« December 2007 | Main | February 2008 »

You know what? The EEE PC isn't all that.

All this talk of the ultra-small EEE PC reminds me of one of that computer's predecessors. Currently gathering dust in a cupboard somewhere in the Windows Watch office is a Tandy TRS-80 Model 100 - the first truly portable computer.

The Tandy 100 included a huge 8KB of memory (although some 3K of this was used by the operating system) and, crucially, it included an internal modem as standard. It's only a 300bits/sec model (something like 1 million times slower than the average home broadband connection these days), but it did the job back in 1983.

The 100 was the computer of choice for journalists for several years, chiefly because it allowed you to file copy from whenever there was a telephone line, which could in those days mean the difference between a scoop and fish-and-chip paper.

One of these days we're going to have to dig the Tandy 100 out and do a head-to-head with the EEE PC. And I reckon it's going to be a close-run thing.

Posted by Anthony Dhanendran on January 31, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Love shirts

There has been talk for some years about Japanese mobile phones that would alert the user in some way when another similarly set up phone was in the area. The idea being that you and your friends can use the same code, and get a quick notification when someone you know turns up.

The apparel millionaires at Think Geek have taken the idea a step further with the proximity-detecting t-shirt. When two of these shirts are in the vicinity of each other, the hearts on the front of each shirt light up, so you can easily tell when your girlfriend or boyfriend is around (assuming he or she is wearing the shirt, of course).

Posted by Anthony Dhanendran on January 31, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Get helpful tips and tricks for Microsoft Office

The Microsoft Office homepage is worthy bookmarking by anyone who using this software. There are lots of templates and mailing lists to sign up for. There are also some webcasts on topics such as writing long documents

Of course, mailing lists can be a double edged sword as they can waste time, but every so often a really useful tip will make a huge difference. Or a blog post!

Posted by Tim Smith on January 31, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Firefox flaw considered more serious

Mozilla has reclassified a bug in Firefox to 'High Severity'.

According to the Mozilla Security Chief, Window Snyder, the flaw could allow an attacker to collect cookies and session history from computers. It only affects Firefox if 'flat' packed add-ons have been installed. A partial list is available, for checking if you are affected. It may be partial but it is quite long.

Posted by Tim Smith on January 31, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

New version of GIMP, 2.4.4

There's a new version of this popular (and free) image editor. It's mostly bug fixes so there's no urgent need to update .

A pack of tools for animation has also been released but it's still only available as source code rather than an installer for Windows. Hopefully this will be available soon.

Posted by Tim Smith on January 31, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

When a virtual life becomes reality

There's not much on television about the Internet, so I made the time to watch Wonderland, a story about people who have almost entirely moved into Second Life.

Without giving too much away, the stars of the show were Carolyn and Elliot, separated by the Atlantic (oh and her marriage) but in an intense relationship in second life. Needless to say, their online personas looked nothing like them and their eventual meeting was an anticlimax.

I ventured into Second Life before Christmas for a feature (hopefully online soon). Perhaps it's because I'm busy in the real world, and suffer from occasional RSI, it left me rather bored. Guild Wars was more fun but I've only really been playing it as a single player game.

It's not that I don't talk with people online; I'm on various mailing lists and forums, not to mention some blogs(!). But I don't feel the need to spend ages creating an online persona. In any case, I couldn't find anyone willing to sell (let alone give away) the Cryano de Bergerac look.

Readers in the UK can watch the program again with the BBC iPlayer. The BBC warns of adult themes. It's worth watching as a warning of not getting too obsessed with gaming.

Posted by Tim Smith on January 31, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Libraries and online dictionaries: follow-up

It turns out that the online reference service we were talking about yesterday - which allows library card holders to access the Oxford English Dictionary, the Encyclopedia Britannica, a newspaper archive and more, from any internet-connected computer - is called Reference Online. Not that it's called that on any of the local authority websites through which it is accessed.

Usefully, though, the Oxford University Press website includes a list of those library web pages - click the appropriate one for your area, and locate the electronic reference or online resource section of the site. That said, while Birmingham is listed on that site, we still can't find the online on the Birmingham libraries site. Has anyone else found it? Are there any other offending local authorities out there who've made their websites particularly hard to use?

Posted by Anthony Dhanendran on January 30, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Free brushes for the GIMP

I use image editors because I have to, rather than having any particular skill in that area, so anything to help with my efforts are very welcome.

There is plenty of help to be found courtesy of techZilo, with a collection of brushes for GIMP. A brush is a shape used to paint with. Most image editors come with a variety of circles and squares, which is of no help to my feeble efforts.

The brushes included here are all kinds of shapes and sizes, hopefully good enough for me to include in some webgraphics.

There's even some useful help on adding brushes to GIMP. I'll come clean and admit that I needed to click the link as I've never done this before. It's very easy. Uncompress the files in the zip to the brushes folder (this can be found in the GIMP preferences) and either refresh the brushes or restart GIMP. I had to do the later but it's hardly a problem.

