It's HOW MUCH?!?!?

[mbpark]

Steve,

Windows 95, NT4, 98 (yes, 98), 2000, XP, and Server 2003 all had many things to look forward to. There were major improvements.

Windows Server 2007 (Longhorn Server) does have many improvements. It doesn't have a lot of the cruft and overhead that the desktop version has, kind of like how Server 2003 doesn't have the cruft of XP.

[phillychuck]

Vista is going to be a new experience for Windows users, I've never used OSX longer then a couple minutes in a store but I'm guessing Vista is grabbing stuff from there. For me, it feels like an entire new computer. I wont say good or bad. I'm still using it, basically just web browsing, mp3ing, and pictures of the baby so its doing all that stuff for me.

I'm using the x64 version so my memory footprint is a bit higher, and when you first install it does its indexing stuff in those first idle times so it appears to use more memory/cpu over the course of a bootup.

The UAC got turned off after first 30 min, and mainly because I think it crashed the Nvidia driver installtion because it just keeps doing that "permission" crap.

The hold back for me will be upgrades, I need more RAM for 90% of the games I have. They say it will run much better on PCI-E motherboards because of the increased video bandwidth it sucks up... I have that first Athlon 64 generation of mobo with AGP only.

[Elspode]

Well, looks like you'll want to hang on to your XP OS, or switch to Linux. In fact, I think this is the best thing to ever happen to Linux, or so it will prove.

- Microsoft Corp.'s forthcoming Windows Vista will take much harsher steps to curtail piracy than previous versions of its operating system, including crippling the usefulness of computers found to be running unlicensed copies of the new software.

The world's largest software maker said Wednesday that people running a version of Windows Vista that it believes is pirated will initially be denied access to some of the most anticipated Vista features. That includes Windows Aero, an improved graphics technology.

If a legitimate copy is not bought within 30 days, the system will curtail functionality much further by restricting users to just the Web browser for an hour at a time, said Thomas Lindeman, Microsoft senior product manager.

Under that scenario, a person could use the browser to surf the Web, access documents on the hard drive or log onto Web-based e-mail. But the user would not be able to directly open documents from the computer desktop or run other programs such as Outlook e-mail software, Lindeman said.

Microsoft said it won't stop a computer running pirated Vista software from working completely, and it will continue to deliver critical security updates.

The company also said it has added more sophisticated technology for monitoring whether a system is pirated. For example, the system will be able to perform some piracy checks internally, without contacting Microsoft, Lindeman said.

Microsoft also is adding ways to more closely monitor for piracy among big corporate users, who tend to buy licenses in bulk.

Microsoft plans to take similar tough measures with the forthcoming version of its Windows server software, dubbed "Longhorn," and to incorporate it into other products down the road.

The crackdown shows how much more seriously Microsoft has started taking Windows piracy, which for years has been extremely widespread in areas such as Russia and China. The Business Software Alliance, a software industry group, estimates that 35 percent of software installed on PCs worldwide is pirated.

In recent years, the market for Windows — one of Microsoft's main cash cows — has become more saturated. That's left the company eager to make money from users who may otherwise have obtained illegal Windows copies.

Microsoft has already instituted tougher piracy checks for Windows XP users who want to get free add-ons such as anti-spyware programs. But until now, the warnings and punitive measures were mainly seen as annoying, rather than debilitating.

Cori Hartje, director of Microsoft's Genuine Software Initiative, said the company now wants users to notice the difference between legal and pirated copies of Vista.

"Our goal is to really make a differentiated experience for genuine and non-genuine users," Hartje said.

Analyst Roger Kay with Endpoint Technologies Associates noted that Microsoft has the right to curtail illegal distribution of its software. The new piracy measures, he said, "seem harsh only in comparison to how lenient it has been."

Nevertheless, Kay said he expects that the anti-piracy tactics will keep some people from upgrading to Vista from the current operating system, Windows XP.

"There will be an XP backlash, which is to say people (will) cling to XP in order to avoid this," he said.

Kay also doesn't expect the new piracy measures to be that effective against hardcore pirates, who have built de facto businesses selling illegal Windows copies. But he thinks it will stop some lower-level piracy.

After many delays, Redmond-based Microsoft is expected to release Vista to businesses in November and consumers in January.

[headsplice]

SuSE love you, baby!

[NSFW]

If it's more expensive than it's worth, don't buy it.

What's the big deal?

[bluraven]

Whats with the vista bashing when it's not even released yet? Yes the security protections were annoying in RC1, but don't you think they will realize that and tone it down for the public final retail release? The interface with Aero glass on a high end graphics card is simply jaw dropping and worth the new upgrade alone. This probably appeals most to me because I am a visual person, I like things to be pretty I don't care how well they work as long as they look fabulous doing it, which is exactly what Vista is going to be, from my impressions of RC1.

[xoxoxoBruce]

I've been using Internet Explorer 7, beta 3, for a little while. I'm pretty happy with it except when I first fire it up it can take as long as 15 seconds for the homepage to come up and I'm using the blank homepage. That said I'm not sure it's an IE-7 problem as I've been having cable (comcast) issues since that big storm outage awhile back.

[dar512]

Bruce, if you want to see how your connection is performing, you can run one of the many speed tests on the net such as this one: Speakeasy's speedtest.

However, to be really meaningful, you need a baseline.

[xoxoxoBruce]

I always do well on them, hooked to Seattle, 4685 down and 352 up right now.
My problem is getting into the stream. One of the techs that came out when I first got Comcast, a few years ago, explained there is an acceptable bandwidth or range that my signal must fall somewhere in.
Previous techs had put the meter on and said it's ok because it was in that range, but this guy told me if it's not near the center, when it hits the merging/switching points along the cable, it'll hit the abutments on the side and stop.
He might have been bullshitting me, but when he was done fooling with it, I'd click on a website and shazzam, I'm there.
After that big outage, I can't shazzam any more. I get the, can't display the site message, frequently and when I hit refresh I usually shazzam.
I've got to call them and get a tech out here but I think I better see my doctor for some blood pressure medication, first. Even though I don't take any normally. Yes, dealing with Comcast will do that.