Usefulwindows's Blog

The calculator in Windows 7 underwent a lot of change and it is awesome.  But there have been many different calculators for Windows and some of the other calculators features have been incorporated into the Windows 7 one.  So we are going to take an in-depth look at them.  Below is a look at the basic view in the Windows 7 calculator and the Windows Vista one which had not changed from the old 16bit days. 

Side by side of Windows 7 Calc and Windows Vista Calc in Basic View

The only other view in the Vista calc was the Scientific View and below is another comparison. 

Side by side of Windows 7 calc and Windows Vista calc in Scientific View

Now for a long time there has been a separate download called Calculator Plus, this has a weird interface which can be put back to the normal one. Just hit View and then hit Classic View, this will now stay the normal way.    It has unit conversions which the Windows 7 calc has.  It is available for Windows XP, Vista, and 7 from here http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=32b0d059-b53a-4dc9-8265-da47f157c091&displaylang=en

Default Skin for Calculator Plus in Windows 7

There was also a Powertoy Calculator available for Windows XP that did unit conversion and Graphing. You can get it for Windows XP from here as well as some other neat additions  http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx

Default View of the Windows XP Power Toy Calculator

Now I had said earlier that all of these do some form of unit conversion.  Below is a side by side view of the conversion options.  It is interesting and a little confusing. 

Side by side of Conversion options

Now this looks very confusing so below I did a spread sheet to make it more clear. 

A better look at which calculators convert what

Now I have gotten the Exchange Rates to update in Windows 7 it just seems inconsistent.  The Windows 7 Calculator has the best conversion options so far.  It is really cool.  But Conversions is not the only thing new in the 7 Calculator.  there are two new views, Programmer pictured below.

Programmer mode in Windows 7 calc

And there is also a Statistics view which I am sure will be helpful for some students. 

Statistics mode in the Windows 7 calc

There is also a Date Calculation view that is pretty neat.  It is fun to play with.  I have had some fun with this. 

Date Calculation in Windows 7 calc

There are also Worksheets which offer different preprogrammed calculations.  They are very nice additions, and I hope it gets people thinking.  First there is a Mortgage Worksheet. 

Mortgage Worksheet in Windows 7 calc

There is also a Vehicle Lease Worksheet, I know this will help some people figure out if they can get that car. 

Vehicle Lease Worksheet in Windows 7 calc

The last two worksheets are for Fuel Economy one for the American MPG and one for the Metric L/100 KM

Fuel Economy Worksheets in Windows 7 Calc

This is a great improvement indeed.  If you like you can download the other two calculators and make your older version of Windows feel more updated and add functionality.

Well here is an interesting look at five free downloads for Windows 7, Vista, and some for XP.  If you want to add fun and functionality to your operating system than this is for you.  So lets take a look. 

1.  Windows live Mail, I use this everyday.  This is not the old Outlook Express you remember from older Windows versions.  This is more like a mini Outlook.  Not only does it do mail but it is a contact manager and has your calendar.  All of this can sync with your e-mail as well.  The e-mail function works with pop3 connections and with internet based e-mail like Hotmail, and Gmail.  This program is worth a look and allows a great place to manage your every day life.  It is part of the Windows Live Essentials pack and you can download this for Windows XP, Vista, and 7 from http://download.live.com/wlmail

Windows Live Mail in Windows 7

2. Windows Live Photo Gallery, if you want something to manage your pictures and do basic editing that is easy to use, is not slow, and you can add raw image support to then this is for you.  I prefer this to Google Picasa!  It is much more nimble and I prefer the auto correct in Windows Live Photo Gallery.  All in all it is just great software.  This is again part of the Windows Live Essentials pack and is available for Windows XP, Vista, and 7 from http://download.live.com/photogallery

Windows Live Photo Gallery in Windows 7

3. Windows Live Movie Maker, this program has changed for the better, it picks up the office tab and ribbon interface and is much easier to use.  I like the output options for YouTube, HD, or DVD.  It is just easier to use than the earlier versions.  If you want free video editing and is easy to use than this is it.  I actually enjoy using this and will start using it for the first time in a while,  I never liked the older versions.  It is again part of the Windows Live Essentials pack however it is only available for Window Vista and 7 and you can get it at http://download.live.com/moviemaker

Windows Live Movie Maker in Windows 7

4. Microsoft Security Essentials, is pretty cool. This is based on of the highly acclaimed Microsoft One Care and also draws from Microsoft Forefront.  This is free antivirus software for the home user.  So far independent tests show it to perform very well at protecting systems from viruses and spyware.  Better than most other solutions.  I have been using it on my Windows 7 installations and it has been great.  It does not constantly notify you with things.  It also replaces Windows Defender.  One program to do two things.  It is light and does not bog the system down at all.  If you don’t have money I suggest downloading this over AVG but AVG is also a good Free one.   With Security Essentials however so far so good.  It is available for Windows XP, Vista, and 7 from http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/support.aspx?mkt=en-us#mainNav

