Windows Vista - Room with a Vista. The new version of Windows boasts better security, a new interface, plus features such as a graphics system and copy protection. Jorg Geiger and Paul Monckton dig deep into the Beta version and compare it to XP, Suse Linux and Mac OSX.

Publication: Personal Computer World

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COPYRIGHT 2005 VNU Business Media Europe

Microsoft has defined its goal clearly: Windows Vista, previously known by its code name Longhorn, is intended to become the company's best operating system ever and to finally dispose of Windows' bad reputation over security. To fully refurbish Windows, the programmers have been working on key features for Windows Vista, which is due to be released in the second half of 2006. Virtually every aspect of the system, from the user interface to the security settings and the driver models, will be altered. The important innovations include hotly debated features, such as the Avalon graphics system and Internet Explorer 7, as well as some little-noticed candidates such as the Metro document format and the PVP-OPM (Protected Video Path - Output Protection Management) copy-protection mechanism.

Windows Vista is supposed to be an all-round package of security measures, by which Microsoft does not just mean protection for the user. The term 'security' also encompasses Digital Rights Management (DRM), the built-in copy-protection mechanisms for music and movies. Microsoft's bosses are keeping quiet about this point, because if the plans for Windows Vista go through, you won't just need a new operating system, but also a complete new hardware setup.

This feature is based largely on those found in build 5048 of Longhorn, which was the pre-beta version of Vista aimed mostly at hardware developers and testers. Windows Vista Beta 1 for beta testers and MSDN subscribers was launched in early August, and we managed to get an early look at it to see what has changed since the pre-beta builds.

Obviously, as Longhorn was effectively a preview version, which had not yet got to beta status, some of these functions were only partially implemented, or were missing entirely. Deep down, however, we could see interesting preparations for the upcoming versions. As ever with beta operating systems, things can change radically between builds, and there is no guarantee about which features will make it into the final shipping product. But as long as you bear that in mind, looking at these early versions is still a great way to peer inside Microsoft's mind.

Vista versus XP, Linux and OSX

You might be surprised by some of the new features planned for Vista. A few are simply improvements Microsoft is adding following years of complaints and criticism about Windows XP. A large portion are functions that are already present in other operating systems, and then there are the things that XP can already do - but only with add-on software. The comparison of Windows Vista with Windows XP, Suse Linux 9.3 and Mac OSX Tiger in the table on page 119 shows that there are innovations in Vista but they are comparatively rare.

Windows Vista technology in detail

Vista is meant to put an end to Windows' reputation as an insecure operating system once and for all. Immediately after turning on the PC, Secure Startup takes the helm and prevents any kind of access by external tools or by removing the hard drive. Behind Secure Startup is a hidden mechanism, which ensures a secure operating system start-up by using a combination of a secure Bios and an integrated cryptography chip (Trusted Platform Module - TPM). The real innovation is that Secure Startup only works with a TPM that meets the latest TPM version 1.2 specs. (www.trustedcomputinggroup.org).

When the chips are down

When you turn on a Vista PC, the first thing to start is the TPM, that is, the firmware belonging to the built-in cryptography chips on the motherboard. Computers without TPM cannot use Secure Startup. On powering up, the TPM chip checks the Bios and installed hardware. It calculates security checksums (using the Secure Hash Algorithm - SHA-1) for all the PC's hardware components, which it stores in its Platform Configuration Register (PCR). It also checks the system Rom, plus the hard drive's master boot record (MBR) and partition table, storing these hash values in TPM registers. The calculated checksums from these registers are then compared...

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