What's the difference between tabs and windows?

I can't figure out what the difference is between tabs and windows on my computer. They both seem to be a window to me. Do they serve different purposes?
On the subject of windows, someone told me that your computer uses up loads of power if you have a few open at the same time. Is that true?

floatingingalway wrote:

I can't figure out what the difference is between tabs and windows on my computer. They both seem to be a window to me. Do they serve different purposes?
On the subject of windows, someone told me that your computer uses up loads of power if you have a few open at the same time. Is that true?

A tab is always on the same window or browser . A 'window' opens a whole new instance of the browser - look at your task bar to find out.

Because it is another task then yes there will be power overheads, especially if there are moving images or graphics on the windows. This is because your RAM has a copy of the open programs and if too many are opened the copies go onto the disk which demands more energy. More RAM should help that.

Tabs are easier to change and flick between than windows unless you've got your tab keys working for you.

So, if I'm understanding you correctly, it is both easier and more economical to open new tabs as opposed to new windows....

Nah. I'm not getting it. Please explain again Audi with smaller words and pictures please.

Thanks.

I had both Firefox and Internet Explorer open earlier and took this IE snapshot of David Cochrane's post on the Banks Recap. on p.ie. I've indicated that I've also got two other tabs open on IE but I've nothing there - google or youtube or whatever.

On my desktop i have a 'gadget' which tells you how fast your computer is going and how hot the water is - it looks like a dashboard of a car kinda ? You can put dials like those on your computer to show you how much of your memory is getting used up, how much work your processor is doing and other stuff - what processes are going on in your computer. That gadget showed me a drop in memory usage when I closed p.ie and IE. It was a very small drop but it dropped anyway.

On the Firefox window I've loads of tabs open - really really exotic stuff but you can't see it because the firefox window isn't in the foreground, p.ie on IE is.

What do you think of that now? You can open a TAB by clicking File/New Tab and similarly for a window.

My head is hurting.

What are you looking at on your computer now besides MN ?

The pin. On a tab.

Would it be a little bit like the difference between a folder and a file?

floatingingalway wrote:

The pin. On a tab.

Can you open something else on a Window so just to see the difference?

I suppose it is like a folder and a file - a tab is like a file and a new instance of the browser like a folder. For the computer everything is a file.

Auditor #9 wrote:

floatingingalway wrote:

The pin. On a tab.

Can you open something else on a Window so just to see the difference?

I suppose it is like a folder and a file - a tab is like a file and a new instance of the browser like a folder. For the computer everything is a file.

Now I've got it. Nice one

Did you really not see the difference?

Auditor #9 wrote:

Did you really not see the difference?

My ignorance about computers knows no bounds. Yes, I really didn't see the difference but it's all ok now, I see the light!