Hasta La Gadget!

Earlier this month, Microsoft‘s operating system lifecycle chart was given an update with little (read: no) fanfare. With the update came two dates, one showing the end of retail sales for Windows 7, and one showing the end of OEM sales for the same aged OS. The revelation sparked grumbles and whatnot, but as it […]

This article was written on August 26, 2008 by CyberNet.

Time Saving Tuesday

One of the things that’s always nice to know is what you can remove from your hard drive to quickly regain hard drive space. Maybe there are some enormous games on your computer that you don’t play anymore, or files you’ve downloaded that have never gotten deleted? By using hard drive visualization tools you’ll be able to pinpoint exactly what is eating up your hard drive storage.

There are a lot of different programs that can be used for this purpose, and we thought it would be better to put together a more comprehensive list instead of just covering one or two of our favorites. We’ve broken them up according to operating system below, and for each one we provide a brief description accompanied by a screenshot. That way you’ll be able to figure out which free app is right for you.

Note: You can click on a screenshot for a full-size version.

–Windows Hard Drive Visualization–

• JDiskReport [Homepage]
  This is a Java-based tool that gives you a few different options for visualizing your hard drive. The screenshot below shows the typical pie graph, but you can also switch to a distribution graph. As you drill into folders it will update the graph accordingly.
  
• WinDirStat [Homepage] [Full Review]
  This free program is pretty cool because of how it breaks up your hard drive into chunks so that you can see at a glance where the large space-hogging chunks are. The various types of files are also color-coded for easy identification.
  
• SpaceMonger [Homepage]
  This definitely isn’t the most glamorous application we’ve seen, but the way it breaks up the view of your hard drive is very intuitive. Just like with WinDirStat the boxes are proportionally sized to the percent of the hard drive they consume, but what’s nice about this is that some of the files and folders are clearly labeled on the diagram.
  
• TreeSize Free [Homepage]
  TreeSize is a more Windows Explorer-like interface for finding those large folders on your computer. As you can see in the screenshot below it puts the largest folders at the top of the list, and you can continue to expand them to see the largest files and folders inside each of those.
  
• OverDisk [Homepage]
  What really makes OverDisk unique is that it’s visualization method looks more like a pie chart that has exploded. You can use the navigator along the left side of the window to traverse through the directories on your PC, and the chart will adjust accordingly.
  

–Mac Hard Drive Visualization–

• Disk Inventory X [Homepage]
  Look at this the same way as the WinDirStat application for Windows above. It has the same visualization technique, and color-codes the files based upon their type.
  
• GrandPerspective [Homepage]
  Yet another block visualization tool. It’s very similar to Disk Inventory X, and both have nearly the same features and interface.
  
• JDiskReport [Homepage]
  That’s right, you saw this program in the Windows section above as well. Since it’s made using Java it’s available on multiple platforms which is a nice benefit. It uses standard pie graphs and distribution charts to plot the data on your hard drive.

–Linux Hard Drive Visualization–

• KDirStat [Homepage]
  This is the original application that used the block-like view many of the different programs mentioned above now incorporate. It also comes with some cleanup utilities to help reclaim the disk space.
  
• Baobab [Homepage]
  Baobab has a clean and intuitive interface for navigating through the folders on your computer. For each line it has a color-coded bar that indicates how much space it is taking up, or you can always switch over to one of the more graphical views. The best part is that this is already included with the GNOME desktop, and is referred to as the Disk Usage Analyzer.
  

–Overview–

So those are the best hard drive visualization tools that we’ve come across throughout the years. Let us know in the comments what you use to find the pesky files and folders taking up all of your precious hard drive space.

Copyright © 2013 CyberNetNews.com

This article was written on January 18, 2008 by CyberNet.

