Gnomie Stefano writes:

Hi, Chris! I saw your video where you reacted to Preston Gralla’s blog post, Five reasons Vista beats OS X, and decided I would share with my somewhat unusual point of view.

1. Windows made the GUI happen: Because Windows was the first GUI OS that would run on the widely spread IBM PC (the original one), a lot more people were running it. They didn’t want to buy new hardware and get the GUI experience. From the beginning on, masses were hooked on Windows.

2. Windows is just there: Windows has been pre-installed on computers for years now. If you were to go to a store a few years ago, chances are there aren’t any Macs around. People who get into computers are selecting their computers almost randomly, and PCs with Windows on them have a huge edge in the statistical equation. Windows is implemented well — on people’s computers, you like to say it’s not the feature, it’s the implementation. You see my point.
3. People don’t have experience with anything else: A lot of computer users come from a professional background, whether they’re secretaries or geologists, they will use computers at work. Chances are, most professions are not using Mac OS X. People just don’t know. If you think about it, a lot of people that deal with creativity in their job use Macs; a lot of people who work on enterprise scale server appliances use Linux at home because they have made the experience. The average user just does not get to use any other operating system.
4. Windows is free: And I don’t mean free of charge — it certainly isn’t. But the price of Windows is well hidden, be it in your Dell bill or in the time you would’ve saved, or in the fun that you haven’t had. Windows is free from all those boundaries people who experiment with the Mac or Linux run into. When I used Linux for the very first time, as Jono Bacon, Ubuntu community manager, said so well: when you installed Linux in the old days, you needed a soldering iron and a very steady hand. I’ve gone through this because I’m a hardcore geek. A normal computer user wouldn’t.
5. Microsoft means power, big time: Microsoft has the best sales people, the best lawyers, the most money, and the most tech-uneducated user base. If Linus Torvalds suddenly decided that the Linux kernel would from now on have a feature that controls the user experience in a way users wouldn’t want while providing a set of cool new features, people would rebel. They are tech-educated enough to know that they don’t have to put up with it. Of course Linus wouldn’t, but you get my point. Vista can come up with UAC and nobody complains. Vista can implement DRM deep in the guts of the operating system, and no one complains (maybe except for the EU, but that’s another story).

Vista clearly beats OS X and Linux by a long shot.

But beating someone doesn’t make you good.

I have to add that I’ve never used a Mac and I probably never will. I don’t like Apple locking the OS down, though I understand and appreciate why the company did it. Every time someone who’s not a geek asks me what kind of a computer they should buy, I recommend a Mac — I haven’t got any complaints yet. It’s not for me, but I’m glad it’s out there.

As for Vista: Just today someone told me about his problems with Vista. He’s running Blender and it keeps crashing, reporting a problem with his graphics drivers. I handed him a copy of Ubuntu. He’ll be fine with dual booting.

I hope you and the community enjoy this list; I had fun writing it!

A great way to save time when searching for information in Windows Vista is to save some of your searches. For example, if you are frequently searching for the same information, you can save the search and Windows Vista will keep it up-to-date for you.

To save a search in Windows Vista, click the Save Search button that appears along the top of the Search window. Simply type in a name for your search and click Save.

Any saved searches will appear in the Navigation Pane’s Search area. To open one of your saved searches, click the name of the saved search. The contents of the search will open like any other folder, with the search results displayed inside.

One of the advantages of using the Public folder is that it can simplify file sharing on your network. It eliminates the need for you to have to share individual folders. For example, if you have a folder called MyFolder on your computer that you want to share with users, all you have to do is copy or move it into the Public folder.

Before you can share any folders and files on your PC running Vista, you must enable File and Printer Sharing. To enable it:

1. Open the Network and Sharing Center.
2. Under the Sharing and Discovery section, click the down arrow beside File Sharing.
3. Select the option labeled Turn on file sharing.
4. Click Apply.

Once File and Printer Sharing is enabled, you also need to enabled Public Folder Sharing. To enable it:

1. Open the Network and Sharing Center.
2. Under the Sharing and Discovery section, click the down arrow beside Public folder sharing.
3. Select one of the following options:
   • Turn on sharing so anyone with network access can open files.
   • Turn on sharing so anyone with network access can open, change and create files.
4. Click Apply.

