Windows Vista
category: general [glöplog]
Following the latest fad of discussing Microsoft's latest operating systems I want to speak about my experience with Windows Vista.
The first problem which I've bumped to is navigation. The absence of the Up One Folder button (or whatever it's called) makes navigation very difficult. If the folder name in which you are browsing is large, there is no way to reach the previous folder in the folder bar and you are left with an option to close the window and browse back to it from My Computer.
The second and most biggest problem are permissions. With Vista I always had a feeling that someone was sitting in my computer and sort of thinking: "well, let's see what you wanna do and let's see if I will permit it this time."
People say they don't have problems with renaming and deleting files. They start giving me advice to turn off UAC, which I did. Unfortunately, in my particular case I nevertheless get the problem very often. My Vista version is not basic, I've checked, it's like the most extended one.
But about 1, 2 times a week this or that folder would not agree to get renamed or moved. I would spend 5 minutes going into properties and fiddling around with rights and sometimes eventually it would let me rename my own folder on my own computer. Sometimes it would not let me rename my own folder on my own computer and say that I have no rights to do that which makes me want to look around my room and see if there is anyone else using my computer, someone whom I haven't noticed, a ghost under my bed or a phantom in my closet. But I find none and come to a sad conclusion that the OS itself is playing games with me, refusing to do what I want with the information I've created.
Please note that I am not speaking about system folders. Those are normal folders and normal files and they are not being open by another app or whatever. Just a folder with music, like "Louigi Verona tunes" which I decide to rename to "My tunes" and it would refuse to do that.
Sometimes a reboot helps and after it the folder would get renamed. Sometimes the folder would stop to refuse deletion after I first delete files inside it. Sometimes nothing of the above would help at all and the folder would just stay there until suddenly it would be ok to delete it or edit it.
The inability to watch DVDs which I bought in England is not native to Vista, but it is also there. It was not fixed in a new and exciting Vista.
I don't want to have to go through some workarounds to watch a movie on my computer. I thought the windows dvd player was designed to play movies, not try to locate what country I live in. And as for the legal issues, if as I cross UK border the DVD in my bag become illegal, then in UK they should have asked me whether I intend to watch the movie while being in another country. They, however, did not. They just took my money.
In general, Vista isn't that bad. Many people might find it ok. But if you are a more advanced user and want to do more on your computer than watch a DVD, send emails and save files to folders which Vista has defined for you, then you would want to switch to another OS.
In conclusion, watch a nice video on hoto install Vista in 2 minutes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVbf9tOGwno
The first problem which I've bumped to is navigation. The absence of the Up One Folder button (or whatever it's called) makes navigation very difficult. If the folder name in which you are browsing is large, there is no way to reach the previous folder in the folder bar and you are left with an option to close the window and browse back to it from My Computer.
The second and most biggest problem are permissions. With Vista I always had a feeling that someone was sitting in my computer and sort of thinking: "well, let's see what you wanna do and let's see if I will permit it this time."
People say they don't have problems with renaming and deleting files. They start giving me advice to turn off UAC, which I did. Unfortunately, in my particular case I nevertheless get the problem very often. My Vista version is not basic, I've checked, it's like the most extended one.
But about 1, 2 times a week this or that folder would not agree to get renamed or moved. I would spend 5 minutes going into properties and fiddling around with rights and sometimes eventually it would let me rename my own folder on my own computer. Sometimes it would not let me rename my own folder on my own computer and say that I have no rights to do that which makes me want to look around my room and see if there is anyone else using my computer, someone whom I haven't noticed, a ghost under my bed or a phantom in my closet. But I find none and come to a sad conclusion that the OS itself is playing games with me, refusing to do what I want with the information I've created.
Please note that I am not speaking about system folders. Those are normal folders and normal files and they are not being open by another app or whatever. Just a folder with music, like "Louigi Verona tunes" which I decide to rename to "My tunes" and it would refuse to do that.
Sometimes a reboot helps and after it the folder would get renamed. Sometimes the folder would stop to refuse deletion after I first delete files inside it. Sometimes nothing of the above would help at all and the folder would just stay there until suddenly it would be ok to delete it or edit it.
The inability to watch DVDs which I bought in England is not native to Vista, but it is also there. It was not fixed in a new and exciting Vista.
I don't want to have to go through some workarounds to watch a movie on my computer. I thought the windows dvd player was designed to play movies, not try to locate what country I live in. And as for the legal issues, if as I cross UK border the DVD in my bag become illegal, then in UK they should have asked me whether I intend to watch the movie while being in another country. They, however, did not. They just took my money.
In general, Vista isn't that bad. Many people might find it ok. But if you are a more advanced user and want to do more on your computer than watch a DVD, send emails and save files to folders which Vista has defined for you, then you would want to switch to another OS.
