*HOT* Tech News And Downloads, I Would Read This Thread And Post Any Good Info

WHAT HAPPEDED TO THE VISTA THREAD?????????????

i know where it went,Windows - General discussion
http://forums.afterdawn.com/forum_view.cfm/165


Vista: Whatever happened to fast boot?



Anyone else remember when Microsoft used to talk about making Windows Vista (or Longhorn, as it was then known) a fast-booting operating system. Fast, as in cold boots that were 50 percent faster than those possible with Windows XP?

Something obviously went awry.

As Computerworld is reporting, a number of Vista users are none too happy about Vista boot-up times. Some are questioning whether Microsoft is advocating that users just put Vista into sleep mode, as opposed to shutting down systems on a daily basis, to mask the sluggish boot up.

(And it's not just boot up speeds that are troublesome. Vista shutdown is as slow as molasses, too, Computerworld is reporting users as saying. And app-loading times are nothing to write home about, either.)

Microsoft has been touting the sleep/hibernate modes as the preferred ways to "shut off" Vista systems. As former Windows Chief Jim Allchin blogged in December:

"Everyone knows that turning a TV off doesn’t really turn it off. It is still available to receive the remote control signal, etc. so that it can come back on quickly. We wanted to emulate this for Windows Vista machines.

"To the degree possible, 'off' equals 'sleep' in Windows Vista, where the system state is saved in RAM. This creates the best balance of user experience for speed of resuming and lowest usage of power. However, if the PC is running on batteries even that minimal power usage could drain the batteries eventually. Remember the top goal here is to make sure that we can enable a fast on experience (like your cell phone) and a fast off experience, while still making sure that you don't lose your work when a Windows PC is turned off. To do this, we created a new approach that we call 'hybrid sleep state' that is the best of the sleep and hibernate modes (which existed separately in Windows XP)."

From the reaction on the Vista support forums, it doesn't seem like users are cottoning to Microsoft's sleep/hibernate Vista settings.

What's your take? Does Microsoft need to rethink its Windows power-management defaults with Windows Seven and beyond?
http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=378

 

Something about burning with vista.. from the horses mouth (or is that the horses a$$??)

and for your own security

make sure you have the "wake up on LAN" disabled in your bios, or be prepared to be hacked to death while you are at work/sleeping/enjoying your other half etc.... Sleep/hibernate IS NOT OFF!! and is bad for the planet. The greens should be up in arms about this "new" (NOT) feature. Me? I just leave my old heap on all the time.. at least I don't have to ever worry it won't boot.

and there be more about burning problems.. arrr arrr arrrrrrrrr...

http://www.softpedia.com/progDownload/Advanced-Vista-Codec-Package-Download-55586.html

AD gripe.. damn hotword linking is breaking some links.. copy/paste that one to get at the software. codec in the link is with a capital "C" so you will have to change it.. there is no other way except maybe clickies Try that, if not working I'll try another way.

Code:

http://www.softpedia.com/progDownload/Advanced-Vista-Codec-Package-Download-55586.html

Now that ^^ is just fu**ing wrong! It should leave everything between the tags unchanged!!

 

Windows XP to be Phased Out by Year's End Despite Strong Demand
Linked by Eugenia Loli-Queru on 2007-04-12 00:49:39 UTC, submitted by Dan Warne
Computer makers have been told they'll no longer be able to get Windows XP OEM by the end of this year, despite strong ongoing demand for the OS. Analysts and computer makers are wondering if the move is premature given Vista's ongoing performance and compatibility issues. Dell recently said it would reintroduce XP on a range of machines due to customer demand but Microsoft will only allow this until the end of the year.

Windows XP to be phased out by year's end despite customer demand

* 12th April 2007
* Angus Kidman
* Vista, Windows
Computer makers have been told they'll no longer be able to get Windows XP OEM by the end of this year, despite consumer resistance to Vista and its compatibility problems.

By early 2008, Microsoft's contracts with computer makers will require companies to only sell Vista-loaded machines. "The OEM version of XP Professional goes next January," said Frank Luburic, senior ThinkPad product manager for Lenovo. "At that point, they'll have no choice."

Despite Microsoft's relentless promotion of Vista, manufacturers are still seeing plenty of demand from customers for systems preloaded with XP, especially in the finicky SOHO market.

In a recent post on its Direct2Dell blog, Dell reaffirmed to concerned customers that it wasn't about to force small business users -- who typically purchase PCs piecemeal, rather than in large enterprise-style orders -- to shift to Vista, which has experienced a less-than-stellar reaction from many buyers because of driver issues and moderately beefy hardware requirements.

"Dell recognizes the needs of small business customers and understands that more time is needed to transition to a new operating system," the post read in part. "The plan is to continue offering Windows XP on select Dimension and Inspiron systems until later this [northern] summer."

"From a local perspective, the post was a reminder more than an announcement," Dell ANZ corporate communications manager Paul McKeon told APC.

"This was something we'd always planned during the transition phase since businesses will have different time frames to adopt the new OS. If you're a consumer, you're unlikely to be managing more than say 2.4 OS images at home, so it's less of an issue"

There's general agreement amongst PC resellers that Vista has provided a minor boost to PC sales, but hasn't produced blockbuster numbers. A similar story applies in the retail space. Figures from marketing consultancy GfK suggest that after an initial sales surge, around 1500 copies of Vista are now being sold through Australian retailers each week, according to a recent report in the AFR.

While Dell's post suggested it wouldn't be promoting Vista systems to the home market, manufacturers still have the option of selling XP-based systems for consumers this year.
http://apcmag.com/5835/vendors_in_no_rush_to_ditch_xp_for_vista

 

OLD NEWS ON VISTA AND TO SHOW YE THE TIE IN WITH THE STUDIOS AND MICROSOFT

NOTE:I have over 600 articles on vista.or Longhorn

Hollywood, Microsoft align on new Windows

Published: August 30, 2005, 4:00 AM PDT
By John Borland
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
TrackBack Print E-mail TalkBack

As Microsoft readies the next version of its Windows operating system, called Vista, the software giant is building in unprecedented levels of safeguards against video piracy.

For the first time, the Windows operating system will wall off some audio and video processes almost completely from users and outside programmers, in hopes of making them harder for hackers to reach. The company is establishing digital security checks that could even shut off a computer's connections to some monitors or televisions if antipiracy procedures that stop high-quality video copying aren't in place.

In short, the company is bending over backward--and investing considerable technological resources--to make sure Hollywood studios are happy with the next version of Windows, [/b]which is expected to ship on new PCs by late 2006. Microsoft believes it has to make nice with the entertainment industry if the PC is going to form the center of new digital home networks, which could allow such new features as streaming high-definition movies around the home.

PCs won't be the only ones with reinforced pirate-proofing. Other new consumer electronics devices will have to play by a similar set of rules in order to play back the studios' most valuable content, Microsoft executives say. Indeed, assuring studios that content will have extremely strong protection is the only way any device will be able to support the studios' planned high-definition content, the software company says.

"The table is already set," said Marcus Matthias, product manager for Microsoft's digital media division. "We can come in and eat at the buffet, or we can stand outside and wash cars."

Hollywood studios didn't get all the protections they wanted in Vista, and record labels have even seen some of their key concerns about copy-protecting CDs left unaddressed. But the Vista operating system as a whole goes much further than any general-purpose computing platform before it toward addressing content companies' piracy fears.

