NSA and Microsoft Worked Together on Windows Vista Security

[Richard]

That got some very good laptops now that can match the performance of desktops even when playing games. The only bad thing about them is they cost almost twice of what a comparable desktop costs.

[Richard]

It sounds like more bad news about Vista.

The Most Annoying Things About Windows Vista

Edward N. Albro and Eric Dahl, PC WorldTue Feb 20, 4:00 AM ET

There's lots to like in the newest version of Windows. Vista's look is stunning, the OS should be more secure, and finding things is often easier. But Windows wouldn't be Windows without those aspects, big and small, that just drive you nuts with frustration. Here's our list of Vista features that just make us wonder, "What were they thinking?"

Home Basically-There's-No-Reason-to-Buy-This

The cheapest version of Vista, Home Basic, is so crippled it can't run the Aero interface. Theoretically, that's a boon for owners of machines that aren't capable of running Aero.

But it's time for some tough love, people: If your PC can't run Aero, you have no need for Vista. Period. On machines that aren't Aero-capable, the rest of the OS will run slowly enough that you're better off sticking with XP until it's time to buy a new Vista PC. So why does Home Basic exist? So Microsoft can say that Vista costs "as little as $100."

Not fixable: Unless you consider not buying Vista Home Basic a fix.

Ahhgh! My Screen Blacked Out!

Okay, Microsoft. We get that Vista is all about security. We get that you've sensibly limited what programs can do without explicit approval. We can even buy the idea that there's probably a good reason behind the incessant prompting from the User Access Control code built into Vista, warning about everything from installing software to changing fonts. So clearly you'd want a UAC alert to stand out a bit--to be something a user couldn't simply ignore. That's fine. But blacking out the entire screen as if the monitor were switching resolutions? That's the best you could do?

We thought you guys spent all this time designing a nifty new hardware-accelerated interface for your new OS. And you couldn't come up with something that looks even remotely 21st century for the UAC alerts? Really?

Seriously, UAC is a decent enough idea, but Vista's implementation pulls in two different directions. On one hand, the appearance of a UAC alert looks like the end of the world (or at least the end of some bit of computer hardware). On the other, the alerts' all-too-frequent appearances encourage users to give the warnings rubber-stamp approval. We're way too close to boy-who-cried-wolfsville here.

Somewhat fixable: You can turn off UAC alerts if you wish, but you give up a measure of Vista's enhanced security by doing so. Head to the User Accounts section of the Control Panel and click Turn User Account Control on or off. Uncheck the box labeled Use User Account Control (UAC) to help protect your computer, and then reboot your system. The UAC prompts will be gone.

The Large-Print Edition

If you like your current desktop-icon layout, you won't like what you see when you upgrade to Vista. Perhaps overly enamored with Vista's new photo-realistic icons, Microsoft went all AARP-friendly on us and bumped up the default size for desktop icons. That's okay, we guess. Plenty of people want bigger icons. Problem is, Vista's upgrade installation makes this layout-destroying change without asking you. And if you want to move all your icons back to their appointed places, you'll have to find the icon-size setting in its new location.

Fixable: Right-click your desktop and choose View, Classic Icons. Then spend far too long dragging your icons back to their proper positions. When you're done, you'll notice that the shortcut arrow now covers approximately a quarter of each supposedly beautiful new icon.

Costly Editions, DRM, and Upgrade Surprises

Ultimately Expensive

Apparently all those years Vista was in development were more inflationary than we thought, because in the five years since XP was released, Windows got real expensive. Sure, Home Premium isn't much more than XP Professional--but look at all the cool stuff it's missing, like Complete PC Backup, BitLocker Drive Encryption, and Shadow Copies (which automatically keeps copies of previous versions of your files). For more features, you'll need the pricier Business Edition, which still doesn't come with BitLocker and lacks Media Center. Want the whole enchilada? You'll drop megabucks for the Ultimate version ($259 for an upgrade or $399 for the full-price version).

Not fixable: Short of sailing with the software pirates, there's no way around this one.

Is This My OS or Hollywood's? (Or, Why Do I Have to Buy a New Monitor Again?)

This arguably isn't Microsoft's fault, but the high-definition situation on PCs in general and Vista specifically certainly qualifies as annoying. If your video card and monitor don't support HDCP (and unless you bought them recently and did your research beforehand, they don't), you'll need new models if you want to watch full-resolution Blu-ray or HD-DVD movies on your PC.

Not legally fixable: Hackers are finding ways to break through the encryption on high-def discs--but as long as the DMCA stays on the books, their argument for why these tools should be legal ("They're for making backup copies") won't hold water in court.