If you've not tried The GIMP, it's very powerful and completely free.

Posted by Tim Smith on January 30, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Game of the week: Anti Pacman

Anti-Pacman is a clever twist on the arcade classic. Instead of wandering around a maze munching on the little white pills, this time around you play the ghosts, and your job is to catch up with Pacman before he can finish the maze. According to the author, there are more "Anti-" games to come. What could be next - Anti-Space-Invaders?

via Metafilter

Posted by Anthony Dhanendran on January 29, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Need a dictionary? Go to the library

So I was discussing season five of The Wire the other night, specifically the question of whether it's correct to use the verb 'evacuate' when referring to a person (as in "they were evacuated", rather than "the building was evacuated"). I was bemoaning the fact that, since I no longer work for a university I don't have access to the online Oxford English Dictionary through the excellent Athens academic research service, I can't just go online and see whether the above usage applies to British English (yes, I know, this is how I spend my evenings).

And then my companion said: "you know you can access the OED through your local library's website, don't you?"

I did know that libraries offer access to various reference books online, but I assumed you had to use a computer in the library building. It turns out that, a few years ago, the government signed a nationwide license to provide all sorts of reference materials over the web - all you need is your library card.

So I logged on to Islington Council's website and burrowed through to the libraries section, where, sure enough, there's a long list of resources. All you have to do is click on the link for whichever site takes your fancy, and type your library card number (it's on the back of mine, under the barcode) into the appropriate box on the site that appears. That's it.

In addition to the Oxford English Dictionary, the list includes the Newsbank archive of newspapers (which goes back several years), the Grove dictionary of music, the Dictionary of National Biography and the Encyclopaedia Britannica.

The list will vary between local authorities, as will the website to access it, but it should be located in the libraries section of the council's website. It might be under 'online library' or 'electronic resources' or something similar (usually a mixture of the words electronic, online, virtual, resources, reference and library).

Dig round and have a look - our only complaint is that some councils have made it quite hard to find the appropriate links (in fact, we couldn't find it at all on Birmingham's website). Otherwise, this is an excellent use of public funds (something that's not often said) and a spectacularly useful research tool.

Posted by Anthony Dhanendran on January 29, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

How many operating systems?!

A very interesting survey on The Code Project, How many operating systems do you have on your development machine?

Granted, these are developers, but it is interesting to see the number of people who are dual booting. Annoyingly there are no results of what people are using, whether it is dual booting between XP and Vista or whether Linux is sneaking in too.

I actually fall into the triple booting camp with XP, Vista and Ubuntu Linux. It's flexible but was quite tricky to set up so I'm loath to make any changes.

Here are the full results:

Number of OSes	Total votes	Percentage of total
1 only	1501	64.53%
Dual boot	543	23.34%
3	158	6.79%
4	43	1.85%
5 or more	80	3.44%

Posted by Tim Smith on January 29, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Dell's charity computers confirmed

Following our report earlier in the week, Dell and Microsoft have confirmed that they will be selling computers as part of the PRODUCT (RED) scheme.

Initially, four products are being made available in the US: One XPS desktop computer, two XPS notebooks and a multifunction printer. More details and specifications can be found on the rather flashy website.

Interestingly, it appears that the companies might be aware of those who have criticised (RED) for a perceived lack of transparency. According to the press release, "one hundred percent of the funds contributed" from the purchase of a Dell (RED) computer under the scheme goes to the Global Fund, the charity supported by PRODUCT (RED).

The amount of money contributed depends on the product purchased: $80 is donated for each desktop purchased, $50 for each notebook and $5 for each (relatively inexpensive) printer.

Sadly the scheme is not currently available in the UK - but, as we mentioned before, it's easy to make a donation to the Global Fund online. The press release promises that the scheme "will be available through Dell in nearly 30 additional countries" from the 31st of January.

UPDATE: Two Dell (RED) notebooks, the XPS M1330 and XPS M1530, will be available in the UK from the 31st of January, with £26 from each purchase going to the Global Fund.

Posted by Tom Royal on January 28, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Download: Magic SS

Not forgetting the many people using Windows on handheld computers, this download solves the problem of taking screen shots on these devices.

Unlike the desktop version, there is no tool for screen shots on Windows Mobile, it's not needed as often but there are still times when it would be very useful.

Enter Magic SS. It just does screen grabs but it is easy to use. Simply assign a hardware button to it and it will take grabs. It prompts for name and location so there is less chance of losing the images.

Posted by Tim Smith on January 28, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Microsoft says yes to Vista Home on Virtual Computers

Virtualisation is one of the big buzz words at the moment. It's a scary word for the idea of running a software computer inside Windows. There are plenty of advantages to this. You can undo changes to the virtual computer far more easily than your main copy of Windows so it is much safer when experimenting.

