Colin notice feeble attempt to knock feedback mechanisms off this group! LOL

[Chad Harris]

Colin Barnhorst MVP has made endless overtures for you to post your public
bugs via the cute little icon on the Vista CPP desktop, or via some generic
feedback website. Colin is well meaning, and a very effective community
helper of the highest quality but in this posture he is shamelessly shilling
for MSFT and frankly pushing concepts that are not true, and he cannot
butress, i.e. that public feedback has any more impact than yelling at an
NFL quaterback or player on coach or ref on the TV.

I had added that to help enhance your reporting, you could gain access to a
public MBC tool (Microsoft Beta [Bug Reporting] Client) by a link I found
buried in a Technet blog. Obviously they won't be buring any "Buy Vista"
ads in a technet blog, and I think it is safe to say that the Ad Gurus at
McCann Ericson and Wegner Edstrom who will be writing these Vista ads in a
500 million dollar promotional campaign (over 5 times the budget of the
Miami Police force for a year) wouldn't know what a technet blog was if it
bit them in the ass.

You can download the MBC (the Microsoft Bug Reporting Client Tool via:
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=43655 but for the public it's as
worthless as yelling at an NFL quaterback on TV on Sunday (NBC) orMonday
Night (ABC) this season.


Again, the public MBC is here and I assess that it is worthless, but even it
is buried and not made available on any Windows Vista site from MSFT.

It's sure not at
http://www.seewindowsvista.com/

or at www.microsoft.com/windowsvista

Or at any of the Technet or MSDN sites for Windows Vista help.

If you want to give feedback on bugs that are congenitally passed on from
build to build to build and that will ship RTM, much as a congenital medical
defect can be transmitted from generation to generation (say a blood
coagulation disorder), or many other types, then email:

(e-mail address removed)

or email the feedback King who runs a blog gushing on how avid MSFT is for
feedback
Corey Snow, a developer responsible for the chaos on Connect at

(e-mail address removed)

http://blogs.msdn.com/csnow/

Good luck getting Windows File Protection or Aero Glass's causing black
screens in Vista's latest build.

CH

 

[Chad Harris]

There are also attempts to knock off true information on the incompetent
state of public feedback on the Vista. general group as well.

No one from MSFT nor Colin Barnhorst can offer a scintilla of substantive
evidence that public feedback has any more impact than yelling at the TV,
and it is an insult to people's intelligence to cheerlead otherwise.

None of the so-called Feedback cheerleading sites can offer any substantive
evicence.

If MSFT wanted to offer substantive evidence they could simply make a list
of bugs that have been fixed, will be fixed in what build, that won't be
fixed, or that they cannot fix because of a code road block or because it
would sacrifice other mechanisms, or simply because they don't know how to
fix it.

Most of the latter will show up in 3rd party applications for Windows during
the 12 months after Vista RTMs

CH

Colin Barnhorst MVP has made endless overtures for you to post your public
bugs via the cute little icon on the Vista CPP desktop, or via some
generic feedback website. Colin is well meaning, and a very effective
community helper of the highest quality but in this posture he is
shamelessly shilling for MSFT and frankly pushing concepts that are not
true, and he cannot butress, i.e. that public feedback has any more impact
than yelling at an NFL quaterback or player on coach or ref on the TV.

I had added that to help enhance your reporting, you could gain access to
a public MBC tool (Microsoft Beta [Bug Reporting] Client) by a link I
found buried in a Technet blog. Obviously they won't be buring any "Buy
Vista" ads in a technet blog, and I think it is safe to say that the Ad
Gurus at McCann Ericson and Wegner Edstrom who will be writing these Vista
ads in a 500 million dollar promotional campaign (over 5 times the budget
of the Miami Police force for a year) wouldn't know what a technet blog
was if it bit them in the ass.

You can download the MBC (the Microsoft Bug Reporting Client Tool via:
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=43655 but for the public it's as
worthless as yelling at an NFL quaterback on TV on Sunday (NBC) orMonday
Night (ABC) this season.


