16 June 2006

Visions of Vista

I promised some pictures, and, well, here they are... in previous versions of Windows, one would right click on the Desktop, and select properties to change the appearance of Windows. Now, one right clicks, and selects Personalise. gone is the tabbed window. instead, a Control Panel like folder is displayed, with several options, including Desktop Background. Backgrounds are now sorted into categories, which makes it really easy to find, and also, when one clicks on a picture, it is applied immediately (it is really quick).

 


 

(you can also see the borders around the application is slighly transparent - that is Glass :)) when you open your Windows Explorer, it now looks like this:

 


 

 (well, mine does, because those are my drives and mapped drives and thingies). i like the graphic representation of free space on each drive. getting used to navigating the drives might take a while, as the + signs next to drives and folders for expanding has been replaced by a little triangle that is sometimes easy to miss. when you have a couple of apps open, you no longer have to click on each to see what is going on in the app itself. just mousing over gives you a live-action thumbnail, which means you can see exactly what the progress is on your copy/whatever.


 

Alt-Tab has also been spruced up a little. not only do you get a live-action view of your apps, but you can also Alt-Tab to your desktop.


in addition to Alt-tab, you can also now Windows Key-tab between apps, which gives you a more 3d view of your open apps. it is also fun to watch.


 one of the main new features that has received a lot of attention is the sidebar. i am not entirely sure i like it yet - mainly because i don't like too many gizmos and gadgets running in the background, stealing my resources. of course, i can see the use for it (like having a calculator on hand at all times), but this will be the first thing i turn off, should performance degrade.

 


 

 i should add that all but 2 of these caps were made with the built-in Snipping tool, which i find rather nifty.

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