What Went Wrong with Windows Vista?
December is the month for year-end reviews. We begin our first 2007 look back by offering 10 reasons why Vista failed to "WOW" consumers or businesses.
windows -
comments -
7.12.2007 Are Windows Vista icons facing the wrong way?
I know what you’re thinking, “has it really come down to this”. No doubts you’ve all seen the “Computer” icon in Windows Vista.
windows -
comments -
23.6.2008 XP SP3 and Windows 7, the Wrong Reasons to Skip Vista SP1
In the evolution of the Windows client, Windows Vista Service Pack 1 is a step set firmly between Windows XP SP2 and Windows 7, just as well as the RTM version of the operating system.
windows -
comments -
29.4.2008 The pundits are wrong: Vista is moving full-steam ahead
For better or for worse, Windows Vista is moving full-steam ahead toward a fall release-to-manufacturing and November business availability.
windows -
comments -
23.9.2006 Windows XP SP3 Twice as Fast as Windows Vista – Leaves Vista SP1 in the Dust
Forget about Windows Vista. And forget about Windows Vista SP1. Microsoft's latest Windows client has been quite sluggish to begin with. This in both consumer adoption and in terms of the performance it delivers.
windows -
comments -
27.11.2007 Windows Vista Wow! Forget about Vista SP1, XP SP3 and Windows 7!
That's it, forget about Windows XP Service Pack 3, about Windows 7, the next iteration of Windows and even about Windows Vista Service Pack 1.
windows -
comments -
1.2.2008 Windows Vista SP1 vs. Windows Vista RTM vs. Windows XP SP2
Feb 26th, 2008. Principled Technologies has released two Microsoft commissioned reports on Windows Vista SP1 performance. In these tests, Principled Technologies measured responsiveness of Windows Vista SP1 vs. Windows Vista RTM vs. Windows XP SP2 when performing a set of common business and home tasks.
windows -
comments -
28.2.2008 Vista SP1 RC1 Flies Past Vista RTM and Windows XP SP2
Despite the fact that Microsoft has expressed its official position regarding testing Windows Vista Service Pack 1 ahead of its finalization, there is simply too much of a hunger for the service pack.
windows -
comments -
27.12.2007 Vista SP1 Won't Resolve the 4 GB RAM Limitation of 32-bit Windows Vista
32-bit Windows operating systems, and Windows Vista makes no exception whatsoever to this rule, are limited in terms of the amount of system memory that can be addressed to no more than 4 GB.
windows -
comments -
4.1.2008 Vista Loader 2.1.3 - Windows Vista Activator 2008 Support SP1 with No Boot String
Vista Loader is one of the most successful Vista activation crack available to date, second only to physical modify (hardmod) the BIOS to include SLIC table to make BIOS Vista activation-compliant.
download -
comments -
15.5.2008 Microsoft to Kill the Grace Timer and OEM BIOS Windows Vista Cracks with Vista SP1
With the advent of Windows Vista, cracks also became available being designed to bypass the activation process of the operating system.
windows -
comments -
4.12.2007 Windows Vista on Super Nintendo, As Real As Vista on PSP
We're puzzled and confused... How can a console that's at least ten times less powerful than the acclaimed PSP cope with Windows Vista's requirements?
windows -
comments -
15.8.2007 Vista SP1 Features the Same Sins as Windows Vista
Windows Vista Service Pack 1 comes with the same sins as Windows Vista. The service pack is not even out the door, and is already putting users at risk.
windows -
comments -
16.1.2008 Will Vista SP1 Go Where Vista Never Went? Even with XP SP3 and Windows 7?
Throughout 2007, it became painfully clear to Microsoft that the main competitor for Windows Vista was not Apple's Mac OS X or even the open source Linux operating system but Windows XP, and, in fact, specifically XP SP2.
windows -
comments -
1.3.2008 Microsoft Makes Its Own: 32-bit Windows Vista vs. 64-bit Windows Vista
With Windows Vista, Microsoft delivered both the 32-bit and 64-bit flavors concomitantly, a first for the company, whose Windows XP x64 Professional (April, 2005) was launched one year after Windows XP SP2 (August 2005) and four after the initial 32-bit Windows XP (2001).
