the tindog coffeehouse

Microsoft has released several documents outlining the Windows Vista updates addressed in the forthcoming SP1 service pack. While perusing a couple of these documents (“Overview_of_Windows_Vista_SP1.doc” and “Notable_Changes_in_Windows_Vista_SP1_Release_Candidate.doc”), several comments stuck out to me:

• “Improves the performance of domain-joined PCs when operating off the domain; in the current release version of Windows Vista, users would experience long delays when opening the File dialog box.” (Overview, p. 11) – As someone who supports corporate users who often work at home on the road, I know how frustrating it can be when working off the network. I can’t imagine the frustration of these users who would have to put up with these additional delays.
• “Improves the logon experience by removing the occasional 10-second delay between pressing CTRL-ALT-DEL and the password prompt displaying.” (Overview, p. 11) – 10 seconds??!! Holy frakkin’ cow!
• “Users who did not opt-in to the Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP) will be prompted again to join after installing SP1. The experience will remain the same and the default will continue to be opt-out.” (Notable Changes, p. 9) – Because what we really want in a service pack is more prompts!
• “Improves performance over Windows Vista’s current performance across the following scenarios:
  – 25% faster when copying files locally on the same disk on the same machine
  – 45% faster when copying files from a remote non-Windows Vista system to a SP1 system
  – 50% faster when copying files from a remote SP1 system to a local SP1 system” (Notable Changes, p. 9) – Anyone doubting that the out-of-the-box file copying in Vista is a complete joke can doubt no longer.
• “Improves responsiveness when doing many kinds of file or media manipulations. For example, with Windows Vista today, copying files after deleting a different set of files can make the copy operation take longer than needed. In SP1, the file copy time is the same as if no files were initially deleted.” (Notable Changes, p. 9) – Another example of the ridiculous performance issues that have given Vista a black eye. There are quite a few other performance-related fixes mentioned in the Notable Changes doc, but you get the idea.
• “Addresses a problem that caused a delay of up to 5 minutes after boot with specific ReadyDrive capable hard drives.” (Notable Changes, p. 10) – I guess that 10-second delay doesn’t sound so bad now, right?
• “Improves overall media performance by reducing many glitches.” (Notable Changes, p. 10) – Microsoft’s way of admitting their product has many glitches. The first step is to admit you have a problem.
• “The Windows Vista SP1 install process clears the user-specific data that is used by Windows to optimize performance, which may make the system feel less responsive immediately after install. As the customer uses their SP1 PC, the system will be retrained over the course of a few hours or days and will return to the previous level of responsiveness.” (Notable Changes, p. 10) – Oh yeah, by the way, when you install our service pack, we’re going to delete some of your user data which will only affect the performance of your computer for a few days. You’re not doing anything important for the next few days, are you? Ok, good. But don’t worry; we’ll “retrain” it for you at no extra charge!
• “Enables a standard user to invoke the CompletePC Backup application, provided that user can supply administrator credentials. Previously, only administrators could launch the application.” (Notable Changes, p. 12) – Because non-administrative users can be trusted with performing critical backups of your computer. But hey, I guess if you trust your kid with the administrator password…
• “Updated drivers are delivered primarily via Windows Update and directly from hardware vendors, not as part of a service pack. However, a small number of critical drivers are included as part of Windows Vista (e.g., display drivers, audio drivers) and some of these have been updated.” (Notable Changes, p. 13) – And, oh yeah, not only are we going to delete some of your user data without asking you, we might update some of your drivers for you, too, while we’re at it. You did let your kid make a good backup of your computer beforehand, right? Good.
• “SP1 reduces the number of UAC (User Account Control) prompts from 4 to 1 when creating or renaming a folder at a protected location.” (Notable Changes, p. 16) – How many frakkin’ UAC prompts does it take to do something as simple as rename a folder??!! And no, that’s not the first line of a joke.
• “SP1 modifies the text in the Ultimate Extras Control Panel to describe the Ultimate Extras program in more general terms.” (Notable Changes, p. 16) – Because “Ultimate” was too specific.
• “Users are now required to enter a password hint during the initial setup of Windows Vista SP1. This change was made based on feedback from top PC manufactures that many customers frequently do not remember their password and because the administrator account is turned off by default on Windows Vista, these users do not have a way to access to their PCs. A password hint helps avoid this frustrating scenario.” (Notable Changes, p. 16) – Just ask your kid what the administrator password is, he knows.

Thank you, Microsoft. You candidness is refreshing. Even when your products aren’t.