Entries Tagged 'Operating Systems' ↓

Having spent about half a day this past weekend on the phone with HP trying to get XP drivers for my new computer that shipped with Vista it was really nice to kick back with my Macbook and boot right into OS X. I have been using Windows for years and look forward to testing every release, but I can’t remember being more excited about an OS release like I am right now about OS X Leopard. Through the years I have tried out almost every version of Windows, Linux and even BeOS (don’t ask about that last one) looking for the perfect combination of Stability, GUI, Security and features but most times I couldn’t find one that would do it all, until I tried OS X. OS X 10.5 Leopard will ship in just a few months and will be released, as one Universal version meaning all features will be built into it and support for older PowerPC as well as Intel Macs will be included without the need for separate versions. Another thing I really like other than the one version is the cost will be only $129, which for a brand new operating system that is actually pretty cheap. Below are some new features and enhancements that have been developed for Leopard.

1) Time Machine - an automated backup utility that allows the user to restore files that have been deleted or replaced by another version of a file.

2) Front Row and Photobooth - are currently only available with the purchase of a new Mac, but will be included with Leopard. Front Row has been reworked to closely resemble the interface used by the Apple Tv, and Photo Booth includes video recording with real-time filters.

3) Spaces - an implementation of “Virtual Desktops” (individually called “spaces”). It allows multiple desktops per user, with certain applications and windows in each desktop. Users can organize certain Spaces for certain applications (e.g., one for work-related tasks and one for entertainment) and switch between them. Expose will work inside Spaces, allowing the user to see at a glance all desktops on one screen.

4) Spotlight - incorporates additional search capabilities such as the ability to search other computers.

5) New Finder - with features similar to those seen in iTunes 7.

6) Desktop - comprised of a redesigned 3-D dock with a new grouping feature called stacks.

7) Quick Look -a framework allowing documents to be viewed without opening them in an external application.

8 ) Mail - now included is RSS feeds, Stationery, Notes and To-dos.

9) Dashboard - now will include webclips, a feature that allows users to turn a part of any web page into a live Dashboard widget, and Dashcode to help developers code widgets.

10) Parental Controls - now include the ability to place restrictions on use of the Internet and to set parental controls from anywhere using remote setup.

11) Boot Camp - It is a software assistant which has been available as a beta release download for Mac OS X v10.4 from Apple’s website since April 5, 2006. It assists in the installation of Windows XP or Windows Vista to a separate partition (or separate internal drive) on Intel-based Macs.

12) Menu Bar - which is now transparent and it is no longer rounded, which was a design feature since Mac System 1.0.

13) Safari - Now version 3.0 included in new operating system.

14) Back to my Mac - a new feature for .Mac users that allows users to access files on their home computer while away from home via the Internet.

Technorati Tags: Mac, safari, os x leopard, macbook, vista

Having been forced to use vista for almost 4 months now I can truly say it is so riddled with problems it may be another five years until it is actually ready for the masses. My journey with Vista began about four months ago when I purchased a new Vista ready HP computer, big mistake. After I decided that I would go back to using XP until Vista bugs were worked out I was told by HP that they would not provide any drivers for XP, so basically I was stuck with Vista unless I wanted to try and track down my drivers from the hardware manufacturers which is a process I have not attempted yet. My biggest complaint so far with vista is that it runs incredibly slow, even with maxed out specs. My computer I purchased meets all the specifications plus some but performance is still not nearly as good as it should be, so I can’t imagine a two or three year old pc running it. The few visual effects of Vista are not really worth the resources it consumes so I disabled them from the very beginning hoping to get a little more speed out of a brand new computer with the following specs: Core 2 Duo 2.13, 2 gigs of Ram, 500 gig hard drive, and a Geforce video card with 512 ram, with specs like these windows XP would fly but not Vista it just coast along slowly. I really wanted Vista to live up to the hype and promises Microsoft pushed on us, but if memory serves right XP did take years to perfect and then it was time to upgrade again.

