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OK, open topic, very open. Directed and anyone and everyone, and would especially enjoy Arris’s involvment on this one…. 🙂
Is it just me, or have things really slowed down around here? I was very excited to join these forums, and I stay pretty active as many of you probably notice lol… but is something up that I havn’t noticed?
Am I TOO active? Like, taking away the light from the real 2008 Workstation image or objective? Is there some problem that I can’t see? OR am I just being paranoid?
Yeah, you probably are reading this thinking “Is this guy OK or what…?” Haha…. the truth is, I love this forum, I love what it’s about because i’ve always been a fan of examining the Windows OS in detail, in particular the registry and resource hacking/modifying, and just felt like this was a great place to talk about such things. Of course, we all have lives and such this is true. I know you are a student Arris and must be very busy, many of you are probably students, but I work out of home and always keep a WS2008 tab open in my browser 😉
Well, I guess i’ll just end it with what i’ve been up to lately. I actually write and produce music most of my time, but I have been working on a new software exclusive for Vista/2008 and adding support for Windows 7 when it matures a little more. Its “yet another” tweak-like tool, but I won’t be copying what all the other millions of tools do haha it is focused on the very rare and powerful visual changes, many that I have discovered myself that are nowhere to be found on google, and other crazy stuff like a GUI interpreter for BATCH files [say goodbye to CMD.EXE hehe] but for an example of what my current desktop looks like with some changes that the tool will be able to do see my screenshot at the post here – viewtopic.php?f=3&t=518&start=20
Anywho, looking forward to anybody who wants to rant… I really am happy and grateful for the site Arris has created here, and am just worried that it will die out I think =( ah well… seeya later lol
Yep, I have noticed its a bit slow around here lately.
There are two problems really:
Firstly, not many people are savvy enough to download a server OS and set it up as a desktop OS, regardless of any fantastic guides they’re given.
Secondly, I suspect that once people have it up and running, they’ll either not come back here, or only come back when they encounter a problem, which is sad.
As such, I think the site can only really expect to get a core userbase and then the odd few stragglers who come along looking for help.
I think if you guys want more users you’ll have to set the site up as a place to discuss the Win7 beta, and eventually turn it towards a basic Windows OS discussion forum.
That being said, I’m happy either way, there are some very helpful members here, and you guys sort out my issues far quicker than any forum I know of 🙂
Hey JonusC, Wakers, aviv00 and others,
JonusC, you are a very active member and I really appreciate that! You are _THE_ expert at this forum related to Windows hacking/reversing and porting parts of Vista to Server 2008. :geek:
I agree with Wakers and aviv00 that there are many people that register to ask one or two questions about things they couldn’t figure out after installing Windows Server 2008 and after these problems have been solved, they leave.
I daily visit the forum and drag all topics I think I can help with to my win2k8ws folder on the Firefox bookmarks toolbar. Mostly in the weekends I open them one by one trying to give a useful answer/solution after doing some research. I also read all comments posted in the manual, try to give answers where needed and update the Security Software/Games tables. These weeks I am very busy with a project for school so even on Saturdays I don’t have much time to look at the forum… Within a few weeks this semester at school will be over and I’ll start with an internship at a company and expect that I’ll finally have more leisure.
I think our common goal is to try to give solutions to all kinds of problems and so turn the forum into a big knowledge base where everyone that is using Windows Server 2008 can find solutions for the problems they encounter when running it for daily use. Therefore I am very gracefully for all people that help each other finding solutions for nearly all problems! Always remember that you are not just posting the solution for the guy (or girl) who asked the question, but also for many others that are searching the internet to find a solution for their problem! 🙂
If you guys have any suggestions for expanding/improving the forum and/or website I’d love to listen to you. Today I added the new forum sections “Common Problems” and “Windows Server 2008 R2 Beta” to keep the forum more clean/structured, because many questions were just posted into the “Open Topic” forum. I hope you like this. If you have a better idea, please contact me! 😉 I am always open to suggestions and will try to listen to you as much as possible! I know I just can’t do it all myself so I really need the help of other people.
