Windows Vista SP1 - Finally Released but...

If you have been waiting for Service Pack 1 for Windows Vista, well, the wait is over... sort of. We just received word that Microsoft has released Windows Vista Service Pack 1 for release to manufacturers with the OEM version (RTM) as of Feb 4th.

With the RTM of SP1, OEM partners will get SP1 and start producing new PCs running Windows Vista with SP1 pre-installed. Also the manufacturing process for retail product of Windows Vista with SP1 will start. Both will be available in stores for new Windows Vista customers in the coming months. Today also its starts the process to manufacture DVDs for enterprise customers who get the OS software via the Volume Licensing program.

Microsoft has made available a document detailing whats in SP1 here.

Here are some highlights from the document:

• Support for creating a single DVD media that boots on PCs with either BIOS or EFI
  
• Fixes for most common causes of crashes and hangs in Windows Vista, as reported by Windows Error Reporting
  
• Improved the speed of adding and extracting files to and from a zipped folder
  
• New compression algorithm for RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol) reduces network bandwidth by as much as 25-60%
  
• Hot patching reduced the number of reboots when updating
  
• SP1 will report the amount of system memory installed rather than report the amount of system memory available to the OS on 32-bit systems
  

The rollout will be in stages for SP1 Windows Vista users to be in sync with the availability of Windows Vista SP1 on new PCs and in stores. There are a couple of reasons for this. The beta testing identified an issue with a small set of device drivers. These drivers do not follow the guidelines for driver installation and as a result, some beta participants who were using Windows Vista and updated to Service Pack 1 reported issues with these devices. Because the issue was with the way the drivers were installed and not the drivers themselves, the solution was simply to reinstall the drivers. While this worked fine for more technical beta testers, Microsoft wants to deliver a better experience for customers.

While Microsoft knows that most customers who update from Windows Vista to SP1 will NOT be affected, their approach is to improve the experience for all our customers. To do this, they will begin making SP1 available through Windows Update in mid-March, giving them time to work with some of their hardware partners to make adjustments to the installation process for the affected drivers. As SP1 gets delivered through Windows Update, they will only offer it to PCs that they detect don't have any of the affected device drivers installed. Microsoft is taking the next month or so to continue their work of identifying as many of these devices as possible.

Here's the timing for SP1 availability for current Windows Vista users:

• In mid-March, Microsoft will release Windows Vista SP1 to Windows Update (in English, French, Spanish, German and Japanese) and to the download center on microsoft.com. Customers who visit Windows Update can choose to install Service Pack 1. If Windows Update determines that the system has one of the drivers Microsoft knows to be problematic, then Windows Update will not offer SP1. Since Micorsoft knows that some customers may want to update to SP1 anyhow, the download center will allow anyone who wants to install SP1 to do so.
• In mid-April, Microsoft will begin delivering Windows Vista SP1 to Windows Vista customers who have chosen to have updates downloaded automatically. That said, any system that Windows Update determines has a driver known to not update successfully will not get SP1 automatically. As updates for these drivers become available, they will be installed automatically by Windows Update, which will unblock these systems from getting Service Pack 1. The result is that more and more systems will automatically get SP1, but only when Microsoft is confident they will have a good experience.
• The remaining languages will RTM in April.

New customers should feel great about buying Windows Vista today, knowing that when everything is ready, SP1
Microsoft will be deploying Service Pack 1 in two "waves". Wave 0, which is the one released on February 4, will only include five languages - English, French, Spanish, German and Japanese. The second wave, Wave 1, is scheduled for release 1-2 weeks later, and will cover all 36 basic languages, including Chinese.

Microsoft claims Windows Vista SP1 will provide key improvements on the security, performance and reliability of Windows Vista by providing :

* All previously released updates since RTM
* Performance and reliability improvements in core scenarios such as file copy, network browsing, and improved response time to resume from sleep.
* Support for new types of hardware, and several emerging standards.
* There are improvements to the administration experience. One of the most important changes they are making is that BitLocker now supports encrypting for multiple volumes.

Of course, Service Pack 1 will also disable two common methods of hacking Windows Vista, namely the OEM BIOS exploit and the Grace Timer exploit.

