Something for the Evenings
As the autumn closes in and the nights get longer many of us are retreating indoors to our computers. While a lot of people only use their computer for the internet and email and maybe the odd letter the computer is capable of far more.
But have you ever thought about what else it can do or what else the web has to offer? The answer is limitless but here are a few interesting suggestions of things to look at.
www.openculture.com - Free cultural & educational media, a vast range of books, movies, courses, and more.
www.britishpathe.com - 90000 historical clips from Pathe News, just like being at the old cinema.
www.youtube.com/movies?fl=f&pt=fm - Youtube Free Movies a collection of movies you can watch on the computer.
www.howstuffworks.com - The perfect site for the endlessly curious, it tells you how almost everything works.
wondermind.tate.org.uk - Wondermind is a beautifully crafted, interactive site that teaches kids (and grown ups too) about how the brain works.
www.thisiswhyimbroke.com – Do you love gadgets and interesting knick-knacks, this site has the most amazing things.
www.attackofthecute.com – A collection of the very cutest pets pictures.
pinterest.com – See what others are looking at with this online pinboard.
www.popcap.com/all-games/free-online-games - A site full of free games.
www.smart-kit.com – Safe Puzzle games you can play online.
www.epicurious.com - A vast range of recipes
www.supercook.com – A novel way of finding a recipe based on the ingredients you have at home.
www.google.com/doodles/finder - Do you love those Google Doodles at the top of the Google search page, here they are for you to look at and try again.
Windows 8.
This month sees the release of Microsoft replacement for Windows 7 imaginatively named Windows 8. This version of Windows sees the biggest ever change in the Windows operating system, all previous versions have had slight cosmetic changes but have effectively all used the same interface consisting of a Desktop (main screen with icons) and a Start menu (listing all the programs). Windows 8 changes all this, the desktop is now relegated to a background function and in comes a brand new interface called the start screen.
Windows 8 will be available on 26th October for the upgrade price of £24.99 standard or £49.99 pro, its a download from the internet and will upgrade any version of Windows including XP, Vista and Win 7.
Should you upgrade or not? If you are willing to give something new a try and are willing to learn a completely new system then go ahead. The testing and refinement has been quite extensive so Windows 8 be OK. Not everyone is going to like Windows 8 in fact I would go as far as to say a lot of people are going to absolutely hate it. It has some very good features, it’s fast, responsive and reliable, but it’s also got a new interface which I am not sure about, the settings and options are much more difficult and its design as a touch based system leaves you at a disadvantage if you use a mouse/touchpad.
If you need help or have any questions about your computer please give me a call or send me an email for FREE advice. Bruce@mirax.org or Telephone 05 61 60 84 23.