http://www.winsupersite.com/reviews/winvista_5536.asp

Windows Vista Build 5536 Review
And just like that, we can suddenly see the light at the end of the tunnel. All of our hopes,
all of our worries, all of whatever feelings we may have for Windows Vista are hanging on the
edge of a precipice. Will they ship it on time? Will they ever ship it? Does it even matter?

Increasingly, the actual ship date for Windows Vista does not matter, but not for the reasons
you may suspect. Microsoft will ship Windows Vista exactly when they want to, according to the
schedule they previously laid out. They're not delaying it any further, and after releasing the
product to manufacturing in late October 2006, businesses can expect to get it via volume
licensing in November, followed by consumers and general availability in late January 2007.

Before any of that can happen, however, we have a final milestone to cross. It's called Release
Candidate 1 (RC1) and I expect to be writing a lengthy review of that build--currently slated
as build 5552, though of course these things change regularly on an ongoing basis--sometime in
about two weeks. For now, however, we have the next best thing, a pre-RC1 interim build, 5536,
that offers a peak at many of the best changes Microsoft has made to Windows Vista since the
lackluster Beta 2 build.
Windows Vista build 5536, by contrast, is a humdinger.

I've been like a bipolar pit bull when it comes to Windows Vista lately. Some builds have been
fantastic (at least compared to what came previously). Some have been positively embarrassingly
bad. I just spent the past three weeks in France with two Windows Vista-based notebooks and it
was like being imprisoned with vipers in the dark: I never knew when I was going to be bit.
Windows Vista build 5472, the previous milestone testers received, was, shall we say,
performance challenged. There were weird issues deleting desktop files. There was a Recent
Items entry in the Start Menu that, curiously, did not actually contain recently accessed
items. It was, in short, a bit disappointing.

Windows Vista build 5536, again, is a humdinger.

What's new in build 5536?
So what's new in 5536, you ask? Performance is better, even much better. (Though the three
times performance improvement baloney you might have read elsewhere is not only impossible but
untrue.) It does a much better job of finding and correctly installing device drivers: On my
main desktop, even the sound driver worked automatically after the first Windows Update run, a
first.

Microsoft's fledgling Windows Live services have been integrated, annoyingly, into the system.
On the good news front, this "integration" isn't as technically silly as what the company did
earlier with such components as Internet Explorer and Windows Messenger. But it is equally
annoying.

Instead of installing various Windows Live components by default--which would have been a bad
move, not just for antitrust reasons, but because of their constantly updating
nature--Microsoft is including numerous shortcuts to various Windows Live services throughout
the system. In Welcome Center, for example, there is a new "Offers from Microsoft" section that
includes no fewer than seven icons for Microsoft services, five of which are Windows Live
services: "Go online to learn about Windows Live," "Download Windows Live Toolbar," "Sign up
for Windows Live OneCare" (which, naturally, doesn't work during the beta anyway), "Go online
to Windows Marketplace," "Download Windows Live Mail Desktop," "Download Windows Live
Messenger," and "Sign up online for technical support."

Additionally, there is an item called "Windows Live Messenger Download" right in the default
Start Menu. As expected, clicking this item launches Internet Explorer, which navigates to the
Windows Live Messenger download page online. Unexpectedly, once you download and install
Windows Live Messenger, the "Windows Live Messenger Download" link remains in your Start Menu.
Silly.

And speaking of Internet Explorer, the most annoying aspect of the Windows Live integration in
Vista occurs in everyone's favorite new Web browser: My default, IE 7 launches with two home
pages, one in each tab. The first and topmost home page is MSN.com, just like before. But the
secondary page displays the Windows Live Search site. Big deal, right? The problem is that by
opening two tabs at startup, Microsoft is ensuring that most users--i.e. "normal people"--will
see an annoying "Do you want to close all tabs?" alert dialog every time they close IE. That's
just wrong.

(This isn't really notable per se, but IE's About dialog still uses the "Internet Explorer 7+"
naming that Microsoft says it is dropping.)

User Account Control (UAC) has been dramatically improved and let me be among the first to
throw out a hearty "thank you" to the UAC team for that. Now, instead of the stunningly
annoying "pop" that used to occur every time one of the UAC alert dialogs appeared, the
transition is smooth and there is a soft, almost enjoyable, beep sound. This is literally the
first time I didn't reach for the "remove UAC" option after installing a recent Vista build.
Bravo.

Special shell folders like Documents, Pictures, Favorites, and Music (but not, curiously, the
still second rate Videos) are now color coded in greenish blue to differentiate them from other
folders (which are still yellowish). Saved searches are also differentiated, using a soft blue
color.

Windows Update now prompts you to install Microsoft Update so that you can get updates for
other Microsoft products, like Microsoft Office, directly through Windows Update. If you click
on this link, you're brought to a Web page, which you have to click a single OK box, and then
you're done. Simple.

There's a new shortcut to the Program Compatibility Wizard on the desktop, so you can try and
make Vista-unaware applications work properly. Microsoft warns, however, that you should not
use this wizard-based application with older virus detection, backup, or system programs. The
problem is, many users won't understand what that means. What, exactly, is a "system" program?

Windows Media Center shows, perhaps, the biggest performance improvement of any Vista
component. The application almost pops to life and, using the "Express" setup option, can be in
use almost immediately. I won't be trying to put Media Center on my family's Media Center PC
again until RC1 hits, but it's clear that something wonderful has happened here.

In the Personalize section of Control Panel, there are a number of major improvements. First,
when you right-click the desktop, you'll see that the Personalize option has a new icon next to
it, making it more prominent and obvious. In Windows Color and Appearance, the default color
schemes now have simple color names (Default, Graphite, Blue, Teal, Red, Orange, Pink, and, my
favorite, Frost). In Desktop Background, all of the background types (Black and White, Light
Auras, etc.) are together in a single list; you no longer have to choose between each type.

As I had hoped, Microsoft augmented the Windows Aero mouse pointer with large and extra large
variants. Now if they could just ship black versions too, it would be perfect.

The "shield" icon you see in the system tray for Windows Security Alerts can now be colored
yellow or red, depending on the level of warning it's trying to communicate. For example, the
lack of virus protection now rates a yellow warning, and not the more risky red alert.

