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Attack of the Betas:
A First Look at Microsoft's New Releases
By Dale Walls
As you may know, Microsoft is on the horizon of launching numerous new releases of some core products to include the latest version of the Windows Operating System, Microsoft Office 2007, and a new version of the Internet Explorer web browser.
In initial review of these new flavors of software from Redmond, it’s been found that these applications all have a very common theme: Security. From the very restricted user rights available in the new Vista operating system to the automatic protection of Internet Explorer 7 against phishing and various other web threats, it is very obvious that Microsoft developed these latest versions with your safety in mind.
Microsoft not only has its own Anti-spyware and Malware protection application Windows Defender installed by default in the new Vista operating system, but also some serious security enhancements to the overall usage of the computer system. Microsoft Vista’s User Access Control (UAC) is designed to help maintain appropriate levels of access for standard users without having to grant full blown administrative rights to the system. This is a very beneficial enhancement to prevent unwanted changes or access to the system while still allowing for users to accomplish the necessary tasks of their daily work routine. Regular prompts for suspicious application access challenge users for secure access and assurance to the desired result of administrative functions. At home, Microsoft Vista users will be pleased to find new configurations for parental controls and web access.
Fear not though, these new applications aren’t only about security. There are numerous beneficial improvements that will make your computing experience more efficient and simplified all the same. Although the new Aero interface of Vista needs some learning at first to locate some of the classic Windows features, after a few days of regular usage the new format will grow on you. Expect as much in the way of the new graphical user interface like transparent Windows, Graphical previews of open taskbar items, and a ready access Desktop bar similar to that of the Google Desktop. Although very beneficial, these new components and features come at a price of your system resources. The requirement for more powerful video controllers, processing power, and memory are a must. Be sure that your system meets the recommended requirements before expecting to go the way of Vista.
Like Windows Vista, there are some major changes to the accessibility of features and options in the new Office 2007 suite. The days of hard to find menu functions in Office applications are no more. The new tool bar design categorizes tasks into tabs and labels items with easy to find icons. This new layout allows for quick access to the features you desire without a lot of menu scrolling and searching.
Another great asset of the Office 2007 suite is real-time previewing of changes before they are actually applied. The easiest example is that of text changes. When text is highlighted, you can easily see how that text would appear in the various font types just by scrolling through or running your mouse over items in the font list. This is really a time saver for those who make repetitious changes to view various modifications to our documents and files. For your own experience, Microsoft has provided a publicly available Office 2007 preview site where you can test drive the software yourself. See www.microsoft.com/office/preview for more details.
Last but not least, the latest version of Internet Explorer will combine the more desired features of other browsers and add-ons. For example, the new Internet Explorer 7 presents tab based browsing that will allow you to consolidate on the number of windows you have open. Basically, rather than having to open various Internet Explorer windows to surf various sites, you can simply open a new tab in an existing window. Another mentionable feature in the new Internet Explorer 7 is the search provider bar. This function is similar in concept to that of the Google Toolbar for your web browser except that with Internet Explorer 7 you can quickly search not only Google but various search providers such as MSN, Yahoo, Amazon.com, ESPN, MTV, USA Today, and Monster.com to name a few. This is a great feature for quick and directed web searches. Internet Explorer 7 Beta 3 is available for install from www.microsoft.com/ie. Beware however that the beta versions are not recommended for use on production systems as various sites are not compatible with the software until the official release.
These are just a few of the highlights to come in the new releases of these popular programs. In both security and functionality, these new releases throughout the remainder of this year and into the beginning of 2007 will bring many improvements to the way we do business with our systems and the Internet.
Dale Walls is President of Corsica Technologies, a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner & Small Business providing complete IT Solutions for businesses, government, and home computing in Maryland, DC, and Virginia. Feel free to contact Dale at 443.262.9290, or by email at dale@corsicatech.com.
