Windows 7 Review - Part 3

Libraries: Windows gets more organized

Over time, any Windows user is sure to find their documents, music and videos scattered all over their computer. Earlier versions of Windows provided users with the facility to relocate their personal folders, but were restricted to just one folder for documents on one partition. Often, people do not want to clutter their Windows partition, and chose to store their documents elsewhere, usually without pointing their document folder locations. Furthermore you were stuck with the categories of Music, Pictures, Videos,and Documents that Microsoft decided you needed. Some might like a dedicated folder for their Music Videos rather than clubbing them with their Music, or Videos folder, for example. 

In Windows 7 this entire concept has been revamped with a new system called Libraries which allows you to create aggregations of similar content which may be located in different partitions or even different computers!
Imagine a scenario where you have a collection of eBooks in a folder on your D: drive, your personal documents in your "Documents" folder, and downloaded documents in a folder like "C:DownloadsDocuments". Here a single Documents Library could be created (one is available by default in Windows 7) which could then include these locations. You could even include any documents you have in folders at external locations such as a network share, a pendrive or an external hard disk.

Your documents library would then display the aggregated contents from all these locations. It is important to note that a Library is not a folder in itself, although it behaves like one, it in itself does not store anything.

This may remind you of saved searches in Windows Vista; however, Libraries are more than just that. Unlike a saved search, a library can be used as a target while saving files. You might wonder how Windows decides where to save a file when saving in a library, this is a simple matter of selecting a default save location in the Library's configuration.

While Windows comes with its own default libraries for your documents, videos, music, and pictures, you are free to create as many as you want, and for whatever purpose. The Windows default Libraries include the user and public location for that content type. So your Documents library comes with the default location of your own Documents folder, along with the "Public Documents" folder, where the "Public Documents" location is a publicly shared folder which is shared across user accounts and computers. Since libraries display files from multiple different locations, they include a new view of grouping or sorting files by their location.

Libraries are certainly not a new concept, we have all used them in some form in music managing application such as iTunes and Winamp, or media centre applications such as Windows Media Centre and XBMC. However now they form a part of the OS itself, and are much more configurable.

The Libraries feature can lead to some interesting implications. Over time we shall expect to see applications using these Windows Libraries to define content locations instead of using their own configuration. For example, music managing applications in the future could benefit from using the Music Library location instead of defining their own, this way all music application would share the same content. Windows Media Player 12, included in Windows 7 already uses your library locations for managing music files, and so does the new Media Centre application.

Libraries are easy to  create too, the Libraries location in Explorer allows you to create a new Library as easily as creating a new folder. You merely click on the "New Library" button in your Libraries location, and give a name to the new Library item which pops up. Adding locations to an existing Library is equally simple. When browsing through folders on your computer, you will be able to add the current location to an existing Library by using the "Include in Library" dropdown in the Explorer toolbar, which will allow you to include the location in an existing Library, or create a new Library with it.
 
Another way to add location to an existing Library is by using the Library properties dialog. Here you can add location to include in the library, and set a save location for the library. It will also allow you to optimize the library for a certain content type (documents, music, pictures, video, or general items), and choose whether to share the library and display it in the navigation pane.

All these library locations are visible to you while opening or saving files as well, and you can expand the library in the navigation view to see a list of folders included in it, and optionally save files in one which isn't defined as the default save location.

Deleting a library has no effect on any of the files contained in it since it is merely a pointer to different location on your computer, it merely has the effect of removing the Library configuration from your list of Libraries.

Libraries are a central concept to Windows 7, and it is quite likely you will find them incredibly useful for organizing your data. The idea is not a new one, but by adding it at the operating ystem level, Windows 7 has become that much more useful.

Libraries

 

The Windows 7 Libraries location	Creating a new Library is pretty much the same as creating a folder	An empty library is useless and non-functional without atlease one included location	When saving files into a library, you can view the locations included in a Library by expading its tree.
A folder can be included in a library using the "Include in Library" option in the Explorer toolbar.	The context menu also offers options to include the selected folder in a library (or create a new one)	You can add locations to a library using the library locations dialog.	The library properties dialog allows you to set the kind of content included in the library. You can also set a default save folder, and select whether the library is shared or shown in the navigation tree or not.

Also Read Other Parts: 
Windows 7 Review - Part 1
Windows 7 Review - Part 2

Source:thinkdigit.com

Google Releases Android 2.0!

For all those eagerly awaiting the release of Android 2.0, Google has now released support for Android 2.0 via an update to its SDK.
For all the developers out there, this means you can start building applications for Android 2.0 already. The new update dubbed "Android SDK Tools, Revision 3" adds support for the Android 2.0 SDK as an addon for the current SDK.
The update includes the new Android 2.0 library, and as usual, a system image with an emulator. So you can fire up the emulator and test Android 2.0 for yourself before it even comes out on devices.
We have heard a lot about Android 2.0 recently, with the leak of information about Motorola Droid and screenshots from the OS, however now it is all official, and here is what you have to look forward to:

Contacts and accounts: Anroid 2.0 now supports multiple accounts for email and can syncronize contacts with external services. handset manufactureres will also have the option of enabling support for Exchange. Developers can write adapters which enable two way sync with custom services.

The new Quick Contact for Android is a widget interface which provides information about contacts from any place where a contanc is displayed. The widget provides ata glance information and shows common calling and messaging options.
Email: The email application on Android 2.0 comes with support for Exchange. Also, it now has a unified interface for all your email accounts.

Messaging: New in messaging features in Android 2.0 is the ability to search through your SMS / MMS messages. To conserve space, Android 2.0 allows for automatic deletion of old messages based on a specified threshold.

