Whats the best thing you like about Vista that isn't on XP?

I would have to say the most useful thing so far would be the search function, its really awesome. I would use ReadyBoost but I don't have a fast enough sd card .

What are your favorite features?

 

Disk management, being able to partition drives without paying for yet another program.

 

I agree, the search function. It's just so much quicker to find things now. It took me a couple of seconds to find an assignment I did 5 years ago, buried in a massive folder full of rubbish. It would have taken forever in XP.

 

Search, Native-DVD burning, Aero and the directory tree in Windows Explorer is better.

 

whats the native-dvd burning? where can i find an in depth list of all the new stuff that vista has and XP doesnt?

 

I don't think all versions have the DVD-burning?

Thats another thing, lower end Vista versions might lack some features.

 

You can write to DVDs in all versions. However, only Home Prem and Ultimate have Windows DVD Maker to make home movies. Also, only Home Prem and Ultimate have built-in DVD codecs so that you don't need 3rd party software to watch a commercial DVD.

However, being able to natively copy lots of files to a DVD rather than CD and without using Nero..etc is pretty cool.

 

- searching
- glass
- built in gadgets
- readyboost (though i don't feel that this was necessary before vista)

 

I haven't used Vista on my computer yet (though I did use it friend's computer), and isn't the search function in Vista pretty much the same as Windows Desktop Search in XP?

 

Windows Desktop Search is not integrated into XP. Plus, adding the search bar in the Start menu is a great idea. It's much easier to run non-start menu programs by just searching for them. It also does not take up taskbar space like WDS.

The service that runs this search is likely identical, but because it's not native in XP it is valid for this list. Sure, you could add most all of these features to XP, but that's not what the thread is about.

 

The searching function intergrated to the start menu, the sidebar, Aero, power management, the huuuuuge database of drivers that allows one to use the device as fast as possible and the stabiltiy on my particular computer.

try saying them in one breath. But wait there's more!

 

Most of the advancements already mentioned here. Aero, desktop search, security, etc

But there is another thing that really want me to use Vista rather than XP. It deals with how Windows create and manipulate images, between GDI (Graphics Device Interface) mode and DWM (Desktop Windows Manager).

There is a dilema to use high resolution LCD in XP. While it will make everything look crisp, it also make everything looks so small - thin taskbar, small icons, etc. And if you change the DPI setting in XP, high likely you will jeopardize the look of the desktop. Some icons are disproportionally big, some texts are misaligned, some icons look jagged, etc.
It is connected to how XP deal with images in its own shell. Have something to do with bitmap images.

In Vista the problem dissapear. One should not be afraid to choose the highest resolution they can pick. If you feel everything is too small, you can change the DPI setting and everything still at their proportion, just look bigger. There is no jagged icons. Vista deal with images with vector based algorithm.

For more about this please refer to :
http://arstechnica.com/reviews/os/pretty-vista.ars/3

In Vista i can enjoy WSXGA+ screen with icons and fonts adjusted to my needs and comfortable. In XP i have to sacrifice comfort in default size in order to avoid a "mess look desktop" when playing with DPI settings.

In high resolution, everything look less grainy, Aero very crisp and vibrant, and for the most of all, still comfortable to see with my eyes.

 

synchronization with mobile devices is great too!

 

Oh yeah, and I hear the Vista tablet integration blows XP Tablet Edition away.

 

- Like many others, I'm in love with the search function in the start menu. Every time I'm on somebody elses computer in XP, I find myself pressing the windows button, and starting to type the name of whatever program I want to launch. It's just so incredibly easy and fast aswell, thanks to the indexing service.

- AERO. What can I say, it looks sweet.

- The Windows Mobility Center. Press win + x, and you have (almost) all your mobility related tools in one place.

Thats some of the big ones for me.

On the flipside(no pun intended), Flip 3D was rather disappointing in my opinion, it's just not fast enough the windows could have been arranged in a more intuitive way.I find myself only using it when I'm showing off the OS to others . I'm an avid alt+tab user though.