Windows Vista

Windows Vista

File:Vista5342.png Windows Vista Build 5342 Desktop
Developer	Microsoft
OS family	Windows NT
Working state	Beta
Source model	Closed source
Kernel type	Hybrid kernel
Default user interface	Graphical user interface
License	Microsoft EULA
Official website	Windows Vista

Windows Vista is the scheduled next version of Microsoft Windows operating system, superseding Windows XP. It was previously known by its codename Longhorn, after the Longhorn Saloon, a popular bar (pub) in Whistler, British Columbia. The name "Vista" was unveiled on July 22 2005. According to Microsoft, the scheduled release date for Windows Vista is currently November 2006 for business editions, and January 2007 for consumer editions

The next planned CTP is expected in late May 2006; this will be the next CTP on the Beta 2 track, and it has been suggested that it will be available through Microsoft's Customer Preview Program — essentially a free download. Microsoft's roadmap also indicates that the current planned "release to manufacturing" date is on or before October 25 2006.

Editions

On February 26 2006, Microsoft announced that Windows Vista will ship in six editions. All versions, will be available in both 32-bit and 64-bit x86 architectures, except Windows Vista Starter which will only be available in 32-bit. The following table details the various editions and the features that each will offer. There is more information about the release of Windows Vista at the official website.

A partial table of the features planned for each edition is available at WinSuperSite.

Edition	Description	Availability Restriction
Windows Vista Starter	Much like the Windows XP Starter Edition, this edition will be limited to emerging markets mainly to offer a legal alternative to using unauthorized copies. It will be severely limited, for example only allowing a user to launch at most three applications at once. This is the only edition that will not support 64-bit processors.	Emerging markets
Windows Vista Home Basic	Similar to Windows XP Home Edition for budget users not requiring advanced media support for home use. The "Aero Glass" theme will not be included with this version, however there will be an aero interface with no transparency.
Windows Vista Home Premium	Based on the Windows Vista Home Basic, this edition will additionally support more advanced features aimed for the home market segment, such as HDTV support and DVD authoring. This edition will be comparable to a Windows XP Home edition combined with features from the Windows XP Media Center Edition and some additional features.
Windows Vista Business	Comparable to Windows XP Professional, and aimed at the business market. Adding support for Windows Server domains, which all Home editions will lack. This edition will be bundled with a new version of the IIS (Internet Information Services) web server.
Windows Vista Enterprise	This edition is aimed at the enterprise segment of the market, and functions like a superset of the Business edition, this edition will among other things ship with Microsoft's Virtual PC system virtualization software, and a multilingual user interface. This edition will not be available through retail or OEMs.	Software Assurance
Windows Vista Ultimate	This edition will work as a superset of the Home and Business editions and additionally come with podcasting support—which Microsoft has renamed "blogcasting"—a game performance tweaker (code-named WinSAT), DVD ripping capabilities, and possibly supporting special online services for downloadable media, as well as additional customer service options. The Ultimate edition is aimed to be the most impressive edition of Vista, aimed for high-end PC users, gamers, multimedia professionals, and PC enthusiasts.

"Home Basic N" and "Business N" editions of Windows Vista will additionally be available in the European Union countries. These editions will ship without Windows Media Player, as required by sanctions brought against Microsoft for violating anti-trust laws.

The three retail editions (Home Basic, Home Premium, and Ultimate) of Windows Vista will ship on the same DVD. The features of the Home Premium and Ultimate editions may be "unlocked" at any time by purchasing a one-time upgrade license through a Control Panel tool called Windows Anytime Upgrade. Such licenses will be sold by Microsoft's partners and OEMs, but not directly by Microsoft.

New features

Main article: Features new to Windows Vista

Windows Vista has a long list of new features, changes, and improvements. Neither the final feature set nor the extent to which the different editions would contain different features has been fully clarified as of February 2006.

End-user features

File:Desktop gadgets.PNG

Microsoft Desktop Gadgets running on the Windows Vista Desktop.

• User Account Control is a new security technology that allows Windows to operate effectively as a "standard" user with the least privileges, which was often a difficult thing to do in previous versions of Windows because the previous "limited" user accounts proved too restrictive.
• Aero: a re-designed user interface, code-named Aero – an acronym (or backronym) for Authentic, Energetic, Reflective, and Open. The new interface is intended to be cleaner and more aesthetically pleasing than previous Windows, including new transparencies, animations and eye candy.
• Windows Shell: The new Windows shell is significantly different from Windows XP, offering a new range of organization and search capabilities. The Start menu has changed as well; it no longer uses ever-expanding boxes when navigating through Programs. Even the word "Start" itself has been removed in favour of a blue Windows "Pearl".
• Search: significantly faster and more thorough search capabilities, similar to what is offered by Microsoft's own Windows Desktop Search, Copernic, and Apple Computer's Spotlight. Search boxes have been added to the Start menu, Windows Explorer, and several of the applications included with Vista.
• Windows Sidebar: A new panel on the right-hand side of the screen where a user can place Desktop Gadgets, which are small applets designed for a specialized purpose (such as displaying the weather or sports scores). The gadgets can also be placed on other parts of the desktop, if desired.
• Windows SideShow: Enables the auxiliary displays on newer laptops or on supported Windows Mobile devices. It is meant to be used to display device gadgets while the computer is on or off.
• Windows Defender: Microsoft's Anti-spyware product has been incorporated into Windows, offering protection against spyware and other threats. Changes to various system configuration settings (such as new auto-starting applications) are blocked unless the user gives consent. New version uses Windows Automatic Updates, and is compatible with the limited account.
• Windows Mail: A replacement for Outlook Express that includes a completely replaced mail store that improves stability, and real-time searching. A number of features from Outlook 2003 are also included, most notably spam filtering.
• Windows Update: Software and security updates have been simplified, now operating solely via a control panel instead of as a web application. Mail's spam filter and Defender's definitions will also be automatically updated via Windows Update.
• Vista includes a range of parental controls to limit when accounts may be used, what programs and web sites are blocked, and monitoring capabilities.
• Speech recognition is fully integrated into Vista, which can be "trained" to understand a user's voice, to activate commands in any Windows application, and to enable voice dictation.
• Internet Explorer is upgraded with support for tabbed browsing, RSS, a search box, a phishing filter, IDN with anti-spoofing technology and improved standards support. ActiveX controls are disabled by default. Also, Internet Explorer will operate in a "protected mode" sandbox which operates with lower permissions than the user, preventing it from accessing or modifying anything besides the Temporary Internet Files directory. IE7 is no longer integrated with the explorer shell for a better security (Local files typed in IE7 are opened using the explorer shell and Web sites typed in explorer shell are opened using IE7).
• Many new fonts, including several designed especially for screen reading, and a new high-quality Japanese font. See Windows Vista typefaces.
• Windows Calendar is a new calendar and task application.
• Windows Photo Gallery, a photo and movie library management application. WPG can import from digital cameras, tag and rate individual items, adjust colors and exposure, create and display slideshows (with pan and fade effects), and burn slideshows to DVD.
• Windows Media Player 11, an updated version of Microsoft's popular program for playing and organizing music and videos. New features in this version include word-wheeling (or "search as you type"), an intuitive and highly graphical interface for the media library, and the ability to easily share music libraries over a network.
• Windows DVD Maker, a companion program to Windows Movie Maker, which provides the ability to create video DVDs based on a user's content.
• Windows Collaboration is the replacement for NetMeeting. Users can share applications (or their entire desktop) with other users on the local network, or over the Internet using peer-to-peer technology.
• Games: Every game included with Windows has been rewritten to take advantage of Vista's new graphics capabilities. New games include Chess, Mahjong Titans, Purble Place, and Hold 'Em. The Games section will also hold links and information to all games on the user's computer. One piece of information that will be shown is the game's ESRB rating.
• Touch-screen support will be included.
• SuperFetch, which will speed up the loading of programs and windows by storing files and programs in memory. Optionally, Superfetch can also use USB 2.0 flash memory drives to cache data for faster access. Though flash memory drives are not as fast as RAM, they have faster access times, and a higher read speed, than magnetic hard disk drives.

Core technologies

Windows Vista is intended to be a technology-based release, to provide a solid base to include advanced technologies, many of which will be related to how the system functions, and hence not readily visible to the user.

• Improved memory manager, processes scheduler and I/O with I/O asynchronous cancellation. Rewritten many kernel structure data and algorithms.
• System services are in a separated and isolated session. User processes are in another session.
• Completely rearchitected audio, print, display and networking stacks.
• Native IPv6 stack, which also works with IPv4, eliminating the need for dual stack network architecture.
• A number of new security measures including BitLocker Drive Encryption
• The new Kernel Transaction Manager enables atomic transaction operations across different types of objects, most significantly file system (Transactional NTFS) and registry operations.
• Deadlock Detection Technology is a new technology that will prevent many common causes of hangs and crashes and determines if a hang is due to a deadlock condition

Business technologies

While much of the focus of Vista's new capabilities will be centered on the new user interface, Microsoft is also adding a large number of new features to make a compelling case for businesses still running Windows NT, 2000, and XP desktops.

