Chad's News

Many modern computer monitors have such a high resolution that things like icons and text are getting too small to read without reducing the overall resolution. And what’s the point of having a high-resolution monitor if you can’t use it at its maximum resolution? The situation is further complicated by the fact that today’s LCD monitors have a native resolution at which they look the best, and if you lower the resolution to make things larger, you may degrade the quality of what you see. Microsoft is aware of this issue and has created the DPI Scaling tool to fix it. The tool allows you to tell Windows to increase the size of text and graphical elements. The linked article explains it in more detail and gives instructions on how to use it under Windows 7, but DPI scaling is available as far back as Windows XP (it’s part of the advanced display settings).

Link: http://www.techrepublic.com/…

Windows 8 is being touted as a “generational” change to the Windows product line, much in the same way that Windows 95 was. The linked article gives a brief synopsis of what we can expect to see. The major hurdle appears to be that every Windows user will have to learn a radically new interface—we’ll see how that works out.

Link: http://www.techrepublic.com/…

October 25^th was the 10-year anniversary of Windows XP, yet it still remains the most popular version of Windows for desktop users. The linked article from Ars Technica provides a bit of retrospective, then explains why it’s time to move on to something newer.

Link: http://arstechnica.com/…

Not too long ago, Microsoft released a developer’s build of Windows 8, and some people are upset because Microsoft implemented a new “Metro style” which, among other things, replaces the venerable Start menu with an apps page. The legacy of Steve Jobs is now making itself felt on the desktop. Also keep in mind that the developer’s build is a very preliminary look at what will appear in the final version of Windows 8, and you can currently configure the system to show the Start menu.

Link #1: http://www.techrepublic.com/…

Link #2: http://www.techrepublic.com/…

It’s been my experience that most lists of Word tips aren’t all that useful. The linked article, however, is an exception. It explains, for example, how to perform a vertical text selection, undo automatic changes, and move table text up or down.

Link: http://www.techrepublic.com/…

For those who missed it, Mozilla released Firefox 4 on March 22^nd. Major features include a more streamlined and minimalist user interface (a la Google Chrome), tab groups, WebGL support, better HTML5 support, faster JavaScript processing, graphics hardware acceleration, and browser synchronization. This will be the last major release of Firefox—Mozilla is switching to the incremental update model that has worked so well for Chrome.

It’s interesting to see the significant impact Google Chrome has had on both Internet Explorer 9 and Firefox 4, particularly in regards to the user interface and JavaScript performance. Google’s stated goal when it first released Chrome was to force the other browser vendors to improve their products in an effort to keep up. Google has been wildly successful in this respect.

Link #1: http://arstechnica.com/…

Link #2: http://blog.mozilla.com/…
(via Slashdot)

Microsoft released Internet Explorer 9 last week, to positive reviews. Major features include a cleaner, more minimal browser interface, a la Chrome; significant speed increases, both in rendering and JavaScript execution, and the addition of hardware acceleration for graphics; better support for web standards; some HTML5 support; integration with Windows 7; and more security/privacy guards, including a private browsing mode. Unfortunately for quite a few users, however, IE9 will only work on Windows Vista or later.

Link #1: http://arstechnica.com/…

Link #2: http://lifehacker.com/…

Link #3: http://www.techrepublic.com/…

Microsoft has released Service Pack 1 for Windows 7. It will be available via the normal Windows Update mechanism or, for power users, via direct download.

Link: http://www.techrepublic.com/…

The AutoRun feature in Windows is a significant security risk (as illustrated in this Chad’s News post), and Microsoft has finally decided to take action. With the latest Windows Update, there’s an optional update to disable AutoRun in Windows XP and Vista (it is already disabled in Windows 7). Some types of media, such as CDs and DVDs will still use AutoRun, but executable files on most removable media, e.g., USB drives, will no longer be run without the user’s knowledge.

Link: http://www.computerworld.com/…
(via Kim Komando)

Microsoft appears to be abandoning its Silverlight technology in favor of HTML5. Silverlight was Redmond’s attempt to compete with Adobe Flash. All is not lost, however, as it still appears that Silverlight will remain a platform of choice for developing apps on Windows Phone 7 devices.

Link: http://arstechnica.com/…

Back in November, Microsoft filed a patent for touch screen technology that creates texture. From the linked article: “a display that uses technical tricks to convince users they are actually touching the ridges, bumps and textures of a displayed image.” Other companies are trying to do something similar, but the difference with Microsoft’s system is that the bumps are real, whereas their competitors only create an illusion of texture. This could be big, really big, if they manage to make it cost-effective.

Link: http://www.newscientist.com/…
(via Kim Komando)

Windows Phone 7 is Microsoft’s latest entry in the mobile device operating system arena, and it’s a “dramatic departure” from their previous offerings. They hope to be competitive against Android phones, iPhones, and Blackberries. The linked article is fairly optimistic about this being the case, but TechRepublic’s Justin James has a completely different opinion.

Link: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/…
(via Kim Komando)