Windows Vista Launched

January 30, 2007: After almost six years of development – and input from more than five million beta users – Microsoft finally released its Windows Vista operating system today, along with an updated version of its Office productivity suite.
Vista promises users an easier, safer, better connected and more entertaining operating system and features a redesigned user interface that meshes in well with the modern ‘digital lifestyle’. New Instant Search and tagging facilities help users to locate files quickly. Vista also provides live icon views that show the contents of each file. Microsoft claims Vista is also ‘significantly more responsive when performing everyday tasks’ and described it as ‘the most secure and reliable version of Windows that Microsoft has ever shipped’.

Some of the navigation views provided by Windows Vista.
It also provides a better platform for digital media and makes it easier for users to manage and enjoy video and audio content. Windows Media Player 11 includes advanced search facilities, customisable album art and stacking views that allow users to browse digital music files. A new Windows movie Maker makes it easy to upload images and video clips to DVD or a portable device for easy sharing.

Image file management is much more powerful in Windows Vista than in previous operating systems. Users can apply tags in a variety of ways to make it easier to find individual shots and add tags by dragging and dropping items onto the tag in the navigation tree. A new Info Pane facility lets users view and edit basic information about a photo or a video, including the filename, caption, date taken, file size/type, rating and any assigned tags.

In Windows Photo Gallery, you can increase or decrease the size of your thumbnails using a simple slider, helping you view groups of photos. You can also zoom, pan, and rotate photos; pause/play video files and quickly navigate from one photo or video clip to the next. Basic editing functions are also supported and the Viewer includes an Auto Adjust button, which allows you to manually adjust exposure and colour balance, crop a photo to a specific size and fix red-eye effects caused by a flash. Slideshows can be created from photos and videos using selectable graphic themes with visual effects and transitions. They can be used as desktop screen savers, emailed to friends or recorded to CD or DVD.
Microsoft has teamed up with Kodak Australia to provide an online printing service via the Print@Kodak facility. This enables consumers to order prints of their photos online and choose how they wish to pay for them and have them delivered. The service costs the same as normal Kodak printing services and offers a wide choice of print sizes and finish. Microsoft has also linked with BigPond Movies to support an online movie downloading service and with Sanity Music to offer a subscription-based music downloading services.
Windows Vista will be sold in five versions: Home Basic, Home Premium and Ultimate versions for regular consumers and Business and Enterprise versions for business users. Full details of Windows Vista and the new Office 2007 suites can be found at www.microsoft.com.au.