Neowin.net - Neowin Review: Microsoft Windows Vista Beta 1

Neowin Review: Microsoft Windows Vista Beta 1 - Installation

Posted by Paul on 21 August 2005 - 20:49 · 49 comments & 7389 views

With the recent release of Microsoft Windows Vista Beta 1, we here at Neowin have decided to do a series of reviews about the upcoming operating system. This week we are looking at the installation of the OS.

"System administrators will be jumping for joy in knowledge that the dull, blue and grey console look is gone for good! It has been replaced with a modern looking interface, that will appeal to all. Alongside the updated UI is a re-think on the installation process. The bottom line : its simple. Easy peasy simple. Work here should allow almost anyone to install it without too much trouble. Could the days of OS update hassle be a thing of the past? That certainly looks what Microsoft is trying to do."

For the review, follow the link below.

View: MS Windows Vista Beta 1 - Installation

Quake III Arena source code released under GPL
----------------------------------------------

We're done packaging up the Quake III Arena source code for a GPL release:

af8aaac46cc82035e1cba632b1a16e03 quake3-1.32b-source.zip
ftp://ftp.idsoftware.com/idstuff/source/q....32b-source.zip

note that a build of Q3Radiant 200f is included under GPL as well

some D3 SDK things:
-------------------

I've uploaded an XCode project file [1] to make it easier to build
the gamecode on Mac. There is no SDK source update needed at
this point.

[1] ftp://ftp.idsoftware.com/idstuff/doom3/source/mac

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(6 replies) #1 Posted by Chicane-UK on 21 Aug 2005 - 20:59: Ok.. this could well be in the article.. but in the mean time, whilst I read it, one question..

Mass Storage device drivers.. please tell me you don't need to load them from a floppy disk still at startup! Please tell me it lets you specify other locations / storage types!!

#2 Posted by Martyn on 21 Aug 2005 - 21:09: Nice one Paul

(1 reply) #3 Posted by Chicane-UK on 21 Aug 2005 - 21:17: Fix the typo on the link guys!

(2 replies) #4 Posted by bush on 21 Aug 2005 - 21:32: and this is it? three times next and finish? there will be more options to customize when it will be final, right?

#5 Posted by JadeWolf324 on 21 Aug 2005 - 21:56: i have a feeling this installer wont stick through RTM...its just a placeholder for now...i figure?

(1 reply) #6 Posted by Angel Blue01 on 21 Aug 2005 - 22:01: I like the gray...

I want options to choose what to install.

#7 Posted by PeterClark on 21 Aug 2005 - 22:25: i think these are called previews, i hope you dont review betas.

#8 Posted by Pwn3r on 21 Aug 2005 - 22:38: I think it's odd that there is a review on the installation, shouldn't this have been done in the actual Vista Beta 1 Review?

#9 Posted by pickleman on 22 Aug 2005 - 00:06: I'm not understanding the total lack of timing on some of these neowin reviews lately.

The Ipod Shuffle and now this. I mean, seriously, who hasn't seen the installation screens for this.
I'm thinking that most people that visit neowin have already seen the screenies somewhere else. If not, then they need to expand thier horizons a little more.

(1 reply) #10 Posted by oMikR0n on 22 Aug 2005 - 00:11: i was always wondered how they take screenshots from installation

(2 replies) #11 Posted by Raum on 22 Aug 2005 - 01:54: System administrators will be jumping for joy in knowledge that the dull, blue and grey console look is gone for good!

Because, yo uknow, when I setup home networks for my friends, I give a bigger **** about the eye-candy I get while I stare at installation screens more thna I do the speed of installation, flexibility of ioncluded networking software and so on. Come on, that intro sounds like it was written by a teeny-bopper girl with computer knowledge extending as far as putting colors in her AIM profile. Please. New GUI's are nice, but hardly any admins main focus. That sentance alone makes me not want to read the review.

(2 replies) #12 Posted by MadDog on 22 Aug 2005 - 02:35

QUOTE

System administrators will be jumping for joy in knowledge that the dull, blue and grey console look is gone for good!

Sorry... But I'm a Sr. System Administrator and I loathe the candy-coated installation that comes with Windows XP and Vista. I would much rather see individual filenames scrolling across the screen with a progress indicator as opposed to five strobing "lights" in a chase pattern.

#12.1 Posted by koocha on 22 Aug 2005 - 10:04: Argreed.

