Windows 95 :: essays research papers fc

Windows 95Windows 95 may very well be the some talked about software release in history.With more people than perpetually using personal computers, and given Microsoftsdominance in this still growing market, Mr. Gates spic-and-spanest offering has causedquite a stir. As with any new product in this ultra-competitive industry,Windows 95 has sum under intense scrutiny. Advocates of the new operatingsystem applaud its new features and usability, while its opp singlents talk aboutthe similarities to Apples operating system. As I have never used an Applecomputer, I cant address this point, but I will attempt to outline some of themore interesting "new" features of Windows 95. Arguably the most welcomeinnovation Win 95 offers is the "task bar". Use of the task bar eliminates the make to navigate through several(prenominal) open application windows to get to the one you ask. When you first start an application, a corresponding button appears on thetask bar. If after ope ning other windows you need to return to the originalwindow, all you need do is click on the applications button on the task bar andthe appropriate window will come to the fore. According to Aley, "the mostgratifying, and overdue, improvement is Windows 95s tolerance for file names inplain English" (29-30). Traditionally, users had to deal of file names thatsummed up their work in eight letters or less. This was a constant problembecause frequently a user would look at a list of files to retrieve and think"now what did I save that as?". Those days are over. Windows 95 will let theuser save his or her work with names standardised "New Speech" or "Inventory SpreadsheetNo. 1", making the contents of those files obvious. Much to the annoyance ofsoftware developers, Windows 95 incorporates many features that previously needful add-on software. One such feature is the Briefcase- a program forsynchronizing the information stored on a users desktop and note book computers.Keeping track of which files were the most recently updated was a big problem.As Aley puts it, "Which copy of your speech for the sales conference did youwork on last, the one in the laptop or the one in the desktop?" (29-30). Onesolution was to use programs like Laplink which would analyze which copy of afile was updated last. Now that Windows 95 provides this utility, there is noneed to buy the add-on software. While mice have always come with two or eventhree buttons, most programs have only provided for the use of the left. WithWindows 95 there is finally a use for the right.