Maybe I am just missing something, but to resolve this concern why can't he just create two (or more) user accounts? From the Vista on-board help: .....a separate user account with unique settings and preferences, such as a desktop background and color theme..... And assuming W7 still retains Vista's Fast User Switching and it is similarly accessible: Fast User Switching is a way to change users on a computer without closing programs and files first. Click the Start button , and then click the arrow next to the lock button. Click Switch User, and then click the user you want to switch to. Warning: Make sure to save any open files before switching users because Windows does not automatically save files that are open. If you switch to a different user and that user shuts down the computer, any unsaved changes you have made to files that are open on your account will be lost. DA

Here's a reply that was done by my Web Pal, Oberon, on sound issues. He's by far one of the most knowledgeable people I've ever known when it comes to glass. He frequents this site occasionally so I know he may see it later: Windows are rated as to their ability to deaden or attenuate sound based on something called an STC or Sound Transmission Class (walls and other building components use the same system, but here we are considering windows). STC is an average of an objects ability to attenuate sound across the entire sound frequency spectrum. STC does not provide specific frequency-deadening information which is really what is needed if you want to block a specific type of unwanted noise; for example traffic noise. As humans we are born with the ability to hear from approximately 20 to 20,000 hertz. Hertz, or Hz, is how sound frequency is measured - like electricity is measured in volts, for example. By the time we are teenagers we have generally lost the ability to hear above about 13,000hz which as I remember is something mother always warned us about - going deaf - or was it stop or you'll go blind? I always get those confused. Anyway, traffic noise is generally a low frequency sound, and unfortunately, low frequencies are much harder to attenuate (opposite of amplify) or block than are higher frequencies...consider how often you hear the base sounds from the neighborhood kid's car stereo and not the higher pitch tunes when he is coming down the street. When considering windows, there are generally three options available for maximum possible sound attenuation. First is laminated glass. Second is a wider airspace between the lites. Third is different thickness lites within the IGU or Insulating Glass Unit. Fourth would be a combination of all three. Airport windows, for example, will generally have laminated glass on both sides of the IGU in an aluminum frame and with a maximum airspace between the lites. In an airport the primary concern is sound attenuation and energy efficiency is secondary. I mention this because the width of the airspace and the choice of window framing material affects both sound and energy efficiency. Some folks will suggest triple pane glass for its sound deadening ability. And while triple pane is a slight improvement over standard double pane at lower frequencies due to the additional density of the extra lite, overall there is no difference in STC rating between triple and double pane provided that the overall airspace between the panes is constant between the two constructions. In other words, consider a triple pane with two 1/4" airspaces and a dual pane with a single 1/2" airspace...both using 1/8" glass...the STC will be identical if the IGU's are the same dimensions. Using one thicker (3/16") and one thinner (1/16") lite in an IG construction will also help deaden sound because each lite is "transparent" to a different frequency and each lite will then attenuate the frequency that the other lite "passed". And, as always the quality of the construction and especially the installation cannot be overstated! That was Oberons quick little educational post on sound transmission. I'll be jumping in on the installation part of this post and give you some direction for the future. Over the past ten years glass has made great leaps and bounds in providing a better product. Your windows happen to be right on that borderline. Your comments on the function of these windows leads me to believe they are on the wrong side of the border. You stated your builder has a good reputation and still builds in the area. One thing builders have always done is spend more money on special items and skimp on windows. This is where they can really do some cost cutting, and they do. More than likely there are one or two issues with your windows. First is there is thin glass units in your windows that don't offer any sound protection. The second is the insulation around each window frame never made it in or it fell out of place. You'd have to pull off inside trim to get a peek. I would recommend getting new replacement windows. Hopefully you have vinyl siding to make the job much easier for the installation. You may also want to check with your existing window manufacturer to see if you can just upgrade your glass in each unit. Hope this helps. Good Luck!!!

