The art of the Demo : Part 1 | Laura Foy

It's important that Microsoft does go further to advertise their fantastic solutions, these two did a decent job too, it wasn't flashy but it SHOWED THE ADVANTAGES which is what it's supposed to do.

I don't understand the Vista families though, how much input were they really allowed? I love Vista, all bar one of my computers run it but I can completely see why some people have problems, solve them and people may pay attention!

Improve the basic functionalities- one person in the video said that a burn to CD button is needed, that's great but I would love it if MS didn't worry about annoying third parties, people don't notice CD burning as a FEATURE, put something that looks new in there like a SUITE!!! Competing platforms show this as something to brag about and MS needs their own. Without it more bloatware comes with PCs and it tarnishes the reputation of MS and the windows brand to have a Nero demo on a new PC. Have a built in CD burning suite solution- it seems more substantial as an improvement to peoples PC experience in more ways than one.
Improve the basic applications that people are familiar with, look at Paint and Notepad, both are useful and both are neglected, it's as though MS decided they'd done enough, clearly not. Look at the work done with Notepad++ and Paint.net these demonstrate where MS has left Windows stagnant and the absence of updates makes people believe Windows is the same everytime.

Paint needs layers, plugins etc Photo and digital memories don't edit themselves and I don't want bloatware on a new PC!
Notepad needs more to it in general- e.g. Word count, tabs, just look at Notepad++
Calculator is a perfect example of what could be done with notepad, have a stadard mode and an expert mode but show some progress

Make things more personalised, e.g. skins
Work on more built in applications such as GarageBand on Macs... this sort of thing could help enormously in adding value to the Windows brand

I love MS, I love windows but this is where I see them frustrate users timeand time again, often new OS releases have a lot under the hood but very little changes in the way people use their PC from day to day- new versions of Paint with photo editting in mind would be the sort of boost people need to see in your new products- anything less seems insignificant.

Tell me honestly, is there a team in MS working on notepad or paint anymore- or is it like IE where things were left motionless for years?

Things a new Paint should bring to the table:

Real editting power- no photoshop, moe of a Paint.net... something for photo editting that's byond gallery touch-ups
Layers, plugins, photo filters, cropping tools, pressure sensitivity, transparency etc
JPEG or HDPhoto support as default- who uses Bitmap images day to day in all seriousness?
Support for Live Mesh- if I have a photo on facebook I should be able to tag people in it and fix details and have the results instantly occuring in both instances of the file
Image carving/seaming? I seem to remember this as a demo on here

Surely you guys on on10 are the ones who see the best of MS's potential to make a killer app of their most basic functions- who really uses Paint nowadays day to day for anything other than cropping? It's no wonder that people think Windows as no room to grow if we leave it like it is in these places which even MS claims are fundamental!

Those Mac adverts highlighted a lot of the problems people have with PCs, no wonder that's the point of them really, one of them was the pre-installed software, if MS really pulls their trousers up and does something about the functions on the system already they may get somewhere.

I am volunteering myself as a Vista Family member-your average PC user, but somebody who knows about technologies MS has....

Fix the simple things and add to them, stop trying for the newest feature, make Windows 7 look like IMPROVEMENTS are being made rather than new things being bolted onto the sides
Make the functionality more of a feature- there's a difference, functionality is what it can do, features are what users see and think "Ooo...", there is no Wow moment, it's "Oh, what's this?"... suites: CD/DVD burning, Zip archiving, it's all in there but make it stand out.
People hate demos that come with PCs, they are time limited and generally poorly made for their interfaces- take some of the need out of the equation by making those suites
Work on the UI for god's sake, it's good and everything but there's some serious issues in places which I hear time and time again

Sorry for my rant but I feel these things never get said, and whilst MS does a wonderful job at making some products and it sells products their adverts never seem "authentic" like the judge requested, in the end the product NEEDS to speak for itself so that a friend can say "Take a look at this..." just like the guys in this video were doing on a small scale- now just do it to the fundamental programs in Windows.

Laura

In reply to northerngeek

#Apr 28th @ 2:49 PM

Wow -- thanks for the comment! You make alot of valid points. I will definitely pass this along and hopefully see you as a Vista Family member in the future!

axelriet

You need a transcript. The world first what camera?

chhuang

I'm Chang-Han hank Huang, the Program Manager (BDM) for HD-Photo/JPEG-XR camera and next-generation connected home at Microsoft Taiwan.

Some of you requesting a transcript for this digital life demo. Especially for the world's first HD-Photo/JPEG-XR camera prototype. In fact, you do have the right to ask, because this demo deliver 12 scenarios in less than 10 minutes, but still cover many key messages to enable the vision (Connected Entertainment is the future; Live/Life is all about sharing, Extender for Media Center to open your digital life).

So here is the transcript, enjoy the ride and let me know if you have any other questions about the next generation JPEG-XR imaging codec which is already built-in Windows Vista. That said, Windows Vista is future-proof.

Kevin: Hey Hank, How are you doing?
Hank: Great, thanks! Who’s the woman on your desktop? (Demo) Last time you told me, you joined Microsoft citizenship program. I guess she must be Grandma Peach, right?

