Fun Up Your Home with Windows Vista

Vista, PC operating system, Music, Movies, Photos, security, fun software

Product Category: Software

Unleash the potential of your PC with Windows Vista. Vista is the software that brings advanced security, usability and fun to your computer with the best ways to share, sort and store photos, music, video, TV and movies.

Top 10 Vista features
Check your version
Which version is right for you?
Windows Anytime Upgrade

It's hard to know where to start talking about Windows Vista, because there are so many great things that it does.

So to start, here's what we've termed ...

The Top 10 Things You Can Do with Windows Vista: (click the plus signs to expand)

1. Bring your TV and PC together & take home entertainment to a new level

Tired of huddling around the PC for entertainment? Connect your PC to one or more televisions in your home using a Windows Media Center Extender like Xbox 360, and enjoy all your digital entertainment on the big screen — from photo slideshows, home videos and digital music to live and recorded TV shows and movies.

2. Keep photos organised & ready to share

Is your photo collection getting out of hand? You don't have to search through folders to track down the ones you want. Now you can tag your photos with a date, keyword, rating, or any label you choose so you can find them quickly and easily in Windows Photo Gallery.

You can also use Photo Gallery to fix and edit photos, then share them with family and friends through slideshows, email, prints or a free Windows Live Space website — so everything you need for photos is in one place.

3. Record and watch TV on your time

Watch TV on your own schedule - not the network schedule. If your PC has a TV tuner, you can record, watch and pause live television on your desktop or mobile PC using Windows Media Center.

With multiple TV tuners, you can even record one channel while watching another. When and where you watch your shows is now up to you.

4. Create a custom movie without a fine arts degree

Making a great home movie just got easier. Use Windows Movie Maker to blend videos and photos into a rich movie, complete with your own soundtrack, titles, effects and credits.

When your masterpiece is ready to share with family and friends, you can easily create a professional looking DVD in Windows DVD Maker.

5. Keep track of your music & play it anywhere

The larger your music collection grows, the harder it can be to organise and keep track of it. But now you can easily scroll, flip, browse through and play your entire music library in Windows Media Player 11. You can even create new playlists of your favourite tracks with a single click or even build the ultimate digital jukebox.

Keep your music moving with you by easily synchronising your portable music device, or share the contents of your entire library with other computers on your home network or with digital media devices such as Xbox 360.

6. Surf multiple waves of the web at once

Like to jump from website to website? Satisfy your appetite for multitasking without having to open several browser windows. You can open multiple webpages in one window and easily click between them with the tabbed browsing feature in Internet Explorer 7 — plus, you can see thumbnail images of all your open webpages at a glance with Quick Tabs.

7. Help your family and PC stay safe

Worried about your kids computer use — or what they may encounter online? Now you can set boundaries on what your kids can do on the PC to give them a safer experience, using the centralised Parental Controls in Windows Vista. You can even restrict games and websites.

Plus, you can better protect your PC and your personal information, as well as your family, with built-in security tools like Windows Defender and anti-spam and phishing filters.

8. Find that file in a few quick clicks

You don't need to remember folder names to be organised anymore. Save time by instantly tracking down any document, photo, email message, song, video, file or program on your PC using Instant Search.

Just open the Start menu and begin typing in the Instant Search box — Windows Vista searches file names, application names, the full text of all files and metadata, and then displays the results right away.

9. See everything you have open at a glance

Lost track of what files and programs you've opened? Flip through all your open files and windows with a simple click of your mouse using Windows Flip 3D - you're just one click away from everything you're working on.

Plus, in Windows Aero, when you rest your mouse pointer on the taskbar, you can see thumbnail images of the windows you have open without having to expand them - so you can find what you're looking for at a glance.

10. Keep the things you need most at your fingertips

No need to open a web browser to check traffic and weather, open a calculator to add up a few numbers, or open an application to see your calendar. Now you can put mini-applications called gadgets right on your desktop, where you can see and use them whenever the mood strikes. Just use the Windows Sidebar pane to store and organise your favourite gadgets.

So that's our Top 10, and there's so much more to talk about! However, please note: some product features are only available in certain editions of Windows Vista and may require additional hardware.

Check which version of Windows you are running currently:

On the taskbar at the bottom left of your screen, click Start or the Windows symbol , and then click Run
In the Run dialog box, type: winver
Click OK and a dialog box displays the version that you have

So what versions of Windows Vista are there?
No matter how you use your PC there's an edition of Windows Vista that's right for you. Use the information below and this comparison chart to help you choose your edition.

Ultimate
Windows Vista Ultimate is the choice for those who want to have it all. Easily shift between the worlds of productivity and play with the most complete edition of Windows Vista. Ultimate provides the power, security and mobility features needed for work, and all the entertainment features that you want for fun.

Home Premium
Windows Vista Home Premium is the edition for home desktop and mobile PCs. It provides a breakthrough design that brings your world into sharper focus while delivering the productivity, entertainment and security you need from your PC at home or on the go.

Home Basic
Windows Vista Home Basic is ideal for homes with basic computing needs like email, browsing the Internet, and viewing photos. Easy to set up and maintain, it enables you to quickly find what you're looking for on your PC and the Internet, while providing a more secure environment to help protect you from an unpredictable world.

Business
Windows Vista Business is the first edition of Windows designed specifically to meet the needs of small businesses. You'll spend less time on technology support-related issues so you can spend more time making your business successful. Windows Vista Business is the definitive choice for your business today and tomorrow.

Plus, if you already have Windows Vista you can upgrade to Ultimate with Windows Anytime Upgrade.

Windows Anytime Upgrade
Windows Anytime Upgrade kits - which include a DVD and license that allows customers to upgrade their existing edition of Windows Vista to a premium edition - are available in New Zealand via your favourite retailer or reseller.

Read more about Windows Vista on the official NZ website here. For the latest offers on Microsoft Windows Vista & where you can buy it, click here.