Camera: Mobile phone cameras are constantly evolving, and Android is trying to keep up. With version 2.0 it now has built in support for flash, digital zoom, and macro focus. It now also supports color effects, white balance, and a scene mode.

Android virtual keyboard: Since Android devices utilize touch screens, a good virtual keyboard in necessary. Android 2.0 imporves on its virtual keyboard in many ways. Firstly, the keyboard layout has been improved to allow for faster speed and greater accuracy. Secondly, it noew supports multi-touch devices and allows you to trye with two fingers at a time, without worrying about missing keys. Finally, it features a new adaptive dictionary which lears from your word usage, and can utilize the contacts databse to suggest contact names.

Browser: The new Android 2.0 browser features an updated UI with an improved mult-functio URL bar. The new URL bar allows you to search, and perform other actions as well. The new browser can ow display thumbnails for bookmarked webpages, and supports zooming on double-tap. On the compatability side, the new browser now has support for HTML5, including geolocation, client side databases, offline apps support, and

Calendar: The calender in the Android 2.0 OS has gained new features which allow one to invite guests to events that they create, and can update the status of these guests. The agenda view now scrolls infinately through all your tasks, events, reminders etc.

New Platform Technologies
 
Media Framework: Better hardware acceleration support is present in Android 2.0, and the entire graphics system has been revamped to improve performance.

Bluetooth: Android 2.0 supports bluetooth 2.1, and adds the new Object Push and Phone Book Access Profiles.
Android 2.0 also comes with new framework APIs for application developers.
For more information about Android 2.0 features visit http://developer.android.com/sdk/android-2.0-highlights.html

Watch a video by Google introducing Android 2.0:

Windows 7 Review - Part 2

Bundled Applications: Unbundle of Joy

One of the most unsettling trend, that seams to have been broken with Windows 7, is that each version of Windows was more bloated than the last. Windows 7 unbundled some of the applications that few people would be using anyway, such as Windows Photo Gallery, Windows Movie Maker, Windows Mail, Windows Calender, Windows Contacts, Microsoft Agent, etc.

While it was nice that Windows tried to be more functional as a fresh install, their offerings are too weak and bloated to be of much use, and this reduction of bloat is highly appreciated. While the quality of having everything you need installed out of the box has been a much touted Linux advantage, it seems the same does not work for Windows.

For people who still prefer to use the Microsoft applications for their simplicity of use, don't worry, most of these applications have not been abandoned. Microsoft has made available a Windows Live Essentials package which can be downloaded and installed to bring back the familiar Windows Mail, Messenger, Photo Gallery, Movie Maker applications. However, the Windows Contacts and Windows Calender applications are missing, though most likely they will not be missed! The calender and contact functionality is available to a certain extent in the new Windows Live Mail application.

To allow you to reduce the bloat even further, Windows 7 now allows users to remove / disable more of the core application than it previously did. You can now easily remove Internet Explorer 8, Windows Media Player, Windows Search, Windows Media Center, and Windows Gadgets.

 

You can now uninstall more of Windows applications than possible before. Windows Vista with all its reputation as a mere glossy coat on a rotten operating system brought with it an unnecessary visual upgrade to the games included in Windows. Windows 7 instead, goes for upgrading the core applications which have long been neglected into uselessness. The new Windows 7 versions of WordPad and Paint have something more new than just the version number, they now sport the ribbon interface similar to Office 2007. They include many new features to go with the new interface, most important of all, Wordpad can read and write both the new Office 2007 .docx files, and the OpenDocument .odt files. The new version of the calculator application now includes some very useful features such as a history, worksheets support, date calculations, statistical calculations etc.

WordPad

The Windows 7 WordPad ribbon UI

Wordpad displaying an .odt file

Paint is heavily revamped and now includes multiple useful brushes, shapes, displaying rulers and grid-lines and more. Paint now defaults to the compressed .png file format for saving images instead of BMP. While paint is still a far cry from a good image editor, after this upgrade, it is certainly a decent one.

 

Paint

The Windows 7 Paint ribbon UI

Windows 7 Paint UI	New selection of brushes in Paint	New shapes in Paint. This is an example of a star shape, with a watercolor style red border, and a crayon style yellow fill.

Calculator

The new UI for Calculator in Windows 7	Calculator now stores a history of calculations allows easy tracking of previous calculations and reuaing results	The new calculator support may more UI modes, and features.	Simple tools exist to perform calculations on dates.	Worksheets allow you to use predefined templates to perform common calculations. Such as the mortgage calculation shown above.

With Windows 7, the On-Screen Keyboard utility has also seen a big change. The new version is now fully scalable, and sports a new glass-enabled interface. The new OSK however does away with all the menus and configuration options, making it impossible to change the font of the keyboard. A useful feature added in this release is the support text prediction. As you type text, the application will display a row of word completions allowing you to speed up text entry significantly.

On-Screen Keyboard

The new glassy On-Screen Keyboard utility in Windows 7

The magnifier too, has seen a functional upgrade. The interface is much simplified, and now supports three usage modes, a docked mode (similar to the functionality of older versions), a magnifying glass version, where a magnifying glass follows the cursor magnifying everything underneath it, and a full screen mode which zooms in the entire screen.

Magnifier

The much more simplified and cleaner Magnifier UI	The Magnifier window collapses into this icon after some time to preserve screen space.	Windows 7 Magnifier: Old style docked window mode.	This new mode in the Windows 7 magnifier allows you to move around a magnifying glass.	In this mode, the entier screen is magnified.

