As many of you might know I work for a large electronics retailer. While at work on Tuesday I was pleasantly surprised by a Microsoft rep. entering the store and talking about Windows 7. This (from my perspective) was unheard of and the service desk and computer sales associates were very impressed, myself included. The rep. came in told us about some of the key features of Windows 7 and talked to us about ExpertZone a way for retail employees to take a few simple courses and get a free copy of windows 7 before it’s launch.

I could go on about the details but that is not really want I wanted to discuss. What is more that obvious is that Microsoft is becoming aware that the happier you make the people selling your product the better you are in the long run. To better explain this lets take a blast to the past.

During the month’s before the Windows Vista launch I knew very little about Vista. We were given very little training materials and did not even get a computer to demonstrate the product until a week before it’s launch. This made it very difficult to not only explain the features of Vista it made Microsoft out as the bag guy right from the start.

My point is that we did not like it because we knew little about it and in turn would quickly agree with any customer or fellow employee that said the almost famous term “Vista Sucks”.

I do commend Microsoft for taking the time to realize that the people at the bottom of the food chain, the sales associates, can change the outcome of the product and that training is key when releasing something new. I hope Microsoft continues this approach to all it’s future releases. With Windows 7 being the great OS that it is and Microsoft playing their cards right they might just be back in the game of OS wars.

Comments? Questions? I would love to hear them.

As I have said time and time again, no operating system is created equal, nor do they present themselves as better than another. Such a statement can be applied to Windows because, hopefully, everyone knows Windows is prone to crashing. If you haven’t backed up your important and even your not-so-important files recently, getting those files back can be a pain…until now.

Note: If you plan on reformatting your system, please refer to Your Universal Guide to Windows (Part 1) before proceeding with this article for necessary download links to free security software. If you are attempting to recover your Windows machine from a crash, it would be wise to access those downloads from another computer and transfer them to an external storage source.

You could use a file recovery program to attempt to get your files back after reformatting, but that doesn’t guarantee you will get them all back and retrieve 100% of the data. If you want a sure fire way to get all your data back, one of your best bets is to use a Linux distribution on a Live CD. If you have never used Linux before, this walkthrough will be a nice introductory to Ubuntu Linux. Ubuntu is a nice stepping stone for those that have not ventured the Linux path, allowing users to get a feel for the Linux software and even a decent grasp of the Linux command line.

If you do not have an Ubuntu disc or have the ISO downloaded and burned to a disc, visit DistroWatch or the Ubuntu website to download the ISO image and burn it to a disc with ImgBurn or another ISO image writer. Afterwards, follow the instructions to learn how to view your hard drive.

1. Insert your new Ubuntu Linux disc into your CD drive and reboot. Your PC will boot Ubuntu from the disc.

2. A menu will appear with a list of options. Select Try Ubuntu without any changes to your computer and press enter.

3. Allow Ubuntu to boot. At the very top of the screen, you will see a task bar with a number of options. Click on Places and then Computer. This will show you your hard drive as well as other hard drives on your system, if it applies.

4. Double click on your Windows drive to view the contents. If it opens immediately, skip to step 11 and read on. If not, continue on with the next step.

If you receive an “Unable to mount the volume” error, the next few steps will show you how to force the drive to open to view the contents.

5. Click on the Details link on the “Unable to mount the volume” error message, which will include a command line to force the drive to mount. Copy that command line down.

6. Go back to the top taskbar and click on Applications, then Accessories, and then Terminal. This application will allow you to use the Linux command line.

7. In order to force the mount of your hard drive, we will need to change to the administrator mode (Linux terms: root). Type in the following command:

sudo /bin/bash

8. Hard drives are either in NTFS format or Fat32. If you do not know what kind of drive you have, type the follow command:

fdisk -1

9. A directory must be created in order to mount the drive. Use the following command:

mkdir /media/disk

10. The following command is what you will type next, with a slight variation. Where it is bolded, replace that with what you copied down from the error details. This command is for those with an NTFS drive.

mount -t ntfs-3g /dev/sda1 /media/disk -o force

If you have a FAT32 drive, use the following command line:

mount -t vfat -o umask=000 /dev/sda1 /media/disk

If you do not know what type of drive you have, refer to step 8 again.

11. If you completed all of the steps correctly, you should be able to see your hard drive contents.

Now would be a good time to have your external hard drive or other storage content with you. Please note that not all external hard drives are compatible with Linux. Please be sure to check to see that yours is.

