My Windows 7 Experience

Seems that they have taken out the BS that was making Vista unique.
It still feels like Vista, but only slightly different.
If Vista came out with a patch, this is what you would basically end up with.
I find that Windows 7 64 bit to be almost identical to Vista with its hard to find stuff attitude, and its lack of innovation. But hey, I have only been beta testing it for about a hour now…

Speaking of “beta” here is the default screen after a fresh install.

Is Windows is trying to look like KDE…?

Sooner or later I think Microsoft is going to make their own version of Linux.

Oh, I forgot to mention, I am beta testing it on my laptop.
Size of Windows 7 after update(s) yes, they have them already…
And one NVIDIA video driver install. 14.7 GB.

Seems they are trying to hide the system functions running in the background, and making everything “auto-magical” for the end user.

Nine days later…

OK, here is my story as I am using Parted Magic right now on my laptop. I am finished with my beta testing of Windows 7.

I am partitioning my laptop to dual-boot Linux. The way it was before I was beta testing. I will be dual-booting openSUSE and CRUNCHBANG Linux.

I was going to beta test Windows 7 for two weeks, but I only lasted nine days. It did not end well.

Windows 7 is almost identical to Vista with slight improvements. If you know somebody using XP, tell them to wait until Windows 7 is out and bugs are fixed before upgrading. Or, just stay with XP… Especially if you are a gamer.
It took XP seven years of patching to make it as solid as it is now. Which is why Microsoft is having a hard time beating its own product.
I was going to try and stick it out for a solid two weeks with Windows 7, but I was not strong enough… I had a few issues that were very annoying…

It was a memory hog… it used anywhere from 32% – 39 % of my ram while IDLE!

Oh, I am sorry, I forgot to mention I have 3 GB ram on my laptop, so basically it takes 1 GB ram to sit….. and do nothing except its normal 45 background processes.
The CPU reserves were better than Vista’s, and during idle it would use no more than 03% CPU power, even with Vista I have seen it wander around up to 19% while idle.

The battery life was extended by about 30 minutes compared to Vista. It actually runs slightly cooler, and my battery lasted 1 hour 58 minutes, at idle.
This is with the screensaver off, and any power saving features off.
Vista 1 1/2 hours.
CRUNCHBANG Linux is still the winner for me for battery life, with 3 hours 55 minutes.

So the small issues which made me drop Windows 7, I am sure they will attempt to fix them before they release it.

My printer… which is connected to my desktop PC, running dual-boot Debian / XP is a printer server. All other PC’s can see and print from it, including XP, CRUNCHBANG Linux and openSUSE. Windows 7 did not see the printer on the network, but it did see the printer when I connected it directly to the laptop, BUT it still does not have a printer driver for it. So that was a big disappointment.

Oh, for more annoying issues which shortened my beta testing….

I started a backup function to see how well it worked, but I noticed I had no Cd’s to write to, so I canceled the back-up, and it continually kept asking for me to insert a blank CD about every 20 minutes to resume back-up.

Another HUGE issue… after a FRESH install of Windows 7 and a NVIDIA driver, it took up 14.4 GB of drive space.

14.4 GB is not a typo.

I did not even attempt a dual-boot, even though I was planning on it. But it was just slowly getting on my nerves. Yesterday… last day using it, even though I planned on 14 days, I only needed 5 more days.

Rewind back to the beginning… After the initial install and the nvidia driver install. Would you believe it already had updates available? and after updates 14.7 GB

OK, back to yesterday, last day…. there is a update available! it said it was for nvidia…. I downloaded the update, and received a error stating the update failed. I had two options [Retry] or [Cancel] I clicked [Retry], so it went through the entire process of downloading the update once again, and yet again I had a fail. I retried about 5 times….

I kept getting the updates are available, and please insert CD to resume backup… So, I decided to attempt a RESTORE back to the day I installed it.

The Restore said it went successful, I selected the very first restore point, before I installed the nvidia driver, and any updates. So, I went through the process of installing the nvidia driver once again, and then a reboot…. The screen resolution looked the same as before the driver install! I checked out the driver version installed, and it was not installed! So, there I was… upset at the fact that the video driver did not want to install, and the little reminder that popped up and told me to insert a CD to resume backup every 20 minutes…. That is when I ended my Windows 7 experience…

Yes, it started nice and all, but it reminded me of the OS airlines.

Good points?

• Wireless worked flawlessly for me
• Battery life has been extended slightly
• Windows 7 runs slightly cooler than Vista

Bad points

• Driver support
• Failed update
• Annoying pop-up reminder for something that was CANCELED

Microsoft’s Really Hidden Files

This little tutorial is to show others with Windows XP, how to locate the files Microsoft has gathered about you.

Before you begin:

Please ensure that you have done the following:
You are logged on as Administrator (or the first user created during setup)
You have set the XP theme to Classic (might work otherwise, didn’t test)

1. double click My Computer
2. double click your primary drive (i.e. C )
3. click Tools on the menu
4. select Folder Options
5. select View
6. make sure Show Hidden files and folders is Selected
7. Uncheck the box next to Hide protected operating system files(Recommended)
8. click Apply
9. Click OK
10. double click Documents and Settings
11. Double click desired User (you can do this for each individual user, each has their own cache)
12. Double click Local Settings
13. Double Click Temporary Internet Files
14. Highlight the Address in the Address bar, copy it, put it in a text editor (notepad)

