Tag: area

Apply a shade of Windows 7 to XP

October 04, 2009 by Jason

Following the same behavioral pattern as with the release of Windows Vista, software developers have striven to offer the masses the possibility to disguise Windows XP as Windows 7. There are plenty of freeware products on the market ready to emulate various features of the yet to be officially released operating system from Microsoft.

Seven Transformation Pack is the most prominent piece of software in the bunch, which has a tradition in making XP emulate the looks of ulterior operating systems launched by Microsoft. Vista Transformation Pack was created by the same developers and raked up positive attention. Also, there are various pieces of software dedicated to imitate different features in Windows 7, such as the new taskbar and system tray layout, Start Menu and even the font and icons, as well as the glass effect given by Aero theme.

SevenMizer is not a superset of all of the above, but comes with an extremely easy installation at the end of which you’re going to receive a makeover of the old, dusty XP look, turning it into a very close resemblance to the interface in Windows 7. The best part is yet to come: you don’t have to make any sort of configuration and what you see is all there is to know about the application. Read More»

Windows 7 – 20 Features to Make Users Forget Vista SP1/SP2 and XP SP3

November 17, 2008 by Jason

Microsoft is currently moving onward with the development of Windows 7, having passed Milestone 3 with the operating system. According to Steven Sinofsky, senior vice president, Windows and Windows Live Engineering Group, the Redmond company is now cooking the Beta 1 release of Windows 7. But even as early as Windows 7 Milestone 3 pre-Beta Build 6801 and 6801+, discernible details, components and features across the next iteration of the Windows client come with the promise of making users forget all about Windows Vista Service Pack 1 and even SP2, or even Windows XP Service Pack 3.

“We’ve had a pretty incredible couple of weeks at the PDC and WinHEC. Based on what we talked about you can imagine we are all rather busy as we transition from milestone 3 to beta. We trust many of you are enjoying 6801 (or perhaps we should say 6801+),” revealed Sinofsky earlier this week.

With Windows 7 pre-Beta Build 6801 changes stretch from the surface to under-the-hood optimizations, with the client evolving from both the perspective of the graphical user interface, user experience and interaction model but also in regard to the actual architecture of the operating system, with repercussions on performance, new capabilities and features, as well as compatibility and support. Read More»

Optimize Windows Vista for better performance

June 18, 2008 by Jason

No matter how fast or shiny computers might be when they are new, they all seem to get slower over time. That state-of-the-art PC you bought last year might not feel like such a screamer after you install a dozen programs, load it with antispyware and antivirus tools, and download untold amounts of junk from the Internet. The slowdown might happen so gradually you hardly notice it, until one day you’re trying to open a program or file and wonder, “What happened to my poor PC?”

Whatever the cause, there are a lot of ways to help speed up Windows and make your PC work better even without upgrading your hardware. Here are some tips to help you optimize Windows Vista for faster performance. Read More»