There's probably more, but I don't want to take away too much from my upcoming RC1 review, and
to be fair, I've only been working with the build since last night. (Too, I just spent an
entire day traveling back from France, so I hope it's understandable that this is necessarily
short.)

Conclusions
There's no doubt about it: Windows Vista has taken too long to ship, and the first major
milestone that Microsoft shipped to the public, Beta 2, was a disappointment. Since then, the
company has shipped three promising interim builds to testers. The latest one, build 5536, an
RC1 escrow build, is simply wonderful. If this build represents the quality, performance, and
functionality that users can expect to see in RC1 and the final release, then Microsoft will
have gone a long way towards making up for its mistakes and miscalculations. My only question
is why we had to wait so long to see a build this good. If you can get your hands on 5536,
enjoy it. If not, RC1 will be publicly available. Either way, you likely won't be disappointed.

--Paul Thurrott
August 25-26, 2006


--
Michael
______
"The trouble ain't that there is too many fools,
but that the lightning ain't distributed right."
- Mark Twain

About the Start Menu "Recently Opened Programs" issue, try to right click the
Start um orb or taskbar, then Properties, make sure you are on the "Start
Menu" tab, and click Customize, check the center of that page for a "Number
of recent programs to display" option. I had mine set to 0 and I didn't
realize at the time, submitted as a bug. Recommended it be on the first page
you see when you get into the Start Menu properties. This is an interesting
Windows, anticipating RC1!

"MICHAEL" wrote:

http://www.winsupersite.com/reviews/winvista_5536.asp

Windows Vista Build 5536 Review
And just like that, we can suddenly see the light at the end of the tunnel. All of our hopes,
all of our worries, all of whatever feelings we may have for Windows Vista are hanging on the
edge of a precipice. Will they ship it on time? Will they ever ship it? Does it even matter?

Increasingly, the actual ship date for Windows Vista does not matter, but not for the reasons
you may suspect. Microsoft will ship Windows Vista exactly when they want to, according to the
schedule they previously laid out. They're not delaying it any further, and after releasing the
product to manufacturing in late October 2006, businesses can expect to get it via volume
licensing in November, followed by consumers and general availability in late January 2007.

Before any of that can happen, however, we have a final milestone to cross. It's called Release
Candidate 1 (RC1) and I expect to be writing a lengthy review of that build--currently slated
as build 5552, though of course these things change regularly on an ongoing basis--sometime in
about two weeks. For now, however, we have the next best thing, a pre-RC1 interim build, 5536,
that offers a peak at many of the best changes Microsoft has made to Windows Vista since the
lackluster Beta 2 build.
Windows Vista build 5536, by contrast, is a humdinger.

I've been like a bipolar pit bull when it comes to Windows Vista lately. Some builds have been
fantastic (at least compared to what came previously). Some have been positively embarrassingly
bad. I just spent the past three weeks in France with two Windows Vista-based notebooks and it
was like being imprisoned with vipers in the dark: I never knew when I was going to be bit.
Windows Vista build 5472, the previous milestone testers received, was, shall we say,
performance challenged. There were weird issues deleting desktop files. There was a Recent
Items entry in the Start Menu that, curiously, did not actually contain recently accessed
items. It was, in short, a bit disappointing.

Windows Vista build 5536, again, is a humdinger.

What's new in build 5536?
So what's new in 5536, you ask? Performance is better, even much better. (Though the three
times performance improvement baloney you might have read elsewhere is not only impossible but
untrue.) It does a much better job of finding and correctly installing device drivers: On my
main desktop, even the sound driver worked automatically after the first Windows Update run, a
first.

Microsoft's fledgling Windows Live services have been integrated, annoyingly, into the system.
On the good news front, this "integration" isn't as technically silly as what the company did
earlier with such components as Internet Explorer and Windows Messenger. But it is equally
annoying.

Instead of installing various Windows Live components by default--which would have been a bad
move, not just for antitrust reasons, but because of their constantly updating
nature--Microsoft is including numerous shortcuts to various Windows Live services throughout
the system. In Welcome Center, for example, there is a new "Offers from Microsoft" section that
includes no fewer than seven icons for Microsoft services, five of which are Windows Live
services: "Go online to learn about Windows Live," "Download Windows Live Toolbar," "Sign up
for Windows Live OneCare" (which, naturally, doesn't work during the beta anyway), "Go online
to Windows Marketplace," "Download Windows Live Mail Desktop," "Download Windows Live
Messenger," and "Sign up online for technical support."

Additionally, there is an item called "Windows Live Messenger Download" right in the default
Start Menu. As expected, clicking this item launches Internet Explorer, which navigates to the
Windows Live Messenger download page online. Unexpectedly, once you download and install
Windows Live Messenger, the "Windows Live Messenger Download" link remains in your Start Menu.
Silly.

And speaking of Internet Explorer, the most annoying aspect of the Windows Live integration in
Vista occurs in everyone's favorite new Web browser: My default, IE 7 launches with two home
pages, one in each tab. The first and topmost home page is MSN.com, just like before. But the
secondary page displays the Windows Live Search site. Big deal, right? The problem is that by
opening two tabs at startup, Microsoft is ensuring that most users--i.e. "normal people"--will
see an annoying "Do you want to close all tabs?" alert dialog every time they close IE. That's
just wrong.

(This isn't really notable per se, but IE's About dialog still uses the "Internet Explorer 7+"
naming that Microsoft says it is dropping.)

User Account Control (UAC) has been dramatically improved and let me be among the first to
throw out a hearty "thank you" to the UAC team for that. Now, instead of the stunningly
annoying "pop" that used to occur every time one of the UAC alert dialogs appeared, the
transition is smooth and there is a soft, almost enjoyable, beep sound. This is literally the
first time I didn't reach for the "remove UAC" option after installing a recent Vista build.
Bravo.

Special shell folders like Documents, Pictures, Favorites, and Music (but not, curiously, the
still second rate Videos) are now color coded in greenish blue to differentiate them from other
folders (which are still yellowish). Saved searches are also differentiated, using a soft blue
color.

Windows Update now prompts you to install Microsoft Update so that you can get updates for
other Microsoft products, like Microsoft Office, directly through Windows Update. If you click
on this link, you're brought to a Web page, which you have to click a single OK box, and then
you're done. Simple.

