What’s New and Different About Microsoft Vista?

As sure as day turns to night, PC users have come to expect regular overhauls of Microsoft’s operating system (OS) about every three to four years. Vista, the latest OS from the software giant, hit the shelves in February right around the same time as MS Office 2007, the much-hyped reboot of Microsoft’s ubiquitous productivity suite.

What can long-time users expect of the new system, aside from a potentially difficult adjustment period? According to Ben Shorr, a Honolulu-based technology expert, PC users should brace themselves for four major changes:

New interface. Vista contains a new graphical interface called “the Ribbon,” which replaces the menus and toolbars that have been the trademark of MS Office for years. Major changes here include the Office button, which replaces the File menu in the top left corner of your window and allows users a greater number of applications, including file-sharing.

The Ribbon also features a series of tabs (based on the Firefox web browser) that change, depending on the application you’re using. “It’s pretty different. People will definitely be taken aback,” says Shorr. “But it makes the features a lot more discoverable.”

New file formats. Office 2007 users can look forward to a significant file format change for their documents, from the old .doc to an XML format. The new hybrid .docx files will not only mean more flexibility —you can change numerous documents with one click — but also more space on your hard drive; expect an old 60K document to take up about 25K of space.

PDF integration. You can “natively” save, print and transfer PDF files in just one step — but not without downloading free software from Microsoft first. Adobe’s lawyers had something to say about that, Shorr observes.)

OneNote upgrade. Microsoft’s underutilized note-taking software has gotten a makeover. The new edition of OneNote is ideal for tablet-style computers, opens up new research capabilities and allows for collaboration across multiple computers.

Shorr, who has been using a trial version of the software for almost two years, notes that four years of “massive” user testing lay behind these changes. “They take these things very seriously at the head office,” he says. “[It] was very heavily designed with the user in mind.”

— Brad Mackay

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