Flying Toasters - A look back at After Dark for Windows 1.0

In March of 1991, Berkeley Systems released the After Dark for Windows 1.0 screen saver program and the $49.95 package soon became as common on the PC as it was on the Mac. After Dark for Windows came with 35 screen savers, including the wildly popular Flying Toasters. I recently came across a copy and installed it in a virtual Windows 3.1 system and began reliving those fun times. Take a look at this gallery of screen shots.

Vintage Computer Advertisements from the late 1970s

On a recent attic cleaning expedition, I encountered a box of Scientific American magazines from the late 70s. Each magazine is full of computer advertisements that provide an interesting peek back at the beginning of the computing industry. In this gallery, I will show you what I found.

Inside Microsoft Entertainment Packs 1 - 4

Back in the early 90's, Microsoft released set of games designed exclusively for Windows 3.x called the Microsoft Entertainment Packs. In this series of galleries I'll take you back to the Windows 3.x days and look over the games and screen savers that came in the Microsoft Entertainment Packs.

Inside Microsoft Entertainment Pack 1

Inside Microsoft Entertainment Pack 2

Inside Microsoft Entertainment Pack 3

Inside Microsoft Entertainment Pack 4

The Evolution of the Windows Start menu

We all use the Windows Start menu every day, but did you know that it wasn’t always called the Start menu? Take a look at this gallery of images.

How Many Floppy Disks Would It Take To Equal 1 Gigabyte?

Have you ever wondered how many floppy disks it would take to equal 1 Gigabyte? Check out this image gallery and find out.

The Flashlight - An IT Pro's Best Friend!

IT Professionals employ all sorts of specialized tools in their jobs. While most of these tools are software based or involve computerized hardware, many of them are pretty traditional tools like a pliers or a screwdriver. Among these types of traditional tools is the flashlight. When it comes to investigating dark corners in a server room, pulling cables through the ceiling, or just connecting cables to the back of a computer under a desk in a cubicle, flashlights are an IT professional’s best friend.

In this gallery, I’ll present a collection of very interesting flashlights and flashlight accessories that you might find useful in your day-to-day work as an IT professional. Check it out!

Check out the Windows 7 Control Panel Walkthrough series

To help you become familiar with all of the tools that are available in Windows 7’s Control Panel, I have created the Windows 7 Control Panel Walkthrough Photo Gallery series in which I show you every tool in each of the Control Panel categories. As I do, I provide you with a brief overview of what each tool does.

Each of the Windows 7 Control Panel Walkthroughs in this series exists as a TechRepublic Photo Gallery on the TechRepublic site. To make all of these Galleries easily accessible as a useful resource, I’ve created this blog entry to provide a brief summary of the Galleries and to provide a central location that links to each one. Check it out!.

Windows 7 Walkthrough: Ease of Access Control Panel

Windows 7’s Control Panel is literally packed with tools (a.k.a. applets) that allow you to configure and control the way that the operating system works. Because the Control Panel has so many tools, Microsoft added a Search box to make it easy for you to find the tool that you need for a particular task.

To help you become familiar with all of the tools that are available in Windows 7’s Control Panel, I have created the Windows 7 Walkthrough series in which I’ll show you and provide a brief overview of each tool in the Control Panel categories. This one covers the Ease of Access category.

Windows 7 Walkthrough: Clock, Language, and Region Control Panel

Windows 7’s Control Panel is literally packed with tools (a.k.a. applets) that allow you to configure and control the way that the operating system works. Because the Control Panel has so many tools, Microsoft added a Search box to make it easy for you to find the tool that you need for a particular task.

To help you become familiar with all of the tools that are available in Windows 7’s Control Panel, I have created the Windows 7 Walkthrough series in which I’ll show you and provide a brief overview of each tool in the Control Panel categories. This one covers the tools in the Clock, Language, and Region category.

Windows 7 Walkthrough: Appearance and Personalization Control Panel

Windows 7’s Control Panel is literally packed with tools (a.k.a. applets) that allow you to configure and control the way that the operating system works. Because the Control Panel has so many tools, Microsoft added a Search box to make it easy for you to find the tool that you need for a particular task.

To help you become familiar with all of the tools that are available in Windows 7’s Control Panel, I have created the Windows 7 Walkthrough series in which I’ll show you and provide a brief overview of each tool in the Control Panel categories. This one covers the tools in the Appearance and Personalization category.

Windows 7 Walkthrough: User Accounts and Family Safety Control Panel

Windows 7’s Control Panel is literally packed with tools (a.k.a. applets) that allow you to configure and control the way that the operating system works. Because the Control Panel has so many tools, Microsoft added a Search box to make it easy for you to find the tool that you need for a particular task.

