Tweaking Aero: How to Speed Up Vista and Other Tips and Tricks

Microsoft has done wonders with the new Aero features of Windows Vista.  Every version, except Home Basic, arrives complete with Aero. Aero’s features have beautified some of the more common tasks inside Vista. 

Aero also gauges how transparent a window should be, and creates animations related to opening and closing a window, and Aero Glass adjusts the translucent window appearance. Of course, this all takes resources from your computer. For what Aero spends in system resources, it definitely makes up for in livening up a computer session.

If you are new to Windows Vista, then this article should assist you in finding the beauty in the operating system. For those early adopters, this article may feature functions you did not know existed. We also discuss ways to speed up the Aero experience for systems without enough power to display all the features properly.


First Impression of Windows Aero

I have to admit that I loved Windows Aero when I first experienced the see-through glass look, the quick animations, and the Aero flip. Can you believe that feature, I thought?! Why didn’t they think of that sooner?

I have heard the arguments that Windows Vista copied Apple. The Steve Jobs camp claimed Bill Gates had xeroxed what Jobs had done years earlier. And who would not see the similarities? But I feel however the Windows Aero features integrate very well with the operating system. The seamless integration into the framework of Windows Vista makes them even more vital to the users, although at times they can slow down the system. The computer system specifications need to be fairly robust. For instance, rather than just 1 GB of RAM, I would recommend using 2 GB with most versions of Windows Vista. With the right processor, RAM, and hard drive speed, you can experience all the interesting Windows Aero features without too much burden on system resources. On the other hand, if your system only meets the very minimum specifications for Vista, Aero will cause a noticeable slow-down.

Many of the Aero features become more and more useful as you become accustomed to their behavior. For instance, to view the contents of a minimized window, you can hover over the window tab on the taskbar to view a small picture of it. The smaller version of the window allows you to track open windows with greater efficiency And you’ll soon find the feature intergrated seamlessly into your computing.

Many argue that Windows Aero only beautifies a session. While Aero certainly makes the operating system more visually appealing, it also adds a level of productivity and sleekness to the work environment. Why not have a work environment that functions well and looks good doing it?

Aero Flip might be the most useful tool in Aero. You can try the Aero features out by selecting Alt + Window Button on your keyboard. You can also use the new Alt + Tab feature to see smaller versions of the open window. While you cannot modify these crucial elements of Windows Aero, we feel they add a lot to the discussion of Aero and should not be overlooked.

Aero Glass

The Aero Glass feature offers some of the more robust modifications out of all the Aero features. Aero Glass controls a window’s transparency. You can also change the colors of the windows from the standard see-through clear color, to any color under the Microsoft palette.

How to Alter the Aero Glass Translucence 

1. Right click the desktop and then select Personalize from the drop down menu.
2. Select Window Color and Appearance.
3. Adjust the window border opacity by moving the Color intensity slide rule back and forth. The farthest to the right makes the window borders solid and furthest to the left makes the windows more opaque.