New Features, Continued
Games Explorer
As part of the release of Vista, Microsoft has been refocusing its efforts on PC gaming (after they have drifted away for years due to other products such as the Xbox). While core technologies such as DirectX 10 will be a large part of this, the new Games Explorer application is the other critical software component.
In short, Games Explorer is designed to be a single interface for launching and controlling all games, making them a part of Games Explorer instead of being just another application from the view of the operating system. Microsoft sees this as a way to standardize how games are played and used, and Games Explorer can help users find websites related to a game such as a home page or support site, alert them if their computer doesn't meet the performance score required for a game, and list the age rating for the game from several different databases such as the ESRB.
Microsoft has done a fairly good job of filling in the games database for the Games Explorer, as it recognizes and adds most major games, but some titles such as Half-Life 2 still give it trouble due to the fact that Steam sits in between the Games Explorer and the game. This shouldn't be a problem for new games however, as part of Microsoft's requirements to qualify for the Games for Windows labeling and promotional program is that they have to adhere to certain requirements, such as Xbox 360 gamepad support and Games Explorer support.
At this point the most practical use for Games Explorer is its integration with Vista's parental controls, which allows parents to lock out games based on their rating. Casual gamers will also find it useful due to the ability to identify performance ratings, while hardcore gamers will likely avoid the Games Explorer because it doesn't do anything useful for them. On the bright side, Games Explorer does serve as a centralized location of all of the installed games on a computer, and upgraders might get a nice trip down memory lane when they see what still resides on the hard drive.
Parental Controls
We touched on parental controls quickly with the Games Explorer, but the parental controls extend beyond just games. Also included are web filtering, time limits, activity reporting, and the ability to block/allow arbitrary programs. The web filtering will likely be a touchy issue for parents and privacy advocates alike, as this is a manual system where categories are issued by Microsoft.
In our quick testing of parental controls it has worked as advertised, and the web filter didn't let through any immediately objectionable sites. To Microsoft's credit the system is easy to configure, however the Achilles' heel will be that it only really works with standard accounts, as any kid who can trick their parents into giving them administrative privileges will be able to disable the controls.
Indexed Search
We've also talked about Vista's indexed search system quickly in our look at Beta 2, as well as in terms of performance on various hard drives earlier in this article. Now that Vista has been finished it's worth discussing again. Compared to our initial look, Microsoft has debugged the search feature and it now works correctly in all of our attempts to test and break it. However, it still needs to be configured to index additional locations if users keep files outside of their home directories, which is still not immediately obvious to new users of Vista.
Out of all the new features added to Vista, this is likely going to be the first used and most useful features introduced in Vista. While it has been done before in other operating systems, and 3rd-party applications have implemented similar systems before for Windows, the advantages in actually integrating it into Vista make all the difference.
Windows Mail
Outlook Express is now Windows Mail, and has integrated several technologies from various other sources in order to make up for some of the features it was previously lacking. Searching is now handled via Vista's indexed search engine, which allows for Mail to instantly find any text like Vista itself can find files and documents. Spam protection now uses a junk mail filter based on Outlook 2003's Bayesian-based filtering system; this includes the periodic filter updates for Mail like Outlook 2003 has received. Finally, Mail also implements anti-phishing technology from Internet Explorer 7 which will default to blocking users from going to sites that Mail thinks are part of phishing operations.
Unfortunately, Mail ends up being a mixed bag due to the traditional shortcomings of Outlook Express combined with what Microsoft has added and taken away. Mail does not include Outlook Express's ability to check webmail-based email providers such as Microsoft's own Hotmail service, which given the relation is an odd thing to remove. Mail still suffers from the "Outlook Express is not Outlook" syndrome too, as it doesn't have the integration features that Outlook has with contacts/calendaring, and numerous minor extra features that separate the two. Overall the additions to Mail still make it a better client than Outlook Express, but given the wide install base of Office it makes more sense to use Outlook than Mail. Of course, another popular mail alternative is Mozilla Thunderbird, and in direct comparisons we would subjectively place Thunderbird ahead of Windows Mail.
Games Explorer
As part of the release of Vista, Microsoft has been refocusing its efforts on PC gaming (after they have drifted away for years due to other products such as the Xbox). While core technologies such as DirectX 10 will be a large part of this, the new Games Explorer application is the other critical software component.
In short, Games Explorer is designed to be a single interface for launching and controlling all games, making them a part of Games Explorer instead of being just another application from the view of the operating system. Microsoft sees this as a way to standardize how games are played and used, and Games Explorer can help users find websites related to a game such as a home page or support site, alert them if their computer doesn't meet the performance score required for a game, and list the age rating for the game from several different databases such as the ESRB.