Once Public Folder Sharing in enabled, the contents of the public folder are shared with users on your network.

Gnomie Jebus (pronounced “hay”-”bus”) writes:

Mr. Pirillo,

I’m a long-time watcher, recent-chat-joiner and first-time writer. I’ve noticed that one topic that comes up regularly is Windows Vista, to which many chatters respond to “upgrade to XP.”

However, no matter how strong you think you’ve built your argument against the winds of change, your shelter of stubbornness is bound to collapse eventually. I remember when XP came out, and people criticized it for being too user friendly, a lot like when DOS was around and geeks criticized it for not being (for lack of a better term) technical enough.

I wish not to criticize Vista or praise it, but merely provide this Top five list to help improve your future eXPerience.

5. Update!

For the love of Cthulhu don’t forget to update. Service Pack 3 is almost out and after that Windows XP will be on extended support, so you will still need to check regularly for hotfixes. A good idea might be to back up your data and completely wipe your hard disk and reinstall XP, then install all the service packs and updates at once.

4. Keep your box free of dust.

A clean computer is a happy computer. Make sure your system has proper ventilation and a good air flow. Check it ever two or three months and vacuum the dust (after taking the proper safety precautions of course) out of the surrounding area (floor, fan grates, the jumble of cables, etc…). Invest your hard earned cash in canned air and clean out your computer. Or, if you’ve never even opened up your tower, buy an air compressor. (I’m serious, I once bought a used Alienware off eBay and I had to use an air compressor to get all the dust out of it, it works fine now though).

3. Use alternative programs.

I don’t want to start a browser war, but it would be a good idea to switch to a lighter browser, such as Firefox or K-Meleon. In the future, there will no doubtedly be an IE 8 and an IE 9, which Microsoft will ask you to upgrade. Undoubtedly the new browsers will be more rich in features and will require more resources to run. I have no doubts that Firefox and Opera will follow this path as well, to what extent however I cannot predict (read: I don’t want to start a browser war). Also, with less popular browsers there is a smaller chance that you will get a virus or spyware than with the more popular ones.

Much like Internet Explorer, there will be updates to Windows Media Player, iTunes, QuickTime, and Real. These will run slower on your old system. If you use “QuickTime Alternative” and “Real Alternative,” you get the same functionality at a faster speed. Also, try some lightweight media players such as VLC, which plays just about every media format imaginable.

Instead of using the latest AIM client, try Miranda-IM or Trillian, free programs that both make use of all the popular IM protocals out there and organize your contacts under a single program.

2. Defrag and Chkdsk

Run these system checkups every once in a while (every five or six months is what I do) in order to keep your hard drive content neat, tidy, and uncluttered. Another helpful program is CCleaner, which erases your Internet cache, cookies, and all sorts of useless hidden files and folders that are just taking up space on your hard drive.

1. Remember that you are using an out-of-date OS!

I can’t count how many times I’ve had people complain to me about how “terrible” Microsoft Windows is and how they get the Blue Screen of Death every 10 minutes. Whenever I ask what version they are running you would not be surprised how many times I find out they’re running ME or 98se. You chose not to upgrade, so be prepared for the consequences.

As with most components in Vista, the Recycle Bin can be customized to suit your personal needs. For example, you can increase the size of the Recycle Bin if you frequently delete files and recover files.

Another way that you can customize the Recycle Bin is by turning off the confirmation dialog box. Each time you delete an item, Vista will prompt you to confirm your actions. If you do not want to receive the confirmation, you can turn this feature off.
You can change the settings of the Recycle Bin to suit the way you work.

To turn off the confirmation dialog box when deleting items:

1. Right click the Recycle Bin and click Properties.
2. Click the General tab.
3. Clear the Display delete confirmation dialog option.
4. Click OK.

When you first install Vista, all other icons, such as My Computer and Internet Explorer, are hidden. However, the one icon that always appears on the Windows desktop is the Recycle Bin. If you prefer not to have the Recycle Bin on your desktop, you can easily hide it using the steps listed below.

