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Software Editorial / Windows Reviews / Education & Home / Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium
Software Editorial / Windows Reviews / Education & Home / Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium
Microsoft have recently released their newest operating system , and when you start to use it you will certainly see the vast improvements made since the days of XP. On the other hand you may have read articles that express a negative slant on this updated platform, mainly for the reasons that not all software manufacturers at the time have updated their applications to run on Vista, or the price may be an issue, or some writers have compared it too Apple’s current operating system “Tiger”.
Well first of all lets tackle the first hurdle of Software compatibility, Microsoft have released beta versions for software manufacturers to test and use for the purpose of allowing them to work on their own applications to make the necessary changes to their own software products, so if not all software has been available for this newest operating system then this really is not Microsoft’s fault. Secondly the price has always been a bone of contention for some, well I guess if you are new to Microsoft then this could be pricey, but most of us generally only require an upgrade, or if we have to purchase a new PC then Vista will be included in the price, if you have built a PC then you can purchase a OEM (Ordinary Equipment Manufacturer) version which is very inexpensive. Thirdly comparing the newest operating system from Microsoft to Apple’s current operating system “Tiger” which is soon to be superseded in October 2007 with leopard is just plain ridiculous, for the obvious reason it is not a fair comparison.
Now that we have the negatives out of the way let us concentrate on the positives, first of all spending some time viewing Vista Home Premium we see some very impressive features.
First of all the main reason is that security is a whole lot better, all you need now is an antivirus software such as AVG free edition, the rest is kindly provided from Microsoft (Anti-spyware, Firewall, Phishing Filters, Windows Updates.) I was distinctly impressed with this security system and I felt much more protected when using internet explorer 7 on the internet. Included in this section we would like to emphasize the backup capabilities are very impressive and easy to use, although system restore is still there, it is still a much valued feature, however there are additional options in backup which is located in the control panel under system maintenance, you can backup to a network or CD, DVD, or Hard Disk, however you cannot backup to the hard disk that you are presently running your operating system on, so if you are using your C drive you would need to use a usb or firewire drive, or for example a D drive already installed in your pc.
Secondly for those that want to perform a task and may not be absolutely sure how to go about that, there is a nice wizard feature that shows itself on startup, this is called the “Welcome Centre” which of course you can choose to disable if you want too. This wizard contains links that leads you to the desired destination to perform your task. The control panel is a more user friendly tool and contains a similar principle, whether that would be for example to change a desktop background, uninstall a program, change the screen resolution, set up an internet connection, install some wireless hardware, etc etc. Its much easier and a smoother operation especially as the windows help centre works hand in glove with these operations.
Thirdly we come to the appearance, it has always been a big issue among dedicated users to want to tweak the system to give their own individuality to their workstation or home pc, certainly this can be achieved within this operating system, the desktop wallpapers are now much nicer compared to Windows XP, we have also what is known as the Aero Experience, in which you can have the glass effect, 3d icons, Flip 3D, better folder interface with viewing My Documents and new folders created by the user.
Fourthly some important new updates with regard to media handling, in XP you could drag data to a blank CD and XP would keep it there until you were ready to burn it, which was a handy feature, but if you were using Movie Maker there was no way you could burn your movie to dvd, well now Vista can do this, a new application has been included “Windows DVD Maker” it has a wizard that guides you every step of the way either to create a slideshow or a movie complete with DVD Menus, and the preset templates included are very similar to idvd in ilife 06 in Apple’s range of software. If you go to the folder that contains that say for instance pictures, you will see a bar of options as to what you can do with the selected pictures, there is a link to burn, if you select it you get a drop down menu as to whether you want to burn a Video DVD or slideshow. However each type of media changes the bar of options, as to what you can do.
The fifth point which is worth noting and indeed makes the operating system unique, is when you view your images in your designated folder, you double click on the desired image, and select fix, you are taken to a windows media player type of interface this has a whole host of editing features such as : Colour Adjustment, Red Eye Reduction, Exposure Adjustment, Cropping, Auto Adjustment, Additionally as stated you can create a slideshow, you can assign ratings, tags or keywords, email, burn to cd or dvd. At the top it has a gallery link to view all your images as thumbnails. In conclusion this operating system in my opinion provides everything most normal PC users could need, although if you do advanced work with video, images, documents , etc then you would need to purchase more applications. This in my opinion brings all the basic operations under one package. It has addressed security as the most important issue that affects all Microsoft users, and they have been meticulous in this, so far so good. It has brought to the masses an efficient operating system beautifully presented.
