Windows 7 Installed!

Thanks to a friend who didn't want to mess around installing Windows 7 on her new laptop I now have a copy of Windows 7. Well the upgrade only. The draw back is that I can only install the 32 bit version and not go to the 64 bit version. I love how Microsoft squeeze every last penny out of you! So what's it like? Well for the most part it's pretty much the same as Vista appearance wise. But there are some minor changes which I am sure a thousand bloggers out there have written about in painfully minute detail. So considering that I am tired and need sleep I will just write for now about the installation. It was SO BLOODY LONG! I started this effort around midnight and was watching the screen not change much for three hours before I packed it in and hit the hay! It seemed to not require me at all except at the very start when I first attempted to install it was checking compatibility. It took 10 minutes before it decided that it was gonna need a re-boot before giving installation a crack! But I woke in the morning to find it asking for the Product Key to which I gladly oblidged. Then it awoke... looking pretty much like Vista but instead of a sidebar it simply throws the gadgets you had on the sidebar to the side of the screen as Windows 7 has foregone the sidebar.

 

So what do I think about Windows 7? Too early to tell. It seems lightning quick but I'll write more soon on this once I've done a few laps with it!

Windows 7 Release Cock Up

Microsoft never cease to amaze me. They succeed and progress in so many ways. Yet the more that things move forward the more it remains the same. Microsoft’s recent launch of Windows 7 was almost looking like it was going without a hitch. This was, after all, the OS that was to make or break their reputation if not their bank accounts. The idea to make their Release Candidate openly available to the ever hungry public was a terrific idea. Showing to the world that MS are a much more open company than Apple have been. Cynics may say that this was merely to test out their bugs on the bleeding edge market. They’d probably be right. But at least this gives the product a chance to be ventured out into the limited wild world of the ardent geeks out their who can go through any pains of error messages and failures before MR and MRS “I only check email” get to the OS. But this is another topic for another blog. Also the reviews coming back from the preview of their saviour OS was that this was pretty much Microsoft’s apology for Vista. Runs as simple as XP but with the bells and whistles of Vista. So Microsoft got the product right. All boxes ticked and even the biggest Microsoft haters had to agree that this was a good thing from Redmond’s biggest asset. But on marketing the goods… Microsoft… you’ve really dropped the ball big time! Here’s a snippet from www.cnet.com.au to highlight what I am talking about:

http://apcmag.com/windows-7-family-pack-for-australia-is-a-possibility-concedes-microsoft.htm

During the lead up to launch I kept hunting for someone to be able to give me a straight YES or NO on the question “can you install a single copy of Windows 7 on multiple PC’s?”. I mean it’s not the 80’s anymore. We don’t just have the single PC in the study these days in most homes. You’ve got the study alright but now there’s the laptop, netbook, kitchen PC and soon most folks will just get a PC to handle the main living room’s LCD (or LED) TV. But the answer is a complicated NO… unless you purchase a special pack of Windows 7. What’s so complicated about that? It’s not available OUTSIDE OF THE US. Fer fecks sakes! Windows 7 Family Pack allows the lucky owner to install Windows 7 Home Premium onto three PC’s in the house. Sounds great right? Especially when you see that it’s only US$149 as opposed to the US$129 single pack price. However MS Australia are hinting onto a big surprise to hit during November. Not sure what exactly this may entail but I’m hoping that this will be the Family Pack launch in Australia that is so much needed. Seems silly to me that considering MS are beating their chests about Window 7’s Home Networking capabilities are a major selling point that they wouldn’t have simply released this on day one as a big IN YOUR FACE to Apple. But if you’ve only got enough dosh to splash out on just one copy… WHAT’s THE BLOODY POINT?

LiveJournal Tags: Windows,Windows 7,Microsoft,Australia,Australian Market,OS,product,launch,2009,Windows 7 Home Premium Family Pack,Family Pack

Acer Aspire One (KAV60)

This is a quick run down on not only the Acer Aspire One but also of the newer breed of Netbooks that have appeared and how they can benefit the average user. First of all the Acer was not that expensive. $479 with a $50 cash back. Not too shabby. This baby has an LED (not LCD) screen with a sharp image on a 10.1" screen. Much better than other first generation Netbooks I've seen previously. It's also got it's own 160G hard drive. This is perhaps one of it's biggest draw cards. Other netbooks have a Flash internal drive or no drive at all relying totally on SD cards. Other features are wi-fi (g network not n network) and Bluetooth connectivity. Also it has a half decent webcam inbuilt.

