Archive for October, 2006

10 Windows Vista Tips and Tweaks

Ed Bott has published Vista tips before, but after he got some complaints about them being to basic, he’s released ten Windows Vista tips for the more advanced users.

Tweak #1: Add an elevated Command Prompt
Tip #2: Get an expanded shortcut menu
Tweak #3: Make text easier to read
Tip #4: Snip a screen shot
Tip #5: Get a quick system checkup
Tweak #6: Pump up the volume
Tip #7: Master the Quick Launch bar
Tweak #8: Make the blinking cursor easier to see
Tweak #9: Make Security Center go away
Tweak #10: Use the Mobility Center on a notebook Source: 10 tips and tweaks for Vista experts

Click thru to get the actual tips, or submit your own here: webmaster at tipsdr.com. We’ll provide a link to your website if your tips are used.

Office Genuine Advantage Starts Today

If you hate or have had trouble with WGA, or Windows Genuine Advantage, their tool that checks to see if your Windows is pirated or not, then you are going to love this. Today, Microsoft has launched Office Genuine Advantage, or OGA, which will require mandatory validation of Office software starting October 27, 2006. Any Office Online templates downloaded from the Office 2007 Microsoft Office System will require validation. Starting in January, Office Update will require validation as well before you can download updates. What will this mean for Office 2007 users? Many people have had trouble with WGA, can similar troubles be expected from OGA?

Users absolutely hated the first iteration of the Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) program, and their protests pressured the company into revising it about a year after it launched in July 2005.

Microsoft said in a press statement that the validation process will be “quick and simple” for users. The OGA program, currently in the testing phase, is now available in 26 languages worldwide.

Microsoft has integrated this check directly into the next version of its OS, Windows Vista, as part of what it is calling a “Software Protection Platform.” Through that automatic validation system, a Vista user must activate his or her copy of the software with a valid activation key within 30 days after purchase of the software, or see the OS enter a reduced functionality mode. In that mode, users can browse the Web for an hour but then the system will log them out, and they will have to log in again if they want to browse more. Source: PC World

One would expect similar troubles with OGA, I expect more users to stick with 2003 instead of upgrading, and I know some business owners will probably look long and hard at what they plan on doing concerning Office from now on.

First Halo 3 Review

In the next issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly, some of their editors try out Halo 3, and write a 17 page article on the multiplayer game, new weapons, the mongoose is back, new maps, save movies and much more.

In the just-redesigned December issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly (subscribers should have it any day now) a handful of editors took Halo 3′s multiplayer game hands-on.

The result? A 17-page cover story and a three-week series of stories on 1UP called “3 Weeks of Halo 3.” Source: 1up

They will also have a three week online series called 3 Weeks of Halo 3.

Microsoft Patches PatchGuard Hack

Microsoft is definitely not happy that a security software vendor has bypassed the kernel protection software in Windows Vista, PatchGuard, and said that it would not be wise to continue because Microsoft will close any flaws discovered, making any software dependent on it, obsolete, and this, says Microsoft, could make users of such software unprotected and dealing with more problems because of such attempted access. Sounds like they are trying to draw a line in the sand.

“Microsoft is aware of public reports of ways to subvert the kernel in Windows Vista and has addressed them in current builds; however, we have not received any other reports of ways to subvert the kernel in existing builds of Vista,” said Adrien Robinson, director of Microsoft’s Security Technology Unit.

“If a vulnerability is discovered in Kernel Patch Protection, Microsoft will issue a security update as part of the standard Microsoft Security Response Center process.” Source: eWeek

Security vendors have been beating up this topic for a long time now, and Microsoft recently agreed to provide APIs that they could use to access the kernel, but the security vendors are worried about the timeliness of receiving the APIs. Authentium’s work around was to take advantage of part of the kernel that allowed the os to support older hardware. This is NOT the last we’ll hear about this subject.

Expect Year End Bargains on Flat Panel TVs

An article from PCWorld says if you are looking to purchase a flat panel tv, wait until the end of the year, when competition from manufacturers will be at the highest

“Competition is very intense, especially in the American market. We believe that we’ll be seeing lower prices especially on 40-inch or 30-inch sets much earlier than we had expected,” said Nobuyuki Oneda, Sony chief financial officer, on Thursday at a Tokyo news conference.

The falling prices are stoking demand among consumers for the sets, which offer big space savings in the home over conventional CRT (cathode ray tube) models and often come with added benefits such as high-definition tuners. Source: PC World

And if everybody waits until the end of the year, prices may drop even more! Okay, I know, wishful thinking, but you never know…

Interview with Jim Allchin

Mary Jo Foley interviews Jim Allchin, the co-president of Microsoft, he talks about what they learned from Vista, why was it Windows XP SP2 instead of an operating system or service release, and more.

After Bill Gates, the man whose name is most closely associated with Windows is Jim Allchin. Allchin, the co-president of Microsoft?s platforms and services business, is in his final months at Microsoft. As previously announced, the 16-year Microsoft veteran plans to leave the company in January, following the retail launch of Windows Vista.