There's a new shortcut to the Program Compatibility Wizard on the desktop, so you can try and
make Vista-unaware applications work properly. Microsoft warns, however, that you should not
use this wizard-based application with older virus detection, backup, or system programs. The
problem is, many users won't understand what that means. What, exactly, is a "system" program?

Windows Media Center shows, perhaps, the biggest performance improvement of any Vista
component. The application almost pops to life and, using the "Express" setup option, can be in
use almost immediately. I won't be trying to put Media Center on my family's Media Center PC
again until RC1 hits, but it's clear that something wonderful has happened here.

In the Personalize section of Control Panel, there are a number of major improvements. First,
when you right-click the desktop, you'll see that the Personalize option has a new icon next to
it, making it more prominent and obvious. In Windows Color and Appearance, the default color
schemes now have simple color names (Default, Graphite, Blue, Teal, Red, Orange, Pink, and, my
favorite, Frost). In Desktop Background, all of the background types (Black and White, Light
Auras, etc.) are together in a single list; you no longer have to choose between each type.

As I had hoped, Microsoft augmented the Windows Aero mouse pointer with large and extra large
variants. Now if they could just ship black versions too, it would be perfect.

The "shield" icon you see in the system tray for Windows Security Alerts can now be colored
yellow or red, depending on the level of warning it's trying to communicate. For example, the
lack of virus protection now rates a yellow warning, and not the more risky red alert.

There's probably more, but I don't want to take away too much from my upcoming RC1 review, and
to be fair, I've only been working with the build since last night. (Too, I just spent an
entire day traveling back from France, so I hope it's understandable that this is necessarily
short.)

Conclusions
There's no doubt about it: Windows Vista has taken too long to ship, and the first major
milestone that Microsoft shipped to the public, Beta 2, was a disappointment. Since then, the
company has shipped three promising interim builds to testers. The latest one, build 5536, an
RC1 escrow build, is simply wonderful. If this build represents the quality, performance, and
functionality that users can expect to see in RC1 and the final release, then Microsoft will
have gone a long way towards making up for its mistakes and miscalculations. My only question
is why we had to wait so long to see a build this good. If you can get your hands on 5536,
enjoy it. If not, RC1 will be publicly available. Either way, you likely won't be disappointed.

--Paul Thurrott
August 25-26, 2006


--
Michael
______
"The trouble ain't that there is too many fools,
but that the lightning ain't distributed right."
- Mark Twain

And, I completely disagree with PT's Review of Windows Vista Build 5536,
Just FYI.

P.S. Windows Vista Build 5536 is 100% Stable on my Dell XPS 600, Just FYI.

P.P.S. In Response to Your Earlier Post, Microsoft did Finally Come to
Their Senses, and Changed my Windows Vista Beta Test Status from Declined to
Active, so I am not a Windows Vista Pirate, I acquired Build 5536 The Legal
Way, Just FYI.

"MICHAEL" wrote in message
...
http://www.winsupersite.com/reviews/winvista_5536.asp

Windows Vista Build 5536 Review
And just like that, we can suddenly see the light at the end of the
tunnel. All of our hopes, all of our worries, all of whatever feelings we
may have for Windows Vista are hanging on the edge of a precipice. Will
they ship it on time? Will they ever ship it? Does it even matter?

Increasingly, the actual ship date for Windows Vista does not matter, but
not for the reasons you may suspect. Microsoft will ship Windows Vista
exactly when they want to, according to the schedule they previously laid
out. They're not delaying it any further, and after releasing the product
to manufacturing in late October 2006, businesses can expect to get it via
volume licensing in November, followed by consumers and general
availability in late January 2007.

Before any of that can happen, however, we have a final milestone to
cross. It's called Release Candidate 1 (RC1) and I expect to be writing a
lengthy review of that build--currently slated as build 5552, though of
course these things change regularly on an ongoing basis--sometime in
about two weeks. For now, however, we have the next best thing, a pre-RC1
interim build, 5536, that offers a peak at many of the best changes
Microsoft has made to Windows Vista since the lackluster Beta 2 build.
Windows Vista build 5536, by contrast, is a humdinger.

I've been like a bipolar pit bull when it comes to Windows Vista lately.
Some builds have been fantastic (at least compared to what came
previously). Some have been positively embarrassingly bad. I just spent
the past three weeks in France with two Windows Vista-based notebooks and
it was like being imprisoned with vipers in the dark: I never knew when I
was going to be bit. Windows Vista build 5472, the previous milestone
testers received, was, shall we say, performance challenged. There were
weird issues deleting desktop files. There was a Recent Items entry in the
Start Menu that, curiously, did not actually contain recently accessed
items. It was, in short, a bit disappointing.

Windows Vista build 5536, again, is a humdinger.

What's new in build 5536?
So what's new in 5536, you ask? Performance is better, even much better.
(Though the three times performance improvement baloney you might have
read elsewhere is not only impossible but untrue.) It does a much better
job of finding and correctly installing device drivers: On my main
desktop, even the sound driver worked automatically after the first
Windows Update run, a first.

Microsoft's fledgling Windows Live services have been integrated,
annoyingly, into the system. On the good news front, this "integration"
isn't as technically silly as what the company did earlier with such
components as Internet Explorer and Windows Messenger. But it is equally
annoying.

Instead of installing various Windows Live components by default--which
would have been a bad move, not just for antitrust reasons, but because of
their constantly updating nature--Microsoft is including numerous
shortcuts to various Windows Live services throughout the system. In
Welcome Center, for example, there is a new "Offers from Microsoft"
section that includes no fewer than seven icons for Microsoft services,
five of which are Windows Live services: "Go online to learn about Windows
Live," "Download Windows Live Toolbar," "Sign up for Windows Live OneCare"
(which, naturally, doesn't work during the beta anyway), "Go online to
Windows Marketplace," "Download Windows Live Mail Desktop," "Download
Windows Live Messenger," and "Sign up online for technical support."

Additionally, there is an item called "Windows Live Messenger Download"
right in the default Start Menu. As expected, clicking this item launches
Internet Explorer, which navigates to the Windows Live Messenger download
page online. Unexpectedly, once you download and install Windows Live
Messenger, the "Windows Live Messenger Download" link remains in your
Start Menu. Silly.

