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Technical matters What is Microsoft's vision for the future? Microsoft Windows 8. Now available on new computers or for upgrading your old one. Watch this video
Microsoft Windows 8. This new version of the Windows operating system is now available. It is designed for tablet computers and touch screens primarily, however being built on the basis of Windows 7 much of your familiar keyboard and mouse operation is still available. We are in the process of installing it on all the classroom computers. Large touchscreens are as yet very expensive so it will be used with mouse and keyboard. We have a Samsung Ativa Smart PC running Windows 8 on a 11 inch touch screen which is available as a demonstrator. It is a tablet with a detachable keyboard, which is a real computer with a solid state hard disk, and capable of running office and other programmes. It has stirred a lot of interest amongst those who have seen it.
Available in 32 bit and 64 bit versions for home and small business use Windows 8 can be purchased as an OEM or Update versions. Generally if you can run Windows 7 you can run Windows 8, but there is a tool to see whether you can run it at this website Microsoft Windows 8 upgrade assistant. Other versions such as Windows 8 Pro and Enterprise editions are not likely to be of interest to our members. Windows 8 is fast to boot up, and to load applications provided your computer can handle it. Security is beefed up but you still require an antivirus programme. Windows 8 should run on the same hardware that powers Windows 7 today. The exception is Adobe Photoshop Elements which appears to be incompatible in earlier versions which ran OK in Windows7, but may corrupt Windows 8. Version 11 is recommended. In general, you can expect Windows 8 to run on a PC with the following:
Our advice to members is to upgrade if you have a touch screen, or a recent model computer, but otherwise you may choose to wait until you need to replace your computer. Businesses may stay with older versions for some time as there will be a need for staff to become familiar with a whole new way of interacting with the computer, and many companies have unique software which may be incompatible with with Windows 8. Thus older versions of Windows will continue to be supported with updates, at least for critical updates. The new Windows 8 Surface tablet
Announced midway through June 2012 it represents a breakthrough in design and functionality that puts it ahead of the competition. This is marketed in two versions. One running Windows 8 RT is a direct competitor to the iPad, and the other is aimed at the business market and runs Windows 8 Pro. Pricing in NZ is unkown but is likely to be competitive with the Apple and other comparable tablets. They are starting to appear in overseas markets, but not yet available in NZ
The latest information
indicates that Microsoft will continue to support Windows 7 until 2022
Unless you have a recent model computer we recommend that you should stick
with Windows 7.
At our learning Centre we have installed Windows 7 on all
computers, and we now have workshops available to assist you with understanding
it. If you are familiar with Vista you should have no problems.
Most legacy software that runs in Vista will run in
Windows 7. Office 2002, 2003, and 2007, Adobe Photoshop in most
versions, MS Digital Image, MS Works 8, MS Money 2003, MS FrontPage 2003, AVG
2011, Skype, all work normally.
It builds on the engine (code) which underlies Windows NT,
2000, XP and Vista, and has dispensed with some of the resource hungry
applications built into Vista.
If you want applications like Photo Gallery, Movie Maker, or
Windows Live Mail, you have to download them from the Microsoft website.
Installing Windows 7. Put the CD in the CD/DVD
drive and reboot your computer. Follow the instructions and choose a clean
install (you lose your data and settings) or upgrade (you retain your data and
settings). You can also setup from within Windows Vista.
Dual Boot? If you have two hard disks (or a
large one -120GB or larger which can be partitioned) you can retain your present
operating system on one disk and load Windows 7 on the other disk (or partition) - easily.
If you have just the one unpartitioned hard disk you don't have to
reformat it as Windows 7 has a built-in facility to
shrink partitions. It actually happens automatically if you choose the option to
retain your current operating system when installing Windows 7, and then you
have the choice of booting into Windows 7 or your old system. They
say you can even boot Win 7 from an external hard disk, or even a largish media
stick.
Another claim is improved compatibility. Some programmes
which ran in Vista will not run in Windows 7. You can get around this by
running it in Vista SP2 compatibilty mode.
If all else
fails and the programme that ran in Windows XP, or the hardware that has no
Vista or Windows 7 driver, fear not as you can run virtual Windows XP using
Virtual PC (not available in Home and basic versions). At SeniorNet we have
Virtual PC
installed in Windows 7 Pro on a laptop. In Virtual PC we have installed Windows XP
Mode (virtually a free copy of Windows XP), and this is where we installed the XP printer driver. The laser printer
worked as if it was
installed in Windows 7. Over time HP produced a Windows 7 driver so it became
unnecessary to use Virtual PC. So it is worth checking the manufacturer's
website form time to time to see if an updated driver is available.
Virtual PC can run several other operating systems in addition,
such as Windows 98, or even Linux, and you can swap between them.
