View Full Version : AlphaAlien's Vista FAQ - 8/30/05
Michael
12-16-02, 09:26 AM
By popular demand HardwareGeeks brings you *drum roll* The Vista FAQ! This Vista FAQ is split into two sections, first part is what’s different and what to expect in the future of vista’s development. Second part is general questions about using Vista.
So what is Vista?
Vista is the next desktop version of Windows, currently slated for release in the holiday season of 2006.
What’s currently different about it?
The GUI for Vista is Direct3D accelerated. This doesn’t mean the interface with be 3D just that it’ll be accelerated, so it doesn’t depend on RAM or CPU for all the UI anymore and they can ad effects without causing slowdowns.
It’s using a new skin titled AERO which is sleeker and darker than XP’s skins.
It’s using a new networking layer with native IPv6 for futureproofing.
It’s using a reorganized explorer.
New Games section under Documents for managing installed Games.
Parental Controls
Reduced User Privileges setting, similar to what *nix uses.
What’s going to be added to it in the future?
The redone sidebar is expected to be released at the upcoming PDC
The look of Vista will change dramatically (we all should remember how XP looked in the early beta stages).
The styling engine will change a lot.
Castle, a new managed home network type
NGSCB (previously Palladium) will be added, unlike common opinion NGSCB is not big brother, but is necessary for an OS as tied into web services as vista will be.
What happened to Blackcomb?
Blackcomb is now coming after Vista, 2009-2011 timeframe
*more updates coming later on in the week*
Michael
12-16-02, 09:27 AM
Note: If you have trouble downloading the IE Fix or the Media Center files you will need to disable your firewall.
Please do not use a download accelarator.
Predator
12-16-02, 09:38 AM
cool stuff, thanks :)
Michael
12-16-02, 09:46 AM
btw I should note that the FAQ is the creation of Alpha Alien
If you have any questions regarding Long Horn post them on the board AA was flooded with IM's and PM's the last time round and the poor guy hasn't recovered.
phantomAI
12-16-02, 09:55 AM
cool info AA.
Also how do I sign up to beta test Longhorn?
Michael
12-16-02, 10:09 AM
sleep with bill
phantomAI
12-16-02, 05:28 PM
Originally posted by Michael
sleep with bill
ok, but if he gets me pregnant I get more $$$$$ :D
LOL
doesn't MS send out beta testing forms that we can sign up for?
AlphaAlien
12-16-02, 05:56 PM
you can't sign up for the beta yet :P For Longhorn I don't think their will be a public sign-up till at least beta 2 :/
Jimmyray007
12-17-02, 03:13 PM
So, not to be out of the loop (which I probably am), does anyone know of any current locations as to where the Longhorn ISO can be downloaded from? I've been looking all over, and haven't had much success. . . .
Protected unwary users form spam!
Edited By: AlphaAlien
12/17/2002
lx qu33n
12-17-02, 03:18 PM
jimmy, we don't discuss where or how we can download it just to use it.
-alex
AlphaAlien
12-17-02, 11:52 PM
no one has any other questions they want added to the FAQ?
azazel-
12-17-02, 11:56 PM
what the hell does this mean?
Castle will be added to Network Neighborhood.
AlphaAlien
12-18-02, 02:38 AM
means that a component called castle will be added as a wizard to network neighborhood. The link's already there but it doesn't work yet. And I think castle is for linking up 2 seperate LAN's (like you and your neighbors), but not sure yet.
viperez
12-18-02, 05:27 PM
Hey AlpaAlien,
I'd sure like to get the info on making Media Center work in XP. I got the 5in1 CD, but I can't activate it, or use the reset program. The reset program deactivates the Media Center itself. So, if you could tell me how to make the Media Center work on an existing XP machine that's been activated, I'd appreciate it!
AlphaAlien
12-18-02, 05:35 PM
robotor has a convoluted way of doing it, he posted it in the main longhorn forum.
radiohead
12-20-02, 02:23 PM
iS Longhorn dual-bootable with XP? And is it stable enough to run 24/7 and use as main OS?