And speaking of Internet Explorer, the most annoying aspect of the Windows
Live integration in Vista occurs in everyone's favorite new Web browser:
My default, IE 7 launches with two home pages, one in each tab. The first
and topmost home page is MSN.com, just like before. But the secondary page
displays the Windows Live Search site. Big deal, right? The problem is
that by opening two tabs at startup, Microsoft is ensuring that most
users--i.e. "normal people"--will see an annoying "Do you want to close
all tabs?" alert dialog every time they close IE. That's just wrong.

(This isn't really notable per se, but IE's About dialog still uses the
"Internet Explorer 7+" naming that Microsoft says it is dropping.)

User Account Control (UAC) has been dramatically improved and let me be
among the first to throw out a hearty "thank you" to the UAC team for
that. Now, instead of the stunningly annoying "pop" that used to occur
every time one of the UAC alert dialogs appeared, the transition is smooth
and there is a soft, almost enjoyable, beep sound. This is literally the
first time I didn't reach for the "remove UAC" option after installing a
recent Vista build. Bravo.

Special shell folders like Documents, Pictures, Favorites, and Music (but
not, curiously, the still second rate Videos) are now color coded in
greenish blue to differentiate them from other folders (which are still
yellowish). Saved searches are also differentiated, using a soft blue
color.

Windows Update now prompts you to install Microsoft Update so that you can
get updates for other Microsoft products, like Microsoft Office, directly
through Windows Update. If you click on this link, you're brought to a Web
page, which you have to click a single OK box, and then you're done.
Simple.

There's a new shortcut to the Program Compatibility Wizard on the desktop,
so you can try and make Vista-unaware applications work properly.
Microsoft warns, however, that you should not use this wizard-based
application with older virus detection, backup, or system programs. The
problem is, many users won't understand what that means. What, exactly, is
a "system" program?

Windows Media Center shows, perhaps, the biggest performance improvement
of any Vista component. The application almost pops to life and, using the
"Express" setup option, can be in use almost immediately. I won't be
trying to put Media Center on my family's Media Center PC again until RC1
hits, but it's clear that something wonderful has happened here.

In the Personalize section of Control Panel, there are a number of major
improvements. First, when you right-click the desktop, you'll see that the
Personalize option has a new icon next to it, making it more prominent and
obvious. In Windows Color and Appearance, the default color schemes now
have simple color names (Default, Graphite, Blue, Teal, Red, Orange, Pink,
and, my favorite, Frost). In Desktop Background, all of the background
types (Black and White, Light Auras, etc.) are together in a single list;
you no longer have to choose between each type.

As I had hoped, Microsoft augmented the Windows Aero mouse pointer with
large and extra large variants. Now if they could just ship black versions
too, it would be perfect.

The "shield" icon you see in the system tray for Windows Security Alerts
can now be colored yellow or red, depending on the level of warning it's
trying to communicate. For example, the lack of virus protection now rates
a yellow warning, and not the more risky red alert.

There's probably more, but I don't want to take away too much from my
upcoming RC1 review, and to be fair, I've only been working with the build
since last night. (Too, I just spent an entire day traveling back from
France, so I hope it's understandable that this is necessarily short.)

Conclusions
There's no doubt about it: Windows Vista has taken too long to ship, and
the first major milestone that Microsoft shipped to the public, Beta 2,
was a disappointment. Since then, the company has shipped three promising
interim builds to testers. The latest one, build 5536, an RC1 escrow
build, is simply wonderful. If this build represents the quality,
performance, and functionality that users can expect to see in RC1 and the
final release, then Microsoft will have gone a long way towards making up
for its mistakes and miscalculations. My only question is why we had to
wait so long to see a build this good. If you can get your hands on 5536,
enjoy it. If not, RC1 will be publicly available. Either way, you likely
won't be disappointed.

--Paul Thurrott
August 25-26, 2006


--
Michael
______
"The trouble ain't that there is too many fools,
but that the lightning ain't distributed right."
- Mark Twain

I would further note that I see no reason why MSDN and Tech Net Plus Should
Not get this Build, Just FYI.

Would somebody care to explain to me why Build 5536 Should Not be Designated
RC1?

Is there some type of Show Stopper Bug in Build 5536? I certainly have Not
Found it yet, Just FYI.

wrote in message
...
And, I completely disagree with PT's Review of Windows Vista Build 5536,
Just FYI.

P.S. Windows Vista Build 5536 is 100% Stable on my Dell XPS 600, Just
FYI.

P.P.S. In Response to Your Earlier Post, Microsoft did Finally Come to
Their Senses, and Changed my Windows Vista Beta Test Status from Declined
to Active, so I am not a Windows Vista Pirate, I acquired Build 5536 The
Legal Way, Just FYI.

"MICHAEL" wrote in message
...
http://www.winsupersite.com/reviews/winvista_5536.asp

Windows Vista Build 5536 Review
And just like that, we can suddenly see the light at the end of the
tunnel. All of our hopes, all of our worries, all of whatever feelings we
may have for Windows Vista are hanging on the edge of a precipice. Will
they ship it on time? Will they ever ship it? Does it even matter?

Increasingly, the actual ship date for Windows Vista does not matter, but
not for the reasons you may suspect. Microsoft will ship Windows Vista
exactly when they want to, according to the schedule they previously laid
out. They're not delaying it any further, and after releasing the product
to manufacturing in late October 2006, businesses can expect to get it
via volume licensing in November, followed by consumers and general
availability in late January 2007.

Before any of that can happen, however, we have a final milestone to
cross. It's called Release Candidate 1 (RC1) and I expect to be writing a
lengthy review of that build--currently slated as build 5552, though of
course these things change regularly on an ongoing basis--sometime in
about two weeks. For now, however, we have the next best thing, a pre-RC1
interim build, 5536, that offers a peak at many of the best changes
Microsoft has made to Windows Vista since the lackluster Beta 2 build.
Windows Vista build 5536, by contrast, is a humdinger.

I've been like a bipolar pit bull when it comes to Windows Vista lately.
Some builds have been fantastic (at least compared to what came
previously). Some have been positively embarrassingly bad. I just spent
the past three weeks in France with two Windows Vista-based notebooks and
it was like being imprisoned with vipers in the dark: I never knew when I
was going to be bit. Windows Vista build 5472, the previous milestone
testers received, was, shall we say, performance challenged. There were
weird issues deleting desktop files. There was a Recent Items entry in
the Start Menu that, curiously, did not actually contain recently
accessed items. It was, in short, a bit disappointing.

