Category: Geeks r Us
Since I have yet to read a blind person's account
of taking a computer out of the box running vista
and what happens, I thought I'd write about it here.
well, I just did it today. plugged everything in,
turned it on, waited a few minutes to let it think, and
pressed windows key plus u, which is the
command to start narrator. Nothing happened at
first but then it occurred to me that I hadn't heard
any noise at all and perhaps the speakers needed
to be plugged into a different jack - there were four
- so on the third try suddenly I had a nice female
voice talking to me. I was in some kind of dialog
box where it said to press space bar to turn on the
features you want and the first feature in the list
was narrator. I don't remember the exact order but
I was able then to change narrator features - it
might have been in a separate window and
choose narrator help which gave me a list of the
available narrator keystrokes.
The speech is even less responsive than the old
narrator so you have to wait a moment before you
decide it isn't actually saying anything. That's for
every key press. For example press tab. hear
nothing. wait. wait. wait. then it reads the key.
However this is better speech at initial start-up
then I've experience to date. Everything was read,
even if I had to have it read the whole window to
get everything. There is one point during set-up
when you get a really long silence. like five to ten
minutes. I wish I had been taking notes at the time
so I could relate this better. In the middle of that
silence there is one very short musical rif and then
more silence. If anyone else does this, maybe
make a note of the last command before the
silence to share the information. I was about to
give up but don't. If anyone has Microsoft contacts,
one might request musical or other sound cues to
tell us to keep waiting and that the computer hasn't
frozen. I kept pressing windows key plus u
intermittently and eventually narrator came back
but perhaps it would have done the same thing if
I'd taken a coffee break. then I had to re-set the
narrator settings to speed up the speech again
and so forth. I didn't' get as far as downloading a
screen reader because I didn't make an Internet
connection. Turns out the little nubby on the end of
my network cable had broken off - the one that
holds it in place and and by the time I found
another one, I was ready for a break. Tune in
tomorrow for the next installment.
Wow! what a nice poem! lol.
Hey, thanks. That was exciting. I'll be waiting, and you are a very brave person.
Bob
oops. I left out one important piece. After you press windows-U to start narrator, you need to press alt-n. windows-u starts the whole access console which has a new name which I forget right now and alt-n starts narrator itself. The problem was that while I was moveing my speakers from pjack to jack in the back I already had narrator running, so I had forgotten that extra step. Anyway.
Today was not so hot. I tried to install windoweyes so I could stop dealing with that sluggish speech. It seemed to work but when I did a re-start nothing happened. The first time, after about ten minutes, I did the routine of hitting all keys and something did actually happen - I got to the desktop sort of running windoweyes but my up and down arrows were not working, my attempt to set a hot key to start windoweyes didn't work, and I couldn't get back to the menu to stop running windoweyes automatically because, as I said, the up and down arrows didn't work. neither did they work using mouse controls. meaning I couldn't move the mouse around. I ttried moving the external mouse because with windoweyes sometimes you can actually pull that one off as it speaks what the mouse rolls over. but no such luck. so, now I am worse off than before and trying hard to keep my hands off the keyboard so I don't make something worse while I wait till I can call gw micro tech support tomorrow. I hate admitting defeat. I tried re-running the windoweyes install but hit the same problem with not being able to use my up and down arrows. Or at least I think that's what happened.
So sad, consulting the manufacturer is a humiliating experience similar to consulting the manual. <lol>
I have a couple of questions just for my own edification:
Do you have vista completely installed at this point?
And, did the window-eyes install finish installing?
So sorry, wish I could help, but you are braving new territory.
Bob
well, my problem turned out to be one of those basic troubleshooting things like - is your computer plugged in and turned on? Gw micro sent me to a knowledge base page. I did this on the computer that is running xp - I don't know how someone would deal with any of this if this were their only computer. I started foloowing their instructions for removing windoweyes manyally and suddenly realized that it was only my down arrow that wasn't working and that I must have down arrow set as a hot key to run windoeyes which is why it kept coming back every time I closed it. Anyway, I had to navigate to the windoweyes shortcut in the programs menu to get rid of that inadvertent hot key that I must have pressed during installation. Personally, I only want hot keys assigned to desktop icons where they can be easily accessed. Anyway, I learned a lot folllowing those instructions. Much more about where things are put than I knew about installed programs in XP so it was worth the trouble, since part of this is a learning exercise. Now I'm going to reinstall windoweyes even though I probably had it installed right from the beginning.
