Fundraising Ideas: September 2010

Processors and graphics cards get all the glory, but then they're always the glitzy A-list stars that grace the covers of all the magazines. But the sad truth is there's simply less glory in overclocking memory. The gains aren't as tangible and that feeling of getting something for nothing isn't as great, as you've probably forked out for expensive overclocking memory. Cynicism aside, the fact you can overclock your memory means you should. But before diving in head first it's always best to peer into the murky waters and see what you can learn. Hopefully, you know that memory runs at a set clock speed and increasing this is our first tool in faster memory. While we mention it, if you're wondering where the often used PCxxx measure used with memory comes from, it's simply eight times the clock speed. This is the theoretical throughput calculated as the clock speed, and times the number of bits (64) divided by eight to get a bytes value. The second area of mystery is the memory timing figures that often go 8-8-8-24 possibly with a T1 or T2. These describe the amount of time memory requires to perform certain actions. They are always listed in this order and are measured in clocks: CAS Latency (CL) The amount of time between the processor asking for data and the memory starting to return it. RAS to CAS delay (tRCD) How long it takes to activate a specific RAS line and the subsequent CAS column in memory. RAS precharge (tRP) How long it takes to disable an active RAS line and activate the next one. Active to precharge delay (tRAS) The amount of time required between memory accesses. Command rate (CMD) Either T1 or T2 indicating one or two clock cycles and is the time between the memory being activated and when the first command can be sent. In reality there's little you can do with the majority of these settings and you'll find you gain little if you try reducing the settings. The best results come from reducing the CAS latency which you'll find will release a few per cent of extra performance, as you can see from our results. The alternative way comes from increasing the clock speed, as this simply increase the throughput of the memory. The balancing act comes with the fact latency increases to keep timings under control. One thing we've not mentioned are the default SPD settings held within memory modules. When your PC posts it'll scan the memory modules for the SPD settings, these hold the default timings for the modules at specific clock speeds. Over recent years both Nvidia and Intel have released their own extensions to these in the form of EPP/SLI-ready and XMP respectively. These offer a way for memory manufacturers to sell overclocking memory and for systems to automatically take advantage of these in a stable manner. Volting again As with the processor, once you start increasing the clock speed this extra burden on the memory can require increased voltages as power requirements go up. The stock voltage with DDR3 is 1.5 volts. As guidance the maximum JEDEC recommended voltage is 1.575 and supposedly modules should be able to handle 1.975 volts without permanent damage, though they don't have to function at this level. Most overclocking memory requires a 1.65 voltage and in reality there's no reason to go above 1.85 volts, while for general use 1.7 volts is a safe maximum. Once again for the actual overclocking there are three options. The BIOS is the most hit and miss, the options made available to you can vary wildly from board to board, but you're usually presented with at least the ability to control the memory's clock speed, the timings we've already mentioned and the base voltages. To measure just the performance of the memory overclock we're going to maintain the CPU speed as close to its stock 3.2GHz as possible. We can do that by knocking down the multiplier as we increase the FSB. We'll start by reducing the CAS latency at stock speeds to see how much of an increase that can return, before increasing the clock speeds. This will increase bandwidth but also latency, so the balancing act will be to see which one pays the most dividends. We're not using specific overclocking memory, just solid 1,600MHz 8-8-8-24 memory, so it's more in line with what most people will have in their rigs. 1. Piles of RAM At least these days the packaging for most memory modules is pretty uniform, so it's much easier to work out the appropriate speed and capabilities of different sticks without too much head scratching and whimpering. We'll be using some relatively decent 1,600MHz 8-8-8-24 DDR3 modules. 2. Two by two You'll need matching pairs of sticks to get the best out of your memory selection, especially if you want to overclock it. Note also that which slot you use can make a difference depending on your board, it's worth checking your motherboard manual to make sure there's no odd configuration requirements. 3. The SPD If you fire up CPUZ and click the SPD tab you get a rundown of the default timing settings, this will also include any overclocking settings for Nvidia SLI memory or Intel's XMP. It also takes a nose through the CPUZ dump for more details. So you can use these for your own nefarious needs. 4. BIOS tricks In certain ways the best way to overclock memory remains the BIOS, memory timings are generally so tight that it's easy to lock the machine during Windows boot. So it's a quick reboot and into the BIOS to tweak the settings again, after your umpteenth attempt at getting more speed.. 5. CAS this, RAS that The sheer number of memory timings available can be bewildering and confusing, which is why they are often listed on their BIOS page. If you stick with the core timings we've already covered that's more than enough to be playing with and ideally there's not too much variance, anyway. 6. Tweak me For memory fiddling take a look at tweakers.fr, both its MemSet (for external controllers) and CPU-Tweaker (for integrated controllers) are an excellent way to play with almost all of the memory settings from within Windows or at least provides a way of checking the existing settings.Related StoriesReview: Spire Blackmoon 650WReview: Corsair Professional Series Gold AX1200Review: Scythe Stronger 700WReview: Corsair XMS3 2,000MHzReview: A-Data XPG Plus 1866+Deforestation

