• Windows 7 Professional (includes 32 & 64-bit versions) lets you run Windows XP productivity programs in Windows XP Mode, recover data easily with automatic backups to your home or business network, connect to company networks effortlessly and more securely
• Make the things you do every day easier with improved desktop navigation; start programs faster and more easily, and quickly find the documents you use most often
• Make your web experience faster, easier and safer than ever with Internet Explorer 8
• Watch, pause, rewind, and record TV on your PC
• Easily create a home network and connect your PCs to a printer with HomeGroup

Product Description
With Microsoft Windows Pro 7 Operating System Software Professional, you’ll be able to run many Windows XP productivity programs in Windows XP mode* and recover your data easily with automatic back-ups to your home or business network. You’ll be able to connect to company networks easily and more securely with Domain Join. And with entertainment features like Windows Media Center, it’s great for home as well as for business.Amazon.com Product Description
With Windows 7 Professional, fewer walls stand between you and your success. You can run many Windows XP productivity programs in Windows XP Mode and recover data easily with automatic backups to your home or business network. You can also connect t… More >>

Microsoft Windows 7 Professional

Tags: Software

• Windows 7 Professional (includes 32 & 64-bit versions) lets you run Windows XP productivity programs in Windows XP Mode, recover data easily with automatic backups to your home or business network, connect to company networks effortlessly and more securely
• Make the things you do every day easier with improved desktop navigation; start programs faster and more easily, and quickly find the documents you use most often
• Make your web experience faster, easier and safer than ever with Internet Explorer 8
• Watch, pause, rewind, and record TV on your PC
• Easily create a home network and connect your PCs to a printer with HomeGroup

Product Description
Windows 7 Professional includes all the Home Premium features you love and the business features your work demands. Connect to company networks easily and more securely and share files across the various PCs in your home. In addition, you can run many Windows XP productivity programs in Windows XP Mode and recover your data easily with automatic back-ups to your home or business network.Amazon.com Product Description
Upgrade to Windows 7 Professional. With Windows 7 Professional, fewer walls stand between you and your success. You can run many Windows XP productivity programs in Windows XP Mode and recover data easily with automatic backups to your home or business network. You can also connect to com… More >>

Microsoft Windows 7 Professional Upgrade

Tags: Software

• (Includes 32 & 64-bit versions cd-rom) Combines remarkable ease-of-use with the entertainment features of Home Premium and the business capabilities of Professional–get it all with with Windows 7 Ultimate
• Make the things you do every day easier with improved desktop navigation; start programs faster and more easily, and quickly find the documents you use most often
• Run many Windows XP productivity programs in Windows XP Mode; watch, pause, rewind, and record TV on your PC
• Easily create a home network and connect your PCs to a printer with HomeGroup; connect to company networks easily and more securely with Domain Join
• Recover your data easily with automatic backup to your home and business network; help protect data on your PC and portable storage devices against loss or theft with BitLocker

Product Description
With Microsoft Windows 7 Operating System Software Ultimate, you’ll be able to run many Windows XP productivity programs in Windows XP mode* and recover your data easily with automatic back-ups to your home or business network. You’ll be able to connect to company networks easily and more securely with Domain Join. And with entertainment features like Windows Media Center, it’s great for home as well as for business.Amazon.com Product Description
Upgrade to Windows 7 Ultimate. Windows 7 Ultimate is the most versatile and powerful edition of Windows 7. It combines remarkable ease-of-use with the entertainment features of Home Premium and the business capabilities of Professional, including the abilit… More >>

Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate Upgrade

Tags: Application

• Windows 7 Home Premium (includes 32-bit & 64-bit versions) makes it easy to create a home network and share all of your favorite photos, videos, and music–you can even watch, pause, rewind, and record TV
• Make the things you do every day easier with improved desktop navigation
• Start programs faster and more easily, and quickly find the documents you use most often
• Make your web experience faster, easier and safer than ever with Internet Explorer 8
• Easily create a home network and connect your PCs to a printer with HomeGroup

Product Description
If you’re already running XP or Vista, you probably know some of the many benefits of being a Windows user. Now, with the Upgrade Version of the latest Windows edition, you can get current with all the best new and classic features of the world’s most popular operating system, all without paying the full price for the new version.Amazon.com Product Description
Upgrade to Windows 7 Home Premium. Windows 7 Home Premium makes it easy to create a home network and share all of your favorite photos, videos, and music. You can even watch, pause, rewind, and record TV (a broadcast TV tuner may be required). Get the best entertainment experience with Windows 7 Home Premium. Do you use your PC for work, run Win… More >>

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade

Tags: Software

If you’re a UK homeowner, chances are you have sash windows in your residence. These are the most common type of windows and come in a variety of styles and sizes. Here’s some information about the sash window that you might find interesting and instructive.

