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.