After five years of development and US$6 billion of investment, Microsoft has finally unveiled Windows Vista. The new Operating System has been written afresh from the ground up to get rid of the stack of legacy code that underpins Windows XP and, more importantly, Microsoft promises faithfully that it has put security at the top of its list of priorities.
The most obvious change from XP to Vista is the Aero interface which is clearly influenced by Mac OS X. Aero uses your DirectX 9 graphics card to add transparency effects to the windows and task bar on your screen, which means that the system requirements for Vista are relatively high. Owners of older PCs and laptops are likely to be restricted to Windows Vista Home Basic which doesn't include Aero.
The desktop includes a sidebar that can be used as an RSS reader and can also display gadgets such as the clock. You need a widescreen display to avoid having the sidebar take up a significant amount of space.
One major change in Vista is User Account Control or UAC. This feature locks Windows down whenever it detects an action that might pose danger. This is superb for security but it can be frustrating in use as you'll be faced with pop-up dialogue boxes when you install, run or remove almost any piece of software.
We offer three levels of training for Microsoft Windows Vista, Introductory, File Management and Upgrade.
