Windows Vista RC1 - first impressions

I'm writing to you from Vista RC1 (build 5600)
right now.  I've installed it on 3 different machines.

My first impressions: It's a lot more stable than previous major builds
(although not 100% stable by any means), and the performance is improved (but
still, not quite on par with XP on the same machine).  Release Candidate 1 is a
tremendous improvement on the July CTP, which was the last major public
release.  (I spent 3 weeks away with the July CTP of Vista on my
laptop.  I used it for digital image editing, e-mail, etc.)

Visually, RC1 is striking.

I still feel like I'm being harassed by requests to elevate permissions for
certain actions, such as copying files into the root directory of an attached
USB drive.  The result is that I'm rapidly becoming desensitised to the
"Continue" button.  The behavior is far improved from Beta 2, but still I think
this has a ways to go before your average user isn't "trained" to mindlessly
click Continue when prompted by User Account Control.

Frustrations aside, I keep discovering new things (so many new
things) that make me say "wow, that's so cool, and I didn't even know that Vista
could do that!"  When Vista is finished being polished, it is going to be
amazing. 

Jim Allchin explains
in his announcement when Vista RC1 will be available through the different
programs.  If you don't have access to Vista RC1 yet, WinSuperSite has a screenshot
gallery. :)  I'd be interested to hear your thoughts and experiences.

[Update: 20 of the "so many new things" mentioned
above are enumerated in ComputerWorld Security's Visual Tour of 20
Reasons Why Windows Vista Will Be Your Next OS.]

Comments

• Anonymous
  September 03, 2006
  Vista RC1 has been released and even if I read some people enjoy a new stable version (better than the

• Anonymous
  September 04, 2006
  PingBack from http://4sysops.com/archives/windows-vista-rc1-first-impressions/

• Anonymous
  September 04, 2006
  Does it really matter if you press 'Continue' - i was under  the impression that it was designed so that the appropriate permission is not available by default and must be agreed to by the user. A whole lot better than running in adminitrator mode as we've all been doing for years s.t. if a blackhat gets access to your m/c - you are really up the creek (without the paddle)

• Anonymous
  September 08, 2006
  Am I the only one having less hardware compatibility than with previous builds? Aero Glass no longer works, and my network adapter isn't being detected.

• Anonymous
  September 08, 2006
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  September 10, 2006
  Rob
  
  As usual you are right and i stand corrected. I've installed the x64 version of VISTA RC1 and altho' it performs flawlessly - i'm getting annoying prompts when i view any of the sessions form either the PDC or Tech-ED in IE7. Everytime a frame / ppt slide changes i get prompted by the lovely UAC messagebox. I'm solely tempted to turn off UAC but that would defeat the purpose - can you try it out and perhaps you can find a solution.
  
  On a lighter note - the graphics are stunning !!

• Anonymous
  September 10, 2006
  I stand corrected - you are absolutely right.
  
  I installed Vista RC1 on a 64 bit p/c and i decided not to install office 2003 but wait for the Office 2007 refresh that is due out soon. The graphics are stunning!! as is the media centre so i decided to try viewing one of the sessions from the PDC ....
  
  Every time a powerpoint slide changed up would come the UAC messagebox - you can imagine how annoying this could get - and i'm thinking maybe Rob is right..
  
  20 clicks later , i decided to try and turn off the UAC - can be done very easily from the control panel.
  
  Low and behold when i reran the pdc session in IE7 i get prompted to download a windows animator update - so i did just that and the session rang pewrfectly.
  
  Ok , i said lets turn UAC back on for this user and try again.
  
  Well , wouldn't you know it - it worked perfectly - no clicking required.
  
  It would appear that if i had loaded office in the first place - i might never have had this problem - i could be wrong however !!
  
  Still and all - i rechon Vista is definitely going to be my default OS
  
  Does anyone know what the minimum grapphics card memory is required to yield the glass effect? 128mb?

• Anonymous
  September 12, 2006
  PingBack from http://www.windowsobserver.com/2006/09/12/in-and-around-the-net-12-sep-06-edition/

• Anonymous
  September 13, 2006
  Well you guys probably had those compatibility issues due to upgrading overtop of a previous OS.  Vista requires a clean install which means wiping your hard-drive clean of disease and problems.

• Anonymous
  September 20, 2006
  Tim Sneath is on a roll with his series of Windows Vista Secrets posts, and rumour has it he has something...

• Anonymous
  October 09, 2006
  Windows Vista RC2 was available internally late last week, and is now available for download to technical

• Anonymous
  June 08, 2009
  PingBack from http://insomniacuresite.info/story.php?id=4062