Windows FAQs

Pushing Through Windows 8's Learning Curve

Last Updated on Monday, 20 May 2013 09:27 Written by Craig Benting Monday, 20 May 2013 09:16

I upgraded my main desk computer at my office to Windows 8 so I can push through the learning curve. Some of the things I do for work every day are quite a bit faster than Windows 7, which is surprising. Some networking applications are a lot faster and copying files to/from servers is as fast as it should be without the frustrating delays to start copying that Vista and Windows 7 always had.

I've learned a few things "by accident":

Right clicking on the new Start menu gives quick access to most of the things that we IT people use often like Programs & Features control panel, Power Options control panel, Event viewer, System control panel, Device Manager, Computer Management, Command Prompt, File Explorer (instead of Computer), and the Run dialog box.
In the Start menu, I type to find everything I couldn't find before including the Computer window, a.k.a. File Explorer. Once you find something you always use, you can right click it to pin it to Start Menu or Task Bar.
You can right click an EXE to add it to the Start Menu, delete it from Start, run as Admin, or other options.
You can drag items that are pinned or that you find through the Start Menu to the left "most important" area so they are always there. I deleted a lot of the apps they include in the Start Menu in Windows 8, then dragged my important applications to the left.
In the Start Menu, you can left click on your name in the upper right corner to lock, sign out, or switch to another account on the computer.
Everywhere I've seen, you can move your mouse to the upper left of the screen, then click to "tab" between the desktop (and it's applications) and other apps you have open. If you move your mouse there, then move it down along the left of the screen, a choosable list of apps (including the desktop and its applications) are shown so you can just click on the one you want. It's kind of like the iOS' open app list at the bottom of the screen when you double-click the home button, but the standard Windows desktop seems to be one of the apps. That seems intended more for tablets, but works on standard computers.

I'm sure I'll learn more as I use it day-to-day. I just can't believe they don't have a "tour" or "tutorial" app included with Windows 8 instead of expecting people to figure this stuff out. Maybe they should resurrect Clippy or Microsoft Bob to teach new users.

I've found no way to really change the incredibly ugly user interface. Every change I make in the Personalization control panel is like putting lipstick on a pig. I think it's an 80's retro thing, mimicking UI's from back when Windows didn't really have one, but some people are calling it Windows 1.0. I think that's a little too generous to Windows 1.0-3.11, because Windows 8's UI is more like an old Amiga computer. That's still not good in the 21st century.

Should I buy a Windows Surface tablet?

Last Updated on Thursday, 01 November 2012 10:04 Thursday, 01 November 2012 09:53

I found some interesting articles on Microsoft Surface and Windows 8 at ZDnet.

I haven't really played around with the Surface tablet yet, but I'm one of the people interested in the Surface because I can run the odd Windows programs on it that I can't run on an iPad or Android tablet. Of course, I can and do run those programs now using remote desktop or PC-over-IP to access a Windows desktop virtual machine on NetFu company servers.

The Surface with Windows RT has an Arm CPU, which is not x86-compatible, so it won't work with any other Windows software unless it was specifically compiled for Windows RT. It costs about the same as an iPad or Android tablet at $500-$700. The touch cover is extra like the iPad/Android and costs $120 which is a little high.

The Surface with Windows 8 Pro and x86 CPU is not out yet, but is supposed to cost about $1000. So, that's a little high compared with an Intel Core i5 laptop like a Sony VAIO with an MSRP of $900 and street price of about $800. The Surface with Windows 8 Pro seems to kind of bridge the gap between iPad/Android tablets and Windows laptops, but I don't see the point if it costs the same or more than a Windows laptop. Maybe the weight difference makes it worth it for some people, but it's really only a few pounds difference at the end of the day.

So, the Surface with Windows RT plus keyboard costs $620-$820, comes with a "preview" version of MS Office 2013 and has whatever apps available for it in the Windows app store. Microsoft is supposedly releasing Office 2013 for iPad/Android in 2013, so I would say people who already have an investment in iPad or Android devices should just wait and see.

FAQ's: How Can I Reset A Lost Windows Password?

Q: I have an old Windows computer that I need to get files from, but I forgot the user and administrator passwords or the ones I have are just not working. Do I have to take it to someone to recover the data?

A: Well, the first solution that may be easiest is to just remove the drives from the old computer and plug them into a Windows computer that you have full access to so you can get the files.

If that is not technically possible or isn't as easy as booting from a CD, Windows passwords are surprisingly easy to reset using open source (free) tools on a bootable CD.

FAQ's: How do you make Windows 7/Vista boot and run faster?

Last Updated on Monday, 20 December 2010 09:10 Tuesday, 11 May 2010 00:00

Q: How do you make Windows 7/Vista boot and run faster?

A: In Windows 7, some things are different, but many things are the same. Many of the same things you could do to improve Vista work exactly the same in Windows 7. Windows 7 generally drops much of the software bloat or unused features that came in Vista.

That's generally a good thing, but there are still things you can do to speed it up even more. Like in past versions of Windows, you can turn off Visual Effects to speed up the interface, making it look plainer in the process.

FAQ's: Is Windows 7 Worth The Upgrade?

Last Updated on Monday, 28 December 2009 11:45 Thursday, 10 December 2009 14:59

Q: Is it worth upgrading to Windows 7?