Microsoft Security Essentials in Windows 7

5. Microsoft Carioca Rummy, this is a fun game.  It is a form of Contract Rummy popular in Argentina and Chile.  Once you get the hang of it, it will become addicting.  You can use it in Spanish or English.  I love playing this game and it adds another great game to any system.  You can download it for Windows XP, Vista, and 7 from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=9F295184-A788-49D6-8C7A-966B72C014F7&displaylang=en

Microsoft Carioca Rummy in Windows 7

These programs will add fun and functionality to any system.  It will even breath life into the aging Windows XP so take a look at them and have some fun.

To start this seems to work on other motherboards that use the Promise 378 chipset, so give this a shot and let me know how it works.  When I did my comparison of Windows 7 to Windows XP (which you can read here) I needed an XP machine to install 7 on.  I chose my Dads it is an Asus KV8 SE Deluxe motherboard with an AMD Athlon 64 3200+ running at 2.2GHz, 2 Gb of ram and an ATI X800 All-in-Wonder.  I partitioned the hard drive and booted up the Windows 7 disk.  Now this motherboard has the Promise 378 Sata chipset and if any of you are familiar with the Promise 378 chipset for sata you know how much of a pain it is.  It’s hard enough to get Windows XP installed.  Well I tried to install Windows 7 and things went fine until I got to the point in the installation to select the hard drive where Windows is to be installed.  There were no hard drives listed!!! I was confused.  I did some searching and found that there were no Promise 378 drivers made for Windows Vista let alone 7.  So I got to thinking and working.

I knew I was running the Promise 378 in ATA mode so I could connect only one hard drive.  So I thought of loading an older driver and looked at Asus website for one.  But before I did that I thought for a moment, an XP driver might not work.  Windows 7′s code is based on of Vista’s.  Vista’s code is based on Server 2003.  And that was the ticket.  I went here http://support.asus.com/download/download.aspx?SLanguage=en-us

1. Under General Download the first Select Product select Motherboard.

2. the second one is  Select Series select Socket 754

3. the third one is Select Models select KV8 SE Deluxe

Then hit search then when it asked which operating system you are using select Win 2003.  (if you are installing the 64-bit version of 7 or Vista try downloading the Windows 2003 64-bit driver instead)

Now it will say XX Files Found and under there click on IDE

Then down load the second driver (pictured below), Promise SATA378 Driver V1.00.0.26 (ATA Mode)

The Second Driver is the ATA Mode Driver

Expand the zip file to a folder and burn that folder to a disc.

Then restart your installation and when you get to the point that no hard drives show up take out your Windows 7 install disc and put in the one with the drivers, or if you have a second optical drive insert the burned disc into that.  And then in setup hit load drivers and select the 2003 driver, it should find it automatically.  It did for me and after a while of searching the drive shows up.  Continue the setup as you normally would.  That is all you have to do.  This should work for Windows Vista or Windows 7.  Here is the end results.

Device Manager Showing The Win2003 SATA Driver Installed

It took some doing but here is the proof, a screen shot of the Computer Properties.

Asus KV8 SE Deluxe running Windows 7

It does not do too bad performance wise although I get weird graphic glitches, AMD is not going to release a Windows 7 driver for the X800 graphic card in this machine, but the card could be going bad as well.  Below is the Windows Experience Index.

Windows Experience Index

Well I think I would leave 7 on here if I could get the graphic glitches fixed, but this computer is old and is slated to be rebuilt.  It does not handle Microsoft Flight Simulator X very well.  I hope this helps people figure out how to get Vista and 7 installed on their Promise 378 hardware.

I had a friend ask me last night if Windows 7 runs better than XP, and I did not know.  I knew that it ran better than Vista, so I went to work. 

First my laptop has never known Windows XP and it never will, I do not like XP and prefer Vista over it and love 7 over both of them.  Some would say I am nuts but as a computer technician the newer versions of Windows make my life easier.  This laptop is a Compaq Presario C700 (C712NR) with 2Gb of Ram and an Intel Core 2 Duo T5850 running at 2.16 GHz this also runs an Intel Mobile 965 Express Graphics Chipset.  The laptop came with Vista Home Premium 32bit and I installed Windows 7 Enterprize 32bit.     Below is the Windows Experience Index from Vista.  Please note that the Index range is from 1.0 to 5.9 in Vista.

Windows Experience Index form Vista

As you can see the laptop does ok but below is the Windows Experience Index from 7 it seems like there is not much of a difference. Please note that in 7 the Index range is from 1.0 to 7.9 and that might be why the numbers are different. 

