Although I loved the Aero look, I hated the non-customizable bloated controls which is one big reason why I ended up using XP x64. PS and Bridge CS3 run fine and I assign it all 3.2GB of memory it sees out of my 8GB, and I don't have a bloated UI.
For the firewall I believe you need to block Adobe Updater, not PS or Bridge.
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I know. I hate that non customizable interface. It's not just Aero, it's any themse you use, including Windows Classic. You get the new command bar, and you cannot customize anything on it.
I have no idea whey MS blocked power users from customizing windows explorer.
There is a better solution for those who do not wish to move to XP64. I still may do that in the future. it just depends on how bad Vista really gets.
There is an explorer shell that has been around for years. It functions like the old Norton DOS navigation program called Norton Commander. Yuo get a side by side layout instead of having to always open two Explorer windows.
XPs explorer was pretty good, so I never bought it. I may buy it for Vista.
I don't know what this new phenomenon is sweeping the world, but it's like corporations want total control of what everyone does and can do without exception. I think a lot of that is because there is really no competition between oligopoly type corporations--Oil companies, MS, power distribution companies--in the US anymore.
Here is California the power companies lobbied the State senate for years to deregulate power. They finally did and it cost the then Governor--Davis--his job. Overnight power prices in our state quadrupled. The lie was that if we allow deregulation, there will be more competition, and lower prices. That never happened, and the prices are still 4 times what they were with regulation.
This same phenomenon is quite obvious with Adobe also and Bonjour. Despite what Adobe says, Bonjour is spyware. No, it doesn't give your passwords to Adobe, but it does phone home without you knowing about it. The reason I know this is because I shut off all Adobe updates and Bonjour still when right to their website--by a round about IP address. No one I have read in forums wants this piece of software on their systems, but since Adobe is for all practical purposes a monopoly on power graphics programs, they can do what they want.
You can't even remove bonjour manually without losing network access--it destroys your win sock and TCPIP settings. I have read recently that there is a way to rip bonjour out of your system successfully. After I actually get back to work after learning how to work with Vista, I'll post the method. And one last thing about Bonjour is that even if it is not classifiable as spyware for definitional purposes, consider this: You can't remove it because it is self replicating and roots itself inside Windows processes, ah, just like a Worm virus does and back door programs. In fact, it's close to a root kit because it is seen as part of the Windows system by Windows defender and DEP and allowed to run, but is not considered by Windows to be spyware.
The only way to block this in Vista is with a Vista Firewall because Vista's firewall will not even ask you if you want it to access the internet--it just lets it go.
As of today, there are NO major Vista compatible firewalls, not even from Zone Alarm.
I found one that does a great job of blocking outgoing traffic. It's small and bare bones, but does the job and asks you each time a program wants internet access. I've tested it at Hackerwatch.org and at PC Flank. One website said it left ports open, while anotehr said it did not. I don't know if it will allow connections to them though. It does block all outgoing traffic well, however. They ahve a pay version that gives 7you much more information. The one I have is the free version. It is free, no nags, nothing. You can get it here:
[a href=\"http://www.sphinx-soft.com/Vista/index.html]http://www.sphinx-soft.com/Vista/index.html[/url]
Remember to that one of the absolutely best firewalls out tehre, called Comodo, is not in Vista development. Test I read had it blocking ALL known backdoor programs from accessing the internet, only one of two that did that. It is totally free for the full version:
http://www.personalfirewall.comodo.com/