3) Hit: The Aero Glass Graphical User Interface

I'm embarrassed to admit I'm so shallow as to be impressed by an interface that so clearly elevates form over functionality. But the fact is, I was very impressed by Vista's funky new Aero graphical user interface (GUI).

More specifically, I'm impressed by Aero Glass. That's Vista's premium GUI option, featuring translucent elements. They're see-through, and you can change both their color and level of transparency. (Microsoft has posted a video demo of Aero.)

The new Aero Glass GUI features translucent elements. Click image to enlarge and to launch image gallery.

		Top 10 Vista Hits & Misses
		1)  Hit: Sidebar & Gadgets   2)  Miss: Installation   3)  Hit: The Aero Glass GUI   4)  Miss: Performance   5)  Hit: Media Center-ization   6)  Hit: WMP 11   7)  Miss: Search, Security Dialogs   8)  Hit: DRM   9)  Hit: Flip 3D 10)  Miss: Memory Requirements         Conclusions
		Image Gallery

However, Aero Glass is available only if your PC is outfitted with a video graphics card carrying at least 128 MB of video memory. You also need to get a special Windows Display Driver Model (WWDM) driver for your video card. That won't be a problem. Early WDDM drivers are included with Vista (though the OS didn't prompt me to install them over my existing Nvidia drivers), and graphics-card makers are readying drivers of their own.

Without sufficient video memory, Vista defaults to a GUI called Vista Basic, which lacks the translucent sizzle of Aero. (Home Basic version, the cheapest of the five Vista SKUs Microsoft will offer, will feature this interface.)

However, the GUI for users who can't run the full Aero may still be something of a moving target. In early July, Microsoft unveiled an upgraded look for the Vista Basic interface. This was probably in response to the underwhelming reviews for the original version of the interface. The revised Vista Basic is intended to deliver more of an Aero-style look. (To be clear, Aero Glass will be supported in the other four Vista versions: Vista Home Premium, Business, Enterprise, and Vista Ultimate.)