Windows Vista Loses Another Feature

[Secret Azn Man]

In another desparate attempt to shove the OS that no one really wants out the door on time for a release this year, Microsoft has announced that their "next generation" OS, Windows Vista will not support booting from EFI (Extensible Firmware Interface.)

http://apcmag.com/apc/v3.nsf/0/E666E...25712C008166C4

Although Microsoft has previously said EFI booting would be supported by Vista, Ritz admitted that EFI support won't be seen in any version of Windows until the release of Longhorn Server.

It will not be available in the release version of Windows Vista later this year – Microsoft says people will have to wait for an unspecified 'subsequent release of Windows client'. Ritz could not say whether that would be a service pack update to Vista or the next-generation of Windows.

So, why should you care? Well, you probably shouldn't. But if you are a self-respecting geek who love cutting edge technology, you'd wonder why Windows Vista refuses to let go of the ancient 20 years old BIOS and jump into the more modern, robust, and useful EFI.

When Mac OS X ran on x86 processors, it supported booting from EFI. In fact, all Intel Macs uses EFI as their firmware. Why? Because unlike Windows, Mac OS X is not a legacy OS. It has no need to support old ass technology. And jumping from the modern Open Firmware on PPC Macs to BIOS is like jumping from HDTV to B & W TV. EFI is the only firmware standard comparable and in some ways more advanced than Open Firmware. Even some Linux distros can boot from EFI. But that shouldn't be a surprise.

Windows Vista will still contain essentially the same crappy kernel as 2000 and XP but continues to bolt on "improvements." No matter what MS adds to the kernel, you can't make a fortress by retrofitting a house of glass. You need to rebuild it out of bricks from the start. And because MS is still obsessed with legacy support, it is too scared to drop BIOS for EFI.

With no EFI support added to the growing list of features chopped off from Vista, you really gotta ask yourself, "Why should I upgrade to Vista?"

[Secret Azn Man]

I know I'm double-posting, but since it's been awhile since the last post and no one else posted, I don't care.

Look's like ANOTHER feature will be dropped from Windows Vista. This time, HD-DVD support will not be found initially in Vista.

http://blog.ce-pro.com/news/6966.html

To be fair though, HD-DVD is gonna be off to a rocky start. There will be HD-DVD players coming out this year, but no HD-DVD movies. Not right away, at least.

EDIT: Also up on the chopping block: Microsoft abandoning .NET?

Bill Gates launched .Net, a new way of programming Windows applications, to much fanfare in 2000. And when Microsoft (Research) started developing Windows Vista, a new operating system due out this year, company officials promised it would make heavy use of .Net. But British programmer Richard Grimes says Microsoft is pulling back on use of .Net in Vista. Grimes studied a prerelease version of Vista and found that it didn't use .Net much. Grimes' conclusion: Microsoft has lost confidence in .Net and no longer plans to use it to write its own software. One downside to the change in plans: The older programming tools that Microsoft programmers used to write Vista could result in an operating system that's more virus-prone than a version of Windows written with .Net, which has built-in security features.

What is it with Microsoft and new technology? They're either scared of it, or make a half-assed attempt of supporting it.

[Gorath Sodom]

No EFI??????????? Those crazy bastards. I believe they also dropped, or at least delayed, the new command prompt shelll which seemed to be eerily similar to Linux's BASH. Probably a ploy to convince UNIX users to jump on the Windoze bandwagon.

At least Windows is user friendly... after months of configuring the startup utils and installing the third party software necessary for a solid environment.

[hellbred]

My research on Windows Vista is basically non-existant. What's going to be the major differences between that and XP?

[Secret Azn Man]

That really depends on which versions you get. You see, Microsoft, in all it's brilliance will be shipping SIX different versions of Windows Vista. I don't even want to know why MS would do such a thing. But to answer your question, there will be some major differences between Vista and XP but not as much since some of Vista's new features and enhancements will also be available for XP.

For a more thorough list with explanation, please read this article from Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feature..._Windows_Vista

Bottomline is though, many of these new enhancements should have been in XP a long time ago, are nothing new, often found in OS X in Linux NOW, or just plain doesn't make sense. I promise you one day I'll go over that list and break it down adding my comments. But for now, it is of my opinion and many others that Vista just isn't that exciting.

As for whether Vista will ship with a new CLI, I do not know. I will look into that.

Until then, I will revel in the fact that Vista, despite 6+ years of development, feature cuts, delays upon delays, has been... delayed again from November 2006 release to January 2007 release.

Oh, wells. Meanwhile, Mac OS X's 5th incarnation, Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard is still slated for release late 2006/January 2007 as originally planned and will most certainly kick Vista's ass.

[Secret Azn Man]

Yes, I'm double posting again. But again, it's been awhile since I last posted and editing my last post wouldn't bump my topic, would it? OK, let's see some MORE bad news for Windows Vista!

http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,125854,00.asp

The launch of the consumer version of Windows Vista, Microsoft's new operating system, could be pushed back past the stated January launch date, Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer said today.

The operating system was due to be launched this year but in March the company said it wouldn't get broad release until January 2007. Ballmer said Wednesday that the planned January launch may slip further based on feedback from a beta release program and the product road-maps of hardware vendors.

Ooohhh... Straight from the CEO himself!

http://www.adtmag.com/article.aspx?id=18607

Symantec has asked a U.S. court to block the further development, sale or distribution of Microsoft's upcoming Windows Vista operating system, claiming that the Redmond, Wash., software maker is wrongfully incorporating storage technology that it owns into the next-generation OS.

If granted, an injunction could stall the already-delayed release of the next version of Windows, and potentially, other Vista-related products, until all Symantec intellectual property is removed from the OS.

Ouch. MORE delays? At this rate, Vista won't be out till 2008!