Windows Experience Index from 7

The difference in the numbers is interesting however I also ran Pass Mark Performance Test in both operating systems.  I figured this would give me a good answer if Windows 7 was in fact faster than Vista.  In Vista the Performance Test got a total score of 537.8 while in 7 it got a total of 590.4  I think these numbers speak for themselves.  Vista is slower than 7 the benchmark proves this.  So then what about Windows XP?

Well my father has a computer that I figured would be a great it is a home built machine with an Asus KV8 SE Deluxe motherboard with an AMD Athlon 64 3200+ running at 2.2GHz and with 2Gb or Ram and an ATI X800 XT All-in-Wonder.  It already has Windows XP installed and it has never known Vista, so I partitioned the hard drive and installed Windows 7 Enterprize 32bit.  Pictured below is the Windows Experience Index from Windows 7

Windows Experience Index in Windows 7

As before I ran the Pass Mark Performance Test on both operating systems and here are the results you have been waiting for.  Windows 7 got a total score of 390.1 where Windows XP got a total score of 440.6  XP did better in 2D and 3D graphics than 7 and that could be do to the lack of proper driver support, as time goes on im sure that gap will close.  Really XP does not do that much better than 7 but it is a little faster.  Still my mother was using Windows 7 for the first time today on my fathers computer and really liked it and wants to use it more, and she has never used Vista. 

So Windows 7 is faster than Vista but just a little slower than XP, not bad Microsoft, not bad at all.  If you are thinking of making the jump to Windows 7 the numbers speak for themselves, go for it.  The new Features and the fact that it is more energy efficient make Windows 7 worth the upgrade, even if it is a little slower than XP.

Well Windows XP was released in 2001 and I did not know much about it at the time of its launch.  I admit when it was first released it felt like a glorified service pack for Windows 2000.  While Windows 2000 is its ancestor, Windows ME was its spiritual ancestor.  But it did feel like they simply took all the features of Windows ME and shoved them into 2000 and tweaked it a bit.  While it is true that Microsoft took and combined its home and professional lines to create one Windows desktop version, there was more to Windows XP.  It would become one of the most used operating systems of its day.  So I have gone back and created a list of the top five best new features that Windows XP introduced.  Let’s revisit them.

1.  The Luna theme, for the first time in a long time Windows was not a drab grey color.   The interface seemed more warm and welcoming, it was a nice change.  One that I wanted when I first saw it.  Now is was also nicknamed the Fisher-Price theme and Windows was even called Windows XP Fisher-Price Edition, but it was a nice improvement.  It started people skinning Windows by hacking files as well, It actually inspired and made people ask the question What If? Could I make Windows look like…?  I have to admit it, it really was a good change.

The Blue Luna Theme in Windows XP

2. Windows Media Center, while it was not released with Windows XP at first and was never offered as an update, it was a neat thing you could do.  Use your computer to record TV.  It offered a media driven hub for people and even was imitated in some forms so others that did not have the Media Center version of XP could enjoy it, and was also imitated on Linux.  For some their computer became their DVR (Digital Video Recorder).

Windows XP Media Center

3. Fast User Switching and Local Users, While local users were not exactly a new feature they were so greatly improved and finally brought to the home computer.  This changed a lot of things for home consumers.  Finally parents could have an account for their kids  to mess in while their background and icons never changed.  But the nice feature here was the fact that you did not have to log someone out to use your account, you could switch them.

Users Control panel Applet

Fast user switching made sharing the computer in a house hold very easy.  Remember too that Windows XP was released in a time where there was usually was only one computer in a house.  It would not be till years later that computers would come down in price and we would see almost as many computers in a house as TV’s.  The Fast User Switching was not only needed, it was a good move.

Fast User Switching Option

4. Windows Firewall was originally called the Internet Connection Firewall until Service Pack 2 was released with a revamped version of the firewall that was enabled by default unlike the previous version.   Microsoft did this after so many computers were getting infected with viruses and spyware.  the Windows Firewall helped a lot and provided those who could not afford to purchase a firewall for their computer some protection.

The Windows Firewall in Windows XP

5. The Compatibility Tab was a great help.  Most home users were using Windows 98 or Me which ran on top of DOS.  The programs made for these DOS based Windows versions often times were not compatible with Windows 2000.  In XP Microsoft fixed a lot of the problems with the Compatibility Tab.  Accessible by right clicking on the program and clicking on Properties, this would help the adoption of XP.

The Compatibility Tab

Windows XP was a good and logical evolution of the Windows product line.  It did have a few new features but it really improved on a lot of old ones.  It is almost 9 years old now and really is past its prime.  If your running XP I suggest looking at Windows 7, it runs better on slower computers than Vista.

