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Can't afford Guitar Hero III?

For those of us stuck on Windows PC, without access to Guitar Hero, here comes a Flash-based game that's almost as good: Handbell Hero.

via Metafilter

Posted by Anthony Dhanendran on December 20, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Something good about Vista Power Management

I know I've written a lot about what has annoyed me about power management in Vista but there was something good that happened today.

Having forgotten to charge my notebook during the day, the battery went down to 'critical' level on the train and Vista went into hibernate automatically. This is a good thing and what I want.

The useful touch when I restarted was there was an extra menu when the computer booted warning that the computer had nearly run out of power and that power was needed before continuing with loading Windows.

Granted it's not a feature that requires a lot of technical fiddling, but that's not the point. It could make all the difference if I had left the computer on and hadn't realised that the battery had drained.

Posted by Tim Smith on December 19, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Some good advice for parents of gaming children

If you are worried about getting the right balance between freedom and protection for game playing children, there is some good advice to be found at InformativePost

Most of it is common sense but it is worth seeing it written down. Keep an eye on the games on the computer, and maybe even play them. It also reiterates that most effective forms of advice for parents worried about children and computers. Put the computer in the living room so you can see what they're doing.

As much as I would like to be able to remind my children that I am keeping an eye on their gaming by leaving the odd high score in the charts, few games seem to have these any more and I have a more realistic idea of my abilities.

On that note, I'm tempted to add that, if you do play the game yourself, to keep it quiet unless you do fairly well. Otherwise you might be challenged to a mulitplayer game!

Posted by Tim Smith on December 19, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

The Windows Update Team blog explains Office 2007 SP1

Updates are always going to be complicated, even though the Automatic Updates utility is pretty good. So this explanation of how and where to get Office 2007 SP1 is quite useful.

Basically, this service pack is not going to be included in Automatic Updates for a little while. Not everyone wants to upgrade immediately, especially companies that need to check if their in house software still works or needs adjustment.

Office 2007 Service Pack 1 will appear in the Vista Windows Update page but will have to be explicitly selected for the time being. At some point it will be included in Automatic Updates but there's no word of exactly when.

It's always worth checking Windows Update though. I found a few updates for Office 2003 that we use here the other day that were quite old.

Posted by Tim Smith on December 14, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Opera goes on the offensive against Internet Explorer, well Microsoft

Opera has filed a complaint with the European Commission to try and stop Internet Explorer from being supplied with Windows. This is to give a better choice for end users, most of whom stick with IE because it's there and works.

The complaint refers to the tendency of Microsoft to use a tactic called "Embrace, Extend and Extinguish". The idea is to adopt a standard and then expand it in such a way that it then is restricted to Windows.

It's happened in a number of areas. Microsoft used to include a programming language in Visual Studio called J++. This was an extended version of Java, missing out the big advantage of Java, which working on lots of different operating systems. It got canned some years ago and Microsoft replaced it with C# when the .NET Framework came out.

In web terms, ActiveX is probably the biggest headache for Opera as it restricts some sites to IE only. Although speaking from a casual web designers point of view there have been other problems where IE handles formatting differently from everybody else.

One problem I have with this kind of argument is that, however dominant Microsoft is, should this not be applied equally across all operating systems. Surely it is just as much an abuse for Apple to include Safari with Mac OS X? Or for Firefox to be supplied with Linux. Although having said that Linux installations tend to come with several browsers not just Firefox.

Maybe the Linux model is the way forward. Manufacturers could supply computers with IE, Firefox and Opera and let people make their own choice. How do you decide what order to list them in?

How about alphabetical and see who creates the Aardvark browser first.

Posted by Tim Smith on December 14, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack

I lost hibernation (and then found it again)

It's been a while since I had a rant about the power options in Vista, so here we go again.

As I was running a little low of hard disk space I ran the Disk Cleanup Wizard. One of the options was to remove the hibernation file. It was around 2GB so I checked the option to give me a little more breathing room until I next needed to hibernate.

The snag was that doing this not only changed all my options from hibernate to sleep but removed all traces of hibernation from the Power Options.

