With the arrival of Windows 95, the long-awaited revamp of Microsoft's bestselling graphical operating system Windows 3.1, it's only natural that videos which teach people how to run the sucker should he right behind. The better of two new peeks under the hood of Windows 95, The Microsoft Windows 95 Guide opens with a slickly-produced "cyber-sitcom" starring TV's Jennifer Anision and Matthew Perry as they get a hip tour by Bill Gates' secretary. Following the laughs, the program reviews in detail the new features and major changes viewers can expect to see, including longer filenames, true multi-tasking, and The Microsoft Network (recently the focus of anti-trust litigation. which Microsoft emerged from relatively unscathed). MS-DOS will still be available for those computer geeks that would feel teddy-bear less without it, but most regular users will be able to say goodbye once and for all to a language that is only slightly more cryptic than Latin. All in all, The Microsoft Guide to Windows 95 offers an entertaining, informative, and gentle introduction. Highly recommended.Half as long, The Video Guide to Windows 95, hosted by David Overoye, is not as lavish a production, but it's bargain basement priced at $9.95, and addresses the nitty gritty issue of compatibility (i.e., the bugs) a little more forthrightly. The opening segment on installation seems unnecessary, since Microsoft products tend to walk you through the proceedings anyway, but Overoye's tour of the desktop and taskbar, explanation of plug and play, and tips on customizing Windows 95 are well worth the price of admission. Recommended.Will the new Windows really live up to all the hype? Michael Schuyler, a friend and colleague who writes about computers in libraries, was one of the lucky 500 press who got to attend the grand unveiling of the new wonderware (1 won't even go into all of the neat freebies that Microsoft shamelessly showered upon members of the press, except to say I'm a little bit ticked that I wasn't invited.) A DOS man from way back, Mr. Schuyler was--and I'll use the technical terminology here--"blown away" by the demonstration of Windows 95's multi-tasking capabilities.The two videos reviewed above are just the first wave. More in-depth programs will to doubt follow once Windows 95's bugs are ironed out sometime during the next century. (R. Pitman)
The Microsoft Windows 95 Video Guide; The Video Guide To Windows 95
(1993) 60 min. $19.95. Goodtimes Entertainment. Color cover. Vol. 10, Issue 5
The Microsoft Windows 95 Video Guide; The Video Guide To Windows 95
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