Chapter 7. The Freebie Software
Even after a fresh installation of Windows XP, a glance at your Start→All Programs menu reveals a rich array of preinstalled Windows XP applications—as an infomercial might put it, they’re your free bonus gift. This chapter offers a crash course in these programs, a few of which could probably merit Missing Manuals of their own.
The Windows XP Accessories
Microsoft calls many of these built-in programs accessories. They have two things in common. First, they’re all smallish, single-purpose programs that you’ll probably use only occasionally. Second, you get to them from the Start→All Programs→Accessories menu.
Accessibility Features
If you have trouble using your keyboard or making out small text on the screen, the programs in the Start→All Programs→Accessories→Accessibility menu may be just what you need.
Accessibility Wizard
Windows XP is one of the most disability-friendly operating systems on earth. It includes a long list of features that enables the PC to magnify, speak, or otherwise boost the elements of the screen.
The Accessibility Wizard offers these features to you, one feature at a time. Its screens invite you to enlarge all kinds of things: the type in dialog boxes and menus, scroll bars and window borders, desktop icons, the arrow cursor itself, and so on.
Tip
Not all of these features are useful only to the disabled. If you have a flat-panel screen, for example, you may have noticed that everything on the screen is smaller than it might be ...
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