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Task III. Give equivalent of the following computer word combs with nouns used as modifiers
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System performance features; to feature comparison chart; instant off button; user account control security protection; Windows Defender antispyware
Task IV. Translate & remember the following phrases:
To be taken lightly; opt for; specific set of features; to be dependent on specific configuration; in a controversial move; just in case; to be the test choice; to back up your current Windows XP system yourself; to perform a clean installation; to run on Windows Vista; to download drivers from a database; to be designed for; computer performance; to create virtual file
Task V.
1) Tell about specific recommendations concerning Vista's set up and installation, service features support it.
2) Dwell on drawbacks and merits of Microsoft Vista.
Task VI. Translate the following from English to Russian:
1) Even Microsoft seems to admit that the best performance is only available on top-of-the-line machines manufactured within the last year or so.
2) To see which editions of Windows Vista your current computer can handle, visit the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor to find specific hardware recommendations so you don’t buy wrong edition.
3) Once fully installed, Windows Vista first asks for your country or region, then time and currency, and, finally, the desired keyboard layout.
Task VII. Role play.
Explain a customer how to run native Windows XP applications on Windows Vista. What does a compatibility wizard consist in?
Task VIII. What do the following acronyms stand for? Match the equivalents.
MSN, XPS, WIM, VPN, UAC, FAQ, DOS
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Microsoft Network, XML Paper Specification,
Windows Imaging Format, Virtual Private Networks, User Account Control, Frequently Asked Questions, Disk Operating System
Unit 10. Software
Task I. Key vocabulary.
Find the Russian equivalents of the following words and word combinations:
Experienced, at least, overhauled, nuisance, seldom, streamline, readability, efficient, compelling, obscure, options, reasonably, outlining, desired, background, surprisingly, compatible, adjustment, simultaneous, grids.
Task II.
1) Read texts to comprehend its subject matter and to note the terminological words and word combinations.
2) Look through texts below to copy out the key words and sentences containing the main idea of the texts.
3) Make use of these key words and sentences to compile a short topic to be presented to your classmates at the classroom.
4) After this, try to make common Abstract (orally or in writing).
Text 1. Microsoft Office 2007
Office 2007, the newest version of Microsoft's venerable productivity suite, is the slickest, most attractive yet. Its clean, contemporary look and subdued color scheme are as welcome for Office as Vista's new look is for Windows. But the numerous changes made to what Office does, and how it does it, aren't all necessarily for the better—at least for home users.
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Most controversial will be the new "ribbon" interface, which in most Office applications replaces the traditional menu bar with context-friendly tabs of the most-useful options. While it won't trouble first-time Office users, relearning the locations of commonly used features—even functions like Save and Close, which have been moved to a new Office button in the application windows' upper-left corners—might prove troublesome for the more experienced.
Since each ribbon extends the full width of the window and only one shows at a time, you'll often have to switch frequently between ribbons to locate commands you need if you don't know the keyboard shortcut (which can now only be seen by hovering the mouse cursor over the proper icon). At least Microsoft has instituted a Quick Access toolbar into the title bar, which lets you perform any action with one mouse click; the default commands are Save, Undo, and Redo, but adding others is a snap.
Outlook was the recipient of the most-useful changes, with the addition of support for Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds and Short Message Service (SMS); improved phishing detection and protection; an overhauled sorting system, with new flags and configurable color categories; and the new Outlook Instant Search, which combs your e-mails, contacts, calendar, and tasks. The To-Do Bar, which combines calendar and task-list functionality in one view, is more a nuisance than a help if you seldom use tasks.
The other applications are a mixed bag. Publisher 2007, the only completely ribbonless program, is more streamlined and usable than ever. PowerPoint's selection and grouping of ribbons seems the most intuitive, and the new templates and color schemes are a welcome break from the overused royal-blue background. Access has received some great cosmetic tweaks—every other line in tables is shaded for enhanced readability, and windows are more effectively arranged—but the program otherwise feels less sleek and efficient. The new OneNote electronic-scrapbook program has some undeniably cool functionality, though we don't anticipate using it for much.
