Tag Archives: Windows 7

Windows 8 to Windows 7?

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English: Chris Pirillo PNG with a transparent ...

English: Chris Pirillo PNG with a transparent background (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

I was going through some post regarding Windows 8, and ran across Chris Pirillo’s Locker Gnome post Should You Downgrade from Windows 8 to Windows 7?. The post was a response to a question regarding the purchase of a new PC without a touchscreen, and whether it would be a good idea to downgrade to Windows 7.

In the post, he compares Windows 8 to Vista beginnings, but the best part is the advice quoted below.

What I would recommend anyone do is to try the new operating environment out for a few days to see if it works for you. There are plenty of people who prefer Windows 8 to Windows 7, and better is — and will always be — relative.

I think that is good advice, no matter what new OS is being discussed.

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What do you think?

Have you tried Windows 8 yet? If so, let me know whether you are going to stick with it, or prefer to downgrade to something more familiar.

Note: I have not yet experienced Windows 8, but intend to check it out in the near future.

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DOWNLOAD Windows 7 Search Tips – MakeUseOf

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DOWNLOAD Windows 7 Search Tips.

I know Windows 8 is out now, but for those of us still using Windows 7 this is a great resource.

I did not know about these myself, until running across this.

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If you download this, let me know if it has helped you use Windows 7 search capabilities better.

BatteryBar Utility – My Experience

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I decided this morning that I would look for a battery meter for my HP Pavilion tx1410us Vista Home Premium SP2 notebook, as the Vista built-in does not show the remaining time, only the percentage of charge remaining.

My requirements were that it be freeware / open source, and that it provide a read out of the estimated time remaining.

I went to Gizmo’s freeware and searched for battery. https://www.techsupportalert.com/ (Gizmo’s Freeware has shut down)
The first result was:

The recommendation was:

“So, here’s an excellent dedicated free Battery Meter: BatteryBar !
The free version is pre-configured, but still has most/all information one needs.

Pass the mouse over the little display and you’ll see all data it

keeps track of. Click on it and it changes from % remaining to
hours:minutes remaining, all this in a color bar : green, yellow and
red. When it’s blue, battery is charging.

go to

http://osirisdevelopment.com/index.html“

I followed the link, read the information there, checked what others had to say by searching in Google, and downloaded BatteryBar v3.3.3 Free . I scanned the downloaded file with my anti-virus software, and installed it once it showed clear. (System requirements say XP, Vista and Windows 7 supported, both 32bit and 64bit.)

Once installed it showed up as a toolbar showing the percentage of charge left , then when clicked toggled to show time remaining , just what I was looking for.

Also, when I hover over the toolbar with the mouse, more detailed information is shown such as the capacity, charge rate, and battery wear.

There is a “Pro” version, but this does just what I wanted, so I see no need to upgrade.