Sep 18

Say Goodbye to 32-bit Windows; Vista SP1 Sighting

Posted in: Apple, Microsoft, Screenshots, Software, Today's Chili, Windows, Windows Vista

This article was written on May 17, 2007 by CyberNet.

Microsoft is closing the doors on all 32–bit versions of Windows after Server 2008 ships later this year. This announcement came during the second day of WinHEC as Microsoft posted an updated version of their Windows Server shipment schedule:

Server Schedule
Image via Todd Bishop

This move to 64–bit operating systems will definitely be for the better, even thought the transition probably won’t be pretty. I can already picture it now when home users go out to purchase the next version of Windows only to find out that their computers aren’t capable of running it. The result could be quite a nightmare, and probably similar to the experiences of switching from 16–bit (ex. Windows 3.11) to 32–bit (ex. Windows 95).

64–bit computing definitely has its benefits, but the transition will take some time and cause a lot of headaches. The hardest thing for most people when switching to 64–bit Windows are finding compatible drivers for their hardware. Software applications can typically be started in a “compatibility mode” that gives 32–bit applications the ability to run in 64–bit Windows, but the same thing cannot be done for drivers. This means that the operating system either has to include all of the drivers you need, or the device manufacturer needs to produce the necessary drivers. Up to now there has really been no motivation for these device manufacturers to develop the drivers, but now that they know what the future has in store for them they might start shifting their priorities.

Also at WinHEC, WinFuture.de managed to snap an image of Vista Service Pack 1 running on one of the PC’s:

Vista SP1

Mary Jo Foley was starting to think that Microsoft might not even ship a service pack for Vista after all the talk about how great the Windows Updates were. This sighting at least shows that they are thinking about creating a Service Pack 1 even though a list of enhancements and a release date is still not available.

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Sep 09

Easter Egg on Windows Vista DVD Raises a Question

Posted in: Apple, Microsoft, Screenshots, Software, Today's Chili, Windows, Windows Vista

This article was written on June 13, 2007 by CyberNet.

Vista DVD Easter Egg

Microsoft is no stranger to Easter Eggs since most of their products seem to have something weird that is itching to be found sooner or later. Instead of being a software Easter Egg, a new route has been taken and could prove to be a very widespread joke…if you have a magnifying glass.

If you happened to purchase a Windows Vista DVD there are a lot of fancy looking "holograms" placed around the outer edge to make it easier for users to notice when they are purchasing an illegal copy of the operating system. On the Windows logo along the outer-rim of the DVD is an extremely small image of three people (as seen above).

There is no word on who these people are, and how many DVD’s their image has been placed on, but I’m sure a lot of people will be checking their DVD’s now. I wish I had a retail DVD laying around to check myself, but my copy of Vista was provided by my university so I had to burn my own DVD.

So the question is…who are the three people in the image? Microsoft apparently doesn’t want to say who it is, or maybe they didn’t even know that the image was on the DVD? Word is that the image is not on recent "prints" of the DVD, and that you would need one of the copies made available closer to when Vista launched.

Update:
The Windows Vista Blog cleared some things up: "The photo displays members of the team who worked on the Windows Vista DVD hologram design. Microsoft’s Anti-Piracy Team designed a counterfeit-resistant digital "watermark" for the non-encoded surface of Windows Vista DVDs. The photo in question is only one of multiple images contained in the hologram design, all of whose inclusion serves to make it more difficult to replicate a Windows Vista DVD."

Source: I2D [via Sugiero]

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Sep 09

Vista vs. Leopard

Posted in: Apple, Software, Today's Chili, Windows Vista

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

Vista vs Leopard Mac OS X Leopard has been freed from captivity and is now in the hands of keyed-up Apple fans. The question in the minds of many Apple and Windows users alike is how is Leopard stacking up to Vista out of the box? Well, for starters, Leopard has its very own “blue screen of death!” According to Computer World, a “significant number of Macintosh owners upgrading to Leopard on Friday reported that after installing the new operating system, their machines locked up, showing only an interminable — and very Windows-like “blue screen of death.” Perhaps the two operating systems are more alike than anybody ever expected?

Engadget set out to compare Leopard vs. Vista to find out if one was better than the other, and to see just how alike the two are with a feature chart showdown. Of course many of their conclusions could be argued, but the end result was this: Leopard scored a 46 while Vista scored a 41. That means that Leopard had five more features that were considered “better” and offers a better user experience. In the grand scheme of things, the two nearly scored the same with Leopard getting high scores in the software (thanks to iChat, iCal, Apple’s Address Book and more) and system tools section with Vista receiving high scores in the Media, (thanks to Media Center, and Media Center Extenders) gaming, and performance and hardware sections. Both were nearly equal when it came to security. And remember, this was “out of the box.” As Engadget points out, a few 3rd party applications could give Vista quite a bit of an edge over Leopard.