Explore your hard drive as you normally would on Windows. Assess the amount of space used and how fast Ubuntu is retrieving the data. If you have a lot of data and Ubuntu seems to be lagging some, stop the data retrieval and look at the contents it has acquired. If there are a lot of useless old files, delete them. If there are a lot of .tmp files, delete them. Afterwards, try and read the folder again and do the same.

Once the hard drive has been cleaned and your file have been backed up, congratulations! You can now reformat your hard drive and reinstall Windows!

Hi there.  I thought I might give you a little background on myself before I wrote this blog entry.  My name is Cody “Belthesar” Wilson, and I’m one of the lesser known members of the Geekologist team.  Typically, I sit in the background and am here to give guidance and direction on the way this site moves forward, either technical or otherwise.  You probably won’t see a lot of blog posts from me, but when you do, it’s because, well, I just gotta share something with everyone.

I was raised for the most part in the Windows world (unless you count when I was mucking around in DOS 5 and 6, and my Apple II years, but we won’t bother with those for now.)  4 years ago, I decided I wanted to give Apple a shot and bought a friends Powerbook G4.  I was hooked from there, and became a Mac zealot of sorts.  I did my fair share of Microsoft bashing while as a Windows user, but it certainly increased when I saw “the light”.  So when I tell you that Windows 7, even in its release candidate stage, is the first Microsoft OS I feel not only comfortable, but welcome and enjoy using since I made the switch to OS X, I want you to know exactly what I mean.

Being the Apple fan I am, not only in OS but in hardware, I decided that I would bite the bullet and nuke my XP Boot Camp partition in favor of installing the Windows 7 release candidate (RC).  Given that I have a new Unibody Macbook Pro, I thought I’d give the x64 release aside, as I was tired of not being able to address all of the RAM when I was in the Windows side of things.  The install process worked without a hitch.  After installing the Boot Camp 2.1 drivers for x64 Vista (which also work without any fuss) I had a fully functional Boot Camp compliant Windows 7 install.  This meant it was time to play.

My first impression was the new Taskbar system, which now very much so replicates and expands upon OS X’s Dock.  You can pin applications to the Taskbar and launch them from there, as well as access any running application from it.  Instead of having a text description, the Taskbar now only has the application icon.  It’s important to note that since they have done this, they have removed the “Quick Launch” toolbar for the Taskbar.  Not a problem as this would have been redundant anyway, and the new system works great.  The Taskbar groups windows by application, and hovering over the application’s icon allows you to select which window you want from a labeled preview icon.  All in all, a very comfortable and familiar experience, especially coming from being an OS X user.  The Taskbar has two other really nice features, one of which is the movement and expansion on the “Show Desktop” button.  Formerly located in the Quick Launch toolbar, the “Show Desktop” button now resides on the far right of the Taskbar.  Clicking it has the same functionality as before, but hovering over it fades each visible window into an Aero transparent window pane, allowing you to see your desktop as well as the outline of each open window.  I found it interesting to find that at one point there was a dialog box that had gotten buried in my persistent clicking about and was able to address it in this manner.  Lastly on the Taskbar, the new System Tray is fantastic.  You can now not only choose what icons appear in the tray, but how their notification behavior works.  Also, instead of expanding the System Tray, it brings up another small window like when hovering over application icons on the Taskbar which allows you to select the other hidden System Tray icons.  All in all, easy to use, easy to manage.  Many welcome changes from not only Vista, but from XP, and given that many users are still staunchly avoiding Vista like the plague, I have a feeling this new interface will be different, but welcome to the users that have avoided the switch to Microsoft’s current desktop OS.

Secondly, the modifications to the Vista-introduced “User Account Control” system have made a very annoying and ridiculed feature much less of an annoyance while maintaining the security benefit of user-granted process elevation.  UAC now has a slider that controls just how in depth it’s requests for attention are.  Its default setting seems to be very sufficient by being present, but not unobtrusive.  UAC offers a hyper-paranoid setting for users questioning if they have viruses, or just really like knowing whenever any system change is trying to be made, a little more relaxed setting which still brings up a dialog window whenever a system change is being made but does not lock out or dim the screen (also an added feature for older systems and I’m sure netbooks, who have trouble with the DirectX transparency overlay taking a long time to load), and finally an option to disable UAC completely.  Not being unfamiliar with having to elevate to perform certain tasks since my experience with UAC, I have left it at its default setting.  UAC also learns what tasks you seem to perform on an elevated level and will learn to automatically elevate certain tasks.  These tasks still have the “elevated shield badge” on them in the Taskbar, but have a opposing pattern blue and gold shield coloring versus the Windows patterned shield for elevated processes.

