Datasheet

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CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCING WINDOWS VISTA
device is faster than the hard drive on your system, you receive a performance boost
when your system has flash memory devices attached. (This service doesn’t affect your abil-
ity to use the device in any way.)
◆
ReadyDrive improves disk performance by using the flash memory available on hybrid
hard drives. These drives store commonly used information in flash memory, making access
significantly faster. This same feature can also improve laptop battery times because the sys-
tem spins the hard drive up less often.
Enhanced Windows Firewall
Versions of Windows prior to Windows XP didn’t include a firewall at all. Windows XP introduced
a simple firewall, but it only protected you from incoming threats, not threats to outgoing messages.
Windows Vista provides a significantly improved firewall that protects you from both incoming
and outgoing threats. Not only do you get protection both ways, the level of protection has also
increased, as have your configuration options. Chapter 14 provides you with full details on this
enhanced feature.
New Ways of Organizing Your Data
Vista includes a number of new ways to organize your data and you’ll learn about them in detail
in Chapter 8. However, one of the most important new ways is the use of virtual folders. You create
a virtual folder using Vista’s search capabilities, which are significantly better than previous ver-
sions of Windows. In fact, I’d go so far as to say you won’t believe your eyes. Many searches appear
nearly instantaneous and provide results from your e-mail, data folders, and other parts of the sys-
tem. Anything you index appears in the search. A virtual folder saves these search results so you
can grab information from anywhere without knowing or caring where that information physically
appears on the system.
Windows Explorer isn’t as limited in categorizing your data as it has been in the past. You can
create data stacks, essentially virtual folders that classify your data, to sort through your data faster.
When creating a stack, you can choose a default file characteristic such as author or size, or you can
create stacks based on metadata you define. The best part about stacks is that you can access them
from the Windows Explorer content menu with the same ease as sorting.
Explorers help you limit your view of data. For example, Vista includes a document explorer that
shows just the documents in a location without considering all of the other files that might appear
there. In many respects, Explorers are simply another form of search and filtering combined. How-
ever, the view differs. What you see is an actual folder view where you know the location of the data.
The Explorers don’t just deal with data. The Software Explorer (Chapter 14) helps you track appli-
cations on your system, while the Game Explorer tracks your game usage and provides easy access
to the games on your system.
Sometimes what you see isn’t what’s actually there. Windows always supported junctions since
Windows 2000 (even though many people are just now beginning to use them with any regularity).
A junction is a connection to another folder. For example, you can create a junction with a folder on
a network drive on your local drive. Even though that folder doesn’t actually exist on your drive,
you can use it as if it does. Vista adds a new feature called the symbolic link that overcomes some
problems with the junction. Now you can create links to files that work the same as junctions do.
Even though the file doesn’t exist in the location that it appears in Windows Explorer, you can use
it as if it does.
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