Windows Vista Feature Focus: Windows Flip and Flip 3D

Vikingod · May 21, 2006, 09:26 PM

Read More / Source: WinSuperSite
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In a previous Windows Vista Feature Showcase, I detailed a new Vista feature called Live Taskbar Thumbnails that helps users organize the many windows and applications they might have open at any one time. Live Taskbar Thumbnails is a Taskbar feature, but what it primarily does is provide a more discoverable way to switch between running tasks. However, Windows has used a less discoverable task switching method, enabled by holding down the ALT key and repeatedly hitting TAB (commonly referred to as ALT + TAB) since the early days of Windows. Surprisingly, this functionality has actually been updated significantly in Windows Vista as well.

In the earliest Windows versions, ALT + TAB was referred to internally at Microsoft as "cool switch". In Windows 3.x, ALT + TAB was usable, but it was sometimes confusing because it wasn't always clear which open window would appear next. In Windows 95, Microsoft improved this functionality to display the icon of each open window as you tabbed through the list of running tasks. This made it easier to find the correct window, even if you had several open windows.

May 21, 2006, 09:26 PM	#1
Vikingod Int'l Fish Liaison Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: By the light of lamp I sit and type... Posts: 16,197 Rep Power: 112 System Specs	Windows Vista Feature Focus: Windows Flip and Flip 3D Read More / Source: WinSuperSite ____________ In a previous Windows Vista Feature Showcase, I detailed a new Vista feature called Live Taskbar Thumbnails that helps users organize the many windows and applications they might have open at any one time. Live Taskbar Thumbnails is a Taskbar feature, but what it primarily does is provide a more discoverable way to switch between running tasks. However, Windows has used a less discoverable task switching method, enabled by holding down the ALT key and repeatedly hitting TAB (commonly referred to as ALT + TAB) since the early days of Windows. Surprisingly, this functionality has actually been updated significantly in Windows Vista as well. In the earliest Windows versions, ALT + TAB was referred to internally at Microsoft as "cool switch". In Windows 3.x, ALT + TAB was usable, but it was sometimes confusing because it wasn't always clear which open window would appear next. In Windows 95, Microsoft improved this functionality to display the icon of each open window as you tabbed through the list of running tasks. This made it easier to find the correct window, even if you had several open windows.