What is a Sash Window?

A sash window consists of 2 wooden frames mounted in a vertical frame that contains 2 tracks. The frames, also known as sashes, hold 1 or 2 panes of glass. The sashes slide up or down in the tracks so the window can be opened or closed. In older types of window sashes, weights suspended by ropes or cords facilitate the window’s operation. When there are 2 panes of glass in a sash, it’s known as a double glazed sash window. Alternatively, there can be multiple panes of glass, also called lights, in a sash. These are held in place by narrow strips called muntin bars.

What are Some Characteristics of a Sash Window?

Since replacing sash windows can cost upwards of £600 each, it’s important to know what to look for when considering them. In wood sash windows, the muntin bars are removable. This gives the homeowner some versatility in the window’s look. In addition, removable muntin bars facilitate cleaning. Since most contemporary sliding sash windows no longer use ropes and weights, modern designs allow the sashes to be completely removed from the frame. New sash windows may also have a convenient tilt mechanism, so that the outdoor portion of the window can be cleaned from the inside. Although many types of sash replacement windows are made from wood, others are aluminum clad on the outside. Aluminum clad windows come in a variety of colors to compliment your home and never need painting or maintenance of any kind. This makes them very popular with homeowners. In addition, bespoke sash windows are widely available, meaning that custom-made shapes and sizes can be created for even the most unique window openings, such as octagonal, etc. One UK window manufacturer advertises “11,000 different patterns and styles, with over 4,000 standard shapes and sizes,” so it’s clear that sash windows are incredibly versatile.

What to Expect from a Sash Window Contractor

Many companies who are installing and replacing sash windows in the UK are also the manufacturers. This makes the installation or replacement process seamless. A good contractor will offer competitive pricing and will work within your established budget. The process begins with a site survey and consultation. Next comes the technical design and manufacture of the replacement sash windows. Finally, the windows are fitted and installed. Since most windows carry a hefty warranty (10 to 20 years), it’s important to select a well-established contractor who will be available to make repairs (if needed under the warranty) well into the future.

Sash windows are an important component of many UK homes. Doesn’t it make sense to shop as carefully for the contractor as you do the windows?

Tags: Software

Windows Vista has Loads of features, but not all work as they should. Here’s how to tweak, modify, or work around the operating system’s biggest blunders.

The developers of Windows Vista had some great design ideas, but poor implementation turned many fine concepts into lousy, annoying features. To be fair, Vista inherited most of these well-intentioned flaws from earlier Windows versions but it either failed to correct them or didn’t even try.

Here are eight of Vista’s most irritating flops, with quick fixes and workarounds.

User Account Control
People do some things in Windows-such as install destructive apps or edit the Registry that merit a stern “Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” warning. Such situations may even warrant asking users to prove they’re administrators before letting them continue.

But Vista’s User Account Control (UAC) often fails to tell users why a given act is considered dangerous. Worse, Vista’s designers went overboard, forcing people to click through a UAC prompt to set the clock or start a manual backup. As a result, people get annoyed and start ignoring UAC, effectively removing any protection it might provide.

Here are three imperfect ways to stop UAC annoyances. One minor problem they share is that every so often, when you boot, Vista will announce that UAC is off. You can ignore the warnings, much as you’ve already learned to ignore UAC itself.

1. Just turn it off: This easy fix works well in an administrator account, but it renders standard accounts almost unusable. Select Start -> Control Panel -> User Accounts, and click Turn User Account Control on or off. Select Continue at the UAC prompt, and on the next screen, uncheck Use User Account Control (UAC) to help protecty our computer. Click OK and reboot.

2. UseTweakUAC: This free utility can turn UAC off for administrator accounts while leaving it on for everyone else. Simply run the program, select Switch UACto the quiet mode, and click OK.

3. Fine-tune the UAC settings: This tactic works in Vista Business or Ultimate. Select Start, type secpoLmsc, and press . In the left pane, navigate to the Security Settingsçy\cf0 Security Options folder. In the right pane, scroll to the bottom for nine ways to control UACs behavior.

The One-Way Firewall
Windows’ built-in firewall has always suffered from the same flaw: Though it blocks suspicious stuff that comes in, it does nothing about what your system sends out. Since an infected PC can mass-mail spam and forward your credit card numbers to someone without your better interest in mind, that’s an important shortcoming.