#12.2 Posted by sphbecker on 22 Aug 2005 - 13:52: Well I agree with Microsoft in wanting to make the install process look simple and easy to use. The GUI tells you when there is a problem and will do a better job of spotting it then someone trying to stare at a list of files flying across the screen. If there is a problem just have a look at the install log.

I do agree that I am not "jumping for joy" over this one, but I do think they are going in the right direction.

(2 replies) #13 Posted by mko on 22 Aug 2005 - 02:43

QUOTE

System administrators will be jumping for joy in knowledge that the dull, blue and grey console look is gone for good!

Is that sarcasm? Because most professional sys admins prefer Linux/UNIX because you have the option of having no GUI.

I do however like how Vista doesn't have the "telling you about the features of XP" annoyance that XP did. Just a nice plain status bar - although it doesn't tell you what it is doing at that instance and so if your installer was to freeze half way through you wouldn't have a clue what caused it.

#13.1 Posted by Echelon Left on 22 Aug 2005 - 09:24

QUOTE

I do however like how Vista doesn't have the "telling you about the features of XP" annoyance that XP did...

That's not in the Beta, but you can bet your ass that the MS marketing team will insist on SOME sort of mindless blather in the instalation process. They can't just leave us all alone: It's what they do for a living.
It's my personal nightmare. Arg! The Horror! I can see it now:
<fade out from the Vista Installer to a short slide-show>
<Text over the slide-show reads: [Windows Vista: Now available in iPod White and MacOS Blue. Be sure to look for your free copy of "SpongeBob Square Windows" while supplies last.]>
<Wally, the WallSmart Happy Face: "And look for OfficeVista, coming soon to a Walmart near you!>
:shudder:

Noooooooo.... not the happy face.... not the happy face....
Oh.. wait.. it was only a dream.

#13.2 Posted by sphbecker on 22 Aug 2005 - 13:57: I don't understand all the complaints about this betting looking install process. It is intended for home users. System Admins should really never use it (unless they are too lazy to do some research). Windows has always had many deployment options which completely bypass the friendly setup screens; Vista supposedly is going to take that ever further.

(5 replies) #14 Posted by xMorpheousx416 on 22 Aug 2005 - 04:11

QUOTE

"System administrators will be jumping for joy in knowledge that the dull, blue and grey console look is gone for good! It has been replaced with a modern looking interface, that will appeal to all.

I wonder if that means we'll be staring at the installation screens having to REINSTALL Vista more than we did 98??? WHO gives a flying leap about what an install screen looks like if it has no choices as to what we want installed?

At least 95/98 let us choose if we wanted WMP, Chat Controls...Wallpaper etc installed.....you'd think that MS would listen to it's customers by now...

WOOOOOOOOOOOP DE DOOOOOOOOOOOOOO let's all dance at our new install screens...while waiting six to eight months for driver support for our commonly used hardware.

#14.1 Posted by Echelon Left on 22 Aug 2005 - 05:29: ^So THATS who's been eating all my sugar and caffine.

Seriously dude: Calm down. It's just an OS.
Go outside an look at the trees or something. You're scaring the newbies.

#14.2 Posted by bush on 22 Aug 2005 - 05:59: lmao

#14.3 Posted by Chicane-UK on 22 Aug 2005 - 07:50: Well if you were a system administrator (or even a keen home user) you'd be using an unattend setup file.. or at a push, you'd be deploying your Windows images over RIS.. seeing as the average home user is going to freak out if they are given options on what to install, it makes sense to just do a generic install and then leave the features in there to allow you to customise the install..

Deploying over RIS or using an unattend setup file thingy allows you to customise EVERYTHING in the install.. so try chilling the hell out, and try reading up a little bit before flying off the handle.

#14.4 Posted by sphbecker on 22 Aug 2005 - 14:04: Thank you Chicane.

It has been my observation that most of the self proclaimed experts or pros have never had any formal training at all on the Windows platform; everything they know is from playing around.

Don't get me wrong, you can learn a lot from poking around, but what you learn will be limited to what the GUI can do. So please don't complain about the GUI being too dumbed down if you have never researched what other options are available.

#14.5 Posted by xMorpheousx416 on 22 Aug 2005 - 15:23: First of all, if you have to use an unattended setup file, you're installing XP way too much. The file itself has to be limited since it cannot be used to install XP on every machine...which is why XP setup is generic in it's own right.