I realize I'm sort of using this space as a log of my progress. hope this is helpful to someone
One more note. I've done all this mostly using what I know from windows xp. When I got frustrated with the start menuu, I turned it into a classic start menu and from there was able to find whatever I wanted in the way I'm used to. but folowing the windoweyes knowledge base commands I needed to turn it back into a vista start menu. Which is actually more useful in many ways but the point is that most of the old stuff still works the way it did and when I had to change settings to show hidden files and display my extensions it worked the same way it did in xp. So, thus far the new stuff is apparent to me but not really interfereing much with what I'm doing.
Most of this would be very daunting for a novice but than most of it would have been similarly daunting, if not more so, for a novice under xp.
Which version of vista do you have? Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, Enterprise
or Ultimate?
I have home premium
I know is prob a dumb question since i don't really know much of comps but what are the differences?
Hehegh, well I don't know why Microsoft has to make things more complicated. Any way there you go.
Windows Vista Home Basic
Windows Vista Home Basic is the edition of Windows for basic home computing needs. If you only want to use your PC for tasks like browsing the Internet,
using e-mail, or viewing photos, then Windows Vista Home Basic may be the right edition for you. While it won't provide as many benefits as Windows Vista
Home Premium, it will help you use your PC more easily and more safely than you could with Windows XP.
The first thing you'll notice about Windows Vista Home Basic is how easy it is to find the programs and files you're looking for. The instant desktop search
feature looks across all of your documents, e-mails, photos, and other files, organizing the results in the way that you want to view them. When coupled
with the built-in web search of Windows Internet Explorer 7 in Windows Vista, you'll spend less time looking for the things that you need and more time
on the activities that you care about.
With automatic defenses against malicious software and fraudulent websites, Windows Vista Home Basic enables you and your family to use your computer with
greater confidence. Plus, parents can use built-in controls to help ensure their children's computer use is protected and appropriate.
Windows Vista Home Basic makes it easier than ever to set up your new PC, with features that easily transfer all of your data and settings from your old
PC to your new one. What's more, you can have peace of mind for years to come with technology that keeps your system running quickly and reliably over
time.
Simply put, Windows Vista Home Basic provides you with just the essentials you need for home computing.
Note: If your system features a 64-bit processor, you can take advantage of its advanced design in this edition of Windows Vista.
Windows Vista Home Premium
Here it is: the preferred edition of Windows for home desktop and mobile PCs. Windows Vista Home Premium delivers the productivity and entertainment that
you need from your PC at home or on the go. It includes Windows Media Center, which helps you more easily enjoy your digital photos, TV, movies, and music.
Plus, you'll have the peace of mind of knowing that your PC has a whole new level of security and reliability. All together, Windows Vista Home Premium
redefines enjoyment in home computing.
It starts with a breakthrough design that makes your PC easier to use every day. With Windows Aero, you'll experience dynamic reflections, smooth gliding
animations, transparent glass-like menu bars, and the ability to switch between your open windows in a new three-dimensional layout. Instant desktop search
capabilities, coupled with powerful new ways to organize and visualize your information, means you can instantly find and use the e-mails, documents, photos,
music, and the other information you want, when you need it.
Windows Vista Home Premium also helps keep your personal information, your PC, and your family computing experience safer than in previous versions of Windows.
For example, Windows Internet Explorer 7 in Windows Vista includes automated defenses against malicious software and fraudulent websites so you can use
your PC online with greater confidence. Windows Vista Home Premium also provides automatic backup of your files, such as your valuable digital photos,
music, movies, documents, and other files, so you can relax and focus on the things you care about most. And, by using the built-in parental controls,
parents can help ensure their children's computer use is appropriate and safer.