Among completely new applications to be included with Windows 7 is PowerShell 2.0, which is now installed by default with the OS. PowerShell allows the experiences user to write powerful scripts to automate many tasks. It is a much more powerful solution than the batch script support available in previous versions of Windows. Another handy utility included in Windows 7 is the "Sticky Notes" application which was used to showcase the Jumplists and tasks feature of Windows 7. The application lets you add sticky notes to your desktop and integrates with the Windows 7 taskbar by allowing you to create new notes from the jumplist. It is of limited use however, since it very little formatting options and few color options.

PowerShell 2.0

PowerShell 2.0 CLI installed with Windows 7	PowerShell 2.0 Script editor installed with Windows 7

Sticky Notes

Sticky Notes application in Windows 7

An interesting tool which could be of great use is the new problem steps recorder. It is a handy utility which allows you to record procedures and actions which lead to problems (bugs, crashes, errors etc), or even otherwise. However this tool has not been promoted much by Microsoft in the OS, and few people might even realize it exists. For now the best way to launch it seems to be by using the Run command, and entering "psr".


Overall Windows 7 manages to provide more usability in a smaller size than its predecessor, Windows Vista, which is indeed a remarkable feat. 


Also Read: Windows 7 Review - Part 1
Source:thinkdigit.com 

Internet will Soon Get Hindi and Other Language URLs

A bombshell was dropped at the conference of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) in Seoul. The international body’s chairman, Peter Dengate Thrush, announced that the standard Latin-language Web addresses used currently will soon be replaced by multi-lingual scripts.

“This is the biggest change technically to the Internet since it was invented 40 years ago,” said Dengate Thrush. ICANN, the non-profit group that oversees domain names, stated this would allow Chinese, Hindi, Russian, Arabic and other scripts to be used to make the entire Web address, instead of the current practice of allowing for only the part before the ‘.com’ suffix to be written in a different script.

“Of the 1.6 billion Internet users today worldwide, more than half use languages that have scripts that are not Latin-based,” said ICANN president Rod Beckstrom. “So this change is necessary not only for half the world’s Internet users today, but more than half of future users as the Internet continues to spread.”

“A country like India, with the high diversity of languages and scripts being used across the growing number of Internet users, has a great challenge to solve – to ensure that the language communities are represented in the right way and without confusability problems. At the same time, India will have a great benefit with the introduction of (these new domains) to promote local ecommerce, information sharing, local advertisements, research and basically online communication; that is, without the need to replicate Web addresses based on Latin characters,” Tina Dam (Sr. Director, Internationalised Domain Names, ICANN) told ThinkDigit.

The body is set to vote on the issue on Friday, and by the looks of it, the approval is a foregone conclusion. If approved, the proposed launch date for these Internationalised Domain Names (IDNs) wil be November 16, 2009. According to ICANN, the whole setup could be up and running by the middle of next year.

HOW IT WORKS
The ability of the Internet to understand these new scripts depends on a new technology that ICANN has created and tested, which lets current Domain Name Systems (DNS) to understand the different scripts.

Domain Name Systems act as a translator for the Web. When a user types a certain alphanumeric Web address, such as www.thinkdigit.com, the DNS then translates this into a numeric IP address for the server to understand.

The new technology alters this DNS to enable it to translate non-Latin scripts.

“You have to appreciate what a fantastically complicated technical feature this is,” said Dengate Thrush. “What we have created is a different translation system.”

TOP LEVEL DOMAINS TO COME SOON
At the six-day conference in Seoul, ICANN will also be discussing the introduction of Top Level Domains (TLD), as previously reported on this site. These are specialised domain suffixes that will be given to only some companies, organisations and individuals who have a legitimate claim on the domain name, thus ending the practice of cyber-squatting.

Beckstrom said that Internet addresses would no longer use limited TLDs such as .com or .org, and instead use more flexible “Internationalised Domain Names” such as .post or .bank.

Under the new system, all Web addresses ending .bank would only be available to “authorised” banks.

The AFP quoted him as saying that the world would be able to “save roughly 60 to 100 billion human keystrokes a day” by getting rid of keystrokes that are currently needed to find Web addresses ending, for example, in individual country codes.

ADOPTION IN INDIA
However, it could take some time before the new technologies come to India, due to technical issues and the involvement of a government-supported entity.

The IDN country-code Top Level Domains would have a Fast Track Process for non-Latin scripts, said Tina Dam.

“So for languages like Hindi, Tamil and Malayalam, this would require an entity, with support from the Indian government to request and introduce ‘.india’ in either or all of these languages,” Dam told ThinkDigit.

“ICANN will make the process available. Who is using it is a local decision,” she said when queried about the TLDs.

Others, however, are a bit more optimistic. Naresh Ajwani, president-government affairs, Sify Technologies, told Business Standard that the Department of Information Technology in India already has fonts for 22 local languages.

“This, and the fact that GLTDs may be opened up to more domains, will witness a sea of change in the way the internet is structured,” says Ajwani. 

