Tag: xperience
October 19, 2009 by
Jason
Microsoft is making use of the time it still has ahead of the October 22nd general availability deadline of Windows 7 to deliver some last-minute finishing touches to the operating system. The latest iterations of the Windows client and server platforms were released to manufacturing on July 22nd, 2009, and, since August, have been available to specific customer segments including MSDN and TechNet subscribers. On October 13th, the Redmond company made available for download updates for both Windows 7 RTM and Windows Server 2008 R2 RTM designed to boost the stability and reliability of the two platforms.
“An update is available to resolve issues that affect some computers that are running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2. These issues are reported by customers who use the Error Reporting service or Microsoft Customer Support Services,” Microsoft revealed. “This update improves the stability and reliability of Windows 7 and of Windows Server 2008 R2 in various scenarios.”
This is not an uncommon practice with Microsoft. In fact, ahead of Windows Vista’s GA in January 2007, Jim Allchin, the then Windows boss, told customers that the first thing they would have to do after installing Vista and running the operating system for the first time was to update the brand-new platform. Read More»
Posted in Windows 7 | No Comments »
October 12, 2009 by
Jason Before that the first and second part we continue to publish series of articles.
41. Go Live. Many applications installed on past versions of Windows have been removed. Starting with Windows 7, these applications (and a few others not typically installed with Windows) have been moved into the Live Essentials downloadable applications, at download.live.com. These applications include Messenger, Mail, Writer, Photo Gallery, Movie Maker, Family Safety and a few others.
42. Remove Apps. Although some applications have been moved off of Windows to become an optional download, other apps, such as IE8, Media Player, Media Center and DVD Maker are still included. In times past, especially when it came to IE, the applications were tied into the OS. However, in Windows 7 you can easily remove them if desired. Head to the Program and Features applet in Control Panel and select the “Turn Windows features on or off” link in the top left-hand corner. Then you can select the checkbox of the features you want to lose or add for your system. Read More»
Posted in Windows 7 | 3 Comments »
September 03, 2009 by
Jason Have you ever tried to share files on your home network but found that dealing with folder permissions and user accounts was just too frustrating? You aren’t alone; the process can aggravate experienced IT pros and home enthusiasts alike. Just imagine how your parents feel when they try to share files across their home computers.
HomeGroup helps simplify file and printer sharing among computers that run Windows® 7 on your home network. Domain-joined computers can also join your homegroup, so you can bring your work laptop home and access your music collection. You can set up HomeGroup as easily as you log on to most password-protected Web sites. HomeGroup is a feature of Windows 7, and Home Premium or better is required to create a HomeGroup.
The step-by-step instructions in this walkthrough provide a brief tour of the new HomeGroup feature in Windows® 7. These instructions assume that you have two computers running Windows 7 and at least one computer is running Windows 7 Home Premium or better on the same network, and neither computer is already a member of a homegroup or are joined to a domain. Read More»
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Microsoft’s latest operating system was built with the PC gamer in mind.
Every copy of Windows Vista includes DirectX 10, a set of software instructions that make photorealistic visuals run incredibly smoothly. And for the first time, PC gamers can engage in online matches against Xbox 360 players.
- Sign up for a Games for Windows Live Gold account and create a Live ID for playing online. (If you already have an Xbox Live Gold account and Gamertag, then skip this step. You can use the same account on your PC.)
- Start your Live-enabled game.
- Sign in using your Live ID when prompted.
- Access the game’s multiplayer mode to find a match to join or invite friends to play.
You can also find and launch your games more easily with the Games Explorer, which is accessible from the Start menu. Games Explorer lets you organize your collection, view box cover art and check your system’s technical specifications to ensure it can handle new games. Click Start > All Programs > Games > Games Explorer. Read More»
Posted in Windows Vista | No Comments »
Put a “Pin Up” of the Folders You Use Most.
Windows® 7 allows you to “pin up” the folders you use most on your taskbar. Simply hold your mouse over the
favorite folder, right click, and drag it onto the taskbar. Windows 7 automatically pins itself to the Explorer Jump List. To open the folder, right click on the Explorer icon and select the folder you want.
Double-Up Your Windows.
When working within an application, sometimes you just want more of a good thing. To open another window of the same application (assuming the app can run more than one instance), simply hold
Shift and click the taskbar icon. You can also middle-click your third mouse button for the same result.