windows -
comments -
8.1.2008 Microsoft: Windows Vista vs. Windows XP – Definitely Vista!
As far as Microsoft is concerned there is only one choice possible in terms of desktop clients. But Windows Vista is also the clear option over Windows XP when it comes down to the Redmond company's preferred operating system for mobile PCs.
windows -
comments -
6.9.2007 Genuine Windows Vista vs. Pirated Windows Vista
Enlarge picture
Essentially there is absolutely no difference between a genuine and pirated copy of Windows Vista in terms of functionality. Sure, there is a very good chance that the counterfeit version of the operating system would contain malicious code and that the user experience would be gravely diminished because the fabric of the platform has been tampered with in the cracking process.
windows -
comments -
12.9.2007 How to Install Vista Language Packs MUI on all versions of Vista + video tutorial
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic, Vista Home Premium, and Vista Business versions of the Microsoft licensing restrictions can only preserve a language!
download -
comments -
23.9.2008 The Vista Built-in Super Administrator Account Has Survived in Vista SP1
Windows Vista Service Pack 1 is designed to evolve the RTM version of the latest Windows client from Microsoft, made available in November 2006 to business customers, and in January 2007 to the general consumers.
windows -
comments -
15.2.2008 Vista SP1 Is Out, XP SP3 Old News, the Pink Edition of Vista Is In
Windows Vista Service Pack 1 is now nothing more than water under the bridge, now that the service pack was released to manufacturing on February 4, 2008, shipping to general users on March 18.
windows -
comments -
27.3.2008 Tell Hasta la Vista to XP - Time to Upgrade to Vista SP1
Like it or not, this is the right time not only to upgrade to Windows Vista Service Pack 1 but also to tell hasta la vista to Windows XP.
windows -
comments -
30.6.2008 Instant Change Vista Product ID with Vista ProductID Changer
In past we have reviewed number of application to recover product key like Product Key Finder, WinGuggle, Windows product Key Finder.
download -
comments -
1.11.2009 x64 Vista SP2 JPG Rendering Performance Inferior to x86 Vista SP2's
The JPG rendering process on 64-bit flavors of Windows Vista Service Pack 2 is inferior to that on the 32-bit variants of the operating system.
windows -
comments -
10.6.2009 New Vista OEM Activation Hack - Vista Boot by gkend
Thanks to Steve Jobs for this article on his blog and to our forum members to clecha, Nighthief and fitterphil120 for most of the findings. One again the “Chinese” come up with a new method to trick out the Vista Activation. We have seen Softmode and VistaLoader, however “ Vista Boot by gkend” does promise even more.
download -
comments -
21.5.2007 Vista RTM vs. Vista SP1 - Office 2007 benchmarking
Enough with benchmarking the OS - let’s see if Office 2007 is any faster on Vista SP1.
windows -
comments -
26.2.2008 Microsoft Says Vista SP1 Needs to Speak the Same Language as Vista RTM
Microsoft says that Windows Vista Service Pack 1 needs to speak the same language as the RTM version of the latest Windows client. Otherwise there's no game.
windows -
comments -
2.4.2008 Vista SP1 to Cure the Vista RTM Wow Hangover
When Windows Vista was unleashed in January 31, 2008, Microsoft was promising performance, security, innovation, all wrapped up under an umbrella of a Wow user experience.
windows -
comments -
11.4.2008 Vista-For-Free coupon with Vista ready PC's
Microsoft and the world's leading PC vendors have reached an agreement to promote the long-awaited Vista OS by offering PC buyers worldwide a free upgrade coupon, as a way of encouraging them to buy a Vista-capable PC as early as possible, according to market sources, citing information leaked from Taiwan-based PC makers.
windows -
comments -
11.10.2006 Can Vista SP1 help polish Vista’s tarnished image?
Call it complaining. Call it whining. The end result is the same: Windows Vista’s image is tarnished. And it’s corroding more and more rapidly as the weeks are going on. Thanks to pacpis for this news.
windows -
comments -
21.8.2007 New Vista AutoPatcher - Vista update toolkit Alpha
Vista Update Toolkit Alpha (Windows Vista Updates Downloader) is a FREE program which downloads updates directly from Microsoft. All files are very useful with vLite!
download -
comments -
26.9.2008Are Vista icons facing the wrong way ?
