Windows Vista is a great operating system, with many wonderful new features and a huge improvement over its predecessor Windows XP. Is it perfect? No, of course not – it’s made by man (man is imperfect, ergo so is what he creates). But, Windows Vista at its current version (SP1), certainly does not deserve the bad press it gets and the negative impression of consumers certainly has more to do with past experiences or statements from others, than the current reality.
There are many, many things to like about this OS. Here are a few features worth looking at:
1. The Visual User Interface is Stunning
Whether you like Vista or not, you have to admit, it's pretty – in fact, it’s down right stunning to look at. Everything visually about Vista is better: The high quality resolution displays, menus and transitions between screens and open windows provide the user a much more appealing experience.
The Sidebar on the right-hand part of the screen has these little programs called Gadgets. These programs rest on the desktop and automatically update as necessary. Not only does Microsoft provide a bunch of them, but there are literally thousands of free ones on Microsoft’s web site.
3. Snipping Tool Takes Great Screen Shots
This tool fills a much needed vacuum for taking screen shots. Before Vista, using the Print Screen or Alt and Print Screen were the only choices. For anyone that needs to take a screen shot to share with someone else, this tool is great, easy to use and more specific than previous methods.
4. SP1 Is Compatible With Third Party Hardware
Initially, Vista did not work with many third party drivers and hardware. With SP1 most of the pain and problems associated with this have gone. Recently, I installed a fresh copy of Vista on my laptop. Not only did the SP1 version install flawlessly, it recognized all my devices and I did not have to install additional drivers that would probably just have slowed down the system.
5. It Organized Files More Efficiently
Consider for a moment that you still use XP. You have the "My Documents" folder as the default for your work, photos and music. You must create the unique file folders to house those all those files. That's fine, if you are an organized person that can remember where everything is located.
With Vista you have default folders already created for your documents, pictures, videos, music, contacts, favorites, downloads, links, searches and saved games. You can change these if you want, but it sure is nice to have that already set up and ready to go.
6. Good Multimedia Experience
The overall multimedia experience is better and more integrated than with XP. I found files that would not work in XP, just work perfectly in Vista – MP3 Video to be specific.
7. Windows Calendar, Contacts and Mail
With Windows Vista you get a fully functioning calendar, contacts database and email. It is like getting the Outlook program for free. You can access each program within the other as if they were one program. You could pay more money to get a few more features with an Email program like Outlook, but why would you when these are so feature rich. I am actually very surprised that Microsoft is giving these away with Vista.
8. Windows Backup and Restore Center
The problem of how to backup and restore Windows computers has been a boon for third party software makers for years, because Windows had no application to provide that function. Windows Vista has a really good, free backup and restore program that will protect either your whole computer or just your work files. It’s easy to use and works well.
9. It's Free and Included With New Computers
You do not have to downgrade and pay for XP to get a great operating system. Windows Vista really is a great OS and will do more for you than XP, if you just take a chance and try it. Learning to use it is easy because not only is there a lot of information available online, but Vista's Help has video tutorials that are very helpful.
10. Easy of Access Center & Mobile PC Center
The Ease of Access Center allows users to adjust a variety of settings for display, input devices such as touch pads, mouse and keyboard as well as using a Magnifier and on-screen keyboard display. The Mobile PC Center allows users to configure laptop mobility settings, power options, desktop appearance, Tablet PC settings, special input devices and has a Sync Center for synchronizing windows applications with other computers, mobile devices and network folders.
11. Improved Help Section
The Windows Help has been completely redone. It contains lots of information, videos and wizards to make the support experience better. There are also connections to online Microsoft support for those with more questions or problems not addressed in the local help information.