Windows Vista build 5536, again, is a humdinger.

What's new in build 5536?
So what's new in 5536, you ask? Performance is better, even much better.
(Though the three times performance improvement baloney you might have
read elsewhere is not only impossible but untrue.) It does a much better
job of finding and correctly installing device drivers: On my main
desktop, even the sound driver worked automatically after the first
Windows Update run, a first.

Microsoft's fledgling Windows Live services have been integrated,
annoyingly, into the system. On the good news front, this "integration"
isn't as technically silly as what the company did earlier with such
components as Internet Explorer and Windows Messenger. But it is equally
annoying.

Instead of installing various Windows Live components by default--which
would have been a bad move, not just for antitrust reasons, but because
of their constantly updating nature--Microsoft is including numerous
shortcuts to various Windows Live services throughout the system. In
Welcome Center, for example, there is a new "Offers from Microsoft"
section that includes no fewer than seven icons for Microsoft services,
five of which are Windows Live services: "Go online to learn about
Windows Live," "Download Windows Live Toolbar," "Sign up for Windows Live
OneCare" (which, naturally, doesn't work during the beta anyway), "Go
online to Windows Marketplace," "Download Windows Live Mail Desktop,"
"Download Windows Live Messenger," and "Sign up online for technical
support."

Additionally, there is an item called "Windows Live Messenger Download"
right in the default Start Menu. As expected, clicking this item launches
Internet Explorer, which navigates to the Windows Live Messenger download
page online. Unexpectedly, once you download and install Windows Live
Messenger, the "Windows Live Messenger Download" link remains in your
Start Menu. Silly.

And speaking of Internet Explorer, the most annoying aspect of the
Windows Live integration in Vista occurs in everyone's favorite new Web
browser: My default, IE 7 launches with two home pages, one in each tab.
The first and topmost home page is MSN.com, just like before. But the
secondary page displays the Windows Live Search site. Big deal, right?
The problem is that by opening two tabs at startup, Microsoft is ensuring
that most users--i.e. "normal people"--will see an annoying "Do you want
to close all tabs?" alert dialog every time they close IE. That's just
wrong.

(This isn't really notable per se, but IE's About dialog still uses the
"Internet Explorer 7+" naming that Microsoft says it is dropping.)

User Account Control (UAC) has been dramatically improved and let me be
among the first to throw out a hearty "thank you" to the UAC team for
that. Now, instead of the stunningly annoying "pop" that used to occur
every time one of the UAC alert dialogs appeared, the transition is
smooth and there is a soft, almost enjoyable, beep sound. This is
literally the first time I didn't reach for the "remove UAC" option after
installing a recent Vista build. Bravo.

Special shell folders like Documents, Pictures, Favorites, and Music (but
not, curiously, the still second rate Videos) are now color coded in
greenish blue to differentiate them from other folders (which are still
yellowish). Saved searches are also differentiated, using a soft blue
color.

Windows Update now prompts you to install Microsoft Update so that you
can get updates for other Microsoft products, like Microsoft Office,
directly through Windows Update. If you click on this link, you're
brought to a Web page, which you have to click a single OK box, and then
you're done. Simple.

There's a new shortcut to the Program Compatibility Wizard on the
desktop, so you can try and make Vista-unaware applications work
properly. Microsoft warns, however, that you should not use this
wizard-based application with older virus detection, backup, or system
programs. The problem is, many users won't understand what that means.
What, exactly, is a "system" program?

Windows Media Center shows, perhaps, the biggest performance improvement
of any Vista component. The application almost pops to life and, using
the "Express" setup option, can be in use almost immediately. I won't be
trying to put Media Center on my family's Media Center PC again until RC1
hits, but it's clear that something wonderful has happened here.

In the Personalize section of Control Panel, there are a number of major
improvements. First, when you right-click the desktop, you'll see that
the Personalize option has a new icon next to it, making it more
prominent and obvious. In Windows Color and Appearance, the default color
schemes now have simple color names (Default, Graphite, Blue, Teal, Red,
Orange, Pink, and, my favorite, Frost). In Desktop Background, all of the
background types (Black and White, Light Auras, etc.) are together in a
single list; you no longer have to choose between each type.

As I had hoped, Microsoft augmented the Windows Aero mouse pointer with
large and extra large variants. Now if they could just ship black
versions too, it would be perfect.

The "shield" icon you see in the system tray for Windows Security Alerts
can now be colored yellow or red, depending on the level of warning it's
trying to communicate. For example, the lack of virus protection now
rates a yellow warning, and not the more risky red alert.

There's probably more, but I don't want to take away too much from my
upcoming RC1 review, and to be fair, I've only been working with the
build since last night. (Too, I just spent an entire day traveling back
from France, so I hope it's understandable that this is necessarily
short.)

Conclusions
There's no doubt about it: Windows Vista has taken too long to ship, and
the first major milestone that Microsoft shipped to the public, Beta 2,
was a disappointment. Since then, the company has shipped three promising
interim builds to testers. The latest one, build 5536, an RC1 escrow
build, is simply wonderful. If this build represents the quality,
performance, and functionality that users can expect to see in RC1 and
the final release, then Microsoft will have gone a long way towards
making up for its mistakes and miscalculations. My only question is why
we had to wait so long to see a build this good. If you can get your
hands on 5536, enjoy it. If not, RC1 will be publicly available. Either
way, you likely won't be disappointed.

--Paul Thurrott
August 25-26, 2006


--
Michael
______
"The trouble ain't that there is too many fools,
but that the lightning ain't distributed right."
- Mark Twain

Maybe the anti-virus thingy?

wrote in message
...
And, I completely disagree with PT's Review of Windows Vista Build 5536, Just FYI.

WTF are you talking about? Paul said,
"The latest one, build 5536, an
RC1 escrow build, is simply wonderful."

You think 5536 sucks?

P.S. Windows Vista Build 5536 is 100% Stable on my Dell XPS 600, Just FYI.

That's lovely.

P.P.S. In Response to Your Earlier Post, Microsoft did Finally Come to Their Senses, and
Changed my Windows Vista Beta Test Status from Declined to Active, so I am not a Windows
Vista Pirate, I acquired Build 5536 The Legal Way, Just FYI.

