adir1

Granted, this post is a bit early, I’ve only been using Vista on the my new PC for about a week and a half, but I just had to blog about it!

So far it’s been fantastic! I want to start off with a short list of pointers that may help you with your Vista experience, and end with solid scientific explanation as to why Vista is the Wow! that was promised!

• Search box is your friend! The biggest feature in Vista is the little Search box and you can find it Everywhere! Start with the Start Menu, which makes it easy to launch program or document by just typing a keyword or two. Proceed to use it in Control Panel, which is redesigned, but it doesn’t matter since it has a search box which makes it easy to find what you need if you know it’s name. If you don’t know what it’s called, the newly improved categories are great!
• Create Restore points often! See tip above to easily find this feature in Control Panel. I didn’t need to use any of my Restore Points yet, but it’s nice to know they are there!
• As annoying as User Access Control is, it’s worth it! This is the famous "You clicked on this Button, are you sure you clicked on it?" style prompt. When setting up the computer in the beginning, it will drive you crazy. But, keep at it, because the amount of prompts declines drastically once you "settle in", and the added security is very important!
• Do NOT Upgrade to Vista on an old PC, that is not the intention. Vista by no means "lean", it’s a fully featured OS with high hardware requirements. So, your best bet to get Vista is only with a new PC. If you are worried about Software Compatibility issues, and considering Windows XP downgrade on a new PC, DON’T DO IT! Use Microsoft’s free Virtual PC within Vista should supply full compatibility with the trickiest of software. Plus, most companies should come out with new Vista version of their software soon, if they haven’t already.

For me, the Wow! in Vista is the amazing performance, stability and the security, and of course the new fancy 3D Aero effects (tip: Press Windows-Tab key and scroll mouse wheel).

The WoW in Vista is World of Warcraft, which runs like never before, even with all graphical settings maxed out. Just kidding, of course

Here’s the real Wow! and it is something I haven’t seen covered in almost any press coverage for Vista. It’s the quality feedback agent, which is now built into Operating System Kernel and most Vista applications and components.

Let me explain, this little known secret agent gets activated whenever you encounter any kind of crash/failure and in some similar scenarios. It actually Phones Home to MS HQ and records this trouble, along with supporting "Dump" info, in the central database. And before you start screaming PRIVACY, it can be disabled and it only activates after asking you if you wish to "Help Improve Windows Experience" or some such.

Why is this greatest thing ever? No matter what weird hardware driver, or strange DLL incompatibility, or unintended Windows Update trouble happens, you don’t need to worry. Your computer will literally heal itself! Here’s how it works:

1. You download some patch or new driver, or simply add new hardware that Vista knows about but apparently wasn’t fully tested (or too new).
2. Your system starts misbehaving, things don’t work. You get crashes somewhere, or even the infamous Blue Screen of Death comes to visit you.
3. Vista records this and "phones home" with information developers need to track down why the crash or problem is happening
4. Developers review their giant "troubles" database, notice the new issue which is affecting several people and combine scenarios from multiple PCs and it’s supporting data to figure out what is causing the trouble and fix it
5. Windows Vista downloads a Windows Update Hotfix, or maybe the fix comes as part of Service Pack or updated Drivers from the Manufacturer of your gadget, which Windows Vista also downloads now without you needing to worry

Granted, this is a best case scenario. There are lots of trouble reports daily, and I am sure Microsoft folks using some sort of statistical data mining approach to find most urgent and most mainstream problems, before tackling more obscure ones.

But the bottom line is that this process Will Surely lead to better and more stable OS in the long term, with more features and compatibility.

Show me that in MacOs or Linux, folks? (I know some programs have it, like Firefox, I am talking about Operating System integrated feature)

Wow!

UPDATE: I posted all the "Un-Wow" things on Windows Vista

Share This

I am still struggling with exact instructions on creating not just any old MP4 file, but one that is XBOX 360 compatible. It turns out to be very very hard, for unknown reason. I’ve emailed Major Nelson from XBox at Microsoft, but so far he’s busy, obviously.

