Should Windows 7 Be Free?

Despite being what I would consider to be a reasonably strong OS*, the market has soundly rejected Windows Vista, and Microsoft is desperate to get those sales (and market share, which just dipped below 90%) back up.  They've launched PR campaigns, including "The Mojave Experiment," an attempt to prove that most people didn't really have any information about Vista to base those feelings on.

The Mojave Experiement basically showed people Microsoft's next operating system, which was later revealed to them (after recording their favorable reactions) to be Windows Vista.

While an impending Service Pack update for Windows Vista is slated for April '09, Microsoft is still planning to release Windows 7 in July.  That's only half a year away, and Vista has pretty much no shot of gaining any traction right now, especially with a very wide beta of Windows 7 planned for January, which I expect will be in even wider circulation than Microsoft plans.

I purchased Windows Vista Ultimate on release.  It was supposed to be the "ultimate" version of Windows (natch), and everyone knows what a huge debacle that turned into.  The promised "Ultimate Extras" were incredibly weak, making the OS overpriced as a result, and the promised "unique publications" and "innovative services" never materialized.  What did we get?  Animated wallpaper, a handful of games, and some sound packs ... plus a bunch of languages that shouldn't have been "extra" to begin with.

Wouldn't the ultimate extra be getting the next version for free?  If Windows 7 is everything Microsoft is claiming it will be, it would go a long way towards repairing the reputation of the company by offering this as a free upgrade to at least Windows Vista Ultimate users.

But I think they should take it a step further.  I think they should offer it to anyone that has a license for Windows Vista, and even more, start marketing Windows Vista as including the free upgrade to Windows 7.  First, it would surely boost Vista sales now, not to mention get people used to an OS that visually, isn't going to change all that much going into Windows 7.  Second, if Microsoft's Mojave Experiment is to be believed, most people would think Vista really is Windows 7 anyway, since it won't be that much of a visual departure.

In short, Windows 7 should be rolled out over Windows Update if at all possible.  And they should really get rid of all this multiple editions, nonsense.  Release ONE version of the OS, and make downloadable configuration files available if businesses or home users want to restrict or remove features.  Either that, or just allow them to select the features they want the same way they already do if you don't use a product key during installation.  Take the confusion out of the marketplace, and make sure that no matter what a user thinks they want (or think they want to pay for), they get what they actually need.

But most importantly, they should support the people that bought Vista and complained about it, bitterly and loudly, by giving them the operating system they thought they were getting in the first place.  At a bear minimum, the people that purchased the premium SKU should get the new OS as their mea culpa for failing to deliver on the promise of the Ultimate Extras.

*Unlike many reports from other users, I have had no problems that I couldn't trace back to immature drivers, which isn't Microsoft's fault.

Further Adventures in High Definition

Life with the new HDTV is going swimmingly, but not without a few hiccups along the way. I've got the old PC hooked up to the TV through the DVI connection, but found out the hard way that Creative still hasn't got their act together when it comes to drivers on Windows Vista. As such, the digital out port still doesn't work, and I'm limited to stereo sound on the PC side. It's really quite annoying.

After getting a new amplified antenna, I tried to give some HDTV action a go through Windows Media Center. Unfortunately, the system couldn't seem to give me anything but stuttering and pixelation, no matter how strong the signal was. I'd just about given up after reading all the problems other people were having when someone mentioned that for some reason, they had no stuttering problems when using the Xbox 360 as a Media Center Extender. Sure enough, HDTV is a wonderful experience and stutter-free through the Xbox 360. At this point, I'd call the Xbox 360 a perfect device if it weren't for the fact that it's so freakin' loud, particularly when trying to watch an HD DVD with it.

I'm moving to a new place in a couple weeks, and I'll probably be back with Comcast since I don't think I can get a DirecTV satellite dish installed where I'll be going. But, that'll give me a chance to see how Comcast's HDTV DVR works compared to my trusty TiVo. I have very low expectations at this point, but I'm hoping that what I've heard about a TiVo software for Comcast's hardware is true and that they'll roll out soon. Either that, or I have a friend at Moxi that might be able to hook me up.

Next up ... Intec has sent me an HDMI/Component switch that I'll hook up and run through it's paces. Fair Disclosure: I didn't pay for this switch, but I'll do my best not to let that color my perceptions.

