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Posts Tagged “

Microsoft Windows Vista

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Bill Gates Retirement Party

Ten Reasons Why Vista Isn't That Bad

Of all the ware Microsoft churns out from its sweatshop of "lightning bolt, lightning bolt" nerds, Windows is the one most inexorably tied to the public image of the company. As Bill Gates leaves the building, we look back on the last baby birthed—if not fully gestated—under his watch, the swan song operating system that he himself has issues with. Although we agree that Vista could have used a bit more time shoved back into the silicon womb for some feature buffing and bug fixing, it's not nearly as bad as most people are making it out to be. That's right, I'm actually happy with Windows Vista, which I use about one-third of the time I spend at a computer. More »

Feature

1:20 PM on Thu Jun 26 2008
By Jason Chen
98,366 views, 122 comments

Latest by n/a: I like Vista better than XP, the stability has gone up by a huge margin. I use my laptop for browsing the internet, watching movies, listen to music, designing and what not and it never crashed on me (well some programs more »

vista

Vista Capable Laptops Sucked So Intel Could Dump Crappy Graphics Chips

The judge on the class action lawsuit against Microsoft for those Vista handi-capable stickers unsealed a bunch of super-juicy internal emails exchanged between Microsoft higher-ups (including Ballmer) on Vista's suckiness. They weren't oblivious to the fact that "Vista capable" machines were horrible—but they let it slide, according to exec John Kalkman:
"To help Intel make their quarterly earnings so they could continue to sell motherboards with 915 graphics embedded."
They even screwed HP to make Intel happy. More »

8:00 PM on Thu Feb 28 2008
By matt buchanan
12,922 views, 62 comments

Latest by BombrMan: @sho38: What? The OS turns aero on and off by itself. If you have a strong enough machine to run it then aero turns on, if not it turns off. Come on, don't act like you've had experience with this more »

vista sp1

Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) Looking Good So Far, Due in Q1 '08

The first service pack for Windows Vista is on its way, and PC Magazine has a preview of an early private beta version. The good news is that reviewer Neil Randall found the service pack to be faster overall than the shipping version of Windows Vista, and also noticed more drivers available and improved encryption. Randall also experienced applications within Adobe Creative Suite CS2 running faster, dialog boxes popping up more rapidly and other file copying speedups. This bodes well for the shipping version of SP1, which should be available along with Service Pack 3 of Windows XP (the last service pack for XP) in Q1 of 2008. [PC Magazine]

12:05 PM on Mon Oct 8 2007
By Charlie White
39,797 views, 20 comments

Latest by WheelDawg: Any details on what the XP SP3 has? more »

software

Because of Microsoft Vista Lameness, Windows XP to Stay On Sale for Five Extra Months

Poor Microsoft Windows Vista. So many people think it sucks that Microsoft has extended the life of the ancient but stalwart Windows XP, originally scheduled to stop shipping in January 2008. Now the company will extend XP's sales life until the end of June 2008, and will keep those boxes of software flowing to "emerging markets" through June 2010. Of course, Microsoft spokesflacks didn't mention anything about Vista's suckage, instead insisting that "there are some customers who need a little more time to make the switch." Yeah. More »

12:14 PM on Fri Sep 28 2007
By Charlie White
7,033 views, 52 comments

Latest by n/a: @iPhoney: I have had pc's since before HD's were invented. My first epson computer ran a CPM based OS. Windows was still four years into the future. I finally had it with Microsoft and bought my more »

sneaking suspicion dept.

Vista Battery Life Sucks


I've complained for months that Vista hogs battery life. Yet whenever I would look a laptop product rep in the eye and ask (most recently, HP and Gateway), I'd get a blank stare that says, "We can't really tell you." Now, the courageous folks at ZDNet have confirmation from inside HP. The Aero Glass interface is, indeed, a leech and a half.
More »

2:40 PM on Fri May 4 2007
By Wilson Rothman
9,936 views, 28 comments

software

Free Go-Backs: Dell to Reintroduce Windows XP

After pulling XP from its desktop and laptop lines, Dell changed its mind and announced that it would offer it on new Inspiron 1405, 1705, 1505 and 1501 notebooks, and Dimension E520 and E521 desktops. The decision was driven by an overwhelming outcry on Dell's IdeaStorm feedback center, which at the moment reads like a meeting of the He-Man Vista Hater's Club: More »

10:55 AM on Fri Apr 20 2007
By Wilson Rothman
4,198 views, 39 comments

software

Microsoft Vista Hacked, Brute Force Keygen Opens Pandora's Box

Finding the secret keys to the kingdom has become an international sport, and now we're hearing that the mighty product activation for Microsoft Windows Vista has already been compromised. Using a brute force technique of checking 20,000 possibilities an hour, it might take a few days to find a valid product key, but it works. The cumbersome technique is in the realm of the propellerheads so far, but the crack could soon be turned into an easily-used key generator that would open to sluice gates to widespread piracy. More »