My "earlier post"? WTF are you talking about?

Please, if you really do have some mental problem-
take your medication and/or tell to your doctor that
you are having severe problems.

I have a cousin that is mentally retarded and acts
far better than you do.


--
Michael
______
"The trouble ain't that there is too many fools,
but that the lightning ain't distributed right."
- Mark Twain

I did not read the Whole Story before I replied, but I did notice the
following: "Windows Vista build 5536, by contrast, is a humdinger." That
is the Statement that I disagree with. Sorry, but, I must have mistaken you
with Somebody Else's Post, Just FYI.

"MICHAEL" wrote in message
...

wrote in message
...
And, I completely disagree with PT's Review of Windows Vista Build 5536,
Just FYI.

WTF are you talking about? Paul said,
"The latest one, build 5536, an
RC1 escrow build, is simply wonderful."

You think 5536 sucks?

P.S. Windows Vista Build 5536 is 100% Stable on my Dell XPS 600, Just
FYI.

That's lovely.

P.P.S. In Response to Your Earlier Post, Microsoft did Finally Come to
Their Senses, and Changed my Windows Vista Beta Test Status from Declined
to Active, so I am not a Windows Vista Pirate, I acquired Build 5536 The
Legal Way, Just FYI.

My "earlier post"? WTF are you talking about?

Please, if you really do have some mental problem-
take your medication and/or tell to your doctor that
you are having severe problems.

I have a cousin that is mentally retarded and acts
far better than you do.


--
Michael
______
"The trouble ain't that there is too many fools,
but that the lightning ain't distributed right."
- Mark Twain

Not even Windows Live Safety Scanner works with Build 5536, so that must be
it. Bug Report will be filed shortly, Just FYI.

"deebs" wrote in message
...
Maybe the anti-virus thingy?

I Just got my MSDN Official Reply From Andy Boyd in the MSDN Public
Newsgroup, and it looks like MSDN and Microsoft Tech Net Plus Tester's Will
Have to Wait Until RC1 Comes Out in a Few Weeks, Just FYI. Sorry Jason.

wrote in message
news
I would further note that I see no reason why MSDN and Tech Net Plus Should
Not get this Build, Just FYI.

Would somebody care to explain to me why Build 5536 Should Not be
Designated RC1?

Is there some type of Show Stopper Bug in Build 5536? I certainly have
Not Found it yet, Just FYI.

wrote in message
...
And, I completely disagree with PT's Review of Windows Vista Build 5536,
Just FYI.

P.S. Windows Vista Build 5536 is 100% Stable on my Dell XPS 600, Just
FYI.

P.P.S. In Response to Your Earlier Post, Microsoft did Finally Come to
Their Senses, and Changed my Windows Vista Beta Test Status from Declined
to Active, so I am not a Windows Vista Pirate, I acquired Build 5536 The
Legal Way, Just FYI.

"MICHAEL" wrote in message
...
http://www.winsupersite.com/reviews/winvista_5536.asp

Windows Vista Build 5536 Review
And just like that, we can suddenly see the light at the end of the
tunnel. All of our hopes, all of our worries, all of whatever feelings
we may have for Windows Vista are hanging on the edge of a precipice.
Will they ship it on time? Will they ever ship it? Does it even matter?

Increasingly, the actual ship date for Windows Vista does not matter,
but not for the reasons you may suspect. Microsoft will ship Windows
Vista exactly when they want to, according to the schedule they
previously laid out. They're not delaying it any further, and after
releasing the product to manufacturing in late October 2006, businesses
can expect to get it via volume licensing in November, followed by
consumers and general availability in late January 2007.

Before any of that can happen, however, we have a final milestone to
cross. It's called Release Candidate 1 (RC1) and I expect to be writing
a lengthy review of that build--currently slated as build 5552, though
of course these things change regularly on an ongoing basis--sometime in
about two weeks. For now, however, we have the next best thing, a
pre-RC1 interim build, 5536, that offers a peak at many of the best
changes Microsoft has made to Windows Vista since the lackluster Beta 2
build.
Windows Vista build 5536, by contrast, is a humdinger.

I've been like a bipolar pit bull when it comes to Windows Vista lately.
Some builds have been fantastic (at least compared to what came
previously). Some have been positively embarrassingly bad. I just spent
the past three weeks in France with two Windows Vista-based notebooks
and it was like being imprisoned with vipers in the dark: I never knew
when I was going to be bit. Windows Vista build 5472, the previous
milestone testers received, was, shall we say, performance challenged.
There were weird issues deleting desktop files. There was a Recent Items
entry in the Start Menu that, curiously, did not actually contain
recently accessed items. It was, in short, a bit disappointing.

Windows Vista build 5536, again, is a humdinger.

What's new in build 5536?
So what's new in 5536, you ask? Performance is better, even much better.
(Though the three times performance improvement baloney you might have
read elsewhere is not only impossible but untrue.) It does a much better
job of finding and correctly installing device drivers: On my main
desktop, even the sound driver worked automatically after the first
Windows Update run, a first.

Microsoft's fledgling Windows Live services have been integrated,
annoyingly, into the system. On the good news front, this "integration"
isn't as technically silly as what the company did earlier with such
components as Internet Explorer and Windows Messenger. But it is equally
annoying.

Instead of installing various Windows Live components by default--which
would have been a bad move, not just for antitrust reasons, but because
of their constantly updating nature--Microsoft is including numerous
shortcuts to various Windows Live services throughout the system. In
Welcome Center, for example, there is a new "Offers from Microsoft"
section that includes no fewer than seven icons for Microsoft services,
five of which are Windows Live services: "Go online to learn about
Windows Live," "Download Windows Live Toolbar," "Sign up for Windows
Live OneCare" (which, naturally, doesn't work during the beta anyway),
"Go online to Windows Marketplace," "Download Windows Live Mail
Desktop," "Download Windows Live Messenger," and "Sign up online for
technical support."

Additionally, there is an item called "Windows Live Messenger Download"
right in the default Start Menu. As expected, clicking this item
launches Internet Explorer, which navigates to the Windows Live
Messenger download page online. Unexpectedly, once you download and
install Windows Live Messenger, the "Windows Live Messenger Download"
link remains in your Start Menu. Silly.

