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Windows Vista
Windows Vista is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was the direct successor to Windows XP, which was released five years before, at the time being the longest time span between successive releases of Microsoft Windows desktop operating systems. Software release life cycle#Release to manufacturing (RTM), Development was completed on November 8, 2006, and over the following three months, it was released in stages to computer hardware and software manufacturers, business customers and retail channels. On January 30, 2007, it was released internationally and was made available for purchase and download from the Windows Marketplace; it is the first release of Windows to be made available through a digital distribution platform. Features new to Windows Vista, New features of Windows Vista include an updated graphical user interface and Skin (computing), visual style dubbed Windows Aero, Aero, a new search component called Windows Search, red ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Windows Sidebar
Windows Desktop Gadgets (called Windows Sidebar in Windows Vista) is a discontinued widget engine for Microsoft Gadgets. Desktop Gadgets have been replaced by Windows 10 Taskbar Widgets. It was introduced with Windows Vista, in which it features a sidebar anchored to the side of the Desktop environment, desktop. Its widgets can perform various tasks, such as displaying the time and date. In Windows Vista, the widgets are restricted to a sidebar but in Windows 7, they can be freely moved anywhere on the desktop. Windows Desktop Gadgets was discontinued in Windows 8. The Windows 8 Live Tiles can perform a similar function, but they are only visible when the Start menu is visible. They run in a more restrictive environment, making them less risky, but also less useful for some purposes, like system monitoring. History Windows Sidebar originated in a Microsoft Research project called ''Sideshow'' (not to be confused with Windows SideShow.) It was developed in the summer of 2000, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Windows NT
Windows NT is a proprietary graphical operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also in ... produced by Microsoft, the first version of which was released on July 27, 1993. It is a processor-independent, multiprocessing and multi-user operating system. The first version of Windows NT was Windows NT 3.1 and was produced for workstations and server computers. It was a commercially focused operating system intended to complement consumer versions of Microsoft Windows, Windows that were based on MS-DOS (including Windows 1.0 through Windows 3.1x). Gradually, the Windows NT family was expanded into Microsoft's general-purpose operating system product line for all personal computers, deprecating the Windows 9x family. "NT" was formerly expanded to "New Technology" but no ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Subsystem For Unix-based Applications
Interix was an optional, POSIX-conformant Unix subsystem for Windows NT operating systems. Interix was a component of Windows Services for UNIX, and a superset of the Microsoft POSIX subsystem. Like the POSIX subsystem, Interix was an environment subsystem for the NT kernel. It included numerous open source utility software programs and libraries. Interix was originally developed and sold as OpenNT until purchased by Microsoft in 1999. Interix versions 5.2 and 6.0 were respective components of Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Vista Enterprise, Windows Vista Ultimate, and Windows Server 2008 as Subsystem for Unix-based Applications (SUA). Version 6.1 was included in Windows 7 (Enterprise and Ultimate editions) but disabled by default, and in Windows Server 2008 R2 (all editions). It was available as a deprecated separate download for Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012, and is not available at all on Windows 10. Details The complete installation of Interix included (at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Windows DVD Maker
Windows DVD Maker is a discontinued DVD authoring application developed by Microsoft introduced in Windows Vista, available in the Home Premium and Ultimate editions of Windows Vista for users to create slideshows and videos for playback on media devices including DVD players and the Xbox 360 home video game console. It is also available in the Home Premium, Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate editions of Windows 7, but it is no longer available as of the release of Windows 8. DVD Maker features an Aero Wizard-style user interface and includes customizable effects and transitions for slide shows and videos, which are Direct3D hardware accelerated and require the Windows Display Driver Model. Developers can create new effects, styles, and transitions through a software development kit, which include options for project user interface personalization. DVD Maker includes a number of command line options and integrates with other applications in Windows Vista including Windows Med ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Windows Search
Windows Search (also known as Instant Search) is a content index desktop search platform by Microsoft introduced in Windows Vista as a replacement for both the previous Indexing Service of Windows 2000 and the optional MSN Desktop Search for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003, designed to facilitate local and remote queries for files and non-file items in compatible applications including Windows Explorer. It was developed after the postponement of WinFS and introduced to Windows constituents originally touted as benefits of that platform. Windows Search creates a locally managed Index of files — documents, emails, folders, programs, photos, tracks, and videos — and file contents, as well as of non-file items including those of Microsoft Outlook for which users can perform incremental searches based on details such as authors, contents, dates, file names, file types, people, and sizes; the Index stores actual prose from inside documents and metadata properties from other conte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skin (computing)
