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[Afro Thunder]

WinHEC (Windows Hardware Engineering Conference) 2005 has now begun and Microsoft have given the Longhorn preview build to attendees today. Build 5048 sports the new "Aero" theme and new search features. We will be covering WinHEC from tomorrow onwards at the Neowin WinHEC05 blog. Keep an eye on the blog for upcoming updates

Blog: http://www.neowin.net/winhec05

 

[achilles]

As opposed to the Aqua theme heh heh

 

[jadehorizon1]

Microsoft conference -

"Hi lets start today with a little brainstorming for ideas on our new Windows"
"Lets go original"
"..."
"Whats apple doing?"






Jobs was right, all MS can do is take OSX and twist it into Windows ... shame

 

[goodcow]

Am I the only one who DOESN'T want my windows and programs flying around the screen and scaling and shit?

 

[djtiesto]

512 MB of RAM and a Radeon 9800 just to run Windows?? What are the advantages of this new version (I haven't been following up on it) aside from glowing close/maximize buttons?

 

[goodcow]

512 MB of RAM and a Radeon 9800 just to run Windows?? What are the advantages of this new version (I haven't been following up on it) aside from glowing close/maximize buttons?

By the time Longhorn comes out, a Radeon 9800 will be nothing.

And the "features" of the new graphics core are so it can do useless graphical tricks like OSX.

 

[Jim Bowie]

Am I the only one who DOESN'T want my windows and programs flying around the screen and scaling and shit?

If you mean expose, you're the only one.

Unsurprisingly, this doesn't look THAT different from XP. And it's funny to see that one of the 5 pictures available demonstrates a typical error.

Longhorn -1

EDIT: Wait, what? Useless? I disagree completely.

Say I have open nine programs (a feat that would easily crash most Windows machines). They're all open against my desktop and I want to pull up something fast. However, the GAF is taking up the entire screen. I hit F9 and suddenly all of my windows are cascaded, so I can quickly and efficiently choose a new program. It makes sense and it's so convienent. Whenever I switch back to my PC, I really miss having that little feature.

 

[achilles]

aside from glowing close/maximize buttons?

Which are pretty useless and not even that aesthetically pleasing =/

Paint is such a crappy program.

 

[Sullichin]

That looks like shit. Especially since i'm viewing it in sexy Safari.

 

[Pochacco]

looks like a new XP skin.

 

[Cerebral Palsy]

lol

 

[shantyman]

By the time Longhorn comes out, a Radeon 9800 will be nothing.

And the "features" of the new graphics core are so it can do useless graphical tricks like OSX.

By your reasoning everything should be functional but ugly. That's stupid.

 

[goodcow]

By your reasoning everything should be functional but ugly. That's stupid.

Pretty is good. But when I hit minimize, I don't need the window to do a "Genie" effect, or scale down in realtime like OSX. I just call that showing off, and it slows my work down. (though the cascade thing is great)

 

[wazoo]

Those are not Longhorn look, it is not even a beta version.

it is for developpers.

 

[Nerevar]

Pretty is good. But when I hit minimize, I don't need the window to do a "Genie" effect, or scale down in realtime like OSX. I just call that showing off, and it slows my work down. (though the cascade thing is great)

agreed. I hate even the window-bar moving up and down like it does in XP. I'd rather it just disappears completely and instantaneously. The "genie" effect is just annoying.

And lay off the stupid "OMG MS stealing from Apple!!11!1!" crap. Just because Apple was first to market doesn't mean they were the originator of the idea. It's almost as retarded as claiming Apple was the originator of the GUI or the mouse because they were first to market (when in fact it is widely known that Jobs stole those ideas from Xerox himself). Both of these companies have had these software ideas in development for years. We all know MS is slow and makes buggy software, give it a rest.

 

[Lord Error]

Say I have open nine programs (a feat that would easily crash most Windows machines). They're all open against my desktop and I want to pull up something fast. However, the GAF is taking up the entire screen. I hit F9 and suddenly all of my windows are cascaded, so I can quickly and efficiently choose a new program. It makes sense and it's so convienent. Whenever I switch back to my PC, I really miss having that little feature.

I dunno. I just click on the said program on the taskbar and it's there. Faster than pressing a button, then clicking.

 

[Cerebral Palsy]

Those are not Longhorn look, it is not even a beta version.

it is for developpers.

True. Going by previous windows versions, 95 and up, Longhorn should be drastically different from XP by release... :lol

Is this the $199 downgrade version of Longhorn or something? More security holes, and uglier skins for users with a previous installation of windows?

 

[dem]

Those are not Longhorn look, it is not even a beta version.

it is for developpers.

Don't waste your time on the iDiots.

