Title: Windows Vista aka Big Brother on your table
Description: And a hardware beast
U-BOOT - October 7, 2005 10:59 AM (GMT)
| QUOTE |
Vista is a hardware beast
7 September 2005 - by Wil Harris
A Tech Strategist within Microsoft, Nigel Page, has gone on record to discuss the hardware requirements for Windows Vista, due out next Christmas.
What he's said is kind of shocking.
System breakdown
Graphics: Vista has changed from using the CPU to display bitmaps on the screen to using the GPU to render vectors. This means the entire display model in Vista has changed. To render the screen in the GPU requires an awful lot of memory to do optimally - 256MB is a happy medium, but you'll actually see benefit from more. Microsoft believes that you're going to see the amount of video memory being shipped on cards hurtle up when Vista ships.
CPU: Threading is the main target for Vista. Currently, very little of Windows XP is threaded - the target is to make Vista perform far better on dual-core and multi-core processors.
RAM: 2GB is the ideal configuration for 64-bit Vista, we're told. Vista 32-bit will work ideally at 1GB, and minimum 512. However, since 64-bit is handling data chunks that are double the size, you'll need double the memory, hence the 2GB. Nigel mentions DDR3 - which is a little odd, since the roadmap for DDR3, on Intel gear at least, doesn't really kick in until 2007.
HDD: SATA is definitely the way forward for Vista, due, Microsoft tells us, to Native Command Queueing. NCQ allows for out of order completions - that is, if Vista needs tasks 1,2,3,4 and 5 done, it can do them in the order 2,5,3,4,1 if that's a more efficient route for the hard drive head to take over the disk. This leads to far faster completion times. NCQ is supported on SATA2 drives, so expect them to start becoming the standard sooner rather than later. Microsoft thinks that these features will provide SCSI-level performance.
Bus: AGP is 'not optimal' for Vista. Because of the fact that graphics cards may have to utilise main system memory for some rendering tasks, a fast, bi-direction bus is needed - that's PCI express.
Display: Prepare to feel the red mist of rage - no current TFT monitor out there is going to support high definition playback in Vista. You may already have heard rumblings about this, but here it is. To play HD-DVD or Blu-Ray content you need a HDCP compatible monitor. Why? Because these formats use HDCP to encrypt a video signal as it travels along a digital connection to an output device, to prevent people copying it. If you have just standard DVI or even an analogue output, you're going to see HD scaled down to a far-less-than-HD resolution for viewing - which sucks. This isn't really Microsoft's fault - HDCP is something that content makers, in their eternal wisdom, have decided is necessary to stop us all watching pirated movies. Yay.
Thoughts
Amusingly, Page admits that there are no monitors out there that will do HDCP, and that this is a problem. Frankly, it's the consumer's problem, however, according to him. "It's up to you [the users] to say, 'Where's my HDCP?'"
I'm more inclined to say to Hollywood 'Hey, STFU' to be honest.
One of the major problems is that Hollywood knows that Microsoft dominates the operating system sphere, and so it can arm-wrestle MS into working with it. If there was more competition, Hollywood would have to be a little more cautious about what it tries to get away with.
We come back to the age-old problem. Content is being forced onto us that is, to all extents and purposes, crippled. It's not like any of this stuff is actually going to make any difference - we're still going to have dodgy films on the net, probably in no less quantity than we have now - so why would be pay to be screwed, when we can just get an uncrippled version for free?
But, that's a little off topic. In terms of the hardware stuff, it seems obvious that hardware makers are rubbing their hands in glee. It's been hard to persuade people to upgrade their WinXP boxes, since they can handle pretty much anything thrown at them, unless you're a gamer. Graphics companies are going to be selling a bucket-load more GPUs, since now practically every system sold for Vista is going to need one. It's no coincidence that Nvidia is re-introducing onboard graphics for its motherboards very soon.
