Windows Vista Begins To Get Real - see the preview

[MadRat]

Lots of screenshots and ideas for the ROS team when they implement the GUI. Some of the changes from XP should not be all that radical if implemented early on. Would save alot of catch-up later on in the ROS development.

http://www.desktoppipeline.com/handson/ ... 613&pgno=1

Excerpt:

"Still missing from the current form of Windows Vista is the Windows Sidebar, a piece of user interface that will, probably more than anything else, serve as the visual differentiator between this version of Windows and those of the past. (For a look at the sidebar, as envisioned by Microsoft in late 2003, see this 1280 x 1024-pixel picture. The Sidebar is all the way to the right.)

The Sidebar has been an on-again/off-again design goal. The last I heard, Microsoft did still intend to implement it, and it could be one of many things we see in the February CTP release, and later in Vista Beta 2.

There are likely several other features that Microsoft is working on that have not been revealed to date. So the next CTP should be intriguing."

[StringCheesian]

Indeed.

If the Windows 3.x interface looks and feels obsolete to you now, just think: It's 2 generations back (3.x -> 9x/Me/2000 -> XP). That's how obsolete ReactOS's 2000-clone UI is going to look when everybody is used to Vista. It'll be so old looking some people won't take it seriously.

[ScoTTie]

Theres nothing to stop people adding a Vista like UI later, just at the moment while even the kernel isnt complete doing something of the sort would be pointless. Id rather see an OS that is stable and works, rather than something that looks nice and dies on me every 5 minutes.

Just remember ReactOS has to start somewhere and take things one at a time. Aiming to high can sometimes make you loose sight of the real goals.

[menn]

yeah, funny thing is i'm always trying to take up less of the screen than the taskbar will, and they're trying to fill the screen more. but it's the old blackbox / litestep thing. as long as i can swap the shell and turn all that #### off in one move, what do i care?
and indeed, it works the other way too
add screenshots and people will care.

[jmmercy]

Hi.
Who cares about what Vista looks like ?
Some persons buying a PC in a retail store and knowing nothing about
what means OS ? They represent 95% of what is sold, the rest is Mac/Linux
The few fraction of a percent who are, like we, interested in ROS want
something unlike MS software: fast, stable, secure. MS has gone a long
way making things look good, however crappy the insides are. Please
do not advocate going the same way. If things are, unlike MS's OS, done
properly, no part should depend on all the others and separation of tasks
should be the moto. One place for the kernel, one place for an explorer
and one place for the gui. You can pick your own. Believe me, is the
system is fast and runs properly with little ram and gigahertzs, everyone
will switch to ROS including the hardcore gamers who want to squeeze the
least bit of speed out of a machine. If people switch to it, many great guis
will be common.

[hpf_br]

The Windows Vista GUI seems a mix of KDE and winxp. Why after ReactOS gets stable we discuss a new GUI? I´ll propose to remove that 'start' button and use something like KDE.

[uriox]

Moreover KDE will be available for Windows this year

[StringCheesian]

Moreover KDE will be available for Windows this year

KDE apps yes, but not the KDE desktop. Plasma will require X11.

[mikedep333]

Here is some info on KDE4, it sounds like it will be on par with windows vista.

http://www.linuxdevcenter.com/pub/a/lin ... wing+KDE+4

This interview about KDE4 is very informative. The guy gives a number of lists of improvements in various areas. Some big things are:

-porting much of it to windows and mac os x, although not the new unified explorer equivalent and widget app. That would definitely be worthwhile to port to ROS though, even if not as part of the official ROS project.

-speed improvements

-using SVG vector graphics as much as possible (supposedly QT4 does this very efficiently)

-usability improvements

-QT4 is the shit

-new artwork

-more composite effects like alpha blending (transparency)

-a switch from aRts, probably to gstreamer like GNOME



note at the end:
JL: Is there any kind of target date for a beta?

AJS: We're aiming for a release in fall 2006. We don't have any firm timelines yet.

[MadRat]

Hmmm, ROS running Open Office or KDE Office. Tough choice. For that matter it could just as well be an old copy of MS Office 97 around.

[geertvdijk]

i think it indeed is important to have something that looks good... imagine something stable, secure and fast that looks great as well. That would interest more people then just the few 'geeks' around, and it might (in the best possible way) even get system manufacturers to use ReactOS... It is possible, there are (a few) manufacturers selling Linux Desktop PC's as well, and if ROS is done, it'll also be Windows Compatible, so more manufacturers would get past the line. So I think it is the best choice to let the devs and anyone good enough to code, code everything until it is ready (enough). Then worry about the looks, even though the looks are very important as well.

[PUOjACKz]

If the Windows 3.x interface looks and feels obsolete to you now, just think: It's 2 generations back (3.x -> 9x/Me/2000 -> XP). That's how obsolete ReactOS's 2000-clone UI is going to look when everybody is used to Vista. It'll be so old looking some people won't take it seriously.

Yes, about this particular point, you're right. But the GUI is not all. IMHO, is totally unuseful an OS with nice Vista-like grafic, when all the other components of the OS (es. compatibility, features etc.) are not available. Remember that we are talking about an OS, not a picture gallery

Theres nothing to stop people adding a Vista like UI later, just at the moment while even the kernel isnt complete doing something of the sort would be pointless. Id rather see an OS that is stable and works, rather than something that looks nice and dies on me every 5 minutes.

And, of course, you're right too.

Remember a thing: what we must take in consideration is to be original. As someone have said before, on store, the people find Windows pre-installed inside. If we create a clone-version of Microsoft OS, maybe only a few will decide to use ROS. Of course, ReactOS, only for the fact that is FOSS, is quite innovative, but this is not enough. ReactOS must be ReactOS, not a merely clone.