Source: thinkdigit.com 

Complete List of Keyboard Shortcuts in Windows XP, Vista & 7

Complete List of Windows XP Keyboard Shortcuts

General keyboard shortcuts
CTRL+C (Copy)
CTRL+X (Cut)
CTRL+V (Paste)
CTRL+Z (Undo)
CTRL+B: Bold
CTRL+U: Underline
CTRL+I: Italic
DELETE (Delete)
SHIFT+DELETE (Delete the selected item permanently without placing the item in the Recycle Bin)
CTRL while dragging an item (Copy the selected item)
CTRL+SHIFT while dragging an item (Create a shortcut to the selected item)
F2 key (Rename the selected item)
CTRL+RIGHT ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next word)
CTRL+LEFT ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous word)
CTRL+DOWN ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next paragraph)
CTRL+UP ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous paragraph)
CTRL+SHIFT with any of the arrow keys (Highlight a block of text)
SHIFT with any of the arrow keys (Select more than one item in a window or on the desktop, or select text in a document)
CTRL+A (Select all)
F3 key (Search for a file or a folder)
ALT+ENTER (View the properties for the selected item)
ALT+F4 (Close the active item, or quit the active program)
ALT+ENTER (Display the properties of the selected object)
ALT+SPACEBAR (Open the shortcut menu for the active window)
CTRL+F4 (Close the active document in programs that enable you to have multiple documents open simultaneously)
ALT+TAB (Switch between the open items)
ALT+ESC (Cycle through items in the order that they had been opened)
F6 key (Cycle through the screen elements in a window or on the desktop)
F4 key (Display the Address bar list in My Computer or Windows Explorer)
SHIFT+F10 (Display the shortcut menu for the selected item)
ALT+SPACEBAR (Display the System menu for the active window)
CTRL+ESC (Display the Start menu)
ALT+Underlined letter in a menu name (Display the corresponding menu)
Underlined letter in a command name on an open menu (Perform the corresponding command)
F10 key (Activate the menu bar in the active program)
RIGHT ARROW (Open the next menu to the right, or open a submenu)
LEFT ARROW (Open the next menu to the left, or close a submenu)
F5 key (Update the active window)
BACKSPACE (View the folder one level up in My Computer or Windows Explorer)
ESC (Cancel the current task)
SHIFT when you insert a CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive (Prevent the CD-ROM from automatically playing)
CTRL+SHIFT+ESC (Open Task Manager)

Mouse click/keyboard modifier combinations for shell objects
SHIFT+right click: Displays a shortcut menu containing alternative commands
SHIFT+double click: Runs the alternate default command (the second item on the menu)
ALT+double click: Displays properties
SHIFT+DELETE: Deletes an item immediately without placing it in the Recycle Bin

Dialog box keyboard shortcuts
If you press SHIFT+F8 in extended selection list boxes, you enable extended selection mode. In this mode, you can use an arrow key to move a cursor without changing the selection. You can press CTRL+SPACEBAR or SHIFT+SPACEBAR to adjust the selection. To cancel extended selection mode, press SHIFT+F8 again. Extended selection mode cancels itself when you move the focus to another control.CTRL+TAB (Move forward through the tabs)
CTRL+SHIFT+TAB (Move backward through the tabs)
TAB (Move forward through the options)
SHIFT+TAB (Move backward through the options)
ALT+Underlined letter (Perform the corresponding command or select the corresponding option)
ENTER (Perform the command for the active option or button)
SPACEBAR (Select or clear the check box if the active option is a check box)
Arrow keys (Select a button if the active option is a group of option buttons)
F1 key (Display Help)
F4 key (Display the items in the active list)
BACKSPACE (Open a folder one level up if a folder is selected in the Save As or Open dialog box)
CTRL+TAB (Move forward through the tabs)
CTRL+SHIFT+TAB (Move backward through the tabs)
TAB (Move forward through the options)
SHIFT+TAB (Move backward through the options)
ALT+Underlined letter (Perform the corresponding command or select the corresponding option)
ENTER (Perform the command for the active option or button)
SPACEBAR (Select or clear the check box if the active option is a check box)
Arrow keys (Select a button if the active option is a group of option buttons)
F1 key (Display Help)
F4 key (Display the items in the active list)
BACKSPACE (Open a folder one level up if a folder is selected in the Save As or Open dialog box)

Microsoft natural keyboard shortcuts
Windows Logo (Display or hide the Start menu)
Windows Logo+BREAK (Display the System Properties dialog box)
Windows Logo+D (Display the desktop)
Windows Logo+M (Minimize all of the windows)
Windows Logo+SHIFT+M (Restore the minimized windows)
Windows Logo+E (Open My Computer)
Windows Logo+F (Search for a file or a folder)
CTRL+Windows Logo+F (Search for computers)
Windows Logo+F1 (Display Windows Help)
Windows Logo+ L (Lock the keyboard)
Windows Logo+R (Open the Run dialog box)
Windows Logo+U (Open Utility Manager)

Accessibility keyboard shortcuts
Right SHIFT for eight seconds (Switch FilterKeys either on or off)
Left ALT+left SHIFT+PRINT SCREEN (Switch High Contrast either on or off)
Left ALT+left SHIFT+NUM LOCK (Switch the MouseKeys either on or off)
SHIFT five times (Switch the StickyKeys either on or off)
NUM LOCK for five seconds (Switch the ToggleKeys either on or off)
Windows Logo +U (Open Utility Manager)

Windows Explorer keyboard shortcuts
END (Display the bottom of the active window)
HOME (Display the top of the active window)
NUM LOCK+Asterisk sign (*) (Display all of the subfolders that are under the selected folder)
NUM LOCK+Plus sign (+) (Display the contents of the selected folder)
NUM LOCK+Minus sign (-) (Collapse the selected folder)
LEFT ARROW (Collapse the current selection if it is expanded, or select the parent folder)
RIGHT ARROW (Display the current selection if it is collapsed, or select the first subfolder)

Shortcut keys for Character Map
After you double-click a character on the grid of characters, you can move through the grid by using the keyboard shortcuts: RIGHT ARROW (Move to the right or to the beginning of the next line)
LEFT ARROW (Move to the left or to the end of the previous line)
UP ARROW (Move up one row)
DOWN ARROW (Move down one row)
PAGE UP (Move up one screen at a time)
PAGE DOWN (Move down one screen at a time)
HOME (Move to the beginning of the line)
END (Move to the end of the line)
CTRL+HOME (Move to the first character)
CTRL+END (Move to the last character)
SPACEBAR (Switch between Enlarged and Normal mode when a character is selected)
RIGHT ARROW (Move to the right or to the beginning of the next line)
LEFT ARROW (Move to the left or to the end of the previous line)
UP ARROW (Move up one row)
DOWN ARROW (Move down one row)
PAGE UP (Move up one screen at a time)
PAGE DOWN (Move down one screen at a time)
HOME (Move to the beginning of the line)
END (Move to the end of the line)
CTRL+HOME (Move to the first character)
CTRL+END (Move to the last character)
SPACEBAR (Switch between Enlarged and Normal mode when a character is selected)

Microsoft Management Console (MMC) main window keyboard shortcuts
CTRL+O (Open a saved console)
CTRL+N (Open a new console)
CTRL+S (Save the open console)
CTRL+M (Add or remove a console item)
CTRL+W (Open a new window)
F5 key (Update the content of all console windows)
ALT+SPACEBAR (Display the MMC window menu)
ALT+F4 (Close the console)
ALT+A (Display the Action menu)
ALT+V (Display the View menu)
ALT+F (Display the File menu)
ALT+O (Display the Favorites menu)

MMC console window keyboard shortcuts
CTRL+P (Print the current page or active pane)
ALT+Minus sign (-) (Display the window menu for the active console window)
SHIFT+F10 (Display the Action shortcut menu for the selected item)
F1 key (Open the Help topic, if any, for the selected item)
F5 key (Update the content of all console windows)
CTRL+F10 (Maximize the active console window)
CTRL+F5 (Restore the active console window)
ALT+ENTER (Display the Properties dialog box, if any, for the selected item)
F2 key (Rename the selected item)
CTRL+F4 (Close the active console window. When a console has only one console window, this shortcut closes the console)

Remote desktop connection navigation
CTRL+ALT+END (Open the Microsoft Windows NT Security dialog box)
ALT+PAGE UP (Switch between programs from left to right)
ALT+PAGE DOWN (Switch between programs from right to left)
ALT+INSERT (Cycle through the programs in most recently used order)
ALT+HOME (Display the Start menu)
CTRL+ALT+BREAK (Switch the client computer between a window and a full screen)
ALT+DELETE (Display the Windows menu)
CTRL+ALT+Minus sign (-) (Place a snapshot of the entire client window area on the Terminal server clipboard and provide the same functionality as pressing ALT+PRINT SCREEN on a local computer.)
CTRL+ALT+Plus sign (+) (Place a snapshot of the active window in the client on the Terminal server clipboard and provide the same functionality as pressing PRINT SCREEN on a local computer.)

Microsoft Internet Explorer navigation
CTRL+B (Open the Organize Favorites dialog box)
CTRL+E (Open the Search bar)
CTRL+F (Start the Find utility)
CTRL+H (Open the History bar)
CTRL+I (Open the Favorites bar)
CTRL+L (Open the Open dialog box)
CTRL+N (Start another instance of the browser with the same Web address)
CTRL+O (Open the Open dialog box, the same as CTRL+L)
CTRL+P (Open the Print dialog box)
CTRL+R (Update the current Web page)
CTRL+W (Close the current window)

Other information
Some keyboard shortcuts may not work if StickyKeys is turned on in Accessibility Options.
Some of the Terminal Services client shortcuts that are similar to the shortcuts in Remote Desktop Sharing are not available when you use Remote Assistance in Windows XP Home Edition.
======================================================== 

Complete List of Windows Vista Keyboard Shortcuts: 

Function KeysShortcut Key Function(s)
F1 Start Help (supported in most applications).
F2 Rename selected icon or file in Windows Explorer or on the Desktop.
F3 Open Search (in Windows Explorer or on the Desktop only).
F4 Open a drop-down list (supported in many dialog boxes). For example, press F4 in a File Open dialog to drop down the Look In list.
F5 Refresh the view in Windows Explorer, on the Desktop, in the Registry Editor, and some other applications.
F6 Move focus between panes in Windows Explorer.
F10 Send focus to the current application’s menu.


Miscellaneous KeysShortcut Key Function(s)
Arrow Keys Basic navigation – move through menus, reposition the text cursor (insertion point), change the file selection, and so on.
Backspace Move up one level in the folder hierarchy (Windows Explorer only).
Delete Delete selected item(s) or selected text.
Down arrow Open a drop-down listbox.
End Go to end of line when editing text, or to the end of file list.
Enter Activate highlighted choice in menu or dialog box, or insert a carriage return when editing text.
Esc Close dialog box, message window, or menu without activating any choice (usually the same as clicking Cancel).
Home Go to beginning of line (when editing text), or to the beginning of file list.
Page Down Scroll down one screen.
Page Up Scroll up one screen.
PrintScreen Copy entire screen as a bitmap to the Clipboard.
Space Bar Toggle a checkbox that is selected in a dialog box, activate the command button with the focus, or toggle the selection of files when selecting multiple files with Ctrl.
Tab Move focus to next control in a dialog box or window (hold Shift to go backward).


