What is The Problem With Search Engines?
The standard search engines setup crawlers that index websites and create a database of information that are then used to provide results for a search.
The problem is that the crawlers, originally called spiders (web) only index standard websites. But there is another level, called the deep web, that crawlers do not index. This is the deep web also called deepnet, the invisible web, or the hidden web. Continue reading »
Folders allow users to add many files to one location for organizational purposes. However, many folders, by default contain files that support applications or software. Such folders like system folders are for Operating system support. Other folders, like pictures and music are created so that the user can have a special storage location. Enter libraries, Windows 7 organizational feature for content.
The Libraries are tailored to specific content types. By default, there are four kinds of libraries (in Windows 7 Ultimate) documents, music, pictures, and video. Each Library presents its content in a style that’s most appropriate for that library type. But users are able to create their own libraries. It is also very easy to use. Continue reading »
A few days ago we looked at the improvements in Windows 7 Paint. Today, I want to pay some attention to one of the other long-standing applications in Microsoft’s operating system, the venerable Wordpad. Doomed to forever straddle the line between Notepad and Microsoft Word, Wordpad has been upgraded in some useful ways, though in others it remains frustratingly limited. Continue reading »
Everybody who upgrades to Windows 7, be it from XP or Vista, will have a good reason for doing so. I thought I’d look at a few of these, examine whether Windows 7 is likely to meet expectations, and ask you why you’re going to get it. Continue reading »
Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) is an anti-malware product that works via the cloud, a successor to OneCare, and contains quite a bit of promise. The beta versions had a strong ability to detect and remove malware, and as the product grows, its strength will only increase as more and more users automatically submit telemetry to the cloud. Even so, MSE already has a strong base, with 400,000 testers during the beta release.
MSE will also be completely free (assuming that your operating system passing the WGA test), matching the company’s belief in anti-virus software. The program is mainly being marketed as a lightweight, effective solution especially meant for those who do not currently have existing protection (estimated at 50-60% of users) or consumers whose anti-virus suite has expired, leaving them open to attacks by malware. Continue reading »
Windows 7 has many features designed to let the user interact with the desktop interface in place of the keyboard and mouse. One feature is touch, another is speech recognition.
What is Speech Recognition?
Just as the keyboard allows one to enter commands into the computer, and the mouse to deliberately change location where you want to type or to launch a file, speech is a new dimension of interface control that focus on commands, not location.
What if an application does not present “commands”? It can still be controlled by overlaying numbers above the interface, a geography control. To activate a function one only needs to speak the number. A mousegrid can be used to relocate the mouse in the appropriate grid location. The grid has nine zones, and when a zone is selected, the mouse moves to that zone, and a new nine zone grid is created. The speaker speaks the number again and keeps repeating the process until the mouse is put in the appropriate location. Continue reading »
The rivalry between Apple and Microsoft fanboys has not been going on for as long as some rivalries such as the rivalry between Puma and Adidas which not only split a family, but a whole town. Adolf “Adi” Dassler and Rudolf Dassler split their family business and setup up rival companies in the same town, Adidas and Puma, when they fell out after WWII. However, the war between mac and microsoft boys has been a good one over the last decade or so.
One of the most often used superiority claims that Apple users utilise against Windows is the apparent additional security that Apple Snow Leopard offers over Windows 7. However, security experts have chipped away at the myth that macs are more secure than PCs. These include a key mac hacker who has pointed out a key feature that makes Snow Leopard less secure than Windows 7. Continue reading »
If you’re a casual Windows Vista user with just a few documents tidily stashed away, upgrading to Windows 7 should take less than an hour. More likely, though, is a three-hour upgrade for heavy users with lots of stashed stuff.Chris Hernandez at the TechNet blogs ran three types of computers—low-end, mid-range, and high-end—through a Windows 7 upgrade with four different configurations each, reflecting the file and application loads of a “clean user” all the way through “super user.” A clean user profile on high-end hardware was able to upgrade in about 35 minutes, while a super user on mid-range gear would need about 20 hours to upgrade. Continue reading »
We managed to get our hands on specific details on what features each SKU will have for Windows 7. Despite much criticism, Microsoft is sticking to the 3 concurrent program limit for Windows 7 Starter. Major differences between Home Premium and Professional include the ability to join a domain, host a remote desktop session, encrypt files, and do an advanced backup. Windows 7 Ultimate will basically be Windows 7 Enterprise but for personal use. Continue reading »
Microsoft has released all 35 language packs as optional updates via Windows Update for Windows 7 RTM. The following language packs are available for download:
Arabic, Brazilian Portuguese, Bulgarian, Chinese – Simplified, Chinese – Traditional – Hong Kong, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian Latin, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian. Continue reading »
