“After the rave reviews and positive word of mouth, how is the OS faring?”
by Andrea Dunning

Windows 7 is Microsoft’s new flagship operating system. Eagerly anticipated, it was released to rave reviews and positive word of mouth. The question now is, nine months in, how is it doing? Is the public still in love? Is upgrading worth it?

Figure 1. Operating system market share, June 2010.

As of June, the number of people running Windows 7 has nearly caught up to those running Windows Vista. Windows XP is still the most prevalent operating system, but Windows 7 has already nibbled away a fifth of Vista’s pre-launch market share in the nine months it has been out, and the two are now neck in neck for second place. Upgrading from Vista to Windows 7 is much less of a hassle than upgrading from XP, as you’re able to keep files, settings and programs. Not that a clean install isn’t a good thing from time to time, but backing up all your files to some sort of external media and tracking down those program installation discs takes some effort. This may have some effect on the number of people upgrading from XP to Windows 7. See Operating System Market Share (www.netmarketshare.com/operating-system-market-share.aspx?qprid=10) at Netmarketshare.com.

Windows 7 continues to get good reviews from places such as CNET (reviews.cnet.com/windows/microsoft-windows-7-professional/4505-3672_7-33704140.html?tag=contentMain;contentBody#reviewPage1), but at the same time the question remains: Will this be enough to drag people away from XP? Considering the age of Windows XP, the fact that there is any sort of discussion about whether or not to upgrade reveals something about the way computers are advancing. I remember how momentous it was going from Windows 3.1 to 98. No longer having to run Windows from DOS, and the colors! The programs were only six years apart, versus the eight for XP and Windows 7. The same impressive leaps in technology just aren’t visible. Windows 7 won’t transform your PC experience, but instead incrementally improves existing functionality and adds in a few new tricks.

Figure 2. Pinning programs to the taskbar.

Your average day-to-day computing isn’t going to change much, though a number of operations have been improved. File sharing, particularly streaming media, is much better integrated into the file structure. Searching for files is also way easier. Being able to pin programs to the taskbar for easy access is very convenient, and also an easy way to set up a computer for computer-impaired relatives. With all the important programs pinned to the taskbar, my mother never has to search the Start menu or her cluttered desktop for the icon she’s looking for (or call me when she can’t locate it). Everything is right there, always in sight.

Windows 7 also incorporates a number of new features in the Aero desktop (windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/products/features/aero), many of which will need to be taught to users. Aero Peek lets you see the desktop and quickly open and close all windows, but for a lot of users it is just going to be a feature that unexpectedly turns all your windows transparent every once in a while. Aero Shake, clearing off all windows but the one you shake with the mouse, is a total gimmick. Other features are more useful. If you want to look at two windows at the same time, you no longer have to carefully adjust the window size in order to make them both fit. Now you can just drag them to either side of the screen, which automatically re-sizes them to take up half the view space.

My favorite new feature in Windows 7 is being able to automatically back up your files to a network computer. Unfortunately, I have Windows 7 Home Premium edition, which does not include that feature. Touchscreen support is also a nice bonus—if you’re lucky enough to have a touchscreen.

Businesses seem to be a little tentative about making the upgrade to Windows 7. According to calculations done by Woody Leonhard over at InfoWorld, the majority of Windows 7 licenses purchased have been for private use (www.infoworld.com/t/windows/do-the-math-175-million-copies-windows-7-isnt-impressive-707?source=footer). The majority of businesses run Windows XP, and that looks like it will still be the case in the near future. I can see two big factors working against Windows 7. The first would be Windows 7-incompatible business software. Companies running older versions of software, or even custom-designed programs, may run into compatibility issues. Most companies don’t upgrade their software annually, so these issues are going to be hindering Windows 7 for years to come. Sure, you could run the program on a computer with Windows 7 through Windows XP mode, but when XP still works, why?

Figure 3. Older versions of business software have compatibility issues with Windows 7.

The second issue is, of course, money. Upgrading operating systems costs money. You’ve got to buy the OS, possibly buy new hardware, and buy newer versions of any programs that are incompatible with the new OS. That doesn’t even take into account the human costs. Someone has to upgrade all those computers and, if the jump in technology is large enough, employees may need training. Businesses tend to avoid unnecessary expenses at the best of times, and with the economy being the way it is, upgrading before it is strictly necessary looks even less appealing. Undoubtedly, as much as their IT departments would like to upgrade, a lot of companies will probably put it off until 2014, when support ends for Windows XP (support.microsoft.com/lifecycle/?LN=en-gb&C2=1173).

Windows 7 is a good operating system; it has some useful new features and a nice design aesthetic. Upgrading to Windows 7 when you upgrade your computer is definitely a good decision. The OS has all sorts of little conveniences to make computing smoother and more instinctual. However, for the average user, Windows 7 isn’t drastically different from the previous versions of Windows. If you’re not upgrading your computer, I’d side with the millions of XP and Vista users who remain with their old operating systems. The new OS is nice, but there really isn’t any rush.

