Free Windows XP Virtual PC Images Available

This article was written on April 18, 2007 by CyberNet.

Virtual PC 2007Microsoft just released updated Virtual PC images for Windows XP that users can legally download. Virtual PC images are a single file that contain a “clone” of an operating system. The Virtual PC software is a free download provided by Microsoft and is used to run multiple operating systems inside of Windows. This is normally useful for developers who need to try a program that they’re developing on multiple operating systems to ensure proper compatibility, but it can also benefit other people.

So why would this be useful for you? The Virtual PC images that Microsoft just released come in two different flavors: one has Internet Explorer 6 (443MB) and the other has Internet Explorer 7 (491MB). This lets you test your websites out to see how they look on other browsers without actually needing to have multiple versions of IE installed on your computer.

There is actually another benefit to this that most people don’t realize. Using these images is also great for keeping your PC free from unnecessary clutter! If you’re thinking that you want to test out an application to see how much you like it, now all you have to do is install the program on the Virtual PC. That way if you don’t like it, you can easily remove it from your computer without wondering what registry settings or folders it left behind.

The only downside to using these is that the images expire August 17th, 2007, but that is still 4–months of free access to a Windows XP testing station. Also, these images are pre-activated, but Microsoft has deactivated the product keys so that they don’t pass the Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) check. This is pretty logical because some users might try to retrieve the product key from the Virtual PC image and use it to install their own version of XP. If Microsoft allowed these keys to pass the WGA checks, then that product key would quickly become a goldmine for piracy.

Virtual PC Homepage (32–bit download or the 64–bit download)
Download the Internet Explorer 6 Virtual PC Image (443MB)
Download the Internet Explorer 7 Virtual PC Image (491MB)

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Windows Vista 5472 Screenshots Start Rolling In

This article was written on July 18, 2006 by CyberNet.

Windows Vista 5472 Screenshots Start Rolling In
 

I am sure that many people want to get their hands on 5472 but this release is only limited to Microsoft Connect testers. However, I have already found 3 screenshot galleries that may tide you over until Release Candidate 1 gets released sometime in August (hopefully):

The Hive’s gallery above also has a short review on the build. They said it took about 25 minutes for them to perform a fresh installation which sounds much faster than previous Vista builds. Things are definitely looking better as Microsoft progresses with Vista but I still constantly hear about driver related issues.

Don’t forget, if you want the new default wallpaper that is in Vista 5472 then you can get it hear. It is designed for a widescreen monitor and has a resolution of 1600 x 1200. Enjoy!

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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How to Repair Your Internet Connection

This article was written on February 11, 2011 by CyberNet.

arrow Windows Windows only arrow
internet repair.pngThere are an infinite number of reasons as to why someone’s Internet connection could stop working, but even with that in mind there are still a number of things we techies are “trained” to check first before banging our heads against the wall. I’m talking about things like releasing/renewing the IP address, flushing the DNS, and checking the Windows Firewall settings.

Thanks to a program called Complete Internet Repair all of those “tier 1″ troubleshooting efforts can be taken care of automatically for you. This free portable app tries to repair all of the most troublesome Internet-related issues including Windows Update problems and the mind-numbing lack of network connectivity.

Here’s a list of situations that the developers have said their program fares well in:

  • Internet or network problem after removing adware, spyware, virus, worm, Trojan horse, etc.
  • Loss network connection after installing/uninstalling adware, spyware, antispam, vpn, firewall or other networking programs.
  • Unable to access any webpage or can only access some webpages.
  • Pop-up error window with network related problem description.
  • No network connectivity due to registry errors.
  • DNS lookup problem.
  • Fail to renew the network adapter’s IP address or other DHCP errors.
  • Network connectivity issue with limited or no connections message.
  • Windows update does not work
  • You are having problems connecting to secured websites (ex. Banking).
  • Internet Explorer stopped working or crashes all the time.
  • Other networking problems.