Q: So what was the deal with Windows XP SP2? I was always curious why you guys didn’t call that an operating system release, which it really was.

Allchin: Well, right or wrong, that buck stops with me, because I made that decision. And this was against Steve Ballmer’s direction or opinion to me. And here’s the reason why I did it. In hindsight I look like an idiot.

(But) I’ll stand by my decision. I stood by my decision because I was absolutely so worried about customers hesitating in deploying this, and I thought there could be a complete meltdown that customers were at risk.

And so I wanted to do anything I could to ease the deployment, and I felt that if I called this thing Windows XP release 2 or anything like that, I would have started a retest, re-verification, delay the deployment and in would have come an attack of some form. I wanted to, even with as simple thing as the name, we did things in technology to make it simple to deploy, too. Source: What did Microsoft learn from Vista?

Definitely worth a look see.

Peer to Peer Operator Sentenced to Jail

An operator of the Elite Torrents service, Grant T. Stanley, has been sentenced to 5 months prison, 5 months home confinement, 3 years probation and a $3,000 dollar fine in his role as network administrator.

At one time, the Elite Torrents network had more than 133,000 members and allegedly facilitated the illegal distribution of more than 2 million copies of movies, software, music and games. Federal officials said “Star Wars: Episode III ? Revenge of the Sith” was available through Elite Torrents six hours before it even debuted in theaters.

“We hope this case sends the message that cyberspace will not provide a shield of anonymity for those who choose to break our copyright laws,” U.S. Attorney John Brownlee said in a statement. Source: Yahoo

He was one of three people convicted of copyright infringement in Operation D-Elite, which was a federal crackdown on suppliers of pirated works to Elite Torrents, which agents shut down in May 2005. The other two names were not mentioned in the report.

Dell Executive Says Double Your Memory for Vista

Dell Computers chief executive, Kevin Rollins says pcs may need twice the memory that Microsoft recommends for Windows Vista.

“I think they tell you maybe 1 gig of memory is OK,” Rollins said Thursday at a speech at Shanghai’s Jiaotong University, referring to Microsoft’s recommendations. “No. Two gigs of memory would be great.”

Microsoft’s latest version of Windows, running more than two years late, is boosting demand for memory chips made by companies such as Samsung Electronics Co. Vista will increase sales of personal computers worldwide after its release next year as people buy new computers that can support the operating system, Rollins said.

“Everyone is going to want Vista when it’s ready,” Rollins said. Round Rock, Texas-based Dell is vying for top place among the world’s PC makers with Hewlett-Packard Co. Source: SeattlePI

Well, on Microsoft’s website, it says the minimum is 512mb, and usually, in the past, double that has been good. With all of the new graphics and bells and whistles, it will probably like more memory, just like Windows XP did, but, since I haven’t played with any of the releases yet, I’ll hold off on recommending. I will post here as soon as I get a machine with Vista installed to see how it runs.

Acer Says Microsoft is Costing Them More Money

Jim Wong, senior corporate vice president at Acer, says Microsoft is costing his business more money, claiming that Microsoft is “ratcheting up the price of Windows” by effectively forcing consumers to buy the Premium version of Windows Vista.

Acer claims that the Vista Home Basic – the new entry-level Windows – is so poorly featured that consumers will simply reject it. “The new [Vista] experience you hear of, if you get Basic, you won’t feel it at all,” said Jim Wong, senior corporate vice president at Acer. “There’s no [Aero] graphics, no Media Center, no remote control.”

Wong claims that Microsoft’s own marketing machine has undermined Vista Home Basic. “Right at the beginning they started talking about the experience of [Vista Home] Premium. Premium is the real Vista,” he said.

Furthermore, Wong claims that the manufacturer’s licence for Vista Home Premium is 10% more expensive than for XP Home. “We have to pay more but users are not going to pay more,” Wong said. As a result, he claims the total cost of building a PC has risen by 1-2%, which is a significant increase in such a low-margin business. Source: PCPro

Some manufacturers have said they will not be shipping the Home Basic version because they don’t think there will be any demand.

Ready for Wireless Monitors?

Saw this post on Gizmodo, everything else is wireless, why not your monitor?

The new wireless XGA receiver WID101 allows the user to receive VGA to WXGA resolution video and audio from any wireless computer via industry standard 802.11 g/a/b network protocol. Simple to install, it takes only a few minutes to link a PC with a wireless network card and the WID101 receiver to show high quality video and stereo audio on any display up to 250 ft away.

Select any of the three available transmission modes, wireless 802.11 g/a/b, wired network, or local DVI port, to output picture perfect quality digital video, via WID101?s DVI-D port. Multiple PC can request to link to a single receiver, while the user of the active transmitting PC allows or denies to pass control to another user.

The WID101 is typically used in classrooms and auditoriums, museums, houses of worship, boardrooms, and for digital signage, because of the ease of use, it quickly connects without long cables, and also offers WEP secured transmission. Source: Teq Gear