Developer technologies

Microsoft labels the new key technologies in this version of Windows as "The Pillars of Vista", collectively known as WinFX:

• Presentation: the Windows Presentation Foundation or WPF, formerly code-named Avalon; a new user interface subsystem and API based on XML, .NET, and vector graphics, which will make use of 3D computer graphics hardware and Direct3D technologies. See Windows Graphics Foundation.
• Communication: the Windows Communication Foundation or WCF, formerly code-named Indigo; a service-oriented messaging system which allows programs to interoperate locally or remotely similar to web services.
• Workflow: the Windows Workflow Foundation or WF; was announced in August 2005, and allows task automation and integrated transactions using workflows.

WinFX is a set of technologies that Microsoft is intending to make available for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003, and are therefore not technologies exclusive to Vista, but rather developed in time for the Vista release. Allowing an easier introduction of these technologies to developers and end users may be a reason for backporting them.

There are also significant new development API's in the core of the operating system, notably the inclusion of the .NET Framework, completely re-architected audio, networking, print, and video interfaces, major changes to the security infrastructure, improvements to the deployment and installation of applications ("ClickOnce" and Windows Installer 4.0), new device driver development model ("Windows Driver Foundation"), Transactional NTFS, and major updates to many sub-systems such as GINA and CAPI.

Features delayed

• WinFS is the codename for a planned relational database layer built on top of NTFS, and is loosely based on SQL Server 2005. In August 2004, Microsoft announced that WinFS would not be included in Windows Vista. This was due to time constraints in developing the technology; Microsoft will probably release WinFS in 2007 as an update. Microsoft has been working on this technology since the mid 1990s.
• Due to scheduling issues, the Windows Command Shell (MSH), code-named Monad will not be included in Windows Vista. However, it will likely be available for download by the time Vista is available.
• Owing to significant difficulties in getting third-party developers to support the system (particularily due to the lack of support for writing for the Trusted Operating Root using .NET managed code), the Next-Generation Secure Computing Base architecture was abandoned for Windows Vista.[1] Some aspects of the NGSCB initiative, such as support for Trusted Platform Module chips, are still present, though its role is now limited to being a provider of cryptographic functions.
• Support for Intel's Extensible Firmware Interface was originally slated to be included with Vista, but has been removed due to what Microsoft has described as a lack of support on desktop computers. EFI support is still slated for Windows Server "Longhorn".

Hardware requirements

System

Microsoft has not released final details of Windows Vista's hardware requirements; however, Microsoft has released some preliminary Windows Vista Ready PC Hardware requirements for those wishing to upgrade to Windows Vista and have the full Aero Glass experience. These requirements apply to Beta 1, and are subject to change.

• CPU: x86-compatible 32-bit or x64-compatible 64-bit microprocessor(s) (Dual Core systems will be supported)
• Motherboard: ACPI-compatible firmware is required.
• Memory: At least 512 megabytes (Encouraged to use ECC memory [2])
• Graphics Card: A DirectX 9–compatible GPU that is capable of supporting Windows Vista Display Driver Model (WVDDM) (only needed for aero glass) and has 64 megabytes of VRAM
• Hard Drive space: At least 1.5 gigabytes for installation files, possibly more, depending on the version of Windows Vista

The following requirement is not applicable to beta 1, but has widely been reported to be applicable to the final version.

• Display: Copy-restricted high-definition digital content, such as next-generation HD DVD movies, will be displayed at a reduced resolution of 480p (DVD quality) or 540p, unless viewed on a High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP)-compatible monitor. Very few existing displays and no retail video cards are compliant with this standard. [3][4][5]

Graphics

Vista's graphics requirements are defined in relation to the different desktop experiences.

Aero Glass

Aero Glass is built on the new Desktop Compositing Engine, adding support for 3D graphics, translucency, animation and other visual effects.

• Intended for mainstream and high-end graphics cards.
• 64 MB of graphics memory recommended for 1024x768, 128 MB for 1600x1200+.
• At least 32 bits per pixel.
• 3D hardware acceleration with capabilities equal to DirectX 9.0c.
• A memory bandwidth of 2 GB/s, and as much 8 GB/s can be supported.
• Capable of drawing ~1.5 M triangles / second, one window being ~150 triangles.
• A graphics card that uses AGP 8X or PCI Express x16 bus.
• Windows Vista Display Driver Model (WVDDM) Drivers.

It is likely that such a configuration will be an average configuration by Vista's release in 2007. During Vista's early alpha testing stages, the ATI Radeon 9800 Pro and the nVidia GeForce FX 5900 were the only cards compatible with Aero Glass. Since then, support has been extended to most DirectX 9 Graphics cards. At this point, the nVidia FX family and up, and ATI Radeon 9500 and up are supported.

It is possible to disable the Glass translucency effects to improve performance with slower graphics cards.

