Microsoft's Austin Wilson, director for the Windows client, said earlier reports that Microsoft is disabling the outbound filtering capabilities of Windows Firewall are untrue. Windows Vista will restrict all inbound connections by default, except for some exclusions. It will allow all outbound connections by default, with some specific exceptions blocked.

Wilson also went to great pains to show how Microsoft is working on the potentially annoying experience of Vista users being repeatedly prompted with OK/cancel boxes -- or their Administrator password -- before accessing aspects of the operating system that experienced users have had unfettered access to for years. Those areas include system properties, system time and numerous other settings and control areas of Windows. Refining this experience is one of the main areas Microsoft is still working on, he said. The company is also focusing on hardware support, application compatibility, Windows upgrade installation issues and overall performance.

Computerworld will offer more hands-on coverage of Windows Vista Beta 2 soon.