Welcome to Dingo Tips! I’ll be your virtual tour guide into the wonders that lurk beneath your fingertips when you sit down at your computer to work with Windows.
I’ve been developing programs (also known as “applications” or even “solutions”) for Windows since the 80’s, and in that time I’ve seen a lot of great new features added onto Windows. But what’s most interesting is many of the original design elements have only received cosmetic change over the past two decades.
Since no one really gets “Windows lessons” when they use Windows for the first time, most of us just dug in and figured features out as we needed them or “accidentally” stumbled across them. I am no exception to this, and I still discover hidden or less-than-obvious features every now and then.
When watching folks navigating Windows, I’m surprised how many people never picked up on some of the most basic of shortcuts. I find myself constantly saying, “Did you know you could just do such-and-such and it saves you from having to grab the mouse?”
Far too many of those people have said, “You know you really should teach other people how to do this stuff.” I’d been tossing the idea around of doing a tip column, but the biggest roadblock I ran into is the question of figuring out how far back to the basics should I go. The solution seems to be to start where it feels natural and to hope that if I use a concept that the reader doesn’t understand, I’ll try to explain that in another tip as best as I can.
We’ll focus on the two most common versions of Windows, “Windows XP” and “Windows Vista.” As the launch of “Windows 7” is right around the corner, we’ll get you ready to hit the ground running when you are faced with a Windows 7 computer for the first time. Windows 7 is perhaps the most changed new version of Windows since Windows 95, and will be more of a fulfillment of Microsoft’s lofty goals for the much maligned Windows Vista. Best of all, it runs on my old notebook computer from 2004 (once I pimped it out with full 2GB memory and a big hard drive…all for under $100), and my graphics card is even good enough to give me the cool Aero glass effects and other visual features with great performance. Stay tuned…I’ll do my best to prepare you for Windows 7 by the time it’s available on a desktop near you.
I was having a conversation with Zoë the other day and she suggested that I finally do this column. After all, a dingo just wants to be helpful, and how could I deprive her that opportunity? Besides, it will give me a reason to show you how to type the cool “ë” character from the keyboard.
So if you ever wondered what that key with the Windows logo is for, stick around…that will be Tip 3. To get started right away from the beginning, click here for the first tip.
