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Search Engine Wars : Google vs Microsoft Bing

2009-09-16T19:10:00.000-07:00

Microsoft Bing is a search engine results and redevelopment rebrand Microsoft. Bing made to replace the Live Search. Bing will fight with Google Search. Microsoft itself has started to heavily promote the search engine for Bing pry the power of Google. Television ads berongkos estimated U.S. $ 80 to U.S. $ 100 million was digelontorkan the software giant to show excess Bing Google while looking for weaknesses.

There are statements in the ad that the search service on the internet today is not working properly. The user faced with the syndrome 'search overload' where search results do not match what the user wants. Starting today, we need the right information to make the right decision, "said Bing advertising it".

Bing is an ambitious project to subvert Microsoft's Google. However, given the current Google so dominant in the Internet search realm, seems to take long to realize that desire.

Bing Microsoft vs. Google: Search Engine Wars

Microsoft Releases New Key SEO Features of Bing

2009-09-16T19:04:00.000-07:00

Microsoft recently released a new 24 page document titled Bing: New Features Relevant to Webmasters. The PDF file detailed not only interface updates on Bing, Microsoft's own decision search engine, but also provides SEO tips for webmasters and web publishers. In addition, the white paper document contains instructive guidelines on how to create friendly, easy to index websites, as well as ways to make sites look attractive to search engine spiders.

Webmaster's center

Bing's primary function is to bridge users with websites and content across the Internet, a target all search engines aim for. So, what is different from other search engines you may ask? Unlike ordinary search engines, Bing offers categorized choices. Users can select options from the side tool bar, picking more to-the-point selections which, in the end, will reduce the amount of irrelevant sites popping up and saving the Bing users a lot of valuable time.

Long tail strategies

Did you know that more than 300 factors are used in determining categorization and that the categories that appear are entity-dependent? For example: if you search for [baby monitor], the search results may offer you options, such as "shopping", "reviews", "ratings", and "videos", splitting up the search in convenient sections . Microsoft believes that this innovative way of organizing results provides new long tail opportunities for website owners.

Best match

A key objective of Bing is to deliver premium search results and one of the ways the search engine approaches this goal is through a new feature called "Best match." Watch what happens when you conduct a search for a particular brand, such as Adidas, Toys R Us, Campbell's, or Chrysler. The result is amazing. Bing will actually separate the official sites of these brands from the rest of the results, featuring a "Best Match".

Bing Hover Links preview

One of the cool features Bing has to offer is "Bing Hover links". Just hover your mouse over your search results and a window will pop up on the right of it. It will show a summary of that specific query result, as well as and important links related to that result. Webmasters feel this feature increases qualified traffic and helps searcher to find the information they want without having to leave the Search Engine Result Page (SERP). This time-saving feature is truly appreciated by Bing users.

Data Extraction for previews

Through intelligent data extraction, Bingis able to compile useful information in the hover link section. This includes addresses, phone numbers, and email links the search engine has gathered not only from the content of a specific page, but from anywhere else on the Internet.

Flash recognition

Websites saturated with Flash and Silverlight-based content often lack readable Meta data text. Titles and descriptions in the HTML source code are so poor, web crawlers hardly notice them. In an effort to bring these empty-tagged websites out of obscurity, Bing implemented a new technology capable of extracting limited data.

Instant answers queries

Recently upgraded, Bing's "Instant answers" feature now offers even more comprehensive and richer results to informal queries than ever. Type in a short question in the query box and wait to be impressed by the result!

Local listing center

Businesses should take advantage of the opportunity to list their company with Bing's newest addition, the Local Listings Center.

Searchers and Surfers

Searchers who do not know how to start a new or specific search often refine their keywords and phrases halfway through their query. Furthermore, the more information is available, the more people adapt the way they search and surf the Internet. Microsoft has done a number of intense studies to analyze specific search patterns and behaviors. As a result, updates and additions were initiated. Microsoft's goal is to improve searcher satisfaction by delivering faster, more accurate and complete results. It is a tough objective that, perhaps, is closer in reach than you think.

Visit Shout SEO to find out more.

Shout SEO is a premium SEO Services business based in Melbourne. Shout SEO will help increase your traffic and sales through achieving top rankings on the major search engines. Visit Shout SEO to find out more.

Shortcuts for Google Chrome

2009-09-05T15:37:00.000-07:00

This is the way, to make google chrome more easy to use. try it!!!

