From Jupiter Research analyst Michael Gartenberg:

Windows Photo Gallery is a great solution for photo management, mostly because it lets me work the way I want to work and it's one of my favorite features in Vista. I love how Vista respects my folder directory structure but also lets me view by date or tags if I choose to. The choice is mine.

[...]

So far, Photo Gallery and the Photo Gadget are two of my favorite new Vista features. If you're into digital photography even in a modest way, this feature alone may be worth the price of admission.

(Source: Michael Gartenberg - Windows Photo Gallery in Vista Shines.)

Goodness, the Microsoft team that delivered that must be awesome! :-)Notice that Jon Udell has been looking at photo features lately, too, mostly delving into XMP.

Digital photos are hot.