Thanks for all your contributions and see you all around, building the knowledge base for Windows Server 2008 (R2), …, …! 🙂
Arris
Ah good good… 🙂 hello people…
@Arris wrote:
JonusC, you are a very active member and I really appreciate that!
OOOh flattery… 😛 ah I enjoy very much what you’ve created here boss, happy to help all those who remain fans of the Windows family of OS’s 😀
@Arris wrote:
I also read all comments posted in the manual, try to give answers where needed and update the Security Software/Games tables
Completely forgot about the site being “not just a forum” lol…
@Arris wrote:
Within a few weeks this semester at school will be over and I’ll start with an internship at a company…
Very cool, I wish you luck!
@Arris wrote:
Always remember that you are not just posting the solution for the guy (or girl) who asked the question, but also for many others that are searching the internet to find a solution for their problem! 🙂
This is actually something I always keep on my mind – it’s usually the reason why I go into so much detail, and reference other websites and findings – either critically or supportively, and why I feel that way. So anybody who reads it might actually learn a thing or two, instead of just being told what is “best” 🙂
Ah yes well to the end there, I did notice the two new subforums and it is a good idea 💡 I might actually have a few ideas, but I think I will put a little bit more thought into them instead of typing a massive list right here and now 😛 one thing I have said was a chat/shoutbox, because I am on here a LOT, but I have no idea of the feasibility of this and your schedule, and if any of the shoutboxes for phpbb are even good anyway.
Regardless, i’ve been rather busy with some software… VB6 right now [.NET doesnt have support for global hooks] to try and make a program like PowerMenu which hasn’t been updated in years, and the owner refuses to release sourcecode 🙁 having trouble with it though, will probably ask around on a VB6 board somewhere. Heh.
Oh and by the way, I have blasted (i.e., advertised in a casual way) this site on all other Workstation 2008 related boards/forums/topics/blogs… haha. OK, well its good to hear all that Arris, so thanks 🙂
Server 2008 as a workstation is too complicated to set up, you need imagining expertize just to make it workable.
There is quite a few hardwarerelated driverproblems.
I have come to expect “this software is not for your operating system”
On the plus side ; this is hard and difficult and as such only the really knowledgable really stick to it.This forum SHOULD have little activitiy, but the activity it get is always worth reading.
Wakers is right, if Vista is compatible with your hardware, it will also run Windows Server 2008 without any driver problems.
Daniel, I’m glad you enjoy being on this forum to help many people with their problems using your experience. 😉 You indeed do always have extensive answers so people know exactly what the underlying problem is and the ways how to tackle the problem.
About the compatibility lists in the manual: I should actually keep the list synchronized with all topics about (non)working games/security software at the forum, but I’m currently not doing that. I’ll try to do that as soon as possible.
The shoutbox is a good idea! I haven’t thought about that before but it’s a nice way to communicate (semi-)directly to each other without using PM or creating topics. I will take a look how to implement it as easy as possible. One thing I don’t like about phpBB is that you have to edit many files manually in order to get a new feature. Also if you then install a new version of the phpBB Board software you have to do it all over again! That’s also what I like about WordPress: just upload the plugin to your ftp, activate it via the Administration Interface and it works! If you have more ideas, just create a topic in the Feedback forum or publish them somewhere else. 🙂
Never heard of that PowerMenu where you are talking about, but looks like a useful tool. What do you want to improve to that tool or do you just want to create an open-source version to add for example to the website http://www.codeplex.com?
yes it has seemed dead around here.
I am thinking about promoting this to some of these “power users” that seem to be ok clinging to xp32 bit and dissing vista all the time. You do get sick of the vista bashing. Specially from the linux crowd. They waste alot of energy complaining about vista instead of fixing linux. Mabye someone here can reach to them. I have had no crashes related to the os and not ONE explorer crash (xp had at least 5 a day). It has been very stable for me. I have had one reboot crash and that was fallout 3 causing a bluescreen and it was one corrupted file that caused it.
