Windows Vista RC1 Top Features
At issue with Windows Vista is the notion that most of its features were ripped off of Mac OS X. For the most part, it is true. Mac OS X's GUI is called 'Aqua'. In Windows Vista, it's called 'Aero', or Aero Glass, in actuality. Windows Vista has integrated quick search, and so does Mac OS X, and both use the same icon, only Vista's icon is flipped. Both have 3D graphics and text that uses anti-aliasing. Yes, Windows has adopted some of Mac OS X's features. In the clothing industry, this would be called a trend. In the programming industry, it's a rip-off technology. And that's too bad. Because Windws has adopted everything that Apple poked fun at for not making available to poor-old Windows users. Now that Microsoft has remedied those criticisms, Apple has switched their story, calling Microsoft copy-cats. But using Vista as my primary desktop OS, there are some Vista features I find personally enjoyable that you wouldn't find on a Mac.
3D Flip. I like it. And I am sure the average user would agree. It makes computer using cinematic, and that changes the experience. Some people find it distracting. This is true, but those using computers both at work and at home are a bit stale toward the decades-old instantly appearing and disappearing windows, clicking through your taskbar to find the window you want to view, and accidentally closing an application. What seemed to be a normal way of life for such experiences will change as users will find fading effects and 3D flipping windows more- well- pleasant. And Mac OS X does not have this feature. Instead, application tiling is the feaure Mac OS X offers, and I'm sure Leopard just might have the 3D flip. But we'll see next spring.
Another feature that makes Windows Vista stand out ahead of Mac OS X is Windows Media Center, now available on Windows XP but only available on a retail PC. Media Center is a feature that is helping push computers from the back guest room/ office to the living room, and if done right, could rival multimedia components now king of the living room, such as stand-alone DVD players and recievers. Perhaps Apple doesn't want to go this direction with their beloved Mac. And that's okay. Nothing wrong with that. But the day isn't far down the road where you can check your e-mail on Yahoo while recording a series from HBO after downloading features for your XBOX 360 games from Windows Live Marketplace. Another five years, talking to relatives through a tiny camera built in to your wall-mounted plasma display via streaming video and/ or voice-over IP. This is a bit off hte subject, but a great end to this article. Thanks to advancing technologies in Windows, Mac OS and EVEN Linux, and land-line phones will become the obsolete pony-express of communication.
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