[u3aavcuss] Windows 7

From: Ron & Rosemary M - U3A <ronandrosemary62-u3a@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: U3A CUSS Group <u3aavcuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Wed, 21 Apr 2010 17:34:44 +0000 (GMT)
Good evening

It was back in the winter I reported to Cuss that I had a problem with my 
Windows XP computer and that I would come back with any solution. The problem 
proved a little more than I had expected as the hard drive controller on the 
mother-board had ceased to function. Thankfully I had all my data backed up and 
it has all been restored onto a new Windows 7 machine. The inconvenience was 
not too great as I am also using a laptop running Windows Vista so I could keep 
track of my personal and U3A things.

Now that I am up and running with a nice new Windows 7 PC I think I can 
truthfully say Microsoft seem to have come up with a good system. Firstly you 
do not have to run Internet Explorer, they give you a choice and I am happy 
with Google Chrome. Settings are more user-friendly. The whole thing seems 
“lighter” without so many added programs, these you can download if you want 
them.

One addition is the Action Centre; this gives an icon with a flag and runs an 
automatic diagnostic system in the background. If there are any issues this 
opens up a trouble shooter which tries to solve the problem. So far I have used 
this once to sort out a resolution issue when connecting the PC to my TV. Up 
popped the diagnostics with three suggested solutions and an explanation. On 
making my choice all the relevant settings were made and a record kept, quite 
impressive.

I gather this Action Centre is now available in beta form for use with XP and 
it might be of interest to members. There is an interesting article on the BBC 
News site and also Microsoft’s own site.

 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8629331.stm
http://fixitcenter.support.microsoft.com/Portal/Features

Another interesting feature is the ease of networking with other PC’s. Windows 
7 includes an impressive Home Network feature which found my laptop without 
human intervention! I was quite surprised to see my laptop in the network 
without even asking, something I never achieved with XP. These features are 
highlighted on the Microsoft web site.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/products/features

Regards Ron Meadowcroft :-)
[u3aavcuss] Windows 7

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