Living with Vista: Introduction

The first in a series...

from WinCustomize Forums

Windows Vista is Microsoft's long-awaited sequel to its most successful operating system of all time -- Windows XP.  Released 5 years ago, Windows XP is really a tough act to follow. It delivered on the promise of Windows NT based technology in a mainstream form.

Windows XP, in hindsight, was about 3 things:

  1. Delivering a mainstream operating system that was based on the NT code-base instead of the ancient Windows 9x/DOS legacy. This enabled developers to create far more powerful applications because the OS was far more robust.
  2. The bundling of a myriad of minor tools that we take for granted today such as Instant Messenger, Compressed Folders, Remote Desktop, Windows Movie Movie Maker, etc.
  3. A friendlier environment than Windows 2000/98.

(a full list of features can be found Here). So what is the big deal about Windows Vista? Well here's my best guess at what the bullet items will be looking back:

  1. More Secure.
  2. New underlying architectures (Windows Presentation Foundation, Windows Communication Foundation, and .NET part of the OS).
  3. Cleaner user experience.
  4. Desktop is a 3D surface allowing for applications on the desktop to use 3D acceleration to do visually interesting things.

The purpose of these blogs along with the site VistaBlogging.com is to provide a place for users to discuss their Windows Vista experience, suggestions, etc.

We have created a new site called http://www.VistaBlogging.com where articles on the subject of Vista (and forum posts) will automatically get syndicated.  You can use JoeUser.com or Wincustomize.com (create a free account) to create an article that is of the type Personal Computing->Windows Vista and upon faster moderation it will show up on VistaBlogging.com.

7,713 views 4 replies
Reply #1 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Great idea. It's nice to have place to find all Vista related articles.
Reply #2 from JoeUser Forums Top
We have created a new site called http://www.VistaBlogging.com where articles on the subject of Vista (and forum posts) will automatically get syndicated. You can use JoeUser.com or Wincustomize.com (create a free account) to create an article that is of the type Personal Computing->Windows Vista and upon faster moderation it will show up on VistaBlogging.com.


Great site. I've been trying to find a good place to keep track of Vista, some sites tend to have the same info on it for long periods of time and I hate wasting time looking a the same articles everydays for weeks at a time.

(a full list of features can be found Here). So what is the big deal about Windows Vista? Well here's my best guess at what the bullet items will be looking back:


Two of the things I liked the most about Vista was the idea of being able to install a program without having to restart the PC and when a profram fails there may be no need to restart the PC, the processes will end themselves and restart without restarting the PC. I also like the idea of starting the computer first and then starting most of the stuff found in the task manager process list allowing the PC to start up and reach the desktop much faster than they do now. Hopefully all thses ideas stick, it's some of the stuff that call my attention a lot apart from those you listed.
Galactic Civilizations III
Reply #3 from WinCustomize Forums Top
That's great, Brad. But WHEN will WindowBlinds work with Vista RC1?

God, I hate the Vista TaskBar's colors.

Here's what works:

1) Stardock Central

2) ObjectDock Plus (except nothing shows in the Tray tab)

3) IconPackager (marginally -- Can't increase the size of icons.

That's it.



Donald L McDaniel

Reply #4 from Stardock Forums Top
There are other things that work. Two come to mind immediately - DesktopX 3.2, and IconDeveloper (although it's rough around the edges).

It is true, though, that a lot of applications will not work yet. Many of them are based around the assumption that the user is allowed to do things that they no longer can do due to Vista's increased security regimen. These are things that we are fixing.