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SOFTWARE - WINDOWS - 20.10.2010

Getting started with Windows 7

If you’ve just installed Windows 7 or bought a computer equipped with it, there are a couple of things you can customise and configure so that you can get started with Windows 7 immediately.

Libraries

One of the main innovations in Windows 7 is the Libraries. A library is a collection of links to folders of a given type. For instance, there’s the default Images library which not only contains the My photos folder but to which you can also link other folders such as c:\\photos or c:\\holidays\\2010\\italy\\photos. Your photos may be scattered all over your hard drive, but by clicking on the Images library, you will find all this material collected in one location. In Windows Explorer you can find these libraries in Desktop; Libraries. By default, there are libraries for documents, music, images and videos. Click on a library and then on Locations in order to link extra folders to a library (or to remove folders).

Tip.You can create new libraries by right-clicking in Windows Explorer and selecting New; Library.

Handy hotkeys

Windows 7 comes with lots of hotkeys which help you to work even faster. For instance, you can use the Windows-key combined with a numeral key (1 to 9) in order to open a program in the taskbar. The first program is opened with Win-1, the second with Win-2, etc.

Tip. You can find a list of useful hotkeys at Lifehacker (http://goo.gl/Gohr).

Old software

Programs which don’t run under Windows 7 are very rare, but they do exist. If you happen to have one, you can use the integrated XP Mode, at least if your computer is relatively recent. First install SecurAble (http://www.grc.com/securable.htm). If SecurAble indicates 64 Yes Yes, you can get started. Go to Download Windows XP Mode (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc/download.aspx) and select the correct edition and language. Then download and install, in this sequence, the Windows XP Mode, Windows Virtual PC and Windows XP Mode update.

Note. This involves more than 500MB in total. Now you only need to click on Start; Windows XP Mode in order to run a virtual version of Windows XP. You can now install any program in this virtual mode. Microsoft offers this free of charge.

Note. This mode is slower than “ordinary” Windows.

Change the Windows theme

The default Windows 7 theme (the style of the windows, background, etc.) is new but not really innovative. Right-click on the desktop and select Customise in order to choose another theme. There’s a dozen of them. If you don’t find what you want, click on Download more themes from the Internet. Microsoft offers about a hundred free ones (some 20MB per “theme pack”).

Install software in a flash

Ninite (http://www.ninite.com) lets you install dozens of free software programs via one integrated installer. Whether it’s Skype, Firefox, Chrome, Safari, Windows Live Messenger, Picasa, OpenOffice, Flash or Java, it’s all there. Just select the software you want and click on Get Installer.

Tip. Ninite automatically recognises the language of your system and tries to install the programs in this language as well (if available).

Use Windows 7 Libraries to collect scattered folders containing music, photos and videos or documents in one library. The free Ninite is a clever service for installing all kinds of free programs (Skype, Chrome, Flash, etc.) on a new system.