This obviously won’t fix every possible problem you’re likely to encounter, but it’s a great first step… especially if you’re trying to walk someone through how to do this stuff over the phone.

Note: I noticed that clicking the arrow along the right side of each entry immediately executes the particular step, so don’t try and click the arrows when just experimenting. :)

Complete Internet Repair Homepage (Windows XP/2003/Vista/2008/7; Freeware)

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Hide the Start Button in Windows XP

This article was written on August 27, 2008 by CyberNet.

arrow Windows Windows only (not Vista) arrow
When you’re working with a small screen space it’s nice to try and squeeze everything you can out of it. That’s especially true when you’ve got a device like the Eee PC who’s 7″ screen has an 800×480 maximum resolution. As you can imagine you’re Taskbar would fill up after opening just a few applications at a resolution like that.

One thing that you can do is hide the oversized Start button that appears in Windows. This is done with a simple and free application called Start Killer. When the program is running the Start button will disappear, but have no fear because it can still be accessed by pressing either the Windows Key on the keyboard, or by pressing Control+Esc.

Start Killer doesn’t work on Windows Vista, but Microsoft already did a decent job of shrinking down the size of the Start button there. On Windows XP, however, it can give you some extra breathing room on your Taskbar:

start killer.jpg

How do you get your Start button back? Simple, just close the program. When the program is running you’ll see an icon in your System Tray similar to the one in the screenshot above. You can use the icon to close the program or adjust a handful of settings (like auto-starting with Windows).

Get Start Killer for Windows XP and earlier

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Microsoft Has A Heart: Free Vista Ultimate To Invited Testers

This article was written on November 17, 2006 by CyberNet.

Vista Ultimate If you were one of the 20,000 people invited to test out Windows Vista then you’re gonna have a nice present coming to you. In an email sent out to those invited testers it said that you were eligible to receive a free version of Windows Vista Ultimate edition if you had filed at least one bug during the course of your testing. If you did then Microsoft will provide a download link so that you can get your free copy along with the product key.

I think it is great Microsoft is doing this because they need to show their appreciation to the people who helped make the operating system what it is today. From what I’ve read online if you got into the program back in Beta 1 then finding a bug was as simple as starting the operating system. That may be exaggerating things a little bit but at that stage Vista was not usable as an everyday operating system according to many reviews. Heck, when I was able to start using it when they released Beta 2 it wasn’t even usable as my primary OS so I’m sure Beta 1 was a nightmare.

Now I think it would be really cool if Microsoft gave free copies of Vista to all of the public testers as well. I mean really, it is only a few million people right? :)

News Source: Neowin Forums (you’ll find the full email sent to testers there)

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Vista’s Successors: Fiji and Vienna with Mockup Screenshots

This article was written on January 01, 2007 by CyberNet.

Vienna So we are just weeks away from the Windows Vista consumer launch but the excitement doesn’t seem to be nearly what I would expect it to be. Why? Having used Vista for several months I find a lot of great things that make using Windows a more smooth operation. It is quite disappointing that I can’t get the Aero Glass on my laptop (with an integrated Intel 915 graphics card) because without it I can’t use things like Flip-3D or see thumbnail images when hovering over Taskbar items.

In fact using Vista RC2 on my laptop has been quite troublesome and slow lately. I install and uninstall applications all of the time and I know that isn’t good for keeping a PC clean, but the performance hit on Vista has been much more drastic than it ever was on XP. At this rate I would be reformatting my computer every month compared to every 3 to 4 months that I reformat an XP machine. This is probably a story for another day though…I’ll get back on topic now.

