Microsoft Vista Screenshots

[Wildfire]

Thought you guys who can't download Vista via MSDN might at least like looking at some screenshots of it :D

http://bink.nu/photos/news_article_images/default.aspx

[iori yagami]

would be nice if the screenshots wasnt 800x600 upsized to 500000x50000... :rolleyes:

[wpeng]

Looks like a fancy Windows XP

[Rhetoric]

Looks like a fancy Windows XP

Keep in mind how win95,98,ME,and2000 looked. :p

Seriously though, this doesn't look like anything you can't already do with programs such as DesktopX. Does this OS actually run faster? Does it have a file allocation system superior to NTFS? If this thing only boasts meager enhancements such as "improved security" it'll be a joke, but hopefully you will tell us if it is better or worse. :)

[condac]

The biggest improvment was, and i mean was, the new file system using a database like file system. But the latest news i heard about that was that it was not going to be released in longhorn. It was called WinFS. It was not even certain if it was going to be released in the next os after longhorn.

[Michael.R]

I love that look. The virtual folders look awsome.

New recycle bin looks nice. (lol just something I noticed)

That search thing is awsome. Did anyone see that? You start typing in and it automatically brings up a relevant list. That is going to make it so much easier for me to find programs. I always seem to loose them and it takes me forevor to find them in the menu.

Did anyone see the pictures and videos picture? That looks awsome I cant wait to use that.

I love the new look for organizing files. It seems so much easier to me. I realize you can change it in xp but I dont like having to change it every time I open folders. I havent figured out how to keep it so that its always in list form. Should google it one day.

I love the transparent windows.

I must say I am impressed with what I see. I cant wait for a public beta. Leave it to a lot of people on these forums to bash it though. I have read through a couple of the features in this beta and there are a lot of really cool things.

And holy shit the ISO for this thing is 2.4GB according to the website. :eek:

[condac]

Holy crap, I think the big icons in xp is terrible and takes to much "workspace" But look at the icons in Vista, It's just a big joke! why do you whant them to be THAT big?
http://bink.nu/photos/news_article_images/picture9994.aspx

[Michael.R]

Holy crap, I think the big icons in xp is terrible and takes to much "workspace" But look at the icons in Vista, It's just a big joke! why do you whant them to be THAT big?
http://bink.nu/photos/news_article_images/picture9994.aspx

Actually those are completley resisable. You can change them howevor you want. I think it would be worth while for you to read Paul Thurrott's review.

Everyone should read it he explains a lot of things. Vista look like its going to be an amazing operating system. There are a lot of new things in Beta 1 and there will be a ton more when the OS finally releases. There are howevor a lot of problems with this beta the bigest of which had something to do with confusion of virtual and real folders.

Anyways here is the link
Review (http://www.winsupersite.com/reviews/winvista_beta1_01.asp)

And sorry I cant link this image so you will have to copy and paste it but I thought this was cool.
http://www.winsupersite.com/images/reviews/winvista_b1_27.jpg

Everyone should look at the pictures he has provided they explain a lot.

Vista looks like its got a lot of features to improve workflow. Which I am really happy about. I havent even been using windows xp to its full potential though.

Oh and Paul reports that his Beta is running really fast and he wouldnt be suprised if it was faster then xp on the same hardware. I hope inquirer reads that because I think it was them that was bashing microsoft about this the other day.

[Lugztaz]

Do you have to pay to beta test it? or be specially selected? or what

[ashmedai]

It's a closed beta as usual...basically a bunch of people send in their info going "pick me! pick me!" and they pick however many they want.

That and, you know, people with MSDN access.

Hmm...don't see anything that I can't already do with the good old uxtheme patch, other than the transparent thing and icons, which you could already do pretty easily anyway. Any shiny bits you've noticed so far that are meaningful and not already available in XP?

I think I'm just hard to impress after all the hype time after time...

[mobiux]

Well, since xp basically looked like fruit crap on top of win2k, you might be jumping a bit early.

I think the initial benefits might not be there, but as with any new OS, it takes time for developers to start implementing the good features.

[nst6563]

to me it looks like a rip off of most if not all the linux gui interfaces with the transparency and color gradients. Not to mention the "flat" 3-d look of it all.

I'll still probably use it though :p

[S1nF1xx]

W000000000000000000000T1!!!!!!!!!11!!