Google Chrome : WINDOW AND TAB SHORTCUTS

* Ctrl+N : Open New window
* Ctrl+Shift+N : Open New window on (private) mode
* Ctrl+T : Open New TAB
* Ctrl+Shift+T : Open The Lastest TAB that closed
* Tekan Ctrl, dan klik link : Open Link in new TAB
* Tekan Shift, dan klik link : Open Link on a new Window
* Ctrl+Tab or Ctrl+PgDown : change the TAB
* Ctrl+Shift+Tab or Ctrl+PgUp : Change to the TAB before
* Ctrl+W or Ctrl+F4 : Closed tab or pop-up
* Alt+Home : open homepage from browser
* Alt+F4 : Close aplication
* Ctrl+1 sampai Ctrl+8 : change TAB sistematicly
* Ctrl+9 : go to the last TAB
* Ctrl+O, kemudian pilih file : Open file from computer

Google Chrome : ADDRESS BAR SHORTCUTS

* Type a web address in the address bar, for example www.saya.com, just my type, then press press Ctrl + Enter: the browser will add the "www." And ". Com" between the word "I". The browser will open the address www.saya.com
* F6 or Ctrl + L or Alt + D: Block writing to address areas
* Type a web address, then press Alt + Enter: Open a web address in a new tab

GOOGLE CHROME : SHORTCUTS TO OPEN CHROME FEATURES

* Ctrl+B : enabling and disabling bookmaaarks bar
* Ctrl+H : view history page
* Ctrl+J : view Downloads page
* Shift+Escape : view Task manager

GOOGLE CHROME : WEBPAGE SHORTCUTS

* Ctrl+P : printing web pages
* Esc : stop loading web pages
* F5 : Reload current page
* Ctrl+F5 atau Shift+F5 : reload page
* Tekan Alt, dan klik link : Download link
* Ctrl+F : Find
* Ctrl+G atau F3 : Finding the appropriate next field when the search
* Ctrl+Shift+G atau Shift+F3 : Finding the appropriate previous field during search
* Ctrl+U : Displaying the source code of a web page
* Ctrl+D : Bookmark this page
* Ctrl++ : Changing the font get bigger
* Ctrl+- : Changing the font get smaller
* Ctrl+0 : Reset the font size to Normal

8 Reasons Use IE 8

2009-07-03T16:52:00.000-07:00

Let's check out, What's so great about Internet Explorer 8?

It's faster than ever.
Surfing the web is now quicker than ever, thanks to performance enhancements that reduce how long it takes you to do a task. For example? A more intuitive address bar.

It's easier than ever.
You don't have to open up a new window to find information like driving directions—now you can get that info easily using one of our Accelerators.

It's safer than ever.
No matter what you're doing, you'll stay safer using the SmartScreen filter. You're instantly better protected against malicious software that can compromise your privacy and identity.

Keep up with the stuff that matters to you.
Whether it's news, stock quotes, or even auction items, now you can stay on top of sites that update frequently using Web Slices.

See any site easily.
View sites with ease, even if they were designed for an older browser, with one click on the Compatibility View button.

Recover from crashes quickly.
Came across a site that caused a tab to crash? No worries, your browser session is stable, thanks to new tab isolation and crash recovery features.

Surf with more privacy.
InPrivate Browsing gives you the option to prevent browsing history, cookies, usernames and passwords from being retained by the browser.

Make it yours.
Customize your browser by choosing from an ever growing collection of handy and easy-to-use Internet Explorer 8 add-ons from the Internet Explorer Add-ons Gallery.

Microsoft Exchange 2010 Beta

2009-06-24T10:39:00.000-07:00

Download a 360-day trial to test in your own environment—or test drive online.

	Trial Software The new Exchange Server 2010 Beta is here. Download this 360-day free beta version and try the new features on your own environment.
	Online Trial Experience the new world of Software plus Services through Microsoft Exchange Online, which enables you to try all the messaging and calendaring functionality you need with none of the administrative burden.

Change Windows 7 Themes

2009-06-24T07:18:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to take a moment to highlight Mike Swanson’s amazing theme pack for Windows 7. Mike is a colleague, friend who works just down the corridor from me. His primary role with the company is as a content owner for our developer conferences (he’s responsible for the MIX09 keynotes).

When he’s not focusing on his day job, Mike is also an amazingly talented macro photographer; in particular, he has developed a reputation as the “desktop wallpaper” man. He’s one of the most popular and regularly downloaded photographers on interfacelift.com, which is the kind of site you can spend hours perusing in search of that “perfect” shot to customize your machine. Windows 7 offers a perfect opportunity for Mike to showcase his talents to the world in ensemble fashion, through the introduction of “theme packs”.

What is a theme pack? Glad you asked! A theme pack is essentially a single compressed file containing one or more desktop background images, along with optional customizations for the Aero glass, sounds, screen saver, icons, cursors, etc. To create one, all you do is set your own desktop up with the appropriate choices, and then click the “Save theme” link on the Personalization page in Control Panel. (One important caveat: make sure you choose the “theme pack” type in the drop down list – otherwise it will save just the theme choices without the images themselves.)

When you’ve saved the file, you should wind up with a single file with a .themepack extension. This file is actually a CAB-compressed archive, containing the relevant resources and a .theme text file in INI-format that describes how they are used. You can send this file to a friend or host it on the web, and any Windows 7 user can just open the file to install a new theme on their system. Easy, huh?

