Introduction | Windows Vista pros | Windows Vista cons
Windows Vista pros: What I love about Windows Vista
On this page, you'll learn about the new features within the Windows Vista operating system that I think you'll like. Since the Windows Vista Aero graphics system, which I like, will work only with certain high-end hardware configurations, I've focused here on features I like within Vista that do not require Aero. At the moment, all of these features are scheduled to be included in the Home Premium and Business editions of Windows Vista. If you're mainly interested in what's wrong with the new operating system, move on to the next page, where you can learn more about glitches we've encountered so far.
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1. Search or create virtual files Forget directories, forget directory trees. Microsoft has integrated search throughout its new operating system, and you'll quickly come to wonder how you lived without it. You can search for all documents authored by John Doe, then save the search as a virtual file folder for later reference without having to physically relocate or make copies of all those files. |
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2. Widgets -- er, Gadgets In Windows Vista, Microsoft allows you to drag and drop Gadgets (think Widgets on the Apple OS X desktop) to tell time, calculate currency, or tackle any trivial task you perform regularly that would be handier if it were always on top of your current screen. Presently, you can acquire Gadgets, or Widgets, for your Windows XP machine from online sites such as Windows Live. In the near future, Microsoft says you'll be able to write your own Windows Vista Gadgets, allowing you to really personalise your desktop. |
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3. Built-in diagnostics Programs won't run, the operating system crashes -- Microsoft says these will be in the past with Vista. So far, we've seen more dialogs, from explaining why an application won't run to warning us that there are driver conflicts that prevent our laptop system from going to sleep. For example, Vista will listen to your hard drive and report pending problems, giving you ample warning to back up your data. There's also a Problems Report and Solutions monitor where you can see what problems Vista has encountered, and then go online to find possible solutions. And, have you ever noticed how Windows computers get slower with age? That's because files get separated from each other on your hard drive and require occasional defragmentation. Most of us never do it, in part because it uses too many system resources. In Vista, the process is automatic and runs in the background, so you won't even notice it. |
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4. Need more oomph? Vista will find it for you Need more RAM? How about borrowing some from that 256MB or greater USB drive? In Windows Vista, the new Windows ReadyBoost feature can swap flash memory with any large USB device. If your laptop has a new hybrid hard drive, the Windows ReadyDrive can improve your system's overall performance, battery life, and reliability by taking advantage of the drive's built-in flash capabilities. New Windows SuperFetch can cache on your hard drive frequently used apps based on the frequency of use so that, for example, every Monday morning when you arrive at your desk for work, you can count on Outlook and your Internet browser to launch quickly. Also, finally, there's a new feature called Low-priority Input/Output that should keep you productive: in Windows Vista, user applications will get higher priority with system resources than antivirus or defragmentation processes. |
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5. Enhanced help Help used to be limited to a few pithy sentences about the task you want to perform. Windows Vista changes all that. There are more options available within Help inside Vista. For example, you can initiate a remote-assistance session so that someone you trust can take over your PC remotely and diagnose a problem or perform a task for you. You can also go online and search Microsoft's knowledge base or contact Microsoft's technical support. One really cool feature, however, is labelled Do It Automatically. Here, a task such as checking the version of a driver will be automated, with your desktop going dark as a pointer arrow floats over the screen indicating what to click and where. From time to time, the pointer will stop and a dialog box will require your input before it continues to perform the task. While there are only 15 of these automated help sessions within the current Windows Vista beta 2 release, we hope Microsoft adds more. |
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SaleemBaig
15/01/2007 04:37 AM
very nice and the best I cons and wallpapers are available by vista.
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Painless
31/01/2007 04:24 PM
To the person above me.. Best icons and wallpapers? I completely editted my Icons and Wallpaper to what I wanted. In my opinion, Vista is a copy of XP with a different look. Only main thing I like is WINFS. If XP had WINFS it'd be god.
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Darksky
14/02/2007 12:44 AM
Buy It... Best Way To Do Things...
