New Computer w/ Windows Vista
I got a new computer! :-D Yay! It's a Hewlett Packard Pavillion Slimline. Very small, compact, and way more powerful than I would expect for something of its size. It kindof reminds me of Napoleon in that fashion. I named it the same name as my old computer, though in retrospect, I will prolly change that, as it deserves its own name.
That said, one of the things it came with was the Home Premium version of Windows Vista. Keeping in mind that recently I've been a very big fan of Linux, and that my old computer had just barely gained the honor of being free of all things Microsoft, I'm understandably a bit leery of this new Beast of Bill. However, it was presented to me last night (love you sweetie) that I was being unfairly and overly critical of Vista, and that I should really give it a fair shot at being all the OS it can be.
So, here is a list of the new features I really do like about Wndows Vista. :)
Things I Like About Vista:
Windows Explorer:
- Favorite Links on the left pane
- Folders collapsible functionality on the left pane
- Breadcrumbs in the address bar
- Reorganization of File and Folder actions under the "Organize" button
- Capabilities of the Preview Pane
- Stacking functionality is really cool, and not something I've seen in any other OS yet.
- Grouping functionality is also really cool, and useful for more than just media, which is what it was in XP
- File move/copy operations are no longer limited to "replace destination file or cancel the process entirely" if there's an error. This is much improved over XP.
- Renaming a file only highlights the name, not the extension. A much appreciated change over XP.
Icons:
- Icons can be stored as Compressed PNGs. (I don't totally understand this yet, but I do like .png files)
Start Menu:
- I love the new circular button. Waaay better than the "Start" button in XP.
- The user icon at the top of the menu is cool, in that it hangs off the edge in a transparent fashion. Transparency = sweet
- The icon gracefully fades into different images as you mouse over different folder links in the menu.
- The Program menu doesn't branch off from the start menu, rather, it nests and the start menu adjusts to accommodate.
- The Search Box reminds me of Google Desktop, as well as its integration into the Global Desktop Indexing
- The Power Button's action is configurable
- I like the menu of assorted power- and user-related actions
Program and File-Association Defaults:
- Defaults are now per-user, rather than per-machine, so we can have different program defaults if we so desire.
Windows Flip-3D:
- This is simply too awesome for words.
Other Shell Improvements:
- .jpg files can be natively set as the Windows Background without having to use "Active Desktop". This is great, because I detest .bmp files
- "Previous Versions" can revert any file to previous states of existence based on arbitrary dates
Windows Search:
- Similar to Google Desktop, but native to the OS. I like.
Windows Sidebar:
- The Gadgets are neat, and I will likely wind up using them. I like that one of the gadgets can be the recycle bin. Good functionality, and it mimics one of the things I really like about Mac OSX
Applications:
- Windows Mail ~ Cool mail applications that works with my Gmail account. IMAP = good
- Windows Contacts ~ Contact management that works with other applications.
- Windows Calendar ~ Neat. I've been using Google Calendar, and I think this might work well with it.
- Snipping Tool ~ Screencaps gained more functionality, which is cool
Windows Media Center:
- This is also too awesome for words. A great deal like the Mac OSX functionality. Two thumbs up.
AERO:
- The theme for Vista is really cool. I like it, and it is very similar to a theme I was using in Ubuntu. It gets my seal of approval.
Misc Eye-Candy:
- Windows fade down to the taskbar and back up again. Very cool
- Lots of fading going on, rather than just blinking in and out of existence.
- Everything is very smooth and well-rounded. It feels comfortable.
Audio:
- Volume settings can be set per-application, rather than across the board.