Hasta La Gadget!

This article was written on October 26, 2009 by CyberNet.

Welcome to the WrapUp by CyberNet. This is a collection of news stories, downloads, and tips that we have collected over the last few days, but never got around to writing about. Don’t forget to send in your own tips, or just leave a comment on this page if you think you’ve got something we should include.

–News–

Google Reader Starts Using “Magic”
The Google Reader team announced that there is a new way to sort your feeds: by magic. They use your reading habits and web history (if you’ve opted in for web history tracking) to determine what sort of stuff from your feeds you’ll like the most. You can also view popular items from feeds you’re not even subscribed to, which they hope will help you discover new sites you’ll like.

Microsoft Reveals How Windows 7 is “Version 7″
Microsoft has assembled a video that clarifies exactly how they consider Windows 7 to be the 7th version of Windows. The order? Windows 1, Windows 2, Windows 3, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7. Who did they leave out from the consumer lineup? Poor ol’ Windows Me, that’s who. I think they’re trying to wipe it from their memory (no pun intended).

Microsoft Security Essentials Delivered to Over a Million Users
In the first week Microsoft received 1.5 million downloads of their Security Essentials antivirus software. According to them there were over 4 million virus detections in that first week on over a half million unique machines. That just goes to prove that their are plenty of people who still need antivirus software to keep them safe, and it’s a good thing Microsoft finally got around to offering a solution for free.

–News in Brief–

Windows 7 Compatibility Center Released
Microsoft has posted a site you can visit to see if your hardware or software is compatible with Windows 7.

Whitehouse.gov Now Powered by Drupal
In an interesting move the Whitehouse.gov site has decided to use the open source Drupal software as their content management engine.

Google Maps’ Appearance Takes New Direction
On Google Maps you can now see street names more clearly thanks to a visual refresh they’ve rolled out.  

Windows 7 Launch Day Facts
Over 8 million people tested out pre-release versions of Windows 7 from over 113 different countries.

Flickr Adds People Tagging
Flickr is rolling out people-tagging capabilities that TechCrunch says is better than what Facebook currently has.

Video Walkthrough of Apple’s Newest Additions
Apple unveiled a new “magic” mouse, new iMac’s, and more. This is a video walkthrough of their new products.

Twitter Hits 5 Billion Tweets
Robin Sloan happened to be the lucky person to post the 5 billionth tweet on Twitter.

uTorrent Holds 60% of BitTorrent Marketshare
Vuze, formerly known as Azureus, continues to drop in popularity as uTorrent emerges as the king of the BitTorrent network.

IMDB Turns 19
IMDB, which began as a USENET group, turned 19 about a week ago! Congrats to a site that definitely deserves it.

–Tips, Tutorials, and Reviews–

Ninite Does Bulk Installs for Windows Apps
This amazing service lets you choose the applications you want to install on your machine, and it will then create a custom installer for you to download. When running through the setup process it will keep the questions to a minimum, and according to Lifehacker it’s able to install most apps without asking you a single question. The number of apps supported is pretty incredible, and I could see this becoming a must-have app for anyone that sets up new PC’s regularly.

Burn Windows 7 ISO or put it on a USB Drive
Wow! Microsoft has finally wisened up and provides a tool to create a bootable DVD or USB drive that you can then install Windows 7 from. I’m happy to see the USB drive support in there because using media like that is nice since it’s reusable… as opposed to a DVD that most people probably won’t use more than a handful of times.

VistaSwitcher Improves Alt-Tab on XP, Vista, and Windows 7
I’m always on the lookout for something to improve my productivity, and for that reason I’m always tinkering with different application switchers. As the How-to Geek points out this is one awesome app switcher… especially because of the eye candy it offers.

–Tips in Brief–

How to Set Up a WordPress Blog on Your PC
A guide that covers everything you’ll need to get WordPress up and running on your local machine.

Look Up the Location of Any IP Address
Curious where an IP address is coming from? Just enter it in here to have it retrieve an approximate geographical location.

How to Safely Uninstall Ubuntu from a Dual-Boot Machine
An outline of what you need to do in order to remove Ubuntu without screwing up the other OS’s on your computer.

PortableApps.com Now Does Google Chrome On-the-Go
PortableApps now has a portable version of Chrome… kinda. It will create a portable version from the small file you download. They can’t actually redistribute Chrome as a portable browser due to licensing.

Lifehacker’s Guide to Windows 7
A rundown of all Lifehacker’s best Windows 7 tips.

How to Create a Virtual Hard Drive in Windows 7
A perfectly outlined guide to creating a virtual hard drive in Windows 7 that will appear as though it’s a second drive on your machine.