Vista supposedly fixed this problem with the addition of a firewall that is capable of watching and blocking outbound traffic. But that capability is turned off by default. And Vista’s designers neglected to put the controls that turn it on in a place where users are likely to look for them: the Windows Firewall Settings dialog box.

Here are two possible ways to deal with to the situation.

1. Turn on outgoing protection: Click Start, type firewall, and select Windows Firewall with Advanced Security. Click Windows Firewall Properties, in the dialog box, the first three tabs have an Outbound Connections drop-down menu. In all three, select Block.

2. Get another, better firewall: Even with its two-way protection enabled, Windows’ firewall is a feeble guardian. On the other hand, the free Comodo Firewall Pro came out tops in independent testing, ahead of products such as Norton Internet Security.

System Restore
Here’s an idea: Give Windows a built-in, automated backup application. Restoring a system backup should fix corrupted boot files, virus infections, Trojan horse installations, and Windows’ natural, slow deterioration without harming your data.

But you can’t permanently save a System Restore backup (called a restore point) to external media. Thus, while System Restore can usually return Windows to, say, last Wednesday’s state, it’s generally useless for bringing everything back to the perfect condition your PC was in last year. What’s more, restoring your system depends on having multiple restore points, such that one corrupt backup makes subsequent ones useless.

The best solution would be a system-backup program that leaves your data alone but backs up everything else to a removable (preferably bootable) disk. I have yet to encounter such a program.

Genie Backup Manager comes closer than anything else I’ve found. The utility offers many effective databackup options to make recovering your system easy.

Genie’s Disaster Recovery option insists on backing up everything on the drive, but you can restore the system while keeping the data unchanged by deselecting your data folders when you restore a Disaster Recovery backup. You can try this general-purpose backup program before you buy it.

In contrast, every other reliable system-backup program I know of is image based, meaning that the app restores the entire drive your data as well as the system. That’s fine if you’re recovering from a hard-drive crash, but if you want to restore last month’s Windows installation while keeping today’s documents, you’ll need to fully restore one backup and then selectively restore another.

On the other hand, some image-backup programs are free. If you have Vista Business or Ultimate, you already have one. To access it, select Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> Backup Status and Configuration -> Complete PC Backup. Another free option is DriveImage XML, which works best if you obtain it as part of the free Ultimate Boot CD for Windows. Just keep in mind that you’ll need to back up your data files separately.

Data Backup
You should back up your data every day. Lack of a system backup could cost you a couple of hours reinstalling Windows and your apps. But having no current data backup could mean losing irreplaceable family photos, your bank account information, or even your job.

For years Microsoft bundled lousy backup programs with Windows. Vista’s backup utility improves on that, but not by much; you can back up files by type, for instance, but not by location.

Here are some options.
1. Use bundled software: Since an external hard drive is the best medium to back your files up to, and since most such drives come with backup software, use the program that accompanied your drive. It’s almost certainly better than Vista’s.

2. Do it online: Uploading your data over the Internet is slow, but it’s easy and it adds protection by putting hundreds of miles between your hard drive and your backup. I recommend Mozy Home. It’s free for a 2GB backup, or $5 a month for unlimited storage from a single PC.

3. Use the best software: For my money, that’s the same Genie Backup Manager I recommended in the last tip. Versatile and simple to use, it easily handles scheduled and manual backups, and can even purge your backup media of old backups on a regular schedule. But the Home version costs $50, and the Professional one is $70.

4. Find a bargain: Argentum Backup doesn’t perform a full system backup, but it handles data backups well. It copies files or compresses them into .zip archives, so you don’t need Argentum Backup to restore them.

Programs and Features Uninstaller
Installing a Windows program usually means allowing its installation routine to dig its claws deep into the OS. Removing the program involves running an uninstaller that eliminates the application’s functionality but leaves the claws behind.

Vista took the old Control Panel applet called ‘Add and Remove Programs’ and renamed it ‘Programs and Features’, but the developers didn’t otherwise change it. This program just launches the unwanted app’s usually inadequate uninstaller.

For a better option, download the free Revo Uninstaller. Or download the portable version , which you don’t have to install (or uninstall). Like Vista’s Programs and Features, Revo has a convenient interface for launching your installed programs’ uninstallers. But after Revo does that job, it cleans up the mess the uninstaller left behind.

Windows Explorer’s Address Bar Menu
Microsoft did a number of things right in Vista’s version of Windows Explorer, but the address bar’s dropdown menu of recently visited folders isn’t one of them.

First problem: It lists only the folders you went to via the address bar. Worst problem: It also lists Web pages, which tend to be more numerous than folders. Personally, if I want to revisit a Web page, I’ll use my browser, not my file manager.