Originally posted by radiohead
iS Longhorn dual-bootable with XP? And is it stable enough to run 24/7 and use as main OS?
its dual bootable and as for the stability well i'd say yes but some people would say no so u better try urself
AlphaAlien
12-20-02, 10:41 PM
it's stable and fast when you ***k around with it, and yes it's dual-bootable with win2k/xp/.net
lx qu33n
12-20-02, 11:41 PM
Originally posted by radiohead
iS Longhorn dual-bootable with XP? And is it stable enough to run 24/7 and use as main OS?
lol dood ur sig says ARROWED!! lol haha. strong bad is the man!!! :D :D
AlphaAlien
12-20-02, 11:45 PM
?
radiohead
12-21-02, 12:12 AM
http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail53.html
strong bad is crapfully awesome
lx qu33n
12-21-02, 01:15 AM
ya he is.. i love every boy.... ARROWED!!! my skin hurts... lol
AlphaAlien
12-21-02, 02:06 AM
LOL
Collegeman913
12-26-02, 01:30 PM
i belive you need to be mse certified befor you can beta test longhorn
Chris123NT
12-26-02, 01:47 PM
Originally posted by Collegeman913
i belive you need to be mse certified befor you can beta test longhorn
I can answer that in 2 words. NOT TRUE. U can beta test longhorn but the form is not available yet to apply so u gotta wait ;)
AlphaAlien
12-26-02, 01:54 PM
collegeman913: thats never been a req. for MS tests, a few have only been open to TechNet subscribers and a few have been closed to microsoft valued professionals
Hypnotic
12-26-02, 11:50 PM
hmmph.. I'm pretty happy with Windows XP.
However, will longhorn not use NTFS? Is the WFS just an added feature?
AlphaAlien
12-27-02, 12:01 AM
longhorn will have FAT32, NTFS and WFS. WFS is really just an extension of NTFS making it more relational so file access is more intuitive and efficient (think HPS+ for OS X but taken much farther). And WFS isn't in longhorn yet
Will I be able to signup for the longhorn beta just as easy as I did for the windows .net betas?
AlphaAlien
12-27-02, 07:34 PM
probably but the public xp and .net beta's didn't start till RC1 so that's like beginning/mid 2004 :(
Chris123NT
12-27-02, 07:41 PM
Also if u become a beta tester (non public) u must be an advanced user and able to provide a lot of feedback. To put it straight MS hates n00bs :p
So AlphaAlien the Direct3D accelerated desktop isn't already in the 4008 beta *stupid question* :) ?
No warez links or requests, thanks.
Edited By: AlphaAlien
3/30/2003
AlphaAlien
03-30-03, 08:21 PM
@joonaz: not in 4008 yet, though 4008 has more signs of how they're going to do it
Horizon
03-30-03, 09:00 PM
How often do the release new builds? Is it a set time peroid or when they actually pull off a big update?
Michael
03-30-03, 09:06 PM
Actually its when ever one of MS developers gets mad or pissed at his superiors and leaks a copy. No set date. Their are new builds that are internal coming out probably weekly
AlphaAlien
03-30-03, 09:59 PM
not normally when one of the guys gets pissed :p
Most of the time it's when MS wants to see peoples reactions to certain components
digger329
03-30-03, 10:19 PM
SO AA are you saying with out saying it that like everyone was thinking they leak them on pupose? Digger.
Michael
03-30-03, 10:27 PM
sometimes they have but they wont admit to it
phantomAI
03-30-03, 10:52 PM
I do think MS leaks some of these on purpose...how else would they get a stronghold in the OS market ;)
They have great marketing people. They might of even leaked XP with non activation just to keep people from switching to Linux.
AlphaAlien
03-30-03, 11:26 PM
@digger: with alpha and some internal beta builds, yes
@phantomAI: nope
Horizon
03-30-03, 11:33 PM
I didnt mean how often do they leak builds, i meant how often do they just release them to beta testers, like when would then next build be realeased?