Eventually I had a look on the Microsoft KnowledgeBase. Credit where credit's due, this is an excellent resource and it's rare that I can't find the answer here.

Well, there is an answer. All it takes is a simple command at the command prompt. powercfg.exe /hibernate on to be precise. And yes you can use off if you want to disable this feature.

It was quick and it worked, but it has left me wondering whether Windows is starting to become more reliant on the Command Prompt for this kind of setting. It's certainly much much easier than wandering around in the maze of options that has become a hallmark of Vista as far as I'm concerned.

Posted by Tim Smith on December 14, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Microsoft acquires Multimap

Is Microsoft looking to take a leaf out of the iPhone's book? There is nothing in the press release that dropped into my inbox to suggest that this may be a new service for Windows Mobile, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if that's what happens.

Web based maps like Multimap or Streetmap are very useful, although of course without GPS you have to have some idea of where you are.

Having a quick look at Multimap, I quite like the Wikipedia add-on showing points of interest, including one of our favourite restaurants, Yauatcha.

Posted by Tim Smith on December 13, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Missing channels in Media Center? Try this

In this age of sub-£100 Freeview PVRs, Sky+ and Virgin V+, it might seem silly to use a complete Windows PC, complete with all its many foibles, as a way to record television programmes. And yet, like many people, I find myself rather attached to the large, ugly and and generally unreliable Windows XP Media Center Edition computer that sits clicking away to itself under my TV.

One of the most annoying things about MCE, though, is its habit of occasionally losing channels. Sometimes entire channels disappear from the EPG, and on other occasions the channels remain but with no programme guide data. In either case, re-scannning for channels simply adds duplicate channels to the database, making it even more unstable. After six months or so the cumulative effect can leave the whole system useless (or, in my case, only capable of recording ITV2 - as good a definition of "useless" as any).

But there's hope. If you find your Media Center computer acting up, I'd thoroughly recommend the Media Center Configuration Reset utility on this page. It completely wipes the Media Center settings in a few seconds, allowing you to re-scan for channels and create a new, fresh database that should work happily (at least for a few months until it breaks down again). It doesn't remove any recorded programmes, although you will need to re-enter any shows you want to record in future.

Posted by Tom Royal on December 13, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Vista SP1 ready to download

Microsoft has released an early version of Windows Vista Service Pack 1. The add-on - known as SP1 Release Candidate - can be downloaded from several Microsoft websites; for a list see this Microsoft blog post.

Before rushing to download, though, remember that this version is not final, and may still contain errors - we wouldn't recommend installing it on your main, or only, Windows Vista PC, and it's important to back up any important files first. The final version of the service pack is expected early in the new year.

Posted by Tom Royal on December 12, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Service Pack 1 for Office released

There may not be much being said about Vista Service Pack 1There may only be the first hints of Service Pack 1 for Vista, but Office 2007 has already got its first bumper round of updates (thanks to Darren over at OfficeRocker for the news).

It's not an automatic update just yet; it's always worth holding off a couple of days just to make sure that there are no big problems. It's been a while since that's happened so I will give this a go later on.

And according to the whitepaper, it's not just stability and security, "Service Pack 1 eliminates distractions and performance issues that disrupt workflow, allowing employees to be more productive in the work that they do". Wow.

Posted by Tim Smith on December 12, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

When Computers go bad

It's not often that I get a genuine sense of fear when reading about computer problems. Losing work is annoying and may get me into trouble but there's always been a way out. No one dies and the world keeps turning.

That was my attitude when I started reading this article on the top 10 IT disasters of all time. I expected (and got) the usual selection of space rocket bloopers but the first item was very chilling because the it very nearly meant there was no one left to experience the world turning.

It appears that in 1983 a Russian computer decided that the American had launched five intercontinental missiles. Thanks to Lieutenant Colonel Petrov disaster was averted because he correctly realised that it was not a real attack.

So although I might be frustrated that my Yahoo Widget needs more work because there is a potential vulnerability to hackers, I can see the need for good coding. Even if the potential for it causing World War 3 is very slight.

