This comparison is beautifully done.
(And no, this one’s not a joke. This is a two-minute compilation that compares the Windows Vista sounds with their XP predecessors. QuickTime or Flash, take your pick.)
… Oh, and be sure to turn your speakers up. The Vista sounds are much softer and less jangly than their XP counterparts. That’s not an artifact of Long’s presentation; that’s how they sound.
Technorati tags: Windows Vista, sounds
Ed Bott (@ wordpress.com) 
The new sounds are definitely less in-your-face than their predecessors. On the whole I like them, although I may swap some of them out selectively with my own custom sound scheme that I created a while back…
Well done! This is the first time Windows sounds have improved to my ears. Almost every sound is more pleasant, and I’m impressed at how carefully they made each one sound reminiscent of its XP counterpart, so it’s easy to know what they mean.
Any truth to the rumor that you can’t turn some of the sounds off? That would be a mistake.
Michael, originally Microsoft had decided to hardwire the startup sound so that it couldn’t be turned off. After some complaints, they relented, and there’s now a check box that allows this sound to be disabled as well.
It may just be me, but I don’t like ’em. They’re too soft, too ephemeral. I’ll definitely be swapping most of these out.
I will be curious, though, to see how the work as part of the whole “Vista Experience.”
So THIS was what all the Robert Fripp fuss was about?? Not impressed at all, but it’s good that it’s more understated than in XP.
However, it does not excuse the fact that most of the sounds are merely XP Remixed. Dissapointing.