At Staples, we’re glad to be able to offer the power and impressive new features of Windows 7 to our customers. The ability to find files in only two clicks, or to start up and shut down quickly, will make day-to-day computing so much easier. However, we want customers to be able to continue to enjoy the features of Windows 7 just as much after six months as they do on the very first day. That’s why we are on a quest to remind people that PC maintenance is just as important to software performance as routine oil changes are to keeping cars running smoothly.

As people spend more time online and doing work, they should be conducting preventative maintenance every 3-6 months, depending on the age and usage of the computer. With all of the impressive media management features in Windows 7, we expect customers to be even more active with storing and sharing photos, music, games and entertainment. But if customers do not take proper steps toward safeguarding their PCs, they won’t be able to really get the most out of the new operating system.

While Staples EasyTech service provides a range of tech services at our stores, anyone can follow some simple steps at home to keep any computer, and Windows 7, running smoothly:

• Have an antivirus solution and keep it up to date.
• Use Windows Disk Cleanup to safely remove any temporary files from your hard drive.
• Store computers in a well-ventilated area and be sure to clean out any dust or dirt that has accumulated inside the computer case.
• Check for Windows Updates. Periodically visit Windows Update to download any security patches and drivers that are available for your computer.
• Back up digital files, music and photos on an external hard drive.

Look, most drivers are not experts when it comes to what’s happening under the hood of their car, and we really need to think about PCs in a similar way. Put a reminder on your calendar twice a year to spend an hour on your PC maintenance so you can continue to enjoy the media and performance capabilities of the new Windows 7.

Bob MacDonald,
Vice President of Technology Services, Staples

With yesterday’s update to Windows Live Essentials (which included the final release of Windows Live Movie Maker), we also released an updated version of Windows Live Family Safety.

Windows Live Family Safety is designed to help parents keep their children safer online. It offers parents the ability to manage which websites their kids can visit, as well as the list of contacts they can communicate with when using the Windows Live services such as Windows Live Spaces, Hotmail and Messenger. It can also generate a report for parents so that they can monitor their children’s computer and online activity. The best part is it lets parents monitor what their kids are doing from anywhere they are online — from any Windows Vista or Windows 7 PC that has web access and that parents have administrative rights to (via http://fss.live.com).

The updated version of Windows Live Family Safety also offers deeper integration with Windows resulting in fewer log-in prompts and faster web surfing compared to previous versions of Family Safety while it’s running on the PC.

Windows Live Family Safety uses Windows accounts as the basis for storing settings. Parents are no longer required to have a Windows Live ID for each child who needs their own settings.

Windows Live Family Safety reads the Windows Parental Control (WPC) settings on Windows Vista and Windows 7 enabling parents to retrieve WPC activity reports from any Windows Vista or Windows 7 computer online. These reports include time spent on the computer, browsing history, and games and applications run. This monitoring is transparent to the end user, as a notification is displayed once on Windows account login when monitoring is enabled.

With Windows 7, there are new Windows APIs which provide software developers greater control of Windows Parental Controls UI and settings. Windows Live Family Safety takes advantage of the new Windows APIs. It’s now easier for users to access Windows Live Family Safety directly from the Windows Parental Controls Control Panel in Windows 7.Windows Live Family Safety is another good example of Windows Live “lighting up” the Windows PC.

With these improvements to Windows Live Family Safety, Microsoft demonstrates its continued commitment to helping parents keep their kids safe on the Web. You can download Windows Live Family Safety, part of Windows Live Essentials, at download.live.com.