And what about fun? A major advance in Windows Vista Home Premium is the dramatically improved digital entertainment experience. Windows Media Center makes
organizing and enjoying photos, music, DVDs, recorded TV, and home movies easier and more fun. Enjoy the entertainment on your PC or even on your TV in
the living room with an Xbox 360 wirelessly networked to your PC. Windows Vista Home Premium makes it easier to burn your photo slide shows and home movies
to a professional-looking video DVD that your friends and family can watch on a DVD player or PC whenever they like. Combined with unbeatable support for
gaming and music, Windows Vista Home Premium delivers a complete home entertainment experience.
If you want a PC that can keep up with you while you're on the go, then you'll appreciate how Windows Vista Home Premium helps you get the most from your
mobile PC. It provides simplified power management, easier wireless networking, and streamlined ways to sync with the devices that keep you connected.
Because it's incredibly flexible, you can even draw and write by hand on a Tablet PC, and enjoy all of your entertainment through Windows Media Center
when you're on the road, in a coffee shop, or relaxing on the couch. Mobile computing has never been like this before.
Finally, Windows Vista Home Premium makes it easier than ever to set up and maintain your new PC. There are new features that make it easier to transfer
all of your data and settings from your old PC to your new one and technology that helps keep your system running quickly and reliably over time.
Whether you're balancing your checkbook, studying for school on your mobile PC, watching a downloaded or recorded movie at home, or sharing your favorite
photos with friends on a custom DVD, the experience is much better on a PC running Windows Vista Home Premium.
Note: If your system features a 64-bit processor, you can take advantage of its advanced design in this edition of Windows Vista.
Windows Vista Business
Windows Vista Business is the first Windows operating system designed specifically to meet the needs of small businesses. You'll empower your entire business
to work more efficiently with a stunning and improved, simple-to-use interface that makes it easier to search and find the information you need quickly
and easily, both on your PCs and on the web. With powerful new safety features, you're in control and can better protect the key information that is the
life of your business and that builds the trust of your customers.
And, for the growing business that always seems to be on the go, the mobile computing enhancements make it easier to stay connected to the rhythm of your
business, both in and out of the office. Windows Vista Business makes all of this work for you while helping you spend less time on technology support-related
issues—so you can spend more time making your business successful. Windows Vista Business simply makes it easier to manage how your employees connect to
your network and to ensure that they get more out of their PCs, both in and out of the office. Be future-ready and lay the IT foundation that your business
needs for today and tomorrow.
Note: If your system features a 64-bit processor, you can take advantage of its advanced design in this edition of Windows Vista.
Windows Vista Enterprise
Windows Vista Enterprise provides higher levels of data protection using hardware-based encryption technology. It also includes tools to improve application
compatibility and enables organizations to standardize by using a single worldwide deployment image.
Windows Vista Enterprise is available only to Volume License customers who have PCs covered by Microsoft Software Assurance. These customers are also eligible
to acquire an optional subscription license for the
Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack for Software Assurance
. This software extends the value of Windows Vista Enterprise by reducing application deployment costs, enabling delivery of applications as services, and
allowing for better management and control of enterprise desktop environments. Together these technologies deliver the most cost-effective and flexible
Windows desktop management solution.
Data protection
Windows Vista Enterprise includes Windows BitLocker Drive Encryption, a new technology which helps prevent sensitive data and intellectual property from
falling into the wrong hands if a computer is lost or stolen. Windows BitLocker uses hardware-based data encryption technology that gives you greater peace
of mind knowing that your corporate intellectual property is safer and will remain your strategic asset. Also, since the entire hard drive is encrypted,
Windows BitLocker reduces the cost associated with decommissioning old PCs.
Application compatibility
Windows Vista Enterprise includes built-in tools to improve application compatibility with previous versions of Microsoft operating systems, as well as
with UNIX operating systems. It also provides the right to run four virtual operating system sessions, which enables you to run a legacy application in
a virtual environment on top of Windows Vista Enterprise. This feature saves you time and money if you are unable to easily migrate a legacy application
directly to Windows Vista.
