That's not Vista's only downside, either. Despite the huge influx of features and options, there are still many areas in which Windows is curiously lacking. The most obvious oversight is Vista's absence of built-in anti-virus protection. Other areas, such as hard disk maintenance tools and office applications, are still somewhat weak, too.



On top of that, many of Vista's much-touted cosmetic elements can slow down performance, especially on older pes, while some peripherals and software that worked with XP may run into problems when used with Vista. In fact, with a little know-how it's easy to plug these gaps and iron out performance and compatibility problems. We'll be doing just that later on.

With so many features, utilities, settings and options tucked. away in every corner, it's only natural that pe.ople coming to the as for the first time might not initially recognise Vista's full potential. And that's precisely where we pick up the story. It is our aim to both uncover Windows Vista features you may not know about and show you how to get more from the features you are already familiar with. We want to make sure you maximise your possibilities and put you in charge of your PC, whether you're exploring new avenues, getting to grips with the basics, sorting out a problem or just setting your computer up so it works the way you want it to.