For the most part I was happy with this unit. It's actually for the other half and not so much for me. It's main use will be for typing out essays. We've installed Open Office into it and it handles that with no problems. The Aspire One we purchased came with XP installed. We were warned to wait till Windows 7 comes out but the missus is only interested in writing documents out and not in the complex issues involved in other PC related tasks. So with this as it's main goal the Acer has hit all goals and then some.

Netbooks are the fast food variety of PC's with people lugging Laptops about with CD/DVD drives and 17" screens when all they want is email, Facebook, internet etc. You DON'T need the fastest PC to do all that. But this is where this netbook surprised even me. It takes one minute to go from a cold start to being on the net surfing away. I was so impressed by this speed.

I'm now sold on Netbooks. I wasn't too keen on them leading up to my wife wanting one but now I'm warmed to the idea of a machine that just does the basics well. With Google Chrome OS on the way these Netbooks are going to be more than a challenge for Laptop producers to compete with. Expect to see more mini sized PC's to be dragged out on the trains and bus stops across the city!

Pros:

• Crystal clear LED 10.1" screen
• Webcam inbuilt
• Inbuilt Wi Fi and Bluetooth
• Quick boot up time
• Ridiculously light and thin.

Cons:

• XP not Windows 7 (but that's only as it's still not officially out yet)
• Keyboard is small and takes getting use to
• Mousepad can be somewhat tricky to negotiate (USB mouse can be used though)
• Great battery life with approx 3 hours usage on full charge and possibly longer with Wi-Fi off
• No real software. You'll have to scrounge the net to install the basics.

Acer Aspire One Netbook

I got a new netbook PC. More coming up soon…

Top 5 iPhone Tips

The internet is flooded with tips and guides on most things technology. The iPhone is one that seems to get the most coverage lately. But despite the millions of bloggers out there teaching folks how to get the most out of their gadgets there are still loads of people roaming about with no changes made to their iPhone and they are missing out on quite alot. Personally it shows that Apple have still got to get it right out of the box but till then here is my top 5 tips to getting more from your iPhone:

1) Enable Cap Locks - Amazingly... most people still don't have this changed on their phones. It was driving me nuts when I got my iPhone way back at launch. I wanted to send an SMS but when an acronym came up I'd have to Shift (add letter) Shift (add letter)... etc. So do the following:

Go to Settings> Keyboard> Enable Caps Lock.

Now when you need cap lock you just tap twice on the shift button. It turns blue, you get caps lock! So so simple.

2) Get Gmail - Getting Gmail means you can divert ALL you emails to the one account. Now that Hotmail have enabled POP3 support you can also divert all the hotmail deliveries to your Gmail and then view them in turn on the iPhone. All of the HOW TO's are on the Gmail help pages.

3) Set Up A Google Calendar - One of the biggest discoveries for me in the last couple of months is the ability to sync the iPhone calendar with Google Calendar. I use Google Calendar for setting up Indoor Cricket games. Now with the sync ability I can see on my phone who has clicked in as available and who is out. Now you can finally ditch Outlook as this removes all the shackles of being restricted to your home PC!

4) Get Skype - My wife use to spend LOADS of dosh on the phone calling her relatives overseas. Now enter Skype. Free PC to PC calls and super cheap to home lines as well. But now that the iPhone has a Sype app you can save money on buying a Skype compatible handset. You already have one!

5) Tomtom - Watch out for the new Tomtom app and the Tomtom car kit. This will save you from buying a dedicated GPS device and in turn mean not having to carry multiple devices around. Plus you'll get the most up to date maps and LIVE traffic updates. This will be the BEES KNEES! LOL

Facebook vs Neanderthals

""Some people are simpletons. Stooges who don't like change. If it were
up to them we'd be all still on dial up. No... scratch that... we'd be
still using tin cans with strings... no... scratch that... we'd be
dragging our knuckles along the ground.



I SAY BRING ON THE CHANGES! GO FACEBOOK! Make it happen!""

Seem like Facebook really do have a challenge on their hands. They try to be nice and explain their changes that are coming up. Really simply, small changes like a minor modification of their homepage. But the reaction is nasty. It appears that most folks on Facebook are mutants. But I know that not to be the case. These are just the ones who are triggered to react and reply. I believe that there is not enough study on internet behaviour. How the masses react to change. It's only been THANKS to sites like Facebook that when a change now occurs it not only sparks a backlash but that backlash is now heard. When sites changed in the past. That was that. It just was a change and the radifications went unnoticed. But Facebook have had it tougher than most sites.  Their critics are some of the harshest on the net right now. In fact it was the first time that a site making a change to their layout made news headlines thanks to the reaction online. People starting up groups, protesting by changing their status to say something negative about Facebook. I personally think it's been unjust. But not totally. Facebook should offer people what they want. If there is a large group of slow adapters who resist change then Facebook should offer a "Facebook classic". If they bitch and moan that they like the way it use to be then give 'em that option to switch back to retro mode.

Facebook will continue to change. Just like the internet has done so since my time online. But maybe it's time the guys making these changes also listened to the general public and offered that option to keep 'em quiet?

Personally I am happy with what Facebook are doing so far and hope to see them improve things more. We'll see.

WARNING!!! Beware of Dodgey Video’s On the Net

I was searching the net for some “how to” video’s for some website creation stuff I need for my Blackouthouse.com site when I got a page showing what looked to be a video wanting to load. But the screen froze and showed a message stating that a missing video codec file was needed to continue. So I figured if I need it then I need it. Turns out that the message (much like the site) was bogus and that the file it installed was in fact some "malware” software that claims to be an anti-virus program with loads of spelling errors. As you can see from the screen shot below it looks legit and even copies the look of Microsoft’s very own Security Centre for XP! Now I got to get rid of it. It now sends me to their site all the time and basically now shits me off!

So if you get a message page stating a needed Codec is to be installed… maybe it’s just not worth the risk unless you “trust the site”.

Re-Formatting Dramas

Just been having some problems with this PC of late. Facebook applications forced my PC to be re-formatted as I had inadvertantly accepted a Spyware or Malware laddened peice of software which resulted in pop ups galore everytime I opened a new browser window or searched anything. So I bit the bullet and deleted everything (after a quick backup using Norton 360) and now I'm experiencing the pain of starting from scratch.

 

Problems faced with re-formatting:

 

• D-Link Wireless Card (DWL-G510) - Now always throws up the following message on start up: "AirGCFG.exe Entry Point not found" and "WZCSLDR2.exe Entry Point not found". I have installed the latest driver off the net to try and rectify this... no luck! Only a slight problem and maybe fixable if I contact D-Link (or if someone sees this entry after a Google search and has the answer!!!   Pain factor:
  
• HP Printer Software - Unable to install the software and drivers. Halfway through installation I get an interupt message stating that HP Installer Otion Plug-In needs to close. I had this running before the re-format although the HP software was always kinda buggy. It failed to close whenever I wanted to shut down the system. Hate to say it but the Lexmark software was better but they both suck and are seemingly outdated looking software apps. I am downloading the most up to date driver off the net as the one I was using was on the CD-ROM supplied and I am thinking that the XP Service Pack 3 has something to do with this error. I am hoping anyways! Pain factor:

I have so many more programs left to install and it's not going well so far! Here's what's left to install:

• MS Office 2007 (That's gonna suck)
  
• MS Frontpage
  
• Windows Live
  
• iTunes
  
• Adobe Album 2
  
• Xara software

Wish me luck!

iPhone Madness

Well I joined the hype and lined up in the new slick Mac store in Sydney's George Street to nab me one of the new iPhones. No I wasn't there on launch day. I actually tried to get one at Miranda on launch but no luck thanks to Apples really lame distribution of the much wanted must have gadget. But one hour in the extensive Optus contract line up (the Telstra line had many tumbleweeds and Vodafone's line up had two stooges in it) and an hour of getting the contract sorted out, I walked away with a very pretty bag with an apple logo on it containing something that will be the topic of many blogs to come from me... the 3G iPhone.

 

First up... yes I am having a ball with this phone. It has changed my outlook on what a phone should be. Is it perfect? No. In fact far from it. This is the beauty of this new phone. It's like cake. You know it's not good for you... but you find yourself really wanting it. Now before I go on I must confess. I'm a creature of habit. When it comes to PC and Pocket PC's I have developed many habits that I feel I must do to make use of these gadgets. Not everyone is going to find the hang ups I have with the iPhone. In fact, most people will read my complaints on the new phone and think to themselves "oh man... get over it!". And they are probably right.

 

But for now I'll just write down my favourite aspects of the iPhone:

1. The user interface. This just plain rocks. Everything about how you interact with the unit is just so intuitive. In fact... when you pull out the phone from the box you'll notice something lacking. The instuction manual! You won't need one. It just all comes to you and it makes sense! Want to zoom in on a photo? Squeeze the screen with your fingers. Need to move to another screen? Slide the screen with the finger. Want to change the screen from vertical to horizontal? Then just twist the phone in your hand! It will change by itself!
   
2. Cool Gadgets. Try downloading the lightsaber app. Just think Nintendo Wii controller meets Star Wars. Then hook it up to your loudest stereo for full effect! This is just the beginning of many great downloads to come!
   
3. Change Your Internet Experience.  I've read already some comments from people reviewing the Facebook app. One guy wrote "Facebook on the net is just plain weird. But on the iPhone it makes sense!". It really does simplify everything when using the iPhone for the net thanks to Safari's easy to use navigation options.

I could go one but not today. I'll come back later to update on things that I have had to deal with that make the iPhone a not so enjoyable experience. But for now... if you are hesitant to get one... don't be! It's a really slick phone that will make you wish there were more products out there that made life more fun!

Sydney's Internet Blackhole

Having just moved to Jannali, a fairly wealthy suburb, a figured internet connection would be nothing of a hassle. So I went about the process of re-negotiating a contract and arranging the re-connection. First thing I did once the connection was up was catch up on all my emails etc. Even playing Uno on Xbox Live was not a big prob. My real problem only was realised tonight. Halo 3. I was in the middle of carrying out a double kill when my connection went pear shaped and I droped out of the match. Once, twice... every flamin' time. So I rished to the net and looked up my area and any known problems. Found out that I am connected to the Como exchange and I  only have ADSL and not ADSL2 connection. ARGH! iinet have no plans to roll out a DSLAM in our area but TPG do... when? TBA is their answer. So I may close my Xbox Live account till this day occurs. I have gone from a blistering connection at Kogarah to a measly 1,635kbps. All I know is that I never had many connection problems with iiNet at Kogarah. Now I don't know how I'm gonna get my Xbox Live fix...

Shiney & New – PC Not Maddona

After three years running my Dell Dimension 2400 without a reformat the time had finally taken it's toll. Installing, removing, re-booting (sometimes without shutting down) and other register killing activities had slowed the PC down to a crawl. So what inspired me to take the plunge into my first re-format? Buying Norton 360. I know alot of folks see Norton branded items and cringe. But it's easy. Just add water style software that I've come to appreciate from the bigger software houses. Basically I could get to study into how to clean my registry manually. How to maintain the PC and keep it running smooth. But quite simply I can't be arsed! I free up more time by buying these style of programs to do it all for me.

 

Just like my car. I could change the oil myself. I could even change the brakes myself. But I'd rather just give the keys over to someone who does it for a living and free up time for other tasks. Such as gathering up achievement points in 360 games!

 

So how did the reformat go? Sweet! I've backed up all my docs to a portable hard drive. It's only a 40G drive but partitioned into 2 x 20G drives so room was somewhat limited. However I was able to send the photo's to DVD (2 DVD's in fact) and after some stumbling I managed to figure out how to re-install XP. First major challenge was how to re-install the drivers for the video, sound and other primary functions. So I installed the wireless adapter (D-link DWL-6510) driver. The great thing about having a wireless router (D-Link DSL-G604T) is that all the internet ISP settings are saved in the router/ modem itself so no need to dig it all up and enter it all in. Once I got past this hurdle it was just a matter of digging in and installing away. XP SP2 was the first big installation. That took some time to download as I couldn't find the discs I have for that. Then there was Internet Explorer 7 to deal with. Only hassle there was that Norton 360 failed to re-install my Favourites. Damn. All my cool sites gone. I do have the fav's saved via Google Bar but that is such a pain to use I don't bother relying on it.

 

After installing Google Desktop, MS Office 2007 and some other minor stuff it was all a matter of housekeeping the PC. I still have to install a fair bit of software but the main thing that where I once only had 10G left in the tank I now have 50G. Soon I'll add a 2^nd hard drive to the equation to back up files (320G should do the trick!) and I'll be hunky dory! Heck… I may even install MAME again!

More Video Blogs to Come

I'm about to start posting more video blogs soon on my Gamespot page. Just struggling to come up with material to blog about. My first three blogs were somewhat satisfactory but now I'm just at a loss as to what to chat on about. Maybe I'll take a camera down to a pinball arcade and do an article on the death of arcades. Any ideas folks?

 

...and no... not an article on arcades in strip joints!

The Beginning Of a New Era...

It has taken a long time. 2000 was the beginning of acceptence of Internet and things like online banking, shopping and all things www. But it seems all this has been nothing more then a prelude. Something much much larger is on the way. Whether you'll dub it Internet 2.0 or whatever I doubt it deserves one single entity as it'll be a convergence of many things to spark from 2006 onwards. The TV is being replaced... or enhanced to be precise. Content on demand! Pretty soon Eddie Macguire and the gang at Nine may find themselves with very few people watching as the populace flock to newly created Content on Demand devices. It's beginning already... you just haven't seen it yet.

 

In case you didn't hear already Channel Seven and Yahoo! have announced a partnership to rival Nine and their long standing marriage with Microsoft. All this has coincided with Yahoo's big "Yahoo! Go!" project. They want kind of like a large online Blockbuster store where you can simply select what you want and have it billed to your account to pay off whenever. This will turn buisinesses on their heads! The traditionally powerful networks may find themselves without an audience if they don't make a move now to join in what is the equivalent of Silent Films of the new era. Google have plans of their own too announcing a Video store of their own. Do you still want to open that Blockbuster franchise now?

 

...and guess who is quiet during this whole process. The big M that's who as they are busy scraping together a replacement for XP that no one may even care about. The power is not in the technology anymore. It's not even in the software anymore. It's going to be a focus on content and which company puts it in your face with the greatest of ease! Then once it's all set up you'll be finding content changing from simple movies to more and more dynamically interactive entertainment available on tap to the masses.

 

2006 is going to be one hell of a ride me thinks! This is one techno junkie that'll be enjoying the ride!

iiNet Goes Off Like a Frog in a Sock

Just felt like I should tell the world that my new ISP is 1000 times better then crappy Optus and their stingy 400M/month limit. I pay $10/month more and now I get 20G/month on ADSL2. So all those looking at those cute animal ads wondering how Optus can afford to create those commercials just take a look at what little they offer compared to iiNet. My pages now fly off the screen and I'm not looking at a white loading screen anymore.

 

Sad to see so many suckers keeping Telstra and Optus rich.

Life Gets Simpler... Sorta

Just got myself a really good deal on a (what's now regarded as outdated) MD player. I love the format. Mini Disc allows you to shove heaps of songs on a tiny format. But with iPod and all the others going mpg3 or bust it seems Mini Discs days are but over. Anyway... what I'm getting to is the lack of user friendlyness. I was hoping that I could simply use Windows Media Player to record and label discs. But nooooo! Sony make you use their own program. Not an issue unless you are like me and have something like 2500 songs on your hard drive! After having already gone through and labelling all of those tracks I don't feel too excited about the prospect of having to go through all that again on another program! It's like VHS vs Beta all over again. Which program will win this battle? What format will it support?