IT Professionals

Vista Might Not Be Such A Bad Upgrade After All

Posted by on Feb 28, 2006 | 3 Comments

Even though I have not been offered a chance to try the new Windows Vista OS myself just yet, the more I hear the more I like. For the first time in a very long time, it appears that we have a truly fresh kernel to work with.

Another change that I am digging is that Windows will be able to prioritize your tasks in an intelligent manner. So instead of having a virus scan take over your resources while you are in the middle of [insert important task here], it will instead take a back seat of sorts and allow you to continue doing what you need to do – uninterrupted.

What made me smile the most? The news that many hardware drivers will now be kept at a user level RATHER than at the kernel level. Very smart Microsoft, very smart indeed.

Oh, the improvements hardly stop there. We’ll see enormous changes with graphics, networking, error handling, audio abilities (user mode once again), power management, plus a whole lot more.

Security also appears to be well thought out this time around; likely due to the laughable security in XP. There are also improved parental controls that will mean it’s going to be a little more difficult for ‘junior’ to be getting into things that they really should not be.

But the golden child in their security scheme will likely focus on Vista’s User Access Protection. In short, nothing is going to be installed on this system without you knowing about it – period. Just think of where this could put malware? In the bucket of bad memories perhaps? Could be.

So, will I be upgrading to Vista? Yes, once drivers and such have had a chance to catch up, there is a very strong chance of it. Still, I will also likely dual boot XP Pro and Vista on my Windows box. Until I am sure all of my software is going to work alright in Vista, I really would like to have my bases covered.

[tags]vista,xp,dual boot,laughable security,security scheme,virus scan,prioritize windows tasks,user access protection[/tags]

  • Deron Funk

    You think the user access protection interface is good? I installed a beta release of Vista and after about 30 minutes I was so frustrated by the incessent pop-ups warning me that I was actually “using” my computer, I rebooted into XP and never went back. To not be able to do ANYTHING without being asked “Are you sure you want to do that?”, was infuriating. I pray none of my family ever updates to Vista or my call volume will increase drastically, as they try to figure out if installing printer drivers is actually OK, because after all, the OS warned them that it might not be. If their kernel design (which is not a new design at all) weren’t so devoid of built in security, then there would be no need to protect the user from themselves. If I had the funds, my entire family would be running OS X….no doubt.

  • Dave

    > I have not been offered a chance to try the new Windows Vista OS myself just yet, the more I hear the more I like.

    “Offered a chance?” It’s available at the store now, just go out and buy it. Unless you’re pimping for a free copy from Microsoft with this glowing pre-review… :-)

    > In short, nothing is going to be installed on this system without you knowing about it – period.

    This seems wonderful until you start installing your normal apps and they fail mysteriously. Adobe Reader 7, for example, invisibly hangs during install unless you right-click and “Run as administrator”. But you have to know how to kill the hung-up one in task manager first, or you’ll get an “Adobe Reader Install already running” message.

    > There are also improved parental controls that will mean it’s going to be a little more difficult for ‘junior’ to be getting into things that they really should not be.

    If you mean that they’ll have their own computer but you’ll put controls on it, the default setup from most OEMs makes them admin and all they need to do is click OK the UAP prompts when they show up on the screen. Have a good time setting it up otherwise, the documentation isn’t so good.

    > Still, I will also likely dual boot XP Pro and Vista on my Windows box.

    Be aware that each time you boot XP, it will automount your Vista volume and destroy any restore points and backups you made in Vista. This has been known for a year and won’t be fixed.

    > I really would like to have my bases covered.

    If you try running dual-boot, you will have your bases stolen.

  • http://www.matthartley.com Matt Hartley

    Dave:

    “Offered a chance?” It’s available at the store now, just go out and buy it. Unless you’re pimping for a free copy from Microsoft with this glowing pre-review.

    Yup, I am certainly not going to pay for the service pack, er, I mean “upgrade”. ;) Seriously though, I have used it and it’s very polished UI. But it’s simply not offering me anything that is going to make me jump up and down as of yet.

    This seems wonderful until you start installing your normal apps and they fail mysteriously. Adobe Reader 7, for example, invisibly hangs during install unless you right-click and “Run as administrator”. But you have to know how to kill the hung-up one in task manager first, or you’ll get an “Adobe Reader Install already running” message.

    and

    If you mean that they’ll have their own computer but you’ll put controls on it, the default setup from most OEMs makes them admin and all they need to do is click OK the UAP prompts when they show up on the screen. Have a good time setting it up otherwise, the documentation isn’t so good.

    Heh, good point. :)

    Be aware that each time you boot XP, it will automount your Vista volume and destroy any restore points and backups you made in Vista. This has been known for a year and won’t be fixed.

    Ah, thanks for the heads up. Good to know. Oh well, so long as my other partitions are safe and I continue to store critical data elsewhere, Vista can destroy whatever it likes, it’s merely a needed “reviewers” toy at this point. As for XP, it is also a review tool. My day exists purely in Ubuntu these days. It’s really weird to make the switch at first, but once I got used to it, I honestly can’t bring myself to “deal with” Windows. Bizarre to say the least. :)