Task Manager-Your own little toolbox

Windows Task Manager is a task manager application included with Microsoft Windows NT family of operating systems that provides detailed information about computer performance and running applications, processes and CPU usage, commit charge and memory information, network activity and statistics, logged-in users, and system services. The Task Manager can also be used to set process priorities, processor affinity, forcibly terminate processes, and shut down, restart, hibernate or log off from Windows. Windows Task Manager was introduced with Windows NT 4.0, previous versions of Windows NT included the Task List application, which had far fewer features. The task list was capable of listing currently running processes and killing them, or creating a new process.

Launching Task Manager

The Task Manager can be launched using any of the following four methods:

1. Using the context menu on the taskbar and selecting "Task Manager".
2. Using the key combination Ctrl+Shift+Esc.
3. In Windows NT, Windows 2000, and Windows Vista, use the key combination Ctrl+Alt+Del to open the Windows Security dialog, then click on "Task Manager". In Windows XP, pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del or Ctrl+Shift+Esc directly launches Task Manager, unless you have disabled the Welcome Screen.
4. Starting "Taskmgr.exe" from a command line, GUI or a shortcut.

Applications tab

The Applications tab in Task Manager shows a list of programs currently running. There are a set of rules that are used to determine whether a process appears on this tab or not. Most applications that have a taskbar entry will appear on this tab, but this is not always the case.

Right-clicking any of the applications in the list allows (among other things) switching to that application, ending the application, and showing the process on the Processes tab that is associated with the application.

Choosing to End Task from the Applications tab causes a request to be sent to the application for it to terminate. This is different from what happens when End Process is chosen from the Processes tab.

Processes tab

The Processes tab shows a list of all running processes on the system. This list includes services and processes from other accounts. Prior to Windows XP, process names longer than 15 characters in length are truncated.

Right-clicking a process in the list allows changing the priority the process has, setting processor affinity (setting which CPU(s) the process can execute on), and allows the process to be ended. Choosing to End Process will cause Windows to immediately kill the process. Unlike choosing End Task from the Applications tab, when choosing to End Process the program is not given warning nor a chance to clean up before ending. However, when a process that is running under a security context different than the one of the process which issued the call to TerminateProcess, the use of the KILL command line utility is required.

By default the processes tab shows the user account the process is running under, the amount of CPU, and the amount of memory the process is currently consuming. There are many more columns that can be shown by choosing Select columns... from the View menu.

Performance tab

The performance tab shows overall statistics about the systems performance, most notably the overall amount of CPU usage and how much memory is being used. A histogram of recent usage for both of these values is shown. Details about specific areas of memory are also shown.

There is an option to break the CPU usage graph into two sections; kernel mode time and user mode time. Many device drivers, and core parts of the operating system run in kernel mode, whereas user applications run in user mode. This option can be turned on by choosing Show kernel times from the View menu. When this option is turned on the CPU usage graph will show a green and a red area. The red area is the amount of time spent in kernel mode, and the green area shows the amount of time spent in user mode.

Networking tab

The Networking tab shows statistics relating to each of the network adapters present in the computer. By default the adapter name, percentage of network utilization, link speed and state of the network adapter are shown, along with a histogram of recent activity. More options can be shown by choosing Select columns... from the View menu.

Users tab

The Users tab shows all users that currently have a session on the computer. On server computers there may be several users connected to the computer using Terminal Services. As of Windows XP, there may also be multiple users logged onto the computer at one time using the Fast User Switching feature. Users can be disconnected or logged off from this tab.

Tiny Footprint mode

Double-clicking certain areas in the Task Manager brings up an interface with excess information stripped away. This interface can also be resized. Double clicking again will return to the normal interface. This is called the Tiny Footprint mode.

