Future Windows Suggestions

[Jordan M.]

All those in the Vista Techbeta (Via Connect) got invited into a program called "Windows Early Feedback"

What is the purpose of this site

Many customer have expressed the desire to have an impact on future releases of Windows. We have often heard from customers that they want the opportunity to make suggestions about the way Windows works. The purpose of this site is to gather that early feedback from Windows customers and use it to make the next version of Windows the best release yet.

You can also use this thread to submit Suggestions if you are not an official tester but still feel like helping out.

For this please use the following template:

Choose either

Feature Change Suggestion Form or New Feature Suggestion Form

For Feature Change

Title:

Description:

Please describe how you would like this behavior to change.:

Please provide a justification for why you think this change should be made.

What is the latest version of Windows where the behavior still happens?

For a New Feature

Title:

Description:

Please provide a justification for why you think this new feature should be added to Windows.

Only suggestion filled in this format fill be filled with connect

I will then personally submit the Suggestion via Microsoft Connect

[MEGA.BR4ZIL]

New Feature

Title: Windows PowerUser Profile Manager

Description:

Windows could have a feature to select the profile the user would like to use at the moment, with a right-click to switch between them. For example: GAMING PROFILE (optimized for gaming, deactivate services, clean ram, no wallpaper, deactivate screensaver, optimize virtual memory, I/O...everything for boost gaming), WORK PROFILE (Normal mode, with standard config, fax, table pc, scanner, email, office, browsers and user selected programs for work... loaded in cache for faster access to this programs). SAFE PROFILE (automatic change configs for parental control, no program installation, sites restricted, programs access restricted, hide specified folders, and more...). MEDIA CENTER PROFILE (optimized for entertainment, HDTV, watch movies, convert audio&video, play music...). COMPATIBILITY MODE (optimized for old versions programs, windows, emulating the older version OS improving user experience).

And for better manager, you will select which programs you most use for work for cache loading.

Justification: This feature will meet all kind of users, gamers, business, programers, everything.

Sorry for my english, I'm from brazil.

[MEGA.BR4ZIL]

New Feature

Title: Windows Programs Update

Description:

Simple. All programs and drivers must have their version number in one specified registry folder. So windows will periodically check for newer versions, show the changelog and give a option to download the update, ignore sofware monitoring... This is almost like versiontracker, sumo, updatestar... but the software&hardware manufacturers should registry their software at microsoft, getting a full integrated OS to their programs with microsoft update certified logo.

Justification: This will improve security, bugs problems, everything, and the user will be always UPTODATE!

[MEGA.BR4ZIL]

New Feature

Title: Windows OneCheck

Description:

An automatized program, with schedule or not, that will check all the system with pre-configured options. For example:

1.Check Windows Update and download the important updates. OPTION: Extras updates.

2.Check Windows Programs Update and download the newer versions.

3.Perform a full virus/spyware scan, with selected antivirus/spyware programs that user prefer.

4.Perform a full registry check, looking for erros and fix them.

5.Perform a full defragmentation, boost boot time, and other options.

PS: Could have many other options, like turn off the computer after done, show log file in next start and more...

Justification: This will improve computer's health, keeping the system always working with the best settings and patches, improving speed and security.

Edited November 22, 2007 by MEGA.BR4ZIL

[freak_power]

1. Get rid of registry.

2. Download Manager for Ie

3. Clean the mess under User/Profile Name folder

4. Get rid of 32bit version (64bit version with 32bit support through emulation is good enough)

5. Improve UAC (This needs to be reworked)

6. New GUI (The current folder and overall gui organization sucks). Aero/Glass is ok!!!!

7. Virtual Desktop

8. Improve Sounds Support (Get DirectSound back or some new version of it)

9. Improve security center by adding windows antivirus along with windows defender and windows firewall.

10. Improve Windows Media Player by adding support to view h.264, x.264, XVid, DivX

11. Improve support for SATA DVD/DVD-RW

12. Improve need for rebooting the system after installation

13. Add CD/DVD emulator support

14. Improve Paint (We could get something better like Paint.Net), Wordpad, Notepad, Calc, and other old apps which haven't changed since Windows 95 was released.

