pctoolbox.co.uk

So our first post on Windows 7 RC was relativly short, this one comes after a bit of use and testing and we stand by the previous title “Windows 7 RC is BRILLIANT”  we are very impressed.

If you don’t want to read on then you can take these three things away from our findings

• Speed
• Stable
• Compatible

For those with the time to read on we will explain what we are meaning by these three findings.

Speed

We have Windows 7 running on a pretty average system, Intel Core 2 Duo, 2GB Memory, 160GB Hard Drive. Nothing hugely special by today’s standards but we have found it to run very nicely.

The sort of use it has got is in the list below and at no point have we found it to be slow, non-responsive or sluggish. Obviously it is a new install and this helps but still we are impressed! So it has been used for the following over the last few weeks

• Website design
• Internet / Email
• General Office work
• FTP
• Remote Support

Stable

No crashes or hanging to date! What more can we say…?

Compatability

Software / Hardware we have successfully working on the Windows 7 system is as follows:

• Dell Optiplex 360 – ok, this is actually the hardware it is running on, but still useful to know!
• T-Mobile Mobile Broadband Adaptor – this didn’t work on the Beta so we are very impressed it works now!
• Macromedia Dreamweaver MX
• Microsoft Office 2007
• Hamachi VPN
• Filezilla
• Firefox
• Crossloop
• AVG 8.5 Internet Security
• Windows Home Server Connector Software

We still have got a bit more testing before we would be happy to adopt it as a operating system for a production office machine, but I am very tempted! Roll on Final Release…

We have decided to do a six week series on useful shortcuts for your computer.  It’s worthwhile learning some of these as it will increase your speed and efficiency whilst using a computer.

Our topic this week is….

Basic Shortcut Keys:

Alt + F – Open file menu in current program
F1 – Universal Help (for all programs)
Ctrl + A – Select all text
Ctrl + X – Cut selected item
Shift + Del – Cut selected item
Ctrl + C – Copy selected item
Ctrl + Ins – Copy selected item
Ctrl + V – Paste
Shift + Ins – Paste
Home – Go to beginning of current line
Ctrl + Home – Go to beginning of current document
End – Go to end of current line
Ctrl + End – Go to end of current document
Shift + Home – Highlight from current position to beginning of line
Shift + End – Highlight from current position to end of line
Ctrl + <– (Arrow Left) – Move one word to the left at a time
Ctrl + –> (Arrow Right) – Move one word to the right at a time

Next week it will be Microsoft Windows Shortcut Keys!

Disclaimer: pctoolbox.co.uk cannot be held responsible for any problems that are caused from using the shortcuts.  All shortcuts work to the best of our knowledge.

Before using a new product it is always helpful to know what users of it really think. That is the reason for this todays blog. There are many blogging tools available, some free like WordPress and others costing some of your hard earnt cash. So is WordPress really any good? Well here are my thoughts…

I haven’t been using WordPress too long but I have spent a lot of time with it over the last couple of months, from setting up, customising and generally playing with its capabilities. The first blog I released powered by WordPress was the Brandstar site, follwed by this pc toolbox site and there is a third non IT site on its way!

Ultimately I think it is an amazing tool and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to friends, family or clients. But why do I think that, is the most important question!

Firstly the Basic Install – Even if you just use the basic installation of WordPress without changing the theme or adding any plugins it boasts with a huge number of excellent features.

• Ease of use – within a few minutes (literally) you can be posting your thoughts on your own weblog. The only experience you really need is the ability to fill in an online form.
• The ability to have static pages as well as your blog really makes it more than just a blogging tool.
• Easily link to other bloggers with the “BlogRoll”.
• Spam prevention checks users comments to keep your site clean and tidy.
• User registration.
• Multiple Blog Administrators, Authors and Editors.

So out of the box the is plenty to get started with.
Themes – There are a huge range of free themes for WordPress that can be very easily installed, as simple as 1.2.3

1. Download your chosen theme
2. UnZip the downloaded theme
3. Upload the theme folder to your WordPress directory (you will need an FTP program to do this, I like Filezilla)

Plugins – To make more of your WordPress blog there are a huge number of plugins available, here are a few we have installed on PC Toolbox:

• Sociable – allows you to add the links to bottom of your post enabling visitors to share your post on some of their most favourite sites such as Digg.
• Adsense Deluxe – allows you to add GoogleAds to some / all of your posts.
• WP Polls – A Polls plugin built with Ajax. Easy to install and use and works well.

Fantastico – Many web hosts running a variant of linux have Fantastico installed which enable a very easy installation of WordPress in the first place, so users need very little knowledge of websites to get it installed. Need a webhost for this? Visit Brandstar’s webhosting company Wildhosting.co.uk and they will get your sorted.

Any questions or thoughts just leave a comment!

Happy Blogging