No doubt you’ve all seen the “Computer” icon in Windows Vista. Some of you might have even clicked on it and few of you probably
have a shortcut on your desktop. But has it ever occurred to you it’s facing the wrong direction, away from you? At least one guy did, and this
is just one of the minor details under scrutiny at the Windows UX Taskforce that is particularly fascinating.
The problem is, by default,
Windows displays icons from left to right. Assuming the user sits in the middle of the monitor, the icons should in fact face right towards you and
not the edge of the monitor. The only icon in Vista off the top of my head which does this correctly are the “folders” icon which open up
towards the right. This actually conflicts with the official user experience guidelines suggesting the perspective of icons face left.
If
this isn’t weird enough, the Windows XP’s icons and even conceptual Vista icons designed by Iconfactory faced the right (pun) way. For
some unknown reason, Microsoft designers decided to flip them. Mac OSX icons face directly at you - probably the best solution.
neowin.net -
23.06.2008What Went Wrong with Windows Vista?
December is the month for year-end reviews. We begin our first 2007 look back by offering 10 reasons why Vista failed to "WOW" consumers or
businesses. Make no mistake: Despite PR assertions otherwise, Windows Vista did not meet Microsoft expectations.
-Windows Vista
advertising ended almost as abruptly as it started
-Microsoft beat the drum a bit too loudly about the number of Vista licenses shipped
-Windows Ultimate Extras became a real dreamscape of empty promises
-Microsoft already is advancing plans for Vista-successor Windows
7
neowin.net -
07.12.2007Vista SP1 'prerequisites' to gear up systems for auto updates
In a world, to sound like Don LaFontaine for a moment, where nothing could possibly go wrong, when something small does go wrong, it's huge. Today,
Microsoft is hoping a small patch will make a huge difference to Vista's image...
betanews.com -
08.04.2008Windows Vista (In)capable
Robin Harris: What went wrong? Ill tell you what went wrong: Microsoft execs - starting with Steve Ballmer - dont care enough about their customers.
Which is too bad for the thousands of smart, hard working softies who do.
I went through the Vista Capable lawsuit Exhibit A
emails. Lots of warnings that Vista was a train wreck, that its requirements exceeded the market, that the continual changes and slips were killing
OEMs and that many peripheral vendors had simply given up trying to stay in sync.
Where was Steve?
winbeta.org -
03.03.2008Vista: One Year Later
One year ago today,
Microsoft released Windows
Vista to manufacturing. In the obligatory anniversary post we ask: Was it ready? Will it ever be ready?
The answer to the
first question is an emphatic "no." Vista wasn't ready. Hardware manufacturers and software developers weren't ready for it. The channel and
enterprises weren't ready, and consumers couldn't get it because Vista missed holiday 2006.
Microsoft promised WOW, but the reaction was, "What?" What is
different from Windows XP? What is wrong with the hardware requirements? What is the difference between "
Capable" and "
Ready?" What is this
Software Assurance requirement for Vista
Enterprise? What happened to the familiarity of Windows XP? What is
wrong with my Vista applications and hardware?
More recently the "W" question is "When?"--as in
when will
Microsoft release Vista Service Pack 1?
winbeta.org -
08.11.2007Warner Music CEO: 'We were wrong'
The chief of one of the labels leading the fight against P2P has a surprising change of heart: The industry, he says, was wrong about digital music...
betanews.com -
16.11.2007Rumor: Vista SP1 coming February 18, XP SP3 on March 23
French tech website
PC INpact is reporting that
it got its grubby little hands on the exact release dates of Windows Vista Service Pack 1 as well as Windows XP Service Pack 3. According to a source,
Vista SP1 is to be released on the night of February 18 while XP SP3 will be released on the night of March 23.
Although Microsoft has not
given a tight timeframe for when to expect XP SP3, it did state earlier that Vista SP1 will be available in mid-March. The screenshots should be
therefore taken with a grain of salt. It is possible that these memos were sent out before Microsoft delayed Vista to mid-March. Could it be that the
Vista date is wrong but the XP one is correct?
Read full story.....
neowin.net -
07.02.2008Windows Vista is protecting the environment
Roger Halbheer, Chief Security Advisor of Microsoft EMEA: When we launched Windows Vista, one of the features which was pointed out to me was power
management and how it will lower the costs in the enterprise environment. Well, I put my focus on the security technologies (obviously) and ignored
the power management part - and I seem to be wrong. Read the following blog post and see that you should definitely look into this:
How green is your PC?
winbeta.org -
01.12.2007Five secrets to faster Vista starts
Oh, great. Here we go again.