15. Improve NTFS and Search system. Introduce things like RealTime file preview of searched files.

[O'Neill]

10. Improve Windows Media Player by adding support to view h.264, x.264, XVid, DivX

This already exists. Just install the directshow filters for whatever format and you're good to go (I prefer ffdshow).

[Glowstick]

Looks like someone's looking to score additional cred without personal effort, in the hopes to get invited to Vienna early.

[freak_power]

This already exists. Just install the directshow filters for whatever format and you're good to go (I prefer ffdshow).

I know, but I want Windows Media Player to be able to read by native...not by installing bunch of additional codec craps.

[simsie]

Title: Taskbar Switcher

Description: Allows rearranging of items in the taskbar

Justification: it is a lot easier to group certain windows together, like all WLM chats to the left, all programming windows to the right.

[dovellas]

Excuse me for my poor english

I wont power toys for Vista

1) The Special Effect of Cryengine 2 or Unreal Engine applied in menu start, in Folder Exploiting DX 10 and only GPU. you can close the windows and particel effect dissolve

think applied Day Light

in menu start

[azz0r_wugg]

New Feature

Title: Windows PowerUser Profile Manager

Description:

Windows could have a feature to select the profile the user would like to use at the moment, with a right-click to switch between them. For example: GAMING PROFILE (optimized for gaming, deactivate services, clean ram, no wallpaper, deactivate screensaver, optimize virtual memory, I/O...everything for boost gaming), WORK PROFILE (Normal mode, with standard config, fax, table pc, scanner, email, office, browsers and user selected programs for work... loaded in cache for faster access to this programs). SAFE PROFILE (automatic change configs for parental control, no program installation, sites restricted, programs access restricted, hide specified folders, and more...). MEDIA CENTER PROFILE (optimized for entertainment, HDTV, watch movies, convert audio&video, play music...). COMPATIBILITY MODE (optimized for old versions programs, windows, emulating the older version OS improving user experience).

And for better manager, you will select which programs you most use for work for cache loading.

Justification: This feature will meet all kind of users, gamers, business, programers, everything.

Sorry for my english, I'm from brazil.

Love this idea.

[dovellas]

i wont a SUN in the desktop syncronize with real clock , an the sun create shadow with folder and icon in the screenm

[b0m8er]

I know, but I want Windows Media Player to be able to read by native...not by installing bunch of additional codec craps.

do you even realise what it's gonna cost Microsoft? Every third party codec company (DivX, CoreAVC etc.) will go after Microsoft, sue them and call monopoly...

Same applies to built-in AV software. I sure won't mind if it was built into Windows, but thrid-party vendors would not appreciate it...

[dovellas]

microsoft have Illimited money , no problem

[freak_power]

do you even realise what it's gonna cost Microsoft? Every third party codec company (DivX, CoreAVC etc.) will go after Microsoft, sue them and call monopoly...

Same applies to built-in AV software. I sure won't mind if it was built into Windows, but thrid-party vendors would not appreciate it...

That's the thing i don't like about crappy law in USA. So let's say you buy a brand new car without CD Player, because Sony will sue GM that it's puts their own CD Player. So GM can't have it. That's a bull****. People will switch to other software if they don't like what Microsoft has to offer. Now it's not Microsoft's fault cause Real Player sucks and it's gonna suck in the future. Mozilla doesn't suck, and Microsoft doesn't ship Mozilla but people use it cause it's good and found its place on the market.

Same for any other software. It's not my fault that Norton makes garbage antivirus programs, so use AVG.

