Start from the appearance. Windows Vista looks different; window, desktop, start button, start menu, taskbar, everything has a new look. Window in Windows Vista looks somewhat similar to that of in Mac OSX. Minimize, maximize and the close buttons seem new. The windows can be made to appear in translucent, 3D modes, if the new Aero is applied. The start button has been modified to give a new look and the word "start" is gone. Instead new Windows logo appears in start button. Start menu and wallpapers are also new. The desktop contains a side bar, which shows a clock, and some of the widgets.
Windows Vista provides high level of security measures. Windows Vista that comes with Internet Explorer which is version 7.0 provides a higher degree of security to the system, as well as, the operating system environment. It includes phasing filter to provide higher security while surfing the net. Protection against spamming is also provided. The other security measures include tools such as Windows defender, advanced firewall, Encryption/Decryption of data, support for NTFS partitions, auto backup. The Windows Defender is a program which blocks suspicious programs which tries to do some illegal activity in the computer system. Also users can control kids by using parental controls in Windows Vista. Parents can now deny access to certain programs especially, the games. At the same time the Windows Media Player 11 enhances video, audio quality when playing sound, music, videos.
One of my favorite features in Windows Vista is search results. Users can have a new and improved search experience in Vista; they can manage images more efficiently with inbuilt Photo Gallery and a lot more.