So what is someone to make out of all this? If you’ve been paying attention in the blogosphere, you probably noticed several articles over the last several months discussing how Leopard is that good that this could be the turning point where more people start purchasing Mac computers and leaving PCs behind. In Paul Thurrott’s opinion, this is no turning point for Apple at all. He says “The biggest problem with Leopard is that it doesn’t really offer enough of an advantage over Vista to make anyone want to switch.” Then he continues, “No matter. Leopard is an excellent product. Mac users will upgrade immediately or purchase new Leopard-based hardware with no regrets, and that’s just fine.  But if you’re a Windows user sitting on the fence, Leopard doesn’t change the switcher equation at all.”

I think Paul Thurrott summed it up best. Leopard is a great product, there’s no doubt about that. But for those who thought Leopard was going to come in and steal the show, it’s just not going to happen. Die-hard Mac fans will remain loyal, and PC users are likely to remain loyal to Windows with a few curious enough about Leopard to go check it out. Neither Apple nor Microsoft have reason to worry until the two go at it again and release a new operating system. Any guesses on when we’ll see Apple and Microsoft launch their next operating system and how many years (if any) they’ll be delayed?

As a side note, if you’re looking for a great in-depth review of Leopard, Ars Technica put together a very thorough review that’s divided into sections for easy reading.

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Sep 08

Vista Critics Love Microsoft’s “New” Operating System, “Mojave”

Posted in: Software, Today's Chili, Windows Vista

This article was written on July 24, 2008 by CyberNet.

mojave.pngOften times we find ourselves wondering whether Vista’s harshest critics have ever used the operating system for more than an hour or two, if at all, because their complaints aren’t usually justified. You really have to use it for at least a month or two before you realize how nice it is to have, say, the option to perform searches right from the Start menu. It also takes time for someone to realize just how stable (assuming your computer has the proper hardware) Vista is. Sometimes it takes looking back and reflecting upon something to realize all that it brings to the table.

There’s no doubt that Microsoft has taken a lot of heat over Windows Vista and that some people can jump on the bandwagon and complain about it without ever using it. Microsoft knows this so they decided to defend their operating system and put critics in their place. Here’s how they did it:

  1. First they headed out around San Francisco to find Windows XP users who didn’t think very highly of Vista
  2. Then those individuals were interviewed, on video, and asked about their impressions of Vista
  3. Following the interview they were shown a “new” operating system that Microsoft said was code-named ‘Mojave’
  4. Following the video, 90% of the people gave positive feedback about what they saw
  5. Once feedback was given, the people were told that the operating system they saw in action and gave positive feedback on was actually Windows Vista
  6. We’re sure this is when Microsoft said “HA! See, Vista isn’t bad after all!”

If more people had actually tried the operating system instead of relying on word-of-mouth from someone else who probably hadn’t actually tried it for themselves either, Microsoft probably wouldn’t be in the situation that they find themselves in today.

According to CNET, Microsoft plans to use the footage of people positively reviewing “Mojave” in it’s marketing, although the specifics haven’t been figured out quite yet. There’s no doubt that Microsoft has some work ahead of them as they try to change the negative perceptions people have about Vista, and “Mojave” is definitely one way to do it.

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Sep 01

Windows Extending XP Support Until 2014

Posted in: Software, Today's Chili, Windows, Windows Vista, Windows XP

This article was written on January 25, 2007 by CyberNet.

Just because Vista will be the latest Windows operating system doesn’t mean that everybody will run out and upgrade. For one, it’s expensive. Secondly, some people simply don’t like change. Upgrading to the latest operating system is last on their list, especially if they’re still getting used to XP. There are a variety of reasons that users won’t instantly make the upgrade Vista. This has  left some wondering how long Microsoft will provide support for XP.

Originally, XP Professional was going to have support through April, 2014. XP Home Edition however was originally said to have support until April, 2011. Just yesterday, Microsoft announced that support has been extended for XP Home Edition, as well as XP Media Center edition.

Now XP Home, Media Center, and Professional Editions will all be in-line with each other. Microsoft will offer five years of mainstream support (until April 2009), and an additional five years of extended support which will take it to April 2014. It’s hard to believe that people would still be using Windows XP ten years from now, but it’s very possible.