And speaking of Internet Explorer, the most annoying aspect of the
Windows Live integration in Vista occurs in everyone's favorite new Web
browser: My default, IE 7 launches with two home pages, one in each tab.
The first and topmost home page is MSN.com, just like before. But the
secondary page displays the Windows Live Search site. Big deal, right?
The problem is that by opening two tabs at startup, Microsoft is
ensuring that most users--i.e. "normal people"--will see an annoying "Do
you want to close all tabs?" alert dialog every time they close IE.
That's just wrong.

(This isn't really notable per se, but IE's About dialog still uses the
"Internet Explorer 7+" naming that Microsoft says it is dropping.)

User Account Control (UAC) has been dramatically improved and let me be
among the first to throw out a hearty "thank you" to the UAC team for
that. Now, instead of the stunningly annoying "pop" that used to occur
every time one of the UAC alert dialogs appeared, the transition is
smooth and there is a soft, almost enjoyable, beep sound. This is
literally the first time I didn't reach for the "remove UAC" option
after installing a recent Vista build. Bravo.

Special shell folders like Documents, Pictures, Favorites, and Music
(but not, curiously, the still second rate Videos) are now color coded
in greenish blue to differentiate them from other folders (which are
still yellowish). Saved searches are also differentiated, using a soft
blue color.

Windows Update now prompts you to install Microsoft Update so that you
can get updates for other Microsoft products, like Microsoft Office,
directly through Windows Update. If you click on this link, you're
brought to a Web page, which you have to click a single OK box, and then
you're done. Simple.

There's a new shortcut to the Program Compatibility Wizard on the
desktop, so you can try and make Vista-unaware applications work
properly. Microsoft warns, however, that you should not use this
wizard-based application with older virus detection, backup, or system
programs. The problem is, many users won't understand what that means.
What, exactly, is a "system" program?

Windows Media Center shows, perhaps, the biggest performance improvement
of any Vista component. The application almost pops to life and, using
the "Express" setup option, can be in use almost immediately. I won't be
trying to put Media Center on my family's Media Center PC again until
RC1 hits, but it's clear that something wonderful has happened here.

In the Personalize section of Control Panel, there are a number of major
improvements. First, when you right-click the desktop, you'll see that
the Personalize option has a new icon next to it, making it more
prominent and obvious. In Windows Color and Appearance, the default
color schemes now have simple color names (Default, Graphite, Blue,
Teal, Red, Orange, Pink, and, my favorite, Frost). In Desktop
Background, all of the background types (Black and White, Light Auras,
etc.) are together in a single list; you no longer have to choose
between each type.

As I had hoped, Microsoft augmented the Windows Aero mouse pointer with
large and extra large variants. Now if they could just ship black
versions too, it would be perfect.

The "shield" icon you see in the system tray for Windows Security Alerts
can now be colored yellow or red, depending on the level of warning it's
trying to communicate. For example, the lack of virus protection now
rates a yellow warning, and not the more risky red alert.

There's probably more, but I don't want to take away too much from my
upcoming RC1 review, and to be fair, I've only been working with the
build since last night. (Too, I just spent an entire day traveling back
from France, so I hope it's understandable that this is necessarily
short.)

Conclusions
There's no doubt about it: Windows Vista has taken too long to ship, and
the first major milestone that Microsoft shipped to the public, Beta 2,
was a disappointment. Since then, the company has shipped three
promising interim builds to testers. The latest one, build 5536, an RC1
escrow build, is simply wonderful. If this build represents the quality,
performance, and functionality that users can expect to see in RC1 and
the final release, then Microsoft will have gone a long way towards
making up for its mistakes and miscalculations. My only question is why
we had to wait so long to see a build this good. If you can get your
hands on 5536, enjoy it. If not, RC1 will be publicly available. Either
way, you likely won't be disappointed.

--Paul Thurrott
August 25-26, 2006


--
Michael
______
"The trouble ain't that there is too many fools,
but that the lightning ain't distributed right."
- Mark Twain

It really doesn't bother me that they didn't release this build to TechNet Plus or MSDN. Unlike you, I can wait for RC1 instead of crying about every little build that I do not have access to.
wrote in message ...
I Just got my MSDN Official Reply From Andy Boyd in the MSDN Public
Newsgroup, and it looks like MSDN and Microsoft Tech Net Plus Tester's Will
Have to Wait Until RC1 Comes Out in a Few Weeks, Just FYI. Sorry Jason.

wrote in message
news
I would further note that I see no reason why MSDN and Tech Net Plus Should
Not get this Build, Just FYI.

Would somebody care to explain to me why Build 5536 Should Not be
Designated RC1?

Is there some type of Show Stopper Bug in Build 5536? I certainly have
Not Found it yet, Just FYI.

wrote in message
...
And, I completely disagree with PT's Review of Windows Vista Build 5536,
Just FYI.

P.S. Windows Vista Build 5536 is 100% Stable on my Dell XPS 600, Just
FYI.

P.P.S. In Response to Your Earlier Post, Microsoft did Finally Come to
Their Senses, and Changed my Windows Vista Beta Test Status from Declined
to Active, so I am not a Windows Vista Pirate, I acquired Build 5536 The
Legal Way, Just FYI.

"MICHAEL" wrote in message
...
http://www.winsupersite.com/reviews/winvista_5536.asp

Windows Vista Build 5536 Review
And just like that, we can suddenly see the light at the end of the
tunnel. All of our hopes, all of our worries, all of whatever feelings
we may have for Windows Vista are hanging on the edge of a precipice.
Will they ship it on time? Will they ever ship it? Does it even matter?

Increasingly, the actual ship date for Windows Vista does not matter,
but not for the reasons you may suspect. Microsoft will ship Windows
Vista exactly when they want to, according to the schedule they
previously laid out. They're not delaying it any further, and after
releasing the product to manufacturing in late October 2006, businesses
can expect to get it via volume licensing in November, followed by
consumers and general availability in late January 2007.

Before any of that can happen, however, we have a final milestone to
cross. It's called Release Candidate 1 (RC1) and I expect to be writing
a lengthy review of that build--currently slated as build 5552, though
of course these things change regularly on an ongoing basis--sometime in
about two weeks. For now, however, we have the next best thing, a
pre-RC1 interim build, 5536, that offers a peak at many of the best
changes Microsoft has made to Windows Vista since the lackluster Beta 2
build.
Windows Vista build 5536, by contrast, is a humdinger.

