The Vista Hive

[Bozo Galora]

Looks like 5920, not 5840 is the one - but they change so often who knows?
Does NOT inspire confidence.

(QUOTE)

On the Road to RTM

According to my Microsoft sources, the current internal Vista build is now 6.0.5920.16384. Whenever Microsoft finalizes Vista--and I'm told it will be on or before November 8--the company will artificially increment the build number to 6000, as in "6.0," which is Vista's version number (aka Windows 6.0). Come on, admit it: You knew Microsoft would pull something silly like that.

Motion Desktop a Go for Ultimate Extras

The good folks at AeroXperience got a nice scoop recently: They discovered one of the mysterious Ultimate Extras that Microsoft will provide to Vista Ultimate customers starting in early January 2007. It's called Motion Desktop, and it's basically a way to animate the Windows desktop background. There will be a handful of Motion Desktops, including one that looks like the Vista "aurora" pattern that will be the default static desktop for all Vista users. Seems like a nifty idea. And it raises an interesting concern: In the past, all Windows users could buy a Plus! pack to get interesting additional features. With Vista, it seems as if the Plus! packs are gone, replaced by Ultimate Extras, which are available only to users who fork out money for the most expensive Vista version. Does this development upset anyone else?

http://www.windowsitpro.com/Article/ArticleID/94037/94037.html

 

[Bozo Galora]

(Quote starting from 3rd paragraph)
Windows Vista's licensing terms have raised eyebrows among PC enthusiasts. As previously reported, Windows Vista sports a new Software Protection Platform (SPP) aimed at curbing piracy. Among SPP's many "features" is a service that monitors PCs for evidence of significant hardware changes. New hard drive? New motherboard? Windows Vista will recognize and keep track of the hardware in your PC, much like its predecessor Windows XP did, and it will use that information to monitor licensing compliance.

What has enthusiasts concerned are language changes to the retail license for Vista that restrict the number of times you may transfer Vista from one device to another. The license reads: "The first user of the software may reassign the license to another device one time. If you reassign the license, that other device becomes the 'licensed device.'" Putting SPP and the new license together, many have wondered if Windows Vista would permit major hardware changes such as swapping out a motherboard. To make matters more confusing, reports circulated last week claiming that Microsoft's official policy allows for 10 re-activations stemming from hardware changes. We decided to contact Microsoft to get to the facts.
Of re-activations and algorithms

A Microsoft spokesperson told Ars Technica that "the hardware tolerance of product activation for Windows Vista has been improved and is more flexible than that for Windows XP," indicating that re-activations caused by minor changes to a PC should be less common. "We believe these improvements will better accommodate the needs of our PC enthusiast customers," the spokesperson said.

Microsoft told Ars Technica that SPP monitors the system and measures changes against the original hardware configuration of the PC in an attempt to determine if the software has been moved to a new device. SPP uses an undisclosed algorithm to to track changes, and it remains unclear how the algorithm assesses different hardware changes. The spokesperson reiterated the company's view that Vista's hardware tolerance is more flexible than before. As to the issue of multiple re-activations, Microsoft is standing behind the language of its licenses.

"Validation will fail if the software detects a substantially different hardware configuration," the spokesperson said. "At that point, the customer is able to use the one reassignment for the new device. If, after using its one reassignment right, a customer again exceeds the tolerance for updated components, the customer can purchase an additional license or seek remediation through Microsoft?s support services."

Asked specifically about the rumors that Vista would permit 10 such re-activations instead of only one, Microsoft indicated that the company had no further comments. The company's official policy remains fixed on one device transfer.

Waiting game, redux

For those reading between the lines, Microsoft's response is telling. The option of seeking remediation through Microsoft support is a sign that the company has left a giant "safety net" in place, much as they did with Windows XP.

As I have noted before, similar concerns over hardware upgrades surfaced before Windows XP launched. The reality since that launch has been far less dramatic than many commentators predicted. In our extensive experience with re-activations caused by hardware changes, the outcome experienced most often amounts to this: we had to use Microsoft's automated phone system to retrieve a new activation code. No money changed hands. On average, the calls took less than five minutes. Nevertheless, we were never thrilled to have to jump through hoops to use products we legally purchased. We still believe that the best license, of one must be used, is that which is assigned to individuals and not devices.

Will history repeat itself with Windows Vista? Time will tell, but from where we sit, SPP appears to have all of the bark and the bite of a pack of pugs. It might sound like a pack of big dogs is behind the door, but the reality is something else.

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20061030-8104.html

 

[imported_Uber]

Originally posted by: ProviaFan

Originally posted by: Uber
ok, I want to know whats going on with RC1 and RC2.

which is newer?
which is better?
I ordered RC1. Should I try to download RC2?

RC2 is newer and better. The key that you got to go with RC1 will work with RC2. None of the Microsoft employees who post here will say to download RC2 (which must be done "unofficially"), but if you plan to attempt to use Vista as your main OS, it would be ideal to try that with RC2.

Lets back up to this step of the conversation here. You say RC2 is better, but is it a huge difference worth spending up to 6 weeks downloading? (Yes, my internet is that crappy). I have already ordered RC1, and will be getting a disc of it (hopefully) soon.
Is RC1 buggy? This will be for a computer used mostly for gaming and schoolwork. I went with Vista mostly just to save money. Can I work with it wouthout ripping my hair out and/or breaking something on any regular basis?

