What’s New in the Windows Vista User Interface

Gazing upon Windows Vista for the first time, you will immediately be struck by how different everything looks when compared to older Windows versions such as Windows XP and Windows 2000. Now, windows are translucent and glass-like, with subtle animations and visual cues. This new interface leaves no doubt: Windows Vista is a major new Windows version, with much to learn and explore. In this article, we’ll examine the new Windows Vista user interface, called Aero, and explain what you need to know to adapt to this new system.

Understanding the Windows Vista User Experience

When the first PC hit the streets over 20 years ago, users were saddled with an unfriendly, nonintuitive user interface based on the MS-DOS command line and its ubiquitous C:\ prompt. Since then, computer user interfaces have come a long way, first with the advent of the mouse-driven graphical user interface (GUI) on the Macintosh and later in Windows, and then with the proliferation of Internet connectivity in the late 1990s, which blurred the line between local and remote content. Over the years, Microsoft has done much to evolve the state of the art of computer GUIs for the masses. Windows 95 introduced the notion of right-clicking on objects to discover context-sensitive options. Windows 98 introduced a shell, Explorer, that was based on the same code found in Internet Explorer. And Windows XP began a trend toward taskoriented user interfaces, with folder views that changed based on the content you were viewing or selected. In Windows Vista, the Windows user interface, or as Microsoft likes to call it, the Windows user experience, has evolved yet again. Assuming you are running the proper Vista product edition (Windows Vista Home Basic and Starter editions need not apply) and have the right kind of display hardware, you’ll be presented with a translucent, glass-like interface that takes the Windows user interface metaphor to its logical conclusion. That’s right: In Windows Vista, windows actually appear to be made of glass just like real windows. At a higher level, however, it may be comforting to understand that much in Windows Vista has not changed. That is, you still press a Start button to launch the Start Menu, from where you can perform tasks such as launching applications, accessing the Control Panel, networking features, and other related functionality, and turn off the system. A taskbar still runs along the bottom of the Windows Vista desktop, containing buttons for each open window and application. A system tray still sits in the lower-right corner of the screen, full of notification icons and the system clock.

The desktop still contains icons and shortcuts. Windows still appear to float above this desktop, and all of your familiar applications and documents will still work. What you see in Windows Vista depends largely on the version of Vista you’re using, the hardware that’s in your system, and your own personal preferences. More confusing, perhaps, is that you likely won’t see options for all four of the user experiences Microsoft offers in Vista. However, the method you use for changing between these experiences is the same for all Vista product editions except for Starter edition: You need to access the classic Appearance Settings dialog box, which will look familiar if you’re used to previous Windows versions. To access this dialog box, right-click the desktop and choose Personalize. Then, click the Visual Appearance link in the Personalize appearance and sound effects control panel window that appears. Then, click the link titled Open classic appearance properties. (Whew!) This dialog box enables you to switch between what Microsoft still calls, disconcertingly, color schemes (  4-2). Windows Vista Aero is the high-end user experience, and the one you’ll likely want (it’s not available in Vista Home Basic or Starter). Windows Vista Basic is the simplest version of the new user interface, and it is available to all Vista editions, including Starter. Windows Vista Standard (not to be confused with the Windows Standard color scheme) is available only in Windows Vista Home Basic, so many readers will not see this choice. And Windows Classic is available to all Vista editions. All of the color schemes except for Windows Vista Aero, Windows Vista Standard, and Windows Vista Basic actually utilize the Classic user experience. There are other requirements for some of these user experiences, however. In the sections that follow, we’ll highlight the different user experiences that Microsoft has included in Windows Vista, and explain how and when you might see them.

