After much ballyhoo, Windows Vista is finally here. Microsoft’s newest operating system was released in the U.S. this past Tuesday, after years of delay, a name change, and a drastically scaled back vision.
On its website, the software giant is promoting Vista’s increased security, ease of use, safety, and entertainment capabilities. You can catch a demo online at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/default.mspx?pill=0&WT.mc_id=?ESP161A
Never having used the new OS myself (the closest I’ve come to it was over someone else’s shoulder), I’m not in a position to rave the magnificent new features, or rant about all of it’s issues.
However I do want to talk a little bit about the graphical capabilities of the UI, and some of the enhancements it might provide to the user experience.
The first thing you’ll notice about Vista is the interface’s theme. Although Vista is offering users 4 different versions of themes, the well publicized Aero, with its sleek glass like look, and smooth and dynamic feel is designed to take true advantage of the capabilities of the operating system’s graphics engine.
According to Microsoft, Aero is “the best-designed, highest-performing Microsoft user interface ever.” I use a Mac at home and at work, so I haven’t spent much time on Windows XP boxes, But from my limited exposure to Vista, this Gui is a significant step forward in the look and feel department.
The slick and fluid looking Aero gives the user control over the desktop that he never had before. Aero uses some truly neat graphical display tools to provide a set of new features and enhancements of existing ones that will allow users to work and play more efficiently and enjoyably.
The most notable and quickly visible feature is the smooth and dynamic nature of the windows themselves. Dubbed “Glass” for the real-world physical surface they emulate, Vista’s interface elements move, rotate and scale fluidly and naturally, providing the user with a satisfying and comforting experience.
Taking a page from the Mac OS, Aero displays some competent use of Transparency. The existing XP feature, in which a user is shown all open documents when he presses ALT + TAB is enhanced with a sleek semi transparent surface, allowing the user to see the document currently in focus behind it.
Another intriguing and useful application of transparency is the ability to set the opacity level, (along with the color and saturation level) of the windows.
The way that Vista handles open documents is another core advancement over the previous Windows OS. In XP, only icons and filenames of open but minimized documents are displayed. However, in Vista, live thumbnails are generated so you can see the contents of each document currently open. This applies most significantly to the task bar, and the ALT + TAB feature described above (now called Windows Flip).
Aero even provides some interesting use of 3 dimensionality, in the form of Windows Flip 3d. The basic idea is simple; the desktop shows the user all of his or her open documents at once, so he/she can easily move between multiple programs. The way it accomplishes this is the neat part, as all open windows are stacked in a 3 dimensional manner that is much easier shown than described. Take a look…
Taken in concert, the collection of features and visuals that are collectively referred to as Aero represent a significant step forward in the evolution of the Windows Gui.
Your blog articles are always interesting. This one is no different. But in this one…
You first mentioned: “…never having used the new OS myself (the closest I’ve come to it was over someone else’s shoulder)”. Then you included a screenshot. Just wonder how you could capture screenshot over someone else’s shoulder.