Again, the public MBC is here and I assess that it is worthless, but even
it is buried and not made available on any Windows Vista site from MSFT.

It's sure not at
http://www.seewindowsvista.com/

or at www.microsoft.com/windowsvista

Or at any of the Technet or MSDN sites for Windows Vista help.

If you want to give feedback on bugs that are congenitally passed on from
build to build to build and that will ship RTM, much as a congenital
medical defect can be transmitted from generation to generation (say a
blood coagulation disorder), or many other types, then email:

(e-mail address removed)

or email the feedback King who runs a blog gushing on how avid MSFT is for
feedback
Corey Snow, a developer responsible for the chaos on Connect at

(e-mail address removed)

http://blogs.msdn.com/csnow/

Good luck getting Windows File Protection or Aero Glass's causing black
screens in Vista's latest build.

CH

 

[Jeff]

Chad,
The MBC can be accessed through the feedback icon on the desktop;and I
copy and paste this directly from that ;
"To report a problem, download the problem-reporting tool, which includes a
feedback form.
When downloading the problem-reporting tool, you will be prompted to
click either Run or Save. Click Run and the tool will be installed on your
computer. When you fill out a report, you can send it right away or save it
and send it later."
It's not hidden;in an out of the way technet blog.
And your assumption is incorrect also;
I have submitted bugs with the MBC;through the public beta;which have gotten
to MSFT;AND I might add;have been looked at,
MSFT has even sent e-mails;with the bug id;and their results;i.e
open;closed;referred etc.
I will say this however;
Since I was not in the private beta; the actual bug report on
Connect;cannot be accessed.
Which also was responded to by MSFT;they are aware of this;and said they
are"looking into" giving the public beta access to the actual report.
But;that may be a moot point;since RC1 and beyond are looming on the
horizon.

Jeff

There are also attempts to knock off true information on the incompetent
state of public feedback on the Vista. general group as well.

No one from MSFT nor Colin Barnhorst can offer a scintilla of substantive
evidence that public feedback has any more impact than yelling at the TV,
and it is an insult to people's intelligence to cheerlead otherwise.

None of the so-called Feedback cheerleading sites can offer any
substantive evicence.

If MSFT wanted to offer substantive evidence they could simply make a list
of bugs that have been fixed, will be fixed in what build, that won't be
fixed, or that they cannot fix because of a code road block or because it
would sacrifice other mechanisms, or simply because they don't know how to
fix it.

Most of the latter will show up in 3rd party applications for Windows
during the 12 months after Vista RTMs

CH

Colin Barnhorst MVP has made endless overtures for you to post your
public bugs via the cute little icon on the Vista CPP desktop, or via
some generic feedback website. Colin is well meaning, and a very
effective community helper of the highest quality but in this posture he
is shamelessly shilling for MSFT and frankly pushing concepts that are
not true, and he cannot butress, i.e. that public feedback has any more
impact than yelling at an NFL quaterback or player on coach or ref on the
TV.

I had added that to help enhance your reporting, you could gain access to
a public MBC tool (Microsoft Beta [Bug Reporting] Client) by a link I
found buried in a Technet blog. Obviously they won't be buring any "Buy
Vista" ads in a technet blog, and I think it is safe to say that the Ad
Gurus at McCann Ericson and Wegner Edstrom who will be writing these
Vista ads in a 500 million dollar promotional campaign (over 5 times the
budget of the Miami Police force for a year) wouldn't know what a technet
blog was if it bit them in the ass.

You can download the MBC (the Microsoft Bug Reporting Client Tool via:
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=43655 but for the public it's as
worthless as yelling at an NFL quaterback on TV on Sunday (NBC) orMonday
Night (ABC) this season.


Again, the public MBC is here and I assess that it is worthless, but even
it is buried and not made available on any Windows Vista site from MSFT.

It's sure not at
http://www.seewindowsvista.com/

or at www.microsoft.com/windowsvista

Or at any of the Technet or MSDN sites for Windows Vista help.