The Downgraded Upgrade Disc

An OS upgrade is a nice occasion to start your computer off with a clean slate. But prepare for an annoying additional step if you plan to back up your data files, wipe out your drive, and start fresh: If you bought a Vista upgrade disc, you'll have to reinstall Windows XP on the machine first.

For XP installs, you could start a clean installation on a bare drive and simply insert the disc of a previous Windows version to verify that you qualified for an upgrade. But Microsoft dumped this capability in Vista, so a clean install from an upgrade disc will entail one more (probably 30-minute-long) step. You can still get a clean installation of Vista from an upgrade disc, but you just can't do it without installing XP first.

Kinda sorta fixable: While there is a workaround that lets you perform a clean Vista install with just an upgrade disc, it requires installing Vista twice. That might actually take longer than installing XP first.

Virtualization Limits, Constant Nagging, and Needless Shuffling

Only the Rich Shall Virtualize

Here's another bit of Microsoft licensing larceny: If you'd like to run a virtualized copy of Vista on top of this or another OS, you'd best be prepared to fork over some serious coin. The licenses for Vista Home Basic and Home Premium both contain this handy clause: "USE WITH VIRTUALIZATION TECHNOLOGIES. You may not use the software installed on the licensed device within a virtual (or otherwise emulated) hardware system."

Want a version you can virtualize? You'll have to step up to the $299 Business or $399 Ultimate edition.

Not legally fixable: Well, this is only a licensing provision, so nothing in the software will prevent you from running either Home version in a virtual machine. But that would be wrong.

Yes, Mom, I Really Do Want to Install This Software

One of the many prompts you'll have to navigate if you want to download a program in IE 7 and install it on your Vista PC.We often worry about Microsoft playing Big Brother, but now it's playing Big Mother, attempting to protect you from your own rash impulses to run new software. Try to download a program, and Internet Explorer will block it. ("It's for your own good. You can't be too careful, you know. Who knows where that program has been!") Unblock it, and IE will ask if you really, truly want to download the software. ("These programs can be dangerous, you know. I just don't want you to get hurt.")

Once you manage to get the program onto your machine, Windows tosses up its own roadblocks, forcing you to authorize the installer program to run, sometimes as an administrator. ("You're going to have to convince me you really know what you're doing here, young man.") Click through enough dialog boxes, and you'll eventually be running your new software, but you can almost hear Windows grumbling in the background. ("Fine! Ruin your life! But don't say I didn't warn you!")

Fixable: Turning off UAC alerts (see how above in "Ahhgh! My Screen Blacked Out!") will silence Windows. And trading IE for Firefox is like moving away from Mom and into your cool older brother's apartment.

Who Rearranged the Furniture?

Here's a note for the programmers working on the next version of Windows: Moving stuff around doesn't necessarily make it better, just harder to find. Vista's chock-full of settings and tools that have been rearranged, renamed, or reorganized for no apparent reason.

Want to change your display properties? In XP you would right-click the desktop and then go down to 'Properties'. In Vista, it's 'Personalize'. Want to use 'Add or Remove Programs' to uninstall some software? Sorry. That capability is now under 'Programs and Features' in the Classic Start Menu or just plain 'Programs' in the default view.

It's not that the new names and locations are harder to use, it's that there's no particular need for the changes. And the new names tend to be vaguer than the ones they replace.

Not fixable: Continually getting lost is just one of the many prices you pay for upgrading to Vista.

Search Woes, Administration Problems, and More

Search Instantly Anywhere (As Long As by 'Anywhere' You Mean 'Where Microsoft Thinks You Should')

Make sure Vista's search will find the files you want by telling it where your files really are.We're certainly glad that Vista finally uses indexing to radically speed up searching. And we're ecstatic that we no longer have to watch that damn dog scratching himself while XP performs an interminable search of the hard drive.

But Vista's default search is instance #3456 of Microsoft trying to nudge you into using the computer the way it thinks you should, not the way you want to. By default the OS indexes only the folders found in your user-name folder (like Documents, Pictures, and Music). That's because the folks at Microsoft seem to think you should use only their generic folders for your data. If, like lots of people, you store important files outside of the user-name folder, you're back to stultifyingly slow searches.

Fixable: Go to Control Panel, System and Maintenance, Indexing Options and choose the folders that Windows should be indexing.

Who's in Charge Around Here?

You might think you're the boss, if you're running Windows as an administrator. But when you try to run certain commands from Vista's command prompt, you'll learn that in Vista's eyes you're still a peon. Vista will say that you can't run the command because you don't have the proper administrator rights. Huh?