But these deep changes in the way the operating system handles entertainment content will also come with costs. The most obvious of these may be the risk of compatibility problems between some older monitors or TVs and Vista computers, particularly when trying to play high-quality video. Vista may also make it harder to do some casual copying, such as recording Internet audio.

"This is definitely being driven by Microsoft's desire to position Windows as a home entertainment hub, and to do that they have to make some concessions," said Matt Rosoff, an analyst with research firm Directions on Microsoft. "They're walking a line, trying to please both sides (content companies and consumers) at the same time."

These changes are worrisome to some computer programmers and digital activist groups. They fear that increasingly high security levels will block off avenues of programming innovation, or even stop computer owners from accessing portions of their own machines--a little like walling off a room inside a private house.

"There is a concern that there is a tendency to lock down parts of the design to protect the flanks of the copy-protection system," said Princeton University computer science professor Edward Felten, who has been an outspoken critic of rigid copy-protection rules. "That makes it harder for everyone, including Microsoft, to adapt to new uses."

Putting video behind a wall
Several major changes have been made to the way the operating system will handle video and audio, though few of these are included in the early version now in the hands of beta testers. The rest of the components will likely be added in the next, as yet unscheduled, beta release, and will be in the final launch of the operating system next year.

At the most basic level, some audio and video--at least when it is in Microsoft's Windows Media format--will be handled in a new "protected environment" that will keep applications such as media players or plug-ins separate from the actual media data.
FAQ
Vista's antipiracy shield
Microsoft is working closely with studios in ways that could affect your home entertainment system. Here's what you need to know.

Essentially, this means that much of the actual heavy lifting of decoding, unlocking and playing the audio will happen in what some engineers refer to as a separate "sandbox." Media player applications will send remote control commands such as play, fast-forward or stop into this protected space, without directly handling the data as they do today.

Technology called the "Protected Video Path" will then attempt to ensure that a video stream is encrypted--and thus difficult to copy--all the way until it reaches a monitor or other device where it is being displayed.

This won't always be possible, because most analog plugs, and some digital connections, don't support this kind of copy protection. Part of Vista's job will be to check to see what kind of devices are

(continued from previous page)

linked to the computer, and through what kind of connection, and decide whether the content can be encrypted or otherwise protected over that link.

If the answer is "no," in the case of high-resolution Video Graphics Array (VGA) connections, or some early Digital Video Interface connections, the computer could shut down output of video altogether through those plugs, if the content owners require that.

Alternately, Vista will include a "constriction" feature that can decrease the resolution of high-definition video on the fly, outputting a version that is slightly fuzzier (about the same as today's DVDs) than the pristine original. This can be used as an alternative to blocking a connection altogether, if a content company won't let high-definition video play over the lower-security outputs.

This feature won't affect most HD televisions, which typically are already shipped with secure connection technologies. PC monitors have been slower to adopt tools such as Intel's HDCP (High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection) that support secure connections, however.

Most of these advanced copy-protection features in Vista are designed to apply to high-definition content and are unlikely to change the way today's DVDs or broadcast-quality content is played, Microsoft says.

Labels lack copy-protected CD support
A similar process will happen for copy-protected audio files, potentially encrypting the audio until it leaves the computer, and offering the ability to turn off specific outputs if content owners deem them insecure.

For the last year, record labels have sought additional features in the operating system that would make playing copy-protected CDs a more streamlined experience. But so far, Microsoft has not added any features specifically supporting these new CDs, saying that the technology isn't yet mature, and that other companies--Apple Computer and other music software companies included--also need to be involved.
Adobe under construction
Staking a claim to name search
Google's Web developer play
Landmine for job-hoppers?
Securing Vista PCs
Previous Next

"We're seeing digital distribution move at a rapid enough pace that the rules for which people access content today across the music services are very consistent," said John Paddleford, lead program manager for the Microsoft team that works directly with content companies. "This is what we're driving the labels to reach on the CD itself, so there's a consistent consumer experience. I think it is going to take time for the labels and the application vendors--not just Microsoft--to find a middle ground."

A spokesman for the Recording Industry Association of America, which has engaged in discussions with Microsoft on this issue, declined to comment.

Sensitive subject
Microsoft is aware that the high level of protection--which could result in some monitors and TVs not playing high-definition content at full resolution--could spark criticism and confusion.

The company is quick to say that this has not been a case of studios dictating policy to programmers.

"The studios are very good about not trying to design software," Paddleford said. "I've never had a studio say, 'We need an API (application programming interface) that does this.' But they do talk about, 'Well, we want to make sure that our theatrical content doesn't get played in any place but a theater.'"

For their part, studio executives say they haven't been involved in the intimate details, but are happy to see what Microsoft has done.

"The greatest problem in existing operating systems is that content is in the clear across certain interfaces," said Chris Cookson, chief technology officer for Warner Bros. "They've undertaken to improve that, which everyone was glad to see."

http://news.com.com/Hollywood,+Micr...+page+2/2100-1025_3-5844393-2.html?tag=st.num


News.context

What's new:
The next version of the Windows operating system, called Vista, has unprecedented features for guarding against video piracy, as Microsoft seeks to assure Hollywood studios that their content will have extremely strong protection.

Bottom line:
The protections may come with costs, including the risk of compatibility problems between some older monitors or TVs and Vista computers, particularly when trying to play high-quality video, and difficulty doing some casual copying, such as recording Internet audio.

 

That puts us pirate OS installers in an awesome position, Especially with lower end hardware.. we know how to turn off auto-updates, disable that damn notifier bubble, and kill WGA rubbish.. while at the same time this is forcing retailers and legal installers into a corner. Customers don't want vista? Hard luck M$.. you can't force people to buy something they don't want, no matter how hard you try.

Hands up those who remember when a computer came with no operating system whatsoever.. and you went and bought the one of your choice.
Dell have eventually seen the light (I know what we all think about current dell hardware) and will sell hardware without any software at all. The other makers need to follow suit. Their job is to make hardware.. not be M$s patsy.

M$ really need to learn that they can't treat customers like this.. We won't stand for it, and neither will the hardware makers when they see sales fall because of restrictive "lock in" contracts which force the inclusion of what is becoming seen as deliberately restrictive, performance reducing flawed by design software. Expect the "anti-vista" movement to gain ground in leaps and bounds. I smell victory over monopoly, and when I get that smell I remember what happened to all the other alternatives when M$ was pulling the "have it for free" back in the 90's.

Apple survived by being.. well just better, and now linux is at the point where it is more than just a hobby OS for geeks. It works, and you can do things.. real things with it.. Apart from the "niche market" of hardline gamers.. and that just needs some pressure on the game writers to a) up the quality of the ganes, and not rely so much on OS features like DX10, and b) to provide alternative ports.. they will have to or face going to the wall when M$ comes crashing down. One big push from the open source developers and we can topple the giant, eradicate them in the same way M$ and apple removed sco-unix and OS2 from the scene....

Talk about killing the goose that lays the golden eggs...

