Migrate Browser Favorites

Friendly Computers would like to show you how to migrate your browser favorites.

This depends on which browser you're using. I'll give directions for the current versions of Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Chrome.

Internet Explorer:
This is a simple matter of moving the contents of your Favorites folder from one computer to another. It's best to do this with IE closed.

In the old computer, create a new folder, either inside a shared folder (one that can be accessed by other computers on the network), or on an external drive (such as a flash drive). I'll call that folder Transport, although you can give it another name. Open the Transport folder.

Next, select Start (Start, then Run in XP), type favorites, then press ENTER. This opens your Favorites folder. Press CTRL-A to select everything in it, and drag it all to the Transport folder. If you're asked if you want to do something, you do.

On the new computer, open the Transport folder (which will require you to either access the network or plug in the external drive). Then open the Favorites folder as described above. Drag everything from Transport to Favorites.

Firefox:
On the old computer, launch Firefox and select Bookmarks, then Organize Bookmarks. In the resulting
Library window, select Import and Backup, then Export HTML. Save the file to a shared folder or an external drive (such as a flash drive).

On the new computer, gain access to the HTML file you just created by logging onto the network or plugging in the external drive. Then, in Firefox, once again select Bookmarks, then Organize Bookmarks. Select Import HTML and follow the wizard.

Chrome:
On the old computer, in Chrome, click the Tools icon (it looks like a wrench) and select Bookmark manager. Once in the Bookmarks Manager, select Tools, then Export bookmarks. Save the file to a shared folder or an external drive (such as a flash drive).

On the new computer, gain access to the HTML file you just created by logging onto the network or plugging in the external drive. Click the Tools icon and select Bookmark manager. Once there, select Tools, then Import bookmarks. It's all pretty obvious from there.

Source: http://www.pcworld.com/article/184460/migrate_browser_favorites.html

Bring Your Middle Mouse Button to Life

Friendly Computers found this article very useful and would like to share it with you.

Take a close look at your mouse. Chances are good it has at least three buttons: left, right, and middle. (Note: Your middle button might be your scroll wheel, which on most mice is clickable.) Why would I want to do that? Well, I just took an informal poll of about ten people, and guess how many of them actually use that middle button? A grand total of one. One! People, people, people...

Close Browser Tabs Quickly

First up: browser tabs. I routinely have 10-15 tabs open in my browser at any given time. If I want to close a tab, I have to click it, then click the little X that appears on the tab. That's one more click than I prefer, and it brings into focus a tab I'm planning to close. Crazy, right?

If you middle-click any tab in Mozilla Firefox, Opera, or Microsoft Internet Explorer, boom, it's gone. No need to make it visible first; no need to reach for the X. Just middle-click, boom.

Open Links in New Tabs

When you middle-click a link in Google Chrome, Firefox, Opera, or Internet Explorer, that link opens immediately in a new tab.

Incidentally, you can accomplish the same thing by holding down the Ctrl key and left-clicking a link. But why bother with that when you can just as easily click the middle mouse button?

Open All Your Oft-Used Sites

Let's say that you use Firefox or Internet Explorer and you've organized a handful of favorite sites--you know, the ones you visit daily--into a folder. Smart move.

Here's an even smarter one: You can instantly open every link in a folder, each in its own tab, by middle-clicking that folder.

This works regardless of where the folder is located: your bookmarks toolbar, your navigation toolbar, even a pull-down menu. One middle-click of a folder and presto: every link therein opens in a new tab.

Scroll In Your Docs

Have you ever wondered what happens when you click and hold the middle mouse button? Glad you asked. This action activates a handy page-scrolling option in applications like Microsoft Word and Excel, Adobe Reader, Firefox, and Internet Explorer.

In other words, when you click and hold the middle mouse button, you can then drag your mouse forward or back to scroll up or down the page, respectively. This feature is intended for folks who don't have a scroll wheel, but it works just as well with scroll wheels--and I know many people who prefer the speed of middle-click scrolling to the slow, steady pace of wheel scrolling.

Customize Your Scroll Speed

After the mouse itself, the mouse wheel is the single greatest navigation tool ever invented. Mine is spinning constantly, especially in Firefox, where I use it to zip up and down Web pages.

By default, however, one "turn" of the mouse wheel scrolls only a few lines at a time--and I want to move faster. Fortunately, there's a fairly easy way to adjust Firefox's scroll speed. Even better, there's a keyboard shortcut that can slow it down again for "precision" scrolling.

Here's how to change the default scroll speed:

1. Open Firefox, then type about:config in the address bar and hit Enter.
2. In the Filter box, type mousewheel.withnokey.
3. Right-click mousewheel.withnokey.sysnumlines and then click Toggle. This should set the value to False.
4. Right-click mousewheel.withnokey.numlines and then click Modify. Bump the value to 6 or so, click OK, and then switch to another tab to see if you like the scroll speed. (Thankfully, you don't have to restart Firefox every time you make a change.) If not, experiment a bit until you find a number you like.

Source: http://www.pcworld.com/article/185288/bring_your_middle_mouse_button_to_life.html

64-bit vs. 32-bit Operating Systems

Friendly Computers would like to help you with a hard choice between 64-bit and 32-bit operating systems.

You're probably aware that 64-bit and 32-bit versions of your operating system exist, but apart from ascribing to a bigger-is-better philosophy, you may have no idea what separates the two. The question: Should you use a 64-bit version of Windows, and why?

More and more frequently, users are installing the 64-bit version of their operating system of choice over the less capable 32-bit version. But most people don't really have a full understanding of what the difference really is. Below, we're taking a look at the most important differences so you can better understand what you gain (and potentially lose) if you upgrade to the 64-bit version of your OS. (The post focuses on Windows.)

We've already explained whether you really need 4 GB of RAM, a question that touches on the 64-bit issue, but now let's tackle it in more detail.

Which Version Do I Have?

To figure out which version of Windows you are running, just head into the System properties in Control Panel, or you can take the easy route and right-click on your Computer icon in the start menu or desktop, and choose Properties from the menu. Windows 7 or Vista users will be able to check the System type in the list, while the few XP users with 64-bit will see it on the dialog.Keep in mind that your CPU must support 64-bit in order to be running a 64-bit operating system—if you're running a modern CPU you should be fine, but some of the budget PCs don't include a 64-bit processor.

Does 32-bit Really Have a Memory Limit?

In any 32-bit operating system, you are limited to 4096 MB of RAM simply because the size of a 32-bit value will not allow any more. On a 32-bit system, each process is given 4 GB of virtual memory to play with, which is separated into 2 GB of user space that the application can actually use at a time.

Savvy readers might point out that modern chips support PAE, a processor technology that allows the operating system to use a little bit more memory—up to 64 GB, but it also requires special application support that most applications don't have or necessarily need.

A common misconception is that this is a Windows-specific problem, when in fact 32-bit Linux and Mac OS X have the same limitations and the same workarounds. 32-bit Linux uses a mapping table to allow access to the extra memory, and OS X Snow Leopard actually ships by default with a 32-bit kernel that can't access all the memory on older systems, even though most of the rest of the OS runs 64-bit processes.

The 4 GB limit for Windows, at least, is also a factor of licensing—the home versions of 32-bit Windows, while technically being able to support PAE, have a hard limit of 4 GB for licensing and driver compatibility reasons.

More Problems with 32-Bit

Not only does 32-bit have a hard limit for the amount of memory it can address, there's also another problem: your devices, like your video card and motherboard BIOS take up room in that same 4 GB space, which means the underlying operating system gets access to even less of your RAM. Windows expert Mark Russinovich found that a desktop running 32-bit Windows with 4 GB of RAM and two 1 GB video cards only had 2.2 GB of RAM available for the operating system—so the bigger and better your video cards get, the less of that 4 GB will be accessible on a 32-bit system.

What's Different About 64-Bit?

While 32 bits of information can only access 4 GB of RAM, a 64-bit machine can access 17.2 BILLION gigabytes of system memory, banishing any limits far into the future. This also means that your video cards and other devices will not be stealing usable memory space from the operating system. Windows 64-bit Home editions are still limited to 16 GB of RAM for licensing reasons, but the Professional and Ultimate versions can use up to 192 GB of RAM, so keep that in mind when building that killer system.

The per-process limit is also greatly increased—on 64-bit Windows, instead of a 2 GB limit, each application has access to 8 TB of virtual memory without any special API, a huge factor when you consider applications like video editing or virtual machines that may need to use enormous amounts of RAM.

On Windows, the 64-bit versions also come with a technology to prevent hijacking the kernel, support for hardware-enabled data execution protection, and mandatory digitally signed 64-bit device drivers. You also won't be able to use your 16-bit apps anymore, which hardly seems like a loss.

Do 32-bit Applications Work on 64-Bit?

The vast majority of your 32-bit applications will continue to work just fine on 64-bit Windows, which includes a compatibility layer called WoW64, which actually switches the processor back and forth between 32-bit and 64-bit modes depending on which thread needs to execute—making 32-bit software run smoothly even in the 64-bit environment.

There are some exceptions to that rule, however: 32-bit device drivers and low-level system applications like Antivirus, shell extensions that plug into Windows, and some media applications simply won't work without a 64-bit equivalent.

In practice, the vast majority of your favorite applications will either continue to work, or provide a 64-bit version you can use instead—but you should check to make sure.

Does 64-Bit Use Double the RAM?

A common misconception about 64-bit Windows is the amount of RAM that is actually used—some people seem to think it will use double the RAM, while others incorrectly assume a 64-bit system will be twice as fast as 32-bit.

While it's true that 64-bit processes will take a little extra memory, that is a result of the memory pointers being a little bigger to address the larger amount of RAM, and not an actual double in size. Imagine, if you will, an ancient library filing system that has a card to tell you where to find the book in the library—if you got a bigger box to hold the cards, the library would not double in size, you'd just be able to find the book you were looking for more easily.

What will increase with 64-bit Windows is the amount of drive space needed for the operating system—with a compatibility layer in place, the base OS will take up a few extra GBs of space, though with today's massive hard drives that should hardly be a concern.

The Bottom Line, Which Should I Use?

If you are ordering a new PC with 4 GB or more of RAM, you should probably be running a 64-bit version of Windows so you can use all of the available memory, especially if you want a rig with a large video card—just keep in mind that the Home versions only support 16 GB of RAM (for most people a 16GB limit won't be a problem, but it's worth keeping in mind).

If you're running Mac OS X, you don't need to worry about 32-bit vs 64-bit, and if you're running Linux, you probably know this stuff already.

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5431284/the-lifehacker-guide-to-the-64+bit-vs-32+bit-operating-systems

How To Make Your PC and Mac Share Stuff Like Best Friends

Friendly Computers would like to help you to make your PC and Mac share stuff.

What You Need

• A Windows PC
• A Mac
• A router to connect them

So, assuming that your PC and Mac are both sitting comfortably on your network, wirelessly or otherwise, there are a couple of different ways for the various machines on your network to talk to each other and share files.

• SMB (Server Message Block) aka CIFS (Common Internet File System) is Windows' preferred network file sharing protocol, and luckily, Macs speak it, so this how your computers will most likely be talking and sharing stuff. Vista and Windows 7 use SMB 2.0, which is more faster for file transfers.

• FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is one you know and love, if you've ever spent any time on the internet. It's one option for sharing stuff between your Mac and PC.

• NFS (Network File System) is the protocol Unix-based systems like to use for sharing files, which both Windows and Macs can understand. A lot of NASes use it.

Things That Will Help

My goal here is to show you how to share files between your PC and Mac easily, and for the most part, without worrying about things like IP addresses or your router's settings. But! If you want to make troubleshooting easier—this kind of networking is more voodoo than science—there are a few things you could stand to know and do beforehand.

1. Know your router. Or really, know how to get into it. For most routers, punching the number soup 192.168.1.1 (Linksys, for instance) or 192.168.0.1 (D-Link, for example) into your web browser will take you to the router's settings, where you can fiddle with things (which you hopefully already did to protect your network).

2. Make everything static. If you take your computer on and off the network a lot, odds are, your router isn't going give it the same IP address every the computer jumps back on, because it hands those addresses out dynamically (you might recognize this as DHCP in action, if you're wondering what that acronym refers to). For consistency's sake, it's not a bad idea to assign your computers static IP addresses on the network, so they'll always have the same address—I at least give my desktop PC and Xbox static IP addresses—just in case something else is broken.

Look in the router settings for a reference to DHCP reservations or static DHCP, which is most likely under the general settings tab. Hit that up, like so, and you should see a list of computers on your network, along with their MAC addresses (an ID tied to the actual networking card in your computer) and currently assigned IP address (something like 192.168.1.102). If your computer's already connected to the network and listed here, it's real easy to give it an unwavering address on your network, a matter of a couple checkboxes.

If, for some reason, your computer's not on the network and you want to give it a static address, like 192.168.0.104, you're going to need to know its MAC address. On a Mac, just open the Network Utility app and select AirPort—it's the "hardware address." In Windows Vista and 7, go to Network & Sharing Center, and tap view status link next to your connection. Hit "details" in the pop up box and note the "physical address." On XP, bring your network connections, double click the one you want, flip to the "support" tab, and hit details. It's the physical address. Now that you have the MAC address for your computers, you can assign a set IP address to each one, that it'll have every single time it's on the network, which is a handy list to have.

Getting Ready

Okay, let's get our machines ready. We'll start with the Mac, 'cause it's a little easier.

Mac
1. Setup a user account for sharing, either under Accounts or Sharing -> File Sharing in System Preferences. (Unless you just want to log in from Windows using your regular Mac login, then you can skip creating a sharing account.) Click the little plus sign under users, and then you pull can a name out of your address book to use for the account, or setup a whole new one. 2. Open system preferences, go to sharing if you haven't already, and check the box for file sharing. Click options, and enable AFP (if you've got other Macs you want to share with) and SMB. Crucially, make sure the account you're going to be logging in from Windows with has SMB enabled.

3. To pick the folders you want to share with other users, click the little plus sign and browse to the folder you want to give access to. Maybe it's your pictures, maybe it's your whole Home folder. You'll need to add each folder individually, especially if you want to give different people access to different folders. (If you're logging in from Windows with your standard Mac account, you'll have access to your whole hard drive anyway.)

After you've picked the folder you want to share, then you just pick the user you want to share with, and how much access you want them to have. Read-only, write-only or read and write. 4. Note your computer's name on the local network. It's sitting on top of the main file sharing setting page. And, if you've got AFP turned off, you'll get this dialog, noting the IP address Windows users can access your stuff. 5. Go back to the main system preferences page, then click on Network. Go to the main connection you'll be using, like AirPort, and click advanced. Go to WINS, and set your Workgroup to the same one as your Windows PCs (probably either WORKGROUP, on newer Windows machines or MSHOME on XP).

