As early as 2001, rumors regarding Microsoft’s next generating operating system, at that time known by its code name Longhorn, were being spread around the Internet. In July of 2005, Microsoft officially named Longhorn Microsoft Windows Vista. The tagline for the product was “Clear, Confident, Connected.” Although the product was originally expected to debut some time in 2004, Windows Vista has been strategically postponed by Microsoft on a number of occasions. Now at last Microsoft has officially released Microsoft Windows Vista. In addition, other products from the Microsoft world have also been released including Microsoft Office 2007 and their latest release of the Microsoft Exchange Server.

In truth, the release last Friday of the suite of Microsoft products was only for businesses. For the common customer, the launch date remains at January 30, 2007. Much is already known about Microsoft Windows Vista, a lot of it due to the large Beta program Microsoft ran for the product. In addition to providing invaluable feedback, the Beta program also proved to be a very useful marketing program which increased awareness and interest of the new operating system.

Windows Vista has taken Microsoft 5 years to develop. In the course of development, several features have been either cut or added. The reasons behind the axing of some features have varied. For some, it was because the feature was deemed unnecessary, while for others Microsoft had to cut in order to be able to have the product out of the door by the end of 2006.

A major issue that Microsoft is focusing on in their new operating system is security. Windows XP was full of security issues, and thus had new updates coming out very often in order to patch these security holes. With Windows Vista, Microsoft has attempted to write the code in a manner which will prevent these security problems without even letting them have a chance. In addition to security, Microsoft has also completely revamped the user interface of Windows Vista. The new GUI which has been completely changed around might even be described by some as “drastic”.

In the following pages we will try to introduce the main characteristics of the new operating system to you. Performance analysis will be carried out in a successive article, however, for right now we want to introduce the new OS and its main features.

As is widely known, Windows Vista will be coming in a number of different versions. Microsoft likes to eloquently state this as “Editions.” Splitting products up into different Editions isn’t new for Microsoft. In the past, such as for Windows XP, Microsoft created two versions of the product. Windows XP Home Edition was meant for the average home user while Professional was meant for users with more requirements for their operating system

The main cause of confusion regarding Vista decidedly comes from the many versions of the product. Microsoft officially states that there are 5 versions of the product, all of which are tailored for specific types of users. If you look a little closer and pay attention to Microsoft’s Version website, you’ll notice that there are, in fact, six versions.  

• Windows Vista Starter: Similar to Windows XP Starter, the Vista Starter version will only be available for emerging market. This move is meant to provide a legal alternative to using illegal copies of Vista. The version will be very limited in its functionality and will only allow users to run three applications with a user interface at once. It will also limit physical memory to 256 MB and run only in 32-bit mode.
  
  
• Window Vista Home Basic: Windows Vista Home Basic is designed for budget users. The edition will be available in 64-bit allowing for up to 8 GB of physical memory. There will be no support for the Windows Aero theme and there will be little media functionalities included. 
  
  
• Windows Vista Home Premium: This version offers a great amount of functionality for home users. The Aeroglass graphical interface will be supported and the version will also support much more media options compared to Home Basic. This version will also support Table PCs.
  
  
• Windows Vista Business: The primary target of this version, as the name implies, is business customers. It offers the Aero theme, however, it does not come with much of the media functionalities that Home Premium has. It does, however, come with numerous features tailored specifically for businesses such as the IIS web server, fax support, Rights Management Services, and Remote Desktop.
  
  
• Windows Vista Enterprise: This edition is aimed mainly for large businesses and the enterprise sector of the market. Vista Enterprise will include additional business features, however, it will not be available for retail or through OEM channels, and instead, it will only be obtainable through Microsoft Software Assurance.
  
  
• Windows Vista Ultimate: This edition is, as the name suggests, the ultimate edition of Vista. It combines all of the features of the Business and Home segment into one product. This version is aimed at gamers, multimedia professionals, and enthusiasts. A main feature of the OS is that it includes a game performance optimizer known as WinSAT.