IIT FINALLY COMES IN BLACK THEMES!!!!1!!eleven!!!11!!OMG!!!


:eek: :eek:


:D :D

[iori yagami]

anyone know if you still can have windows classic theme? :o

[jonw757]

anyone know if you still can have windows classic theme? :o

Yes
Link to Picture (http://www.asupra.com/gallery/albums/vista/longhorn1.jpg)

Also does anyone know how to make the windows transparent?

[Paithar]

Well, according to the review posted up above yes classic view is still available. Overall, the reviewer gave it a fairly good review but really isn't too impressed with it saying that it's basically just a small step up from Windows XP.

Of course this is still just the first Beta and we've a long ways to go before anyone sees the final retail version. All in all I'll probably upgrade when the time comes if for nothing else than curiosity's sake.

[djnes]

W000000000000000000000T1!!!!!!!!!11!!

IIT FINALLY COMES IN BLACK THEMES!!!!1!!eleven!!!11!!OMG!!!


:eek: :eek:


:D :D
I was very happy to see that too. Now I won't have to use my hacked version of the uxtheme.dll and the AllBlack Visual Style.

[TheGamerZ]

I don't think your uxtheme.dll would work in it anyway, would it?

[djnes]

I don't think your uxtheme.dll would work in it anyway, would it?
No, obviously not. I meant it will be nice to load an OS and have decent themes available out of the box.

[upriverpaddler]

Looks a little.....Linuxish.

[TheGamerZ]

I can't wait to see how good 3rd party themes will look with the new GUI features.

[ashmedai]

I can't wait to see how good 3rd party themes will look with the new GUI features.

The new GUI features aren't so new...

[AchTuNG!]

I love the features of the web browser... where have I seen those before?? :rolleyes:

http://www.mentallyretired.com/h3/index.cfm/u_125681 (http://folding.extremeoverclocking.com/user_summary.php?u=125681)

[Michael.R]

Has anyone seen these shots.

http://www.flexbeta.net/forums/index.php?act=Attach&type=post&id=2854

http://www.flexbeta.net/forums/index.php?act=Attach&type=post&id=2853

I cant wait to try this OS out.

Rest assured to all the people thinking this is just windows xp with new colours I would prepared to be suprised. There are some amazing new things in this OS. If you havent been looking at the screenshots closely I encourage you to look again. And this is only half done there is still more to come.

[ashmedai]

Rest assured to all the people thinking this is just windows xp with new colours I would prepared to be suprised. There are some amazing new things in this OS.

Hope so, I haven't seen anything yet that XP can't be made to do fairly easily.

[Michael.R]

Hope so, I haven't seen anything yet that XP can't be made to do fairly easily.

How about this?

http://www.winsupersite.com/images/reviews/winvista_b1_27.jpg

or the better search functions

http://www.winsupersite.com/images/showcase/vista_5112_11.jpg

[ashmedai]

http://netez.com/2xExplorer/

http://desktop.google.com/?promo=mp-gds-v1-1

[abudhu]

Looks a little.....Linuxish.

YES! Someone who thought what I thought! It looks like the glassy-see through theme that KDE has had Forever! And that Super Karamba has had as well.

[ashmedai]

Everything's had it forever...except Microsoft.

[visaris]

YES! Someone who thought what I thought! It looks like the glassy-see through theme that KDE has had Forever! And that Super Karamba has had as well.

Yeah, I was thiking the same thing. The transparency made me think of KDE and X-composite immediately.

[finalgt]

:rolleyes:

It's a placeholder UI. Avalon is a Beta 2 implementation (November).

Remember what Whistler looked like pre-beta? Same thing as Win2k.

[caboosemoose]

I just posted a phat screenshot of my Vista install for anyone who cares in this thread:

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=933358

[abudhu]

Semi-Old Vista Screen shot-related news, but anyone notice how they named their new THEME: Aero.

Yet another catch-up to linux...or wait, maybe a friggin' rip off of it.

http://www.kde-look.org/content/show.php?content=24626
Ah, the Aero Glass theme. Yay.

