Saturday, September 29, 2007

Microsoft Vista- A Necessity For Every College Student

When Microsoft comes out with a new version of Windows, it takes most people a while to get used to. Even after one becomes used to the newest version of Windows, it takes even longer to "like" it. At approximately 2:20 this afternoon, I skipped the "getting used to it" step and went right to LOVING Windows Vista. Here is why...


As a college student, I have to write several papers a semester. Along with every paper comes the dreaded citation and bibliography requirements. I understand that professors want us to "give credit where credit is due" and I have no problem proving that I don't plagiarize, but it is a pain, none the less. Depending on the paper it takes up at least 1/4 of the time it took you to write the paper to cite your work and add a bibliography. Most professors require the American Psychology Association (APA) style of citing your work, but sometimes, you get a professor who wants another style. Regardless of the style, however, you still need to spend time looking up how to correctly cite various sources (Electronic, journals, online journals, school websites, books, online books, newspapers... the list is endless).


What am I getting at? Windows Vista, in all it's confusing glory, has a feature on Microsoft Word that pretty much does your citation work for you. Under the "References" menu, you click on "Manage Sources" and you just fill in the blanks, answering questions about what kind of source you are using, the author, dates, etc. As you are writing your paper, you can click on the drop down menu next to "Insert Citations" and select which of your sources you obtained the information from. The citation is instantly entered into the paragraph in the correct format. Once you are finished writing your paper, you just have to click on "Bibliography" and it inserts your entire bibliography into your paper in the citation style you had selected at the beginning. WOW!

(This image is hard to see... I added the yellow boxes to direct you)

I was so excited about this, I had to procrastinate from writing my paper again to tell everyone about it! I really think every college student should have this kind of ease when citing sources!

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dude thats awesome, the bibliography and citing is seriously the most stressful part for me when writing a paper so WOOHOO for Microsoft Vista!!! Youre the bestest friend in the whole world Luv u:)

Anonymous said...

I love my computer and like my Vista, but I wondered what all the fuss was about. I looked at Vista as just another way for Bill Gates to increase his fortunes. You have pointed out a least one helpful feature of Word -and I am guessing that this version of Word plays only under the Vista operating system? I like some of the features of Word2007 but one thing that bothered me is when one saves a file, it is saved as a .docx file. Advantage? It uses a new data compression algorithm that saves memory. Whoopee!
The problem is, you have to save it in the old .doc format if you want to send it to your cave-man era friends who only have advanced to Word97-2003!
Having spent the money, I appreciate your pointing out some of the advantages, Jessica. I'm glad you love it and find it advantageous. Keep up the good work and have great successes in all you do.
Love,
Grandpa Clark

not2brightGRAM said...

I'm plagarizing here from Kim Komando, but any college students who read this may appreciate it. It's another goodie for students!

"Microsoft is encouraging college students to steal Office Ultimate 2007. This is the complete version of Office, containing nine programs. They include Word, Excel and Outlook.

College students can visit Microsoft’s special site to steal the program.

Truth be told, Microsoft isn’t giving it away. But, at $60, it's the “ultimate steal,” as Microsoft says. A retail version is almost $700!

Microsoft does require proof that you’re a student. So don’t try to trick the company.

You might be wondering why Microsoft launched such a generous offer. Well, students are often broke. And unscrupulous students might stoop to other methods of obtaining the software…"


www.theultimatesteal.com

not2brightGRAM said...

P.S. I'm so proud of you!!

johnna said...

I haven't figured out how some of you post a photo along with your comments. To keep me from overworking my small-but-active brain, can someone clue me in?

not2brightGRAM said...

Dad, you do it on your blog Profile. You have to have it hosted somewhere, though, to get an URL. If you'd like, I'd be happy to host you! Let me know...

Send me a photo you want as your avitar, then I'll upload it to my host, and send you the URL. I'd be happy to walk you through it!

Love, Judi

Rebecca said...

Jessica. . . that's so awesome! If it were in college right now, I think you would have just convinced me to buy Vista. The worst part about writing papers was the Bibliography. I remember having to buy the "Hold Handbook" which had a huge section devoted to formating the entries on the bibliography. Like you said, not that I am opposed to giving credit where credit is due, but sometimes (based on grading practices) I wondered if the professor thought the point the paper was to learn and research a relevant curricular topic or to master the APA bibliographical requirements! Three cheers for Vista!!! =)

Rebecca said...

In reply to the comment about "the ultimate steal". . .

I can think of another reason Microsoft might offer the drastic student discount other than to reward potential illegal downloading (because really. . . if you were planning to acquire it for free, why would you want to pay even $60?) I think that Microsoft is all about securing a customer base. If they can get students hooked on their products now, the odds are, those students will become brand loyal and all future purchases will be Microsoft. Kind of like drug dealers who offer the first hit (or whatever they call them) for free.

That's MY theory =)

Anonymous said...

the way I see all this stuff is I think you should have taken a nap!!!

Jess(ica) said...

Rebecca, I, too, have wondered if professors want us to have a grasp of the material or a grasp of citing work!