Det. Bart Lasiter Posted June 11, 2006 Share Posted June 11, 2006 Microsoft is giving away the Vista Beta 2 to anyone who wants it (you needed an MSDN subscription before). A warning though: the x86 version is over 2 Gb in size and the x64 version is 4.11 Gb in size. http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/getready/preview.mspx ***Edit*** Got it up and running (it starts at a resolution or refresh rate or something that my monitor doesn't support). I love the interface, the "gadgets" (Microsoft's version of OS X's "widgets") are functionally identical to OS X's, but they look slightly different. Microsoft also borrowed OS X's ability to "zoom out" and view all of the windows at once, only it's implemented in a more extravegant manner: Just so you know, the 404 error in IE7 has nothing to do with IE7's functionality, I just can't seem to find Vista-compatible drivers for my ethernet card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astrotoy7 Posted June 11, 2006 Share Posted June 11, 2006 Anyone check out the Vista Beta 2 ?? Ive been using it on my home theatre pc for a while(thanks to my work's msdn subscription ) but Beta 2 has gone public now. I was only intersted in Vista to see what improvements there are in the media center and networking parts in particular. With respect to them specifically I can say they have definitely been improved over their previous incarnations(xp/media center 2005) As for the rest of it, hard to say - theres alot of eye candy if your specs can handle it, but lower spec pcs can run it(without those features) relatively well. Unless you are going to be using it for a media center pc specifically, I'd recommend against using it as your main system. It doesnt multitask very well at all and makes you marvel at how stable xp seems compared to when *it* was first released. The Vista link above contains a little app that will tell you if your pc can handle Vista(though a few have reported it as not entirely accurate) On a similar note the Office 2007 Beta 2 is now public as well. I have to admit, its quite a change from the last few versions of office - which havent really changed much since 1997. Unlike Vista, its quite stable. mtfbwya Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpaceAlex Posted June 11, 2006 Share Posted June 11, 2006 I'll install it this week, when i get my third hard drive. I could split my current drive to more partitions, but then it would be too small (i need the entire 300 GB ). The second drive is for linux and WinXP Ghost backup files, so i can't use that one either. So, a new drive it is. (ok, i guess you people didn't need to know all that, so i'll stop right here). Anyway...hopefully installing Vista will be worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingerhs Posted June 11, 2006 Share Posted June 11, 2006 no offense, but i don't forsee much interest in this thread. still, it's cool that the Beta is out which means that progress is being made on an often-delayed OS. personally, i could honestly care less since i won't be upgrading to Vista for at least 1.5 years, if i upgrade at all. i'm still thinking about a duel-boot XP/Linux system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted June 12, 2006 Share Posted June 12, 2006 I'm considering upgrading XP with this because it's not my main OS, I only really use windows for WoW and photoshop these days. I'm interested in seeing how vista is, and I wouldn't find out for a while if I don't do this because I'm definitely not buying it for a long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Det. Bart Lasiter Posted June 12, 2006 Author Share Posted June 12, 2006 I'm considering upgrading XP with this because it's not my main OS, I only really use windows for WoW and photoshop these days. I'm interested in seeing how vista is, and I wouldn't find out for a while if I don't do this because I'm definitely not buying it for a long time.Vista doesn't run Win32 applications, for instance World of Warcraft and Photoshop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HerbieZ Posted June 12, 2006 Share Posted June 12, 2006 Do you know if its suitable for playing games, Because i play one hell of a lot of games on my pc and i have not seen any pointers as to whether or not this OS is geared towards gamers at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabretooth Posted June 12, 2006 Share Posted June 12, 2006 Nah, it's too huge and I'm not interested in screwing up my comuter with new Microsoft Beta products. Office 2007 is cool, though. It's swanky and very convenient, a must-try. Vista seems to have an overly huge size though. I'll look for a bootleg, if possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted June 12, 2006 Share Posted June 12, 2006 Vista doesn't run Win32 applications, for instance World of Warcraft and Photoshop.Oh. Then screw that I would like to try it out, maybe I can find an extra hard drive laying around somewhere... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astrotoy7 Posted June 12, 2006 Share Posted June 12, 2006 Do you know if its suitable for playing games, Because i play one hell of a lot of games on my pc and i have not seen any pointers as to whether or not this OS is geared towards gamers at all. IMO you'd have to be crazy to install Vista beta if all you do is gaming. It is a *beta*. Its to have a look/see/fiddle. Gaming requires stable system components with driver support etc. Remember how it was with XP, all the crashes, patches and grumbles, when it first came out ?? Im using Vista beta only for its Media Center component, which seems to be one of its most stable aspects. Vista doesnt run WOW??? That's not entirely true ! see pic. Having specs that dont gel with Vista will give you that result though Vista has a ways to go, thats for sure....and it sucks that many people will need hardware upgrades to be able to run it. This is what irritates me, as it allows retailers to swindle "mom n pop" consumers into paying through the nose for a machine with specs they dont really need. mtfbwya Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prime Posted June 12, 2006 Share Posted June 12, 2006 Still seems like just a lot of bells and whistles for what I would need it for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted June 12, 2006 Share Posted June 12, 2006 Vista doesnt run WOW??? That's not entirely true ! see pic. Having specs that dont gel with Vista will give you that result though Well I'll have to see if I do have the specs that work with Vista so it will work, because I am interested in using it to try it out, but if WoW won't work for me, then no way I'll so it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Det. Bart Lasiter Posted June 12, 2006 Author Share Posted June 12, 2006 IMO you'd have to be crazy to install Vista beta if all you do is gaming. It is a *beta*. Its to have a look/see/fiddle. Gaming requires stable system components with driver support etc. Remember how it was with XP, all the crashes, patches and grumbles, when it first came out ?? Im using Vista beta only for its Media Center component, which seems to be one of its most stable aspects. Vista doesnt run WOW??? That's not entirely true ! see pic. Having specs that dont gel with Vista will give you that result though Vista has a ways to go, thats for sure....and it sucks that many people will need hardware upgrades to be able to run it. This is what irritates me, as it allows retailers to swindle "mom n pop" consumers into paying through the nose for a machine with specs they dont really need. mtfbwya Aha, they must have added Win32 support in a newer release, http://msdn.microsoft.com/windowsvista/prodinfo/what/about/default.aspx However, Tom's Hardware reported some problems with DirectX. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpaceAlex Posted June 12, 2006 Share Posted June 12, 2006 Does the 64 bit version have problems running some 32bit apps? I know that was a problem with WinXP 64bit. A lil offtopic, but did anyone notice that the main Windows Vista websites (http://www.microsoft.com/Windowsvista/) background looks a lot like Dantooine in K1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pavlos Posted June 12, 2006 Share Posted June 12, 2006 Hmm, the beta. I'm not too fond of using an unstable operating system (Even on a separate/partitioned drive) I really don't think I'll be upgrading to this yet. Oh and, jmac, I'm using an old computer with a tiny screen resolution at this moment and that image is ridiculously huge. I have to scroll sideways (Something I haven't done for a long time) just to read people's posts. Do you mind reducing it to a clickable thumbnail or something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Det. Bart Lasiter Posted June 12, 2006 Author Share Posted June 12, 2006 Does the 64 bit version have problems running some 32bit apps? I know that was a problem with WinXP 64bit. A lil offtopic, but did anyone notice that the main Windows Vista websites (http://www.microsoft.com/Windowsvista/) background looks a lot like Dantooine in K1. Hmmm, I never had problems running 32-bit applications in XP 64-bit, including 32-bit DirectX and OpenGL applications (like KotOR for instance). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabretooth Posted June 13, 2006 Share Posted June 13, 2006 A lil offtopic, but did anyone notice that the main Windows Vista websites (http://www.microsoft.com/Windowsvista/) background looks a lot like Dantooine in K1. You, off that KotOR, now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astrotoy7 Posted June 13, 2006 Share Posted June 13, 2006 lolz...64 bit isnt properly supported in XP with drivers/apps compatibility and the like... you expect to be better for a Beta of a new OS with beefier hardware requirements ?? Best to stick to teh 32 bit, and yeah, off a separate drive/partition.... unless you plan to use it for a standalone Home Theater PC(which I do for on of my rigs) In that instance - Vista MCE has proven mpre stable thane MCE 2005... mtfbwya Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiestainabox Posted June 13, 2006 Share Posted June 13, 2006 A lil offtopic, but did anyone notice that the main Windows Vista websites (http://www.microsoft.com/Windowsvista/) background looks a lot like Dantooine in K1. Hoo Crap, it does, move replace that girl with say bastilla and you got Dantooine. Anywhoo, Im not getting Vista For A while, Im still PO'ed about the Halo 2 For PC thing. only availble on Vista? Come on, Im not buying Vista just to play Halo 2. But I like the sound of being able to zoom in and out, that helps with my multitasking, but if i really need the extra desktop space, I'll stick to hooking my TV up to my Computer and using it as a second moniter. But the stupid thing shows up in B&W, so... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted June 13, 2006 Share Posted June 13, 2006 So when Vista is released, will this beta become unuseable so we have to buy the full edition? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpaceAlex Posted June 13, 2006 Share Posted June 13, 2006 So when Vista is released, will this beta become unuseable so we have to buy the full edition? It expires in June 2007. So it will still be usable when the full version is released. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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