I've used Virtual PC for a long time, from before it was bought by Microsoft, who later released it without a fee. It's not got the best reputation of these programs but it works for my purposes and is a good way to try out software or risky hacks.

Despite the benefits, even for ordinary consumers, Microsoft has not allowed Vista Home Basic or Premium to be used with this kind of software. Until now that is.

Posted by Tim Smith on January 28, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Book Review: The CSS Anthology

If you've tried your hand at web editing the chances are good that the technology CSS has been mentioned. It is a technology used to format web pages and can be a little daunting to begin with.

This is one of the best books on Cascading Style Sheets CSS we have read for some time. It explains the theory clearly and is well formatted. It can often be hard to make sense of large code listings and so Rachel Andrew does a good job of keeping this brief and always to the point.

CSS was created because the basic language of web pages, HTML, was never really designed to handle fancy formatting. CSS can also be used to position parts of a document on a page. This can range for columns on web pages to quote boxes.

The book is full colour throughout, and while we don't want to sound swayed by pretty pictures, this makes it much easier to read. Code excerpts are in coloured boxes and of course CSS itself adds colour to web pages so it makes sense to show this properly.

CSS is a funny technology in that the basic idea is very simple. Define the formatting of different kinds of text (headings, links and body text for example) separately from the text itself. Changing the font of body text is simple but some of the more impressive layout effects are more complicated.

The CSS Anthology takes an effective approach of only dealing with one part of CSS at a time, keeping the learning curve, and the code excerpts to a manageable length.

By the end of the book, some fairly advanced tricks are being described but the progression is sufficiently that

This is an excellent book if you want to get started with CSS, or have started and am starting to feel a little lost. The language is clear and concise and the layout prevents the reader from getting lost in what can be a complicated topic.

Posted by Tim Smith on January 28, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Is KDE coming to Windows?

KDE is one of the desktop managers (for the sake of an easy life think theme) that has been available to Linux for many years. And now it looks like it might be made available for Windows.

Although it's the Linux desktop manager that looks the most like Windows, I think some choice would be a good thing overall. Some aspects of KDE, such as the new tabbed Start menu, look rather good. In addition it comes with it's own office suite. It's not quite as capable as the heavyweights of Microsoft Office or OpenOffice but it's much better than surviving with WordPad.

Posted by Tim Smith on January 24, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

More space for WordPress Bloggers

Automattic, the company that hosts WordPress blogs has announced that it is increasing the amount of storage space for free blogs from 50Mb to 3GB. That's more than some business hosting accounts.

More information on the WordPress website

Posted by Tim Smith on January 24, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Security problem with Firefox

News is coming in that there is an outstanding security vulnerability in Mozilla Firefox and it has been confirmed by Mozilla's Window Snyder's blog.

Mozilla has rated this as a low severity bug so it doesn't seem like there is any immediate need for panic. It also only applies if Firefox has had certain add-ons installed. Two quoted as vulnerable are Statusbar and Greasemonkey. The problem might allow an attacker to see what software is installed on a computer.

According to one of the comments, the extension NoScript can protect a computer. I've not confirmed this but it's certainly better than nothing. Alternatively you could use a different browser like Opera until the bug is fixed

Posted by Tim Smith on January 24, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Dell, Microsoft to see (RED)?

A posting on the official Windows Vista Team Blog suggests that that Dell and Microsoft will launch a product supporting Product (RED) later this week. It certainly sounds appealing:

"Wouldn't it be incredible if, through the simple act of choosing a PC, and at no extra cost to you, you could put someone living with AIDS in Africa on antiretroviral (ARV) treatment for more than six months?  Windows, Dell and (RED) are proud to introduce our (PRODUCT) RED products later this week."

Time will tell exactly what Microsoft and Dell have in mind, but it's not certain to please everyone. In fact, despite backing from enormous companies such as Apple, American Express and Gap, the scheme, notably supported by celebrity philanthropist, sunglasses aficionado and occasional singer Bono, has come in for some criticism.

Product (RED) licenses its brand to partner companies, in return for which the partners pledge a portion of the profits they make from (RED) products to the The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. However noble this cause may be, though, critics have alleged that the amount of money raised by the project could be less than that spent on marketing it.

In any case, there's no need for would-be philanthropists to wait for the Microsoft and Dell announcement: the Global Fund accepts donations online.

Posted by Tom Royal on January 24, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Game of the week: Coffee Shop

Here's an addictive little game of economics: Coffee Shop puts you behind the counter of a small street-side coffee kiosk. You have to buy coffee, cups, milk and sugar at the start of the day, and set both the recipe (how much milk, sugar and coffee you use) and the price per cup. Then start the day and watch the customers roll in (or, more often, walk straight past).