Aero Glass will not be available in the Starter and Home Basic editions of Vista.

Aero Basic

This interface will be provided in the Home Basic edition of Windows Vista. It will resemble the Aero Glass experience, but will not have the transparencies, animations, and other advanced 3D effects. In addition, it will not support Flip 3D, which is Windows Vista's new 3D program switcher.

Windows Classic

File:Vista-5270-desktop-classic.png

Windows Vista December CTP 5270 in "Windows Classic" mode

The most basic user interface offered by Vista, which is very similar to the appearance of Windows 2000, and Windows XP with its "Luna" visual style deactivated.

• Does not use the new Desktop Compositing Engine; Flip 3D, live window previews, and tearing-free window dragging are therefore not supported.
• Requires Windows XP Display Driver Model (XPDM) or WVDDM drivers.
• Graphics card requirements are the same as Windows 2000.
• An option for corporate deployments and upgrades.

As of build 5308, the Luna visual style does not appear to be present in Windows Vista.

See also

• Features new to Windows Vista
• Development of Windows Vista — includes a history of builds
• Windows Firewall
• Microsoft Office 2007 — Microsoft's next release due from its Office range. Will ship simultaneously or almost simultaneously to Windows Vista.

External links

Microsoft

• Microsoft — 'Microsoft Windows Vista homepage'
• Microsoft PDC05 — 'Archive of PDC 2005 Presentations'
• Microsoft — 'Windows Longhorn Driver Development (and hardware device support)'
• Microsoft Technet — 'Windows Vista Resources for IT Professionals'
• MSDN — 'Microsoft Vista Developer Center'
• WHDC — 'Hardware Design for Windows Vista — News for Driver Developers and Hardware Engineers'

Reviews and screenshots

• NVIDIA — 'Windows Vista Graphics Cards: Info for Consumers and Developers'
• BentUser — 'Early Windows XP and Vista b5270 Side-by-Side'
• Vista Lounge — 'Blog of Complete Vista Experience from original beta installations to present. Includes Screen Shots, Image Gallery and Video clips of Media Center Features (review by Jef Gray for TwistedVista.com)'
• Microsoft 'Windows Vista Virtual Pressroom'
• MSNBC — 'Early look at Windows Vista shows promise (review by Matthew Fordahl for the Associated Press)'
• PC Magazine: Hands On with Windows Vista Beta 1, Build 5231, Build 5270, and Build 5308.
• WinSuperSite — 'Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows: Windows Vista Activity Center'
• GameSpot — 'Windows Vista features overview, multi-part series'
• Ten Reasons to Buy Windows Vista (and "five things that will give you pause")
• Vista-Clarity — 'Drivers and Tweaks'
• ScreenCentral — 'ScreenCentral is a place where you can see screenshots of the latest operating system and products developed by Microsoft'

Critical articles

• Technical Brief: NVIDIA and Microsoft Windows Vista (PDF:850K) 'Getting the Most Out of Microsoft Windows Vista'
• Whitepaper: Windows Vista (PDF: 3MB) 'The First PC Operating System that Requires a GPU to Get the Best Experience'
• CNET 'Hollywood, Microsoft align on new Windows'
• Technology Review 'Will Windows Upgrade Hand Power To Big Media?'
• PC Stats 'Windows Vista, HDCP and Digital Rights Management'

Communities and blogs

• Windows Vista Screencast - Video Preview
• Windows Vista News & Discussion: Windows Vista News & Discussion Site
• Australian Media Center Community: Vista MCE & MCE 2005 Community Website
• channel9.msdn.com — All the Vista videos on Channel9
• Bink.nu — 'Vista related news, blog, and forums'
• LonghornBlogs.com — 'Non-corporate, community-based initiative of Microsoft's next version of Windows'
• MsBetas.org — 'Online community of official and unofficial Microsoft beta testers"
• Teching It Easy — 'Enthusiast website featuring Technology News and Information including strong focus on Windows Vista, news, tips, tricks and reviews'
• WinVistaSecrets.com — 'Windows Vista Online community"
• Windows Vista Geeks — A new blog published in January 2006 that is starting to get involved with Windows Vista and other new products by Microsoft like Office 12 and IE7
• Windows Connected — Windows Vista community featuring original content and interviews with various Vista product teams.
• Vista Articles — 'Windows Vista related news, articles, and screenshots'
• ZackNET VistaBase 'A comprehensive knowledge base for Windows Vista, Longhorn Server, WIE7 and other Longhorn technologies'
• Vista Usenet — 'Archive of Windows Vista usenet groups'
• VistaCentral — 'VistaCentral helping new users learn about Windows Vista and come across new technologies being deployed in Windows Vista.'