Windows Vista: First Impressions [MCP]

[Lasher]

I've got a few statements to make and I'd like to make them public so
that those at Microsoft who are still developing the standard user
version can take note of:

1. The installation of Windows in the GUI while in Windows XP
Professional SP1 or 2 should include the option to format the computer
and start from a clean install via format under the advanced options.

2. The installation of Windows in the GUI while in Windows XP
Professional SP2 should include the option to partition the hard-drive
the same way that the bootable install allows for such as "Expand" (the
partition) and "Format" (under the condition that a restart is going to
occur and boot into the Installation GUI.

3. During the transition where there are Windows Loading screens where
there is simply a load bar and there is the copyright of the Microsoft
Corporation, the logo should be above this.

4. Installation should prompt the users in a more friendly way in
regards to restarting the computer. Instead of when I have to look at
that message for the 1^345738957209872348907th time (which happens to
call an Islington flat) that is quite impersonal and robotic, I would
like to see something that seems a bit more human as the intial
impression of Vista is impressive enough that it should make up for it.
Someone fire the Q/A editor.

5. Did you have the idea that Ubuntu, Mac OS X, and Windows XP thrown
together would not be noticed? Give us all a break. My computer is
good enough and a stupid score of 2.3 as an overall based off of Windows
Aero being my lowest, lets get some updates please.

6. IPv6 showing the ipconfig command from command prompt is something
that everyone should be aware of as a major change when diagnosing
problems. It does now incorporate the use of MAC Addresses and IP
addresses. Be aware that what you see when ipconfig is sent that it is
quite different.

The more I get pissed off with the new OS which actually works quite
well, so far that is, then I'll write more.


--
Lasher
MCNGP #50 (www.mcngp.com)
MCNGP: Leading the world to better training, better computer skills,
and taking out the lowdes of the world with furvor beyond anyone's
belief.

 

[Jupiter Jones [MVP]]

Windows Vista all versions has gone RTM so there will be no more changes.
The next best thing are updates and Service Packs, but that is it since
Vista is RTM.

"2.3 as an overall based off of Windows Aero being my lowest, lets get some
updates please."
That would be a video card issue.
Either you need a better card or a newer driver for higher numbers.
Neither are the responsibility of Microsoft.
Have you contacted the card manufacturer about newer drivers?

 

[Lasher]

That's a bit harsh. Did you notice the absence of the DOS-based
installation stage?

It just was impersonal...robotic almost. But yes, even though there is no
official "DOS-based installation stage", the text needs a revision.

 

[Rock]

I've got a few statements to make and I'd like to make them public so
that those at Microsoft who are still developing the standard user
version can take note of:

1. The installation of Windows in the GUI while in Windows XP
Professional SP1 or 2 should include the option to format the computer
and start from a clean install via format under the advanced options.

2. The installation of Windows in the GUI while in Windows XP
Professional SP2 should include the option to partition the hard-drive
the same way that the bootable install allows for such as "Expand" (the
partition) and "Format" (under the condition that a restart is going to
occur and boot into the Installation GUI.

3. During the transition where there are Windows Loading screens where
there is simply a load bar and there is the copyright of the Microsoft
Corporation, the logo should be above this.

4. Installation should prompt the users in a more friendly way in
regards to restarting the computer. Instead of when I have to look at
that message for the 1^345738957209872348907th time (which happens to
call an Islington flat) that is quite impersonal and robotic, I would
like to see something that seems a bit more human as the intial
impression of Vista is impressive enough that it should make up for it.
Someone fire the Q/A editor.

5. Did you have the idea that Ubuntu, Mac OS X, and Windows XP thrown
together would not be noticed? Give us all a break. My computer is
good enough and a stupid score of 2.3 as an overall based off of Windows
Aero being my lowest, lets get some updates please.

6. IPv6 showing the ipconfig command from command prompt is something
that everyone should be aware of as a major change when diagnosing
problems. It does now incorporate the use of MAC Addresses and IP
addresses. Be aware that what you see when ipconfig is sent that it is
quite different.

The more I get pissed off with the new OS which actually works quite
well, so far that is, then I'll write more.

You're not talking to MS here - so your suggestions might very well not be
seen. Since Vista has gone RTM, if you want to pass on your suggestions go
through the normal channels.

http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?WS=Wish

 

[Lang Murphy]

Not sure I understand 1 and 2.... if you want those features, boot from the
DVD and do a clean install. That's what you're describing...

No comment on 3, 4, and 5...

On 6: this is in a manner different than ipconfig /all in XP?

