If you have been running the Ultimate version of Windows Vista and have been wondering how it is different from the other versions in daily use; here’s an answer. Windows Vista comes with a bunch of Extras which are not available to lesser flavors of Vista. One of these extras that we have been tracking is called Windows DreamScene (check out the video available at the bottom of this link).
DreamScene lets you configure a video as a wallpaper. So, instead of static wallpapers, you can have dynamic wallpapers. Now, whether you decide to go for a 3D virtual world type background or you include your home video, it’s up to you.
This extra has been in the news for some time but we were waiting for it to be released before we decided to cover it. As of last week, it has been formally made available for Windows Vista Ultimate users to download and install.
There is some great content available out of the box in the release to start you off. You can also download more from http://dream.wincustomize.com. Or create your own as well.
Of course, a lot of serious computer users might not find this as exciting (some of us don’t even have wallpapers). But this is just the thing for those who like to have pretty wallpapers on their desktops. Also, we think that this does help a lot in breaking the monotony that can seep in from working long hours on a computer.
If you are running DreamScene, we would love to hear comments about your experience.
One of the best features of Windows Vista is something dubbed as Instant Search. Instant Search is integrated at a number of places in Windows Vista. This search feature is useful not only because it is a super fast way of finding things; what makes it absolutely priceless is that it is very context sensitive, i.e. it behaves differently depending on where it is accessed from.
It shows you different results when accessed from the Start Menu, Control Panel, Explorer, Media Player, Photo Gallery, Internet Explorer, and others. For example, when you type in the Instant Search box in the Control Panel, it gets results from within the Control Panel programs. Or if you use the Instant Search from within the Photo Gallery, it filters your photographs.
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Every once in a while you need to take screen shots of your screen. More often than not these have to be a part of your screen. In Windows XP (unless you have a Tablet PC edition), the only way to do this natively was to do a Print Screen (or a Ctrl+Print Screen) to capture the screen (or a window); then edit it in paint or something similar to get hold of the desired part of the screen that you actually wanted to capture. Of course, you could always resort to third party software for this. I have used the excellent OneNote 2007 with its simple to use rectangular screen capture feature which can be triggered by pressing the Windows Key + S. I have also used the much more versatile WinSnap for my needs. We no longer need to do any of the above in Vista.
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Microsoft has finally come out and talked about their plans about the much awaited and anticipated release of Windows Vista Service Pack 1.
The company announced a release sometime in the first quarter of 2008. The company also announced that this service pack does not contain a lot of new features, though it does have a few that a lot of users have been requesting for such as the ability to encrypt hard disk partitions.
Though a lot of people have had a chance to go through the service pack already, either through the leaked copy last month; or through the beta preview that is available to some users.
Microsoft has also announced the availability of a beta later this year. It plans to release the beta to 10000 users for testing.
Interestingly enough, even after the announcement, there are no updates available on the Windows Service Pack Road Map page (at the time of writing this post, the last updated date shows March 28, 2007).
We at VistaBlogged love our Windows Vista and, if for nothing else, we are eagerly awaiting this service pack for all the performance enhancements that it promises. Of course, if problems such as those reported by Loyd are fixed, it will be bonus.
Windows Vista has been out for quite a long time and a lot of issues have been found and a lot of fixes have come and more are on the way through SP1. A lot of people are making a move to the Vista platform from their Windows XP systems. However, there are many more who cannot move from Windows XP yet even if they could choose to. Most of such people need Windows XP due to work constraints.
This article describes the simple steps to install Windows Vista “within” your Windows XP environment using the freely available Microsoft Virtual PC 2007.
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Let me share some of the most interesting Vista related articles I’ve read this week:
Last week we were suggesting that WGA should be cut-out from Windows Vista. Well, I guess only a few can disagree with this statement. This weekend, problems were reported with the WGA (Windows Genuine Advantage) validation server resulting in milions of users unable to validate their copy of Windows Vista.
Many legal users saw error messages appearing on their screen saying they might be ‘victim of software counterfeiting‘, actually meaning they might be using a illegal copy. Many users saw their Aero interface get disabled, while they owned a legal Windows Vista copy and did that could have caused this.
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Very often people are complaining about Windows Vista. Often heard complaints are among others; missing new functionality, bad performance and instabillity. I personally know people that are really thinking of ‘taking the leap’ back to Windows XP.
Many are in doubt about the new features of Windows Vista. What does Windows XP really offer more then Windows XP? Is Windows Vista really supreme to Windows XP?
Well we at Vistablogged.com are very eager to know what daily Windows Vista users would change in their operating system to make it match their needs better. Would it include to loosen the DRM constrictions, convert to the WinFS filesystem, or to toss the controversial WGA? Come on, don’t be shy and post let’s hear your suggestions!
While Windows Vista’s popularity with home and business users is growing steadily, Windows Vista’s very existence seems to be ignored at the 2008 Olympic Games.
It would be a great experience for both end-users as well as Microsoft to have Windows Vista used at the 2008 Olympic Games. End-users would see how Windows Vista really works and feels, while Microsoft would have their new OS advertised on a important event.
But Lenovo, the main sponsor of the 2008 Olympic Games, has chosen to install Windows XP on all PCs handling chores vital to the Olympic Games. Their reason? Chairman of Lenovo Yang Yuanqing tells us they needed a proven stable, mature platform for their network. Lenovo just isn’t willing to try new technologies here, due to the size and importance of the event.
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