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| Click to enlarge |
Microsoft has done a fairly good job of filling in the games database for the Games Explorer, as it recognizes and adds most major games, but some titles such as Half-Life 2 still give it trouble due to the fact that Steam sits in between the Games Explorer and the game. This shouldn't be a problem for new games however, as part of Microsoft's requirements to qualify for the Games for Windows labeling and promotional program is that they have to adhere to certain requirements, such as Xbox 360 gamepad support and Games Explorer support.
At this point the most practical use for Games Explorer is its integration with Vista's parental controls, which allows parents to lock out games based on their rating. Casual gamers will also find it useful due to the ability to identify performance ratings, while hardcore gamers will likely avoid the Games Explorer because it doesn't do anything useful for them. On the bright side, Games Explorer does serve as a centralized location of all of the installed games on a computer, and upgraders might get a nice trip down memory lane when they see what still resides on the hard drive.
Parental Controls
We touched on parental controls quickly with the Games Explorer, but the parental controls extend beyond just games. Also included are web filtering, time limits, activity reporting, and the ability to block/allow arbitrary programs. The web filtering will likely be a touchy issue for parents and privacy advocates alike, as this is a manual system where categories are issued by Microsoft.
 |
| Click to enlarge |
In our quick testing of parental controls it has worked as advertised, and the web filter didn't let through any immediately objectionable sites. To Microsoft's credit the system is easy to configure, however the Achilles' heel will be that it only really works with standard accounts, as any kid who can trick their parents into giving them administrative privileges will be able to disable the controls.
Indexed Search
We've also talked about Vista's indexed search system quickly in our look at Beta 2, as well as in terms of performance on various hard drives earlier in this article. Now that Vista has been finished it's worth discussing again. Compared to our initial look, Microsoft has debugged the search feature and it now works correctly in all of our attempts to test and break it. However, it still needs to be configured to index additional locations if users keep files outside of their home directories, which is still not immediately obvious to new users of Vista.
Out of all the new features added to Vista, this is likely going to be the first used and most useful features introduced in Vista. While it has been done before in other operating systems, and 3rd-party applications have implemented similar systems before for Windows, the advantages in actually integrating it into Vista make all the difference.
Windows Mail
Outlook Express is now Windows Mail, and has integrated several technologies from various other sources in order to make up for some of the features it was previously lacking. Searching is now handled via Vista's indexed search engine, which allows for Mail to instantly find any text like Vista itself can find files and documents. Spam protection now uses a junk mail filter based on Outlook 2003's Bayesian-based filtering system; this includes the periodic filter updates for Mail like Outlook 2003 has received. Finally, Mail also implements anti-phishing technology from Internet Explorer 7 which will default to blocking users from going to sites that Mail thinks are part of phishing operations.
Unfortunately, Mail ends up being a mixed bag due to the traditional shortcomings of Outlook Express combined with what Microsoft has added and taken away. Mail does not include Outlook Express's ability to check webmail-based email providers such as Microsoft's own Hotmail service, which given the relation is an odd thing to remove. Mail still suffers from the "Outlook Express is not Outlook" syndrome too, as it doesn't have the integration features that Outlook has with contacts/calendaring, and numerous minor extra features that separate the two. Overall the additions to Mail still make it a better client than Outlook Express, but given the wide install base of Office it makes more sense to use Outlook than Mail. Of course, another popular mail alternative is Mozilla Thunderbird, and in direct comparisons we would subjectively place Thunderbird ahead of Windows Mail.
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redpriest_ - Thursday, February 1, 2007 - link
Did you guys run the 64-bit tests solely on the Intel Conroe platform? Or did you test an AMD based platform as well? Recall that Conroe has a few performance enhancing features that *only* work in 32-bit mode (branch fusioning, for one - some decoder limitations as well).That could explain why a Core 2 Duo system might have seemed slower in 64-bit than in 32-bit mode.
Jeff7181 - Thursday, February 1, 2007 - link
SuperFetch is by far my favorite new feature of Vista. I put my first copy of Vista on my laptop, which has a 5400 RPM hard drive. Opening apps Outlook and VB .NET 2005 EE weren't really slow under XP, but there were those few extra seconds it took to load that would often leave me tapping my finger on the palm rest while I waited. Now under Vista, Outlook, VB .NET 2005 EE, and IE7 all seem to be able to fit in the SuperFetch cache, as they all open nearly instantly with just 1 GB of RAM. I'm considering upgrading to 2 GB just to see what else I can get to open really fast. :Dbldckstark - Thursday, February 1, 2007 - link
Was superfetch disabled when you tried the Readyboost feature in Vista? Whichever way you ran the test it bears mentioning. If it was off, then how does it do with it on? If it was on, it may make a difference in how it relates to XP.Also, as I understand it Vista has a system backup now that creates a "ghost" of the drive. Could you check out this feature and get back to us?
