October 20, 2013 - Chapter 1 - Fundamentals of Windows 7

The blogging assignment this week is to cover the material in Chapter 1 and Appendix A in our text, Shelly Cashman's "Microsoft Windows 7 Comprehensive".  Chapter 1 contains an overview of the fundamentals of using of Windows 7, and comprehensive explanations of using its basic features.  As many features have been changed, added or expanded from Windows XP and earlier versions, this is very informative to someone like me who has been using this operating system through each of its successive editions since Windows 3.0 was introduced in 1990.

The text begins by defining the basic concepts involved in computer use; it defines the operating system, various hardware types of servers, workstations and peripherals; and discusses the differences between the types of network topologies of intranet, internet and intranet.

There are several differing types of Windows 7 to meet the needs of the computing public.   Editions range from Windows 7 Starter and Home Basic, which contain only basic features and are used on computers with limited capabilities or in emerging markets. These editions are generally not available for retail sale, and are preinstalled by a hardware builder.

Windows 7 Home Premium and Windows 7 Professional are contain more features, and are available for retail purchase.  A distinction between the two is that Win 7 Pro contains features designed for small business users, such as networking software, backup and restore functions, and the ability to join a domain.

Windows 7 Enterprise is designed for corporate users, and includes support for data encryption and multiple languages.

Windows 7 Ultimate contains all possible features from each Windows 7 variant and is targeted for home and small business users who want features included in the enterprise package.  The text states that this is the more expensive Windows 7 software.

Microsoft has changed their strategy with Windows 7, in that certain features that were available with the preceding Windows Vista operating system software such as Movie Maker and Windows Mail are now available as a separate download known as Windows Live Essentials.

The chapter concludes by discussing ways to use Windows 7, including logging on to the operating system; navigating basic functions like windows, scroll bars and boxes; accessing the "Getting Started" window; minimizing, maximizing, resizing and closing windows; using desktop gadgets, the recycle bin, the Start and Program menus; the Taskbar; and using Windows Help and Support to name a few items.

I look forward to a deeper look under the hood of Windows 7!