Special deal software
After setting up Windows for the first time, you may encounter some dealer
or manufacturer-specific program or registration routine. For example, my
IBM laptop came with some IBM help thingy I could sign up for. I opted not to
and just cancelled out of the program.
 You can always save registration for later. Generally, you find the registration
program’s icon either on the desktop or in the Start menu.
No, you don’t have to sign up for AOL or EarthLink or MSN or NetZero or
whatever other advertisements are included with the laptop. Feel free to skip
over those programs or just delete the icons if you could care less.
Windows every time
After the initial setup, and every time you start your laptop after that, you’ll
be greeted with the graphical fun and folly of the Windows operating system.
It may start right up, or you may have to log in first.
If you set your account up with a password, then you’re prompted to enter
the password before you enter Windows.
On laptops with multiple accounts, you have to choose your account name,
and then enter the password before you can behold the glory that is
Windows.
Whatever, eventually the Windows desktop appears on your laptop’s screen,
similar to what you see in Figure 4-4.
Note that many important things are pointed out in Figure 4-4:
- The desktop. This is your home plate, the starting point for all your
adventures in Windows.
- Wallpaper or background. This is the image you see on the desktop. It’s
optional and it can be changed through the Display icon in the Control
Panel. (More on that later in this chapter.)
- Icons. These are tiny pictures that represent files, folders, or programs
inside Windows.
- The mighty Start button. This button pops up a menu that contains
options for controlling the computer or starting programs.
- The taskbar. This doohickey displays a host of buttons used to switch
between windows and programs opened on the desktop.
- The System Tray or Notification Area. This annoying little thing contains
teensy icons that can help you do things on the computer, alert
you to certain happenings, and it also shows the time and day.
Take a moment to find each of those items on your laptop screen right now.
Don’t touch the display to point them out! Just find them and point. (Maybe
even say, “Oh, there it is!”)
Exploring the Start thing
To get things done on the laptop, you need to run programs. These can be
started from icons that appear on the desktop, or more likely, you’ll use the
Start button and its slab-o-stuff to choose which programs to run.
Figure 4-4:
Windows in
all its glory.
You can see the Start slab after clicking the Start button with the mouse.
Figure 4-5 points out some of the common locations:
- Your account image. You can change this image by clicking it with the
mouse.
- The pin-on area. These are programs permanently stuck to the Start
menu.
- Recently Used Programs menu. These are programs you’ve used
recently, except for that Hoyle game icon you see in Figure 4-5. I would
never play games on my work laptop!
- The All Programs menu. Clicking this item displays a pop-up palette of
program pickings. Any software that’s been preinstalled on your laptop
appears on that list.
- Fun Windows places to visit. These icons represent places to go in
Windows where you can carry out interesting (or not) tasks and play
or dawdle.
- The Control Panel. You’ll visit here often as you mess with the computer
and set various options. These are explored later in Chapter 6.
- Choices for quitting. Finally, the mysterious options for ending your session
with Windows appear in the Start panel as well. Odd location; I
would prefer a Stop button, but I don’t work for Microsoft.
Figure 4-5:
The Start
button’s
menu
thingy.
You’ll discover more about using Windows and what all this stuff means in
Chapter 6. For now, just knowing where things are is all you need to know.
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