Windows 7 is better equipped with inbuilt drivers (small
pieces of computer code that make things like printers work) than Vista
was when it was released, but if there is no Windows 7 driver many Vista drivers seem to work OK.
Office 2010 has entered the mainstream, and we have
it on our computers at SeniorNet in Warkworth in the Windows 7 partitions. Members are welcome
to have a look at this improved version which offers improvements over Office 2007.
Neville Fursdon Technical Manager Windows Updates in
Windows 7 and Vista
Windows Updates is set to automatically install updates by default.
It is better to allow Windows to download the
updates but let you choose whether to install them
Click on the Start button and open
Control Panel. Click on Windows Update
then Change settings. Click on the down arrow on the
right and don't forget to click OK at the bottom of the
screen
Windows Updates in Windows XP
Click the Start button and open Control
Panel.
Click on Security Centre
Click on Automatic Updates in the
lower part of the page (not the middle bar)
Choose Download updates for me, but let me
choose when to install them
Click Apply
Click OK.
Close all open windows. You will in
future be asked whether you want to install updates by ticking a box
beside each one. Windows will tell you whether the update is
critical or optional.
It is wise to install the ones marked Critical.
RAM
Random Access Memory
- RAM
There is no really hard and fast answer to this question. It depends
upon what you are using your computer for, and what operating system you
are using, to take the two most obvious factors. If you are
multi-tasking - using Adobe Photoshop Elements or doing video editing,
and want to be able to run office applications, and surf, and do email,
all at once - then you may need a fair amount of memory. If you are a
typical home user and mostly use your computer for email, surfing, a
word processor or spreadsheet, then you won't need quite as much. In
terms of how it affects you the end user, the right amount of memory =
faster computer.
However installing more RAM may make absolutely no difference if your
hardware is not up to it, for instance, you may need to upgrade your
video card, and this on top of the cost of the RAM could go a long way
towards the cost of a new box.
For the typical (confused) home user here are some recommendations (or
best guesses)
Linux
– can manage with as little as 4 MB
Windows 95
- Seems to be happy with 64 MB. Anything over doesn't get you much
performance increase, but if you have anything less, you should
consider getting more memory. The benefit can be quite substantial.
Windows 98/Me
- Seems to be happy with 128 MB. Works OK with 64 MB, but you will
probably see a significant performance increase by going to 128.
Anything over 128 generally doesn't get you much.
Windows NT (Workstation)
- Seems to be happy with 128 MB for most things.
Windows 2000
- At least 128 MB, and basically as much as you can afford. Consider
256 MB or more if it's got a heavy demand on it.
Windows XP
- Hard to say, but 256 MB as a minimum, and works better with more,
up to 512 MB. Opinions vary as to whether going to 1GB gives any
noticeable benefit.
Windows Vista
32 bit
– Will run with 512 MB, but as a rule of thumb you should double the
amount you would have used with XP up to a maximum of 4 GB for the
32 bit version (and the sky is the limit for the 64 bit version). To
use the aero effects your video card needs plenty of RAM installed
on the card itself, or if it shares some of the RAM on the
motherboard there will be less for general use. Most experts
recommend 1GB with further benefit noticed up to 2GB. In early
tests the scale of benefit beyond 3 GB is reported to tail off.
Windows Vista 64 bit - the sky is the limit How much can
you afford? 8 to 16 GB seems like a useful amount.
Windows 7 32 bit - You will need 1Gb, 2 is better, and probably
best to install 4 GB, however it can not use more than about 3.5 GB.
Windows 7 64 bit - Once again the sky is the limit, though in
practice similar to Vista requirements.
Windows 8 - Similar to
Windows 7
Buying more memory is one of the easiest, cheapest, and most effective
ways of improving your computer performance.
Now what about DDR
RAM, Rambus RAM, SD RAM, EDO RAM, XDR RAM, etc etc?
Don't get confused
by the gobbledegook. Your motherboard will usually want a specific type,
so the options are limited.
Look in the
information booklet that came with your motherboard, or find the
make and model by looking at the upper surface of the motherboard
where it will be written in tiny writing, then Google it on the
Internet for recommendations for your specific model.
Another way is
to do a scan at
http://www.crucial.com/
to
find what memory you have, and what is possible. If you want to find out the
make and model of the various pieces of hardware which make up your
computer try downloading the free Belarc Hardware Adviser.
It will also tell you the version numbers and the product numbers of
most of the software you have installed.
Lost your disks with the
product keys? Free utilities like the Magical Jellybean
keyfinder at this website
http://www.magicaljellybean.com/keyfinder/
will assist with Windows keys. Disclaimer. While we offer advice in good faith in the above articles, be warned that
you follow this advice at your own risk. SeniorNet Warkworth
Inc and its officers can not accept accept any responsibility for
any untoward outcome as a result of following the advice in these
articles. |
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