Microsoft released its newest version of Windows just a few days ago. It’s been described in very many different ways by the many that have had the opportunity to test it or even use the original product when it was released to the market. You have probably heard a thing or two about its new very cool features. Or better still you have had a first hand experience at using it. After its release , a couple of students including myself who have had a little experience , have already begun using it .

So the big question now remains what is it that makes this new version of Windows the extra, extra cool Operating System. Before we take a look at the features of Windows Vista let us first look at the various editions available for sale on the market.

There are four editions of Windows Vista.
1. Home Premium
2. Business
3. Ultimate
4. Home Basic

This current version of Windows, Vista requires very high specs before it can run efficiently on any computer. Let’s take a look at the minimum system requirements for any computer.

Take note that the Home Basic is the most scaled down edition of the Windows Vista Family. This is primarily for systems that cannot meet the high system requirements that come with Windows Vista.

System Requirements

Premium Ready
• A 1 GHz 32-bit or 64-bit processor
• 1 GB of system memory
• A 40 GB hard drive with at least 15 GB of free space
• At least 128 MB of graphics memory

Basic
• An 800 MHz or better modern processor
• 512 MB of system memory
• A graphics processor that supports DirectX 9
The Graphic User Interface (GUI)
Windows Vista runs on a GUI called Windows Aero. This GUI can only be run on all the editions of Windows Vista, except the Home Basic which requires a less intensive GUI. The other editions can also run on the basic GUI.
Let us now take a look at the Windows Aero GUI.
Aero’s windows are three dimensional objects that you can move in any direction. Aero Glass makes the borders of each window translucent so you can see the desktop or other windows behind it.
Vista also replaces the simple, static icons that represent many files in older Windows GUIs with more elaborate Live Icons. Live Icons give you up-to-date thumbnail previews of each file. When you look at a document's Live Icon, you see what the document actually looks like rather than seeing an icon for the program that created it. You can also look at the contents of files before opening them by using the Explorer preview pane.
Similar thumbnails also replace the icons you see when you use the "alt" and "tab" keys to move through open windows. Aero's more basic version of "alt + tab," called Flip, lets you choose from 2-D thumbnail previews on a menu bar. Another feature, Flip 3D, lets you choose from three-dimensional, moving thumbnails rather than 2-D images. In addition, if you hover your mouse over items on your taskbar, you'll see 2-D thumbnails of each window instead of text listing the applications and filenames.

More Features
Vista now has a side bar which displays mini-applications called Gadgets.

A new Meeting Place which is a teleconferencing program for small groups of vista users.

Speech Recognition which allows users to control their computers and create documents using their voices.

A new mail service which replaces Outlook Express, the Windows Mail for home users.

An interactive Windows Calendar Application for home users.

A SuperFetch feature which allows frequently used applications to be loaded into memory so they can start up faster.

The ReadyBoost feature which allows users to add RAM to their system with a USB thumb drive.

A Self-healing technology that can identify problems and fix them as they occur so you can keep pc disruptions at minimum.

A built-in self diagnostics that look for hardware failures, network problems and slow performance issues so they can be resolved before they affect productivity.

The new Vista also comes Windows Defender, which automatically safeguards your pc against pop-ups, slow performance and security threats caused by spy ware and other unwanted software’s.

The new Internet Explorer 7 also comes with improved features that better protects your pc against malware and to better safeguard your data. An example is the anti phishing.

A new Parental control feature that helps kids use the pc more safely and productively. It has features that can be used to monitor usage, set time limits, set browsing and program control. You can also retrieve detailed activity reports with ease.

Vista ultimate comes in 35 languages , which means that you can install as many languages as you want on a single pc. The interesting thing about this is that you can switch between languages as easily as you log on and off your pc.

You are probably thinking of getting your self a computer that runs on Vista right. Well most of these cool features that you just read about are features that Microsoft claims that Vista has. Whether Vista can do all that Microsoft claims it can or not, well I guess time will be the judge of that.

For more information check out: microsoft.com and howstuffworks.com