Also keep in mind that Microsoft is still planning on a service pack three for Windows XP, is expected for release in 2008. There have been rumored features including WinFS (Windows Future Storage), and a user interface updated with a more powerful sidebar.

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Aug 22

Compatible AntiVirus Software List for Windows Vista

Posted in: Software, Today's Chili, Windows, Windows Vista

This article was written on February 02, 2007 by CyberNet.

One of the major factors that is keeping people from upgrading to Windows Vista is the software compatibility factor. Not all software is prepared for Vista which can make the upgrade frustrating. There are several sites putting together lists of software as they become compatible. You can find the complete list here, broken down into categories.  It’s a Wiki, so if you know of additional software that’s Vista Compatible, you can go ahead and add it to the list. Below you’ll find a list of compatible AntiVirus software.  Afterall, a good anti-virus is absolutely necessary, and one of the first things you should probably install.

AntiVirus:

Other Vista Stuff:

FYI: Despite the fact that Nero 7.5.7.0 is the latest version of software and claims to support Vista, there’s a minor glitch when installing it.  OldManDeath commented on this back in October, we personally experienced this, and SLA sent us a message about it recently.  When installing Nero Premium 7.5 on Vista, you’ll get a dialogue window telling you that it wants to improve your system by installing DirectX 9.0c.  However, Vista comes with DirectX 10.0 built-in! It’s wanting to take you back to a previous version. This was an issue back in October, and it’s still an issue today; unfortunately we don’t have a screenshot of it.

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Aug 17

Resize the Vista Sidebar

Posted in: Features, Freeware, Newly Released, Screenshots, Software, Today's Chili, Windows Vista

This article was written on August 17, 2007 by CyberNet.

Vista Sidebar ResizerLately I’ve been becoming more acquainted with the Windows Vista Sidebar. I’ve never been a big fan of these sidebars in the past, but after browsing through the gallery I’ve found some great gadgets that bring a lot of information to my desktop.

One thing that Microsoft did, however, is put gadgets on multiple "pages" once a user has filled up the sidebar. You would then use the left and right arrows at the top of the sidebar to shuffle through the multiple pages of gadgets.

Back in June Ashley reviewed a free application called the Windows Sidebar Styler. It’s a nifty little application that gives users the ability to style the sidebar with different skins. Yesterday a new version was launched, and one of the big new features is a sidebar resizer. Instead of gadgets overflowing onto multiple pages, they will then show up in multiple columns.

Resizing the sidebar is about as natural as it gets. You just grab the edge and drag it to the width that you want it. What I’ve noticed though is that enabling this completely disables the "page" feature for the sidebar. This could become a problem if you have, for example, 4 pages worth of gadgets, but your sidebar is only wide enough to display two of those pages. The rest of the gadgets that aren’t displayed will never be visible to you.

Some of you might be wondering why you would want a wide sidebar in Vista since it would just take up more room. The sidebar doesn’t actually have to be on top of all the other windows, and instead can just appear as part of the desktop. Sure you could drag the gadgets off from the sidebar onto the desktop, but the sidebar makes it nice and easy for you to keep them organized.

Note: You’ll find the option to enable a resizable sidebar by pressing the "More" button:

Vista Resiable Sidebar

Download the New Windows Sidebar Styler

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Aug 16

Consumers Buying Windows Vista? They Sure Are!

Posted in: Microsoft, Software, Today's Chili, Windows, Windows Vista

This article was written on October 26, 2007 by CyberNet.

steve ballmer The New York Times got it right when they said, “It turns out someone does like Windows Vista, along with Office and the other stuff Microsoft sells.” Sure Windows Vista is getting bashed left and right, but people are buying it. In fact, consumers bought $1.1 billion dollars more in software than what analysts had originally projected. After Microsoft announced yesterday that their revenue for the first quarter (which ended September 30, 2007) was $13.76 billion, Microsoft shares went up 12 percent which added around $30 billion to its market value. Not a bad day in Microsoftland!

Their revenues of $13.76 billion was a 27% increase from the same quarter the previous year. What helped them with that giant swell was software like Vista and Office as well as the increase in sales of Xbox 360 consoles and the launch of Halo 3. Some of you may be thinking that the jump in revenue had more to do with an increase in the sales of Windows XP instead of Vista, but Kevin Johnson, president of the platform and Services Division said “Customer demand for Windows Vista this quarter continued to build with double-digit growth in multi-year agreements by businesses and with the vast majority of consumers purchasing premium editions.”

