The Chronicles
February 2010
Salutations dear readers and fellow Laurentian neighbors,
O how do I love Thee … let me count the ways …
In this the month of LOVE, I thought it was a great moment to mention Microsoft’s new Operating System (OS) – Windows 7. I have been using it since its launch in October 2009 and, I must admit, I really do think it’s wonderful and following are some of the reasons why …
1. As I am a very visual person I just adore the improved task bar (at the bottom). I’ve “pinned” all my most-used applications and with a simple click I can launch them. (No more unsightly icons on the desktop covering up the desktop photo.)
2. In conjunction with this first point, they’ve improved the mouse’s right-click. If you’re not in the habit of using the right click, I suggest you get to it immediately. You’ll notice that you are offered a list of your most recently used documents, folders, Web pages etc … You no longer have to go about it the “long way”.
3. If you’re a photo “freak”, you’ll enjoy the new feature which allows you to save desktop photo “themes”. It’s a little like the Screensaver option where your photos pass across your screen when you’re not using the computer. Now, you can choose multiple photos to be changed every e.g. hour on your desktop … cute!
4. There’s a little rectangle on the bottom right side of the screen. If you place your mouse pointer on it (no click necessary), you are shown your desktop and when you move the pointer off it, you are back to the program you are using. A very fun element if you have Gadgets on your desktop such as a calendar or a weather application (amongst many others).
5. I often need to work with two documents (or Web pages) at the same time. In previous OS’s one had to toggle between them making for a lot of mouse movement (if you didn’t know the keyboard shortcuts). Now, you can click on the title bar (the bar at the top of the program), hold your click and drag to the right (or left), and the window automatically snaps to exactly one half of the screen. You can therefore, very simply, have two windows side-by-side on the screen.
Only 5 reasons? Absolutely not! I haven’t even gotten further than the screen but one must keep things short and sweet!!! I haven’t even mentioned how Win7 works sooooooo much better than all previous Operating Systems. What do I mean? Let’s take the (in)famous Vista. I’m sure if you’re still using it that you find it to be slow … very slow. No longer with Win7. This is the NUMBER ONE improvement of Win7. It is a lot less energy consuming. Programs open faster, the computer can DO many more tasks simultaneously and the battery life for portables can consequently last much longer.
So, what’s my verdict? I recommend making the change to Win7. If you are a WinXP user, you’ll need to have your Technician do a complete re-install of the OS. If you’re a Vista user, it’s considered an Upgrade (a lot easier to do yourself, however I recommend taking your computer to your Technician anyway). If you bought your computer after Mid-June 2009 this migration to Win7 will be free; however you’ll need to contact your computer’s manufacturer (via the Internet is the easiest way) and they will send you the CD free of charge (sometimes you need to pay postage). Don’t dawdle too much as this opportunity will not be available ad-infinitum and that in any case you’ll eventually have to make the change to Win7 as Microsoft will eventually stop all support for previous Operating Systems (meaning, no more upgrades, for example).
Take good care of yourselves,
questions.monamilordi@gmail.com
This article originally appeared in Main Street – The Laurentians' English Language Community Newspaper.
