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Microsoft Taking Vista UI Feedback

By Nate Mook, BetaNews

September 21, 2006, 5:07 PM

With Release Candidate 1 now out the door, Microsoft is putting what it calls the "fit-and-finish" on Windows Vista's user interface, and the company is looking for feedback from users testing out the beta release.

Dave Vronay, a research manager with the Windows User Experience Compliance team, says Microsoft is taking a lot of time to track down minor UI glitches - something it has never done before. "You can actually participate in this process by providing your feedback on the various pre-release versions of Vista we are putting out," says Vronay. The company is hosting a forum in which users can offer their rants and raves. You can also leave your thoughts below.

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By cannie

posted Sep 25, 2006 - 11:41 AM

It's only an advetising way. I believe they already have clear ideas and don't need our support.

Score: 0

By copperhead666

posted Sep 25, 2006 - 7:46 AM

the only thing i found wrong is that when you are using a dial up modem . you have to uninstall it each time you reboot and then go to the add new hardware and let it find the modem again and install it again

Score: 0

By Mark Gillespie

edited Sep 24, 2006 - 12:38 PM

Newer version than RC1 (Build 5728) available from Microsoft here: (RC1 key work).

From my experience so far, it's a faster more reliable build.

"This build (5728) has a number of improvements and updates from RC1, but has not been put through the same internal testing process as RC1 and therefore may be unstable in certain installations. We are making this release available for a limited time only (and only by download) in order to get broad distribution and testing in a variety of PC configurations. Please note: This build may not have the same level of support or servicing via Windows Update, and you may not be able to upgrade to the final version of Windows Vista."

64bit:

http://download.windowsv...ent-lrmcxfre_en_dvd.iso

32 bit:

http://download.windowsv...c1/en/download-5728.htm

Score: 0

By Edward Paul

edited Sep 23, 2006 - 10:54 PM

When running Vista 64 I have both the 32 and 64 bit IE on my desktop.
They both work fine but when I close them I get an error on both and I am forced to force the close. I am running both XP and vista, Dual boot does not work. It would be nice if vista 64 could take full advantage of ATI all in wonder 2006 video card.

Score: 0

By tmservo

posted Sep 23, 2006 - 11:15 PM

They have basically hidden the "logoff" and "switch user" options, which make the "Fast User Switching with ease" system a laugh. Aero makes it a trick to find (Open up the > menu next to "Power down".. what kid gets that right off the bat?)

There are several changes made here that are just.. wrong.

Score: 0

By Frostek

posted Sep 22, 2006 - 2:55 PM

Are they asking for feedback on anything else except the UI...?

Great way to make people quibble over the width of a scrollbar and distract them from other issues.

MS certainly are good at what they do... :-P

Score: 0

By the artist

posted Sep 22, 2006 - 7:48 PM

damn right you are. also, is that the only feedback they call so openly? UI?
I didn' need more UI than XP's.

Don't they care about the whole rest of the OS more than the UI? Who could think that way? M$ only.

Score: 0

By Banquo

edited Sep 23, 2006 - 8:40 PM

Uh, that forum is hosted by the Vista UI team. Why would they take feedback for other parts of the OS that they have nothing to do with?

Score: 0

By Frostek

posted Sep 24, 2006 - 5:51 AM

My point is that they're pushing the UI as the highest profile area of feedback, when really it's the underlying OS that really needs the most work.

Score: 0

By cgw000

edited Sep 22, 2006 - 2:05 PM

!!!PLEASE MAKE ALL "task dialog boxes" (like "Save", "Save As", and "Open With")
1. SIZEABLE (they are TOO SMALL), and,
2. capable of REMEMBERING MOST RECENT SIZE SET

Score: 0

By daz21

posted Sep 22, 2006 - 11:51 AM

I like Windows Vista UI

Score: 0

By AWEInCA

posted Sep 22, 2006 - 11:16 AM

I like the Sidebar. I wish it didn't minimize when I click the "show desktop"

I know there is an option to pin it to the desktop, but I don't like the border that is added to the Sidebar. I like the gradient fade into the desktop.

