Windows Vista is coming up on its one year anniversary since it officially launched, and some of you are just now getting around to determining if you should make the upgrade. Today we thought we’d share five different things you’ll want to do before joining the bandwagon and making the upgrade to Vista so that in the end, you’ll be satisfied with the experience you had. [align=center][img]http://www.3shams.com/gallery/pics/255vistabk0.jpg[/img][/align] [li][b]Determine if Vista is right for you[/b][/li] If you’re content with XP, is there a reason to switch right now? This is the first thing you need to determine before you even begin the process of upgrading to Vista. The following are few of what you could experience in Vista. [b]–Installation–[/b] One of the best things about the installation for Vista is that it takes around 1/2 the time that it took to install XP. In about 20 minutes, your installation process will be complete, and you’ll be ready to use your new operating system. Another thing that you’ll want to note is that it asks for all of your information upfront. Enter in the serial number, walk away, and come back 20 minutes later with the installation process completed. There’s no stopping in between which is a huge improvement from Windows XP! Another important thing to keep in mind is that all of the Vista versions are available for a 30-day trial. When installing Vista, the entire process will be the same, except you leave out the serial number. This will start your 14 day trial. [b]–Eye Candy–[/b] [i]Vista will be known for it’s fancy features and eye candy. Lots of it. Here’s a run-down on all of the ‘easy on the eyes’ features that you’ll find.[/i] Windows Vista Basic - Before you get excited about the eye candy, remember that you’re not going to find the eye candy with Windows Vista Basic. It’s basic for a reason; no transparency, no flip 3D, and no Taskbar thumbnails. Windows Vista Aero (Glass) - You’ve probably seen the Aero in screenshots and other Vista demos floating around the Internet. It includes a translucent start menu/Taskbar, Windows Flip 3D, and Live Taskbar Thumbnails. There’s a wide variety of colors to match your taste. It’s cleaner, and overall a more pleasing look. Vista Aero (glass) on LEFT and Vista Basic on the Right [align=center][img]http://www.techmixer.com/pic/2007/05/vista-basic-and-vista-aero-comparison.jpg[/img][/align] Windows Flip 3D and new Alt-Tab- Angles your open windows and lets you shuffle through them. The new Alt-Tab will show thumbnails of all of the windows that you have open, even if they’re minimized [i](Windows XP doesn’t have the capability of making thumbnails when windows are minimized unless with 3rd party apps).[/i] 3D-Flip In action [img]http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1338/1418157695_57e40c90ae_o.jpg[/img] Alt+Tab Preview [img]http://cyber-knowledge.net/blog/images/thumbs/alt_tab.jpg[/img] Live Taskbar Thumbnails - Whenever you hover over a thumbnail, you’ll get a live preview! If you have a movie playing in a window, you’ll still get the preview showing the movie playing. [img]http://www.tech2.com/media/images/img_3789_thumbnail_450x360.jpg[/img] Instant Search - Searching is all over Vista. That’s one of its’ best features. It indexes the names of files on your hard drive so that the results are instant. The screenshot demonstrates the search box outlined in red, and the instant search results in blue. [img]http://www.robertnyman.com/images/0702/vista-instant-search.jpg[/img] Start Menu - Now all of the programs are contained within the start menu. There are no pop-out menus. If you’re one of those people that have enormous lists of programs in your start menu in XP, it’s needless to say that you’ll be scrolling in your start menu. [img]http://img364.imageshack.us/img364/2850/vistastartmenusearchtexek2.png[/img] Windows Explorer - The big thing with Windows Explorer is the thumbnails that it generates for images. These thumbnails are better and more abundant than the thumbnails you’d find in XP. Another feature is that you can add favorites so that the folders you frequently use are added to the side navigation bar. Our favorite feature however, is the handling of the navigation in the “address” bar. It allows you to navigate between folders very easily. [img]http://blog.windowsvistamagazine.co.uk/resources/windowsvista/essential-vista-tip-11-icon-zoom.jpg[/img] Windows Sidebar - You’ve probably heard about the gadgets that come with Vista. They allow you to customize your Vista experience more with items such as Weather, Feed Headlines, a Calendar, Clock, and Contacts. If you don’t like the items on your sidebar, you can always drag them