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terry
08/03/2007 11:12 AM
vista is a extremely poor operating system a cop out of xp just another con way for microsoft to make money
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GA BOY
16/03/2007 06:48 AM
Vista, you still haven't convinced me why I should dump my XP! Vista is a clone of XP with higher requirements!
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deimos
31/03/2007 04:40 AM
To the guy mentioning WinFS in Vista, they did not release WinFS yet. It got pushed back to the next Windows release which is probably going to be around the 2008-2010 range. As of now, Vista is still running NTFS.
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rogan
09/04/2007 03:31 PM
WINDOWS VISTA IS REALLY GREAT OPERATING SYSTEM DUE TO THE FOLLOWING PROVEN REASON: 1)Detects hardware problems before they occur, which is designed to reduce the frequency of incidents in which applications stop responding or the PC needs to be restarted. 2)Windows Vista security features protect against the latest generation of threats, such as worms, viruses and spyware. If an attacker manages to compromise a computer, Windows Vista limits the damage. 3)Security features protect against the latest generation of threats, such as worms, viruses and spyware. If an attacker manages to compromise a computer, Windows Vista limits the damage. 4)Faster start-up time and low power consumption of the new sleep state. In many cases, Windows Vista is noticeably more responsive than Windows XP on identical hardware. 5)Windows Vista simplifies and centralizes desktop configuration management, reducing the cost of keeping systems updated.
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vista_is_wierd
01/07/2007 11:58 AM
I think Vista is great. I especially love the Windows Sidebar Acessory. But sometimes it gets so annoying because it's slow and asks you EVERY (I Repeat, EVERY) SINGLE time to allow something to download, or say yes to.
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lockieboy46
19/07/2007 04:12 PM
the only good thing is its got dx10 and microsoft is probably not going to make it for xp to shove vista down our throats
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Wallace J Mason
05/08/2007 11:55 AM
good comments Would like to see the annoyances removeable
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tari
09/08/2007 11:29 PM
not to sure about it yet I just got it on my laptop (brandnew laptop) and atm its 2 weird Id go change it and put XP on it but I have fingerprint scan thing on my laptop and Im afraid it wont work if I put it on there
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tbangm
16/08/2007 02:34 AM
i would like to know more about how wincows vista is better than windows xp.
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Sphinx
24/08/2007 04:30 PM
Vista stinks. It's a poor rip off of OSX with 1,000 pop ups. And I can't sync my iPod. The whole thing freezes up. It took Microsoft this long to produce XP with brighter colors? XP is better.
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Robert
17/11/2007 10:23 PM
windows vista is great in terms of detecting drivers of your machine. almost of your peripherals in your computer can detect by vista with no hassle,, security icons wallpapers desktop services and the best things is windows vista has this rule "prevention rather than detection" more power to microsoft
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lalo perstonatoe
24/02/2008 08:47 AM
vista is a great system but personaly i think Os 10 is better. It is simpler and dosent have all of the anoying pop ups.
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Realist
09/03/2008 07:44 AM
Windows Vista is the biggest and most expensive piece of spyware I've seen. It's requirements are so high because it has to monitor everything you do. I have been pulled out of several games to answer a stupid pop-up. Someone needs to make a pop-up blocker for Vista, forget the internet for a minute. The only reason I am not a full-time linux user is because windows does games much better. I can't seem to get rid of Internet Explorer from my Start bar... hmmm.... That seems a little unethical IMHO.
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Marvelous
18/04/2008 04:35 AM
I don't think that will be a good idea, since everyone is used to using Windows XP. It doesn't hurt to give it a try
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Daine Williams
18/04/2008 04:56 AM
I am experiencing a problem, but I don't know if it is a Vista problem. While I am typing my cursor will disappear, and sometimes it moves and startes typing into my sentences above. Also sometimes when I backspace, it takes me from the page I am typing on to the previous page, or while typing it will move down the page on it's own.
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edgar
18/04/2008 05:01 AM
Premium Home edition seems more complicated and has a lot of "stuff" attached that most people don't need or want.
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Mary Escamilla
18/04/2008 05:02 AM
I can not add i-tunes because of Vista and I am not sure where to get help!
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tresh
18/04/2008 05:08 AM
Vista is still at its infant stage, despite the new SP release.. It's got a long way to go until it reaches the stability of XP. IMO, it's overloaded with unwanted software and resource hogging add-ons and the most annoying thing is, you can't disable them. Also, it crashes like crazy...
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TFJotinCMDR
18/04/2008 05:18 AM
ok, first off, any operating system sucks if stupid people have it. I agree with the driver issue, but xp had the same issues when it first came out. And the laptop thing is true, but it is just as easy to turn of areo in vista as it was to change the color of xp in xp. Now with the user acount protection, there is a super easy way to turn it off. What are we? super lazy to the point were we cant just go under users in control panel and turn it off? what? And for the higher requirments, um, I guess you guys dont know how to configure an os. I got vista ultimate to work on my 512 mb ram, p4 processor computer with built in graphics. You just have to configure it right. Its super slick on my new computer. As for Mac, yeah, they just keep updating their current os and are ridding on the stupid people not being able to have enough intelligence to sit down for 5 minutes to figure out a new os.
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Miss Kimber
18/04/2008 05:47 AM
I agree with some of the other comments. This is a very expensive test model already on the market. I also will be typing and the curser go, who knows where then when I try to print it goes into a coma. I have to make sure everything is saved, restart maybe 2 or three times. This really adds to an enjoyable 10-hour day. To the person who invented thisn joke, thank you so much, I know you're enjoying my money.
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nbeiersdorf
18/04/2008 05:48 AM
iam using a used computer so do i have to use money which is scarse to buy vista ?
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aguywhodoesntlikevista
18/04/2008 05:52 AM
i think vista in its current state (April 17, 2008) is not worth buying. It still needs alot of improvements and changes. Its a better idea to stick to XP at the momment. I think in the future, perhaps a couple years from now, it will be a worthy operating system, but currently, its trash. (first hand experience)
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dilema101
18/04/2008 05:59 AM
vista is very slow at start up, and shut down.It is not compatible with a lot of apps.To tell ther truth, I have an HP pavillion notebook, didn't have it but a couple months, had to send it back with os issues.In less than a years time it has been sent out to HP 4 times.They have had it since 2-20-08, waqiting on the part, cause they have had to put 2 motherboards in it.My advice to anyone who has reservations about vista, please don't buy an HP, or you will had more bad issues adding to microsoft os issues.....
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unsure user
18/04/2008 06:18 AM
I purchased my lap top at the end of '07 not knowing anything about vista and very little about any computer at all. Yes ive had some of the same problems other people here have mentioned. Like the curser moving around to a differnt place while I was typing, and Ive had this thing crash more times than Evil Kinevil. Ive even had to restore it back to factory image.But im not mad about it or even displeased with Vista. I solved the problem with the curser jumping around while i typed. I just make sure that when I type I dont touch the pointer device, and it dont move the curser to some weird place. As for the crashing well it still is a new O/S and microsoft will get the bugs worked out eventually. The factory image restore I had to do. Well I blame that on my own self stupidity. I should have understood atleast the basics of Vista before I purchased it.
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fastlap4fun
18/04/2008 06:27 AM
TFJotinCMDR, great comments but alittle harsh. xp had a lot of bugs because it was born from 3 of the worst os's ever made. 98, 98 se 98 se w/sp, nt 4.0, me, all that to get 2000. which in my mind if you can get the security just right is an awesome os. xp is just a beefer version of 2kp with better file sec and more hardware asso. xpp and it's ugly bro xphome had many and i do mean many problems, and still having problems. did ms think they could just hope that all the hardware makers would just give in to the masses and make drivers and firmware avaliable. xpp, when configured almost to the point of osx or tiger or even panther is a hardy and ultra reliable os. it's taken 8 years for ms to finally get something to work great and now they dump it go fig. as we speak i have 2 vista ult, 4 2kp, 13 xpp and a couple of suise comps running. as the above person stated vista runs great on a system with low req. u have 512 ram w/builtin graphs, a p4 probably oc to the max and vista ult. thats why it works. simple hardware. small ram so vista finds other ways to cache it. int/graph, vista doesnt have to find it because its there already. going into the control panel and just start disabling things is not good either. vista req and xpp reqs are mostly common. each uses from the other like 2kp and xpp. without 2kp there would be no xp. without nt 4.0, 4.1, 4.3, 4.5, and nt 5.0, there would be no 2kp. me was junk so i wont even bother. the 2 vista ults are in 2 small desks. both are running the smallest cpus and cheapest i could find, cel430. both have 500gb hdd, 1gig 444, onboard graphs and these things run great. cheap sys and great running. the 2kp are all servers running diff server software, i think some even dual boot with open bsd. but my pride and joys are the xps. these are some of the fastest tops that have been made. five are c2dquads and these things bust **** as a sever, dual booted with 2003 these things are bullet proof. the rest of the xps are a mishmash of everything that was leftover after my feeding frenzy with quads, i really hurt myself. and the linux we all know that command line knowledge is a must as is mac, and 98, 98se, me, nt 4.0/12345, 2kp,xpp,xphme and vista. people we need to get back to the roots. vista has pop ups find out where they came from and disable it. sec log warning can also be disabled. so can the hardware and driver asso event log.
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Mike
18/04/2008 07:21 AM
My Biggest concern with vista is home networking. You can not easily add a printer thats on a different computer, I was on the phone with both Microsoft and Dell about this problem none was able to fix it. My solution Downgrade to xp did the trick. and now that they are retiring XP I feel as though this should be fix
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brick
18/04/2008 08:12 AM
I think vista has the potential to be as good as XP but at the moment it is a frustration. There is alot of programs that cannot run on vista yet which is a certian way to lose money...
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Asia Blue
18/04/2008 09:09 AM
Windows XP sux b/c nothing is up to date with it yet and it has had me in the hot seat for several of my class because the doucments don't go through! You people are insane it doesn't deserve half of the praise your giving it!
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Edgarsk8
18/04/2008 10:06 AM
The User Account Control is awful! Is the worst thing ever! But the good thing is that you can disable it. Other thing, i have Vista right now, but i also have both CDs for XP and for Vista (legally), i don't know what to do, if continue with Vista or change to XP.
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old.fashioned.lady61@hotmail.com
24/04/2008 06:23 PM
I think that Vista stinks! I have had nothing but trouble and aggrevation with it and now my laptop is corrupted and it looks like I may have to buy another laptop
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Susyspider
03/06/2008 12:30 AM
Um, people with Vista, do you have systems fast enough to run it?? I'm getting scared of the comments... I'm about to buy a new computer, it comes with Windows Vista Home Premium, and I can't make anything to change the OS to Windows XP... Anyway, I'm getting a couple of upgrades for my XPS (faster processor, 4 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive {7200 rpm} and a 256 MB Video Card, so Vista should work okay on it, right? Right???
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Get over it
28/06/2008 05:46 AM
I think the majority of people complaining about Vista are just mad because XP will soon be obsolete. Get over it, it's part of the deal in the modern technology age. Eventually Vista will be obsolete too.
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pragggSP
28/06/2008 05:52 AM
I like some of the features vista has. I am currently working on networking at home and at school which has winxp. I had problems downloading Microsoft student software. A technitien said it had memory cruptions. I don't know what that means. My computer starts up slow. I hope I can work out the problems, otherwise I will go back to xp.
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mohammad
11/07/2008 04:36 PM
O pepole......stop right there,its enough.just i want to make attention about very very very very very important thing ,which is, u can master vista within almost 3 hours by reading so cool vista help.but in xp u read help in 20 years and the result not only no understanding but also more and more of confusing about thing u search.and in turn more and more of hating xp.in vista help, the information is arranged in a perfect manner without any of dump branching.also using and manipulating vista is easier than doing so for xp.this is due to the new arranged direction for tools.
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