2. ACCOUNT TYPES
As Windows became a home-computing tool as well as one used for business, Microsoft created versions for its different markets. It also soon became clear that children were using home computers as much as their parents. This means there was a need to control who could see and use what by creating separate accounts for different users. In Windows 95 and 98 you could create your own user profile, but you could still see other people s files.
XP improved things by keeping files separate in each account. If you wanted to share something, you had to put it in a public folder - a clunky but safer option. To bolster security, Microsoft created Administrator accounts in which the user could install and remove programs, read and edit documents and look after other accounts. Administrators could set up a Limited user account that only ran existing programs and only let the user change their own password. An even more locked-down Guest user option only lets the user run installed programs. In Windows 7 and 8 Standard accounts are the equivalent of XP and Vista s
In XP s Limited user accounts you can t install programs without an administrator s permission Limited accounts. Windows 7 provides slightly more options and Windows 8 confuses things by making you use both a Microsoft account and a local account. You need a Microsoft account to download apps (even free ones) from the Windows Store, but at least accounts now synchronise across any associated devices, including Windows Phones and tablets. One big improvement in Vista was that it introduced Parental Controls. These allow the Administrator to impose time and content restrictions on what a particular user account can access.
Microsoft included recommended settings depending on the user s age, plus the ability to filter porn and swearing. Access to websites could also be filtered individually, while the ability to run PC games could be controlled based on games-industry age ratings. Windows 7 shifted web-filtering and activity reporting to its free Windows Live Family Safety download but also made them more rigorous.
Windows 8 took everything onto the web and added game restrictions for the Windows Store.
RESULT
- Windows XP = 6.0 Includes standard and limited user accounts but no parental controls
- Windows Vista =8.0 Good support for multiple users including fantastic parental controls
- Windows 7 =6.0 Family Safety settings are managed online while other settings match Vista s impressive account controls
- Windows 8 =6.0 Use of both Microsoft and Local accounts is confusing, but it s easy to share a PC
3. EASE OF USE
All four versions of Windows are simple to set up and use, though Windows 8 was the first to insist you have a Windows account that controls access to your PC.
Windows XP transformed the Desktop and made great use of the Start menu, which became a muc h-loved element of successive versions of Windows until Microsoft caused an outcry by removing it in Windows 8.
One of Windows 8.1 s most popular changes is that it reinstates the Start button. XP s Notification Area and Taskbar add useful status information. These were also popular and were refined in Vista and 7. XP also featured built-in helpers known as wizards that simplified installation and customisation tasks. Useful menus, such as that for Accessibility, let you adjust how fast the cursor moved, the colour scheme and the size of onscreen pointers, text and icons. XP s Display Properties also made it easy to increase the font size.
Vista made more of the Explorer address bar by adding dropdown location lists and Favorite Links. These later became Windows 7 s Favorites. Vista also introduced the Explorer Preview pane and Taskbar thumbnails for open windows and programs. Unfortunately, Vista s attractive Aero 3D interface hinders performance and many users simply switc hit off. Many of Vista s style ideas, suc has stacked document lists, can be found in Windows 7, where its more efficient processors can run them smoothly. Vista also brought in User Account Control (UAC), which makes you confirm you want to install every program. UAC was meant to improve security, but it proved so irritating, many users switched it off. Windows 7 also features UAC but gives users control over when it appears.
Windows 8 feels completely different to other versions because it launches the tile-based Metro or Modern interface designed for touch control on tablets, smartphones and touchscreen PCs. Thankfully, it s a dual-interface OS, so pressing the Windows key takes you to the far more familiar Desktop version, which largely duplicates Windows 7.
XP introduced a New Connection Wizard that helped many people get online for the first time. The launc h of home broadband and Wi-Fi on laptops made web connectivity part and parcel of using a computer from Vista onwards. All four versions of Windows have their own email software. XP s Outlook Express was a decent email program and newsreader that reappeared as Vista s Windows Mail. Windows 7 users got Live Mail whic his also easy to use, while Windows 8 Mail is more stripped down.
It s easy to customise XP and Vista, though Windows 7 has the best selection of themes and colour schemes. It s more complicated in Windows 8 because you need to go into Settings, Personalize to change Windows 8 s modern screen, whereas you can right-click the Desktop to launch the Personalize menu in Windows 7. XP s introduction of the Ease of Access Center is one of its most impressive additions. It allows the user to change almost every aspect of how they use their computer, including whether text documents and webpages are read aloud and whether an alternative input device is to be used.
Result
Windows XP =8.0 User-friendly and easy to customise with good Accessibility options
Windows Vista = 6.0 Useful navigation additions outweighed by annoying User Account Control
Windows 7 = 4.0 Aero Peek and Taskbar pinning refine Vista s navigation improvements
Windows 8 = 2.0 During tile-based interface marks a huge change but 8.1 makes it easier to use
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