  HARDWARE:
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aka Multitasking
You need to be able to work with more than one window open at a time. Dragging and dropping skills are a must, as well as resizing and moving windows around on your desktop. Once these are mastered, there's just no telling how far you can go towards being a true Windows aficionado. It's sure a lot easier to love your operating system when you know how to make it work for you properly. If the window of the application you are working with is filling your screen, there isn't much else you can do, unless it is directly related to the software you have open. You may also be missing out on a lot of neat things you could be doing with it. The window needs to be resizeable so it can be moved around. The easiest way to do this is to double click anywhere in the title bar area of the window. This is the very top of the program window, where the title of your application is. It is also where you will find the X and _ in the upper right corner. If you click the button between the X and the _, you can accomplish the same thing, but double clicking in the title bar itself is usually a lot quicker and doesn't require you to even have to think, "Is this the right button?" After two swift clicks in the title bar of your program window, it's time to make it a more manageable size. This can be done by slowly moving the tip of your mouse pointer over any one of the four edges of the window until you see it change to a double ended arrow. When you see it, click and (while holding down the left mouse button) drag that side of the window in or out, up or down, until it is the size you need. Keep in mind that you want the window at least big enough to be able to work with what is inside, but small enough to be able to move around to a more convenient area on the desktop. Once the window is the size you need, you can move it around by left clicking once more in the title bar area and, while holding down that left mouse button (again), drag it anywhere you want. You can then open any other window and do the same thing. A great way to illustrate this point, is to open your NotePad text editor. You can find it in your Accessories Group when you press your Start and Programs. Position the open window on your desktop so that it is toward the upper right of your screen. Click the Start button, then move your mouse on up to the word Find, and click the words, Files or Folders. When the next dialog box comes up, type *.txt in it. Then press the Enter key on your keyboard. You should see a bunch of files appear in a list below the box you typed into. Ready for a little adventure? Make sure your NotePad and Find windows are close to each other. It doesn't matter if they overlap a bit, as long as you can comfortably click on each one. Notice how when you click on each window, it automatically pops to the front? This is because when clicked on, it becomes the active window, naturally wanting to be in front, and the center of attention. When you click on the other, it will pop to the front, and the other will politely move to the background, but still close enough to do your bidding when you want it again. Play with it a bit. Now, back to those cute little *.txt files you just found...click on one of them and drag (while holding down your left mouse button) it right to the big middle of your NotePad window. HELLO! The file magically opens up for you do read! Do it again. Don't bother to close NotePad or the file you just opened. It will be replaced with the next one you drag on over. The only time it wouldn't would be if you made any changes to the file. Then it would just ask if you want to save the changes before closing that file and opening the next. Congratulations! You just walked and chewed gum, Windows Style! And, since you're already there, and a little practice never hurt anybody, drag lots of those .txt files on over to your NotePad. It's a goldmine of information.
Another way to maneuver between windows is to have both as wide as you can, but make one a little taller than the other, and bring the other down a little lower on the screen. Then you can click on either window quickly and easily to bring it to the front and make it the active> window. Isn't this "back and forth" stuff fun? The great thing about windows is that there is always more than one way to do something. Do what is comfortable. Before long, you will be wondering what in the world you ever did before WINDOWS and that MULTITASKING thing!
Got questions?
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If you can walk and chew gum at the same time, you already have the general theory of multitasking. It's what makes Windows (the newer the better) the awesome operating system it is, providing you have enough memory and hard drive space to support it. There are all sorts of occasions where doing more than one thing at a time is not just a luxury, but a necessity.
There are many times you will need to be able to use more than one application at a time. Dragging and dropping files is only one (very good) example of what you can do. Another great way to use multitasking is to have your favorite on-line service opened, and instead of using the (usually crappy) browser that comes with it to surf the Internet, move the on-line service window over to one side of your screen, then open a different web browser (like Netscape or Internet Explorer). Then you can surf to your heart's content. The other will still be there when you want to get back to it. Don't be shy about making each window the size you want. Usually you will want to have each window as wide as your screen will allow. If there isn't enough room for them to overlap enough to click on the one behind, just move your mouse down to your taskbar. You can always click on it there, and it will pop to the front for you.