AlphaAlien
03-31-03, 12:13 AM
hasn't even started, won't start till around Beta 1 this summer, these are all internal only builds
digger329
04-01-03, 01:32 AM
Ok check this out this is someones opion on Longhorn."http://www.aaxnet.com/editor/edit029.html#longhorn
Longhorn may be M$s undoing. Who would buy into this? I personally don't know of a single business that will play this game. They have no plans for upgrading to XP because of backwards compatability with a lot of their programs. Even in the "compatability mode" they don't run right. They don't want to shell out bucks for XP and upgrading all their software to something XP will run. Now M$ will force the world to shuck everything![:p] " Digger
Michael
04-01-03, 01:35 AM
They said that about XP but you wouldn't beleive the demand their is for XP by businesses.
AlphaAlien
04-01-03, 02:11 AM
yeah, businesses thought XP is as incompatible with legacy as NT4 was when it first came out, now they were thinking that with win2003 even though it has the same compatability of XP, and we'll see them think it for longhorn then blackcomb too.
Same thing also happened between FAT32 and NTFS and now were seeing it begin with NTFS vs. WFS
Horizon
04-01-03, 10:07 AM
Man crazy changes, at my place we are in the process of a Win95 to XP conversion on the front end (yes W95, damn lawyers wont pay to upgrade till now) and then NT4 (with novell server) to all Win2k backbone.
What a HEADACHE!
Is there any write ups yet about this new file system, WFS?
AlphaAlien
04-01-03, 04:43 PM
no, since it isn't in place yet, though if you're familiar with the next vr. of SQL you'll have a basic understanding of what they're doing in WFS
digger329
04-01-03, 10:03 PM
Ok I have a question on the "activation period" with Longhorn, Thiw will be the second time I have had to reinstall windows because the activation period was up. I have done everything that was told to me such as going into safe mode and yadda yadda,then I reboot and choose to activate by phone and Yadda,yadda,yadda.
Now my question is this,I notice that when I started L.H. up the date would be stuck at July first 2002 ,now I am wondering if when I set the clock I some how mess up my activation? This is the second time I have asked a question similar to this and I was told to do what I have been doing. Any further questions you can email me at jimdinger@charter.net P.S. If it helps I havent been on it for a couple of days,I went to boot in to it and it just happenned. Thanks DIGGER
Is there a way to upgrade from Windows XP to Longhorn? I would hate to lose all my settings and software. I also prefer not to repartition my drive.
Michael
04-29-03, 08:01 PM
nope
AlphaAlien
04-29-03, 08:16 PM
you can upgrade to 3683, but 3683 isn't as nice as 4008 or 4015
SYNTHETIC
04-29-03, 08:52 PM
AA you seem to be the most realistic person who knows about and uses longhorn can you tell me exactly what palladium is, why it's there, and what it does in plan simple English
Originally posted by AlphaAlien
you can upgrade to 3683, but 3683 isn't as nice as 4008 or 4015
So you're saying I could 2 step it? Upgrade to 3683 and then upgrade from 3683 to 4015?
Wondering if they'll support upgrades from Windows XP in upcoming builds.
AlphaAlien
04-29-03, 09:11 PM
thats a lot, but lemme give it a shot.
Palladium is a set of security services MS is trying to embed into windows as part of it's trurtworthy computing initiative. Theirs 2 parts to what is normally thought of as palladium, the hardware side and the software side.
The hardware side is called TCPA, and doesn't really do anything aside from keeping some information password protected in an embedded chip. TCPA uses a public-key encryption scheme for the data stored. Originally TCPA was thought to block non-authorised software from running but since IBM's now been using TCPA chips in their machines for over a year it appears that it doesn't do anything like that. If it did, any software not given permission to run wouldn't run, this was thought to include things like open source OS's, pirated software and pirated music/video, along with malicious code.
Palladium, the software side, will try and correct this 'missing piece'. Originally it was meant more as a way to get hollywood and the recording labels to trust MS enough to allow MS to start music/movie online services, by making it seemingly impossible to copy it. However after it showed some success in the lab and MS was getting a lot of heat for not being secure they stepped it upto an all-in-one solution for stopping piracy and malicious code of all types.
As you can imagine, with the hardware side already all but dead, the software side won't be much of a challenge to get around. Currently MS has recently sent invitations out to testers for what seems like the first portion of palladium. The invitations were for something called the 'PC Satisfaction Trial' with this description:
"The intent of the trial is to see how much more satisfied Windows customers are when they feel confident about the security of their PC and the safety of their data and personal information."
Don't get me wrong, if palladium is successful (which imo it doesn't have a snowballs chance in hell of being), it could do a lot of damage to anyone not running 100% MS approved software and having MS approved music/videos. And I'm pretty sure everyone running longhorn doesn't fall into that category.
SYNTHETIC
04-29-03, 09:21 PM
So does that mean palladium is trully a bad thing?
AlphaAlien
04-29-03, 09:47 PM
could be a bad thing, but probably won't do anything. Just like WPA could've been a bad thing and turned out to be nothing really
Chris123NT
04-29-03, 11:17 PM
WPA just turned out to be a royal pain in the ass :P
phantomAI
04-29-03, 11:22 PM
heh I guess Longhorn won't be popular among the masses...during launch time
digger329
04-30-03, 01:18 AM
To the uninformed it wont be.
AlphaAlien
04-30-03, 02:41 AM
to the uninformed they won't understand it beyond what MS says which'll be Longhorn is the most secure version of windows yet!
SYNTHETIC
04-30-03, 04:41 AM
How's IE doing and the new download manager?
wI-OSMAN-
08-24-03, 06:23 PM
update this FAQ :)
sandy_spike
04-22-04, 10:38 AM
smooth faq at :
http://www.winsupersite.com/faq/longhorn.asp
hi can any 1 give me a download link for longhorn
Chris123NT
12-19-04, 12:46 PM
hi can any 1 give me a download link for longhorn
No warez allowed here buddy.
AlphaAlien
08-30-05, 07:13 AM
partially updated first post
Skinnylegs
08-30-05, 12:56 PM
AA.....I read another article indicating that WinFS or whatever its called will be released shortly after Vista and can be applied to XP. Didn't we have a bit about this? Hehehehehe.
VeraBlue
08-30-05, 02:37 PM
Yes, Skinny you got it right on the nose! WinFS or Windows Future Storage or File Storage (whatever makes you feel better) is supposed to be released after Vista RTM and it won't actually be in the final release.
WinFS has now gone beta1! Its a little shocking because everybody thought that it would take until Vista went final for them to start beta testing.
Microsoft Watch - Microsoft Readying WinFS Beta Bits? (http://www.microsoft-watch.com/article2/0,2180,1853294,00.asp)
Skinnylegs
08-30-05, 02:40 PM
Thanks for the clarification, VB! I'm really curious to see how WinFS pans out. Correct me if I'm wrong but this is 'kinda like MS's version of Sherlock eh? I mean.....I understand that it changes the way things are stored but on the user end, it changes the way (insert ease) with which we find things?
AlphaAlien
08-30-05, 05:25 PM
the beta 1 is a joke, installed it last night, it's MUCH worse than it was the last time WinFS made a public appearance, before it didn't crash everytime a WinFS button was pressed, now it does. You can't even really make new WinFS objects from your drive, you can't control the index in any manner, none of it works.
Skinnylegs
08-30-05, 05:48 PM
Sounds more like a pre-alpha!
AlphaAlien
08-30-05, 07:08 PM
MSN Desktop Search and the default vista search are like sherlock, WinFS is supposed to be sherlock plus a lot of developer end utilities for extending it past it's default abilities and also acts as a file system addon