Posted by Anthony Dhanendran on January 22, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

All you ever needed for creating PDFs

PDF is an incredibly useful file format. Once a document is saved as a PDF its appearance is fixed, and the ability to embed fonts also keeps formatting just the way it should be. The Codswallop blog has a very useful list of over 50 different PDF utilities

Of course one snag of PDF is that the software from Adobe is very expensive. So much so that when I reviewed a scanner that was supplied with Adobe Acrobat, it was almost worth buying the scanner for the software alone!

Office 2007 was going to have been supplied with the ability to save documents as PDF but it was taken out when Microsoft felt that it couldn't meet the demands of Adobe. Instead the ability to export in PDF and XPS is available as a free download from the Microsoft Download site.

Posted by Tim Smith on January 22, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Old help won't work in Vista

 

My experience of getting older software to work on Vista has been pretty good for the most part. Granted Band in a Box 2005 is not that old but three years is a long time in software.

The problem that struck at the weekend was not that Band in a Box refused to work, but that I couldn't access the help file.

This was a deliberate decision by Microsoft, as explained in their KnowledgeBase article number 917607. The help software has been around since Windows 3.1 and hasn't had a major update. For some reason the article is silent as to exactly how long it's been since the last update. The 16bit version of the help viewer is still around.

There is a downloadable version of the help viewer (validation required) although the KnowledgeBase article suggests that this may leave the computer less secure than it was without it.

Posted by Tim Smith on January 22, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Windows Update extends it's reach

News from the Windows Update Product Team Blog that there are some more software families that will receive updates through Windows Update.

Silverlight is a browser plugin for Internet Explorer and Firefox,

 

 

and the Expression Studio programs are for web design and illustration.

 

 

The more the merrier as far as I'm concerned.

Posted by Tim Smith on January 22, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Quick Vista Tip: Selectively Disable Aero

A helpful tip from the How To Geek is an option in program settings for disabling Aero for particular programs.

There is an option in the Program Properties menu that tells Windows to disable Aero when a program starts. Of course, it already does this with some software but this may improve performance for gaming.

I've not found Aero to be a performance problem on my notebook, perhaps because the graphics card (an ATI X1600 is reasonably powerful) but if you're the type that wants to get the very best performance this is helpful. Or you could just disable Aero altogether.

Posted by Tim Smith on January 21, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Bypass Windows for a faster startup?

An article about starting work faster was sent to me the other day about using an alternative operating system to Windows called Splashtop

Splashtop is only available on certain motherboards because it is built into the BIOS, a special part of the computer that gets it started.

It's an interesting idea, and similar to the idea of using a very small and fast Linux distribution like Damn Small Linux. If there is more than 128MB of memory, DSL can run entirely in the memory without using the hard disk and is very fast.

The problem as I see it with this idea is that it only delays the inevitable loading of Windows. I can do a lot of my job online but there comes a point when using Windows is inevitable.

Now if it could offer a browser while Windows is loading, now that would be fantastic.

My solution is to hibernate at the end of the day rather than shut down. Recognising that Windows XP benefits from regular restarts, I restart at lunch time.

Posted by Tim Smith on January 21, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Fixing Office 2003 - Support for old formats

An interesting post from Darren Strange about a change to Office 2003 that has caused some anger from users.

Service Pack 3 blocks Office from opening some older files as they could pose a security risk. You can read the official blog post on David LeBlanc's Blog.

As I've said before, security never seems to be working unless it is being inconvenient. And this seems a prime example.

A fix is now available but it does involve editing the Registry. That's inconvenient for a home user but that could easily make one very unpopular with the Systems department in the office. I've been there and it's not a happy place.

Although some of the comments strike me as the usual 'Attack Microsoft without mercy' there is a very significant problem here, that of archiving old work.

Of course one solution to open the old files is to use OpenOffice instead. I often use OpenOffice when people send me files without an extension or I'm a little bit wary of what the file might contain.

But that still won't help with my very old Lotus AmiPro and WordPro documents from University. Like many people who left comments I have lots of documents in old formats. As well as the lotus documents above I have files in WordPerfect 5.1 and even Locoscript (anyone remember that?). A quick web search reveals that Kword can read AmiPro documents but do I really want to have to install a new operating system just to read some old documents?

On reflection I think I shall print them out. OCR software is so good these days, especially with printed documents with no fancy columns or box outs, that it'll be easier to import them when I need them. And of course I get to keep the remarks left by whoever was marking the essay. However much I may want to forget them.

Posted by Tim Smith on January 21, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

New version of PC Tools Spyware Doctor

A press release has dropped into my inbox about the release of Spyware Doctor 5.5

There are improvements all round from rootkit removal and improved kernel level protection to improved performance.

The Network Guard blocks unauthorised changes to networking settings in the Registry. The rating system has also been improved to give a better idea of the severity of a particular threat.

Existing Spyware Doctor users can upgrade for free and there is more information on the Spyware Doctor homepage.