Well first of all lets tackle the first hurdle of Software compatibility, Microsoft have released beta versions for software manufacturers to test and use for the purpose of allowing them to work on their own applications to make the necessary changes to their own software products, so if not all software has been available for this newest operating system then this really is not Microsoft’s fault. Secondly the price has always been a bone of contention for some, well I guess if you are new to Microsoft then this could be pricey, but most of us generally only require an upgrade, or if we have to purchase a new PC then Vista will be included in the price, if you have built a PC then you can purchase a OEM (Ordinary Equipment Manufacturer) version which is very inexpensive. Thirdly comparing the newest operating system from Microsoft to Apple’s current operating system “Tiger” which is soon to be superseded in October 2007 with leopard is just plain ridiculous, for the obvious reason it is not a fair comparison.
Now that we have the negatives out of the way let us concentrate on the positives, first of all spending some time viewing Vista Home Premium we see some very impressive features.
First of all the main reason is that security is a whole lot better, all you need now is an antivirus software such as AVG free edition, the rest is kindly provided from Microsoft (Anti-spyware, Firewall, Phishing Filters, Windows Updates.) I was distinctly impressed with this security system and I felt much more protected when using internet explorer 7 on the internet. Included in this section we would like to emphasize the backup capabilities are very impressive and easy to use, although system restore is still there, it is still a much valued feature, however there are additional options in backup which is located in the control panel under system maintenance, you can backup to a network or CD, DVD, or Hard Disk, however you cannot backup to the hard disk that you are presently running your operating system on, so if you are using your C drive you would need to use a usb or firewire drive, or for example a D drive already installed in your pc.
Secondly for those that want to perform a task and may not be absolutely sure how to go about that, there is a nice wizard feature that shows itself on startup, this is called the “Welcome Centre” which of course you can choose to disable if you want too. This wizard contains links that leads you to the desired destination to perform your task. The control panel is a more user friendly tool and contains a similar principle, whether that would be for example to change a desktop background, uninstall a program, change the screen resolution, set up an internet connection, install some wireless hardware, etc etc. Its much easier and a smoother operation especially as the windows help centre works hand in glove with these operations.
Thirdly we come to the appearance, it has always been a big issue among dedicated users to want to tweak the system to give their own individuality to their workstation or home pc, certainly this can be achieved within this operating system, the desktop wallpapers are now much nicer compared to Windows XP, we have also what is known as the Aero Experience, in which you can have the glass effect, 3d icons, Flip 3D, better folder interface with viewing My Documents and new folders created by the user.
Fourthly some important new updates with regard to media handling, in XP you could drag data to a blank CD and XP would keep it there until you were ready to burn it, which was a handy feature, but if you were using Movie Maker there was no way you could burn your movie to dvd, well now Vista can do this, a new application has been included “Windows DVD Maker” it has a wizard that guides you every step of the way either to create a slideshow or a movie complete with DVD Menus, and the preset templates included are very similar to idvd in ilife 06 in Apple’s range of software. If you go to the folder that contains that say for instance pictures, you will see a bar of options as to what you can do with the selected pictures, there is a link to burn, if you select it you get a drop down menu as to whether you want to burn a Video DVD or slideshow. However each type of media changes the bar of options, as to what you can do.
The fifth point which is worth noting and indeed makes the operating system unique, is when you view your images in your designated folder, you double click on the desired image, and select fix, you are taken to a windows media player type of interface this has a whole host of editing features such as : Colour Adjustment, Red Eye Reduction, Exposure Adjustment, Cropping, Auto Adjustment, Additionally as stated you can create a slideshow, you can assign ratings, tags or keywords, email, burn to cd or dvd. At the top it has a gallery link to view all your images as thumbnails. In conclusion this operating system in my opinion provides everything most normal PC users could need, although if you do advanced work with video, images, documents , etc then you would need to purchase more applications. This in my opinion brings all the basic operations under one package. It has addressed security as the most important issue that affects all Microsoft users, and they have been meticulous in this, so far so good. It has brought to the masses an efficient operating system beautifully presented.
The buttons used are icons created by www.everaldo.com and www.yellowicon.com please note these icons have been modified. My personal thanks to Rodrigo for granting me authorisation for use on this site, please take a look at their websites as I believe they do outstanding work.
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