Windows Vista to Windows

Common to all Vista releases are:

• special backup and restore;
• instant search;
• Internet Explorer 7 browser;
• Windows Media 11 player;
• Mail;
• Calendar;
• Windows Photo Gallery;
• performance tuning and self-diagnostics;
• IPv6 and IPv4 internet protocol support;
• Windows ReadyDrive;
• Support for up to 4 GB of RAM in 32-bit versions (up to 128 GB in some 64-bit versions);
• Sync Center for Mobile Devices;
• Mobility Center for presentations on the go;
• User account protection;
• Security Center;
• Windows Defender;
• Firewall;
• Meeting space for special wireless meetings;
• Remote desktop for working from home;
• XPS document support for PDF files;
• improved peer-to-peer networking;
• improved VPN support and improved power management.

Some editions (and therefore also included in the Ultimate edition) include:

• Media Center;
• Windows Tablet PC;
• Windows Movie Maker;
• Windows DVD Maker;
• Parental Controls;
• Windows Sideshow for remote gadgets;
• Domain join for Windows Small Business Server;
• Group Policy Support;
• Client-side file caching;
• Movable user profiles for remote server access;
• Fax and scanning;
• Shadow copy to back up files;
• Windows rights management services to protect documents;
• Windows BitLocker hard drive encryption;
• Integrated smart card management;
• and various additional Windows Ultimate features.

Despite the many feature changes in Vista, Microsoft has delivered on its original marketing promise to provide users with clear, reliable and connected solutions.

Compared to Mac OS X 10.4, Windows Vista seems clunky and not very intuitive, as if it were still based on DOS (or at least the internal logic that makes up DOS). Despite the addition of system-wide built-in search and various attempts to break away from the old directory trees, you still have to go to one level to even access search. And there are too many dependencies on Microsoft products; it's not a very objective operating system, since Microsoft products (of which there are many) are always favored, from MSN search to RSS feeds only from Internet Explorer. But is Windows Vista a bad operating system? No. It's just a disappointment to PC users who had hoped that Microsoft would provide something really exciting to finally overtake Apple. They failed miserably.