 

http://blogs.msdn.com/wga/archive/2007/04/10/reported-oem-bios-hacks.aspx

 

MORE VISTA CRAP,MICROSUCK UP YOUR A@@

All Your File Are Belong To Vista

By David DeJean,
05:07 PM ET, Apr 11, 2007


Dave Methvin at PC Pitstop has an interesting -- and disturbing -- article in his company's monthly newsletter for April: Vista's slice-and-dice approach to carving its features into multiple versions has produced one presumably unintended side effect, he says: the less expensive Home Basic and Home Premium versions make backups of older versions of your files as you create new ones -- but you can neither access them, nor delete them.

Methvin is CTO of the site, which offers online and downloadable testing, diagnostics and tune-up utilities for PCs. Methvin and Rob Cheng, who's CEO of PC Pitstop, tackle Windows Vista's System Restore function in their newsletter. Cheng notes that in Vista settting restore points is producing elephantine files as big a 8GB. Methvin is on about something related.

In his article is titled "Vista Backups You Can't Have" he writes about the Previous Versions feature in Vista. System Restore has been available in previous versions of Windows, but it worked differently. Previous Versions is new.

Vista's System Restore and Previous Versions features are both driven by the Shadow Copy technology in Vista. In fact, System Restore is enabled by default, and Vista sets aside 15 percent of your hard disk for Shadow Copy to use for copies of the system files that System Restore uses, and for the backups of your data that Previous Versions creates when, for example, you replace an older version of a file with a newer one. If you want to restore one of those older versions you just right-click on the file (it works for folders, too) and choose "Restore Previous Version" to open the properties box to a "Previous Versions" tab.

All six editions of Vista (Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, Enterprise, and Ultimate) include System Restore, but Microsoft left Previous Version out of the Home editions -- to encourage us to upgrade, says Methvin. But, he says, this feature partitioning has resulted in a situation where users lose control of their own data.

In Vista Home Basic and Vista Home Premium, without Previous versions you can't get to backups of your documents -- there's no "Previous Versions" in the properties box. But Shadow Copy makes the backups anyway, Methvin says. They're there, on your hard drive, but you can't access them. And you can't delete them.

Methvin says he discovered this when he used Microsoft's Windows Anytime Upgrade feature to upgrade a PC from Home to Ultimate: "When we did that, the Previous Versions tab appeared and revealed changes to data files that were made before the upgrade occurred."

There's no really good fix, for it, either, according to Methvin and Cheng: There's no way to selectively add or remove a file or folder from the backup, and disabling Previous Versions also requires that you disable System Restore and delete all restore points.

Cheng outlines a workaround that lets you permanently delete things one file at a time. But this sounds a little like a security problem waiting to happen, doesn't it?

« Palm 'Surges' With Linux-Based OS | InformationWeek Weblog Home | A Hardheaded Look At The Blogger Code Of Conduct »

http://www.informationweek.com/blog...l;jsessionid=0RJKXEI2AKK5WQSNDLOSKHSCJUNN2JVN

 

New RIAA attack on US students

p2pnet.net news:- Warner Music, EMI, Vivendi Universal and Sony BMG's RIAA has launched another batch of blackmail 'pay us or else' letters at American students.

Ohio University, the worst hit after the opening attack, received the most letters once again.

Students, "should pool their resources and hire an attorney instead of settling," said Pat McGee, Ohio University's Center for Student Legal Services the first time around. "If everybody fought it tooth and nail it'd probably tie up the federal court system for ten years."

Here's the full run-down:

Bates College (7 pre-litigation settlement letters), Brown University (12), Central Michigan University (24), Colby College (5), College of William & Mary (12), Cornell University (19), Fairfield University (15), Florida International University (16), Indiana University (28), Keene State University (19), Kent State University (19), Morehead State University (10), Ohio University (50), Oklahoma State University (16), University of Massachusetts – Amherst (32), University of Maryland System (25), University of Michigan – Ann Arbor (23), University of New Hampshire (17), University of New Mexico (16), University of Pennsylvania (17), University of Rochester (22), and Williams College (9).

The RIAA has so far sent 1,218 extortion letters, and each one gives a student 20 days to decide to settle for at least $3,000 or prepare for a lawsuit, says Ohio University's The Post, which quotes RIAA spokeswoman Liz Kennedy as refusing to say if these letters referred to file sharing that occurred after the first round of letters.

Nor will this be the end of it, warns Kennedy in ths story.

"We're sending out letters on a monthly basis and ... we have not sent an end date," she declares.

"So far, the bulk of students, some 75%, according to the RIAA's own figures, are ignoring the threats and three universities have plainly told the Big Music enforcement organization they're not prepared to act as copyright cops for the labels," says a recent p2pnet post.

New York lawyer Ray Beckerman, who runs the Recording Industry vs The People blog, has a prepared a Dear RIAA guide for US schools.

It reads >>>>>>>>>>>>>>

This is an historic opportunity for you to take steps to make the RIAA's litigation campaign more of a level playing field.

The way things are:

Once the RIAA has obtained whatever "settlement" money it can squeeze from students and parents willing and able to pay the money, and to agree to the other extortionate demands in the RIAA's standard nonnegotiable form 'settlement' agreement, it will bring a "John Doe" proceeding against the others. Contrary to the spirit of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, it will do everything it possibly can, in that proceeding, ex parte. It will file the complaint without notice to anyone, and submit the ex parte discovery order application without notice to anyone. Then, once it's gotten an ex parte order signed by the judge, it will give minimal notice to you with minimal notice to your students, of an order which has already been entered.

Typically, "John Doe" will receive only a copy of a subpoena and a copy of the order with a letter from you, and will have just a few days, or at most a couple of weeks, to respond before his or her personal confidential information will be divulged. Meanwhile, if the student were to confer with a lawyer the lawyer doesn't know what to say, because he or she has no copy of the underlying summons and complaint, no copy of the papers upon which the ex parte order is based, and no copy of the judge's rules, all of which a defendant normally does receive in any normal litigation.

What you should, at a minimum, do for your students.

What you can do is insist that the RIAA stipulate with you that (a) any motion for an order granting discovery of the students' identities will be on notice, both to you and the students, rather than ex parte, (b) that the RIAA must furnish to you, for each "John Doe", a copy of the summons and complaint and exhibits, a full set of the motion papers, and a full set of all other court documents which are required to be served on the defendant when an action is initiated... for you to distribute to the affected students, before -- not after -- the motion is to be heard.

If the RIAA refuses to so stipulate, you should go to Court yourself and get an order requiring them to comply with these fundamentals which are required by due process.

What you should also do.

