| Mr. Fixit's PC Upgrade and Repair |
| Windows Vista |
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Microsoft wanted to rename Longhorn to something that would be catchy like Windows ME and Windows XP. A name that would resonate
with consumers and show what Windows is all about. In 2005, Longhorn was renamed "Vista" intending to create the right imagery for the
new product capabilities and inspire the imagination with all the possibilities of what can be done with Windows. But, that didn't help any.
In 2007, Vista's release did not receive a warm welcome with the public. In fact, it was severely criticized. The biggest problem being
Hardware compatibility. Microsoft claimed Vista would operate on nearly every PC but, consumers soon discovered that to be false and it
led to a Class Action law suit against the software giant. There were even problems with the licensing of Windows Vista. People who
reinstall Windows on a regular basis ran into problems when they try to re-install the Vista upgrade. It was later discovered that the Vista
Upgrade would actually install on a clean PC after the first attempt failed. Operating System Upgrades were meant to be installed on a PC
that has an earlier version of Windows installed. The upgrade version costs less than the OEM version because you already have a
licensed version of Windows. OEM versions were intended for PC manufactures and private PC builders to install an OS on a PC that
doesn't have a previous version of Windows installed. The User Account Control was another drawback because it created too many
popups to authorize changes to the system.
Vista lasted 2 years before it was replaced with Windows 7, in 2009, making XP the longest supported operating system.
Released in 2007, Windows Vista's primary objective was to improve the state of
security in the Windows operating system. A common criticism of Windows XP and its
predecessors was their commonly exploited security vulnerabilities and overall
susceptibility to malware, viruses and buffer overflows. For example, User Account
Control (UAC) is the most significant and visible of these changes. UAC is a security
technology that makes it possible for users to use their computer with fewer privileges
by default, with a view to stopping malware from making unauthorized changes to the
system. This was often difficult in previous versions of Windows, as the previous
"limited" user accounts proved too restrictive and incompatible with a large proportion
of application software, and even prevented some basic operations such as looking at
the calendar from the notification tray.
Vista's development began in 2001, just a few months before Windows XP was
released. In the early days, Vista was codenamed Longhorn and was suppose to be
released in 2003 as a step between Windows XP and Blackcomb, which was planned
to the next major operating system release. Due to numerous delays and setbacks the
release date for Longhorn kept being pushed back. Many of Microsoft's developers
were re-assigned to deal with XP's security updates and patches. By 2004, Microsoft
had lost sight of what had to be done before the new release. They were having a very
difficult time creating a stable operating system. Longhorn was crashing to the ground
because methods were used adding features and integrating them in the core without
focusing on the end product.
security in the Windows operating system. A common criticism of Windows XP and its
predecessors was their commonly exploited security vulnerabilities and overall
susceptibility to malware, viruses and buffer overflows. For example, User Account
Control (UAC) is the most significant and visible of these changes. UAC is a security
technology that makes it possible for users to use their computer with fewer privileges
by default, with a view to stopping malware from making unauthorized changes to the
system. This was often difficult in previous versions of Windows, as the previous
"limited" user accounts proved too restrictive and incompatible with a large proportion
of application software, and even prevented some basic operations such as looking at
the calendar from the notification tray.
Vista's development began in 2001, just a few months before Windows XP was
released. In the early days, Vista was codenamed Longhorn and was suppose to be
released in 2003 as a step between Windows XP and Blackcomb, which was planned
to the next major operating system release. Due to numerous delays and setbacks the
release date for Longhorn kept being pushed back. Many of Microsoft's developers
were re-assigned to deal with XP's security updates and patches. By 2004, Microsoft
had lost sight of what had to be done before the new release. They were having a very
difficult time creating a stable operating system. Longhorn was crashing to the ground
because methods were used adding features and integrating them in the core without
focusing on the end product.