Clear, Crisp Display—It’s In Your Control.
Windows 7 makes it easy for you to adjust your display settings, making text and images easier to view in all the various locations where you work on your computer. Your laptop display may look fine at work but a little dark at home. Adjust the text and image settings easily with two snappy applets: ClearType Text Tuning and Display Color Calibration. Run cttune.exe and dccw.exe, or look them up in the Control Panel. Read More»
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Here is your chance to get an insight into the OEM Pre-installation Kit (OPK) that Microsoft will offer for Windows 7. Of course, at the same time, the Redmond company is also delivering a close look at the next iteration of the Windows client. It is all available via the Windows 7 OEM Pre-installation Kit (OPK) Online Training, resources addressed at company partners, but which can be accessed by end-users, provided they go through the signup process. The online training is essentially a set of courses focused on Windows 7 and the OPK.
“Windows 7 is the next-generation operating system from Microsoft, and its release will open new sales and services opportunities for partners. With Windows 7, you can offer your customers a robust foundation for high-quality experiences across applications, services, PCs, and devices. Participate in this one-day course and learn how you will be able to derive service opportunities around Windows 7, and get quality guidance on how to sell this exciting new business platform,” an excerpt from the training’s description reads. Read More»
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It’s time once again for another episode of our Windows XP optimization series. In the past few months, you’ve seen tweaks that helped you change the Start Menu, Desktop, Display Properties, Control Panel, Folder Options, and so on. Most optimizations could not be made the old-fashioned way (from the Control Panel or any other native Windows configuration utility). As you might have guessed already from the title, this article isn’t any different: today, you’ll find out how you can easily customize the way your Internet Options window looks. So, if, for one reason or another, you need to remove a few tabs from Internet Options and have no idea how to go about in order to accomplish this, you’ve come to the right place.
If this is your first encounter with the Microsoft Windows XP registry tweaks saga, here’s a quick tour on all the highlights: we provide an absolutely free, easy tutorial on how to activate hidden tweaks inside your XP operating system, just by using good-old Notepad. You can start by reading the first article that not only provides a full insight into the highlights, but clearly specifies the few steps that must be taken before heading on. Read More»
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It’s time to continue from where I left off in my previous article regarding registry tweaks for your Microsoft Windows XP operating system. Therefore, in part ten of your tweaking saga we’ll go through a few more important tweaks for your Start Menu. So if the previous article caught your attention and you’re interested in finding out more ways in which you can easily customize the look and feel of your Start Menu, rest assured that this article won’t disappoint you either.
On the other hand, if this is your first encounter with the Microsoft Windows XP registry saga, you should start by going back a bit, to the first article, which explains the concept behind these articles and the few steps that must be followed before heading on to the tweaking part. Otherwise, it’s highly probable you won’t understand what’s with the bolded lines below and, more importantly, what exactly you should do with them in case the tweak sounds really appealing, so make sure you read the first article. Now that you’ve created your tweaks.reg file and wrote Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00, let’s continue our free tutorial on how to personalize your system’s Start Menu. Read More»
Posted in Windows XP | 1 Comment »
January 22, 2009 by
Jason
Mozilla aims to build a new program designed to harvest end-user data for its open source projects, but especially Firefox. Firefox Test Pilot is currently nothing more than an initiative debuted under the Mozilla Labs umbrella, in order to lay out the concept behind the project, and to attract interest and identify a software engineer to lead the program. According to Aza Raskin, head of user experience at Mozilla Labs, Test Pilot will be used to gather Firefox usage information, feedback that will subsequently be used to evolve the design process of the open source browser.
“Test Pilot is a still-in-concept platform for a new user-testing program for Mozilla that aims to build a 1% representative sample of the Firefox user base for soliciting wide participation and structured feedback for interface and product experiments,” Raskin stated.
One important aspect of the new program is that Mozilla actually envisions building an entire feedback platform, which could scale beyond Firefox, to Thunderbird and Seamonkey, and subsequently to every Mozilla Labs project. Raskin indicated that the Test Pilot, served to users as an extension of Firefox, would first of all require them to answer non-personally-identifiable questions, in order to classify them in accordance with the locale, technical level etc. Read More»
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