Group 8 Ian Carr, Chris Lemley, Clay Garrison, Alvaro Suarez, Amanda Williams.

Introduction  Windows Vista is the next scheduled version of Microsoft Windows operating system.  It will be the broadest update to the Microsoft operating system family since the jump from version 3.1 to Windows 95 over ten years ago.  The scheduled release date to the general public is projected to be around late October to early November 2006

Basic Features  New and enhanced graphical user interface (GUI).  Completely redesigned audio, networking, print and video systems.  Improved security infrastructure.  The implementation of numerous digital rights management technologies.

Key Essentials According to Microsoft, the Vista platform delivers on three key essentials:  Helping people to be more confident by making the operating system safer, more reliable, and responsive.  Gaining clarity by removing clutter and improving organization.  Connecting people with others easily and securely by improving network security and integration collaboration.

Pillars of Vista Microsoft refers to new key technologies in this version as the “pillars of Vista,” and groups them into four subsets:  Fundamentals  Presentation  Communication  Workflow

Fundamentals New developments to the basic structure of the operating system include:  Re-architected audio, networking, print, and video systems  Redesigned networking and video systems.  Enhanced security measures and implementation of digital rights management technologies.

Fundamentals Installation and Deployment advancements: Windows Installer 4.0, ClickOnce  Repackage files and installations into easier and more effective solutions  Advancements similar to and improving upon MSI packaging

Presentation  Visual / delivery updates center around the Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) which includes:  Aero, the revolutionary new graphical user interface  The new API (Advanced Programming Interface), built on.NET framework version 2.0, also releasing with Vista WPF utilizes XML,.NET 2.0, and vector graphics.

Aero

Presentation - Aero  As technology continues to increase, end-users demand more out of their multimedia experiences.  Aero delivers with rich 3-D, animations, fades, transitions, and effects in a glitch free environment.  The result is a greatly enhanced user experience, with greater interactivity possibilities, heightened graphics, and improved overall stability.  Truly takes advantage of hardware acceleration- supporting graphics cards and super high dpi displays. “HD” Computing

Communications  Communications advances center around development and implementation of the Windows Communications Foundation (WCF).  Local program and/or local client interoperability  Service-oriented system messaging system  Similar to Web Services (networked machine-to- machine interaction through processing language)

Workflow  Improvements such as Windows Workflow Foundation (WWF):  Allows for task automation and transaction integration  Fully functional “task manager”  Unlimited production to marketplace possibilities

WinFX  Collectively, the WPF, WCF, and WWF are known as WinFX.  Short for Windows Framework  Being developed within and alongside Vista, but won’t be limited to the Vista operating system; launch plans include backwards compatibility with existing Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 installations.

End-User Features  Additional new features include:  Enhanced user-account control  Improved Windows Shell  (improved user engine)  Windows applet sidebar  Additional toolbar for applets, coined “gadgets”  Speech recognition  Internet Explorer 7.0  Improved internal and external search engine, security  Windows Collaboration  Microsoft’s new replacement product for NetMeeting  Superfetch  Will speed the loading of programs and data transmission from external devices such as USB drives

Core Features  Additional core enhancements include:  Improved memory management  Full utilization of 64-bit processing, memory dumps, and proper allocations  Rewritten kernel algorithms  Native IPv6 stack (Internet Protocol version 6)  BitLocker drive encryption  Software-to-hardware disk security  Atomic transmission / Transactional NTFS  Completely eliminates file corruption. During file transfer, the data is either sent 100% successfully, or is failed altogether; zero tolerance.

Conclusion  Safety, security, and reliability  Clarity and organization  Ability to communicate with customers  Flexibility in the integration of business applications  Easy connection to others through network security, and integration collaboration