• Aero with Flip 3D

Vista features the Aero operating environment. This theme delivers a bold visual style to Windows, complete with transparency and alpha blending. Aero also features live taskbar thumbnails that let you preview the contents of a minimized window before bring it back to your screen. These thumbnails also appear as you alt+tab through open windows. Aero also allows you to select windows via Flip 3D; this allows you to use your mouse's scroll wheel to flip through open windows using an intuitive 3D interface.

• Windows Sidebar with Gadgets

The Windows Sidebar with Gadgets gives you ready access to frequently used information. Gadgets are mini-applications that reside on the sidebar. You can configure gadgets to display the time, the weather, a calendar and more. You can even move gadgets off of the sidebar and place them anywhere on your desktop.

• Windows Media Center

Windows Media Center turns your computer into a digital hub. It gives you easy access to your digital music, movies, TV shows and photos. Media Center has PVR support when used in conjunction with a computer that includes a TV tuner card. It can also be used to stream digital content to an Xbox 360 or compatible media extender.

• Laptop and Tablet Support

Vista sports enhanced capabilities designed specifically for notebook and tablet computers. The Windows Mobility Center allows you to easily adjust display brightness, power settings, volume, wi-fi, external display settings, display orientation and synchronization status from a central location. Vista also supports tablet PCs via pen support, touch screen support, digital ink input and handwriting recognition technology.

• Windows Meeting Space

Windows Meeting Space is designed to facilitate group collaboration. It features tools that allow you to project your desktop to participants in a conference via a Windows Vista-complaint Network Projector, share a file with a group in a common work area and collaborate on editing files. It even supports group work when a network is not present via an ad-hoc communication mode.

• Windows Defender and Firewall

Windows Defender works to protect your computer from viruses, spyware and other threats. Spyware can often cause pop-up ads, spam e-mail and other annoyances on your computer. Vista also includes an integrated firewall that protects your computer from malicious attacks that originate from the Internet.

• Instant Search

Vista features the Instant Search box, conveniently located on the start menu that allows you to quickly search the contents of your computer. Instant Search is a great tool for quickly locating a document based on a word, phrase, property or file name.

• Internet Explorer 7

Internet Explorer 7 is included for web browsing. IE7 is a fully-functional web browser that includes support for tabbed browsing, RSS feeds and advanced web pages. It even features a protected mode for browsing that allows full web functionality but locks out users from changing important settings on the computer itself.