Windows 7 in action: A smarter way to manage windows

Over the past few months, I’ve snapped hundreds of screenshots of the Windows 7 interface, for use in galleries here at ZDNet (like this one and this one) and in Windows 7 Inside Out. But static screenshots don’t do justice to some of the nuances of actually using a feature. So when ZDNet’s crack video production team offered to help me to produce some screencasts, I jumped at the chance.

You’ve no doubt heard about Aero Snap and Aero Shake. Here’s a chance to see these features in action. (Hint: Click the Full Screen button, in the lower right corner, just to the right of the Menu button, to see the most detail.)

I actually remember the first time I saw this feature demonstrated for me. I was immediately impressed with the idea that simple mouse gestures could make window management so much easier. That’s especially important these days, when 20- and 24-inch monitors are commonplace.

In fact, after using Windows 7 for nearly a full year, I have to confess that I’m spoiled by this feature more than any other. When I use a computer running another operating system—Windows Vista, XP, or even OS X—I really miss the ability to maximize and minimize a window with a flick of the mouse or to snap a window into position on the side of the screen.

This is the first of four Windows 7 demos that I’ve done in this series. Look for the next one next week at this time.

10 reasons why you should use windows 7

1. Federated searches. extend Explorer search capabilities beyond the desktop, allowing you to search remote repositories through "search connectors." You can find and download these connectors throughout the Internet. For example, noted Internet blogger Long Zheeng at istartedsomething.com has one for Flickr that I downloaded and tested. As Zheeng says, "Imagine the possibilities. Searching the files on your remote Windows Home Server, searching your documents on Google Docs, finding music on Pandora, finding videos on YouTube.

2. Libraries. A library provides you with the ability to see more than one folder's worth of content in one view. So, for example, the Documents library will show all of your documents in My Documents (C:\Users\\Documents) and Public Documents (C:\Users\Public\Documents) and any other locations you choose. This isn't exactly a new concept. Windows Vista let you perform saved searches and create virtual folders in Explorer. However, Windows 7 libraries also let you write to these saved searches, which you couldn't do before.

3. UAC slider. Personally, I liked the UAC (User Account Control) in Windows Vista. I felt better protected than I did using Windows XP. But I agree that we need an easier way to choose how much protection we want. I mean, it may be safer for people to lock their doors and shut their windows at night, but sometimes there's a good reason to leave a window open. Now you can. Windows 7 provides four UAC settings you can configure with the slider: a) Never Notify; b) Notify me only when programs try to make changes to my computer (do not dim my desktop); c) Default - Notify me only when programs try to make changes to my computer; d) Always Notify.

4. Action Center. Originally I thought this was merely a new name for the Security Center. But in fact Action Center does more than its predecessor. In addition to altering security information (Windows Update, Windows Firewall, Windows Defender, User Account Control, Network and Internet security settings), you can now access maintenance information and troubleshoot computer problems. Here you can check for solutions to problem reports, perform backups or recovery, and more. Yes, it's a one-stop shop.

5 Jump lists. When I first saw a jump list, I'll admit it, I thought it was stupid. After using them a bit, I've changed my mind -- they can be pretty helpful. Right-click a taskbar button, and a jump list will show you common actions such as opening a new tab in IE8. You could even add your favorite Web sites to your IE8 jump list and, with a click, jump to a site. It may only save you a few seconds, but time is money, right? In an enterprise, those seconds add up over thousands of users.

6. Live download for applications. While Internet Explorer and Media Player are still included with Windows, some applications now require a download. You can download Windows Live Call, Windows Live Family Safety, Windows Live Mail, Windows Live Messenger, Windows Live Movie Maker, Windows Live Photo Gallery, and Windows Live Writer all from the Windows Live download site. Personally I don't use these applications in Windows Vista, so I like the idea that I don't have to install them on a new Windows 7 machine. And yet I can grab them if I want them. For example, one item you may need to download is Family Safety because Parental Controls no longer include the ability to block Web sites or track your child's activity.

7. Energy-efficiency improvements. One of the most active topics in the industry is energy efficiency. Sure, we all want our systems to run faster and appear more powerful, but not use more power in the process. Go green? Absolutely -- but maintain the same and better speed. So the engineers for Windows 7 have been very focused on doing just that: reducing the power consumption and environmental impact. Windows 7 is designed toward that end by building on the energy-saving features already existing in previous OS builds like Vista with its Power Options, which reduces power consumption when the system is idle, and Shutdown options that allow the system to go into "sleep" mode. Windows 7 focuses on both reduction of idle power consumption and supporting new device power modes. Read more about it on the MSDN blog.

8. Internet Explorer 8 features. In my post last week, I noted some of the cool new features in IE8 that I thought would improve the browsing experience. These include InPrivate browsing, Web slices, and accelerators. I can see people using Web slices for eBay updates and so forth, and this will save them time having to navigate to oft-visited sites. Accelerators are already saving me time because I can quickly select a word and get a translation or definition. With new accelerators I've loaded, I can also select any celebrity name I come across and get the full IMDB list of movies or shows they are in. (Granted, it's not a timesaver at work, but good nonetheless.)

9. PowerShell 2.0. You have to be a command-line, PowerShell-loving nut to put this one in the top 10, but I yield to my sysadmin side on this one. It is a great thing to have the new command line included within the OS. In fact, I'd like to see Microsoft take the next step and remove the CMD.exe application altogether. PowerShell can perform all the same commands and much, much more.