Cricketm, The best advise I can give you about Windows 10 is to watch a couple Tutorials on YouTube. Go to YouTube and Type either Windows 10 Tutorials or Windows 10 Tip and Tricks. Either of these should pull up some great Tutorials. I've got a nice Win 10 list started at another forum, but reading IMO isn't as good of a tool as a Video can be! I'm not saying you should read about it too! Here is a link to one of the better Videos: Windows 10 Tutorial I Decided to Copy the List here for you: 1. The First Trick is to Download and Install Windows 10 while it's still Free (Ends July 28th 2016) 2. Start Button (it's the White Windows Button in the Lower Left Corner of the screen) You can see the Start Button in the Above Photo numbered #3. 3. All Apps is where you'll find App and Programs that are installed on your Win10 computer. You can view where All APPS is located in the above Photo, #2 on the photo. 4. File Explorer is what My Computer or Computer in now called. You can find the File Explorer in the Above Photo, labeled #1. 5. Once you open All Apps if you Click on a Letter (not an App) you'll receive a list with numbers 0-9 and the 26 letter alphabet. If you know your App is in the Windows Accessories Folder you can press W. This will take you directly to the W's instead of scrolling down from A to W. 6. Cortana is your Personal Search Assistant. She can easily be found in your Taskbar at the Bottom of your screen. She can either be set as a Circle or a Search Box you could Type into (to the Right in this Box will be a Microphone, clicking on this will allow you to ask Cortana a Question). Finally if you don't want to use Cortana you can Hide her. All these features can be found by Right Clicking on the Circle/Search Box and Choosing Cortana, check the feature you want for Cortana. You can see the Cortana Search Box in the above Photo, is numbered as #4. In addition you can also find other setting for Cortana by: Clicking on the Circle/Search Box and picking the Notebook Icon in the left column of Cortana. This has a feature that will allow you to just say "Hey Cortana", this wakes Cortana up and then you can ask Cortana your question. To do this you need only turn this feature to the ON Position! 7. Cortana can help you do many things. She can Set Appointments on you Calendar She can remind you of your appointments She can set reminder like I set today to Remind me to take out the trash (Guess you have to remember to set a reminder)! She can Search your computer For File or Programs (really anything you need to find) She Can do a Internet Search for you, all you need to do is ask. I'm finding her a Very useful assistant. I started using her on my Windows 8.1 SmartPhone and was very glad to find they included her on Windows 10! 8. To Pin an App or Program to the Taskbar you only need drag it there. Some do offer to Pin to the Taskbar if you Right Click on them, but not all do. Pinning to the Start is not the same thing. 9. You can Pin most Apps and Programs to the Start Menu triggered by the Start Button. Right Click on the Icon you want to pin, if it's available to pin you will have that option. 10. Task View is next to Cortana in the Taskbar. This is useful so you can easily switch between open apps and programs. If you click on this Icon when the programs are maximized it will show you all available app/programs that are opened. If the Programs are minimized you will see all open apps/programs but will also have a feature below (just above the taskbar) that offers another Desktop. There is an Add Button to the Right that will allow you to open another Desktop. In this new Desktop you can have another program opened and by clicking on Desktop 1, 2, 3 or 4 you can switch back instantly to a program you were working on. Example Desktop 1 I have Internet Explorer opened to IBBS. Desktop 2 I have it Opened to Excel, Desktop 3 I have opened to Word. By clicking on the #3 Desktop Word will open to my Document I had opened at the exact spot it was opened before. I can then pick Desktop #1 and it will take me to IBBS to the Windows 10 Tip and Tricks where I'm currently at. With the click of one button I can be right back to Word or Excel on Desktop #2 or #3. 11. Snap Assist You can use Snap Assist to open two documents on the same screen without have to manually resize them. To do this take the first window and Quickly Drag it to either the Right Edge of the screen or the Left Edge of the screen (do this by Clicking and holding on the Top bar of the window) once your half way off the screen release your mouse button. Repeat this on the second window except for you'd drag it to the opposite side and release. 12. Right Clicking on the Start Button will open a Menu (List) with many features. Control Panel, Command Prompt, Device Manager, Disk Management , Programs and Features, etc... Lots there, Right Click and see! 13. In the Notification Area (where the clock is located) there are many running Programs as before many versions of Windows. There is one that looks like a Text Balloon. If you click on that Balloon the Action Center will open. The Buttons at the bottom have many different Functions. a. If you would Click on the Tablet Mode Button your Desktop will instantly change to the Windows 8.1 look with enlarged App Buttons. b. There is a Brightness Button you can adjust you Screen Brightness with. c. There is a WiFi Button you can turn your WiFi On and Off. d. One of the buttons is All Setting which is the Windows 10 Version of Control Panel (although right now Control Panel still exists All APPS> Windows System Folder) e. Bluetooth Button if your computer has Bluetooth capabilities, turns it On and Off. There are many more, you'll just need to explore it yourself! 14. You can open two documents and scroll both (not at the exact same time) but you can scroll the document in the background without bringing it to the front by clicking on it. Just running the cursor on top of that document (don't click, just scroll). BTW, To be able to view both documents you can't have them maximized on the screen. You could never do this with any other Operating System, you always had to bring the document to the front to be able to Scroll the document! Like in the Picture below (as you can see the IBBS Forum in the doc in the back, but I can scroll it without moving it to the front): 15. You can Resize the Start Menu. Place your mouse cursor at the Top of the Start Menu or at the Right Side until the cursor turns to a Double Arrow. Click and Hold, then drag it out to the desired distance (or back to make smaller). 16. You can Resize the Tile Size in the Start Menu. The Tiles are on the Right Side of the Start Menu. This was a Windows 8 feature but Windows 10 retained it! You can make the Tiles 4 different sizes: Small, Medium Wide and Large You only need Right Click on the Tile you want Resized the choose Resize from the menu. 17. You can Move the Tiles around on the Start Menu until you have them like you want them. Simply Click, Hold and Drag the Tile where you'd like it to be, Release and done! 18. Turning Pop-up Blocker on in Microsoft Edge: a. Click on Three Dots upper Right Corner, choose Settings from list b. Scroll Down to Advanced Setting and Click on View Advanced Settings Button below. c. Make sure Block Pop-Ups is turned on Windows 10 Pop-up Blocker Video

Windows 10 is a fundamentally different ownership arrangement. You are not buying a product any more, you are essentially buying a service. They can choose to change that service or stop offering that service. They can force you to upgrade that service. You don't really own the software anymore, just a right to use the service, whatever that may be. Now this may sound trivial, but it is a fundamental change in their business model. Probably the biggest change is in how they view your information. They have access to your information and the metadata derived from it. You can certainly try to turn off all the check boxes that give them access to your information, but it is difficult and tedious. They may get turned back on again without your knowledge via a service change. They have a "content distribution network" or ad network that they are weaving into the OS. Currently most of this is viewed via Bing, but the future is to pump it into your desktop or tablet and use information derived from your usage to help advertisers target the ads to the ideal audience. This may sound familiar, because it is exactly what google has been doing on the browser platform for years. MS just wants to adopt it and use their platform to deliver the content. Just to touch on meta data, they can collect information about your data and create new data from it. Then they can disavow having your original data, while retaining the new data that they own derived form your data. Mush this up with the proper legal language and it gets very difficult to figure out exactly what data they are accessing and what they are doing with it. 10 is very usable, you just need to understand that you have become the product.