One question I am frequently asked, is how to stop certain programs from starting automatically and sitting in the system tray in Windows. Fortunately it is quite easy to do this in one easy interface.
To get the interface we are after, simply hit “Win+R”. “Win” in this case is the key that is probably on […]

As I mentioned previously, the firewall in Vista is a significant improvement over past attempts by Microsoft. However, there are two distinctly different ways of configuring the firewall(actually, there are more than two, but I’ll show you two).
The first, and perhaps of most interest to the average user, is accessible through the security center area […]

Like myself, Ed Bott over at his ZDNet Blog is also documenting his transition to Windows Vista. Unfortunately for Ed, he hit a bit of a snag when trying to update the BIOS of his Dell computer. As he relates in his Day 2 post, I agree that it is probably unrelated to Vista. In […]

Using the keyboard to help navigate your computer can be areal time saver. Unfortunately, Windows XP and Vista by default turn off permanently underlined shortcut keys, which is a handy way of using the keyboard quicker to access menu shortcuts using the “Alt” key. These can be turned on, but the ability to do so […]

Here is a handy Windows Vista tip to allow you to administer Vista from the command line more easily. Create a new or copy a shortcut to either the command prompt or the new PowerShell on your desktop. Right click it for the options menu, then select the “Shortcut” tab if it is not already. […]

I mentioned that I would share some tips as I discovered them from my recent migration from Windows XP to Vista. When I was trying to install some of my favorite utilities, I was noticing some of them not working correctly. I scoured the internet regarding this and came up with a solution. Normally in […]

I finally decided to install Windows Vista on my computer. I installed it last night, and am already noticing some differences from Windows XP that have me wondering why Microsoft would make these changes. One that jumps out at me is the renaming of “Add and Remove Programs” to “Programs and Features”. I found no […]

Backing up computer data is all too often overlooked. Fortunately Microsoft’s Windows Vista has some built in backup utilities to help persuade users to perform this regularly. I’m interested in seeing how user friendly the file backup utility is.

I decided to test out the file backup utility in Vista RC2. I was interested in trying […]

Microsoft co-president Jim Allchin has suggested that Windows Vista will not need extra security software. The comments were made during a conversation in which Allchin was responding to a question comparing the security of Windows XP and Vista.
Allchin’s comments were summed up as being that Vista’s “new lockdown features are so capable and thorough that […]

Microsoft recently released an update that integrated 3D into their Virtual Earth software. This announcement of the release of the Photosynth Technology Preview has me far more interested. I installed the ActiveX component into Internet Explorer 7 and was met with a 3D looking environment that I believe has to be seen to be appreciated. […]