To get back to Mike, he’s created the nicest theme pack I’ve yet seen, containing twenty of his best macro images. They’re beautiful pictures, full of vibrant colors and light, and they are also very well suited for desktop backgrounds.

Want to check these out for yourself? Here’s the download link:
http://blogs.msdn.com/mswanson/archive/2009/01/25/my-windows-7-theme-pack.aspx

source :http://blogs.msdn.com/tims/archive/2009/01/25/windows-7-theme-packs-customize-your-desktop.aspx

Google Secret

2009-06-24T03:04:00.000-07:00

Google had the secret! There are those that know? Possibly blom many that tau ato even already know all? Yes this cuman for friends that felt nganggur and pengen a little mengeksplor the capacity that was owned google. Along with 6 (six) the secret that will be explained by me:

Enter the word “googoth” To the box of the text, then pressed the switch “I’m Feeling Lucky”. You will immediately be brought entered to google layout that was dark and was impressed gothic.

Enter the word “ewmew fudd” To the box of the text, then pressed the switch “I’m Feeling Lucky”. Temen2 akan segera dibawa masuk ke tampilan google dengan teks versi tokoh Elmer Fudd dari Warner Bros.

Enter the word “xx-klingon”To the box of the text, then pressed the switch “I’m Feeling Lucky”. You will Immediately was brought entered to google layout with the ethnic group's Klingon language.

Enter the word “google bsd” To the box of the text, then pressed the switch “I’m Feeling Lucky”. Please pay attention to the icon google that normally becomes the BSD icon.

Enter the word “google linux” To the box of the text, then pressed the switch “I’m Feeling Lucky”. Please pay attention to the icon google that normally becomes the linux icon.

Enter the word “google easter egg” To the box of the text, then pressed the switch “I’m Feeling Lucky”. You will be offered with tampilan the seeker's machine google by one game caught the Easter egg, where you could control the movement of this rabbit.

source : http://gratis-tis.blogspot.com/2007/12/google-secret.html

Google Chrome : A fresh take on the browser

2009-06-20T00:35:00.000-07:00

At Google, we spend much of our time working inside a browser. We search, chat, email and collaborate in a browser. And like all of you, in our spare time, we shop, bank, read news and keep in touch with friends - all using a browser. People are spending an increasing amount of time online, and they're doing things never imagined when the web first appeared about 15 years ago.

Since we spend so much time online, we began seriously thinking about what kind of browser could exist if you started from scratch and built on the best elements out there. We realized that the web had evolved from mainly simple text pages to rich, interactive applications and that we needed to completely rethink the browser. What we really needed was not just a browser, but also a modern platform for web pages and applications, and that's what we set out to build.

So today we're releasing the beta version of a new open source browser: Google Chrome.

On the surface, we designed a browser window that is streamlined and simple. To most people, it isn't the browser that matters. It's only a tool to run the important stuff - the pages, sites and applications that make up the web. Like the classic Google homepage, Google Chrome is clean and fast. It gets out of your way and gets you where you want to go.

Under the hood, we were able to build the foundation of a browser that runs today's complex web applications much better . By keeping each tab in an isolated "sandbox", we were able to prevent one tab from crashing another and provide improved protection from rogue sites. We improved speed and responsiveness across the board. We also built V8, a more powerful JavaScript engine, to power the next generation of web applications that aren't even possible in today's browsers.

This is just the beginning - Google Chrome is far from done. We've released this beta for Windows to start the broader discussion and hear from you as quickly as possible. We're hard at work building versions for Mac and Linux too, and we'll continue to make it even faster and more robust.

We owe a great debt to many open source projects, and we're committed to continuing on their path. We've used components from Apple's WebKit and Mozilla's Firefox, among others - and in that spirit, we are making all of our code open source as well. We hope to collaborate with the entire community to help drive the web forward.

The web gets better with more options and innovation. Google Chrome is another option, and we hope it contributes to making the web even better.

But enough from us. The best test of Google Chrome is to try it yourself.

download google Chrome

Download

source : http://www.google.com/chrome/intl/id/why.html

Internet Explorer 8 Features

2009-06-13T19:50:00.000-07:00

Has tried Internet Explorer 7? or at the time was to switch to Internet Explorer 8. For some people, not many knows the difference between IE 7 and IE 8 and what you can do with IE 8. Here are some of the features available in IE 8, you can distinguish yourself with IE 7