Creating a Community is Hard

AMD is really tying to reach out to the enthusiast community with their news AMD Unprocessed website and forum, but so far, the going is pretty slow. It's always that way, because building a community takes time. The conversations are kind of forced at first, and no one knows quite what they can get away with, and when the community is somewhat exclusive (Unprocessed is primarily for tech bloggers) it takes even longer.

That said, the joint appears to be run by AMD and notable Windows blogger Robert McLaws. It looks like the idea is similar to what Microsoft is doing with The Hive (of which I am also a member), but focused on AMD products primarily.

I've got a bit of advice for AMD, and we'll see where it goes from here. First, they need to get more involved. Right now, a few of us are trying to get the ball rolling, but there has been very little involvement from AMD directly in the conversations. While it might not be Scott Carroll (who took over for Chris Aarons), some AMD people need to be there talking and assuring us the place is open for business. The only way bloggers will make a point to come there is if they have a direct conduit to information ... it's all about access. Otherwise, they can probably get better information from other third-party sources.

Second, with all due respect to Scott, get your welcome message off the home page. The idea of AMD "Unprocessed" flies against the idea of a PR guy providing us with information, so you may want to consider hiring an experienced Community Manager. Either that, or you've got to "open the kimono" right away and give bloggers access to information they couldn't get otherwise. Building trust takes time, but if you want to jump start a community, sometimes a grand gesture is required.

Lastly, if it's going to be a community, give people more places to talk about off-topic stuff, and maybe even about your competitors. Communities don't always stay on-topic, and sometimes it's the off-topic stuff that keeps people going in that difficult genesis period.

Anyway, it's an interesting experiment, and I hope it works. AMD has an opportunity to grab a little more mindshare from their competitors, and it's critical at a time where AMD is falling behind in the performance area, both in processors and graphics. Hopefully this will be great impetus for them.

37" Westinghouse LCD 1080p - First Impressions

Well, my graduation present (the Westinghouse LVM-37w3se) arrived yesterday morning, and I only got a chance to unpack it and make sure it worked before heading out to work, but once I got home, it was time to experience the HD revolution.

The first thing I did was hook up the TiVo, since it's one of those things I just can't live without. Sadly, being on the cutting edge means making a few sacrifices, and the TiVo's low-res display looked terrible once it was deinterlaced and upscaled to the 1080p of the screen. Of course, I knew this going in, but was a bit surprised at just how bad it really looked. It didn't help that I was literally kneeling in front of the screen while I set everything up, either. Of course, the PS2 and Wii fared about as well. Only capable of 480p, both consoles looked just terrible blown up, even over component connections.

Next was the Xbox 360. I just couldn't take another disappointment, so I hooked it up to the VGA port of the TV, went into the system settings and set it to 1080p widescreen. It was absolutely gorgeous. No more "dot crawl" like I had on my old Sony, fonts were smooth and clear in the Dashboard, and the whole thing just looked, for lack of a better word, spacious. Seriously, it felt like you had room to move around in that thing.


I couldn't let it rest there. I hooked up the Xbox 360 HD-DVD drive and threw in a copy of Mission: Impossible III to see if there was really that much of a difference. I remember being blown away by the quality of DVD when it first came out, and HD-DVD is a similar leap forward. It was really impressive just how good it looked. The "In-Movie Experience", or IME, was nifty too, adding video overlays of commentary or other features while you're watching.

Was it really that much better than DVD, though? I'm not sure yet. My next test will be to run my DVD and HD-DVD copies of Mission: Impossible (the original) at the same time and flip between them to see how different they look, controlling for the fact that the DVD would likely be upscaled by the TV rather poorly.


Speaking of which, I heard that the last Dashboard update for the Xbox 360 added the ability to upscale DVDs to 1080p over the VGA connection. So I tossed in the first Harry Potter movie to see how it worked, prepared to be disappointed after M:I III looked so great. Despite the very dark opening scene lacking detail, it actually looked pretty amazing, and didn't look like it was upscaled. It certainly wasn't as razor-sharp as M:I III (you could see every pore in Lawrence Fishburn's face), but it was more than adequate.

I pulled out Star Wars: Episode I and ran the THX Optimizer, a special video tuning program on the DVD. After adjusting the settings in a dark room, I flipped back over to the TiVo and noticed two things. One, properly adjusted, the standard definition upscaling doesn't look too bad. Don't get me wrong, it's still awful, but it's at least watchable now. Second, viewing distance matters a lot. From right in front, it was all a mess, but 8-ft. back was a slightly different story. Macroblocking (giant pixels) was less evident, and it just felt a bit smoother.