As I said it's a bunch of bull****. If Microsoft made Windows to prevent from installing Mozilla and other competing apps, i would agree with you. Windows is a product, and features in it are part of that product...The most ridicoulos case in the history was EU vs Microsoft regarding to WMP11. What a bunch of morons in EU.

Microsoft has no competition, a that's the problem. MacOS is a different story.

[gxsaurav]

1) Reduce cost of Microsoft software such as Windows or Office or SQL Server.

Make 2 editions, Windows Vista Home Edition with features like Aero, MCE, DX 10 etc as mentioned above, & another version like Vista Professional with all features of Home edition along with support for running as a server in small business scenario like 20 or 30 computers, full MUI with support for languages like French etc but still without support for running a large scale enterprise server.

2) Release your software for other OS & platform. This isn't about releasing technology to other platform,

No need to open up DirectX source code for Linux, just make a runtime for Linux & Mac. The SDK should remain Windows only so that if you want to make a game in DirectX you have to use Windows due to better control over the architecture in Windows because Microsoft makes the Windows kernel & they know how to optimise the DirectX for Windows. Microsoft isn't making kernel for Linux or Mac OS X so they should not optimise for Mac or Linux kernel, it isn't there responsibility. If Apple or Linux want optimised DirectX then come to Microsoft Labs, work with MS & get an optimised version for Linux & Mac kernel & Display model.

3) Let users remove the components from Windows which they do not need during the installation process. In other words integrate vLite in Windows installation. For example User can either leave all drivers of printer or remove all but the drivers of HP printers only. Later on, if the user needs something like MCE which he removed during installation, he can simply insert the DVD & install it. (Which we can already do in Windows right now, just that it is installed by default whether u use it or not.)

Some from my own side with alternates as available today.

1) Better connectivity between different OS powered machines.

This requires work from both the sides. If Linux vendors won't come forward then it is tough to implement then what it is today

2) Windows should provide native support for read & write of HFS+, EXT2 & EXT3 file system.

In the meantime you can use Macdrive to read Mac OS X HFS+ Paritions. To read & write to Linux EXT2 & EXT3 Partition & File system in Windows you can use Ext2IFS

3) Ability to customize every part of start menu

4) A better antivirus than live one care & better security

In the meantime you can try many free AV solutions such as Bitdefener or Avast

5) Fast startups and installations

6) Zero configuration networking

7) More responsiveness of menus and dialogs.

To change the menu show delay in Windows, open registry -> Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop -> Click on the value "MenuShowDelay" in the right hand pane -> set value to 50 (this is in milisecond)

8 ) Networking/ssh/ftp/services start on Windows before the GUI

9) Give some customizing option in the OS install menu to remove IE, disk defragement etc

In the meantime, you can use vLite to make your own Vista installation disk with all your drivers included & remove all components which u don't need.

10) Low balloon tips

11) Automatic mounting of ISO files in Windows as a virtual Disk

You can do this using Daemon tools easily or Virtual CloneDrive. However if you like you can simply install a Powertoy from Microsoft to mount ISO file as a virtual CD. I m working on a registry tweak so that it can be given as an option when right clicking on an ISO File.

12) To configure the Vista bootloader so that you can boot into Linux from Vista bootloader itself, have a look at EasyBCD 1.7.

for GUi installation.

[+LogicalApex MVC]

That's the thing i don't like about crappy law in USA. So let's say you buy a brand new car without CD Player, because Sony will sue GM that it's puts their own CD Player. So GM can't have it. That's a bull****. People will switch to other software if they don't like what Microsoft has to offer. Now it's not Microsoft's fault cause Real Player sucks and it's gonna suck in the future. Mozilla doesn't suck, and Microsoft doesn't ship Mozilla but people use it cause it's good and found its place on the market.

Same for any other software. It's not my fault that Norton makes garbage antivirus programs, so use AVG.

