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Windows Vista

Windows Vista

Windows Vista April EDW (Build 5365) Desktop

Company/developer:

Microsoft

OS family:

Windows NT

Source model:

Closed source

Stable release:

n/a (n/a) [+/-]

Preview release:

Build 5365 (April EDW) (April 21, 2006) [+/-]

Kernel type:

Hybrid kernel

Default user interface: {{{ui}}}

License: Microsoft EULA

Working state: Beta

Website:

Windows Vista

Windows Vista is the next major version of Microsoft Windows, the proprietary operating system developed by Microsoft. Prior to the aouncement of the Vista name on July 22, 2005, it was known by its codename Longhorn, after the Longhorn Saloon, a popular bar in Whistler, British Columbia. According to Microsoft, the scheduled release date for Windows Vista is currently November 2006 for business editions, and January 2007 for consumer editions[1]. These release dates come more than five years after the release of Windows XP, Microsoft's current consumer and business operating system, making this the longest time span between releases of Windows.

Overview

Windows Vista has many new features, such as an updated graphical user interface dubbed Aero, improved searching technology, a number of new security features, and completely redesigned networking, audio, print and display sub-systems. Vista also aims to increase the level of communication between machines on a home network using peer-to-peer technology, making it easy to share files, password settings, and digital media between computers and devices. For developers, Vista also has an entirely new development API, called WinFX, based on the .NET framework, which aims to make it significantly easier for developers to write high-quality applications than with WinFX's predecessor, Win32. The Enterprise edition of Vista is expected to include Microsoft's Virtual PC technology, so that line-of-business applications that are incompatible with Vista can still be used in a fashion similar to how Mac OS X's "Classic" mode supported older Macintosh applications.

According to Jim Allchin, the co-President at Microsoft responsible for Windows Vista's development, there are over one thousand new features and technologies being introduced. In many ways, as Bill Gates has said, Windows Vista will be the broadest and most comprehensive update since Windows 95, which was released twelve years prior to the expected release date of Vista.

Microsoft's primary stated goal with Vista, however, has been to improve the state of security in the Windows operating system. Amongst the many common criticisms of Windows XP, the most significant has been its security vulnerabilities, and an overall susceptibility to malware, viruses and buffer overflows. In light of this, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates aounced in early 2002 a company-wide Trustworthy Computing initiative which aims to incorporate security work into every aspect of software development at the company. This was one factor that delayed the development of Vista, as Microsoft prioritized improving the security of Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 above finishing the next version of the operating system.

Development

Main article: Development of Windows Vista

Microsoft's original "Longhorn" logo

Microsoft first talked about "Longhorn" in July 2001, even before Windows XP's release in October of that year. It was originally expected to ship sometime late in 2003 as a minor step between Windows XP and "Blackcomb" (now known as Windows "Viea").[2] Gradually, "Longhorn" assimilated many important new features and technologies of "Blackcomb", and so the date of release was pushed back a few times. Faced with ongoing delays and concerns about feature creep, Microsoft aounced on August 27, 2004 that it was making significant changes. "Longhorn" development basically started afresh, building on the Windows Server 2003 codebase, and re-incorporating only the features that would be intended for an actual operating system release. Some previously-aounced features, such as WinFS, were dropped.

After "Longhorn" was renamed to Windows Vista, an unprecedented (for Microsoft) beta-test program was started, which has involved hundreds of thousands of volunteers and companies. In September 2005, Microsoft started releasing regular Community Technology Previews (CTP) to beta testers. The first of these was build 5219, distributed among 2005 PDC attendees, and has been released to Microsoft Beta testers and MSDN subscribers. Subsequent CTPs have introduced most of the plaed features for the final product, as well as a number of changes to the user interface, based in large part on feedback from beta testers. Windows Vista was deemed "code-complete" with the release of build 5308 CTP, released on February 22, 2006, and much of the remainder of work between that build and the final release of the product will focus on stability, performance, application and driver compatibility, and documentation. Jim Allchin stated in an interview there will be no "Release Candidates" as with previous versions of Windows; they will instead continue shipping CTPs until the product is ready[3].

It has been suggested that a future Beta 2 CTP will be available through Microsoft's Customer Preview Program — essentially a free download. Microsoft's roadmap also indicates that the current plaed "release to manufacturing" date is on or before October 25 2006[4].