Alt Key CombinationsShortcut Key Function(s)
Alt Send focus to the menu (same as F10). Also turns on the menu in applications where it is no longer used by default, such as Windows Explorer and Internet Explorer.
Alt-x Activate menu or dialog control, where letter x is underlined (if the underlines are not visible, pressing Alt will display them).
Alt-double-click (on icon) Display Properties sheet.
Alt-Enter Display Properties sheet for selected icon in Windows Explorer or on the Desktop. Also switches command prompt between windowed and full-screen display.
Alt-Esc Drop active window to bottom of pile, which, in effect, activates next open window.
Alt-F4 Close current window; if Taskbar or Desktop has the focus, exit Windows.
Alt-hyphen Open the current document’s system menu in a multiple document interface (MDI) application.
Alt-numbers When used with the numbers on the numeric keypad only, inserts special characters corresponding to their ASCII codes into many applications. For example, press the Alt key and type 0169 for the copyright symbol. Check characters map for full list of codes.
Alt-PrintScreen Copy active window as a bitmap to the Clipboard.
Alt-Shift-Tab Same as Alt-Tab, but in the opposite direction.
Alt-Space Bar Open the current window’s system menu.
Alt-Tab Switch to the next running applicationhold Alt while pressing Tab to cycle through running applications.
Alt-M When the Taskbar has the focus, minimize all windows and move focus to the Desktop.
Alt-S When the Taskbar has the focus, open the Start menu.


Ctrl Key CombinationsShortcut Key Function(s)
Ctrl-A Select all; in Windows Explorer, selects all files in the current folder. In word processors, selects all text in the current document.
Ctrl-Alt-x User-defined accelerator for a shortcut, in which x is any key.
Ctrl-Alt-Delete Show the logon dialog when no user is currently logged on; otherwise, switch to the Windows Security dialog, which provides access to Task Manager and Log Off, as well as switching to another user, allowing you to change your password or lock the computer. Use Ctrl-Alt-Delete to access the Task Manager when Explorer crashes or your computer becomes unresponsive.
Ctrl-arrow key Scroll without moving selection.
Ctrl-click Use to select multiple, noncontiguous items in a list or in Windows Explorer.
Ctrl-drag Copy a file.
Ctrl-End Move to the end of a document (in many applications).
Ctrl-Esc Open the Start menu; press Esc and then Tab to move focus to the Taskbar, or press Tab again to move focus to the Taskbar, and then cycle through the toolbars on the Taskbar every time you press Tab.
Ctrl-F4 Close a document window in an MDI application.
Ctrl-F6 Switch between multiple documents in an MDI application. Similar to Ctrl-Tab; hold Shift to go in reverse.
Ctrl-Home Move to the beginning of a document (in many applications).
Ctrl-Space Bar Select or deselect multiple, noncontiguous items in a listbox or in Windows Explorer.
Ctrl-Tab Switch among tabs in a tabbed dialog or Internet Explorer; hold Shift to go in reverse.
Ctrl-C Copy the selected item or selected text to the Clipboard. Also interrupts some command prompt applications.
Ctrl-F Open Search (in Windows Explorer or on the Desktop only).
Ctrl-V Paste the contents of the Clipboard.
Ctrl-X Cut the selected item or selected text to the Clipboard.
Ctrl-Z Undo; for example, erases text just entered, and repeals the last file operation in Windows Explorer.


Shift Key CombinationsShortcut Key Function(s)
Shift While inserting a CD, hold to disable AutoPlay.
Shift-arrow keys Select text or select multiple items in a listbox or in Windows Explorer.
Shift-click Select all items between currently selected item and item on which you’re clicking; also works when selecting text.
Shift-click Close button Close current folder and all parent folders (Windows Explorer in single-folder view only).
Shift-Alt-Tab Same as Alt-Tab, but in reverse.
Shift-Ctrl-Tab Same as Ctrl-Tab, but in reverse.
Shift-Ctrl-Esc Open the Task Manager.
Shift-Delete Delete a file without putting it in the Recycle Bin.
Shift-double-click Open folder in two-pane Explorer view.
Shift-Tab Same as Tab, but in reverse.


Windows Logo Key (WIN) CombinationsShortcut Key Function(s)
WIN Open the Start menu.
WIN-Tab If the Aero interface is active, this activates Windows Flip 3D.
WIN-Pause/Break Display System Control Panel applet.
WIN-Space bar Display the Sidebar.
WIN-D Minimize all windows and move focus to Desktop.
WIN-E Start Windows Explorer.
WIN-F Launch Search.
Ctrl-WIN-F Search for a computer on your network (requires Active Directory).
WIN-L Lock computer, requiring password to regain access.
WIN-M Minimize current window.
Shift-WIN-M Undo minimize current window.
WIN-R Display Run dialog.
WIN-U Open the Ease of Access Center.


======================================================== 

Complete List of Windows 7 Keyboard Shortcuts: 



Windows 7 boasts a lot of great new shortcuts, but I'm focusing on several of my favorites. Check out the video above for a closer look. For those of you who prefer text to video, here are all of the shortcuts I highlighted:
Win+Home: Clear all but the active window
Win+Space: All windows become transparent so you can see through to the desktop
Win+Up arrow: Maximize the active window
Win+Down arrow: Minimize the window/Restore the window if it's maximized
Win+Left/Right arrows: Dock the window to each side of the monitor (If you've got dual monitors, adding Shift to the mix (e.g., Win+Shift+Right arrow) will move the window to the adjacent monitor.)
Win+T: Focus and scroll through items on the taskbar.
Win+P: Adjust presentation settings for your display
Win+(+/-): Zoom in/out
Shift+Click a taskbar item: Open a new instance of that application



======================================================== 

Complete List of Windows Command Prompt Keyboard Shortcuts: 

Left/right arrow
Move cursor backward/forward one character.

Ctrl + left/right arrow
Move cursor backward/forward one word.

Home/End
Move cursor to beginning/end of line.

Up/down arrow
Scroll up (and back) through list of stored commands (called the Command Buffer or History). Each press of the up key recalls the previous command and displays it on the command line.

Page Up/Down
Recall oldest/most recent command in buffer.

Insert
Toggle insert/overtype mode (block cursor implies overtype mode).