Luckily, you have a few alternatives.

1. Use the other recent folders list Click the down arrow to the left of the address bar for a list of recent folders. Close and reopen Explorer, and the list will be a blank slate.

2. Use favorite folders, instead: To place a shortcut to any folder in Explorer’s top-left pane in Vista, all you have to do is drag and drop.

3. Improve Windows Explorer I recommend installing FileBox eXtender, a free add-on by Hyperionics Technology that brings drop-down Recent and Favorites menus to Windows Explorer. A helpful hint: FileBox extender works best if you check its Keys & Menus tab’s Add folders from Windows… option.

Dragging Items to the Start Menu
Here’s a case where Vista’s developers took a feature that worked beautifully in Windows XP, and ruined it. In XP, if you wanted Start menu access to a program, file, or folder, all you needed to do was drag the item to the Start button and then to your desired location in the Start menu; Windows would then create a shortcut.

If you were to try that in Vista, it would actually move the file, program, or folder to the Start-menu folder. I’d be hard-pressed to imagine a situation where that would be a desirable result.

No real solutions are available, but here are a couple of kludgy workarounds.

1. Drop it on the Start button, not in the menu: This action creates a shortcut, but it appears on the left pane, rather than in the All Programs section. And if the item is a folder, the shortcut doesn’t act as a cascading submenu.

2. Use the context menu: Instead of left-dragging the object to the desired location in the Start menu, right-drag it. When you release the button, select Create Shortcuts Here from the resulting menu.

Folders in the Start Menu’s Right Pane
Vista’s redesigned Start menu introduced another great place where you can easily access a few important folders: the menu’s right pane. The icons are big and convenient, and you can set each icon to act as a link or a menu.

But the only folders you can put there are the few that Microsoft permits you to put there (Documents, Music, and so on).

Here are two fixes.

1. Make your special folder an official special folder You can get the folder you want access to on the pane by telling Windows that it is your photo or music folder. For details, see “Can I add XP-like expanding folder shortcuts to Vista’s Start menu?”

2. Use Vista Start Menu: Dennis Nazarenko’s free program replaces Windows’ own Start menu with a larger, more versatile, and to be honest ugly alternative. You can control what folders and other items appear on the main menu. Other cool features include keyboard shortcut labels that, by default, are visible only when you bring up the menu with the keyboard. Download Vista Start Menu.

Click for more information and details

Tags: Application

More than 100,000 people worldwide have signed a Save XP petition organized by the US magazine Infoworld. The operating system will no longer be available as a shrink-wrapped product after 30 June, though PC builders will be able to pre-install XP until January.

A starter edition of XP will be available until mid-2010 in emerging markets, according to Microsoft, which claims Vista sales are heading for 100 million.

However, most Vista installs are in machines sold to home users. Business have been slow to adopt, not unusual with a new operating system, and some are concerned about hardware and software compatibility and performance, particularly on older machines.

But not everyone responding to thee petition was against Vista. One wrote: I’ve had Vista on my laptop since launch and I haven’t had any major issues with it.

The most infamous error message is the Blue Screen Of Death. It’s so well known that it has crept into the vernacular: “Aw, Fxxk! I was almost finished with my project when I got bluescreened!” The phenomenon is also known by its acronym, BSOD.

The conditions that cause a blue screen have changed since the days of Windows 95/98, as has what it means. In either case, chances are pretty good that, if you get bluescreened, any unsaved work will be lost, as either Windows (in NT/2000/XP) or your application (in 95/98) has been shut down.

The BSOD is perhaps the most despised error not only because it has wiped away countless hours of work over the years, but because of the obtuse way in which it does so. The messages delivered in the typical blue screen are meant for developers more than end users. For example, a blue screen delivered by Windows may deliver a message such as the following:
0x0000001E, KMODE_EXCEPTION _NOT_HANDLED.

And if you don’t find that sufficiently informative, you’ll see four variables in parentheses to help developers figure out what’s happening. Again, none of this will mean much to most of us, but a support rep or developer can often learn a great deal from such cryptic messages.

Fortunately, blue screens are rare in recent versions of Windows and may disappear after a reboot. But if the problem recurs, you could have a real problem. Here are some troubleshooting steps to follow if you encounter a BSOD:

While your system is booting, press F8 and select Safe Boot Mode, which loads a subset of Windows with minimal drivers. If things run smoothly in Safe Mode, you likely have a software problem with a recently installed application. Try to decipher the error message to see if you can trace it to a specific program. If all else fails, uninstall your most recently installed application.