To help you become familiar with all of the tools that are available in Windows 7’s Control Panel, I have created the Windows 7 Walkthrough series in which I’ll show you and provide a brief overview of each tool in the Control Panel categories. This one covers the User Accounts and Family Safety Control Panel category.

Windows 7 Walkthrough: Programs Control Panel

Windows 7’s Control Panel is literally packed with tools (a.k.a. applets) that allow you to configure and control the way that the operating system works. Because the Control Panel has so many tools, Microsoft added a Search box to make it easy for you to find the tool that you need for a particular task.

To help you become familiar with all of the tools that are available in Windows 7’s Control Panel, I have created the Windows 7 Walkthrough series in which I’ll show you and provide a brief overview of each tool in the Control Panel categories. This one covers the tools in the Programs Control Panel category.

Windows 7 Walkthrough: Hardware and Sound Control Panel

Windows 7’s Control Panel is literally packed with tools (a.k.a. applets) that allow you to configure and control the way that the operating system works. Because the Control Panel has so many tools, Microsoft added a Search box to make it easy for you to find the tool that you need for a particular task.

To help you become familiar with all of the tools that are available in Windows 7’s Control Panel, I have created the Windows 7 Walkthrough series in which I’ll show you and provide a brief overview of each tool in the Control Panel categories. This one covers the tools in the Hardware and Sound Control Panel category.

Windows 7 Walkthrough: Network and Internet Control Panel

Windows 7’s Control Panel is literally packed with tools (a.k.a. applets) that allow you to configure and control the way that the operating system works. Because the Control Panel has so many tools, Microsoft added a Search box to make it easy for you to find the tool that you need for a particular task.

To help you become familiar with all of the tools that are available in Windows 7’s Control Panel, I have created the Windows 7 Walkthrough series in which I’ll show you and provide a brief overview of each tool in the Control Panel categories. The second one covers the tools in the Network and Internet Control Panel category.

Windows 7 Walkthrough: System and Security Control Panel

Windows 7’s Control Panel is literally packed with tools (a.k.a. applets) that allow you to configure and control the way that the operating system works. Because the Control Panel has so many tools, Microsoft added a Search box to make it easy for you to find the tool that you need for a particular task.

To help you become familiar with all of the tools that are available in Windows 7’s Control Panel, I have created the Windows 7 Walkthrough series in which I’ll show you and provide a brief overview of each tool in the Control Panel categories. The first one covers the tools in the System and Security Control Panel category.

Google Easter Eggs, Pranks, & Oddities

Everyone who surfs the net knows that the folks at Google are truly innovative and are always coming up with new and exciting technological advances. However, sometimes all that creative energy turns to mischievous endeavors. Don't believe us? Well take a look at this gallery.

Taking a closer look at UAC prompts

As you know, Windows Vista has a built-in security feature called User Account Control (UAC for short) that is designed to reduce the potential for security breaches. UAC forces all users, even administrators, to request permission via the UAC prompt in order to perform tasks that require administrative privileges. Standard users must be able to provide an Administrator user name and password and Administrators must simply consent to the operation.

While this is all pretty familiar territory to Vista users, that fact that there are actually four types of UAC prompts each with a different color scheme isn't. Sure we've all encountered UAC prompts, but most of us think of them in generic terms. Seriously, who among us has actually taken the time to look at the color scheme of a UAC? We usually just click a button as fast as we can to move past the prompt. However, like the Homeland Security color levels, each of the successive UAC color coding schemes is designed to convey a greater sense of warning.

In this gallery, I'll take a closer look at each type of UAC prompt and point out the different color schemes.

The Evolution of Windows Icons

As the Windows operating system has evolved, so too have many of its icons. As Windows 7 comes on to the scene with new user interface features, I recently began looking back at the changes in the icons that we all click on every day. While I discovered that many icons have changed with each new version of Windows, I also discovered that many stayed the same over several different versions.

In this gallery, I’ll take a look at some of the Windows icons that have evolved over the years.

Dinosaur Sightings: Microsoft Arcade for Windows 3.1

In 1993, Microsoft released a game package called Microsoft Arcade that contained re-creations of 5 classic Atari arcade games from the 1980’s:

Asteroids
Battlezone
Centipede
Missile Command
Tempest

Take a trip back in time with this picture gallery of five classic arcade games.

Input this: Wild and wacky keyboards

Who says that keyboards have to be boring?

In this gallery, I’ll present a collection of 19 very interesting keyboards and one accessory that you can use to spice up your plain old white keyboard.