With every product release of Windows Operating Systems, it seems that the hardware requirements keep on getting raised. Microsoft has decided to supply badges to OEMs which tell customers whether their PC is Vista compliant.

Microsoft Windows Vista Capable PCs guarantees the installation of Windows Vista. It does not, however, guarantee that all features will work. For example, the advanced Aeroglass effects could be disabled for a PC that is only Vista Capable.

The minimal requirements for Windows Vista Capable PCs are:

• A modern processor of at least 800 MHz
• 512 MB of system memory
• DirectX 9 class graphics card

The Vista Premium Ready tag, contrary to the capable one, allows for much more Vista functionality. The tag guarantees full usability of Vista and certifies the hardware to be capable of handling the features of Windows Vista. The minimum requirements are as follows:

• At least a 1GHz processor that is either 32 bit (x86) or 64 bit (x64).
• 1 GB of system memory.
• A DirectX 9 class graphics card with at least 128 MB of graphics memory that supports the new Window Display Driver Model
• 40 GB of available hard disk with 15 GB of space available.
• A DVD-ROM
• Audio functionality
• Internet Access

In order to give users a better idea of whether they will be able to run Windows Vista, Microsoft has created a utility that checks whether your hardware is Vista compatible. The utility checks what settings your hardware could handle with Windows Vista and whether your graphics chip supports the Aero theme.

Provided that you are using hardware that is compatible with all of the new graphical features of Windows Vista, the appearance of the GUI is completely different from Windows XP.

The Explorer instrument previews the content of files in a specific folder and also allows the size of the icons to be adjusted. Although these are not very large changes, they will allow some tasks to be done faster than previously allowed.

Positioning your cursor over the main bar allows you to easily change folders and preview their content.

A new feature of Windows Vista is the three dimensional view for multiple windows. This feature is made possible by the Aeroglass technology which allows for a much more rich graphical experience. Customers are also allowed to choose the level of transparency for the windows when they are in 3D view. It is important to remember that Windows Vista Home Basic and Windows Vista Starter Edition both won’t be able to support viewing windows in 3D. A DirectX 9 compliant video card with at least 128 MB of memory that supports the newest version of WDDM and Pixel Shader 2.0 will be required.

Windows Vista also allows users to place widgets on their desktop which provide information such as the time. These, however, are not required and are created just to provide easy access to information for users.

Vista Search Features

The new graphical interface only describes one aspect of the new features in Windows Vista. In order to make files more accessible and easier to find for users, Microsoft has included a new search function in Windows Vista which is integrated directly into the start menu.

As soon as a single letter is entered into the search box, Windows Vista begins to immediately compile a list of possible files that begin with that letter. As letters continue to be entered, Windows narrows down the options until the final file is found. The Windows Vista search engine is built upon an Indexing Service. The new Indexing Service runs in the background, however, it only indexes specific portions of the hard disk thus improving overall performance.

Similar to Windows XP, Windows Security Center is in charge of security management. It allows users to configure the firewall and anti-virus settings. This feature of Vista has been the source of many heated debates over third-party companies claiming Microsoft is attempting to take away their business.

Windows Security Center offers an expanded overview of the programs running to protect your system. Similar to Windows XP, in order to provide a quick overview of the state of protection, various states are color coded. Green means on, red means off, and yellow means not monitored.

User Access Control is the heart of Vista’s main security improvement. UAC allows specific rights to be assigned to users.

UAC is enabled by default in versions of Windows Vista. If users are not logged in as an administrator, they will be required to provide the system with administrator credentials before being allowed to perform anything that can alter or affect system security and stability.

Parental Control Settings are also an essential part of Windows Vista’s security features. The feature allows administrators to specify what other users can do on the system. Through Parental Control, it is possible to set up a filter on specific addresses and to set the number of hours the PC can be used.