If you want to give feedback on bugs that are congenitally passed on from
build to build to build and that will ship RTM, much as a congenital
medical defect can be transmitted from generation to generation (say a
blood coagulation disorder), or many other types, then email:

(e-mail address removed)

or email the feedback King who runs a blog gushing on how avid MSFT is
for feedback
Corey Snow, a developer responsible for the chaos on Connect at

(e-mail address removed)

http://blogs.msdn.com/csnow/

Good luck getting Windows File Protection or Aero Glass's causing black
screens in Vista's latest build.

CH

 

[Jimmy Brush]

The MBC is the SAME application that private testers use, and issues
reported via the MBC, whether from the public or private testers, all end up
in the same place.

That beings said, feedback sent to Microsoft using MBC from members of the
public carry the same weight as a private tester-reported bug.

All bugs are considered based on their SEVERITY and fixability, not based on
who reported them.

- JB

Vista Support FAQ
http://www.jimmah.com/vista/

 

[Chad Harris]

Jimmy what's more important, SFC or Aero Glass? I believe SFC not working
is more severe than a list of what I see that's been fixed in RC1?

What happens when you type sfc /? at the cmd prompt and you see all the gone
fishin' signs at the switches that would replace files?

What's the aversion to making all bugs fixed and categories reported public?
I see none; nor do I see any downside to making Beta chats and Live meetings
public.

MSFT seems to espouse a very paranoid and anti-information mindset. They
think this info is going to promote terrorism?

Some of the features fixed in RC1:
From the shell team, changes to Explorer include:

a.. Brought back List mode in our List views
b.. The folder tree will now persist in all modes of the Explorer
c.. Brought back property editing in Details Pane, and fixed truncation
issues in the Details Pane
d.. Implemented major performance gains when browsing slow volumes and
network shares
e.. Made it so .zip and .cab files are sorted along with files, not along
with folders
f.. Added more polish to Classic-themed Explorer
g.. Fixed many heavily-reported drawing artifacts and fit-and-finish bugs
Next, while we continue to work on overall system search performance, we've
made some pretty cool changes to it for this cycle:

a.. Right-clicking on Start Orb and selecting "Search" now takes you
directly to the Search Explorer where you can execute a wider search of the
entirety of your PC
b.. Updated Search Pane UI; now it's on by default in the Search Explorer
and optional in all the other Explorers. It's also more easily read when
using Glass
c.. Simplified Advanced Search UI found under the advanced drop-down menu
Sharing and networking has changed for the better in the following ways:

a.. Re-designed the Network and Sharing Center -- we got a lot of feedback
on this one, and hopefully the new design meets everyone's expectations
a.. Consolidated the sharing & networking control panels into a single
control panel
b.. Improved visual design and text simplification of Network & Sharing
Center to make it more task-oriented
c.. "Mini-map" icons are clickable (e.g., Computer, Network, Internet
browser)
d.. Integrated sharing controls into the Network and Sharing center
a.. Global control for enabling/disabling file sharing
b.. Added a drop-down of user accounts to the sharing wizard. This
will now link to your Active Directory listings or else show other accounts
on the same PC
e.. Improved dialog box that helps you determine what type of network
(public/private) you are on
f.. Text updates for links in left pane
g.. Improved usability for "not connected" state
b.. When connecting to a network, you should see:
a.. Improved detection of existing connection
b.. No UAC elevation when connecting to a wireless connection
c.. Access to Properties for networks with saved settings now available
via the right-click menu
c.. The Network Explorer has a number of changes that will help with
device discovery. It also features default icons for a number of network
device classes such as media players, Xbox, projectors, etc.
d.. The Network System Tray is now easier to see and has been changed to
give more "clickable area" around the icon itself
e.. Finally, for those folks with multiple users on the same PC, we've
added support for per-user MIME types
The Windows Media Center team has been hard at work too. They have:

a.. Tuned overall Windows Media Center performance. You should see some
fairly substantial gains in the post-Beta 2 builds
b.. Reduced the number of reliability issues. Fewer crashes and great
video playback -- who wouldn't want that? J
c.. Tweaked a lot of little UI elements for better usability
One thing to check out: When using an Xbox 360 as a Media Center Extender,
the remote experience is now full-fidelity. It looks and performs exactly
like you're using the PC.

