The overall design has been improved as well. The Control Panel has been made more logical, with fewer duplicated choices, and links that more clearly state what clicking on them will accomplish. For example, in Beta 2's Network and Internet control panel, there was an option to set up a network -- except that it really only applied to setting up wireless networks, even though the option showed up on wired networks as well. That option, and others like it throughout Control Panel, have been eliminated.
The new Welcome Center, which launches by default every time you boot Windows, has been made more useful as well. Previously, it seemed little more than a beginner's guide to Windows. Now, it includes more icons that let you accomplish tasks, such as a link to the Backup and Restore Center.
  The new Welcome Center includes more useful links than there were last time. Click image to enlarge. |
There are plenty of new, spiffier-looking icons sprinkled throughout the operating system. And Flip 3D, one of Aero's niftiest touches, has been put in easier reach -- an icon in the Quick Launch area lets you use Flip 3D, so you don't have to use the key combination to launch it. (Flip 3D is a three-dimensional task switcher that lets you scroll through live versions of your open windows. It's a far better and niftier way to switch among windows than using Alt-Tab.)
Also improved is the User Access Control (UAC) feature, designed to keep the operating system safer. In pursuit of that goal, UAC prompts often pop up, asking you to type in a password or continue whenever you're doing something that could conceivably harm the operating system.
In the earlier versions of Vista, the prompt seemed to appear practically any time you touched the keyboard or mouse. It was so maddening that after ten minutes of using Vista, I felt as if I had just been holed up for two weeks with the world's worst nag. No, I don't want to eat my vegetables -- and yes, I do want to change that setting!
 User Access Control has been considerably cleaned up; there are fewer prompts. Click image to enlarge. |
With each release of Vista, it became less and less annoying. Finally, with this release, it's calmed down so much that I rarely notice it any more, and it actually makes sense now. Far fewer tasks involve UAC. For example, previously if you wanted to use Windows Defender anti-spyware, you had to go through a UAC prompt -- an odd choice, considering that Windows Defender is designed to protect your computer, not harm it. Now you can get to Windows Defender, and many other tools and settings, without having to be annoyed by a UAC prompt.