Then again there were some stories a few years back about the UK and US armed forces running Windows on aircraft carriers. Now I'm worried again. Can you imagine Clippy asking if a sailor needs help with a pre emptive strike?

Posted by Tim Smith on December 11, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Getting started with Windows LiveWriter

After reading some positive writeups I've decided to give Windows Live Writer a go. It is a desktop app for blogging rather than relying on browser based editors.

There are good reasons for doing this. I've had some frustrating experiences with browser based editors both as a writer and site admin. Formatting can be tricky and I end up with several browser windows all open for different jobs, which was starting to get confusing.

The installation software seems to be following the trend with Microsoft recently of avoiding tradition processes. Instead of a wizard there is a single window with options for all of the different programs that make up the 'Microsoft Live experience'.

All you have to do is to tick the boxes of what you want and then click on the Add to installation button.

The only problem I encountered was that I did not have the latest updates for the .NET software. A quick visit to Windows Update solved the problem but it was a shame that the installation program didn't realise and tell me.

Once installed, Live Writer can be started from the installer by clicking on the title, launching the setup wizard.

The first choice of blogs is just Microsoft versions but luckily there is a third way that involves entering the details of another blog entirely.

We use Typepad here so I gave that a try first. There's no need to remember complicated details; all it needs are the web address of the blog and your username and password.

Some quick analysis of the blog later, it offered to create a temporary post to check on the template details.

Everything seemed to work, so I will now leave the web interface and make a start with Live writer

Posted by Tim Smith on December 11, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Breaking Glass

I've found I rather like Aero Glass. It doesn't make me work any better but it's a nice little bit of eye candy that makes me feel good about my computer.

But one problem is that I still don't really feel in control. The settings for Glass are linked to whether the power supply is plugged in or not, which threw me. And over the weekend something else cropped up.

It appears that not all software is compatible with Aero Glass and so Windows reverts back to Vista Basic when they are running. In this case it was OpenOffice 2.3, although I'm sure I've run OpenOffice without disabling Glass. It may be linked to the Quickstarter as I had to quit this to get Aero Glass back.

To give it it's due, it did turn back on automatically.

Posted by Tim Smith on December 10, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Cooking a song

We recently spoke to a French company called Mist Technologies, which is investing a lot of money in what it calls 'sound separation' technology. The idea is that it can take apart a sound track, separating it into its components (for music, that means isolating the instruments) and put it back together in surround sound. The company says it can therefore offer truly high definition surround sound to movie companies, giving us viewers more intense, better quality soundtracks.

It demonstrated the system using clips from French Edith Piaf biopic La Vie En Rose, showing off the difference between the standard soundtrack and the Mist version. It remains to be seen whether it takes off among movie studios, and it's going to be a while before it filters down to any new films, but in the meantime there's SongCooker.

SongCooker uses the same technology but lets the rest of us play around with it. The idea is that you upload a tune and it does the hard work of separating out the component instruments. You can then use the Flash-based console to move the instruments around in a 2D space or isolate them to remix the song.

At the moment it only works with a few songs the company has uploaded, but look out for a more flexible version in 2008.

Posted by Anthony Dhanendran on December 10, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Asus eee update: UK models include expansion slot

We're currently reviewing the eee PC - Asus's £220 mini-notebook computer. One of the unusual things about the eee is that it has no hard disk - instead, it uses 4GB of flash memory. This isn't much, especially if you want to install Windows, so many people are interested in ways to add more storage.

One possibility comes courtesy of the mini PCI Express expansion slot, found under an access hatch on the bottom of the notebook. Unfortunately, there's been some confusion over whether all Eee PCs will come with this slot - reports from the US suggest that it's missing from some models.

We spoke to Asus UK to clear this matter up, and got the following response from a spokesperson:

"All the Asus Eee PC units you can buy via resale will have the PCI express expansion slots, these are all the official units in the UK. The Eee PC’s that do not have expansion slots are of a lower-spec that are released in the US and Asia (and also on tenders in the UK, such as schools or public sector that have very specific requirements) ... the best way for a consumer to get a Eee PC with the slot is to buy from a certified reseller and not go after a grey import".

