Welcome to VistaSector. Please read through our news, articles and tutorials for all the information you need about Windows Vista. Visit our sister site MSForums for discussion, and if you fancy a bit of eye candy, check out our screenshot galleries for images of Vista's pleasing aesthetics.Various News
Apologies for the lack of updates over the past couple of weeks.
Quite a bit has been going on in the run-up to Windows Vista Release Candidate 1, which we're expecting in the next couple of weeks. The latest pre-RC1 build (5536) has been hailed as a big improvement, and putting Microsoft back on track. The general feeling is that Microsoft are going to stick to their guns and head out for their announced release dates. They will RTM in late October, dish out volume licenses in November, and make it available to everyone in January 2007.
Build 5552 is the likely number for RC1, and it is going to be a very important build. With RC1, Microsoft are saying they are totally finished, and are just fixing any bugs they happen to have missed. That means that Windows Vista will have to be completely 100% finished in the next three weeks. That is a big introduction to live up to, especially after the disappointment that was felt with Beta 2.
In other news, microsoft.com/canada has released pricing for Windows Vista.
Windows Vista Ultimate is listed at $499 Canadian ($450 USD) and Home Premium is listed at $299 ($270 USD). The upgrade to Vista Ultimate is $299 ($270 USD), and to Home Premium $199 ($180 USD). This is obviously legitimate, but whether Redmond (MS HQ) intended the prices to be released yet we're not sure.
I have already detailed my expectations of Vienna, the next major version of Windows (after Vista and Fiji) - I'm looking forward to a total and complete overhaul of how we interact with our computers, simply because there is only so much you can do with a Start Menu and Windows Explorer. But now according to research firm Gartner, Vista will be the last version of Windows that exists in its current form, mainly due to a commercial need for a modular architecture tied together through hardware-supported virtualization.
Virtualization is best known as a way of running multiple server instances on a single hardware platform, but it can also be used to run individual operating system functions or applications. The technique isolates the various components from one another, making them easier to manage. Gartner believes Microsoft will use virtualization to divide the Windows client into a "service partition", controlling system functions such as management and security, and one or more application partitions. Such a path is already being followed in the x86 server world.
Next-generation Windows-based partitions could run in parallel to partitions running kernels with the Vista/NT code base. However, Microsoft doesn't agree, and their rejection of the theory seems to be based on problems with integrating data accross platforms.
We at VistaSector are all ears to new theories and new ways to work, yet we know that, apart from WinME, Microsoft hasn't let us down yet.
Also, there appear to be a few more rumours circulating about XP Service Pack 3. This has not been confirmed by Microsoft, although it is likely to be in development. If you see anything claiming to be SP3, do not download it. We'll let you know when it is announced and when (and where) it will be available.
Quite a bit has been going on in the run-up to Windows Vista Release Candidate 1, which we're expecting in the next couple of weeks. The latest pre-RC1 build (5536) has been hailed as a big improvement, and putting Microsoft back on track. The general feeling is that Microsoft are going to stick to their guns and head out for their announced release dates. They will RTM in late October, dish out volume licenses in November, and make it available to everyone in January 2007.
Build 5552 is the likely number for RC1, and it is going to be a very important build. With RC1, Microsoft are saying they are totally finished, and are just fixing any bugs they happen to have missed. That means that Windows Vista will have to be completely 100% finished in the next three weeks. That is a big introduction to live up to, especially after the disappointment that was felt with Beta 2.
In other news, microsoft.com/canada has released pricing for Windows Vista.
Windows Vista Ultimate is listed at $499 Canadian ($450 USD) and Home Premium is listed at $299 ($270 USD). The upgrade to Vista Ultimate is $299 ($270 USD), and to Home Premium $199 ($180 USD). This is obviously legitimate, but whether Redmond (MS HQ) intended the prices to be released yet we're not sure.
I have already detailed my expectations of Vienna, the next major version of Windows (after Vista and Fiji) - I'm looking forward to a total and complete overhaul of how we interact with our computers, simply because there is only so much you can do with a Start Menu and Windows Explorer. But now according to research firm Gartner, Vista will be the last version of Windows that exists in its current form, mainly due to a commercial need for a modular architecture tied together through hardware-supported virtualization.
Virtualization is best known as a way of running multiple server instances on a single hardware platform, but it can also be used to run individual operating system functions or applications. The technique isolates the various components from one another, making them easier to manage. Gartner believes Microsoft will use virtualization to divide the Windows client into a "service partition", controlling system functions such as management and security, and one or more application partitions. Such a path is already being followed in the x86 server world.
Next-generation Windows-based partitions could run in parallel to partitions running kernels with the Vista/NT code base. However, Microsoft doesn't agree, and their rejection of the theory seems to be based on problems with integrating data accross platforms.
We at VistaSector are all ears to new theories and new ways to work, yet we know that, apart from WinME, Microsoft hasn't let us down yet.
Also, there appear to be a few more rumours circulating about XP Service Pack 3. This has not been confirmed by Microsoft, although it is likely to be in development. If you see anything claiming to be SP3, do not download it. We'll let you know when it is announced and when (and where) it will be available.