Download TV Shows Hassle Free with Torrents - An Introduction

I've been asked many times where to get TV Shows for free online and how. Specially if your old VCR is broke, you cant afford a satellite system or to buy a PVR system or even TIVO. So if you want to know the skinny on how hassle free here it is. This should take you no more than 10min to get you ready.

First things first. It doesnt matter if you have a Mac, PC or running Linux, the main thing here is that you have the appropriate audio/video codecs to play back the TV shows which are usually recorded in DivX /XVid format (AVI files) . If you are running Windows Vista and are not sure about your current video codec support, read my other article to properly enable it first. Win XP users can download the DivX pack from here.

If you are running a Linux Distribution like Ubuntu, you will want to ensure you have installed the Mplayer which will handle DivX playback without problems.

If you are running Mac OS X, you can download and install the DivX Codec from here.

Now assuming you have the appropriate free DivX codecs installed, your ready to watch TV Shows your about to download using a Free Torrent Download Client. For some years now I have been using various BitTorrent client tools to download, the main thing about this client tool is that it be free, with no spyware or viruses, it be stable, and give the performance you would expect. So your next step is to get a Client Tool that allows you to download from torrents, lets look at a few.

For sometime as a Windows user I used Azureus to download, then later found it used more resources and memory than I liked, so I switched to uTorrent. uTorrent is safe, freeware, closed source, BitTorrent client for Windows platforms and is localized for many different languages. It is designed to use minimal computer resources while offering functionality comparable to larger BitTorrent clients.

If you are a Mac user you can download the Azureus client from here.

If you are using Linux you can also download Azureus or in Ubuntu install the available client in there, or download KTorrent. There are many more clients you can download, its to each his own preference.

Ok, so now that you installed the simple small Torrent Download Utility of your choice lets find some TV Shows to watch. Using these tools you will be able to download TV shows when you click on a link to a Torrent file online in your Web Browser.

The Top sites I have found that deliver quality torrent downloads , with no porn, popup ads and hassles, they are pretty clean , and are as follows:
EZTV has updated TV Shows sorted by date, so you can quickly get the lastest show, or search for it.

BT-Chat.com also a great choice for the latest shows.

Mininova.org has always been one of the best sites for TV Shows aswell

You can also get high quality TV shows from Amazon.com here:

Now that you have the tools and the websites , you have the means to getting the TV shows, when you visit these sites and click on a TV Show episode you will usually be presented with the download link to the .torrent file for that TV episode. When the link to that .torrent file is clicked by you it will either ask you what to do with it (open it with your Torrent Client you got earlier) or it may automatically open your Torrent Download Client and then prompt you where you want to save the TV show in its AVI file format on your PC.

So essentially these .torrent files are links to where the actual AVI file for that specific TV show , and it gets it from shared resources online. The shared resources are all those people like yourself that are downloading that same TV Show at the same time. The good thing is that torrents are safe and dont give out any data about you or your PC. Try to stick to downloading from sources as mentioned above in the links. Just remember, you get what you pay for, which in this case its free, so dont expect the quality to be DVD crystal clear quality when viewing, however if you look throught the list of available TV Shows and episodes you will notice that many are now in High Definition widescreen which you can watch on your PC or on a DivX Player which connects to your TV liek a DVD player (which I bought aswell). Then you can burn onto one DVD lots of TV Shows and watch them on your TV all at once. I hope this helps you out a bit, without going into too much detail, this should get you going.

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Other Tips Users have watched

• Get Ubuntu (Linux) to look like OS X Leopard!
  
• Speed up your Windows Search
• Free Up windows resources which are slowing you down
• Customize Windows Send To (right click menu items)
• How to Change to Owner Name in Windows
• Customize your Windows Explorer View
• Disable User Account Control Popups
• Top 10 Free Downloads to improve and tweak your Windows Vista
• Boot Up Windows Faster
• Enabling Remote Desktop from XP to Vista
• Windows Vista PowerToys - Tweaks from Microsoft TechNet
  

MacBook - Disable Sleep Mode when Lid Closed

One annoying behavior of MacBooks is its sleep mode when the lid is closed. What if you want to listen to music only and not have the lid open or the brightness always turned down? Well there are various solutions you can apply to tweaking this sleep behavior. Mind you some people may argue that the sleep mode is intentional and not changeable for a reason, specially if you are worried about it overheating.