9:52 AM on Fri Mar 2 2007
By Charlie White
49,987 views, 37 comments

Latest by asif1: i do vista keygen and cracks orignal more »

software

Vista on the Mac: Only Legal With Enterprise or Ultimate Editions

Just when we were starting to be impressed with the ability to run Microsoft Vista on the Mac, the plot thickens: If you want to legally run Vista on Parallels Desktop for the Mac, you're going to have to pony up for either the Enterprise or Ultimate Edition. Essentially, it's a money issue, where Microsoft's Home Editions of Vista costs $199 or $239, but the Enterprise and Ultimate Editions cost $299 and $399. More »

1:45 PM on Thu Feb 1 2007
By Charlie White
1,149 views, 18 comments

software

Upgrade to Vista, Lose Your XP Key?

Microsoft has set a lot of restrictions on Vista, but if this latest one holds true, it could mean the difference between upgrading or not for some people. Apparently if you buy an upgrade version of Windows Vista for your XP machine, Windows Vista will invalidate your XP key (so you won't be able to set up a dual-boot option nor will you be able to use that version of XP on another machine). Not only that, but if you ever uninstall Vista, you won't be able to fall back on your copy of XP anymore. Nice way to entice the upgraders, MS. – Louis Ramirez More »

4:12 PM on Tue Jan 30 2007
By Louis Ramirez
11,363 views, 46 comments

Latest by ebotee: I forgot to mention that no matter what, if you have OEM installation xp, it will always work for atleast 30days without activation. more »

microsoft

Everything You Wanted to Know About Vista's SideShow

One of Vista's features that has caught our attention is SideShow. Think of SideShow as Vista's sidekick. With the help of these mini apps that MS calls "gadgets," SideShow can let you perform small tasks like read e-mail, check on weather, look through photos, or flip through your list of contacts regardless of whether your PC is on, off, or in sleep mode. All you need is a SideShow-enabled device—be it an external screen on your notebook or a screen on your Media Center remote. So for instance you could.... More »

Feature

2:37 PM on Tue Jan 30 2007
By Louis Ramirez
6,626 views, 30 comments

Latest by Inigo Montoya: Actually, I believe the key to unlocking the sideshow is: Up-Up Down-Down Left-Right Left-Right B A Start. more »

software

Windows Vista in Numbers

One of the things Microsoft reiterated throughout Monday night's Vista launch was the amount of work and testing that went into Vista. Approximately 5 million beta testers checked out the OS to make sure everything ran smoothly. As far as drivers go, Vista comes with 1.5 million drivers out of the box, so the chances of your peripherals not being recognized are pretty slim. Release-wise, Vista is being rolled out in over 70 countries, 39,000 retail outlets, and thousands of OEMs. What does this all mean? Well, according to Microsoft it means there's no need to wait for that service pack. Vista should make everyone's life easier now. We're gonna take that with a grain of salt as we give Vista our own test run to see just how easier (or harder) it'll make life for us. – Louis Ramirez

3:09 AM on Tue Jan 30 2007
By Louis Ramirez
275 views, 11 comments

Latest by JacquesAss: 60 years of performance testing? Unfortunately, 59 years were spent on WinFS, Virtual Folders, Palladium, SecureID tokens, the Monad CLI and EFI support. Oops. more »

drm

Vista DRM Already Hacked?

Vista hasn't been out for more than 24 hours and yet rumors are spreading that it's already been hacked. Alex lonescu claims he's hacked Vista's Protected Media Path, a DRM that's designed to degrade the playback quality of HD video when running it on non-HDCP outputs and other hardware components that haven't been approved by Microsoft. The catch is, Alex is hesitant to release his tool fearing that when he does, he'll be swarmed by MS' lawyers. We don't blame him, though we are dying to see what he has. – Louis Ramirez More »

3:00 AM on Tue Jan 30 2007
By Louis Ramirez
1,185 views, 9 comments

Latest by ReductiMat: "Pile On!" Even though the commenters have nailed it perfectly thus far, this loser needs all the ridicule we can hurl his way. Shit or get off the pot, Alex. more »

pcs

Vista Launch Parties Kickin' off Tonight

Yo party animals geeks, it's time to get that freshly dry-cleaned Zelda t-shirt on and head out for a night of Vista release partying. A bunch of retailers are hosting kickoff events all night with sports stars, local radio stations, free prizes, and fresh copies of Vista and Office 2007. Yea, we wouldn't tell our friends we were going out to wait in line for a new OS either, so tell them you're stepping out for um booze.. or something else not so nerdy. Vista is also available for download starting at midnight from the Windows Marketplace. Here's what's in store: More »