Posted by Tim Smith on January 18, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

New version of AVG on the horizon

The second beta (test) version of AVG 8 has been released by Grisoft. The new software will be able to take advantage of dual core processors for better performance and will include extra protection from Exploit Prevention Labs.

This software checks web pages as they are downloaded, looking for anything malicious. It looks for behaviour rather than a signature so it will block malicious code even if the antivirus companies have not identified it. A standalone program for this is called LinkScanner, and the Lite version can be downloaded and used for free

If you want to take part in the Beta program, it can be downloaded after registration at http://beta.avg.com. I'd recommend that you don't do this with a critical computer, ie this is best left to a second computer or virtual machine.

Posted by Tim Smith on January 18, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Powertoys for OneNote 2007

A very useful list of powertoys for OneNote this (link courtesy of Darren Strange).

OneNote is a note taking program that is a relatively new addition to the Office stable. From what I've seen it really shines on Tablet PCs, though the closest I can manage is a notebook with a graphics tablet.

The most exciting part for me when I heard about OneNote was the ability to record a presentation and make notes that are timestamped to the audio. So all you need to write is "Do this item" and then it will jump to the right bit of audio. The only snag is having to bring the notebook to the meeting.

I can't believe I haven't used OneNote since I got my hands on Office. It seemed like a really useful program, especially for students. It will be interesting to see how it compares to using MindManager

Posted by Tim Smith on January 18, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Faster shutdowns

Small tip from Lifehacker for shutting Windows down quickly by using a command in the run dialogue box.

Click on the Start button and then Run (or press Windows key and R).

Type shutdown -f -t 0 and press enter

One very important warning. This forces all applications to close without any further warning. So there will be no chance to save changes in Word or other software that checks these things.

It may also be possible to run this with Launchy for an even faster shutdown.

Posted by Tim Smith on January 18, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Apple: turning a bug fix into a product announcement

Steve Jobs is a master of the technology presentation. His shows are always slick and always designed to show off Apple's latest innovations while playing down the things the company has missed. Our colleagues at PCW have already written about the Macbook Air (and Slate thinks it's an anti-climax too, because it lacks a 3G modem).

What interested us was a much smaller announcement that was packaged together with all the other iPhone news - it's now possible (after a firmware upgrade) to send text messages to multiple users at once. That's something that annoyed us about the phone when we reviewed it - it's something that Europeans take for granted, but Americans, whose mobile use is years behind ours, haven't cottoned on to.

So when Jobs made the announcement it was greeted by whooping from the crowd, both in San Francisco and where we were sat, in the BBC's White City Studio 1. What was essentially a bug fix - the absence of group text messaging in the original iPhone was an oversight, not a design decision - was spun by Apple into a sparkly new feature.

What was more surprising was that the crowd lapped it up. The company pulled the same trick with the iPod shuffle: the shuffle doesn't have a screen, so giving it the ability to play tracks at random was the only way to avoid infuriating its purchasers. The clever bit was making that the announcement - the shuffle feature became the defining characteristic and the player became very popular. It turned a negative design decision - to cut down the player and chop off its screen - into a positive one.

Apple's strongest suit has long been its design skills. The iPhone is a case in point: what makes it so impressive is not the technological innovation but the interface design, the fact that it's so user-friendly and so simple. And designing bux fixes so they look like new product announcements is a skill some other technology companies would do well to learn.

Posted by Anthony Dhanendran on January 18, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack

8inch, 16GB Eee PC by the end of June?

We were impressed by the first generation of the tiny, cheap Asus Eee PC notebook - you can read our full review here - but, in a meeting with Asus yesterday, the company gave a few details of what to expect from the next generation version.

The first new Eee products should come in February, with the original Eee design available in new colours - currently we've only seen it in black and white versions. Around the same time, in February or March, the first updated version with an 8GB flash memory disk should begin to appear for sale. Current models have just 4GB of storage, leaving around 2GB to use unless you add an SD card.

More interestingly, the first significantly different new model, with a larger 8 inch display, should be around before the end of Q2 - for those that don't speak geek, that's before the end of June. This model should be available with either 8GB of 16GB of storage space. Asus couldn't confirm prices, but we expect the cheaper version to come in at a price not far from the £220 being charged for the original model.

Posted by Tom Royal on January 17, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Service Pack 1 for Mindjet MindManager

Just in case the automatic update hasn't flagged this up, there is an important update for Mindjet MindManager.

Updates include solving problems with Vista and general improvements.

Installation should be simple as MindManager checks for updates when it starts. If this has not worked, click on Tools and then Updates. The download is 82MB.

In a wonderful display of using their own product, the Release Notes have been released as a mindmap. There is a text version if you want to see what all the fuss is about but don't have MindManager.

Although expensive, MindManager is the best mind mapping tool I have used and is a great way to improve productivity.