Esc
Erase current line.

F1
Repeat text typed in preceding line, one character at a time.

F2 + key
Repeat text typed in preceding line, up to first character matching key.

F3
Repeat text typed in preceding line.

F5
Change the template for F1, F2, and F3 (described earlier) so that earlier commands are used as the template; press F5 repeatedly to cycle through the entire command buffer.

F6
Place an end-of-file character (^Z) at current position of command line.

F7
Show all entries in Command Buffer (History).

Alt-F7
Clear all entries in Command Buffer (History).

chars + F8
Entering one or more characters chars followed by F8 will display the most recent entry in the Command Buffer beginning with chars. Pressing F8 again will display the next most recent matching command, and so on. If no characters are specified, F8 simply cycles through existing commands in buffer.

F9 + command#
Display designated command on command line; use F7 to obtain numbers.

Ctrl-C
Interrupt the output of most Command Prompt applications.

Windows Mobile 6.5 Build 23081 Leaked and Available

Redmond-based software giant Microsoft launched at the beginning of October the 6.5 flavor of its Windows Mobile operating system, yet the work on the platform hasn't stopped there. The company already confirmed the development of Windows Mobile 7, the next major version of the OS, yet it seems that it will also make available another flavor, dubbed Windows Mobile 6.5.1.


No official details on this operating system variant have emerged so far, yet most of you might already be accustomed to hearing about a series of leaked Windows Mobile 6.5 builds that show the progress on its development. The latest such build that made it into the wild is Windows Mobile 6.5 Build 23081, and it comes only with a series of appearance improvements, it seems.

The guys over at Pocketnow have put up a video that shows the changes the new Windows Mobile 6.5 build comes around with, and you can see the clip at the bottom of this article. Some of these changes include much nicer check boxes throughout the operating system, a smoother scroll bar, as well as modifications to the button style. A few more details can be found on WMPoweuser, here.

At the same time, the new Windows Mobile 6.5 Build 23081 is also said to come with improvements in the contacts application and with some changes in the time stamping in the SMS app. Also worth mentioning here is a different “button in calendar that jumps to today.” Basically, it seems that the build is mainly focused on the visual appearance of the OS, and that there are no performance improvements worth being noted.

The Windows Mobile 6.5 Build 23081 can be considered yet another step towards the market availability of Windows Mobile 6.5.1, something that might occur in the second quarter of next year, if previous estimations are correct. As it always happens with these builds, you might be able to find cooked ROMs available for download for WM-based handsets, though you shouldn't go for them unless you are familiar with the installation process. 

Windows 7 Review - Part 1

While Windows 7 has only now launched, it barely feels like that. This time Microsoft has involved testers in such an extensive way, that for many people Windows 7 is already a familiar experience, after all, it has been around for nearly a year.



Windows 7 has changed little since its first beta release back in January 2009, which is all the more remarkable as it means that the operating system was nearly done by then. They have abandoned the search for a clever name, and gone for a clever operating system instead!



The biggest advantage of the extended public beta testing period of Windows 7 has been to the people who "tested" it, and essentially got a free licensed version of Windows for a year. However a lot of the feedback and bugs discovered during the beta period of Windows 7 was actually accommodated into Release Candidate which came afterwards.

While Windows 7 is essentially a minor update to Windows Vista, it has some significant and positive changes which have turned the utter failure of Vista to the critical acclaim it has received. Nearly every version of Windows has been considered to be too bloated for its time, and for the very first time, we have a version of windows which can run on a lower configuration than its predecessor!

Let us now take a look at some of the defining features of this new version of Windows, the good and the bad:

The Taskbar: Renovated after a decade

The taskbar is perhaps the most talked about aspect of Windows 7 -- this long stagnant icon since the Windows 95 days has finally seen a significant upgrade. Windows 7 makes the taskbar more than just a way to switch between windows, it has now become a way to interact with and control the windows themselves. In my opinion, its functionality is under-hyped!



The changes in the taskbar are more than just cosmetic upgrade to square icons instead of wide tabs: the preview functionality is useful for once, and makes managing lots of open windows easier. If the preview isn't enough, hovering over the window lets you see the active application in its own, with the other windows made "transparent." A button on the right-most corner of the taskbar lets you take a peek at the desktop through all your windows. Finally, we have the rather simple facility of actually moving around window icons on the taskbar, and the system tray.




These features just let you manage windows better, just like grouping of tasks made working with multiple windows simpler, but as stated before, the Windows 7 taskbar is more that just that. Windows 7 lets application publish common actions that can be performed on them in a list which now appears on a right-click instead of the normal menu. While common examples show application publishing their frequently or recently opened files, and common tasks here, it can pretty much be used for anything. Seen from the popular context of a browser, it can show your recent history, bookmarks, and show tasks allowing you to open new tabs or windows.

Applications can use the Windows 7 taskbar API to provide a wide variety of information and control via the taskbar itself such as:

• Displaying status icons (such as a available / idle / invisible etc. for an IM app, or playing / paused / stopped for a media player) on their icon on the taskbar,
   

Winamp taskbar icon with triangle icon overlay to depict play state	Winamp taskbar icon with square icon overlay to depict stopped state

• Displaying progress using a green highlight. The highlight can display the progress information published by the application, and show determinate or indeterminate progress on the icon itself. A yellow highlight can depict a paused process, and a red one can indicate an error.
   

Winamp taskbar icon showing playback progress as green highlight	Winamp taskbar icon showing playback paused as yellow highlight	Windows Explorer displaying file copy error status using red highlight

• Application controlled preview. The preview image shown by an application can be controlled by the application itself, which can result in much more meaningful previews of relevant content, instead of ones of the entire window.
• Tabs can now show their previews straight on the taskbar, and you can use the taskbar to directly switch between, and close individual tabs from the taskbar instead of opening the window.
   

