KEY POINTS:
It's true what the analysts say - a move to Windows Vista is inevitable. Unless you make late conversion to the Apple Mac or Ubuntu Linux, you'll be using Vista before long. It's not a matter of if, but when.
Buying an off-the-shelf version of Vista Home Premium
is expensive, so the first time you start using Vista may be when you buy your next computer. Here's my top 10 list of things to look forward to when you do make the move.
1. Revamped Search
Searching the contents of your computer is now much easier thanks to the search function conveniently built into the Start menu. Vista constantly indexes your PC's contents so searches are fast. No more messing about trawling through Windows Explorer folders. You can save search terms for future use.
2. Better Security
Windows Defender comes built-in to protect you against spyware and the firewall has been improved to also screen outgoing traffic. You'll probably still need to invest in an anti-virus package to keep yourself safe, but Windows gives more out-of-the-box protection than ever before. Internet Explorer 7's anti-phishing feature is effective and Vista is built to lock down third-party access to key files. On the high-end Business and Ultimate versions, BitLocker encrypts your hard drive in case your computer is stolen or lost.
3. Dynamic Thumbnails
A nice little feature that displays a thumbnail of the application you are running or the webpage you are visiting when you run your cursor over the task bar.
4. Media Center
Now comes as standard on everything but Windows Home Basic and looks better than ever. I've completely taken to it for organising and playing my music and videos. A great media display, especially if you're plugging your Vista PC into a flat-screen TV. Also has a record feature for PCs with TV tuner cards so you can create your own digital video recorder.
5. Networking
Vista marks a great improvement over XP when it comes to sharing files among several computers. You can set up file-sharing properties in the Network and Sharing centre. Finding and connecting to wireless networks securely is easier and Network Map gives you a useful overview of all the devices on your network.
6. Great Looks And Aero 3D
I don't find myself using the Aero 3D interface to shuffle through my applications yet, but I can see the new way of navigating the desktop catching on. More important for me is the nicer look of Vista, the subtle shading, nice fonts and tidier dialogue boxes and menus.
7. Built For Gamers
Vista gathers all your computer games into one folder, just like with photos and music. Direct X10 graphics support will make Vista the ultimate gaming platform when the graphics cards and games hit the market in numbers. Microsoft will also allow Vista gamers to join the Xbox Live world so they can participate in multiplayer games with people on Xbox consoles.
8. Readyboost
An innovative feature of Vista lets you plug in certain USB flash drives to give your system a speed boost. Regularly used programs are loaded into memory held on the flash drive so they can be accessed quickly.
9. Gadgets
I'm loath to give up my Netvibes.com account, which gathers together my favourite RSS feeds, email accounts, calendar and notebook features through one web browser screen. But Vista gadgets may eventually compel me to do so. Gadgets sit on the Vista desktop and put important tools - calendar, stock quotes, news feeds, at your fingertips. There's likely to be a good deal of innovation in this area and dozens of gadgets are already ready for free download. Local gadgets such as the news feeds for TVNZ and the Herald also show promise.
10. Parental Controls
I'm not a parent but many of my friends are and they're worried about what their kids are getting up to on the internet. They're happy for their kids to play computer games, but not overly violent ones and not every waking moment. For those reasons, the new parental controls in Vista will provide comfort. Based on the user accounts you've set up for your family members, Vista lets you control what websites your children can access and block other sites. Using a nifty scheduling tool, you can also limit how much time the kids can play games for each day and restrict access to games based on their ratings.