Hasta La Gadget!

This article was written on January 18, 2007 by CyberNet.

More new announcements from the Windows Vista team today!  With the launch of Windows Vista and Office 2007, consumers who live in the United States will be able to go online to purchase and download both pieces of software.  They’re clearly catering to the more tech-savvy crowd with this option, who would prefer it over going to the store to purchase it.  If you’re wanting to do this, you’ll definitely need a great Internet connection, because it will be a large download.

I’m sure there are plenty of people who don’t want to go out and buy a new computer to experience Vista, which is why this option will be a great choice.  This new download process uses a technology called Digital Locker.  Software is securely stored, along with the license keys.  When you begin your download, Digital Locker will know when a download has been interrupted so that it can automatically resume when the connection is restored.

Another update comes for the Windows Anytime Upgrade (available in US, Canada, Europe and Japan).  As we have mentioned before, all versions of Vista will either be on a CD or embedded onto your computer when you make the purchase.  At any point, you can upgrade to a better version.  Here are the upgrade costs:

• Home Basic to Home Premium — $79
• Home Basic to Ultimate — $199
• Home Premium to Ultimate — $159
• Business to Ultimate — $139

As it stands, regular retail prices are:

• Home Basic – $199
• Home Premium – $239
• Business – $299
• Ultimate – $399

There’s a nice comparison chart that has been put together to give you a visual of what each version has.  Obviously, the Ultimate edition has all of the bells and whistles which is why it’s the most expensive option.

Finally, the speculated “Family Pack” option will be available to those who have a need to purchase multiple copies.  This will make it more affordable, and potentially provide Microsoft with additional revenue.  You must purchase Windows Vista Ultimate for $399.  After that, you’ll be eligible to purchase two licenses for Vista Home Premium for $49.99 each.  This will be valid in the US and Canada only.

All of these options will make Vista more accessible to consumers; the consumers willing to pay that is. There’s no doubt that $399 may be enough to push someone over to Linux, especially because you can nearly purchase a computer nowadays for the $399 that will be charged for Vista Ultimate. And, unfortunately all of these options have restrictions on availability throughout the world. Regardless, Bill Mannion who is the director of consumer marketing for Windows says that these options are available “to give more flexibility to users.” 

Copyright © 2009 CyberNet | CyberNet Forum | Learn Firefox

Related Posts:

• Windows Vista Business Test Drive Not Impressive
• CyberNet’s Year in Review: January-February
• Save Money When Purchasing Multiple Licenses of Vista
• Microsoft Revamps The Office Online Site
• Microsoft Lets Users Test Drive Office 2007 Online

Look out! You’ve just stumbled upon this week’s episode of Ask Engadget, and we’ve got a real brain burner on our hands this evening. Before you dig in, though, feel free to blast your own question in to ask at engadget dawt com.

I recently got a new music-oriented phone (Nokia 5800 XpressMusic) with Bluetooth stereo audio (A2DP) and am trying to get some opinions on what might be the best solution out there for me. It seems to me like I have 3 options as far as general solution types: self contained Bluetooth headphones, such as the Motorola S9; Bluetooth receivers with headphone jacks, such as the SonyEricsson HBH-DS220; or transmitter / receiver pairs. My specific needs are that it supports remote control (AVRCP), has good sound, is under $100, and if the unit can bind to multiple devices that would be great. The ultimate item would somehow work with my phone as well as my PSP, but that’s probably a pipe dream. Thanks!

So, wireless audio partakers — what say you? Got any great tips? Got any horror stories? Either way, spill it below.

Filed under: Ask Engadget, Portable Audio, Wireless

Ask Engadget: Best solution for Bluetooth stereo audio? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Apr 2009 01:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

I love this shot. It’s totally unattainable in “AUTO.” Your DSLR is crying for you to spin that dial and add some human intervention to the exposure process. With a little creativity you can use your DSLR to capture or create something that’s not normally visible to the naked eye using a long duration exposure.

In Matthew Fang’s “Super S.” (above) you’ll notice the headlight trails and other standing lights are overexposed. His decision was to run a long exposure, capture the detail in the naturally lit elements and not worry about the lights which have none. This 117.4 second exposure was captured at f/22 with a 14mm lens. With a wide lens and small aperture he got a huge depth-of-field which made focusing (often difficult in the dark) a lot less critical.

Most handheld pictures need fast shutter speeds otherwise the natural shakiness of your body will render shots blurry. You can fix a lot of things in photography. Blurry isn’t one of them.

We’ve seen plenty of crazy audio gear in our day, but nothing’s ever prompted as much drooling and downright lust as OpenLab’s DBeat, a monster of a rig that blends a full-bore 3GHz Core 2 Duo and 12-inch capacitive multitouch LCD screen with tracking controls, a DJ-oriented MIDI controller, iPod dock and a high-quality 4-in/6-out audio interface all into one integrated unit. Spec-wise you’re looking at 4GB of RAM and a 320GB drive, as well as a dual-layer burner — stuff we’d generally want to keep far, far away from our audio interface, but we’re overlooking that right now, because we’re in love. Harder to ignore? The $3,999 price tag. Ouch. We’ll be looking in the couch cushions if you need us.

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

OpenLabs DBeat blends computer, audio control surface into amazing originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Apr 2009 23:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

If this guy looks serious, it’s because he is — serious about bringing you some awesome watch phones. Canadian firm Neutrano is working with Chinese OEMs to import, tweak, and certify some of those watch phones that we’ve unfortunately been spending more time reading about than actually using — and while they aren’t going to appeal to everyone, the stainless steel version is the closest thing we’ve seen to something we’d consider wearing this side of an LG. Fans of chunky, stylish wristwatches should be able to pass it off as a fashion statement of sorts — your friends don’t even have to know it’s a phone, really. When you get a call, the thing’s got to come off your wrist and be held up to your ear unless you’ve got a Bluetooth headset ready to rock, but worry not: Neutrano’s also showing a model of its Nutec WristFone that pops off at the base of the wristband so you don’t need to unstrap it from your wrist. You pay for that convenience with some extra bulk (and we’d argue that this is the geekiest, ugliest model of the bunch), but we’ll admit, it’s pretty trick. Everything’s controlled over touchscreen; you’ve got character recognition for entering text messages and a row of shortcuts silkscreened across the bottom of the display, and the detachable model also features an integrated keypad (think Casio calculator watch) to make entering phone numbers a little less painful. Neutrano is targeting June for these at a price somewhere between $300 and $400, and the company’s president is still actively deciding on colors, band styles, and software features, so sound off in comments if you’ve got any hot ideas for ’em. Oh, and check some video of the phones in action after the break!

Continue reading Neutrano’s Nutec WristFone watch phones at CTIA

Filed under: Cellphones, Wearables

Neutrano’s Nutec WristFone watch phones at CTIA originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Apr 2009 22:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments