Little things in Vista that make me smile

I have to admit I'm still finding small bits of functionality that I didn't know about and that makes me smile.  It's the attention to detail that makes me feel proud to be associated with such a quality product.  Take for instance today when I plugged in my headphones to listen to some non-DRM'd music using Windows Media Player.  Before I plugged in the headphones, the playback devices were listed as in the screenshot on the left.  Vista recognised immediately when I plugged in the headphones and the list changed to the screenshot on the right.

I then have the ability to configure the headphones, setting things like volume (independent to other output devices), the icon, sound enhancements like:

  • Bass boost and low frequency protection
  • Headphone virtualization (surround sound on your headphones)
  • Loudness Equalization (stops loud surprise noises)

It even tells me which jack to plug the headphones in - nice touch.

 

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