1) Hardware doesn’t run well on Vista (even new hardware)

2) The new security of Vista is overkill most of the time, being prompted for every little thing is bad enough but Vista even labels existing applications as suspicious.

3) Lack of drivers for older and newer hardware.

4) Power options do not change automatically for laptops depending on whether you are plugged or unplugged from a power source.

5) The Start Menu has been redone with a completely different look, unfortunately it is hard to navigate and find what you are looking for.

6) Rebooting a Vista machine is supposed to be faster, but it actually takes longer to reboot than XP.

7) The much talked about Aero UI is great to look at, but with all the resources it takes just to run it all you will be able to do is look at it and not actually work on your pc.

8 ) The many different versions of Vista will be confusing to some basic computer users who are not sure of what exactly they need so in the end they will probably figure more expensive means better and pay for a version they don’t need in the first place.

9) Horrible graphics performance that was not an issue with XP.

10) Although the look is “improved” basic functions like add/remove programs are hard to find.

11) VPN doesn’t work correctly, even though there are a few work arounds for this it is still not an easy process.

12) Software that is supposed to be windows compatible shuts down randomly.

13) Firefox runs ten times better than IE7 in vista.

14) The sidebar is another resource hog.

15) Readyboost seems like a good idea if you can get it to work.

16) DVD playback through windows media player or media center lacks quality.

17) Minor changes to hardware may prevent the system to boot up.

18) No “open with” when right clicking on a file.

19) My brand new Netgear Eva8000 streaming media device will not work wirelessly with vista due to some tcp stack problem in vista (it did work perfect with xp).

20) Windows Improved search is a total mess and not very accurate.

Yesterday Microsoft released their newest project to manufacturers, Windows Home Server. This new consumer based software will be for home users to store, stream, and backup and organize digital files from multiple pcs to a central server. The main thing Microsoft is touting is that Windows Home Server will be easy to implement for novice computer users with simple interfaces and one-click features. Some of the key features of WHS will be centralized backup using Single Store technology to eliminate duplicate files, file sharing of things like mp3’s and videos with network attached storage devices, remote administration, headless operation (no keyboard or monitor attached to device), and data redundancy. Another thing that will hurt initial sales of this new OS is that you cannot buy a copy of it and install it on a pc you already have, you will have to buy a new Pc designed for it. Sharing photos and other digital content with family and friends will be made easy with this, but really how hard is it to get a free flickr account for that? I am normally the first person who tries out new personal technology but with this new software I am already doing most of what it offers with my Netgear Eva8000 for streaming media, My Kodak easyshare software for sharing photos with family and friends and backing up with my external hard drive with one click backup software. Given my current experiences with Vista (along with many other peoples) I would have to say wait awhile for the bugs to be worked out on this one.

Technorati Tags: Windows, Digital, Server, Media

Microsoft has apologized for the for the lack of extra features in vista ultimate promising to work really hard on getting the extra’s they promised back in january ready soon. To quote Barry Goffe director of Windows Vista Ultimate “We want to let our Windows Vista Ultimate know that we are actively working to deliver the remaining extras we identified in january”. In microsoft’s defense they have release four “extras” a poker game, a secure online key backup for bitlocker, the bitlocker preparation tool, and 16 language packs. All of these “extras” sound great but what about customers who bought different versions of vista (or in some cases bought a new pc that only came with vista) hoping to have this great new OS that was promised only to find out that it is full of bugs and performance issues. I guess releasing games and language packs make more sense than trying to figure out some of the common complaints like slow performance, lack of compatible software, random lockups…..I could go on forever about the problems in vista but there are already enough blogs and websites about that. I think it is really unfair that microsoft only seems concerned about vista ultimate customers. Don’t get me wrong I think microsoft has released some of the best software ever like Windows XP but I also think Vista could be another Windows Millenium, I hope I am wrong.

Microsoft has claimed to be more secure thank linux and os x with it’s new operating system vista, which I have a hard time beliving considering most major companies are still suggesting that people stick with xp for now for support reasons. Even if vista is more secure than the other operating systems (which I don’t belive) there are still software and performance issues that need to be fixed.

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