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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Windows 95 Offers Advantages For Family Computing Combination Of Easy Use, Compatibility Looks Appealing To Users With Varied Needs

From Wire Reports

Imagine if everyone who has bought a new American-made car since 1978 went for a trade-in at the same time.

Imagine if everyone who has bought a house since 1965 wanted to move.

Imagine telling the entire population of Mexico that they need a tooth pulled.

Any way you look at it, we’re talking about 100 million people.

That’s how many personal computer users Microsoft Inc. wants to convert to its long-awaited operating system, Windows 95 - a system billed as the next Great Leap in Computing.

Scheduled for release Aug. 24, it promises to bring many of the easeof-use advantages of the Macintosh to DOS/Windows systems while maintaining compatibility with the tens of thousands of DOS and Windows applications.

Windows 95 is shaping up as a superb operating system for families.

Here are the top 10 reasons, as written by FamilyPC magazine’s Scott Finnie:

1. You can start right away

Simplicity is the big idea behind Windows 95. The Start button, located at the bottom left of your screen, shows you exactly where to begin. Everything you need from Windows 95 begins with Start.

2. No more “lost” programs

The Taskbar, a gray bar that runs along the bottom of the desktop screen, helps you keep track of all running programs. Each time you launch a program, a tab appears on the Taskbar showing the program’s icon and name. No more minimized programs and Alt-Tab circular searches.

3. Under new management

Using Program Manager and File Manager is not intuitive.

Windows 95 offers a desktop that works very much like the Macintosh Finder. The desktop includes icons that represent disk drives, printers and so on.

Double-click on a drive icon and a window opens that contains icons representing programs and documents, and folders representing directories.

If you delete a file or folder icon, you’re actually deleting it on your hard disk. Deleted items go into the Recycle Bin, which holds everything until you empty it.

Incidentally, Windows 95 lets you give long filenames to every file and folder, so you can forget about limiting yourself to 11-character file-names. Program Manager and File Manager are included with Windows 95, so you can continue with the bad old ways, if you must.

4. Uncompromising multimedia

Windows 95 provides unparalleled support for multimedia applications. The WinG game library makes games play faster; WinToon technology makes animations look more professional; improved Video for Windows, hooks for MPEG, and DCI (device control interface) drivers enable larger and smoother videos. 3-D DDI (device driver interface) provides standardized support for 3-D software and hardware.

Better MIDI support and better-performing audio codecs help music and speech sound better.

Also, AutoPlay technology makes installing and running CD-ROM discs a snap, while 32-bit access to the CD-ROM file system improves every aspect of multimedia performance.

5. Memory where you need it

Running DOS programs from within Windows 95 is no problem because Windows 95 gives you more free conventional memory.

How much more depends on your system configuration but we’ve seen Windows 95 easily free up an extra 60 kilobytes of conventional memory on a system with a conventional configuration. This means you’ll see far fewer “Out of Memory” errors and “Not Enough Memory to Run This Application” messages.

6. Reduces pain of new hardware

Few things in computing are more frustrating than trying to add a new piece of hardware to a PC system. Windows 95 is the first operating system to support Plug and Play, a set of standards that automatically recognizes and configures any new expansion hardware you install.

Most computers sold over the past year have a PnP BIOS, and many expansion card makers have announced PnP versions of their products. CONFIG.SYS and SYSTEM.INI remain for compatibility’s sake, but if all your hardware supports Plug and Play, you’ll never have to deal with these files again.

7. You can do more at once

Windows 95-capable programs let your system do many things at once - such as drawing a picture while formatting a floppy disk. This capability is called preemptive multitasking. It will take a while before all your favorite programs are released in Windows 95 versions, so you won’t see the advantages of preemptive multitasking right away.

8. Getting on-line is easier

Along with Windows 95, Microsoft is introducing a new on-line service called the Microsoft Network (MSN). Microsoft plans to make it a center for hardware and software companies to provide customer support. Windows 95 also makes connecting to the Internet easy, by making it simple to install the proper communications protocols on your system.

9. Upgrading is easy

Many experts fear that installing Windows 95 may be a major ordeal, but in fact most people will experience a relatively painless installation, especially true with brand-name computers with peripherals from well-known companies.

10. Makes old computers feel new

Windows 95 will help your family compute smarter and faster. Of course, this assumes that all the bugs will be ironed out before the final version ships, but from what we’ve seen, Windows 95 may be the best vehicle you’ll have for upgrading your hardware this fall.