I've been like a bipolar pit bull when it comes to Windows Vista lately.
Some builds have been fantastic (at least compared to what came
previously). Some have been positively embarrassingly bad. I just spent
the past three weeks in France with two Windows Vista-based notebooks
and it was like being imprisoned with vipers in the dark: I never knew
when I was going to be bit. Windows Vista build 5472, the previous
milestone testers received, was, shall we say, performance challenged.
There were weird issues deleting desktop files. There was a Recent Items
entry in the Start Menu that, curiously, did not actually contain
recently accessed items. It was, in short, a bit disappointing.

Windows Vista build 5536, again, is a humdinger.

What's new in build 5536?
So what's new in 5536, you ask? Performance is better, even much better.
(Though the three times performance improvement baloney you might have
read elsewhere is not only impossible but untrue.) It does a much better
job of finding and correctly installing device drivers: On my main
desktop, even the sound driver worked automatically after the first
Windows Update run, a first.

Microsoft's fledgling Windows Live services have been integrated,
annoyingly, into the system. On the good news front, this "integration"
isn't as technically silly as what the company did earlier with such
components as Internet Explorer and Windows Messenger. But it is equally
annoying.

Instead of installing various Windows Live components by default--which
would have been a bad move, not just for antitrust reasons, but because
of their constantly updating nature--Microsoft is including numerous
shortcuts to various Windows Live services throughout the system. In
Welcome Center, for example, there is a new "Offers from Microsoft"
section that includes no fewer than seven icons for Microsoft services,
five of which are Windows Live services: "Go online to learn about
Windows Live," "Download Windows Live Toolbar," "Sign up for Windows
Live OneCare" (which, naturally, doesn't work during the beta anyway),
"Go online to Windows Marketplace," "Download Windows Live Mail
Desktop," "Download Windows Live Messenger," and "Sign up online for
technical support."

Additionally, there is an item called "Windows Live Messenger Download"
right in the default Start Menu. As expected, clicking this item
launches Internet Explorer, which navigates to the Windows Live
Messenger download page online. Unexpectedly, once you download and
install Windows Live Messenger, the "Windows Live Messenger Download"
link remains in your Start Menu. Silly.

And speaking of Internet Explorer, the most annoying aspect of the
Windows Live integration in Vista occurs in everyone's favorite new Web
browser: My default, IE 7 launches with two home pages, one in each tab.
The first and topmost home page is MSN.com, just like before. But the
secondary page displays the Windows Live Search site. Big deal, right?
The problem is that by opening two tabs at startup, Microsoft is
ensuring that most users--i.e. "normal people"--will see an annoying "Do
you want to close all tabs?" alert dialog every time they close IE.
That's just wrong.

(This isn't really notable per se, but IE's About dialog still uses the
"Internet Explorer 7+" naming that Microsoft says it is dropping.)

User Account Control (UAC) has been dramatically improved and let me be
among the first to throw out a hearty "thank you" to the UAC team for
that. Now, instead of the stunningly annoying "pop" that used to occur
every time one of the UAC alert dialogs appeared, the transition is
smooth and there is a soft, almost enjoyable, beep sound. This is
literally the first time I didn't reach for the "remove UAC" option
after installing a recent Vista build. Bravo.

Special shell folders like Documents, Pictures, Favorites, and Music
(but not, curiously, the still second rate Videos) are now color coded
in greenish blue to differentiate them from other folders (which are
still yellowish). Saved searches are also differentiated, using a soft
blue color.

Windows Update now prompts you to install Microsoft Update so that you
can get updates for other Microsoft products, like Microsoft Office,
directly through Windows Update. If you click on this link, you're
brought to a Web page, which you have to click a single OK box, and then
you're done. Simple.

There's a new shortcut to the Program Compatibility Wizard on the
desktop, so you can try and make Vista-unaware applications work
properly. Microsoft warns, however, that you should not use this
wizard-based application with older virus detection, backup, or system
programs. The problem is, many users won't understand what that means.
What, exactly, is a "system" program?

Windows Media Center shows, perhaps, the biggest performance improvement
of any Vista component. The application almost pops to life and, using
the "Express" setup option, can be in use almost immediately. I won't be
trying to put Media Center on my family's Media Center PC again until
RC1 hits, but it's clear that something wonderful has happened here.

In the Personalize section of Control Panel, there are a number of major
improvements. First, when you right-click the desktop, you'll see that
the Personalize option has a new icon next to it, making it more
prominent and obvious. In Windows Color and Appearance, the default
color schemes now have simple color names (Default, Graphite, Blue,
Teal, Red, Orange, Pink, and, my favorite, Frost). In Desktop
Background, all of the background types (Black and White, Light Auras,
etc.) are together in a single list; you no longer have to choose
between each type.

As I had hoped, Microsoft augmented the Windows Aero mouse pointer with
large and extra large variants. Now if they could just ship black
versions too, it would be perfect.

The "shield" icon you see in the system tray for Windows Security Alerts
can now be colored yellow or red, depending on the level of warning it's
trying to communicate. For example, the lack of virus protection now
rates a yellow warning, and not the more risky red alert.

There's probably more, but I don't want to take away too much from my
upcoming RC1 review, and to be fair, I've only been working with the
build since last night. (Too, I just spent an entire day traveling back
from France, so I hope it's understandable that this is necessarily
short.)

Conclusions
There's no doubt about it: Windows Vista has taken too long to ship, and
the first major milestone that Microsoft shipped to the public, Beta 2,
was a disappointment. Since then, the company has shipped three
promising interim builds to testers. The latest one, build 5536, an RC1
escrow build, is simply wonderful. If this build represents the quality,
performance, and functionality that users can expect to see in RC1 and
the final release, then Microsoft will have gone a long way towards
making up for its mistakes and miscalculations. My only question is why
we had to wait so long to see a build this good. If you can get your
hands on 5536, enjoy it. If not, RC1 will be publicly available. Either
way, you likely won't be disappointed.

--Paul Thurrott
August 25-26, 2006


--
Michael
______
"The trouble ain't that there is too many fools,
but that the lightning ain't distributed right."
- Mark Twain