Also, I found this hillarious:

Better Security. This comes in the form of hardened services. Essentially, the kinds of things that hackers took advantage of (buffer overruns and the such) should be a thing of the past. The ability for malicious programs to patch system files and the such is being curtailed. Moreover, Microsoft is trying to migrate users away from setting users up as administrators. Instead, users set up with normal access can be prompted to enter the admin password when they need to do something that can affect system integrity. Hence, even if something does get through Vista's security, it won't be able to go crazy if the user isn't logged on as an admin.

Yet again, some catch up on MS' part to Linux. Yay For Root users.

[ashmedai]

Well I'm clinging to what finalgt said about it being a placeholder...

And how long ago was Whistler in alpha? Like...4-5 years? All this time I kinda had high hopes for LH-tan, hopefully she's got a few suprises left.

[wpeng]

There's not really much I can do to bash Microsoft because XP has treated me pretty well so far (unlike '95 and '98). The only main criticism I have is that XP is too big and could probably have less system requirements if it were more efficient.

But the way system requirements are headed just to run Vista and the huge amount of integration involved simply scares me. How can you give one company so much control over software *and* hardware across the world? It makes me want to switch to Linux even though Vista might be an excellent OS. The only thing holding me back right now is game support.

[devourment77]

Is a ti-4200 to slow for vista.. I installed all my drivers and my windows are not transparent, I also installed the stuff from the winFX directory and rebooted and still no transparent windows. Do I need to enable it somewhere?

I have a iwill dpi533-sata with 2x 2.8 ghz xeon and 512 ram with a 128 meg ti-4200.

[ashmedai]

I'd be thinking shader or DX version support more than too slow.

[iZero]

I'm not seeing anything which will make me want to run out and buy Vista. The only feature I was actually looking forward to was the new file system and that's been cut out. All I'm seeing otherwise is a nicer looking GUI and some new search features. Is there anything which truly makes it worth the $300 MS is sure to be asking down the road? I have a feeling they're just shoving it out there to force yet another artificial upgrade cycle.

[ashmedai]

New features are nice. However I'm more intrested in it doing the same stuff I've always used it for, better.

[finalgt]

Well I'm clinging to what finalgt said about it being a placeholder...

And how long ago was Whistler in alpha? Like...4-5 years? All this time I kinda had high hopes for LH-tan, hopefully she's got a few suprises left.

Yes, but it didn't take Microsoft 4 years to change to the current XP look. The Watercolor theme stayed around until Beta 1, at which point it changed to the current Fisher Price theme. That seems disheartening until you realize that Whistler also didn't have its name changed to XP until RC0, or at least Beta 2 or 3. I guarantee you that this is a placeholder UI; they might be able to get away with not shipping with WinFS, but nobody will buy Vista if it doesn't have Avalon.

[Terpfen]

It's a placeholder UI. Avalon is a Beta 2 implementation (November).

Avalon is a code layer for hardware acceleration, not a completely new UI. I'll be glad if Aero is just a placeholder, but looking at IE7... I doubt it.

And since it's 100% likely Windows will still use the same basic UI ideas (processes in the taskbar, for example), all we're talking about is an eyecandy change, not a usability change.

[Wesley1357]

y u guys are always complaining? vista looks beautiful!!!!!!!!
pretty good oh yeah

[compslckr]

i have it installed on my laptop along with xp pro and suse 9.1 and i am not too impressed with it. the folder views are alright, but it dosn't really seem any better than windows xp; and the them is quite uqly in my opinion

[Blackdragon]

Real live screens :

Vista and IE7 ..

http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/9195/vista1dy.th.jpg (http://img259.imageshack.us/my.php?image=vista1dy.jpg)

[Ruffy]

Its been said multiple times but ppl just dont seem to pay attention

Longhorn/Vista is a COMPLETE rewrite of an OS. Built from the ground up to get rid of alot of Legacy Junk. Throughout its entire build its focus has been Security and Streamlined Experiance. Beta 1 is just that. BETA 1. Beta 2 will enable most features that "everyone" is clammoring abbout"

As for WinFS. That wont be released till SQL/Exchange Server is damn well ready for it. It's not a NEW file system that replaces NTFS, It ends up sitting on top of ntfs. Complemting each other.

