There is one technology in Vista I have yet to try, and this is SideShow. This takes advantage of LCD displays built into the lids of laptops and keyboards, allowing you to select different CD tracks, look up details of a contact or even read mails without having to physically open the laptop. Rumour has it Microsoft's Zune player also supports SideShow.
A high profile, important change to Vista is the improved security. Administrator accounts no longer run with full privileges, but rather prompt the user to escalate up to the required levels when an application or task needs it. Linux users may be familiar with SUDO; a command that allows you to temporarily become an administrator.
The security add-ons do not stop there: Complete redesigns of the HAL (Hardware Abstraction Layer) and kernel have effectively stopped the RootKit type of attacks that have become popular in Windows XP. The presence of Windows Defender as standard also helps. To top it all off, the whole system is kept up to date with Security Center.
Other enhancements in Vista are:
- Network projector support - Network projectors are capable of projecting video in the same manner as a normal VGA projector. The benefit here however is that no cables are required as the video information can be sent over the network, either via CAT5 or WiFi.
- Vista Meeting Space - the next version of Live meeting, with added features.
- Sync Center - allows you to setup synchronisations with various locations, be they network, Internet, phone or removable storage.
- Internet Information Services 7 - The latest version of Microsoft's web server. IIS7 has many new functions, so many in fact it deserves an article of its own.
- .Net Framework 3 - the next version of the .Net framework. Version 3 focuses mostly on business logic and presentation.
- Mobile Device Center - The replacement for Activesync. This has a more intuitive interface, and is certainly a much needed improvement.
- Media Player 11 - Microsoft's latest media player version. Support for new HD codecs and new skinning throughout. It features performance tweaks that, in theory, allow you to playback video or audio under high network and CPU usage.
Conclusion
Article comments
1 - Heather Ames
Great article, Ashleigh. Very informative. I at last feel like I have a grip on Vista's capabilities.
2 - Jet in Columbus
Ashleigh, I'd considered doing an article on this a few months back, but they kept changing requirements and capabilities and I figured by the time I finished researching it, it'd be outdated information.
Having said that, you presented a lot of useful info here. I personally have Internet explorer 7.0's final version and also I LOVE Window's hassle free Defender adn the newest media player.
I'd like to stress something here though. wait till you need a new computer and buy it preloaded.
With the new system requirements, the minimums aren't really going to cut it and to try to load Vista on a machine that's more than two years old in my opinion is folly, and it's better to buy one that's already configured and equiped (especially the 64x)to run it already.
Nicely done
Jet