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- Date sent: Wed, 15 May 1996 13:54:11 -0700
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- Name: win95.txt Uploader: John Doe
- EMail: rcbarker@dvsdghse.com Language: English
- Subject: Computer Science
- Title: Windows 95 the O/S of the future
- Grade: 80%
- System: Collage
- Age: 29 years old (when handed in)
- Country: USA
- Comments: My personal reasons why Windows 95 is the o/s of the future
- Where I got Evil House of Cheat Address: off the ner
- Date: 24 Aug 1996 (when handed in)
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-
- The way of the computing world is changing at a neck breaking pace. People are looking for
- computers to be easy to use, and to make life easier for them. The computer manufactures
- and software developers have started to tailor computers and programs to fit the needs of
- the new ôcomputer ageö. Graphical Interface Software (GUI) began to make computing easier
- and people who never dreamed of owning computers began to buy them. Macintosh was one of
- the first GUI computers to hit the market, but it was not IBM compatible, so it did not
- take over the mainstream of the computer industry. Since most computers where being make
- to fit the IBM compatible standards, Microsoft saw the need to replace DOS (Disk Operating
- System) with something easier to use. That is when they developed Windows, which covered
- the difficult to use DOS with a new face that made computing easier. The first Windows
- was a start in the right direction. In an effort to make computing meet the needs of the
- public, Microsoft developed Windows 95.
-
- Windows 95 has the appearance of being a completely user friendly operating system and it
- pretty much is as far as the average user is concerned. The compatibility with most
- hardware makes it easy for someone to upgrade their computer. The desktop is designed so
- the user has point and click access to all their open and closed programs. Utilizing the
- 32 bit programing it was written with, users are able to work with more than one program at
- a time and move information between programs. This gives the user the freedom they need to
- begin to explore the world of computing without having to learn all the ôcomputer stuffö.
-
- Today everyone wants the fastest computer with the best monitor and fastest modem this was
- an interrupt address nightmare until Windows 95 was developed. People didnÆt know what
- jumpers needed to go where to make their hardware work. Or why their CDROM wouldnÆt work
- since they changed their sound board. Most hardware periphials have all the configurations
- built into a chip that communicates with Windows 95 to find out where it needs to put
- itself in the address map. This allows users to have fancy big screen monitors and connect
- to the Internet with high speed modems. They can also put in faster video cards that use
- all the nice Windows 95 features, thus making their computing less complicated Windows 95
- is set up with novice users in mind. As with Windows 3.x, it has boxes that open up with
- the program inside called windows. These windows are used to make computing more exciting
- for the user. No one wants to look at a screen with just plain text anymore. Before a
- window is opened, it is represented by an icon. Double clicking this icon with the mouse
- pointer will open the application window for the user to work in. Once the window has been
- opened, all visible functions of the program will be performed within it. At any time the
- window can be shrunk back down into an icon, or made to fit the entire screen. For all
- essential purposes the user has complete control over his windows. Since more than one
- window can be open at a time, the user can work with more than one program. Being able to
- work with more than one program brings out other special features of Windows 95. In a
- regular DOS system only one program can be open at a time. With previous versions of
- Windows more than one program could be open, but they did not work well together. Since
- Windows 95 is a 32 bit program, it manipulates memory addresses in a way that makes it look
- as though your programs are running simultaneously. This makes it easier to share
- information between programs. For example (I run Windows 95) while I am writing this paper
- using a word processor, I am logged onto the Internet and have five different programs
- running. I can move information from the Internet, or any other open program, into this
- paper without stopping anything else, something entirely impossible in DOS. Some people
- think the because they never see DOS anymore, it is not there. This could not be farther
- from the truth. DOS is alive and well hidden under the Windows 95 curtain. But unless the
- user wants to use DOS, there is no reason to even bother it. In Windows 95, DOS (version
- 7) has a few added goodies the some users enjoy. The biggest one is being able to open
- Windows applications by typing the program file name at the DOS prompt. Another one is
- being able to run more than one DOS application at a time. This does not work as well as
- with Windows applications, but it has similar effect. DOS can be used alone, outside of
- Windows 95, as before. Or it can be opened in a window on the desktop like a normal
- Windows program, and can be manipulated in size and style. The desktop is where the icons
- and windows we discussed before live. In older versions of Windows the icons lived in the
- Program Manager. In Windows 95 they live under the Start button. Once the start button is
- clicked, it displays a pop up windows. Moving the mouse pointer in the pop up windows
- gives you access to the different programs available. Icons can also be moved onto the
- desktop itself, these are called shortcuts. Double clicking a shortcut will open the
- program the shortcut represents. Shortcuts can be linked to a program or a file, and can
- be moved to any position on the desktop the user likes. You can also change the picture of
- the icon to any ôIconö picture you have available. The desktop can be fashioned in any way
- the user likes. For example colors and background pictures can be changed. Even the colors
- and thickness of the window outlines and menus can be changed. While programs are open on
- the desktop, they are displayed on the Task Bar at the bottom of the screen as buttons.
- One option with the task bar is that it may be moved to any of the four sides of the
- screen. The buttons have a picture and word identifier on them so the user knows which
- button is for which program. Clicking once on the button will switch to the program
- represented, which makes it easier to switch between more than one program. This just
- about gives the user total control over his computer, which is what most users want.
-
- The ease of use is what makes Windows 95 appealing to the ômodernö computer user. In time
- Microsoft will improve on the reliability of Windows 95, making it easier to work with.
- Being the most complete and user friendly IBM compatible operating system on the market, I
- feel that Windows 95 will be the dominant operating system for several years to come.
-