Lang

 

[Lasher]

Not sure I understand 1 and 2.... if you want those features, boot
from the DVD and do a clean install. That's what you're describing...

That's where I feel MS is being b!tchy though. Its a rude install program
the first OS around that replaces a DOS-based OS.

No comment on 3, 4, and 5...

No problem.

On 6: this is in a manner different than ipconfig /all in XP?

Yes, /ipconfig all shows different IP addresses that include MAC addresses,
this is just something that I noticed.

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

Inline.

1. The installation of Windows in the GUI while in Windows XP
Professional SP1 or 2 should include the option to format the computer
and start from a clean install via format under the advanced options.

XP cannot format the hard drive from a Win9x/ME desktop (GUI) either. You
cannot format the system partition while running. You have to convert to
NTFS aftwards.

2. The installation of Windows in the GUI while in Windows XP
Professional SP2 should include the option to partition the hard-drive
the same way that the bootable install allows for such as "Expand" (the
partition) and "Format" (under the condition that a restart is going to
occur and boot into the Installation GUI.

XP cannot partition a drive from the GUI of a Win9x/ME desktop either. You
have to do that by booting with the XP cd.

3. During the transition where there are Windows Loading screens where
there is simply a load bar and there is the copyright of the Microsoft
Corporation, the logo should be above this.

Why? You've got an activity bar and Microsoft Corp. What more do you need?

4. Installation should prompt the users in a more friendly way in
regards to restarting the computer. Instead of when I have to look at
that message for the 1^345738957209872348907th time (which happens to
call an Islington flat) that is quite impersonal and robotic, I would
like to see something that seems a bit more human as the intial
impression of Vista is impressive enough that it should make up for it.
Someone fire the Q/A editor.

Why? It reboots on its own during intallation.

5. Did you have the idea that Ubuntu, Mac OS X, and Windows XP thrown
together would not be noticed? Give us all a break. My computer is
good enough and a stupid score of 2.3 as an overall based off of Windows
Aero being my lowest, lets get some updates please.

Update your hardware to improve the score, but 2.3 is actually decent
enough.

 

[Lang Murphy]

Huh? What about W2K and XP? They weren't DOS based systems either.
Personally, I think the Vista install is WAY better than either W2K or XP's
installs.

Not sure I get your response on ipconfig. If you run "ipconfig /all" in XP
you get the MAC addresses. If that's what you're talking about, then that's
not new to Vista. If you're talking about something else, then I guess I'm
just not parsing it correctly.

Lang

 

[TurkReno]

Inline.

Outline.


XP cannot format the hard drive from a Win9x/ME desktop (GUI) either.
You cannot format the system partition while running. You have to
convert to NTFS aftwards.

Dang it, READ WHAT I SAID. REBOOT AND THEN FORMAT. Besides, if you
actually read the white papers, then you'd know that you can't do a
direct upgrade from those systems anyway.

XP cannot partition a drive from the GUI of a Win9x/ME desktop either.
You have to do that by booting with the XP cd.

You're annoying, sir. OPTION IN THE WINDOWS GUI WHEN IN WINDOWS. Its a
simple request. Not a big one, just a simple request.

Why? You've got an activity bar and Microsoft Corp. What more do you
need?

A friggen LOGO. Its capable of doing it, so why not do it? Advertising
is poor, imho, with this product and its "Home" type user release.
Hardly anyone knows crap about it in the real world. Maybe I should
modify it to have a different logo with like broken Windows or
something...pieces of glass maybe.

Why? It reboots on its own during intallation.

And I can talk to you in a certain way and you may not like it either.
Lets just leave it at that. Tone of voice and reading interpretation is
everything.

Update your hardware to improve the score, but 2.3 is actually decent
enough.

Probably, but I'm still sticking with Office 2003 because I see no point
to be all shiny about my desktop to try and impress people at work.

Why?

Because. I think that our opinion counts and people like you need to
sit down and shut up when it comes to things that could have been done
better so they will be done better when the next service pack comes out,
or release, whichever comes first.

--
Lasher
MCNGP #50 (www.mcngp.com)
MCNGP: Leading the world to better training, better computer skills,
and taking out the lowdes of the world with furvor beyond anyone's
belief.

 

[Dale]

I don't understand what this whole post is about but noticing the phrase
"IPV6 in it, I thought I'd take the opportunity to ask about that. Why do
you think it is installed by default and enabled by default? I work for a
company with 30,000 plus desktops and we don't use IPV6, so that makes me
wonder, who does use it?

