Features

You Can be Vociferous about Windows Vista

By Priya George

The new release candidate of Microsoft's next OS shows a lot of promise and only a few remaining glitches. Is it possible Microsoft may get this one right? With Release Candidate 1 now out the door, Microsoft is putting what it calls the 'fit-and-finish' on Windows Vista's user interface, and the company is looking for feedback from users testing out the beta release.

Dave Vronay, a research manager with the Windows User Experience Compliance team, says Microsoft is taking a lot of time to track down minor UI glitches, something it has never done before. "You can actually participate in this process by providing your feedback on the various pre-release versions of Vista we are putting out," says Vronay.

Discussing 'Fit & Finish', Aero Program Manager Vinny Pasceri said, "Many people don’t realise this but these changes come with a surprisingly high 'tax' that goes into updating Icons, changing text, replacing a graphic, etc," he said. According to Pasceri, changes made now go through the following gauntlet:

The change needs to be prepared (text has to be written, graphics designed)
A developer needs to make the change
Someone must verify that the change is correct before the code can be checked into the system
Any localisation changes need to be made
The change needs to be checked to see if it creates Accessibility, High Contrast, and High DPI problems
Any geopolitical issues that the change may cause need to be remedied
The change should be reviewed to ensure that it does not create any legal issues

Microsoft wants to hear what 'Fit & Finish' changes RC1 users think need to be made. The company has created a forum on its shell: revealed site where testers can post their comments.

The comments have already stared to flow in. With some users asking why is there 'so much' wasted space in dialogs and in the Title Bar? They want screen space and request the company to make the title bars thin, or at least provide the option for it in Vista. Another user wants the classic theme to be fixed and he also noticed that Wordpad is still using the old Windows 95 icons in the toolbar. Certain users are rather vehement stating that if Microsoft is still changing UI elements, especially if solicited from the general public, then the current build is 'not' a release candidate.

Work To Be Done

Windows Vista may be closer to release, but it's not quite ready for prime time. Network support for XP-based PCs, for example, remains flaky at best. The computers often do not show up at all in the Network Map or when you're using Windows Explorer, but then for no apparent reason they suddenly appear and disappear again. For example, users had computers showing up in the Network queue when using Windows Explorer, but not in the Network Map.

There are problems with notebooks as well. When some users close the lid on their Dell Inspiron E1505, for example, Vista RC1 won't wake properly from hibernation. They need to unplug it and take out the battery in order to restart.

Beyond that, the Control Panel and its associated categories and applets should be tweaked again. Microsoft has done a good job streamlining all this, particularly with the Networking category and Networking Center. But more could be done to prevent minor confusion. It's unlikely that will happen, though, because Microsoft says that the user interface is done, users said.

For example, in the Network and Internet Control Panel, there is a large icon for Networking and Sharing, and then a text link underneath it, titled 'View network status and tasks.' Clicking on the icon brings you to the Networking and Sharing Centre, as you might expect. But clicking 'View network status and tasks' brings you to the Centre as well.

One other minor change that may affect some users is the free avast! anti-virus scanner, one of the few anti-virus programs that work with Vista and the only free one to do so doesn't work with the RC1 code as of this writing.

Users have said that RC1 is solid, fast, and much improved over Beta 2. It's still too early to tell whether Microsoft will meet its goal of a January 30, 2007, consumer launch of Vista. But for those, who were skeptical that Redmond would meet that date, this new release may put those fears to rest.


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