Windows Digital Gallery

Microsoft clearly doesn't like Google's Picasa software, because Digital Gallery is aimed straight at it. At the moment it is very rough, it cannot even show a preview or thumbnail of a picture, but it looks like they are clearly heading towards a similar level of functionality as Picasa or iPhoto.


Microsoft's very rough Picasa slayer 

The default application for opening images is the the Picture and Fax Viewer. Vista's current iteration of this simple program is impressive in two ways. First, it has crashed on me.  Are jpeg files that hard to decipher? Second, it actually has less features than the version in XP. This second part shouldn't hold true for the final version, but at the moment you cannot change the zoom level at all, as those buttons are greyed out. The image viewer for Digital Gallery is essentially the Picture and Fax Viewer with an additional context bar that lets you modify images, edit tags and perform a few other functions.


Widows Picture and Fax Viewer, mock the snap if you like 


Games

Now to the heart of this preview, those little programs that keep us all a little more sane at work, Windows complement of games.  Look at those big icons, I'll let you decide if they qualify as beautiful though. The games themselves do look better though, seems that Microsoft has paid Oberon Media to fancy them up will lots of 3D effects. Yes, you heard it here first, Solitaire in the third dimension! In addition it seems that Microsoft intends you to organize all of you games in this folder.


Big icons for games 

Have no fear, Solitaire has been included (though you think they would be past version 0.1 at this point).  Freecell and minesweeper have also made the cut.  A few notables are missing though, including Pinball, though it seems likely all the old games and a few new ones will make the actual Vista release.


It's solitaire, now with fancy effects 

My favorite new game is chess, no idea why they haven't included a version in the past, but it is nice to have a light-weight chess game around come meeting time.  It even let me win, I guess I am better than a 5.


Offical Windows Chess