If you have Windows Vista installed over your laptop / PC and it isn’t Windows Vista Basic, then you might be missing on a feature known better as Windows Aero. This feature enables you to experience the magical glassy interface of Windows Vista which is one of the two distinct user experiences of this latest version of Windows.
This feature wasn’t enabled by default over my laptop and I had to crack a bit in order to find the option to enable it. So here is the procedure to activate the Windows Aero Experience –
Go to Control Panel > Personalization > Windows Color and Appearance
In Appearance, select Windows Aero under Color Scheme and click Apply.
After it is activated, you can check the difference in User Interface using Windows + Tab or Alt + Tab functionality. It is just awesome. You will love the transition between windows over screen using Aero appearance theme.
Windows Flip 3D (Win+Tab keys) – Courtesy Wikipedia
Also it may happen that your graphics card doesn’t support Aero, then in that case, you may like to apply a small registry hack in order to experience this wonderful display feature.
Windows Flip (Alt+Tab keys)- Courtesy Wikipedia
Also there is Taskbar Thumbnail UI element which lets you see the thumbnails of windows minimized to the taskbar –