Windows Fiji is the codename for what will become an update or service pack to Windows Vista and is slated for a release in 2008. This release should have features that didn’t make it in time for the Windows Vista launch which should mean that it will be free (*crosses fingers*). Here are the rumored features for this release according to Wikipedia:

  • The user interface will be updated with things that were originally promised for Vista, along with a more powerful sidebar, which will be more than just a dock for widgets
  • .Net Framework will be updated to 3.5 or 4
  • WinFS will be applied over NTFS to give us Virtual Folders
  • All bundled application will be updated to newer versions
  • Tighter integration with Windows Live. Probably through ‘Codename Nemo’, a media center application that’s integrated with Messenger, Spaces, and probably lots of other Windows Live Services
  • We might see Monaco, a music authoring tool, similar to Apple’s Garageband
  • Default playback of HD-DVD, Vista currently identifies these disks but cannot play them without an external decoder
  • A more advanced speech recognition software
  • The system will be made more secure
  • New themes, icons, wallpapers, games, and minor tweaks to almost everything

Those features sound nice but the only one of interest to me is WinFS (Windows Future Storage). That is the new file system that is supposed to allow better searching and break away from the barriers that folders create by organizing data in relationships:

  • Integrated storage – One example scenario is the Integrated Storage Conception that helps to reuse data. This feature will be of great use for businesses, by allowing it to automatically aggregate data from different departments.
  • Full text search – A second possible scenario is a full-text search that works with items fields – the rich filters feature. By making use of the fact that any application’s data files can be used by any other application, searches can be made to encompass the contents of the file as well, rather than just its attributes.
  • Advanced search and data aggregation – WinFS provides an opportunity to create rich and custom made search queries, such as to find “all persons whom I called last weekend”.
  • Data mining – WinFS can also give more information about data, by using data mining techniques and applying rules to the data, thus helping to uncover new information. This scenario is intended to use in development of expert systems.

There is still no guarantees that WinFS will make it out in time for Windows Fiji, but I would sure hope it will.

Windows Vienna (expected in 2010) is really supposed to break the mold that Windows 95 established with a Start Menu, Taskbar, and an Explorer shell. Actually, Vista was supposed to do this but the amount of time it would take to develop such a system was greatly underestimated. Other details about what to expect in Vienna are pretty scarce but crawling around the Web I have been able to find some mockups of what people think it will be like (images below taken from this forum).

This screenshot obviously favors transparency and combines the Taskbar with a sidebar, which would take up a large amount of screen space. I also think the glowing edges are way too much:

Vienna

Next up is a replacement for the Flip-3D feature that can be found in Vista…and I actually really like this. It exposes more of each window so that you can see more of the content but at the same time it is easy to see which window is currently selected. I would love to see a Windows XP/Vista application do something like this:

Vienna Flip-3D

To break away from the Taskbars and Start Menu Microsoft has been investigating the use of “pie menus.” A pie menu offers the options in a circular fashion around the mouse, and therefore reducing the distance that the mouse has to travel in order to get to the desired option. I’ll explain how the Firefox extension works that does the same thing since it is a real example that everyone can try:

Pie Menu in Firefox

The Firefox extension replaces the standard right-click menu with a pie menu, as pictured above. When I right-clicked on the image at the top of our website it noticed that it was hyperlinked so the options it provided me with were mostly related to hyperlinks. Selecting any of the options takes hardly any effort at all since they are all right next to the mouse.

I would love to see Windows go to a pie menu solution like this, but it just seems like there are so many options that have to be crammed in such a small space. Sure the circle could be made bigger than the one shown above, but that would almost defeat the purpose. I’m sure this can be effectively accomplished, but Microsoft will have to spend a lot of time and money in research to get it done right.

Here is a small mockup of how the pie menu(s) might be displayed in Vienna:

Vienna Pie Menu

That’s really everything I know about what’s coming after Windows Vista. It might not be as detailed as you would like, but information is hard to come by right now. Heck, Microsoft probably isn’t even sure what kind of features can be made ready in the next 3 years, and time seems to be their worst enemy.