For my last hurrah for the night, I turned the Xbox 360 back on and threw in Gears of War. I'd played this on a 1024x768 projector on a giant screen at MindCamp, but WOW. I was absolutely blown away by the graphical fidelity. I don't know if it's rendering a 1080p frame buffer, or just 720p upscaled, but it just looked amazing. The best way to describe it is like playing a war movie set in the future. I expect to really impress some of my friends when they see just how good it looks at 1080p.

So that's it for now. I have more stuff to try, but it'll take a few more days to get everything together and whatnot. Next up: Windows Vista Media Center and HDTV!

The TX1000 is here!

Despite a minor shipping snafu (involving FedEx leaving the package at the completely wrong address, and about two hours spent trying to track it down), I've got the HP Pavilion TX1000 Entertainment Notebook sitting here in my hot little hands. I should have some unboxing shots later (when I get home and can re-create the experience for you), but for now, here are some initial impressions ...

First, this thing is tiny! It's about the size of a small folio (about the same footprint as an 8.5"x11" sheet of paper), although fairly dense. The screen is touch only, which means that it does not have an active digitizer. The extended 6-cell battery gives it a nice little handle by which you can grip the machine in portrait mode. The screen resolution is lower than I'd like (1280x800), but in a 12" size it's fairly serviceable.

The machine is covered in what HP is calling their "Imprint Finish". They should call it the "Fingerprint Finish" because it'll be covered in them before too long. Note to HP ... when you have a device with a fingerprint reader and a touchscreen, expect to combat prints, not enhance them. Seriously though, the keyboard area has this interesting pattern embedded under a clear coat and it's fairly attractive. Perhaps not so much to dissuade potential Mac buyers, but it is attractive with the lid open or closed.

What isn't attractive, however, is the ridiculous amount of pre-installed utilities and software. Call it "scumware", "bloatware", whatever you want, but there's a lot of it. How much? On first boot, there were 16 shortcuts on the desktop, not counting the Recycle Bin, which is the only icon put there by default in Vista. The rest were links to MSN, eBay, Vongo, Rhapsody, and a bunch of HP utilities. But that's not all! You also get two completely redundant icons for pointing devices and sound utilities in the tray, things that Vista does better by default. I'm really not a fan of this trend towards tons of pre-installed crap, and I wish manufacturers would simply include a disc that will allow customers to install it if they wish. Hell, label it as a "must install" if you want, but allow us savvy users to opt out!

Using a finger swipe to login is pretty slick, and should be especially useful in portrait mode. What isn't so useful is the touchscreen, however. It requires a very firm press to activate, and writing on it seems like it will be uncomfortable as a result. I'm going to reserve judgement until I've really put it through it's paces, but so far, I'm not overly impressed with that feature. That said, this device is supposed to be primarily an "entertainment" machine, and the datasheet highlights the swivelling screen as great for DVD watching, which I can confirm that it is. Heck, don't even bother with DVDs ... the 160GB drive has tons of space for downloaded movies as well, so use the weightsaver and save some battery life at the same time!

Another thing that strikes me as being sub-optimal for a user expecting a tablet ... the microphones are placed flanking the webcam on the top of the screen. Ideal for video conferencing (does anyone even do that?) but not at all where you'd want them if you want to record a lecture and write on the screen, since your left arm (if you're left-handed) will be rubbing all over them the entire time. I'd love to see a tablet manufacturer have a second set of redundant microphones on the left side of the machine (which becomes the top in portrait mode) for just such an occasion. Even one on each side of the screen would be sufficient.

That's all I've got time for right now, but I'll be back with more impressions as I put the device through the ringer and see what happens. If there's anything you want to know, leave a comment and I'll be sure to answer your questions for you!