In conclusion, watch a nice video on hoto install Vista in 2 minutes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVbf9tOGwno
fuck you
get a blog!
in case of 'one level up', under win7 backspace does that, didn't try it under vista. damn, there's even drop-down list of all folders up to the root directory.
vista is old, vista is crap. live with it ;) and take a look at windows 7 thread.
vista is old, vista is crap. live with it ;) and take a look at windows 7 thread.
Thanks for sharing.
Backspace does one level up? Isn't it one step back, rather? (Yes there's a difference)
indeed, my mistake. also, that drop down list seems to show history rather than all directory levels.
but after using google for a minute, i've found that 'one level up' is still there - in both vista and win7. just use alt-up.
but after using google for a minute, i've found that 'one level up' is still there - in both vista and win7. just use alt-up.
yes, there is a keyboard shortcut. It is inconvenient to use it when you are clicking off with a mouse - after all, it's not a real time strategy and not an airplane simulator, it's a file browser.
alt+up goes up a level? Wow, i always thought the osx shortcut for that was a bit strange, turns out it's almost identical!
when it comes to browsing files, i prefer total commander. and using keyboard only.
and after all, it's a demoscene site, not windows 'bugs & features' message board. email microsoft, win7 is still in beta, there's always a chance ;) but honestly, i think back button is enough - if you happen to click some directory on directory tree listing, you may as well click it's parent dir there. and if you'll 'click your way down to some dir', back button/dropdown menu will do it's job.
and after all, it's a demoscene site, not windows 'bugs & features' message board. email microsoft, win7 is still in beta, there's always a chance ;) but honestly, i think back button is enough - if you happen to click some directory on directory tree listing, you may as well click it's parent dir there. and if you'll 'click your way down to some dir', back button/dropdown menu will do it's job.
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yes, there is a keyboard shortcut. It is inconvenient to use it when you are clicking off with a mouse - after all, it's not a real time strategy and not an airplane simulator, it's a file browser.
Keyboard navigation pwns mouse nagivation anyway.
www.blogger.com, click "sign up".
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but honestly, i think back button is enough
No, going up is very useful. Of course the most annoying thing about the back button is that after you've used the up button, the back button then takes you down a level. So I guess removing the up button would solve that. But still there are many cases where the parent folder you're trying to get to isn't in the history at all, e.g. you don't always navigate starting from the root directory.
Plus I've never actually experienced that I wanted to go back rather than up when browsing files. If the two similar buttons confuse people, it'd make more sense to discard the back button. Wouldn't it?
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The first problem which I've bumped to is navigation. The absence of the Up One Folder button (or whatever it's called) makes navigation very difficult. If the folder name in which you are browsing is large, there is no way to reach the previous folder in the folder bar and you are left with an option to close the window and browse back to it from My Computer.
and really, what has dvd region protection anything to do with vista.
I use the up button tons. Especially if you're connected to some deep directory in some network drive, if you use the folder tree it becomes a huge mess. The back button usually doesn't work because you connected directly to that folder, so back will take you to your c drive or whatever.
Then again, if the new explorer is lacking, get dopus installed :)
Then again, if the new explorer is lacking, get dopus installed :)
Optanes: yes, I know you can call up a submenu and in that submenu a name of the folder up the tree would be displayed. I would prefer an Up button. Also suppose I need to go up two levels. Instead of two clicks I would have to call up that submenu and in it click the folder name, then call up the submenu again and click the folder name. 4 clicks against two. My only question is this: why? Why not leave the UP button? I am not sure I will ever get an answer to that question.
"what has dvd region protection anything to do with vista"
that it is there
that it is there
luigi: Really mate, you should not mix up things. Optimus gave you an obvious answer/solution to your navigtion "problems" with the explorer, and dvd region coding is not the problem of an operating system!
And about the "rights" problem, I've not had any at all. You just have to keep track how you create your folders. If you created a folder with administration rights, and try to delete it as a normal user, then *obviously* it's going to refuse/ask for permission. Also if there's any open file inside that folder, it's going to refuse. If there was any buggy program that used any file inside that folder in any way without closing it, you won't be able to delete it untill you kill that process. But again all that is not Vista's problem, this has been always the case in every windows OS, at least since NTFS security exists.
And quite frankly, judging an entire operating system just because its "add-on media player" wont play your DVD or its default-browsing software doesn't meet your expectations, is just lame. Get your favorite explorer and media player, and don't use vista's. Or would you want a bloated operating system with a GREAT program for EVERY need of ALL people? Come on, we're talking about operating systems here. Look up that definition. Their prime function is providing programs with a good interaction with the underlying hardware, using a set of API functions. And Vista does that job extremely well.