Accelerators
How many steps does it take with your current browser to map an address, translate a word, or perform other routine tasks online? Until now it was likely a series of cutting and pasting information from one webpage to another. Now there's a better way. The new Accelerators in Internet Explorer 8 help you quickly perform your everyday browsing tasks without navigating to other websites to get things done. Simply highlight text from any webpage, and then click on the blue Accelerator icon that appears above your selection to obtain driving directions, translate and define words, email content to others, search with ease, and more. For example, with the "Map with Live Search" Accelerator in Internet Explorer 8, you can get an in-place view of a map displayed directly on the page.
You can discover other useful Accelerators by selecting the More Accelerators option on the right-click menu, or visit our Accelerators gallery. You can easily delete, disable, or enable Accelerators by clicking on Manage Add-ons from the Tools button on the upper right-hand corner of your browser window.
Internet Explorer 8 includes a number of useful Accelerators to get you started. Simply highlight text from any webpage, and then click on the blue Accelerator icon The Accelerator icon that appears above your selection to get things done faster than ever. You can add more by going to the Internet Explorer Gallery to customize the browser with Accelerators from Live Search, eBay, Yahoo!, Wikipedia, Amazon, Facebook, and other sites in a way that works for you.

Search suggestions

Have you ever forgotten the complete title of a book you were hoping to find or the first name of the actor in last night's movie? The new search capabilities in Internet Explorer 8 will offer relevant suggestions as you type words into the search box to help save time. Click on a suggestion at any time to immediately execute the search without having to type the entire word or phrase.

Visual Suggestion
Internet Explorer 8 is partnering with top search providers like Live Search, Wikipedia, Yahoo!, Amazon, and more to deliver visual suggestions that provide you with immediate answers. For example, typing "Isaac Newt" with Wikipedia visual suggestions will instantly show you a preview of the results directly in the Search Box drop-down. Look for more visual suggestion results with your preferred search providers.

Better Find On Page
Internet Explorer 8 includes a completely redesigned Find On Page toolbar, which is activated by pressing Ctrl-F or choosing Find On Page from the Edit menu or Search box drop-down. Press the Alt key if you do not see the Edit menu option.
The toolbar is integrated below the tab row, so that it does not obscure any content on the page. Instead of waiting for you to type an entire search term and hit Enter, the toolbar searches character-by-character as you type. Matches are highlighted in yellow on the page so that they're easy to identify.

Increased performance
Internet Explorer 8 includes many performance improvements that contribute to a faster, more responsive web browsing experience in the areas that matter most. Internet Explorer 8 starts quickly, loads pages fast and instantly gets you started on what you want to do next by using a powerful new tab page. In addition, the script engine in Internet Explorer 8 is significantly faster than in previous versions, minimizing the load time for webpages based on JavaScript or Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX).

See how Internet Explorer 8 stacks up against other popular browsers in real world benchmark testing.

Want to take a deeper dive into the performance improvements in Internet Explorer 8? Download this whitepaper for all the details.

Smarter Address Bar

Can't remember the full address of a new website you visited last week? Type a few characters in the new Address Bar and Internet Explorer 8 will automatically recall sites you've already visited based on your entry. It searches across your History, Favorites, and RSS Feeds, displaying matches from the website address or any part of the URL. As you type, matched characters are highlighted in blue so you can identify them at a glance. In addition, you can delete any address in the drop-down box by clicking on the red X. This is especially useful for getting rid of misspelled URLs.

Microsoft Launch Hardware features for Windows 7

2009-06-13T19:37:00.000-07:00

REDMOND, Wash. --June 2, 2009-- Microsoft Hardware today announced that its current line of award-winning mice, keyboards, LifeCams, gaming devices and notebook accessories will be fully compatible with Windows 7 once the operating system is launched to retail customers on Oct. 22, 2009.1 Making everyday tasks faster and easier, Microsoft Hardware created new, timesaving features for Windows 7 to ensure that anyone using the new operating system gets a better experience.

Microsoft Hardware will launch several new features for Windows 7 in the coming months for its peripherals; the first of which is a timesaving feature called Taskbar Favorites that gives Microsoft keyboard users a smart new way to access their most frequently used programs and documents. Taskbar Favorites will map to the location of applications on the improved Windows taskbar. The applications in the taskbar can be easily rearranged just by clicking and dragging, and Taskbar Favorites will automatically adapt to the applications’ new locations. Additional new benefits of the Microsoft Hardware and Windows 7 connection include the following:

Device Stage. Microsoft Hardware mouse and keyboard products will support Device Stage, a Windows 7 feature that gives customers quick and easy access to common tasks, including product information, registration, settings and more for popular device categories such as cell phones, cameras, printers, portable media players and input devices.

Windows Flip. Microsoft mouse and keyboard users can easily see a thumbnail preview of all open windows with the press of a button. A full-screen preview of the application will automatically display, enabling the user to better identify and select the desired application.

Windows Live Movie Maker and Windows Live Photo Gallery. LifeCam users will be able to do more with photos and movies. With Movie Maker they can start a movie project with one click, and then upload video to social networking sites. Photo Gallery access will enable them to easily upload a photo that they can edit, tag and share with friends and family.

