It will be 2.5 years next month since I went live with Windows Vista and deployed it on my network of over 100 machines.  Was it smooth sailing? Did we have any application compatibility issues? Did my printers stop working? Did everyone think I was crazy?  Well, nobody goes in with a blind eye and there were many months of testing and re-testing and piloting before I took the plunge.  However, after the long nights and some hair pulling moments I am happy to say that I have not looked back and even with the slight hiccup here and there I would be more than happy to manage a Windows Vista network over a Windows XP network any day.   Are you sold yet?  Okay enough with the ramblings, the reason for this post isn’t about Windows Vista, but about the up and coming Windows 7 and how much better it is than Windows Vista.

Windows 7 has already been released to business customers under a Microsoft Volume Licensing agreement and will be released to the general public on 22 October 2009.

Well, you have probably guessed it, I am already running Windows 7 as my primary work machine and I can’t rave more about it!  I am sure you have read the publicity around Windows 7 being the saviour for Microsoft and I am not disagreeing.  I am sure Windows 7 will bring a lot more faith to end users who have been scarred by Windows Vista bad publicity and its shortcomings.  I am lucky to have been introduced to Windows 7 since its beta days and I am more than happy with the way Windows 7 is progressing.  It’s snappier, more responsive with a few nice touches.  I won’t go into them in too much detail at this moment but have provided you with a link to the Microsoft Windows 7 site http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/default.aspx .

Here are some screen captures from the new Windows 7 operating system;

Windows 7 starting up

Windows 7 default theme

Windows 7 comes with a number of installed themes (new Windows 7 feature) including a country theme depending on your system locale.  Example below has Australia as the country theme listed.

Windows 7 “Australia” theme selected

Each theme comes with pre-set sounds and backgrounds.  Backgrounds alternate every 30 minutes.  Notice the ability to click on Next desktop background in the below screen.

Windows 7 Start Menu hasn’t changed much since Vista, however does come with some nice touches such as “Jump lists”

Windows 7 has gone big and bold with their icons and taskbar.

Well that’s a small snippet of what to expect from the upcoming release.  How will it compete with Apple’s latest Mac OSX Snow Leopard?  Only time will tell… And if you are lucky to be running both like myself, then you are definietly experiencing the best from both worlds.

Will you be upgrading any time soon?

The most common home complaint that I receive is, my computer was so quick when I first purchased it and now 6 months later it is SOOOO slow.  There are some things we can’t defy like ageing of hardware components, but there are things we can do to prolong the life of your PC.  Straight from the horses mouth, I have a Toshiba laptop that is almost 4 years old running the latest Windows 7 operating system which runs just as good as how I had received it on day 1.  So let’s begin our quest for a “better” running PC.

Physically clean your PC

Believe it or not, the first step involved is actual physical cleaning. Your PC’s components can heat up while they’re powered up. This heat can wreak havoc with your system, so all computers come with fans to draw in cool air and drop the temperature of the system. Unfortunately, these fans can also draw in dust, especially if your PC is sitting directly on carpet. You’ll need some canned air, which can be purchased from most computer stores.  With your computer powered down, open up the case and use the canned air to blow the dust off your hardware components in particular your internal fans.   If you have a laptop, you can by pass this tip because the last thing I want you to do is to attempt to open up your laptop which is not only a daunting task but will void your warranty.  I also recommend sitting your PC so it is elevated from the floor.

Remove the all so common dozens of shortcuts on your desktop

Tip number 2 is all about removing and re-organising your desktop!  One of things I see too often is the amount of files, pictures, video and audio files that are residing on people’s desktop. Do you need immediate access to all those files on your desktop? Not only does it add to the clutter and at times painful on the eye, it will actually slow down the loading of your Windows profile when you first log in . You should minimise your desktop to application shortcuts and categorise your files in your My Documents, Photos and Music folders under your user profile eliminating the clutter on your desktop.  By organising all your files into these respective folders you are also making it easy to back them all up in one go as part of your back up plan.

Remove unwanted programs

Most new computers purchased from Dell and HP come with pre-installed applications commonly referred to as bloat-ware.  My philosophy on applications is, if you don’t use it, remove it.  You can easily achieve this by navigating to Control Panel / Add Remove Programs (if you are running Windows XP) or Control Panel / Programs and Features (if you are running Windows Vista).  Select your application and click on remove/uninstall.

Defrag your computer

De-WHAT??  As you add files and applications to your computer over time, the information that is being stored on your hard drive becomes fragmented, i.e. it’s stored in bits and pieces wherever there is space.  Defragmenting your hard drive re-arranges your files so the bits and pieces are in one contiguous order.

To access the defrag tool click on Start / All Programs / Accessories / System tools / Disk Defragmenter.  Or you can utilise Vista’s “Start/Search” and type in Disk Defragmenter.  This utility can also be easily scheduled to run automatically once a week behind the scenes.