Posted by Tim Smith on January 17, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Video review: Samson G-Track USB Microphone

In a recent post I referred to a professional quality mic with a USB interface. I was lucky enough to get my hands on one of these just before Christmas, the Samson G-Track USB.

Installation is very simple; it is a standard USB sound device so no extra drivers are required for Windows and it can be used with any music software. I tried it with both Audacity and Magix Music Studio. The sound quality was very good, both from the mic itself and the extra instrument input. One point on the picture, the spider mounting isn't supplied in the box.

It also has a solution to the problem of latency. This is the delay between the computer receiving the audio signal and it being played back through the monitor speakers. Even though there is plenty that goes on in this time, it is very distracting. The G-Track headphone socket can be used to monitor both inputs as they are sent to the computer, so there is no latency at all.

If the recording is being made along to a backing track the G-Track can also work as a standard audio output device as well, although the problem of latency raises its ugly head again.

It's a little pricey at £130 but it would be hard to find a condenser mic and preamp for a similar price. For example the M-Audio Mobile Pre preamp is £120 on its own (still very good though)

You can find the video review here on Computeractive TV.

Posted by Tim Smith on January 16, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Mobile desk for mobile computers

Having a notebook might make you think that you are now free to  work wherever you choose but the reality is rather different.

Choosing a notebook with a reasonable screen area means taking a hit on weight, and probably heat too.

One solution is buy a lap rest such as the amps LapGard (video review here) but that only solves heat not weight, and the sofa has ergonomic problems of it's own.

The CI desk is an interesting alternative. On wheels and with plenty of storage it makes a convenient desk for those short on space.

The snag, the company behind this is based in Austria but hopefully it will appear over here soon.

Posted by Tim Smith on January 16, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Why I use Windows Media Player

Much like the browsers and operating systems, choosing a media player seems to be lifestyle choice. It can be a statement of style (iTunes), retro chic (Winamp), or laziness (Windows Media Player - at least in the view of its detractors).

I can now reveal why I use Windows Media Player, the media control keys on keyboards and the Toolbar view, which is very useful if I happen to be using a standard keyboard.

Without these I would probably choose Magix MP Maker or the free Music Manager, it plays just about every music format including AAC and Ogg, is simple to use and has links to loads of online radio stations.

But the frustration of not being able to pause and skip tracks with the media keys just keeps driving me back to Windows Media Player.

I did ask Magix about this once and they are working on it at the moment. I shall try and be patient.

In a slight aside in the battle of the operating systems, this has also been a problem with Linux, although Ubuntu Linux responded fine to my Logitech keyboard.

Posted by Tim Smith on January 16, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Game of the week: Portal

The 'real' version of Portal is included in Valve Software's Orange Box, the all-in-one edition of Half-Life 2. The idea is similar to that of a standard first-person shooter, with one big difference: in your inventory is a gun that can shoot 'portals' into walls. Shoot one portal somewhere and another somewhere else, and you can step through the first and out of the second.

The Flash edition of the game is much simpler (as are the graphics, for obvious reasons), but the principle is the same. It's reminiscent of old-school 1990s adventure games in many ways - especially Flashback, which were disappointed no-one has yet converted to Flash.

Posted by Anthony Dhanendran on January 15, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Microsoft calls back 10 years later

In what may be a record for call centres, Microsoft Tech Support called a chap ten years after his call to check all was working. Rather than just being very behind, the most likely reason is that the original contact made a typo and entered the year as 08 rather than 98.

Still, good on them for making the call, even 10 years late.

Posted by Tim Smith on January 15, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Microsoft Office for £40: the ultimate steal?

Looks like Microsoft can't get rid of copies of Office fast enough. Following on from our report last year that NHS workers can get Office Enterprise for just £17, the company has come up with The Ultimate Steal - a similar offer for students.

While Office has long been available to school, college and university students and teachers for around £100, it's now available in a 'Home and Student' edition for the same price to any user, regardless of whether or not they're studying or teaching. That's a pretty good deal, but if you are a student there's an even better one to be found at the Ultimate Steal site above.

That allows students to pick up Office Ultimate - which includes a lot more features than the Home edition - for just £38.95. The only catch is that you need to be an enrolled student with a .ac.uk email address (there's a list of qualifying colleges and universities on the site). The site says that the offer closes at the end of April.


Technorati Tags: Microsoft, office, students

Posted by Anthony Dhanendran on January 15, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Vista Drivers: US Robotics

A useful summary of which US Robotics products are supported in Vista can be found on their website.

Useful, but disappointing for me because there is no driver for my venerable USB wireless adapter.

Posted by Tim Smith on January 14, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Remote access with Windows Home Server

An interesting piece about an addon for Windows Home Server dropped into my news feeds this morning.

Webguide adds the ability to browse music, photos and video on your home server over the web.

