BOOT CAMP 433 (18/07/06)

Windows Vista, part 4

According to Microsoft, Windows Vista Beta 2 was the biggest software download event in history (see Boot Camps 429 to 432) but even if you are not taking part in the trial you probably want to know what all the fuss is about so this week we’re going to be taking a quick tour around the new operating system.

Vista’s key selling points are increased stability and security, vastly improved search facilities, a smart new visual appearance and better integration with multimedia components and peripheral devices. 

Windows XP has proved to be very reliable and Vista should be even better. It’s based on the proven Windows Server 2003 operating system with a lot of behind the scenes enhancements that should make it less prone to crashes caused by flaky software and user errors. Only time will tell but so far the signs are good.

Most of the new security features operate in the background but one thing users will notice is the way Vista protects itself against abuse. For example, you can’t change critical system settings or install new programs without being asked for permission. The dialogue boxes popping up almost every time you tinker with something can get a bit tedious but it should prevent a lot of accidents, and go a long way to protecting PCs from malware and virus attacks.

As hard drive capacity and the number of things we do with our PCs has increased so it becomes harder to find files and for many users this will be a good enough reason to change to Vista. The rigid filing systems of previous versions of Windows have been replaced with a more intuitive way of storing and retrieving files and the patronising ‘My’ this and that names for folders have all disappeared. This is only the tip of the iceberg, however, and the centrepiece of Vista’s filing system is something called ‘Virtual Folders’.

Virtual folders are easier to use than to describe but you can get an idea of how they work from the Windows XP Search facility on the Start menu. If you type in a search term, your name, say, Windows will find all of the files on your PC containing your name, whether they‘re documents, pictures, music tracks, etc., and when it has finished Search results can be saved in what is basically a Virtual folder that you can refer back to ay any time.

There are two types of Virtual folder in Vista. By default it creates a set of ‘Standard’ folders, such as ‘All Documents’, All Music, All Pictures and Videos’ and so on. The second sort are ‘Custom’ folders, created by the user and similar to Windows XP ‘Saved Search’ idea, except that you have many more options and ways to define what’s in each folder.

Virtual folders come to the fore when you want to find something, a picture, document, multimedia file or web page, for example. Your first step is the row of ‘Explore’ links on the Start menu but Windows Explorer has also undergone a complete facelift to take advantage of the new arrangements. Features like ‘Live Icons’ give you a thumbnail view of a folder or file’s contents. A similar facility has been built into the Taskbar and hovering your mouse pointer over a taskbar icon displays a thumbnail of the minimised program.

Vista looks brilliant at and the designers have clearly drawn inspiration from rival operating systems, much to the annoyance of Mac and Linux aficionados, but there’s much more to it with plenty of original touches. One of the most interesting ideas is the Windows Aero visual display, which adapts itself according to the PC’s hardware. In other words faster machines with more advanced graphics cards will have extra display options, including an eye-catching, translucent, glass-like quality for dialogue boxes and fancy 3D ‘tiled’ windows showing the contents of running programs.

Vista is crammed with toys, like the Windows Sidebar’. Again it’s not a new idea but it will be a revelation to those who have grown up with plain vanilla Windows. The Sidebar is a column on the side of the screen containing a selection of ‘Gadgets’. These can be almost anything from an analogue clock display or calculator to a mini word game. Vista comes with around a dozen gadgets but I predict there will soon be hundreds of them to download from the net. Early examples include local area traffic reports, calendars and organisers, picture and movie viewers and more games than you can shake a stick at…

Personally I don’t much care for the Sidebar, apart from the Gadgets being quite distracting they occupy the area of the screen where I prefer to have the Start menu, but in a way it sums up the look and feel of Vista.

Windows XP, for all of its improvements is still fairly stiff and intimidating, especially for newcomers. Vista, on the other hand looks friendly, it encourages you to play around with its numerous visual features and explore your PC’s multimedia capabilities.

So far it all looks quite promising but we have only just scratched the surface of what Vista can do. In our next visit we’ll be delving deeper into its multimedia facilities. This should be in a few weeks time, following the launch of Release Candidate 1 (RC1), the final version (probably) prior to its commercial launch in early 2007.

NEXT WEEK - XP Top Tips

JARGON FILTER

LINUX

Family of freely distributed ‘Open Source’ computer operating systems used in a wide variety of applications from simple desktop workstation to high-end server

RELEASE CANDIDATE

Practically the last stage in the development of a piece of software. Also known as the ‘code-complete’ stage, the point at which no new source code or functionality will be added to the program

WINDOWS SERVER 2003

Industrial-strength version of Windows designed for reliability and stability to run ‘mission critical’ sever computers 

TOP TIP

A little-used facility in Windows (all versions) lets you add notes to some types of files. They’re hidden from view but easily accessible and remain attached to the file, even if it is copied to another location. For example, you could add a short title or description to an image file, detailing where and when it was taken, the people in the photograph and so on. You can do something similar with audio files (though oddly enough not document or video files). It’s really easy, simply right-click on the file icon in My Computer or Windows Explorer, select Properties, then the Summary Tab (In pre XP versions of Windows click the Custom tab) and type your notes in the Comments box. Don’t forget, there’s a full archive of previous Boot Camp Top Tips at www.rickmaybury.com

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© R. Maybury 2006, 0507

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