I'm glad you're watching Microsoft and letting me know what's up.

I am a software developer, primarily using Microsoft development tools like ASP.NET, C#, FoxPro and I could give a dang about Vista, Longhorn, etc.

By the time I get there, the product will be on the market by 6 months and I'll know what snaggy issues to deal with.

On the security issues, we've got what we wanted; security with a vengence. Seems I have to constantly jump through hoops just to write a program that accesses a directory. I'm not a hacker, I write business apps and security constantly gets in the way of me doing my job.

What a PITA.

Anyway, glad you're watching them. Keep me posted if anything interesting pops up like less security hassles when developing in ASP.NET.

Being a software consultant who mostly uses .Net, I don't really care what they include or don't include. I just find it interesting to watch. I do wonder if MS is harming itself by raising expectations, then saying this, that, and the other are being partitioned out to not just Vista, but XP, and 2003, then not including WinFS, leaving people with the conclusion that the same old file system search capability will be in Vista (which is apparently false--there will be an improved document search capability), saying one feature after the next won't be in it, then quietly saying a few of them will. It's enough to make people throw up their hands and say "the heck with it!" We just need to be patient. I guess the only ones who might be worried about Vista are the ISVs. As for me, I know that .Net will be on there, and from everything they've said, it will be backward compatible with what I've already written. So no, I'm not worried. What I understand is the details (or more of them, anyway) of Vista will be revealed at the PDC in September.

This is Microsofts Copland OS. One of the reason they may not be saying anything is they do not know what will be in the OS by the time it is released. If Monad "great name....not" does ship with the client OS then we already have the proof of concept virus. Microsoft really needs to make security the number one aspect of Vista. If it turns out that the doors have been left open again this is going to put off a lot of people and will not spur the upgrades from XP they are counting on. With Microsoft trying to push this Vista for client/server use, IT managers are going to think long and hard before they ever set foot in Vista. Microsoft just killed Windows 2000 but over half the business using Microsoft products are still using 2000....and for good reason.

I can also picture the Microsoft User Interface division office with the lone Mac running Tiger in the center of the office with a sign under it saying "Do This". In fact a lot of the screen shots look like a cross of Tiger and Mozilla. It would be a very interesting world indeed if Microsoft had to compete with MacOS on the intel platform. If Steve Jobs opened the OS up to run on any intel machine it might be one of the best decisions he ever made. The pirated beta of tiger for intel is already being downloaded in droves by PC users and since Apple has already released the transition tools to the Xcode developer tools there are already Mac programs that have been ported over. In a years time nearly all of the Macs programs will have been ported over. That would make for some very interesting times if Apple did release it to the intel community at large.

This is Microsofts Copland OS. One of the reason they may not be saying anything is they do not know what will be in the OS by the time it is released. If Monad "great name....not" does ship with the client OS then we already have the proof of concept virus. Microsoft really needs to make security the number one aspect of Vista. If it turns out that the doors have been left open again this is going to put off a lot of people and will not spur the upgrades from XP they are counting on. With Microsoft trying to push this Vista for client/server use, IT managers are going to think long and hard before they ever set foot in Vista. Microsoft just killed Windows 2000 but over half the business using Microsoft products are still using 2000....and for good reason. I can also picture the Microsoft User Interface division office with the lone Mac running Tiger in the center of the office with a sign under it saying "Do This". In fact a lot of the screen shots look like a cross of Tiger and Mozilla. It would be a very interesting world indeed if Microsoft had to compete with MacOS on the intel platform. If Steve Jobs opened the OS up to run on any intel machine it might be one of the best decisions he ever made. The pirated beta of tiger for intel is already being downloaded in droves by PC users and since Apple has already released the transition tools to the Xcode developer tools there are already Mac programs that have been ported over. In a years time nearly all of the Macs programs will have been ported over. That would make for some very interesting times if Apple did release it to the intel community at large.

There is a single, huge reason why Microsoft needs to stay mum about the final contents of Vista and that is maintaining a competitive edge. Maintaining a level of secrecy about the final contents of Vista prevents Apple from stealing Microsoft's ideas and then claiming the innovation to be their own. For example, the smart folders in Panther were first released as a feature Microsoft Outlook yet Apple claims to have innovated here. It is stuff like this that keeps Product Managers up at night. -------------
To gain a competitive edge you need to keep your cards close to the vest. Microsoft rightly released Beta 1 with most of the end-user visible features disabled but with all the developer technology turned on. Since developers need the most advanced information about what technology and APIs will be included so they can develop new application features, end-users (and the press) can simply wait until further into the development cycle. To do otherwise only benefits Microsoft's competitors.

Why does Microsoft need to come clean about Vista when it has only reached Beta 1. This is the crucial learning period for the developers where they see how the operating system reacts out on public computers and networks. Microsoft can then add/remove features and tweaks based on issues and feedback from their customers. Everyone seems to be treating Beta 1 as if it is the final release.

Its BETA! get used to it and move on. Have you not learned from the automotive industry, very few "concept" cars make it to production.

Remember that Linux and MacOS are not immune to viruses, they simply suffer less because virus writers concentrate their effort where they get the most bang for their buck, ie: the most widely used OS.It also probably helps that most people writing viruses are more familiar with writing "software" (and now more often simply scripts) for the Windows OSes (just like most software developers in general). When and if Linux and MacOS (and other Unix derivatives) become as widespread as Windows they will likely siffer just as much. There is all kinds of talk about how these other platforms are more secure, and that is true to a point, but they still have the advantage of not having been stressed to the absolute limit like Windows has been over the years.A properly locked down XP Windows machine (ie: logged in as a Limited non-Admin-user / non-Power-user, current service and security packs installed) is quite secure. But who wants that? We want to be able to install anything we might download from anywhere at any time without being told "you must have admin rights to install x-application". We all want more control over our machines, we want to automate things using Windows Script Host, File System Object, ActiveX controls and everything else that makes our lives easier. The more power Microsoft gives us the wider the virus gates open up. I think it is up to the end user to decide if they are going to leave those gates open or lock them up.