2. Battery Meter Gadget

Monitor the battery level of your laptop with this gadget.  This gadget provides a much more accurate level reading than the tiny system tray icon.
3. Multi-Meter Gadget

Info shown: - Cpu usage % ( 2 cores ) - Ram Usage % - Ram info ( Total, used, left size) - Status bars animated above 90% - 100 Skins + background selection
4. Uptime Gadget

This gadget allows you to see how much time has passed since you last restarted your computer.
5. Free Space Gadget

This gadget monitors your PC's drives and shows you the available space for those you've selected

Windows will usually search for whatever you enter in the Search box by looking in the file name, file contents, and file properties of all the files in the current view. Type "Summer," for example, and it will find files named "sunset in summer.jpg," files tagged with "summer," and files written by anyone named Summer.

Vista's Search engine uses the Windows Desktop Search query syntax. If you want to search more selectively, you can filter your search by specifying which file property to search. To filter by file property, separate the name of the property and the search term with a colon, as in these examples:

kind: music artist: Sting -> Find music files from the artist Sting.
Name: Sunset -> Find only files that have the word sunset in the file name.
Modified: 05/25/2006 -> Find only files that have been modified on that date.

You can filter by any property that appears in the file list headings. To see the complete list of properties that you can filter by, right-click the heading you want to see properties for, and then click More. Using Boolean filters is another way to perform a more precise search, you can combine them with other search filters:

tropical AND island -> Find files that contain both words "tropical" and "island".
tropical NOT island -> Find files that contain the word "tropical", but not "island".
tropical OR island -> Find files that contain either of the words "tropical" or "island".
"tropical island" -> Find files that contain the exact phrase "tropical island".
(tropical island) -> Find files that contain both words "tropical" and "island", in any order.
date: > 01/05/06 -> Find files that are more than or later than a certain value, such as after 01/05/06.
size: < 4 MB -> Find files that are less than or earlier than a certain value, such as less than 4 MB.
Note: When you type Boolean filters like AND or OR, you need to use all capital letters!

If you turn on Natural Language Search, you can perform searches in a simpler way, without using colons and without the need to enter AND and OR in capital letters. For example, compare these searches:
Without natural language: kind: music artist: (Beethoven OR Mozart)
With natural language: music Beethoven or Mozart
To turn on Natural Language Search: Open the Control Panel, click Appearance and Personalization, click Folder Options, click the Search tab, select the Use natural language search check box, click Apply and then click OK.

As I've had several Tablet PCs, the Snipping Tool is something that I've used for some time.  Because it's a tool familiar to me, I admit that I was caught a bit by surprise when a desktop user said that he loves the Snipping Tool in Windows Vista and that he uses it all the time. 

This is just one example of the functionality of Tablet PCs that can be used on computers that don't support ink or touch. It's a quick and easy way to capture a screen shot that can then be pasted into another document or email.  Much more versatile than the old Alt-Print Screen option, it might be something that you may have overlooked.

If you're using Windows Vista Home Premium, Business, Enterprise or Windows Vista Ultimate, you can use Snipping Tool with either a mouse or tablet pen to capture a screen shot, or snip, of any object on your computer.  There are several capture options:

• Free-form Snip:  draw an irregular line, such as a circle or a triangle, around an object.
• Rectangular Snip:  draw a precise line by dragging the cursor around an object to form a rectangle.
• Window Snip:  select a window, such as a browser window or dialog box, that you want to capture.
• Full-screen Snip:  capture the entire screen when you select this type of snip.

After you capture a snip, it's automatically copied to the mark-up window, where you can highlight, annotate, save or share the snip.

To find Windows Vista Snipping Tool, just type "Snipping Tool" in the Search box on the Start menu.  You can also find it by using the Start Menu / All Programs / Accessories / Snipping Tool.  And if you find yourself using it often, you might create a shortcut on your Quick Launch bar to give you instant access to the Snipping Tool.

Check out the Frequently Asked Questions for more information on the Snipping Tool.

The Windows Explorer Preview Pane lets you preview the contents of all media or documents in a file without opening the individual file itself.  The Document Explorer, Music Explorer and Picture Explorer all provide an optional Preview Pane.

If a program supports this feature (such as Office 2007), you'll be able to browse views of various docs or a couple of seconds of media content without even opening the file.  And you can edit those docs without opening the file!  Imagine being able to quickly run through all those PowerPoint presentations you have stored in your Documents folder and determining the exact one you want without opening each file to find out which is which.  Talk about boosting your productivity!

If so, you're missing out, as there's a Windows Sidebar gadget for almost anything you might want:  PC utilities, music, messaging, traffic reporting, searching or just a quick game can be yours with a click of the mouse.  If you haven't taken the time to explore gadgets beyond those loaded by default, take a minute to right-click the Sidebar and select 'Add Gadgets.'  From there, click 'Get More Gadgets Online' -- you’ll find over 1000 different gadgets available for download.

There are still other ways to find gadgets:  visit the Microsoft Gadgets Gallery, Windows Live Gallery and Code Projectfor hundreds more.  In addition, you'll find links to resources for developers and a way to submit your own gadgets for others to use.

