In the next part of this review I will go into detail on sets of features within Windows Vista. Part Two will talk about the interface and its looks.
As I said in part one, I am not currently running the Aero Interface but I will still review it for you. I would like to point out that your computer must have a DirectX 9.0 3D graphics card of at least 64MB, 128MB is recommended.
Windows
The new windows look much better, the titlebar and sides of the window are all semi-translucent and you can change the tint of the glass effect and transparency so you can tailor it to how you want it.
Opening, closing and minimizing effects look beautiful as it smoothly fades out.
New titlebar buttons glow as you hover over them which makes the whole windows look much better. Microsoft’s take on the windows is that rather than focusing on the bold windows borders like in Windows XP, you are focusing on the content inside that window.
Flip and Flip 3D
This is a more advanced feature based on the Alt + Tab function in previous editions of Windows (if you don’t know what Alt + Tab do, it switches between open windows).
Flip is based on the old style Alt + Tab, a simple bar appears and you choose the window by pressing Tab until you find the window. There are however, some differences. Obviously, the back of the windows adopts the glass effect. Also, when you press Tab the list of open applications smoothly moves to the next.
Flip 3D is the more advanced version of Flip, you may have seen this in adverts for Windows Vista because it is such an impressive feature to look at. So what does it do? Well, it takes all of the open windows and stacks them at an angle, as you move between them, the next active window comes to the top and the whole things looks professional and attractive, although I don’t see why many people would use it, most people will just use Alt + Tab (or Flip) for quickness.
Windows Sidebar
Windows Sidebar went through many stages throughout the 5 or 6 years of Vista development, from being included, to not, to being included again but not as a default part of the OS, rather just an Accessory program.
The sidebar is a bit low on options, you can set it to start with windows, but you have to either choose it to appear over the top of your windows or just on the desktop, however if you have it on top then your windows are a lot smaller, really I think that MS should have included an auto hide function.
The sidebar is just seen as a base where you can add gadgets. These are very small applications that carry out simple functions like tell the time, news headlines and search the internet. You can download more gadgets from the Windows Live Gallery and you can add, remove and rearrange your gadgets as you want to. You can also drag your gadgets on to the desktop and use them like Mac’s widgets.
Start Menu
The new start menu looks much better, if you are running Aero then you will get a transparent effect similar to the glass look on your windows. Menus have now disappeared and you now simply choose your application from the list which uses a treelike interface, or you could just use Start search, which I will go into more detail in a later part.
The start menu “orb” looks better than previous start buttons with a sphere look so that it sticks out from the taskbar.
Now as you hover over a function on the right hand side, your user account image smoothly changes to the icon of the task hovered over. There are also new buttons to shut down, restart, logoff etc. but there is a button simly dedicated to shut down your computer without any messages asking what you want to do, you simply click the button and your computer will shut itself down.
Desktop Backgrounds
This is only a small feature of Windows Vista, however it is worth a simple note, the new wallpapers look brilliant and with so many available you will be spoilt for choice. Screensavers are also good but you will need a good graphics card to run them. There is only two main themes, Windows Aero and Windows Basic, although Windows Aero can be customised. There is also the old Windows themes like Windows Classic.
Icons
Icons can now be different sizes, you can have large, medium or small icons on your desktop, and when you hover over them a filter is added on top which is personally a bit annoying. The icons themselves have also improved immensely, they look much better than in previous versions, for example in the folders icon the files in that folder are sort of shown within the icon, you can see this in the image opposite.
Windows Basic Interface
In earlier builds of the OS the basic interface was rubbish and you felt punished for using it, however in the final build it is much better, it bears resemblance to both the Aero interface and the previous Windows XP. You don’t get the glass effects but you still get a more attractive interface with professional effects and icons. If you do not have the appropriate graphics card installed then this will become your interface, I am running Vista with an AGP 4MB card, so you don’t need much.
Conclusion
Windows Vista has massively improved in it’s looks, it is now black rather than blue and everything in the OS looks graphically better, even when you copy or delete a file the dialog box that appears has a brilliant animation to it. Even if you cannot run Windows Aero, Windows Basic interface works brilliantly and you will still notice significantly better looks.
Next Review…
In Part Three of Windows Vista Review from Tech Review Zone, I will go into detail with Windows Vista’s applications and program support. Check back soon to read part 3.
Simon North, 5th February 2007
Some pictures have been taken from www.windowsvista.com.