[zutme]

Its been said multiple times but ppl just dont seem to pay attention

Longhorn/Vista is a COMPLETE rewrite of an OS. Built from the ground up to get rid of alot of Legacy Junk. Throughout its entire build its focus has been Security and Streamlined Experiance. Beta 1 is just that. BETA 1. Beta 2 will enable most features that "everyone" is clammoring abbout"

As for WinFS. That wont be released till SQL/Exchange Server is damn well ready for it. It's not a NEW file system that replaces NTFS, It ends up sitting on top of ntfs. Complemting each other.
Although I agree with you about everything else in your post, Longhorn/Vista is hardly a complete rewrite. It’s based off of Windows Server 2003 code. It is revolutionary, but even Microsoft can't just chuck legacy support out of their products. It just doesn't make economic sense. You are somewhat right though because there is going to be some things in this version that have been in previous versions of windows. Unfortunately I can't remember what those things are off the top of my head.

To everyone else I wish you would quit judging this version of windows by a few screenshots of the gui. Go read about some of the new features and then see what you think.

[Wesley1357]

is it true that it won't have a registry?

[zz2]

Can someone post how much ram does this thing "eats". (at startup)

[ashmedai]

even Microsoft can't just chuck legacy support out of their products

If only they could... ;)

[Wesley1357]

will vista have a boot logo, couldn't they make it go directly to the video card driver and start with a logo using monitor resolution user wants?

[compslckr]

^^^ like what apple has been doing for years, where you can move your your cursor around while it boots up

[bjork]

i don't like how it's getting a mac-over... windows slip and slide into view... everything fades in and out. it's cute. :(

i can't stand the direction the new explorer is going... away from typing out a path, and more clicky clicky cute blue button style... there's no more 'up' button... you click on the path itself where you want to end up... it could save you a click or two, but i know my folder heirarchies, and am used to 'jumping up two levels' etc... it's just going to be a few old habits to break, i suppose... i've looked for an option to display the path in the address bar, and the closest i could find was 'display it on the title bar'... :o

http://publicskool.com/temp/vistaexplorer.gif

everything is just getting fruitier... the blackish theme is nice, but they're trying to 'trim down' a bunch of features, and it just feels like it's getting 'dumber' instead of 'better'. I've been using it all day today, tweaking it and getting it set up nice... some of the features are nice, but crap like having to turn on the file/edit/tools bar in an explorer took me about 5 minutes to find (it's only a control panel now... it used to just 'be there' when i'd open an explorer window).

the new start menu takes a bit of getting used to... everything is constrained to the left pane of the menu... hitting 'all programs' slides a new window into the left hand side... clicking 'accessories' slides one down (it even has to have a scroll bar, within the start menu... ugh)... it feels like you're trying to open a set of blueprints in an elevator... i liked how it used to work... branching out, instead of 'in'... hard to explain.... look:

http://publicskool.com/temp/vistastart.gif

my audigy just refuses to work, apparently directsound is broken... i ended up disabling it, and using my onboard sound for the vista partition. it will happily install in a separate partition, though, and leave your XP install alone... it even installs a boot loader screen to choose what to boot into. that was pleasantly painless... the entire install procedure asks two questions TOTAL. (1.) the name of the box, and (2.) what partition to install on.


overall... i won't lie... i like new versions of windows. this one is looking interesting... i think beta 2 will have the bigger 'features' though.

[abudhu]

From what I have seen through this screen shots I am going to have to agree with bjork on the Windows Explorer Deal. *Shivers* Looks so weird.

As for the start menu its ALL about the Classic View :cool:

---
Edit: I got a glimpse of the Windows Vista Install. I have to say I am not a fan. The install tells you nothing of what is going on. Perhaps this is just because its BETA 1? I would hope that they change that. Looking at the install, it just keeps making install passes of something for 5 minutes now. Nice. Tisk Tisk Windows.

[Wesley1357]

man i don't care. as long as the fonts/icons look good, that's a huge improvement to me.

[ashmedai]

The install tells you nothing of what is going on. Perhaps this is just because its BETA 1? I would hope that they change that.

Most likely. The package is nowhere near final, so if they labeled the install stages and such they'd just have to retool it again further along anyway.

