What’s the point of Microsoft making Windows Vista?
Microsoft spent far longer developing Windows Vista than it did any previous version of Windows, and the results show. Everything you see and use, from the desktop to networking, searching, using the Internet, and beyond, has been overhauled. The interface includes transparent windows and windows animations; the operating system includes a series of Centers, such as the Network and Sharing Center and the Mobility Center, that make it easy to perform your most common tasks and customize how your PC works; and the search function has been baked so deep into the operating system that you need to type only a few letters of what you’re looking for and the results start to show up immediatelyeverything from files to programs to mail to web sites. And there are plenty of other major changes as well, such as a Sidebar brimming with Gadgets that perform common tasks for you.
But it’s not just what you see that has been altered, and that’s not what took up most of Microsoft’s time in developing this new version of Windows. Under the hood, the changes are even more dramatic, mostly having to do with security. In the years leading up to the release of Windows Vista, security had become one of the top, if not the top, concerns of most PC users. Spyware, worms, viruses, scammers, crackers, and snoopers had become ubiquitous, and because Windows is by far the most dominant operating system on the planet, it was Windows that they targeted. So Microsoft spent a great deal of effort hardening the operating system against threats. Some of this effort is visible, such as the new Windows Defender antispyware tool, the more powerful firewall, and the phishing filter built into Internet Explorer. But much of it is invisible to you, such as Windows Service Hardening, which stops background Windows services from being used by malware to damage the filesystem, Registry, or network to which the PC is connected.
The result is a new operating system that is more secure than previous versions of Windows, with a more sophisticated interface (some call it more Mac-like) and easier ways to find files and data.
Windows Vista also has heftier hardware requirements than any version of Windows to date, and it is a major enough change that it may take those who use earlier Windows versions some time to relearn how to use the operating system.
Knowing the Right Connection For Your Computer
You should understand what kind of Wi-Fi card (or expansion device) you can use with what kind of computer. This will help you to specify the device you need when you are buying it from an online source, and make sure you get what you need the first time.
PCI cards are internal cards for Windows desktop computers only.
PCMCIA cards (also called PC Cards) and mini-PCI cards are for Windows laptops only.
USB devices will plug into any computer with USB connectors, and will work with Windows desktop and Windows laptop computers (and also with Apple computers in many cases).
The Internet Is A Global Village
A number of villages in northeastern Cambodia use Wi-Fi in an unusual way to connect with the Internet. Five men on mountain motorbikes connect these villages, which are otherwise too remote for Internet access, with the world. Each motorbike is equipped with a rugged portable computer equipped as a Wi-Fi access point.
Internet search queries and email are stored on the portable devices when each bike drives past solar-powered stations near the villages, which are linked to the villages using standard Ethernet cabling. Then the content is “dropped-off,” again using Wi-Fi technology, when the bike goes past a central satellite station that connects to the Internet.
The same process in reverse brings email (and answers to queries) back to the villages.
You can read more about this pioneering effort that uses Wi-Fi to bring the Internet to some of the world’s most inaccessible places