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Courses >
Basic Computer Literacy > Introduction to Windows Vista
 Windows Vista is a radical departure from the Windows versions of yesteryear. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced Windows user, you won't want to miss out on everything this powerful new version has to offer. In this course, specifically designed for beginners and casual users, you'll learn to use Vista's best and most important features.
You'll discover techniques for personalizing Vista to your own needs and preferences, set up user accounts and enforce parental controls, keep your computer secure from Internet threats, browse the World Wide Web, manage your e-mail, and keep your names and addresses organized in the new Contacts folder.
You'll also learn to take full advantage of the new Calendar feature, manage and edit your digital photos with the new Windows Photo Gallery, and add fonts, color, and style to your written text.
This course includes a knowledgeable and caring instructor who will guide you through your lessons, facilitate discussions, and answer your questions. The instructor for this course will be Alan Simpson.
 With over 100 published books to his name, award-winning author Alan Simpson is widely regarded as a PC and Internet guru. His books have been published throughout the world in over a dozen languages. As a seasoned veteran of the computer industry, Alan's books and online courses cover virtually all aspects of the computer industry, including Web development, operating systems, word processing, spreadsheets, databases, programming, networking, and security.
To purchase this course, click the Enroll Now button below:
Requirements:
Windows Vista Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, or Enterprise edition. Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins. Internet access, e-mail, the Microsoft Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox Web browser, and the Adobe Flash and PDF plug-ins (two free and simple downloads you obtain at http://www.adobe.com/downloads by clicking Get Adobe Flash Player and Get Adobe Reader). Experience with other versions of Windows is not required.
Note: This course is not suitable for Macintosh users.
Syllabus:
All courses run for six weeks, with a two-week grace period at the end. Two lessons are released each week for the six-week duration of the course. You do not have to be present when the lesson is released, but you must complete each lesson within two weeks of its release.
A new section of each course starts on the second or third Wednesday of each month. If enrolling in a series of two or more courses, please be sure to space the start date for each course at least two months apart.
| Week One |
| Wednesday - Lesson 01 |
Struggling with that new Windows Vista computer? Baffled by all the icons, buttons, and terminology facing you? In our first lesson, I'll help you get on track by explaining what's going on and what all the buzzwords means. You'll learn what's on your desktop, how to use the programs on your computer, and how to properly shut down your computer (or put it in sleep mode for faster restart) at the end of the day.
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| Friday - Lesson 02 |
In this lesson, you'll learn to personalize your computer—to make things look and work the way you want. Are things too small to see? Make them bigger! Don't like that background picture? Change it! Don't see the programs you like best on your Start menu? Put them on! By the time you finish this lesson, your screen will look the way you want it to look.
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| Week Two |
| Wednesday - Lesson 03 |
In today's lesson, we'll continue our general theme of how to make Vista work your way. You'll learn how to use gadgets and the sidebar, and I'll show you where you can find lots of new gadgets that you can add for free. You'll discover how to control screen colors and transparency, and how to tame your mouse and sound effects. And by the end of this lesson, you'll know how to decide for yourself when your computer puts itself to sleep, and what happens when you wake it back up.
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| Friday - Lesson 04 |
Do you share a computer with other people? Are you confused about all the talk of Standard User accounts, User Account Control, and security? In this lesson, we'll cut through all the jargon and get to the facts. When you're done, your computer will be more secure. And if several people share the computer, everyone will have their own user account, their own set of files, and their own personalization preferences.
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| Week Three |
| Wednesday - Lesson 05 |
The PC was invented long before the Internet became public. And way back then, no one thought about Internet security at all, so computer have been vulnerable to Internet threats for several years now. In this lesson, you'll learn what the Internet is, and how it presents threats to your privacy and security. You'll also learn how to use the many features built into Windows Vista to protect you from all those threats.
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| Friday - Lesson 06 |
Just about everyone uses the Word Wide Web. To do so, they use a Web browser. Windows Vista comes with a free Web browser called Internet Explorer 7. In this lesson, you'll learn how to use that Web browser to get the most from the Internet. You'll discover how to make text larger or smaller, maintain and organize a collection of favorite Web sites, and keep your personal browsing habits private.
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| Week Four |
| Wednesday - Lesson 07 |
These days, almost everybody uses e-mail. Windows Vista comes with a great e-mail program called Windows Mail. In this lesson, you'll learn how to set up Windows Mail to work with your e-mail account, and how to write, send, receive, reply to, and forward e-mail messages. You'll discover great techniques for fighting junk mail and phishing scams, and you'll learn new techniques for saving, organizing, and finding your e-mail messages.
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| Friday - Lesson 08 |
In today's lesson, you'll learn all about Windows Contacts, the personal electronic Address Book that comes free with Windows Vista. You'll discover how to add, change, and remove address book entries, and how to print contact information and phone lists. You'll also discover how to e-mail contacts and whole groups of people with just a few mouse clicks.
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| Week Five |
| Wednesday - Lesson 09 |
Windows Calendar is an electronic calendar and personal organizer that comes free with Windows Vista. In this lesson, you'll learn how to create and manage appointments, how to share calendars and schedules with people, and how to download event schedules from the Internet right into your calendar—even from your favorite sports teams!
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| Friday - Lesson 10 |
Today you'll learn how to organize and share your photos using a program that come free with Windows Vista. You'll find out how to get pictures from a digital camera, save pictures that people send to you by e-mail, and e-mail photos to friends an family. And you'll learn how to tag pictures so that you can easily find just the photos you need for any occasion.
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| Week Six |
| Wednesday - Lesson 11 |
We're not done with photos yet! In this lesson, you'll learn how to improve your photos using free tools that come with Windows Vista. You'll discover how to crop, lighten, or darken photos, and even how to remove the red eye that's often caused by flash photography. You'll also find out how to print your pictures in any size and shape you want.
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| Friday - Lesson 12 |
In our final lesson, you'll learn universal techniques for working with text on your computer. You'll discover the right ways to type and edit text, and I'll show you how to save a lot of time using universal skills for correcting and making changes to text you've already typed. You'll also learn how to use cut and paste to move or copy text so you'll never again have to retype text that's already on your screen!
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To purchase this course, click the Enroll Now button below:
Student Reviews:
"Alan was an excellent instructor. He had great info, great examples, fair quizzes and final. He explained everything very, very well. He provided examples which was a great help. I would take any course he has!!!"
"I thoroughly enjoyed taking this course online. It was my first! I feel much more comfortable at the computer. Thanks for the right to download the lessons! That is a big plus and great reference."
"Thank you for a great experience. I think that I will look into taking future online courses. I will miss being able to fire off a question and receive an answer so quickly."
"There was a nice conversational tone to the writing in the lessons and the pictures were always very helpful. The responses in the discussion area were very clear, informative, timely, and respectful."
"This is a first-rate course, which I would recommend to anyone."
To purchase this course, click the Enroll Now button below:
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