The System Requirements for running Windows 7 as confirmed by Microsoft are:

• 1 GHz processor (32- or 64-bit)
• 1 GB of RAM (32-bit); 2 GB of RAM (64-bit)
• 16 GB of available disk space (32-bit); 20 GB of available disk space (64-bit)
• DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver

That is about the same you had for Windows Vista. So if you are running Windows Vista you will most likely be able to run Windows 7 without any problems. The requirements bump up if you think you will be using the XP mode (a feature that allows you to run Windows XP inside of Windows 7) available within Windows 7.

In any case you should check out the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor. The upgrade advisor will examine various aspects of your computer and let you know if your system will support Windows 7 or not. Just install and run the application and it does the rest.

It would examine your computer’s processor, memory and storage, graphics, checks to see if there are any compatibility issues with installed software or devices.

Not only this, it will also give you suggestions to make your system suitable for Windows 7. Make sure you have all your devices connected that you intend to use with Windows 7. If your system meets the requirements you can go ahead and install, otherwise look into the suggestions to see if you can resolve the issues.

If you are still skeptical or don’t want to make a complete switch just yet, you can install Windows 7 as a virtual machine and run it along side your present OS.

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

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So this is when you stumble upon an add-on that conveys the following message to you: “This add-on is for older versions of Firefox”.

Fix Incompatible Add-ons

Since your sights are set on using Firefox extensions that keep telling you they’re incompatible with the version you have, and downgrading a version or two isn’t an option, now you can discover a nifty tool called Nightly Tester Tools.

Ironically this is a Firefox add-on that will help you make all other incompatible extensions compatible with the browser version you’re running.

What’s Next

The first step you need to take is to download Nightly Tester Tools here, if you haven’t already.

Next if you still have the extension that was disabled when you upgraded to a newer version of Firefox in your add-ons menu, then you will go to Tools/Add-ons and right-click on your disabled extension, then choose Override Compatibility.

Now it will ask you to confirm your selection by clicking Force Install.

The last step involves restarting Firefox to have your add-on fully working.

Bonus Features

Here you thought it was the end of this add-ons story but actually there are a few other features that this extension allows you to take full advantage of.

With Nightly Tester Tools you’re also able to take screenshots of any webpage and save them in JPEG format. You can easily restore tabs from a previous session if it just so happens that your PC froze and you didn’t have time to properly close your browser window.

Feel free to test all other Nightly Tester Tools features and let us know how you like them in a comment below!

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

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If you want to avoid having to upgrade your machine, you’ll need to dive into the game’s system requirements before you purchase the game. Of course you can roam the stores with your system specifications at hand, but we can always take it easy by using the internet and one of the available web tools.

In the past, we wrote an article about Can You Run It?, a web application that checks your computer for game compatability, but today we’re going to look at an alternative website.

VGRequirements

VGRequirements is another tool that you can use to lookup system requirements for video games. The difference being how it handles the information at hand. Contrary to Can You Run It?, VGRequirements leaves the interpretation of the whole lot up to you. This might not be what non-technical folks want, but it does allow a much quicker and more plain look at the facts.

By searching the site, you can find specifications of nearly any game you can possibly think of – even Mac games.

This ever growing database of technical information is also supported by its users. Though the site admins try to keep everything up to date, any missing game specifications can always be sent to them at contact[at]vgrequirements[dot]info.

The standard game template shows us the minimum system requirements, such as the needed operating system, processor and video memory for the job, and the recommended system requirements, which you’ll need if you want to play the game to its full extent. In most cases, you’ll also find the game’s box art and trailer there.

New games and specifications are added daily. It’s a more than decent site now, but it has the potential to become something even greater over the course of time.

What tool you use for the job depends on your own personal taste. Personally, I favor VGRequirements, because it allows me to take a quick look without having to wait for an extensive computated comparison.

But what sources do you use and why do you prefer them? Tell us, and the rest of the MUO’ers, in the comments section below.

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

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It turns out that .docx is the new default file format for Microsoft Word 2007 and they even have xlsx and pptx for Excel 2007 and PowerPoint 2007 respectively. Microsoft probably thought that by making these the default formats, everyone would actually be upgrading to the new version of Office as soon as it was released. Well, I haven’t upgraded till now and have no inclination to upgrade for the next couple of months also.

That said, a lot of my friends have slowly moved over to the dark side and are sending me docx and pptx files all the time. In my quest to find the ultimate docx viewer online, I have come across a couple of resources that I’d like to share with you guys today.

Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack

To be fair, Microsoft didn’t leave us poor souls all alone. They did release the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for users of older versions of Office, to let them view and edit Office 2007 formats like docx, pptx and xlsx. If you’re one of those who owns a previous version of MS Office, this is probably the easiest way to go. The compatibility pack is a free and small (30MB) download from Microsoft.

On the other hand, If you’re as lazy as I am and only want to open docx file then Word viewer (docx viewer), PowerPoint viewer or the Excel viewer are perfect for the task. You don’t need the full version of Office installed to use any of the above viewers.

OpenOffice 3

OpenOffice is a free and open source alternative to Microsoft’s Office suite and the latest version of the product, version 3, includes native support for Office 2007 formats.

OpenOffice only can be used as a viewer for docx right now so editing the file and saving in the same format is not possible. You can only open office docx files and view them. Saving in the older office .doc format is possible though, for those who want to go that route.

Use Zamzar to Convert from docx to doc

Zamzar is an online service to convert files between various formats, docx (and pptx and xlsx) being one of them.

The website is free of advertisements and the service speedy. What more can you ask for ? All that Zamzar asks for is your email address to send over a link to the converted document, and of course the original document.

Just point your browser to the website, upload your document, give your email address and you’re done. No need to download any docx viewer.

You might also want to check out Docx Converter – site that lets you convert docx file to html. And as you may know html documents can be opened with any web browser.

You should receive an email from Zamzar within a couple of minutes with a link to the converted document.

Firefox Plugin to open docx files

Microsoft has also been working on a plugin for Firefox called the OpenXML viewer which is a viewer for docx files and can open docx file inside the Firefox browser as if it were an HTML file. Of course, you can’t edit the file but if viewing the file is all you want, this is probably the easiest solution.

To install the plugin, download it from this site and unzip it. Now, using Firefox, open the .xpi file (File->Open) and install the plugin. You will be asked to restart Firefox and once you restart, the new plugin should be there for you to view all your docx files.

Are there any other tools that you guys use to view/edit Office 2007 files ? Let us know in the comments.

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

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It was hell.

I don’t know how the gameplay was – I never got to that part. I was playing at about 60 seconds per frame and my flashlight wasn’t working. 50 Euros ($72) washed down the drain. If only I would’ve known!

If only people would’ve invented a way to compare the strength of your computer with game requirements and tell user whether his computer can play that game…Wait, they have! Meet ‘Can You Run it?‘, an online tool to check if your PC is up for the job.

‘ Can You Run it?’ uses System Requirements Lab, which weighs hardware specifications from the user’s computer against certain minimum and recommended values.

System Requirement Lab is used on many big websites, like nVidia, GameSpy, Activistion, EA, and others alike.

Can You Run it?

We’ll run you through an example of the CYRI test, using my PC and a copy of Crysis. I’ve already completed the game, so I know it runs perfectly fine, although I’m not able to maximize the video settings.

1. Select Your Game

Select your game from the drop-down menu on the main page. If you can’t find your game, your best option is to perform a Google search for the game’s specifications.

2. Installation

The title is misleading. You’ll have to give Java permission to run the program and upload your computer specs. Don’t worry, the nice people at ‘Can You Run it?’ promise absolute anonymity.

Hereafter, ‘Can You Run it?’ will analyze your data. Just give it a moment.

3. Interpretation

After analyzing, ‘Can You Run it?’ feeds you three things. First, an overall analysis, where it tells you in simple terms if you can or cannot run the game.

Please note that although my computer barely approaches the middle between the Minimum and Recommended marks, I was able to complete the game without any noticable framedrops and with stunning, although not maxed out graphics.

Next, two comparable pages. On the first page, ‘Can You Run it?’ compares your specifications to the minimum requirements, on the second one to the recommended requirements.

‘Can You Run it?’ looks at the following things:

• CPU type and speed
• System RAM
• Operating System
• Video Card and Driver
• DirectX Version
• Sound Card and Driver
• Free Disk Space
• DVD

These components all get rated on a six degree scale, and you’ll be provided with information and tips.

On the subjects where you score below the minimum or recommended specs, ‘Can You Run it?’ provides you with some improvement advice, such as what graphics card they advise you to get, or where you can get your driver updated. Basically, ‘Can You Run it?’ not only helps you summarize the problems at hand, but also points you in the right direction for fixing them.

If I had this site a few years ago, I wouldn’t have made the mistake of buying that game. Also, I wouldn’t have made the stupid mistake of buying a new video card that STILL didn’t support the game. God, that was embarrassing!

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

• VGRequirements – Find System Requirements For Video Games (10)
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