The fact is if all you want to do is download a large file overnight or play music, there is no need to have the lid open and the display showing (your Mac will not overheat by doing a simple task like this). It all depends how much CPU is actually being used, so if you aren't using a lot of processing power then it should not overheat. Too bad the new MacBook Air doesn't solve the issue either.

Here are some suggestions:

A Free Utility you can start with is InsomniaX, which has the ability to toggle disable/enable sleep mode . I checked on the developers site and there is credible information that since 2006 it has worked for many , and a quote from a user here gives relief if you have the latest MacBook.

No damage recieved to my new MBP 2.6ghz/4GB RAM/250 5400RPM hard drive laptop.
Although it can get hot when it’s open playing WoW or converting movie files, when i leave it closed to say, download a torrent over night, and set the fans to 3000rpm, I usually wake up to the temp. output of InsomniaX being somewhere near 109-115. Which is pretty good, becuase this laptop normally runs around 115-130 in normal use with Safari and/or itunes and a couple other programs running.

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Another Utility is Sleepless (not free), which allows you to do the following:



· Can disable sleep with lid closed of course
· Safe Sleep (Hibernate) with one click
· One click activation / deactivation
· Menu icon with commands menu
· No processor time waste

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Are you thinking about dual booting your Mac with Windows? If your curious about it I have posted a recent article on the steps to do so here.


Hopefully these suggestions if used properly can help your usage of your Mac even better now, just keep in mind that you are accepting responsibility of disabling a built in Mac feature and its possible consequences.

MacBook Air - First Look

The MacBook Air is the worlds first thinest laptop brought into the market that has seen its share of very light, very capable products from other companies with the Sony Vaio, Lenovo, and Fujitsu, among others. Here's a look on what the MacBook Air has to offer compared to others.

With only three pounds? 0.76 inches thick it makes it real attractive, but where is the DVD Drive? There isnt any, you need to either purchase the $99 Apple MacBook Air superdrive, which connects via USB, or use the new Remote Disk feature to “borrow” the optical drive of another computer on your network.

Also the MacBook Air has far fewer ports than what you'll find on some of the monstrous "desktop replacement" laptops now available: Flip down a small hatch, and you'll find three that can handle many needs. There's a headphone jack where you can plug in headphones or speakers; a USB 2.0 connection for everything from a mouse to a video camera; and a Micro-DVI adapter that can hook the machine up to one of Apple's displays when you're not on the road--or, with the help of a $19 adapter, to a projector or monitor sold by a third party. So if your thinking about several USB or if you have some FireWire devices, its going to be a little tough with this notebook.

Still, the MacBook Air has a lot of the feel-good characteristics, the full-size keyboard feels good, as advertised. The LED-backlit screen is sharp and readable. The machine's two gigabytes of built-in memory allows it to switch between applications, such as iMovie and iPhoto, easily. And the enormous trackpad, with support for "multitouch" gestures, is easy to pick up. However like with the Sony Vaio, Apple has cut corners by providing lower CPU power. There is no reason why the MacBook Air could not start at a 2Ghz CPU range, instead it sits between 1.6-1.8Ghz on its Intel core 2 Duo. Sure we dont want it to heat up, but its not going to make a difference believe me.

You can see that the MacBook Air is not really meant for the power user, but the "Hands Free User", one that needs to be connected online with adequate power for handling applications and lasting throughout the day with a good 5hr battery (which is not removable, lets hope it lasts), or perhaps your just the person that wants the latest and greatest, has the money ($1799USD) and doesnt mind paying for what we know is the general rule, that you pay more for slimmer size always more.

Pros:

• Highly mobile light and thin design.
• Sexy, attention arresting appearance.
• Impressively solid hardware engineering.
• Leading CPU and graphics performance for its class.
• Very practical full size, illuminated keyboard.
• Bright LED backlit screen looks great and its environmentally progressive.
• Innovative multitouch trackpad features work well.
• Full featured video output options for a light mobile.
• Runs quiet and cool even when cranking.
• Very good WiFi 802.11n reception.

