Explore Windows Vista on Experts Exchange

Windows Vista is an operating system created by Microsoft as the successor to Windows XP. It was intended for PCs, workstations and laptops, and shares the same code base as its successor, Windows 7. New features included an updated graphical user interface (GUI) and visual style dubbed Aero, a new search component called Windows Search, redesigned networking, audio, print and display subsystems, and new multimedia tools. Vista aimed to increase the level of communication between machines on a home network, using peer-to-peer technology to simplify sharing files and media between computers and devices. Windows Vista included version 3.0 of the .NET Framework, allowing software developers to write applications without traditional Windows APIs.