Hasta La Gadget!

This article was written on June 20, 2008 by CyberNet.

In less than ten days Windows XP will no longer be an option when purchasing most computers, despite the fact that over 208,000 people requested that the XP deadline be extended even longer. It’s time to move on people, or is it?

After the deadline manufacturer’s will only be able to offer XP on machines that are taking advantage of Vista’s downgrade rights. That means the customer will have to purchase a machine with either Vista Business or Ultimate, and then they will get a copy of Windows XP Professional as well. You’ll likely have to pay a surcharge to get a copy of XP Pro from the manufacturer, and to comply with Microsoft’s regulations XP Home is not an option.

Dell has already begun preparing their line of business and consumer machines to offer the downgrade service as an option. Above is a screenshot of what you’ll see when selecting an operating system on your new Dell computer, but you may not see it if you’re hunting around for a consumer computer. For consumers Dell is limiting this option to their gaming machines only, which means it is only available on the XPS 630 and XPS 720 H2C desktops and the XPS M1730 laptop. The Vista/XP Pro bundle is free from Dell until July 7th.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the end, but we already know for sure that low-cost desktops and notebooks can continue to use XP for several more years. Looking around at the other manufacturers it looks as though most aren’t even offering XP anymore, which makes you wonder whether XP has truly reached the end of its life?

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This article was written on August 16, 2007 by CyberNet.

I don’t think there is any doubt that CCleaner is among my favorite applications, and it looks like it is going to stay that way. Thanks to this tiny program I, along with several of our forum members, have been able to clear up gigabytes of files that are no longer needed…thereby reclaiming valuable hard drive space.

Just today CCleaner 2.0 Beta was announced with several new features. The feature that I’m excited about the most is the exclusion list, which lets you select files and/or registry keys to be ignored by the application. This is a big deal because there are some things that shouldn’t be removed, and doing so could render an application unusable.

Tip: When going through the installation process there is an option (selected by default) to install the Yahoo! Toolbar. Make sure you uncheck that box if you don’t want an additional toolbar to appear in your browser.

Here’s a full list of all the new features, as well as a screenshot of the exclusion list in action:

• Complete rebuild in C++ – With the requirements for a portable version, 64-bit compatibility and Windows Vista increasing against the limitations of the old architecture. We decided to rebuild the entire CCleaner application in highly optimized C++.
• Faster analyzing and cleaning – Each scanning process was rewritten from scratch and fully optimized. The result being a noticeable speed increase in all areas.
• Portable – CCleaner can now run from a USB thumbdrive and be installed/run on a computer without a complicated setup process.
• Compact – The rewrite removed all external file dependencies, so the main EXE is now half the size of the original program and support files.
• Exclusions – It is now possible to specify files, folders and registry keys to ignore from the cleaning process.
• Redesigned User Interface – The original CCleaner user interface was looking a little dated, so the GUI was redesigned with a modern look, but without sacrificing speed or usability. New icons were created for the interface and the main program icon was updated with a more modern style.
• Loads of little tweaks – Too numerous to mention them all separately, we’ve tried to improve CCleaner in all areas.

Download CCleaner 2.0 Beta

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This article was written on October 29, 2009 by CyberNet.

Windows only
One of the new features in Windows 7 is Remote Desktop Connection (RDC) 7, and Microsoft decided to also offer the most of the same functionality to Windows XP and Vista users. Many of you will probably shrug this off as a pointless update, but it has something that is really useful to me. What is it?

Sometimes I Remote Desktop into one machine, and from there I have to Remote Desktop into other machines. A good example of when this might happen is if you have multiple machines in your house… you may only open one of those machines up so that it can be accessed from outside of your network. If you want to connect to other machines you simply RD into the primary one, and then from there you can access any of the other computers on your network.

The problem? If you use one Remote Desktop session inside of another that yellow/tan connection bar along the top can become tedious to use when juggling your various sessions. The more machines you connect to the more those connection bars overlay each other, and can therefore make it extremely difficult to disconnect or minimize some of the connections. You’ll often find yourself sitting there playing with the pin/unpin until the correct connection bar appears.

In Remote Desktop 7 the connection bar is now an attractive transparent blue, but what’s important is that you can slide it back and forth along the top of the window. That basically means you can stagger the connection bars for multiple sessions so that they aren’t completely overlapping each other. I’m demonstrating this in the screenshot above where I connected to one machine using RD7, and then from there connected to another machine running an older version of Remote Desktop. I’ve cropped the screenshot, but the yellow connection bar is actually in the center of the screen. I then dragged the blue bar off to the side so that it could clearly be seen.

Unfortunately the bar can still only be placed along the top of the screen (you can’t move it to the side or to the bottom), but this is still a welcomed addition. There are also a bunch of other features I’m sure some of you will love in RD7:

• Web Single Sign-On (SSO) and Web forms-based authentication
• Access to personal virtual desktops by using RD Connection Broker
• Access to virtual desktop pools by using RD Connection Broker
• Status & disconnect system tray icon
• RD Gateway-based device redirection enforcement
• RD Gateway system and logon messages
• RD Gateway background authorization & authentication
• RD Gateway idle & session time-outs
• NAP remediation with RD Gateway
• Windows Media Player redirection
• Bidirectional audio
• Multiple monitor support
• Enhanced video playback

New features available only to users connecting from a Windows 7 or Windows 2008 R2 machine:

• Language Bar docking
• Remote application task scheduler
• Aero Glass support
• Start applications and desktops from ‘RemoteApp and Desktop Connections’

Here are the download links for XP and Vista users:

• Windows XP SP3
• Vista SP1/SP2 32-bit
• Vista SP1/SP2 64-bit

Remote Desktop Connection 7 Homepage

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This article was written on October 08, 2007 by CyberNet.

Microsoft Monday

One of the features brand new to Windows Vista is the Vista Sidebar where a user can personalize their sidebar with interactive gadgets. There’s a large variety of different gadgets to choose from in many categories like News and Feeds, Search Tool, Fun and Games, Multimedia, and more. Today we’re going to take a look at the top 5 downloaded Windows Vista Gadgets as well as five of my favorites.

–Top 5 Downloads–

1. Multi Meter (Dual Core) v1.24
   Want to measure your CPU usage? This handy gadget will monitor your CPU usage so you know what’s going on with your computer. It’s simple, clean, and easy to read, just the way it should be.
   Number of downloads: 1,705,299
   
   Download
2. eBay Sidebar Tool
   This is a simple gadget to help you keep an eye on the items you’re selling, items you’re bidding on, when your feedback has changed, or when you have a new message waiting for you. You can also do an eBay search right from the gadget, and it features a tabbed interface.
   Number of downloads:1,402,645
    
   Download
3. Calculator
   This calculator for your Vista Sidebar offers a bit more than the basic calculator.  It’s got Trigonometry and Copy/Paste functions as well as Scientific notation display.
   Number of downloads:1,126,547
   
   Download
4. Weather Bug
   There are multiple gadgets available for monitoring the weather, but the Weather Bug is the most popular in terms of downloads.  You get get detailed forecasts, radar, weather cameras, and alerts if there is severe weather coming your way.
   Number of downloads:1,053,256
   
   Download
5. App Launcher
   Add shortcuts to nearly anything, including folders!
   Number of downloads:632,643
   
   Download

–My Top Five–

While most of the five gadgets listed above under “Top Downloads” could certainly make my list of the top five, I wanted to point out more of my favorites without duplicating what we’ve already covered. So here’s my top five:

1. WebGuide
   Last week we talked about the usefulness of WebGuide and how you can schedule and stream shows from Media Center using it.  They too have a Vista Sidebar Gadget and it will allow you to search for a show, view shows that have recorded, or view shows scheduled to record, right from your sidebar.
   Number of downloads:19,205
   
   Download
2. Package Tracker
   This gadget is so nice to have for when you’re expecting packages.  Right from your sidebar, you can track a package from all of the major carriers. Once you’ve entered in the tracking number, you won’t have to enter it again.  The gadget will remember so you can easily go back and see its progress.
   Number of downloads:20,646
   
   Download
3. CTcontrol
   CTcontrol is the ultimate time control gadget.  It has a 24 hour alarm, a timer, 2 countdown options, a stopwatch, and 10 different skins among other features. You can even shutdown, restart, and lock your computer using this gadget. This gadget alone eliminates the need for several other gadgets.
   
   Number of downloads:91,542
   Download
4. Gas Price Information
   Want to quickly access current gas prices in your local area? Use the MSN Gas Price information gadget. It has pricing data for over 90,000 gas stations across the United States. After entering in your zip code, it will tell you the lowest price, the average price, and the highest price of gas for your area.
   Number of downloads:44,869
   
   Download
5. Gmail Reader
   If you’d like a gadget that will automatically check your Gmail account for new mail, Gmail Reader is a great solution. You’ll get a summarization of the last 20 emails in your inbox.You also have the option of hearing a sound when you have received new mail.
   Number of downloads:12,063
   
   Download

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

Some of you have probably seen some bits of information on the web over the last day about Microsoft canceling the Bill Gates/ Jerry Seinfeld ad campaign to focus on a “new” campaign. The new campaign was said to be less “ambiguous” and use a John Hodgman look-alike (the PC guy in the Get a Mac ads) to provide “to-the-point” messages to viewers about Windows Vista.

This might sound like a good plan for those of you who are still confused as to what’s going on with the Gates and Seinfeld ads, but in the big scheme of things it does not make sense. Why would Microsoft drop an ad campaign that they just started? As it turns out, Microsoft is not dropping the whole Gates and Seinfeld campaign, but there is some truth to the idea of using a John Hodgman look-alike.

Gizmodo got in contact with the Marketing firm heading-up the Microsoft campaign, Crispin Porter, and they found that the Gates/Seinfeld ads will continue to air. Along with those ads, they will be working on new “I’m a PC” advertisements. These ads will be what you could consider “anti-Mac” ads, something that Microsoft probably needs at this point, and will use the John Hodgman look-alike.

From our perspective, their slight shift in focus might help them get to where they need to be. While the ads that feature Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld are getting people talking, they are causing people so say “huh?” a little too much. More direct “I’m a PC” ads would probably suit their cause a little better.

Copyright © 2009 CyberNet | CyberNet Forum | Learn Firefox

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