To hide the Recycle Bin in Vista:

1. Click the Start button and click the Control Panel.
2. Click Appearance and Personalization.
3. Click Personalization.
4. In the left pane, click Change desktop icons.
5. Deselect the Recycle Bin check box.
6. Click OK.

If you decide to unhide the Recycle Bin, simply complete the steps described above to add the icon back to the desktop.

Most people who use Windows have likely experienced an unresponsive program. When a program becomes unresponsive, you can wait while Windows attempts to identify and correct the problem.

Alternatively, you can use Windows Task Manager to manually end the program. The downside of ending a program this way is that your unsaved changes will be lost — for example, any unsaved changes in a Word document would be lost.

To end an unresponsive program using Task Manager:

1. Right click the Taskbar and click Task Manager.
2. Click the Applications tab.
3. Select the program that is not responding and click End Task.

Windows Mail is the default e-mail program used by Vista and other programs. If you use a different e-mail client, such as Microsoft Outlook, you can configure a different e-mail program as the default.

To change the default e-mail program in Vista:

1. Click Start, Default Programs, and click Set program access and computer defaults.
2. Type in your administrator password if prompted.
3. Click Custom under Choose a configuration.
4. Under Choose a default e-mail program, select the program you want to set as the default.
5. Click OK.

If you are familiar with Windows operating system, you will know that a clock resides within the System Tray. The time that the clock displays is determined by your time zone. Vista lets you add multiple clocks to the System Tray in case you need to know the time in more than one time zone. For example, if you are traveling, you may want to keep track of the local time and the time back at home. Vista lets you monitor the time in two additional time zones.

To add a second clock to the System Tray to keep track of additional time zones:

1. Double click the clock within the System Tray.
2. Click Date and Time Settings.
3. Select the Additional Clocks tab.
4. Click Show this clock and use the drop down arrow to select the proper time zone.
5. Click OK.

You can view the time for the additional time zone you selected by clicking the time in the System Tray.

When you dual boot multiple operating systems — such as Vista and Windows XP — you can easily configure the default boot operating system. In the case of Vista and Windows XP, you need to set the default boot operating system from within Vista.

To set the default boot operating system within Vista:

1. Right click the Computer icon on your desktop and select Properties.
2. Click Advanced System Settings.
3. Click the Settings button under Startup and Recovery.
4. Use the drop down arrow under Default Operating System to select the operating system you want to use.
5. Click OK.

Vista plays as sound as it starts up. You can easily disable the startup sound if you would prefer not to hear it as your system is starting up. To disable the Vista startup sound:

1. Click on the Start Button and type in Sound in the search field.
2. Select Sound from the list of results.
3. Click the Sounds tab.
4. Deselect the Play Windows Startup sound option.
5. Click OK.

When you log off your computer, Windows will normally save all your settings. This includes your desktop configuration, icon placement, and so on. Most people find this useful so that they do not have to reconfigure the desktop each time they log on.

However, for security purposes, some users may not want settings to be saved when logging off. You can prevent changes from being saved using the steps outlined below.

1. Press the Windows + R keystroke to launch the Run command.
2. Type gpedit.msc and click OK.
3. Expand the following: User Configuration / Administrative Templates / Desktop.
4. In the details pane, double click Don’t save settings at exit.
5. Click Enabled.
6. Click OK.

In a previous tip, I outlined how to enable the Encrypting File System (EFS) for a folder in Vista. The local computer policy has additional settings used to further configuring EFS.

Within the local computer policy, navigate to the following container: Computer Configuration \ Windows Settings \ Security Settings \ Public Key Policies \ Encrypting File System.

Right click the Encrypting File System folder and click Properties. You can choose the Allow or Disallow EFS. If Not defined is selected, EFS is still allowed. If you select Allow, you can configure the additional options.

