Windows Vista, or allowing Vista to test my computer
As many of you may be aware, I am a Mac user. Luckily, I don't need to use Windows in a daily basis, but I am not a Mac zealot, and while I almost never use Windows, I don't feel the urge to criticize Microsoft products just for the sake of mocking them.
So, I have been testing Windows Vista lately, using Parallels under Mac. I'll start by saying that the performance of Vista under Parallels (with 512Megs of RAM associated to it) is quite astonishing, and it even works better than XP. I have to say, though, that the main task I run on Windows is Internet Explorer, to see how a new web design looks and (almost everytime) patch it for IE, so the load is quite low.
As a mere curiosity, Windows thinks I have a Core Duo at 2GHz running at 7GHz, which is probably due to the fact it's running under Parallels, but curious anyway. Way to go, Intel!
One of the things that most people are complaining about Vista is the famous Cancel or Allow dialog, as in the You're having a sad realization, cancel or allow? ad by Apple. I must say that is completely true. I got 4 (yes, FOUR) Cancel or Allow dialogs when I installed the Parallels Tools, but the most hilarious one was in Internet Explorer, when I right-clicked and chose View Source Code. I mean, for Notepad? What harm may poor Notepad cause?
That's why I ask myself if you are using Vista or you are letting Vista use your computer. You never know.
As for the overall design, I must say it's not that bad. For instance, the Explorer has been redesigned, resembling MacOS X Finder. All windows have this Mac-alike brushed style.
The Start menu features a new design too, particularly the list of programs. Surprisingly, the Power button at the bottom-right side of the start menu does not power off the computer. That is the suspend button. To power off your computer you must click on the arrow at the right of the lock button, and choose Shut down from a menu. That is tricky.
When you click on All Programs, the Windows default programs and the standard start menu show up in a different way. The folders in the start menu can be expanded and collapsed.
And this is how it looks under Mac, using the Coherence mode in Parallels. Using Coherence, you can have both Mac and Windows applications in Finder, without having to cycle between Mac and Windows desktops. On the screenshot you can see the Dock and the Windows bar, interacting with both. There is an iTunes and an iTerm instance opened, and an Internet Explorer window. Click on the image for a full resolution screenshot.
So, I have been testing Windows Vista lately, using Parallels under Mac. I'll start by saying that the performance of Vista under Parallels (with 512Megs of RAM associated to it) is quite astonishing, and it even works better than XP. I have to say, though, that the main task I run on Windows is Internet Explorer, to see how a new web design looks and (almost everytime) patch it for IE, so the load is quite low.
As a mere curiosity, Windows thinks I have a Core Duo at 2GHz running at 7GHz, which is probably due to the fact it's running under Parallels, but curious anyway. Way to go, Intel!
One of the things that most people are complaining about Vista is the famous Cancel or Allow dialog, as in the You're having a sad realization, cancel or allow? ad by Apple. I must say that is completely true. I got 4 (yes, FOUR) Cancel or Allow dialogs when I installed the Parallels Tools, but the most hilarious one was in Internet Explorer, when I right-clicked and chose View Source Code. I mean, for Notepad? What harm may poor Notepad cause?
That's why I ask myself if you are using Vista or you are letting Vista use your computer. You never know.
As for the overall design, I must say it's not that bad. For instance, the Explorer has been redesigned, resembling MacOS X Finder. All windows have this Mac-alike brushed style.
The Start menu features a new design too, particularly the list of programs. Surprisingly, the Power button at the bottom-right side of the start menu does not power off the computer. That is the suspend button. To power off your computer you must click on the arrow at the right of the lock button, and choose Shut down from a menu. That is tricky.
When you click on All Programs, the Windows default programs and the standard start menu show up in a different way. The folders in the start menu can be expanded and collapsed.
And this is how it looks under Mac, using the Coherence mode in Parallels. Using Coherence, you can have both Mac and Windows applications in Finder, without having to cycle between Mac and Windows desktops. On the screenshot you can see the Dock and the Windows bar, interacting with both. There is an iTunes and an iTerm instance opened, and an Internet Explorer window. Click on the image for a full resolution screenshot.