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08/06/2010

ComputorEdge Magazine, P.O. Box 83086, San Diego, CA 92138. (858) 573-0315

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Americans alone own around 3 billion electronic products, and the quantity of electronic waste that we generate is steadily going up. Video equipment, TVs, computers, monitors, keyboards, cell phones and more are ending up in our landfills. In 2007, the EPA estimated that 40 million computers became obsolete in one year. What happens with all that waste?

In the EPA’s 2007 study, they determined approximately 235 million units were sitting in storage. Of that only 18% was recycled and 82% or 414,000 tons of electronic waste was put in landfills.

Computers are one of the world’s greatest inventions and are beneficial to the world’s economy but unfortunately when trashed, they are toxic. Carcinogens, heavy metals and toxic chemicals are all part of the makeup of a computer. For years developed countries have been exporting their electronic waste to places like China and India for cheap disposal. Since 2000, it has been illegal to do this but corruption still rules in many cases.

When you are ready to recycle your computer make the right choice. Be sure to ask the disposer where your unit is being sent and how it is being recycled. Find out to what organization it is going. If a company cannot give you answers about where your unit is going, that is not a good sign and you need to go on to a different recycler. The Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition has a lot of information about safe recycling companies. Go to for more details. You can also contact your computer manufacturer and pack and ship your old computer to them.

So what about the data on your old computer? Do not hand over a computer to someone for recycling without eradicating the data on the unit. You have a couple of choices. You can ask the recycler to wipe the hard drive, you can do it yourself or take it to one of our San Diego computer repair or our Carlsbad computer repair stores. You want to make sure you get rid of all data like your contacts, documents, messages, non-transferable software and even your trash bin. Manually deleting files is not enough, a professional identity thief can still recover it off your hard drive. You need to wipe the hard drive.

Think “green.”  Our laptop repair San Diego stores also offer refurbished laptops.  Don’t miss out on one of these Hot Deals.

“Second-nature computing shortcuts for your bag of tricks.”
by Jack Dunning

Sometimes computer techniques are so commonly used that it’s assumed that everyone knows them—and probably most people do. Yet I occasionally observe people navigating through menus when simple key combinations will do. This week I’ve decided to highlight those key combinations that I use so commonly that I don’t even think about it. I would guess that most people know these shortcuts, but just in case I will review.

Cut, Copy and Paste

Going back to the early days of computing the Cut, Copy and Paste series has been a standard part of moving and removing text, objects and files. We’ve learned this series of keystrokes because they are usually listed on the Edit menu next to the associated feature.

Cut is a way to remove selected items and store them temporarily in memory to the clipboard. Since it is removed from view, it is very similar to deleting the selected object. However, a copy is maintained in the clipboard. Cut is accomplished with the CONTROL+X combination.

Copy is similar to Cut, except that the original object is not removed. It is replicated in the clipboard for later use. Copy is accomplished with the CONTROL+C combination.

Paste is the command for recovering whatever has been saved in the clipboard and inserting it at the cursor location. Paste is the completion of a move or a copy started by Cut or Copy respectively. Paste is accomplished with the CONTROL+V combination.

Most likely people use these commands so much that they don’t even think about it, except when they accidentally Cut rather than Copy. The three keys (X, C and V) are conveniently next to each other, which, while easier to use, makes a slip-up much more likely (Cut rather than Copy). In those cases, an Undo is called for. Undo is accomplished with the CONTROL+Z combination. Knowing the Undo command may save a great deal of heartache.

Selecting Text and Objects

Before you can Cut, Copy or Paste, you need to select the text or object. With text it is common to hold the left-mouse button down and drag the mouse over the desired selection. (Selecting an object such as a file is usually just a click of the mouse.) However, there are a few techniques that may make selection even easier.

Double-click on a word and the entire word will be selected; triple-click for the sentence; quadruple-click for the paragraph. (This technique may vary depending upon the program that you’re using.) Double-click on a file or program and the program will be launched.

If you need more accuracy in your selection, use the SHIFT key and the ARROW keys (cursors keys). While holding down the SHIFT key and moving the cursor keys, the contiguous area to the original cursor location will be selected. To speed up this selection with the mouse, after placing the cursor at the start point, move the mouse to the end point, then click the left-mouse button while holding down the SHIFT key. The entire area will be selected. This will also work for selecting groups of files (photos, music, documents, etc.) in a Windows Explorer list.