[compslckr]

here are some more screen shots for you guys, to tell you the truth i was disappointed/disgusted at first but i have really warmed up to it after using it all day today. alot of the new features are really nice


http://slackerserver.com/uploaded/vista1.JPG
http://slackerserver.com/uploaded/vista2.JPG
http://slackerserver.com/uploaded/vista3.jpg
http://slackerserver.com/uploaded/vista6.JPG
http://slackerserver.com/uploaded/vista8.JPG
http://slackerserver.com/uploaded/vista7.JPG
http://slackerserver.com/uploaded/vista4.jpg
http://slackerserver.com/uploaded/vista5.jpg

[ashmedai]

Suppose I should get around to finding where I shoved all the parts for my guinea pig rig and get it going...pity VMWare can't do it yet. :p

[abudhu]

Suppose I should get around to finding where I shoved all the parts for my guinea pig rig and get it going...pity VMWare can't do it yet. :p

? VMWare works just fine with Windows Vista.

To get it to install, when you get to the Partions part, you need to format/delete the one they have, and make a new one. Then quit the install and start over, and your new partition will work. Why it does this..no clue, but after it works like gold.

Then you have the normal things to do like VMtools, and there are some problems getting certain devices set up, but it can be done. In fact, doing a little google, this person seems to have said everything I was too lazy too.

http://www.msfn.org/board/lofiversion/index.php/t52054.html

[Terpfen]

is it true that it won't have a registry?

Nope. The registry is still in there. I think removing it was a goal at one time, but like a lot of other major features, it was dropped.


i don't like how it's getting a mac-over... windows slip and slide into view... everything fades in and out.

That's not a Mac-over, since WinXP did the same things by default. MS is obviously taking some cues from OS X... just not the right ones.

[ashmedai]

Thanks Abudhu. :D

Should have thought of MSFN, haven't hung out there in a while though.

[upriverpaddler]

Ahhh, that start window. They stole that from Windows XP Titanium.

[Wesley1357]

where can i download the beta 1 version?

[ashmedai]

If you don't know, you probably don't have legal access to it...

[compslckr]

where can i download the beta 1 version?
msdn developer page
http://msdn.microsoft.com/subscriptions/

[upriverpaddler]

msdn developer page
http://msdn.microsoft.com/subscriptions/

A deal at only $699

[ashmedai]

A deal at only $699

It is for the people it's targeted at...

[lesman]

I think it looks awesome. Poeple might say it looks like Linux or whatever else, but, what came first? And what was the linux ui built on? Windows. I applaud MS for finally trying to make something lok a little nice for once. I love the idea of the glassy borders and stuff.

[TheGamerZ]

I think the new explorer setup is pretty neat. To the poster who "knows his heirarchy" and likes to type in paths... people hated it when they introduced the address bar when Windows 98 came out, and people will hate the new changes. You can't please everyone.

The new GUI effects are pretty, they don't affect performance over the classic theme much (at least on my rig) and they're not overdone.

A lot of you are starting to hate Vista without actually trying it. Saying you don't like a feature because of the screenshot you saw it in is rediculous. You have to try the new features.

I think, although it has a ways to go, it is shaping up to be a pretty impressive operating system. It's amazingly quick and stable for a beta release.


I guess all I'm trying to say is... don't judge a book by its cover

[cell_491]

Thought you guys who can't download Vista via MSDN might at least like looking at some screenshots of it :D

http://bink.nu/photos/news_article_images/default.aspx
hey how did you get your msdn account...do you pay for it or do you get it through school?

[cell_491]

where can i download the beta 1 version?
ever heard of IRC :D (i actually have no clue if anyone has gotten it yet on IRC)

[TheGamerZ]

ever heard of IRC :D (i actually have no clue if anyone has gotten it yet on IRC)

Careful there, thats tredding on thin ice :cool:

[justin82]

I think it looks awesome. Poeple might say it looks like Linux or whatever else, but, what came first? And what was the linux ui built on? Windows. I applaud MS for finally trying to make something lok a little nice for once. I love the idea of the glassy borders and stuff.


Actually Xerox built a graphic interface system based on some form of unix. After its development it was "borrowed" for windows and mac use. And linux's ui was developed from the xerox ui as well into several projects like xorg and xfree86 using the xwindows system

[Shorty]

Thanks to my school's MSDN account, I am currently posting this on Windows Vista Beta 1.

:D

[cell_491]

Careful there, thats tredding on thin ice :cool:
not really i didnt post any links or explain how to do it...thats up to him to research :D

[abudhu]

I amazed that it seems "80%" of the comuter enthusiast forum members somehow have a Hundred-dollar-a-year-or-more subscription to MSDN. I also find it interesting that of the said "80%" half are in HS or first year college students. *Rubs chin* You are such rich kids!

