Bits and Pieces

Friday, July 29, 2005

Vista | Now that the beta versions of Vista and IE7 are out in the hands of MSDN subscribers, find screenshots and an early review here ]

I know experts in UI design would have toiled hard on this, but I do hope Windows novices havent been ignored in the process. Still too early to pass comments.

Highlights:
Start Menu (no more tree views)
Virtual Folders (XML pointers to real folders)
Parental Control (supposed to creep into XBox 360 as well)
New-look WinExplorer

Aside | Phillip Torrone's how-to: Auxiliary Display using Konfabulator (feature support in Vista)

posted by pradeep | Permalink | (8)

8 Comments:

Dude you are my one stop for all tech news. helps me know new interesting stuff much before general public know about it.

in Thalivar sujatha's language "intha mattera vachi nalla jalli adikalam (show off)"... good

By Anonymous, at 2:08 PM

can't agree more with hellboy.
i have actually stopped browsing many other tech blogs knowing fully well that if something interesting happens, it will be here.

i am now relying on your vista of the tech world. hope it doesn't become like window vista :)

By Anonymous, at 3:40 PM

Pullarikka vachutteenga. Mikka sandhosham!
Thanks Hellboy, Manoj. Am glad that we appreciate and share these kinda information.

[ hb, jalli adikra matter pudhusa irukku ]

By pradeep, at 5:52 PM

I echo the above two here. My one stop shop too. By far, my favorite blog among known people with the most info.

On topic, Vista is interesting. Is it going to be any more than the cosmetic upgrade XP was, with some changes to IE(which might come out before Vista itself)?. I know that many of the architecture upgrades have been pushed from the initial release. Also, if you guys noticed, the new Windows update pushes a verifier that now enforces a check to see if your XP is a valid licensed copy before giving you the critical updates. Pirated copies will now have problems updating their patches and all.

By The Last Blogger, at 7:24 AM

Thanks Ranga. Glad to hear that!

Windows Update issue:
Apparently, it didnt take long for someone to crack Microsoft's latest.
http://www.boingboing.net/2005/07/28/microsoft_genuine_ad.html

Ranga, this may be interesting to you. Extreme Tech features a preview on Vista from a gaming viewpoint. If Vista could deliver as much as has been promised, it wouldnt just be a cosmetic makeover.
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,1841218,00.asp

By pradeep, at 7:41 AM

Good link. Coincidentially enough, a new optional Windows Media Center update I installed yesterday allows me to scan (wired and wirelessly) for other media receivers (read Xbox, future Xbox 360 and other wireless music devices) to sync up with. I get this feeling that Xbox 360 will be a very synergetic tool from Microsoft, for the good or bad. Already I have a feeling of overdependence on MS. This will only drive it further off the cliff.

By The Last Blogger, at 8:25 AM

Not just a feeling, thats Microsoft's vision too! Why else would a game console be estimated to cost $500?

Some think, Nintendo's bet on a game-only console might just pay off.

Btw, you got Media Center? Whats your take?

By pradeep, at 8:46 PM

Xbox360 priced at $300. Nice entry point.

http://www.totalvideogames.com/news/Xbox_360_Price_Reported_8119_0_16.htm

The Media Center edition is just XP on steroids. The TV tuner card is the real difference and there are dime a dozen sw pieces that help you control tv programs like media center. So its really a no big addition. The new PC's graphics card (128Meg ATI PCI 300) and the tv tuner card are the two real cool things for the pc which really arent tied to the Media center sw.

By The Last Blogger, at 2:20 PM