Are
they good enough to stand on their own?
The
Windows operating systems already come with a useful collection of
pre-installed programs and even some games. But one of the first things that
people do is download a butt-load of new programs as soon as a brand new system
is plugged in the wall and connected to the Internet. This article looks at
some of the programs that are included with most new systems and then asks the
reader to consider if they’re sufficient.
NotePad and WordPad. All Windows systems include the two
text editors, “NotePad,” and “WordPad.” Notepad is a plain text editor while
WordPad is a rich text editor. Both files are capable of opening plain text,
however WordPad can open Windows Write files (an earlier version of WordPad) as
well as rich text files. WordPad can also save documents as plain text, rich
text, and MS Word documents. So with WordPad having the ability to read and
create rich text; embed objects (sound, pictures, and video); and manipulate
fonts, we have to wonder if other word processors, which do the same thing, are
really necessary. Although WordPad is certainly no match for Microsoft Word’s
internal spell and grammar checker or Word’s Internet linking capabilities, we
believe it’s a great introduction to word processing in general for computer
novices.
Address Book. There are hoards of advanced contact
database programs floating around the Internet and on store shelves, but
Windows provides a completely competent contact database of its own simply
known as “Address Book.” This small compact utility allows users to organize
contacts by name, location, group, or number and it give users ample space to
fully describe each. Compared to Microsoft’s Access database program, its
user-friendly Address Book is a Godsend to new computer users.
Calculator. Calculator has been a Windows accessory
even from its first debut in Windows 1.0. For the life of us, we can’t figure
out why anyone other than a rocket scientist would want to install a different
version than this free one that comes pre-installed. Windows calculator has two
interfaces: an easy one, and a scientific one. So perhaps a rocket scientist
could fare well with Windows Calculator after all!
Paint. Windows’ Paint program allows users to
make changes to existing graphics, or create brand new ones at no additional
cost. Interestingly, we can count at least ten different graphics packages that
are more popular and widely used than this free one. While it doesn’t offer as
many editing tools, it does provide the essentials and it can open/save
graphics in .bmp, .gif, and.jpg format (the latter two being the most commonly
format used for Internet eye candy).
Media Player. Real Player and QuickTime are the
first programs we think of when we think about multimedia. But Windows Media
Player, also free and pre-installed, does a fine job at transmitting
Internet-bound sound and video. With this application, you can easily listen to
.wav files, .midi files, and even tune into a little Internet radio if you
like.
System Tools. Although there are too many to list
here, Windows provides more than a handful of useful utilities that will
monitor system resources, organize files, repair damaged disks, and more. Yet
and still, you can easily find similar tools for sale at computer outlets and
download libraries.
What’s
going on here?
The
truth of the matter is that the programs pre-installed are great tools for the
beginning computer user. At some point down the road, usage will dictate a need
for more powerful applications. We may need a word processor that can convert a
document into an HTML page or PDF document. We may need a calculator that
solves geometric problems. Or we may need a multimedia tool that lets us create
our own videos as well as watch them. These capabilities aren’t included with
new systems, but there's no reason why we can’t exploit the tools that we’re
given to their fullest.
Are
they good enough to stand on their own?
The
Windows operating systems already come with a useful collection of
pre-installed programs and even some games. But one of the first things that
people do is download a butt-load of new programs as soon as a brand new system
is plugged in the wall and connected to the Internet. This article looks at
some of the programs that are included with most new systems and then asks the
reader to consider if they’re sufficient.
NotePad and WordPad. All Windows systems include the two
text editors, “NotePad,” and “WordPad.” Notepad is a plain text editor while
WordPad is a rich text editor. Both files are capable of opening plain text,
however WordPad can open Windows Write files (an earlier version of WordPad) as
well as rich text files. WordPad can also save documents as plain text, rich
text, and MS Word documents. So with WordPad having the ability to read and
create rich text; embed objects (sound, pictures, and video); and manipulate
fonts, we have to wonder if other word processors, which do the same thing, are
really necessary. Although WordPad is certainly no match for Microsoft Word’s
internal spell and grammar checker or Word’s Internet linking capabilities, we
believe it’s a great introduction to word processing in general for computer
novices.
Address Book. There are hoards of advanced contact
database programs floating around the Internet and on store shelves, but
Windows provides a completely competent contact database of its own simply
known as “Address Book.” This small compact utility allows users to organize
contacts by name, location, group, or number and it give users ample space to
fully describe each. Compared to Microsoft’s Access database program, its
user-friendly Address Book is a Godsend to new computer users.
Calculator. Calculator has been a Windows accessory
even from its first debut in Windows 1.0. For the life of us, we can’t figure
out why anyone other than a rocket scientist would want to install a different
version than this free one that comes pre-installed. Windows calculator has two
interfaces: an easy one, and a scientific one. So perhaps a rocket scientist
could fare well with Windows Calculator after all!
Paint. Windows’ Paint program allows users to
make changes to existing graphics, or create brand new ones at no additional
cost. Interestingly, we can count at least ten different graphics packages that
are more popular and widely used than this free one. While it doesn’t offer as
many editing tools, it does provide the essentials and it can open/save
graphics in .bmp, .gif, and.jpg format (the latter two being the most commonly
format used for Internet eye candy).
Media Player. Real Player and QuickTime are the
first programs we think of when we think about multimedia. But Windows Media
Player, also free and pre-installed, does a fine job at transmitting
Internet-bound sound and video. With this application, you can easily listen to
.wav files, .midi files, and even tune into a little Internet radio if you
like.
System Tools. Although there are too many to list
here, Windows provides more than a handful of useful utilities that will
monitor system resources, organize files, repair damaged disks, and more. Yet
and still, you can easily find similar tools for sale at computer outlets and
download libraries.
What’s
going on here?
The
truth of the matter is that the programs pre-installed are great tools for the
beginning computer user. At some point down the road, usage will dictate a need
for more powerful applications. We may need a word processor that can convert a
document into an HTML page or PDF document. We may need a calculator that
solves geometric problems. Or we may need a multimedia tool that lets us create
our own videos as well as watch them. These capabilities aren’t included with
new systems, but there's no reason why we can’t exploit the tools that we’re
given to their maximum capacity.
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