October 27, 2013 - Chapter 2 - Working with the Windows 7 Desktop

This chapter begins to delve into the nuts and bolts of Windows 7, and starts in a very important place, the Desktop.  The Desktop is the "main screen" of the Graphical user Interface, or GUI.  It is the place that users see when they start their computer and before they start any applications.  The Desktop can be personalized in many ways, for example by changing the background image or by adding Windows Gadgets to it.

The Desktop also functions as a file storage location, so that users can directly access files or shortcuts placed there.  I personally hate this feature, as I prefer my Desktop to be as uncluttered as possible.  This allows me to enjoy the image that I am using as my background without it being spoiled by many files or shortcuts cluttering up things.

This chapter goes into great detail about using WordPad, Microsoft's minimally-featured word processor and how to save files to the hard drive and USB flash drives.  It also talks about using Document Libraries, a feature that first appeared in Windows Vista.

There is a great deal of information about Windows Gadgets, software applets that live on your Desktop.  Examples of these that come with Windows 7 include Gadgets for weather, news headlines, an analog clock, and a currency converter.  Many more can be downloaded from Microsoft free of charge.

There are many more features on the Windows Desktop, these are but a sampling.  Happy computing, see you next week with another exciting update!