Good to Know

What’s that? You don’t eat, sleep and breathe technology? Then chances are, you’re going to come across some terms you’re not familiar with during your switchover to Vista. Here are a few definitions to help you feel more at home in this high-tech world:

Aero: Vista’s newly designed user interface—in all editions except Home Basic—offering translucent windows, live taskbar thumbnails, smoother window animation and Flip 3D (see below).

DirectX 10: Vista’s groundbreaking graphics technology—it works behind the scenes, allowing you to experience high-performance graphics, such as a new level of realism in games.

Driver: A set of instructions (typically a .dll file) that allows your devices—printer, hard drive, video card, etc.—to function properly on your system.

Firewall: A program that helps prevent unauthorized access to your internet-connected computer (or network) by filtering ingoing and outgoing traffic.

Flip 3D: A Windows Aero feature that allows you to view all open windows in a 3D stack. Press Start+Tab then hold down Start and press Tab to rotate through open windows.

Forum: An online community where you can read or post questions, answers or comments on a particular topic.

Patch: A fix for, or enhancement to, a software program.

Shadow Copy: A Vista feature that creates copies of your documents as you work, allowing you to retrieve previous versions. (Available in Business, Ultimate and Enterprise editions only.)

Sidebar: A pane on one side of your Vista desktop that holds gadgets—mini-programs that offer frequently used tools or information.

SuperFetch: A Vista technology that preloads into system memory the programs and files you use most, so they’ll load faster.