Hasta La Gadget!

This article was written on April 29, 2008 by CyberNet.

Last week we posted some mirrors for the Windows XP SP3 download, and today was supposed to be the golden day that Microsoft delivered it to the public. That won’t be happening. Microsoft found a last minute show-stopper that they decided needs to be addressed before offering it to the public.

If you already installed it on your machine it’s not that big of a deal. The issue they found pertains to the Microsoft Dynamics Retail Management System (RMS). Are you affected by it? If you’re just using the PC at home it’s very unlikely that you’ll notice any problems since you probably don’t use that software. The Retail Management System is a point-of-sale system that Microsoft puts out for small and mid-market retailers. It costs about $1,000 and therefore isn’t likely to be on your PC without you knowing about it.

There’s no word as to when Microsoft will actually release XP SP3 on their website. They have said that they want to get filtering in place first to ensure that systems running Microsoft RMS do not download the Service Pack:

In the last few days, we have uncovered a compatibility issue between Microsoft Dynamics Retail Management System (RMS) and both Windows XP SP3 and Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1). In order to make sure customers have the best possible experience, we have decided to delay releasing Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) to the web.

To help protect customers, we plan to put filtering in place shortly to prevent Windows Update from offering both service packs to systems running Microsoft Dynamics RMS. Once filtering is in place, we expect to release Windows XP SP3 to the web.

We are also testing a fix, and will make it available once that process is complete. Once they have installed the fix, Microsoft Dynamics RMS customers should be able to run both service packs.

Until then, we advise Microsoft Dynamics RMS customers to not install either service pack. Microsoft Dynamics RMS customers running Windows XP SP3 or Windows Vista SP1 should contact Microsoft Customer Support Services for additional information.

Still want to download XP SP3? There are all kind of solutions available including a direct link to the file from Microsoft. Here are some of the different places that you can get it:

• From Microsoft – very fast, I’m getting 1.1MB/s on my download
• From MajorGeeks
• From Softpedia
• From BetaNews

[via SuperSite & All About Microsoft]

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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

Windows only
Have you been wanting to get your DVD library onto your PC, but are trying to figure out the best way to do that? A free application called bitRipper might be just the solution you’re looking for.

When you first launch the application you’ll be presented with an extremely simple interface that should confuse no one, but there are still plenty of customizations you can make if you really want to dig in. Here are some of the app’s highlights:

• On-the-fly DVD to AVI conversion.
  You don’t need gigabytes of free disk space to store intermediate data. Your DVD is converted in your PC memory and written directly to your hard drive.
• Extreme simplicity.
  You don’t need to be computer expert to convert a DVD using bitRipper, all you should do is to insert disc and click a button.
• Splendid customization.
  You may tune any parameters if you want, but until you decide they will never distract you.
• Everything included.
  You don’t need to download additional modules, codecs and other software. We bundled everything that bitRipper requires yet saving it’s size.
• Existing sources usage.
  bitRipper may use any codec which is already installed in your system choosing the most optimal one of them unless you specify the other.
• High software performance.
  We did everything to make a DVD to AVI conversion process as fast as possible. The speed only depends on your hardware.

On the download page the developer does say that bitRipper is 100% free, but if you are prompted to register a complimentary serial number is provided. I’m guessing this is just in case you download an older version from somewhere else that still requires a serial number.

bitRipper Homepage
Thanks “Seanster” for the tip!

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This article was written on April 19, 2007 by CyberNet.

Microsoft has lofty plans over the next eight years.  By 2015, they have a goal of increasing their users to two billion people.  Is it doable? Especially when they already command 90 percent of the market with one billion users?

Here’s how they intend to do this:

• Offer developing countries $3 software packages with Windows XP and Office included.
• Increase the number of paid copies of Vista in developing countries.

$3.00 Software:

The $3.00 software package is called Microsoft Student Innovation Suite, and it will include Windows XP Starter Edition, Office 2007 Home and Student, and other educational type programs.  The software packages will be offered to governments who purchase Windows-based computers for the students.

It’s their way of getting new users hooked on Vista before they have access to anything else.  Generally speaking, developing countries are untapped, and Microsoft is thinking that they could do well there. It also sounds like Microsoft’s plan to compete with the One Laptop Per Child program(Linux) in developing countries, which has gotten plenty of support and publicity.

China:

Then there’s China they have to work with. In the two weeks right after the release of Vista, only 244 copies of Windows were sold in China.  One of the biggest, if not the biggest reason is piracy.