So - good news. Anyone buying an official Eee PC in the UK should be able to expand it with an extra solid state disk in future, although doing so does require you to open the case, thus voiding the warranty.

Posted by Tom Royal on December 10, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Recovering files from a damaged hard disk

Problems with hard disks genuinely scare me. Any other hardware failure is an annoyance but doesn't directly pose a risk to my files. A graphics card can be easily replaced and even if the CPU goes I should be able to find a computer in our labs I can get the files from.

But a problem with a hard disk threatens my work directly (and my personal well being were I to have to explain to my wife why we no longer have any photos of the last two years).

It didn't happen to me but it did happen to someone in the office last week. They dropped their notebook while it was still running. It seemed to be ok but then Windows would not load when it was restarted.

We were fairly certain that this meant the head had hit the disk but this had happened on a crucial point so that we could neither boot nor access the hard disk.

We went through various options and programs trying to access files but without success. Eventually we found R-Studio. This found every file on the hard disk bar one and copied them onto another hard disk. Very impressive.

Posted by Tim Smith on December 4, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Microsoft claims Internet Explorer safer than Firefox

Granted this is no shock headline but there are figures backing up the claims. The Browser Vulnerability Analysis report (in PDF format) written by Jeff Jones, Security Strategy Director records that since November 2004 there have been 75 critical vulnerabilities in Firefox but just 54 for Internet Explorer in the same period.

These figures certainly go against the popular opinion about the two browsers but no one can deny the efforts made in IE7. As frustrating as the various Info Bar confirmations can be, they do mean that there is a higher chance of stopping attacks.

One thing that would interest me greatly about the relative security of these two browsers is the implications of addons. I think people are even more trusting about addons than they are about other software on the internet. Although I've found addons really useful for both browsers, I do worry about them posing a security risk.

Posted by Tim Smith on December 4, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

At the Terminal 5 trial

Over the weekend, we found ourselves at Heathrow for one of the passenger trials of the new Terminal 5. The airport's owner, BAA, is running the tests to make sure that the terminal, when it opens in March 2008, does what it should.

It's an impressive place, reminiscent of Chep Lap Kok, Suvarnabhumi and new airports all over the world, all glass and steel, huge roof spans and enormous windows. The 2,000 fake passengers who'd been brought along for the ride, supplied with suitcases full of sand (to test the new conveyor belts), didn't make a dent in the scale - it's so big, it still seems empty, even with that many people.

The construction of the thing is impressive. There is to be a new spur off the M25 to take passengers in directly (British Airways passengers, of course, the rest of us will have to get off at the M4 exit and take our chances), and the terminal building (or buildings, rather, as it comes in two parts, with a secondary T5B a hundred yards away, connected by an underground railway) rises up out of the suburban houses. The route in on a BAA bus took us through the village of Sipson, with its charming thatched houses and charming NO THIRD RUNWAY placards.

Of course, what you expect from Heathrow these days is delays, and the trial duly delivered. Everything went swimmingly until, having passed security, it suddenly became apparent that there was nowhere to go. The signs to the gates were clear, but there was no gate number on the boarding pass, and no information screens working.

Predictably enough, the computers running the screens are running Windows. And it wasn't playing ball. So 2,000 fake passengers sat around watching the Windows XP startup screen appearing, then disappearing for 40 minutes. That gave us a chance to wander around the place, although in truth there isn't much to see. The shops weren't open, but even if they were, it's the same old names you'll see at every other BAA joint.

That sideshow finished, the flight information found its way to the screens and everyone was off again. It was only a test, admittedly, and a test designed to show up that kind of problem, so in a way it worked. But it was nice to see that even a brand new terminal isn't immune to Heathrow's delays.

EDIT: The trials are continuing for another four months so there's time to sign up if you'd like a nose around before it opens at the end of March.

Posted by Anthony Dhanendran on December 3, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack