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It doesn’t matter if you have a computer that runs Microsoft Windows or the Macintosh operating system. Either way, when you want to purchase additional software for your computer it can be tough deciding which application to purchase. You hate to waste your money on a program that doesn’t really do what you need it to do or that ends up being difficult to use. Fortunately, there is a good deal of free software that you can take advantage of before you buy.

Software publishers are becoming more aware of the fact that people don’t want to spend a hefty chunk of money for a program before they have a chance for a test drive. There was a time when this lead to people sharing copies of programs and software piracy became a real problem. Many software development companies now provide computer users with free trial programs.

The free software demos of various software programs are a good approach both for the software publishers and also for the end users. By giving people a chance to use a demo version of the application, people have a chance to get familiar with that company’s product line. Most of the time the user needs to supply the company with their email address in order to download the trial software and this allows the company to continue promoting their product.

Different companies put different limitations on the software that they allow people to test drive. Some trial software is fully functional but only for a limited period of time, such as two weeks or 30 days. Other free versions have some of the functions blocked or don’t allow the user to save their work. These limitations can actually work against the company because people never have a chance to get a complete feel for the hardware software interaction and true usefulness of the application.

Software development companies that allow users to have a fully functional demo, free of charge for at least 30 days stand the best chance of the user making a purchase. This gives the user enough time to relax and settle into using the application and if they find it at all useful by the end of the 30 day computer software trial, then they will need to make the purchase so that they don’t lose the work they completed during that time.

There are also some software companies, especially small companies and independent software programmers, that provide fully functional free of charge software downloads that have no limitations at all. This is called freeware and the purpose is either to introduce the user to additional software solutions that the company has or to give the user the opportunity to make a donation. The interesting thing is that many people will “donate” more for a freeware program than they would be willing to pay for a fully functional application.

There are a lot of download sites where you can find free software to try. Look under the category of the type of software you need and download a few different trials so you can test them and compare how they work and the cost of the full upgraded package. Do take time to read the terms and understand exactly how the demo period works. The last thing you want to do is end up having some important work you did in trial software being “held hostage” if you don’t decide to buy the particular program.

Safe Internet Blog free software, Microsoft Windows, operating system, software development, Windows Vista, Windows XP

Windows Vista in Simpler Terms

Windows Vista is the latest version of the Windows operating  system for Intel based PCs. It was released in January 2007 and its primary  objective is to improve security in the Windows OS. It has been received with  mixed reviews—its new features and improved security have been cheered, while  it has been criticized for a multitude of other reasons.

What are the Business applications?

Windows Vista’s strength is in Enterprise computing and as such it provides numerous  deployment and maintenance technologies including WIM (Windows Imaging Format),  Windows Deployment Services, 700 new Group Policy settings, and a multilingual  user interface. The Windows Vista OS also offers a Business upgrade that provides a variety of tools and features for small businesses.

Bad light for Windows Vista

Vista was never left alone by the media. The operating system was clobbered with numerous criticisms and complaints. Issues such as large system resource requirements, restrictive licensing agreements, and problems with the  User Account Control (UAC) have dogged the OS since its release and continue to make users—and  businesses—wonder whether its worth the price of an upgrade.

What are the Technical details

All in all,  there are six editions of Windows Vista; Windows Vista  Starter, Windows Vista Home Basic, Windows Vista Home Premium, Windows Vista  Business, Windows Vista Enterprise, and Windows Vista Ultimate. Vista  capable computers are required to have at least an 800 MHz processor, 512  MB of memory, DirectX 9.0 capable graphics card, 32 MB graphics memory, and 20  GB HDD capacity. However, to fully utilize some of the special options and  high-end graphics features, it is recommended that your system have 1 GHz  processor, 1 GB memory, DirectX 9.0 and WDDM 1.0 driver support, 512 MB  graphics memory, and 40 GB HDD capacity.

Are you Upgrading to Windows Vista?

Despite the numerous negative marketing got by Windows Vista, the operating system remains to be a far improvement to Windows XP. It would be best to use this latest operating system rather than an almost decade old OS. Are you upgrading? When?

More Windows Vista information.

Safe Internet Blog microsoft, vista, windows, Windows Vista

A common piece of software that is often overlooked is the software driver. These drivers are designed to allow an external piece of hardware, such as a printer, to integrate with the main computer unit. A driver facilitates communication between the software application that needs to use a device and the device itself. It can be thought of as a bridge that closes the gap between applications and external hardware devices.

When a computer software program calls for a certain function of the device, this invokes a specific routine in the driver which then issues the proper command to the device. The device then sends the requested data back to the driver, which in turn communicates that back to the application.

These device drivers can also invoke certain software routines in the original program that made a call, or request, for the action. Because of this interaction, it is very important for the software driver to be up-to-date and current and also for the software programs that interact with them to be “aware” of these programs so that they can interact correctly.

Some of the common device drivers that you probably have on your computer are the small programs that came with your printer, your digital camera, your cell phone, any Bluetooth device that you have and hard drives that are removable. Without the right device driver you will find it virtually impossible for any of these external tools hardware devices to be recognized by the operating system, let alone function correctly.

When people have problems with printers, scanners, USB drives and other devices, one of the most common problems is with the drivers. Because these small programs function as a go-between and interact with both operating systems and other computer software programs, they have a tendency to be become corrupt.

When a device driver becomes corrupt, the item of hardware that they “drive” can start to behave erratically or stop responding completely. One very common problem that happens is when a printer driver gets corrupted. If your printer suddenly starts producing pages that are not formatted the way they appear on the screen, or print out nothing but sheets full of code, then the problem is most likely a bad software driver.

The good news is that it is very easy to replace a device driver that has gone bad. Most of the time on a PC running Microsoft Windows, such as Windows XP or Windows Vista, you can reinstall the driver from the CD-ROM that came with your device, as it will simply over-ride the defunct version. However, before installing Mac drivers, it is recommended to completely remove all associated files from your computer before re-installing the newer version. If it has been awhile since you bought the device, then the best thing to do is go to the website of the manufacturer and search for the most recent version of the driver.

Most of the time this is the simplest and easiest way to resolve a problem with a peripheral device. In addition, when you download and install updated versions of device drivers, often you will also discover improved performance as a bonus. For this reason, it is a good idea to check for an updated driver for your device every few months.

Safe Internet Blog computer software, drivers, hard drives, Mac drivers, Microsoft Windows, operating systems, tools hardware, Windows Vista, Windows XP

Well it seems as though Windows 7 is now due for its official release as Microsoft have announced that it will not be releasing another BETA version of the operating system. Yet the company are yet to give an official release date for the software other than sometime in late 2009. The disclosure came in an end of January update to the Engineering Windows 7 blog by Steven Sinofsky, Microsoft’s senior vice president for Windows software.
The new Windows operating system is set to be completely compatible with a range of wireless hardware such as a wireless keyboard and a numeric keyboard without having to install any software. Normally such accessories would require a CD to install the hardware which is such a pain.
The move means that Windows 7 will have had only one official beta before the full version is to be released, in contrast to recent versions of Microsoft products such as Windows Vista. This is because the company has taken a completely different approach to development with the new platform (Windows 7) according to the Vice President, Steven Sinofsky.
This high-tech operating system will be the seventh instalment in the Windows history and is set up to be the most successful piece of software yet. The compatibility and usability of the program is supposed to be very different to anything else that we have seen from Windows before. I hope it is more compatible than previous versions of Windows as I have always struggled with the software in general. I have always used Mac software myself but I am interested to see what the new Windows 7 will have to offer. With a bit of luck it will be more user friendly and easier to navigate than its predecessors. Windows XP and Vista always seemed to never be finished and there were plenty of gaps and flaws in the programming that would reveal this but with a bit of luck the Windows development team have learnt from their mistakes and are prepared to release a unique and eye catching bit of kit.

Safe Internet Blog Windows 7, windows software, Windows Vista

Microsoft Windows 7 has recently been announced by Microsoft as the official name of the successor to Windows Vista. It was a surprise to a lot of people since “7″ is the codename given by the software giant to their next operating system and Microsoft has had a long history of changing the official product name from the codename they have used in the development.

The main reason why Microsoft is not changing the name of the operating system is for simplicity’s sake. They do not want the consumers to become confused about the new product and would not want to outshine the current Windows Vista which they are pushing aggresively to the market. The simpler name prevents consumers from getting too excited and skipping Windows Vista in favor of its successor.

According to Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO, the new operating system is like Vista but a lot better. Windows 7 is going to be a start of a series of Windows operating system that is based on Windows Vista codebase. They would continually enhance and improve the codebase which includes touchscreen, better hardware support & better software compatibility.

It is expected that Windows 7 is going to be released in 2009 to a group of beta testers. After that, they would announce a public release date speculated to be in 2010.

Two years may be a short time and consumers may think that keeping Windows XP and eventually waiting for Windows 7 is a good move. Unfortunately, it is not a wise move to wait for Windows 7 because the 2009 and 2010 release date told by Microsoft could in reality take another 3 to 4 years to complete. Having said that, if Windows 7 becomes stable only after 2011, then consumers would have a hard time coping up with Windows XP and migrating to Windows 7.

It is best to take the plunge and use Windows Vista. Whatever happens, you have gotten rid of the old Windows XP box.

Safe Internet Blog microsoft, Steve Ballmer, vista, windows, Windows 7, Windows Vista