Using the SHIFT key is effective only when the selection is part of a continuous block or list. What happens when you need to select random items that are not next to each other? This is the domain of the CONTROL key. If you hold down the CONTROL key while selecting an object, other previously selected objects will not be deselected. This means that you can go through a list and select random items for cutting, copying, pasting or dragging. This is handy for situations such as picking photos to attach to an e-mail, or deleting unwanted files. Be sure to hold down the CONTROL key for each selection. Forget for just one click, and all the previously selected items will be deselected.

Another key combination I use regularly for selecting text and objects is CONTROL+A. This combination will select all the objects in a document or all the items in a list. It is very handy for copying entire sets of files.

Opening Window Explorer

Another key combination I use regularly is the Windows logo key+E. (The Windows logo key is the one with the Microsoft flag logo on it. It is between the CONTROL and ALT keys.) This opens Windows Explorer, which is the primary way to navigate your computer.

Opening Windows Task Manager

Since I learned that CONTROL+SHIFT+ESCAPE will open Windows Task Manager, I no longer use CONTROL+ALT+DELETE—which, if I make the wrong selection, is always a little dangerous. If I want to lock the screen to prevent grandkids from weighing in on my current work, I use the Windows logo key+L, which will display the logon screen.

There are other key commands and mouse techniques that I use, but those listed are by far the most common ones I employ. You may have others that you can’t live without. If so, I would like to hear about them. Don’t send me a list of all the other commands, just the most critical ones for you.

I have found other shortcuts that I should add to my bag of tricks, but, since they are not second nature yet, I’ll save them for another column.

Jack is the publisher of ComputorEdge Magazine. He’s been with the magazine since first issue on May 16, 1983. Back then, it was called The Byte Buyer. His Web site is www.computoredge.com. He can be reached at ceeditor@computoredge.com

Windows Tips and Tricks: A Windows 7 Review
“For those evaluating a Win 7 upgrade.”
by Jack Dunning

It seems like years that we’ve been waiting for Windows 7 to be released—ever since Vista hit the market. Now it’s official. Yesterday, October 22, was the introduction of Windows 7 to the computer market. Now most of the off-the-shelf computers should come with Win 7 installed—unless they are a Mac or possibly a netbook.

There will be a few people rushing out to buy a new Win 7 machine, but I suspect that most people will either wait a day or two getting ready for the move, or they are thinking about upgrading their current computer. In anticipation of people wanting to review their Windows decision, I dug through past issues of ComputorEdge pulling out those columns and articles most relevant to the Win 7 decision. What follows is a review of many of the words of wisdom (with links) that I have published over the past year about Windows 7 and upgrading from other versions of Windows.

To read more click this link. “Windows Tips and Tricks: A Windows 7 Review from ComputorEdge”

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EdgeWord: Which Version of Windows 7, Home or Professional?
“Should you spring for the extra money?”
by Jack Dunning

One of the problems that I have with Windows Vista and Windows 7 is that the Home Premium version does not support Windows Remote Desktop Host. By that I mean that I can access my other Business and Professional version computers remotely from anywhere in the world with any of the Windows computers, including Home versions, but I can’t access my Home Premium laptop. The vast majority of the laptops come with Windows Home Premium installed, requiring an upgrade for anything more.

This has not been a major problem, since the laptop is my primary working machine and doesn’t need to act as a host. When I’m writing the Windows Tips and Tricks column, I’m often accessing the XP Professional, Vista Business, and Windows 7 RC machines with the Vista laptop via Remote Desktop. This saves me going upstairs to get on some of the computers (or driving 11 miles, as would be the case with the XP machine). The fact is that I’ve never had a need to access the Vista Home Premium laptop as a Windows Remote Desktop Host, but if I get a Windows 7 laptop, I will increasingly want to reach the old Vista laptop remotely.

To read more, Click the link below
“EdgeWord: Which Version of Windows 7, Home or Professional? from ComputorEdge”

Finding Free (Legal) MP3 Downloads
“Free downloads are good advertising.”
by Dawn Clement

Music is an extremely profitable industry. It’s really no wonder that the music industry reacted so strongly to digital music when they realized that people were downloading entire albums for free. What the music industry failed to realize back in the Napster days was that the lines of distribution were changing and that they needed to act accordingly.

Today, most musical artists have figured out that releasing an album for free online is great publicity. The way it works is that a band offers a new album (or a single from an upcoming album) as a free download, usually for a limited time, and then follows up with a traditional CD release. In fact, commercial sites frequently offer free downloads right alongside their commercial offerings. Free downloads are good advertising, and a great way to promote new bands. Sites such as MTV, Amazon, and iTunes regularly offer free music downloads. MP3.com has thousands of songs by well-known, current artists available for free, including Vampire Weekend, The Raconteurs and classic artists such as Bob Marley. Their generosity is paying off with both fan loyalty and the almighty dollar.

To read more about this article, please click this link.
“Finding Free (Legal) MP3 Downloads from ComputorEdge”