Windows 7 and Windows Vista
In Windows 7 and Vista, the Network and Sharing Center is where we'll be spending our time.1. First, make sure in your little path to the internet up top, you've got a picture of a house sitting between your computer the internet globe at the top. That means you've got it set to private network, so stuff's a little more exposed to other computers on the network. If not, click customize to the right of the network name, and set it to private network.

2. In Vista, you'll notice the big  Sharing and Discovery section up front and center. In Windows 7, it's under advanced sharing settings. Go in there, and you'll want to enable network discovery, and make note of your Workgroup (so you can make sure your Mac is on the same one) which is listed here. Also, you have the option to turn off password-protected sharing, so that you don't need an account on the machine set up for sharing. Obviously, it's less secure, but if you prefer convenience, that's up to you.

3. Now for some voodoo that's not required, but it'll make life easier and might be something you need to come back to if stuff isn't working, because OS X and Windows shake hands like goons (really it's about tweaking the LAN Manager Authentication Level, so OS X has an easier time connecting to Windows). If you have Windows 7 or Vista Ultimate, go to the Control Panel, then Administration Tools, then local security policy. Hit local policies, then security options, and look for Network Security LAN Manager Authentication Level. There, you want to switch it to "send LM & NTLM, use NTLMv2 session if negotiated."

If you're in Windows 7 or Vista Home Premium, you don't have access to that, so you'll need to registry hack it up. Open up regedit, and look for this:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\LSA\

Double click on LmCompatibilityLevel, and set the value to 1.

For more on this, just Google "vista mac NTVLM2." (Sans period.)

4. Now, we'll need to set up an account to share with. (Again, you can skip this if you're just going to use your regular Windows login from your Mac, though you'll need to have a password on the account for it to work best in Vista.) Go to User Accounts in Control Panel, then to Manage Accounts. Create a new account. 5. If you're going to be logging in with your main administrator account, you can skip this step, since you'll have access to everything anyway. For all other accounts, go to the folder you want to share, right-click on it and hit properties. Click the sharing tab, hit "share," and then you can add users to the share list, along with their permissions. Windows will share it, and give you the network path where you can access it. Alternatively, go to Computer, right-click, and check out the system properties and note your computer's name on the network and its Workgroup (make sure the Workgroup is the same as your other computers, it makes life easier).

Windows XP
1. Like before, you'll need a user account and password setup. Go to control panel, user accounts and create a new one, if you need to.

2. Make sure you're on the same workgroup as everything else—XP Home defaults to MSHOME, so if you need to change it, right-click on My Computer, hit properties, then go to Computer Name, and go to "Change" if you need to switch up the Workgroup.

3. Go to the folder you want to share, right-click, hit properties, and switch over to sharing. Allow it to be shared over the network, and allow users to change files.
Sharing Stuff

Okay, if you've done everything correctly, and the gods are pleased, what you should see on your Mac in your Finder Sidebar under the Shared tab is your Windows computer. (Make sure Shared is enabled in your Finder sidebar preferences, or you won't see it.) Then, you should be able to just click on it, enter your user account and password, and voila, you can get right at everything just like you hoped.

On your Windows 7 or Vista machine, you should be able to click Network, and see all of your connected computers, including your Macs. To login, as Ross McKillop points out, your username is the name of the Mac followed by the OS X username, like this, minus the quotes and period: "MATTBOOK-PRO/matt." In XP, you'll go to My Network Places or Workgroup, and it should be the same deal, though you can just stick to the actual Mac username and password. Life's good.

Update: BTW, if you have Apple's Bonjour—Apple's zero configuration networking dealio, which powers music sharing in iTunes—installed on your Windows machines (it comes with iTunes), the discovery part of the guide above—the parts pertaining to locating the other machines on your network, should just work. That is, your Windows machines should just show up in your Finder sidebar and your Mac in your PC's Networking page, though you still need the accounts setup properly to actually share stuff.

Sometimes, things don't work like that. PCs don't show up in the Finder automatically, you can't login easily from your PC. Network discovery just isn't always that reliable. In that case we go all manual mode. Remember earlier, when I had you note your computer's name on the network and setup a static IP? That's where this comes in handy. So, know either your computers names, or their IP addresses on your network.

On a Mac, it's pretty simple. Go to Finder, tap command+k and punch in:

smb://computername or smb://192.168.X.XXX

The latter is the PC's IP address, which should be something like 192.168.0.105—unless you have a weird setup—though the last two numbers of it will obviously vary. The computer name is easier and usually better, especially if you don't have a static IP address set up.

It'll ask you what volume to mount (what folder you want stuck on your Finder Sidebar under shared, essentially), and a login, and then you're good to go. If prefer the cmd+k approach, you can add computers you tap a lot as a favorite, so you don't have to type it in every time.

It's pretty simple in Windows too, actually. Either in the Windows Explorer address bar, or the Run command type:

\\MACNAME\Folder or \\192.168.X.XXX\Folder

And it should give you the option to login there, giving you access to all of your stuff. Using the full address of the folder you're trying to get to will help with making sure the authentication pop-up appears—otherwise you might just see automatically what's publicly shared and not the stuff you're trying to log into.

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5430678/how-to-make-your-pc-and-mac-share-stuff-like-best-friends

Googsystray Notifies You of New Activity Across Google Services in One System Tray App

Friendly Computers found this article to be quite interesting.

Google has so many different services these days that installing a notification app for each one gets cumbersome quickly. Free system tray utility Googsystray watches Gmail, Google Voice, Calendar, Reader, and Wave so you can set it and forget it.

After installing Googsystray, you can configure which services you want it to watch and what you want it to do for each—upon receiving a new email, SMS, calendar alert, RSS article, or wave, you can have it play a sound and even run a command. The icon of the given service will also pop up in your system tray. Right clicking on it gives you a Growl-style popup with more detailed information about the notification, such as email subject or SMS content. You also have limited actions you can take depending on the service.

Google Voice is the most feature-filled, allowing you to send SMS messages with a hotkey and read voicemail transcripts. You can have Gmail monitor your inbox or specific labels for new messages, as well as mark messages as read, spam, or delete them. Google Calendar support is limited to alerts on upcoming events, and Google Reader can notify you of new RSS articles, although you can tell it to stop notifying you when the number of unread articles reaches a certain point. Google Wave support merely notifies you of new and unread waves, along with a preview.

Googsystray is a free download, works on Windows and Linux (Python and pygtk required for Linux).

Download Googsystray.

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5428836/googsystray-notifies-you-of-new-activity-across-google-services-in-one-system-tray-app?skyline=true&s=x

Get the Classic Network Activity Indicator Back in Windows 7

Friendly Computers can help you if you want get back the classic network activity indicator in Windows 7.

The classic little two-computer icon that blinks to indicate network activity is missing from Windows 7, replaced by an icon that simply indicates if the computer is or is not connected to a network.

The solution is a tiny application called, appropriately enough, Network Activity Indicator for Windows 7. Download the application and park your standard Windows 7 network indicator in the hidden portion of your system tray, placing the icon for the Network Activity Indicator in the appropriate place in the system tray.

Once you've performed the swap, you'll have the old network activity indicator back and its familiar blinking screens. Network Activity Indicator for Windows 7 is freeware, Windows only.

Download Network Activity Indicator for Windows 7.

