What kind of effect does it have on a person to be constantly fed politically correct statements? For instance, you know that Apple’s Mac OS is supposed to be far ahead of any OS made by Microsoft.

When you open any tech magazine and you see the words Windows and Mac together in an article, everything in your life up to that point that you’ve been exposed to forces you to believe that it’s an article about how there is a new way in which Mac wiped the floor yet again with that poor joke of an OS by Microsoft.

Well, that’s not how this is going to go. With version 7, Microsoft really has made a truly mature and well-designed operating system that even the Mac OS X, that has always been the last word in operating systems, could learn a trick or two from.

Let’s look at a few features that 7 has that the Macintosh should kill for, but doesn’t have to  (because there are ready-made apps that port those kinds of features right over).

Windows does cut-and-paste just about anywhere. In Windows Explorer, you can cut, copy and paste files to your heart’s content. Somehow, OS X doesn’t allow any cutting.

You can copy and paste files and no more. If you really find yourself eyeing the Windows functionality with a little bit of envy, there’s a way you can teach your new Mac old Windows tricks – with an app called MoveAddict.

It gives you extra keyboard shortcuts that allow you to cut and paste anything on the Finder. If you don’t wish to pay the $8 the program costs, you could get the free version that allows you to just cut and paste one file at a time.

For some reason, user-friendly Mac OS never thought it necessary to give people the ability to fully maximize any window at the touch of a button.

When you click on that little green circle that stands for Maximize, sometimes with some applications, your window does maximize. Others just stretch to fit a window, and that could be it.

If you really wish to maximize a window, you’ll have to drag it out by hand. A little app called RightZoom aims to take care of all that nonsense. It changes what your green button does. It brings true Windows-style Maximize to your Macintosh computer.

One of the coolest new features that Windows has appears in version 7 – it’s called Windows Previews. This is where when you hover your mouse over any taskbar icon that has an open program running, a little preview window opens up. If that icon is for a movie player, you get a tiny full-motion movie about an inch across above the icon.

While your Macintosh computer has all kinds of ways in which you can take a look at all the windows you have, you just don’t have anything that offers you a kind of immediacy that you get with the Windows Previews function.

If you really crave that, the $10 HyperDock app should take care of it for you. Make sure you get it at the Mac App Store. It happens to be one of the most useful apps there are out there.

Teach your Macintosh Computer some Old Windows Tricks is a post from: Computer Spot

It’s not that there’s nothing about Windows that you could miss on a Mac – there’s plenty of that stuff. Windows has cut-and-paste while the Mac only has copy and paste; Windows allows you one-touch window maximizing, it has a Windows Previews and so on.

But after you’ve spent a good long time on a Mac, there are certain kinds of software that you come to take for granted that just aren’t available on Windows.

Which is a surprise, considering how software makers have a much larger market with PCs for anything they create. Still, Windows does lack a few important pieces of software. And if you don’t know what you’re missing, try these articles of Macintosh software out.

When GarageBand came out a few years ago, it was rightly hailed as a breakthrough piece of software that put a recording studio in every average person’s computer.

Sure, Windows has all kinds of pay software if you want to record live music; but GarageBand is free; and it comes installed ready with each Mac OS package. With Windows, you do have the open-source Audacity that’s available for free.

But it has nothing on GarageBand in prettiness, user-friendliness and functionality. Microsoft should probably look into including something like this on Windows 8.

If you’re a Windows enthusiast, it’s possible you haven’t really heard of what a Site-Specific Browser is. An SSB is a browser that is specifically customized for the needs of a specific website.

You get a limited version of this kind of thing on the Chrome browser when you get to create an application shortcut. Whatever page of whatever website you wish to have regular access to, you can create a shortcut for it right on your desktop.

Click on it and you are taken directly to that website. But Windows has very limited options in the kind of site-specific-browsers it has.

On the Mac, you have Fluid – Macintosh software that creates a standalone desktop application for any webpage you want. It gives you great support for user scripts and you can connect it to dock system notification methods such as what Growl offers you.

CyberDuck is a real killer app that is just not available on Windows. Cyber duck is a great FTP client; if you want FTP on Windows, you generally go for something like FileZilla.