Microsoft Releases Windows 7 Sponsored Themes
You can now grab themes for products/companies such as Ferrari or the video game Gears of War.

Adobe Browserlab Open for All
I thought this was already open for everyone, but according to DownloadSquad Adobe just opened the doors so that you can easily start testing your site in all the most popular browsers.

Flickr Schedulr Lets You Upload Pics When it’s Convenient
Schedule your photos to upload when you won’t be using your PC.

How to Build a WiFi Home Surveillance System
An awesome tutorial on what you’ll need to create a motion-sensitive surveillance system in your own home.

Performance Showdown: Windows 7 vs. Snow Leopard
Spoiler: I wouldn’t really say one OS comes out on top of the other. They both have things they’re good at.

–Downloads–

• Avant Browser 11.7.40 [Mirror]
• CDBurnerXP 4.2.6.1748 [Mirror]
• Foxit Reader 3.1.2.1013 [Mirror]
• Google Chrome 4.0.222.12 ^Beta [Mirror]
• Google Desktop 5.9.909.30391 [Mirror]
• Maxthon 2.5.9.2246 [Mirror]
• MediaMonkey 3.1.2.1275 ^Beta [Mirror]
• Miranda 0.8.9 [Mirror]
• Miro 2.5.3 [Mirror]
• OpenOffice.org 3.2 ^Beta [Mirror]
• PDF-XChange Viewer 2.0.42.5 [Mirror]
• PeaZip 2.7.1 [Mirror]
• Picasa 3.5.79.74 [Mirror]
• Pidgin 2.6.3 [Mirror]
• RSSOwl 2.0 ^RC2 [Mirror]
• SeaMonkey 2.0 ^RC2 [Mirror]
• TrueCrypt 6.3 [Mirror]
• uTorrent 1.8.5 ^RC1 [Mirror]
• uTorrent 2.1 ^Beta [Mirror]
• VLC Media Player 1.0.3 ^RC1 [Mirror]
• WinMerge 2.13.9 ^Experimental [Mirror]

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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

Microsoft Monday

Over the course of the years as Microsoft has launched new versions of Windows, there have been three things (among many, really) that have consistently changed: the start-up screen, the calculator, and the program manager/Start menu.  Thanks to a site I recently came across called Guidebook Gallery, I was able to get screenshots of all three from most versions of Windows starting at 1.01. Today’s CyberNotes will be a visual tour – just click on the first image to get started and then use your arrow key to scroll through all of the photos. All I can say is that I’m glad Microsoft decided to add a start menu and change the calculator along the way because I’d hate to be looking at the one they started with in Windows 1.01, in Vista!

Windows 1.01

Windows 2.03

Windows 3.0

Windows 3.1

Windows NT 3.51 Workstation

Windows 95

Windows NT 4.0

Windows NT Server

Windows 98

Windows 2000

Windows 2000 Server

Windows ME

Windows XP

Windows Server 2003

Windows Vista

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Get A Tour Of Windows VistaYour Week in Review with Sunday’s SummaryWindows Vista Touring the StatesCyberNet Tour: Advanced Thumbnail NavigationCyberNotes: Your Week in Review with Sunday’s Summary

Good news for gamers everywhere! The next generation of video game consoles could kick off in 2014, according to Sony and Microsoft. However, it does come with a catch for both companies, Nintendo is reportedly ready to launch its next console as early as next year.

While all of these are loose target dates, many gamers are already getting ready for the upcoming gaming cycle. The last one happened in 2006 to 2007, which left both Microsoft, and Sony behind Nintendo until recently. None of the three companies have released any statements about these dates, but Sony and Microsoft are both building up to the launch.

Via TG Daily

This article was written on May 05, 2008 by CyberNet.

Microsoft/Mac Monday

As we mentioned last week, our featured CyberNotes articles on Mondays will now focus on both Microsoft and Mac instead of just Microsoft. You could say we’re broadening our horizons a little… Today’s article will be the first in a series of several, focusing on comparing a feature in Vista with one in Mac OS X 10.5. It’s actually amazing how similar yet very different the two operating systems are. We’ll start by comparing the search in the Vista Start Menu with Spotlight, and then we’ll take a look at how searching in Windows Explorer compares to searching in the Finder (Mac).

Vista Start Menu Search vs. Spotlight

Vista’s built-in search feature is most easily accessible right from the Start Menu. One of the first things I noticed once I switched to a Mac is how often I actually used the shortcut to open the Start Menu and then performed a search. Leopard has a similar feature called Spotlight which is used when you want to find something fast and easy without opening the Finder to search. It’s Apple’s search technology which comes built-in to Leopard.