You can also check out my list of Six new features in Windows Vista

Also for a blast from the past check out the Top Five New Features in Windows ME

Most of you don’t know that I am engaged, not too long ago my girlfriend’s laptop was stolen and it was time to get her a new one and she only had one request, that it be light.  She has back problems and did not like lugging her laptop around to class.  So I looked into Netbooks and found a HP Mini 1030NR at Best Buy for a good price.  I did not have much money so the $299 price was in my range and a friend told me he would help me out.  I chose the Mini because of its screen, the solid state hard drive, the 1.6 GHz Intel Atom, and I liked the keyboard better than the other ones I had tried, it was much easier to type on.  Now if you know me you know I can’t leave any computer stock so I maxed out the ram at 2Gb.  And then I did some research.  I found that the Mini has an integrated Intel graphics chipset that supports Windows Aero Glass.  Also the Intel Atom processor only supports 32bit versions of Windows.  The Mini comes with Windows XP, but I figured that the Mini might support Windows Vista but it would take some doing , and so I went to work.

HP Mini 1000 Netbook running Windows Vista Home Premium

Now the Mini does not have a DVD rom drive so I bought an external one for it.  I then booted up and formated the hardrive with Vista Home Premium.  The Mini has a 16Gb solid state drive in it and I knew that would be a problem later on.  Vista installed without any problems, once the desktop was loaded I went to the Device Manager, and it was a mess.  HP’s website does not have much Vista drivers for the Mini so I had to go to the manufactures of the different components.  I was able to get graphic, network, wireless, chipset, and the quick play buttons all installed but I noticed something.  A generic mouse driver was installed and it did not support the scroll function of the touch pad.  Some might say this is not an important feature but I love it.  I found that the same mouse pad was used on other HP laptops and downloaded the Vista driver from another model

Clean Device Manager on Netbook with Vista installed

Now I had a clean Device Manager (pictured above), next was to update Windows.  This was a chore since I had also installed Microsoft Office 2007 Ultimate and her antivirus software.  I got Service Pack 1 for Vista installed but there was no room for Service Pack 2.  So I ran the service pack cleanup tool which removes the backed up files and then ran SP2 and ran the tool again after that.  All the other updates installed fine for Vista, but then Service Pack 2 for Office would not install.  In the long run I figured that System Restore was going to have to be disabled.  I also set a limit to the Page File as well so it would not get out of hand.  That did it I was able to install all updates I wanted and after removing the temporary files with Crap Cleaner I had over 2Gb of free space.

I will say Vista actually runs well on this little Netbook, it is not as fast as my laptop but it works and it is light and gives my girlfriend all the functionality she needs, while staying protected with Vista’s advanced security features.  It took some doing but I am glad I did it and I can’t wait to get Windows 7 installed on there next.  That little Netbook runs Aero Glass just fine.  Now it’s not the fastest computer as you can see by the Windows Experience  Index below.  In Vista the highest score you can get is a 5.9, so it holds its own. I ran PassMark Preformance Test on it and on my low end Compaq Presario C700 (C712NR)  which also runs Windows Vista Home Premium, and the Mini gets a 172 overall score while the Compaq only gets a 393.3  The Mini keeps up in 3D graphics and keeps up with 2D, but  the Compaq does better with the processor and memory.   The weak point is the Intel Atom processor.  While the Intel Atom N270 runs at 1.6 GHz it is still not as fast as Intel’s mobile chips in laptops.  As the Atom evolves these Netbooks will become much better machines further blurring that line between Netbook and Laptop.

Windows Experience Index on HP Mini in Vista

I am a computer technician and I like performance.  I love using her Netbook, Vista runs fine on there.  I don’t understand why the Netbooks with traditional hard drives in them don’t have Vista running on them by default.  I can understand why XP is on the ones with small solid state hard drives because of the space restrictions.  I would suggest to anyone that has the ability to do it to install Vista on their Netbook and try it for themselves.  Also since Windows Vista runs on here, then Windows 7 will as well.  I have since updated to Windows 7 which you can read here.

Well I got the evaluation of Windows 7 Enterprise and I installed the 32bit version on my old Toshiba laptop.  It has 1Gb of ram and a 2 GHz Celeron processor and a 30 Gb hard drive, it is a Toshiba Satellite A15-S127.   It does not run too bad on there, it installed all drivers except for the video card, which is weird since Vista did install a driver for it but for some reason this is lacking from 7.  So while I can not run anything that requires graphic power I could not anyway in Vista, the laptop is not up to it so it’s not a deal breaker.  I admit it does seem faster than Vista and I like it over all.  I have a 2.16 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo for my Compaq laptop coming in the next few days and I will install 7 on that and test it.  First I will be doing my review of  internet browsers in Vista 32bit (Which you can read Here) and in 2000 (Which you can read Here).