Windows Vista Annoyances

Chapter 1. THE VERY BASICS

As any good teacher can tell you, it’s best not to put the cart before the horse—or to start flinging computer jargon around without first explaining the lay of the land. And with Windows Vista, there’s a heck of a lot of land to survey. The following pages don’t actually show you how to do very much—but the do prepare you, psychologically and philosophically, for what your Windows PC holds in store.

About Windows

Windows is an operating system, the software that controls your computer. It’s designed to serve you in several ways:

• ▸ It’s a launching bay. At its heart, Windows is a home base, a remote-control clicker that lets you call up the various software programs (applications) you use to do work or kill time. When you get right down to it, applications are the real reason you bought a PC.

  Windows Vista is a well-stocked software pantry unto itself; for example, it comes with a Web browser, email program, simple word processor, and calculator. Vista comes with a suite of games, too.

  If you were stranded on a desert island, the built-in Windows programs could suffice for everyday operations. But if you’re like most people, sooner or later, you’ll buy and install more software. That’s one of the luxuries of using Windows: you can choose from a staggering number of add-on programs. Whether you’re a left-handed beekeeper or a German-speaking nun, some company somewhere is selling Windows software designed just for you, its target audience.

• ▸ It’s a file cabinet. Every application on your machine, as well as every document you create, is represented on the screen by an icon, a little picture that symbolizes the underlying file or container. You can organize these icons into onscreen file folders. You can make backups (safety copies) by dragging file icons onto a floppy disk or blank CD, or send files to people by email. You can also trash icons you longer need by dragging them onto the Recycle Bin icon.

• ▸ It’s your equipment headquarters. What you can actually see of Windows is only the tip of the iceberg. An enormous chunk of Windows is behind-the-scenes plumbing that controls the various functions of your computer—its modem, screen, keyboard, printer, and so on.