February Vista CTP (Build 5308) Released
Today, the latest Community Technology Preview of Windows Vista was released, the long-awaited “feature-complete” build. While you wait for it on the torrent networks (who am I kidding; IRC already has it), here’s a few things new to this release, via MS’s User Account Control blog:
- Elevation prompts, which ask users to let an application run with administrator priveleges, will look angrier when asking about unsigned applications. Yeah, you read that right. There are screenshots.
- You can access the virtualized files created to maintain compatibility with applications that don’t work for non-admins. Basically, when an app tries to write to a file it isn’t allowed to, Windows creates a virtual version of that file and writes to that, keeping the system secure, and you now have access to these files via a button in Explorer, when applicable.
- “Run elevated” now called “Run as administrator” in right-clicks.
Screenshots from Skoogie show the Windows Sidebar in action, a Gadgets selector, some hints on Windows Ultimate Extras (the bonuses you get with the “super” version of Vista) and a peak at Media Player.
PC World shows Sidebar Gadgets running without the Sidebar, says Windows Live Gadgets don’t run in Vista yet
PC Mag has over 50 screenshots, including ones that show Windows Ease of Access (formerly Accessibility) options exposed on the login screen, the Vista Welcome Center you see when you first boot up, the System info screen, the little shield icons that indicate an admin is required to perform a task, the System Performance Rating screen, a dialog that explains what programs are slowing down Windows (on this system, Explorer.exe, oops), the new Windows Update program (no browser needed), Windows Helps’s tips for creating a strong password, the new Media Player running in the taskbar, Windows Security Center, the extensive Windows Firewall controls, Windows Explorer recovering from a crash, the Control Panel (which includes icons for: AutoPlay, Backup, BitLocker, Indexing and Search, Mobility Center, Network Map, Parental Controls, Pen and Input Devices, People Near Me, Performance Rating, Personalization [replaces Display], Sidebar Properties, Sync Center, Welcome Center and Windows SideShow, among others, totaling 53 items), power plans (balance power usage and performance), and application-specific volume.
NetworkWorld says this is the earliest Microsoft has ever released a feature-complete test build, and mentions the System Image Manager, which uses WIM, a file-based imaging format that lets you overlay the new disk image over the old one. Also, Windows Service Packs will also be distributed as compenents to be dropped into images, allowing for faster deployment.
What? Want more? Post links, I’ll update the list.