Windows Server "Longhorn", the successor to Windows Server 2003, is also under development, and is based on the same codebase as Windows Vista. It is plaed for release in the second half of 2007.

Editions

On February 26, 2006, Microsoft aounced that Windows Vista will ship in six editions[5]. All versions will be available in both 32-bit x86 and 64-bit architectures , except Windows Vista Starter which will only be available in 32-bit. The following table details the various editions and the features that each will offer. There is more information about the release of Windows Vista at the official website.

A partial table of the features plaed for each edition has been published at Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows: Windows Vista Product Editions.
Edition Description Availability Restriction

Windows Vista Starter Much like the Windows XP Starter Edition, this edition will be limited to emerging markets, mainly to offer a legal alternative to using unauthorized copies. It will be severely limited, for example only allowing a user to launch at most three applications with a user interface at once, will not accept incoming network coections, and physical memory is limited to 256 MB.

Emerging markets

Windows Vista Home Basic Similar to Windows XP Home Edition, Home Basic is intended for budget users not requiring advanced media support for home use. The "Aero Glass" theme with translucent effects will not be included with this edition. Home Basic will support up to 8 GB of physical memory

Windows Vista Home Premium Based on the Windows Vista Home Basic, this edition will additionally support more advanced features aimed for the home market segment, such as HDTV support and DVD authoring. Extra games, mobile and tablet computer support, file system encryption, and a photo management application are also included. This edition is comparable to Windows XP Media Center Edition and Tablet PC Edition. Home Premium will support up to 16 GB of physical memory.

Windows Vista Business Comparable to Windows XP Professional, and aimed at the business market. Does not include the Media Center features of Home Premium, but does include the IIS web server, fax support, offline files, dual physical processor support, Remote Desktop, ad-hoc P2P collaboration capabilities, and support for 128 GB of memory. Product activation is not present in this edition.

Windows Vista Enterprise This edition is aimed at the enterprise segment of the market, and is a superset of the Business edition. Additional features include a single-session version of Virtual PC, multilingual user interface support, BitLocker Drive Encryption, and UNIX application support. This edition will not be available through retail or OEM chaels.[6]

Software Assurance

Windows Vista Ultimate This edition combines all the features of Home Premium and Enterprise editions, and additionally comes with podcast creation support — which Microsoft has dubbed "blogcasting" — a game performance tweaker (code-named WinSAT), DVD ripping capabilities, and special online services for downloadable media, as well as additional customer service options. The Ultimate edition is aimed to be the most impressive edition of Vista, aimed at high-end PC users, gamers, multimedia professionals, and PC enthusiasts. Like the Business and Enterprise versions, product activation will not be required.

"Home Basic N" and "Business N" editions of Windows Vista will additionally be available in the European Union countries. These editions will ship without Windows Media Player, as required by sanctions brought against Microsoft for violating anti-trust laws.[7]

The three retail editions (Home Basic, Home Premium, and Ultimate) of Windows Vista will ship on the same DVD. The features of the Home Premium and Ultimate editions may be "unlocked" at any time by purchasing a one-time upgrade license through a Control Panel tool called Windows Anytime Upgrade. The Business edition will also be upgradable to Ultimate. Such licenses will be sold by Microsoft's partners and OEMs, but not directly by Microsoft.

New features

Main article: Features new to Windows Vista

Windows Vista has a long list of new features, changes, and improvements. While a complete list has not been published by Microsoft yet, recent development builds of Windows Vista, Microsoft employee blogs, and published documentation have collectively identified most of the features that Microsoft intends to include when the product is released. Aero and Flip 3D require Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) to be passed.

End-user features

Microsoft Desktop Gadgets on Windows Vista.

Aero: a re-designed user interface, code-named Aero – an acronym for Authentic, Energetic, Reflective, and Open. The new interface is intended to be cleaner and more aesthetically pleasing than previous Windows, including new transparencies, animations and eye candy.

Windows Shell: The new Windows shell is significantly different from Windows XP, offering a new range of organization and search capabilities. The Start menu has changed as well; it no longer uses ever-expanding boxes when navigating through Programs. Even the word "Start" itself has been removed in favour of a blue Windows "Pearl".

