So, I've been using Windows Vista Business edition for about 2 weeks now. The laptop I use at work doesn't support the video card, thus I can't see Aero Glass. Well, it keeps me from becoming jaded with the pretty graphics, right?
What I like about Vista:
• It's pretty. Even without Aero running, everything is crisper and all menus, etc are very high resolution. Looks great on an LCD screen.
• Folder browsing - It's easier once you get the hang of it. I am mixed on this. Navigation is pretty cool, since you can click on any part of the file path to drill back into a specific folder, even in the middle of the path. Think of a shopping site where you can narrow down your searches, then go back and click on a broader topic to widen your search again. However, the dropdown doesn't support your drive list by default. You get recent places you've been instead. A little annoying. Clicking on "Computer" in the left panel gets you to all your shared drives.
• CD burning - It's easier. Nothing more to say about that
• ZIP files - Imagine this, you can actually CREATE ZIP files now. Something XP should have had out of the box. Duh.
• User migration - It's done within the OS now, but you can still use the user migration tool (easier for mass configurations anyhow). But, if you are a home user, this will be a nice feature, provided you didn't have a system crash on the machine you are importing settings from.
• File sharing - If you turn it on, simple file sharing now really uses the "Shared" account settings for easy access to files you want people to see. Think of it as putting files into your peer to peer sharing directory with something like Kazaa. Users can browse the files. It's an easy way to transfer stuff back and forth with people, and great for multi-user workstations.
• Program level access - When futzed with, this will allow programs to run in an elevated user lever (i.e. higher than "User") for stupidly coded software that used to require full admin access to launch. These are softwares that administrators hate. Hate! Now, at least, I can have something launch at a heightened level without intervention.
Oh, and the screen snippit tool is pretty cool. Easier screenshot handling (you can crop on the fly, highlight windows/regions, etc). No more need for SnagIt!
What I hate about Vista:
• User Access Control - Holy hell. You get asked for every thing you do. I turned off the User Access Control right away. This can be GPO'd, and registry edited to kill. Wow, it stinks. I am an advanced OS user, I don't need to be questioned when I want to change my IP address. I realize this is good for so many reasons, but I hate it. Even with this shut off, running executables asks you if you really want to (for certain types). You know, if I launch a virus or malware on my PC, I can fix it, so I generally don't care about these security settings. In a work environment, sure, but at home? Hell no.
• Administration - It now takes about 2-3 more clicks to get me where I need to go for administration of users and system settings. Getting to the network connections panel is cumbersome. Even finding "add/remove programs" takes some time until you see it at the top of a dialog box.
• Value - 90% of what I am seeing isn't going to be used by the general home user. Even at the business level, most of the "cool stuff" will either be shut off or just unused. I don't want users to be able to pull RSS feeds to their desktops. I don't wants to throw Internet widgets ("gadgets" they call them) that constantly ping away at some remote service all day long. That will all be disabled.
More later as I fumble through Vista. I've also got Office 2007 running. I'm not a power Office user, but so far, I really like the new interface. The larger panels with logical grouping mirrors of a lot of the Photoshop suite (I think they are called palettes, I still call them panels). Outlook 2007 is really slick. More on Office later as well.
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