Five reasons to love Windows Vista
On the fence about the new operating system? Here are some positive aspects to Windows Vista.
Windows Vista includes a new graphics system known as AERO. Microsoft has done away with vector graphics on icons and thumbnails in Windows Explorer. Here, you see actual images of the photos in a folder on Windows Vista. Other image enhancements include the ability to preview open tasks along the taskbar, more stable DVD playback, and the ability to flip through a stack of open tasks using the Tab key plus the Windows key.
Included within all editions of Windows Vista is built-in search and tagging. This allows you to create virtual folders of searched content. Say you're doing a report on mountains, any file that is keyword-enabled to include "mountains" will be grouped into a virtual folder without requiring you to physically drag that file to a new location. The downside is that older files (say, you upgraded your system from Windows XP or imported data from an earlier version of Windows) will have to be retroactively metatagged to be searchable.
Windows Media Center, using an extender on a Microsoft Xbox system, allows you to play rich multimedia content from your computer on your home gaming or theater system. The new Media Center can also record TV shows, subscribe to online-only TV broadcasts, and view or play images or music stored in libraries on any Windows Vista computer on your home network.
Although the ambitious new WinFS file system was scrapped early on, Microsoft hints at its future functionality within Windows Vista. Gone are the backslashes and the directory-tree structure. Now you can save your favorite searches as virtual files to create ad hoc collections without dragging and dropping files. You can also make files public to share with others.
Perhaps the first feature you'll notice is the new sidebar on your desktop and the three default Gadgets, Microsoft's version of Apple's Widgets. The default Gadgets display the current time, photos from the library, and any Internet Explorer 7 RSS subscription feeds, with an option to add more Gadgets to suit your needs.
More Galleries
My Favorite Shots From the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Camera
My Favorite Shots From the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Camera
20 Photos
Honor's Magic V2 Foldable Is Lighter Than Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra
Honor's Magic V2 Foldable Is Lighter Than Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra
10 Photos
The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Looks Sweet in Aluminum
The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Looks Sweet in Aluminum
23 Photos
Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra Now Has a Titanium Design
Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra Now Has a Titanium Design
23 Photos
I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites
I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites
34 Photos
17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About
17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About
18 Photos
AI or Not AI: Can You Spot the Real Photos?