It’s been almost a year since Windows Vista launched, and I think
it’s about time to take a step back and look at its current situation.
We have Vista Service Pack 1 on the horizon, and there’s been a
sufficient amount of discussion around all of Vista’s quirks.
Why do we need to come to terms with Vista at all? While it would be
a thoroughly easy suggestion for us all to go back to Windows XP, that
honestly isn’t practical advice for the majority of users out there.
Those who’ve bought new computers since the beginning of the year have
had it forced upon them, and others will soon be using it at school and
work. No matter how you feel about Vista, it is an inevitable upgrade
for Windows users.
So as a Vista user, voluntary or otherwise, what exactly is there to
like about it? Let’s face it, the response to Vista hasn’t been all
that positive. While I don’t necessarily disagree with all of the
criticism, I also think Vista does grow on you due to a few great
usability and work flow improvements. Here are a few things I continue
to like about Windows Vista despite its many flaws:
The Start Menu
The new start menu is a vast improvement over Windows XP’s. If
you’re not using the Start menu search, then you’re missing out on one
of Vista’s best features. The best way to invoke this is to simply hit
the Windows key on your keyboard, and then immediately start typing. If
you don’t have a Windows key, just click the Start menu and begin
typing. By default it searches your personal files, internet history,
and your All Programs folder. This can be tweaked to speed up
search results by right-clicking on the Start menu, choosing
Properties, and then clicking the Customize button under the Start Menu
tab.
Human Readable Options
In Windows past, configuring the operating system was to average
users a skill akin to magic. The problem was multifold: options were
generally confusing, overabundant, or both. It was the sort of
unfriendly user experience that insured people like myself always had a
paycheck. Vista makes significant strides towards remedying those
esoteric options and making them clear to users from all skill levels.
For example, when you visit the Control Panel in Vista, you’re
greeted with a selection of nine functional categories. By digging
deeper into them, you discover even more functionality that logically
follows from the parent category. I should also mention that all of the
categories in the Control Panel also feature descriptive shortcuts to
commonly used functions. Techies may despise this as a “dumbing down”
of Windows, but I honestly can’t deny the value this move has for
typical Windows users. Those who prefer the old Control Panel format
can simply choose the “Classic View” option to revel in its familiar
anarchy.
The Shiny
Vista is unequivocally a good looking operating system. While it may
lack the polish of Mac OSX and some modern Linux distributions, it’s a
vast improvement over Windows XP. Part of this definitely has to do
with Vista’s new Aero interface, which takes advantage of 3D hardware
in your system to render transparent Windows and other graphical
niceties, but it certainly shouldn’t receive all the credit. After all,
Aero’s main function, the pretty but useless Flip 3D feature, still
pales in comparison to Expose in OSX.
Rather, much of the joy in using Vista stems from seemingly minor
additions. Everything from the new screen friendly system fonts, to the
themes, color schemes, and icons, all work together to create the best
Windows user experience yet. Even the included wallpapers show a
commitment to a higher quality user experience by Microsoft.
The Shape of Things to Come
We all know Vista isn’t perfect, but hopefully as I’ve shown there
are at least a few things to like about it. As with pretty much every
Microsoft product, it will certainly get better over time. We have
Service Pack 1 to look forward to early next year, and I anticipate
that we’ll begin to see more significant upgrades throughout 2008.
There are a slew of promised features that Microsoft had to drop from
Vista to release on time, and as those get plugged back in I believe
Vista will shape up significantly.
Source: http://www.dailybits.com/coming-to-terms-with-windows-vista/