I would like the Sidebar to retain the gradient fade and behave like anyother icon on the desktop. It shouldn't minimize.

Score: 0

By frankwick

posted Sep 22, 2006 - 2:31 PM

Agreed!!!

Score: 0

By AWEInCA

posted Sep 22, 2006 - 11:10 AM

I like the Sidebar. I wish it didn't minimize when I click the "show desktop"

I know there is an option to pin it to the desktop, but I don't like the border that is added to the Sidebar. I like the gradient fade into the desktop.

I would like the Sidebar to retain the gradient fade and behave like anyother icon on the desktop. It should minimize.

Score: 0

By Orbitration

edited Sep 22, 2006 - 9:35 AM

The Sidebar definitely needs work. Can't resize it, can't hide it (or autohide) to the side, can't click thru it, and it takes up a substantial portion of the desktop.

Who needs 1" square icons ?

and, yes, I've already given my feedback to MS via the link on the desktop.

Won't even get into actual functionality of some of the changes.
Wow. 1 step forward, 2 steps back, MS.

Click OK to continue if you ... blah blah blah.
Click OK to OK the previous OK.
Click OK to OK that.
OK ?
O K must mean Over Kill or something.

My prediction on the OK bs is that most people will get so fed up with having to OK everything, they'll just click OK without even reading it eventually, making it a double security risk.

Click OK to allow the Sony Rootkit Installation process. OK ?

jmho.

Score: 0

By daz21

edited Sep 22, 2006 - 11:38 AM

I wonder if you have ever used Windows Vista???? I'm pretty sure you never used it and you're just a stupid and ingnorant troll
The sidebar doesn't take up space, because it's on the same plane of your desktop i.e. the windows are in foreground and the sidebar is in background just like a wallpaper

Score: 0

By morriscox

posted Sep 25, 2006 - 10:40 AM

An irony that you mispelled ignorant.

Score: 0

By Orbitration

posted Sep 22, 2006 - 1:26 PM

Hmm. if you're talking to me....
don't

You obviously ARE a troll.

Flake.

Score: 0

By Aires

posted Sep 22, 2006 - 12:16 PM

Come on - chant with me now:

Fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight........

Score: 0

By Aires

edited Sep 22, 2006 - 10:19 AM

Can't fault that post - very good. If the Sidebar doesn't hide or resize, that's gonna be a serious pain in the ass.

Don't force people to operate in a way they don't want to - give them an option.

Score: 0

By _stevo

posted Sep 22, 2006 - 10:27 AM

The sidebar does hide and can even be completely closed. Its not a requirement of Vista- and like most widgets, its mostly aimed for taky crap people tend to enjoy messing with. Personally I don't- so I keep it turned off. You just can't even start to 'diss' an optional feature of an OS- thats ludicrous.

Score: 0

By daz21

edited Sep 22, 2006 - 11:50 AM

Score: 0

By Aires

posted Sep 22, 2006 - 10:58 AM

The Sidebar doesn't hide - the Sidebar does hide.

Let's have a debate.

Score: 0

By mesiex

posted Sep 22, 2006 - 6:50 AM

Vista is simply the best...for Microsoft.

Score: 0

By zridling

posted Sep 22, 2006 - 12:41 AM

Why is there SO MUCH wasted space in dialogs and in the Title Bar? Give us screenspace, Microsoft, that's what we want. Make title bars THIN, or at least provide the option for it in Vista.

Score: 0

By ConceptJunkie

posted Sep 22, 2006 - 11:41 AM

That is so early 1990's? Don't you know it's a vitally important part of branding that applications take up as much screen real-estate as possible?

How else can you explain how Windows Media Player gets significantly bigger (and uglier) with each new release? MS is more concerned that you know you are using their software than what you are actually using it for.

Score: 0

By daz21

posted Sep 22, 2006 - 11:44 AM

WMP11 is lighter than WMP10, WMP9.
Have you ever try it? Or you're another troll?

