Windows 7 is in beta right now (for non-techies that's the version they release to us computer geeks to test before it is released for sale on the market). I loaded it about a week ago and here's what I've found so far.
Go to the link above for all of the features, but here my favorites:
1. It uses much less memory. Vista used about 49% of my memory for the desktop and background services but Windows 7 Ultimate only uses 31%.
2. Task bar highlighting is wonderful. Just roll your cursor over something on the task bar and a thumbnail pops up. move your cursor over the thumbnail and the program goes full screen so you can see what's going on with it. Best of all once you move your cursor back to the task bar everything goes back to the way it was. No more having to switch back and forth between programs when things are running in the background.
3. Even better is the Start Menu highlighting. As you open files, the program that runs that file gets an arrow next to it in the start menu. If you need to open that file again you just click Start then highlight the program and all of the recent files slide out to the side so you can open it quickly. Also, with Windows Explorer, the recent folders you opened slide out so you can get there quickly.
4. The task bar is much cleaner and easier to work with. You can easily set which icons will be on the task bar and which ones will only show you alerts.
Windows 7 is slick! This is the most efficient, clean and easy to use version of Windows to date in my opinion. All of my programs and hardware work fine with no noticeable problems so far which is really good for a beta.
If you're adventurous, download the beta and check it out (after backing up your computer, of course). Just be forewarned, if you do install the beta as an upgrade to your system you will need to buy Windows 7 when it comes out or you will have to re-install your old Windows from scratch. Also, it is a beta so you can't get upset if some things don't work right at times. That's why they release it as a beta first to find the bugs.
Showing posts with label Tech. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tech. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Darn, Slow Computer!! (Part 2)
I talked about bloated anti-virus programs in my last blog so next up are the toolbars; those little “handy” gadgets that are installed in your browser or even on your desktop. The problem with toolbars is they use a lot of your computer’s resources and most of the time they are unnecessary.
The most used functions of toolbars are quick searches, pop-up blocking and auto-fill. All three of those functions are already built into Internet Explorer and FireFox so they are unnecessary. The problem caused by toolbars is a slow Internet, especially when several computers with toolbars installed are using the same Internet connection. While you’re surfing around, the toolbar is constantly sending information back and forth to their servers. They do this to help websites you visit determine what ads should show up for you while you are there. They can also allow hackers a portal to get into your computer and record information that you type in when you visit sites. So if you have a toolbar and you’re tired of your slow Internet, get rid of it.
The last of my top three things that slow your computer down is spyware. Spyware consists of little programs that install themselves when you install other programs or in the background when you visit some websites. They can also be disguised as a program you think is good and you install them yourself without knowing it.
Spyware is vicious and can wreak all kinds of havoc on your computer. It can cause ads to pop up all over the place uncontrollably. It can record where you surf and what you type into your computer, even when you are not online. It can worm its’ way through your private information and report it back to a remote server. Finally, if several spyware programs are installed they can use a tremendous amount of resources bringing your computer to a very slow crawl or even make it unusable.
As with viruses, there is a great program that will take care of spyware problems. Spybot Search&Destroy by Safer Networks not only finds and deletes already loaded spyware programs, it allows you to “immunize” your computer to keep you away from known spyware websites. It also has a runtime program called TeaTimer that asks you to confirm Registry and System Configuration changes before allowing them. That keeps those nasty auto-install programs from doing damage in the background without you knowing it. This is a great defense program, but it does use about 40MB of RAM so if you run the Spybot checker pretty often you don’t have to install this. If you always forget to check things out, install it and have peace of mind that nothing is installed without you knowing about it.
Spybot Search&Destroy is a free program available at http://www.safer-networking.org/en/spybotsd/index.html and there is a good write up on the previous version of the software at http://www.toptechnews.com/story.xhtml?story_id=0200024r2k1o (the new version, 1.60, just came out so there are no reviews of that version yet). The program is free, but if you would like to thank the makers of the software you can donate to their efforts at http://www.safer-networking.org/en/donate/index.html BE CAREFUL!! Don’t go to search engines and just grab any free “spyware detection” program. There are a ton of them that are fake and actually install spyware on your computer. They are sneaky, like the one that is called “SpywareBot” playing off of Spybot to try and get you to download and install their junk.
The most used functions of toolbars are quick searches, pop-up blocking and auto-fill. All three of those functions are already built into Internet Explorer and FireFox so they are unnecessary. The problem caused by toolbars is a slow Internet, especially when several computers with toolbars installed are using the same Internet connection. While you’re surfing around, the toolbar is constantly sending information back and forth to their servers. They do this to help websites you visit determine what ads should show up for you while you are there. They can also allow hackers a portal to get into your computer and record information that you type in when you visit sites. So if you have a toolbar and you’re tired of your slow Internet, get rid of it.
The last of my top three things that slow your computer down is spyware. Spyware consists of little programs that install themselves when you install other programs or in the background when you visit some websites. They can also be disguised as a program you think is good and you install them yourself without knowing it.
Spyware is vicious and can wreak all kinds of havoc on your computer. It can cause ads to pop up all over the place uncontrollably. It can record where you surf and what you type into your computer, even when you are not online. It can worm its’ way through your private information and report it back to a remote server. Finally, if several spyware programs are installed they can use a tremendous amount of resources bringing your computer to a very slow crawl or even make it unusable.
As with viruses, there is a great program that will take care of spyware problems. Spybot Search&Destroy by Safer Networks not only finds and deletes already loaded spyware programs, it allows you to “immunize” your computer to keep you away from known spyware websites. It also has a runtime program called TeaTimer that asks you to confirm Registry and System Configuration changes before allowing them. That keeps those nasty auto-install programs from doing damage in the background without you knowing it. This is a great defense program, but it does use about 40MB of RAM so if you run the Spybot checker pretty often you don’t have to install this. If you always forget to check things out, install it and have peace of mind that nothing is installed without you knowing about it.
Spybot Search&Destroy is a free program available at http://www.safer-networking.org/en/spybotsd/index.html and there is a good write up on the previous version of the software at http://www.toptechnews.com/story.xhtml?story_id=0200024r2k1o (the new version, 1.60, just came out so there are no reviews of that version yet). The program is free, but if you would like to thank the makers of the software you can donate to their efforts at http://www.safer-networking.org/en/donate/index.html BE CAREFUL!! Don’t go to search engines and just grab any free “spyware detection” program. There are a ton of them that are fake and actually install spyware on your computer. They are sneaky, like the one that is called “SpywareBot” playing off of Spybot to try and get you to download and install their junk.
Darn, Slow Computer!! (Part 1)
Does it take forever for your computer to boot up? Do you twiddle your thumbs while a web page loads even though you have DSL or broadband Internet? Several things can cause your computer to slow down, but three of them are quick and very easy to fix without buying new hardware.
So what are these three things? Bloated anti-virus programs, Toolbars and Spyware.
We’ll start with the A/V programs and cover the others in future posts. Did you know most of the anti-virus programs you buy at the store are so bloated with unnecessary junk they can actually slow your computer down more than the viruses they protect you from? It sounds crazy, but it’s true. The problem is, due to wonderful programmers around the world with too much time on their hands, you really can’t afford to be without anti-virus software. It's so bad out there, when I searched for reviews of anti-virus programs the first link was a virus that was caught by my anti-virus software.
So who are the big offenders? Unfortunately the most bloated anti-virus programs are the top sellers because they spend a ton of money on marketing and “coop” agreements with computer makers. Every time I get a call from a friend or family member who is having trouble with a slow computer my first question is “Do you have McAfee or Norton Anti-Virus?” and the answer is most often “Yes”.
Since you really need an anti-virus program, and you already paid for the one you have, what can you do? I’m glad you asked.
There is a fantastic program that protects you from viruses, rootkits, some spyware and more. Best of all, it’s absolutely free for home users. The program is called Avast Anti-Virus. Avast does a great job of protecting your computer while using very little of your computing resources (memory, CPU, etc). PC Magazine has a great review of the software along with reader reviews here http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2282704,00.asp#member_rating
All you have to do is register the software each year and you can keep using it for free. They don’t send you any spam because they make their money from business users. Just go to http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html to download it and install it. If you have another virus program, make sure you uninstall that one after installing Avast so you can get your resources back. I personally use Avast on all of our home computers and I have also purchased it for the Windows SBS 2003 server and all of the client computers in our office.
If you feel like you just have to pay for a home anti-virus program but still want a good one, you can get AVG anti-virus at http://www.grisoft.com/ww.store It's easy on the resources and does a good job. Your computer geek friends would approve of either of these.
So what are these three things? Bloated anti-virus programs, Toolbars and Spyware.
We’ll start with the A/V programs and cover the others in future posts. Did you know most of the anti-virus programs you buy at the store are so bloated with unnecessary junk they can actually slow your computer down more than the viruses they protect you from? It sounds crazy, but it’s true. The problem is, due to wonderful programmers around the world with too much time on their hands, you really can’t afford to be without anti-virus software. It's so bad out there, when I searched for reviews of anti-virus programs the first link was a virus that was caught by my anti-virus software.
So who are the big offenders? Unfortunately the most bloated anti-virus programs are the top sellers because they spend a ton of money on marketing and “coop” agreements with computer makers. Every time I get a call from a friend or family member who is having trouble with a slow computer my first question is “Do you have McAfee or Norton Anti-Virus?” and the answer is most often “Yes”.
Since you really need an anti-virus program, and you already paid for the one you have, what can you do? I’m glad you asked.
There is a fantastic program that protects you from viruses, rootkits, some spyware and more. Best of all, it’s absolutely free for home users. The program is called Avast Anti-Virus. Avast does a great job of protecting your computer while using very little of your computing resources (memory, CPU, etc). PC Magazine has a great review of the software along with reader reviews here http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2282704,00.asp#member_rating
All you have to do is register the software each year and you can keep using it for free. They don’t send you any spam because they make their money from business users. Just go to http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html to download it and install it. If you have another virus program, make sure you uninstall that one after installing Avast so you can get your resources back. I personally use Avast on all of our home computers and I have also purchased it for the Windows SBS 2003 server and all of the client computers in our office.
If you feel like you just have to pay for a home anti-virus program but still want a good one, you can get AVG anti-virus at http://www.grisoft.com/ww.store It's easy on the resources and does a good job. Your computer geek friends would approve of either of these.
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