Additions to Windows 7
May 24, 2013
Windows 7 is an Operating System that was published and released by
Microsoft on July 22, 2009. It was made available for sale to the
General public on October 22, 2009. This summary highlights new
additions to Windows 7.
It all begins by starting your computer and watching the operating
system load. You should see two things when your computer boots into
Windows 7: You should see a circular shaped Windows logo at the
centre of your screen and below that a small status bar that displays
your start-up progress. If your operating system loads correctly,
you should see a beautiful mirage of icons on your screen after your
operating system loads. This mirage is your desktop. When your
computer starts up, you should be able to find that there are several
technical components to customizing Windows; these include the
Windows Aero interface, customizing your computer with Windows themes
and gadgets.
Windows Aero
Advanced versions of Windows 7 (Home Premium, Business, Enterprise
and Ultimate editions) use a 3-D interface called the Aero Interface.
Why Aero? Aero is a backonym for Authentic, Energetic, Reflective,
and Open.
There are four different functions of Windows Aero: Aero Peek, Aero
Shake, Aero Snap and Touch UI enhancements.
Aero Peek: When you hover over a window with your mouse, Aero Peek
“peeks” at the window you are looking at and shows a picture in
picture type of view.
Aero Shake: If you shake your window (clicking and dragging) it minimizes all your Windows so you can see your desktop.
Aero Snap: If you click drag and hold your window to the left or
right side of the screen, it will “snap” the window in place on
that side of the screen.
Touch User Interface Enhancements: The text in the title bar buttons
is slightly bigger.
Windows Themes
Newer versions of Windows (XP, 7, Vista and 8) offer many customization features. Of these are Windows Themes. A theme is a way that you can personalize your copy of Windows to however you want it. This includes means to download your themes from Microsoft.com.
One feature of Windows themes is Windows Slideshow. Windows Slideshow
allows you to display multiple themes at once. Basically if you set
your theme to “Slideshow” it will change your desktop background
in a designated amount of time.
Gadgets
Advanced versions of Windows allow you to be able to implement
gadgets or widgets to the side of your Windows desktop. These can
include applets that give you the time of day, weather, anything
that suits your desire. Gadgets give you more flexibility of control
over what goes on your desktop and allow for better user
friendliness.
To add a gadget to your Windows 7 sidebar, you would need to click
the plus arrow at the top of the sidebar. That should show you what
gadgets you currently have on your system. Once inside you should be
able to add the appropriate gadgets and they will be on your desktop.
This is a brief overview of some of the many things that you can do
with your Windows 7 interface. Stay tuned for more.
Shaun Mitchell
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