In the olden days – about 15 years ago when Windows 95 first arrived on the scene – creating a home network was a fearsome task reserved for the knowledgeable or the courageous. That’s no longer the case. Windows XP makes setting up a network easy. The toughest part of the deal is physically installing the [...]
Once you get past the initial unfamiliarity, you’ll find the new taskbar has a lot to offer. Microsoft has given the taskbar a complete makeover. If you’re an old hand with Windows, you’ll need to invest some time in getting acquainted with the new layout. At first, you may not like all you see, but [...]
Although the usual way to install Windows 7 is from a DVD, it’s possible to copy the contents of your installation DVD to a USB flash drive and install the operating system from there. This is particularly handy for optical-disc-less notebooks and for netbooks, which almost never include a DVD drive. An added attraction is [...]
We all know cats have nine lives, but did you know files have three? When you create a file, it has its first bite at existence, an existence which continues until you, in your casual god-like manner, delete it. Deleting the file isn’t the end, though. All you need to do is open up the [...]
Windows is malleable. It’s designed to be tinkered with, adjusted, customised. When you first run Windows – whether it’s Windows 7, Vista, Windows XP or even an earlier version – what you see is Microsoft’s idea of how the operating system should work and look. You don’t need to settle for that. In fact, you [...]
The Recent Documents list has been a feature of Windows for many years. It provides a quick way to access the files you’ve used most recently. In Windows 7, you’ll find Recent Documents has been tucked away out of sight and is only available by customizing the Start Menu. That’s because 7 introduces a far [...]
Windows 7 contains plenty of new features, but there’s only one truly new concept you’ll need to wrap your head around: libraries. Libraries provide a new way of managing, viewing and finding your files, toppling the old (My) Documents folder from its central position. A library looks and behaves pretty much like a super-folder, but [...]
Are you ready for Windows 7? It doesn’t take much to qualify. Pudgy old Vista’s slender successor requires nothing more from your PC than a gigabyte of RAM, a processor running at 1GHz, 16 gigabytes of hard drive space and a video card with support for DirectX 9 and WDDM 1.0. If those figures don’t [...]
When you buy a copy of Windows 7 to install on an existing computer, there are three key questions you need to ask yourself: Which edition of 7 do I want? Can I buy an upgrade version or do I need to pay for the more expensive full version? Should I choose a 32-bit or [...]
There’s a theory that Microsoft gets it right with every other version of Windows. Those who subscribe to this school of thought give Windows 95, Windows 98 Second Edition and Windows XP the plaudits; Windows 98, Windows Me and Windows Vista are relegated to the better-luck-next-time bin. If you think there’s something to this theory, [...]