 

[shantyman]

Pretty is good. But when I hit minimize, I don't need the window to do a "Genie" effect, or scale down in realtime like OSX. I just call that showing off, and it slows my work down. (though the cascade thing is great)

There is a way to make it scale down instead of the genie effect. It's a simple setting.

Color me VERY unimpressed with these screenshots. There is no depth to it, it looks as flat and bland as Windows is now.

 

[goodcow]

There is a way to make it scale down instead of the genie effect. It's a simple setting.

Color me VERY unimpressed with these screenshots. There is no depth to it, it looks as flat and bland as Windows is now.

I'm aware of that, how else would I know the original term is Genie effect? It's set to scale down, but even that's annoying.

 

[shantyman]

Those are not Longhorn look, it is not even a beta version.

it is for developpers.

I did not know that. We can cut them some slack then...

 

[Zaptruder]

I hope they include mouse gestures and tabbing into the whole Windows interface.

Even if not as default options, then at least as power user options.

 

[retardboy]

This doesn't even include their new GUI guys... That will be in their beta which will be released sometime in early summer. You guys need to get a reality check and stop just bashing Windows because you hate Microsoft.

Go here for more on the new features and screenshots.
http://www.winbeta.org/articles.php?action=show&id=15&perpage=1&pagenum=1

 

[aoi tsuki]

I hope they include mouse gestures and tabbing into the whole Windows interface.

Even if not as default options, then at least as power user options.

Agreed. Firefox has made the two (especially mouse gestures) so natural that i occasionally try to peform gestures in explorer.

Pretty is good. But when I hit minimize, I don't need the window to do a "Genie" effect, or scale down in realtime like OSX. I just call that showing off, and it slows my work down. (though the cascade thing is great)

i'm sure skinners are wetting themselves over the possibilities, but i just want a UI that's intuitive and fast. i could care less about window transitions and "cool" effects.

The only thing that i'm interested in in Longhorn is WinFS, and unfornately, that's some time off.

 

[DECK'ARD]

I dunno. I just click on the said program on the taskbar and it's there. Faster than pressing a button, then clicking.

Well you have that with the Dock as well, but Exposé does become second-nature. Especially when you have it set to the corners of the screen. On mine moving mouse into top left scales to show all windows then clicking one brings it to the front, top right shoves all windows off the screen to show the desktop. The windows are also still updated when scaled, so if you want to quickly check what another app is doing you just quickly move your mouse to top left then click back again. It's also very handy with apps that use multiple windows.

It's such a common-sense idea that you get used to it very quickly. I miss it when using a Windows machine as well, and instinctively start moving my mouse into the top left corner all the time

 

[Luscious LeftFoot]

Does every thread have to be OSX vs. WINDOWS? And it's always the same people starting the same shit, and rehashing the same arguements.

 

[Manics]

Does every thread have to be OSX vs. WINDOWS? And it's always the same people starting the same shit, and rehashing the same arguements.

I agree -- boring OS advocacy issues turn into quasi religious debates.

 

[AB 101]

By the time Longhorn comes out, a Radeon 9800 will be nothing.

He is right.

Hell, a 6800 Ultra may be very old by the time Longhorn ships.


And Apple is getting ragged out by not supporting a Radeon 9200 with Core Image in Tiger.

 

[cubicle47b]

I seriously doubt those video cards are minimum requirements. They're just the currently supported video cards.

 

[tedtropy]

I seriously doubt those video cards are minimum requirements. They're just the currently supported video cards.

ding-ding-ding

It's a very early beta. It's not designed with compatibility in mind at this point.

 

[gigapower]

Still nothing that will make me switch from OS X on my main machine.

 

[xsarien]

512 MB of RAM and a Radeon 9800 just to run Windows?? What are the advantages of this new version (I haven't been following up on it) aside from glowing close/maximize buttons?

Knowing Microsoft, this new version will make Windows look very pretty. All other *real* enhancements will come later.

 

[wazoo]

the videos of LH during the leynote were already pretty.

 

[FortNinety]

Wow, this looks really scaled back compared to some of vids I've seen of Longhorn in the past.

 

[jadehorizon1]

And lay off the stupid "OMG MS stealing from Apple!!11!1!" crap. Just because Apple was first to market doesn't mean they were the originator of the idea.

Its not about stealing from Apple, it is about copying the same old crap. Id like to see something new and interesting that the new Windows has that OSX doesnt. Not just the same fancy and most of the time not needed visual effects ... still this Windows has got what 1, 2 years to go? I just hope in that time MS can be different from the rest of the pack and make some innovations of their own.

 

[sc0la]

Am I the only one who DOESN'T want my windows and programs flying around the screen and scaling and shit?

If you are talking about genies and scale on close, glowing buttons and transparency, then no you aren't the only one.

If expose style window management is a side effect of that then I will gladly take those and turn them off in the options menu