Cons:

• No built in WWAN options.
• No FireWire or Gigabit Ethernet.
• Peripherals and connectivity limited to single USB port.
• Battery life closer to 3-4 hours; no add-on battery option.
• Remote Disc needs more work.

Here is a comparison chart from Gizmodo. (click image to enlarge the image).

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Here's the official guided tour of the MacBook from Apple

Windows Vista SP1 Beta Released to Public

Microsoft now has made available to the public the latest beta build of Vista Service Pack 1. Although still not a final version of Vista SP1, the latest release is said to be on track with the estimated first quarter 2008 release date for the final first service pack for vista.

There are two ways to install the service pack, first, as a pop-up notification that the service pack is ready to be installed (this is the method in which most users will install the service pack) and using multiple manual installations from Windows Update. The first method is the simplest, but may take up to four days for the Windows Update Automatic Update feature to deliver each of the 3 prerequisites and the service pack.

Detailed instructions from Microsoft are available here for the update.

This update requires previous versions of SP1 to be uninstalled first, and there are several updates you’ll need to apply to your existing Vista install which can’t be removed later should you want to downgrade to a stable version of Vista.

Microsoft officials said the Vista SP1 RC includes changes that streamline setup and installation. It also includes all previously released updates since RTM, performance and reliability improvements such as file copy, network browsing and improved response time to resume from sleep, and change to administration features, including changes to BitLocker that allow encryption for multiple volumes.

Consumer Electronics Show - CES 2008 - So Whats New?

This Years Consumer Electronics Show seems to be focus on the evolution of electronics. Showing us more of the same with new features as one would expect. There is an obvious battle of next generation PC's, mobile devices and LCD's.

Here is a mix of items showcasing this year at the Las Vegas CES 2008 to give you an idea on the latest.

Starting the pack of electronic gadgets we have
the OQO Model 02 Durable Ultra Mobile PC running windows vista. It features:

• integrated backlit thumb keyboard, track stick, and capacitive TouchScrollers™. For wireless connectivity, the model 02 comes standard with WiFi 802.11a/b/g and Bluetooth 2.0 technology.
• Built-in mobile broadband EV-DO Rev. A technology for extended connectivity (hotspots)
  
• Pocket-size mobile form factor with sliding display and integrated thumb keyboard
• Only weighs 1 pound

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Sony's Serial ATA Blu-ray drive that will do the trick for even less. The BDU-X10S drive will cost $199.99 when Sony starts shipping it next month (preorder it here). This BD-ROM (that's read, not write) drive comes bundled with CyberLink PowerDVD BD Edition for playing Blu-ray discs in MPEG-2 or H.264 format. It'll also play DVDs and CDs and will work with XP and Vista PCs.

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New Garmin Nuvi 800 series features voice commands

Voice commands in portable navigation systems: We had a feeling we'd be seeing more of this trend at CES 2008, and Garmin proved us right with the launch of the Garmin Nuvi 800 series. The series includes two models--the Garmin Nuvi 880 and the Garmin Nuvi 850--and both have speech-recognition technology so you can perform certain navigation functions with the sound of your voice. For example, you can look for local businesses with phrases such as "find nearest Chinese restaurant," and unlike the Magellan Maestro 4250--which we reviewed earlier and also had voice command functionality.

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The HP Pavilion HDX laptop is for those into multimedia applications requiring the extra large 20" screen really. Here are the specs:

Intel Core 2 Duo T7700 (2.4GHz)

an Nvidia GeForce 8800M GTS graphics card with 512MB of video memory

Windows Vista Ultimate (64-bit)

20.1” WSXGA+ (1680 x 1050 pixels) HP Ultra Brightview display

Integrated HP HDTV Tuner w/4 Altec Lansing speakers + 1 subwoofer

PowerPack Software – Roxio, Muvee and Serif

500 GB Hard Drive

HD DVD-ROM w/ Super Multi DVD+/-RW w/Double Layer

4GB DDR2 system memory

Integrated 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet

Intel Pro/Wireless 4945a/g/n network with Bluetooth

HP Imprint "Dragon" finish + Fingerprint reader + webcam

High capacity 9-cell battery

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ASUS M70 notebook 1 TeraByte Laptop. ASUS has integrated Hitachi's Travelstar 5K500 hard drive into its new M70 notebook PC. This will make the M70 capable of delivering one terabyte of storage capacity – equal to 1000 hours of video - in a two-drive configuration. It features a 17-in. widescreen display at either WXGA+ (1,440 by 900 pixels) or WUXGA (1,920 by 1,200 pixels) resolution, Intel Core2 Duo processor , an ATI 3650 graphics card, Web cam, fingerprint reader and 1GB of memory.