And about the "rights" problem, I've not had any at all. You just have to keep track how you create your folders. If you created a folder with administration rights, and try to delete it as a normal user, then *obviously* it's going to refuse/ask for permission. Also if there's any open file inside that folder, it's going to refuse. If there was any buggy program that used any file inside that folder in any way without closing it, you won't be able to delete it untill you kill that process. But again all that is not Vista's problem, this has been always the case in every windows OS, at least since NTFS security exists.
And quite frankly, judging an entire operating system just because its "add-on media player" wont play your DVD or its default-browsing software doesn't meet your expectations, is just lame. Get your favorite explorer and media player, and don't use vista's. Or would you want a bloated operating system with a GREAT program for EVERY need of ALL people? Come on, we're talking about operating systems here. Look up that definition. Their prime function is providing programs with a good interaction with the underlying hardware, using a set of API functions. And Vista does that job extremely well.
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Instead of two clicks I would have to call up that submenu and in it click the folder name, then call up the submenu again and click the folder name
Huh? What about open the submenu, watch the entire route from your folder to your computer as menu items, and click ONCE on that one folder you want? Suppose you want to go up 5 folders, in XP that is 5 clicks... in vista, you open the sub menu, and click on the item you want. 2 clicks, always...
backspace = folder up. i use nothing else if i use the explorer. except when i use i use FreeComander that has that history-shit since i don't know when. there are tools people. use them and stop whining.
Plus DVD region protection is actually built into your drives' firmware. get the appropriate RPC1-firmware from the intarwebs and you're done.
Plus DVD region protection is actually built into your drives' firmware. get the appropriate RPC1-firmware from the intarwebs and you're done.
xTr1m: about permissions - I had only one account and it was the only account I used to create folders and files. Maybe there was a problem with the way I personally handled Vista or with Vista on my exact laptop - it is possible. but having only one account I constantly had problems with files and I am not making this up.
As for the UP button and the advice from Optimus, to me it wasn't a good method at all. Maybe it is me. Maybe the method is not as intuitive or user friendly - all I wanted was an UP button and clicking that arrow was never any good if I wanted to just go up one folder, or, to be honest, any number of folders. Also, as far as I've noticed (maybe lameness on my part) the arrow offered history and not folder tree. But yet again the side menu had so many various options that maybe I am wrong and history was some other button.
As for dvd regions, I agree on what you say. My impressions are lame since I am not a coder who loves the Vista API (if it is really as good as people say). I've said what stuff bugged me as a user. The biggest of bugs was the permission problem and I am happy that I seem to be the only one who had had it. Then Vista is great after all, but I personally did not like it.
As for the UP button and the advice from Optimus, to me it wasn't a good method at all. Maybe it is me. Maybe the method is not as intuitive or user friendly - all I wanted was an UP button and clicking that arrow was never any good if I wanted to just go up one folder, or, to be honest, any number of folders. Also, as far as I've noticed (maybe lameness on my part) the arrow offered history and not folder tree. But yet again the side menu had so many various options that maybe I am wrong and history was some other button.
As for dvd regions, I agree on what you say. My impressions are lame since I am not a coder who loves the Vista API (if it is really as good as people say). I've said what stuff bugged me as a user. The biggest of bugs was the permission problem and I am happy that I seem to be the only one who had had it. Then Vista is great after all, but I personally did not like it.
about vista: it's becoming more and more like Linux. Had to look up this "shell magic" to fix perms on an "XP" harddisk.
d'oh!
Code:
$ subinacl /subdirectories h:\mods\64er\* /setowner=medusa\bsp
$ icacls.exe \*.gz //grant bsp:F
d'oh!
btw, sir gargaj: your php code still eats backslash characters :-)
LV: There is both an history arrow and an hierarchy arrow. There are two in total :)
There is an administrator account (both in xp an vista) even if you create it or not. When UAC is enabled, it asks the users to perform important stuff under this account. When it is disabled switching to this account is automagical. I suspect that your media player manipulates some folders for its library on administrator's name and you don't notice that since you have UAC turned off. And the ownership of certain folders are transfered to that account. Your power user account can't change stuff owned by that superior account.
You could verify this by checking the folder under its security panel if you still had the system running. If you recall what media player that was, you can search Google if it is (was) a common problem.
There is an administrator account (both in xp an vista) even if you create it or not. When UAC is enabled, it asks the users to perform important stuff under this account. When it is disabled switching to this account is automagical. I suspect that your media player manipulates some folders for its library on administrator's name and you don't notice that since you have UAC turned off. And the ownership of certain folders are transfered to that account. Your power user account can't change stuff owned by that superior account.
You could verify this by checking the folder under its security panel if you still had the system running. If you recall what media player that was, you can search Google if it is (was) a common problem.