Windows 7 taskbar showing previews of tabs opened in Internet Explorer 8

• Thumbnail toolbars are used by applications such as Windows Media Player to display information about the currently playing song in the preview of the window, and provide buttons to control playback.
   

Winamp displaying album art, track playback information, and a toolbar of available actions in preview window

The new taskbar now also superseded the functionality of the older QuickLaunch toolbar by allowing any application to be "pinned" to the taskbar itself. A pinned application appears on the taskbar even when it isn't running, and gets highlighted while running as an indicator. This makes working with your favourite applications even more easily, as they are now easily available to be launched in a convenient location, and furthermore it will appear in the same location where it is pinned, making working with frequently accessed windows easier.

For those using Windows for a long time this may come as a break in tradition, and they will be required to adjust to the new mechanism, however the new interface is well worth adjusting to. So although an option exists to switch back to the older more familiar taskbar style, it is not something we expect much people to opt for, and certainly not something we'd recommend.




As you can see the taskbar has grown to accommodate some of the features that were earlier provided by toolbars, and to an extent the system tray. In the current scenario where multi-tasking is becoming increasingly important, the Windows 7 taskbar comes well prepared.

Source: thinkdigit 

Convert Windows 7 into Hindi with Hindi Language Interface Pack (LIP)

For people having problem to operate computer in English and wants it in Hindi or who wants to see Windows in Hindi for just fun, Microsoft has released the first Language Interface Pack (LIP) for latest Windows 7. Its a very good news for Indian users as the first LIP available is Hindi for Windows 7 which completely transformed Windows to Hindi language for easy use. 

You can download LIP for Windows 7 using following link: 


Download Hindi LIP for Windows 7

How to Dual Boot Windows 7 with XP or Vista

If you're dying to try out Windows 7 but aren't ready to give up your installation of XP or Vista, let's take a look at how to dual boot Windows 7 with XP or Vista.
 
Step 0: Download the Windows 7 Beta and Burn It to a DVD
Assuming you've already downloaded a fresh copy of Windows 7, you'll need to burn it to a DVD in order to do a fresh installation. To handle this task, you can try one of the most popular CD and DVD burning tool like Nero, burn the ISO to a DVD, and move right along to step 1.
 
Step 1: Partition Your Hard Drive

Before you go installing Windows 7, the first thing you need to do is create a new partition on your hard drive to hold the new installation of Windows. Partitioning your hard drive will vary depending on whether you're running XP or Vista—namely because Vista has a partition tool baked in, XP does not.
 

Partition Your Hard Drive in XP:
To partition your hard drive in Windows XP, you'll need to download some sort of third-party partitioning software. There are a lot of options available, but I prefer to go with the previously mentioned EASEUS Partition Master 4.0.1 Free Home Edition, a free and safe application that can handle all kinds of partitioning needs.

Install it and Resize drive to adjust free up enough space for a Windows 7 partition (the minimum system requirements ask for windows 7 is 16GB). 

For exp if if you want to install 7 in drive D: and its size is 14GB than 1st resize drive E: and cut 2GB form it. Now resize drive D: and add 2GB cut space form drive E: and now the size of drive D: is 16GB. Or if one of your drive have extra large size like 30GB than simply cut 16GB form it and from thes free 16GB create a new partition. 
After all change made click on Apply from tools menu in front, and system will restart to take effects. Now your partitions are ready to go with Windows 7.  
This is a very easy step but use it carefully as EASEUS Partition Master 4.0.1 Free Home Edition is very safe and easy to use windows program and help you to do all which you've to go in boot mode. 
 

Partition Your Hard Drive in Vista: 
The folks at Redmond were kind enough to include a disk partitioning tool in Vista if you know where to look. So go to Control Panel -> System and Maintenance (skip this one if you're in Classic view) -> Administrative Tools -> Computer Management. Once you launch the Computer Management tool, click on Disk Management under the Storage heading in the sidebar. It's partitioning time.
Here you can resize partition, you'll need to shrink your current OS partition to free up at least 16GB of disk space (per the Windows 7 minimum system requirements), then create a "New Simple Volume" from the free space. Also you can use above mention EASEUS Partition Master 4.0.1 Free Home Edition. 

 

       
Step 2: Install Windows 7

Now that you've done all the heavy lifting, it's time for the easy part: Installing Windows 7 on your new partition. So insert your Windows 7 disc and reboot your computer (you'll need to have enabled booting from your DVD drive in your system BIOS, but most PCs will have this enabled by default).

Once the DVD boots up it's a simple matter of following along with the fairly simple installation wizard. When you're choosing installation type, be sure to select Custom (advanced) and choose the partition you set up above. (Be careful here. Choosing the wrong partition could mean wiping your other Windows installation altogether, so make sure you pick the new partition you just created.)

After you select the partition, go grab yourself a drink and let the installer do its work. Windows will run through some installation bits, restart a few times in the process. Eventually you'll be prompted to set up your account, enter your license key, and set up Windows. Keep your eyes open for fun new Windows 7 features, like your new homegroup (and the accompanying password). When it's finished, you're up and rolling with your new Windows 7 installation. 

Congratulations! You should now have a new a entry for Windows 7 on your boot screen when you first  start up your computer. You've now got all the tools necessary to dual-boot Windows 7 and XP or Vista—or even to triple-boot Windows 7, Vista, and XP. 
 This isn't the only way to set up a multi-boot system by any means, but it's how I pulled it off. If you've got a method of your own that you prefer, let's hear it in the comments.