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5428229/get-the-classic-network-activity-indicator-back-in-windows-7

10 Linux features Windows should have by default

Friendly Computers would like to share with you top 10 Linux features that Windows should have by default

The battle between Linux and Windows will most likely rage on for years to come. I can foresee that even when all things migrate to the cloud, users in both camps will still be screaming the virtues of their favorite operating system. And, of course, I will be one of those campers (and I can bet you know just which camp I’ll be in). But being in that camp does not preclude me from seeing the benefits and strengths of the Windows operating system.

In my next two 10 Things articles, I am going to take pieces of each operating system and place them in the other. In this first article, I am going to share 10 features from the Linux operating system that should be in the Windows operating system. In the next article, I will go the other way.

Now you should know, features will encompass literal features as well as systems and even philosophies. I don’t want to leave anything out of the picture. In the end, my hope is that theoretically, at least, we’ll have a much more ideal operating system. Of course, you can (and will) be the judge of that. Let’s get going and start adding Linux features to Windows.

1: Compiz

No matter how clean Aero gets, I am not a fan of the flat, single-workspace desktop of Windows 7. Yes, it has come a long way, but it’s not nearly the modern desktop that Compiz offers. Of course, many would argue that Compiz is nothing more than eye candy. I, on the other hand, would argue that many of the features Compiz offers are just as much about usability as they are eye candy. Having a 3D desktop that offers you quick access (via key combinations) to multiple workspaces is handy. Window switchers can’t be beaten for ease of use. And the eye candy is just a bonus. Having Compiz on top of Windows would certainly take the experience to a level few Windows users have experienced.

2: Multi-user

Yes I know you can have multiple accounts on a Windows 7 box, but that doesn’t make it truly multi-user. Can you log on more than one user at a time in Windows 7? Not by default. To have concurrent user sessions for Windows 7, you have to download a third-party tool. In Linux, you can do this by default. This is a feature that should be enabled by default in Windows 7, too.

3: Log files

Windows operating systems have plenty of tools that enable the administrator to read log files. But for system, administration, and security issues, the administrator must fire up the tools to see those log files. But Linux places all system log files in /var/log and allows the user (with the right permissions) to read these log files from a simple text editor. And the Linux log files are flexible in many ways. For instance, if I want to follow a system log, I can open that log in a terminal window with the tail -f command and watch as events occur.

4: Centralized application installation

The new paradigm for Linux is a centralized location for installation. The Ubuntu Software Center is turning out to be the culmination of much of this work. From one source, you can search from hundreds of thousands of applications and install any one you need. And with upcoming releases of the Ubuntu Software Center (version 3 to be exact), commercial software will be available.

5: Cron

I am a big fan of Cron. Cron jobs enable you to easily automate tasks. Yes, you can add third-party software on a Windows operating system to help automate tasks, but none will have the flexibility of the cron job. Cron allows you to schedule as many tasks as you like, at any time you like, from a simple command-line tool (or a GUI tool, if you so desire). And cron is available system wide — for both administrative tasks and standard user tasks. Having an automated system built in would certainly be handy.

6: Regular release cycle

This is one of those areas where Microsoft could learn a serious lesson from the Linux camp. Most Linux distributions release their updated distributions on a regular basis. And even better, they stick to these schedules to the best of their ability. Take Ubuntu, for example. For each release there is a .04 and a .10 version. The .04 version is released on the fourth month of the year. The .10 version is released on the 10th month of the year. This happens like clockwork. So Ubuntu 10.04 will release April 2010 and Ubuntu 10.10 will release October 2010. Granted sometimes those releases don’t start populating the mirrors until the last second of that month, but they are as regular as they can be.

7: Root user

Let’s face it — by default, the average user can do too much in Windows. So much so, it becomes simple for someone to write a nasty little virus that can be spread simply by opening up an attachment in an email. With the way Linux is set up, this doesn’t occur. For damage to be done to a system, generally speaking the root password must be known. For example, if a user clicked on an attachment from an email, and that attachment demanded the root (or sudoers) password, that would be a quick indication that the attachment was malicious. Windows should separate the administrative user and the standard user by default. The first thing Windows users should have to do, upon starting up their new computer for the first time, is create an administrative password and a user password.

8: Pricing

Okay, I’m not going to say Windows should be free. What I am going to say is that it should have one version and one price (with a nod to bulk pricing). Why do I say this? Simple. Which version should you buy? Do you need Premium or Ultimate? Which sounds better? Is “premium” better than “ultimate”? Here’s an idea — just have one version for the desktop and one for the server. It works for Linux. Less confusion and frustration for the consumer, less advertising waste for Microsoft. And all those features that cause the most expensive version of Windows 7 to be thus — the average user wouldn’t know how to use them anyway.

9: Installed applications

I know that Microsoft doesn’t include any useful applications (minus a browser) by default for a reason — to make money. But when I install Linux for the average user, I’m done. I don’t have to install an office suite, an email client, or audio/visual tools. Outside of installing financial applications and the odd power-user tool (which is all handled in a single, centralized location — see #4), there’s nothing more to do once the OS installation is done. Microsoft could at least include Word.

10: Hardware detection

Before anyone gets bent out of shape, this is not what you’re thinking. Let me set this up for you. What happens when you install a Windows operating system and something doesn’t work? Say, for example, video. You thought for sure the OS would support your video card, but when the installation is complete you’re stuck with good old 800×600 resolution. So you go to the device manager to see if you can find out what the card is, and you get nothing. How are you supposed to find out what drivers to download when Windows gives you no information? Oh sure, you can open up the case and check out the chipset. Or you might get lucky and find that device driver CD lying around. But what if you can’t? Or what if that video is on board?

If you were using Linux you could at least issue the dmesg command and get some information right away. And if dmesg didn’t help out, you could always fire up the Hardware Drivers tool, which will might discover a proprietary driver you could use. In Windows, if you don’t know the card, you’re going to have fun finding the drivers. Although Windows hardware support is better, Linux hardware detection is better.

Source: http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/10things/?p=1194

Fix Common Windows Problems with One Click

Friendly Computers found useful tool for you.

Have you ever wished for a magic wand that could make annoying Windows problems disappear? Like, say, a missing Recycle Bin icon, or those pesky Runtime Error messages in Internet Explorer?

FixWin is that magic wand. This ingenious free utility requires just over 500K of space, runs without installation, and quickly fixes 50 different Windows glitches--many of which would normally require a trip to the Registry.

These are divided among five categories, including Windows Explorer, Internet & Connectivity, and System Tools.

Each problem is presented with a brief but thorough description. Here's an example: "CD drive or DVD drive is missing or is not recognized by Windows or other programs." (Been there!) To fix a problem, just click the corresponding Fix button.

It really is that simple. And before you get started, FixWin can scan your machine for--and fix--corrupted system files. It also allows you to create a System Restore point before making any changes, a smart addition.

Certainly FixWin won't solve all your Windows issues, but if it can correct just one, it's well worth the download.

Source: http://www.pcworld.com/article/184125/fix_common_windows_problems_with_one_click.html

Load up your open-source Google phone with powerful apps without spending a cent.

Friendly Computers would like to share with you the top ten easy to use free applications for Google smart phones.
Android is breaking out. With the coming of the Motorola Droid, HTC Droid Eris, Samsung Behold II, and Samsung Moment, Android has become the most-buzzed-about smartphone platform for everyone who doesn't have AT&T. And developers have been feeding the buzz, with Android Market holding about 12,000 apps when we wrote this - second in on-device app stores only to the iPhone.
As a quasi-open-source platform, Android has gotten a lot of attention from small developers, so you'll find a lot of interesting little free apps in the Android Market. What's missing, primarily, are flashy, big-name apps from big-name developers, who generally wait until they're sure a platform is going to take off to commit to it. With the success of the Droid, we think more professional-quality apps will be coming soon.
But all is not app-tastic in Android app world. There are now three different versions of Android floating around - 1.5, 1.6 and 2.0 - and not all apps run on every version of the OS. Most Android phones have only about 256 MB of storage for apps, which seems to be be preventing some professional developers from putting out high-end games for Android phones.


1. Advanced Task Killer Free 1.5.1
ReChild; (no Web site)
It's surprisingly difficult to close an Android app, and after spending a few hours with your Android phone you might find it feels a bit sluggish because so many apps are running quietly in the background. So a task-killing app like this is a must; two clicks, and you've released megabytes of memory and freed up oodles of processor power. A $5 pay version adds a one-click widget and an "auto kill" function, but I find the free version perfectly good enough. ATK has a more user-friendly interface than competitor TasKiller, and it focuses on killing lagging apps rather than essential Android services.

2. AP Mobile 2.0.0
The Associated Press; www.ap.org
The AP makes great mobile news apps, and their Android app works just like all the others. You get a steady stream of constantly-updated news in every category you can think of, including local news from your city or state. You can customize your home page with categories you like, or view AP news videos. Better than the single-source newspaper apps, AP Mobile lets you choose what you want to know, and tells you what you need to know.

3. Astrid 2.10.0
We Love Astrid; www.weloveastrid.com
The best to-do list app for Android, Astrid starts out super-simple with a plain list of tasks. But there's a lot of power hidden under the surface. You can tag tasks, set priorities, and assign dates and several levels of reminders. A stopwatch-style timer lets you keep track of how long you spend on each task. Astrid also syncs with RememberTheMilk.com, an online to-do list app that can bring your tasks to Google Calendar, Gmail, Twitter or your desktop.

4. Astro File Manager 2.1.0
Metago; (no Web site)
After installing a few dozen Android apps, you might find yourself running out of space. Enter Astro, probably the best all-purpose free utility for Android phones. Astro lets you back up your apps to an SD card - you can't run them from there, but you can swap apps around that you're not using. It lets you browse your phone's file system, examining and moving files. And it gives you a very detailed peek into which apps and processes are running, including listing how much memory and CPU power each process is using. Astro is a lot more complicated than a simple task-killer like ATK, but it's also far more powerful. Install both.

5. Cestos 1.2.91
ChickenBrick Studios; (no Web site)
You know what mobile games need? More real people. Cestos is a free, online, multiplayer game that's ridiculously easy. It's basically a game of marbles; aim your marbles around the board (which is pocked with obstacles, pits and bombs), shoot them, and see whose marbles fall into the pits first. But with multiple boards, a scoring system, avatars, a chat room, and various virtual prizes awarded, it quickly becomes a fun, ego-driven experience. Each game only lasts a few minutes, so it's perfect for light users; we're not talking World of Warcraft here.

6. Google Sky Map 1.2.1
Google; www.google.com/sky/skymap.html
Google Sky Map for Android can help you put a name to the stars, planets, and constellations above you. The app syncs with your phone's GPS locator to pinpoint your location and provide you with a map of the sky wherever you are. Point your Android phone up and Sky Map displays the location and name of the brightest celestial objects in that part of the sky. Getting your phone and the sky aligned can be a bit tricky, but overall this is a fun and educational app.

7. Google Voice 0.2.6
Google; www.google.com/voice
Google Voice for Android is the best way to use Google Voice on a cell phone. The app lets you make outgoing calls and SMS messages from your virtual Google Voice number, including inexpensive international calls (which begin at just two cents per minute). Google Voice for Android integrates seamlessly with the phone's built-in address book and call log for voice calls. There are other third-party apps that hook into Google Voice available for Android phones, such as the $9.99 GVDialer, which hit the market earlier this year. But Google's own native app works well and offers a near-seamless experience with the company's Web-based voice service.

8. Listen 1.0.3.1
Google; listen.googlelabs.com
Every smartphone, in my mind, needs a good podcast client, and Google's Listen is a good podcast client. Listen uses Google's search technology to help you find podcasts using terms you like, and you can subscribe to individual podcasts or even to search terms - picking up every podcast from now until eternity about Android smartphones, for instance. Listen downloads and stores podcasts, so you can play them even when you're not connected to a network. This Google Labs product is still a bit buggy, but it's a great way to get radio-style content onto your Android phone.

9. Meebo IM 21
meebo; www.meebo.com
There are two good, free, multi-platform IM programs for Android. Meebo is slightly more complete than eBuddy. Along with the usual AIM, MSN, Yahoo! Google and ICQ IM networks, Meebo also supports Facebook and MySpace IM, which is pretty neat. Social networking contacts come with photos and status messages, and you can keep multiple conversations going at once. eBuddy's interface is slicker, but you don't get to see those social networking status messages and it forces you to sign up for a special eBuddy account.

10. MySpace Mobile 1.6.2
MySpace; www.myspace.com
The free Android MySpace client gives you all the basic MySpace features, though it's unfortunately lacking both media streaming and all of those weird plug-ins that people tend to put on their pages. You can view or add your own or your friends' comments, blogs and photos, add new friends and most importantly send e-mail. (For MySpace IM, check out Meebo above.) You can always access full-on crazy MySpace pages using your Android phone's browser; this app is for quickly checking out and messaging your friends.



Source: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2356306,00.asp

Pc's Built Specifically for New Users

Friendly Computers came across a new computer to help keep the family connected this holiday season, even those new to computing.

A new, simplified desktop computer aimed at older people unfamiliar with PCs and the Internet has been unveiled. SimplicITy only has 6 buttons that direct users to basic tasks like email and chat. It comes preloaded with 17 video tutorials from Valerie Singleton, a television presenter.
According to government figures, there are more than 6 million people over the age of 65 who have never used the Internet.
SimplicITy produces the specialty PCs in partnership with Wessex Computers and discount-age. It takes users two weeks to receive their made-to-order computers.
SimplicITy: No Log-in Screen
Singleton was shocked by the number of older users that do not have computers. A survey conducted by the Office for National Statistics in August 2009 revealed that 6.4 million people aged 65 and older have never used the Internet.
The SimplicITy computer does not have a log-in screen when it's booted up and contains no drop-down menus. It boots directly to a front page called "square one" that contains separate clickable buttons for email, browsing the Internet, files for storing Word documents and photos, online chat and a user profile. (Source: bbc.co.uk)
Eldy.org Users Capable of Chatting with Each Other
The email system used by SimplicITy is a modified version of an Italian design called Eldy. Every SimpliciTY user with an eldy.org address will be capable of chatting with each other by using the "chat" button.
SimplicITy uses Linux, a free operating system that can be customized by users. Pricing for the SimplicITy desktop is not yet known.

Source:
http://www.infopackets.com/news/hardware/2009/20091117_simplicity_pcs_built_specifically_for_seniors_new_users.htm

Windows 7: Inside Multitouch

 

Friendly Computers have seen touch screens before, so what makes the ones supported by Windows 7 so special? Below is the inside scoop.

Touch screen technology may seem shiny and new but any analyst will tell you that it has been around for decades: ATMs, grocery store self-check kiosks, even museum exhibits. But what makes Windows 7 so exciting is that no computer operating system ever incorporated native support for multitouch before. The new breed of multitouch laptops and desktops with touch screens don't need extra downloads or plugins-- multitouch just works.

Multitouch's Predecessors

To be fair, Windows 7 is not the first operating system to support some form of touch computing. Vista offered single-touch capabilities in tablet mode, and pen input is quite common as well. But as much as Microsoft would love to paint multitouch as a natural progression in its operating systems, its Apple that was the real democratizer of multiple-input touch screens. Introducing now familiar gestures like pinching, tapping, and flicking, the iPhone and the iPod Touch, made multitouch second nature to many users. Apple followed up its mobile devices with gesture-based touchpads on its MacBook and MacBook Pro models in late 2008. Though it was a bit tough to get used to the integrated mouse button and touchpad, the ability to use gestures based on up to four fingers opened up new possibilities.

A few Windows-based "multitouch" systems have come out as well—namely the HP TouchSmart TX2 and Dell Latitude XT line of laptops, as well as the HP TouchSmart desktop PCs. These systems used built-in hardware and software solutions to accommodate two-finger touch (though they still couldn't support three- and four-finger gestures). But it wasn't until early glimpses at Windows 7 this year that we saw Microsoft itself respond to the multitouch trend.

How Multitouch Works

A few months before those MacBooks hit the scene, Microsoft announced its plans for multitouch at the All Things Digital conference in California. Unlike any of its predecessors, Windows 7 natively supports multitouch functionality in touch screens and is built to accommodate up to 10 points of contact. On the Engineering Windows 7 blog, the developers highlight all the ways the OS was tweaked to optimize it for touch. It's everything from making keys on the on-screen keyboard glow when your finger is covering the letter to improving high dpi support to make small links and buttons easier to access with touch.

Though the software is similar across platforms, the PCs we've tested use different hardware solutions. The multitouch laptops we've seen so far, like the Lenovo ThinkPad X200 Tablet and Fujitsu LifeBook T5010 use dual-active digitizers, meaning they have one technology for the stylus and another, called capacitive, is activated for multitouch using your fingers. Non-tablets like the Lenovo ThinkPad T400s use a capacitive touch screen only, and many more will follow this implementation (Toshiba and Acer have already announced capacitive touch panels on their mainstream laptops).

In capacitive screens, a small current of electricity runs across the surface, with circuits at the corners. Touching the screen interrupts that current. Capacitive technology only works on smaller screens, so desktops like the HP TouchSmart 600-1055 PC and Gateway One ZX6810-01 employ optical solutions. Optical sensors are set up around the screen creating a grid. The screen reacts when your finger, pen, stylus, or any other implement break one of the beams; you don't actually have to physically touch the surface to get a response.

All of the PC manufacturers that have put out multitouch systems so far have included Windows 7's Touch Pack, a software suite that incorporates applications that work with the Windows 7 kernel to use a multitude of different gestures. For instance, Microsoft Surface Collage lets you access and manipulate all your photos to create different designs on the screen. You can drag and drop images with one motion, resize or rotate them with two fingers, and scroll through the images available on the bottom pane using the flicking motion. Other games and applications like BlackBoard and Microsoft Surface Lagoon act like tutorials for multitouch, creating objectives that force you to perfect various gestures in order to win the games.

What's Next for Multitouch

Although the Windows 7 Touch Pack certainly has that gee whiz factor, the real question regards implementations for multitouch in the future. Will it change the user experience? And can we harness that potential to take it beyond a neat trick for games and fun apps? Clearly the onus right now is on software makers to come up with revolutionary ways to integrate multitouch and expand its possibilities. Some PC manufacturers have included programs built around multitouch, like Gateway's TouchPortal and HP's TouchSmart interface. While HP's includes extra functionality like Hulu desktop and HP games, these still don't bring much more to the table than a new way to interact with Microsoft's existing touch-based programs.

Whether its niche markets like education, health care, and engineering finding new uses for multitouch, or multitouch making its way onto new platforms like netbooks, there's no question that this interface can change the way we look at computing. The Engineering Windows 7 blog sums its effect up well. In it, Steven Sinofsky, the president of the Windows division wrote, "One of my favorite experiences recently was watching folks at a computer retailer experience one of the currently available all-in-one touch desktops and then moving to another all-in-one and continuing to interact with the screen—except the PC was not interacting back. The notion that you can touch a screen seems to be becoming second nature."

For a closer look at some of the emerging Windows 7 multitouch systems, be sure to read our full reviews.

 

 

Source: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2354680,00.asp

Magic Mouse: Oh my God—it's full of capacitive sensors!

 

Friendly Computers thought you would enjoy an inside view of the new Mac Magic Mouse and Screen.

 

iFixit

You thought iFixit was going to gut the new unibody white MacBook and call it a day? Oh no—it has vivisected Apple's new Magic Mouse to see just how the "magic" happens. The gang also went ahead and disassembled the 27" iMac that came with it, too.

The first thing that iFixit discovered is that Apple really does not want you to take the Magic Mouse apart. The whole thing is held together with some really tough glue instead of screws, or clips, or anything that might make it easier to take apart and put back together. Once apart, though, iFixit verified that the entire top surface is literally covered in capacitive touch sensors—138 in all—just as Apple promised. This is what allows the multitouch gestures to be so accurate and specific over such a small surface—though it would be nice if Apple enabled pinch-to-zoom and two-finger rotate.

Though the mouse has an aluminum base, the total aluminum content weighs just 10 grams. "That's compared to 37 grams of plastic and 47 grams of batteries," according to iFixit. "Nearly half the mouse's weight comes from the two AA batteries."

The diminutive circuit and electronic components do contribute a few grams to the overall light weight of the Magic Mouse. Part of what makes the circuit so small is a Broadcom BCM2042A4KFBGH, part of the BCM2042 family of chips that integrate keyboard and mouse controller functions with an HID profile and full Bluetooth communications stack. Broadcom brags that the chip allows wireless input devices to "approach the price points of legacy-wired mice and keyboards," but this is Apple here—paying a slight premium for a "better" mouse is par for the course. Besides, what is the standard price for a wired multitouch mouse? (Answer: there isn't one!)

Of course, after discovering all the magic Apple could stuff into a $69 mouse, though, you can hardly blame iFixit for "taking apart the iMac that came with our Magic Mouse." The new 27" iMac (the lower-end Core 2 Duo version) isn't radically different that the 24" iMac model that preceded it. However, iFixit did turn up a few interesting details.

iFixit

One nice addition is that Apple has doubled the amount of RAM slots; when stuffed with 4GB SO-DIMMs, you can have a total of 16GB of RAM. The new model also eliminates the 4mm aluminum bezel around the display glass cover—it goes all the way to the top and side edges, giving it a slightly cleaner appearance. The DisplayPort connection isn't wired up to allow the display to be powered separately when using the promised external source display functionality, though—the whole machine will have to be powered on for it to work.

A couple other notable discoveries: the power supply is 310W, the largest on any iMac; the SuperDrive is 12.5mm height, so it could be swapped for a Blu-ray drive if Apple ever gets over that bag of hurt; because the new back is all aluminum, the plastic Apple logo now serves as the only way for WiFi signals to get in and out of the iMac; and cooling the new machine requires two large heat sinks and three large, low-noise fans.

Source:http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2009/10/magic-mouse-oh-my-godits-full-of-capacitive-sensors.ars

Technology Fails: 8 Extreme Electronic Disasters

 

Friendly Computers would like to inform you about the eight extreme electronic disasters that seems to effect each and everyone of us.

 

Let's face it: Technology seems made to stop working. Screens crack, circuits short, and power supplies abruptly conk out. It's all part of the complex and confounding ecosystem of electronics.

The worst, though, is when something really is built to break--and in the most extreme way. I'm talking fiery explosions, flying components, and acid-leaking compartments, all courtesy of bugs built right into ill-fated devices.

Sound far-fetched? Hey, we've seen some crazy stuff happen over the years. Some of it is astonishing; some of it is merely annoying. But all of it is extreme--and entirely too real.

We start with some good old-fashioned spontaneous combustion.

Combustible Computers

Nothing screams "tech disaster" like a laptop on fire. Due to the intricacies of modern-day electronics, it takes only a minor manufacturing error to send your system up in flames--and not the kind generated by the jerks of online forums, either.

The most extreme example of fire-related fallout may be the massive series of recalls brought about by bad Sony batteries in 2006. Small shards of nickel made their way into the batteries' cells during production, causing numerous systems to overheat and sometimes catch fire. The recalls affected laptops sold by Dell, Hitachi, IBM, Lenovo, Toshiba, and even Apple.

By the end, a staggering 9.6 million laptop owners had been burned (figuratively speaking) by the failure, and Sony had spent nearly $430 million to replace all the defective units.

Lest you think I'm just blowing smoke up your ash, let me assure you that this danger was far from hypothetical. (Watch PC Pitstop simulate a laptop battery explosion where the temperatures soared to 1000 degrees.) A Sony-battery-powered laptop famously exploded and caught fire at the Los Angeles International Airport in 2007, and a traveler managed to catch the entire incident on tape.

Be warned: You will hear a few expletives shouted during some of the more dramatic moments. With a blast like that, I'd say they were warranted.

Fire risks have led to countless other laptop battery recalls over the years. Scientists are now working on developing a new material that could better protect the lithium ion technology and keep such short-circuiting from occurring.

Exploding iPhones

Apple's all about glitz and bang for its product launch events. Lately, however, the company has been making headlines for a different kind of spark. Reports surfaced in late July suggesting that numerous iPods and iPhones had erupted in flames and scalded their owners.

Soon after, word broke that the European Union had launched an inquiry into exploding iPods overseas. Apple reportedly claimed that some sort of improper handling led to the explosions, calling them "isolated incidents." A full investigation is currently under way.

The recent rash of complaints isn't the first time Apple's iPods and iPhones have come under fire. In March, an Ohio mother sued Apple over allegations that her 15-year-old son's iPod Touch had malfunctioned. The device, she said, exploded in the teenager's pants.

Speaking of explosions, did you hear about those new porn-star apps people are downloading?

Acid Rock

The avatar for Kurt Cobain may be making Guitar Hero headlines right now, but one year ago a far more corrosive controversy was connected to the product. Rage Wireless Guitars, a series of controllers sold for use with the game, were found to have circuit-board defects that could cause battery acid to leak outside the devices.

If you're not sure how severe of a problem that could be, just think about this: Over what area of the body do most people hold a guitar? Yeah...not the best place for a chemical burn. It actually happened to at least one person, too, according to reports filed with the manufacturer and published by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

That's one disaster I'd suspect even the great Jimi Hendrix, famously fond of both acid and fiery guitar solos, wouldn't be willing to risk.

Red Ring of Death

If there were an award for the most extreme-sounding technology flaw, the red ring of death would win, hands-down. Microsoft's Xbox 360 became known for it due to a widespread hardware failure that reared its ugly head in 2007. Its signature sign: three red lights blinking at you, like a disco flashback gone horribly awry.

The lights were more than a mere nuisance: They were frequently an indication of a complete hardware failure that had rendered the system useless. The issue was severe enough to earn the Xbox 360 the branding of "least reliable gaming console in recent history" from at least one publication.

Microsoft ended up spending a reported $1 billion to extend warranties as a result of the red-tinted menace, citing an "unacceptable number of repairs" as the catalyst for its decision. The company also agreed to reimburse customers who had spent their own cash trying to get their consoles fixed.

Recently, a second red-ring-like error has cropped up on some Xbox 360 systems, causing users to see a fatal error with the code "E74." Though the dreaded red lights themselves don't flash, the console is again rendered useless. Microsoft announced in April that it would offer a similar extended warranty and repair reimbursement program for anyone affected by the issue.

Melting Multimedia

We all want home theater systems that make us feel like we're inside the movies--but when your DVD player actually reproduces on-screen fire inside your home, things have probably gone too far.

Wal-Mart recalled 4.2 million Durabrand DVD players this fall after discovering that the devices could overheat and set an entertainment center aflame. The company received more than a dozen reports of overheated players, at least seven of which ended with some kind of property damage to the owner's home.

Other multimedia devices recalled due to reported fires or fire risks include DVD players by Toshiba, digital cameras by Hewlett-Packard, and speaker systems by Philips Magnavox.

Retail Viruses

Would you like a virus with that purchase? In an age when keeping up with the latest security threats can feel like a full-time job, knowing that a virus could come preloaded on brand-new technology is a real kick in the pants. Unfortunately, it's also an all too common occurrence.

In some cases an entire computer system could be the culprit. Last fall Asus announced that it had accidentally shipped a line of Eee Box PCs with preloaded viruses. A malicious file on one of the systems' hard drives would not only infect local data but also copy itself to other drives and external storage devices connected to the computer.

Viruses have been found on new digital photo frames, USB flash drives, factory-sealed hard drives--and yes, even some iPods. (Those models, it probably goes without saying, were not the "funnest ever.")

Disappearing Data

You don't need a built-in virus to leave you with a manufacturer-caused data disaster--you can also experience one of the always-popular instances of crappy-hard-drive-itis.

Plenty of people came down with the disease earlier this year when Seagate revealed that its Barracuda 7200.11 hard drives had a firmware bug that was causing widespread failures. According to user reports, the drives would die while booting up, leaving no way to access any of the data inside.

Once Seagate isolated the bug, the company offered free data-recovery services to try to make up for the mess-up. Gauging from various online discussions, though, its customers' goodwill is likely one thing the company can't recover anytime soon.

Dangerous Rides

As if Segway riders didn't already look goofy enough, a couple of apparent glitches started sending them flying through the air a few years back. The two-wheeled transporter, as the late Rodney Dangerfield might say, just can't get no respect.

The trouble started in 2003, when Segway had to recall about 6000 of its devices. In that case, the company found that riders could suddenly fall off when the vehicles' batteries ran low. Then, in 2006, a second recall targeted 23,500 more Segways; that time, the devices were found to be "unexpectedly apply[ing] reverse torque" (translation: "causing people to eat pavement").

Thankfully for Segway users, those problems are in the past. Now mall cops are back to relying on their own instincts--and, of course, the fact that they ride around on silly-looking stick machines--to look like total twits.

(Photo of a burning laptop, used as promotional art for this story: Courtesy of Secumem, Wikimedia Commons)

Source: http://www.pcworld.com/article/173933/technology_fails_8_extreme_electronic_disasters.html

HP's New Touch Screen Laptop and All-In-Ones Debut

 

Friendly Computers  discovered the NEW touch screen HP Laptop. We thought you might be interested in today’s technology is now rising up to.

 

HP is taking touch to the people, with new touch screen laptop and desktop models, all featuring Windows 7 and some shipping on Oct. 22, when the new operating system is formally introduced.

The new multi-touch models include a number of applications that take advantage of the interface, including Hulu, Netflix, Pandora, Recipe Box, a webcam "photo booth" application, and the HP Music Store.

