by David Steward. APCUG Advisor, Region 8 and Program Chair,
Alamo PC Organization, Texas
From the March, 2007 issue of the I/O Port Newsletter
The title of this article explains a lot. With the release of Microsoft’s newest
iteration of Operating Systems, Vista, we are going to be making a lot of
changes in how we perform day-to-day tasks on our computers. For once, I think
they actually got it right. With a more intuitive interface, a lot less
cluttered desktop, easier networking and a much more robust security system,
Vista will indeed go a long way in making the lives of us who spend a great deal
of time staring at a computer screen easier and more exciting.
Getting Started
The first thing that you will notice when opening the box is that Vista is
shipped on a DVD instead of a CD, as all of the previous operating systems from
Microsoft have been. There are a couple of reasons for this. The first is that
Vista is packed with much more content than has been available in the past.
Things like Windows Defender, Sidebar, Snipit ( a screen capture utility and
more ), built-in Fax and Scan, and Windows Live Meeting all of which are
designed to make life easier.
The second is that regardless of which version (see below) you purchase, all of
the versions are included on the DVD. The version that loads depends on the
installation key that you receive with the purchase. What does this mean to us,
as consumers? It means that you can upgrade the OS version any time you want,
and the media is already on the disc. All you need to do is the purchase the
upgraded “key” and the system will do the rest.
As mentioned above, Vista is being offered in many different versions. Each
version is, of course, designed around a specific type of user. At the time of
this article’s writing, the following versions are being offered:
Vista Home Basic – Basic package. Contains all the usual things that you would
expect to be included in an operating system plus many new enhancements.
Vista Home Premium – Adds support for the Media Center PC, the Tablet PC,
automated backups, Windows Areo and Glass, built in DVD authoring, and much
more.
Vista Business – Version scaled for business use
Vista Ultimate – The whole enchilada. Contains everything including support for
multiple processors.
For a detailed description of each version, and to help decide which is right
for you, visit
this page.
On a little side note here, I want to caution the readers to not think only in
today’s terms when deciding which version of Vista to choose. With the advent of
the multiple core processors and initiatives to put more processors on the
motherboard, each with multiple cores, you might want to consider the Ultimate
edition, as it directly supports multiple processors, up to 128 gigs of memory (
on 64 bit machines ) and makes use of the higher buss speeds associated with
multiple cores. Plus, as you will see later, it grows with your system.
Entertainment
As I said previously, Vista is designed to make your life easier. Plus, a lot of
the OS has been wound around the entertainment capabilities of today’s PC. With
built in DVD, CD and TV ( with tuner card installed ) support, any PC can be
turned into the main entertainment center of your house.
Most of us have grown up using a PC for normal things like word processing,
spreadsheets, digital photography, listening to music, email, and surfing the
web. Basically, everything that we can do while sitting about 2 feet from the
computer screen. Well, a new “buzz’ word in the industry is the “10 foot”
experience. It encompasses things that we can do away from the computer. This
includes experiences like storing all of your DVD’s and videos on your
computer’s hard disk, and viewing them from anywhere in your house. Being able
to show slideshows of your photos on your TV in the den, listening to your music
files in the bedroom including changing the playlists a you desire. Vista makes
this possible. And, Vista’s Media Center capabilities will couple with your
Xbox360 and use it as a media extender.
If you want to see if your computer is Vista capable, visit the “Vista Upgrade
Advisor” here. The
Upgrade Advisor will perform a very thorough search of your system’s hardware
and installed software and let you know what needs to be changed before
upgrading to Vista.
The Meat
Let’s get to the actual operation of the software. Before I installed Vista, I
ran the included Upgrade Advisor, which informed me that I needed to remove the
“Nero Burning Rom” software before I could install Vista. In addition, it
cautioned me that although Vista would run on my system, I would not achieve the
full performance of the graphics engine due to the installed drivers for my
video card. Specifically, I would not be able to run the Aero or Glass
enhancements. At the time, I did not consider that a good enough reason to rush
out and purchase a new high end graphics card, so I went ahead and installed
Vista, after removing Nero. I chose to upgrade my existing system, as I have a
ton of programs installed, and did not want to have to re-install all of them.
So, after entering a few basic pieces of information, including the “key”, Vista
took off and performed all of the upgrade functions without any further input
from me. This is good as it took almost 2 hours to completely install and
upgrade the system. At one point, I thought that it was stuck and that I would
have to start over, but it wasn’t. It just took that long to load the features
and enhancements, and upgrade the existing programs.
This might be a good time to point out that I am performing this review on a 2
year old Sony Vaio Media Center PC, which has a Pentium 4 running at 3.4 Ghz, 1
GB of RAM, a 320 GB drive, and a 64 MB on board graphics card. I have
partitioned the drive into 2 partitions, a 80 GB program partition, and a 240 GB
data partition.
Finally, the upgrade finished and the system rebooted into Vista. The first
thing that you see is a screen titled the “Welcome Center”. From this screen,
you setup all of the basic things like security, users and internet settings.
This is all accomplished by wizards that lead you through the process
step-by-step. You can also view some very informative videos that introduce you
to the features of Vista. It also gives you the opportunity to register and go
online with Windows Live, a place where you can setup your own personalized
start page with Live Mail access, news, weather, RSS feeds, etc….however you
want it to look.