Additional EFS settings within the local computer policy include:

• EFS recovery policy processing: Computer Configuration \ Administrative Templates \ System \ Group Policy - This setting determines when encryption policies are updated.
• Do not automatically encrypt files moved to encrypted folders: Computer Configuration \ Administrative Templates \ System - This setting determines whether Windows Explorer encrypts files that are moved into an encrypted folder.
• Encrypt the offline files cache: Computer Configuration \ Administrative Templates \ Network \ Offline Files - This setting determines whether files in the offline files cache are encrypted.
• Allow indexing of encrypted files: Computer Configuration \ Administrative Templates \ Windows Components \ Search - This setting determines whether encrypted items can be indexed by Windows Search.

By default, the privacy level in Internet Explorer 7 is set to Medium. This means that Internet Explorer places some restrictions on the use of cookies. For example, it will automatically block certain third-party cookies.

You can customize the privacy level to suit your needs using the following steps:

1. Open Internet Explorer.
2. Click Tools and select Internet Options from the menu.
3. Click the Privacy tab.
4. Move the slider up or down to change the privacy level.

You should proceed with some level of caution when you are customizing the privacy level. If you move the slider to block all cookies you may not be able to view some Web sites or take advantage of personalized features.

Hi, my name is Lawrence and I believe there are a few top reasons to stick with Windows Vista or XP and not to switch over to OS X. Even though I like OS X, I think these reasons explain why PCs are currently 90% of the market. Here is my detailed list:

1. Major software support. Companies like Autodesk, Adobe, AVG, gaming companies, etc. will always (as far as we can tell at this time) initially write their software around Windows. They sometimes get around to adapting their software for Macintosh use, but sometimes they don’t.

2. Microsoft will always fix what it has been working on. No doubt every operating system has its problems, and if you pay attention to the media, Windows Vista seems to be the worst. However, Microsoft has extended Windows XP updates for two more years and has been adding features on top of Windows Vista.
3. You have the features from a Mac for your PC. The PC now has the ability to run Safari (the Mac browser), iTunes for the world of entertainment, and QuickTime for video playback [ed. note: There are also ways to run Windows and Windows apps on a Mac].
4. There are more developers for the PC than the Mac. Most software developers — from big companies to people just starting out in the field — are Longhorn / C++ or other types of coders that work with Microsoft.
5. PCs are more local than Macs. The simple fact is that you can go to almost any town and you will find a computer shop that can fix your PC. Unless you’re lucky enough to have a Mac store close to home, you’ll probably have to travel a fair distance to find one — or you might even have to ship your Mac to be serviced.

This was not written to put people off the Mac and I wouldn’t blame you if you got one — they are very good and the whole package is there. However, Microsoft is worldwide. Mac… well… it’s not. The Mac world is mainly English-speaking. Try selling a Mac to a poor country or some countries that don’t even know what a Mac is!

Another way in which you can secure your computer is to configure an account lockout policy. This eliminates the ability for someone to sit down at your computer and continuously attempt to guess your user name and password.

An account lockout policy will do just that, lockout an account after a certain number of failed logon attempts. So if a user is trying to guess your password, the user account will be locked out for a certain amount of time after they have reached the number of allowed failed logon attempts (configure by you).

You can enable an account lockout policy using the following steps:

1. Click Start | All Programs | Administrative Tools| Local Security Policy.
2. Double click Account Policies.
3. Click Account Lockout Policy.
4. In the details pane, double click Account lockout threshold.
5. Increase the value to the number of failed logon attempts you want to allow.
6. Click OK.
7. The Suggested Value Changes dialog box will appear. Click OK to accept the default values.

When your inbox begins to fill up, it’s time to start deleting some of the old email messages. Outlook Express users will know that there are a few ways in which you can do this. One method is to highlight the message and click the Delete icon on your toolbar (this is the big red X). And yet a second method is to again highlight the message in your inbox and press the Delete key on your keyboard.

Now for all of you who have the secrets of the keystrokes down pat know that there is a key stroke that you can use to delete your messages. Simply highlight the message a press CTRL + D and your message will be sent to the trash.

If you are using the Windows Firewall to protect your computer and network, you can enable security logging. The default location for the firewall log is the Windows directory. However, if you do not want to file stored in this location, you can easily change it.