Fixable: Click Start, All Programs, Accessories, right-click Command Prompt, and choose Run as Administrator. Finally, you'll be master of your domain.

Anorexic Feedreader

Vista's Sidebar, a transparent panel with widgets (Gadgets in Vista-speak), is pretty, and if you have enough screen real estate, it can be quite useful. But so far the selection of Gadgets is sparse, and some of the applications themselves are feeble. As an example, take the Feed Headlines applet that displays news from RSS feeds.

We've yet to meet a pair of people with exactly the same preferences about how they want to read blogs and news feeds. Some like to see lots of headlines from lots of blogs, others want to limit the field. Some people must have updates every few minutes, others are happy to wait. But the Feed Headlines gadget is almost completely uncustomizable. You can't resize its window, even if you pull the Gadget out to run on your desktop. You can display headlines from one feed or every feed you've subscribed to, but not a selection of your feeds. And you can't tell it how often to update the headlines. The app doesn't report how often it checks for new headlines, but our experience indicates that the answer is "not very often."

Fixable, eventually: Independent developers are already writing new Gadgets for the Sidebar, and eventually a smart coder will build a much better feed reader. But it isn't here yet.

Where, Oh Where Are My Network Places?

Previous versions of Windows had the Network Places link prominently displayed in Explorer and in the Start menu. Adding locations to Network Places was a pain, but once you did, it was a handy way to get to just the network folders and drives you used most often.

Vista's Network link lists every PC, printer, and server on the network, many of which you may have no need to visit. And loading the list can take a long time. Vista's equivalent, the Network link, seems to be based on the idea that more is more. On our machines it shows every PC, printer, and server on our network, from 172.18.0.137 to WXU-8250, 95 percent of which we never want to access. And Vista frequently goes out and repopulates that list when you click the link, a process that on our admittedly crowded network here at PC World takes over a minute.

Fixable: You can replicate the old Network Places. Create a folder (call it, oh, we don't know, Network Places, perhaps) and put inside it shortcuts to the network locations that you most frequently need to access. Simply drag that folder into Explorer's left panel, and it'll be available when you need it.

Vista: Game Off!

Just to recap: Vista took five friggin' years to develop, and yet graphics card makers still didn't have their drivers in shape for the launch of the OS? We'd expect that the early Vista drivers wouldn't be the fastest around--ATI and nVidia have been tweaking XP drivers for years, after all--but the number of games that are flat-out unplayable is just ridiculous. And we're talking popular games here, too: Unreal Tournament 2004, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, and Need for Speed: Most Wanted, to name just a few.

The problem has even spawned a possible class-action lawsuit by nVidia-equipped gamers upset that the DirectX 10-ready GeForce 8 series boards they spent hundreds of dollars on won't even run older games on Vista.

Fixable, eventually: Patience is the only fix for these issues. ATI and nVidia will iron the problems out, and hopefully everyone will be playing in a DirectX 10-accelerated world soon. Until then, it's time to break out your old XP disc and start dual-booting.

 http://news.yahoo.com/s/pcworld/20070220/tc_pcworld/129126&printer=1;_ylt=AkQYCXFu3LYQQIldCPf_JzgRSLMF

[Abe]

My work computer has Windows Vista on it (gasp!) From my experience, it really is not worth using. The visual "Aero" theme looks good to be honest, however it's not worth shelling $300 on a fancy new video card and extra memory to utilize its effects. The "new" features are definitely not memorable. I do not understand why so many people do not care when they find out that our government is increasing its ability to spy on us. Privacy is so rare these days.

[William]

I agree Abe.  And they make you feel paronoid if you believe there is a big brother watching you.  Which there is!  :ninja:

[Richard]

Yeah it sounds like MS screwed up big time with Vista. I imagine in a couple years when they come out with service pack two it will be much better. Right now it doesn’t sound good. Everyday I see news stories about all the problems with Vista. Here’s a new one that will hit MS hard. 

Microsoft Hit By U.S. DOT Ban On Windows Vista, Explorer 7, and Office 2007

Tens of thousands of federal workers are prohibited from upgrading to the latest versions, according to memos seen by InformationWeek.

By Paul McDougall
InformationWeek

Citing concerns over cost and compatibility, the top technology official at the federal Department of Transportation has placed a moratorium on all in-house computer upgrades to Microsoft's new Windows Vista operating system, as well as Internet Explorer 7 and Office 2007, according to a memo obtained Friday by InformationWeek.
In a memo to his staff, the DOT's CIO Daniel Mintz says he has placed "an indefinite moratorium" on the upgrades as "there appears to be no compelling technical or business case for upgrading to these new Microsoft software products. Furthermore, there appears to be specific reasons not to upgrade."