By Joe Wilcox, Betanews
Windows Live Spaces' shutdown may not be a big win for WordPress.com, after all. According to internal e-mail messages obtained by Betanews, Microsoft expects only about 1 percent of Windows Live Spaces bloggers to move to WordPress.com. If not there then where? In the e-mail exchange, one Microsoft executive asserts about the 30 million active Windows Live Spaces blogs: "Most are dead."The e-mail exchange took place on Sept. 28, the day after Automattic and Microsoft revealed that Windows Live Spaces would shut down in about six months and that bloggers could migrate their sites to WordPress.com. The announcement asserts there are 30 million "active" Windows Live Spaces blogs. But the e-mail exchange suggests otherwise.First, some context: Betanews has obtained the e-mail messages but has chosen not to identify the participants in the exchange -- at least at this time. While naming the people in the exchange would add authority to this report, we believe that revealing identities would cause unnecessary badwill with Microsoft and hardship for employees exchanging e-mails internally. They have some expectation of privacy. It's not like we've uncovered terrorists or someone leaking nuclear secrets. Additionally, the statement about the number of migrations was delivered in a specific context about hosting platforms, which will be further explained in a few paragraphs.30 Million or 300,000?It's not unusual for companies like Microsoft to overstate statistics that aren't otherwise easily confirmed. There's often huge PR advantage in larger numbers, and reporters tend to assume the figures are correct, particularly when they can't otherwise easily be confirmed. Often lowly public relations employees make these kinds of decisions. In this case, the number means much to WordPress.com, which could conceivably double in size over six months if just half of Windows Live Spaces bloggers migrated to the Automattic service. As of September, WordPress.com hosted 13.9 million blogs.However, according to a senior Microsoft manger e-mailing colleagues: "The net is: 300k sites are expected to migrate of the 30M 'blogs' -- most are dead. Wordpress is adding somewhere in the order of zero servers to handle this capacity. This was a 'who has the best online service for blogging for our customers' and had nothing to do with technology."As I explained yesterday, among the different blogging service options, WordPress.com is likely best fit for Windows Live Bloggers. The senior Microsoft manager emphasized customers and not technology for a reason. Earlier in the exchange, Microsoft decision-makers debated about customers moving from Internet Information Server running on Windows Server to ngix running on Linux. "I'm hoping for a second half to this story, where we're hosting these WordPress sites on Azure...moving 20+ million to Linux seems like shooting ourselves in the foot in terms of securing the platform," wrote another Microsoft employee.Which Priority: Platform or Customers?When I blogged about the migration yesterday, I assumed, perhaps wrongly, that WordPress.com would host the blogs on Azure. In November, Microsoft showcased Automattic as an Azure customer.�According to Netcraft, WordPress.com servers run Linux, something another Microsoft employee involved in the e-mail exchange observed and noted about a personal blog moved to WordPress.com from Windows Live Spaces. Several Microsoft employees involved in the exchange expressed concern about moving millions of bloggers from the company's platforms to rivaling Linux.The Microsoft e-mailers have a point. Their exchange indicates the negative impact the WordPresss.com migration can have on employee morale. Then there is the sales case. How can Microsoft salespeople effectively sell customers on Azure when Windows Live Spaces is going to a Linux cloud?It's in this context that the senior Microsoft manager asserted that only a small number of Windows Live Spaces blogs would migrate to WordPress.com. He tried to calm the troops, so to speak.According to sources, Microsoft managers started debating the merits of the platform switch -- Windows to Linux versus best choice for customers -- sometime in mid summer, about the time that Windows Live beta testers received first option to migrate their sites to WordPress.com. Clearly somebody decided to put customers, even those using services for free, before platform�decisions. Additionally, just because migrated sites don't run on Azure today doesn't mean they won't in the near-distant future. WordPress.com may yet switch blog-hosting servers to Azure.The remaining question: "How many?" Is WordPress.com's Windows Live Spaces payday thousands of pennies instead of thousands of dollars, so to speak? "How many?" and "On what platforms?" are the questions I have officially posed to both Automattic and Microsoft.After I posted, Paul Kim, Automattic's vice president of user growth, responded: "We don't have an exact estimate for how many Spaces bloggers will move over to WordPress.com in the next 6 months, but in the first 48 hours we've completed close to 50,000 migrations which is very promising." That number is impressive enough. Real measure will be the next 48 hours or 48 days.As for platforms, Kim responded: "WordPress.com, where these migrating Spaces bloggers are moving to, runs on Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP." In a follow-up e-mal, Kim responded: "We don't plan to host any of these blogs on Windows Azure at this time." Early this evening I received a startling response (finally) from Microsoft's PR agency. The statement: "There are approximately 30 million users on Windows Live Spaces that includes both authors and their visitors. About 7 million are authors -- this means Spaces users, most of whom have a blog and regularly update their content. We expect a significant customer set will choose the great blogging experience offered by WordPress.com."The statement shaves about 23 million "active" bloggers from Windows Live Spaces and makes more sense of the 300,000 figure. As stated earlier in this post, companies tend to overstate numbers, as clearly Microsoft's PR machine did here.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