• Click Start | All Programs | Administrative Tools | Windows Firewall with Advanced Security.
• Click Windows Firewall Properties.
• Select the appropriate profile tab: Domain Profile, Private Profile or Public Profile.
• Click the Customize button under the Logging section.
• Within the Name field, type in the new path and file name.
• Click OK.
• Click OK to save your changes.

Gnomie Tramposch (pronounced Tram-posh) writes:

You cannot share your files on a network without a password, but you don’t want to type in a password every time you boot your computer, do you?

Here are tips on how to work around that.

1. Open the start menu. (the little orb at the bottom left of your screen)
2. Type in control userpasswords2 and then hit enter.
3. When that opens you will get a window called User Accounts (this is NOT the same as the user accounts control panel). UNCHECK the box that says “Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer” you will be asked to type in your password twice, do so.
4. Now open the power options (Windows button / control panel). To find the option easier, just click classic view, and it will have a picture of a battery and a plug.
5. Hit change when the computer sleeps on the left panel, and in the next screen, hit change advanced power settings.
6. Once in there, there will be many roots. Hit the plus sign next to additional settings and hit the plus sign next to require a password on wakeup. Under setting, select no.
7. Click OK.
8. Now if you want to share a file, right click it. Hit the properties, and go to sharing.

Add to iTunes | Add to YouTube | Add to Google | RSS Feed

I find that my computing experience is greatly enhanced by knowing a few really good keyboard shortcuts. I think everyone should know a lot of these basic commands, as it speeds up your work, and makes life just that much easier when you don’t have to reach for the mouse, and can keep your hands on the keyboard. They may seem simple, almost basic computer knowledge, but I’m always surprised how overlooked some of these simple gems are.

Between these keyboard shortcuts and a program called Launchy (a command-line application launcher, much like Quicksilver for OS X), which I also suggest, I find I’m far quicker to get from point A to point B and rarely have to use the start menu or have icons on my desktop.

• Windows Key Yes, everyone knows how much hitting the Windows key in the middle of your full-screen game can ruin your day, but outside of playing games, it can be very useful for more than just pulling up the Start menu. Commands such as:
  • Win + D minimizing all of your windows and displaying the desktop. This can be great if you have a lot of stuff up, and just want to get it all out of the way. Hitting Win + D again will bring up your windows just as they were before you hid them all.
  • Win + R Opens the “Run…” dialog box. Great to get to the command line or calculator quickly (typing in cmd or calc, respectively) without having to go through the Start menu. It’s also good for relaunching explorer if it bugs out for some reason. Other good ones to know are msconfig and services.msc, which are great for tweaking both system settings and running services.
  • Win + E Opens up the Explorer for “My Computer” Get to files nice and quick, especially with my next tip.
• Use your keyboard to navigate folders What? Your keyboard works to navigate folders? Holy file browsing, Batman! Give it a try. Open up your C:\ drive and hit “P” it will immediately jump to the files starting with “P” and if you keep typing, it will keep refining. “Pro” will usually highlight “Program Files.” Hit enter to open the folder, and then off you go typing the next folder you want.
• Tab and Shift + Tab Tab will move you automatically to the next field within the in-focus window. What does that mean? Well, say you’re composing an e-mail. Type in the To: line as “Chris@Pirillo.com” then instead of clicking on the subject line, you can just hit “Tab” until it highlights the subject line. Type in your subject, hit Tab again, and you’re in the body of the e-mail. This works great in conjunction with Win + E, as by default, Windows selects the file tree on the left, and to navigate with the keyboard, you want to have the main field selected which is on the right. Alternatively, Shift + Tab moves you to the previous field. Say you’re in that same e-mail, but you want change the subject. Hitting Shift + Tab while in the body of the e-mail will pull your cursor back up to the subject line, and select all the text in the field.
• Alt + Tab While in a window, Alt+Tab will switch between windows on the taskbar. Holding down Alt, and repeatedly hitting Tab, lets you select which window you want (it gives you a little pop-up on screen). Letting go of alt pulls the window up.
• Alt + F4 Closes a window. Plain and simple. It’s the keyboard’s way of hitting the X in the upper right.