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Microsoft site gives Vista answers
A tip for anyone who unwrapped a new PC over the holidays: Microsoft recently launched a new site that offers answers to common Windows Vista questions and problems. Targeted to a general audience, the Microsoft Answers beta appears more user-friendly than the existing Microsoft Support page. But making the most of it will still require more than the average level of technical knowledge.
Take, for example, the User Account Control windows that pop up to confirm that a user wants to make a system-level change to the machine. For security reasons, Microsoft would recommend against disabling those pop-ups. But say a user wants to go ahead and do it anyway. To find the answer on the site, a person would need to know that those pop-ups are part of the User Account Control system, and search for that term. Searching for "popups" or "pop-ups" wouldn't do it.
Another alternative would be to ask a question in the site's user forums, which require a Windows Live ID login.
At a broader level, it's interesting that the site is called Microsoft Answers, rather than Windows Vista Answers. I've asked a Microsoft representative if the company plans to expand the site beyond Windows Vista, and I'll update this post depending on the response.
[Via Ars Technica]
About Todd Bishop
Todd Bishop is co-founder and managing editor of TechFlash. He has covered Microsoft and the technology industry for more than five years, most recently as a daily newspaper reporter and blogger based in Seattle.
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