Over the weekend, I installed the latest Windows Vista build. While not substantially different from the previous one I installed, it was exciting to see that it’s a little faster, and a little more stable. In other words, what we’ve got now is likely feature complete, and the folks in Redmond have started to turn their attention to the last phase of shipping a new OS, which is performance and stability.Â
The installer, as reported here, has changed dramatically for Windows Vista. Instead of installing individual components, as previous versions of Windows have, this installer simply copies a ready to run image of Vista to your hard disk, and then customizes it. The impact, for IT departments and OEMs, is that they can now have one image that can be flashed onto any hard disk. A dramatic savings!
For lowly end users, like myself, however, it sucks. In order to install the Vista upgrade I had to free 11 G of space on my “busting at the seams” hard disk. I dumped all the media files and photos onto another hard disk on my home network. Once copied onto the disk, the install process dragged on and on as the system configured itself. It took well over an hour to install. I went and worked at another PC.
Alec Saunders is the Vice President of Developer Relations for BlackBerry maker Research in Motion. This is his personal blog, with his personal viewpoints. Prior to this Alec was the CEO and co-founder of Calliflower — the easiest way to hold a meeting, online, on a conference call, or on the go. A double-decade veteran of product management and marketing, he spent nine years at Microsoft where he helped launch Windows 95, the first two versions of Internet Explorer, the Universal Plug and Play initiative, the push into home markets, opt-in email marketing and what might well go down in history as the very first direct email list ever.
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