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DRAFT 1 The purpose of this article is to provide a 15 minute guide to Windows Vista's new features and functions. There is a lot to learn so, so we have broken it into three components:
FOR ALL USERS: Paint.NET: This is an excellent and free (even for corporate use) graphics editor. It supports many complex functions including layers but is still quite simple to use. It provides about half the functionality of the biggest commercial products like Corel Draw and Adobe PhotoShop. This program was written by three students at the University of Washington to replace MS Paint. Microsoft ended up hiring all three of them and apparently considered including this program in Vista. Their site is HERE but you can download the product HERE. Vista Codec Pack: THIS free file contains dozens of "COders" and "DECoders" for video and audio content including DiVX and xVID. CutePDF Writer: THIS free program will install a PDF printer for you. In other words, you can FILE, PRINT anything and create a Adobe Acrobat .PDF file. There is an excellent .PDF tool available from Microsoft for Office 2007 products, but you must download it separately and it only works in Office 2007 products. Adobe Acrobat 8: THIS free tool is required for all machines and if Microsoft and Adobe could get along it would be included in Windows. AntiVirus: Avast or AVG are my picks for free and solid Antivirus protection under Windows Vista. FOR POWER USER: TweakVI: This tool lets you configure hundreds of hidden features without having to hack the registry. You can download it HERE.  Boot Configuration Database Editors: Your going to need one if you dual boot unless you like command line editing of your BCD database. BCD Editor has been well received thus far. |
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