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Windows Vista Press
Release:
Desktop Management
Improving the effectiveness and efficiency of
desktop management is one of the ways that an
organization can lower its total cost of
ownership while leveraging IT as a competitive
business advantage. Today, IT departments are
devoting significant effort around diagnosing
and fixing problems with networks and individual
PCs, costing them valuable time and financial
resources. Windows Vista helps address this
problem by enabling a new level of confidence in
the overall system function, by dramatically
reducing the time, complexity and cost of PC
deployment, management, maintenance and
security.
Built-in diagnostics.
Windows Vista provides built-in diagnostics —
collections of instrumentation, troubleshooting
and resolution logic — that resolve problems
affecting the performance and reliability of the
PC. Users can be confident using Windows Vista,
because it will detect potential problems and
help resolve them — sometimes before the problem
even occurs. IT professionals can control
built-in diagnostics via group policy, and all
diagnostics are integrated with the Windows
eventing infrastructure, enabling IT pros to
track what problems occur on machines in their
organization. Diagnostic capabilities in the
October CTP include the following:
Windows Memory Diagnostics.
Failing memory can be among the most difficult
issues to diagnose, because problems can be
intermittent and often cause secondary systems.
Windows® Memory Diagnostics can
automatically detect and resolve problems caused
by defective physical memory. If the diagnostics
module identifies a memory problem, Windows
Vista can avoid using the affected portion of
physical memory, enabling the operating system
to start successfully and avoid application
crashes.
Windows Disk Diagnostics.
Windows Vista can eliminate much of the impact
of a disk failure by detecting disk problems
proactively, before a failure occurs. Hard disks
often show warning signs before failure, but
earlier Windows operating systems could not take
action on the warning signs. Windows Vista
listens for evidence that a hard disk is
beginning to fail and warns the user or the
support center of the problem. Windows Vista
guides users through the process of backing up
their data so the drive can be replaced without
data loss. This allows users to protect their
data and replace the hard disk before a
potential problem turns into an emergency.
Network diagnostics.
Network connectivity issues
can be among the most frustrating problems for
end users and support professionals alike. End
users cannot help themselves by searching for
solutions online, and support professionals
cannot remotely access the user’s machine to
diagnose the problem. Windows Vista will feature
integrated network diagnostics that analyze
connectivity and network access issues, and
either resolve them automatically or provide
easy-to-understand solutions. Network
diagnostics in Windows Vista troubleshoot all
elements of the network stack, providing a
thorough automatic diagnosis of connectivity
issues. Network diagnostics data is saved in the
Windows Event Log to help support personnel
resolve and track issues.
Network Center, Computers
and Devices. Windows
Vista will enable a higher level of confidence
in the networking abilities of the operating
system and provide many new scenarios for
interacting with computers and devices on the
local network, such as using network media
players or easily setting up networking routers
and wireless access points. The October CTP
includes Network Center, the hub for managing
networking in Windows Vista, Computers and
Devices, which replaces My Network Places and
Network Neighborhood from Windows XP, and serves
as the place to quickly, easily and reliably
find and interact with computers and devices on
the local network.
Reliable power state
transitions. The
October CTP includes improvements that offer a
significant increase in the reliability of
transitions in and out of Sleep, Shut-Down and
On power states. Users can be more confident
when they press the power button or simply close
their laptop lids that Windows Vista will enter
the desired power state and that applications
and drivers will no longer delay Sleep or
Shut-Down mode. This is accomplished by reducing
the opportunity for applications, services and
drivers to veto or block these power state
transitions.
Connected and Collaborative
New features in Windows Vista
make it possible for users to more seamlessly
connect to the information, people and devices
that help them get the most out of their
computing experience. With Windows Vista,
connecting to a variety of devices and networks
is faster, easier and more secure; synchronizing
data is simple; and using a computer while on
the go has never been easier. Currently,
connecting to different kinds of networks is
hard — and often requires customers to use
unfamiliar wizards and interfaces — and
diagnosing connectivity problems can be
difficult. The October CTP showcases a number of
features designed to solve the complexities of
connecting to and sharing information across
multiple computers and users, including these:
Windows Mobility Center.
Top-level mobility system settings are
aggregated in a new easy-to-find, easy-to-use
location, under the Windows Mobility Center in
the Control Panel. Settings include display
brightness, power plans, volume, wireless
status, synchronization status, presentation
status, and display settings and orientation.
Original equipment manufacturers can extend this
interface with hardware settings unique to their
designs.
Sharing.
Windows Vista will include new capabilities that
make it easy for users to share content with
other users on the same PC or other users on the
same network. Through the simplified sharing
experience in the Windows Vista October CTP,
users can now specify not only which folders
they want to share with others, but also
individual files. The system can even
automatically generate an e-mail message with an
embedded hyperlink for an easier way to connect
to that shared content. And of course, the
entire folder and file sharing experience is
group-policy-enabled for maximum organizational
control.
Digital signatures for XML
Paper Specification (XPS) format documents.
With Windows Vista, users who have WinFX™
installed on their system will be able to
convert any onscreen content into a secured,
fixed-format XPS Document. In the October CTP,
XPS Documents can be created using the Microsoft
XPS Document Writer. Once created, XPS Documents
can be viewed and digitally signed using the XPS
Viewer application. Signed XPS Documents will
display a graphic icon to indicate they’ve been
digitally signed, and users can view the date
for the signature and co-sign documents from
within the digital signatures dialog box. A
digital signature enables users to be certain
that the document was not modified since it was
signed (for instance, tampered with while en
route to the recipient) and also provides strong
evidence about who signed the document. Further
enhancements, such as Windows Rights Management
in XPS Documents, are coming for Windows Vista
Beta 2.
Internet Explorer
for Windows Vista
Internet
Explorer for Windows Vista in the October CTP
includes many important new features — in the
areas of security, end-user experience and the
developer platform — that are designed to
provide users with more confidence in their
browsing experience, including the following:
Internet Explorer Phishing
Filter. In Internet
Explorer in Windows Vista, Microsoft offers a
range of enhancements to better protect against
malicious Web site operators and help prevent
users from becoming victims of confusing URLs.
Internet Explorer ActiveX®
Opt-in. This feature
reduces the “attack surface” of Internet
Explorer and gives users more control over the
security of their PC.
Favorites Center.
A newly designed panel makes
it quick and easy to access Favorites, History
and Web feed subscriptions.
Quick Tabs.
After opening multiple tabs,
users can view and manage them with an
at-a-glance thumbnail view in a single window.
Quick Tabs.
After opening multiple tabs,
users can view and manage them with an
at-a-glance thumbnail view in a single window.
Quick Tabs.
After opening multiple tabs,
users can view and manage them with an
at-a-glance thumbnail view in a single window.
Page Zoom.
Users can zoom in and out on individual Web
pages, including text and graphics, to focus on
the specific content they are interested in
viewing and to make the content more accessible
to those with vision disabilities.
Advanced Printing.
In addition to shrink-to-fit
printing, included in Beta 1, Internet Explorer
now includes a multipage print preview with live
margins and a default option to only print
selected text, ensuring that users can print
exactly what they want easier than ever before. |