*Stares at Screenshots wishing I was rich too*

---
Perhaps I should add.

/Saracasm since I know how everyone is getting it...

[cell_491]

I amazed that it seems "80%" of the comuter enthusiast forum members somehow have a Hundred-dollar-a-year-or-more subscription to MSDN. I also find it interesting that of the said "80%" half are in HS or first year college students. *Rubs chin* You are such rich kids!

*Stares at Screenshots wishing I was rich too*
IRC...cough...IRC...cough cough...im sorry i have a cold :D

[Cowcaster88]

Looking interesting and promising. But I feel it's still Windows, the same layout that's been around since 1995, which is almost becoming boring. But I will probably build a computer to try out Vista, and see what eye candy it can do.

[HHunt]

Looking interesting and promising. But I feel it's still Windows, the same layout that's been around since 1995, which is almost becoming boring. But I will probably build a computer to try out Vista, and see what eye candy it can do.

Yeah, from what I've seen so far, it definitely seems to be an evolution, not a revolution. If this is a bad thing is of course another question. :)

[TheGamerZ]

It may look like an evolution... but like I said before... you have to actually try it before you judge it.

[Wesley1357]

Nope. The registry is still in there. I think removing it was a goal at one time, but like a lot of other major features, it was dropped.

without the registry it would be the end of reinstalling windows all the time. and why don't they give a option of reverting windows back to first install if we wanted to.

[HHunt]

It may look like an evolution... but like I said before... you have to actually try it before you judge it.

Fair enough, but I really, really doubt I'll call the GUI revolutionary even in the final product. :)
(Some parts of the underlying technology might be revolutionary for windows, ok. I'll get back to you when I get to try it, but that won't be anytime soon.)

[wipeout833]

Thanks for the pics, I guess I should install the beta copy and see what its like in person.

[DukenukemX]

Looks like a fancy Windows XP
No it's Windows XP with DRM. ;)

[swatX]

The biggest improvment was, and i mean was, the new file system using a database like file system. But the latest news i heard about that was that it was not going to be released in longhorn. It was called WinFS. It was not even certain if it was going to be released in the next os after longhorn.


winFS will released right after Windows Vista release. So you might see a full release of WINFS in Q1/Q2 2007 as an update.

[ashmedai]

Gonna have to be pretty hot or at least have an NTFS conversion utility. Not restoring from backups for nothing.

[MethylONE]

i don't like how it's getting a mac-over... windows slip and slide into view... everything fades in and out. it's cute. :(

i can't stand the direction the new explorer is going... away from typing out a path, and more clicky clicky cute blue button style... there's no more 'up' button... you click on the path itself where you want to end up... it could save you a click or two, but i know my folder heirarchies, and am used to 'jumping up two levels' etc... it's just going to be a few old habits to break, i suppose...

The "up" button is there, you just have to turn it on, same as displaying the full path in the title bar. All that is available after you turn on buttons, then customize just like in XP.

I've been very impressed with the stability of this Beta, much more so than the Whistler Betas back in the day.

[HHunt]

Gonna have to be pretty hot or at least have an NTFS conversion utility. Not restoring from backups for nothing.

It's a layer on top of NTFS, not a replacement.

[JL_Audio_User]

Gee....wow :rolleyes:


If only Microsoft could improve their OS's at the rate Video cards increase their clock speed. Or 1/10th even.

Seriously though....wtf? How much faster is it? The shell looks like some of the crappier window blind offerings. I think I just puked in my mouth :mad:

[cuemasterfl]

As someone else mentioned, people are judging it by its looks instead of how it performs and what it can do. It's like saying "omg this game sucks because the graphics suck!" but with an OS. I think people are forgetting that you can customize the way it looks if you don't like it.

[ExplodingTaco]

Maybe some of yall can help me, where do I turn on the transparacies?

[abudhu]

Maybe some of yall can help me, where do I turn on the transparacies?

You have to have the correct Vid Drivers installed to get the transparent windows theme going. You need to download the LDDM (Longhorn Display Driver Model) driver for it. I know Nvidia makes it quite clear:

http://www.nvidia.com/object/winvista_75.03.html