September 21, 2009

  • Windows 7, a month later

    I’ve been using Windows 7 for almost more than a month already. While I’ve noticed a couple of annoying glitches, I wouldn’t be too quick to judge it. After all, I’m using Vista hardware drivers for the most part since some of my devices still has to have Windows 7 driver updates.

    Look around and you may encounter Chew-WGA, a windows 7 patch that allows you to tinker with the new OS, without the expiration notice. However, I have to warn you that the patch may produce unexpected results, as I have noticed in some of my installations.

    During first few weeks of use, I’ve loaded up several productivity apps, and games. The USB game controller that I bought from CDR-king worked flawlessly in Prince of Persia and Street Fighter 4. Older games, on the other hand, brought up a compatibility warning, but played okay nonetheless.

    If you want to customize the OS, tweak and optimize, you may want to get your copy of Windows 7 Manager. Stardock Fences works well keeping your desktop clutter in check. Also, Of all the anti-virus protections available online, I find AVG free to work best with Windows 7.

    For more Windows 7 tips and guides, check out the following links:

See all 0 notes
    August 31, 2009

  • Windows 7 and what not

    I just recently got a new desktop with an Intel Core i7 processor. The new rig with a hyperthreading quad core processor screams abuse me right off the bat. What better way to maximize it’s use than to use Microsoft’s new Windows 7.

    Windows 7 has got a lot of new features that surprised me. First, whilst I’ve a bit of experience working with windows server 2008, this is to me a cross between server 2008 and vista. Aero peek and Aero shake are two of the features I like best. There is also an add-on that let’s you associate a live ID to your windows credential which I also like.

    Virtual PC RC has been redesigned to work seamless with the OS. It offers an XP mode that allows you to run a pre-packaged XP on the VM. I’ve tested with server 2008 web and it works perfectly. Unfortunately, when I tried to run Ubuntu 9.04 server, it produced a segment fault error.

    The built in 3D chess is a winner. Most games run perfectly (and IMHO better than XP) under the new OS. However, older games tend to produce compatibility issues and just won’t run.

    Overall, Windows 7 is a solid OS that I feel is a more logical upgrade from the aging Windows XP.

    • See all 0 notes
    July 19, 2009

  • Link

    Google Chrome OS: 3 reasons it matters, and 4 reasons it's irrelevant

    Here’s another take on Google’s Chrome OS. According to Techrepublic, here’s what we already know:
    It will run with a Linux kernel as its base
    It will boot directly into the Chrome Web browser
    It will be aimed primarily at netbooks
    It will run on both x86 and ARM processors
    It will not be designed to have local storage; all data will be stored in the cloud
    Google will not entice developers to build software to run on the Chrome OS; instead, they want them to build Web apps that will run on any standards-based browser
    The three most important features will be “speed, simplicity and security,” according to Google
    Google will release the software to the open source community before the end of 2009
    Announced Chrome OS hardware partners: Acer, Adobe, ASUS, Freescale, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo, Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, and Toshiba.
    Netbooks running Chrome OS will be available in the second half of 2010

    So far, the idea of cloud computing is still being developed as an alternate way of bringing technology to the end users (Software as a Service or SaaS, Platform as a Service or PaaS), but I think Google is making a gamble on whether a lot of people can appreciate this idea.

    • See all 0 notes