Why Windows Vista^™ Will Improve
Your Computing Experience

Contributed by Jay Schroyer

It’s been a while since Microsoft has offered users a complete overhaul of their Windows® operating system. Each subsequent release offered small improvements, but most were in security and virus protection. These are great improvements to have, but they didn’t necessarily translate into visual changes that a user could see or improvements in functionality.

The same thing can certainly not be said for Microsoft’s latest release, Windows Vista, due early in 2007. Among a generous list of functionality additions and upgrades, Windows Vista also boasts a sleek and savvy new look that really has to be seen to be fully appreciated. Let’s learn a little more about Windows Vista and why reviewers are hailing it as the greatest improvement ever made to the personal computer operating system.

How is usability increased so drastically in Windows Vista? By using a newly developed graphical technology called Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), Windows Vista is able to offer amazing graphical content in its operating system while avoiding the usual bog down of the system that is experienced by memory-hogging programs.

The WPF sub-system allows you to quickly move the Windows Vista transparent windows without them hesitating or sticking or piling up like a stack of cards. When these sorts of things occur in the older operating systems, it is an example of your program asking too much of your computer and its graphics handling software or hardware. It’s like trying to move a mountain with a wheelbarrow.

Windows Vista is also able to offer better video playback quality since it also falls under the WPF programming. Instead of choppy playback, Windows Vista can provide users with smooth video and audio.

By also switching from raster-based graphics to vector-based graphics, Windows Vista allows users to size objects without any loss of quality to the image. Anytime you enlarge a graphical icon for Windows, you’ll see jagged edges as if the image were made of tiny blocks and indeed, it is because raster relies on individual pixels. As these are blown up, they become quite apparent in their makeup of the object. Since vector relies on formulas of points, lines, and curves, they can be enlarged and still retain their integrity.

Usability & Response
Most users roll their eyes when they hear about new releases of programs they’ve used for years. Most figure that the “improvements” that an upgrade offers are relatively worthless compared to the disadvantage of changing functionality. For the most part, users don’t like change especially if it requires them to practically retrain themselves in how to access their oft-performed functions.

An enticing feature of Windows Vista is that it shouldn’t require any further training in computer skill for users, but promises so much in increased usability.

Microsoft has retained a lot of the usability from the previous Windows system, but has made it even more accessible and visually appealing to users. And by improving the way the operating system utilizes your computers hardware, Windows Vista is able to offer users faster response times.

Microsoft has increased the installation speed for Windows Vista, which provides more time for actually using the system than waiting for it to load onto your machine.

By making open windows in Windows Vista 3D and transparent using the new Windows Aero programming, there’s no more user frustration of having to minimize window after window to view the information contained in the one directly behind the one you’re currently using. The transparent windows are virtually stacked and at an angle and semi-transparent so you can peek at the information contained in each window.

The addition of Internet Explorer® 7 is also a vast improvement allowing for easier web searching through the use of tabs, which are basically visual bookmarks that you can scroll through like the tabs of a file folder. This makes browsing multiple websites a breeze.

By monitoring which programs and documents you access frequently, Windows Vista will enable Windows SuperFetch to keep all of your commonly used applications close at hand for quick loading. No more agonizing waits while your large, memory-hungry programs load.

A Windows Sidebar will now offer you quick and easy access to the information that you need in a blink. Instead of hunting through the Start menu and various sub-menus or creating a clutter of shortcuts on your desktop, the Sidebar will allow you quick access to the information you need most quickly.

Improved photo organization also helps to keep all of your photos organized and in one place and a built-in DVD recording program allows you to copy your favorite DVDs. In older Windows versions, you have to download or purchase a separate program to record your DVD data.

Safety
There’s no point in having the greatest operating system on Earth if it doesn’t protect your most valued information. Windows Vista includes vast improvements in Internet and personal computer security.

Parental controls can be set to keep your children from accessing everything from inappropriate websites to programs on your computer that you’d rather not have them tampering with.

A newly strengthened firewall monitors information that goes in and out of the computer and provides users with some of the best information protection available. Windows Defender will also be included in Vista and will protect your computer from the various terrors of the Internet including viruses, spyware, malware, dialers, and any other downloadable horror you can think of. Should any viruses get past the firewall or Defender, the BitLocker drive encryption will also help to keep your information safe.

Windows Mail, which will replace the antiquated Outlook®, will also include a host of improvements including, and probably most importantly, stronger junk mail filters.

These two topics only scratch the surface of what you’ll find in Windows Vista. Add increased connectivity and a search option that actually helps you find the files you’re looking for on your system and you’ve got a vast improvement to the Windows of the past.

It may seem daunting at first, but the word on the net is that this is one of the most user-friendly operating systems available today. As Windows Vista is released and becomes more commonplace in today’s machines, go to Video Professor® for online Windows Vista tutorials to see if this dynamic operating system from Microsoft is for you.

Microsoft, Windows, Windows Vista, Internet Explorer, and Outlook are trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries. Video Professor is a trademark of Video Professor, Inc., registered in the U.S. and/or other countries.

About the Author:
Jay Schroyer has worked in the client and customer service end of business for over five years in retail, advertising, and printing. He holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in English writing and communication.

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