6 MA XIMUMPC OCTOBER 2005

Microsoft’s next version of Windows will be

around for 10 years, when it finally arrives.

Here’s a sneak peek at the tricks and treats

you can expect from Vista when it’s assem-

bled in 2006

BY WILL SMITH

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Windows

VISTA

Comes Together

S

o here we are. Four years after Microsoft released Win-

dows XP, the once-perfect operating system is plagued

by insecurities, viruses, and spyware. No one’s safe—

even Maximum PC editors have suffered under these scourg-

es. Sure, Service Pack 2 has helped the problem some, the

fi rewall has slowed the distribution of worms, and Internet

Explorer is a bit more secure, but spyware is still everywhere.

The answer—at least according to Microsoft—is Win-

dows Vista. Vista, which you may know by its code-name

Longhorn, is the next major release of Windows. Microsoft’s

goal with the new OS is to streamline and simplify. Key com-

ponents of the OS have been rebuilt from the ground up.

Unnecessary legacy components have been excised. Lega-

cy code that remains necessary for the time being has been

compartmentalized, for easy and safe removal later. Major

portions of the OS have been revamped, with an eye toward

the way people want to use their computers now, not the

way they did in 1995, when PCs (and graphical interfaces)

were a novelty for most computer users.

We just got our grubby mitts on the fi rst beta of Vista, and

have prepared a guided tour for you—with loads of photos, and

a feature-by-feature walk-through of the new OS. Keep in mind

that this is just the fi rst beta. Before the fl edgling OS is ready to

fl y late next year, the code monkeys at Microsoft will continue

to tweak the user interface, add new features, and refi ne exist-

ing elements. The vast majority of the fi nal changes should be

in place by the time Microsoft ships Beta 2, toward the end of

this year. What you see here could (and probably will) change

before Vista launches in late 2006. This is a hint of what’s to

come rather than an iron-clad prophecy of the future.