The courts have held that in order for a claimant to get an order for discovery of confidential names and addresses of a John Doe in a copyright infringement case, it must make a prima facie evidentiary showing, based on admissible evidence, that it has a case for copyright infringement against each "John Doe". See authorities cited in our memoranda of law:

http://www.ilrweb.com/viewILRPDF.asp?filename=warner_does1-149_memooflaw*

http://www.ilrweb.com/viewILRPDF.asp?filename=warner_does1-149_replymemo*

Since the RIAA has been proceeding ex parte, however, and since they haven't been challenged by the ISP's, judges have signed off on the orders even though the applications were supported by conclusory, hearsay, opinion statements of suspect reliability which would never be considered admissible in any court in the United States. (Compare the courts of the Netherlands and Canada, where the ISP's challenged the application for "John Doe" information, and the Courts refused to grant the discovery orders, due to the unreliability of the RIAA's investigative "method").

http://recordingindustryvspeople.blogspot.com/#Foundation_v_UPC_Nederland*

http://recordingindustryvspeople.blogspot.com/#BMG_v_Doe(Canada)*

The lack of reliability of the RIAA's "investigatory" technique is becoming more and more well documented. See, eg. the February 23, 2007, deposition of the RIAA's expert.

http://www.ilrweb.com/viewILRPDF.asp?filename=umg_lindor_070223JacobsonDepositionTranscript*

See also expert witness statement of Prof. Pouwelse and Dr. Sips:

http://www.ilrweb.com/viewILRPDF.asp?filename=foundation_upcnederland_witnessdeclaration*

and amicus curiae brief of the ACLU, Public Citizen, Electronic Frontier Foundation, American Association of Law Libraries, and ACLU Foundation of Oklahoma, in Capitol v. Foster decrying the RIAA's "driftnet" litigation strategy:

http://www.ilrweb.com/viewILRPDF.asp?filename=capitol_foster_amicus*

Accordingly, we believe you should oppose the RIAA's application for an order of discovery.

Likewise, if you learn of the RIAA obtaining such an order ex parte, you should move to vacate the order.

Typically, the RIAA joins a number of "John Does" in a single suit, in order to save itself money, even though under the Federal Rules such joinder is clearly improper. See, e.g. In re Cases Filed by Recording Companies, W.D. Texas, Austin Division (2004) http://www.eff.org/IP/P2P/RIAA_v_ThePeople/20041117_austin_severance_order.pdf

In fact, the foregoing case specifically enjoined the RIAA to cease and desist from continuing its practice of joinder, an injunction which the RIAA has simply ignored. Opposing the RIAA's deliberate misjoinder of unrelated "John Doe" defendants is another thing you can do to assist your students and their families in achieving a more level playing field.

A third thing you can do is point out to the Court that there is no known cause of action for "making available", which is the basis of the RIAA's suits, in the Copyright Act. See Elektra v. Barker, argued January 26, 2007, and awaiting decision.

Sincerely yours,
Ray Beckerman

Stay tuned

Slashdot Slashdot it!

Also See:
Pat McGee - Ohio University and the RIAA, March 3, 2007
The Post - OU receives 50 more RIAA letters, April 11, 2007
p2pnet - Cartels boost attack on US schools, March 30, 2007
http://p2pnet.net/story/11944

 

Should You Upgrade To Vista?

by Matt Hartley on April 10, 2007 at 5:33 pm

It’s a question I hear everyday. Should (insert name here) upgrade to Vista? And to be fair, I am capable of answering this even though I use Windows from Parallels these days as I have not had a reason to return to those waters in the non-virtual sense. But I digress, let’s get back to the question at hand.

Before choosing to upgrade any OS, one must examine the motivation. My fiancee for instance, is thrilled to use her older Mac rather than upgrade. Because it is better? Not at all. Her reasons are simple - it works exactly as she needs it to. Plain and simple. So I would pose the same argument for seeing zero reason to migrate from Edgy to Feisty in my own situation. It’s not offering me new features that I need. Can you say that Vista is going to fix or better enhance your Windows experience? I am simply not convinced that for most people, it will. Having said this, there are occasions when taking the Vista plunge make sense. Here are the most common.

1. Time for a hardware upgrade. If you are a happy Windows user and happen to be ready to move onto the next level of hardware performance, then upgrading to Vista will be an automatic in most cases.
2. You are hungry for some of the new features that Vista can provide. Let’s face it, Vista is definitely more attractive than XP, be it the functionality advantages remain in the eyes of the beholder. But even with my sarcasm aside, Vista has some pretty cool stuff from a new file system search feature to the gadget’s panel. I would also make sure you familiarize yourself with the version that will best meet with your needs.

For those of you who have simply found yourselves disenfranchised with the whole Windows experience, then you may wish to consider taking on one of those new Intel Macs. If you are due for a hardware upgrade, you might as well consider it.

And finally, if you are simply not down with the OS X UI (like me), but love the stability, then maybe Ubuntu is something to consider. For most of you not familiar with the licensing differences with regard to codecs and so on, I would go a step further an point you to LinuxMint instead. This will save you with hassles when dealing with codecs, Java and Flash.

If this relates to you, I would suggest hitting the comments above if you are considering making the switch, so I can further provide you with resources that will save you a LOT of frustration. I say this working on dual-monitors, running Beryl and having made most of this possible from a GUI setup.
http://www.lockergnome.com/nexus/it/2007/04/10/should-you-upgrade-to-vista/

 

@ireland and janrocks,
THanks for the info!! Been reading the last couple of pages and it makes me want to try some form of LINUX even more now.

janrocks I may PM you if I can't figure out how to run LINUX by myself. I'm hard-headed so it may be a while. hehehe.

...gm

 

CREAKY ON HIS LAST SHOPPING TRIP

 

France's new DRM watchdog

p2pnet.net news:- France has announced a new DRM (Digital Restrictions Management) watchdog tasked with ensuring so-called copyright protection systems, "are are made compatible and do not prevent users of copyrighted work to benefit from copyright exceptions," says Nicolas Jondet on French-Law.net.

Thought to be the world's first such agency, "Already its mere introduction in French law eight months ago may have played a pivotal role in Apple's recent decision to change its DRM policy and promote DRM-free music," says Jondet, going on:

The creation of the Regulatory Authority for Technical Measures, Autorité de Régulation des Mesures Techniques (the ARMT) was one of the main features of the new French copyright law (known as the Dadvsi law ) which was passed in August.

The ARMT is the cornerstone of the law's attempt to solve problems generated by DRMs, the technology used by copyright holders to control how consumers can access and use digital content. Two concerns were raised by French lawmakers. First, DRMs are not interoperable meaning that, for example, music bought on Apple's iTunes store can only be played on Apple's iPod. Second, DRMs can prevent users from performing acts that are legally allowed, such as making copies of music or movies for private use.

The decree issued by the government on the 4th April sets up the long-awaited authority which will have to solve these issues. The dadvsi law and the decree define the missions, composition, procedure and powers of the ARMT by adding various articles to that effect in the French Intellectual Property Code (the IPC).

Will France's new DRM watchdog have teeth? And if so, will it be picked up elsewhere in the rest of Europe and the world?

Stay tuned.

Slashdot Slashdot it!

Also See:
French-Law.net - DRM watchdog established in France, April 11, 2007
http://p2pnet.net/story/11947

 

Download the Microsoft® Windows® Malicious Software Removal Tool every month...4-10-07

The Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool checks Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Windows Server 2003 computers for and helps remove infections by specific, prevalent malicious software—including Blaster, Sasser, and Mydoom. When the detection and removal process is complete, the tool displays a report describing the outcome, including which, if any, malicious software was detected and removed. The tool creates a log file named mrt.log in the %WINDIR%\debug folder.

HERE
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...E0-E72D-4F54-9AB3-75B8EB148356&displaylang=en

 

April 11, 2007 12:22 PM
Uh-Oh, Vista! PC Sales Levels Are Normal


Joe Wilcox
Joe Wilcox

Signs continue to indicate that Vista is doing little if anything to lift U.S. retail PC sales, supporting last week's Harris Interactive poll about consumer buying intentions.

