5 Ways to Make Vista Better

1. Give Flip 3D brains and beauty
One of the sweetest pieces of eye candy in Windows Vista is Flip 3D, which renders a perspective view of all open windows. Functionally, though, Flip 3D is simply a more visually engaging version of the Alt-Tab functionality that has been in Windows for years. In contrast, Apple's Expose provides the flexibility to see all of the windows of an individual application at once, or blow them all off the screen temporarily to do some impromptu file management, only to return all windows to the exact layout they were before it was invoked. And while we're redecorating, how about an option to auto-hide the Sidebar?

 

2. A better grip on scripts
Batch files and shell scripts can get you pretty far in Windows, as can Visual Basic for Applications in Microsoft Office. But Windows still doesn't have a true equivalent to AppleScript, one of a handful of technologies that Apple brought forward from the classic Mac OS. In Mac OS X Tiger, Apple further expanded access to AppleScript with a sleeper script-building program called Automator. It may not be the first destination for those who have just mastered the double-click, but it's a great capability for broadening the programming base.

 

3. That synching feeling
There are so many options for synching in Windows Vista that Microsoft would do well to synchronize them. The new Sync Center takes a network-based approach, allowing you to create a local copy of files on remote servers. However, Vista also includes the irradicable Briefcase originally introduced to sync files between a desktop and notebook PC. If your company buys Office Enterprise 2007, you may have the third option of folder synchronization using Groove, technology from a startup Microsoft acquired in 2005. And just to throw in the kitchen sync, there's SyncToy, a PowerToy that uses simple lists to provide a number of options for keeping folders in sync even on the same PC. Providing a single, simple, and consistent way to keep files up to date would help Microsoft rescue users from this sync-hole.

 

4. Just do it!
You've just moved your eyes to this line. Are you sure you want to give your eyes permission to read this line? As part of Vista's efforts to provide better security, the operating system checks in early and often to make sure no funny business occurs behind your back. However, that's not very useful if you become desensitized to its constant beseeching. Surely there must be some heuristic Microsoft could employ to recognize that the user has just initiated a request for a program to do something.

 

5. Hop on the hardware
Microsoft may have gone to HD-DVD, but HD-DVD has not come to Microsoft. Sure, Microsoft has even created an HD-DVD drive for its Xbox 360, but for now you must use third-party drivers to handle HD-DVD (or Blu-ray, for that matter) drives in Windows Vista. Microsoft's own Zune player needs to have its driver installed before Vista will recognize it; an update to Vista should improve Zune integration.

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