Second, who cares what the GUI looks like. If you do, you are more interested in the eye candy BG hands out then you do flexibility. System Admins want flexibility, not eye candy...or even the "keen" home user.

Third, how many times do you actually install XP to care enough about what the install screens look like?

Fourth, just like XP, after installing Vista, this forum is going to be flooded with links to Vista tweaking sites setup to uninstall, disable, or otherwise remove all that unwanted wasted software us power users have become familiar with. Everyone is going to be so hell bent on fine tuning the OS, they're not even going to give a flying rat's ass about what that GUI looked like 8 months ago when they installed it.

Too much excitement over things that don't really matter. I see the consensus of setting the OS as a general installation setup. Then, after all is said and done, MS will then have to battle it out over and over again with countries that don't want preinstalled packages to come with the OS. But, then again, who are we to help convince a multi-billion dollar company to spend it's time satisfying it's customer base instead of paying millions in lawsuits, and time recoding software?? I take it, that it's better to pay for your past mistakes then learn from them?

and you say I need to get out more..... put the pipe down son, it's not doing you any good.

(2 replies) #15 Posted by Ned on 22 Aug 2005 - 05:38: They are switching to an xml file for the unattended install correct? I want to know more info on how to actually make an unattended install. (In Longhorn)

Last edited by 76077 on 23 Aug 2005 - 02:54

#16 Posted by thecat2000 on 22 Aug 2005 - 08:56: Hmm rather see more native driver support for devices rather than a nice fluffy GUI ! - as for adding more drivers at installation time via the load driver button - some driver disks wont be recognised because of it having an OEM.txt file - this file stops Vista seeing the drvers on the diskette and reports that it couldn't find any compatible drivers to that effect. If you have this trouble just make a new floppy without your OEM.txt file the drivers should be then read by the installer

#17 Posted by incubusdaemon on 22 Aug 2005 - 09:30: It does seem simpler. I'm also glad they used the words "clean install" so when I tell my friends to do a clean install it doesn't take 10 minutes of explanation.

I'd also prefer it if it installed just the bare minimum first then asked what other windows components to install after the first boot (i.e. accessories, other network protocols, etc)

#18 Posted by Echelon Left on 22 Aug 2005 - 09:51: Microsoft better have native SATA support in Vista. It should have been in XPsp2 and it will be just sad if it's not in Vista. Not to mention native IEEE 1394b (AKA FireWire 800).

#19 Posted by mentalindustries on 22 Aug 2005 - 09:53: First complaint is when you select where you want to install it.

it doesnt give show the label of the partition. xp has it so so should this.

and as stated above, who cares what it looks like. stick your unattended cd in and come back in 40mins.

#20 Posted by briangw on 22 Aug 2005 - 12:10: OMG. We don't even see the install since we just RIS our PCs.

#21 Posted by neufuse on 22 Aug 2005 - 12:11: kinda strange doing a review on a install system MS said they are going to change a lot for beta 2

#22 Posted by Raum on 22 Aug 2005 - 12:20: Well no **** you can do unnattended installs, but that's not the point. My point was, why the would that sentence even be in there? I can't think of a SINGLE system administrator that would give two ****s about the installation GUI. For multiple reasons too, which you guys only re-inforce.

-Most experienced admins use other methods than manual installs
-Many admins use non-GUI based OS's
-I'd wager that EVERY employed admin out there would rather see a shorter install period, higher unnattended install customization etc, than pretty GUI graphics

I'm not trying to **** a brick here or anything, it's really not a big deal, just seems kind of dumb to have in there to me. It'd be like starting a review about the iPod like....

"Users will be happy to know that the iPod is considered highly fashionable, as opossed to many electronics..."

When in reality, more people here care about HDD capacity, advancements such as color screens and movie viewing and so forth. I see more neowin users get excited over picture viewing capabilities and such than I do belt clips.

(1 reply) #23 Posted by Kushan on 22 Aug 2005 - 15:28: I'd like to think that the "old skool blue and grey console-like" install screen comes back as an option at startup. Call me silly, but any time I see unneccessary eye candy in an application, I can't help but think of how much extra system resources it takes up

#24 Posted by Devon_Spencer on 24 Aug 2005 - 08:15: I am using Vista beta 1 as my primary OS.

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