t took five years for software giant Microsoft to replace its operating system Windows XP to Windows Vista. Now, instead of having just two versions, the company is expanding Windows Vista to five versions: Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, Enterprise and Ultimate, perhaps all in the hopes of targeting specific markets with specific needs. The names of each Windows Vista versions are self-explanatory and as Microsoft Philippines Senior Product Manager Jojo Ayson would have described Vista, “it’s idiot-proof.”
But what are the new additions to Microsoft’s new operating system? The company claims there are hundreds of new features, but of these, ordinary users will be able to use or even be aware of only a handful. Microsoft Philippines recently briefed Philippine journalists about the new features and revamps in Windows Vista.
First of all, the entire Windows graphical user interface has been overhauled. The Start button, which has been the staple of the Windows OS for 10 years since Windows 95, is finally gone and replaced by the four-color Windows logo in an orb. There is also an additional opaque side-view panel called Sidebar and contains the most frequently used applets or “gadgets” in Windows, including a clock, thermometer and calendar.
Microsoft described its overall change of the interface as “Aero,” which may not mean anything but would probably be the biggest GUI change since Windows XP. Among those traditional Windows actions that have been changed is the venerable Alt+Tab hotkey, which toggles back-and-forth the active applications. This hotkey in Windows Vista now allows users to see translucent mini-windows of their applications instead of just the logo of the active application. Minimized applications on the Taskbar below the screen will also show off a translucent image when the mouse pointer floats over them.
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