“These new benefits continue a longstanding tradition of Microsoft integration,” said Brett Ostrum, general manager of Microsoft Hardware. “Microsoft Hardware devices have been enhancing life on the PC for more than 25 years — from a mouse designed for the first version of Microsoft Word and LifeCam exclusive features for Windows Live to keyboard design inspiration taken from Windows Vista. Our collaborative effort among all Microsoft teams ensures that the Microsoft Hardware lineup is an excellent choice for Windows 7 users.”

Availability

When choosing peripherals for their Windows 7-based PCs, consumers can feel confident that all current Microsoft Hardware products are compatible with the new operating system.1 Hardware products tested under Microsoft specifications for compatibility with the new operating system will display a Windows 7 logo on the product.

Beta versions of Microsoft mouse, keyboard, controller and webcam software are available now for Windows 7. Final versions of product software, which include Taskbar Favorites, Device Stage, Windows Flip, Windows Live Movie Maker and Windows Live Photo Gallery, will be available June 26 for mice and keyboards and July 31 for LifeCam products. For people currently using the Windows 7 release candidate, beta versions of software can be downloaded at Microsoft Hardware

Windows 7 Keyboard Shortcuts

2009-06-10T13:49:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to you who have been using Windows 7. many people say "I will not go back again to the vista." If you're one of them?

we will try to provide tips & tricks keyboard shortcuts make it easier for you to understand and explore the facilities provided by windows 7

Here is a quick summary of what I’ve found so far for Windows 7:

Window Management

Win+Left Arrow and Win+Right Arrow: Dock a window to the left or right half of the screen.

Win+Shift+Left Arrow and Win+Shift+Right Arrow: Move a window from one monitor to another, keeping them in the same relative location to the monitor’s top-left origin.

Win+Up Arrow and Win+Down Arrow: Maximizes and restores/minimizes a window.

Win+Shift+Up Arrow and Win+Shift+Down Arrow: Maximizes and restores the vertical size of a window.

Win+Home: Minimize all the non-active background windows, keeping the window you’re using in its current position. (Press Win+Home again to restore the windows to their original locations.)

Win+(plus key) and Win+(minus key): Zoom in or out using Windows Magnifer.

Win+E: Opens Windows Explorer.

Win+U: Opens the Ease of Access Center.

Win+D: Show/hide the desktop.

Win+F: Opens the Search Results window.

Win+L: Locks the computer.

Win+B: Sets focus to the “Show hidden icons” button on the task bar.

Win+M: Minimizes all windows.

Win+Ctrl+F: Opens the Active Directory Find Computers dialog.

Taskbar

Win+Space: Use “Aero Peek” to see any gadgets or icons you’ve got on your desktop.

Win+R: Opens the Run dialog.

Win+T: Move the focus to the first taskbar. (Pressing again will cycle through them.)

Win+Shift+T: Move the focus to the last taskbar. (Pressing again will cycle through them.)

Ctrl+(mouse click on a single application icon in the task bar): Toggle through each of the open windows in order. The best example of this is Internet Explorer. If you have five tabs open in a single IE instance, holding the Ctrl key while repeatedly clicking on the single IE icon in the task bar will toggle through each of the five tabs in order.

Ctrl+Shift+(mouse click on an application icon in the task bar): Launch that application with full administrative rights. You can also use Ctrl+Shift+Enter for commands from the search bar for the same action.

Shift+(mouse click on an application icon in the task bar): Launch a new instance of the application rather than switching to the existing application. (You can also middle-click with the third mouse button or scroll wheel.)

Win+1 .. Win+5: Launch a new instance of the any of the first five icons on the task bar. (By the way, the icons can be reordered to suit your needs by simply dragging them around and can be pinned shortcuts or running applications.)

Shift+(right mouse click on an application icon in the task bar): Show the Window menu. (You get different menus depending on whether the application is running or has multiple instances open.

Windows Explorer

Ctrl+(mouse scroll wheel): Change the view/zoom in Windows Explorer. (This is the same as clicking the Views button or selecting one of the view options from the button’s dropdown list.)

Shift+(right mouse click on any folder or file): Displays an expanded context menu:

(The additional Open options only appear for folders but the “Copy as path” option appears for both folders and files.)

Alt+P: Show/hide the preview pane.

Miscellaneous

Win+P: Display the project options, which you can then use the arrow keys (or keep hitting Win+P) to switch to the different options.

Win+X: Open the Windows Mobility Center.

Win+G: Bring gadgets to the top of the Z-order. (Sets the focus to a gadget.)

15 things you need to know about Windows 7

2009-06-10T13:00:00.000-07:00

Windows 7 has been making headlines for a few months now. If you've read one or two of the stories and reviews dedicated to it, you might think that you know about all that it contains: new touchscreen features, a revamped taskbar with larger thumbnail previews, Internet Explorer 8, easier networking and so on.

While that sounds reasonable enough, it's not exactly exciting. It might even have given you the impression that Windows 7 isn't very different from Vista. That assumption, however, would be a mistake.

