On Wednesday, Microsoft released its new operating system, Windows Vista, to hardware manufacturers. It marked the end of its development phase and the beginning of the distribution phase.

For more than a year, we have seen various builds -- most of them private but some public -- with ever-increasing build numbers. Although ZDNet Australia sister site CNET News.com received a build that is technically a pre-RTM build, all of the markings -- both internal and external -- read Windows Vista RTM build 6000 and reflect all the final fit-and-finish enhancements expected in a final software release.

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Before installing Windows Vista, there's an option to go online and use Microsoft Vista's Upgrade Advisor on your current PC. The downloadable ActiveX component will inventory your current hardware and determine which version of Windows Vista is best suited for you: Windows Vista Basic, Windows Vista Home Premium, Windows Vista Business or Windows Vista Ultimate. On our test laptop, an Acer TravelMate 8200, Microsoft recommended Windows Vista Business.

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Right away, first-time users will be greeted by a Welcome Center, complete with tools to migrate data from another partition or hard drive as well as various services offered by Microsoft.

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For us, the installation took a little more than an hour. It's pretty much an automated process, with the installer first copying the ISO image onto the new hard drive or partition, then expanding that image. Once again, we experienced an uncomfortably long plateau at expanding: 27 percent. As with previous builds, we waited about five minutes before the expansion continued. About halfway through the process, the installer rebooted and continued the installation in Windows Vista.

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This is a new Sidebar component, preloaded with three gadgets -- one each displaying time, a photo gallery slide show and an RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed.

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Other than a rounded, more stylised Start menu, the changes in the Windows Vista desktop aren't immediately apparent to long-time Windows XP users. But look closely. For instance, within the Start menu there's no need to use All Programs. Instead, simply type the name of the app you're looking for and a shortcut will appear as a search result. If you miss All Programs, it's still there, but now it's a hierarchy with expandable sections. Instead of application lists building out onto the desktop, they push down the Start menu list.

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This is a paradigm shift from Windows XP: Now you can create folders of similar content, even if the content resides within different physical folders on the system's hard drive. There's no longer a need within Windows Vista to move files among various folders in the directory.

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The new Aero graphics engine within Windows Vista is dynamic, so file icons not only show you the contents of the file but also scale to the size of the page. And now you can view thumbnails of any open task across the bottom of the screen. These, too, are dynamic. You could, for example, monitor the progress of a sporting event just by passing your mouse over the open application.

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Formerly a separate operating-system edition, Windows Media Center will be included with the Windows Vista Home Premium edition.

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Two standalone features currently available for Windows XP, Internet Explorer 7 and Windows Media Player 11, get their own Windows Vista versions. The changes are subtle. In Internet Explorer, for example, there's better ActiveX control within the new operating system that's not available in the Windows XP edition.

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Whenever you join a network -- at home, at the office or at the local coffee shop -- Windows Vista prompts you to categorise it, then changes the Windows Firewalls settings accordingly.

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You don't need a Tablet PC to use its features in Windows Vista. The Tablet PC functionality in the Windows Home Premium edition and Windows Business editions is cool because you can use your mouse to write text -- albeit poorly -- on any screen for ad hoc note taking.

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Windows Vista gives you a chance to direct your own motion picture. Shoot home video and edit it down with this basic, but functional, built-in video-editing application.

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Included within Windows Vista Business is Windows Meeting Space, used for setting up secure ad hoc wireless peer-to-peer meetings or collaboration sessions -- useful, say, while on an airplane with colleagues.

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Included in Windows Home Basic and Windows Home Premium is a parental control section, allowing you to limit your children's time on the Internet as well as filter the content they access.

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In all editions of Windows Vista, there are new diagnostic tools and monitors to check and report on the current status of your PC.

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The default mail app within Windows Vista is called Windows Mail, replacing Outlook Express.

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All editions of Windows Vista will include Microsoft's free antispyware application, Windows Defender.

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Included in Windows Vista Home Premium is a built-in DVD burner, perfect for making copies of your digital photos and sending the discs to family and friends.

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The built-in calendar feature within Windows Vista gets an overhaul.

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With the new Windows Vista Aero graphics system comes a better gaming experience within Windows Vista. Here, the classic game of chess has been redesigned to appear 3D.

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Even old favourites such as solitaire and Minesweeper get a fresh face. Each game now includes built-in system performance and age-appropriate game recommendations. A game called InkBall is a new addition.

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The release of Windows Vista RTM does not mean that Microsoft is finished -- far from it. In fact, it will continue to work on Windows Vista code up until the business release on November 30, as well as the retail release, slated for some time in late January 2007. During the installation process, Microsoft has included the ability to download last-minute patches and updates to the Windows Vista software. That said, we find the current Windows Vista RTM build to be stable, and we look forward to reviewing the final release.

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