PCTips Box

Being the loyal adept of a business model based on proprietary software, a free operating system is not exactly something that Microsoft customers can expect from the company. But of course that there are always exceptions to confirm the rule. And the free copy of Windows Vista up for grabs via Microsoft Download is an illustrative example in this context. That’s right, a completely free copy of the latest Windows client, time-bombed of course, but free nonetheless.

Microsoft continues a tradition debuted after the launch of Internet Explorer 7. Because two different versions of Internet Explorer cannot coexist under normal circumstances on the same Windows machine, let alone be used simultaneously, the Redmond giant turned to an alternative solution to make the lives of web content developers and designers a tad easier. The company released Internet Explorer Application Compatibility VPC Images. (more…)

Slow computer getting you down? Wish you could speed up your system so that games won’t crawl by like a slide show permanently set to slow? Well look no further! I shall share five easy steps that you can take to improve your system’s speed! Most of them are free of charge, and all of them should have some effect on your system. So without further ado, we begin with:

1. Remove spyware and adware from your system. Have you noticed recently that ads seem to pop up whenever you go to a Web page? Or that Internet speeds are about that of diseased livestock? Your system’s probably chock full of spyware. What to do? Well, thankfully there are several things you can do. First, download either Spybot-S&D or Lavasoft’s Ad-Aware, and run it. This should remove most if not all of the spyware and adware on your system. Neither of these are particularly robust, however, so we move on to: (more…)

As you undoubtedly know by now, Windows Vista brought to the table DirectX 10. Microsoft failed to make DirectX 10 available for Windows XP, arguing that it would have to introduce extensive changes to the core of the operating system, in order to accommodate the new graphics technology. In this context, Vista became the vessel for DirectX 10, because despite various promises from third-parties to artificially backport DirectX 10 for Windows XP, the latest Windows client remains the sole way to access the superset of DirectX 9.x.

Microsoft touted a healthy increase in gaming and multimedia quality with DirectX 10 as an integer part of Vista’s architecture, but with the vast majority of users still running Windows XP, digital content is largely focused on Vista’s predecessor. The Redmond company was in fact
criticized by both content producers and end users for its decision to make DirectX 10 Vista exclusive, but the barrage of fire failed to deter Microsoft from its tracks. Moreover, in the first quarter of this year, Windows Vista SP1 will deliver DirectX 10.1. (more…)

The best way to protect your PC is like in the picture below but because this won’t work below are some usefull steps. (more…)

The fact that Microsoft is offering several flavors of Windows Vista should not be the primary concern when purchasing a new computer or upgrading an operating system, at least according to one analyst who suggests thinking about the kind of hardware you need first, and only then deciding what operating system you need or want to run on it.

Vista continued to eclipse technology news headlines on Thursday as everybody from industry analysts to tech bloggers to home users chime in on the arrival of Microsoft ’s latest operating system.
It seems few of Vista’s hundreds of features are left to review. News reports are focusing on almost every aspect of the operating system. Although Vista is getting high praise on many fronts, some reviewers are pointing out issues such as game glitches, problematic voice-command features, and DVD restrictions.
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