Pirated copies of Windows Vista are selling for just $1 all over the streets of China, and because of that, there’s no reason for people to purchase it for full price.  Microsoft had hoped that they had dealt with this issue before the launch of Vista by spending millions of dollars advertising about piracy, and the new operating system.Part of their advertising campaign was to place the largest Vista ad ever on the Jim Mao Tower, which reaches 421 meters tall in Shanghai. Clearly it didn’t work.

So, is it possible for Microsoft to increase their users by one billion in just eight years?

Source: Information Week

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

Back in May we did a comparison of DirectX 9 and DirectX 10 to show graphically what the differences are. The reason why it is important is because Microsoft didn’t make a DirectX 10 that works with Windows XP, so you would have to upgrade to Vista to benefit from it. Microsoft claimed that it is impossible to implement DirectX 10 in XP because it uses many Vista-specific features to bring more realistic graphics to your computer.

Also in that article we discussed a project called Alky that started in hopes of developing their own version of DirectX 10 that does work with Windows XP. The project merged with another project to form Falling Leaf Systems, and now expects to have a working application towards the end of July. Here’s what Falling Leaf says about their move:

Microsoft has, in typical Microsoft fashion, decided to launch their forced migration onslaught in full force with the release of two games that will only run on Windows Vista. First they claim that it was impossible to implement DirectX 10 compatibility atop Windows XP, and now they also want us to believe that they couldn’t successfully launch two DirectX 9 based titles on XP either. We plan to expose both theories as patently false.

When they do launch their program it will let users play Halo 2 and Shadowrun, two "Vista-only" titles, on Windows XP. I’m still a bit skeptical on this whole project, because the site says that anyone who purchases a preorder of either game through their site, which actually goes through Amazon, will get a free copy of their software when it is released. This is a little weird because they aren’t very upfront about how this works. From what it looks like they are just trying to earn money through a referral program on Amazon by pointing people to the site and having them preorder the games. Amazon is the one shipping them, which means that Falling Leaf actually has no idea who purchased the preorder. This leads me to believe that the compatibility update will be offered to everyone at no cost when if it is released. They are apparently just trying to earn some extra cash on the side, and there is nothing wrong with that if they were upfront about it.

In my opinion this sounds too good to be true, and you should hold out on purchasing any of the games until you read some reviews on how well this actually works when it is released. After all, you wouldn’t want to preorder the game now and have it sit on the shelf for several months while Falling Leaf is working on their software…especially if it turns out to be vaporware.

Source: Next Generation [via Slashdot]

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This article was written on September 11, 2007 by CyberNet.

If you’re one of those that installs a lot of applications or saves documents to your desktop, it doesn’t take long before you’re staring at a sea full of icons and you can’t find the one you’re looking for.  Often times, most of those icons can go unused for months at a time which means they’re just taking up space and making the important icons harder to find. Here are a few tips on how to keep your desktop clean:

1. Create folders for the icons you don’t use regularly – You could create one folder for applications, one for documents, and another for pictures that you don’t access regularly. It’ll be much nicer to look at a few folders filled with icons versus a desktop full of icons. To create a new folder, just right click on your desktop and then click new>folder.
2. Use the Desktop Cleanup Wizard in Windows XP – If you’re using Windows XP, there’s a tool called Desktop Cleanup Wizard that will remove unwanted shortcuts from your desktop. To access the Desktop Cleanup Wizard, just right-click on your desktop, then click "arrange icons by" and then click "Run Desktop Cleanup Wizard." You’ll be taken through the process of selecting which shortcuts will be left on your desktop. The ones you decide not to keep will be placed in an "Unused Desktop Shortcuts" folder. This is only a feature found in XP. 
3. Auto Arrange Icons – Maybe it’s not that you have a lot of icons, but they’re just thrown all over the screen. Using the "auto arrange icons" feature will arrange the icons so that they look nicer on your desktop. They’ll be evenly spaced out and placed in columns. To auto arrange your icons in Windows Vista and XP, right-click on your desktop then click "Arrange Icons By">Auto Arrange.
4. Hide Desktop Icons – In some instances, you may want to hide all of your desktop icons.  I know when I’m taking screenshots, I’d rather that my icons stay out of the shot. You can hide all of your icons very simply by right-clicking on your desktop > Arrange Icons by> Show Desktop Icons. Once you do this, your icons will be hidden.
5. Save the position of your icons – This won’t necessarily help you keep your desktop clean, but it will help keep your desktop organized. To learn how to save the position of your icons to restore at any time, checkout this article.

Of course, if you have your own suggestiosn for keeping your desktop clean, feel free to share…

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