A new policy from Microsoft seems to have taken Win2k off death row, according to this article at The Register: The intent now is that the major Microsoft products will now have a "mainstream" supported life of five years, while for business versions it'll then be possible to buy two years "extended" support. Specifically this means Windows 2000 Pro gets a full five year lifespan, whereas until the beginning of this week it was due to go into the red zone on 31st March 2003. WinXP Pro will now get mainstream support until the end of 2006.
Many sites are still working out the implications of Microsoft's new Upgrade Licensing fees, where you pay for upgrades in advance by subscription. One side-effect of this licensing is that if the new Windows version is late, you get nothing, according to this story on Vnunet.
Read this column in The Register about firms that are trying to build quiet PCs.
Since you can now get a raid configuration for your desktop PC for less than $2000, with error-correcting memory as well, this is a good time to ensure that you are up-to-date on the technology of redundant disk drives. (the article is from the Ars Technica news site).
There's been a lot of talk in the tech press lately about whether CodeWeavers' Crossover Office for Linux will draw Windows users. The theory here is that a fair number of home users and a vast lot of businesses naturally despise Windows, but can't give it up because they adore MS Office. Home computer users may have learned it in school and be habituated to it, and they may take their work home now and then. If the uni or the office uses MSO, they'll obviously need it on their PCs.
For businesses, the savings from an open-source OS have got to be tantalizing; but the learning curve on a new office suite is also a productivity curve -- and that, obviously, costs money.
After constructing a practical solution, the Test Center reached the following conclusion: Linux and associated Linux applications can accomplish many of the same tasks as the Wintel standard at a much lower initial cost,in this case, for 93 percent less than the software cost of a similar Windows-based network,and without many of the licensing hassles presented by traditional software platforms.
SpaceMonger is a free tool for keeping track of the disk space on your computer. Instead of viewing your disk as unhelpful little icons or pie charts, you see a single picture that shows you at a glance how much space every file and folder are using.
Select any area with a folder title, then zoom in by double-clicking. SpaceMongerer highlights large files and allows deletions. Win2k users should see the readme file for sparse files, hard links, junction points and mount points.
A free Windows utility called X-Setup gives you full control over showing filename extensions for the super-hidden types. The utility is available at http://www.xteq.com/products/xset/index.html on the web. This tip courtesy of the very useful Woody's Office Watch e-newsletter, available by sending e-mail to wow@wopr.com .
If you run a Microsoft app that allows multiple windows to be open such as Word, Excel, and you want to close all your open windows within the app, hold the Shift key before clicking File on the menu bar. This will change the Close option to Close All - just click on it gerard.kirwan@mercantilemutual.com.au
Method 1: Drop on Desktop Icon
In this situation, let's assume the Qedit shortcut icon appears on the desktop.
If Qedit is already running and the application window is visible, do:
If Qedit is running but its application window is not immediately visible, it might have been minimized. It should appear as a button on the Windows taskbar. In that case, you should:
For a faster Startup, keep the Shift key pressed down, from the time you
enter your Windows password until the hard drive stop chattering. Because
this can take some time depending how slow your PC is, you can put something
on the Shift key to keep it pressed down.
In Windows Explorer, shift + right-click on selected file:
Opens the context menu that includes "Open With", which allows you to open
the file with a program different than the default association.
Add a shortcut to the Windows\SendTo directory:
This will add that shortcut to the SendTo list in Explorer's right-click
context menu. If the shortcut points to a program, this is a quick way to
opening a file with a particular program (e.g. put a shortcut to Qedit for
Windows there!). If the shortcut points to a directory, it will move/copy
the file to that directory (copy if on a different drive, move if on the
same drive).
Add a shortcut key to a program's shortcut:
Add a shortcut key via the Program's shortcut properties, which will
- start the program if it is not running
- switch to that program if it is running already
For example, assign F11 to the Qedit for Windows shortcut, then Qwin is
literally a keystroke away!
alt-PrintScrn:
Copy the image of the current window to the clipboard. You can paste this
image into WordPad, which is an easy to to gather information for technical
support.
right-click My Computer, Properties:
Same as Start - Settings - Control Panel - System
right-click Desktop, Properties:
Same as Start - Settings - Control Panel - Display
right-click Network Neighborhood, Properties:
Same as Start - Settings - Control Panel - Network
+e : opens Windows Explorer
+f : opens the Find:File dialog box of Windows Explorer
+u : opens the utilities manager (not working on my NT 4.0 PC)
+m : minimizes all open windows
shift+m : opens all minimized windows
+d : minimizes all open windows and activates the Desktop (not working on my NT 4.0 PC)
+r : opens the Run dialog box
+tab : allows you to select an application from the Windows Taskbar using the arrow keys
+break : displays the System Properties dialog box
+F1 : opens Windows Help
ctrl+f : opens fhe Find:Computer dialog box
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