The reality is that Windows 7 is packed with new developments – it's just that most people aren't talking about them.

Would you like to be able to defrag multiple hard drives at the same time, or create a sandboxed PC user account for your kids so that they won't be able to mess up your Windows or program settings any more?

What about working with – and even booting from – virtual hard drive (VHD) files, the ability to encrypt USB flash drives to protect the data you're carrying, and tools for calibrating your display to ensure that you're seeing accurate colours and crisp, clear text? Windows 7 has all these features, and a whole lot more.

Security

1. Keep your PC clean

If you share your PC with less experienced computer users then you'll know the problems that can arise as they mess up your settings and unknowingly install dodgy software. Windows 7 can help you to avoid these problems.

Enable PC Safeguard on the kids' account and they'll be able to log on and play as normal – but when they log off , any settings they've changed are reversed, files they've saved are deleted and your hard drive is returned to its original state.

2. Restrict other users

If Safeguard isn't enough, try AppLocker. It gives you even more control, restricting users to only the programs you specify. It's able to automatically create rules for your installed programs, and other rules can be added in seconds.

3. Action Center

Windows 7 replaces the Security Center with the more all-purpose Action Center, which warns you of PC maintenance and back-up issues as well as potential security problems. It's prone to complaining if your security settings don't meet its approval, but at least now there's an effective solution.

If you regularly see messages telling you that you've turned the Windows firewall off , say, then you can choose to disable just those while leaving the more useful alerts active.

4. Tone down UAC

User Account Control irritated many Windows Vista users with its constant warnings that 'Windows needs your permission to continue'. Windows 7 improves the situation by displaying fewer warnings and providing additional UAC tweaks.

Tell the system not to raise warnings if you change Windows settings and you'll be able to use the Control Panel without any prompts. Alerts will only appear if a program tries to perform a similar action.

5. BitLocker to go

Encryption isn't just for hard drives anymore: the Windows 7 version of BitLocker can protect removable (and easily lost) devices such as USB flash drives, too.

Right-click the device in Explorer, select 'Turn on BitLocker' and then enter and confirm a password to protect your data from snoopers.

6. 'Run as' returns

Right-click a program in Windows XP and you'll see a 'Run as' option that allows you to run the program as a different user. This is very useful if you'd like to run an app that requires different privileges to your current account.

The option disappeared in Vista, but Microsoft has relented: hold down [Shift] while right-clicking a shortcut and you'll see that the 'Run as' option has returned.

7. Find and fix problems

Windows has always had plenty of troubleshooting tools, but they've been scattered around many different places. Windows 7 brings order to this situation by placing all of the most important troubleshooters in the new Find and Fix Problems applet, located in the Control Panel.

These fix common problems, check for incorrect settings, clean up your PC and more. Developers can create additional troubleshooters, too. You can read more about that at Within Windows.

8. The Problem Steps Recorder

As a knowledgeable PC user, it's likely that you're called upon to troubleshoot friends' computer problems, which can be tricky if they find it difficult to describe what's going on. Windows 7 has a handy tool to solve this problem.

If an application is misbehaving under Windows 7, all the flummoxed PC user needs to do is launch the Problem Steps Recorder, click 'Record' and work through whatever task they're trying to complete.

Every click and keypress that they make will be recorded, packaged up with screen grabs and saved into a single zipped MHTML file, ready for emailing to you. It's a simple tool that's going to save many people hours of time.

9. Extended System Restore functionality

System Restore has always been a very handy troubleshooting tool, and Windows 7 extends it in a couple of useful ways. A single click will now tell you exactly which programs and drivers will be restored or deleted if you choose a particular restore point, and there's now an interface that lets you configure the amount of disk space allocated to System Restore.

You can also decide not to back up Windows settings. This means that only files will be backed up, so you'll be able to squeeze more restore points into the available disk space.

10. Discover bottlenecks

If your Windows 7 PC seems sluggish, the new and extended Resource Monitor should help you to sort things out. It's like a more powerful version of Task Manager that not only shows you the processes running on your PC, but also reveals how they're using your CPU, RAM, hard drive and network.

A couple of clicks can show you who the biggest resource hogs really are.

11. DIY system discs

Windows 7 includes a new option to burn a bootable system repair disc. If your PC won't start, pop in the repair disc and it'll do its best to restore normal operations. There's no new technology involved – it's just a CD version of the Start-up Repair tools on your Windows Vista disc – but this functionality will be useful for people who never get a full Windows 7 DVD.

It's also safer to carry one of these around with your laptop rather than risk damaging or losing your original Windows disc.

12. Faster IE startups

Some heavyweight Internet Explorer add-ons can take a while to start. IE8 can help you spot the worst off enders.

Click 'Tools | Manage Add-ons', peruse the Load Time column and you'll immediately see which extensions are putting a brake on your browsing.