Dale

 

[TurkReno]

I don't understand what this whole post is about but noticing the
phrase "IPV6 in it, I thought I'd take the opportunity to ask about
that. Why do you think it is installed by default and enabled by
default? I work for a company with 30,000 plus desktops and we don't
use IPV6, so that makes me wonder, who does use it?

Dale

Its a mix of your MAC address and your IP address and other things to
remove all the unusable networks that the block that loopback created on
such a high octet. FYI: http://www.ipv6.org/

--
Lasher
MCNGP #50
MCNGP: Leading the world to better training, better computer skills,
and taking out the lowdes of the world with furvor beyond anyone's
belief.

 

[Dale]

I understand what IPV6 is. I just wonder why Vista turns it on by default.
If the largest corporations in the world don't use it, then who does? It
doesn't work over the Internet and won't for some time - that's another area
as stuck in backwards compatibility as some of the posters in this newsgroup
are.

Dale

 

[Robert Blacher]

I'm going to disregard most of what's in the msg to which I am replying and
focus only on the video score thingie.

Oops, OneNote 2007's OCR of text from a screen clip isn't perfect, but here
are my scores (they're all at the end in the right order. Oh what the heck,
I'll edit it -- hang on -- lol):


Your computer has a windows Experience Index base score of 2.5
Processor: 5.0
Memory (RAM): 5.9
Graphics: 3.1
Gaming graphks (ahem -- graphics): 2.5
Primary hard disk: 5.4
Determined by lowest subscore

Those results are under Vista Ultimate RTM x64 on an HP m7580n (AMD Athlon
64 4600+, etc. etc. See HP site for other specs).

The graphics card, a 256K Nvidia GeForce 7300 LE *must* be able to do better
than that on a machine that is otherwise this fast. As I understand it, 6.0
is the highest score possible for now (MS reserves the right to raise it as
new technology pushes forward). The monitor is a Dell 2007WFP running in
its "native" mode of 1680 x 1050, 32-bit, 60 Hertz. Lowering the resolution
does nothing to the WEI graphics scores.

It has got to be Nvidia's horrid drivers. My laptop, an otherwise much
slower Pentium 4, gets a *higher* WEI "base" score because it has an ATI
Mobility Radeon X300 and ATI (now AMD) had beaten the pants off of Nvidia in
getting decent Vista drivers out.

The only conclusion I draw is to short Nvidia's stock :-} Seriously, if
Nvidia doesn't get their act together soon they will ruin their reputation,
at least with early adopters. And, we mold public opinion, right?

BTW, I could care less about the video scores. It's plenty fast enough for
my primarily business use of this computer. My 18-year old would scream
bloody murder because, to him, computers are poor video game machines.

 

[TurkReno]

I understand what IPV6 is. I just wonder why Vista turns it on by
default. If the largest corporations in the world don't use it, then
who does? It doesn't work over the Internet and won't for some time -
that's another area as stuck in backwards compatibility as some of the
posters in this newsgroup are.

Dale

Future compatibility is all I can think of. You have a good point.

 

[Dale]

I have an Nvidia 7600GS with 256MB of RAM and my video scores are 4.7 and
4.8. Those are my lowest scores. And that's with a 100 dollar video card.

You can get excellent performance from Vista with pretty inexpensive
hardware. RAM seems to be the toughest thing. When I first built my Vista
PC, my memory score was 4.5 with the 1GB of fastest memory my Intel
motherboard would take. I upgraded the memory to 2GB of the same memory and
my memory score went to 5.6.

Dale

 

[Robert Blacher]

Interesting. So, I can upgrade my $50 video card to about a $125 one and
get very decent video scores. But, then my 18-year old will stick World of
WarCraft on here and never let me use my own computer. No thanks! lol

Seriously, thanks for the useful feedback. I guess not all Nvidia cards are
(expletive deleted) and it may not be the driver.

 

[Paul Adare]

microsoft.public.windows.vista.general news group, Lasher

1. The installation of Windows in the GUI while in Windows XP
Professional SP1 or 2 should include the option to format the computer
and start from a clean install via format under the advanced options.

2. The installation of Windows in the GUI while in Windows XP
Professional SP2 should include the option to partition the hard-drive
the same way that the bootable install allows for such as "Expand" (the
partition) and "Format" (under the condition that a restart is going to
occur and boot into the Installation GUI.

If you don't start the installation from booting from the DVD,
the installation procedure needs to write a whole bunch of temp
files to your hard drive which need to be present at the first
reboot. How can you format or repartition your drive and still
preserve those files?