Learning how to interface with Vista

After using Windows XP for almost five years, I've become very, very accustomed to this operating system's UI. So much so, that when I'm working on systems running Windows 2000 Professional or Windows 98 SE, I find myself feeling a bit lost when looking for such things as applications/items/commands on the Start menu, configuration settings in the control panel, and information in the Help system. For lack of a better description, I coined the phrase "UI Shock" to explain the situation in which I experience a momentary lapse of composure.

Well, by now you've heard a lot about the UI changes that Microsoft has implemented in the December CTP of Windows Vista (build 5270), so you can imagine the UI Shock that I've encountered as I began investigating this most recent build of the new operating system. Only this time, instead of reaching back into my memory banks for information about an old operating system, I find myself really working to adapt what I know about XP's UI by overlaying that information with what I'm seeing and experiencing in Vista and trying to build a new sense of orientation and comfort. And while I'm making the transition quite well, that sense of UI Shock still lingers and occasionally pops up in full force when I look for something that I know should be there or when encounter a change in operating system terminology.

As such, when I sat down to write this edition article, I decided that I would cover a couple of the things in Windows Vista that really threw me for a loop. My goal is to prepare you for, and hopefully ease some of the Windows Vista UI Shock that you'll experience when you actually get an opportunity to work with the new operating system for yourself.

Start menu
Of course, the first place that you're going to encounter UI Shock is with the Start menu. I'll start with the Start button. Of course, I'm talking about the fact that the Start button is now a large round graphic rather than a rectangular button. While this new button is very intuitive, it still takes some getting used to — especially when you consider the fact that we've been staring at a rectangular Start button now for the last eleven years. In addition to the change in shape, you'll discover that the button only contains the Windows flag graphic — it no longer contains the word Start although if you hover your mouse pointer over the button, a pop-up appears that does indeed contain the word Start.

Once you click the Start button, you'll discover that the Start menu itself has also been dramatically streamlined. It's still as default a two-panelled menu structure with the most recently used applications appearing in the left panel and the standard items appearing on the right panel. However, you'll notice right away that the standard items in the right panel no longer contain individual icons — only text. A single icon appears at the top of the right panel and changes according to the item you point to. For example, when you point to the Control Panel item, the Control Panel icon appears at the top of the right panel, when you point to the Help item, the Help icon appears, and so on. You'll also note that the ubiquitous "My" lingo has thankfully been dropped. For example, My Computer is now just Computer.

Clicking All Programs no longer opens a separate submenu that pops up over top of the Start menu. Instead, the programs menu simply takes over and occupies the left panel. There's a Back button that when clicked reinserts the most recently used applications into the panel.

Furthermore, the two exit related buttons at the bottom of the Start menu have been streamlined and stripped of title text. By streamlined, I mean that they immediately perform the associated operation rather than bringing up a secondary dialog box from which you're prompted to choose a related option. The first time that I clicked the Shut Down button, I was surprised when the system immediately shut down. That really threw me at first, but now I really like the fact that I'm not being forced to confirm a shut down operation when that is what I really want to do. The other button icon is, appropriately enough, a lock and clicking it immediately locks the system. The lock button has a pop-up submenu attached to it that contains the Switch User, Log Off, Lock, Shut Down and Restart options.

Right-clicking
If you're like me, you right-click everywhere in Windows XP and use the commands on the pop-up context menus to perform any number of tasks. I'm very...

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