Uncover the performance benefits of the Favorite Links list in Vista

I got an e-mail from a friend the other day asking why Microsoft had done away with the Places Bar in the Save and Open dialog boxes in Windows Vista. I was a bit surprised at first, but I wrote back and explained to my friend that Microsoft had not really done away with the Places Bar in Vista but had replaced it with the Favorite Links list, which essentially has the same functionality as XP’s Places Bar and much more. For example, not only does the Favorite Links list appear in the Save and Open dialog boxes, it also appears in Windows Explorer. Plus, the Favorite Links list is easier to customize than the Places bar.

In this edition of the Windows Vista and Windows 7 Report, I’ll delve into the Favorite Links list feature and show you how to take full advantage of it. As I do, I’ll show you how to customize the Favorite Links list.

The three-application limit is out, Windows 7 Starter on netbooks is back in

As you may recall, in a recent blog, Is Microsoft Shooting Its Other Foot with Windows 7 on Netbooks? I was reminiscing about my 1995 HP Jornada and looking forward to getting a netbook with Windows 7 on it. I haven’t been ready to jump to Linux yet, and the thought of buying a 2009 computer running a 2001 operating system just doesn’t seem right to me. However, when I discovered that Microsoft had designated Windows 7 Starter as the operating system for netbooks and that this version was limited to running three concurrent applications, I was bewildered, confused, and annoyed.

Well, in a recent edition of the Windows 7 Team Blog, Brandon LeBlanc announced that Microsoft is making Windows 7 Starter available worldwide on small notebook PCs.

When I read this, I was very happy to learn that Microsoft was indeed listening and willing to adapt their plans to the wishes of its customers who want to be able to use Windows 7 on a netbook.

Restore a lost feature and install XP's Backup Utility into Windows Vista

My recent blog post, Microsoft Bows to Feedback and Brings Back Real File Backup in Windows 7, raised quite a bit of conversation in the TechRepublic Community Forums about how much members liked XP’s Backup Utility, which, by the way, was licensed by Microsoft from Veritas Software. This company specialized in storage management software, including the very popular Backup Exec for SOHO and NetBackup for the enterprise. (Incidentally, Backup Exec originally came from the Seagate Software acquisition.) With a heritage like this it is no wonder that Windows XP’s Backup Utility was so effective and easy to use, not to mention so well liked by XP users.

In this edition of the Windows Vista and Windows 7 Report, I’ll show you how to install Windows XP’s Backup Utility in Windows Vista.

Microsoft bows to feedback and brings back real file backup in Windows 7

If you use the Backup Files option in Microsoft Windows Vista’s Backup and Restore Center, then you know that unlike the Backup Utility in Windows XP and the backup tools in all previous versions of the operating system, the Backup Files option in Vista doesn’t allow you to specifically select the files and folders that you want to back up.

In Windows 7, Microsoft has retooled the backup utility and bought back the ability to choose exactly which files and folders you want to back up. In this edition of the Windows Vista and Windows 7 Report, I’ll show you how to use Windows 7’s Backup and Restore tool to back up the files and folders that you choose.

Customize the [Windows]+E key shortcut to open what you want

I’ve recently received several requests from TechRepublic members wanting to reprogram or customize the [Windows] key. More specifically, people have asked me if there was a way to reprogram the [Windows]+E key shortcut such that, instead of launching Windows Explorer targeted on the Computer folder, [Windows]+E could be used to launch Windows Explorer targeted on the folder of your choice. For example, you might want the [Windows]+E key shortcut to open Documents. Fortunately, I’ve discovered a way to accomplish this task by using a free utility called AutoHotkey.

In this edition of the Windows Vista and Windows 7 Report, I’ll show you how to use AutoHotkey in Vista to reroute the [Windows]+E so that Windows Explorer opens a folder of your choice. As I do, I’ll provide you with a list of all the standard [Windows] key shortcuts.

Secure your USB drives with BitLocker To Go for Windows 7

When Microsoft introduced Windows Vista, one of the big security features in that operating system was BitLocker, a hard drive encryption scheme designed to protect sensitive data from being accessed on lost or stolen computers — mainly laptops.
With the huge increase in the use of very small, large capacity, USB drives, the potential for sensitive data to be lost or stolen has really become more of a problem because it is much easier to lose or steal a device no bigger than a package of chewing gum. To protect sensitive data stored on USB drives, Microsoft Windows 7 features the encryptions scheme called BitLocker To Go.

In this edition of the Windows Vista and Windows 7 Report, I’ll introduce you to BitLocker To Go and show you how it works on a 1GB USB thumb drive.

Get ready for Windows 7 RC with this FAQ

While I have been working with Microsoft Windows 7 for quite some time now, I downloaded the Windows 7 Release Candidate on May 5, 2009, just to experience the procedure. While I was an early bird downloader (I actually began my download at 11:45 p.m. on May 4 and let the download progress as I slept), the download went off without a hitch, and from what I’ve heard so far, there hasn’t been a repeat of the crash that took down the Windows 7 Beta download servers in January. The installation also went very smoothly, and this RC version of the operating system is amazingly responsive and very stable.

In this edition of the Windows Vista and Windows 7 Report, I’ll present you with a brief Windows 7 RC FAQ combined with some of my initial experiences. In the coming weeks, I’ll continue to focus on various aspects of the RC version of the operating system.