Welcome to Tech Notes. On this page you'll find regularly updated articles containing information about technology subjects. In this first edition we'll cover Windows Vista.

Microsoft Windows Vista

The technology press has covered Vista in great detail from the first alpha releases to the many retail versions. I won't try to rehash what so many have already covered in the media. Instead I'll cover some basics and offer observations from our client experiences. Microsoft's latest operating system, released to the public earlier this year, promised a richer more secure computing experience than any previous version of Windows. For many, however, the promise wasn't kept. Overly aggressive security settings, poor compatibility with existing applications and a steep upgrade path to access full functionality meant many early adopters reverted to their earlier version of Windows.

Vista's minimum hardware requirements as quoted by Microsoft are:

800 MHz processor and 512 MB of system memory (1 GHz recommended) 20 GB hard drive with at least 15 GB of available space Support for Super VGA graphics CD-ROM drive

While these requirements seem reasonable, through our own testing we've found the reality is that Vista barely runs with this level of hardware. Vista's basic operating system installation can take 5 gigabytes or more of your hard drive space by itself. With only 512MB of RAM installed in a pc, excessive hard drive access can occur due to the need to supplement physical memory with temporary storage space known as a swap or paging file. This file functions as a temporary RAM expansion space when memory requirements exceed available system RAM. Additionally, even more hard drive space is commandeered for the Operating Systems Exclusive use. Paging, as it known, reduces the performance of the pc due to the latencies involved in moving data into and out of the paging file.

We haven't even tried to open a word document or view email yet. At this point we are looking at a blank desktop with no running applications. This isn't a new problem, however, and all Microsoft operating systems have handled memory this way since Windows 95. What is surprising is that even with minimal graphical and feature settings enabled the operating system itself, with no other applications active, responds sluggishly with these minimum hardware levels. Of course this isn't surprising. Windows operating system releases since Windows 95 have always coincided and in many cases driven the hardware upgrade market.

There was always encouragement to procure the latest and greatest pc to get the best experience out of the new operating system. Vista should be no different but the symbiotic relationship seems to be strained this time around.
Consumers and businesses aren't moving to Vista as quickly as Microsoft projections predicted. Why? Let's look at some possible explanations. Many consumers and businesses have PC hardware that’s less than a year old that can't adequately support Vista. They're not willing to invest in expensive upgrades or abandon their recent purchases for an operating system upgrade.

Why won't my programs work!

In the business world there are a number of applications that are simply not compatible with Vista. We have one client that has a specialized accounting application that simply will not work with Vista without an expensive and disruptive migration to a new version of the application. Other clients have seen similar compatibility issues with their applications. While there are some that propose that these "legacy" applications should be updated anyway, the assertion is unfair and often inaccurate. A large number of applications that have issues under Vista are relatively recent and are far more critical to their business operations than any operating system upgrade.

A large part of the application compatibility problem stems from the change in how security is handled in Vista as opposed to how it was handled in previous Windows versions. For years many applications were allowed free reign over the operating system resources that supported them. It was not uncommon to see application files installed in operating system reserved directories, memory resources horded and application behaviors that would destabilize the operating system.

In Windows 2000 the first stirrings of a tighter security model began to appear. For the first time it was possible to protect critical operating system file directories and memory resources from ill-behaved applications. This protection was helpful but ultimately optional and in many cases ill-behaved applications such as spyware and viruses still get installed in these reserved locations.

The security model in Vista, conversely, was designed to save the end-user from themselves and ill-behaved applications. Default security settings in Windows XP (the previous version) could expose user pc to rampant virus and spyware infections from malicious websites and email messages. Mechanisms designed to ease the user experience served equally well to allow malicious individuals to corrupt an unsuspecting user’s pc.

Microsoft decided that Vista would, by default, severely limit any access to core operating system resources and curtail malicious activities. Run almost any application in Vista and you're sure to be prompted by a security dialog both warning you of possible dire consequences and asking permission to proceed. While well intentioned after a short time the constant prompting drives many users to google.com to find out how to turn off the nagging from Vista's security features.

Because of the changes in Vista, many application vendors were unprepared when the operating system was finally released. We've already mentioned ill-behaved applications having issues with Vista but even applications that don't violate system boundaries can have issues.

Business applications in the past few years have incorporated web and internet functionality into their core feature set. With the release of Vista and its new secure web browser, Internet Explorer 7, many integrated internet features ceased to function. With Vista and Internet Explorer 7 (also installable on XP) the browser is no longer allowed to access any system resource directly. This limitation naturally extends to any application accessing internet functionality. Previous versions of Windows would channel internet requests through Internet Explorer mechanisms. Open a JPEG picture on a computer that doesn't have an image program on it and you'll soon find an Internet Explorer window open displaying the image.

The programming interfaces have changed to such an extent that applications that are written for previous versions may not function correctly or at all without being rewritten. There are compatibility modes but as in previous Windows versions these are only a temporary fix and often fail to correct application issues.
Hardware vendors aren’t immune from Vista’s challenges either. A large number of storage devices, video and multimedia cards were unsupported on Vista’s launch and many still don’t have adequate drivers for the platform. Included in this list are devices such as network cards which can render a pc useless in a business environment. Administration issues with Vista can also be a challenge. While there are more security settings available and improved networking services, configuring these services can be difficult. All versions of Vista have a redesigned interface and groupings of system settings that would be expected to be found in “Control Panel” are now in completely different locations.

The changes in administrative context for functions such as changing network settings or desktop appearance seems counter-intuitive. The act of joining a Windows Vista PC to a business network can often seem to be an exercise in futility. Login scripts not native to the operating system can fail and mysterious errors with supposedly compatible applications can occur without warning.

I’m reminded of a portion of a rather large address book that was corrupted inexplicably during a recent mailing project.

My bottom line on Vista, for now...

Having spent time with Vista and Apple Computer’s OSX Tiger it’s hard not to draw the obvious parallel. Vista looks feels and operates very much like OSX but surprisingly Apple’s OS was actually easier to attach to our test Windows network than Vista. While such a statement is heresy to the faithful it’s one of many heard since Vista’s release. While greater security and capability is always a good thing in an operating system I could not recommend it to any of my current clients at this time.

Why? The operating system’s advancements are also its liabilities. The learning curve is too steep and the price of entry too high for many businesses (or consumers) to shoulder. It’s administrative functions are counter-intuitive and difficult to access and it’s application support has in our experience been intolerant of even some Microsoft branded applications.

Ultimately there’s a lot to like about the concept of Vista but the execution this time around is unsatisfying. Vista may end up being the Windows ME of this century in spite of Microsoft’s aspirations.

James Walker