For many people, QuickSilver has to be the ultimate Mac app that differentiates Macintosh software from Windows stuff. Quicksilver is the definitive Mac application launcher.

If you like to get things done quickly with lots of keyboard shortcuts, Quicksilver places just about any action you want right where you want it.

The Macintosh Software you really Miss on Windows is a post from: Computer Spot

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When you are away from your trusted home or office network and working on some kind of public Wi-Fi network at the airport or the coffee shop, how do you do something that you need security for – like keying in the password to your bank account?

That’s where VPN software comes in. They can be a very convenient way to let you get securely on your home or office network while you are actually on an insecure public network.

Once there, you can do anything  you would if you were right at home or in the office. Let’s look at a few of the best VPN software examples there are available to you today – some free, some fully paid.

To set up a proper VPN system, you’ll need server software that goes on your home or office computer network, and you’ll need VPN client software that goes on your laptop or whatever you wish to use outside. Let’s start with a free and cheerful piece of server software called OpenVPN.

With open VPN installed on your Windows, Mac or Linux computer, you can import and export anything on the computer to all kinds of open source or paid VPN clients. Commercial VPN providers don’t really accept OpenVPN; but if you just wish to roll your own, this could the perfect.

If the whole VPN software thing scares you and you’re really looking for something that will ease you in the first time with a user-friendly experience, LogMeIn Hamachi for Windows, Mac and Linux is exactly what you’re looking for, for no money at all.

With this little package, you don’t need to sign a contract as you would with a corporate VPN and you don’t need to configure routers and get your feet wet with all kinds of technical mumbo-jumbo.

Instead, if all you need to do is to just set up a simple virtual network from where you are to where your home or your home office is, this is exactly what you need for instant action and satisfaction.

You just install their client VPN software on all the computers you want connected, and you don’t even need to worry about VPN server software.

The servers exist with Hamachi, at their corporate servers. Wherever you are with your laptop (at the coffeehouse for instance), wishing to connect super-securely to your home or office computers, you just need to turn on the client on your laptop and right away you go through the Hamachi server to your home computers and everything’s secure; no kind of spy with the latest technological spy software has anything on you.

And don’t forget to try out the free VPN software in Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7. It may be basic, but usually, it’s all you need.

Instant Action and Satisfaction with Free VPN Software is a post from: Computer Spot

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After you create a shortcut to the Programs folder or its subfolders, you will be able to update the property in order to add comments that will be displayed when you select the option in the Start menu. The steps you need to implement is very simple and you will see a very short time.

First you must click the right mouse button on the Start menu and then select Explore-up menu. Once this is done with the resources you’ll receive Explore% UserProfile% Start Menu folder selected. In the left pane of Explorer, select the folder you want to add the menu option.

In the Contents pane or View, click the right mouse button on an open area, select New and then Link from the context menu, so you start the Create Shortcut Wizard. Presented in the field, type the path to the program or file you want to associate the link, and if you do not know the path, click Browse and then use the Browse for Folder window to find the item you want to use.

Continue clicking Next and type a name for the connection so that the information entered will be displayed on the Start menu. Now to finish just click Finish. If you wish to add a comment to the link, click the right mouse button on the shortcut and select Properties. Enter your comments in the Comment field and click OK to confirm.

Guide To Add Menu Items to the Start Menu in Windows is a post from: Computer Spot

There are many different operating systems that you can run on your personal computer (PC), but some people may not realize that.

Unfortunately, Windows has become so common that people have been blinded to the wide range of choices that they have-and often carrying a far cheaper price tag.

Though Microsoft Windows has the largest market share, there are also Apple computers, and the Linux and Unix operating systems.

Apple operating systems require an entirely different architecture on which to run, and so won’t run on a normal PC, so are not an option for users of normal PCs. A Linux operating system is a good alternative to Windows, and can be tried quickly and easily and with no commitment

The owner of a normal PC has several usable choices when in comes to running their computer. There are Unix based operating systems, Linux systems and there is the Google Chrome system. Unix tends to require a little more technical know-how, and Chrome is very basic, leaving Linux the big competitor.

Several of the bigger Linux systems (the versions being called distros) have live versions that do not require an installation. This means that you can download the system and run it, trying many of the features without having to commit to anything.

