Disabling startup items

Windows 8 ships with quite a few programs configured to start automatically. In addition, some programs that you install configure themselves to start automatically by default. If you don't want all these programs active all the time, open Task Manager, go to the Startup tab, highlight the programs you don't want to start automatically and click the Disable button in the lower right-hand area of the window.

Control when updates are applied

By default, Windows 8 was configured to download updates automatically and to apply them on shutdown. This can be inconvenient, as we normally need to shut down quickly to board an aircraft or get ready to leave the office for the day. We don't have 30 minutes or more to wait for Windows to apply updates.

File associations

As memory served, Microsoft had made it progressively more difficult to change default file associations with each successive release of Windows. I was pleased to discover that Windows 8 presents a list of programs that can open a file of any given type the first time you try to open the file.

Start menu

The first time I found myself wanting to run a program from the start menu, I hit a wall. The start menu is apparently not included in Windows 8. A quick online search taught me that the "Metro" way to do this is to swipe in from an edge and choose Search, then start typing the name of the program you want to run.

Terminate a program in full screen mode

In full screen mode, the usual window controls are not available. To end a program:

With a keyboard: Press ALT+F4

Switch between tiled view and desktop view

To toggle between the tiled view and the desktop view:

With a keyboard: Press the Win key.

Intro

I recently started a consulting engagement with a client whose internal network cannot support connections from Linux instances. The client expects consultants to provide their own equipment. After a couple of weeks of frustration trying to get connected with my laptop, with no real help from the help desk, I decided the most expedient course would be to purchase a laptop with Windows pre-installed on it.