The jury's still out on Excel and Word. We love the ability to preview style changes without committing them in both programs, in addition to Excel's increased capacity (it now supports more than one million lines and over 16,000 columns), and Word's refined change-tracking features. But the sheer volume of available actions spread across unfamiliar ribbons means these programs will require considerably more relearning than the others.
Word, Excel, and PowerPoint now default to saving documents in the new Microsoft Office Open XML file format, which can't be opened by programs from earlier Office versions. (You can, however, use Save As to save a document in the older format.) Users of older versions must download a compatibility pack to open these new files. The upside, however, is that the new format is highly compressed: A 1.86MB Word 2003 document rang in at 868K when saved in the Word 2007 format. Help features have been nicely revamped, with a simpler search system and easy access to training and tutorials on Microsoft's extensive Office Online Web site. Installation was a breeze: Our install of the Enterprise edition took 30 minutes on a 3GHz test PC with 1GB of RAM, and that included programs such as Groove (a file-sharing and collaboration tool), InfoPath (for e-forms-creation and data-gathering), and Communicator (a business-communications app), which aren't a part of most retail versions of Office. That full install added up to 630MB, respectable for this many programs. Memory usage for each program averaged only slightly higher than with the 2003 versions, though each program seemed to open more slowly.
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If there's not a gross amount of technical excess in Office 2007, the changes and new features aren't yet worth the fuss of learning how to navigate ribbons. Companies who utilize Office to its fullest will benefit from the steps Microsoft has taken toward complete office integration, but despite the terrific advances in Outlook, yet we haven't found compelling-enough reasons for most ordinary users to upgrade to Office 2007.
Text 2. Norton 360
With Norton 360, Symantec has at last done something we never would have thought possible: made PC protection all but transparent. For the first time in years, Symantec has delivered a system-protection product unobtrusive enough that we all but forgot it was running on our machines.
Norton 360 is a considerable departure from the in-your-face, resource-hungry offerings that have been Symantec's recent bill of fare. At $79.99, it takes a bigger bite out of your budget than from the RAM in your Windows XP or Vista PC. During the time we spent testing this new combination of Internet security and system-optimization features, the software never once pulled our attention away from other activities to address a problem or tell us about some obscure technical happening.
That will prove welcome for many casual or beginning users unfamiliar with most of the threats facing PCs. With Norton 360's virus and spyware scans, drive defragmentation, temporary-file deletion, and even backups set to run automatically and with minimal input, we can easily see how this software could revolutionize the safety of the average computer user. (Symantec doesn't include its antispam, ad-blocking, and parental-control features in Norton 360's base package, but they are available as separate, free downloads.)
When we began using the software ourselves, we weren't sure how savvier folks would react. The interface seemed to offer few of the detailed options and customizability we've come to expect from most competing software. But while power users will likely prefer a wider range of more-specific options (we admit a certain fondness for Norton System Works' more in-depth Registry- and drive-scrubbing tools, few of which are found here), we actually enjoyed being able to leave Norton 360 to its own devices.
One thing we didn't especially like was the antiphishing feature, which noticeably slowed down our Internet Explorer browsing experience as it authenticated certain Web pages. (The feature doesn't work at all under Firefox or Opera.) Also, the program settings and built-in help might be a bit simplistic for some users, and standard operations such as tweaking firewall functionality or finding answers to questions might take longer than they should.
But the users at whom Symantec is aiming this software will probably never need (or want) to change many of these settings, because the defaults are well-chosen to provide a secure computing experience. The rest of us always have the option of switching to more-advanced products, if we so desire—but after a few weeks using Norton 360, we don't anticipate doing that anytime soon.