Search: significantly faster and more thorough search capabilities, similar to what is offered by Microsoft's Windows Desktop Search, Copernic, and Apple Computer's Spotlight. Search boxes have been added to the Start menu, Windows Explorer, and several of the applications included with Vista.

Windows Sidebar: A new panel on the right-hand side of the screen where a user can place Desktop Gadgets, which are small applets designed for a specialized purpose (such as displaying the weather or sports scores). The gadgets can also be placed on other parts of the desktop, if desired.

Internet Explorer is upgraded with support for tabbed browsing, RSS, a search box, a phishing filter, IDN with anti-spoofing technology and improved standards support. ActiveX controls are disabled by default. Also, Internet Explorer will operate in a "protected mode" sandbox which operates with lower permissions than the user, preventing it from accessing or modifying anything besides the Temporary Internet Files directory.[8] IE7 is no longer integrated with the explorer shell for a better security (Local files typed in IE7 are opened using the explorer shell and Web sites typed in explorer shell are opened using IE7).

Windows Media Player 11, a major revamp of Microsoft's popular program for playing and organizing music and videos. New features in this version include word-wheeling (or "search as you type"), a completely new and highly graphical interface for the media library, and the ability to share music libraries over a network with other Vista machines, the Xbox 360, and other Media Center Extenders.

User Account Control is a new security technology that allows Windows to operate effectively as a "standard" user with the least privileges, which was often a difficult thing to do in previous versions of Windows because the previous "limited" user accounts proved too restrictive. When an action requiring administrative rights is requested, the user will first be prompted to confirm their action (or be asked for an administrator password if they are not themselves an administrator).

Windows Defender: Microsoft's Anti-spyware product has been incorporated into Windows, offering protection against spyware and other threats. Changes to various system configuration settings (such as new auto-starting applications) are blocked unless the user gives consent. New version uses Windows Automatic Updates to receive definition updates, also works properly with standard user accounts and there's integration with IE so that downloads are scaed when they are downloaded to help ensure that you do not accidentally download malicious software.

Windows Mail: A replacement for Outlook Express that includes a completely replaced mail store that improves stability, and enables real-time search. A number of features from Outlook 2003 are also included, most notably spam filtering. [9]

Windows Update: Software and security updates have been simplified, now operating solely via a control panel instead of as a web application. Mail's spam filter and Defender's definitions will also be automatically updated via Windows Update.

Vista includes a range of parental controls to limit when accounts may be used, what programs and web sites are blocked, and monitoring capabilities.

Windows SideShow: Enables the auxiliary displays on newer laptops or on supported Windows Mobile devices. It is meant to be used to display Device gadgets while the computer is on or off.

Speech recognition is fully integrated into Vista, which can be "trained" to understand a user's voice, to activate commands in any Windows application, and to enable voice dictation.

Many new fonts, including several designed especially for screen reading, and a new high-quality Japanese font. See Windows Vista typefaces. ClearType has also been enhanced.

Games: Every game included with Windows has been rewritten to take advantage of Vista's new graphics capabilities. New games include Chess, Mahjong Titans and Purble Place. The Games section will also hold links and information to all games on the user's computer. One piece of information that will be shown is the game's ESRB rating.

Windows Calendar is a new calendar and task application.

Windows Photo Gallery, a photo and movie library management application. WPG can import from digital cameras, tag and rate individual items, adjust colors and exposure, create and display slideshows (with pan and fade effects), and burn slideshows to DVD.

Windows DVD Maker, a companion program to Windows Movie Maker, which provides the ability to create video DVDs based on a user's content.

Windows Collaboration is the replacement for NetMeeting. Users can share applications (or their entire desktop) with other users on the local network, or over the Internet using peer-to-peer technology.

SuperFetch, which will speed up the loading of programs and windows by storing files and programs in memory. Optionally, Superfetch can also use USB 2.0 flash memory drives to cache data for faster access. Though flash memory drives are not as fast as RAM, they have faster access times than magnetic hard disk drives.

ReadyBoost, makes PCs ruing Windows Vista more responsive by using flash memory on a USB drive, SD Card, Compact Flash, or other form of flash memory, in order to boost system performance.

ReadyDrive, enables Windows Vista PCs equipped with a hybrid drive to boot up faster, resume from hibernation in less time, and preserve battery power. Hybrid hard drives are a new type of hard disk that integrates non-volatile flash memory with a traditional hard drive.

