Windows Vista: An Overview

Long awaited,much delayed and greatly anticipated,Microsoft's hefty upgrade to the Windows order of operating system is finally here.Windows Vista is a milestone that has taken Microsoft over five years to reach.And it has arrived with a confident gait of being far more advanced and robust an operating syatem than its venerable sibling Win XP.While a spanking new graphical user interface is its shiniest promise,security and stability are its stoutest pledges.


WHAT NEW DOES WINDOWS VISTA OFFER?
There are many new genies in the Vista bottle.Her are some of the most vital features:

1. Windows Aero:A redesigned GUI that works and looks better with juicy eye candy like translucent windows,live thumbnails and animations.
2. Instant Search:it is not as instant as greased lightening but it is faster and more diligent than before.
3. Windows Sidebar: a new side panel that features user selected gadgets to display,run and control various little applets for the weather,news etc. on the desktop.
4. Internet Explorer 7: it is an improved web browser,which is securer,RSS capable and with tabbed interface.
5. Windows Media Player 11:Big rework here with a new interface for the media library,photo display and organisation,search as you type capabilities, and music sharing.
6. Windows Defender and Firewall:Advanced anti-spyware and a two-way firewall have now incorporated within th OS.
7. Windows Mail:A replacement for Outlook Express,this offers better stability,real time search,junk mail filtering and anti-phishing.
8. Windows Calendar:A new system-wide calendar and task management tool.
9. Speech Recognition:Completely integrated with the OS it offers a wide and flexible set of commands and extensive control capabilities for voice activation and control.
10. Ready Boost:A temporary performance booster that uses any available flash memory for disk caching.
11. Windows Slideshow:Allows for additional display on laptops and windows mobile devices.
12. Windows Photo Gallery:A photo and movie library managemant application.Also imports,edits and creates slideshows.
13. Windows DVD Maker:A natural companion programme to Windows Movie Maker.Helps in creation of video DVDs.
14. Network Centre:Eases netwoking,network mapping and troubleshooting for PCs and devices in home and business setups with single interface.
15. Super Fetch:Enables frequently used programmes and files to load faster by storingthem in memory.

WHAT ARE VISTA's HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS?
To install Vista Home Basic edition,you need at least an 800-Mhz or faster processor,512MB of RAM,800 by 600 SVGA graphics,20GB HDD with atleast 15GB free,DVD-ROM drive,and audio output.
If you want all the bells and whistles that Vista's Aero GUI can ofer on the other Vista's editions,1GB of RAM,40GB of HDD with at least 15GB available, A graphics APIs with pixel shader 2.0 3D texturing,supports a Windows Vista Display Driver Model(WDDM) driver and atleast 128 MB of graphics memory,with 32 bits per pixel support is what is needed.


HOW DO I KNOW IF MY PC IS VISTA READY?
Point your browser to Microsoft's Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor(www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/buyorupgrade/upgradeadvisor.mspx)for a through check or stop by at PC Pitshop(www.pcpitstop.com/vistaready) for fast comparision between what you have and you ought to have.

Source :Hindustan Times Horizons
Compiled By:Saurav Chakraborty