Speed up Windows Vista New Features - Quick Launch Tab, Windows Voice Recognition & the Vista Side Bar
1. Keyboard shortcuts work with Quick Launch Tabs
The Quick Launch Toolbar that runs along the bottom-left side of the display in Vista is a quick way to launch your favorite applications. If you find moving your mouse a bit of a bore, then Vista introduces a keyboard shortcut that starts application even faster. Just hold down the Windows key and tap the number key that indicates its position on the toolbar. For example, to launch the first program from the left, press the Windows key and 1 at the same time.
2. Voice commands let you control Windows and edit text
Tired of typing text documents and weary of pushing a mouse around to navigate folders? Try telling Vista what to do instead. The Speech Recognition tool, used with a headset that includes a microphone, allows your computer to “take dictation.” You just need to complete a tutorial so that Vista can learn your voice. It works faster and it is far easier to say the text that you want in a document. As for controlling Windows, it is not that easy, but it’s definitely worth checking out.
3. Security Center offers all-in-one control
Vista includes a new Security Center that enables you to monitor and adjust security settings and updates in a single Window. When Windows Firewall is OFF, the Security Center in XP displays a warning that computer is unprotected. Vista, however, works cooperatively with the third-party software protecting your computer, giving you specific warnings and details, and allowing you to download and install vital security updates without any hassle.
4. Vista Mobility Center keeps you in power when you are on the move
It is very important to keep an eye on battery life if you are on the move with your laptop. Laptops powered by Vista include a feature called Vista Mobility Center that helps you manage wireless connections, display, brightness, and power management so you can get the most efficient use from your laptop battery. This feature also enables the user to synchronize data between devices such as mobile phones and other computers.
5. Installation of IntelliPoint software adds more features to Vista
The IntelliPoint software when installed in Vista acts more like a real magnifying glass so that you can select the size of the magnifying window to see a small section of a document, Web page, or photo. Also, the size you select will be remembered for future use and you can change the magnification level from 1.5x to 5 x.
This post is part of the series: Unveiling Windows Vista’s secrets
Windows Vista offers a huge range of possibilities. You might be using Vista for a long time now but there are some tools, features and functions which you might not even heard about. Let us unveil Vista’s best kept secrets
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