Touchscreen support will be included.[10]

Core technologies

Windows Vista is intended to be a technology-based release, to provide a solid base to include advanced technologies, many of which will be related to how the system functions, and hence not readily visible to the user.

Improved memory manager and processes scheduler. I/O has been enhanced with I/O asynchronous cancellation and I/O scheduling based on thread priority. Rewritten many kernel structure data and algorithms.

System services are in a separated and isolated session. User processes are in another session.

Completely rearchitected audio, print, display and networking stacks.

Native IPv6 stack, which also works with IPv4, eliminating the need for dual stack network architecture. Improved resistance against all known TCP/IP-based denial of service and other types of network attacks. Enable more modular components that can be dynamically inserted and removed. Reconfigure without having to restart the computer. Automatically senses the network environment and adjusts key performance settings, such as the TCP receive window

A number of new security measures including BitLocker Drive Encryption

The new Kernel Transaction Manager enables atomic transaction operations across different types of objects, most significantly file system (Transactional NTFS) and registry operations.

Deadlock Detection Technology is a new technology that will prevent many common causes of hangs and crashes and determines if a hang is due to a deadlock condition.

Business technologies

While much of the focus of Vista's new capabilities will be centered on the new user interface, Microsoft is also adding a large number of new features to make a compelling case for businesses still ruing Windows NT, 2000, and XP desktops.

The WIM image format is the cornerstone of Microsoft's new deployment and packaging system. WIM files contain a copy of Vista, and can be maintained and patched without having to rebuild new images.

Developer technologies

Microsoft labels the new key technologies in this version of Windows as "The Pillars of Vista", sometimes referred to as "The Pillars of WinFX":

Presentation: the Windows Presentation Foundation or WPF, formerly code-named Avalon; a new user interface subsystem and framework based on Direct3D (DirectX), and vector graphics, which will make use of 3D computer graphics hardware and Direct3D technologies. See Windows Graphics Foundation.

Communication: the Windows Communication Foundation or WCF, formerly code-named Indigo; a service-oriented messaging system which allows programs to interoperate locally or remotely similar to web services.

Workflow: the Windows Workflow Foundation or WF; was aounced in August 2005, and allows task automation and integrated transactions using workflows.

WinFX is a set of technologies that Microsoft is intending to make available for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003, and are therefore not technologies exclusive to Vista, but rather developed in time for the Vista release. Allowing an easier introduction of these technologies to developers and end users may be a reason for backporting them.

There are also significant new development APIs in the core of the operating system, notably the inclusion of the .NET Framework, completely re-architected audio, networking, print, and video interfaces, major changes to the security infrastructure, improvements to the deployment and installation of applications ("ClickOnce" and Windows Installer 4.0), new device driver development model ("Windows Driver Foundation"), Transactional NTFS, and major updates to many sub-systems such as GINA and CAPI.

XP features dropped

Some notable Windows XP features and components have been replaced or removed in Windows Vista. Perhaps the most significant of these is the replacement of NetMeeting with Windows Collaboration and the removal of MSN Explorer. Windows Vista also, does not include the Windows XP "Luna" visual theme. The "Hardware profiles" startup feature has been removed as well, as has support for older motherboard technologies like the EISA bus and APM. In addition, the "My" prefix on personal folders has been removed. For example, "My Computer" is now simply "Computer," "My Pictures" is now "Pictures," and "My Documents" is now "Documents." Also, the "Documents and Settings" folder is now simply "Users".

Features delayed

WinFS is the codename for a plaed relational database layer built on top of NTFS, and is loosely based on SQL Server 2005. In August 2004, Microsoft aounced that WinFS would not be included in Windows Vista. This was due to time constraints in developing the technology; Microsoft will probably release WinFS in 2007 as an update. Microsoft has been working on this technology since the mid 1990s.

Due to scheduling issues, the Windows PowerShell, code-named Monad will not be included in Windows Vista. However, Microsoft has aounced that it will be available as a separate download in the fourth quarter of 2006[11].

Owing to significant difficulties in getting third-party developers to support the system (particularily due to the lack of support for writing for the Trusted Operating Root using .NET managed code), the Next-Generation Secure Computing Base architecture was abandoned for Windows Vista.[12] Some aspects of the NGSCB initiative, such as support for Trusted Platform Module chips, are still present, though its role is now limited to being a provider of cryptographic functions which will support BitLocker Drive Encryption.