Specs on this model

• AMD Turion64 X2 (2GHz)
• 12.1 WXGA (1280x800) "High Definition" BrightView Widescreen with Integrated Touch-Screen
• 160GB 5400RPM Hard Drive
• 2GB DDR2 SDRAM
• 802.11a/b/g Wireless LAN + Bluetooth
• Lightscribe Super Multi 8X DVD+/-RW with Double Layer Support
• 6-Cell Lithium Ion Battery (plus optional 4 Cell battery)
• HP QuickPlay
• HP Mini Remote Control
• 5-1 Digital Media Reader
• ExpressCard/34 PC Card Slot
• Nvidia GeForce Go 6150 with shared graphics memory
• Windows Vista Home Premium
• 1.3 megapixel Webcam
• Fingerprint Reader
• Stereo Earbuds (2 pairs!?)

DreamScene and DeskScapes Released

Windows Vista Ultimate users are getting a preview release of Windows DreamScene today, with an animated Aurora background included. Any WMV or MPEG2 file can be used as a background, though there are some limitations. I expect that the community will rally and create some great looking content around this idea very soon.

One note ... MPEG2 files tend to perform better than WMV files, due to CPU requirements. However, unlike what is being spread by Stardock, it's not a pure performance bonus, as you're trading CPU time for GPU time. If you're using a laptop, expect to see lower battery life and more heat generated when using DreamScene.

Also released today is the companion to DreamScene ... Stardock's DeskScapes product. Basically a wrapper around a DreamScene MPEG2 file, these can be scripted to transition between videos based on the time of day or other critera, and can even support true 3D content. There is no dynamic content available yet, but this is also a product I can see the community rallying behind.

DeskScapes is free, and if you install it, be sure to get the Nebula theme. All that moves on this background are the stars pulsating; it's very subtle and soothing. I'd like to see more DeskScapes like this one, and not the incredibly busy ones I can anticipate seeing in the next few weeks.

What's AMD Up To? Barcelona.

So it's been driving me crazy for a while now. AMD took on a relatively high-profile when they partnered with Microsoft for the Windows Vista launch. Smart move, strategically, especially since Intel has their fingers in other pies on the Apple side of things. What was really confusing me was ... why? AMD really wasn't that big anymore when it comes to mindshare.

Talking with Chris Aarons, he said a bit about their 4x4 initiative, and how important it was to get the enthusiasts involved. This was in response to my very frank question about exactly what the heck AMD is doing. They used to be the kings in the processor space, lauded for their fantastic gaming performance, when Intel took back the crown in a bloody coup and never looked back.

In many ways, the AMD hardware is still superior, especially in how dual-cores are handled, but Intel just keeps beating the pants off of them performance-wise. So when Chris mentioned 4x4, the first thing that came to mind is, "That's all well and good, but I can't afford that!" Turns out, Chris was keeping his cards closer to his chest than I thought.

So what exactly is AMD up to? It's called Barcelona, and it's a brand-new chip design for AMD. See, part of the problem with trying to innovate in the processor space is that you're tied to the current applications and operating systems that people expect will just plain work. AMD took a long, hard look at the x86 architecture, and tried to figure out what they could reinvent while maintaining compatability. Barcelona is the answer.

Essentially a quad-core Opteron chip, Barcelona raises the bar by boosting the SSE unit (Streaming SIMD Extensions) to 128bits ... doubling them in size. And there's four of them, one per core. The SSE unit is important because they're floating-point math units, which is where AMD used to really shine. According to Infoworld, floating point performance is improved by 80 pecent over the previous Opteron. Per Core. I can hear the hardcore gamers out there salivating now.

One of the other things that's becoming a hot topic is virtualization. My other big complaint to Chris was that it's all well and good to have all of this computing power, but my trusty 3.0Ghz Pentium 4 and old ATI X800XT run everything I need just fine. I even get decent scores in Vista. Why on earth would I need to buy anything else? Well, virtualization is supposedly the answer. Virtualization is the ability to run something similar to copies of your operating system (or other operating systems) in protected memory space.

Now, that sounds kind of boring, but think of it this way ... have you ever wanted to try out some piece of software, or play around with something in your computer, but you were afraid it would break everything? That's where virtualization comes in. When you end a virtual session, it just goes away. Poof. When you load it back up again, it goes right back where it was before you started the first time. Or you can save the session if you like the results. This may not be something that the average home user would need, but as a gamer, the idea of having my main computer running all of my productivity and creation apps, and running my games in a fully-optimized virtual machine is kind of compelling. Of course, no gamer in their right mind would do this, because performance is everything. That's where Barcelona comes in ... AMD added something called nesting paging tables, and essentially, it allows you to flip between these protected virtual machines as quickly and easily as you might change the channel on your TV. As a gamer, this means that I can continue using Windows Vista as my main operating system, and when I want to play games, either fire up another copy of Vista, or load up an optimized Windows XP session. That's cool.

