Re: Longhorn beta shows where OS is going

Bitey wrote: 
Known for years by the code name "Longhorn," the successor to Microsoft's
Windows XP has been dubbed "Longwait" for its numerous delays. As features
have been announced, it's also been accused of copying of Apple Computer
Inc.'s Mac OS X.

And that was before most people had the chance to see — let alone use
— what's now been christened Windows Vista.

Microsoft finally took some of the wraps off last week, releasing Vista's
first major test version to about 500,000 programmers and tech
professionals. The goal is to let them kick the tires, run their software
on it and provide feedback.

Beta 1, as it's known, is far from complete but gives a taste for where
the world's most widely used operating system is headed.

Yes, it does have more of a Mac-like look and feel.

And, yes, it's insanely late.

But it also gives users hope that some of Windows' most serious annoyances
and dangers might be mitigated just in time for the holidays of 2006, when
the final version is expected to be out.

A copy of Beta 1 arrived last week, and I installed it on a
state-of-the-art PC that had been running Windows 2000. Because it's a
beta — and the first one at that — I won't mention the roughest areas.

Instead, I wanted to look at Windows Vista's potential, and I found a lot
to like. Beta 2, which will be more widely available, is expected to have
more features and much bigger appeal.

The way Vista organizes and finds information topped my list of
improvements.

In Windows XP, users often launch a program by clicking on the "Start"
button and selecting from a menu that lists programs in order of how
frequently they're used. If a program isn't on that short list, the user
is stuck wading through a potentially long list that appears when the "All
Programs" option is selected.

In Beta 1, the list of popular programs is still there but the "All
Programs" link now triggers a much easier to navigate list. No more clumsy
scrolling.

If you don't like that, you can search for a program by typing its name
into a box built into the menu. (AP)


Ill have to go grab me a copy of that I think :)

--
Mimic

"The man who awaits the rising of the sun, cannot wait forever."
ZGF0YWZsZXhAY2FubmFiaXNtYWlsLmNvbQ==  [ www.hidemyemail.net ]
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