TG Daily has gotten there hands on a valuable piece of information … an early roadmap for Windows 7! Microsoft previously said that general availability of Windows 7 will be in 2010, which may still hold true. Here’s the milestone estimates that was outlined in the roadmap:

• Milestone 1 – Already available to Microsoft Partners.
• Milestone 2 – April/May 2008
• Milestone 3 – Third Quarter 2008
• Beta – To be determined
• Release Candidate – To be determined
• RTM – Second half of 2009

It’s likely that if Windows 7 gets sent to the manufacturer late in 2009 that a consumer release will follow in 2010. As we saw with Vista, the consumer availability was over 2 and a half months after the operating system RTM’d.

All of this will be confirmed when Microsoft announces the requirements for the Windows Logo Program for Windows 7, which they say will be available at least 18 months before the RTM date. If the 2009 RTM date holds true we should hear about the Windows 7 Logo Program by July 2008.

In terms of new features and functionality in Windows 7 there has been little information leaked. The most we know at this point is that Microsoft plans on adding touchscreen features to the operating system. They are probably doing that in hopes of boosting Tablet PC sales by introducing devices that can receive input from both a stylus and by touch.

Hopefully more information regarding Windows 7 will leak soon, because I’m anxious to see what Windows 7 might include. 😉

Copyright © 2013 CyberNetNews.com

Microsoft was forced to make some come compromises to their original vision for Windows 8 come the recent update, reinstating the Start Button due to popular demand. Now, rumors suggest that the 8.2 update could take that one step further.

Read more…

This article was written on June 29, 2007 by CyberNet.

In just 2-days it will be the 5-month anniversary since Windows Vista was released to consumers. Lately buzz around the Web has been dubbing Windows Vista as Me2, which is an abbreviation for Millennium Edition 2. Having been a not-so-proud owner of Windows Me I can thankfully say that Vista is no where near the state that Me was in.

Windows Me crashed nearly every day when I ran it, and BSoD’s (Blue Screen of Death) had become almost second nature to me. I think it was with Windows Me that I learned to rest my hands on the Ctrl+S keys while typing so that my fingers would naturally save what I was working on. And hardware compatibility…you might have been able to get something to work, such as a webcam, but you were sure to do some cussing along the way.

In the 4-months that Ashley and I have been using Vista the results have been rather pleasant. Ashley received a BSoD 2-days ago which is the first that either of us have received when running a non-Beta version of Vista. I’ve only come across a very limited number of applications that I couldn’t get to work right on Vista, although I could disable the User Account Control (UAC) and everything would probably work smoothly. At times the UAC can be annoying, but I actually like having the added security protecting my computer. While testing Beta versions of Vista I would always turn it off, but now I actually find myself leaving it on, and in a day’s time I only receive a few prompts.

Ed Bott also agrees that Vista is not comparable to Windows Me, but instead should be looked at as Windows 95 + 12 years. Here’s why:

1. Unachievable levels of hype – Windows 95 was hyped to be able to do all kinds of stuff, and so was Vista when it was still under the codename of Longhorn.
2. A very long and public beta – Windows 95 was in a public Beta for nearly two years, and Vista had one that was 18-months.
3. Initial compatibility, performance, and stability problems – The first thing you hear people complaining about with Vista is that they can’t get some piece of hardware working right…Windows 95 was the same way.
4. A beginning, not an end – Windows 95 was a huge stepping stone into the 32-bit era, and Vista is finally starting to break ground with the 64-bit computing.

Ed then goes on to say:

Expect a major Vista update after three years. Between now and 2010, Microsoft has a chance to do for Vista what Windows 98 did for Windows 95.
…
If history repeats itself, Microsoft will release its next Vista update in 2009 or 2010, after a low-profile, secretive beta cycle, and it will be greeted as finally delivering on the promise of what Vista should have been all along.

So I wouldn’t go as far as to say that Vista is equivalent to Window Me because I suffered with that operating system for over a year. I think Ed Bott is right when he says that the next version of Windows will deliver everything we expected Vista to be.

So do we have any Windows Me users out there that can vouch for the horrendous operating system?

Copyright © 2013 CyberNetNews.com