The searching feature in Vista is nice because all you have to do is press the Windows key and then start typing for whatever it is that you’re searching for and the results will start to appear. It seems as though accessing Spotlight is just a bit more difficult because you have to press two keys, the command key and the spacebar, and then you can start typing.

So how do the results of the two searches compare?
As you’ll see from the screenshot below, performing a search in the Vista Start Menu shows programs, favorites and history, and files pertaining to your search. Performing a search using Spotlight will yield results from more groups than you could ever imagine from music and PDF Documents to movies and contacts. All together I’d say Vista’s searching feature isn’t quite as extensive as Spotlight but both provide users with a quick way to find what they’re looking for which is important.

Click to enlarge

There are a few other features that Spotlight offers which Vista’s searching capabilities don’t offer right out of the box like performing calculations or defining words.

Click to enlarge

While searching in Vista and Leopard is great, I do have to say that the customization options for Spotlight are much better than the customization options available in Vista. Part of this is because there’s more to it. So First, how do you access the configuration options for each?
In Windows: right click on the Start Menu > click Properties > click “Customize” on the Start Menu tab. Then scroll to the bottom and look for the search options.

Click to enlarge

In Leopard: Click on System Preferences>Spotlight. The customization options for Spotlight include a list of categories that you can either check or leave unchecked. Only the categories that you select will appear in Spotlight search results. You can also re-order the results which is super nice so that the categories you want to appear first, will.

Click to enlarge

The only downside with the customization options in Spotlight is that you can’t pick which locations to index, but you can pick which locations you don’t want indexed. Make sense? This is done under the “Privacy” tab in the Spotlight Preferences. In Vista, you can pick which locations you want indexed and you can choose to ignore certain file types (for example, PDF documents) from being indexed.

Windows Explorer Searching vs. Finder Searching

Now we’re going to look at the searching feature built-in to Windows Explorer as well as the one you’ll find built-in to the Finder on a Mac. Because Windows Explorer and the Finder serve nearly the same purpose, we thought this would be a good comparison to make.

Overall, the searching feature in Windows Explorer is more simple (and a little easier to use) than the one you’d find in the Finder. The layout is more intuitive in Windows Explorer and it looks like what you’d expect from an advanced search (like what you’d see with a search engine). This makes it easy to use. There’s also an “Advanced Search” feature which you can access by pressing the Windows Key + 5. As shown below, the Advanced Searching feature allows you to modify your search which will hopefully more accurately yield the results you’re looking for.

Click to enlarge

The search feature in the Finder isn’t quite as intuitive but it does provide one heck of a filter system where you can set-up multiple filters when you’re performing a search. All you have to do is click the “plus” sign and you’ll continue to get more options for filtering. Both Leopard and Vista offer the option to save searches so that they can be easily used again in the future.

Click to enlarge

Here’s a quick example of how you can use the “plus sign” to add rules to your advantage: you could specify that you’re looking for an application, that it was last opened or modified on Thursday, and the name matches “Fire” and then your results would be filtered to meet those rules.

If you’re a power user, you’d probably enjoy the search in the Finder on a Mac and if you’re just an every-day user, you’d probably enjoy the Windows Explorer Search best.

Wrapping it up

At the end of the day, both Leopard and Vista users are lucky to be able toe use the searching capabilities that are available. It wasn’t that long ago when searching like this wasn’t an option in an operating system. If you’ve used both Vista or Leopard, let us know what you think of the search features that are offered…

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

Related Posts:

Your Week in Review with Sunday’s SummaryHow Does Windows Vista Compare To Mac OS X Leopard?CyberNotes: Windows Contacts vs. Address BookCyberNotes: iCal vs. Windows CalendarThis Just In: Vista & Leopard Both Suck!

Many of us use apps to buy stuff these days, whether its grabbing the latest e-book from Amazon, or a Groupon for a day of pampering at the local spa. Seems obvious now, but it wasn’t (at least according to the USPTO) in 2004, when Microsoft filed a patent application for the idea — and that application was recently granted. The patent claims a way to make purchases through an network-connected portal with a “streamlined interface” (to “streamline” the process of parting you from your money, no doubt). The portal maintains a list of selling sites and exchanges info as needed to let buyers pick up what the seller’s putting down. Now, we aren’t intimately familiar with the ways shopping apps work, but the patent language appears broad enough to cover apps that make internet purchases without using a full-on web browser — though only a federal court can say for sure. The only other question is, what are Ballmer and his boys going to do with these newly granted IP powers?

Microsoft patents apps that let you buy things, Ballmer to go on licensing spree? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Apr 2011 00:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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