"Wow…Vista…wow…"

This is my first blog. I was planning to write a blog for a long time. But I was not sure what to write. When I got my new laptop couple of days before and started exploring it, I decided "Hmmm…My first blog is going to be about Vista" because I fell in love with Vista. Vista is giving me a scintillating experience which I was dreaming right from the day I started using computer. The look and feel of Vista is awesome.

The things that I like the most in Vista:

1. The folder view
   
   
   

   If it is a document folder, it shows the folder containing excel sheets, word docs inside. If it is a picture folder, it shows a couple of pictures in an angular view. This view is amazing.
   

2. Switching between windows:
   
   
   

   When I click on the 'switch between windows' icon on the task bar, it shows all the windows in a slanting position one below the other. You should experience yourself to find out the sheer pleasure in viewing it.
   

3. Search in Start Menu:
   
   
   

   I just ask this question to myself again and again…How they can think of all these cool things. There is a text box in the start menu in which you can search for your documents, settings, control panel, power options and all the system contents. You need not explore the whole system to change the system settings, to find a file or to search anything in the machine.
   

4. Gadgets:
   
   
   

   You can set up whatever gadgets you need on your desktop. This includes Clock, CPU Usage, Stock, weather, etc. Why to go to a website to find out all this info…just have a look at your desktop. Isn't it superb?
   

   
   

   To get a gadget, click on the Windows sidebar icon on the taskbar. Click on the '+' to add a gadget. This will list all the available gadgets.
   

5. Windows Calendar and Contacts:
   
   
   

   I used to maintain all my appointments, tasks in Outlook. But I need to open outlook if I need to get a reminder for my appointment or task. But Vista comes with a Calendar which reminds you of your tasks, appointments and the only requirement is to have your machine switched on. Doctor's appointment, friend's birthday, bill payment….don't worry, your machine will remind you.
   

   
   

   There is Windows Contact to maintain all your contacts phone number, email ids, address, etc. The most exciting thing in this is there is a family tab in this calendar. In this you can add all the family members of your friend/relative and their anniversaries, birthdays and the all the other important things about them.
   

6. Other cool stuff:
   
   
   

   Personalization:
   

   
   

   Go to Start Menu and type 'Personalization'. Go there and set the color, display, desktop background, screen saver, sound and all the other things you want in your machine.
   

   
   

   Sticky Notes:
   

   
   

   You can create notes by drawing and voice recording. You can use the Sticky Notes accessory to write and store short notes, phone numbers, and other reminders. You can place sticky notes directly on your desktop as quick reminders or in any OLE-enabled program, such as Word, to add electronic comments or reminders to your documents.
   

   
   

   Works Task Launcher:
   

   
   

   You can manage all the tasks of your family in this. To plan your daily tasks or trips or expenses…use this.
   

   
   

   
   

   There are so many utilities like the above. But I am not familiar with all. I have listed the things that I got a chance to look into.
   

   
   

   Explore Vista and make your life simpler.
   

   
   

   Bugs L
   

   
   

   I listed all the useful stuff in Vista. But there is also a bug that I found. Power and Volume icon on the task bar suddenly disappears. This happens very often with no reason. I was not able to find why it happens. I tried going to Task Bar properties – Notification tab. Under the System Tray, these two icons are unchecked and disabled. So I was not able to select them. I tried logging off and logging in. Once I do this, these icons become enabled in the notification area and I selected them. This solves the problem.

There is another problem in Vista that I recently found. It is about the CD/DVD drive. I was inserting CD/DVD in the drive and was trying to play it. But the drive was not getting detected. I searched in google and came to know that there are so many people who are facing the same issue. There was one solution given in the below link

http://www.randomfix.com/2007/04/12/windows-vista-%E2%80%93-missing-cddvd-rom-drive/

This worked perfectly fine. The solution is to do some delete in the registry editor. Here are the steps to follow:

1. Go to start and type "regedit" without quotes

2. Open the registry editor. Click on the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE available on the left menu bar.

3. Then go to edit menu. Click on the find and type "Filters". There will be a number of keys opening in the right side of the editor.

4. Look for two keys named "LowerFilters" and "UpperFiltes". These two keys have to be deleted. Before deleting, take a backup of all the details of these two keys (in case if they are needed in future). Then delete them by selecting them and pressing the delete key. Confirm deletion.

These steps make the drive work.