The interface certainly looks very impressive, and much more attractive than my little Bubba server. This has a remote file manager but it doesn't display thumbnails, which is very annoying when trying to find a photo.

One thing that has often concerned me about using my home server in this way is tipping over the bandwidth limits on my broadband account. Thankfully I found it very easy to change my router to allow access from outside.

All that aside, it looks like a very cool idea. I really must get my hands on a Windows Home Server.

Posted by Tim Smith on January 14, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Using the Vista Administrator account

There is a very useful tip over on howtogeek.com for using the Administrator account, helpful when troubleshooting.

In fact, this should only be used when troubleshooting. It's a little like the root account in Linux, it removes a lot of protection so if you don't know what you're doing it's easy to make the problem worse.

The Administrator account is disabled by default for this reason but can be enabled with a quick command prompt command. Disabling is just as simple and, as there is no password set up by default, a good idea once you're done.

Posted by Tim Smith on January 11, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

A Vista Wow - The Recovery Environment

I was using the Windows Recovery Environment (RE) the other day, and I must say I was very impressed.

This is a special version of Windows Vista included on the DVD that can be used to fix problems when Windows does not start. You have to know it's there as you might think the Vista DVD is just for installation but it could get you out of a really tight spot.

The concept isn't new as Windows CDs have been able to perform some repair functions for some time. This could take the form of an install over the old one, repairing files but without losing programs or office documents.

Windows XP has the Recovery Console, like the command prompt but with a slightly more limited list of commands. It can be used to fix problems with boot order and the like.

The Vista RE is a lot more capable. It can run System Restore, always a good thing to try first when problems strike. If you forked out for Vista Ultimate it can also recover full backups. Booting problems can also be fixed automatically. This is a common problem when experimenting with Linux.

What really impressed me is that the RE can now run some Windows software. The example given in the Microsoft literature is notepad. This slight sells the upgrade short, although it still has it's place - repairing a damaged HOSTS file for example.

Some antivirus and antispyware software can run in the RE so you can hopefully remove any offending software.

The other wonderful thing about Vista RE is that it can detect and use USB keys and hard disks. So important documents can be copied off the computer in case the only solution is to wipe the hard disk.

It could be that this feature alone may help stop the advance of Linux. We often recommend using a Linux Live CD for recovering damaged system, or at least copying files. Sadly Windows Explorer does not work in Vista RE so Linux may still offer a friendlier interface until I find something that does.

More information can be found on the Window RE blog. It even has help for installing the Recovery Environment onto the computer from the DVD. But I wouldn't worry about that unless you regularly play around with Windows in a way that might break it.

All in all, an excellent upgrade.

Posted by Tim Smith on January 11, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

It just works - Windows that is

I don't want to go on at the expense of Mac (Oh, ok I do because the Mac adverts annoy me as much as Tom) but I had a similar experience with a friends Mac over the Christmas holidays. He was trying to play me a podcast he had recorded with his Christmas present, a Snowball mic.

He managed it but only after three attempts and one complete restart. I sat there trying not to harp on about it. It was tempting because it does irritate me when Mac fanboys do it at the slightest suggestion of problems with Windows.

In trying to maintain polite conversation I mentioned that I had read on the web that Leopard has been quite a buggy release and people are having problems. My friends response was to claim that it was no more so than Vista.

Sorry, my experience was completely different. The worst problem I had was that it took a little while to find sound drivers for my notebook and I was able to get sound by plugging in a USB sound device. And the problems I have had have been with third party software. The Mac software causing all the problems was GarageBand. That's an app created by Apple themselves.

For record, and I would really like to get this across to both Mac and Linux fans, the days of Windows spontaneously crashing because of one program failing or just having been left on too long are over. In fact, they ended over six years ago when Windows XP was launched.

I'm all for debating the relative benefits of different operating systems (and I like and use Linux regularly) but lets have a proper debate.

So I promise not to harp on about the need to edit obscure settings files in Linux with vim, but only on the understanding that this misinformation about Windows constantly crashing also stops.

Posted by Tim Smith on January 10, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Get extensions for OpenOffice

OpenOffice can install extra bits of software to add in functions that were not available, just like Firefox. The OpenOffice team has just launched a place to find extensions on the OpenOffice website. According to linux.com these include a bookmarking tool, better integration with Google Docs and a utility for using a mobile phone to control Impress presentations.

Posted by Tim Smith on January 9, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Security blog from Microsoft

There is a new addition to my blogroll today, Security Tips & Talk, from Microsoft. There is some good advice but that's not the only reason for subscribing. Reading blogs like this is a good way to stay reminded of the need to keep up to date with security. Not just software updates  but thinking before opening email attachments.

For a recent example, the top post tells of how the likely trend for cybercriminals in 2008 will be to do whatever it takes to make money. One example is electronic greeting card scams.