The last feature I’m going to talk about in this article is the Theme system.  Present since Windows 95’s PLUS! Pack, Windows Themes allow you to style your computer’s interface to your liking.  Sorta.  They can change your desktop icons, your border colors, your wallpaper, and your sound set.  And they still do now.  But making and changing themes to suit your style is easier, more intuitive, and more powerful than ever.  Desktop backgrounds no longer require a third-party application to be rotated.  I use the same folder I do in OS X for my backgrounds in Windows 7.  A nicer set of default sound sets are included, so if for some reason Vista’s sounds make you cringe, then there are several other themes you can choose from.  The Aero and Taskbar colors can also be modified.  All things that you could do before, but now have a way of doing them simpler and easier.

All in all, the Windows 7 experience is something I’m truly excited about.  I finally feel that Microsoft has a true contender in the OS market again, and it’s now Apple’s turn to start looking at what Microsoft is doing and learning on how to improve upon it.  While I’m not about to say that Windows 7 is fantastic and I’m a switcher, I now have no problem booting into Windows and feeling like I’m using an alien or antiquated operating system.  For basic users, it’s newly simplified and streamlined interface will be a breath of fresh air.  For power users, those advanced features and organization systems are easily within your grasp.

So alright, Apple.  Microsoft has finally stepped up their game, and they have an OS to rival yours.  Time to step up the Apple experience once again and keep this rivalry going.  Because there’s finally some competition in the desktop OS market again and it’s time to see where innovation takes us next.

If you’re reading this, you are hopefully a Windows user. If you are anything but a Windows user, enjoy the rest of the site. This particular post is meant to be a resource for those that have experienced the irreversible crashing or feel the need to restore their PC to the factory default conditions by reformatting. Either way, this post is here to help individuals seek a number of programs, through this single resource, to aid in the crash & reformat process. I would recommend downloading these programs and backing them up on an external source, such as a USB jump drive, external hard drive, or even copying them to a DVD-RW drive so you can install these programs before connecting to the Internet again.

Disclaimer: This is only meant as a compiled resource. I do not necessary recommend or endorse any one or numerous programs in this guide. However, I have placed a ** in front of them as they conform to my needs. Your particular needs may be different, depending on how often you use your Windows PC and what you use it for.

Service Packs: Service Packs are essential to your Windows operating system. They provide essential performance and security updates to help your Windows machine run more efficiently and be more secure.

Windows Vista

All versions: Service Pack 1

Windows XP

1. Home/Professional Edition (32 bit): Service Pack 1, Service Pack 2*, Service Pack 3*

Anti-Virus Software: There is a number of good anti-virus software out on the market. Some are paid versions while others are freeware versions. Personally, I believe that some of the freeware versions are equivalent to the paid versions, so I will be providing a number of anti-virus freeware.

1.**Avast Home Edition: I switched to Avast from AVG recently and I have to say, I’m glad I made the switch. Avast is a lightweight program specifically designed to find any all viruses, even the incoming ones, and remove them. Avast is ideal if you plan on running a separate, more sophisticated Anti-Spyware program.

2. AVG Free 8.0: AVG is one of the more popular free anti-virus software on the Internet. It combines its comprehensive Anti-Virus protection along with its newly created anti-spyware protection to keep your Windows machine protected and help it run more smoothly. AVG also comes with other tools in its software as well to help protect you while reading e-mail, surfing the Internet, and much more.

3. Avira AntiVir Personal: With extensive malware recognition of viruses, trojans, backdoor programs, worms, and more Avira makes Anti-Virus ideal for any Windows PC. Installation and configuration are done in a couple of steps. A help forum and phonme support are available, as well as a Knowledge base with virus descriptions available on the web site.

Anti-Spyware: Anti-Spyware software helps protect your Windows machine from unwanted and harmful malicious software intending to ruin the performance and security of your PC.

1.**SUPERAntiSpyware: Don’t let the cheesy name fool you. This program is considered on of the best out there. It’s light on system resources and has a very high detection rate. It’s unique repair tool makes this program one of a kind.

2.**Spybot Search and Destroy: Spybot is another unique anti-spyware program. Not only does Spybot remove spyware and other malware from your PC but it can also use methods inside of your browser to protect it from future attacks. That’s not all, though. Spybot also has the ability to back up your registry and recover components that may have been lost due to the spyware purging.