Among the concerns cited by Mintz are compatibility with software applications currently in use at the department, the cost of an upgrade, and DOT's move to a new headquarters in Washington later this year. "Microsoft Vista, Office 2007, and Internet Explorer [7] may be acquired for testing purposes only, though only on approval by the DOT chief information officer," Mintz writes.

The memo is dated Jan. 19. In an interview Friday, DOT chief technology officer Tim Schmidt confirmed that the ban is still in effect. "We're analyzing different client software options and also integration issues," says Schmidt. Among the options the Transportation Department is weighing as a possible alternative or complement to Windows Vista are Novell's Suse Linux and, for a limited group of users, Apple's Macintosh hardware and software, he says.

Schmidt says the Transportation Department hasn't ruled out upgrading its computers to Windows Vista if all of its concerns about the new operating system -- the business version of which was launched late last year -- can be resolved. "We have more confidence in Microsoft than we would have 10 years ago," says Schmidt. "But it always makes sense to look at the security implications, the value back to the customer, and those kind of issues."

The DOT's ban on Vista, Internet Explorer 7, and Office 2007 applies to 15,000 computer users at DOT proper who are currently running the Windows XP Professional operating system. The memo indicates that a similar ban is in effect at the Federal Aviation Administration, which has 45,000 desktop users.

Compatibility with existing applications appears to be the Transportation Department's major concern. According to a separate memo, a number of key software applications and utilities in use in various branches of the department aren't Vista compatible. Among them are Aspen 2.8.1, ISS 2.11, ProVu 3.1.1, and Capri 6.5, according to a memo issued by staffers at the DOT's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

Any prolonged ban on new Microsoft technologies by the federal government could have a significant impact on the software maker's bottom line, as Microsoft sells millions of dollars in software to the feds annually.

 http://www.informationweek.com/news/show...=197700789

[Richard]

I see now they have a site telling people how bad bad Vista is.

Does Vista Signal the End of Windows?

Finally Gates and Microsoft have made something so horrible that the world is gagging on it and preparing to throw up. I'm glad. Operating systems should be totally open source so we can all know what they are doing. And operating systems should be FREE, like Linux, so that anyone can have one.

Gates finally went over the line. The richest man in the world is also the greediest man in the world, despite all his pompous "philanthropy." If he were REALLY a philanthropist he would fund the free energy movement big time and free us from fossile fuels and global warming. Maybe he's just too stupid to do that and doesn't "get it."

Vista is so bad that perhaps it is the trigger that will bring open systems in big time. Now there is a new website dedicated to just that: BadVista.com.

Bad Vista!
http://badvista.fsf.org/

BadVista.org:
Stopping Vista adoption by promoting free software
by John Sullivan - last modified 2007-02-08 17:41

The BadVista campaign is an advocate for the freedom of computer users, opposing adoption of Microsoft Windows Vista and promoting free (as in freedom) software alternatives.

With your help, we will:

Organize supporters into effective actions protesting Microsoft's daylight theft of our freedoms

Aggregate news stories cutting through MS Windows Vista marketing propaganda

Provide a user-friendly gateway to free software adoption. 

On another page the website lists some of the things that are bad about Vista. Microsoft thinks its monopoly is now so great that it control the world. Let's hope they have gone too far and that this movement toward open transparent systems will grow.

What's wrong with Microsoft Windows Vista?
by John Sullivan - last modified 2007-02-26 15:17

Microsoft's new Windows Vista operating system is a giant step backward for your freedoms.
Usually software is supposed to enable you to do more with your computer. Vista, though, is designed to restrict what you can do.

Vista enforces new forms of "Digital Rights Management (DRM)". DRM is more accurately called Digital Restrictions Management, because it is a technology that Big Media and computer companies try to impose on us all, in order to have control over how our computers are used.

DRM enables Microsoft and media companies to:

Decide which programs you can and can't use on your computer

Decide which features of your computer or software you can use at any given moment

Force you to install new programs even when you don't want to (and, of course, pay for the privilege)

Restrict your access to certain programs and even to your own data files.

Even when you legally buy Vista, you don't own it.

Windows Vista, like previous versions of Windows, is proprietary software: leased to you under a license that severely restricts how you can use it, and without source code, so nobody but Microsoft can change it or even verify what it really does.

Other pages deal answer questions about open source systems and free software. In reality the horribleness of Vista is probably the best thing possible. It may be the straw that broke the camel's back, the camel being Microsoft.

BAD VISTA!