Monday, March 12, 2007

Notable new features in Windows Vista

Windows Aero
- redesigned GUI that is clean, eye-pleasing, supports transparencies and animations.

Windows Shell
- significantly different from Windows XP and includes built-in search. Even the Start Menu has changed.

Search
- much faster and more thorough, similar to Window's Desktop Search and Apple's Spotlight.

Windows Sidebar
- new panel on the right that has replaceable Desktop Gadgets (or widgets), e.g. weather.

Internet Explorer
- more secured than before, supports tabbed browsing like Firefox and reads RSS.

Windows Media Player 11
- includes new GUI, search-as-you-type, sharing music and iTunes-like music store called URGE.

Windows Defender and Firewall
- advanced anti-spyware and 2-way firewall now integrated into the OS.

Windows Mail
- replaces Outlook Express with better stability and enhanced features.

Windows SideShow
- supports auxillary displays, e.g. an additional smaller display on the outside of a laptop LCD.

Speech Recognition
- completely integrated into Windows Vista to activate commands and for dictation.

Windows Photo Gallery
- photo and movie app that supports easy importing, editing, slideshows and DVD burning.

Windows Collaboration
- replaces NetMeeting and allows collaboration over the network or P2P technology.

SuperFetch
- speeds up the loading of Windows and other applications by storing them in memory.

ReadyBoost
- temporary performance booster by utilizing any flash disk (e.g. USB drive) as memory.

ReadyDrive
- enables Windows Vista PCs equipped with hybrid hard drives to boot up almost instantly.

DirectX 10
- includes Shader Model 4.0 and Geometry shaders, which require the graphics card to support WDDM. This will allow the GPU to render complex scenes by itself.

Windows Media Center
- previously existed as a separate edition in Windows XP called Windows XP Media Center. It is now built into Windows Vista Home Premium and Ultimate editions.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Great info, thanks !