Vista Vexes

by Jan Fagerholm

Windows Vista on the Cusp
A Perspective on Vista

November 2006

I have a confession to make. Though I am a confirmed Linux geek, I have been running Windows Vista. While I tell myself that I am preparing myself for what my clients will be running soon, a lot of the time I spend in Vista is because I like learning new stuff. I’ve been through the progression of Betas and have arrived at RC2, two weeks before Microsoft freezes the code and sends it to the DVD burners.

On the whole, Vista will swallow the mainstream applications that you are running now. There are exceptions, but these are usually utilities and anti-malware programs that work (as the phrase goes) close to the metal. Corel Graphics Suite X3, WordPerfect X3 and Adobe Creative Suite 2 all run well on Vista (as does the ever reliable OpenOffice). Roxio Easy Media Creator 9 and Nero Burning ROM 7 fail with installer errors. Present versions of Norton SystemWorks and Executive Software Diskeeper refuse to install. McAfee VirusScan installed, but made Vista unbootable, even in Safe Mode. I had to completely reinstall Vista from scratch.

Here’s some of the stuff I’ve learned to love and hate in Vista, up close, personal and arbitrary. Nits and Picks:

Picks:

• System Services and system monitors have been folded into Task Manager. Services are included along with processes, finally putting the running system stuff in one place. Expanded monitoring features give graphical information on these items similar to other operating systems, including who’s using which process.
  
  
• Removal of some sophomoric terminology, i.e. “My Documents” is replaced with, simply, “Documents”, “My Computer” is replaced with “Computer”, etc.
  
  
• The Address line in most windows displays the path, the way Macintosh OSX has done for years. Similarly, progress bars show up as a transparent overlay in the Address line like OSX. The path display is interactive, allowing you to go to any point in the path directly as an alternative to “Browse,” again like OSX.
  
  
• The Aero theme. It’s pretty, and handles transparency intelligently. By effectively fading the window title bar and frame, it makes the windows contents the focus of what you see. This is one of those small things that has a large psychological effect on concentration. But see Nits.
  
  
• Thumbnail previews of programs in the Task Bar when you move the cursor over them. This is particularly useful if you have several instances of a single program running. You can quickly see which one has the content you want.
  
  
• Mixed feelings about the changes to Security Center. While various security features are better integrated into Security Center (such as Internet Options) and they have more granularity, User Account Control is pure pain. Vista security (like Windows XP security) is both superficial and intrusive compared to Macintosh OSX or Linux.

Nits:

• They rearranged almost everything. Too little is logical consolidation and too much of it seems serendipitous. After the Start menu (which is also changed) almost everything has been relocated and re-nested. This new organization is supposed to make things easier for the new user, but I don’t see how going through more dialogs to get the same thing done is supposed to make things “easier.” If you are an experienced user, you can throw away most of what you know about where things are.
  
  
• The Aero theme. While esthetically pleasing, it turns itself off when you run certain applications. It doesn’t always come back when you exit the application.
  
  
• The “Flip 3D” window switcher. It’s pretty, but it works just the same as Alt-Tab. You must cycle through every window to get to the one you want. This is in contrast to the XGL/Compiz window switcher in Linux, which beats Flip 3D hands down for usability. Macintosh OSX’s Finder is also much more direct. Worse, when Aero breaks, so does Flip 3D.
  
  
• Most of the interface windows have replaced menus with simplified toolbars. They are not customizable. Many of the functions I use regularly are invisible. You can get the menus back if you fish around. (Hint – go to Control Panel/Folder Options/View tab and check “Always Show Menus”).
  
  
• By default, Vista enables User Account Control in the Security Center.  Even if you are the only user on the computer (and thus administrator by default), User Account Control will pop up a dialog every time you (or any software you run) tries to access system areas.  This results in several warning dialogs getting in your face while performing many normal actions. Worse, it blocked activation of  several programs I installed, stopping the program from running or crippling it into non-activation mode. (Here’s your Top Tip of the Day – you can stop this behavior by going to Control Panel/User Accounts, selecting your user account, then clicking the “Turn User Account Control on or off” link (and clicking the “Continue” button on the warning dialog this feature pops up), unchecking the “User Account Control (UAC). . .” item, then clicking “OK.” A reboot is required. This will make Vista work like old-fashioned Windows XP.
  
  
• We are in for a sea change of hardware and software upgrades that we haven’t seen since Windows XP came out. Count on upgrading most, if not all, of your anti-virus / anti-malware software, a lot of your PCI cards, and a lot of your peripherals, especially scanners. Many hardware and software manufacturers are using the impending release of Vista to drop support of a lot of their older products.

Vista is almost upon us. While not a compelling upgrade from Windows XP, it is inevitable, because it will be on the next computer you buy. It has some useful and some annoying updates. The revamped interface is clearly aimed at the new user, but it makes the experienced Windows user suffer because it requires relearning of things you already know.

Security

Vista security is somewhat improved compared to Windows XP, but the fundamental problem remains that security is tacked on to the surface of the operating system, compared to OSX or Linux where security is architecturally built in. If you are considering upgrading to Vista for security reasons, save your money; spend less and get equivalent protection from security software for the proven and reliable Windows XP you are using now.

Upgrade or not?

Should you upgrade your present computer to Vista? That depends on your hardware and your definition of value. If your computer is more than three years old, you will not enjoy many of the glitzy new features that Vista offers. It wants a lot of CPU and graphical horsepower to run the cool visual stuff.

On older hardware, you will get what Microsoft calls an “XP-like experience.” Read: you will need to increase your installed RAM and upgrade your video card. While Vista will install in 512 MB of RAM, Microsoft recommends 1 GB minimum for “the best experience”. You will want to invest in an upgraded video card to get to best out of Vista, though.

Video RAM is important; Vista capable video cards with 128 MB of video RAM and moderate performance are available for around $50, and well worth the cost if you are moving to Vista. You will definitely want this if you are moving to Vista to freshen your desktop experience. You need it to get all the new toys working.

I am not as enthusiastic about Vista as many reviewers are. I have had the benefit of experiencing most of Vista’s “new” features, debugged and often better implemented on OSX and Linux. Microsoft rightly imitated these; many of them are useful and compelling. But they are not new.

If you are a casual computer user, you will wind up with Vista on your computer sooner or later just because it will come on a new PC that you will eventually buy. If you are a computer enthusiast, you will have to decide whether it is worth both the cost of hardware upgrades and the purchase price of Vista to move into the latest and greatest that Microsoft can offer.

For the short term, this will not be a painless experience; you will have to make many adjustments to the way you work and suffer several incompatibilities in both hardware and software to get into Vista. If you are a casual computer user and not certain if overcoming these problems is worth the effort, I’ll offer my standard advice for new Microsoft operating systems: wait until SP1 before you take the plunge.

For the adventurous, I say, “Follow me, and dodge the slings and arrows! The pain is slight, and I can endure it!” The challenge of making it work is part of the fun. And on the other end, you may find that you can eventually get some work done on the computer . . .