Test Windows Vista - part 2

Lets start the visit with My Computer, which has had some graphical refreshment in terms of the hard disk and other drives presentation in the form of some very nice looking icons. You will also notice that the system disk or partition now stands out with the Windows logo. A gauge also quickly allows you to see how much space is available on each disk.

Vista My Computer

But it’s also in the way you navigate through the folders that appears to be completely new, and watch out as the changes are quite radical. This is probably going to take some time to get used to.

First innovation, various windows allowing you to navigate within our data have new function, with the toolbars more numerous. You can henceforth, from any window, access the entirety of the data on your computer. Even better, each window has a quick menu allowing access to different keywords, like My Computer or Control Panel. These new toolbars adapt to the content of each folder, for example a folder containing pictures will display new options like making any picture your wallpaper. Nice!

Toolbars adapted to the content

For the description of the folders, new features are also important with the appearance of a new display at the bottom of the window, which advantageously replaces the classic Windows XP status bar. Once a file has been selected, an MP3 music file for example, this display gives you access to all the information contained for this file; name of the singer, album title, year written, length of song, genre of music and the location of the file. Not just those, but also more technical details like the files bit rate, if the file is protected, where its located on the hard disk and even the file type. All in all, a panel that is very useful!

File properties of an Mp3

File properties of a picture

File properties of a text file

Note: It is possible to directly modify some of the information via this display, like the name of the song or singer. Not just this, but it is also possible to leave a comment on the file allowing you to easily find it at a later date with the search tool and a query of your favourite files.