Windows 7 and osx

Additional links Visit the Microsoft Store to find Software packages or Updates to your current software, or to search for additional software. Need more help? Expand your skills. Get new features first. Was this information helpful? Yes No. Thank you! Any more feedback?

The more you tell us the more we can help. Can you help us improve? Resolved my issue. Clear instructions. Easy to follow. Users can merge multiple clips into a single movie, export just the audio of a video to listen in iTunes or another player, and capture a still image of a region of the screen.

Want to share a video? And watching a movie in full-screen mode is splendid. Microsoft loads Windows 7 with a cornucopia of seemingly feature-rich multimedia creation and playback tools. To maintain consistency, these applications rely on the ribbon-style toolbar that first appeared in Microsoft Office —and therein lies our major complaint. The powerhouse block of features appears as a labyrinth across the top of each screen.

It makes users wish for a map to find specific functions. Even in Windows Media Player, which does not use the ribbon interface, the user is met with a hodgepodge of columns and tabs for music, photos, video, and other media, which leaves a new user moaning in confusion.

At least in Movie Maker, a step-by-step link can help you create and edit videos. For years, owning a Mac meant you went without playing the hottest games around. Today gamers can get their hands on some of the best titles—just not all of them. Valve Software, for example, offers a variety of some of its most cherished titles, such as Half Life and Portal for Mac. Blizzard Entertainment, the maker of the smash hit World of Warcraft, has also made Mac-specific versions of its titles.

Windows has been the go-to operating system for game developers for years, and gamers know it. To play the most demanding games smoothly, users will need a powerful system, and Windows 7 gamers have access to more affordable hardware than Mac users.

But as the recent Mac Defender Trojan proved, no software is completely secure. To help stay a step ahead of the bad guys, Lion includes new security features, such as application sandboxing and enhanced runtime protection. Sandboxing is designed to reduce the impact of a given threat by limiting what an application can do. That includes accessing the network or opening documents that may contain sensitive data.

Meanwhile, address space layout randomization ASLR is now available for apps to make them more resistant to attacks. The idea is to foil attacks aimed at gaining access to a computer via specific software components. Last but not least is FileVault 2 full-disk encryption, which allows users to encrypt their important files easily.

You can even encrypt an entire drive. Microsoft has fortified Windows 7 with enhanced security features to help minimize damage caused by viruses and other malware, but the OS works best in tandem with separate security software. A new Action Center tells you whether your antivirus software is up to date and whether your firewall is on. Windows Updates are automatic by default, but you can always change that.

Unfortunately, these updates often occur at inopportune times, so you may want to tweak the settings so that your computer downloads updates but then lets you choose whether to install them. To help protect your notebook, you can download the free Microsoft Security Essentials program, which can shield your system from viruses, spyware, Trojans, and more.

Although Macs are becoming more interesting to hackers, Windows users are still much more susceptible to malware. In addition, frequent security software alerts and Windows OS updates are annoying. Thinking of letting your kid on your brand-new MacBook Air? Lion gives parents peace of mind by including a host of controls. You can limit which apps your child can access, which is huge because the Mac App Store makes it easy to download new apps.

As with Windows 7, you can set time limits for computer access, but Lion goes a step further by letting parents allow access only to specific websites. For parents with small children, this walled-garden approach will be especially welcome. You can also block or allow any game by name. If you want your child to be able to access your notebook only at certain times on certain days, Windows 7 makes it easy to set up a schedule.

It lets you back up your entire system documents, photos, system files, etc. The first time you connect a hard drive to your Mac, it will ask you if you want to use it as a backup drive with Time Machine.

That way if you delete something accidentally, you can easily recover it later. Lion also offers encrypted backups with FileVault 2. Safeguarding precious files and folders is a cinch with Windows 7. You just launch Backup and Restore, then choose a destination for the backup. The straightforward interface guides you through the rest of the process, including deciding whether you want to let Windows 7 choose what to back up on a regular schedule or choosing the files or folders yourself.

Too bad backing up to a network is only available to Windows 7 Professional and Ultimate users. It will help you undo system changes without touching your files. The OS regularly creates restore points, but you can also do so manually.

By combining file and system backups in a single program, Lion makes things easier. The OS makes things even simpler by inviting users to back up via Time Machine when connecting an external drive. Based on the overwhelming success of the iPhone app store, the Mac App Store is built into the Dock for one-click access. Once an app is purchased you need an Apple ID to get started , it instantly downloads and installs on the Launchpad for immediate use.

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