Print This PageWindows Tips
Like it or not, your computer needs software to make all the pieces work and then give you a way to “communicate” with it. That software is called the “operating system“, and in the world of personal computers, the most popular operating system is Microsoft Windows.
Windows is what we’ve been using since 1989 (yes, since Windows 2.0), and although there have been times we were tempted toward the Mac OS and Linux, we always came back to that familiar, flying, 4-colored logo.
In this section, we pass along tips, tricks, and how-to’s to help you get the most from Windows, whether you have Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7.
Windows Update - An Important Part of Internet Safety
I tend to be on a lot of “techie” newsletter lists, with the best intentions of trying to keep up with all that’s going on with computer technology so that I can pass along the most important news to my students. Every day there are at least 4 or 5 newsletters to read, and although [...]
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Windows 8 - Is It On the Way?
Great… just as you FINALLY started getting use to Windows 7 (or even Windows XP), you get wind that good-old Microsoft will soon be releasing, (gasp!) Windows 8. Well, not to worry. At a recent developers conference, many of those who are “in the know” said it would probably not be until the Christmas holiday [...]
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Rescue CD - Create One for Free
We spend quite a bit of time talking about how to stay safe on the Internet, and especially how to protect yourselves from computer viruses and malware. (CLICK HERE to see a list of Internet Safety/Security Articles). But what if you do get infected? That’s where creating a Rescue CD comes in. A Rescue CD [...]
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Should I Upgrade to Internet Explorer 9.0?
Most of you probably know Wayne Casper, the guy who teaches at and runs the Computer Education Center in Lincoln. On my Wednesday trips to Lincoln to teach, Wayne will often put little reminders on the white board, if someone has asked a question that perhaps I can answer. This past week the note simply [...]
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Backups - Make Them a Priority! Part 1
This morning as I was wading through my daily deluge of technology emails, one in particular caught my eye… “World Backup Day 2011 – March 31st” No kidding, is this day REALLY backup day? Well, no and yes. After opening the email I discovered that a guy up on Reddit.com started a message thread about [...]
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Windows 7 Service Pack 1 - What's it about?
As expected, Microsoft has finally released to the general public, Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1). The pack has been available for some time to some corporate and OEMs (computer manufacturers), but it was just released this past Tuesday, February 22nd, to the rest of us. If you are new to Service Packs, they are [...]
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Customizing the Windows Background with a Picture
Microsoft Windows has always allowed you to change the desktop background (we sometimes call “wallpaper”) to different colors or even fill it with a picture. But what about adding your own picture(s), and the placing those pictures strategically so that they don’t interfere with your desktop icons? In this video we show you how to [...]
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Windows 7 - A First Look - Still Useful After a Year
Sure, Windows 7 has been out a long time now, but there are still lots of folks who are just now making the change from an older version of Windows, or even from (gasp!) a Mac. So we decided to re-publish this video which was created right around the time that Windows 7 came out, [...]
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Changing Windows Screen Resolution (Size)
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUFP8AI-njs No, you can’t change the size of your computer screen, but you CAN change the size of Windows ON the screen. This “windows size” is typically called Screen Resolution, and is a measurement of how many pixels wide and how many pixels high your display is set to. In modern computers, most standard screens [...]
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Capturing the Screen with the Print Screen Button
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KFC70V3S3M In the “good old days” of DOS, way before Windows came along, if you pressed the PRINT SCREEN (also seen as Prn Scrn) button, it actually printed the screen on your printer! But, if you try that key now, using Windows, nothing seems to happen. Guess what? Something DOES happen… and in this video, [...]
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Using Glary Utilities to Clean Your Computer
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04EEzPvyLiU Glary Utilities is a free program from GlarySoft that we’ve really fallen in love with here at the Senior Health Foundation and DiscoverSkills. We feature it in our very popular, “PC Maintenance” classes as one of the best programs for helping you clear the clutter from your computer and as a result, speeding things [...]
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Using the Windows Print Wizard
Sure, we know the most cost effective way to create prints is to upload them to an inexpensive printing service like Walgreens, Snapfish, etc., but there are still times when you just want to quickly create a print yourself at home, and you want to make the best use of that expensive “photo paper”. In [...]