Your Windows installation will remain unchanged, and should you dislike the Linux distro, you can simply remove the disc that it is running on, and reboot into Windows once more. So how do these live distros work.

First you visit the site that offers the operating system-Ubuntu is a good place to start. You must then download the file, and then burn it onto a disc. Once you have the disc you reboot your system-normally a computer is set to boot from CD or DVD first. The disc will then load into memory.

At this point you may be asked whether to install the system or run it live-do not install, as you are only trying it out. The majority of systems will work right out of the box, but not all.

If you have a little technical know-how you may be able to go on and work out the kinks, but if not you may choose to abandon the process at this point.

Once your system is loaded, you will find that there are a number of programs at your disposal. You are likely to have a web browser, a word processing program called ‘Open Office’ and other utilities such as calculators, spread sheets and even an instant messenger.

A gamer is unlikely to get along with a Linux system as the drivers and other support available isn’t likely to be compatible with the majority of games, but for simple and online games there is no problem. Most online games now use flash, which is also available on Linux and again is likely to be installed automatically when the disc loads.

Loading Linux in this way will do nothing to your Windows system, allowing you to use it and test and and back out at any point. But in the meantime you can see just how fast, streamlined and easy to use Linux has become.

How to Try Linux Risk Free is a post from: Computer Spot

During the course of your experience as a Windows computer user, you must have undoubtedly come across a lot of errors and system failures.

You may have spent a lot of time and energy in chasing after the computer experts, only to see the errors recur. Well, we are here to tell you that errors related to Windows files can be handled fairly easily by the average computer user.

In this article, we provide a brief description of various types of files found on a Windows system, and we explain how to rectify errors associated with them.

A few examples of different types of file extensions

You might already be aware of the .txt and .doc files, but there are several other file formats that are important from a practical point of view.

While you will not be working with them all the time, having some idea about the different types of file extensions can be a valuable tool in resolving errors related to them.

• .7z file extension – This file extension has made its way from the open source software community. ‘7z’ is another popular compression method and is said to be the best compression around. It is very effective in compressing video files, something that not many archiving utilities can achieve.
• .aspx file extension – This file extension stands for Active Server Pages. It is an offering from Microsoft in the field of website designing. It helps in running a website server easily and effectively.
• .jnlp file extension – This extension is associated with the Java family of software, and stands for Java Network Launching Protocol. Since java has become an essential runtime for all systems, you are quite likely to come across these files on your Windows system.

What causes file extension errors?

There can be a lot of reasons, and it is hard to point out a single one. However, it is mostly to do with one of the following:

• Malware infection
• Corrupt registry
• Missing software
• Corrupt files
• Platform conflict

How to resolve file extension errors

There are a few methods that you can use if you want to stay away from file extension errors. These are really simple to carry out and don’t take a lot of time:

• Install robust antimalware tools on your computer and configure them to update automatically and perform regular full system malware scans.
• Use a reliable registry cleaner tool to repair any issues related to file association information.
• Reinstall the software that is generating the error.
• Install the software that is required to open the file that is generating the error.
• Use file repair software to fix damaged files and resolve issues caused by them.
• Make sure that you are using programs that are compatible with your operating system version and computer hardware.

Now that you have the right guidance and knowledge of file extension errors, you should be ready to tackle them on your own.

Fast Fixes for Windows File Errors on Your PC is a post from: Computer Spot

In 1998, Microsoft Corporation released their latest update of the popular Windows operating system – Windows 98.

It was a successor to the previous version of Windows 95 and was an improvement on technology contained in its predecessor.

One of the great advantages to Windows 98 was that it required relatively low system requirements making it easier to gain its full potential even on older machines.

This version of Windows gave full support to DOS applications because it could be switched between DOS mode and Windows mode.  Being able to do this allowed the user to fix certain system errors manually.

Windows 98 was never as stable as regular computer users needed.  This was due to many reasons.  Often the software developers of drivers and applications had insufficient experience with the creation of programs for the new system.

This caused many errors generally described as system errors by the user even if the error was not cause by parts of Windows or DOS.