Support for Intel's Extensible Firmware Interface was originally slated to be included with Vista, but has been removed due to what Microsoft has described as a lack of support on desktop computers. The UEFI 2.0 specification – which Microsoft contributed to – wasn't completed until early 2006, which was a likely factor as well. EFI support is still slated for Windows Server "Longhorn".[13]

Hardware requirements

System

Microsoft has not released final details of Windows Vista's hardware requirements; however, Microsoft has released some preliminary Windows Vista Capable PC Hardware guidelines for those wishing to upgrade to Windows Vista and have the full Aero experience.

CPU: x86-compatible 32-bit or x64-compatible 64-bit microprocessor(s) (Dual-core systems will be supported on all editions except Starter, and multiple physical processors are supported on Business, Enterprise and Ultimate editions)

Motherboard: ACPI-compatible firmware is required.

Memory: At least 512 megabytes of physical memory. Microsoft is also encouraging the use of ECC memory to improve stability[14].

Graphics Card: A DirectX 9–compatible GPU that is capable of supporting Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) (only needed for aero glass) and has 64 megabytes of VRAM at minimum.

Hard Drive space: At least 3 gigabytes for installation files, possibly more, depending on the edition of Windows Vista.

Display: Copy-restricted high-definition digital content, such as next-generation HD DVD movies, can be displayed at a reduced resolution of 480p (DVD quality) or 540p if the copyright owner desires, unless viewed on a High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP)-compatible monitor. Very few existing displays and retail video cards are compliant with this standard[15].

"Windows Aero" mode

"Standard" mode in "Home Basic"

"Basic" mode

"Windows Classic" mode

Minimum system requirements are documented in the preliminary WinSAT Reference: X86-compatible CPU with SSE extensions, 256 megabytes of memory, and 1024 x 768 capable graphics. Native Vista drivers or legacy XP drivers can be used.

Graphics

Vista's graphics requirements are defined in relation to the different desktop experiences.

Games or programs which are built on Direct3D 10 will not work on prior versions of Windows, as Direct3D 10 is not backwards-compatible with Direct3D 9.

Windows Aero

Windows Aero is built on the new desktop composition engine called Desktop Window Manager, adding support for 3D graphics, translucency, window animation and other visual effects. Windows Messenger will use Aero to give it a new look and a new interface.

Intended for mainstream and high-end graphics cards.

64 MB of graphics memory recommended for 1024×768, 128 MB for 1600×1200+.

At least 32 bits per pixel.

3D hardware acceleration with capabilities equal to DirectX 9.0c.

A memory bandwidth of 2 GB/s is recommended.

Capable of drawing ~1.5 M triangles / second, one window being ~150 triangles.

A graphics card that uses AGP 8X or PCI Express x16 bus.

Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) Drivers.

During Vista's early alpha testing stages, the ATI Radeon 9800 Pro and the nVidia GeForce FX 5900 were the only cards compatible with Aero Glass. Since then, support has been extended to most DirectX 9 Graphics cards. At this point, the nVidia FX family and up, and ATI Radeon 9500 and up are supported.

Standard

"Standard" is a version of Windows Aero without glass effects. While it will still use the Desktop Compositing Engine, this mode will not have the transparencies, window animations, and other advanced graphical effects. In addition, it will not support Flip 3D, which is Windows Vista's new 3D program switcher.

Neither Windows Aero nor the "Standard" graphics mode will be available in the Starter edition of Vista.

Basic

This theme runs on similar technology to Windows XP's visual style engine with the addition of subtle animations such as those found on progress bars. It does not feature transparency or translucency, window animation, Flip 3D or any of the functions provided by the DWM.

Requires Windows XP Display Driver Model (XPDM) or WDDM drivers.

Graphics card requirements are the same as Windows XP or 2000.

Windows Classic

The most basic user interface offered by Vista, which is very similar to the appearance of Windows 2000,

Does not use the new Desktop Compositing Engine; Flip 3D, live window previews, and tearing-free window dragging are therefore not supported.

Requires Windows XP Display Driver Model (XPDM) or WDDM drivers.

Graphics card requirements are the same as Windows 2000.

An option for corporate deployments and upgrades.

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