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View Full Version : Microsoft Windows Vista & Office 2007 Launch Event

Jeremy Charette
01-30-2007, 07:00 PM
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Image 1: Windows Vista ads rolled across several screens in Times Square, including the one above ABC's studios.

Last night Microsoft launched Windows Vista and Office 2007 at the Nokia Theatre in Times Square, New York City. Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer gave presentations on the key advancements in Windows Vista. Demo stations were setup everywhere, showing off Vista for Small Business, Games for Windows on Vista, and Media Center. I got to spend a bit of time in the Media Center demo room, playing with the Xbox 360's new Vista-styled user interface, as well as Vista Home Premium running on a Samsung Q1 UMPC. The new UI is very clean, easy to navigate, and allows you to view video that's currently playing full screen while navigating, rather than confining it to a thumbnail window in the corner as in XP. The Q1 ran Windows Vista Premium, and I was very impressed with the speed and fluidity of the Media Center interface, even on an ultraportable device like this with minimal CPU horsepower and memory. (Jason, this could be your dream machine for those long flights and trips to trade shows!)

Rather than bore you with what I saw, see it for yourself. On to the photos: <!>

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Image 2: Bill Gates starting the presentation in the Nokia Theatre.

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Image 3: Bill Gates talking about the "Digital Lifestyle" which will be enabled by Windows Vista.

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Image 4: The four key advantages to Windows Vista: Easier, Safer, More Entertaining, Better Connected.

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Image 5: Mike Sievert demo'd several key features in Windows Vista, including the ability to playback recorded HDTV from CableCard devices.

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Image 6: Mike Sievert shows off the new transparent overlay when playing back video in Media Center.

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Image 7: The Wow Starts Now.

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Image 8: Steve Ballmer talked about the extensive testing that's gone into Windows Vista, and how user feedback has been used more than ever before.

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Image 9: The Windows Vista Families program enlisted the help of 50 families in 7 countries to help make Vista more user-friendly for both parents and children alike.

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Image 10: Angels and Airwaves performed before and after the presentation. Good stuff.

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Image 11: The Nokia Theatre, in the heart of Times Square.

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Image 12: Microsoft had Times Square plastered with ads for Vista and Office during and after the event.
Jason Dunn
01-30-2007, 08:51 PM
Looks like a fun event - I wish I lived closer to NYC. :lol:
Jeremy Charette
01-30-2007, 09:26 PM
I'm telling you, you've gotta move. This is the place to be!
Tim Williamson
01-30-2007, 10:11 PM
Do the current Xbox 360's get a Vista Media Center facelift? Or only the new 360's (or the 2nd gen ones)?
Jason Dunn
01-30-2007, 10:15 PM
Do the current Xbox 360's get a Vista Media Center facelift? Or only the new 360's (or the 2nd gen ones)?

I was curious about this as well. Doubtful the old Xbox machines will, because they use a CD to boot into extender mode, nothing comes from the PC. On the Xbox 360, it pulls bits from the host PC, so it should look like Vista...I think. I haven't tried this yet because I'm still waiting for Velocity Micro to ship me a PC that isn't broken (http://www.jasondunn.com/velocity-micro-round-2-ko-178). :-(
Jeremy Charette
01-30-2007, 10:20 PM
All Xbox 360s will get the Vista facelift if used with a Vista host machine. The 360 pulls UI data down from the host machine, whether it's XP MCE or Vista. Wondered about that myself, and that's the answer I got from the Microsoft reps.
Tim Williamson
01-30-2007, 10:21 PM
I was curious about this as well. Doubtful the old Xbox machines will, because they use a CD to boot into extender mode, nothing comes from the PC. On the Xbox 360, it pulls bits from the host PC, so it should look like Vista...I think. I haven't tried this yet because I'm still waiting for Velocity Micro to ship me a PC that isn't broken (http://www.jasondunn.com/velocity-micro-round-2-ko-178). :-(

Ouch, still waiting for that?
Jason Dunn
01-30-2007, 10:54 PM
Ouch, still waiting for that?

Yeah man. I don't want to clutter the front page of Digital Media Thoughts with stuff like that, but my personal blog (http://www.jasonunn.com) has that, and other, ongoing sagas... ;-)
aroma
01-31-2007, 03:44 PM
Jeremy,
So Vista did run truly well on the Q1? Had you used one before with XP, and if so, how did performance compare? Did you notice how much RAM the Q1 model had?
Mexico
01-31-2007, 06:16 PM
All Xbox 360s will get the Vista facelift if used with a Vista host machine. The 360 pulls UI data down from the host machine, whether it's XP MCE or Vista. Wondered about that myself, and that's the answer I got from the Microsoft reps.

I got a new machine yesterday running Home Premium. I then unlinked my xBox 360 from my XP MCE edition and linked it to the new Home Premium machine. Man, that is a nice Media Center interface! The setup was completely painless.

M
Jeremy Charette
01-31-2007, 07:26 PM
Jeremy,
So Vista did run truly well on the Q1? Had you used one before with XP, and if so, how did performance compare? Did you notice how much RAM the Q1 model had?

No idea how much RAM the Q1 on display had, but I'd guess they had it maxed out at 1GB. The Media Center interface was smooth as silk, just as it would appear on a fast desktop, laptop, or the 360. Judging solely on it's performance in Media Center, I'd say it was faster with Vista than XP (I've demo'd the Q1 before with XP). Of course, there was no Aero Glass effects or anything, but that's to be expected.

Video playback in SD was a bit choppy at first, but got better after a few seconds after the file had loaded. I'd guess it was running at 25-28 frames per second rather than the full 30 fps, but it would be entirely enjoyable on a long flight. Battery life is probably a bigger issue however.
aroma
01-31-2007, 10:45 PM
Battery life is probably a bigger issue however.

The whole reason I was asking is that I already own a Q1 really hadn't even considered loading Vista on it until I was reading your post. I do like the little unit, but battery life is a bit of a mess, though. (Car adapter is a must for traveling with this unit.)
Jason Dunn
01-31-2007, 10:55 PM
The whole reason I was asking is that I already own a Q1 really hadn't even considered loading Vista on it until I was reading your post.

Do what I do:

1) Image the hard drive with Acronis TrueImage (http://www.acronis.com)
2) Slap Vista on there
3) See if you like it, if you don't, put the Vista image back on there

:D