Windows Vista changes

Windows Task Manager has been updated in Windows Vista with new features, including:

• A "Services" tab to view and/or modify currently running services and start and stop any service as well as enable/disable the UAC file and registry virtualization of a process.
• It is possible to add other columns such as a "Description" column to see the full name and path of a process and its DEP and virtualization status.
• By right-clicking on any process, it is possible to directly open the Properties of the process executable or the directory (folder) containing the process.
• The Task Manager has also been made less vulnerable to attack from remote sources or viruses as it must be operating under administrative rights to carry out certain tasks, such as logging off other connected users or sending messages. The user must go into the "Processes" tab and click "Show processes from other users" in order to verify administrative rights and unlock these privileges. Showing processes from all users requires all users including administrators to accept a UAC prompt, unless UAC is disabled. If the user is not an administrator, they must enter a password for an administrator account when prompted to proceed.
• By right-clicking on any running process, it is possible to create a dump. This feature can be useful if an application or a process is not responding, so that the dump file can be opened in a debugger to get more information.

Windows task manager provided in the windows operating system is perhaps one of the few tools that windows has provided for effective and powerful user friendly administration of your system resources.
From starting a task to forcefully terminating it the task manager is a very handy tool.
What more you can view your system resources, their usage, the network performance, log in, log off, restart...

Task Manager overview- Microsoft.com

Is Microsoft a monopoly? If so, why does it matter?

The news has been filled with reports that Microsoft is a "monopoly." What is the legal definition of a monopoly? I also read reports that suggest Microsoft has been played an important role in our current record-setting economic expansion. Even if Microsoft is a monopoly, what is wrong with that?

Why do we need government? One of the most important answers to that question is that we need government to compensate for "market failures."

The United States economy is based on the presumption of a free market. This means that individuals and groups are free to do the work they choose to do, provide goods and services of their choosing and to spend money on the things they want. The government, for the most part, does not limit the range of goods and services available or set the prices that are charged for them. The amount of money an individual or business can charge for a product is set by the supply and level of demand for that product. Popular products that are scarce will have higher prices than unpopular and readily available products.

For the most part, the market produces economic outcomes that are efficient and fair. However, there are some instances in which the market fails. Economists generally include on the list of market failures monopolies, the under-provision of public goods, externalities, incomplete markets, information shortages and high unemployment and inflation rates.

When the market functions properly, competing individuals or businesses provide the same (or similar) goods and services to consumers. Because consumers have a choice, providers will lower their prices to win consumer dollars. The interplay of competition to supply a good or service and consumer demand for it will set a fair and efficient price in a free market. However, when there is no competition (and only one individual or business provides a good or service) the market cannot set an efficient price. In such instances, a monopoly is said to exist.

However, economists maintain that a monopoly does not exist simply because there is only one provider of a good or service. For example, in the Microsoft case, the Windows operating system is enormously popular, but the potential for a competing firm to provide a similar product exists. In fact, Macintosh is a small but important competitor in the computer and operating system market. Linux has also emerged in recent months as a viable alternative to Microsoft Windows.

But is Microsoft's market share (about 90%) so massive that it can behave like a monopoly? A monopoly can set prices artificially high because it has no serious competitors to force it to do otherwise. It can also arbitrarily limit the supply of the good or service it provides to create scarcity and drive prices up. In either case, the monopoly collects a "rent" on its domination of a particular sector of the economy. This rent represents income above and beyond the efficient price it could charge for its product in a competitive market environment.

Legally, a monopoly or "trust" exists when an individual or firm can explicitly force competitors out of business by slashing prices, buying up and hoarding supplies, bribery or intimidation (Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914). Earlier this year, a federal judge ruled that Microsoft has, indeed, engaged in many such practices on the basis of its monopoly power in the computer operating systems market. Discussions between Microsoft, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Attorneys General of several states are ongoing to decide what, if anything, should be done to Microsoft given this ruling.

