Hasta La Gadget!

This article was written on April 09, 2007 by CyberNet.

Last week we mentioned the latest lawsuit against Microsoft, this time over their “Windows Vista Capable” marketing. In a nutshell the lawsuit claims that Microsoft was being deceptive by allowing PC makers to promote hardware as Vista Capable.

Fast forward to today and now Microsoft is changing their wording on how Vista is marketed. Prior, the program stated that the Windows Vista Capable Stickers pointed out XP-based computers that are “powerful enough to run Windows Vista.”

Now their explanation says that these XP-based Computers with the Vista Capable logo will “deliver core experiences such as innovations in organizing and finding information, security and reliability.  All Windows Vista Capable PCs will run these core experiences at a minimum.” In other words, none of the fancy eye candy that Microsoft tends to use to market Vista the most.

The addition of “at a minimum” now clearly points out that you will not get a complete Vista “premium” experience. Microsoft hasn’t stated that this change was a direct result of the latest lawsuit, but you can bet that it was.

I personally don’t think the lawsuit will stand a chance because Microsoft made an major effort to educate retailers in particular, but consumers as well, as to what expect with the different versions of Windows Vista. Although, if there weren’t so many version, I guess there wouldn’t be all of these issues? The bottom line though is that consumers need to educate themselves and ask questions before they make a major purchase, especially because the information was available to them.

Source: DailyTech

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This article was written on September 27, 2007 by CyberNet.

Tutorial Thursday

What was going on this week at CyberNet News and Learn Firefox? Here’s your chance to catch-up if you missed something!

I periodically receive inquiries from friends asking for the easiest way to access files and folders on a FTP server. They normally have their own FTP server setup at home, and they want to ensure fast access to their files without having to mess with third-party applications. Is it possible to quickly map a FTP to a drive? You bet!

The solution I’m about to show you doesn’t exactly assign a drive letter to the FTP server, but it will essentially serve the same purpose as a drive. Through Windows Explorer you’ll have one-click access to your files, and they will even be accessible through the standard Open/Save dialog boxes in apps such as Microsoft Word.

Here’s how you can set it up:

1. Open Windows Explorer and choose the “Map Network Drive” option.
   Vista location: Along the top toolbar
   XP location: Tools Menu
   
2. Choose the option at the bottom that reads:
   Vista: “Connect to a Web site that you can use to store your documents and pictures”
   XP: “Sign up for online storage or connect to a network server”
   
3. Click “Choose a custom network location”:
   
4. Enter in the FTP address for the site:
   
5. Enter the username for the FTP server (you will be prompted for the password when you connect):
   
6. Enter a name:
   
7. Finish up the wizard, and then you’ll be ready to connect! You’ll be prompted for the password the first time that you try and connect, but you can have the password saved after that if you wish.
   

That process will take less than 30-seconds to complete after you become familiar with doing it. There is a way to assign a drive letter to a FTP server, but it does take some addition work. I’ve found three sources that try to make it a little easier:

1. Tutorial – This is a relatively quick process and would be my first choice out of the three mentioned here. It requires no third-party apps to make it work, and it truly lets you map a FTP server to a drive. It does require using the command line.
2. NetDrive – This is a free program offered by Novell that has a GUI interface for setting up FTP servers as drives on your computer.
3. FTP Drive – This is a small free program that also brings a GUI interface to the configuration, but the program always has to be running if you want the mapped drive to work.

While those solutions make it possible to assign a drive letter to the FTP, I don’t see an added advantage by doing so. The steps that I walked you through in this article will give nearly every program access to your FTP, and it is super easy to setup. I’m sure there is some reason that you would want a drive letter though…I just haven’t found them. 🙂

Copyright © 2013 CyberNetNews.com

With the ushering in of the second generation of Microsoft Surface devices in the Surface 2 and the Surface Pro 2, the company decided to give their accessory line a boot as well. What you’re seeing this week is a Type Cover 2, a Touch Cover 2, a Power Cover, and a Docking Station. These […]

This article was written on March 22, 2012 by CyberNet.

I don’t know very many people anymore that use screensavers on their computers, but displaying a nice photo collage might be worthwhile if you still enjoy having something flashy on the screen when your computer is sitting idle. I came across a pretty nice one that was started a few months ago, and I’d say offers the right amount of options without being overkill.

Photo Collage Screensaver is free, and after being installed you’ll find it tucked in the screensaver properties for Windows. Don’t go looking for anything in the Start Menu because you won’t find it there. There are some options you’ll be able to configure after it is selected as your default screensaver:

• Directory on your PC where your photos are located.
• Number of photos on the screen at a time, which can be between 5 and 30. Once that maximum number has been hit the oldest photos will start fading off the screen. This is a much nicer solution than just wiping out all of the photos on the screen once the limit is hit.
• Speed at which new photos should appear.
• Whether you want the photos randomized.

The only thing I think this is missing is an option to set how large you want the images to appear, but the size it uses seems to work pretty well.

Photo Collage Screensaver (Windows only; Freeware)

Copyright © 2013 CyberNetNews.com

Microsoft announced a refreshed Surface lineup at a New York City event today, less than a year since it took its first serious foray into building its own hardware. Here’s what you need to know.