Laptop Window Vista

Lately, everyone’s abuzz on the subject of Windows Vista. • The top ten tweaks and shortcuts
• Five Vista-ready laptops under $100
• How to adjust power settings

Tweaks and Shortcuts

These tips will help you do everything from making the most of Vista’s cool Flip 3D effect to expanding the number of options when you’re right-clicking on a file. In Windows Explorer windows and in Internet Explorer you can bring up the old menu ribbon by tapping the ALT key. Right-click on the icon and bring up its Properties window. In any Windows Explorer window tap the ALT key to bring up the classic File menu. In the Tools menu, open Folder Options. To keep your hard drive defragged regularly, use the Start menu to click on Computer, and then right-click on the hard drive you want to schedule. Open its Properties menu, and under the Tools tab click Defragment Now. Check the "Run on a schedule box."

Expanded Right-Click Options

Vista’s context menus hold a little surprise. If you hold the Shift key down as you right-click on most files in Windows Explorer, the context menu gains several new options that let you pin the file to the Start menu, add the file to the Quick Launch bar, or copy the file's path to the clipboard.

Activate Parental Controls

One of the most powerful but under-reported Vista features gives parents tremendous control and monitoring capabilities over any accounts on the system. 9. Make Mobility Center Ever-Ready

Notebook users get their own console in Vista. Click on the digital clock in the System Tray and click through to change time settings.

Vista-ready Laptops Under $1000

Any new desktop or laptop for sale today has the capacity to handle the basic core functions of Windows Vista.

Coupled with 1GB of memory, these systems provide more than enough horsepower to run Windows Vista Home Premium, which contains the slick new Aero interface, parental controls, better security than Windows XP, and a ton of usability improvements.

Ø Averatec 2300 Series
Price: $889.00

Averatec’s new 2300 series of laptops are extremely thin (only 1-inch think) and feature 12-inch widescreen.

Ø Sony VAIO VGN-N130G
Price: $999.00

The15.

How to Adjust Power Settings

In addition to those hardware requirements, there’s another downside to running Windows Vista on a laptop: it drains the battery.

Default Power Plans

1. Select Start>Control Panel.
2. Click Mobile PC, or Change battery settings.
3. Select Power Options.
4. Review the range of available plans displayed in the window with their corresponding stats judged on Battery Life and Performance.
5. Choose your preferred power plan by simply clicking on the bullet point corresponding to a plan.

Custom Power Plans

Select Create a power plan from the left pane window. Click Create to make the power plan.

Change your power options on the fly if you’re frequently docking and undocking your laptop.

The Bottom Line

Hopefully, this article provided some detail and relieved some angst about Windows Vista.