In computing, a skin (also known as visual styles in Windows XP) is a custom graphical appearance preset package achieved by the use of a graphical user interface (GUI) that can be applied to specific computer software, operating system, and websites to suit the purpose, topic, or tastes of different users. As such, a skin can completely change the look and feel and navigation interface of a piece of application software or operating system. Software that is capable of having a skin applied is referred to as being skinnable, and the process of writing or applying such a skin is known as skinning. Applying a skin changes a piece of software's look and feel—some skins merely make the program more aesthetically pleasing, but others can rearrange elements of the interface, potentially making the program easier to use. Common skinnable applications The most popular skins are for instant messaging clients, media center, and media player software, such as Trillian and Winamp, due t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Graphical User Interface
The GUI ( "UI" by itself is still usually pronounced . or ), graphical user interface, is a form of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices through graphical icons and audio indicator such as primary notation, instead of text-based UIs, typed command labels or text navigation. GUIs were introduced in reaction to the perceived steep learning curve of CLIs ( command-line interfaces), which require commands to be typed on a computer keyboard. The actions in a GUI are usually performed through direct manipulation of the graphical elements. Beyond computers, GUIs are used in many handheld mobile devices such as MP3 players, portable media players, gaming devices, smartphones and smaller household, office and industrial controls. The term ''GUI'' tends not to be applied to other lower-display resolution types of interfaces, such as video games (where HUD (''head-up display'') is preferred), or not including flat screens like volumetric displays because ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Features New To Windows Vista
Compared with previous versions of Microsoft Windows, features new to Windows Vista are very numerous, covering most aspects of the operating system, including additional management features, new aspects of security and safety, new I/O technologies, new networking features, and new technical features. Windows Vista also removed some others. Windows Shell and user interface Windows Aero Windows Vista introduces a redesigned user interface and visual style named Windows Aero (a backronym for Authentic, Energetic, Reflective, and Open) that is intended to be aesthetically pleasing and cleaner than previous versions of Windows, with features such as glass translucencies, light effects, live thumbnails, and window animations enabled by the new Desktop Window Manager. Windows Aero also encompasses a new default typeface (Segoe UI)—set at a larger size than the default font of previous versions of Windows—new mouse cursors and new sounds, new dialog box, pop-up notifica ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Digital Distribution Platform
Digital distribution, also referred to as content delivery, online distribution, or electronic software distribution, among others, is the delivery or distribution of digital media content such as audio, video, e-books, video games, and other software. The term is generally used to describe distribution over an online delivery medium, such as the Internet, thus bypassing physical distribution methods, such as paper, optical discs, and VHS videocassettes. The term online distribution is typically applied to freestanding products; downloadable add-ons for other products are more commonly known as downloadable content. With the advancement of network bandwidth capabilities, online distribution became prominent in the 21st century, with prominent platforms such as Amazon Video, and Netflix's streaming service starting in 2007. Content distributed online may be streamed or downloaded, and often consists of books, films and television programs, music, software, and video games. Stre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Windows Marketplace
Windows Marketplace was a Microsoft platform for the delivery of software electronically that was secured by use of Windows Live ID (now Microsoft account). The digital locker platform was composed of four major components: #Windows Marketplace catalog #Multi merchant download cart #Digital Locker Assistant (a client-side application that facilitates the download of purchased applications) #Digital Locker For consumers, the digital locker and Windows Marketplace could be used for purchasing and downloading third party software titles compatible with Microsoft Windows, and then using that purchased software on any computer the software license allows. For software developers, the digital locker and Windows Marketplace was for the distribution of their software titles. A Windows Vista Ultimate Extra, called ''Secure Online Key Backup'' allowed backing up EFS recovery certificates, as well as the BitLocker recovery password in the Digital Locker. Windows Marketplace was only a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Software Release Life Cycle
A software release life cycle is the sum of the stages of development and maturity for a piece of computer software ranging from its initial development to its eventual release, and including updated versions of the released version to help improve the software or fix software bugs still present in the software. There are several models for such a life cycle. A common method is that suggested by Microsoft, which divides software development into five phases: Pre-alpha, Alpha, Beta, Release candidate, and Stable. Pre-alpha refers to all activities performed during the software project before formal testing. The alpha phase generally begins when the software is feature complete but likely to contain several known or unknown bugs. The beta phase generally begins when the software is deemed feature complete, yet likely to contain several known or unknown bugs. Software in the production phase will generally have many more bugs in it than completed software, as well as speed/performan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