The wise old men of mainstream tech journalism are once again repeating the conventional wisdom that
Vista is slow to start up and slow to shut down. Theyre wrong. I
proved this to my
satisfaction last spring (see also the
first and
second parts in the series) with tests on three separate systems, and Ive just
repeated the tests on a new crop of Vista PCs to verify that theres no new problem. The results are the same or better, perhaps reflecting incremental
improvements from the many reliability and performance updates since then.
In this post, Ill explain why theyre wrong and show
you how you can fix the problem if you encounter a slow startup.
winbeta.org -
27.11.2007Victorian Government Microsoft's $23 million Vista patsy: consultant
While the rest of the world is shying away from Windows Vista and looking to deploy Linux across schools, the Victorian State Government in Australia
is behaving like Microsoft's patsy by side-stepping competition and adopting Vista in schools, according to a leading local IT consultant.
Con Zymaris, the CEO of Cybersource, a company that has specialized in the integration of Linux and Windows sites since the early 1990s,
says the Victorian Department of Education, is heading in the wrong direction by adopting Windows Vista in a $23 million deal announced this week.
"The Victorian Department of Education has again neglected the market, side-stepped competition by open tender and signed yet
another deal with Microsoft - excluding all other platform vendors, to deploy Windows Vista - an operating system shunned by the rest of IT
industry," said Zymaris.
winbeta.org -
25.10.2007Microsoft Admits What Went Wrong with Vista, and How They Fixed It
Will Smith @
Maximum PC: We sat down with Microsoft to hear the companys side of the Vista story. What lessons have been learned
following the worst Windows launch in the companys history? Is Microsoft doing enough to regain PC users faith?
Way back in
January 2007, after years of hype and anticipation, Microsoft unveiled Windows Vista to a decidedly lukewarm reception by the PC community, IT pros,
and tech journalists alike. Instead of a revolutionary next-generation OS that was chock-full of new features, the Windows community got an
underwhelming rehash with very little going for it. Oh, and Vista was plagued with performance and incompatibility problems to boot...
winbeta.org -
11.09.2008Microsoft Updates Vista Media Center
Microsoft has release an April
2007 Cumulative Update for
Windows Vista's built-in
Media Center application,
which aims to resolve a number
of issues reported by users.
On the list of fixes are DVD
freezes, errors when deleting
a picture, Media Center
rotating the wrong picture,
among others...
betanews.com -
25.04.2007Everything youve read about Vista DRM is wrong (Part 1)
Last month, I wrote about the
FUD surrounding Windows Vista and DRM. The
FUDmaster is Peter Gutmann, a New Zealand researcher who wrote a paper last December that made a series of outrageous and inflammatory claims about
Windows Vista. Since then, Gutmann has expanded the paper to more than four times its original size. The
current version available on Gutmanns website clocks in at
more than 26,000 words, making it longer than some recent works of fiction.
And length isnt the only thing Gutmanns paper has in
common with the average pulp novel. Gutmanns work is riddled with factual errors, mistaken assumptions and unproven assertions, distortions,
contradictions, misquotes, and outright untruths. In short, its a work of fiction all on its own.
Gutmann is a clever writer, and
hes able to string together nouns, verbs, technical terms,and acronyms in ways that sound persuasive. In this three-part series (look for Parts 2 and
3 later this week), Im going to dig deep into Gutmanns work and show you just where he got it wrong.
winbeta.org -
17.09.2007Why SP1 was offered to some via Windows Update yesterday
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes: Yesterday some people got a surprise - Windows Vista SP1 coming down the Windows Update pipes. Turns out someone at Microsoft
flipped the wrong switch.
Here the information that I have thanks to a Microsoft spokesperson:
Were very pleased
with the progress weve made with Windows Vista to date. Since releasing SP1 to manufacturing on February 4th, we have made Windows Vista SP1 available
to beta testers, MSDN and TechNet Plus subscribers, as well as Volume Licensing customers. Today, a build of SP1 was posted to Windows Update and it
was inadvertently made available to a broad group. The build was intended only for our more technically advanced testers, and was meant to only be
offered to those with a specific registry key set on their PC. For general availability, we are still planning to make SP1 broadly available in the
mid-March timeframe.
winbeta.org -
22.02.2008Microsoft-Intel 'Capable' Collusion?