Our security teams have also been listening to you. The System Integrity
team has simplified the "out-of-the-box" Windows BitLocker user interface.
Its new UI now makes it much, much easier for a Windows Vista Ultimate user
to be able to setup BitLocker on TPM 1.2-enabled hardware. The
administrator of an Enterprise edition system still has access to all of the
features and functionality that BitLocker supports through scripting and
command line tools.

Finally, we've gotten lots of great feedback on User Account Control. This
is definitely a big feature for this release as far as security goes, and
here's how we're making it better post-Beta 2:

a.. Deleting a shortcut from the desktop will no longer require elevation
for administrators

b.. Task Manager launches right away and allows the user to elevate later

c.. Copying or moving multiple files to protected folders should require
only one prompt to gain access

d.. The Find New Hardware experience has been changed to remove the UAC
prompt until the user is ready to install the device

e.. "Set Focus" work has been done so that UAC prompts from applications
running in the background do not interrupt users' workflow. The users will
instead see a blinking item in the taskbar in these situations

f.. The OS has been scrubbed for UAC prompts, the net benefit being that
the number of UAC prompts is now reduced

g.. A much-requested feature from our IT community: Elevated command
prompts are distinguished by prefixing "Administrator:" to the title

h.. We've added a new ActiveX Installer Service so that administrators can
give Standard Users permissions to install controls from trusted sites

i.. All UAC prompts have been scrubbed so as to be more consistent and
informative, and also to provide users with improved context for deciding
whether to permit/deny the prompt

CH

 

[Jimmy Brush]

That list is nowhere NEAR a complete list, they are listing the most
signifigant UI changes that have been made and are most visible and were a
large pain point with customers.

I assume Microsoft does not make their bug list public for the same reason
every other software developer company in the world doesn't (excluding open
source, but then again, the public is their developers).

Glass AND sfc are BOTH important.

- Fancy TECH is unusable if it has a terrible UI
- Fancy UI is unusable if it has terrible TECH
- They are BOTH unusable if EITHER has nasty bugs

They are co-dependant.

I haven't heard any resolution status about SFC, but Microsoft DOES know
about it, and either one of two things will happen: they will fix the bug,
or they will remove the functionality. It will not be left in an
inconsistant state.

BTW, here's what I get with sfc /?:

Microsoft (R) Windows (R) Resource Checker Version 6.0
Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Scans the integrity of all protected system files and replaces incorrect
versions with correct Microsoft versions.

SFC [/SCANNOW] [/VERIFYONLY] [/SCANFILE=<file>] [/VERIFYFILE=<file>]
[/OFFWINDIR=<offline windows directory> /OFFBOOTDIR=<offline boot
directory>]

/SCANNOW Scans integrity of all protected system files and repairs
files with problems when possible.
/VERIFYONLY Scans integrity of all protected system files. No repair
operati on is performed.
/SCANFILE Scans integrity of the referenced file, repairs file if
problems are identified. Specify full path <file>
/VERIFYFILE Verifies the integrity of the file with full path <file>.
No repair operation is performed.
/OFFBOOTDIR For offline repair specify the location of the offline boot
directory
/OFFWINDIR For offline repair specify the location of the offline
windows directory

e.g.

sfc /SCANNOW
sfc /VERIFYFILE=c:\windows\system32\kernel32.dll
sfc /SCANFILE=d:\windows\system32\kernel32.dll /OFFBOOTDIR=d:\
/OFFWINDIR=d:\windows
sfc /VERIFYONLY

Looks to me like they are planning to add features to the utility.

- JB

Vista Support FAQ
http://www.jimmah.com/vista/