The first does not involve the usual Vista UAC pop-up. Instead it utilizes the window of the application that triggered the event. I feel that many users do not understand what is being present by the confimation windwow, so rather than asking them to make an immediate decision, the program executes the action in protected mode so that the user can see what might happen before they decide. An example is illustrated below:
The user performed an action that caused the browser to be navigated to Me.com. Rather than asking for confirmation, the browser proceeds to the destination so as to give the user an idea of what their action might lead to. As you can see, the page was loaded with HIGH browser security (e.g. no javascript, applets, cookes, etc...).
The user can now decide if they wish to continue or cancel via the two buttons at the top right. This is more similar to an "Undo" than to preventative/annoying measures.
Below is an alternative Vista UAC confimation dialog. THe key concept is simplification. The original dialog is too verbose. I cut out unnecessary words and descriptions so as to provide only vital information. I also added a "..so what" button that would provide further context and explain possible consequences of the action in question. While there are aspects of the UAC dialog that are confusing and noisy, there are also some features that are helpful. Rather than using ambiguous words like "OK" and "Cancel", they use verbs such as "Allow" and "Don't Allow". Also, the default action is the safer of the two - "Don't Allow".
The biggest problem with these confirmation dialogs is not the dialogs themselves, but rather the system then invokes them. That is a problem for another day...
