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I like all of the things Microsoft has changed and
added to Vista, so I would really just like to
see a stable and secure Vista. I would also like to see an end to the registry, I'm getting really tired of
having to reinstall Windows when it gets old and the registry starts acting up.
For security I think the onlyway to get ahead is to add some kind of A.I. to the security systems of computers. You cant really expect to get
ahead with security when all you do is just wait until something happens and then fix the damage and patch the hole,
you need a system that can retroactively repel new threats and repair problems. They might already have programs
like this and if they do they need to make them better and available to the masses. I'm sure there are other
things I would like to add, I'll have to think about it more.
This is a good article and there's a lot of useful things mentioned in the article that I mentioned
in my previous post. however, Im not sold on the super fetch. It seems to me to be just another level of
paging, bringing things into the cache. The one thing I forgot to mention last night is that the perfect OS
shouldnt not take up a bunch of system resources. This seems to be the biggest problem for operating systems
nowadays. XP required more system resources in order to operate, and Vista will be no exception.
I just came across a sweet article from Slashdot about Microsoft not allowing a backdoor for the Vista
OS. This is exactly the idea Microsoft needs to be taking. I like seeing Microsoft taking a better
stance on security. We'll see if it actually pays off when Vista is released.
I read in one of the other topics on the forum about a proposed weekly topic. So with that in mind,
I'd love to hear some input from the community on what the ideal operating system would be. We all have
qualms with Windows and how poorly it works. However, we all know that Windows does have some good
features. What sorts of things would you consider having in the “perfect” operating system?.
Here are some of the things I would absolutely love to see. Some of these ideas are already being
done here and there by other operating systems or other companies.
– Do not integrate the UI with the
kernel. Basically what happens, and we see this with Windows and Mac OS X, when the UI crashes, we have to
reboot. The *nix OS's have the right idea here by not having the user interface integrated with the
kernel. If the UI crashes, you end up at a command prompt where the service can be restarted.
–
Improved handling of services. Some services cannot be turned off and on based on user permissions and other
programs using certain services. My thought on this is that services should list what programs are using
them.
– More generic drivers. Nvidia has the right idea here. When you go to their site to
download a driver, you get one driver for every model of video card they've ever produced. The downside
to this, the file is insanely huge. The upside, you dont have to be concerned that you dont have the right
driver. Also, drivers of this nature should be able to detect what hardware you have and install only the
files needed for that specific hardware, that way hard drive space isnt being taken up by unnecessary files.
– An efficient, well designed database to store data needed by third party programs and the OS. This
already exists in Windows (we know it as the registry), and its a good idea, in theory, because it eliminates the
use of INI files for storage, which can be spread all over the place and become unorganized fairly quickly.
However, i would love to see some usefulness in some of the values of the registry. It shouldnt have to be a
science to change the registry. Also, the database should have a specific edit function that alerts the user
that prior to all changes, a backup is going to be made, automatically, in case the user screws something up.
There should be some kind of preview feature, like with the display settings in Windows, so that if something doesnt
take, you can revert back to a previous setting without destroying the build.
– From a programming
standpoint, incredibly efficient code of the core kernel and user interface can be the only way to go so that the OS
isnt completely bloated. One thing I hate is a 1.5 gig install for an OS, where most of the crap I dont even
use!
– The User Interface must be user friendly, returning useful errors. Having error codes is ok,
as long as the user is also given an explanation on what the code means, rather than just seeing “error 1234:
Contact Support”
– Organized and reliable documentation: This probably doesnt fall under the OS
functionality wise, but it does make a great deal of difference when trying to figure things out.
–
Improved networking tools: Employ a simple networking type wizard for those users who only want to set up a basic
network, as well as having an advanced set of features that an administrator can use to set permissions. This
is one of the things I absolutely hate with XP. If you're an administrator, it can sometimes be difficult
to set permissions on a WinXP Pro system when simple networking is set up.
– Overall ease of
use: If its not easy to use, no one is going to want to use it. This is Linux's big problem right
now. Linux is stable and offers a lot of the same things Microsoft is offering, with exception to ease of
use. Linux can be incredibly difficult to learn how to use if not very technical.
– Limit rebooting
to core memory dumps. This goes back to the internal database for the OS I mentioned earlier. Only if a
major crash occurs should the system perform a reboot, or if the user requests one. However, if software is
being installed where a change is made to some “registry” then a reboot should not be necessary, and is
not necessary in a *nix based system.
– Security – This is a tough one because once you do something to
try to make a system secure, someone comes along and figures out a way to circumvent the security. Antivirus
and spyware solutions I believe are not enough. However, I do not yet have a good solution. If anyone
has any suggestions, Id certainly love to hear them.
Ok, thats all I have so far. This should give
everyone something to chew on for awhile. Keep in mind when replying to this to keep all systems in mind, not
just Windows. Although, Windows does have its downfalls and its good to beat on. But we're talking
about an advanced OS in todays world, not a command line OS from the 80's. While the CLI is wonderful, it
does not appeal to the average user and it really isnt “pretty.” Im definitely interested to hear
what everyone is looking for.
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