For those of you who use PCs, you may have noticed that the computers all over Scripps have been running Windows XP for a while. Not anymore! Windows XP is an operating system that is over a decade old. In fact, Microsoft ended support for XP last year. The change to Windows 7 is well overdue, not only because of of lack of software support but also security threats when continuing to run Windows XP.
There are a few handy new features in Windows 7, one of which includes the taskbar and the ability to “pin” programs to the taskbar.
The Windows taskbar is similar to the dock on Macs and conveniently displays icons for programs that can be easily accessed at the bottom of the screen. If you right-click on any program, you will be given the option to “pin to taskbar.” You can always remove a program from the taskbar by right-clicking on its icon in the taskbar and selecting “unpin this program from taskbar.” In addition, you can reorder icons on your taskbar by clicking and dragging them to the desired location.
Another useful feature for users is the “snap” feature. Dragging any program window to the very top of the screen will make that window full screen. In addition, dragging a program window to the very left or right side of the screen will stick the window to either side, and it will only take up half of the screen. You can have multiple programs visible on your screen at once by dragging one program window to the very left of the screen and one window to the very right. They will automatically snap into place.
By ITA, Seana Rothman