Another thing we missed was the lack of an up-level button. The new Back button steps you back to where you've been. But it is possible to arrive at a place in the graphical breadcrumbs that doesn't show a top level, like Desktop or Computer. Microsoft's solution for this is a little too subtle. There's a small downward facing area wedged in between the graphical bookmarks bar and the Forward button. The assumption is still that you've started in Computer or somewhere like that, which may not always be the case. But assuming you have, this downward-pointing arrow shows Recent Pages on a drop-down. Wouldn't it be better to always display a default top level in the path?

Other changes to folder windows make them smarter and more context sensitive. The minimalist toolbar isn't user-customizable at all. It's context sensitive, showing different functions or drop-downs depending on the folder contents you're viewing or that you've selected.

A folder window in Vista is a two-paned Explorer-type window. (In fact, though context menus still exist that say Open and Explore, they both appear to open the exact same window.) The new Windows Explorer shows the Favorite Links area at the top of the left pane. Favorite Links is user customizable. You can drag and drop folders or objects from the right pane into the Favorite Links area, where they serve as shortcuts to the folders you frequently access. You can even rename them there the way you would shortcuts. Your Favorite Links customizations will appear in all your folder windows. It's an extremely handy feature.

You can also access a menu of your actual folder hierarchy on the left side of the Folder window, which gives you the interaction that made the two-paned Explorer Windows popular. You can walk through your folder structure and see the contents of what you click there quickly displayed in the right pane.

The left-pane folder hierarchy is resizable vertically by dragging and dropping its name bar, which reads, simply, "Folders." A good way to work with the new Explorer is to drag the Folders bar all the way to the top. This way you can double-click it to open it all the way when you want to walk your folder structure. When you find what you want, double-click it again to close it, revealing your Favorite Links. This aspect of the new Windows Explorer is thoroughly thought out.