 

[clickynext]

Originally posted by: Uber

Originally posted by: ProviaFan

Originally posted by: Uber
ok, I want to know whats going on with RC1 and RC2.

which is newer?
which is better?
I ordered RC1. Should I try to download RC2?

RC2 is newer and better. The key that you got to go with RC1 will work with RC2. None of the Microsoft employees who post here will say to download RC2 (which must be done "unofficially"), but if you plan to attempt to use Vista as your main OS, it would be ideal to try that with RC2.

Lets back up to this step of the conversation here. You say RC2 is better, but is it a huge difference worth spending up to 6 weeks downloading? (Yes, my internet is that crappy). I have already ordered RC1, and will be getting a disc of it (hopefully) soon.
Is RC1 buggy? This will be for a computer used mostly for gaming and schoolwork. I went with Vista mostly just to save money. Can I work with it wouthout ripping my hair out and/or breaking something on any regular basis?

RC1 is a little buggy. If you want stability, stay with XP. I tend to get 1 or 2 program crashes a day with RC1, and some of my programs don't work properly, especially certain games. Overall you can probably deal with it and use it on a daily basis, but it's not optimal.

 

[Bozo Galora]

...Several key Microsoft employees has firmly stated that Vista has not been released to manufacturing. The day might be soon, but is certainly not today, or tomorrow. There?s still a bit more work to do. Build 6000.16384 is real, but it also doesn?t mean RTM. These days, Microsoft doesn?t have to increase the major version number when building, so theoretically, any sub-set of build 6000 (6000.16385, 16386, etc...) can be RTM.

(Neowin)

 

[cparker]

I got the RC1 set from MS in the mail and have had it running for over a week. I've used mostly MS application software on it -- the Office 2007 beta, the express Visual Studios, the new .net 3.0 sdk, their Expression designers, IE 7, but also Opera and Firefox (latest versions). Only had one problem when IE 7 just stopped operating, but the OS just gave an error message that IE had stopped operating, then I restarted IE (the OS was still running normally) and all was fine. That was it. Otherwise no problems at all. This on a A64 3400+/Biostar nforce 3 system with 1 gigabyte of ram, with a low end dx-9 compatible graphics card with 128 mb ram (yes, it's running Aero). I don't run games so can't comment on that universe, but for general usage that's office or Visual Studio intensive, I think it's worthwhile going for it if you have the hardware.

 

[boomerang]

For any NOD32 users, there is a beta for Vista available for both paid users and a demo version for those that aren't. I have installed, updated and scanned with no issues in RC2.

Link to thread with download links. It's a sticky near the top. 2nd from the top as of this posting.

Let me know if the link doesn't work as I am logged in there.

 

[CrystalBay]

New Catalyst Beta Vista RTM and RC2 drivers get them here

 

[clickynext]

Originally posted by: CrystalBay
New Catalyst Beta Vista RTM and RC2 drivers get them here

Sweet, thanks!

 

[jlbenedict]

"Microsoft Corp.'s Windows Vista, the software giant's first major upgrade of its operating system in five years, is complete and will be available to retail customers on January 30, a senior executive said on Wednesday."

 

[inthell]

Originally posted by: CrystalBay
New Catalyst Beta Vista RTM and RC2 drivers get them here

tried it ... didnt work but then again my ATI card didnt work with RC1 either so im not surprised.

 

[dainthomas]

Originally posted by: jlbenedict
"Microsoft Corp.'s Windows Vista, the software giant's first major upgrade of its operating system in five years, is complete and will be available to retail customers on January 30, a senior executive said on Wednesday."

We'll need a separate vista forum for all the bug threads, driver issues, and screwed up installs.

 

[rookie1010]

Some one told me that the gadgets on the vista sidebar are xml applications. I thought XML is just a markup language which is used for displaying stuff.
how then is the clock or the mosaic game (for examples) on the vista sidebar done in xml?

 

[stash]

The manifest for a gadget is XML, but the main code is HTML.

 

[Pepsi90919]

so... if you install it, and don't give it a cd key during install, and never says anything about registration or activation again, how long do you have?

 

[stash]

30 days. It should remind you though.

 

[RobertR1]

According to INQ RTM was put on MSDN over the weekend but I'm not seeing it. Anyone found it yet?

 

[RyanGrob]

Not here for me either.

 

[Eska]

Picking up mine soon

 

[BehindEnemyLines]

The anticipation is getting long...

Does anyone know if it will also be available on MSDN Academic Alliance once it's listed on MSDN? Or is it separate from "other" MSDN?

 

[clickynext]

Wish my school had some sort of deal with ms...

 

[RyanGrob]

Seems my school, Michigan State University, isn't offering Vista off the bat. Oh well, more waiting

 

[SunnyD]

We just got Vista Enterprise at work, and I'm trying to figure this out... on install, no prompt for a key, no prompt for activation. What gives?

 

[stash]

Enterprise is volume license only, setup doesn't have a key. You need a KMS server or a MAK license.

 

[SunnyD]

Originally posted by: stash
Enterprise is volume license only, setup doesn't have a key. You need a KMS server or a MAK license.

I have the latter, but I was under the impression that I would at least need to enter the MAK and physically activate the copy. The MVLS site actually has an activation count, and on our agreement, it doesn't show any activated copies.

In reading a little bit though, it appears that it may automatically prompt for a key and activate after 30 days. 28 days to go...