As I said it's a bunch of bull****. If Microsoft made Windows to prevent from installing Mozilla and other competing apps, i would agree with you. Windows is a product, and features in it are part of that product...The most ridicoulos case in the history was EU vs Microsoft regarding to WMP11. What a bunch of morons in EU.

Microsoft has no competition, a that's the problem. MacOS is a different story.

You're example isn't the same... If GM decides to put a CD player in their cars they will most likely buy those CD players from a third party supplier. Those various companies could then compete to win GMs business and competition still goes fine. A better example would be if GM had a 90+% marketshare in the US car market and they purchased Firestone so they could produce their own tires. That would be anti-competitive because Goodyear wouldn't have a market for its product and GM could stifle innovation and raise prices (on tires).

The argument really is what the government should be doing about Microsoft's monopoly position. As much as I like Microsoft I'm not sure they should be allowed to make an OS, without strict regulation. In my honest opinion OSs are a natural monopoly. There is competition in the sense that their is alternative OSs, but since a user can't just switch from Windows to Linux to Mac OS to Unix like they can from Ford to GM to Toyota they are not direct competitors. There needs to be really heavy regulation of MS, and the OS market in general, for that reason...

Also, there is many valid reasons for third party developers to get upset when MS decides to integrate competing technologies into Windows. For them, it kills their business and that is reason enough for any business to be upset, but it also harms consumers. Microsoft tends to integrate features into Windows and then drop the ball on those technologies. It would be better for consumers, and the software industry, if Microsoft made their solutions component based (which they have started to do) and used bundled software. If done right you'd be in a situation where Windows ships with Zip compression from WinZIP, but can be replaced with better compression tools from RAR Labs.

The guts of how a system like that can be implemented to exceed what is already available is up for discussion. I think Microsoft could start by redoing their software marketplace. Instead of charging developers loads of money to be listed they should replace it with a community based site where it is free to get software listed. Then integrate that information into Windows. So when you try to open a RAR file and no program is installed for it you're shown a list of software options from the software marketplace. The software is ranked highest by the number of positive reviews by the community. This would do wonders for the software community and would increase software innovation immensely.

But Microsoft won't go that route without government forcing sadly.

[markwolfe Veteran]

2) Release your software for other OS & platform. This isn't about releasing technology to other platform,

No need to open up DirectX source code for Linux, just make a runtime for Linux & Mac. The SDK should remain Windows only so that if you want to make a game in DirectX you have to use Windows due to better control over the architecture in Windows because Microsoft makes the Windows kernel & they know how to optimise the DirectX for Windows. Microsoft isn't making kernel for Linux or Mac OS X so they should not optimise for Mac or Linux kernel, it isn't there responsibility. If Apple or Linux want optimised DirectX then come to Microsoft Labs, work with MS & get an optimised version for Linux & Mac kernel & Display model.

Agreed. If Microsoft wanted to release anything for Linux, they can provide binaries that the user adds, just like Linux users currently do for flash and so on. They don't need to open any of their code. But, of course, they don't want to support Linux, either. ;)

1) Better connectivity between different OS powered machines.

This requires work from both the sides. If Linux vendors won't come forward then it is tough to implement then what it is today

Say what?!?! Linux vendors use open source. Open standards. It is about as "forward" as it can be! Microsoft creates secret SMB that must be reverse engineered. They create secret NTFS that must be reverse engineered.

Please tell me again which party you think needs to be more coopreative in cross-platform compatiblity? :rofl:

That one was so backwards, I laughed out loud.

2) Windows should provide native support for read & write of HFS+, EXT2 & EXT3 file system.

In the meantime you can use Macdrive to read Mac OS X HFS+ Paritions. To read & write to Linux EXT2 & EXT3 Partition & File system in Windows you can use Ext2IFS

Agreed. There is no need for Microsoft to support these filesystems. Users that use them are likely cross-platform enough to know what a filesystem is, and get the appropriate software to do what they need.

[Computer Guru]

Pie in the sky: switch to Reiser4.