WordPress.com - Windows Live Space - Microsoft - Automattic - Blog

Air Purifiers

By Tim Conneally, Betanews
In the Windows Team blog today, Brandon Watson announced that the "biggest request from the WP7 developer community" has been answered: the latest community preview of Windows Phone Developer Tools now includes support for Visual Basic.Unfortunately, there is no word when this will be fully supported, and currently it stands as more of a proof of concept that it is a viable mobile development language. This is because there are a number of limitations involved: there is no "Go Live" license, so any apps that are put together in VB will not be able to be uploaded to the Windows Phone Marketplace; and developers can only make Silverlight apps and not XNA games.This preview requires Visual Studio 2010 Professional or higher, and developers using Windows Phone Developer Tools Express edition will not be able to take part. However, the trial version of VS 2010 is enough to give it a try. Microsoft Visual Basic CTP for Windows Phone Developer Tools can be downloaded here.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Windows Phone 7 - Brandon Watson - Visual Basic - Microsoft - Microsoft Visual Studio

Blogging

Two former members of the hacker gang Kryogeniks were hit with 18-month prison sentences Friday for a 2008 stunt that replaced Comcast?s homepage with a shout-out to other hackers.
Twenty-year-old Christopher Allen Lewis, aka EBK, of Newark, Delaware, and 28-year-old Michael Paul Nebel, aka Slacker, 28, of Kalamazoo, Michigan, were also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $89,578.13, and to serve three years under court supervision following their release, in a hearing before U.S. District Court Judge Robert F. Kelly in Philadelphia.
A third hacker, James Robert Black Jr., 21, aka Defiant, was sentenced in August to four months for his role in the prank, receiving consideration for helping the FBI build cases against his co-defendants and other computer intruders.
The three men hijacked Comcast?s domain name in May of 2008 ? a prank that took down the cable giant?s homepage and webmail service for more than five hours, and allegedly cost the company more than $128,000. Visitors to Comcast.net had been redirected to a simple page reading, ?KRYOGENIKS EBK and DEFIANT RoXed COMCAST sHouTz To VIRUS Warlock elul21 coll1er seven.?

A screenshot taken during the Comcast.net hijacking shows Defiant in control of the company?s domain names. Courtesy

As described in the indictment (.pdf) in the case, the pranksters got control of the Comcast.net domain with two phone calls and an e-mail sent to the company?s domain registrar, Network Solutions, from a hacked Comcast e-mail account.
That gave them entry to the Network Solutions control panel for Comcast?s 200 domains.
In an interview the day after the attack, Black and Lewis, who then identified themselves as Defiant and EBK, told Threat Level that they didn?t initially set out to redirect the site?s traffic. Instead, they merely changed the contact information for the Comcast.net domain to Black?s e-mail address. For the street address, they used the ?Dildo Room? at ?69 Dick Tard Lane.?
Then, the hackers said, they contacted Comcast?s original technical contact at his home number to tell him what they?d done. It was only when the Comcast manager scoffed at their claim and hung up on them, that Lewis decided to take the more drastic measure of redirecting the site?s traffic to servers under the hackers? control.
?I was trying to say we shouldn?t do this the whole damn time,? said Black at the time.
?But once we were in,? added Lewis, ?it was, like, fuck it.?
In the 2008 interview , the hackers expressed some shock over the attention the attack garnered.
?The situation has kind of blown up here, a lot bigger than I thought it would,? said Black at the time. ?I wish I was a minor right now, because this is going to be really bad.?
The two men were ordered to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on Oct. 25.
They could have done worse. The probation office had recommended 41 to 51 months in prison for Lewis and 37 to 46 months for Nebel, based on federal sentencing guidelines and Comcast?s assessment of its costs in recovering its domain name.
See Also:
Comcast.net Hijacker Gets 4 Months
Comcast Hijackers Say They Warned the Company First
Feds Charge 3 With Comcast.net Hijacking
Comcast.net Hijacked, Redirected