That's not all AMD has in its bag of tricks. Power savings is a big concern as well. The faster computers get, the more power they want, and it was kind of sickening to hear that a top-of-the-line gaming machine today needs around a 600-watt power supply to feed the video cards and main processor. Part of the reason is the archaic way processors currently save on power ... they simply throttle down the entire chip. In a dual-core machine, this doesn't work because even if you're only using one core, the other has to run at the same speed. Barcelona improves on that by slowing down only the cores that are running idle, and it does it a lot faster. But they didn't stop there ... they can also throttle individual parts of each core, so only what's currently being used is running at full-speed. That's really incredible.

Last, but certainly not least, Barcelona gives each individual core it's own Level 2 cache (on-chip memory), while Intel is still spreading the cache across their cores. Right idea, but wrong place to do it. AMD figured that out, and added a Level 3 cache that does get spread across the cores, giving the chip a place to store information that any core can access quickly.

So OK, Chris ... you guys have got my attention again. If Barcelona performs as well as expected, it could open up a whole new world of software development, similar to how HyperThreading opened up the world to "content creation" applications like making movies, photo manipulation, and CD ripping by allowing you to do a lot of those tasks in the background.

This is going to be an interesting year.

Why Aren't Retailers Crying Foul Over Vista?

One feature of the "upcoming" Windows Vista that has been getting a fair amount of the virtual ink is "Anytime Upgrade". Regardless of the version of Vista that you buy, you can upgrade directly through Microsoft to any higher version. On top of that, Microsoft has announced that you can now buy and download Vista online, and that Ultimate edition buys can buy up to two lower-cost Home Premium licenses for only $49 each.

Here's what I don't understand ... why aren't retailers super-pissed about this? Microsoft is essentially going direct to the consumer, and had built that into the OS itself. For the Anytime Upgrade feature, you don't even have to get another disc at the store ... every version of Vista is on every disc. You're literally just buying a new key.

Microsoft has thought about this a little I'm sure, since the upgrade prices aren't significantly different from the in-store prices, but that means far higher margins for Microsoft as a result. Still, I'm pretty surprised that I haven't heard much about the retailers grousing, so the wholesale prices must be fairly decent. Also, I'm sure the retailers are taking a bit of a "loss leader" perspective on it, knowing that Vista is likely to drive additional hardware and software purchases. And yet ... a ball has been set in motion to make retail irrelevant.

Would you buy your Microsoft software directly through them if given the option, or would you prefer to have a boxed copy? What if there was a price premium for buying the box?

I've got Vista, and I still have UI Lust

Just saw a post at the team blog for the Origami project ... the thing that became the Ultra-Mobile PC. They've got an all-new, Vista-fied Program Launcher for the UMPC and supposedly for the Tablets as well.

While I still want that original writing-enabled dashboard shown off for Longhorn oh so long ago, this would certainly get the job done. Hey guys, hook me up!

Apple Computer Inc. is now ... Apple Inc.

Why'd Steve Jobs go through an entire MacWorld keynote without introducing a Mac product? Because like it or now, Microsoft just spent five years building an irrelevant product in Windows Vista. Apple, just two hours, and with one product ... moved the playing field entirely. Companies like Microsoft and Sony have been trying to do it for years. Problem is, they've been trying to move the battlefield to the living room.

In retrospect, it's obvious. In a global world, your living room isn't how you reach out. It's not going to be in front of a giant screen. It's going to be in front of a tiny one, big enough to fit in your pocket. Look at the sales figures Apple touted. Cell phones trump everything. People are out of the living room more than they're in it. It makes perfect sense that the real fight is for that one device you have in your pocket.

What, then, of Apple TV? Consider it a hedged bet, but it isn't, really. Notice how Apple TV, right down to the name, is all about entertainment. iPhone is about information, connectivity ... reaching people. iPhone is everything a convergence device is supposed to be.

I hardly use my Xbox 360 or even my Wii as of late. I'm too busy, and when I'm at home, I'm probably asleep. My phone is my constant guide. Apple's the one that gets that. Me, a die-hard Windows guy, who's only wish is that his iPod were a phone and that he could get down to one device. Make it play games (watch your ass, Nintendo), and you've got me.