This morning, I spoke with Stephen Baker, NPD's vice president of Industry Analysis, about retail PC sales. March data isn't ready for release, but Baker could discuss trends based on weekly sales data.

"Vista hasn't been a catalyst for PC sales," he said. "Looking at the weekly data, there really isn't anything happening with sales that has anything to do with Vista."

All trends are normal. "Sales are pretty typical for what they have been for the past 18 months or so," Baker continued.

If anything, sales could be slowing and quite possibly more than usual for the second quarter, which typically is the slowest sales period of the year.

"I've heard from some places that sales are slowing more than expected," Baker said. Besides collecting and analyzing data, he also speaks with retailers, which is another measure of trends. Baker said that he doesn't have inventory data, but inventory buildup would be one likely factor to watch for.

Last month, Microsoft made big hype about 20 million Vista licenses sold in one month. But license sales going into the channel almost certainly cannot equate to PC sales, because nowhere near 20 million computers were sold in February, the first month of Vista availability.

If sales are slowing, the logical question to ask: Will there be too much Vista PC inventory on stores' shelves? Those Vista licenses had to go somewhere.

US PC Shipment Estimates

A sales slowdown or even normal sales in anticipation of high volumes could squeeze retailers and PC manufacturers as they move into the summer months, when back-to-schoolers kick off the lucrative second-half-of-the-year buying season. Stock stuck on store shelves could affect PC shipments into the channel and the typical launch of new summer models.

However, Baker said it's yet too early to assess channel levels. Two big sales events—Father's Day and graduations—are still ahead.

The sales problem isn't just about retail, which typically caters to consumers and small businesses. In mid-March, Gartner predicted: "Vista is forecast to have virtually no impact on PC shipments to larger businesses in 2007."

In a research note issued yesterday, Goldman Sachs analyst Sarah Friar expressed some concern about the Office 2007 and Vista launches.

"Normally, this would make us look at the stock as a definitive must-own," she wrote. "These launches also potentially mark the end of an era, and changing technology and business models in areas such as Software-as-a-Service, virtualization, and open source seek to diminish Microsoft's stranglehold on the desktop, which in turn significantly depletes the company's cash cow. Vista may be the last big operating system developed by the company."

Friar laid out a compelling argument for why most consumers will buy Vista PCs rather than upgrading existing computers. Using the PC average selling price of $773 and $159 Windows Vista Home Premium Upgrade price, she calculated the operating system to be 21 percent of the computer's cost. Other factors, like Vista's increased hardware requirements, also would be deterrents to off-the-shelf software upgrades.

Friar's conclusion: "Most users will migrate to Windows Vista by purchasing a new machine rather than upgrading old machines."

Looking ahead, Baker expects retail PC sales trends to remain what they have been: huge year-over-year sales increases for notebooks and nominal gains or decreases for desktop.

"There isn't a buying frenzy anymore, like Windows 95, because the stuff is like dishwashers, coffee makers and chocolate pudding," Baker said. "You only get it when you need it. Tech is demystified."

Related Posts:

* Consumer Inertia Holds Back Vista, Microsoft Watch, April 5, 2007

* The Trouble with Windows Vista Capable, Microsoft Watch, April 4, 2007

* The 20 Million License Test, Microsoft Watch, March 26, 2007

* Stacking Vista Licenses Too High, Microsoft Watch, March 26, 2007

* Vista Missed Its Cue—Now What?, Microsoft Watch, March 23, 2007

* Vista Launch Sales Falter at Retail, Microsoft Watch, Feb. 15, 2007

* Vista Sales Lift: Here Today, Gone Tomorrow, Microsoft Watch, Feb. 12, 2007

* Channel Cleaned House for Vista, Microsoft Watch, Feb. 9, 2007

* Early Vista Sales Don't Tell the Whole Story, Microsoft Watch, Jan. 12, 2007
http://www.microsoft-watch.com/cont...vels_are_normal.html?kc=MWRSS02129TX1K0000535

 

Patch Tuesday: Security or PR?


Joe Wilcox
Joe Wilcox

Microsoft's second release of patches—making three, counting last week's update to the update—gives new meaning to the phrase "security by PR." Microsoft could have and should have disclosed the number of critical flaws and warned about the patch for Vista, which IT organizations are testing or deploying.

The phrase refers to putting the interests of public relations ahead of security. That's not saying Microsoft diminishes its security efforts, just that PR's role—the positioning—is more important in the communications process.

Today's regularly scheduled release of patches is another example of security PR spin.

Last Thursday's advance notice gave no indication that there would be four "critical" vulnerabilities and one "important" addressed in today's security bulletin. Microsoft typically issues a notice the Thursday before the regularly scheduled patch release on the second Tuesday of the month.

At best, based on a post on Microsoft's Security Response Center Blog, end users or IT managers might have inferred as many as two critical flaws. The post discussed four patches for Windows and another for Content Management Center: "The highest Maximum Severity rating for these is critical."

Given that Microsoft had already issued one unscheduled critical patch, clear notification of more could have benefited IT organizations' planning, particularly around deployment testing. By giving limited information, Microsoft diminished the critical significance of the second round of patches.

If Microsoft is going to identify one or two patches as critical, why not all? Other than PR, there is seemingly no good reason to withhold information that could be highly beneficial to customers. Sure, Microsoft could have chosen to give no advance notice at all about the Tuesday patches. But that's no excuse, because the company already made the decision to notify customers. If the decision is made, what reason is there to give out limited information? There is going far and then there's going far enough.

More "security by PR" behavior: In keeping with what has been Microsoft's practice for some time, each security notice covers vulnerabilities affecting multiple products. In the case of MS07-021, nine iterations of Windows client or server products, including Windows Vista, are affected.

A company with a "security by PR" approach diminishes the extent of problems—or at least doesn't emphasize them—when issuing alerts. A "security to solve problems" approach would involve clearly explaining the full breadth and number of flaws.

In a text chat on April 15, 2004, Mike Nash, then with Microsoft's security group, answered a question about my "security by PR" allegations. He responded:

"There are really two key things here. One, we really wanted to focus on quality of these updates. One of the issues we face is that as we look at various patches, we have the need to test all of the combinations. By moving things into a single patch, we have the ability to have more in depth testing, to deliver a higher quality set of updates. The second issue is that many customers told us that they wanted a smaller number of patches to reduce the number of times that people need to touch their machines. There is no intent to do anything funny with the numbers. We are pretty clear on the number of issues fixed in each bulletin. Our focus here is helping people to have an easier time with the process of updating, so we are 100-percent focused on that."

His answer isn't really what's going on. Microsoft doesn't just move "things into a single patch." Microsoft moves multiple patches into single security bulletins, diminishing the apparent number of overall vulnerabilities.

Again, using MS07-021 as example, three separate security vulnerabilities are included, consolidated as Nash indicated. But there are also separate patches for each product, as in the cases of Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Vista. One could argue that the actual number of vulnerabilities patched is three times nine, however. The consolidation of vulnerabilities and patches into one security bulletin greatly diminishes the total number. Being generous to Microsoft, one security bulletin covers nine patches. But going by the number of products and patched vulnerabilities IT organizations must test for, the number looks more like three for each of nine products.

Last month's rosy report on Vista security vulnerabilities is another example of the security by PR effort. The report claimed five Vista vulnerabilities in the product's first 90 days of release. But the real release, January 30 for the masses, was two months later than the report's start date. The longer Vista is in the market, the more vulnerabilities appear.

The Department of Homeland Security National Vulnerability Database has issued 16 alerts affecting Vista since March 17. The real number of vulnerabilities looks more like eight, when sifting out duplicates, and most affect other Microsoft operating systems as well as Vista.

To date, Microsoft has issued two bulletins, MS07-021 (released today) and MS07-017 (released April 3), with patches for Vista.

It's understandable that security is a sore spot with Microsoft, in part because vulnerabilities tarnish the Windows brand. But Microsoft's core customers, at least from a revenue perspective, are businesses. They need to feel confidence that Microsoft is doing all it can to battle security problems. Microsoft isn't the only target for criminals, but it's the biggest one, because of the market dominance of Office and Windows.

Microsoft needs to disclose more and do so more quickly, and in doing so build customer confidence in the security efforts.

Last week's Security Response Center Blog ANI patch post is good example of transparency giving way to security by PR. Microsoft took about four months to develop and test the ANI patch before releasing. At first read, Mike Reavy's post is disclosure about the process. But the post is more security PR spin, more justifying—diminishing, really—the lengthy process. Microsoft should have taken the PR bullet by informing customers sooner rather than after the fact.

Related Posts:

* Security at the Forefront, Microsoft Watch, April 9, 2007

* Microsoft to Post Critical Flaw on Patch Tuesday, Security Watch, April 5, 2007

* ANI Patch: The Day After, Microsoft Watch, April 4, 2007

* Microsoft Sees Double (Security Tuesdays), Microsoft Watch, April 3, 2007

* Vista Security by the Numbers, Microsoft Watch, March 26, 2007
http://www.microsoft-watch.com/cont...r of critical flaws and warned about the patc

 

janrocks, you mentioned we all know how to disable windows auto update which I do, what I dont know is how to disable the notifier bubble, can you explain please.

 

Vista beta testers face looming OS expiration
Better pencil in June 1 on the calendar, Microsoft warns

April 11, 2007 (Computerworld) -- Microsoft Corp. has begun reminding millions of testers of Windows Vista's beta and release candidate (RC) previews that their trial runs end on June 1.

Cori Hartje, director of Microsoft's antipiracy efforts, became the first company executive to note the impending deadline. "As a reminder to those that helped with Windows Vista beta testing, the beta installations are set to expire at the end of May 2007," said Hartje in a Q&A that Microsoft posted March 30 on its public relations Web site. "So customers need to decide if they want to move to Windows Vista or back to Windows XP if they have test versions of Windows Vista on their PCs."

Details on how best to do that, however, are scant. Despite repeated requests to clarify the exact procedure beta and RC users need to take -- and whether Microsoft will provide either guidance or offer a discount to testers -- the company declined to spell out its plans.

What information the company has published is on last year's Customer Preview Program (CPP) site, which points to the June 1 expiration date and explains that once installed, the Vista previews don't allow for operating system rollbacks. "You cannot roll back to the previous operating system installation -- you will either have to acquire and install the final released edition of Windows Vista or reinstall a previous edition of Windows," the site reads.

Some hints, however, can be found on Microsoft's Vista support forums:

* Only a full version of Vista does the upgrade from Beta/RC to final. Multiple threads on the Vista forums note that it's not possible to do an in-place upgrade from Vista Beta or RC using a final, retail upgrade version of the operating system.

"You can't use an Upgrade edition to move from Beta/RC to final. Has to be a Full version," said a user identified as Richard Harper. That means Beta/RC users can't take advantage of the lower-priced upgrade Vista stock-keeping units (SKU) to retain their Vista settings and installed applications when migrating to the real deal. The price difference on Vista Ultimate is dramatic: $259 list for the upgrade edition, $399 for the full version. And that's important because ...
* $399 buys you in-place upgrade. If testers wondered why Microsoft gave them the most powerful, and expensive, Vista last year, this may be a clue: To do an in-place upgrade from a Vista preview to the final code requires not only a full edition, but a full edition of Ultimate.

"Just as in all past [Microsoft operating systems], downgrading isn't supported," said Dave B. Another user, Chad Harris, was more specific. "It has to be a Full version of Ultimate ... any other version (Home Premium, Business) is considered a downgrade to Ultimate and is not allowable."
* Revert to resume. To take advantage of lower-priced upgrade editions of Vista, or to move from the Beta/RC Ultimate SKU to a less-featured version, like Home Premium, testers must reinstall an earlier operating system -- likely Windows XP -- before upgrading from that to Vista final.

"So if I return my laptop to XP, then if I bought the upgrade version of Vista, it should work right?" asked NoSpinVette. Rick Rogers answered with a simple "Yes indeed." The reinstallation of XP, of course, deletes all data on the boot hard drive and so requires testers to backup data files and reinstall applications on the Vista-powered PC after the upgrade is completed.

Those hassles didn't sit well with some dedicated beta testers. "Do you mean to say that because I installed Vista RC2 over XP, I screwed myself out of upgrade pricing? If so, seems like MS is punishing beta testers," said a user labeled as "tom."

Others, however, brooked no whining. "You should've known better than to install a beta over your primary operating system/primary computer. Microsoft warned users not to do that," responded another poster identified as Michael.

The migration issue isn't trivial, if only because of the numbers involved. At one point in 2006, Microsoft boasted that 1.5 million users had downloaded Vista RC1 and said it expected an additional 1.5 million to download RC2.

http://www.computerworld.com/action...ArticleBasic&articleId=9016278&intsrc=hm_list

 

To defrag, or not to defrag? If you're looking for ways to speed WinXP machines used by your customers, then the answer is Not.

Defragmenting, of course, is the process of reorganizing all data on a hard-disk drive so that each file is arranged into a single uninterrupted, or contiguous, location on the disk. Many system builders and technicians have been taught, and still believe, that defragmenting hard disk drives on a regular basis keeps PCs operating at peak performance. But that idea is behind the times.

While it was true that defragmenting helped older PCs, it no longer applies. Today we have 7200-RPM (rotations per minute) hard-disk drives with improved seek and latency times; many also contain an 8-MB cache buffer. Let's not forget Windows XP's ultra-efficient NTFS (NT File System). For PCs, servers, and workstations equipped with these innovations, defragmenting no longer makes much improvement, if any, to system performance.

This is even more of an issue with the new Serial ATA hard disk drives, which are soon to become the new standards utilized in the market. Examples of SATA drives include the Seagate Barracuda line and new 10,000-RPM IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics) hard-disk drives, such as the Western Digital Raptor.

Still, defragmenting remains an important task. Why? For one, power consumption and heat can be directly related to a fragmented hard drive. When the computer's operating system requests data, if a file is not contiguous, then extra seeking on the disk may be required. But a more important consideration is disk failure. Should a hard drive fail, the likelihood of successfully recovering data from the dead or damaged drive improves significantly if the data is contiguous rather than randomly scattered about the drive platters.

The software companies that create defragmentation software would like you to believe that their software does improve system performance. But my own in-house testing refutes that, as do recent findings from Steve Gibson and other system testers.

So What Works?

Since defragging the disk won't do much to improve Windows XP performance, here are 23 suggestions that will. Each can enhance the performance and reliability of your customers' PCs. Best of all, most of them will cost you nothing.

1.) To decrease a system's boot time and increase system performance, use the money you save by not buying defragmentation software -- the built-in Windows defragmenter works just fine -- and instead equip the computer with an Ultra-133 or Serial ATA hard drive with 8-MB cache buffer.

2.) If a PC has less than 512 MB of RAM, add more memory. This is a relatively inexpensive and easy upgrade that can dramatically improve system performance.

3.) Ensure that Windows XP is utilizing the NTFS file system. If you're not sure, here's how to check: First, double-click the My Computer icon, right-click on the C: Drive, then select Properties. Next, examine the File System type; if it says FAT32, then back-up any important data. Next, click Start, click Run, type CMD, and then click OK. At the prompt, type CONVERT C: /FS:NTFS and press the Enter key. This process may take a while; it's important that the computer be uninterrupted and virus-free. The file system used by the bootable drive will be either FAT32 or NTFS. I highly recommend NTFS for its superior security, reliability, and efficiency with larger disk drives.

4.) Disable file indexing. The indexing service extracts information from documents and other files on the hard drive and creates a "searchable keyword index." As you can imagine, this process can be quite taxing on any system.

The idea is that the user can search for a word, phrase, or property inside a document, should they have hundreds or thousands of documents and not know the file name of the document they want. Windows XP's built-in search functionality can still perform these kinds of searches without the Indexing service. It just takes longer. The OS has to open each file at the time of the request to help find what the user is looking for.

Most people never need this feature of search. Those who do are typically in a large corporate environment where thousands of documents are located on at least one server. But if you're a typical system builder, most of your clients are small and medium businesses. And if your clients have no need for this search feature, I recommend disabling it.

Here's how: First, double-click the My Computer icon. Next, right-click on the C: Drive, then select Properties. Uncheck "Allow Indexing Service to index this disk for fast file searching." Next, apply changes to "C: subfolders and files," and click OK. If a warning or error message appears (such as "Access is denied"), click the Ignore All button.

5.) Update the PC's video and motherboard chipset drivers. Also, update and configure the BIOS. For more information on how to configure your BIOS properly, see this article on my site.

6.) Empty the Windows Prefetch folder every three months or so. Windows XP can "prefetch" portions of data and applications that are used frequently. This makes processes appear to load faster when called upon by the user. That's fine. But over time, the prefetch folder may become overloaded with references to files and applications no longer in use. When that happens, Windows XP is wasting time, and slowing system performance, by pre-loading them. Nothing critical is in this folder, and the entire contents are safe to delete.

7.) Once a month, run a disk cleanup. Here's how: Double-click the My Computer icon. Then right-click on the C: drive and select Properties. Click the Disk Cleanup button -- it's just to the right of the Capacity pie graph -- and delete all temporary files.

8.) In your Device Manager, double-click on the IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers device, and ensure that DMA is enabled for each drive you have connected to the Primary and Secondary controller. Do this by double-clicking on Primary IDE Channel. Then click the Advanced Settings tab. Ensure the Transfer Mode is set to "DMA if available" for both Device 0 and Device 1. Then repeat this process with the Secondary IDE Channel.

9.) Upgrade the cabling. As hard-drive technology improves, the cabling requirements to achieve these performance boosts have become more stringent. Be sure to use 80-wire Ultra-133 cables on all of your IDE devices with the connectors properly assigned to the matching Master/Slave/Motherboard sockets. A single device must be at the end of the cable; connecting a single drive to the middle connector on a ribbon cable will cause signaling problems. With Ultra DMA hard drives, these signaling problems will prevent the drive from performing at its maximum potential. Also, because these cables inherently support "cable select," the location of each drive on the cable is important. For these reasons, the cable is designed so drive positioning is explicitly clear.

10.) Remove all spyware from the computer. Use free programs such as AdAware by Lavasoft or SpyBot Search & Destroy. Once these programs are installed, be sure to check for and download any updates before starting your search. Anything either program finds can be safely removed. Any free software that requires spyware to run will no longer function once the spyware portion has been removed; if your customer really wants the program even though it contains spyware, simply reinstall it. For more information on removing Spyware visit this Web Pro News page.

11.) Remove any unnecessary programs and/or items from Windows Startup routine using the MSCONFIG utility. Here's how: First, click Start, click Run, type MSCONFIG, and click OK. Click the StartUp tab, then uncheck any items you don't want to start when Windows starts. Unsure what some items are? Visit the WinTasks Process Library. It contains known system processes, applications, as well as spyware references and explanations. Or quickly identify them by searching for the filenames using Google or another Web search engine.

12.) Remove any unnecessary or unused programs from the Add/Remove Programs section of the Control Panel.

13.) Turn off any and all unnecessary animations, and disable active desktop. In fact, for optimal performance, turn off all animations. Windows XP offers many different settings in this area. Here's how to do it: First click on the System icon in the Control Panel. Next, click on the Advanced tab. Select the Settings button located under Performance. Feel free to play around with the options offered here, as nothing you can change will alter the reliability of the computer %96 only its responsiveness.

14.) If your customer is an advanced user who is comfortable editing their registry, try some of the performance registry tweaks offered at Tweak XP.

15.) Visit Microsoft's Windows update site regularly, and download all updates labeled Critical. Download any optional updates at your discretion.

16.) Update the customer's anti-virus software on a weekly, even daily, basis. Make sure they have only one anti-virus software package installed. Mixing anti-virus software is a sure way to spell disaster for performance and reliability.

17.) Make sure the customer has fewer than 500 type fonts installed on their computer. The more fonts they have, the slower the system will become. While Windows XP handles fonts much more efficiently than did the previous versions of Windows, too many fonts -- that is, anything over 500 -- will noticeably tax the system.

18.) Do not partition the hard drive. Windows XP's NTFS file system runs more efficiently on one large partition. The data is no safer on a separate partition, and a reformat is never necessary to reinstall an operating system. The same excuses people offer for using partitions apply to using a folder instead. For example, instead of putting all your data on the D: drive, put it in a folder called "D drive." You'll achieve the same organizational benefits that a separate partition offers, but without the degradation in system performance. Also, your free space won't be limited by the size of the partition; instead, it will be limited by the size of the entire hard drive. This means you won't need to resize any partitions, ever. That task can be time-consuming and also can result in lost data.

19.) Check the system's RAM to ensure it is operating properly. I recommend using a free program called MemTest86. The download will make a bootable CD or diskette (your choice), which will run 10 extensive tests on the PC's memory automatically after you boot to the disk you created. Allow all tests to run until at least three passes of the 10 tests are completed. If the program encounters any errors, turn off and unplug the computer, remove a stick of memory (assuming you have more than one), and run the test again. Remember, bad memory cannot be repaired, but only replaced.

20.) If the PC has a CD or DVD recorder, check the drive manufacturer's Web site for updated firmware. In some cases you'll be able to upgrade the recorder to a faster speed. Best of all, it's free.

21.) Disable unnecessary services. Windows XP loads a lot of services that your customer most likely does not need. To determine which services you can disable for your client, visit the Black Viper site for Windows XP configurations.