Score: 0

By Frostek

edited Sep 22, 2006 - 2:53 PM

I can believe it's lighter - after all they did remove the option to backup your licences for your legally-purchased DRM-laden music...

Nice move, Microsoft... that'll make you even more popular.

Score: 0

By Aires

posted Sep 22, 2006 - 12:16 PM

Come on - chant with me now:

Fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight........

Score: 0

By daz21

edited Sep 22, 2006 - 11:42 AM

??????

Score: 0

By Tenoq

posted Sep 22, 2006 - 12:44 AM

Hear, hear!

Score: 0

By Aires

posted Sep 22, 2006 - 9:01 AM

Hear, hear, hear!

Score: 0

By Banquo

edited Sep 22, 2006 - 12:08 AM

How about fixing the classic theme so it's not such a horrible half-finished looking mess. I also noticed that Wordpad is still using the old Windows 95 icons in the toolbar.

Score: 0

By smarterthanyou

posted Sep 22, 2006 - 2:35 AM

Microsoft should remove the classic Windows 2000 and 98 themes completely and only include Aero Basic for older computers and Aero Glass for more powerful computers. Who in their right mind would want a GUI as ugly and unproductive as Windows 2000 or 98?

Score: 0

By ConceptJunkie

posted Sep 22, 2006 - 11:43 AM

The Windows 2000 interface is highly productive. Perhaps you need more practice using your computer. And as far as "ugly", that's a matter of opinion, but I would be willing to bet that the Windows 2000 style would win hands down over the technicolor yawn that was Luna if you put it to a vote.

Why eliminate options?

Score: 0

By Aires

posted Sep 22, 2006 - 9:00 AM

Thank you very much but I'm in my right mind (eh?) and I like the Windows 2000 GUI - so shove it.

Score: 0

By Banquo

edited Sep 22, 2006 - 3:01 AM

Isn't Aero just a theme running on top of classic though? If you restart in safe mode for example you'll be in classic mode because no themes are running. Getting rid of it would be like getting rid of the walls but leaving the wallpaper.

As for it being unproductive, are you serious? The classic theme is WAY more productive than having everything covered in useless glass eye candy and special effects that do nothing but slow the system down. The first thing I did with XP was disable the ugly Luna theme. Classic is much more professional looking.

Score: 0

By Desides

posted Sep 22, 2006 - 8:27 AM

"useless glass eye candy and special effects that do nothing but slow the system down."

Not with those effects being handled by the graphics chip, they won't.

Score: 0

By Banquo

edited Sep 22, 2006 - 12:28 PM

Not everyone has a powerful DX9 graphics chip, and again how do they make me more productive? Besides, I don't want my graphics card working all the time just to draw the GUI.

Score: 0

By Desides

posted Sep 24, 2006 - 8:27 PM

"Besides, I don't want my graphics card working all the time just to draw the GUI."

Why not? Why should the graphics card be the exclusive property of 3D gaming? Why shouldn't the OS use it to render the desktop?

Score: 0

By twhtow

edited Sep 24, 2006 - 5:36 AM

Funny - Vista does NOT use DX9 - why complain about something you obviously know very little about.

If people want to complain about the UI thats fine but at least look into what it can and cant do first

Score: 0

By smarterthanyou

posted Sep 22, 2006 - 2:08 PM

I have a second computer in my house that uses an AMD Athlon XP 1.8GHz processor along with 1GB DDR PC2100 SDRAM and an old ATI Radeon 9800 Pro AGP 8x graphics card w/128MB of graphics memory. I can run Aero Glass at a resolution of 1024x768 with no slowdown at all on this computer. So obviously you don't need a top of the line graphics card to run Aero Glass at acceptable speeds.

Score: 0

By Banquo

posted Sep 23, 2006 - 8:44 PM

WTF? The 9800 is a FAST card for this purpose, it's also DirectX 9 based. I'm talking about people that still have cheap onboard graphics or old DX7 based graphics cards. You also have 1GB of DDR and you talk like you're running an old Pentium III system. Give me a freakin' break.

Score: 0

By Desides

posted Sep 24, 2006 - 8:29 PM

"I'm talking about people that still have cheap onboard graphics or old DX7 based graphics cards."

So they can use Aero Basic.

It is not a bad thing that Vista might inspire some people to upgrade their computers.

Score: 0

By Zygi

posted Sep 23, 2006 - 10:22 PM

Give me a break, where do you live in some cave or something ? Even Radeon 9600 will handle Aero quite well and its very cheap card, also if you don't have 1gb of memory don't come close to vista.

I'm realy poor and still i have athlon 2ghz, gig of ram and geforce 6600 gt. Its quite average or even low-end config for the rest of civilised world. How much does cost such config in US ? I bet its maybe 500$ at most.

Score: 0

By waynek06

edited Sep 21, 2006 - 9:42 PM

Please change the Dark Opaque Black style when a window is maximized!!!!Please...It's UGLY :(

Score: 0

By daz21

posted Sep 22, 2006 - 11:45 AM

????

Score: 0

By IceyKola

posted Sep 22, 2006 - 10:32 AM

I second that

Score: 0

By HolyLiaison

posted Sep 21, 2006 - 10:00 PM

How about posting your ideas on that forum instead of here. So actually make a difference? :)

Score: 0

By alphatrigon

posted Sep 22, 2006 - 12:04 AM

I think MS reviewers read here...or these will also get forwarded over? Either case I'll do both. More branches to sprout our leaves and in my case flowers...cuz I likes em :D

Score: 0

By drumcat

posted Sep 21, 2006 - 9:46 PM

How about showing the approximate size of files in a folder... in detail view, without having to mouse over the damn thing.

Score: 0

By Tenoq

posted Sep 22, 2006 - 12:43 AM

That's a feature I've wanted for a while, although it would require indexing and caching of folder data. Not that it's not possible or already done in Vista with the built-in search.

Score: 0

By Jonnn21

posted Sep 22, 2006 - 9:29 AM

The Search is horrible. Give us the option of the new Crappy search or use the classic search.

Score: 0

By IceyKola

posted Sep 22, 2006 - 10:34 AM

What is horrible about the search?

Score: 0

By alphatrigon

posted Sep 21, 2006 - 7:04 PM

give me a user definable slider tab applet to control all of the appearance and behavior...

Ie., I want my windows to shrink expand a bit faster :)

can do it with some edits but this should be app controlled.

Oh, and can I have a "bubble" theme? To match the bubble scr? It's pretty, and I'm a sissy type guy ;p

hmmm, more things INTEGRATED! :D

I know that irks some, especially commercial competitors but I frankly prefer MS. If you prove you're better (directed at competition), we'll go out and buy yours.

Score: 0

By Jordanr05

edited Sep 21, 2006 - 6:14 PM

How about fixing that god-awful Aero Basic theme. At least make the window color black to match the damn taskbar.

Score: 0

By IceyKola

posted Sep 22, 2006 - 10:58 AM

Or at leasat make it customizable.

Score: 0

By peter4654

posted Sep 24, 2006 - 1:06 PM

Can't understand the folder system now. Where do you put your backed up folders after a clean install? I've got my " My Documents" folder in username/documents/my documents. Surely Microsoft didn't mean people to do that. Aren't the " Documents" "Pictures" and "Music" folders supposed to be folders in their own right, into which you put said contents? Thus: username/documents/files should be correct. Or am I missing something?

Score: 0

By oomingmak

posted Sep 24, 2006 - 6:45 PM

Actually it should be the other way round; i.e. Username/Files/Documents (as documents are one type of file) but I would never expect anything as rational as that to be implemented by the likes of Microsoft.

Microsoft clearly value the Windows interface and "user experience" so much that they give it the lowest priority then can, and then make sure it's the last thing that they get round to dealing with (rather than factoring it in from the design stage).

Plus, they only solicit user feedback on the UI design AFTER the software is already at the Release Candidate stage.

Score: 0

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