Kevin: Yes. I would like to share Grandma Peach’s story with my friends…actually…girl friends. Do you know what is the best way to share the videos about Grandma as well as other contents in my desktop?
Hank: You can install free WebGuide to stream to your PC, ohh NO… your Girl Friend’s PC, and Windows Mobile, such as this one (put phone on).. In my home PC far-far-away, (demo Tab). I have 10 thousand songs and 200 movies, DVDs, and photos... You know, Connected Entertainment is the future – to let you enjoy digital media anywhere, anytime!

Kevin: Cool! So I can listen to thousands of songs from my mobile phone anytime when I am in a gym, on a bus, or any other place, right?
Hank: Correct! And the beautiful thing is that you don’t need to buy expensive memory card anymore. As long as you have Internet connection! Now let me show you…(Click Stream Program, close WebGuide, then Mute on Windows Mobile) (bring up Photo Gallery, click all photos), nice and easy, isn’t it?

Kevin: Yeah. Wow…Now I don’t need to worry about forgetting to bring my MP3 player anymore! But… you know, I will not always sit in from of my PC. Can I enjoy Media Center TV when I am in the living room or even in the bathroom?
Hank: The beautiful thing about Windows Vista (Click Green button to resume to “The Simpsons”) is that when you have an Extender for Media Center, “that Extender will set you free – you can truly Open Your Digital Life (Click Music Library, Click Play/Slide-show) by gathering your friends and family in your living room and sharing all of your family photos, building movie collections using “My Movies” directly on your TV!

Kevin: Wow, with Media Center, I think I don’t need to print out photos anymore so I can save more money!
Hank: Yeah, Save the earth (Close Media Center UI)

Kevin: By the way, I got another problem…
Hank: Sure, just tell me.
Kevin: I took some photos for Grandma Peach. However, when I’m going to find out these photos, it usually takes me a long time. Do you know how to quickly find out the photos I’m looking for?

Hank: It’s simple and extremely fast compared to Google Picassa, just using Live Photo Gallery (fast zoom-in/out). If you want to find GrandMa Peach in thousands of your photo collection (scroll up-and-down), you can simply type the name of your photo “GrandMa”. (type GrandMa); if I want to find the photo including you and me, I simply type “Hank Kevin”, nice and easy, isn’t it?
Kevin: It’s great! I can quickly find out any photo by instant search!

Hank: Yes! Moreover, Windows Vista has built-in support for the next generation JPEG-XR. Let me explain—two identical photo shots (bring up Photos), left is JPEG and right is JPEG-XR. Using Photo Gallery (Click Fix, Auto Adjustment), and JPEG-XR (Click Fix), even though cloud is over exposed in JPEG (move cursor to JPEG), in JPEG-XR you can do whatever you want (adjust control bar) to make it look much better without any loss of quality – I took these photos using the world’s first JPEG-XR camera, and it’s Made in Taiwan! (show off the camera)
Kevin: Wow…I can not wait to get one now!

Hank: Yes! we can even publish photos to Live spaces and Flickr (click flower tag and click publish), using Windows Vista and Windows Live, the workflow is super easy, clear, and connected.
Kevin: Yeah…it sounds better than Google Picasa! We can also publish our video on MSN Soapbox. After we upload the videos, we can watch these videos online. I can also share the video w/ you by Live Messenger (demo), click im video, search your name in my Live Messenger, send invitation to you…once you accept the invitation, then we can watch Grandma’s video by Live Messenger at the same time! I promise you can’t do like this if you use YouTube!
Hank: I love this video. Could you give me a copy? I can pass you my memory stick

Kevin: No Need! (demo), We can use SkyDrive. You can simply download the video from my SkyDrive. It’s a easy way to share files with our friends!
Hank: Great, Live is all about sharing! (bring up Pocket Controller). Now I’d like to take a photo of you, (take a photo), with a simple click, I can even publish the photo to Live spaces from Windows Mobile. (click upload to LiveSpace)
Kevin: Amazing! It really enables people to come together by sharing their photos and experiences!
Hank: Yes!

Kevin: By the way, I have created a website by Office Live for Grandma Peach. (demo). I want to discuss with you how to help Grandma sell her peaches through the website, but I have to go now. Can I visit you tomorrow?
Hank: Sure. But do you know how to come to my office?
Kevin: Don’t worry. I can use my Windows mobile phone, open Live Search, find out your contact information in my Outlook, and Live Search will show me where you are (demo). Then click route, Live Search will also show the best way to your place. Isn’t it better than Google Map?

Hank: Awesome. Why not introduce this great stuff to more people? I believe people will like it!
Kevin: Sure. Why not? Let’s work together. And…
Both: And…We believe Windows Vista and Windows Live will open up your digital life. Thank you!

axelriet

In reply to chhuang

#Apr 30th @ 3:33 AM

Hello Chang-Han hank Huang,

Thank you very much for the transcript. I had a special interest in knowing what camera it was and I'm delighted to find out that was the world first HD Photo/JPEG-XR camera. It happens that I'm the author of the world first 3rd-party HD Photo/JPEG-XR image viewer, designed for digital photographers and running on Vista (and XP SP2+WIC or XP SP3). The website is http://www.fastpictureviewer.com in case you want to have a look. Maybe it could be part of a future demo geared towards photographers and digital workflow?

Thanks again for the reply,
Axel Rietschin