10:08 PM on Mon Jan 29 2007
By www.gizmodo.com
277 views, 4 comments

Latest by Vexorg: Shaun Alexander is supposed to be at the Bellevue WA Best Buy, from what I heard... more »

software

CNet Checks Out Windows Vista: Stable, but No OS X Killer

The folks at CNET have given Windows Vista Ultimate a thorough testing. Their verdict? Buy it if it's already installed on a new PC, but skip it if you're merely upgrading. Though they found MS' new OS very stable, they felt there weren't enough new features in it to merit an upgrade. Also, chances are if you do upgrade, you'll need a stronger PC to take advantage of the new features. In other words, that old, dusty Dell ain't gonna cut it. More »

7:18 PM on Wed Jan 24 2007
By Louis Ramirez
1,793 views, 76 comments

Latest by james-42: Axtell said, "Obviously you are an apple lover." 85% of my computer time is spent in XP, 15% in OS X and I like it that way. So, this assertion of yours is just as incorrect as, "...with no software, there's more »

press

Pogue Points Out Vista's "Coincidences" with Mac OS X

Did Microsoft rip off Apple's Mac OS X when making Vista? New York Times tech superstar David Pogue takes it upon himself to highlight the "coincidences" between both operating systems and show us why they're different. Nothing like a little tech sarcasm for the holidays. Long live Mac OS X. Er, I mean Vista. More »

10:30 AM on Mon Dec 25 2006
By Louis Ramirez
2,025 views, 105 comments

home entertainment

Vista to Support HD CableCard PCs, But Not OCUR Upgrades

Info trickles out about the capabilities of Media Center Edition on Windows Vista, and Matt Goyer, Microsoft's blogger for the company's eHome division, offered both good news and bad news in his post from last Friday, July 28. More »

11:15 AM on Tue Aug 1 2006
By Charlie White
4,456 views, 6 comments

pcs

Samsung 4GB Flash Disk: Windows Vista Performance Booster

Samsung is beginning production of a special 4GB solid-state disk (SSD) it says will dramatically speed up notebooks and PCs when using Microsoft Windows Vista. Using a Vista feature called Windows ReadyBoost, Samsung says this little flash disk will eliminate hundreds of exasperating multi-second delays when working with the operating system. According to Samsung:
"The Windows ReadyBoost feature of the Windows Vista operating system will intelligently populate the SSD with the data a user needs before they ask for it. It readies a user's favorite applications and data in the background, accelerating everyday actions such as starting applications and switching users. When a user requests that data, rather than being limited to servicing 100-200 requests per second (as with a traditional HDD), Samsung's SSD can service up to 5000 request per second, virtually eliminating data seek delays. The 4GB SSD can work in tandem with a hybrid hard drive, coming into play as a secondary source of cached data."
Samsung says this little performance booster can be hooked up via the ATA port, and located pretty much anywhere on a motherboard. We're hoping this device will also make Windows Vista start up faster. Will we see this on Macs, too? – Charlie White More »

10:39 AM on Wed Jul 26 2006
By Charlie White
2,771 views, 7 comments

Latest by Worf: Wonder how much it'll cost - looking at the size, it shouldn't be too much considering 4GB CF cards and 4GB iPod Nanos... Though, it beats the CF card adapter since most (all?) CF cards don't support DMA operation... more »

software

Last Chance: Windows Vista Beta 2 Download

If you're thinking of downloading Beta 2 of Windows Vista, you might want to get on it right away, because the last day for either downloading the software or ordering the DVD is today, June 30. According to Microsoft blogger Ian Moulster,
"In case you weren't aware, we are only providing a limited number of copies of Windows Vista Beta 2—either download or physical copies—and we're fast approaching the cutoff point. What this means is—if you want to get a copy, get it now (and I mean now)."
We've been toying with this Beta 2 of Windows Vista, and although we had a few installation woes—it wouldn't install on our first attempt—it's a smooth-running Beta with no crashes so far, and the new Aero interface looks positively swank. We wanted to try out the Beta version of Office 2007 along with Vista, but that didn't work out at all. It simply wouldn't install. We've heard the two don't like each other for some reason. Perhaps that's why the release of Office 2007 has been delayed again. Guess that's why they call it "Beta." – Charlie White More »

10:48 AM on Fri Jun 30 2006
By Charlie White
4,620 views, 1 comment

Latest by chigga: i have it installed with Office 2007 beta.. runs just fine.. although i do get crashes through windows explorer from time to time when i'm browsing through the pron collection. more »

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