Vista RC2: More Refined, But Still Not Perfect

jcatcw writes, "Scot Finnie continues his love — hate relationship with Windows Vista. He installed the latest beta, RC2, on three machines. First problem: drivers — too many of them that should be available just aren't. User Access Control remains annoying and Vista's Software Protection Platform puts antipiracy above user security. Software compatibility is still in need even at this late date. However, previous problems with the Media Center were absent." And turnitover writes to point us to PC Mag's RC2 review. Their bottom line is that they expect an RC2+ or even an RC3 before it goes final. Here is PC Mag's slide show.

Update: 10/09 19:33 GMT by kd : michigano writes: "This late in the game and Microsoft has pulled firewire support from their OS! No one knows if its permanent."

Re:More refined guys, in SP1 :)

[arthurpaliden]

Vistas' not done till Google won't run......

Re:Small gripe

[Old Thrashbarg]

McFly?!

Re:Who do they expect to buy this?

[jfengel]

Well, given that something like a half-billion PCs are sold each year, that's a bit like asking, "Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?"

They'll also sell a lot of Vista licenses to offices whose IT shops want to maintain only a single platform. Once they start having to buy new PCs with Vista, they'll want to upgrade the entire shop. The larger the ratio of users to IT, the more they're going to standardize their systems. It's a convenience for them, like replacing the lightbulbs all at once rather than waiting for them to burn out.

Individual users will continue to use their XP installations for perhaps 3-5 years. Over time bits of hardware fail and it's easier for many to replace the entire thing, especially when that elderly PC starts to feel pokey in comparison to the new computers; the new software will find ways to use the extra CPU power. And with a Windows installation, it may not be an illusion of contrast: between registry/DLL bloat in legal software, and the many users who will be infected with malware, it may actually be slower. Cleaning the OS and replacing components gradually becomes less efficient than just buying a shiny new one.

Wow

[valkabo]

That looks sweet! MAN! Thats gonna kick as- Microsoft made it? Eh, its gonna suck. Fuck gates! HES A MONERY GRUBBING THIEF!!! BASTARD!

Re:So which is it?

[Kozar_The_Malignant]

>Is it a beta release, or is it a release candidate?

With recent Microsoft products, evidence suggests it should be considered a Beta up to the release of SP2.

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:900 megabytes of RAM for IE?

[alx5000]

It's trying to mimmick Firefox's success... But maybe they got it wrong...

Re:So which is it?

[ffejie]

Windows Shortcut Keys [microsoft.com]

I knew a bunch of these, but there are a ton of good ones out there. Don't know how much I'll use them, but I'll take it into consideration. My favorite, by far:

Windows Logo+S: Toggles CAPS LOCK on and off

Thanks, I don't have a key that already does that.... wait a second! The real problem is, my laptop cut the Windows key out and put the function key there instead.

Feels Like Street Fighter!

[EXTomar]

With naming conventions like this, it is starting to get close to Street Fighter levels of awesomenessocity. Next up: "Microsoft Windows Vista: Release Canidate 2 Beta Final Alpha Turbo 4...Professional!"

Seems somehow familiar...

[Kadin2048]

Proper way to do it: When the user needs to perform an administrative task, have them enter a password, then allow ALL administrative tasks performed within the next several minutes without asking. If the time runs out, ask for the password again. This allows people to perform Administrative tasks without constantly having to click on annoying dialog boxes for every step they perform.

So ... in other words .... sudo?