Tag: program

Apply a shade of Windows 7 to XP

October 04, 2009 by Jason

Following the same behavioral pattern as with the release of Windows Vista, software developers have striven to offer the masses the possibility to disguise Windows XP as Windows 7. There are plenty of freeware products on the market ready to emulate various features of the yet to be officially released operating system from Microsoft.

Seven Transformation Pack is the most prominent piece of software in the bunch, which has a tradition in making XP emulate the looks of ulterior operating systems launched by Microsoft. Vista Transformation Pack was created by the same developers and raked up positive attention. Also, there are various pieces of software dedicated to imitate different features in Windows 7, such as the new taskbar and system tray layout, Start Menu and even the font and icons, as well as the glass effect given by Aero theme.

SevenMizer is not a superset of all of the above, but comes with an extremely easy installation at the end of which you’re going to receive a makeover of the old, dusty XP look, turning it into a very close resemblance to the interface in Windows 7. The best part is yet to come: you don’t have to make any sort of configuration and what you see is all there is to know about the application. Read More»

Windows 7 Upgrades for Windows Media Center

September 14, 2009 by Jason

Microsoft is ready to offer free upgrades from Windows Vista to the latest iteration of the Windows client for participants in a Windows Media Center testing program. But the prizes go beyond the free Windows 7 upgrades, and include laptops, Xbox Elite consoles and even a PC Home entertainment System. In order to be eligible for the prizes, users must first get accepted into the Windows Media Center TV Ambassador program. The catch, well, there’s always one, Microsoft is accepting participation requests only from UK residents.

“Become one of our TV Ambassadors! If you’ve already got Windows Vista Home Premium or Windows Vista Ultimate, you could receive a free TV tuner valued at £60 so you can enjoy watching and recording live Freeview TV channels on your PC,” revealed Microsoft’s Rob Margel. “Just turn it on, watch and record your favourite TV shows from over 50 Freeview channels including BBC Three, ITV2, Film4, E4 and Dave, and tell us what you think. Spread the word and you could win free stuff: software, games, an XBox 360, and an ultimate home entertainment system. You could even be in our next ad.”
Read More»

Make Application Compatible with Vista and Windows 7

July 25, 2009 by Jason

VistaUACMaker is a free application which can help you make windows xp based applications and programs to run with proper compatibility in vista and windows 7. As vista has introduced a new feature called UAC ( User Account Control ) which controls the way and permissions on different users to execute applications on your computer.

In order to make any application as per vista and windows 7 complaint, the manifest file of the application should contain some information which provide the privileges required by the application and UI Interaction of application.

There are 3 types of privileges that can be mentioned in the manifest file.

  • requireAdministrator : Run as administrator
  • asInvoker : Run as same privilege as parent process
  • highestAvailable : Run with highest privilege available for user
  • Here is how you can use this utility to provide the necessary privileges to the program

    Just run the utility and browse the executable of the program of xp which you want to run in vista or windows 7.

    In just 3 steps, your application can be made to run on Vista or Windows 7

    1. Select the application using Select browse button.

    2. Set one of the privilege required for your application from selection box [ mainly Administrator [ requireAdministrator ]

    3. Check the “Yes” button if your application interacts with high privilege applications on UI level in vista.

    4. Click on “Make It” button, that’s it done. Now you can run this application in vista or windows 7

    Download VistaUACMaker

    Vista to Windows 7 Upgrades Program

    May 27, 2009 by Jason

    With the Release Candidate Build 7100 development milestone available for download since May 5th, 2009, and Windows 7 making its way toward RTM, Microsoft is also planning to debut the Tech Guarantee Program, now labeled Microsoft’s ‘Windows 7 Upgrade Option Program’ associated with the operating system. The Redmond company offered a similar program for Windows Vista, and it is now planning to do the same for Windows 7, starting June 26th, 2009. The marketing initiative is designed to offer free upgrades from Windows Vista to Windows 7 for customers who will not wait for the next iteration of the Windows client.

    Microsoft has failed to offer any details related to its Technical Guarantee Program for Windows 7, but TechARP revealed that the Windows 7 Upgrade Option Program was planned for debut by the end of next month. PC manufacturer Acer has already begun promoting the initiative in Australia, by offering marketing materials advertising the debut of the program. “Beginning June 26, 2009, customers who purchase a qualifying ACER Vista-based PC will receive a comparable version of Windows 7 when available,” reads the message of a slip included with new purchased Acer computers. Read More»

    IE8 Beta in Windows 7

    February 13, 2009 by Jason

    As is the case with any pre-release version of its software products, Microsoft has kept a close eye on Internet Explorer 8, monitoring the feedback delivered by end users, and tweaking the browser in accordance. The Redmond company has not only fixed bugs, but also delivered new features and changed the browser’s behavior following user input. And the message from Microsoft is to keep the feedback coming. In January 2009, Internet Explorer 8 evolved to Release Candidate stage for Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008. Windows 7 Beta Build 7000 releases came to the table with a post-Beta 2 but pre-RC Build of IE8. However, Windows 7 versions from the Release Candidate branch, including Build 7022 and 7032 feature IE8 RC.

