Living with Windows Vista beta 2: ( date start at January 2006 ) YOU ARE VISITOR NUMBER I'll mention again that on this test I'm running Windows Vista beta 2 on a Acer TravelMate 8200 laptop. This model includes a 2GHz Intel Core Duo T2500 processor, 2GB of 533MHz RAM, a discrete ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 graphics card with 256MB of dedicated GDDR3 VRAM, and a 120GBhard drive. This laptop certainly qualifies under Microsoft's Premium recommendations for installing Vista. Once installed, I used the new Windows Vista Welcome Center to orient myself and install additional drivers. Missing were drivers for my IPMI, my PCI serial port, and my USB 2.0 Web Camera; attempts to download drivers from Microsoft failed, but none of these components are crucial for my work. What is crucial is the Internet. While I had instant Internet access, I didn't have Firefox nor the various Flash and Shockwave components that are required today. Firefox 1.5 installed on Vista without incident, however, viewing CNET requires Macromedia Flash, and I had trouble getting that to work. For some reason, it took multiple attempts to install before Flash would operate properly within Firefox. My experience was worse using Vista's default browser, Internet Explorer 7. In IE, the Adobe site was inaccessible for some reason. This website is worthWhat is your website worth? Once Flash did install on both browsers, I was surprised when my chosen video still didn't play properly. I had a new set of postinstallation problems: although the device manager shows that the Acer TravelMate High Definition Audio Device driver installed (version 6.0.5384.4, dated 6/21/06), it would not run. I had no sound on my laptop. When I queried Vista for solutions, it said there were none. Being clever, I asked the Vista Device Manager to search my Windows XP partition (I strongly recommend dual-booting your test Windows Vista machine; you'll be much happier). From the XP partition I was able to install a working driver from Realtek Semiconductor (driver version 5.10.0.5191, dated 11/17/05). Giddy with success, I then asked Vista to search the Windows XP partition for the USB 2.0 Webcam driver, and again it found one (Logitech, version 9.4.0.1111, dated 11/18/05). No such luck repairing my IPMI or PCI serial port this way, however. Using Vista's new "Performance rating and tools" diagnostic tool, I discovered that my installed Vista drivers (the ones that came native with the Vista operating system, not the ones I added manually) are also causing problems. According to the diagnostic tool, several drivers are not performing correctly and therefore are preventing my laptop from going to sleep or hibernating properly. At this juncture, I don't plan on "contacting the vendors or updating them," as Microsoft advises. My final task for this first day is to install Trillian, the multiparty instant-messaging application. Trillian also installed QuickTime 6, which blanked my desktop display a few times before asking for a reboot. This happened again when I tried to launch and configure Trillian. Vista has a built-in display defense, and I noticed several times it tried to warn me that some app was causing a disturbance, but the message came and went too fast. As configured, Trillian won't load. I'll continue to hack away at this. Final observation, as I load new apps, Vista seems slower to reboot. All in all, my experiences today were about average for a first day with a new OS. No matter how hard Microsoft tries to make things simple, there will be drivers that won't install correctly and other minor glitches. That said, it really wasn't a productive day, so expect to spend some downtime with your new operating system. Check back tomorrow to see what I discover next. In yesterday's installment I loaded some drivers and applications on Vista. Part of that day was spent away from an electrical outlet. The dual-core Acer Travelmate 8200 rated pretty high in our CNET Review, especially in terms of battery life, yet I returned to my desk midmorning yesterday to find that Vista had shut down prematurely because I'd run out of battery life. So I spent nearly all of my Saturday trying to prove this. I must admit that my colleague at CNET News.com Ina Fried also tipped me off to this potential bug in Vista so I volunteered to investigate. Short of a full-on CNET labs test, I decided upon three simple tests. First, operating on a fully charged battery, I would play a DVD movie in Windows Media Player 9 on Windows XP and record that time, then I'd repeat the above in Windows Media Player 11 on Windows Vista running with Aero (Microsoft's new 3d graphics system). Finally, I'd run the test again in Windows Media Player 11 in Windows Vista Standard mode. It's the new Vista graphics system, called GPU, that's the issue; when it's engaged, it really eats up battery life. If you don't already know, Vista will run differently depending on the hardware. Lower end machines will have a choice between Windows Vista Classic and Windows Vista Standard which give you many of the features in the new OS but without the 3D graphics. Higher end machines will have those choices, plus Windows Vista Basic (which gives you more features) and Windows Vista Aero (the version with all the pretty 3D bells and whistles). Mostly to get Aero you need to have a realtively new graphics card with a lot of built-in video memory. One thing I found in conducting the test is that Microsoft doesn't make it easy to switch between these modes. For desktop users, it's a moot point; you have AC power. But if you're working on a notebook and you want to conserve every last second of battery life, you'll want to switch to a less graphics intensive envirnoment. To do so in Vista, you first need to find Personalization and Appearence in the Control Panel, then choose Personalization, then Visual Appearence. From Visual Appearance you click to Appearance Settings, then click Open Classic Appearance Properties. Under Color Schemes you have all the choices listed above, plus four monochromatic color schemes. The process of reducing or increasing your graphics output is not exactly intuitive. Okay, so what did I find? Under Windows XP, my Acer Travelmate 8200 enjoyed a comfortable 3 hours and 15 minutes of battery life--more than enough to watch any major motion picture released these days. But under Windows Vista Aero my battery life dropped considerably, to a mere 2 hours. Under Windows Vista Standard, battery life did improve--to a whopping 2 hours and 15 minutes--better, but not enough to justify doing without all the glitz and glammor of Vista Aero. But once you've seen Vista Aero in action, it's really hard to do without. Microsoft's planning its whole Vista marketing campaign around Aero, though in reality many, many people will only upgrade to a relatively bland Vista Standard or Basic--sure you'll have built-in search and a new file structure, but it's the transparent windows and flip 3D effect you'll be wanting. For that you'll need to buy a whole new machine with Windows Vista preinstalled. I'd recommend staying with Windows XP until you absolutely need to upgrade, then buy a new Windows Vista machine. This update on Vista ends on November 2006 as i'll be moving on to beta test the new windows called "VIENNA" Download USB-drivers for Windows XP - Wndows Vista - Windows Vienna More information on Windows Vienna can be optained on this link Download Vista wallpaper
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Living with windows vista
