Introduction to new Vista CCI Computer

Nice Features in Vista

Security and Speed

• Robust security features can help protect against the latest generation of threats, such as worms, viruses, and spyware.

• In addition to keeping your machine clean, Vista has built in some features that automatically keep your hard drive defragmented and clean.  That means your machines will run faster and longer.  You won't experience the same slow down of your machine after a year or two that you did with XP.

Productivity & Organization

• You can instantly find any program, document, or even pages you have recently visited on the Internet by simply clicking "Start" and typing your query into the Search Box.  
• Windows Vista is designed to streamline productivity and organization. It introduces an intuitive way of organizing data like movies, music, photos and other important files, so that you can store, manage, and find it when you need to.

Customizable  

Make Vista look like XP

If you like the familiarity of the interface in XP, you can even customize Vista to look like XP. 

• 2:00 Minute Video Overview - http://cnettv.cnet.com/2001-1_53-25854.html (He goes fast, but you can pause and do each item if you want)
• Written Documentation - http://www.ehow.com/how_2134805_windows-vista-look-like-xp.html

Turn off prompt to approve all changes.

If you don't like the prompts that come up every time you need to install something you can easily turn them off.

• Click "Start" icon, type "Control Panel", enter.
  
• Once the control panel opens, type "UAC" in the top right search bar.  (It stands for User Account Control).
  
• Click the option below to "Turn User Account Control (UAC) on or off"
• Uncheck the box and click OK.  You may need to reboot before it will take effect.
  

All CCI computers that are being delivered currently by OASIS have this feature turned off already.

Introduction to Word and Office 2007

All CCI machines come pre-installed with Office 2007.  You will notice right away that the layout is quite different than anything you have seen before.  Office 2007 introduces the "Ribbon," or a banner at the top with icons to show you where things are.  It takes some getting used to for long time users, but generally people are very happy with it. 

What can I get out of Office 2007?

• Mail Merge - For those that have struggled with mail merge in the past, you'll love the new version.  Click on the "Mailings" tab in Word to check it out.
  
• References and Bibliography - This was available in past versions, but it was hard to get to and use.  The built in Bibliography will help you insert citations in almost any format, and even build a perfectly formatted bibliography when you are done.   Click on "References" and look for the "Citations & Bibliography" section to get started.
  
• Formatting - The new ribbon makes it easy to format documents and add themes to add a professional touch to them.   Look for the "Styles" subsection on the main "Home" tab.
  
• SmartArt and Charts - Word, Excel and Powerpoint have added some really nice features that allow you to easily create complex charts and graphics.  Click on "Insert" and look for the "Illustrations" subsection with "SmartArt", "Charts" and more.
  

Tips and Helps

• Help Icon - On the top right, directly under the close button is a little question mark.  You can click on that to type any questions you might have.  I.e. "Where is the Mail Merge Button?" or "How do I Mail Merge." 
  
• File Menu - You may be wondering what happened to the file menu where you can save things.  If you click on the Vista icon in the top left it will reveal the old "File" menu.
• Getting up to Speed with Office 2007 - http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word/HA100484691033.aspx  (Topics: "Use the Ribbon", "Customize the Quick Access Toolbar", "Create a new Quick Style", "Add and remove styles from the Styles Gallery", "Insert headers and footers", "Zoom in or out of a document", "What happened to the File menu?", "Introduction to the new file name extensions and Office XML Formats." 
• Interactive Tutorial for finding location of new items in Office 2007 compared to 2003: http://office.microsoft.com/assistance/asstvid.aspx?assetid=XT100766331033&vwidth=1044&vheight=788&type=flash&CTT=11&Origin=HA100744321033.  (Requires Internet Explorer)