Month: March 2007

I just spent a few minutes being baffled about the stupidity of some hardware manufacturers.

Reasons for this:

1) The card reader (a DTK Computer CR-202A) cannot be fixed properly because it is too short, so I only have 1 mounrting hole.
I had to fix it with a paper.

2) And the HDD bay (a Hardcano 5), also from Thermaltake like the case (a Soprano vb1000sws) has the holes on the wrong place.

Here a photo:

It looks pretty stupid.
unfortunately I found that out after I put it in.

Technorati Tags: hardware, Thermaltake
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The release of Skype wi-fi phones doesn’t stop!

Now Edge Core also released one. “Standard it comes with a 220Volt charger, USB cable and earpiece with answering button.” and “Together with the charging cradle (optional) it is a beautiful set and worth every penny.” are the sentences Ike uses in her review of this phone to describe its features.

She wrote more about how easy/not easy it is to use and she also posted above’s photo first on her blog, here.

Technorati Tags: Skype, wi-fi
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Microsoft has recently released a new version of IE7 for Windows XP X64 and Windows Server 2003.

I have installed the update and I personally found no changes at all, but since the Internet Explorer is a part of the system and a security issue, it should be installed!

Info & download

Technorati Tags: Windows, 64bit, IE7
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I have found a nice introduction video on YouTube Reviews and I found it nice. Unfortunately it is only meant to take off on national trips inside the US if they get enough support from USA citizens on www.letVAfly.com.

I sent them an email and they replied back with some information and the permission to post the email here:

“Hi Joerg,

Thanks for the note.

As an Aussie myself, I hear you on the US-centric stuff except that for
the vote to count in Congress or DOT, the constituents had to be
American.

Hence the voting restrictions.

As for the laptop ports, it’s mostly cost… being a domestic airline,
the vast majority of our customers will have US voltage and it’s
expensive to do both.

All the best,

Gareth“

It has some nice features like chat, video watching, etc on every seat, so watch the video!

Technorati Tags: Video, Virgin America
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Since I have Windows Vista X64 for quite a while now I thought it would be the perfect moment now to share the points of views and experiences I gained with the readers of this blog:

The appplication support is really not bad, the main problem are drivers. E.g. my Logitech Orbit MP3 has a _horrible_ driver, means it causes 100% CPU load when anything with sound is playing
thing that is not supported are 16bit, means no more Windows 3.1 software or 3.1 based install routines. (So no Monster Truck Madness 1/2 from 1996/98 or Sierra games from the 90’s).

Some people have the Windows Vista Applications Compatibility update installed (which is available for all Windows Vista versions of course and even Windows XP Pro X64! – (Same update released on the same day). Those updates – according to their release note – include fixes for Opera 9

When Opera crashes and you send a report of this to MS and then look for solutions, Vista will download a message from Microsoft’s severs, stating that Microsoft fails to get in touch with the Opera Team and suggets the Vista user to uninstall Opera.

Well, I have to admit, in some ways I am disappointed, like misleading fraud detections of PayPal.

One would think they would work together with Microsoft but according to what Microsoft states, they don’t.

Another big plus of Windows Vista is: I didn’t manage yet to destroy it. In older Windows, you had no access to the system restore when Windows refused to boot up you only could use the recovery console and replace all files in 50% of all cases, Windows XP got destroyed more then (bluescreen, etc). In Vista howerver you have the Vista CD which you can just boot up and into Vista’s PE graphical enviroment and run all the system critical stuff like system restore points, Vista’s disk image, etc.

Technorati Tags: 64bit, Vista, Windows, Patch Day, applications, Opera
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Despite the fact that Microsoft dropped the Patch Day in March, they have anyway released some nice patches:

March 2007 Windows Vista Application Compatibility Update to improve compatibility. Among many there is also Opera listed.

Furthermore – as some of you might know – Windows XP X64 came shipped as included with Service Pack 1. Yesterday, Microsoft decided to release Service Pack 2 for Windows XP X64 and Server 2003.

Unfortunately it causes the UXTheme MultiPatcher to no longer work since it misdetects the OS now as Windows XP Pro Service Pack 2! 🙁

Technorati Tags: 64bit, Vista, Windows, Patch Day, SP2, Opera
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Microsoft released 2 very important Windows Vista updates!:

quoting the source: “The Microsoft Windows Mobile Device Center enables data synchronization between Windows Mobile-powered devices and Windows Vista. Microsoft Windows Mobile Device Center Driver for Windows Vista“

source and download

The update also means better support of such bluetooth devices. Which is positive since native’s bluetooth support as bad in Vista as in XP SP2.

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Windows Help program (WinHlp32.exe) for Windows Vista:

Quoting the source: “Windows Help (WinHlp32.exe) is a Help program that has been included with Microsoft Windows versions starting with the Microsoft Windows 3.1 operating system. However, the Windows Help program has not had a major update for many releases and no longer meets Microsoft’s standards.”

source and download.

Technorati Tags: 64bit, Vista, Windows, bluetooth, hlp, mobile
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Share Google Earth with your friends on Skype – means realtime travelling the earth with your friend using Skype. This is made possible thanks to a new tool called Unype

(Even Google Earth mentioned it on its blog.

Officially stated are 2000 and XP compatibility but I would not be wondered if it was also working on Windows Vista 🙂

YouTube also has a demonstration video:

Enjoy! 🙂

Technorati Tags: Skype, Google Earth
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Yet another Skype wifi phone among the dozens of them. The best things are The phone has 72-hour standby time, 3-hour talk time., 72 hours standby time is not bad and equals the average standby time of Skype wi-fi phones. According to a few manufacturers this is because the Skype JAVA client eats a lot of battery. It also claims to have better audio quality. More info and photo can be found at GadRev Blog.

Technorati Tags: Skype, wi-fi
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Skype released yesterday a new Beta version featuring a new feature called Skype Prime which is accordingly to the Knowledge Base: “…a new way to share answers and advice anytime and anywhere. Skype users can register as call providers and charge other users to call them and get information. The callers pay for the call service with Skype Credit.”

So, this means services that already supported Skype like e.g. BitWine got competition now by Skype’s “Skype Prime” service.

More details about this service can be found on Jaanus’ Skype Blog. (screenshot taken from Skype Numerology. – news from above mentioned Skype Blog).

Technorati Tags: Skype, Prime
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