2GB of RAM for high-end systems is pretty chunky, and it could be that we start to see RAM prices go up as suddenly, a big percentage of systems are being built with 4 times the current requirement. If you thought SATA2 had been slow to take off, expect every new enthusiast chipset to have it built in next year, and for drive makers to start shifting over to it quick - if they're not building a huge number of NCQ drives by the middle of next year, they risk missing out on loads of orders come Vista.
It looks like the next 12 months are going to be extremely interesting... Let us know what you think of these developments in this forum thread.
EDIT: Utterly forgot to give credit to the original source, which is over at APCStart.com.
http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2005/09/07/vista_hardware_reqs/
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Original interview by Page here:
http://www.apcstart.com/teched/pivot/entry.php?id=6-----------------------------------------------------------
Say goodbye to your backup videos,music CDs,mp3s,divx/xvid(if you pass to Vista),say goodbye to High definition Video (if you remain in XP).And prepare to empty your wallet.The biggest corporate blackmail ever has started.
beleg - October 7, 2005 11:21 AM (GMT)
Its to oearly to comment but :angry:
Cid - October 7, 2005 11:59 AM (GMT)
Really it isnt that hard to make a decent OS, the problem is that Microsoft has a monopoly over the market and its gonna cost you a lott to compete with them on a decent level. Really EU should intervene into this. I think their were some ongoing EU casses against Microsoft.
U-BOOT - October 7, 2005 12:23 PM (GMT)
Yes,Microsoft is blackmailing,but it will have success exactly because of the monopoly,the fact that OEMs will be shipping new PCs with Vista preinstalled and because of the fact that for the first time,hardware,operating system and producers of content have made this unholy alliance against the consumer.Even Linux won't escape this.
Read this.This is the future that they are preparing for us:
http://www.againsttcpa.com/Click the "member list"...They will be putting us technologies that will be controlling our PC that will start at BIOS level.You try to make a DivX out of your DVD in order not to ruin it?Black screen.We 're lucky they haven't put a self destruct meccanism with a countdown and the phrase "Bye,bye filthy pirate".ALL hardware will be "boobie trapped" in the future.As Page says,the graphics card will have...encrypted channel communication to verify that you 're not doing copying of original content!And that the drivers on their side will be controlling even the possibility that you 're PHYSICALLY altered your video card to bypass this!So even Linux,will HAVE to adopt this shit,or no content will be able to run because of hardware locks.
Personally i m downloading several Linux applications both in 32 and 64 bit,you know,just in case...Maybe some of them will be able to still work for a while.In any case,DUAL boot seems imperative once Vista comes out.
As for the hardware demands,they are NUTS.Vista will of course be running on much lower systems too,but Page said that optimum performance solutions that are what every OS should have.The operating sustem MUST be easy run by the hardware ,because it's job is to provide an enviroment that makes possible to use the applications.If the OS is draining the system resources ,then it's of no use.The WILDEST of all is the 2 GB DDR3 Ram for 64bit.DDR3 isn't even in commerce for God's sake!It's only on some high end video cards.And the most OUTRAGING,is the monitor issue."Buy new monitos big brother compatible or you 're not gonna be capable of viewing high definition"?What is this?Anyway,as long as hardware has drivers for XP,i m not going to touch Vista.The only possible defence the consumer has is to make it a glamorous sales failiure,a bit like Millenium was.They are abusing the last rigths we have remained.
PS:Of course Vista will also boast the well known "activation" feature like XP,so that can legal users can swear at them while pirates laugh.
U-BOOT - October 7, 2005 04:08 PM (GMT)
Hades - October 7, 2005 04:13 PM (GMT)
Probably the official mandrake 10, I currently use suse 9.3 though... :(
U-BOOT - October 7, 2005 04:24 PM (GMT)
Mandrake for me is the slowest i ve seen.Moreover i had big trouble with my USB modem.I had tried Suse but when i knew less about Linux and don't remember what i didnt like.