After you finish setting up all the necessary features, it is time to explore
and have fun. I am not going to write about every feature and function, as I
would have to write an entire book to cover it all, but I am going to highlight
a couple of things that I think will be of interest to us all.
First, Vista has a ton of informational type of screens that tell you a lot
about your particular system and hardware. One of these is called “Performance
and Information Tools” which is accessible from the “System and Maintenance”
button on the Control Panel. This is where you can find out what your system
experience rating is. This will let you know how Vista will perform under
different conditions, and whether or not you can take advantage of some of the
enhancements like Aero or Glass on your desktop. My particular system rating was
2.8. The reason for the mediocre rating was because of the graphics chip that
was on the motherboard. Everything else had a rating of 4.2 or above. I really
wanted to use the Aero on my desktop, so I rummaged around in my computer room,
and found an nVidia 6600 graphics card. After installing it, I re-ran the
performance rating test, and my system rating increased to 4.1, which allowed
all of the included enhancements. It was well worth the time.
Another feature that is accessible from the Control Panel is the “Problem
Reports and Solutions”. This area keep track of every time a program stops
running for any reason, or has a problem installing, and logs it into a
database. From time to time, you should check this area and see if a fix for a
particular problem has been released. Vista will automatically download the fix,
apply it, and test it on your system. Why is this important? It means that you
do not have to wait for a service pack to repair individual problems.
There are many more features on the Control Panel that you will want to explore
and play with, including the ability to change the partitioning of your drive,
schedule tasks and view event logs. Believe me, Vista is an information geeks
dream.
Another new addition is Windows Mail, which replaces Outlook Express. I used to
prefer Outlook Express over Outlook because of it’s ease of operation and
Windows Mail has not changed my mind. Windows Mail operationally looks like
Outlook Express with one major enhancement. It has an automatic spam and
phishing filter integrated in the program, and it works. It is so nice to look
at my messages and not have to wade through 200+ messages wanting to sell me
stock or change my anatomy.
Getting back to the desktop, one of the features that I really wanted to see was
the new Aero feature. Aero is the high performance desktop experience that has
been introduced in Vista. Basically, it allows a much more robust and dynamic
view of the desktop and the components running on it. For example the Glass
feature turns the individual windows translucent so you can see what is going on
in windows under it. The Flip 3D function allows you to quickly “flip” through
all of the open windows until you find the one that you want. In addition, when
a window is minimized, you can hover your mouse over the button on the taskbar,
and see exactly what that window looks like. Plus, Aero gives everything a much
smoother appearance making it easier on the eyes. It is hard to describe Aero
in words, but trust me, you will like it.
Another new feature is Gadgets. Simply put, they are little gadgets or programs
that you can place on your desktopn to help you. Things like a clock, news
feeds, stock tickers, RSS feeds, or even games. Now, this is what Active Desktop
really means. You can adjust the transparency of each of them so that they
do not distract from the workspace.
Ultimate Extras
For those of you that take the plunge and opt for the full blown Ultimate
version, there is a bonus. Microsoft has announced the Vista Ultimate Extras
program. This entails new additions to the Ultimate package that will be added
as time goes on. Things like new gaming experiences with Windows Hold‘em Poker,
added security with the bit-locker encryption system, and my favorite,
Dreamscape, which turns your desktop background into a true “active” desktop by
allowing motion video to be run on the desktop. It is truly an unbelievable
sight. And, more will be added in the future, allowing your system to grow as
time goes on.
For the gamers reading this, Vista is going to change the way that you play
games on the PC. Microsoft has included DirectX 10 with the shipping versions of
Vista. DirectX 10 is a much more robust API that allows a more realistic
appearance in games. In addition, you can use your Xbox360 controller on your PC
now, and it will take advantage of all of the controller features like vibrate
and positive feedback.
Having said all of this, I do want to note that I did have some problems while
running Vista. I have had a couple of programs that flat refuse to run in Vista,
specifically shareware video editing and video conversion programs. I am
presently working with the support engineers to rectify this. I also found that
although Microsoft says that Vista will run well with 1 GB of memory, and it
does, Vista really wants as much memory as it can get. I noted a significant
improvement when I install another gig of memory. Same thing is true about the
graphics adapter in the system. I recommend at least a 128 MB card, and
preferably a 256 MB card if you want to run Aero and Dreamscape. This will
ensure that there is no noticeable loss of system performance.
I know that this is supposed to be a review of Vista, and it has ended up
sounding like an advertising blurb about the product, but I am very excited
about the new Operating System. I truly believe that Microsoft has finally
listened to the user community, and has made a concentrated effort to include
the enhancements that we have been waiting for. I am actually enjoying sitting
in front of the screen again.
Next time I will review Vista on a laptop, and I promise that it will be shorter
Until then, ya’ll have fun.
This article may be published only by APCUG member user groups. All other uses
are prohibited. When used, APCUG must be acknowledged as the source and the
author credited. The Editorial Committee of the Association of Personal Computer
User Groups (APCUG), an international organization of which this group is a
member, brings this article to you.
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