Windows Vista: Live Taskbar Thumbnails
The taskbar in Windows Vista hasn't changed much from previous Windows versions. One improvement that Microsoft has made is the addition of "Live Taskbar Thumbnails" (Figure). As indicated by the name, these thumbnails are "live", meaning that the thumbnail will always have the latest information from the application running. No more guesswork if a Web site has loaded, or an application has finished processing, you'll be able to check from the thumbnail without the need to switch to the window.