Run Windows Update

Microsoft release updates, security and Microsoft application fixes through Windows Update which is available via Control Panel.  There are a couple of settings that we will need to check in order to have this task automated ensuring your PC is secure, patched and up to date.  I highly recommend having the option of “Install updates automatically” selected and have a set schedule for when you want these updates to be installed.

Clear your Temporary Internet Files

Internet Explorer and most well known browsers have the ability to cache certain information from web sites such as cookies and pictures to speed up your loading time when you come to re-visit the same page at a later date.  This time saver may actually work in reverse when your cache gets bigger which inadvertently begins to slow your browsing experience.  The 2 most notable advantages with deleting your temporary internet files is clearing redundant web site information and freeing up disk space.  In Internet Explorer version 7 and 8 you can clear your cache by navigating to Tools / Internet Options.

Click on Delete.. under the section Browsing history.

Leave the default options ticked and click on Delete.  This process can take a few seconds to a few minutes depending on the size of your internet cache.

Remove unwanted “Temp” files

“Temp” files are actually different to “Temporary Internet files” and refers to temporary program files that may be lying around after a newly installed application that is no longer needed.  It is safe to always clear these files and will not affect your system in any way apart from keeping it clean from unwanted and unneeded files.  In order to clear these files you will need to run Windows Disk Cleanup wizard or Disk Cleanup depending on the version of Windows you are running.

The below screen capture will appear when you first launch Disk Cleanup.  This will take a few moments as it begins its calculation.  You can access Disk Cleanup via All Programs / Accessories / System Tools / Disk Cleanup.

Upon completion, the below screen will appear and if you scroll down the list you will have the ability to select various options including “Temporary files”.

Re-format and Re-install

As crazy as this sounds, re-formatting your hard drive usually brings new life to your PC and it is almost like starting anew.  It’s a mammoth task as you will need to backup all your files and settings and then re-install the operating system, your applications and copy your files back, but definitely a rewarding experience that can be done between year 2 and year 3 of owning your PC.

So there it is.  Above are a number of small tasks that you can easily accomplish as a home user to pro-long the life of your PC and ensure it is in good working order.  If you have other suggestions to add to this list, feel free to do so via comments below.

BTW, Windows 7 is already available to MSDN and TechNet subscribers and to business customers who have software assurance and will be available to the general public on October 28.  Just click on the wallpaper and download from the deviantart site.  Enjoy!

Bing on the other hand is a breath of fresh air and is dubbed the “Decision maker” search engine that finds and organises the answers you need so you can make faster, more informed decisions.  From the outset you will notice that Bing adopts a different background image that changes on a daily basis with little square windows embedded in the picture, once when hovered over gives you a brief on the picture being displayed as per the below screen shots.

Whether it’s purchasing a new digital camera, or looking up flights for your next overseas trip, Bing will ensure you get the results quicker without scrolling through pages and pages of links.

Now what better way to demonstrate Bing’s features other than through a short video, it’s definitely worth the watch.

If you would like to read more about Bing you can visit Bing’s tour guide website http://www.discoverbing.com/tour/ which also outlines Bing’s features and capabilities with examples.

Now who said searching for content had to be boring?  I myself am a die hard Google search fan but Microsoft have got it right this time round and even though I still prefer to use Google as first choice in most instances, I am sure to visit Bing at least once a day to check out the “picture of the day” and to learn a thing or two.

My favourite Bing feature is the auto preview when searching videos and the auto scrolling when looking for images.

Do you Bing it?  If you have any favourite features be sure to let me know via comments.

Now should we discard security in favour of performance?  Hmmmm I have run without any antivirus for months on end, but then again I am a seasoned pro when it comes to these things and hence recommend against running without.  However there are a couple of products that I would like to introduce to you that are slimmer, come without the unwanted bells and whistles of some of their bigger brothers and perform just as good in defending your machine against malware.  Did I forget to mention that they are also FREE!

These are namely Free AVG and Free AVAST both which I have used personally and have recommended to many of my friends.  Both of these products will require you to register in order to obtain a serial key usually providing you with 12 months worth of free signature updates.

Both of these products will have restrictions on usage such as “free of charge for non-commercial home use ONLY. If you are not a home user or if you use your computer for business purposes, please purchase the professional edition”.

Always keep in mind that regardless of whether you are running antivirus or choose to do without, always be extra cautious when opening emails with suspicious attachments or from those that are deemed not trust worthy.  Always take care when browsing the world wide web and stay away from malicious sites such as bittorrent and other peer to peer sharing sites.  At the end of the day it all comes down to a bit of common sense.

Now straight from the horses mouth, Microsoft will be releasing a “free” antivirus solution in the near future.  It is called Microsoft Security Essentials and is currently in beta to US residents only.

If you have come across other free antivirus solutions out there, feel free to recommend them to the rest of us by placing a comment.

I’ll finish off by saying that I usually relate to Antivirus as Car Insurance.  It’s one of those products that you need for peace of mind but never want to use or claim during an accident, and believe me when I say I have seen many times, machines that are infected when antivirus has been installed.