Vista
Truckload of Microsoft updates
Speaking of security updates, today is the monthly Microsoft patch Tuesday and it’s a big one, in fact, the biggest ever. It even includes Windows 7. Computerworld reports:
Today’s security updates from Microsoft were unprecedented, with 13 separate bulletins that quashed 34 vulnerabilities. Both were records for the company since it began delivering monthly updates six [...]
Tweaking guides for Windows XP and Vista
Windows is eminently tweakable and there are a number of applications and guides for configuring Windows XP and Vista. Some applications will carry out tweaks for you while others simply give instructions. In this latter category is a nice collection of useful tweaks from Tweakguides. A free PDF document is available, one for Windows XP [...]
Things to know about 64-bit systems
As I mentioned before at the beginning of the year, more and more PCs are being sold with 64-bit Windows. Eventually, 64-bit systems will be the norm but there are some things you should know about 64-bit systems before you get one. Some of the considerations are discussed at the NirBlog, where Nir Sofer lists [...]
Information at Microsoft
The Microsoft Web site contains vast amounts of information about Windows and other Microsoft products. It is not always easy to find things on the site but one place I find very valuable is the TechNet Library. It contains documentation for all sorts of Microsoft products. It is intended for IT professionals but PC users [...]
Vista features removed in Windows 7
Windows 7 has some things added and some things removed. The Windows Club has a list of some Vista features that are gone in Windows 7. Among these are Windows Photo Gallery, Windows Movie Maker, and Windows Mail.
Vista service pack 2 review
Vista SP2 has been out for a while. Because of my surgery, I haven’t gotten around to installing it but everything I have read indicates that it is no big improvement. TechRadar has a review and concludes:
SP2 isn’t exciting, then, but it improved our PC’s performance just a little – and if you’re currently experiencing [...]
How to say “No to all”
This handy tip was first posted in October, 2005:
When doing an operation that involves many files, you will sometimes encounter a message like the one shown in the figure below. Although it has a button “Yes to All”, there is a no button for “No to All”. For example, you may want to copy all [...]
Restore “Show Desktop” icon in Quick Launch toolbar
Here’s another Taskbar tip. A handy area of the Taskbar is the Quick Launch toolbar where icons that you use a lot can be placed. One of these is the “Show Desktop” icon. Judging from how often the problem is mentioned on the Web, disappearance of this icon is a common problem. There are several [...]
Shortcuts to turn off your computer
This is a very popular tip. It was first posted in September, 2005:
I am often asked if there is a quick way to close down a computer without having to go through all the steps Start-Turn Off Computer-Turn Off. Windows XP comes with a special executable file for shutting down called shutdown.exe that allows you [...]
Windows Vista SP2 available
Service pack 2 for Vista has finally been made available to the general public. It’s been ready for weeks but Microsoft has been limiting it to MSDN subscribers. Download link for 32-bit version is here. If you have 64-bit Vista, the link is here. I don’t think there is any need to rush to get [...]
File extensions still hidden in Windows 7
Microsoft claims that it listens to what its customers say but there are some areas where Microsoft is deaf. Ever since Windows 95 (and maybe before, I’ve forgotten), the default setting has been to hide the extensions of files. Because file extensions are core to handling and managing files, this choice of default configuration often [...]