News Source: Slashdot

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Microsoft reveals Data Explorer tool, gets into the sorbet business (video)

Redmond houses quite a few little teams beavering away on quirky projects and one of those has just gone public with its latest creation. It’s codenamed “Data Explorer”, which perhaps isn’t an ideal codename since it describes exactly what the enterprise-focused service does. Instead of manually searching and copying data into a report, Data Explorer pulls information from SQL databases, spreadsheets and other “random sources” that could be relevant, and then attempts to “clean it up, transform it, merge it together and then publish it out” as a coherent report. You can learn more and sign up for the beta at the source link, or click past the break to watch a Microsoft exec demo the tool using a real-world case study — we found it a bit dense, but you’ll be fine as long as you remember that kids love frozen yogurt.

Continue reading Microsoft reveals Data Explorer tool, gets into the sorbet business (video)

Microsoft reveals Data Explorer tool, gets into the sorbet business (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 Oct 2011 10:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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I Finally Moved to 64-bit Windows

This article was written on January 14, 2009 by CyberNet.

vista x64 dvd.jpgFor the last few years I’ve been using a Windows Vista Media Center machine to record television shows, stream media to my Xbox 360, and perform backups of other computers in the house. When I made the switch from XP to Vista I contemplated installing the 64-bit version of the operating system, but I didn’t feel like hassling with any driver issues. After all, a 32-bit Vista serial number will also activate on a 64-bit install meaning you can make the switch at any point.

Almost two weeks ago I had a hard drive crash on me, and had to order a new one. I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to install 64-bit Vista on my 4-year old Pentium D computer. Beforehand I made sure that drivers were available for my ATI graphics card and other devices that I knew would need them. Things looked good so I proceeded with the install.

The setup was a breeze, and I can’t really say that it felt any different than installing the 32-bit version of Vista. Some of the applications I use have versions specifically for 64-bit Windows, but all my other 32-bit programs still run fine. Although by running 32-bit programs you don’t necessarily get all of the advantages the operating system has to offer.

One of the big reasons that I wanted to make the switch is that using the 32-bit version of Vista meant that I couldn’t take advantage of all 4GB of memory in the computer. Before Vista was only able to access about 3.2GB of the memory.

So now I’m wondering how many of you are already running a 64-bit version of Windows, or are you holding out despite having a processor capable of handling it?

P.S. Here’s Microsoft’s guide comparing 32-bit & 64-bit versions of Vista

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Public Vista SP1 Release Candidate by Mid-December?

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

Vista Fix Patch Mary Jo Foley has tapped some of her sources to try and get information regarding Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1), and it appears that she didn’t come up empty handed this time around. Her sources said that Vista SP1 RC will be in the hands of testers as early as next week, and that the public will be able to get a taste of it the following week. I’m definitely down with that if it works out that way.

Some of you may have already taken advantage of the trick to get Vista SP1 via Windows Update, but that will not be the same build as the Release Candidate. The most current known Vista SP1 build is 6001.17042, but Foley said that Microsoft is running 6001.17051 internally. I suspect that Microsoft has gotten valuable feedback from the thousands of designated testers, and by this point Vista SP1 is probably near production quality.

I put together the image above as a reminder not to disturb the Microsoft engineers at work. We wouldn’t want Vista SP1 to suck as much as Vista currently does. Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. ;)

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Complimentary T-Mobile HotSpot Access for Vista Users

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

And yet, more Vista news! I’m sure in the next several days, there will continue to be more Vista news and announcements. Yesterday, on the Windows Vista Blog, they announced that any computer running Windows Vista can go to a North American T-Mobile HotSpot from January 30th until April 30th for free, “blazing-fast broadband” Internet. While the official start date of this offer is January 30th, the launch of Vista, it actually goes live on Friday the 26th.

So, where can you find T-Mobile’s hot spots? In the United States they have 8.324 locations.  They include Starbucks, Borders bookstores, FedEx Kinko’s locations, select Hyatt Hotels and resorts, airports, and the airline clubs of American, Delta, United and US Airways.

You can find additional information at http://www.skysurprise.com which appears to be the official site for this program.  T-Mobile also has a HotSpot location finder, so that you can find a location closest to you. That site can be found here. This is around a $30 value per month, and not a bad PR move by Microsoft.  Hey, it’s free, no complaining here!

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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