[Mayhem]

Title: Taskbar Switcher

Description: Allows rearranging of items in the taskbar

Justification: it is a lot easier to group certain windows together, like all WLM chats to the left, all programming windows to the right.

i would love also that function integrated in windows but for now you can use this program that is totally freeware and its great

taskbarshuffle

you will rearrange the taskbar items like you want simply by moving them "on the fly" and also if you want to rearrange the systray icons simply hold CTRL and move them but hope Microsoft will implent this

[Antaris Veteran]

i think before new suggestions can be made, Microsoft need to go back and sort the Kernel out (I know they are doing that with MinWin, but hopefully in a few years, Singularity might move to production instead of Research and could be used as the basis for a new Windows kernel).

[stevehoot]

i think before new suggestions can be made, Microsoft need to go back and sort the Kernel out (I know they are doing that with MinWin, but hopefully in a few years, Singularity might move to production instead of Research and could be used as the basis for a new Windows kernel).

Google for TechNet Magazine - there was some great articles from Mark (guy from SysInternals) on the Windows Kernel. It's very small, and the memory management / overall perfomance is superb. Problem is that you can't just use the Kernel - you need the GUI and that then needs IE which needs OE/WinMail. That then comes with MCE on Vista HP/ULT, as well as all the toys (backup, photo manager, movie maker etc.)

Take a look at the articles on it - i'm not too sure what you mean by having to sort it out - since 2000/XP the NT based Kernel has been rock solid.

[BilliShere]

Linux partition format compatibility by default would be nice

Improved windows defender and internet explorer immunized against spyware by default..i do not want to use spybot to immunize ie all the time.. Include the immunization updates in windows updates

A much faster optimized kernel and a much faster and optimized desktop to use

The ability to revert to previous windows versions desktops

Perhaps an instant os switcher thing?Where you can switch between multibooted os instantly.

Better integration of windows live messenger with desktop

Please bring msn explorer back or something like it atleast. It is very nice to just login and have acess to your email, chat, and all msn features (autos, ebay etc). Google has implemented gmail and chat, with greasemonkey you can get reader and gcal integrated into gmail. Microsoft better do something that will unify all windows live services into one (AKA new free version of msn explorer would be really nice)

Speakin about msn explorer..how about a windows that works with speech by default. So that when you login it says good morning..or good afternoon.

a much more animated windows explorer?feature disabled by default due to performance reasons?but available in windows appearance properties. For example when i hover my mouse over a folder i get a stacks like preview?like in the mac osx leopard dock.

Various visual plugins... like compizfusion for windows vista. Lol.

How about bringing back drivers for legacy hardware...not necessarily by default but say you are given the option ?windows could not find a driver for the hardware, would you like to search legacy hardware drivers made specifically for windows 7?why yes thank you? i would very much like to use my creative gameport on vista...but Microsoft has to be Microsoft.

Cut out your windows genuine advantage: no its not working ....its actually affecting more legal customers

Less drm in windows would be very nice...sony is dropping it..microsoft shou:D too.

:D

[markwolfe Veteran]

Linux partition format compatibility by default would be nice

...

Users who are advanced enough to set up a dual-boot with Linux are probably advanced enough to use Linux to read/write to their NTFS partitions, or to have a network share on another PC, or to install fs-driver in Windows to read their ext2/3 partitions.

I support Linux, Open Source and Open Standards, but I don't see why Microsoft would want to (or should) support a variety of *nix formats (including ReiserFS and many others).

[Computer Guru]

I support Linux, Open Source and Open Standards, but I don't see why Microsoft would want to (or should) support a variety of *nix formats (including ReiserFS and many others).

Because Reiser4 is the most advanced filesystem in existence. Unlike NTFS, it is fragment-free. It is also crazy fast and very space-efficient (esp. keeping mind the trillions of thumb.db and *.ini files Windows has).

NTFS is old technology :D