13. Simultaneous disk defrags

Ever wondered why you can't defrag both your hard drives at the same time? There's no reason why not – and now in Windows 7 you can through the command-line defrag tool. Other new switches run the defrag at a higher priority and provide regular progress reports. Enter 'defrag /?' in a command-line window to fi nd out more.

14. Multithreaded Robocopies

The command-line Robocopy tool also sees new optimisations, including an '/MT' switch that can improve performance by carrying out multithreaded copies (you can specify up to 128 threads).

Enter 'robocopy/?' at the command line for the full details, though Robocopy newbies should be aware that there are an enormous number of switches to examine.

15. Search connectors

Windows 7 adds support for search connectors. These are small configuration files that extend the Windows Search tool to include online resources. To add Flickr support, for example, visit www.istartedsomething.com/flickr search to download and open the connector.

This will add a Flickr Search option to your Searches folder, and you'll be able to search the site from within Explorer.

http://blogs.msdn.com/tims/archive/2009/01/12/the-bumper-list-of-windows-7-secrets.aspx

What is Operating System?

2009-06-10T12:53:00.001-07:00

Before step further, we know first whether it is operating system.Operating system (commonly abbreviated to either OS or O/S) is an interface between hardware and user; it is responsible for the management and coordination of activities and the sharing of the resources of the computer. The operating system acts as a host for applications that are run on the machine. As a host, one of the purposes of an operating system is to handle the details of the operation of the hardware. This relieves application programs from having to manage these details and makes it easier to write applications. Almost all computers, including handheld computers, desktop computers, supercomputers, and even video game consoles, use an operating system of some type. Some of the oldest models may however use an embedded operating system, that may be contained on a compact disk or other data storage device.

Operating systems offer a number of services to application programs and users. Applications access these services through application programming interfaces (APIs) or system calls. By invoking these interfaces, the application can request a service from the operating system, pass parameters, and receive the results of the operation. Users may also interact with the operating system with some kind of software user interface (UI) like typing commands by using command line interface (CLI) or using a graphical user interface (GUI, commonly pronounced “gooey”). For hand-held and desktop computers, the user interface is generally considered part of the operating system. On large multi-user systems like Unix and Unix-like systems, the user interface is generally implemented as an application program that runs outside the operating system. (Whether the user interface should be included as part of the operating system is a point of contention.)
Ubuntu, a Linux based operating system

Common contemporary operating systems include BSD, Darwin (Mac OS X), Linux, SunOS (Solaris/OpenSolaris), and Windows NT (XP/Vista/7). While servers generally run on Unix or some Unix-like operating system, embedded system markets are split amongst several operating systems

source :http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operating_system

Windows Vista Pocket Guide Excerpt

2009-06-07T17:13:00.001-07:00

The accompanying document is a chapter excerpt from the book “Windows Vista - The Pocket Guide.” It covers the basics of customizing, improving, and organizing your Windows Vista machine. The book also promises to teach you how to backup your files, take control of security, maintain your computer and files, improve performance, increase efficiency, and personalize your system. This document is provided by Rich Robinson, who maintains a site for Windows tools, guides and other support documents.

The attached Zip file includes:

• Intro Page.doc
• Cover Sheet and Terms.pdf
• Windows Vista Pocket Guide Excerpt.pdf

The accompanying document is a chapter excerpt from the book “Windows Vista - The Pocket Guide.” It covers the basics of customizing, improving, and organizing your Windows Vista machine. The book also promises to teach you how to backup your files, take control of security, maintain your computer and files, improve performance, increase efficiency, and personalize your system. This document is provided by Rich Robinson, who maintains a site for Windows tools, guides and other support documents.

The attached Zip file includes:

• Intro Page.doc
• Cover Sheet and Terms.pdf
• Windows Vista Pocket Guide Excerpt.pdf

Related Knowledge Network Content

•Definitions: Windows Vista
•Windows 7 Pocket Guide Excerpt
•Windows Vista Customization Manual Excerpt

Windows Vista Pocket Guide Excerpt.ZIP (1.5 MB) Download

Download Windows 7 RC

2009-06-04T20:50:00.001-07:00

Windows 7 RC “Release Candidate” is available. It is now available as a free download

Download it here when you're ready.

Installing Windows 7 RC

2009-06-04T20:49:00.001-07:00

Thank you for helping us test the Windows 7 RC. To help make sure you have a great experience, please read this section before you install the software.
What you need to know before you begin:

* If you’ve installed Windows 7 Beta on your PC, you’ll need to back up your data, and do a clean installation of the RC. Then you’ll need to reinstall your programs and restore the files, settings, and other information you want to use for testing.
* While we consider this a stable and high-quality pre-release version of Windows, the RC is not the finished product. It could crash your computer or cause you to lose important files or information.
* You’re pretty much on your own as you test the software. You need to be comfortable setting up and troubleshooting a PC. If you have a problem, you can find a lot of help from other testers online, but we’re not providing formal tech support. Before installing the software please read these two documents for important information: Things to Know and Release Notes.
* IMPORTANT: The RC will expire on June 1, 2010. Starting on March 1, 2010, your PC will begin shutting down every two hours. Windows will notify you two weeks before the bi-hourly shutdowns start. To avoid interruption, you'll need to rebuild your test machine using a valid version of Windows before the software expires. You'll need to rebuild your test PC to replace the OS and reinstall all your programs and data. (To learn more, see Frequently asked questions.)

