By the time you read this, Microsoft will have released Windows Vista Release
Candidate 1 (RC1), the final major milestone of this product before it's shipped
to manufacturing. Vista RC1 is a near feature-complete version of Microsoft's
next OS release and it offers major functional, compatibility, and fit-and-finish
improvements compared with previous prerelease Vista versions. Therefore, now
is an ideal time to start your Vista evaluations, if you haven't already begun
doing so. Here's what you need to know about Vista RC1.
It Just Works
Previous prerelease Vista versions amounted to a study in frustration. Although
they offered an interesting peek at features that Microsoft intends to ship
in the final version, many of those features were only partially implemented
and were quite buggy.
Indeed, in the days leading up to RC1, numerous analysts and online pundits called for Microsoft to delay the Vista release, citing the low quality of Beta 2 and other prerelease Vista versions as proof that a healthy product would never make it on time.
But now a funny thing has happened. RC1, although certainly not free of bugs, is notably more refined than previous versions. Software applications and hardware devices that never worked before have suddenly begun working. Infamous and long-lasting bugs, including ones that wouldn't let the user delete icons from the desktop, have suddenly been eradicated. With RC1, customers will finally see a version of Vista that approaches and even surpasses the quality level they've come to expect from Windows XP. Users will now be able to actually focus on the new OS's features and capabilities.
Functional Improvements Over XP
The Vista RC1 experience is essentially very similar to that of XP: There's
a desktop, a Start menu, a taskbar, and a tray-notification area. However, the
display subsystem has been completely revamped, so users with mainstream desktops
will likely see a graphical treatment, called Aero, which surpasses anything
in XP. Aero isn't just eye candy, however. Vista RC1 includes real productivity
enhancements, such as a more logical Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) structure
with Microsoft Office Live icons that let you view in-place previews of the
content they contain.
Vista RC1 includes a slew of new applications, most of which have no XP counterparts.
Windows Calendar finally provides users with a free and capable calendaring
application that's based on Web standards, making it easy to publish and subscribe
to coworker's schedules. Windows Meeting Space will prove a boon to knowledge
workers who want to collaborate in real time by using a wireless network. If
no network is available, Meeting Space will set up a new ad-hoc network of its
own so that users can keep working together.
Vista's amazing new backup and recovery tools will make it a snap to back up
files or even image entire hard disks. Also, Windows-Server 2003's Previous
Versions feature—previously-called Volume Shadow Copy—has been ported
to the Vista client, letting users recover older document versions without needing
to call the Help desk. (Previous Versions also works with server-based files,
if you're using Windows 2003 or later.) And a new version of Microsoft Windows
Update seamlessly integrates with the Microsoft Update service or your own software-updating
mechanism, ensuring that your systems are always up-to-date.
Most Security Improvements
Microsoft made great security strides in both XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) and Windows
2003 SP1, but Vista includes the most security improvements that Microsoft has
ever added to a single Windows product version. User Account Control (UAC),
once the bane of previous beta releases, is suddenly quite usable, thanks to
a more subtle use of UAC-notification dialog boxes and less frequent interruptions.
This feature helps users understand when they might be running a task that could
potentially harm the system. Naturally, enterprises can turn off the feature,
use it as-is, or ensure that users are running with standard user accounts and
thus won't be able to cause any damage.
Microsoft has also incorporated XP SP2's Windows Security Center feature into
Vista but has substantially improved it. This time around, Security Center provides
security monitors to the firewall, automatic-updating, and malware-protection
checks that XP SP2 offered. These monitors include Internet security settings—configured
through IE 7.0—and the aforementioned UAC.
Speaking of IE 7.0, the latest version of Microsoft's maligned Web browser
is much improved, and the version shipping with Vista is the best yet. All versions
of IE 7.0 (including standalone versions that will ship for Windows 2003 SP1,
XP SP2, and XP Professional x64 Edition) will include security controls for
antiphishing, malicious ActiveX controls, International Domain Name (IDN) spoofing,
and more. Most important, in Vista, IE 7.0 runs at a privilege level that's
lower than that of any other application, and downloads are sandboxed in a private
area of the hard disk where they can't do any damage. This feature is unique
to Vista.
Are Your Systems Compatible?
If you're interested in evaluating Vista RC1 for your organization, I advise
you to examine the features that I've mentioned here, as well as the new deployment
tools, which use large image files rather than massive collections of small
files. Because of Vista's componentized nature, you'll no longer need to maintain
separate installation images for your hardware and language configurations.
You'll also want to pay attention to hardware, software, and intranet compatibility
problems. Although Vista RC1 is a major improvement over previous beta versions,
Vista RC1 probably won't be completely compatible with all the hardware you're
using. Now is the time to determine whether your devices will be supported in
the future.
Likewise, Microsoft has done a lot of work to ensure that most XP-based-applications
function properly in Vista, but problems will remain, especially with custom
and in-house applications. You'll also need to test intranet sites and other
Web portals against IE 7.0, which offers some major changes compared with IE
6.
Finally, be sure to check your existing PC configurations against Vista RC1
to determine whether you'll have to update your PC systems at the same time
as the OS. Unless your hardware is four years old or more, you'll probably discover
that Vista RC1 works just fine. If you're nervous about training costs, you
can also run Vista RC1 in its Classic mode, which is similar to running Windows
2000.
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