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Vista & Microsoft 2007

Discussion in 'Computers & Technology Forum' started by chadnrachel, Aug 15, 2006.

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  1. chadnrachel

    chadnrachel New Member

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    I just came back from a technology conference where I was BLOWN AWAY by the new Vista OS and Microsoft Office 2007 suite.

    Although it will not be released until January, I can't wait to get my hands on it.

    Many people seem to be dreading it....complaining that it will have bugs...but so did 2003...and w/ update...most have been dealt with.

    The cool thing about these programs that I noticed:

    1. Microsoft Office 2007--the demonstration mainly used PowerPoint.
    A. The program was designed so that the normal, average user would take advantage of all of the options the program has to offer. Currently, we use only 25% of the available tools.
    B. To do this, the program realized what you are manipulating (i.e., if I'm typing in a text box it knows I am currently concerned with text...) and creates a ribbon at the top of the screen w/ every tool you could imagine that would go with that object (Bold, font, color, size, justification....). The cool thing is that all you have to do is "hover" over the option you want, and it will dynamically change the object before your eye instantly.

    The key words here are dynamically and instantly (there was NO fiddle time). To do this, the instructor explained that you will have to have a Vista ready computer=a really good video card and 1 GB of memory.

    2. Vista OS
    A. To access a program, you could go the route of Start<All programs but you could also simply type in a small search box under start (the instructor did just "Wor" to get MS Word--he didn't even finish spelling it) and IMMEDIATELY (that means no litterly dog sniffing around for a minute or two) a list appeared organized into the following: Programs that matched the word, then documents, then E-MAILS (it will search your e-mails for you)....
    B. The instructor said that w/ Vista it will take advantage of what he called the "thumb twiddling" of a normal computer. What he meant was, have you ever opened a program and at times the program will go REALLY slow and other times it doesn't. This is probably due to the fact that the computer has chosen to do something behind the scenes (scan the hard drive, scan for spyware...) while you are working. With Vista, it will recognize that you are using it, make that a priority, and place the other activities on hold until you are done.)
    C. Another awesome thing he showed us was, have you ever had 4-9 windows opened at once, and found it difficult to navigate through them all? Well, first, w/ Vista you will be able to "hover" over the tab in the start bar and a small picture (thumbnail) of the window will appear. If that's not good enough, you can press another button, and INSTANTLY a 3-dimensional rolling Rolodex-like animation of the windows you have open will begin slowly moving in the middle of the desktop. You simply click the one you want.

    I could go on and on...but I am very excited.

    One of the funnier notes: a guy saw all this cool stuff and asked the instructor if there is a "classic view" button with these new programs. The instructor said sure...it's called XP and MS Office 2003. :)
     
    #1 chadnrachel, Aug 15, 2006
  2. Magnetic Poles

    Magnetic Poles New Member

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    :laugh: This is called a "Command Line Interface" or CLI. It is how CP/M and MS-DOS worked back in the early days of PCs.

    Actually, Vista has lots and lots of eye candy, but it is gutted of the underlying things that would have really improved the OS.
     
    #2 Magnetic Poles, Aug 15, 2006
  3. Baptist Believer

    Baptist Believer Well-Known Member
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    We have a demo of Vista and Office 2007 at work recently, and I was somewhat impressed with Office, but much less impressed with Vista.

    Some of us use quite a few tools, but many of the features don't work properly (for instance, "Track Changes") in previous features of Windows Office, so I avoid using them because they will only cause problems.

    The ribbon feature looks like a good interface, but I'll have to use in on some real-world projects before I decide. If it works as well as they say it does, Microsoft may have actually "innovated" a user interface. :eek:

    They key words are actually, "very fast computer with lots of memory and a powerful graphics card."

    At my office, our computer services division said that they plan to install at least 2GB of RAM in every system so that Vista will run well. That may well be a bit of an overkill, but they made that decision after running Vista on several different configurations in their offices.

    Yep. It's a stripped down copy of Mac OS X's Spotlight feature (http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/spotlight/) that Macintosh users have had for a while now.

    In other words, they have decided to fix a problem with Windows that has plagued users for years.

    Yes, I saw that feature. Essentially, its a different implementation of Expose (http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/expose/) that Mac users have enjoyed for several years.

    While I may sound unhappy about Vista, I am actually glad that at least a few things are getting upgraded so that my Windows use is less painful. It's hard using Mac OS X at home for creative work and then having to use Windows XP at the office. Vista will bring Windows users a half-step forward to where Mac users were in 2003.

    If Office works as well as advertised (and the ribbon interface is actually useable), then it will be a major improvement that I will look forward coming to the Mac version of Office in the next upgrade. Strangely enough, Microsoft has a history of making a better quality version of its Office software for Macintosh than it does for its own core customers.

    That's one of the things that actually concerns me. What happens if the new interfaces don't work well and actually reduce productivity? I'd like to have the option of turning them off and working in a "Classic view" as I do with Windows XP. Unfortunately, Microsoft doesn't want to give it's users that flexibility.
     
    #3 Baptist Believer, Aug 15, 2006
  4. Dale-c

    Dale-c Active Member

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    After a couple of weeks with Vista on my Latitude, I got rid of it.
    It is an anoying OS.
    It has a lot of nice features but is it just a pain to actually use.
    And....unless you have a really great system...forget about it.
    It was dog slow on my system (2gig P4 with 512)
    Better have a gig of ram before you attempt to run it.
     
    #4 Dale-c, Aug 15, 2006
  5. mnw

    mnw New Member

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    I must admit I like Vista. It'll take some time to really get used to all its features, but it'll be a vast improvement over XP.

    Having said that, I just have a demo version of Vista and it will be some time before I can get the real thing. :tear:
     
    #5 mnw, Aug 17, 2006
  6. Baptist Believer

    Baptist Believer Well-Known Member
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    Does it try to be "helpful" all the time?

    "There are unused icons on your desktop!! Do you want to clean them up now?"

    -cancel-

    "There are unused icons on your desktop!! Do you want to clean them up now?"

    -cancel-

    "There are unused icons on your desktop!! Do you want to clean them up now?"

    -cancel-

    "There are unused icons on your desktop!! Do you want to clean them up now?"

    -shut down-
     
    #6 Baptist Believer, Aug 17, 2006
  7. chadnrachel

    chadnrachel New Member

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    My XP does this...so that doesn't seem to different.
     
    #7 chadnrachel, Aug 17, 2006
  8. mnw

    mnw New Member

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    That's why it has a "Do Not Tell Me Again" setting that you can use. :)
     
    #8 mnw, Aug 18, 2006
  9. Baptist Believer

    Baptist Believer Well-Known Member
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    I've used it...

    Many times...

    Still told me...

    And told me...

    And told me...

    And told me...

    And told me...

    Took about 8 months to finally stop telling me.
     
    #9 Baptist Believer, Aug 18, 2006
  10. tinytim

    tinytim <img src =/tim2.jpg>

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    Hey Baptist Believer, do you have any unused icons on your desktop?

    :laugh:

    It sounded like you missed seeing that pop up!:thumbs:
     
    #10 tinytim, Aug 18, 2006
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