Things you need to have before you start:

* Dedicated test PC: Please don’t test the RC on your primary home or business PC.
* Data backup: The information on your PC will not be saved during installation. Back up your PC before you start, and frequently during testing. You can back up files to an external hard disk, a DVD or CD, or a network folder. (See How to back up a PC.) If you're running Windows 7 Beta on the PC you'll use for test, you can use Windows Easy Transfer to create a backup on an external drive. To find and launch Windows Easy Transfer, just type "easy" in the Start search box.
* Recovery disc: A recovery disc restores your computer to its out-of-the-box state. Most computers come with one. If yours didn't, contact your PC maker.
* Antivirus program: Make sure your antivirus program is up-to-date, run it, then disable it before installing Windows 7 RC. When you finish the installation, remember to re-enable the antivirus program.
* Internet connection: Be sure to connect to the Internet after you finish the installation. Being connected helps make sure you get useful security and hardware updates. We recommend you keep your PC set to automatically check for updates through Windows Update.

Getting ready to install the Release Candidate
What you'll need:
* A blank DVD
* A PC with a DVD burner
* A PC for testing with these system requirements:
o 1 GHz or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
o 1 GB RAM (32-bit) / 2 GB RAM (64-bit)
o 16 GB available disk space (32-bit) / 20 GB (64-bit)
o DirectX 9 graphics processor with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver

Please note: Some product features of Windows 7, such as the ability to watch and record live TV or navigate through the use of "touch," might require advanced or additional hardware.

Windows 7 Release Candidate

2009-06-04T20:46:00.000-07:00

Download instructions

Welcome to Windows 7 Release Candidate (RC) testing. We’re on our way to Windows 7, and the RC is a great opportunity for IT professionals like you to take Windows 7 and begin testing it in your real environment. You get to see what’s coming, and we get to see if our changes and fixes from the Beta testing are working correctly. We want to encourage you to install and actively test the RC code. This will help us ensure Windows 7 is the best possible release, and help you get ready for Windows 7 deployment.

Here’s what you need to know:
This is pre-release software, so please read the following to get an idea of the risks and key things you need to know before you try the RC.

* You don’t need to rush to get Windows 7 RC. The RC release will be available at least through June 2009 and we’re not limiting the number of product keys, so you have plenty of time.
* Watch the calendar. The RC will expire on June 1, 2010. Starting on March 1, 2010, your PC will begin shutting down every two hours. Windows will notify you two weeks before the bi-hourly shutdowns start. To avoid interruption, you’ll need to install a non-expired version of Windows before March 1, 2010. You’ll also need to install the programs and data that you want to use. (Learn more about installing Windows).
* Protect your PC and data. Be sure to back up your data and please don’t test Windows 7 RC on your primary home or business PC.
* Technical details/updates: Before installing the RC please read the Release Notes, and Things to Know for important information about the release.
* Keep up with the news. You can keep up with general technical information and news by following the Springboard Series blog or Windows team blog. Want technical guidance, tips, and tools? Visit the Springboard Series on TechNet.
* Keep your PC updated: Be sure turn on automatic updates in Windows Update in case we publish updates for the RC.
* Microsoft Partners: Learn more about Windows 7 on the Microsoft Partner Portal.

Here’s what you need to have:

* Internet access (to download Windows 7 RC and get updates)
* A PC with these minimum recommended specifications:
- 1 GHz 32-bit or 64-bit processor or higher
- 1 GB of system memory or more
- 16 GB of available disk space
- Support for DirectX 9 graphics with 128 MB memory (to enable the Aero theme)
- DVD-R/W Drive
Please note these specifications could change. And, some product features of Windows 7, such as the ability to watch and record live TV or navigation through the use of "touch," may require advanced or additional hardware.

Get the download

The 32- and 64-bit versions of Windows 7 RC are available in five languages: English, German, Japanese, French, and Spanish. (Note: The RC version will not be available in Hindi or Arabic.) Just choose the version that fits the system you'll be using and pick your language to register for and download the RC.

Downloading the Windows 7 RC could take a few hours. The exact time will depend on your provider, bandwidth, and traffic. The good news is that once you start the download, you won't have to answer any more questions – you can walk away while it finishes. If your download gets interrupted, it will restart where it left off. See this FAQ for details.

Existing TechNet Plus subscribers, download the Windows 7 RC software.
Not a subscriber yet? Learn more about TechNet Plus.