Transform DreamScenes into DeskScapes

Looks like the team at Stardock has been busy! (Heya, Brad!) I haven't run much of their software in recent years because it's very hard to find a desktop that's clean and that I felt was an extension of my personality. Lately, the Zune skin for Windows XP has been close.

Vista's a trickier bird, with the new desktop compositing engine and whatnot. However, it seems like Stardock has been working hand in hand with Microsoft and actually helped develop the Windows Ultimate Extras feature that is now being called "DreamScenes." However, it's far more than animated desktops. Stardock has built this feature to be extensible (and theoretically for free if you bought Ultimate) and you'll be able to add something they're calling "DeskScapes."

Basically a DeskScape is a series of video files (while DreamScenes are a single video) that allow you to switch video files based on some criteria, whether it be weather, time, or some other event. I'm trying to dig up more information on the feature, but that's all I've got for now.

What is strange is the following quote from Brad Wardell in the comments on the page linked above ...

Incidentally, DeskScapes will be part of Object Desktop.

Could this be a Vista Ultimate loophole? How do you make the upgraded feature available as part of a pay service without locking out regular Vista users? I'm sure more info will come to light soon.

Xbox 360 in 2007

I was debating going to CES this year, but after having heard that there wouldn't be a lot of innovation (evolutionary, rather than revolutionary, progress), I decided not to go.

Sure enough, sounds like Microsoft is having a big show, announcing IPTV support for the Xbox 360. Never mind that the video downloads are effectively the same thing, just not in real time, but there you have it. Would it get me to ditch DirecTV? Would it get me to get another 360 for the bedroom? These are questions Microsoft needs to be asking, because for all intents and purposes, this is the model you're looking at. Then again, it could be that Microsoft is hoping that IPTV providers will give away Xbox 360 units in exchange for programming contracts.

The elephant in the room with that announcement is the complete lack of mention regarding the "Xbox 360 2.0", the one that had pictures and specs floating around in the past week. HDMI, new HD scaler, and a 120GB hard drive. I could take or leave the rest, but the 120GB drive is absolutely necessary for the sort of features Microsoft is trying to pack into the white box. That leave the obvious question ... what about those of us with first-gen hardware? How do we get our data off the 20GB drive and onto the 120? Could the drives be stackable? Another question people might be pondering is, could a new Xbox 360 be quieter? Features aside, one of the biggest complaints about the Xbox 360 is the distracting fan noise coming from the console.

Surprisingly, outside of the announcement of new Gears of War content, all the news seemed to center on the stuff moving from the Xbox 360 over to Vista, Geometry Wars and Uno being notable examples. Even Gears is rumored to be hitting Vista, after some stray lines of code in an Nvidia graphic driver hinted as being optimized for the game. There's going to be a lot more Vista/360 crossing over as Live Anywhere starts to gain momentum. I'm just wondering if Microsoft will be keeping the promise of making Vista and/or mobile versions of the games free for anyone that purchased the game on 360 already.

Other Vista talk revolved around Gates announcing two specific features that would be released as part of the Windows Ultimate Extras. One, DreamScene, is essentially video on your desktop. Could this be the form that the "Desktop Aurora" will take? The other feature is specialized sports content for the Windows Media Center. No discussion at all of Texas Hold 'Em or any other features that were rumored to be part of the Extras.

Update: Yep, DreamScene is Desktop Aurora (or Motion Desktop), and the guys at Stardock are the ones behind it. Looks like it'll get a lot of community support at dream.wincustomize.com. I expect that "Matrix Desktop" will be available within the week. Also, the Extras page at WindowsUltimate.com specifically lists Hold 'Em.

Finally, Gates specifically mentioned the "secret meeting" at the Bellagio tonight at 6PM. If you needed any confirmation that this is when Vanishing Point officially kicks off, there you have it.

Note: Links coming soon ...

Idiotic Tech Journalists Strike Again

A story I'm seeing all over the blogosphere today is the supposedly "ludicrous" comment by Microsoft that the Aero Glass desktop interface will not slow down a computer powerful enough to run it. I'd have to assume that part of the incredulity comes from a long history of Microsoft flaunting "minimum" configurations that are really stretching the concept. However, in this one case, Microsoft isn't even close to exaggerating.

