Windows VISTA BETA 2 RELEASED!




Posted by Proto Man

Yup, MS's latest OS which was previously only available on BETA for MSDN and MS Tech subscriptions, was just released to the public on BETA on June the 7th. You can either D/L the ISO, and burn it to a DVD, or order it from Microsoft for $6.00.

I am D/Ling it AS I TYPE. I warn you folks, it's not for the light connected. You have to have a FAST broadband connection, as the file is 3.13 GB as it is. Plus Microsoft says that the download is in high demand itself, and they recommend that you just order the DVD. The DVD's are a first come first serve basis though, so you had better order fast. Anyhow, I have Comcast High Speed, which claims to have 6Mbps D/L. The file transfer is going good actually, I WAS getting peaks of 600 KBps, and averages of 400 KBps at the start. Right now it is peaks of 200 KBps and averages of 150-160 KBps. I am at 32% and just reached my GB a bit ago. I CAN'T WAIT! Fortunately, I have extra hardware I can check this out on. I just have to throw it together.

So who else is gonna check this out. Who else HAS checked this out?




Posted by Kanashuri

Vista is going to be lame. I hear its suppose to work more like mac comps. and macs are n00b. Im sticking XP




Posted by MGamer

post a screen




Posted by Klarth

Notice to all three of the above idiots: Stick with XP, or even better, Server 2003.

There are screens all over the web, and as Vista is essentially a glorified XP, it's going to be IDENTICAL.




Posted by Proto Man


Quoting Klarth:
There are screens all over the web, and as Vista is essentially a glorified XP, it's going to be IDENTICAL.


Well maybe stick w/ XP at first. When I build my new computer later this year, I am going to get 32 bit Win XP Pro. Later, when the Direct X 10 cards come out (and I get more money), I am getting 64 Bit VISTA.


Quoted post: or even better, Server 2003.


Oi... sometimes I have to wonder about your logic. :rolleyes:



Posted by Klarth

You do realise that it's even more stable than 2000, right?




Posted by Proto Man


Quoting Klarth: You do realise that it's even more stable than 2000, right?


Oh yeah, as a SERVER... you said "go with XP, or better yet, Server 2003" as if the latter was a regular OS to be used normally. Or at least that's how it came across to me.



Posted by Klarth

That IS what I meant.




Posted by Proto Man


Quoting Klarth: That IS what I meant.


Which brings me back to my first point.


Quoted post: Oi... sometimes I have to wonder about your logic. :rolleyes:


You don't use Windows Server 2003 as a regular OS! I mean, you could try to, but whats the point? You can't play games on it, and there are other stuff you can't do because of different coding. It's not meant to be a normal use OS.



Posted by Philsdad


Quoting Protoman: You don't use Windows Server 2003 as a regular OS! I mean, you could try to, but whats the point? You can't play games on it, and there are other stuff you can't do because of different coding. It's not meant to be a normal use OS.


Windows Server 2003 was made for businesses because it's stable, and yeah..because it IS hard to play games on it since it disables most of the basic functions needed to play games. Most employees aren't going to have enough time to do what it takes to run games on a company clock. But yes, a lot of games do run quite well on Windows Server 2003.. You just have to do a lot of things to get them to work. Such as enabling graphics acceleration and other functions. But if you're really determined to do it, then it can be fun in itself..kind of like fetching Linux dependencies..only easier. So, if it does everything you need to do, and is more stable then why not use it as a personal OS? Just because an OS wasn't originally designed for home use doesn't mean it shouldn't be used for it. Technology constantly integrates itself into places that it wasn't orignally intended to be used. That's how it works, and that's why it improves and advances over time. And it should be that way because it makes things interesting and unpredictable. And OSes are no different. UNIX was never intended to be a personal home OS but a lot of people use its variants nowadays.

The truth of the matter is, the average user won't want to go through the hassles to run most things in Windows Server 2003, and that's fine too. Nobody is forcing them to use it. But other people may want to go through the steps to get stuff working and CAN do it, and as a result, they end up with a more secure OS. So that's the "point" of using an OS that wasn't intended to be a "regular OS." No disrepect to you man, I understand what you were trying to say. Just think of the whole picture, that's all.



Posted by Proto Man


Quoting Philsdad: No disrepect to you man, I understand what you were trying to say. Just think of the whole picture, that's all.


Thats ok. I do see your point. Still not sure I would do it myself...

Anyhow getting back to Vista, I installed it Tuesday and have to say it is pretty sweet!

[URL="http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b331/Protodude/VISTA.jpg"]Screenshot[/URL]

Can't wait till the final version.

I WAS going to build a separate rig for it, but then the mother board I was going to use, I didn't have RAM for, so I just stuck the hard drive in my own computer as a slave, and made the system dual boot XP/Vista. Worked out pretty nice.

I have some pet peeves already though. The had drive I was using had Win Server 2003 already installed on it from something I was doing before, so I wanted to blast the partition away. Problem was that Microsoft did not continue the tradition of being able to manage partitions within the Windows setup like XP. So what I had to do then was use an XP CD to take care of that. Hopefully they will change that in the final ver.

