Tag Archives: sp1

Vista SP1 Doesn’t Kill Software, Bad Coders Do

Posted on by NeoSmart Technologies
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You can always trust The Register to do what it can to twist the facts into a nice, juicy headline. This time, it’s about Windows Vista SP1, and the very short list of software that’s adversely affected by its installation.

Don’t get this wrong: we’ve got our own reservations about SP1 (between performance and usability – or, more accurately, the lack thereof). But Microsoft is not to blame because certain system tools and utilities won’t run on Windows Vista SP1 when it’s released in March.

According to The Register, "Vista SP1 kills and maims security apps, utilities" and that it’s somehow Microsoft’s fault that antivirus/firewall software by BitDefender, Jiangmin, Trend Micro, and Zone Alarm no longer works on SP1 – but it seems they forgot to mention two facts:

  1. It’s bad coding habits that breaks these utilities.
  2. Thanks to pre-release builds of Vista SP1, all 5 malware-protection programs have updated versions available that are Vista SP1 compatible and shouldn’t give their users any problems come mid-March and SP1.

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Windows Vista SP1 Pre-Slipstreamed DVD Images Available

Posted on by NeoSmart Technologies
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Following the recent RTM of Microsoft’s long-awaited Service Pack 1 for Windows Vista, Microsoft has created (for limited release) pre-slipstreamed installation media intended for the distribution of PCs with newly-installed copies of Windows Vista.

With Windows Vista, the process of slipstreaming a service pack is no longer as simple as it once was as a result of the new WinPE/WIM based installation procedure. Since the installation media is packaged as a filesystem image, it’s no longer as trivial of a matter to unpack, update, and repack the setup files and ensure they’d still work. With Windows Vista, the only way to create a slipstreamed installation DVD is to install Vista RTM, apply the service pack, then create an image from the newly-installed OS.

This new procedure has multiple drawbacks, including the fact that it can lead to huge installation media sizes, unnecessary bloat, and has been known to create compatibility issues – unless, of course, it’s Microsoft that’s making the image in the first place.

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Windows Vista’s Gamma Table Bug

Posted on by NeoSmart Technologies
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Windows Vista has a new color-management/profiling format called Windows Color Systems. It purports to offer advanced color management and better results than the age-old (and forever dying) ICC/ICM color system. ICC has been buggy the whole way, with both political and technical issues plaguing its colorful history.

Windows Color Systems is a step in the right direction, but it comes at a very heavy price: Windows Vista no longer properly interfaces with ICC/ICM color profiles!

Anyone using the ATi Catalyst Control Center, BasicColor, ColorEye, Spyder, or any of dozen other color-management and gamma-correction programs available will have noticed the bug we’re talking about: once you lock your PC (winkey+L) the gamma LUT on your graphics card is reset.

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