I am amazed when the “display driver stopped responding” thing does not force you to reboot s08 but it recovers it on its own! The forst time happened with the game “bridge it”. I even thought that PS would totally make me reboot and loose 40 minutes work but simply the DWM turned off and enabled me to still save my work.
And I put OSes through hell. LOL.
mabye we can start a viral thing or something that seems to work.
Yeah, the hardware incompatibilities between Vista and 2008 should technically be zero. Alas, it seems to not be the case on some rare occassions. There are two reasons I can think of though why this might be so:
1) We already know that Microsoft “puts more effort” into their Server line of Windows, simply because it has to be more reliable, but whether or not 2008 is actually ‘better’ in this regard I don’t know…. with that said, this “more robust core” of 2008 might put a strain on cheaper hardware that usually works well on Vista. Branded PC’s, especially laptops/notebooks, come to mind…. or, the more like reason;
2) Drivers that are really poorly written or not aware of Server in some way, somehow stuffing up….apart from that, Server 2008 and Vista SP1 are theoretically identical when it comes to the HCL – with the exception of enforced restrictions that may be in place [which we learn to over-ride, eg MSI patching]. Either that, or the people who are installing drivers for Server 2008 are doing something wrong somehow. I dunno. Wierd.
ahem.
>>Arris
phpBB is a little annoying at times I know, but hey – it’s free! You’ve never used PowerMenu?!?! It’s great! It adds options to the system menu [the one you get when right-clicking a window’s title bar, “Restore” and “Minimize” etcetera], with options like “Priority” and “Always On Top” neatly added to the menu! But it hasn’t been updated in years, and I wanted to clone it, to work for more types of windows and possibly support custom entries via plugins or something… but I have no idea how to do a system-wide hook, I can only do it on one hwnd and it’s driving me nuts… it’s on hold now sadly for that reason =S Oh well…>>RemixedCat
I know, these XP enthusiasts need to see the light. I’ve said to everyone I know who bashes Vista [the ones i still call friends anyway LOL] that if Vista is too slow for them, they need to upgrade their dinosaur computer! Sure games are a LITTLE slower, but the extra features are worth it… especially the folder views and performance/diagnostic tools, among many many other little things… you know what i’m talking about!…and don’t get me started on Linux fanboys. They call us all “noobs”. To them I say – “Hey, i do like linux – I just like a computer that actually DOES stuff and doesn’t require console input all the time” or something smart-ass like that 😛
I KNOW! The STABILITY compared to XP! I always hack around and test out beta software and such, and i’ve NEVER had a bluescreen in Vista or 2008! OK not true… had one from a bad driver [easy fix – update to Vista driver lol] and another random one from overclocking, but that’s different =) Yeah I love the Display Driver recovery… WDDM at it’s prime right there! Loosing fullscreen DOS application capability is a small price to pay for that!
Wow i’m ranting…
What exactly do you mean by “Viral thing”? Do you mean like… promoting why Vista/2008 is l33t and XP and Linux and OSX are not? And the fact that Microsoft is the most successful OS developer in history is not because they are {insert lame fanboy insult here}, but it’s because they actually make a FANTASTIC product??? …….roughly along those lines….
Yeah, i’ve used that f-word two times now, time for a third – i’m a Windows fanboy and I don’t care who knows it.
LOLz that post was long winded.
The viral thing we could…… Grrrr my mind is blank right now…. I could think of something.
but that is for another time…… we shall se how windows 7 is first. if it bombs for some reason we would have more of an excuse to promote s08. If it is a good God OS then what will the fate or server 08 be? we have alot of questions that need answered about this “windows 7” and we shall know later this year. Don’t hold your breath about these betas they are nothing more. Somewhere down the line they might be pressured to release early due to slumping PC sales. or they may say “launch delayed to overhaul” or something like that. and if it does release in 10 months or less people might not want to get s08 or they may get it to “hold themselves over” till 7 comes out.
we will not know till it happens. Let’s hope they get it right. This is thier last chance.
