First Look at Windows Vista Part 2

Alright, so my upgrade went well. That's cool. Here are random likes and dislikes:

Start Menu

I like the new start menu. I usually install a TON of applications. The old Windows XP style start menu would cascade out across my screen and then back again. All of this took a lot of time.

Exploring Directories

Put more than a hundred files in a directory, and Windows traditionally gets a little sluggish about showing the directory contents. Sure, you see the stupid icon letting you know that it's working on something, but that just doesn't cut it. Windows Vista starts listing directory contents right away, and it updates the UI as it discovers more files. Often, I can dial in on the file I want without waiting for the rest of them to be displayed.

IE7

I like the tabbed browsing and other features of IE7. And, the perf seems to be better than previous versions. Honestly, what I liked about Firefox (dare I say it) is that it does the basic things well: Display Web Content! It may just be my perception but I think IE7 has improved in this regard.

Security Warnings Abound

OK- I'm completely down with the way Vista is going out of its way to protect my PC resources. That's cool with me. There is no doubt that we at Microsoft have listened to loads of customer feedback and have tightened things up considerably. Great! On the other hand, Just deleting an item from my Start Menu yielded four prompts. Admittedly, deleting from the Start menu incurs extra warnings because it may affect all users and so forth, but in my overall experience, they start to add up, and I feel a little claustrophobic with all of the security blankets that envelope me. It's a difficult balance, I acknowledge. I'm not sure I have a better answer.

Rock Thought for the Day: You all know of my extreme fondness for the Smashing Pumpkins and anything Billy Corgan. I have been buying CD singles that I could not afford back in the 90's when I was working on my PhD (my wife and I lived on $12K/year with no loans and two kids- good times). I just listened to "Tonight, Tonight" and all of the B-Sides. I am particularly fond of "Jupiter's Lament". I also bought the single "Stand Inside Your Love". It's a song I already had,but I did not have the B-Side, "Speed Kills":

First time that I ever saw you

Crashing hard through days of pain

You were one of God's children

Left to cry out in the rain

Waiting to be saved again

Rock On