If you still see blue screen errors in Safe Mode, restart again and use F8 to get to the advanced options. This time, choose Restore Last Known Good Configuration, which is a snapshot of your system as it existed before you last installed any drivers or other software. You will lose any system changes you’ve made since that point, but your documents will normally remain untouched by this process.

If you’re still having problems, you are likely suffering from a hardware problem or a corruption of vital system files. Again, any hints that you can glean from the error message could help you trace the source of the problem. Remove any recently installed hardware and try booting again.

In the worst case, it’s not uncommon to have to resort to reinstalling device drivers or even the whole operating system.

Ultimately, the best cure for the BSOD is prevention: Save often, create frequent backups, and burn a little incense to curry favor with capricious PC spirits.

The first service pack for Microsoft Windows Vista operating system won’t arrive until early next year, but judging from many experience with a beta of SP1, the update will be more about stability and security fixes than noticeable performance gains.

What is Improved
Many alterations in this service pack, the tested version of 0.275 won’t be obvious to a casual user. You probably won’t notice any interface changes, for example.

Instead, Microsoft says, the service pack beta improves stability, performance, and reliability when reactivating a machine from Hibernate or Suspend mode; enhances device-driver support; increases security; and adds support for new standards such as Extended File Allocation Table (intended to enhance flash storage on notebooks, not desktops).

According to Microsoft, typical load times for the final version should range from 30 to 60 minutes. The installation requires 7GB of free hard-drive space (some of which will be reclaimed after the installation is complete), though the finalized install file itself is expected to be a 50MB download via Windows Update.

In early tests with the beta, some small improvements in boot time on an HP Compaq 8710p Core 2 Duo notebook. Before SP1, the laptop took 1 minute, 51 seconds to boot. After the update, that figure dropped by almost 20 seconds.

Microsoft is also touting improvements in the speed of copying and extracting files, so that also tested a few of those scenarios. Noted that a slight increase in the time required to copy 562 JPEG images totalling 1.9GB from an SD Card to the hard drive of the a fore mentioned HP Compaq notebook.

In another test, Nero 7 Ultra on an Acer Aspire 5630 Core 2 Duo laptop were tested to add files to a disk image. After SP1 installed, the notebook built the disk image about 7 percent faster.

When Beta 2 of Vista was released in May 2006, many blog listed these favorite Vista features:
Windows Flip, Meeting Space, SideShow, and performance enhancers SuperFetch, ReadyBoost, and ReadyDrive. After a few months of reviewing with Beta 2, though, here the list of Tops 5 compiled by Computer Shopper.

1. EXPLORER BREADCRUMBS
Vista offers lots of features with a high geewhiz factor that catch your eye at first, such as the live file previews in the new Explorer or if you can run Aero, the live thumbnails of currently running apps on the Taskbar. But we have found Vista’s breadcrumb navigation to be much more useful, it lets me click quickly through subdirectory hierarchies to find what I need.

2. SEARCH ON THE START MENU
In retrospect, this should have been on my original list. I love being able to click on the Start menu and easily find files and launch applications. I can go to the search field and type something like C:/Users/Janice/Pictures or www.application-install-guide.com and go right there without launching Explorer or Internet Explorer. The feature works wonders for finding functions that otherwise take lots of clicking to uncover. Typing in Device Manager drops you right where you want to be rather than having to navigate to the Control Panel and look for the Device Manager icon.

3. SLEEP MODE
While SuperFetch and ReadyBoost are still pretty cool, my favorite performance improvement is much less glamorous. I’ve long envied Macs and their time-saving instant on/off ability, and with Vista, Windows has finally caught up. By combining XP’s Standby and Hibernate modes into a single, instant-off state, you can power up or down in just seconds.

4. MEETING SPACE
It was on my original list, and I still love this collaboration tool, which lets you create an ad hoc wireless connection with nearby Vista users even without a Wi-Fi network. You can share programs and jointly edit documents with up to 10 other users although Vista Home Basic users only get to view documents. In Beta 2, it is still called Windows Collaboration, but Microsoft plans to rename the tool Meeting Space for launch.

5. GUIDED HELP
Call me lazy, but I love Vista interactive Guided Help tool. Just over 30 help topics in Vista include the tool, which provides a step-by-step description of how to accomplish a task or lets you opt to have the task completed for you automatically. Click Show me step-by-step or Do it automatically, with the latter letting you observe all the steps by following a green arrow that floats across the screen, pointing and clicking the appropriate options. Each topic even recommends whether to use the automated process, or the step-by-step option.