Some other stuff I found out was that Vista is VERY picky about hardware/software. I had a 3 Com NIC card in my computer, and Vista didn't recognize it! Fortunately though, I had a D-Link card I could use. Vista recognized that just fine. It didn't seem to be too compatible with my onboard sound, as I could only get sound from my right headphone. Software wise, not very compatible at all at this point with older programs. Couldn't install AIM at all, and while MSN worked, it wouldn't do some features.

As you see though, there are some new games. Inkball is pretty fun. The start menu is a bit different, it's all selfcontainted instead of branching out into other stuff. I couldn't run Aero because I don't have a powerfull enough graphics card. I don't know if it will be gone from the final version, but I noticed that Windows messenger was not there, which is a good thing because Windows Messenger is annoying IMO. A really cool feature I found was that there is speach recognition! It even allows for dictation, so if you are doing a word document, or even just making a really long post on the forums, you can just say it and it types it for you.

Overall it was fun while it lasted (despite the fact it had problems, although some were just normal beta bugs), and I would still be testing it out (didn't check EVERYTHING out yet) if it weren't for the fact my hard drive crapped out on me in the middle of using it. :( I was doing something, but it was acting really slow. So I re-booted, and now the hard drive isn't being recognized at all.



Posted by Velvet Nightmare

HAY GUYZ GUES WUT

It fucking blows. Don't waste time on eye candy.




Posted by Trigger

I just made my Windows XP Professional look exactly like Windows Vista, without using those ridiculous Desktop Theme programs. I see no reason to drool over Vista at all, though that doesn't mean I won't be obtaining a 'legal' copy whenever the final release has been made. Fact of the matter is, Proto, Vista isn't like Windows XP at all in terms of how it operates under the shiney black surface.

It's expected that hardware will either work or it won't due to the new way Microsoft have handled driver signing and hardware compatibility. Instead of the old 'well, it's about much compatible" they have now said, "It either is, or it isn't." Of course the beta version wouldn't manage file partitions within the setup installer - it's a beta version. I expected that feature not to be there from the very beginning. Unfortunately, it appears you're expecting far too much from Vista at the moment. Remember, it's a beta version - not everything is going to work properly or at all and that's precisely why is hasn't been released as a final yet. There are still compatibility steps they need to make, more testing and coding changes to be made.

Don't foolishly treat it like it's a final, when it is far from it right now. Also, you're expecting your "out of date" drivers that were built for Windows XP to work on a new operating system. That's like expecting Windows 98 drivers to work on Windows XP and yes, I do know that Microsoft provide a list of hardware drivers already but honestly, how often have you not gone to the manufacturer for a new or better driver than the one Microsoft provided?

Forget Vista, it isn't half the hype you're making it out to be.




Posted by Killer Jordo

My brother ordered Vista for his company. He says he'll send me a copy when he gets them. I can't wait. :D




Posted by Proto Man


Quoting Trigger: I just made my Windows XP Professional look exactly like Windows Vista, without using those ridiculous Desktop Theme programs. I see no reason to drool over Vista at all, though that doesn't mean I won't be obtaining a 'legal' copy whenever the final release has been made. Fact of the matter is, Proto, Vista isn't like Windows XP at all in terms of how it operates under the shiney black surface.

It's expected that hardware will either work or it won't due to the new way Microsoft have handled driver signing and hardware compatibility. Instead of the old 'well, it's about much compatible" they have now said, "It either is, or it isn't." Of course the beta version wouldn't manage file partitions within the setup installer - it's a beta version. I expected that feature not to be there from the very beginning. Unfortunately, it appears you're expecting far too much from Vista at the moment. Remember, it's a beta version - not everything is going to work properly or at all and that's precisely why is hasn't been released as a final yet. There are still compatibility steps they need to make, more testing and coding changes to be made.

Don't foolishly treat it like it's a final, when it is far from it right now. Also, you're expecting your "out of date" drivers that were built for Windows XP to work on a new operating system. That's like expecting Windows 98 drivers to work on Windows XP and yes, I do know that Microsoft provide a list of hardware drivers already but honestly, how often have you not gone to the manufacturer for a new or better driver than the one Microsoft provided?

Forget Vista, it isn't half the hype you're making it out to be.


All of what you said is true. Although I didn't treat it like a final. I was just recording down my experience for those who hadn't tried it out yet so they knew what they were getting into if they DID want to try it.

Yeah one thing I HAVE learned is NOT to use old hardware on Vista, it just doesn't work out. I am glad that I did try the BETA, that way I know somewhat what to expect. As for your last statement... I wouldn't completely forget about Vista, but yeah I wouldn't make a big fuss and upgrade right away.



Posted by Trigger

[quote=Protoman]I was just recording down my experience for those who hadn't tried it out yet so they knew what they were getting into if they DID want to try it.
Those who haven't read on Microsoft's website about the features and/or potential risks/incompatibilities (or have the resources to change hardware pieces until they got a system that worked) probably shouldn't be beta testers of any kind, anyway.