22.) If you're sick of a single Windows Explorer window crashing and then taking the rest of your OS down with it, then follow this tip: open My Computer, click on Tools, then Folder Options. Now click on the View tab. Scroll down to "Launch folder windows in a separate process," and enable this option. You'll have to reboot your machine for this option to take effect.

23.) At least once a year, open the computer's cases and blow out all the dust and debris. While you're in there, check that all the fans are turning properly. Also inspect the motherboard capacitors for bulging or leaks. For more information on this leaking-capacitor phenomena, you can read numerous articles on my site.

Following any of these suggestions should result in noticeable improvements to the performance and reliability of your customers' computers. If you still want to defrag a disk, remember that the main benefit will be to make your data more retrievable in the event of a crashed drive.

http://www.crn.com/white-box/59201471

 

Apr 12, 2007 - 6:43 AM - by Digital Dave
This might not sound like much but some of the new standards (a.k.a. cool stuff you will soon be seeing) are actually pretty cool.

The revision also specifies something called 'NCQ unload enhancement.' This technology is useful for notebook hard drives that lack drop sensors.

Basically, if a live notebook suddenly finds itself in a non-ideal mid-air situation, thanks to sensors built into the notebook, the SATA controller lets the drive know that it's about to get its butt kicked. And to kindly do something about it.

apcmag.com


New SATA standard unveiled: PATA turns in grave, emits small whimper

* 11th April 2007
* Nathan Davis
* Gadgets, Mobility, PC Hardware

SATA-IO, the organisation behind SATA standards, recently popped the lid on a new revision -- 2.6 -- of the standards.

The press release didn't say much, so we went to the source and asked the tough questions as only a tech journo can, such as when the SATA cable will include power.

We were put in touch with Knut Grimsrud, SATA-IO's president, and Frank Chu who, we're told, is Hitachi's and SATA-IO's "CabCon Work Group Chair."

Micro SATA: Now with keyrings.Micro SATA: Now with keyrings.It turns out the new revision of the SATA standard introduces some interesting new tech, among a few new connectors.

For starters, those ridiculously tiny 1.8-inch iPod hard drives can finally lay claim to their own SATA connector, called Micro SATA.

In fact, it turns out it's also compatible with desktop SATA cables. "The signal segment of the new micro SATA connector for 1.8-inch HDD is completely compatible with standard desktop cable," Grimsrud and Chu told me.

Apparently a SATA cable was designed specifically for these 1.8-inch hard drives because "the traditional SATA connector is a bit too large to fit the narrow side" of the minuscule devices.

Mini SATA: orange is the new blackMini SATA: orange is the new blackAccording to Knut-Chu, another new connection, titled 'Slimline,' was designed "for the optical swap bay used in laptops," so this means slimline SATA optical drives can now easily make their way into notebooks and small form factor systems.

If it's another area where PATA's going to die off, that's good enough for us.

The revision also specifies something called 'NCQ unload enhancement.' This technology is useful for notebook hard drives that lack drop sensors.

Basically, if a live notebook suddenly finds itself in a non-ideal mid-air situation, thanks to sensors built into the notebook, the SATA controller lets the drive know that it's about to get its butt kicked. And to kindly do something about it.

The organisation also designed a third connector, called Mini SATA, and it features both internal and external connectors.

Mini SATA: kinda cute in a non-descript grey plastic kind of wayMini SATA: kinda cute in a non-descript grey plastic kind of wayIt's basically a quad-lane connector -- smaller than its older brother -- which is designed for high-bandwidth, where one SATA cable, or lane, just isn't fast enough.

So, how about that single SATA data and power cable -- will we ever see one? Well, nothing is set in stone, but "developing a solution for this has not been ruled out," Grimsrud and Chu promised. Meh.

http://apcmag.com/5832/pata_closer_to_being_dumped

 

DRM, lock-ins, and piracy: all red herrings for a music industry in trouble

By Eric Bangeman | Published: April 12, 2007 - 10:51AM CT

A British media research company has peered into the music industry's crystal ball, and the outlook for the next couple of years isn't so hot. Global music sales will drop to $23 billion in 2009, just over half of 1997's $45 billion and down 16 percent from 2006. The biggest reason for the steep decline is a drop in CD sales, which Enders Analysis believes will not be fully offset by digital sales in the next five years.

Is piracy to blame? Is DRM the solution? Enders Analysis says no, instead laying the blame for the industry's sliding sales at the feet of the record labels. "As we analyze the industry's core challenges... we consistently find that the industry has lost the ability to influence and control its future," reads the report's executive summary. "Worse, the industry has often appeared caught short, and its reactions accordingly wrong-footed."

Where did the industry go wrong? At the height of the rush to DRM, the record labels decided to put their money behind expensive and ultimately unattractive subscription services at a time when Napster 1.0's popularity was it its peak. The industry favored an approach where consumers would be locked into monthly subscription deals that control how you used content.

Yet the writing was already on the wall, courtesy of P2P. Users prefer to pick and choose their favorite songs from among the sea of (sometimes free) content. It wasn't until 2003 that the iTunes Music Store opened, marking the music industry's first serious attempt at an online distribution model consumers would like. Yet by this time the industry had spent the previous years trying to fight the direction that the market was heading, which is a bit like trying to change the flow of a river. It can be done, but it's rarely easy and rarely worth it.

Speaking of Apple, Enders Analysis has some harsh words for the iPod-iTunes ecosystem. The report's authors believe that Apple's dominance of the digital music industry is hurting the market's evolution. Apple's insistence on a single, fixed price for all content hurts potential long-tail sales of older, back-catalog music. In addition, they're not impressed with the iPod-iTunes cycle, saying that Apple's reliance on iPod sales and resulting music pricing model may be squeezing both other players and music-only stores out of the market.

Of course, the recent move by EMI to liberate its catalog from the shackles of DRM will change the iTunes-iPod equation, as any player capable of playing AAC files will be able to play non-DRMed tracks purchased at the iTunes Store.
Recorded music sales
Source: Enders Analysis

The biggest problem facing the music industry, according to Enders, is one that we've pointed out here at Ars: the decline of the album. The easy availability of digital music makes it possible for music fans to cherry-pick their favorite songs. In high school, I bought Abacab (yes, I'm old) in LP form by Genesis primarily because of the title track and "Dodo/Lurker." 26 years later, I would have just snagged those two tracks from the iTunes Store.

As you can see from the chart above, legal downloads are expected to continue their growth, but not at a rate that will be able to make up for the decline in CD sales. Although sales of a single track online arguably cost less for the record company due to the lack of physical distribution costs, the fact that music fans are picking their favorite songs from albums instead of buying the whole disc eats away at the advantages of digital distribution from a revenue standpoint.

The changing landscape has forced the Big Four labels to get creative with their revenue streams. One example is Universal's decision to sign a licensing deal with YouTube not long after suing it for copyright infringement. Under the terms of the deal, Universal will receive a chunk of the advertising revenues generated by YouTube, while YouTube gets the masters from Universal's music video library to work from.

Licensing deals will increasingly become a more important part of the revenue landscape for the record companies, but it's not likely to close the revenue gap. Unfortunately for the record labels, it looks like the glory days of the mid-90s have vanished forever, and no amount of lawsuits, DRM, or licensing deals will be able to turn back the clock.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/pos...herrings-for-a-music-industry-in-trouble.html