However they allready have “post windows” plans
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midori_(operating_system)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singularity_(operating_system)so this means they have a backup plan if 7 does not work?
or this is for the people who whine?
or are they getting some sense and finally rewriting this OS!
who knows.
Ah cool thanks for those links! But Microsoft have always worked on OS’s in advance, Windows XP a.k.a “Whistler” I’m pretty sure started development around the release of Windows ME…
…remember that we have Windows Server 2008 R2 though! This forum will still apply to it I think, because it has the same name =) and you might think it’ll be renamed to Windows 7 Server, but probably not – because they also had Windows Server 2003 R2. But will it be released before or after Windows 7? =(
I also hope that Server 2008 can easily be upgraded to Server 2008 R2!
I think Midori might be the total re-write you are speaking of, but of course it’s too early to know that’s just my speculation. Also, Windows XP, Vista and 7 are all listed as “Kernel Type – Hybrid” on wikipedia, whereas the two you linked RemixedCat both are listed as “Kernel type – Microkernel Language based”. This might be the constantly evolving “MinWin” project we hear about, the true modular version of Windows…. *drool*
And yeah, i was ranting a lot in that last post lol. Good job replying =D
I am indeed excited about Windows 7, and I hope Server 2008 R2 is released as RTM at a very similar date! But… F.Y.I., if it isn’t, I am going to go absolutely CRAZY in porting/crossing over Windows 7 components to Server 2008. Probably illegal, maybe, or at least questionable, but hey… Server 2008 with the superbar? Tasty.
I hope they treat R2 like a service pack or code drop. it would be easier for admins.
I hope they get this all right. If not then we shall stick to this untill all the kinks are worked out.
I never jump on the badwagon untill at least SP1 of an OS. I am a graphics designer (also do vids/websites and other things) and It takes me even 3 hours on a good day to set up photoshop alone let alone a reformat+install programs, etc it is a solid day’s to day and a half work. and all that can kill my creative energy for 2 days afterwards sometimes. since it takes me 4 days to get fully adjusted and all my settings ported over and stuff and I “get comfy” LOL (but s08 was the easiest install with the least bit of nagging unlike XP had) (was fast half hour… and was over an hour with xp sometimes 1.5 hrs)
Plus I’d rather wait longer and have a more stable OS then hurry and have an headache or worse an.. anyerism!
and for companies it’s alot worse.
I hope that R2 comes with alot better features, but I do think MS is getting too excessive and alot of the w7 features are really hyped. too much hype for a beta would you think? sounds like A)they are pulling a mojave again or B) they are pleading for something or C) they are excited that it will turn out right and D) that they actually might be pushing a stable beta as a holdover till the stuff happens.
I have a feeling something is really up at redmond and I will try to find out.
I’m not really sure about what you’ve said there RemixedCat.
I think MS did really, really, really hype up Vista. I mean they went way over the top with that. I’m not sure how much hype for W7 has come from MS. All I can recall seeing from them is stuff like “we’re rearranging the gui, take a look at these ideas”
and
“we’re releasing the beta”.
All of the hype and “this is what Vista should have been” and “this is the most impressive beta i’ve ever seen from MS” and so on and so forth has come from the blogosphere and journalists rather than from MS this time around.
Eh… Vista being Windows 6.0 is the first of a new major. Windows 2000 was the first of a new major, 5.0, but that wasn’t hyped up publically as much. So i think the whole Vista success/failure thing was just a new direction of marketing that didn’t go as well as planned… maybe Microsoft were overconfident, who knows…. I don’t think it’s a failure though… unlike Windows Me 😎
But i completely agree with your first one there RemixedCat, WS2008 had a much more pleasant “settling in to a new install” compared to past OS’s. I think Vista experience helped me along though, I ditched XP over a year ago… but I user Server 2008 for everything serious and I am rather happy lol.
this isn’t good.
taken from kotaku:
http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSTRE50J7QN20090121?feedType=RSS&feedName=technologyNews&pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reckon Microsoft will hold off on massive job cuts. But analysts speaking to Reuters think otherwise, and believe the company will lay off between 6000 and 8000 workers.
