When Vista is installed, it calculates a performance score based on your processor, memory, graphics, gaming graphics, and hard disk. The base score will be equal to the lowest subscore of the 5 components. If you have changed hardware or installed new drivers, you may want to find out what your new performance score has been changed to. You can do this by: Read More»
Here’s the scenario: you download the latest and greatest version of the Adobe Flash Player. After it finishes installing, you go to a site featuring Flash content and are greeted with a message notifying you that you need to install Flash Player, but didn’t you just do that? To properly update your Flash Player, you need to run the installation as Administrator. Follow these steps to properly install Adobe Flash Player: Read More»
Now that the Copyright Office has given a green light to unlock your GSM or iDen phone, you can save money on a new phone – provided you can find it unlocked, or unlock it yourself. Depending on your phone, you might be able to do that by punching in a code, by buying a cable, or by sending it to a professional unlocking service. This applies to Cingular, T-Mobile and Nextel phones; Sprint, Verizon and Alltel subscribers are out of luck, for reasons I’ll explain below.
If you’ve had a T-Mobile phone for 90 days, or you’ve run out of time on a Cingular contract, you can get an unlocking code just by calling your carrier. Tell your carrier’s customer service representative that you’re traveling abroad and want to use a foreign carrier’s SIM card. If they don’t give you the code, stick by your guns and ask for a manager. Read More»
Originally iTunes was used by most PC users because it came bundled with an iPod, but over the years its become a great application for playing mp3s. But, did you know you could make iTunes even better by adding plugins? Although there aren’t hundreds and hundreds like with Firefox, there are enough plugins for iTunes to make things interesting.
Here are some of the iTunes And iPod Plugins I’m using currently or I’ve used in the past that you might think are worth giving a try. Read More»
Although there are many free and open-source applications out there, the sheer number of options can be overwhelming. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could find an edited group of choice software all in one place?
Enter NGO-in-a-Box, a bundle of free and open-source tools specifically chosen with nonprofits’ interests in mind. Below, we’ll introduce you to NGO-in-a-Box and provide links to this free online toolkit. Read More»
Microsoft recently threw a splashy party for the release of Windows Vista inside of Second Life, the much talked about virtual world online, but users running Vista may have had trouble connecting to the service. Linden labs is currently working on an important upgrade to the Second Life viewer, something that needs to be done before they can attempt a fix for users who are having trouble.
A spokesman for Linden Lab said the fixes will likely be ready in a couple of weeks.
In a test of Second Life-Vista compatibility on a Dell XPS m1210, the operating system didn’t work properly with the virtual world because of an unsupported graphics driver. Read More»
Microsoft is investigating two recently disclosed security vulnerabilities that affect Internet Explorer 7 and Windows Vista, the company said Monday. The vulnerabilities aren’t considered high-risk, yet they affect the latest releases of Microsoft’s Web browser and operating system software.
Microsoft has promoted the security of both IE 7 and Windows Vista. The flaws could let attackers get their hands on sensitive user information, security experts have warned. The French Security Incident Response Team said in an alert that the IE vulnerability, which also affects IE 6, could be exploited in phishing attacks, scams that try to trick people into giving up sensitive information such as credit card data and Social Security numbers. Read More»
Our first article about configuring AMD and Intel PCs within a budget of $300 made it clear that systems in this price range are suitable for everyday computing tasks. We equipped our Celeron and Sempron test systems with a fast and affordable 160-GB hard drive and one gigabyte of RAM, and the systems did a great job in Windows XP. But how do they perform with Windows Vista? And do you really know how your PC would perform with Vista?
Microsoft has created two certification logos to help customers choose the right components for their Windows Vista PC. There is “Vista Ready” and “Vista Premium Ready.” If all of your components carry one of the logos, you should be able to at least run Vista properly; if you purchase high-end products you should be ready for the Premium and Ultimate editions as well. However, many products, especially older ones, do not carry any logo to indicate Vista readiness. The reason for purchasing hardware usually isn’t a particular operating system, but an application or specific requirement such as more storage capacity, more RAM or a faster platform. We normally assume that the latest OS will work on hardware that we’re going to buy from retail. Read More»
With Vista Codec Package installed, you won’t need to install any other codec or filter. Many user suggested default settings are implemented. It does not contain a media player. It does not associates filetypes. With this package installed you will be able to use any media player (limited only by the players capabilities) to play DVD’s, movies and video clips of any format. Streaming video (real and quicktime) is supported in web browsers. Visit the homepage to get a 64bitAddon which enables xvid, divx and DVD playback in Vista’s MediaCenter.
Codecs have always been a pain in the butt. This package takes from the best, all the big name creators, several small guys too, and compiles all this into a single pack. All possible conflicts are already dealt with, many user suggested default settings are implemented. Read More»
Many people online are wondering if Microsoft will be releasing a TweakUI for Windows Vista or not. While we cant answer that particular question, we can help get TweakUI running on Windows Vista – and suggest a decent, Vista-specific alternative along the way.
TweakUI is a popular system configuration utility made by Microsoft since late Windows 95, and it provides quick and easy access to configure certain features in Windows without resorting to reshacking, registry editing, or other more dangerous tactics. Its not the most brilliant piece of code ever created, but its a nifty tool to have. You can download it at these links for Windows XP/2k3 x64 and x86. Read More»
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