This next part is a little tricky. You will need to open a Command prompt, click Start, Run, type Command, Press OK
You need to get dos to the same folder you browsed to, but in order to do that, you must Truncate the address so that Dos can understand it. For example, if my nick was pothead, it would look like this:
C:\Docume~1\pothead\LocalS~1\Tempor~1
or if it were winbitazz it would look like this:
C:\Docume~1\winbit~1\LocalS~1\Tempor~1
Anything over 8 chars is truncated with a ~1, (this of course means that anything over 8 chars will have the first six chars showing followed by a ‘~1′ makeing up 8 chars, for example georgecarlin.txt would be truncated to george~1.txt> Its called 8.3 filenameing system.) you may have to play with it a few minutes as not all systems and usernames are the same, sorry

15. Type: Edit desktop.ini
16. Once desktop.ini opens, push the down arrow once, putting your cursor on the second line. Put a minus sign at the beginning of this line. Also add a minus sign immediately after the =
17. Click File, Save
18. Click back to your Windows Explorer
19. Hit the Back button
20. double click Temporary Internet Files (Yes I know, you were just there)
21. A new folder should have appeared, Content.IE5. double click it
22. Explore all the files, and see what Microsoft has been collecting about you

Scary, is it not?

Alien Arena new release

COR Entertainment announces the latest release of it’s freeware, open sourced FPS shooter, Alien Arena 2008!

Version 7.20 features a host of improvements, optimizations, and new features such as the implementation of per-pixel GLSL effects including parallax, normal and specular mapping/highliting, occlusion culling of entities, shader performance boosts, new and improved weapon/event effects, and much more. The end result is a game that not only looks great, but also runs considerably faster than previous releases.

On the gameplay aspect, a brand new reward system has been implemented, allowing players to choose from three powerups when reaching a certain achievement total. Weapons have received further balancing, powerup effects made more smooth, and various bugs have been squashed. Several brand new levels have been added, as well as player skins that improve visibility and an HUD based weapon inventory.

View the extensive changelog here – http://icculus.org/alienarena/changelogs/7.20.txt

For more information and to download the game please visit http://red.planetarena.org

Satan: Sell Your Soul To Me, Not Microsoft

Fake news written by James Baughn @ Humorix

from the where-do-you-want-to-go-today? dept.

HADES — Faced with growing competition from Microsoft in the lucrative soul-buying market, the Prince of Darkness today unveiled a new advertising campaign hoping to lure in more customers and turn the tables on Bill Gates.

“The Novell-Microsoft deal was the final straw,” Satan said during a press conference at his underground lair. “Novell should have sold their souls to me, not Microsoft. I can offer much greater rewards than some phony-baloney we-promise-not-to-sue covenant. Just look at The SCO Group: they sold their souls to Microsoft and what do they have to show for it now?”

The last few years have been very tough for Satan. “When I look at all of the suckers that have partnered with Microsoft, only to be stabbed in the back repeatedly, I can only shrug my horns,” he lamented. “Those should be *my* customers! Between Microsoft and the Republican Party, the competition is eating me alive!”

During the last three quarters, earnings for Hades have plummeted 45%, causing one stock analyst to downgrade Hades (ticker symbol: HELL) from “Strong Buy” to “Exorcise From Your Portfolio Immediately.” The added competition from Microsoft and others has caused the futures market for souls to skyrocket, cutting profit margins severely for Hades.

“Fire and brimstone ain’t cheap,” Satan growled. “I need cheap souls to perform the grunt work that keeps this place going.”

Nevertheless, the Prince of Darkness hopes that the situation will improve thanks to an advertising blitz highlighting the advantages of selling out.

“Need cash now?” asks one TV commercial. “Don’t mess with high-interest loans… we’ve got the solution to your money problems right here. In just fifteen minutes and with your signature in blood, you can have all of the money you need!”

Another spot proclaims, “You only have one soul — sell it wisely. There’s a reason The Devil has been the market leader for the last two millennia. We offer much better rewards than the competition. Don’t delay, call Hades today! Minions are standing by.”

Industry observers expressed mixed reactions at the news. “I’m glad that we’re seeing such viable competition,” said an analyst for the Blartner Group. “For centuries, mortals have faced the unpleasant challenge of trying to sell their souls in a buyer’s market. All of that has changed now that Satan no longer has a stranglehold.”

However, a rival pundit said, “This is terrible. It’s bad enough that Satan represents pure evil, but now we have a corporation that is even worse! When will the insanity end?”

A slave… er, spokesperson for Microsoft was unavailable for comment at press time.

Microsoft Anonymous: The 12 Steps

Microsoft Anonymous: The 12 Steps

By Debra Ricketts and Claire Wolfe
Originally published by Sierra Times
A terrible addiction grips the world. It invades the most respectable middle-class homes and offices. It causes untold havoc. Yet, in this era when enlightened people understand that even coffee drinking (“caffeine use disorder”) can be a serious disability, this addiction goes unrecognized and untreated. We speak of Microsoft addiction — a dependency that costs its victims billions, first to buy the products to feed their habits, then in damage done by opportunistic viruses that prey on MS-weakened systems. What is Microsoft addiction? It is hopeless dependence on a computer operating system that is more insecure than a junkie in a room full of narcs and more expensive than a hit of heroin. In the end, this addiction strips its users of all privacy and independence. This operating system is controlled by a ruthless multinational software cartel. Once you’re caught in their .net like a drowning dolphin, Microsoft pushers know they can hook you on even more expensive software. Soon, you’re mainlining the hard stuff … stuff like the infamous M$ Office XP — a program that not only costs more than XTC or cocaine, but reports your activities to your pusher, and demands that you get permission to “reactivate” the software simply because you dare to make changes in your system.

The M$ message: We own your computer. We own you. And your little dog, too.

Until now, the future has looked bleak for the ordinary victim hooked on Microsoft. But today, thousands are breaking free — and so can you! — thanks to the 12-step program of Microsoft Anonymous.

Follow these steps and, though you may never be fully cured of Microsoft addiction, you will walk the road of recovery.