When it comes to power management on most electronic devices, things are pretty simple. There's "off," and then there's "on." But computers, particularly those running Windows, have always been more complicated. On is on, of course. For off, though, Windows XP machines offer several options--including hibernate, stand by and shut down. "Users don't always understand the difference," said Pat Stemen, a program manager in Microsoft's core operating-system division. With Vista, Microsoft is changing shut-down options so that pressing the power button feels more like turning the machine off.
The OS will typically send the computer to sleep rather than shutting down when the button is pressed to off--a power-saving move. What's worse is that even when people do know enough to choose hibernate or stand by, which turn off most parts of the system but don't clear files away, the computer often ends up staying on. That's because today's Windows lets an application or hardware device veto a PC user's decision.
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