Additionally, Windows Vista Enterprise includes Subsystem for UNIX-based Applications (SUA), which enables you to run UNIX applications unchanged on a Windows
Vista Enterprise-based PC. Whereas today a UNIX database administrator or system administrator needs to have a UNIX workstation in addition to a Windows-based
PC, Windows Vista Enterprise enables you to consolidate both functions into a single Windows Vista-based PC.
Windows Vista Enterprise customers that subscribe to the
Desktop Optimization Pack for Software Assurance
have additional options for minimizing application compatibility challenges. This service can accelerate deployment with tools such as SoftGrid for application
virtualization, which can reduce application-to-application conflicts, and with Asset Inventory Services, to help you more quickly compile information
about applications running inside your organization.
Multi-language support
An interface language controls which language a user sees in the Windows Start menu, in the help system, in built-in management tools, and in Windows dialog
boxes. Windows Vista Enterprise includes all available interface languages in one offering. Access to all worldwide Windows interface languages enables
organizations to build a single deployment image that can be used worldwide and to deploy individual PCs that simultaneously offer different interface
languages for different users.
Windows Vista Enterprise is designed to meet the needs of large global organizations and those with highly complex IT infrastructures. If your organization
has these requirements, Windows Vista Enterprise will help you lower your IT costs and will provide additional layers of protection for your sensitive
data.
Finally, windows Vista Ultimate( The King of the Vista Family)
When you want to have it all, including the ability to shift smoothly between the worlds of play and productivity, there's Windows Vista Ultimate. You'll
never have to worry about having the most advanced capabilities—they're all here. This edition of Windows Vista offers an advanced, business-focused infrastructure,
mobile productivity, and a premium home digital entertainment experience, all in a single offering.
Specifically, Windows Vista Ultimate offers all of the features found in Windows Vista Home Premium, including Windows Media Center, Windows Movie Maker
with high-definition support, and Windows DVD Maker. It also offers all of the features found in Windows Vista Business, including business networking,
centralized management tools, and advanced system backup features. And Windows Vista Ultimate has all of the new security and data protection features
that help take Windows Vista to a whole new level of dependability.
In addition, Windows Vista Ultimate includes support for all of the new mobility features in Windows Vista, including Windows Tablet and Touch Technology,
Windows SideShow, Windows Mobility Center, and other new, advanced mobility features.
Exclusive to Windows Vista are Windows Ultimate Extras. These cutting-edge programs, innovative services, and unique publications provide a richer computing
experience for Windows Vista Ultimate users. Windows Ultimate Extras currently available include:
• Windows Hold’em, a poker game for players of all skill levels
• Language packs for Windows multi-language interface, where users can install and use multiple languages on a single PC. Great for multi-lingual households
or if you are learning a new language.
• Secure Online Key Backup, where Ultimate users can store their BitLocker recovery password and Encrypting File System certificate on Windows Marketplace’s
Digital Locker website for access to the key anytime, anyplace, and from any computer that has an Internet connection
• BitLocker Drive Preparation Tool, an automated tool which removes the complexity of setting up your PC to use this exclusive data security feature.
If you want a single PC that fulfills all of your work, travel, and entertainment needs, or if you simply want to be confident that you have the very best,
Windows Vista Ultimate is the no-compromise edition for you.
Note: If your system features a 64-bit processor, you can take advantage of its advanced design in this edition of Windows Vista.
How do you know if your computer is able to support vista.
Microsoft has come out with what is called a Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor. If you have an XP-based computer, you can use this program to see if Vista will
work for you. All you have to do is download the advisor and let it go to town. It will scan your whole computer to give you a report of compatibility.
It will test your system, your devices, your programs, etc. and let you know about any issues, plus ways you can maybe resolve them.
If your computer passes the test, the Upgrade Advisor will also help you to pick the best version of Windows Vista for your PC. Also, before you run the
program, be sure to plug in any USB or other peripheral devices that you use on a regular basis with your computer, including your printer, external hard
drives, scanner, etc. Those things need to be evaluated too.
Then, if you're ready, you can download the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor
Here