I did manage to create MP4 files from my media, which play fine using VLC and QuickTime players, but I wanted them to play inside Vista Media Center. And, it turned out to be not as hard as it sounds, so just follow these simple steps to success (should work just as well for Windows XP Media Center, though I haven’t had a chance to try it there yet):

1. Set Windows Vista Restore Point, in case something goes Awry. Simply Right-Click on your Computer (on Desktop or Start-Menu), and select Properties. Then, choose System Protection under Tasks. Finally click the Create button, at the bottom (just above Ok/Cancel buttons). Name your Restore Point and it should be created in no time.
2. Download and Install Haali Media Splitter (aka Matroska Splitter) download link on the right there.
3. Download and Install latest beta bundle of FFDShow software. Make sure to grab the beta, which is more Vista compatible (unlike latest stable).
4. Almost done! Now, you just need to tell Media Center that it’s ok to include MP4 files. Open RegEdit for this, and find and adjust the following key:
       [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT.mp4]
       “PerceivedType”=”video”

That should be it. You can also make Explorer work with these files, simply right click on one of your MP4 files, select Open With, and point to your Windows Media Player. Make sure to mark ‘Always use selected program to open this file type’.

If something goes wrong, or some program that used to work misbehaves after these steps, you can always go back to System Restore and restore your Backup point created in step 1.

Meanwhile, I am continuing my struggle to find best/easiest/most compatible method of  creating MP4 files. I have expanded beyond Windows (Vista or XP) and into Linux (Ubuntu actually), but thus far still no satisfactory solution found. The image, to the right of here is a small sample of H.264 codec options. Just PART of Single folder, out of 4 total folders!
Easy, right???

If I ever figure it out, I will sure post the explanation here

Meanwhile, make sure to enjoy Shared Links on the right, which are updated daily, often every few hours!

UPDATE:  I installed Haali Media Splitter on the new Windows Vista Basic that we got with new Vostro computer (more on that later) and it cause IE 7 to start to crash on it. Of course I had restore point, but be forewarned.

Share This

Unbeknownst to most people, Dell launched a radically excellent web site to facilitate improved communications with their customers.

Dell’s IdeaStorm has a simple, yet powerful, concept. People (presumably Dell users and buyers) submit Ideas of what they would like to see improved/added/changed in Dell’s Products/Support/Services.

Other people vote ideas (Digg style) Up and Down. After voting, Popular ideas which got voted high enough, get reviewed by Dell management (again, presumably) and discussed in an effort to ultimately please their customers.

Today, I submitted my first Idea there, which I think most people will agree with (it’s already getting promoted). I think you will agree as well, so help out a good idea!

I won’t repeat things here, as everything is explained in my Idea post.

Share This

 I have been using Windows Vista since the second Beta. Lately I am increasingly accused of being Bill Gate’s fan boy and Windows Vista proponent, so here’s a post about my take on Vista.

Another reason for today’s recap is this pre-SP1 Vista patch that was released today. As you can see, the list of issues is quiet disheartening.

For several years now I was excitingly awaiting the “promised land” in this be-all end-all Microsoft OS. As the release date drew closer, I accepted, along with everyone else, the news that more and more features were being dropped from Vista.

And that really brought it home for me. There is no such thing as be-all, and especially no definite end-all Operating System. Software, even more so than hardware, goes through many iterations as it evolves.

I applauded Microsoft’s decision to take so many bold steps and rebuilding such a large amount of operating system components, including kernel and other portions, almost from scratch. At the same time, I think bowing to content owners and including the draconian DRM in Vista, unlike anything ever seen before, is a grand mistake.

But, although I constantly find small quirks and issues in Vista that need to be worked out, I know Microsoft will iron these out sooner rather than later and deliver the super stable and functional OS that everyone wants.

Yes, the system is barely half a year out the door, and yes, there are still lots of issues to iron out. But, does that mean you need to avoid it at all cost? I say — Not at all. Take the express, even as you know to expect some turbulence on the way there.

Share This