Windows Mobility Center

When using Windows Vista on mobile PCs, the Windows Mobility Center is an essential feature. In Windows Vista, Microsoft has added more features to the mobility center in an effort to provide better control over notebooks.

Windows Mobility Center allows users to control the overall energy consumption of the system. In addition, the center allows users to turn Wireless on or off and control the connection of an external monitor. The presentation mode is specifically made for presentations and allows Windows Vista to automatically hide any messages from an instant messenger.

When there is insufficient memory : ReadyBoost

A new disk caching technology included with Microsoft’s Windows Vista is ReadyBoost. The technology uses flash memory based on a USB 2.0 drive in order to increase system performance. ReadyBoost works with USB drives that have at least 256 MB. The maximum amount of space allowed in order for the drive to work is 4 GB.

To use ReadyBoost, when compatible drives are plugged in, Windows Vista sends a pop-up message that asks the user whether they would like to use the drive to boost system performance. In the coming weeks we will test how much this feature can actually increase system performance and report back to you.

Backup and System Restore

The backup and restoration utilities that were already available in Windows XP have been increased and improved. Windows Vista still allows users to create a restoration point which takes the PC back to a certain point in time. The new operating system now also allows users to set times at which to perform system backups or restoration of data.

The Network and Sharing Center

Windows Vista comes with a brand new Network and Sharing Center. The new user interface has been significantly changed from previous versions of Windows.

The new user interface allows users to view all network connections and adjust network configurations. Windows XP’s “My Network Places” has been replaced with a new “Network Explorer”. The Center also has a “Network Map” which graphically shows the method in which devices are connected over a network. Vista also comes with a new feature known as Network Profiles. Each Network Profile stores the IP address, DNS server, Proxy server and other characteristics which are specific to a network. Windows automatically chooses Network Profiles based on the network being used.

Windows Mail and Windows Calendar

E-mail has by now become an essential activity of pretty much all computer users. For previous versions of Windows, Microsoft opted upon installing Outlook Express as the default mail client. For Windows Vista, however, Outlook has been replaced with “Windows Mail.” The new mail client offers improved functionality and security and has also resolved many of the file management issues Outlook Express suffered from. “Windows Mail” also comes with enhanced search functions and includes spam filtering.

Vista also comes with a new calendar application. The program natively supports the iCalendar format and allows users subscribe and publish to web-based calendars using HTTP or WebDAV.

The Photo Gallery

Unlike Windows XP, Windows Vista places a lot of focus on digital photographs and their organization. The new utility that comes with Vista known as Windows Photo Gallery is a complete photo and video management application. The application allows users to rate their photos on a scale of 1 to 5 and provides tools for basic editing including color adjustments, resizing, cropping, and red-eye reduction. The application also allows users to burn picture CDs or DVDs.

Windows Media Player 11 and Urge

Windows Vista uses the most recent version of Windows Media Player, which is Windows Media Player 11. WMP 11 comes integrated with Urge, the new music store introduced by Microsoft and MTV. In addition to a much more different graphical user interface, the player offers enhanced control over the music library.

Reliability and Performance Monitor

Microsoft has also included a Reliability and Performance Monitor in Vista. This application allows users to see an overview of system resources while in-depth reports can also be seen for the CPU, Hard Disk, and Network. Users can also view hardware failures, software failures, and Windows failures.

Final Thoughts

In this article we intentionally supplied only a general picture of Windows Vista and summarized a number of the new features found in the OS. After reading this preview, we hope that it has given a general picture of the new features of Windows Vista beyond the Aeroglass graphical user interface. Although the new Aeroglass interface is without doubt a major improvement in Windows Vista, looking a little closer at the OS you can see multiple innovations, changes, and improvements.

A more in-depth review of Microsoft Windows Vista will be written by us in the course of the next few weeks in which we will conduct extensive performance testing. In this future article we plan to also analyze the various options provided for portable devices and how Vista affects energy consumption.