• HP TouchSmart tx2 -- A laptop, starting at $799, with a 12.1-inch screen that rotates 180-degrees for use as a tablet. Besides touch commands, users can write or draw on the screen with an electronic pen. Available Oct. 22.
• HP TouchSmart 300 and 600 -- Are the third-generation of HP's touch-enabled desktops. The 300 has a 20-inch screen and the 600 (shown) has a 23-inch display. The 300 starts at $899 and will begin deliveries on Nov. 1, with the 600 due Oct. 22 and priced starting at $1,049. Read our review of the HP TouchSmart 600.
• HP TouchSmart 9100 -- An all-in-one desktop, starting at $1,299, which includes a 23-inch touch screen. It can be used as standard touch screen PC or tasked as a map or events kiosk in an office, hotel, or other location. Deliveries begin in December.
• HP LD42200tm -- A digital signage device with a 42-inch touch screen. Available in December for $2,799.

Besides touch screens, HP also introduced several business desktop and laptop computers as well as new value-oriented Compaq-branded desktops and a laptop.

The Compaq Presario CQ61z (where do they get these model numbers?) costs only $399 and features a 15.6-inch screen, after $100 instant rebate. The Compaq 500B business desktop sells for $359, while the new Compaq Presario 4010f desktop sells for $309.

My take: The laptop looks very interesting and I will consider purchasing one during my next upgrade cycle. I am not wild about reaching out to touch a desktop, although HP is pushing these models for entertainment and kitchen use, where touch makes some sense.

In the kitchen, the touch screen is meant to be used with recipes and other applications that can work entirely by touch when keyboard use isn't appropriate. Verbal directions are also provided.

The new Compaq's are a welcome addition to lowest-priced laptops and desktops. The laptop competes with netbooks on price and will win some of those battles.

Source: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/173551/hps_new_touch_screen_laptop_and_allinones_debut.html

Email Isn’t Dead- But It Is Broken

Friendly Computers found this article to be quite interesting. With all the websites like Twitter, Facebook and many others, this guy seems to think that are email days are over.

 

PCMag.com's managing editor for software, Sean Carroll, just got back from that rare place few of us can imagine these days: a two-week vacation. We got by without him, his reviews posted, and he only lost one staffer (his senior editor, Matt Murray, just took the reins at ExtremeTech.com). He returned refreshed and reenergized, only to discover an inbox box of 2,200 messages! E-mail, that revolutionary advance in human productivity, is sucking our time. E-mail is, to be blunt, broken. And it is going to take some new technologies, and some changes in human behavior, to save it.

Just this week, The Wall Street Journal, hardly a hot bed of techno-radicalism, ran a story suggesting that e-mail's days are numbered. With the advent of Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr, sending a plain old e-mail seems not just dated, but ineffective. If you sent Sean Carroll an e-mail over the last two weeks, you know what I am talking about. It was once poor etiquette not to return an e-mail. Now most of us can honestly say we missed it. Personally, I get 300-400 e-mails a day, (I send about 30)—can you blame me if I missed one, especially if it is from an address I have never seen before?

Now, I should probably admit that I have mixed feelings about e-mail. One of my earliest stories at PCMag was 50 Reasons Not to Send that E-mail. I came up with a lot more than just 50. My biggest problem with e-mail, however, is that people just send too much of the stuff. It's sometimes a result of misdirected manners: I can't resist typing "thanks" and hitting Send. But most of the e-mail I receive is just useless—press releases, random story pitches, line edits on a story, press releases, obscure-newsletters-I-never-signed up-for, press releases, office joke threads. (Okay, I have chimed in on some of those, too.) Honestly, keeping a heavy finger on the Delete key can resolve a lot of these annoyances and keep your inbox free.

Let's not forget that, at its core, e-mail is a form of mail. Mail used to take three to four business days, now it takes three to four seconds. Too many people measure their importance based on how many e-mails they read, and their self-worth on how many e-mails they send. We have hit the tipping point: we can no longer read all the e-mail we create. Technology can help. And it will.—Next: The Wall Street Journal Is Right >

The Wall Street Journal is right (...gulp, did I just type that?). We are creating a new communication vocabulary, an evolving new media vernacular. Instant messaging is used for real-time cube-to-cube messages. If it is just office gossip, and I'm busy, I can ignore it. Texting is a great way to communicate point-to-point, and I can respond instantly or hours later. Best of all, you have to know my number to reach me, and I don't spread it around. Social networks like Twitter and Facebook are great for broadcast communications, and, when I have time, more direct conversations. It is impossible to call all of my old friends every week, but a few minutes here and there on Facebook, and we can keep in touch. I think there is a phone in my office as well, but I am pretty sure it just makes outbound calls.

I am currently testing a host of software tools designed to help you manage your e-mail. Xobni works with Outlook to provide context to all of your e-mail communications. When someone sends me an e-mail, Xobni shows me their most recent e-mails, social network profiles, any attachments they have sent me, and most importantly, their photo, pulled from LinkedIn. Just seeing the face of the individuals I am e-mailing is a wonder. I am also looking a Gwabbit, a small app that sucks up the signature information at the bottom of e-mails and drops it into a Contact file. I am still testing, but so far it's amazing.

Then there is Google Wave, Google's attempt to combine e-mail, IM, search, collaboration software, photo management, and about a dozen other applications. Despite seeing and participating in lots of demos, Google Wave is a technology that you have to use to understand. It is like trying to explain Facebook to someone who has never logged on. We are just starting to use Wave at the office, so I will report back when I understand it better.

Given my job, I am a huge fan of technological solutions, but fixing e-mail is going to require some serious behavioral modification. We need to rethink how we use e-mail. It isn't a real-time communication tool, and shouldn't be used as one. It may seem like we can send and receive an infinite supply of e-mail, but we can't. Sending a lot of e-mail doesn't make you more productive—in fact, it makes everyone else less productive. Choose your e-mails carefully, for you own productivity and sanity. And for mine, too.

Source: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2354216,00.asp

Windows 8 Details Emerge

Friendly Computers just caught onto some news about Windows 8 that we thought you would enjoy.

Oliver Garnham, PC Advisor

The version of Windows that succeeds Windows 7 will include a 128-bit architecture, according to an embarrassing leak from Microsoft's research and development team in the US.

Microsoft employee Robert Morgan appeared to detail the software giant's plans for Windows 8, and even Windows 9, on business networking site LinkedIn, where he listed his job as 'senior research and development'. His profile has now been removed from the main LinkedIn site, but is still viewable in Google's search cache.In it, he says he's "working in high security department for research and development involving strategic planning for medium and longterm projects."

He goes on to say his R&D projects include: "128-bit architecture compatibility with the Windows 8 kernel and Windows 9 project plan." He's also responsible for "forming relationships with major partners: Intel, AMD, HP and IBM."

Windows 7, due to become available worldwide on October 22, is available in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions. (See "Windows 7 Performance Tests.")

Indeed, we've had the option of 64-bit versions of Windows since Windows XP Professional x64 Edition was launched May 2005. But while XP's successor, Vista, is also available in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions, the latter has failed to take off in a big way.

64-bit computers, which can address more RAM and are theoretically more powerful than 32-bit equivalents, are likely to become more popular with Windows 7. A 128-bit version of Windows 8 would represent the next leap in performance.

According to Microsoft's plans to release a new desktop version of Windows every three years, Windows 8 is scheduled to become available in 2012.

Source: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/173442/windows_8_details_emerge.html?loomia_ow=t0:s0:a41:g26:r13:c0.012988:b28249368:z0