The best i ve found till now is Kanotix,Debian based.My main complaint about all Linux distros is THE FONTS.They have SERIOUS problem.Even by importing TTF fonts from Windows i was never able to make a perfect crisp font and antialias only makes it worse.Then the "rough" interfaces of programs and a weird loss of quality in divx playing...Maybe because my video card is ATI and Linux 3d drivers for ATI suck ,but it's very annoying.Also i couldn't find a program for sotware cooling of my AthlonXP.The one in Kanotix didn't work well.Anyway,as things seem,Linux will be obbligatory in DUAL boot in a while.
cameleon1975 - October 18, 2005 07:54 AM (GMT)
I've just read the article.If the info is correct I will continue to use Windows XP for a long long time. :D
No chance to run Vista on my pc (Athlon 1700XP,256 DDR Ram) and no intention to spend 600-800 euros to buy a new pc.There are many better ways to spend that money. ;)
123-t - October 18, 2005 01:21 PM (GMT)
| QUOTE (cameleon1975 @ Oct 18 2005, 09:54 AM) |
I've just read the article.If the info is correct I will continue to use Windows XP for a long long time. :D
No chance to run Vista on my pc (Athlon 1700XP,256 DDR Ram) and no intention to spend 600-800 euros to buy a new pc.There are many better ways to spend that money. ;) |
This is actually the problem Microsoft faces because their biggest competitors are their predecessor products since there is no really need to replace a Windows version.
But probably hackers already know how to break this system.
U-BOOT - October 18, 2005 02:42 PM (GMT)
The bet of Microsoft is that either you ll pass to Vista or no high definition video for you.
123-t - October 18, 2005 05:06 PM (GMT)
Yes exactly thats their new strategy to achieve 100% penetrance of LEGAL Windows.
Since nobody can effectively compete with them they exploit their monopoly status to force the consumer to buy new products or they dont get for example access to updates, new technologies...
A horror scenario would be that every new game or software would be only able to function with the newest WINDOWS ... :ph43r:
123-t - October 18, 2005 07:35 PM (GMT)
GREECE: Skype wary of Microsoft
Internet phone service Skype says Microsft is its biggest competitor
South Morning China Post
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Athens --- Internet phone-calling phenomenon Skype, which was bought by online auction company eBay for almost $4 billion last week, sees computer giant Microsoft as one of its biggest potential rivals.
"I think the biggest threats to us are companies like Microsoft, Yahoo! and Time Warner's AOL because their customer base is so big," Skype's chief executive and co-founder Niklas Zennström said this week.
Microsoft bought Teleo in August and Yahoo! bought Dialpad earlier in the year in efforts to catch up with Skype's lead in the booming voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) market.
Luxembourg-based Skype offers free computer-to-computer calls between Skype users. It charges for calls made from or to numbers outside the network.
The company has quadrupled in size over the past year and is adding 150,000 users a day. It now has 54 million users.
EBay is paying $2.5 billion and another possible $1.4 billion if certain targets are met for Skype, which will allow it to add free internet telephone calls to its online auctions, smoothing the way for more deals to go through.
Mr Zennström said he had thought long and hard about the sale to eBay. He had talked to other potential buyers as well as considering an initial public offering before plumping for eBay, which promised Skype the most autonomy.
"EBay had a good record, especially with PayPal," Mr Zennström said, referring to the online payment company eBay bought in 2002. "They don't want to disintegrate the company. They'll nourish it and allow it to grow."
Mr Zennström confirmed that he had had talks with Rupert Murdoch's News Corp before deciding to go with eBay. "We had meetings with a lot of companies. We met with News Corp, yes," he said.
Mr Zennström said he saw growth possibilities in facilitating services such as live online translation.
"I'm convinced that over time pretty much all voice communication will be over the internet," he said.
"Our objective is to change the way people communicate. In a few years' time the idea of paying for phone calls will seem very strange."
123-t - October 18, 2005 08:25 PM (GMT)
it was renamed from Longhorn to Vista since the name was too obvious for the permanent delaying.