    “Please, be aware that the Internet Explorer 8 version on Windows 7 Beta is older than Internet Explorer 8 RC 1. So if you have an issue that reproduces on IE8 on Windows 7 and not on IE8 RC 1 then the issue has been fixed, unless it is an issue in an IE feature specific to Windows 7, Read More»

    Windows Embedded XP SP3

    December 28, 2008 by Jason

    This December Microsoft has prioritized the update releases for Windows Embedded operating system. In this context, the company delivered the patches for security vulnerabilities in the platforms, but did not offer the package of optional refreshes. The explanation offered by the Redmond company indicated that the work poured into the finalization of Windows XP Embedded Service Pack 3 and Windows Embedded Standard 2009 caused the optional updates for December to be discontinued, according to Gina Bentley, the Servicing and Support program manager for the Vertical Industries and Embedded Windows (VIEW) group.

    “We are putting the final touches on the December Security roll-ups to bring these products up to date with all security releases since they went into code freeze,” Bentley explained on December 12. “We want you to have everything you need to start creating your new device images built with Windows Embedded Standard 2009! We gave extra consideration to this roll-up release, and that, combined with holiday schedules, means that we opted to take a break and not release an Optional Update package for December.” Read More»

    Windows 7 Upgrade Program

    December 24, 2008 by Jason

    Even with Windows 7 Beta 1 just around the corner, Microsoft is by no means focused exclusively on Build 6.1.7000.0.081212-1400, the unconfirmed version number of the first beta for the operating system. In fact, not only is the company reportedly moving onward with the Win7 development in the Release Candidate branch with Build 7004 (also unconfirmed), but, in accordance with the multi-faceted Windows business, the software giant is aligning its strategy with that of original equipment manufactures.

    In this context, as early as December 10, 2008, even before the Windows 7 Beta 1 Build 6.1.7000.0.081212-1400 was reportedly signed-off internally, Microsoft approached OEM partners in an attempt to gather feedback for a Windows 7 Upgrade Program.

    The giant manufacturer is planning a remake of the Windows Vista Express Upgrade Program, but this time with Windows 7, according to MyDrivers. The project does not have an official name, the Redmond company referring to the initiative as the Windows 7 Upgrade Program. Read More»

    Twenty Secrets about Windows XP

    December 23, 2008 by Jason

    You’ve read the reviews and digested the key feature enhancements and operational changes. Now it’s time to delve a bit deeper and uncover some of Windows XP’s secrets.

    1. It boasts how long it can stay up. Whereas previous versions of Windows were coy about how long they went between boots, XP is positively proud of its stamina. Go to the Command Prompt in the Accessories menu from the All Programs start button option, and then type ’systeminfo’. The computer will produce a lot of useful info, including the uptime. If you want to keep these, type ’systeminfo > info.txt’. This creates a file called info.txt you can look at later with Notepad. (Professional Edition only).

    2. You can delete files immediately, without having them move to the Recycle Bin first. Go to the Start menu, select Run
 and type ‘gpedit.msc’; then select User Configuration, Administrative Templates, Windows Components, Windows Explorer and find the Do not move deleted files to the Recycle Bin setting. Set it. Poking around in gpedit will reveal a great many interface and system options, but take care  some may stop your computer behaving as you wish. (Professional Edition only). Read More»

    Make Windows Startup Faster with Startup Blaster

    November 21, 2008 by Jason

    It is very common when windows users complain that their computer systems loaded with windows takes ages to get started and takes a hell lot of time to load some applications in the startup. So, in order to get an active running windows which can respond to user actions you need to give some minutes to the computer to load the startup programs first.

    Windows users always say there computer were faster in the beginning and used to take very few seconds to get started and running, but with time they say it gets slow and take so much time to get started.

    What is the reason behind slow startup on your old computer?

    From the time you first start using a computer, you keep installing a various computer software, games and other applications and install various hardware devices drivers many of which create startup entries to run the following. Read More»

    Installing Windows XP Using A USB Flash Drive

    November 05, 2008 by Jason

    Removable flash memory sticks are pretty much one of the most handy little pieces of technology to come along in the last couple of years. They come in various shapes and their storage size can range from a measly 128 MB to a whopping 32 GB. And you’re not restricted by what you are able to put onto these devices either. Which got me thinking today. I am regularly installing fresh copies of Windows onto new built PCs, so I look for any way to increase the speed at which my work gets done without compromising quality, of course.

    So I thought, with the speed of flash drives today, it could be possible to install Windows XP onto those PCs in a much faster time than with optical media (CD/DVD). Plus with all the motherboards I use, I always make sure that the motherboards support booting from USB as it’s a very handy feature. So I decided to look into the various guides that can be found on the Internet. Originally meant for the EEEPC, I found a guide that I was able to understand. Because of the way it was written it took me longer than 10 minutes to understand the whole procedure and I’m sure the average geek would be completely confused before they had reached the second line, simply because of the total lack of explanation on the part of the guide’s creator for those who do not usually do this kind of thing. Read More»