Old Jane i hate vagina Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 841	Windows: Vista beta released to Developers Last anyone I know heard, the next incarnation of windows was going to be called Longhorn, it was going to be a Digital Rights Management nightmare, with all kinds of things that makes the internet unfun. Microsoft has released a beta version of a new windows version called Vista to developers, this new version as said by TTT correspondant Colin "TestTube Baby", is said to be "more apple-ized, which looks to be true. As far as I am concerned, Microsoft has been on my shit list since they dumped DOS (sniffle) but I would say they are headed back towards a more noble (read: linux-y) path. It looks like a good build, with rendered icons and new features like being able to sort files by author, importance, and title. (not just name) I also believe they are allowing to rename file suffixes again, which is a big plus, I hate having to run: cmd, then cd to the directory, then dir to see what the cmd is calling the file, then typing: "rename colinsPSOporn.avi weekend_at_bernies.mpeg" Another good thing is the enlarged icons for larger resolutions, and rendered folder previews, in XP, the folder is shown with 4 small thumbnails, but in Vista, the folder is rendered with a few pics shown at an angle hanging out of the folder. It is really quite pretty. I believe that is what windows has lacked in the past (besides a stable build) and what Apple always excelled in, pretty renderings. While I will need to see some more info on its own DRM protocols before I go out of my way to purchase it, I think this build is actually a pretty good looking one. Last edited by thecreeper : 08-12-2005 at 10:39 AM. Reason: you know why.

08-12-2005, 10:42 AM	#2
thecreeper Administrator Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Lancaster, PA Posts: 2,330	i still haven't seen any images of this yet, but after using a Mac off and on this summer, i can say i don't particularly care for all the eye candy like in OS X. It certainly looks bitchin', but jesus, the computer was a 2.4 ghz with 512mb of ram and it chugged trying to run Photoshop, Dreamweaver, and Firefox together. that shouldn't happen. __________________ good-evil.net - ahh, wade boggs...goes down smooth.

08-12-2005, 03:08 PM	#5
GT2000 Playing God @ Your Xpense Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Va Beach, Va Posts: 2,040	Not sure on a release date for x64, waiting on it though, will most likely switch over to it when it's fully supported. As for Vista, a friend who works in the IT field will be getting a copy for his job soon so he can start getting aquainted, I'll be waiting for word from him on how it is. __________________ Hop in, strap down, and hold on tight.

08-13-2005, 03:00 PM	#6
Plain Old Jane i hate vagina Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 841	I meant to post this link when I wrote it but I forgot. Albino Black Sheep did a screenshot by screenshot review, its pretty. http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/image/vista/1 buttons up top for next and previous. (thankfs for the tip.) __________________ Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites.

08-13-2005, 05:03 PM	#7
thecreeper Administrator Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Lancaster, PA Posts: 2,330	looks nice, some neat additions, but i am not seeing any huge reason to get it right away. __________________ good-evil.net - ahh, wade boggs...goes down smooth.

08-12-2005, 12:25 PM	#4
Mr Biglesworth Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: I live in London Posts: 862	anyone know when 64 bit windows is gonna be officially out?

08-13-2005, 05:03 PM	#8
Mike Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 489	One of the guys from my work got it as he's on the MSDN. The Longhorn was just the codename ... XP had a codename as well, as did 98/95, but I've gotten them all in my extreme old age. I haven't seen it running yet. THe only thing that interests me is the full catalogueing ... you can type in a word and in realtime it scans your computer and gives you all of the documents / programs that have that word in it. Among other things, this is incredibly effective. OSX Tiger rolled out with this feature, and it's a great feature to have. For developers, ximage sounds great, as do the newly added GD Compression tools for the new IIS. Other than that, it ... seems more like just another update, something worthy of a service pack, not an entirely new OS. Whatever, it'll make obtaining XP even easier

08-13-2005, 05:06 PM	#9
Cid Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: HELL Posts: 399	Just an aside, but DOS sucked nuts. It was probably one thing Microsoft did RIGHT, dumping it (well, as "dumped" as they could get at least). If you've ever used a UNIX based OS, you'd completely hear me on the DOS thing. DOS was one of Window's biggest downfalls. __________________ I like the things I do, so hooray for me...and fuck you!

08-14-2005, 10:07 AM	#11
johnny Moderator Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Upper Canada Posts: 1,276	vista is looking pretty sharp in those photos on albino black sheep. i'm probably going to want to check it out when it's released. (i'd rather be running gentoo or ubuntu linux, but xp is a fine os anyways, and it seems like vista will be a good improvement on xp.)

08-14-2005, 10:00 PM	#13
Mr Biglesworth Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: I live in London Posts: 862	i liked dos for its simplicity... it let me do things without the politics. if i wanted to delete a file, it would let me, provided dos wasn't running on it. I get mad at windows sometimes because it doesn't grant me the absolute power i need.

08-14-2005, 11:13 PM	#14
Plain Old Jane i hate vagina Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 841	I wrote a longish post on why i liked dos and how its all we had and we were greatful and how we had to walk 15 miles to school in my day, uphill both ways. yadda yadda. Suffice to say, given the context of the time in which it was built, it was a damn good piece of software and a great deal more stable than the OSes that have been spurned by its childe Windows. I just perfer it, it didnt suck nuts, I could weave in and out of batch code and augment the autoexec without needing special permission or other bullshit. I could read and look at pictures and even write in my favorite program DOS EDIT when I wanted to, and I did often. I even played the original sim city on it. I appreciate DOS in the same was I appreciated Windows 3.11, its what I grew up with. __________________ Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites.

08-15-2005, 04:12 PM	#16
thecreeper Administrator Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Lancaster, PA Posts: 2,330	the thumbs down really made that post johnny. __________________ good-evil.net - ahh, wade boggs...goes down smooth.