What Windows Vista Brought to Us?

Microsoft has recently launched on the market the new operating system called Windows Vista. This is supposed to replace, in time, Windows XP and, the specialists say that it is improved in every detail. But, what new feature does Windows Vista bring and what do we need to run it?

Well, we had to admit that there are at least three things we like to Windows Vista.

The first one is the Search feature. You no longer need to save your files, or important documents with long file names in order to be able to find them easily; Vista allows you to add specific key-words to your files, tags like "to sell, John", to your photos which could be entitled "Presentation, conference". When you are searching for the word "sell", for instance, all the files that contain that word will be shown as thumbnails, which will make it easier for you to recognize it. So, even if the word "sell" is not in the file’s name, it will still be shown, just because of that tag. Searching for the word "John" you will be presented with the thumbnails of all of the files that contain that word. The module Search does not search only in your files and directories, but also your emails and even the websites you have visited. This brings speed to your work as you can quickly find exactly what you need.

Now we saw which feature brings speed to our work, but we also need, let us all admit it, more security than what Windows XP gave us. While some companies or families bought some extra applications that restrain the access of the employees or of the children in using certain functions of the computer, Microsoft included in its new operating system some similar features. Now, you will be able to restrain the access to certain websites or downloads, to certain programs or games. And, finally something that parents will like is that Vista is able to show you the reports of the visited websites and even of everything a user did on the computer.

Most of all, the most important "new thing" that Vista brought, and the reason why 98% of the consumers installed it is because of its graphics; this is the most visible improvement, and this is the reason why most people like Vista. Microsoft probably knows that when the eyes see something nice, the heart will ask for it. And that’s what they did. The new "Aero" feature improves the look of the Vista operating system and allows you to use Windows Flip 3D, the windows’ translucency and the Live Taskbar Thumbnails. If you place your mouse on a window in the menu bar, you will notice a small pop-up that actually shows you the content of that window in a real-time mode! If you press the "Alt" and "Tab" keys simultaneously you will be presented with a list of all windows, of course in a smaller version. Pressing "Windows button + Tab" it will show you the windows in a 3D format and you can manage them like they would be a stack of cards. And that is really awesome!

Well, Windows Vista brings us a faster search so we can work better, it brings us better security settings, so we can sleep peacefully, and many graphical and visual improvements that will delight our eyes, but there has to be something negative in all this. Actually there is. For many of us, the most important thing that will draw us back from buying Vista in the next few years is the fact that our XP-based computers will not run Vista at the best performances, and it is expansive to upgrade your system. Just think, you need 4-8 times more RAM memory, 10 times more available space on your hard disk and almost 3 times more CPU power compared with Windows XP. Moreover, some computers won’t allow these upgrades. Those ones, and the ones that run previous versions like 98, ME have to be replaced with a new system. Also, Windows Vista license is still very expansive for most of us. If you want more features, you need to pay more.