Windows Classic Like Windows XP, Windows Vista includes a user experience called Windows Classic that resembles the user interfaces that Microsoft shipped with Windows 95, 98, Me, and 2000 (it most closely resembles Windows 2000). This interface is available on all Windows Vista product editions, including Starter edition. Classic is included in Windows Vista almost solely for businesses that don’t want to undergo the expense of retraining their employees to use the newer user experiences. Even though Microsoft markets Windows Classic as being identical to the Windows 2000 look and feel, the truth is that there are numerous differences, so users will still require some training when moving to Windows Vista and Classic mode. For example, the Start Menu and Explorer windows still retain the layouts that debuted with Windows Vista, and not the styles you might be used to in Windows 2000. However, you can fix this somewhat. To use the old Start Menu, right-click the Start button and choose Properties. Then, select the option titled Classic Start menu and then click OK. It’s a bit more complicated to use a Windows Explorer look and feel that is closer to that of Windows 2000. To do so, open Computer from the Start Menu and then press the Alt key to display the Classic menu (which is disabled by default in Windows Vista). Select Folder Options from the Tools menu to display the Folder Options dialog. Then, select the option titled Use Windows classic folders and click OK. If you work in the IT department of a business that is considering deploying Windows Vista, you can actually roll out a feature called Classic Mode via Group Policy (GP) that does, in fact, configure Windows Vista to look almost exactly like Windows 2000. Classic Mode essentially combines the Classic user experience with the secrets mentioned previously.

Windows Vista Basic Windows Vista Basic is the entry-level desktop user experience in Windows Vista and the one you’re going to see on Windows Vista Home Basic or in other editions if you don’t meet certain hardware requirements, which we’ll discuss in just a bit. From a technological perspective, Windows Vista Basic renders the Windows desktop in roughly the same way as does Windows XP, meaning it doesn’t take advantage of Vista’s new graphical prowess. That said, Vista Basic still provides many unique Vista features such as integrated desktop search - available via a search box in the upper right corner of every Explorer window - and Live Icons, which show live previews of the contents of document files. Windows Vista Basic isn’t as attractive as Windows Vista Aero, but there are actually advantages to using it. For starters, it does perform better than Aero, so it’s a good bet for lower-end computers. Notearticle and Tablet PC users will notice that Vista Basic actually provides better battery life than Aero, too. So if you’re on the road and not connected to a power source, Vista Basic is a thriftier choice if you’re trying to maximize runtime. On the flipside, Windows Vista Basic has a few major if non-obvious disadvantages. Because it uses XP-era display rendering techniques, Windows Vista Basic is not as reliable as Aero and could thus lead to system crashes and even Blue Screen crashes because of poorly written display drivers. Aero display drivers are typically far more reliable, and the Aero display itself is inherently superior to that offered by Basic. Even if you are running Windows Vista Aero, you may still run into the occasional issue that causes the display to flash and suddenly revert back to Windows Vista Basic. For example, some applications (like Apple QuickTime Player 7) aren’t compatible with Windows Vista Aero; when you run such an application, the user experience will revert to Windows Vista Basic. When you close the offending application, Aero returns. In other cases, certain applications that use custom window rendering will actually display in a Windows Vista Basic style, even though all of the other windows in the system are utilizing Aero. These are the issues you have to deal with when Microsoft makes such a dramatic change to the Windows rendering engine, apparently.

Windows Vista Standard This oddball user experience is designed specifically for Vista Home Basic users and is an olive branch, of a sort, to those who have the hardware required to run Vista Aero but cannot do so because that user experience is not included in Home Basic. Windows Vista Standard has the same hardware requirements as Aero, which we’ll examine in the next section. Vista Standard is essentially a compromise between Vista Basic and Vista Aero. That is, it combines the look and feel of Vista Basic with the underlying display technologies utilized by Aero. Put another way, Vista Standard provides the glitch-free rendering and reliability users will experience with Aero, but using the less attractive Windows Vista Basic UI. If you are running Windows Vista Home Basic and would like to upgrade to Aero, you’ll need to utilize Vista’s unique Windows Anytime Upgrade service - available to Vista Home Basic and Home Premium customers - to upgrade to Windows Vista Home Premium or Ultimate Edition. We discuss Windows Anytime Upgrade in Article 2.