Windows Vista introduces a breakthrough user experience and is designed to help you feel confident in your ability to view, find, and organize information and to control your computing experience.
The visual sophistication of Windows Vista helps streamline your computing experience by refining common window elements so you can better focus on the content on the screen rather than on how to access it. The desktop experience is more informative, intuitive, and helpful. And new tools bring better clarity to the information on your computer, so you can see what your files contain without opening them, find applications and files instantly, navigate efficiently among open windows, and use wizards and dialog boxes more confidently.
Ease of use
When you start using Windows Vista, you will recognize familiar elements such as the Start menu, which is now faster, more streamlined, and more helpful than in previous versions of Windows. The Start menu features integrated desktop search through a new feature called Instant Search which can help you find and launch almost anything on your PC. Just type in a word, a name, or a phrase, and Instant Search can find the right file for you. But more than that, the new start menu makes it very easy for you to navigate across all of the installed applications on your PC. Eliminating the slow performing, cascading “All Programs” view, the new start menu can help you get something started more quickly than ever.
Windows Aero
Windows Vista is the first Windows operating system that has a user experience that can gracefully scale to the hardware capabilities of the computer it is installed on. All computers that meet minimal hardware requirements will see the Windows Vista Basic user experience, which provides the benefits of the refined interface features already mentioned.
Windows Aero is an environment with an additional level of visual sophistication, one that is even more responsive and manageable, providing a further level of clarity and confidence to Windows users.
Live taskbar thumbnails
Resting the mouse pointer over a taskbar item displays a live thumbnail of the window, showing the content of that window. The live thumbnail is displayed whether the window is minimized or not, and whether the content of the window is a document, photo, or even a running video or process.
Windows Flip and Windows Flip 3D
Windows Vista provides two entirely new features to manage windows: Windows Flip and Windows Flip 3D. Flip allows you to flip through open windows (by using Alt+Tab), providing a live thumbnail of each window, rather than just a generic icon and file name. Live thumbnails make it easier to quickly identify the window you want, particularly when multiple windows of the same kind are open. With Flip 3D, you can use the scroll wheel on your mouse to flip through open windows in a stack, and quickly locate and select the one you want to work with.
Security
Windows Vista is engineered to be the most secure version of Windows yet. The new features in Windows Vista help to give you the control and confidence you need to get the most out of your PC.
Windows Vista contains a number of new security features that, taken together, are designed to make Windows Vista–based PCs more secure and your online experiences safer. The improvements are designed to help you have:
2. A safer online experience for you and your family
3. An understanding of when your PC is unsafe, and the control and guidance to help improve your security
User Account Control in Windows Vista improves the safety and security of your computer by giving you the ability to decide if certain potentially dangerous software is allowed to make changes to your computer. It works with Windows Defender and Internet Explorer to help reduce the impact of viruses, spyware, and other threats. With User Account Control and the new Parental Controls in Windows Vista, you can easily create a separate account for each member of the family and control which websites, programs, and games each person can use and install. This helps protect your family and keeps your computer running smoothly.
Better protection from malware
Malware, such as viruses, worms, spyware, and other potentially unwanted software, can cause a wide range of problems, including theft of personal information, slower PC performance, and the appearance of unwanted advertising (such as pop–up ads). The effects of malware can range from mere annoyances to significant problems that take a considerable amount of time and money to fix.
Security alerts enable you to quickly resolve potentially damaging issues that can harm your Windows Vista PC.
Together, these tools can help you protect your PC from malicious software.
Search and Organization
Windows Vista gives you more flexibility when you search and organize your files. New controls, like the Instant Search box and Enhanced Column Headers, make it simple for you to manage large amounts of on–screen data in any way that you want.
Windows Internet Explorer 7
Windows Vista enhances the Internet Explorer experience. The upcoming release of Internet Explorer 7 not only adds important new security and privacy features, but makes everyday tasks easier through features such as tabbed browsing, inline search, and shrink–to–fit printing.
Windows Sidebar and Gadgets
As you use your computer to access more information, perform more tasks, and interact with more software applications, you increasingly face information overload. You open a web browser just to check the weather, open an application to view your calendar, and open a calculator program to simply add numbers. You need simple, specialized, and lightweight mini–applications that put information and tasks at your fingertips—no matter what you’re doing.
Windows Sidebar boosts your personal productivity by providing instant access to gadgets—a wide variety of engaging, easy–to–use, and customizable mini–applications that offer information at a glance and provide easy access to frequently used tools.
Performance
Windows Vista is designed to help make you more productive as you work with your PC throughout the day with new features like Sleep, Windows SuperFetch, Windows ReadyBoost, and Windows ReadyDrive.
Windows SuperFetch helps manage memory to get the most out of available RAM while Windows ReadyBoost helps make PCs more responsive by using flash memory devices (like USB thumb drives) to boost performance. Windows ReadyDrive takes advantage of new hybrid hard disks—hard disks with integrated flash memory—to help improve battery life, performance, and reliability. With Windows Vista, your system is ready when you are.
Windows Backup
Windows Vista provides valuable new innovations to help ensure you never lose information that is important to you. Windows Vista offers multiple layers of backup and restore protection from hardware failure, user error, or other issues. These innovations include system restore enhancements, a new feature called Windows Backup, and a related feature: Previous Versions, based on the Volume Shadow Copy technology which was first introduced with the Windows Server product family. These features are presented in a single, unified Windows Backup and Restore Center.
Networking
Windows Vista includes new networking features that make your network easier to set up, easier to use, and more secure and reliable. Connect wirelessly to your company's network, share an Internet connection and printers, copy files between computers, or enjoy your favorite entertainment around your home. Whether at home, a small business, or a large enterprise, Windows Vista makes connectivity easier so you can focus on what matters to you.
Windows SideShow
If you use a laptop computer, you know that starting up your laptop just to check a message or find an address or phone number isn’t always practical.
Speech Recognition
Speech Recognition in Windows Vista empowers you to interact with your computer by voice. It allows you to significantly limit your use of mouse and keyboard while maintaining or increasing productivity. You can dictate documents and e–mail messages in mainstream applications, fill out forms on the web using voice commands, and seamlessly manage Windows Vista and applications by saying what you see.
Help and Feedback
With a number of features to streamline problem resolution, Windows Vista is designed to provide better self–help and improve centralized tools for support professionals.
Windows Update
Windows Update helps to keep your computer up to date and more secure by providing Microsoft Windows Vista software updates. You can configure Windows Update to automatically download and install updates for you. You can essentially “set it and forget it.”
In Windows Vista, the capabilities of Windows Update are extended beyond the features available in Windows XP and make updating easier and less disruptive.
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Manufacturer: Microsoft
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Vista, XP Home, XP Media Center, XP Professional, XP Professional x64, XP Tablet PC Edition, have all been reviewed with the latest versions of Windows Operating System.
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