Microsoft is going to be in a heap of trouble because of the Windows Capable lawsuit—and perhaps Intel, too. Windows Vista Capable certification
for the Intel 915 chip set may have violated U.S. antitrust laws. For more than a year, I've complained that OEMs shipped Windows Vista PCs with
deficient graphics accelerators. I never imagined that Microsoft was involved. Why would the company want to ruin the Vista experience?
But e-mails released yesterday (while I was out of the office at a Microsoft event, damn it) suggest otherwise. I was wrong about Microsoft. By all
appearances, the company colluded with Intel to qualify a knowingly, deficient graphics chip set as being Windows Vista Capable. Todd Bishop of the
Seattle Post-Intelligencer blogged the full text of internal Microsoft e-mails late yesterday. The communications were released as part of discovery
for the Windows Vista Capable class-action lawsuit.
neowin.net -
29.02.2008Vote For The Best Windows Vista Website!
WinVistaClub, in association with 'Windows Vista - The Official Magazine', has organised a contest to recognise some of the Best Windows Vista
Blogs and Websites.
The following 10 websites have been being declared by the Judges, as the Top 10 Vista websites and have been put up
for a public vote.
MintyWhite Windows Guides
Vista Revisited
Windows Vista Update
Windows Vista For Beginners
Tweaking With Vishal
MaximumPCGuides
Windows Vista Forums
The Road To Know Where
Windows Vista Weblog
Vista & XP Media
Center Support Community
Click
HERE to cast your vote for your
favourite Windows Vista Website, and in the process also get to know some other real good ones !
Read full story.....
neowin.net -
02.09.2008Are You Ready for Windows Vista?
Columnist Stuart Mudie
describes how to make the move
to Windows Vista using Windows
Vista Upgrade Advisor and
Windows Easy Transfer...
microsoft.com/windowsvista -
29.09.2006Why installing Vista SP1 might fail via Windows Update
When you try to install Windows Vista SP1 via Windows Update you can get error: Windows Vista Service Pack 1 is not available for installation from
Windows Update and is not offered by Automatic Updates.
To help ensure a positive update experience, Windows Update will temporarily not
offer Windows Vista SP1 to systems that have the following device drivers. In some cases, these device drivers are problematic on Windows Vista-based
computers when you update to Windows Vista SP1. By installing updated device drivers, you will resolve the issue and enable Windows Update to offer
Windows Vista SP1.
Click read more to view a list of drivers that don't work well with Vista SP1:
Read full story.....
neowin.net -
20.03.2008Microsoft sued in China for black screen of death
A Chinese lawyer has filed a legal complaint against Microsoft for installing Windows Genuine Advantage on his computer. He has asked the Ministry of
Public Security to file criminal charges against Microsoft.
Dong Zhengwei accused the company of hacking into people's
computers. He said: "I respect the right of Microsoft to protect its intellectual property but it is taking on the wrong target with wrong
measures.
winbeta.org -
22.10.2008Windows Vista Ultimate and WSUS
Just a quick one this time
<"We've heard that one
before" I hear you cry!>
about Windows Vista Ultimate
and WSUS. What is WSUS I hear
you ask? Well, it stands for
Windows
Server Update Services and
essentially, allows
administrators to deploy
updates across a network, so
instead of all the users on
your network navigating to
Windows Update and downloading
the updates separately, just
download them once, and
distribute using WSUS.
The reason for the
post is that WSUS currently
does not allow Windows Vista
Ultimate Extras to be
distributed via WSUS. Not
good. A view which is backed
up by Erik Neuenschwander, who
works in the Ultimate Extras
team here at Microsoft
"That's not a good situation
for customers, so we plan to
improve it. The Ultimate team
is working with Windows Update
to revise the Extras to be
offered to WSUS"
Erik goes on to say "We cut
support for WSUS at launch to
reduce the test burden, and
because we didn't think many
WSUS environments would deploy
Ultimate. We're hearing that
we were wrong, so all the Wave
Zero Extras will be offered to
WSUS later this year."
neowin.net -
19.04.2007