While software gave Microsoft a huge boost in revenue, their Internet sites lost pretty big. In all, they lost $264 million thanks in part to development of their Live line of services as well as their advertising business. This loss was a big increase compared to their loss of $102 million during the same quarter a year prior. They launched a lot of different online services this year though, and they’re just starting to get their advertising business off the ground (hopefully that acquisition of aQuantive will help) so the loss is somewhat understandable.

Losses in the Internet Sites division aside, the overall message here is that Microsoft had a huge quarter! Now that they’ve got aQuantive on board and an investment in Facebook, we’ll be keeping an eye out for how these investments turn into value for Microsoft. If Microsoft’s chief Steve Ballmer is correct, those investments will add huge value. He said that online advertising would grow to make up 25 percent of the company’s total revenue! Think it’s possible?

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Aug 12

“Watch Now” Streaming in Media Center with MyNetflix Plug-in

Posted in: Software, Today's Chili, Windows Vista

This article was written on February 13, 2008 by CyberNet.

Netflix subscribers and Windows Vista Media Center users now have at their disposal an awesome plug-in that is available as a public beta.  It’s hard to believe that this hasn’t been done before (at least to my knowledge) because it’s extremely useful. The biggest and most useful feature for most of you will be the fact that the MyNetflix plug-in adds “Watch Now” support to Media Center.  That means you can stream the Watch Now movies in Media Center, removing the need to use the Netflix application. Cool, huh?

Like I said, the Watch Now feature is probably the one that will make you want to download the plug-in, but it does offer additional features that I think you’ll enjoy. They include:

  • View your Netflix queue
  • Browse movies by genre, top 100, new titles, etc
  • View your history and recommendations
  • Add movies to your queue
  • Remove movies form your queue
  • Move movies to the top of your queue
  • Browse “watch now” movies

mynetflix

I’ve read that some people run into issues when they try to view the “Watch Now” movies full screen which is something that shows this plug-in is still in beta and still has work to be done.  Other than that, there’s been more praise than complaints from people who think it’s absolutely amazing. The developer has done some great work so far and it’ll be interesting to see how he fine-tunes it over the next several months to make it even better.

Download Page

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Aug 11

CyberNotes: More Vista Terms Defined

Posted in: CyberNotes, Microsoft, Today's Chili, Windows Vista

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

CyberNotes
Microsoft Monday

Last week we covered some of the unfamiliar features and terms that were introduced with Windows Vista like the UAC (User Account Control), ReadyBoost, and SuperFetch. That was just the start of the new terms, so this week we’ll be covering three more.

What is Fast Sleep and Resume?

You may have also seen this labeled “Fast Boot and Resume.” It’s Vista’s new way of powering down and starting up so that you’ll be using your computer sooner. In other words, the initial “wait” is shorter.

The reason for this is that when you turn off your computer, it will save your current session to memory and enter into a low power state. Then when you turn your computer on, it’ll only take a few seconds before you see your desktop just as you left it.

What’s great is that there are no settings that you have to change because this is the default “off” state. When you press the bower button, it will automatically go in to “sleep” mode (very low power) and then quickly resume when you press the power button again to turn it back on.

What is Sync center?

The Sync Center is perfect for those of you who need to keep multiple devices synchronized. The Sync center in Windows Vista will be your centralized location where you can monitor the progress of the devices that you have synchronizing.

Here’s what you can do in Sync Center:

  • Initiate a manual sync
  • Stop an in-progress sync
  • View status of current sync activities
  • Receive notifications

You can get to the Sync Center by clicking start > control panel > Sync Center.

Synccenter

What is Shadow Copy?

Shadow Copy is for those of you who copy over files accidentally. It’s available in Business, Ultimate, and Enterprise editions of Windows Vista, and is described as a feature that “automatically creates point-in-time copies of files as you work, so you can quickly and easily retrieve versions of a document you may have accidentally deleted.”

To use this feature, all you have to do is right click on a file or a folder and click “restore previous versions.”

Shadowcopy

Keep in mind, this will work with single files, even whole folders! After clicking to restore previous versions, you’ll see a pop-up window that looks like this:

Shadow

It will display the different previous versions that are available for a file or folder, and then you can select which one you’d like to restore.

Wrapping it up:

While the three features mentioned today, Fast Sleep and Resume, Sync Center, and Shadow Copy aren’t all going to be something that everybody will use, at least one of them should come in handy for you at some point.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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