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Pinnacle Transfer Video, a mobile device capable of recording analog video onto iPods and other USB 2.0 storage devices without using PCs to copy files.

Not requiring a PC, you just transfer video from the source to the storage device, such as one of those saved vids from Halo 3 you rewatch several times each day. Just by connecting the unit to your Xbox 360, you'll be able to copy over your favourite kill so you can watch it on your iPod on the way to work.

It encodes MPEG-4s in H.254 at up to 720x480/576, and supports a bunch of inputs such as SVideo, composite video and stereo audio

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The Corsair GT 32GB USB 2.0 drive, is bootable and has the following features:

• Encased in extremely strong CNC-milled, anodized aircraft-grade aluminum.
• Water resistant to 200M through the use of a EPDM waterproof seal.
• Protected from vibration or impact damage through the use of a molded shock dampening collar.
• Plug-&-Play with any USB 2.0 certified peripheral computer port (backward compatible with USB 1.1).
• Includes the True Crypt security application (Windows Vista/XP/2000 compatible only) allowing for a virtual encrypted drive using AES-256 encryption.
• USB extension cable and Dog Tags included.
• Protected by a Limited 10-year Warranty.

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The next generation HDTV LCD's , Sony OLED uses a new flat-panel technology, called organic light-emitting diode (OLED), to produce a brilliant picture on a screen only 3 millimeters thick. The initial LCD's are only 11" but in a few years regular LCD's will be a thing of the past.
This thing has true black with 1 million to 1 ratio, which regular LCD's cant even touch (and have usually a dark grey instead of black dark contrast).

Take a look here at the prototype on display:

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The sleek Linksys Wireless-N Gigabit Router (WRT310N), the Wireless-N Broadband Router (WRT160N), the Dual-Band Wireless-N USB Notebook Adapter (WUSB600N), Dual-Band Wireless-N ExpressCard Adapter (WEC600N), and the Dual-Band Wireless-N Gaming Adapter (WGA600N). Also being showcased at CES is Linksys EasyLink Advisor (LELA), an enhanced network setup and management tool that serves as a "Network Advisor in a Box".

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Panasonics first IP enabled television, the VIERA full HD 1080p PZ850 series features four models -- the 46-inch class TH-46PZ850, the 50-inch class TH-50PZ850, the 58-inch class TH- 58PZ850 and the 65-inch class TH-65PZ850. The IP enabled televisions provides access to on-line content directly from the televison with VIERA CAST(TM) technology. In addition, the PZ850 series features a Pro Setting Menu, allowing the consumer to access professional calibration software; an improved native resolution contrast ratio of 30,000:1 and a dynamic ratio of 1,000,000:1; Digital Cinema Color Re-Mastering; 24p native reproduction; Game Mode; an SD memory Card slot; RS-232C connection; four HDMI connections; increased luminous efficiency; lead free panels; 100,000 hours to half brightness and a PC input. The 850 series further expands the capabilities of the SD Card feature by utilizing the H.264 codec to display high definition video recorded on a HD camcorder equipped with the H.264 codec.

Here is an example on how the IPTV connects online and for what purpose:

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Motorola's new Z10 E8 is a "pocket-sized mobile film studio." It allows users to play and capture high-quality video, marry audio and video, and create storyboards with soundtracks directly on the phone. Film enthusiasts can then take their video and upload it on various social networking Web sites. A similar phone can be seen here.

The E8 comes with 2 Gbytes of internal memory, which can hold up to 1,500 songs, and the external memory can be expanded to 4 Gbytes with a micro SD card.

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A Prototype of a DLP (rear Projection Alienware display for games that has .2ms refresh rate! Check it out!