Month: October 2008

Yes, it really is true. The next incarnation of Windows will not be called ‘Vista’. It will be called ‘7’. Need some time to take that in? Did you think that it would be called ‘Vista’ The anti-Vista brigade claim that this is conformation that even Microsoft think that Vista is crap. The thing is that Vista is not, was not a brand. It was a version name. The ‘brand’ is Microsoft Windows, and Microsoft is not about to drop the brand anytime soon. Of course, the Microsoft nay sayers will be adamant that Windows 7 is just a renamed … Continue reading Microsoft drop the Vista brand!!

Are you a ‘Network Solutions’ customer? There is a 99% chance that you are not. There is also a 99% chance that you do not even have a domain. So you will not be clicking on the link in the e-mail shown between the dotted lines anytime soon, will you. You can’t anyway because I have changed some of the syntax to prevent you doing so. Do NOT correct it. Take a couple of minutes to read through the e-mail. My comments continue beyond the dotted lines at the end of the example. ————————————————— Your domain must be deleted today! … Continue reading Clicking on links in bogus e-mails..

Some you lose.. One of the most annoying events in a computer users life is losing features when upgrading to the latest and greatest OS. When I moved up to Vista from XP, my Canon scanner still retained full support because Canon were good enough to provide a Vista compatible toolbox. My HP printer didn’t, but it still has most features and all I want to do is basically print anyway. The one set of features I really did miss were supplied on the MSI video card installation CD, but they were only good for XP. While Vista allowed basic … Continue reading Ultramon.. Dual Screen Functionality..

If you answer ‘because Microsoft forces the manufacturers to make us have it’, you are wrong. Microsoft Windows was a natural progression out of MS-DOS which IBM elected to have after something of a snub by Digital Research many years ago. It doesn’t matter that MS-DOS was not entirely new, having been morphed from QDOS (Quick Dirty Operating System). The fact remains that Microsoft had a workable operating system, and was willing to work with IBM. Did Microsoft steal the Windows idea from Apple? Does it matter, especially as the idea of a graphical user interface was first seen at … Continue reading Why is Windows the #1 operating system on the PC platform?

Vista has a utility which allows the user to shrink partitions. This is a useful thing to be able to do, especially as the primary drives fitted into computers are now exceeding 250gb regularly. You just know that there has to be a catch. Remember that Microsoft can’t get away with including full featured utilities without incurring lawsuits. Let’s look at the scenario where you have a very large C partition and a small recovery partition. If you shrink C, all freed space ends up at the end of the drive, behind the recovery partition. This is ok as long … Continue reading Managing Partitions..

There is a bit of a do about the name of the next Windows version. My last post told you that it will be called Windows 7, and Mike Nash explained why it will. Do you care what it will be called? Isn’t it more important that the version does as you want and/or expect? The Windows version which actually ‘wowed’ us all was not Vista. It was Windows 3/3.1. When you first saw Windows 3/3.1 running, did you think to yourself “How dumb is that name”? I doubt it somehow. Were you wowed by the Windows 95 name or … Continue reading Names, Schnames..

The Microsoft project known as Windows 7 will be called Windows 7. Mike Nash says:  The decision to use the name Windows 7 is about simplicity. Over the years, we have taken different approaches to naming Windows.  We’ve used version numbers like Windows 3.11, or dates like Windows 98, or “aspirational” monikers like Windows XP or Windows Vista.  And since we do not ship new versions of Windows every year, using a date did not make sense.  Likewise, coming up with an all-new “aspirational” name does not do justice to what we are trying to achieve, which is to stay … Continue reading It’s Official..

Yet another feeble attempt to mess up my computer. In this e-mail, the creator/sender has not even tried to make it look like an official Microsoft message. These boys are getting lazy.. 🙂 The reference in the e-mail text below is to this helpful update: virus Win32/Spy.Goldun.NDO trojan  I am sure that it works quite well, but not today, Josephine, eh.. OK, on to the text of the e-mail. The attachment has been removed, as has the ability to click on the bogus Microsoft URL contained therein.   Dear Microsoft Customer, Please notice that Microsoft company has recently issued a … Continue reading Security Update for OS Microsoft Windows?

Rumour has it that Apple may release an $800 laptop/notebook. Presently, no Mac sells for under $1000, so this is good news, yes? I looked at the Mac range, and entry level is the MacBook at $1099. It has a specification much like a cheap Acer, Dell or HP running Vista, but the display is smaller. If you want a 15″ screen, you have to go up a level to MacBook Pro. The price almost doubles too, by the way. Now, from what I read, this could be something of a threat to the makers of ‘Vista laptops’. My math … Continue reading Cheap Apples..

The promised ‘extras’ were not a good reason to purchase Vista Ultimate. We have until now received some dreamscenes (oh my) and Texas Hold’em (yeehaw, NOT). It couldn’t have been much worse, but nobody in their right mind would have bought Ultimate just on a promise now, would they!! But wait. In the last few days, there has been a light at the end of the tunnel. Nope, not a light but a very cute and addictive robot called Tinker. For those of you who do not have Vista Ultimate, here is a picture. When the game puzzle starts, Tinker … Continue reading Ultimate Extras..