onto your desktop. [img]http://www.samurize.com/userfiles/5998/VistaSidebar.jpg[/img] Windows Security Center - This gives you a central point to monitor that your Firewall, Anti-Virus, and other security measure are working properly. [img]http://www.cnet.com/i/hlp/vista-security.jpg[/img] Windows Defender - Anti-spyware protection that keeps you safe from harmful malware. Windows Defender analyzes files that are downloaded, and applications that are put on your PC so that you’re always protected against any threat. [img]http://www.microsoft.com/library/media/1033/windows/images/products/windowsvista/features/screenshot_business_defender.jpg[/img] Windows Update - This is a huge step for Microsoft, because they pulled Windows Update out of Internet Explorer. Now you’ll find it in the Control Panel. If you prefer not to use Internet Explorer, you almost have no reason to open it. [img]http://www.smartphonethoughts.com/images/Kris-Vista-WindowsUpdate.jpg[/img] Windows Experience Index - This is a rating for your computer that represents how well your hardware stacks up to benchmarks. Vista performs multiple checks on your computer to analyze graphics capability and processing power. From there it outputs a resulting number. Anything over five tells you that your computer is optimized well for Vista. [img]http://farm1.static.flickr.com/153/338026272_2a7cfb0ef5.jpg[/img] Automatic Disk Defragmentation - Now the disk defragmenter runs every week to ensure that users aren’t neglecting to do this important process. Most people don’t even think about defragmenting their hard drive. Vista is all setup to do it for you. [img]http://www.microsoft.com/library/media/1033/windows/images/products/windowsvista/features/details/3.09autodefrag.jpg[/img] Windows Shadow Copy - Vista will create system restore points for your computer. When it does this, it also allows you to restore individual files from that restore point. To restore an individual file, simply right-click and select ’show previous version.’ Unfortunately, they still don’t allow you to browse the files contained within a system restore point, but this is one step closer. USB Drive Auto Start Applications - This is something that we stumbled upon when we plugged our USB Drive into the system. Often times in XP, it was difficult or impossible to get a program to automatically start when the USB drive was inserted into the computer. We noticed in Vista that as soon as we inserted the drive, our designated program launched automatically in the system tray. [img]http://cybernetnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/01/Vista/VistaWorksForYou/USBDriveAutoStartApplications.jpg[/img] [li][b]Use Vista Upgrade Advisor[/b][/li] The Vista upgrade advisor can be [url=http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/buyorupgrade/upgradeadvisor.mspx]found here[/url]and will prove to be beneficial in determining if your computer is ready for Windows Vista. The Vista Upgrade Advisor will run on your computer and scan for devices and program compatibility issues. [li][b]Manually Check Hardware Compatibility[/b][/li] Want to know if your webcam or video card will work? You’ll want to [url=http://winqual.microsoft.com/HCL/Default.aspx?m=v]visit this site[/url]that Microsoft has put together. Everything is broken down into a variety of different categories. Once you select a category, you can break it down further into company. There are literally thousands of devices listed that are certified for Vista. [li][b]Determine which version is right for you[/b][/li] Microsoft has been teased for releasing so many different versions of Vista. How is one to know which one is right for them? Luckily it’s easy. For a quick overview, checkout a site that [url=http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/editions/choose.mspx]Microsoft has put together.[/url] It’ll briefly explain each version and give you an idea of what might be good for you. [li][b]Shop around for pricing[/b][/li] This is important, especially if you’re a student or teacher. There are discounted versions out there that you might be eligible for. Checkout [url=http://www.academicsuperstore.com/market/marketdisp.html?PartNo=784207]Academic Superstore,[/url] because this is one place where you can get the discount. Additionally, you’ll want to determine if you’re eligible for upgrade pricing. If you have XP Professional, Home, Media Center, Tablet PC, XP Professional x64, or Windows 2000, you’re eligible for upgrade pricing. [url=http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/buyorupgrade/upgradepaths.mspx]Check for that information here.[/url] Hoping this will help anyone who want's to upgrade to WinVista.