Productivity

Time is precious. More than ever, you need an operating system that's simple, intuitive, and even fun—so you can zip through tasks and devote more time to the things that matter most in your life.

A smooth transition

Windows Vista makes life easier from the moment you start setting up your new computer. Windows Easy Transfer automatically transfers your important items—including files, folders, pictures, music, settings, and e-mail messages—from your old computer to your new one. Transfer the data using a home network, removable storage, or a specially designed Easy Transfer Cable.

Transfer files and settings from one computer to another.

It's simple—see it, then do it

Available in the Home Premium, Business, and Ultimate editions of Windows Vista, the Windows Aero user interface takes clarity and efficiency to new heights with stunning visual effects including helpful animations, transparent glass menu bars so you can see behind your windows, and Live Thumbnail previews of open programs. Windows Aero includes Windows Flip 3D, which shows you at a glance everything you're working on. Use the scroll wheel on your mouse to page through open windows and easily select the one you want.

See the information you care about right away with Windows Sidebar, which brings real-time information like weather and news directly to the desktop as easy-to-use gadgets.

Get weather and other information right from your desktop.

Find it fast

Instant Search saves time and keeps you on task by enabling you to quickly search across every single document on your PC to find files and e-mail messages based on text, name, or tags that you have assigned. Windows Vista also provides flexible and powerful ways to visualize and organize your documents, so you can browse them in the way that makes sense to you.

Search across your whole computer.

Sort your life moment by moment

Sort your life moment by moment—Windows Photo Gallery makes it much easier to find and share that extra-special shot. Organize your images by date, place, person, star rating—or any tag you choose—and find them with ease, even if you have thousands. Seeing red (eye)? You get basic photo-editing capabilities for easy touchup jobs. When you want to enjoy your photo collection, it takes just a single click to launch a slide show. If you want to view multiple images at once, you can easily resize a folder's thumbnail images to a size that best suits your browsing. Use Windows Movie Maker to express yourself using cool effects and transitions. If you're using Windows Vista Home Premium or Windows Vista Ultimate, you can then use Windows DVD Maker to burn your creations to video DVDs for viewing on PCs or stand-alone DVD players.

Add vibrant color to your photos.

A strong defense

Windows Defender helps automatically safeguard your PC against pop-ups, slow performance, and security threats caused by spyware and other unwanted software. Internet Explorer 7 with dynamic security protection helps you achieve a higher level of security protection when browsing the web than before. Internet Explorer 7 includes many new features designed to protect you against malware and to better safeguard your personal data. Unique to Windows Vista, Protected Mode makes browsing the web with Internet Explorer 7 even safer.

The Parental Controls built into Windows Vista help your kids use the PC more safely and productively. Monitor usage, set time limits, set browsing and program controls, and retrieve detailed activity reports with ease. As children grow and mature, you can modify their individual profiles accordingly.

Set time limits and control what your children can view.

Safeguard your data

Help keep your system safe from data loss using Scheduled and Network Backup, available in the Home Premium, Business, and Ultimate editions of Windows Vista. Automatically scheduled backups and your choice of backup destinations help you to recover your data in the event of hardware failure. It's easy to restore your PC or to bring a new PC to your current state using Complete PC Backup and Restore.^B Together, these features help safeguard every last bit of your PC settings, programs, and personal data. Complete PC Backup is part of Windows Vista Business and Windows Vista Ultimate.

Windows BitLocker Drive Encryption, available in Windows Vista Enterprise and Windows Vista Ultimate, provides full-volume encryption and boot-integrity checking to help make sure your data stays confidential, even if your PC is lost or stolen. The system will decrypt data only if the early boot components appear unmolested and if the encrypted drive is in the original computer.

Windows BitLocker helps you secure your data.

Set up your home network in a flash

The Network and Sharing Center makes it a snap to set up, use, and manage your home network.^N The Network and Sharing Center helps you go wireless, too, so you can experience the freedom of working from your living room, backyard, or any other part of your home that inspires you. Whether you're establishing a wireless connection, sharing a high-speed Internet connection^I between printers and PCs, copying files between computers, or taking a break to enjoy your favorite online entertainment at home, the Network and Sharing Center puts you in control.

Manage your home network quickly and easily.

Work your own way, virtually anywhere

Need to get things done on the run? Use your computer whenever you want by pressing the power button to pause and resume your computer session in just seconds, while conserving battery life in Sleep mode. Quickly navigate through files or websites on an ultra-portable Tablet PC with a flick of your digital pen. Tablet PC support, native to the Home Premium, Business, and Ultimate editions of Windows Vista, includes touch input, digital-ink input, and handwriting recognition. Use the pen to jot down notes, make sketches, or capture screen shots of anything you see on your screen—whether part of a website, a document, or a program—simply by drawing a circle around the object.

Power plans can extend your battery time.

Take your workspace with you

You know what you need, and you frequently need it on the go. Between Sync Center, Windows Mobility Center, and Network and Sharing Center, you'll have the tools you need to stay connected, effective, and entertained just about anywhere. Use the Sync Center to manage data synchronization with connected portable devices. Planning to connect your PC to a new network? Configure portable PC settings for things such as display brightness, power plan, and display orientation in the Windows Mobility Center, and get all the connectivity help you need in the Network and Sharing Center. The Network and Sharing Center walks you through the process of connecting to a wireless network so you can experience the freedom of working from your living room, backyard, or favorite hotspot.^I

Stay connected, effective, and entertained.

Better performance, less maintenance

The Performance Self-Tuning and Diagnostics features in Windows Vista help your PC run better and faster. Onboard self-tuning performance technologies can improve application responsiveness, decrease file download times, and keep your PC running well over time.