10. Windows XP Mode. Yes, I know it seems odd that this would be my No. 1 feature. It's actually somewhere around six in my mental list of interesting Windows 7 features, but I've moved it up for a couple of reasons. First, the fact that Microsoft is even including a virtual XP mode shows on some level that Microsoft is aware of the fear on the part of the enterprise to deploy any OS that might not allow their existing applications to function the way they currently do under Windows XP. Second, Microsoft will give it away for free both Windows Virtual PC 7 and the Windows XP Mode drop-in. (Note: It is free for those who have Windows 7 Enterprise, Professional, or Ultimate Edition.) For those of you who rallied to save XP -- well, this will do it! My third reason for making Windows XP mode my No. 1 reason for liking Windows 7 is childish. XP mode seems to really irk my colleague Randall Kennedy (who seems to be irked by most things, even picking on Ubuntu recently). Randall has some good points about how Microsoft could have handled the XP application compatibility issue, but I think Microsoft deserves a nod for acknowledging the need, providing a working solution, and doing it for free (for the most part).

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How to clear windows history files

Today article will help you to manage the all types of user history in windows operating system. This is a built-in feature of all windows keeps track the user's history, for example the websites you have visited, the documents you have opened and the keywords or files for which you've searched. However this tip is very useful for you, if you are sharing your computer with others or you do not want that the other persons know about your last visited documents history. You can clear these kinds of user's history with a single click on desktop icon named Cleanmru.reg. There is no need to clear each history file one by one. This trick will work in nearly all of the windows versions like windows 2000, XP and 2003.

Follow the given steps for configuration to clear recently opened documents automatically:
To edit the computer registry, first you should log onto your computer with administrative rights.

Here copy the following 6 lines and paste in notepad then save with the name Cleanmru.reg on your desktop.

REGEDIT4

[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\TypedURLs]
[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\RunMRU]
[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\RecentDocs]
[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\ComDlg32\
LastVisitedMRU]
[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Search Assistant\ACMru]

When you double-click Cleanmru.reg icon to remove the windows history, a small dialog box will appear with the information "Are you sure you want to add the information in C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\desktop\Clearmru.reg to the registry?"

At the end, you will get the message "Information in C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\desktop\Clearmru.reg has been successfully entered into the registry." Click on Ok button and verify that your all history will have been clear.

See Also
computer technical support
Preview Internet Explorer 8
Boost Your Computer Speed
Top five steps to stay secure on Internet
Top 5 steps to optimize your web browser experience

Can't delete a file in Windows? Here's what to do...

How to delete a file when:
• Windows says 'file access denied'.
• 'File in use' error.
• Can't delete a file (insert cryptic reason).
• Rebooting doesn't help delete the file.

Despite all its quirks, Microsoft Windows does do some things for a good cause. Some files need to be locked down when they are in use, otherwise you menace damaging the file or harming the OS. Unfortunately Windows XP seems to be beset by files that cannot be deleted. These are frequently simple files like videos, MP3 or other seemingly harmless files. You try to delete the file, Windows waits a few minutes before announcing that access is denied, the file is currently in use and cannot be deleted.


If you have encountered this problem, here is a step-by-step process for trying to purge the files you can't delete. It starts with the basics for Windows XP and moves on to more involved tricks. The process will work for all recent Windows releases, but Windows XP has been causing the most the problems, so we will focus on it. Please note: we are assuming that the file is not crucial to the operation of Windows - deleting important system files can cause havoc.

1. Is the file in use? It sounds obvious but it happens. If it is being used or open, close the file and the application that opened it. For example, if it is a Word document, close Microsoft Word.

2. If the file was opened in an application (and subsequently closed), but the program is still running, try quitting the program. Windows will lock a file because the application hasn't yet released it. This is not always Windows fault and can be the fault of the program.

3. If the file is an AVI, in particular a DivX AVI, try renaming it and then deleting it. DivX files don't get on very well with Windows XP and sometimes renaming the file can trick Windows into releasing it.

4. Reboot your PC and don't start any programs. Go directly to the file and delete it.

5. In Windows Explorer, switch to View-Details and then select View-Choose Details. Uncheck everything except the file name. This stops Windows XP trying to read the file - this problem affects many video, audio and graphics files.

6. Still no luck? OK, here is the best trick of all. Most sites give you cryptic Windows registry and DOS commands to remove a file, but the answer is so much simpler. Get a copy of MoveOnBoot. It's free and this simple tool allows you to Move, Copy or Delete files before Windows can lock or alter the files. The changes are made to your hard drive before Windows starts, hence it requires a restart of your system after you give MoveOnBoot its instructions. There are no messy boot or DOS commands, just a simple 3-step process.

Step 1: Locate the name of the file that is causing your problems.

Step 2: Decide if you want to copy, move or delete the file.

Step 3. Choose a destination for moving the file, or a new file name for the rename option (this option won't appear if you are deleting a file).

Click OK to confirm you want to process. The nice thing is that the program doesn't make you reboot straight away. It's a good idea to reboot ASAP, but if you are in the middle of something and want to wait, the program will simply run next time you start Windows.

7. If the file reappears again (check its creation date to ensure it is being recreated) and you can't make it budge, you may have trouble with spyware or a virus on your system (don't overlook the possibility it may also be an important system file). In this case you should get a good spyware removal program to scan your system.

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