Text 3. Adobe Photoshop CS3 Extended (Beta)
Few image-editing programs have been able to match the elegance of Adobe Photoshop's toolkit and interface—and none the program's tight integration across the spectrum of Adobe graphics applications. As with previous iterations, the new Adobe Photoshop CS3 is not for the faint of heart. But for professionals and very serious hobbyists who need the ultimate in control over their digital images, Photoshop sets the standard yet again. We reviewed a final beta (build number 10.0x20070110) of Photoshop CS3; Adobe says the retail version will ship in April. CS3 is a mammoth upgrade that comes in two versions: a standard edition ($649) and an Extended one ($999). New in the standard version are live, editable filters, enhanced color-correction and perspective tools, cloning with preview overlays, plus easier-to-use compositing and selection tools. The Extended version adds dedicated functionality for such specialties as television, film, architecture, engineering, medical, and scientific applications. Extended also supports 3D imaging and motion: You can create and edit 3D models from flat images, and apply time-based cloning on the incredible new video layers. In addition, the 2D and 3D measurement tools allow quantitative image analysis. For example, an engineer may need to estimate distance in a photo, or a physician comparing several MRI scans may want to see if a problematic area has expanded over time.
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Before you begin playing with the new features, however, you'll want to admire the revamped interface, which features flexible, collapsible tool palettes, and highlights new features in the menus. If you hide the palettes (to get an unobstructed full-screen view of your work), they reappear if you move the cursor to the edges of the display. Our favorite added feature is the sophisticated, adjustable cloning/healing tool. The new Clone Source palette provides an Overlay Preview, as well as controls for five separate source points, allowing for precise positioning of cloned destinations. Photoshop's selection features have always been terrific, but CS3 adds an intelligent Quick Selection tool that dynamically analyzes the area you're trying to select, as you drag the cursor. It does a reasonably good job of outlining the desired object (although this tool, like the Magnetic Lasso, works best where there are highly contrasting edges between the selection area and the background). Another new palette, Refine Edges, is useful for fine-tuning your selection.
In CS3, all filters remain editable—no more resorting to the History palette after applying a special effect. Once applied, the filter is easily adjusted via the Layers palette controls. Filters can be stacked on layers, rearranged, and hidden, just like Adjustment layers. Another plus: The program can produce a composite from multiple images. Place a set of related images, each in its own layer, inside a single document, and Photoshop will analyze each layer and combine them into a single, optimized image. This feature is especially useful when you have a group of photos, each of which is missing a single element, such as a person. The results we got were surprisingly good: The automatic layer blending was seamless and quite accurate.
A raw image file (RAW) contains unprocessed data from a camera or scanner. Normally, an image editor cannot edit such data, but the RAW format allows greater control than a JPEG or TIFF does. CS3's new RAW controls let you edit files nondestructively, while incorporating useful tools such as Retouch, Red Eye, and a variety of adjustments for fine-tuning images.
Earlier versions of Photoshop related to the outside world with some awkwardness. Now, however, the new Device Central makes it easy to export images for mobile devices. The dialog box presents a list of devices, along with comprehensive information about compatible formats, languages, and so on. The panel can adapt to a variety of conditions the output device may encounter—such as bright sun or weak signal strength—and tweaks the final output accordingly.
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You'll also find new controls for converting images to monochrome, and a more-powerful Curves adjustment (color-correction presets, a larger and more detailed dialog box, and simultaneous color-channel display). Also improved is the slick Vanishing Point tool. Now you can add multiple planes at any angle, not just 90 degrees. The Extended version adds two more features: perspective measurement, and the export of perspective grids as 3D models.
In addition to all this, you'll find many other small but valuable improvements, such as an Add to Swatches button in the Color Picker, improved conversion to Web and PDF formats, 3,200 percent zoom capability, revamped printer controls, and a Zoomify export for use with Flash players.
On the minus side, Photoshop's interface is still designed for the under-20/20 crowd—the palette fonts are readable only by the excessively eagle-eyed. We measured the fonts on our 1,920x1,200 display: 4-point type. We finally gave up squinting and bought some clip-on magnifying glasses. (Adobe's recommended fix—decreasing the monitor resolution—is a bit intrusive.)
CS3 is also expensive, and all the additional tools and features make the program even more daunting to learn for newcomers. But its features are amazing and powerful, and Photoshop remains a must for serious image editors.
Assignments
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