JarredWalton - Thursday, February 1, 2007 - link
I'm not sure it's possible to disable SuperFetch, so I'm pretty sure all testing was done with it on. As far as the "ghost" goes, that's part of System Restore which can be disabled quite easily. I'll have to let the other editors say whether it was enabled or not, though.WT - Thursday, February 1, 2007 - link
What drives me nuts are the plentiful comments about how slow Vista is compared to XP. I mean, anybody hear this before when MS came out with a new OS ? Same thing for XP,W2k,98 ... ad nauseum. Yea, its a new Operating System with more 'toys' built in, what were you expecting ? You aren't gonna load it on your P3/256 RAM rig and enjoy the Vista 'experience'. Damn, this thing runs better than XP on my rig !It's understood that it won't be as quick (keep in mind the OS has been available for retail purchase ... 2 days now) as XP, but drivers will improve that performance gap to a smaller number within 3 months time. I waited until just last year to upgrade to XP (W2K all the way for me !) but find myself with 2 copies of Vista and would prefer to dual boot one and go Vista all-out on the other one.
I griped back in my W2K days about being forced to upgrade due to content (MS games were announced that would only run in XP) so this time around I will be ready.
DX10? Marketing genius !!! We shall force an upgrade upon the masses !! I upgrade frequently, so DX10 and its graphical splendor is a priority, but if I would have to fork over $200 to actually buy Vista, I would be less than impresssed with DX10 eye candy.
EODetroit - Thursday, February 1, 2007 - link
Hopefully, now, finally, Anandtech will start testing motherboards for stability while loaded with the maximum amount of memory. So if the MB supposedly supports 8GB of RAM, you test it with that much, and make sure its stable. I've wanted this done for years... memory is expensive and it sucks to load a MB up and find out it doesn't really work or only works if you cut the speed in half.Thanks.
manno - Thursday, February 1, 2007 - link
... no mention of DRM then? No mention of Linux? Personally I hate Linux, but I've switched to it because of Vista's use of DRM. Not all Microsoft's fault, but they put it in there... My computer, my hardware, I choose what to do with it, not MS, not media companies. Why shouldn't I be able to watch High def content on my old, and once expensive non-HDMI LCD screen?Get a Mac, Apple is the lesser of 2 evils, they aren't the 800lb gorilla in the room. MS could have told media companies to stuff it. Apple has no choice, it's too small, yet their the ones that forced DRM-Light(TM) on the media companies. MS had the media companied force DRM-Oppressive(TM) on them... how the heck does that work?
I can't believe you left Linux out of the final comparison, is it as capable an OS, yes. Not nearly as user friendly, but it also has 0 DRM, doesn't phone-home isn't beholden to any one entity. I'm not against DRM, as a whole, just Vista's implementation. BS like MS creating D3D to subvert open standards like OpenGL, then removing it from the OS, using it's monopoly-based-ridiculous-margins(TM) to finance D3D's uptake, again rather than take an existing standard and expanding on it. They create their own to reinforce their monopoly. I know why they do this stuff I'm just peeved so many people don't give two flying f...
grr...
-manno
mlambert890 - Friday, February 2, 2007 - link
Youre insane dude.. No offense but there just isnt anything else to say. Posts like these always read like the transcript of a Weather Underground meeting in the sixties. "FIGHT THE POWER!!! FIGHT THE POWER!!!"Look out! The black helicopters have deployed from the underground helipad in Redmond and are circling!!! Send up the penguin symbol to summon the dynamic duo - Torvald and Stallman!
Reflex - Thursday, February 1, 2007 - link
There is no more or less DRM in Vista than in XP, or even OS X. The platform does not determine the playback of DRM'd media, the content does. The choice is simple: If you want to play back DRM'd media, then you have to support the decryption scheme that the media requires to decode it. In so doing you have to legally accept the limitations defined by that DRM scheme.It is no different for OS X, Linux, XP or any other OS. They either support the DRM schemes or they do not get to playback the media that uses them. This is why it is unlikely that you will be able to play DRM'd High Definition content anytime soon on Linux. That is the alternative, no support for the content at all.
Also, you can play high definition content on Vista just fine without HDMI/HDCP on your monitor. You simply cannot play back such content if it is coupled to a DRM scheme that requires HDCP, but that is true of every OS. Any other HD content will play back without issue.
Again, there is no difference between DRM on Vista from DRM on any other platform.
pmh - Thursday, February 1, 2007 - link
The DRM in vista is the major reason that I will only install it if physically forced to. Having bought a new Dell in order to get their very nice 24" LCD last december, I have an upgrade coupon which will lie unused until/unless the DRM can be disabled. MS refuses to display HD on my new monitor using Vista? Screw em.