Aero Glass is FASTER on PCs that can run it than the standard desktop, in most cases. Why?

Aero Glass is designed to use the 3D hardware in computers that usually lies dormant when performing standard Windows tasks. Think of it this way ... it's like having yet another powerful computer processor sitting in your machine that would only get used if you were playing games.

By offloading all desktop compositing to the 3D card, not only do you get some impressive translucency effects and cool stuff like Flip 3D, you also free up your computer's main processor for other tasks, and that results in a boost in performance, not a drop. Of course, this is all dependent on your hardware, but considering the threshold Microsoft put in place for getting Aero Glass to work in the first place, I can't imagine a scenario where this would ever be "slower".

What I don't understand is why so many people that are supposedly journalists in the tech field don't understand this.

New Vanishing Point Grand Prize Theory

There is one other "ultimate vista" that could pertain directly to the Windows Vista launch, and that would be a trip to see the Northern Lights ... the Aurora Borealis. Anyone who's familiar with Vista's beginnings and where things currently stand knows that Aurora was a codename for the animated Windows Vista desktop that is coming as part of the Windows Vista Ultimate Extras.

http://www.istartedsomething.com/20060906/aurora-desktop/

I don't know why it took me this long to put this together, but this is now what I'm leaning towards. Don't know if less than a thousand people have ever seen the Aurora, but I'd say this would be way easier for Microsoft to pull off than shooting someone into space.

Bloggers freak out over free laptops, missing big picture

So I'm insanely curious. Over the past several days, word of bloggers getting free laptops from Microsoft and AMD has lit the blogosphere on fire. Apparently if you got one and didn't disclose it, you're a dirty, filthy liar. Me, I'm wondering if there's a reason why they aren't disclosing it, and if it's at all related to the Vanishing Point game. Supposedly, letters from Loki are coming with them, and there's a couple of different groups of people ... encoders and decoders. We're supposed to be seeking out these people, but maybe some of them have a reason for remaining quiet for the time being. These bloggers are being recruited into the game and perhaps some of them don't even realize it.

That hasn't stopped people from grousing about the laptops and claiming bribery and unfair treatment with hardly a mention of the game they're connected to. Curious. Sure, they're "gifts" to help promote Windows Vista, but come on ... let's have a little fun with it.

I have managed to figure out part of the game, or at least, I think I have. A note from Loki suggests that the one winner will be immortalized, and will be one of less than a thousand people to see the Ultimate Vista. Of course, most people think this means that people will win Vista Ultimate. Suckers. I dug a little deeper, and noticed that one of the keycodes was "3scap3grav1ty" (escapegravity), and that the equations shown in a video provided by Loki look like calculations for Escape Velocity, which is the speed you need to achieve to break away from the Earth's gravitational pull and travel into space. Of course, it all ties into the idea of a Vanishing Point, which is the name of the game. Curiouser.

The only "ultimate vista" that less than a thousand people have seen is a view of Earth from outer space. Sounds like one lucky person will win a trip into space, probably to the International Space Station.

I wonder if the bloggers will freak out over this "bribe".

I wanna be famous!

Microsoft and 4orty2wo are doing another viral game, this one seemingly promising lavish prizes and global fame for at least one person. While it looks like things really start kicking off during CES, there's an event planned for Seattle at the end of January.

Bloggers are receiving mysterious gifts, from small items like puzzle boxes containing memory cards with more clues, all the way up to tricked out customized laptops running Windows Vista (which is what this new alternate reality game is supposed to be promoting). Apparently, I'm not on the A-list, as I haven't gotten anything ... yet.

This sounds like it'll be fun ... hey Loki! I'm in.

Vista RTM buggier than RC2?

I've had the RTM version of Windows Vista on my Toshiba Tecra M4 for about a week now. Strangely, I'm having issues with the machine that didn't happen in RC2. I think it's all traceable to the nVidia video driver, which was updated through Windows Update right after the install completed. I'm getting massive video corruption coming out of sleep mode (making the machine unusable), to the point where I now have to hibernate the machine instead of sleep.

I can't exactly fault Microsoft for this, except that the driver came through Windows Update, so it should have been checked for issues like this before it was released. Hopefully this can be sorted out before the widespread release in January.

