Refurbished Computer Explained

Despite encountering its fair share of naysayers, technological laggards and operational glitches, Windows Vista has been slowly but surely proving that it is here to stay. Before making the leap away from Windows XP, the previous and much lauded Microsoft operating system, it is important to assess the features, security and overall user experience provided by Windows Vista, in order to determine whether your computing needs make the switch necessary.

Windows Vista offers quite a few new and enhanced features above Windows XP. These features are inclusive of Windows Aero, a completely redesigned look for the user interface that boasts a cleaner, more transparent appearance with graphic quality that is impressive as well as Live Icons and the new Windows Flip 3D feature. Another important feature offered by Windows Vista is Windows Search; a helpful feature that allows you to search for files or applications from almost anywhere. Unlike the search tool in Windows XP, Windows Search will auto fill the search field after the user types only a few letters. The biggest question Windows XP users have asked in reaction to this interface overhaul is, “Why?” Change just for changes sake is never good, especially when it causes dedicated Windows users considerable frustration because familiar things, like folders, buttons, icons, and files, are no longer in the places where they’re expected to be.

Windows Vista also offers enhanced computer security- a major concern for both home-based and commercial Windows users. For home users, Windows Vista includes Parental Controls that allows the computer’s administrator to create separate user accounts for each child with search and operation boundaries that are set specifically for their respective ages. Another new security feature, Windows Vista User Account Control (UAC), allows the user to operate the computer as a standard user instead of an administrator. The UAC makes it so that password permission or validation from the administrator is required before allowing changes or deletions of certain features, which are denoted with a multi-colored shield, thus preventing these changes from being made accidentally. Critics of Windows Vista point to UAC’s multiple confirmation dialogs and the significant difficulty involved in enabling or disabling multiple network connections rapidly or transporting a file to a protected folder as some of the drawbacks of this particular security feature.

Unlike Windows XP, Windows Vista also includes two different firewalls: the standard firewall that was available in Windows XP and Windows Firewall with Advanced Features. From a security standpoint, these features may sound tantalizing, but today, many third party providers, like MacAfee or AVG can deliver similar computer security, with less hassle.