Microsoft realized these problems and released many patches that allowed the operating system to gain extreme stability comparable with higher versions of Windows through the use of the most current device drivers and careful installation of the operating system.  Many older computers still run Windows 98, so having these patches has proven to be a great advantage for them.

The biggest advantage to Windows 98 as an operating system is its compatibility.  It can safely handle very old applications or hardware from the late 80’s and early 90’s while running most newer applications at the time without problems.  Its software environment is very similar to Windows 2000 and Windows XP.

Windows 98 had a limitation in the area of hardware handling.  This operating system did not support more than 512 megabytes of RAM as an internal limitation of the system.  RAM over this limit could be used by applying patches and changing the system settings natively.  What this means is that high-end graphics cards and peripherals will probably not work properly.

Windows 98 also contained many system tools for the computer user to take advantage of.  These tools include scan disk, disk defragmentation, scanreg, and msconfig among others.

All of these tools help the computer system run much more efficiently and eliminate problems that may arise due to Internet use and possible infection with viruses.

Eventually, Windows 98 would be succeeded by other versions of Windows that would improve on other areas of functionality, but at the time, it was very well received as a technological advancement in the area of operating systems in general.

Windows 98 Advantages and Disadvantages is a post from: Computer Spot

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Do you still remember windows98? It was my favorite operating system from windows. Here is the brief history of windows 98.

Windows 98 – codenamed Memphis – was released by Microsoft Corporation on June 25, 1998.  Windows 98 was the successor to Windows 95 and presented a hybrid 16-bit/32-bit monolithic product which was based on MS-DOS.

It was quickly followed by an updated to the operating system with Windows 98 SE (second edition) as Microsoft attempted to fix many bugs that were present in the original version.

Among the newer features of Windows 98 were better AGP (accelerated graphics port) support, functional USB (universal serial bus) drivers, and support for multiple monitors and Web TV.

It also featured support for the FAT32 file system allowing it to support disk partitions larger than the two gigabyte maximum accepted by Windows 95.  It was also the first version of Windows to support ACPI (advanced configuration and power interface.

Windows 98 was also the first operating system to use Windows Driver Model which standardized device driver programs and allowed for more peripherals to runs smoothly on the system.

When Windows 98 was released, this fact was not well published and device manufacturers continued to develop devices with drivers under the old system which would make them incompatible with the new operating system.

One huge advantage of Windows 98 as an operating system was that the system requirements were low.  That means that even older machines can effectively and efficiently run Windows 98 and users can take advantage of the new updates to the system.

Windows 98 also offered up full support for DOS applications because it can easily be switched to DOS mode.  In doing this, DOS based applications can handle the system in their native environment.  Having DOS mode available also provides for easier ways to fix system errors without having to enter into the graphical user interface.

Like other previous versions of Windows, this operating system wasn’t without its problems.  Windows 98 was never as stable as common users had hoped.

Often, the software developers of drivers and applications had insufficient experience with the creation of programs for this new system.  This caused many errors generally described as system errors by users even if the error was not caused by parts of Windows or DOS.

Newer versions of Windows would fix these problems, and Microsoft worked quickly to provide patches to the Windows 98 system for users to download and make their system much more stable.

As with most operating system, Windows 98 was updated soon after its release and improved upon.  It did provide some great updates that would serve as models for subsequent versions of Windows.

Windows 98 is a post from: Computer Spot

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Back in the late 1970’s, two enterprising young computer programmers named Paul Allen and Bill Gates developed an adaptation for the BASIC computer language that would help run newly created personal computer just coming on the technology market.

As with any technology, their original creation changed and grew.

The two friends decided they had the product and the capability to become successful, so they formed a company now known as Microsoft.

Over the years, Microsoft has grown to a giant in the computer industry with successes never before seen by a “from scratch” endeavor.

Microsoft was responsible for the development of not only several computer languages like COBOL and PASCAL, but also for the development of the earliest operating system MS-DOS.

In partnership with IBM, who was just introducing the personal computer to the individual consumer, all of the IBM computers used MS-DOS on their systems.  The year was 1981.

Windows 3.1 was the first product to fully utilize graphical user interface for ease of controlling what the computer would do.