And that might just be a start. While those numbers would put a dent in the company’s 95,000-strong workforce, McAdams Wright Ragen analyst Sid Parakh said their “checks” (ie speaking with sources inside Microsoft) revealed there might be “a second round of cuts in some groups sometime later in the year”.
This puts a number on the whispers that were being reported on last week.
Course, Microsoft is a big company. And the Xbox guys only make up a small part of it, so they might sail on through totally unaffected. Then again, they might not. We’ll find out later this week, as their financial results are due on Thursday.
could this be the reason why they are rushing windows 7???actually MS is spening too much money buying out new companies and putting out new things like zune and stuff like that instead of focusing on OSes like they were meant to do. Thye have thier resources spread to thin. Imagine if they had thier entire budget for the OS! We would have unheard of innovations!
MS needs to do these steps instead of layoffs:
1) stop the zune thing (it is not working well)
2) give up on search, no one uses msn search and everyone uses google. msn search or windows live, if you will is not a feasible site unless you trim some aspects down.
3) charge less for ALL OSes. you will decrtease piracy and make it more accessible at the same time making alots more money. sepcially at the server end. However they need a different pricing model for servers based on your business needs then overall cost for all types of companies. Imagine a custom server tailored like linux is?! It would murder linux in the server market specially for game servers. you do this modularization and you get the market.
4) prolong windows seven release date till after x-mas and this is why:-
A) will give you those two critical months to work out hardware kinks after the CES and release alongside new hardware instead of before it (when they are still using last year’s hardware)! CES sales are alot better then holiday sales (in reality-not what they all want you to believe) and you get more stability.
B) bring back the “black-comb” features that were hyped up sooooooo much like WFS and S-essentials (server related stuff as well as new network layer) and windows media overhaul.
C) fix WMP12 and redo interface. There is allready some issues in the 5 minutes I had with it on 7 yeasterday (one made the virtual machine crash and I loaded the Virtual network music) the EQ is very hard to find and the “now playing” mode is a blow and too “piecey” I want a unified player with all functions intergrated into one seemless interface like WMP11. That interface is good, just improve the player, don’t change the whole thing around cause people like me who live in our collections dont have to readjust so much
D) bring back the WMP toolbar. I use it alot when I photoshop since I dont have to reload the player window to switch tracks and go to a different set of songs. It is critical for me to keep a certain set going for other events too. plus it is very handy for all sorts of things)
E) perfect aero and make it able to work with less video ram required and fuse the DWM further it will increase speed further and make it semless for non DWM apps to just use window frames like linux does with compiz fusion, you do the DWM like that and you can even use it with a Geforce 4mx440! full DWM with a non-DX9 card? yes it’s possible!
F) trim down the footprint further and make it modular and have a central software updating/downloading manger. If a college kid can wip it out in a month or less MS can do it with all the people it has. This will also solve any of the anti-trust BS MS is facing right now! Problem solved! no need for pricey ‘seven’ figure lawyers!
instead they are laying off 6 thousand people, closing divisions that are making the most sense like research, gaming, and media services, releaseing an OS too early but will fail at it’s current rate. it would need 1.5 years to make if any different then vista is. as a matter of fact it still hasn’t even changed much from XP even! I still cant belive the date is pushed so far up! this is pretty insane. Initially the date was to be 2011!
this is all I have for now! wow that was long winded! I have more but I am kinda crispy after loosing my 7VM and it wont start again. oh well gonna try using in MSVPC.
have fun with 7 and see what happens with MS’s last windows release. It is gonna be a fresh breath of air to see what else is gonna happen. sit back and enjoy the show, computing is gonna get different! I got the popcorn ready.
Yeah…. the widespread RRoD on the 360’s and the release of Vista in general didn’t do any favours for their reputation. The modular aspect of the OS I think is planned for a completely new family of OS, not based on NT like Vista or Seven is. Probably what Singularity or Midori will end up evolving to be (I hope anyway)
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