I have said this before and I am going to say it again. Windows Vista gives the user an unprecedented level of control, compared to older versions of the Windows platform. This despite minor setbacks from Patch Guard, Kernel Mode Code Signing and the User Account Control. And “Turn Windows features on or off” is just such an example. I managed to come across this functionality when my Windows Vista Business operating system installed by default without the games that ship with the operating system.

Initially I blamed the operating system and the limitations associated with a modest Windows Experience Score. Since my graphic card is mediocre to say the least, but just enough to run Windows Aero, and on this machine I do not need more, I thought that there was a connection between the lack of horsepower and Vista settings which did not allow me access to the default games of the operating system. Nothing could be further from the truth, after all the games also ship with Windows Vista Home Basic, and this version of the operating system is created to run on low end system configurations. (more…)

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The default installation of Windows Vista weighs in at approximately 8 GB. In fact, Microsoft’s latest operating system won’t even install with less than 15 GB of space available on the hard drive. This is valid for both the low-end and the high-end editions of the platform. A full Vista installation will take up no less than 40 times more hard disk space compared to Windows 95’s 200 MB and five times more than Windows XP’s 1.5 GB. Part of the reason why Vista hugs so much hard disk real estate space is the fact that the operating system brings to the table a plethora of built-in administrative tools that ship by default with the platform.

In this context, the term hidden, is not entirely accurate. Advanced users and system administrators have no problems tracking down and using the administrative tools in Vista. But at the same time, an average user could pass right by them, just because of their low footprint in the operating system’s fabric, as they simply have a way to go by virtually undocumented and unnoticed. But this does not mean that the tools are not there, it just requires a bit of digging under the surface. And you will be surprised of how many long-time Windows users have failed to take a deeper look under the hood of the operating system, even if it would make their life so much easier. (more…)

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