The Computer link on the Start menu, as you might expect, is Vista's equivalent to My Computer (
Figure). This window gives you a drive-high view of your PC, and will list any hard drives, CD/DVD drives, and removable storage devices that might be connected to your system. As with other shell windows, Computer features a preview pane on the bottom (which can be moved to the right side or hidden) and a breadcrumb bar in place of XP's address bar, which makes it handy to jump around in the shell namespace as needed. Inexplicably, some windows display the preview pane on the top and have different options available to them (
Figure). There's nothing like consistency.
Control Panel has been significantly updated with a new look and feel, though it retains the category-based organizational scheme (
Figure) that Microsoft pioneered in XP (and Apple borrowed in Mac OS X 10.3, see my review). In Classic View, Control Panel betrays a few new features, including an Auxiliary Display applet, which will work with the next generation of notebook computers and Tablet PCs (
Figure). A new Programs applet replaces the old Add or Remove Programs and provides front-ends for adding programs, viewing and removing installed programs and updates, and other options (
Figure). A new Solutions to Problems applet will apparently one day out-help Help, but right now it's pretty useless (
Figure). And the Windows Parental Controls applet hints at future features, while in Beta 1 it offers just limited functionality (
Figure).
Some of the functionality in Vista Beta 1 is in transition. For example, while the Add Printer Wizard is new, it can currently only find Bluetooth-based printers in Beta 1, and not network-attached printers (
Figure). In other places, like Mouse settings, the dialogs are identical to those in XP.