Many observers have argued that to break up Microsoft would send the wrong message to individuals and businesses in the United States. If a company produces a product that is so good that everyone wants to buy it, should that company be punished? But dividing the company into two or three smaller companies, others have argued, would force Microsoft to compete on a more level playing field with other software companies. Moreover, they argue, with competition, the quality of software would improve and prices would probably drop.

Perhaps a lesson can be drawn from the break up of American Telephone and Telegraph (AT&T) in 1983. The government had actually protected AT&T's market domination during the first half of the 20th Century because of AT&T's commitment to make telephone service universally available in the United States. However, by the 1980s, many critics argued that the company was so large and monopolistic that competition had been stifled and consumers were being deprived of choice in the long-distance telephone market. In response, the Courts forced a breakup of the company into seven regionally based "Baby Bells" (Southwest Bell, Southern Bell, etc.).

The AT&T case is similar to the Microsoft case in one very important respect. The early Antitrust laws in the United States were motivated by consumer protection. Recent applications of the law, however, have been more focused on providing opportunities for other businesses and corporations to compete with large monopolistic companies such as AT&T and Microsoft. In the AT&T case, and in the Microsoft case, potential competitors have played the leading role in legal challenges, with consumers as the supporting cast.

As a matter of legal and economic fact, Microsoft is at least "monopolistic." It has such a commanding share of the operating systems market that it can, in many respects, behave like a monopoly. But is that necessarily bad for consumers? It is manifestly bad for Microsoft's competitors, just as AT&T's dominance was bad for its competition. After AT&T was broken up, companies like MCI and Sprint emerged as major competitors in the long-distance telephone service market.

Arguably, consumers have benefited as well from the breakup of AT&T with long-distance rates well under ten cents a minute. While potential competitors would most likely benefit from a breakup of Microsoft, it is not entirely clear that significant benefits would be immediately realized by consumers. If recent stock market reactions to initial rulings in the Microsoft case are any indication of what would happen if Microsoft were broken up, the short term results for consumers (and the economy) might be very negative. As in every instance that the government decides to intervene in the economy, a good deal of caution and care is in order.

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Anti Viruses...

I was in a computer store sometime ago with a frnd of mine to get a solution for software incompatibility in Vista when i noticed a rather tensed lady being attended on a nearby table. Her laptop had been infected by some virus and the person attending to it was offering a rather expensive solution for it.
The 'engineer' told her that he would first make a backup of her hard disk(Rs.250), then format the hard disk (Rs 400 if the sys was in warranty nd Rs.500 if out of warranty), then restore the contents and she would have to buy a new LICENSED ANTI VIRUS for protection(cost depending upon choice)
Now what i could not really get was that if the anti virus was that much afective in curing then why the hell was there a need to fomat the hard disk?
And moreover the lady already had an updated anti virus in her system at the time of infection!

So what was the guarantee that the new one would keep the sys safe throughout its licensing time?
U know what struck my mind was that who in the world was having so much of spare time to take pains to create complex algorithms to infect a system of which he probably would never know.
And why the hell are all these viruses so easy to detect by these anti viruses....i mean all programs work on set principles..so an anti virus would be looking for certain specific tasks and so why does someone need to write a message on ur desktop to make u aware of virus infection...viruses r meant for targets and why would a programmer add a loophole to get it detected?There r patches available for nearly everything so how in the world can a virus programmer be so ignorant to let his algo be destroyed by some stupid anti virus???

Hey even a bigger question that struck my mind was that how could there be possibly cure for so many threats being constantly casted upon?I mean 1 minute u hear of a dangerous virus and the next minute a company comes out with its cure...as if it was all pre meditated...as if the threat was already known...as if there was some sort of understanding between the virus and the anti virus...u go threaten to infect and i will come to save the day!!!
And most of all the real viruses still go undetected...they do their work and vanish and most of the times u would never know u had an infection till the disease is fully grow..UNCURABLE....

Hey anybody needing any kind of help in computers pertaining to softwares...availability,queries,download links, best offers, free softwares...this is the place for u!!!


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