Microsoft's Windows Vista - a New Beginning

On 11/30/06 - Microsoft officially rolled out the next version of its flagship Windows operating system, called Windows Vista. The OS has been delayed and wrought by various and sundry difficulties both internal and external (well-documented in the press).

Windows Vista is a serious re-tooling of the functionality with a very wide range of changes in its scope, usages, and interface. Most notably, it features the use of XML (Extenstible Markup Language). The very first thing users will notice is the Graphical User Interface is radically different. Many people have commented that Windows looks more and more like a Macintosh environment. The GUI is very friendly, useful, and pleasing to the eye. File Navigation and Search capabilities are greatly enhanced and must easier to use.

Vista also uses Internet Explorer 7.0 as its core component browser. IE7 introduces greater security and stability into the browsing experience. It also introduces tab browsing which is a very nice feature. Instead of opening multiple browser windows for multiple web pages, IE7 allows you to have one window with multiple tabs for browsing pages; you just leave each tab open within the same windows. Novel idea, eh?

Windows Vista also has a new feature that's called "The Sidebar". Here you can keep various "gadgets" (mini-applications) like a calculator, calendar, clock, weather forecast icons, and more, handy for quick use.

Power management is also improved in Windows Vista with different sleep/hibernation and other power settings. A new feature called "SuperFetch" intelligently prioritized which applications you use most regularly and preloads them into memory, thereby improving system responsiveness.

Windows Vista also includes a new TCP/IP networking stack (IPv6) for increased stability and performance

Windows Media Player 11 (insert Spinal Tap reference here!) is also included as a core technology in Vista. Advanced playlist management, Xbox 360 integration, CD burning, synchronization with other Mp3 players, are just a few of the new features with this player. Microsoft is making a big play for the digital music/media market with this application.

Speech Recognition was only previously available in Microsoft Office. Now it is available OS-wide in Windows Vista, with support for eight languages and a host of features

I believe computer users in home, business, enterprise, and education settings will all be very pleasantly surprised with Windows Vista. When I saw it demos for the first time, I was thoroughly impressed. This article only scratches the surface of this new computer system, but I would encourage you to check it out. Many organizations and institutions will begin phase in Vista in 2007. It has 6 versions for home, home office, business, and enterprise environments.