I got one of these from my mother of all people around Christmas, you don't get more of a trusted source than that! Taking a closer look it had a double file extension and that got the warning bells ringing. I decided to pass on whatever the contents were and also to take the (possibly risky!) path of being honest about ignoring the attachment.

Staying safe is about staying vigilant. I know that sounds trite but it's true. It's just like remembering to look before crossing the road.

Posted by Tim Smith on January 9, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

"It just works" - no it doesn't :(

As a long time Mac and Windows user, I find many of Apple's advertisements annoying. The most recent batch, in which the guy from the Daily Show and an insufferably smug sidekick (or the actors from Peep Show in the UK) impersonate Apple and Windows computers are annoying enough, but the bile they summon doesn't compare to the burning rage that I must attempt to quell every time I hear the slogan "It just works".

Because, of course, it just doesn't. It never does.

Apple computers, as all Mac users know, crash. I can't count the number of times I've watched Quark Xpress shudder to a halt in front of me, losing minutes or even hours of work, or the number of times I've listened to an old Mac make that hideously annoying "booooooonnnngg" sound as it, once again, decides to die and restart for no obvious reason. I used to have a bent paper clip blu-tacked to the wall, ready to restart my G3 iMac every time it decided that watching me squirm was more fun than Photoshop, and back in the days of OS9 I've sat wondering whether it would be possible to do something unkind to the "happy mac face" that smirks at you as the system restarts against your will for the ninth time that day. The keyboard shortcuts for "Force Quit" are etched into my brain at a subconscious level, just like Ctrl-Alt-Del for Windows PCs.

It's not just Apple computers, either. I've recently purchased an iPod Classic, and it's great - it swallowed up my 30GB music collection with ease, and synchronises the BBC FOOC podcast automatically. And, with some decent headphones, it sounds nice too. With 50GB of empty space to play with, though, I thought I'd copy some of my DVD collection on there for boring train and plane journeys. Sounds complicated, but after all, it should "just work", right?

In order to convert video for the iPod, Apple sells a bit of software called Quicktime Pro. Quicktime Pro costs £20, which isn't too bad, and I managed to register it in seconds. So far, so good. I open my new shiny copy of Quicktime Pro, select the video file, and am greeted with an error - Quicktime, Pro or otherwise, can't open Xvid files. Fortunately, there's a Quicktime Xvid component, and Quicktime can open the relevant website for me. Unfortunately, the component just doesn't work on Windows. Brilliant. £20 down the drain, and half an hour wasted.

It's almost enough to make you buy a Zune.

Almost.

Posted by Tom Royal on January 8, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Who do you trust?

There's a debate that occasionally flairs up on the Computeractive forum about getting Windows Updates from sources other than Microsoft. According to some of users there is an alternative site called Windizupdate.

Now the reason I haven't linked to this site is probably enough of a clue to where I stand on the matter.

My main objection is that I have absolutely no idea who 62NDS Solutions Ltd (the name at the bottom of the website) are. A little digging around reveals that they used a PO Box in Auckland, New Zealand to register the domain name. But that still doesn't give me any useful information for making an informed decision about whether they can be trusted. I'm not saying that they can't be trusted, just I have no reason to trust them with my computer.

What worries me the most is that no one in the forum thread could give me a good any reason for trusting Windiz Update over Microsoft Update.

My feeling is that if you are going to use Windows you should get updates from Microsoft. By the same principle, if you use Ubuntu Linux (as I do too), get the updates from Ubuntu. Or AVG updates from AVG, etc etc.

In fact mentioning Linux does throw up an interesting question. It is possible to update Linux software from sources other than the official wizard. But the Linux community makes a real effort to make sure that not only do you download the right update but that it is the file it claims to be. Microsoft doesn't provide this extra information, but why should they?

Enough of my ranting, what does everyone else think?

Posted by Tim Smith on January 7, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack

Problem with Windows Home Server

Microsoft has published a KnowledgeBase article warning of possible file corruption when editing files stored on a Windows Home Server.

The problem was first identified in late December just before the beginning of the Christmas holidays. As yet there is no information about a fix. The Windows Home Server Team Blog is probably a good place to watch for fix.

What worries me most is that one of the affected programs is the Vista Photo Gallery. The most valuable kind of file when talking with friends and family is family photos.

I've not used Home Server and while I'm prepared to give new software a chance, this is rather a worrying problem.

The list of software known to have problems with Home Server is:

•    Windows Vista Photo Gallery
•    Windows Live Photo Gallery
•    Microsoft Office OneNote 2007
•    Microsoft Office OneNote 2003
•    Microsoft Office Outlook 2007
•    Microsoft Money 2007
•    SyncToy 2.0 Beta

Posted by Tim Smith on January 4, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

The best free games of last year

What better way to ease into 2008 than with a few games? And if they're free, so much the better. Over at the Tigsource forums, they're rounding up the best freeware games from 2007, with screenshots and links. From simple quick games to free
rereleases of such classics as