Windows Vista Feature Focus

Microsoft's latest desktop operating system is a huge, confusing beast, full of new features, new bundled applications, a new look and feel, and updated ways of doing familiar tasks. Yep, it's a major Windows release all right, and the sheer number of new things is sure to confuse even the most technically savvy people out there. For this reason, I've decided to start navigating through all of this new functionality, one feature at a time. On an ongoing basis, I'll step through each new feature in Windows Vista, explain what's new and different, and reveal the good and the bad.

It's not going to happen overnight. After all, there are hundreds of new features in Windows Vista. But you have to start somewhere, right? Below, you can find a preliminary list of Windows Vista features I am covering. I plan to update this list as I add new Feature Focus showcases. If you think a particular feature is missing, let me know. If you think I've missed an important point about a feature I've already covered, please let me know. And if you want to see something covered sooner rather than later, do drop me a line. You can reach me at thurrott@windowsitpro.com.

Update: All Feature Focus articles are updated to cover both the original (RTM) shipping version of Windows Vista and Windows Vista with Service Pack 1 (SP1).

A focus on Windows Vista features

This exhaustive list of Windows Vista features is derived from Microsoft documentation and my own extensive experience the operating system, dating back over four years. You won't find a more thorough rundown of Windows Vista features in any book, Web site, instructional CD anywhere.

64-Bit (x64) Support Focus area: System, Core architecture With Windows XP, Microsoft created specific Windows product editions, or SKUs, that targeted 64-bit processors from Intel and AMD... Read more

Automatic Disk Defragmentation Focus area: System, Performance, Reliability Effectiveness aside, there has always been one crucial feature missing from the Windows Disk Defragmenter: It could never be configured to automatically defragment your system's hard drives... Read more

Live Taskbar Thumbnails Focus area: Shell, User interface Since the dawn of PC graphical user interfaces (GUIs), operating system designers have struggled with window management: How users deal with the open applications, applets, dialog boxes, and other windows... Read more

Reliability Monitor Focus area: System, Performance While Windows has long included administrator-oriented performance and reliability monitoring tools, they were never of much use to end-users, unless of course your idea of excitement is to watch line graphs... Read more

User Account Control Focus area: Security, Core architecture With Windows Vista, Microsoft has finally moved the Windows platform to a security model that competing operating systems such as Mac OS X and Linux have employed for years... Read more

Welcome Center Focus area: Shell, User interface As Microsoft has endeavored to make Windows more user-friendly over the years, one of the areas in which the company has focused a lot of energy is the so-called out of box experience, or OOBE... Read more

Windows Aero User Interface Focus area: Shell, User interface Windows Aero is the premium user interface available in most mainstream Vista versions. Contrary to what you may have read elsewhere, Windows Aero is highly compatible with virtually all graphics chipsets... Read more

Windows Anytime Upgrade Focus area: System, Install and deployment While I've been harshly critical of Microsoft's decision to split Windows Vista into far more product editions than is sane or reasonable, we can at least give the software giant credit for making Vista... Read more

Windows Calendar Focus area: Personal productivity Anyone who's seen Apple's nicely-designed iCal, an Internet calendaring standards-based calendar application for Mac OS X, will immediately understand Windows Calendar... Read more

Windows DVD Maker Focus area: Digital Media Windows DVD Maker is a simple, wizard-based application for creating DVD movies that consist of one of more videos and/or a single photo slideshow with optional musical accompaniment... Read more

Windows Flip and Windows Flip 3D Focus area: Shell, User interface In Windows Vista, ALT + TAB has been renamed to Windows Flip and completely overhauled, assuming you're running Aero Glass... Read more

Windows Mail Focus area: Personal productivity In Windows Vista, Outlook Express has been renamed to Windows Mail in order to be more consistent with other bundled applications. Don't be confused by the name change, however... Read more

Windows Media Center Extender Focus area: Digital Media The Media Center Extender experience replicates the Vista Media Center interface to the Xbox 360 and various standalone Extenders and thus, to your HDTV or other television... Read more

Windows Mobility Center Focus area: Mobility, Personal productivity Windows Mobility Center is a dashboard that contains all of the utilities a mobile user could want. And Mobility Center can also be extended by PC makers... Read more

Windows Movie Maker 6 Focus area: Digital Media Windows Vista's video editing program, Windows Movie Maker 6, includes all of the features and functionality from previous versions along with some unique new features that make it even more compelling... Read more

Windows Photo Gallery Focus area: Digital media Windows Photo Gallery is an excellent application for viewing, organizing, and editing digital photos. It's also at the heart of Vista's photo acquisition functionality... Read more

Windows Sidebar Focus area: Shell, User interface The Windows Sidebar, a standard feature of all mainstream Windows Vista versions, is a unique environment attached to the side of the Windows Vista desktop that hosts Web-like gadgets, or mini-applications... Read more

Windows Ultimate Extras Focus area: Digital Media, Games, Security, Shell, User Interface Windows Ultimate Extras has never lived up to the promises Microsoft first made about the service and it's certainly not a reason to consider paying extra (ahem) for the most expensive Vista version... Read more

Windows Vista Basic User Interface Focus area: Shell, User interface To satisfy customers who are looking for the most of the benefits of the new Vista user experience but on systems that don't meet Aero's hardware requirements, Microsoft has created the Windows Vista Basic user interface... Read more

Windows Vista Standard User Interface Focus area: Shell, User interface Perhaps the least well understood of the numerous Windows Vista user interface types, Windows Vista Standard is only available on Windows Vista Home Basic, and then only on systems with compatible graphics display hardware... Read more

More Feature Focus articles coming soon...

Anti-Phishing Technologies
Backup and Recovery Center
BitLocker Full Drive Encryption
Games Explorer and Windows Games
Instant Search
Internet Explorer 7.0
Internet Information Server
Kernel Patch Protection
Network and Sharing Center
Network Projection
Power Management
Previous Versions (Windows ShadowCopy)
Remote Desktop
Setup and Installation Improvements
Subsystem for Unix-Based Applications
Sync Center
Tablet PC Functionality and Touch Screen Support
Themed Slide Shows
Windows Classic User Interface
Windows Defender
Windows Easy Transfer
Windows Explorer
Windows Fax and Scan
Windows Firewall
Windows Media Center
Windows Media Player 11
Windows Meeting Space
Windows ReadyBoost
Windows ReadyDrive
Windows Security Center
Windows Service Hardening
Windows SideShow
Windows Update and Automatic Updates
Windows Vista Fonts
XPS and PDF Document Support