This isn't the first time we've mentioned Windows Sidebar and accompanying gadgets:  MS held a contest challenging developers to create new gadgets to do any number of things.  And in January during the consumer market launch of Windows Vista we kept readers updated as to our whereabouts as we toured the East coast of the US in a branded bus.  Brandon even found a gadget that alerts users to changes in targeted airfares on Expedia's site!

We have a gadget we use internally to train employees in fielding and responding to customer feedback; it's called the "Dear Steve" gadget, and it displays anonymized contents of emails our customers have sent directly to Steve Ballmer with their personal product feedback. This is what it looks like on the Sidebar:

...and here it is maximized on the desktop:

Windows Sidebar is definitely worth another look

I'm sure we've all had the experience of working on one application when another application's sound suddenly blasted out your speakers.  It can be disconcerting anytime, embarrassing when it happens during a meeting and downright painful when using headphones.

Windows XP had a single control for all sounds, and this controlled only the hardware.  If an application's sound was louder or softer than that specified by Windows XP's volume control, you had to constantly adjust the volume.

Windows Vista allows you to choose the right volume for any running application.  It's also very easy to use.  Right-click the speaker icon in the notification area (systray) of your desktop, then click Volume Mixer to open the control.  You'll see a list of programs running.  Then, just use the slider bar to adjust the volume up or down.  (Note:  If some of the sliders have a black background, just move the slider and Windows Vista will re-draw it.  KB article 938308 explains this more.)

You can adjust volume for use with either speakers or headphones simply by selecting the desired output in the device column.  You can also choose to mute individual programs so as to not be interrupted by sounds from other running programs.  If you change the output device, you will need to readjust the volume.

Assuming that you have the correct hardware installed to run Media Center, using the Movie Browser is simple.  Open Media Center, select "TV & Movies" and navigate to "Search."  You can search by any of the following:

• Title
• Keyword
• Categories
• Movie Actor
• Movie Director

If you're connected to the internet, once you select the search criteria you'll also see the cover art from the DVD (in the US).  You can even view metadata that may include things like reviews, ratings and cast.

As an example, I did a search for movie actor Brad Pitt.  The resulting list showed 44 movies:

Clicking on any one of them gives the option to:

• Record it when it airs
• Read the Plot
• See the Cast Info
• Read Reviews
• Look for Similar Movies

My favorite feature on Media Center in Windows Vista is the ability to find a movie and set it to be recorded when it's next scheduled to be shown on TV, even if it isn't currently listed in the guide.  Once you select the movie, Media Center will automatically record it for you the next time it’s playing on TV.  Although this capability isn't new to Windows Vista, it's still something that isn't known by a lot of Windows Vista users.

In the example above, you'll see that Ocean's Thirteen is not scheduled to air within the timeframe indicated in the guide.  But, that doesn't mean that you'll need to continue checking continuously to see when it's going to air.  Once I choseOcean's Thirteen from the menu, the option changed from "Record" to "Record in the Future."

Once I selected "Record in Future," the movie was set to record when it plays on television.

And helpfully, whenever Media Center is opened, you'll see the red "Record" dot to remind you that you have a pending recording session scheduled.

São poucos os relatos de utilizadores de notebook Dell e muitos os relatos de atraso na hora de entrega, porém.. Eu comprei meu Dell não faz nem um mês, e ai vai minha história...

Dia 14/07/2008 pela noite eu solicitei no site da Dell o meu Notebook Inspiron 1525 costumizado, sem dinheiro fui optando pelos acessórios mais baratos, Celeron, Vista Basic, Camera, Controle, Cabo de Video, Surround, capa verde e por ai vai.

Dia 15/07 pela manhã, recebi a confirmação da solicitação, assim comecei a visitar todos os sites para ver se demorava pra entregar. Quando comecei a ler quase morri! 1 Mês, 2 meses, no mínimo 20 dias.

Pronto, olhei no site e estava lá "Previsão para entrega até dia 12 de Agosto". Estou aqui com o note, dia 11 de agosto, sendo que ele chegou dia 21/07, exatamente 7 dias após a solicitação.

O Inspiron 1525 é um ÓTIMO note, o meu tem 2gb de memória, photoshop, dreamweaver, office 2007, fireworks, megacubo, editor de vídeo, editor de som, todos os programas possíveis e impossíveis, e ainda assim ele funciona perfeitamente sem travar nadinha.

Então pra você que está afim de fazer uma boa compra por um preço ótimo, não perca!! Muitos que ligaram para o 0800 conseguiram um BOM desconto e brindes! Melhor do que pedir pelo site! Mas entre lá pra dar uma conferida no que você pode escolher!!!

Além disso participe do concurso cultural "o que inspira o seu estilo" e concorra a um notebook Inspiron™1525 com Intel® Core™2 Duo!

Site da promoção www.oqueinspiraoseuestilo.com.br .

Monte seu próprio Inspiron 1525.

Veja o vídeo do Inspiron 1525: