Macworld 2008 & windows seven.
So I tuned into macworld the other day, when i say I tuned in, i mean i just kept the macrumours live page open to watch the updates lol. pictures were cool too, ars had some too, but that crashed out quite often, probably because of the huge amount of users online. so i wont bore you with all the talk that jobs likes to do :p there was supposed to be a stream somewhere but i couldnt get it to work/load.
so heres a 60 second overview 
http://www.mahalo.com/The_Steve_Jobs_90_Minute_Keynote_in_60_Seconds
I think the new macbook is the sexiest thing EVER. (except for maybe the cute girl next door) but the price and limitations on it are so crappy that I can see only mac fanboys buying one.
for $3000 (yes thats £1500) you get a fixed non replacable battery, non upgradable 2GB of ram, a most-likely short lived HDD since its solid state, and the lack of an optical drive.
the pros being, its very fast, very small, and very good looking.
Its a shame this thing has more cons than pro’s.
I think the new airport thing with the hard drive is just an over priced NAS & combined router/switch type thing.
I have recently been thinking such a device would be useful. but i think id get more use out of a home built WHS. (which this just seems to be an expensive copy of).
I think the online movie rental thing is quite good, the only limiting thing with that is the download time, i guess the watch times are reasonable, you get around 30 days to watch it after you’ve downloaded it.
probably not very useful for people on dial-up as it would take longer than 30 days to download lol.
I lol’d at the fact that itouch users will have to pay $20 to upgrade too.
Ive always wanted to play with an apple TV simply because i wanted to find out how it works, it doesnt seem to have taken off very well.
There was no “one more thing” either, also i have no idea who randy newman is, but im betting he has a lot more results on google now lol. so that was pretty much it from macworld.
Apparently there is a build of windows 7 (a.k.a Vienna) floating around somewhere.
more info about windows 7: (for the uninformed) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_7
a copy of M1 has been shipped to microsoft partners:
[quote]The current M1 drop is available to Microsoft partners in English only and has shipped in x86 and x64 versions. An interesting feature that has been highlighted by Microsoft is the ability of the M1 software to handle a heterogeneous graphics system consisting of multiple graphics cards from different vendors. A new version of the Media center is already integrated in this software, but supports PC speakers only at this time.[/quote]
http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/35641/118/
When i manage to get some screens of this, i may post them in teh gallery >.>
CES also happened this week but for some reason i didnt pay much attention to it, the only real big thing that came out in the news about it was when gizmodo managed to piss off 90% of the community by playing pranks and turning off TV’s etc. personally i’d agree that it did seem a bit childish tbh.
in unrelated news, the downloads section is still empty, mostly because i dont really have anything to put in it. I dont really make things lol. I guess i could use it to mirror popular file but usually those files require lots of space and bandwidth, which i dont have a lot of. lol. nevermind :p
x
Tags: 2008, ads, ce, drive, hard drive, job, microsoft, mirror, ms, pe, post, software, space, support, tv, update, updates, upgrade, windows
Support Autopatcher
Sep 3, 2007 Tech
Recently a app called autopatcher which contains current windows patches for patching offline windows installations was ‘terminated’ by Microsoft.
This is after 4 years of the app being in existence which is a bit odd tbh. Microsoft have said its not to do with WGA concerns, which is probably true because WGA is installed with autopatcher patches anyway.
my personal opinion is Microsoft is closing the project down now as they are creating thier own similar services (the windows update catalog) also with the first vista service pack on the horizon, they will want to restrict the ways users get the patches ensuring they go through a correct Microsoft channel to authenticate their windows installation.
the official reason from Microsoft is that they dont want the possibility of malicious code being installed alongside thier patches.
while microsoft have every right and concern to do this, it still pisses off a lot of people who used it.
more info on the subject can be found at these links:
the official “its closed down thread” at neowin. http://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=584427
the official “its closed down story” at autopatcher.com
http://www.autopatcher.com/134#comment-3702
one user took it upon himself to form a one man protest outside a Microsoft campus:
http://www.neowin.net/index.php?act=view&id=42304
Microsoft remains silent over autopatcher:
http://www.neowin.net/index.php?act=view&id=42295
for those interested, the C&D email received from Microsoft:
http://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=584427&view=findpost&p=588813856
register your protest by contacting Microsoft here:
https://support.microsoft.com/common/survey.aspx?scid=sw;en-gb;1348&showpage=1&WS=mscomukform1
letters others have written to Microsoft on the issue:
http://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=584427&view=findpost&p=588814393
http://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=584427&view=findpost&p=588814439
more ways to contact Microsoft:
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/PR_Contacts.mspx
the story on digg:
http://digg.com/microsoft/Microsoft_Ceases_AutoPatcher_Project
cnet’s opinion:
http://news.com.com/Patch+service+shuts+after+Microsoft+request/2100-7350_3-6205191.html
the inquirer’s opinion:
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=42008
the online petition to save autopatcher:
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/SaveAutoPatcher/signatures.html
lunarsofts opinion:
http://lunarsoft.net/news-324.html
the register’s opinion:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/08/30/autopatcher/
the story at PC pro:
http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/news_story.php?id=123635
the story at slashdot:
http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/08/29/1917221
the story at tech spot:
http://www.techspot.com/news/26809-microsoft-shuts-autopatcher-down.html
the story at search security – aus.
http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com.au/topics/article.asp?DocID=1270060
Atomic – Aus.
http://www.atomicmpc.com.au/forums.asp?s=2&c=21&t=1796
As you can see the news has reached the far corners of the web, from australia to the UK and the US.
If you still want to download autopatcher or its updates you can still use this mirror:
http://windowsedge.com/Mirror/AutoPatcher/Autopatcher-XP.html
Also here are some alternatives to autopatcher:
DIY Service packs:
http://www.heise-security.co.uk/articles/80682
Get all the security updates in one .ISO file from Microsoft for august:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=E4DCC3E7-36BD-4C6F-A8B6-421CB8902EAA&displaylang=en
(unfortunately this contains updates for every version of windows so the file size is huge.)
windows updates downloader:
http://wud.jcarle.com
at the moment there is no news on weather autopatcher will survive.
Support auto patcher by displaying this image on your web site. (or create your own)
Thanks goes out to all those on the autopatcher team and everyone that made it possible 
Tags: autopatcher, beta, neowin, site, support, Tech, updates, windows
Vista news & Site updates, etc..
Sep 3, 2006 Other, Site News, Tech
Well its been a busy week in the vista camp, Pre RC1 was released a week or so ago, and was restricted to 100,000 downloads, although im not sure that was a problem in the end because i dont think that many people downloaded it, ive added some screenshots of it in the galleries anyways.. also a few days ago, RC1 itself was released on connect, so im just waiting for a publicly available download, which should be monday or tuesday, there was so short a time in between the two releases i wonder why i downloaded it really 
lucky i didnt burn it to disc, there are two different versions of this build, an x86 build for 32bit processors, this will probably be the most commonly downloaded when its available, then theres the x64 version for 64bit processors which has a restriction on intalling unsigned drivers, (i believe you have to do it in safe mode) and with there not being many x64 signed drivers available, its probably wiser to wait for more drivers to be released / signed. the ISO info is as follows
x86
vista_5600.16384.060829-2230_x86fre_client-LR1CFRE_EN_DVD.iso
x64
vista_5600.16384.060829-2230_x64fre_client-LR1CxFRE_EN_DVD.iso
Beta testers on connect can download it from here: https://connect.microsoft.com/windows/Downloads/DownloadDetails.aspx?DownloadID=2887
Screenshots of RC1 will follow shortly.
I was going to write about the apple rumours i heard the other day about a new iPod and new Mac, but thats old news now and probably not true since ive not heard anymore about it. maybe apple are just getting better at damage control :p Although i did read they secretly upgraded thier mac minis which is cool.
As i mentioned earlier ive added a few pre rc1 shots to the galleries, theyre not very big pics though, sorry about that ive also added ome new babe galleries which ive had on my hard drive for a while and jut havent uploaded until now, well, a few days ago.
Hmm what else..
sorry for any typos and letters missing, this damn keybaord is annoying, its been doing it all night >.< and this wordpress thing is annoying too, it just wont use the WYSIWYG editor, no matter what i try grr, so sorry about the layout...anyways i'll probably uh, upgrade soon >.>
plus, might have a new default theme soon 
P
I met a cute girl last night at a party, unfortunatly shes married and has a kid lol, although she only looked about 23, she had a really nice, persona.. well, whatever, i was going to say personality, but that sounds way to cliche these days. heh.
Also happy birthday to my lil sis xx
edit: forgot to say the downloads section is under construction too…
Site updates, Office 2007 Screenshots, Microsoft origami, NASA finds life in space….possibly
Ooooh site updates….ive added pics of the latest vista build (5308) to the galleries, also shots of 5270 because i was supposed to upload those a while ago, but i must have forgot..also added a few new pics to the babe galleries, a few new ones to the funny pics galleries, not many, but i found them on my hdd while i was clearing up, thats about it really, one thing i do need to do is get a posts permission plugin for wordpress.
Next up, Microsoft office 2007 screenshots!, this is only a beta refresh mind, so there arnt many.
The update will ship to 10,000 beta participants in the private Beta Place testing zone next week. It’s expected that the refresh will sport more UI enhancements and much more stability than the previous Beta 1 release last year. Microsoft is expected to release Office 2007 Beta 2 in Spring with a full retail release expected before year end.
Source: neowin.net
Also having being hyped all week, microsofts new project, “origami” was revealed this week..
Microsoft Corp. finally took the wraps off its mysterious Project Origami on Thursday, unveiling a computer that’s about the size of a large paperback book but runs a full version of the Windows XP operating system.
The ultracompact, wireless-enabled PC is everything a full computer or laptop is, minus the keyboard. Weighing about 2 1/2 pounds, the 1-inch thick device sports a 7-inch touch-sensitive screen that responds to a stylus or the tap of a finger.
Also this week NASA has a “big annoucement”, supposedly relating to finding life in space..
NASA is planning to make a huge announcement today, about possible life in our own solar system.
Exact details of what we can expect to hear have not been released. We do know that evidence has been found that could point to life relatively close to the earth.
Official word is expected this afternoon at 2 p.m. We’ll have complete coverage of today’s big news when it is released. Tune to News 13 for the complete story.
Source (Currently down due to heavy server load / maintenance.. )
Tags: beta, computer, funny, life, site, Tech, updates, windows, wordpress
Windows Vista – The Next-gen OS
Jul 25, 2005 Tech
Windows Vista – The Next-gen OS
The new Windows will be called Windows Vista. From now on the name Longhorn will not be used by Microsoft anymore, but it’s possible that you’ll encounter the name Longhorn in the two upcoming beta’s.
This article contains information about how Windows Vista will handle 2D and 3D graphics and information about Vista’s new features.
Vista uses the Windows Graphics Foundation, or WGF. WGF 1.0 will use DirectX 9.0c as its primary interface, but Vista will also have the Next-Gen 3D API build in. You can see it as DirectX 10, but it’s officially called WGF 2.0.
One of the important features of WGF is the Longhorn Display Driver Model (LDDM). It is possible with LDDM to install a new graphics driver without even rebooting your system. LDDM will ship in two stages. The first, called basic, supports current generation graphics hardware: shader model 2.0 and 3.0 capable hardware. The second stage of LDDM, advanced, will support hardware features that ship at the same time or after Vista is released, but will work with the new features in WGF 2.0. Because of the competitive way of graphics hardware development, we’ll probably see advanced LDDM capable hardware before Vista is released. The current Windows XP driver model is still supported, but will be frozen going forward. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: beta, computer, rant, software, Tech, updates, video, windows