3. MalwareByte’s AntiMalware: A baby to the Anti-Spyware conglomerate, MBAM is a program that can detect some of the more advanced malware. It includes a number of features, including a built-in protection monitor that block malicious processes before they even start.

4. Ad-Aware 8.0 (Anniversary Edition): Lavasoft does a nice job when it comes to removing spyware. Ranked number one on download.com, Ad-Aware is most effective when combined with other security tools.

Firewalls: Another crucial component to protecting your Windows machine, a firewall acts as a filter keeping malware out and helps to keep your PC running as it should. If you’re looking for something to replace Windows Firewall, here are four really good suggestions.

1. Comodo Firewall Pro: “It’s Pro? And it’s free?” Absolutely! Comodo Firewall Pro has a number of components inside of this program to maximize the protection of your PC. First it has its Network Defense and Proactive Defense components, providing protection on the inside and outside of your Internet connection. Second, it has it’s own malware scanner, which will scan upon installation. Comodo also contains a variety of other tools to help you with your PC’s security: View Active Connections, My Network Zones, View Firewall Events, and much more.

2. Zone Alarm: Zone Alarm Free, fortunately, is now available for your Windows Vista machine. And, thankfully, it is still a #1 firewall used amongst Windows 2000 and XP users. Zone Alarm is a more unbloated version of Comodo, in that it only does a few simple tasks. First, the firewall portion protects your PC at your discretion, allowing you to set the filter on certain applications connecting to the Internet. Second, the Internet lock halts all web traffic while your Windows 200o/XP machine is not in use or if you have not opened a web browser. Third, the Zones portion of the program monitors overall activity on your PC and notified you when a new application wants to connect to the Internet.

3. Sunbelt Personal Firewall: Sunbelt Personal Firewall helps users control how their computers exchange data with other computers on the Internet or within the local network. It’s a necessity for all desktop computers connected to a broadband Internet. Versions 4.2.2 and prior are FREE for home and personal use.

4. Sygate Personal Firewall: Whether your working, banking, gaming, or even chatting, Sygate protects your Windows machine by actively looking for Trojan applications and hostile intruders that wish to break your system. If an attempt occurs, it blocks it by default. The same is true for applications; if an unauthorized application attempts to access the Internet, it, too, will be blocked by default. (Note: Since November 30th, 2005, all Sygate Firewall products have been discontinued. The last version is still available through the above link.)

Internet Browsers: Having the right Internet browser makes all the difference when it comes to your PC. It’s good to have an all-around browser: fast, open source, and secure. Having all three of these components in a browser will make your Internet browsing more enjoyable and less of a hassle.

1. Mozilla Firefox: One of the more common browsers on the open source market today, Firefox is known for its speed as well as its flexibility when it comes to your browsing experience. Firefox has over 5,000 add-ons and plug-ins to make your browsing experience more secure and enjoyable for you. Integrated anti-phising and anti-malware measures within the browser make this Internet browser a must have.

2. Internet Explorer 8: The recently released IE 8 is supposedly faster, safer, and more customizable. If you use IE 7 and are looking to update, click the link above.

3. Avant: The Avant browser is more of a secret in the web-browsing community, in my opinion. Avant is based on Microsoft Internet Explorer’s rendering engine but built by a smaller programming firm. Avant is wicked fast and preloaded with an abundance of skins for personalization. Tabbed browsing and toolbars are also features of this browser, among others. Avant lacks expansion and has been known to create problems in Vista. This is a good alternative to IE.

4. Maxthon: For those of you who want to try something different from IE and Firefox, Maxathon is a good alternative. With its ADs blocker and advanced content filter, Maxthon is ideal for those that want to escape from “the norm”.

5. Flock: Flock, as the company is aptly named, believes that users today are using the Web differently than they did years ago. Flock believes that the web browsers of today have not kept pace with these changes in online behavior. Hence, the browser ‘Flock’ was born, an open source browser that meets the stands of today’s web browsing. Many versions of Flock are available.

6. Safari: Safari is Apple’s pride and job web browser. All though it was designed for the Mac OS platform, it has also been made avaialbelt o Windows users.

7. Opera: Opera is a little farther along in the web browser community in terms of development. Opera is the only Web browser that comes complete with everything you need to productive, safe, and fast on the Internet.

8. Seamonkey: Formerly known as the “Mozilla Application Suite”, Seamonkey contains a web browser, a mail client, an HTML editor, Web development tools, and an IRC chat client all in one package. Ideal for those that want a somewhat leightwieght application to do a number of tasks.

9. Netscape Navigator: An oldie to the browsing community, Netscape Navigator offers high speed web browsing and instant messaging capabilities as well as tabbed browsing, support for buddy icons, and more.

10. Google Chrome: A newbie to the browsing community, Google Chrome combines a design sophisticated with technologies that allow your to surf the Web faster, safer, and easier. (Note: The download link above will take you to the Google Chrome website, where you must accept the EULA before downloading. Also, the 474k downloadable file is only a stub installer. You must remain connected to the Internet during installation to complete the full download of Google Chrome.)

File Clean-up/Recovery: File Clean-up programs are nice to get any un-needed files off of your system. What is an un-needed file? Anything in your Temporary Internet Folder, cookies, sometimes the tmp, etc. Some browsers can clean up your files, while there are other more sophisticated programs to clean up the rest of the junk. File Recovery programs allow you to retrieve files that have been deleted permanently from your hard drive and recover them to a manageable state.

1. Ccleaner: Formerly known as “Crap Cleaner”, this program cleans your hard drive of all un-necessary files that clutter your hard drive. This free system optimization tool removes such files to give Windows the ability to run fast and free up needed disk space.

2. ATF Cleaner: ATF Cleaner is a nice program if you don’t want to install another program onto your hard drive. It’s easy interface makes cleaning up files a breeze.

3. Recuva: Don’t let this program’s pronunciation fool you. Pronounced “recover”, this file recovery technology allows you to recover files that have been permanently deleted from your system, whether it was by you, a virus, or even an annoying Windows error.

Fun Programs: Every Windows machine should have some sort of interesting and appealing program on it. Check out these programs below:

1. ObjectDock: A program from Stardock, ObjectDock gives Windows users the feel for the Mac OS X dock. Customizable icons, grouped icons, and other customizable features make this program a must have.

2. Automatic Wallpaper Changer: I’m sure the lot of you tend to change your wallpaper often, so this program is a must have for you. AWC, as it is commonly called, allows you to set a timer between wallpaper changes as well as customize other particulars with the program.

3. Desktop Sidebar: If you’re a Windows XP user, you may to a certain extent envy the Windows Vista sidebar. Well, envy no more. Desktop Sidebar has a variety of features that you’ll drool over. Preinstalled features include a System Performance monitor, RSS feed, Calendar, Volume Control, Media Player, Shortcut area, and weather information, just to name a few.

Well, here you have it. Your guide to for your Windows machine. Everything you need to getting started on your new Windows machine, whether your new to Windows or simply recovering from a crash or reformat. If you have any other programs you wish to see on this list, please leave a comment.

* Also available for the Tablet and Media Center Editions

Windows Wednesday for April 15, 2009
The Ultimate Guide to Securing your PC. The topics included Updating your computer, Installing Malware Protection, Installing a Firewall and Fun things to do when you are secure.

For more information about the topic’s discussed on the 15th please visit Zetacon’s Post “Your Ultimate Guide to Windows (Part 1)”

Questions brought up during the show :

• Is AVG still going to provide a free version in the future? The question to this answer is Yes. AVG is still going to provide a free version of their software to End Users. Emails that AVG users got about AVG not being free was a fishing attempt.
• What is a good linux CD to download and burn to help me try to fix my broken and infected computer? Our recommendation is SystemRescueCD it will allow you to boot to a live CD to try to fix the most common of system issue.

Remember when your computer was new? The new computer smell, and extremely responsive interface? Today the time it takes to boot up your computer seems to take forever compared to it’s younger and more youthful years.

You might think what is going on with this slow computer. I just bought it last year. Well to be honest what you are experiencing is very common and can be easily fixed.

As you continue to use your computer, you install new programs, surf the web, and download music, and movies. Your computer becomes very bogged down. I have compiled a list of tasks you can do to keep that computer running just like it has been pulled out of the box.

1. Remove any old files, folders and programs from your computer.

• The easiest way to remove programs from your computer is to navigate to your control panel under your Start Menu click on control panel and navigate to Add/Remove Programs if you are on Windows 200o or XP. If you are on windows vista please click the icon titled Programs and Features. In this window it will show all the installed programs on your computer and tell you how frequently each program is used. You can remove any program you know is old or you are no longer using.

2. Remove all temporary or cached files from your internet browser.

• Assuming that the majority of you are running Internet Explorer as your browser navigate to the tools tab and click Internet Options. In the first window you will see an option to erase both your cookies and Temp Internet Files. It is alright to remove both because all that is stored is some simple information about where you have been on the internet and some pre cached images that will help the page load quicker next time you visit.

3. Disable programs from running at startup.

• You may have noticed when you installed a program that a new icon now shows up next to your systems clock even when the program is not open. This means that the program you installed runs in the background. Most of the time programs do this to make it quicker to start the program when you are ready to use it. However if you have to many programs running at startup your computer can become very slow and even unusable. To remove programs from startup go to your Start Menu and click run. In the run dialog type msconfig and press enter. You will see a new window on the desktop and you will need to navigate to the startup tab. In this tab msconfig will show you all the programs that run when you boot your computer. Please uncheck any box next to a program you do not wish to run at startup. Note! – IF YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT A PROGRAM IS DO NOT UNCHECK THE BOX NEXT TO IT. IT COULD CAUSE YOUR COMPUTER TO BECOME UNBOOTABLE. Once you have removed all the startup items you wish click ok and restart your computer.

4. Organize your files and folders.

• This may not get your computer running any faster but just like you clean your car or home your computer does need it’s own spring cleaning. Try to put common files in folders and label them. Trust me you will not regret taking time out of your day to do this when you save time not searching for that paper.

5. Update your anti-virus, anti-spyware, and Windows.

• This is a MUST DO. Installing the latest Windows updates and ensuring that your Internet Security software is up-to-date is crucial to the health of your computer. If the updates are not installed or your Internet Security software is not updated your will be at risk of getting a virus that could render your computer useless. Please make sure this step is completed if none of the above are. The tech community and I can not stress enough how important this step is!

Other ways to get that new computer smell back.

• Install more memory. – Join the live chat at http://geekologist.net/live and we can help you find the right memory for your computer.
• Get an external Hard Drive for your files. – Keep your music and photos externally to save valuable space on your Hard Drive.

Keep your mac running like new coming soon!

If you have anymore questions or would like to offer your own tips to our readers do not hesitate to leave a comment below!

The Lenovo S10 Netbook is one of the more affordable and reliable Ultra Mobile PC’s on the market. Check out the specs and details below

Pros:

• Large keyboard compared to most Ultra Mobile PC’s
• Express Card slot.

Cons:

• Poor battery life.
• Less than expected system specs compared to the EEE PC.

Specs:

Starting price	$439
Processor	1.6GHz Intel Atom N270
Memory	1GB, DDR2 SDRAM 533MHz
Hard drive	160GB 5,400rpm
Chipset	Mobile Intel 945 Express;
Graphics	Intel GMA 950
Operating System	Windows XP Home Edition SP3
Dimensions (WDH)	9.9×7.3×1.0 inches
Screen size (diagonal)	10.2 inches
System weight / Weight with AC adapter	2.7/3.4 pounds

If you have anymore questions do hesitate to leave a comment below

As the hype and positive reviews for Windows 7 continues to build and build, you may be thinking: “How could Windows 7 get any better?” As the full release may soon be upon us, Microsoft has released the product names of the six different versions of Windows 7. Although similar to the releases of Windows Vista, each version will contain something for everyone, different features for your different needs. Each version will also be on a single disc, allowing you at anytime to upgrade to another version, providing you pay for the unlock code. Windows XP and Vista users will be able to upgrade their OS licenses to Windows 7 but with a catch: You’ll still need to perform a clean installation of Windows 7, bearing in mind that you’ll need to reinstall programs and back-up all of your files.

Windows 7 Starter Edition: Primarily for netbook users, the Starter Edition will allow users to run only three applications at once, have some networking capabilities, and benefit from the new task bar and Jump lists.

Windows 7 Home Basic: Home Basic will allow users to use an unlimited amount of applications at the same time. It will also bring forth some new implemented features, such as the live thumbnail previews. Home Basic will also enable Internet connection sharing, wired and wireless and will provide options for those with laptops.

Windows 7 Home Premium: If you’re a fan of Windows Media Center and Aero Glass, this version will be for you. Aside from those features being implemented from Vista, touch-screen features have also been added, such as handwriting and multi-touch support. Windows Media Center will also feature improved media support and streaming functions.

Windows 7 Professional Edition: Businesses of all sizes will benefit from the improved security features, such as the encrypted file system, advanced network back-up, and the ability to join managed networks. Location-aware printing will also be supported.

Windows 7 Enterprise & Ultimate Editions: Enterprise and Ultimate will have similar features as the other versions. However, software such as BitLocker will be implemented for internal and external hard drives. AppLocker will also be implemented, keeping unauthorized software from running.

A number of features, while prevalent in Windows Vista, have been removed in all versions of Windows 7.

1. Several shell features including:

- Classic Start menu user interface

- Floating Deskbands (was deprecated in Windows Vista, now deskband can be only pinned to taskbar)

- Windows Media Player Mini-player (replaced with the new Jump list feature)

- Pinning default Internet Browser and E-mail client software programs on Start menu by default (programs can be manually pinned)

- The ability to disable grouping (placing next to each other) similar taskbar buttons

- Combined taskbar buttons no longer numerically show how many windows are in their stack.

- The Taskbar network icon does not show network activity animation. (To be returned in RC)

- Advanced search builder UI.

- The ability to disable the taskbar’s “always on top” setting.

- Taskbar buttons’ context menus have been replaced with Jump Lists, which lack Restore, Move, Size, Minimize and Maximize buttons.

2. Some Windows Media Player features:

- Advanced Tag Editor

- Paste Album Art

- Recently added Auto playlist

3. Windows Photo Gallery, Windows Movie Maker, Windows Mail and Windows Calendar (in favor of downloading or using online the free respective Windows Live counterparts, which lack some features) although the Photo Viewer module of Windows Photo Gallery has been retained.

4. Software Explorer feature of Windows Defender

5. Removable Storage Manager (RSM) (applications dependent on it, such as NTBackup or the NTBackup Restore Tool, cannot run)

6. Windows Meeting Space

7. The ability to search contents of files using Windows Search.

8. InkBall, a game

9. The numeric keypad from On-Screen Keyboard

10. Microsoft Agent 2.0 Technology

11. Windows Sidebar (replaced with Desktop Gadget Gallery)

12. Windows Ultimate Extras in the Ultimate edition

So, how can Windows 7 get any better? You decide.

Removed features list provided by Wikipedia

One thing that will never change in any tech community is the never-ending operating system (OS) wars. I’ve seen a good number of them and a lot of them just don’t have the facts to back up their claims. However, on a constant basis, it is usually the prime two operating systems: Windows and the Mac OS, otherwise known as Mac vs PC.

I don’t normally like to get involved in those arguments or any other computer-related war, the main reason being that both parties are simply not satisfied with what the other product has to offer. It boils down to each party acquiring their favorite OS and dismissing another all together in a stubborn and ignorant manner. However, in this particular post, I’m taking the opportunity to display my observations, clear up a lot of the flaws presented in the arguments, and lay down a few technicalities on this on-going issue.

The word “Mac” is a term that Apple laid down to set themselves apart from the “PC” platform. While this is a creative marketing theme, we need to look at the whole picture here. A Mac, believe it or not, is a PC, taking note that PC stands for Personal Computer. That term also goes for any other brand of system outside the Apple spectrum: HP, Compaq, Dell, Toshiba; they are all PCs.

Those who have fallen prey to this little piece of propaganda tend to develop a nice superiority complex because of it. That is not a good thing, by the way. Due to this common complex, it also stems others to start OS wars. A lot of the common things that are said sound most likely similar to “Oh, Mac Sucks” or “Vista Sucks” or “I hate Ubuntu”. However, a good majority of the time, this is how a typical conversation within the OS war would be like:

“Mac is really better? Have you tried other operating systems?”
“Yeah, Vista sucks.”
…
“Okay, what about Linux?”
“Linux blows. I could never learn that.”
“Have you taken the time to learn Linux?”
(No response)

I’ll be honest with you. You can’t assess whether one operating system is better than another without actually trying them for yourself. It really isn’t that hard to go to your nearest Apple store or another electronic store and try out OS X. Testing it out also applies to Linux as well. Linux and its hundreds and hundreds of distributions are, for the most part, free. Ubuntu is a nice stepping stone for those that want to learn Linux and the Unix command line. Download Ubuntu Linux and run the Live CD to see if you like it. Don’t automatically dismiss an OS because of what you heard about it. While sometimes that can be reliable, for the majority of the time, however, it’s better if you experience it for yourself.

Don’t get me wrong, I do not hate Apple. I have used OS X before. If Apple’s EULA allows OS X to be installed on other computers, I would probably purchase just the OS and nothing else. Why? Apple’s computers are top notch machines but the price leaves it out of reach for a lot of people, like myself for instance. If they drop the Mac Pro to under $800, I would buy it in a heartbeat. But I really don’t see that happening for a while.

All I ask is that you try out a Mac, a Linux operating system, or any other operating system before you start completely dismissing it all together. Being better informed is better than being ignorant. The knowledge that you gain from experiencing it yourself will be more worthwhile.

When I went out to buy this game I had played with a friend’s game. A few times after bringing it over my friend said he was tired of bringing it all over. I knew at that moment I needed to go out and buy it. I picked up my game at Best Buy for around $189 +tax. When I got home the unboxing was kind of complicated and confusing. Once I got it all out of the box set up was easy after I have it out of the box I had it set up in minutes. Everything is of great quality and seems very durable under normal game play. The only problem I have is the stuff takes up a good amount of room when not in use the microphone and guitar are not the problem it’s the drums. When assembled they talk up a lot of room so when planning on getting rock band 2 I would also think about how you will store it and maybe look to getting a travel case. Now over all the game play is amazing it keeps my friends and I busy for hours. If anyone is thinking about buying this go to a store and try it out. I feel that this was a great game to buy and worth every penny.

The most difficult thing I had in regards to my wireless network was the initial setup. If you have Verizon DSL, you’ll know that they don’t tend to make connection modifications quite as easy as you want them to be. The same goes for setting up an outside router, like a Linksys brand, for a wireless network. You have the option of calling their tech support department and getting over-the-phone support or  you can do it yourself. The following is a step-by-step tutorial to make your life a little easier.

NOTE: My modem is a Westell 6100. I do not know if the Modem Configurations are the same for each of the modems that Verizon provides. If someone could send me a message or leave a comment here confirming such, I would appreciate it.

Before running the Linksys EasyLink software, let’s start by bridging your modem. Make sure that your modem is connected directly to your computer and not connected the router. Once the connections are verified, turn your modem on and wait for the Power, Ethernet, DSL, and Internet lights are all solid green.

Throught trial and error as well as Verizon’s recommendations, the configurations for the bridging mode seem to work better in Microsoft Internet Explorer. If you do not have Internet Explorer installed on your PC, you can download Internet Explorer 7 by clicking here.

1. Open up Internet Explorer and clear everything in the address bar. Type the following IP address into the address bar: 192.168.1.1 and press the enter key.

2. Upon entering the above local IP address, you’ll be directed to the ProLine DSL Modem main page. If this is your first time doing this, you may be prompted for a username and password. If so, for the username, type admin and for the password, type password. You will be able to change the password later.

3. On the ProLine DSL Modem main page, you will see a variety of tabs. Main, My Network, Firewall Settings, Advanced, and System Monitoring. Click on the My Network tab.

4. On the left side of the screen will be three different options: Main, Network Status, and Network Connections. Click on Network Connections.

5. In the center of the screen where it says Network Connections, there is a small chart containing two links: Broadband Connection (DSL) and LAN. Click on the Broadband Connection link.

6. You will be taken to the Broadband Connection (DSL) area. However, the configuration page will be named slightly different: Advanced DSL Configuration. You will see three different sections on this page: Routed Bridge Connection, VCs, followed by a series of three checkmark boxes. Ignore the checkmark boxes and click on the icon under the Edit column of the VCs section.

7. There are only two sections that you need to be concerned about for this next step: Protocol and Bridge Mode. Make sure that both sections are enabled as “Bridge” and click on the “Apply” button towards the bottom of the configuration page.

8. Follow steps 3 through 5 to get back to the Network Connections page. Instead of clicking on Broadband Connection (DSL) link, click on LAN. Also, keep the modem IP address at it’s default. Click on “Apply” and allow the new configurations to take place. Note: Verizon tells you to remove the checkmark from the checkmark box next to “Private LAN DHCP Server Enable”. However, I left it alone and my wireless network still works fine.

9. This next step has worked for me before and I’m sure it will work for you: Leave the modem and computer alone for about five to ten minutes. I’m serious. Give the modem some time to configure its new parameters and then proceed to setup your Linksys Router.

Setting up the Linksys Router
The wireless router I use is a Linksys WRT54GS with Speedbooster. Linksys recommends that you run and install the Linksys EasyLink Advisor provided with the router. It will guide you through step by step the instructions of connecting your modem to your router, as well as getting the Internet Connection to work.