New Windows Vista Software Offers Premium Features

Windows Vista has many little things that make it so much nicer to use. One of the features you might of heard of is called Aero which a group of functions such as Flip 3D and Glass. Aero is not available in the Windows Home Basic package, so you will have to purchase the Windows Home Premium, Business or Ultimate package.

The Aero feature I like best is called Glass. You can see how the Glass feature works by looking at desktop shortcuts. When you move the cursor over a shortcut you will see a translucent background border as shown in Fig. 1. The translucent part is very nice when you have a picture background.

Fig. 1 Shortcut with focus (look at attached images to see figures 1-4)

Fig. 2 Shortcut without focus (look at attached images to see figures 1-4)

This little improvement is very important for the overall ease of use in Windows Vista.

Another nice feature in Windows Vista is the ability to quickly change the size of the desktop shortcuts image. This is an extremely important feature for those that have a harder time seeing the standard size icons. To change this setting:

1) Right-Click on the desktop

2) Select View

You will see the following options.

Fig. 3 (look at attached images to see figures 1-4)

I prefer the Classic Icon size in conjunction with the larger font size.

The font size settings are an often overlooked feature. Unfortunately the standard font size in Windows Vista is rather small and most users suffer with it as they don't know how to change it. Here is an example (Fig. 4) of the standard font size using the Classic Icon setting.

Fig. 4 (look at attached images to see figures 1-4)

To change the font size of Windows Vista, follow these steps:

1) Right-Click on the desktop

2) Select Personalize

3) Select Adjust Font Size (DPI)

4) Select Larger Scale 120 (DPI) make text more readable

This change will make text in Windows Vista and all other applications easier to read due to the slightly larger font size. I feel this is one of the most important configuration steps that makes using Windows Vista more enjoyable.

Another feature which I really like in Windows Vista Premium is the smooth window opening and closing feature. This might sound like a small thing, but opening and closing windows is a primary function that one does many times throughout the day and it's these little things that make the overall experience so much better.

In closing I feel Microsoft has done a great job with Windows Vista by improving upon the overall look and feel.