News and other tidbits that Chad Cloman finds interesting enough to share
If you’ve never heard of Microsoft’s PowerToys for Windows XP, head over to microsoft.com and check them out. TweakUI is an essential part of every computer system I use.
Link: http://www.microsoft.com/…
(via Kim Komando)
Ever wondered if Microsoft does anything with those error reports that get sent when a Windows program crashes (via the “Send Error Report” button)? Apparently they do. The linked article is about an error so perplexing to Microsoft engineers that they asked for phone numbers in order to get more information. Now -that’s- customer service!
Link: http://blogs.msdn.com/…
(via digg)
IE7Pro is a free Internet Explorer 7 extension that adds some nice capabilities. Features include tabbed browsing enhancements, ad blocking, mouse gestures and crash recovery. Basically someone took the best Firefox extensions and implemented them on IE7.
Link: http://www.ie7pro.com/
(via Lifehacker)
Thinking about making the switch to Windows Vista, but you’re unsure whether your existing software will work on the new OS? Here’s an unofficial list showing compatibility for various products.
Link: http://www.iexbeta.com/…
(via Lifehacker)
Regular Chad’s News readers know that the Congressional change to Daylight Saving Time will cause the sky to fall on March 11th. Microsoft, however, is taking proactive steps to ensure the transition is a smooth one. For Outlook users there is the Time Zone Data Update Tool, and for Windows users there is the Daylight Saving Time Help and Support Center.
Link: http://lifehacker.com/…
Unlike previous versions of Windows, the upgrade version of Vista requires you to have the old version of Windows installed on the computer. Pre-Vista you could just produce the old version’s license key or install disks as proof of ownership. This can be annoying for those (like me) who prefer to do clean installs on a newly-formatted hard drive. Fortunately there appears to be a workaround, as described in the linked article.
In addition, installing a Vista Upgrade version over top of an XP system will invalidate the XP license key, and it will no longer pass the mandatory Windows Genuine Advantage check, should you try to re-install WinXP in the future.
Link: http://www.dailytech.com/…
(via digg)
Some computer stores will sell you the OEM version of Windows Vista at a significant price reduction over the regular version. Sounds good, but there are drawbacks.
Link: http://arstechnica.com/…
Windows Vista will be released to the public this Tuesday (Jan. 30th). Early adopters beware, as there are five different versions (well, actually six). The “lesser” versions are purposely crippled to leave out various features. The linked article is a bit long-winded and technical, so I’ll summarize.
Windows Home Basic is for grandma and grandpa. Anyone even close to being a power user will want Windows Home Premium. On the business side, there’s Vista Business and Vista Enterprise. They’re quite similar, with Enterprise having a few more esoteric features. The business versions have more advanced networking support, while home versions are more multimedia-oriented. Finally there’s Windows Ultimate, which has all of the available features.
Link: http://www.eweek.com/…
(via Lifehacker)
The upcoming change to daylight savings will require updates to operating systems, programs, programming language libraries, BIOSes, and a good number of consumer electronics products. Microsoft, however, has announced they will not patch older versions of Windows. There is an unofficial patch as well as an official Microsoft workaround. The linked article from Microsoft does not mention Windows 95, 98, 98SE, or Me, but I’m assuming they won’t be updated because their support has ended.
Link: http://www.microsoft.com/…
(via Slashdot)
The Mapuche Indians in Chile are suing Microsoft (in Chilean courts) for translating Microsoft Windows into Mapuzugun, a Mapuche language. The Indians are contending that Microsoft needed their permission to utilize the language.
It seems to me that the real problem is a cultural clash between the technology of the West and the lifestyle of an indigenous people, and the court case is merely the Indians’ best way of responding to it.
Link: http://today.reuters.com/…
(via Slashdot)
The official release dates for Windows Vista are Nov. 30th (for corporate customers) and Jan. 30th, 2007 for everyone else. Office 2007 will also be released at the same time.
Internet Explorer version 7 has officially been released. Major improvements are tabbed browsing and better adherence to standards. That being said, I still prefer Firefox.
UPDATE: And true to form, the first IE7 security vulnerability has already been discovered.
UPDATE #2: According to Microsoft, the problem is with Outlook Express and not Internet Explorer.