Free Windows Vista Ultimate for Technical Beta Testers

Just got an e-mail from Microsoft. Unlike the Office team, the Vista group decided to reward any tester who submitted at least ONE bug. I know that there are a lot of testers out there that used only the Windows Error Reporting tool to submit data back to Microsoft, but in this case, you had to have used the actual Microsoft Beta tool to submit bug data. Even if the bug was a duplicate, you qualify.

You can download the RTM bits as an .ISO formatted DVD from Microsoft Connect. You cannot generate a product key ... Microsoft will e-mail out keys to anyone that accepts the offer. You have 30 days before you need to activate, and you don't need the key to install.

Unlike the XP beta, it appears that this is a SINGLE license, as opposed to the five licenses granted for the XP beta. Also, Microsoft will not be mailing out any product ... it is a downloadable only.

My sincerest thanks go out to the Vista team for this decision, and hopefully the Office team will follow that example (although it's doubtful).

Windows Sans Support?

I was reading the forums over at Microsoft's "Shell: Revealed" blog site, and came across a posting asking if skinning would be supported in Vista. The expected answer came, one that I've grown very familiar with. No, because for one thing, Product Support would be a nightmare.

Now I've heard this explanation a lot. There are a lot of visual things that don't happen in our modern OS that are possible (and even happen in some environments, like Linux), but don't come to fruition because of the need to support such widgets and whatnot. I'm intimately aware of this having worked in Microsoft's Product Support Services (PSS) once upon a time. And while it was very easy for me to walk a user through just about any scenario with only keyboard commands if necessary, I could certainly see how the majority of PSS personnel might not be able to deal with uncertainties.

Being savvy myself and knowing how to bend the almighty Internet to my will, I can recall every time that I've had to call Microsoft for a support issue with any of their software. Twice. And those were for issues that I already knew the answer, but wanted to find out if there was a workaround of some kind. And as someone who rarely calls Microsoft for support, I wouldn't be heartbroken or even a little inconvenienced if PSS was unavailable to me. I don't even think I could name a single other person I know that's ever called Microsoft for help, but that could be because they'd call me first, and I usually fix it. :)

That's when the idea struck me. Why doesn't Microsoft offer low(er)-cost licenses to people who waive the right to contact PSS for any issues?

I'm sure it's similar to the school vouchers issue (it's the aggregate of purchases/taxes that pay for PSS/school for everyone), or possibly just a way to keep the price inflated for everyone. Then again, most people I know are getting their versions of Windows and Office from lower-cost means to begin with. They either know someone who works at Microsoft, or they can get an educational discount, or OEM version or something. So profit protection is probably not the answer. Not to mention that the R&D involved is a sunk cost anyway, and software is a business built on the marginal. In fact, PSS is really the only on-going cost tied to an individual product after it is out the door. Why not get that extra copy or two from me through these means, rather than pushing me to these other options? Anyone out there know if this conversation has ever come up inside Microsoft, and what the answer was?

To answer the original question ... No, Microsoft will not officially support skinning the OS, in part due to the support issues, and in part to protect the UI as a branded experience. That said, an interesting solution was posed ... why not offer a key combination (CTRL+ALT+END was suggested) that reverts to a standard skin and includes some support diagnostics? Even one of the shell guys seemed intrigued by the suggestion.

Microsoft Kills "Max"

According to Flexbeta, Microsoft has killed the "Max" skunkworks project. The Max photo organizer program was a project of Hillel Cooperman, one of the Vista UI guys, and was designed to show off the capabilities of the Windows Presentation Foundation (aka Avalon). If you're not familiar with the term "skunkworks", it denotes a project done for purely research purposes. It's not unusual for a skunkworks project to turn into an actual shipping product (a lot of Google's skunkworks project end up in the wild, thanks to their 20% policy), but what's unusual about this one is that Max was looking very good. It's telling that a version for Vista never reached beta, since WPF was a key feature of Vista. The excuses for why this never happened were pretty flimsy ... could it be that Max has actually become part of Windows Vista?

Probably not. Max was very ... VERY pretty, and would have made the rest of the OS look amateurish by comparison. Not that Vista doesn't look good, but Max was incredibly gorgeous, and was pretty much the only realization of the early demos Microsoft showed off of what the then "Longhorn" would be capable of. If all of Vista's micro-apps looked as good as Max, Vista could give the Mac purists something to consider. Anyway, all we know at this point is the cryptic message left behind by the Max team ... to keep checking ideas.live.com.