After installing Word 2007 you may have noticed that the default template is different to previous versions of Word, as the default font is not Times New Roman and the default paragraph spacing is quite large. Should you wish to change these back to the defaults found in previous versions of Word (i.e. Times New Roman as the default font, and single line and paragraph spacing) in the Word ribbon, click the “Home” tab and in the Font section, click the disclosure box button in the bottom right-hand corner of the font section. Change the font to Times New Roman, Regular, 12 point size. Then, click the “Default” button to make this the default font. Next, click the disclosure box button in the Paragraph section of the “Home” tab on the Word ribbon. Set all the Spacing options to 0 point and the Line spacing to Single. Click the “Default” button to make this the default setting. Now, each time you open Word these will be the default settings.

Last year Microsoft released the free Microsoft Security Essentials package. This is a free antivirus package for Windows XP SP2 and SP3 (32-bit), Windows Vista (32 and 64 bit), and Windows 7 (32 and 64 bit). This may be well worth a look for users who are considering a free antivirus software package. Microsoft Security Essentials is available for free download at www.microsoft.com/security_essentials .

Some people may have noticed that the Windows 7 taskbar is quite high, compared with the taskbar in Windows XP and Windows Vista. If you are running a computer with a small screen then you may wish to make the taskbar smaller to maximise the amount of screen real-estate you have available. In this situation you can easily make the size of the taskbar icons smaller. Right-click on an empty space in the taskbar and select “Properties”. In the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties window, select the “Taskbar” tab. Under the “Taskbar appearance” heading, tick “Use small icons” and then click OK. You will notice that the taskbar and icons within the taskbar, become much smaller.

Those users who are interested in getting into programming may have found that many of the programming environments are quite expensive to purchase. However, Microsoft have released free versions of their Visual Studio package allowing users to write applications in Visual Basic, Visual C# and Visual C++ without the need to purchase the expensive, commercial-grade Visual Studio Professional packages. You can download Visual Studio Express from www.microsoft.com/express/downloads .

For those users running Mac OS X there is a little known, but very useful utility called the System Profiler. This will show you all kinds of information about the hardware and software on your Mac-based computer. The System Profiler is accessible by going to the “Go” menu in the Finder > “Utilities” and opening “System Profiler”. Alternatively, you can type “System Profiler” into Spotlight.