I’ve been happily using Vista 64 for several months without a single problem, until now.  Here’s the story.

Two days ago when my computer booted up, my desktop icons were missing and an unfamiliar icon appeared in my systray.  On ‘mouse over’ the icon divulged itself as the Presentation Settings application and that I was giving a presentation.  Double-clicking the icon opened Presentation Settings, which reported that I was, indeed, NOT giving a presentation.  So Vista was confused in the sense that it was booting up thinking it was giving a presentation, but Presentation Settings was reporting that it wasn’t.  What?!

With a right click on the desktop and a hide then show desktop icons, I could regain the items on my desktop, but after rebooting the same thing happened again.  After searching the internet a while, the solution seemed to be that somehow my power settings were ‘changed’ to ‘Quiet Office’ mode.  Changing the power settings to ‘Entertainment’ or ‘Performance’ mode solved the issue entirely.  No more presentation mode on start up, no more missing desktop icons.

So how did my computer get to ‘Quiet Office’ mode?  I don’t know.  Maybe it was caused by closing the lid of the laptop and going into hibernation.  Or maybe it was a stray touch on a console button or keyboard command.  Or maybe something running from an old Corel application confused this newer 64-bit operating system.  Who can say for sure, but it wasn’t a virus.  It wasn’t getting hijacked.  It was just plain old Windows quirkiness or user error.  Anybody out there have an idea?

Just when you thought it was safe to love the new Windows 7 beta here comes some news to kill the buzz.  Philip Elmer-DeWitt posts for CNN Money.com that the upgrade path for business may not be a bed of roses with Windows 7.

Part of the problem is that you can’t install Windows 7 beta directly from Windows XP. Instead, you have to upgrade to Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) or later before attempting an install — a process the Channel Web team found to be non-trivial.

Among the scariest quotes in their report:

• “While Microsoft has assured the world that if the hardware works with Windows Vista it will work with Windows 7, the reality is that is misleading at best.”
• “We’ve almost lost count of the number of blue screens we’ve seen in the CRN Test Center during the Windows 7 evaluation process.”
• “We tried to do the upgrade on an Acer TravelMate, but were stopped in our tracks by Bluetooth driver incompatibilities.”
• “On a series of 3-and-a-half year old ThinkPad T43s, an IBM security processor refused to let the notebooks boot up with Windows 7. We needed to crack open a couple of four-year old desktops … to add memory just to try to get a system image.”
• “Across the XP-Vista-Windows 7 landscape, Microsoft has fostered an ecosystem that now holds out the prospect of a mind-numbing number of incompatible drivers, unsupported devices, unsupported applications, unsupported data, patches, updates, upgrades, “known issues” and unknown issues.”

Now here is something I don’t quite understand.  If I own a PowerMac G5 and I am running say…Panther, which is two versions of OSX ago, and I want to upgrade to Leopard….no problem.  I buy the $129 upgrade and all is well.  But if I’m a business, and I run XP I have to go THROUGH Vista. Wow, just wow.
I welcome your thoughts.

We welcome special guest Richard Hay from windowsobserver.com. We discuss many things windows including Vista, Windows 7 versions, and pricing.

Episode #78

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Hi all.  Before the show tomorrow night I wanted to post something about one of our listeners.  Since I, myself, am going through a phase in which I admit I need to get in more Vista experience (more info on that during the show) one of our listeners has started to chronicle his Vista experiences.

Here are the links to his blog.  I suggest reading them in this order:

Notices from Vista: A view from the Mac Side

You have Vista eMail!

Frustration is just a Vista keystroke away

Bloop.. Beep.. Pling.. Plang. Vista, what are you trying to say boy?

Ok, who slipped Vista the snails?

Blink.. Blink.. Blink.. Is that your turn signal? No it’s Vista

The Young, The Helpless, and The Vista

Now just a word of warning.  This is from the perspective a Mac person.  But nevertheless, it makes for some interesting reading.

As always, we wlcome your comments.

Our buddy from the twitterverse @packard_sonic has taken our challenge seriously and posted his thoughts about UAC from the MAC side of things. I encourage you all to take a gander at his post Notices from Vista: A view from the Mac Side.

Here is an excerpt:

Well, after hearing the challenge as was mentioned in the previous blog post I started my Mac that morning right after work. Well to back up my statements regarding the multiple times Vista’s UAC (User Access Control) window pops up for running programs, etc. Well once I got vista started after a few reboots for file fixing it seemed to believe that needed to be done, I began my work.

Now going back a bit, one of the things that Rachel had mentioned last week about not needing drivers. Now mind you I only connected two items it had not been connected to before. A different monitor and the router I have at my desk. It notified me that it needed to find drivers for these items for them and notified me when this was done. Two windows right there that were already in my way. Once that it did that and got these two new additions set I did not see it again. However, In comparison to when I connect a new item to the Mac it does not generally have to install drivers the moment new devises are plugged in to it. Not saying this is true in all cases, but the only thing I have really ever had to install something for hardware was for printers but that usually came with an install disk which Cal & Rachel will attest to comes with most hardware.

Tonight it’s a cagematch between Rachel and special guest Brian Hertziger from the “Escape Windows Open Apple” podcast.  We disscuss Vista, UAC, and…well…Bacon.

Play this episode right here.
Episode #74

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We read your mail, talk about a clueless middle school teacher, and Cal talk about a potential dirty little secret behind Windows Vista.

Episode #70

According to a report by Windows7news.com,  Microsoft’s next operating system should improve memory consumption accross open windows.  They report:

“Windows memory consumption was improved in Windows 7 by making it independent of the number of open windows.Microsoft was demonstrating the effect of opening lots of windows on Windows Vista and Windows 7. Windows Vista began to throw error messages after reaching a certain amount of open windows while Windows 7 was able to handle them without difficulties.”
Hard to believe they let this slide in Vista.  Your comments are welcome.

Cal

Mac Mini’s Murdered in cold blood.  Vista Sucks….battery life.  Plus WE GOT BUTTONS!

Episode #65

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Is the End near for Microsoft? Is Steve Jobs nuts for axing firewire off the MacBook? Cal, Rachel, and Eric L. try to find out.

Episode #61

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