Windows also now allowed the user to multitask, meaning the user could now run multiple applications at once without having to close out of each program before running another.

2001 – saw the release of Windows XP which is the version most users have to date.  The XP stands for experienced and combined the two major Windows operating systems into one.  It is available in both a home as well as a professional edition.

Windows XP is designed more for users who may not be familiar with all of Windows features and has several new abilities to make the Windows experience easier for those users.

Windows XP includes various new features not found in previous versions of Microsoft Windows. Below is a listing of some of these new features.

• New interface – a completely new look and ability to change the look.
• Updates – new feature that automatically obtains updates from the Internet.
• Internet Explorer 6 – Includes internet explorer 6 and new IM.
• Multilingual support – added support for different languages.
• In addition to the above features, Windows XP does increase reliability when compared to previous versions of Microsoft Windows.

Finally, the most recent upgrade of Windows was just released in 2007.  Called Windows Vista, this new version is intended as an upgrade to XP and 2000 users.

While it does have many new features, this version is intended to give computer users an overall better experience with a dramatic new look.

Added features over previous Windows versions include:

• Windows Aero, a completely new GUI and unlike any previous version of Windows.
• Basic file backup and restore.
• Improved DVD support with the ability to easily create custom DVD movies.
• Easy transfer, a feature that allows you to easily transfer files from an older computer to the new computer.
• File encryption.
• Instant search available through all Explorer windows.
• Support for DirectX 10.
• Self-healing, the ability to automatically detect and correct problems that may be encountered on the computer.
• Shadow copy, a feature that allows you to recover deleted files.
• Improved photo gallery and control of photographs.
• Windows Sidebar and gadgets that allows you to add an almost endless list of different gadgets.
• More parental control.
• Improved Windows Calendar, with the ability to set tasks and appointments.
• And much more.

Some people who are Windows enthusiasts hail this new product as a step into a new technological era.  Windows Vista is flashy, pretty, and impressive, but it comes with its own unique faults as well.

Reviewers report that there are many device drivers lacking in the software and that its size requires a large amount of memory which can cause your computer to run slower and less efficiently.

All versions of Windows do come with the original MS-DOS operating system included in the background for those “old-schoolers” who will want to enter their own computer commands.

All versions also come with a basic word processing program and Internet Explorer for surfing the net.
You will find standard games such as solitaire in Windows as well.

As you know, windows is now developing new operating system, windows 7. You can try the beta version. I haven’t tried it yet. I will wait until the final version released.

Microsoft Windows Operating System is a post from: Computer Spot

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As a user, you normally interact with the operating system through a set of commands. For example, the DOS operating system contains commands such as COPY and RENAME for copying files and changing the names of files, respectively.

The commands are accepted and executed by a part of the operating system called the command processor or command line interpreter.

Graphical user interfaces allow you to enter commands by pointing and clicking at objects that appear on the screen.

But that really doesn’t address the various ways that operating systems make your computer work easier and more efficiently.

Their specific capacities are what make them help your computer operate as a user-friendly device.  Let’s look specifically at what an operating system does.

Process Management

Every program running on a computer whether it is a background service or an application is called a process.

As long as von Neumann architecture is used to build a computer, only one process per CPU can be run at one time.

Older computer operating systems such as MS-DOS did not try to bypass this limit with the exception of interrupt processing and only one process could be run under them.

Mainframe operating systems have had multi-tasking capabilities since the early 1960’s.  Modern operating systems enable concurrent execution of many processes at once via multi-tasking even with one CPU.

Process management is an operating system’s way of dealing with running multiple processes at once.

Since most computers contain one processor with one core, multi-tasking is done by simply switching processes quickly.

Depending on the operating system, as more processes run, either each time slice will become smaller or there will be a longer delay before each process given a chance to run.

Process management involves computing and distributing CPU time as well as other resources.  Most operating systems allow a process to be assigned a priority which affects its allocation of CPU time.

Interactive operating systems also employ some level of feedback in which the task with which the user is working receives higher priority.

Interrupt driven processes will normally run at a very high priority.  In many systems, there is a background process such as the System Idle Process in Windows which will run when no other process is waiting for the CPU.

What Does an Operating System Do ? is a post from: Computer Spot

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