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Sky has unveiled just what you can expect from its 3D channel this autumn, which is gearing up for a full 1 October launch.The programme announcement comes on the same day that Virgin Media announced the launch of its on-demand 3D service, proving that rivalry between the two factions is still pretty high.The content announced is a range of sports, movies and documentaries and includes big-name films such as Alice In Wonderland and Monsters Vs Aliens.The live events will be the biggest draw for many, though, so it's good to see that Manchester City vs Arsenal (Sunday 24 October) and Liverpool vs Chelsea (Sunday 7 November) are both in the channel line-up.The full list of content is as follows: SportRyder Cup [1-3 October]Live Barclays Premier League matches in October and November including: the Manchester, Merseyside and north London derbies, plus Manchester City vs Arsenal [Sunday 24 October] and Liverpool vs Chelsea [Sunday 7 November]Rugby Union's Autumn InternationalsThe World heavyweight title fight between David Haye and Audley HarrisonEuro 2012 qualifiers [starting with Scotland V Spain, 12 October]MoviesIce Age: Dawn of The Dinosaurs [from launch weekend]Monsters vs AliensCoralineAlice In WonderlandBoltFly Me To The MoonCloudy with A Chance Of MeatballsMy Bloody ValentineToy Story 1 and 2Toy Story 3 [box office]StreetDance UK[box office]Garfield's Pet Force [box office]Step Up 3 [box office]A Christmas Carol [box office]Documentaries, musicThe Prince's Trust Rock GalaFlying Monsters 3DDance, Dance, Dance3D MeerkatsBugs!7 Wonders of the Solar SystemTreasure Houses of BritainSpeaking about the launch of the Sky 3D channel, John Cassy, Sky 3D's channel director, said: "Sky 3D will totally change the way entertainment is viewed in homes across the country. We see 3D as 'Event TV', an opportunity for people to share an incredible visual experience in their home."The launch of the channel is the just the beginning, 3D has arrived and will change TV forever."The official UK release date for Sky 3D is 1 October. As this is the initial line-up, there will bound to more programmes announced in due course.Related StoriesReview: LG 47LE8900Review: Sony Bravia KDL-60LX903Review: Ferguson F101HDSatCulture secretary looks to YouView as local news saviourBose launches innovative VisionWave TVCooking

By Tim Conneally, Betanews
AOL announced Tuesday that it will be acquiring popular blog TechCrunch and all of its subsidiary sites, which includes MobileCruch, CrunchGear, TechCrunchIT, GreenTech, TechCrunchTV, and Crunchbase. The sites will be incorporated into AOL's Technology Network of publications.AOL's Technology Network already includes the blogs Engadget, Switched, The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW,) and DownloadSquad. The inclusion of TechCrunch and its related sites will make AOL the owner of two of the most popular tech blogs according to news aggregator Techmeme. "Michael and his colleagues have made the TechCrunch network a byword for breaking tech news and insight into the innovative world of start-ups, and their reputation for top-class journalism precisely matches AOL's commitment to delivering the expert content critical to this audience," said Tim Armstrong, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of AOL. "TechCrunch and its team will be an outstanding addition to the high-quality content on the AOL Technology Network, which is now a must-buy for advertisers seeking to associate their brands with leading technology content and its audience."Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed today.This buy is another sign of AOL's big change into a company driven by advertising and ad-monetized content. Since its spinoff from Time Warner Inc. in 2009, AOL has been streamlining its business by shedding old properties such as ICQ and buy.at and acquiring new properties such as Israeli video startup 5Min Media, and now TechCrunch Inc.These two acquisitions come just days after AOL launched its "Project Devil" advertising format which CEO Tim Armstrong said "addresses the traditional limitations of online advertising head-on to create ads that look better and work better for agencies and advertisers."The new ad format offers a single large ad space per page, which is segmented into interactive panels, allowing advertisers to customize it with video, slideshows, mapping, 3D rotation, quizzes, polls, text messaging and more. AOL will roll out the new display advertising panels on two of its sites this week: Moviefone and StyleList, and said that the new ads will roll out across other AOL sites. With the two most popular tech blogs in its roster of sites, AOL now has a significant chunk of the technologically inclined audience at its disposal to ply with these new advertisements.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

AOL - Tim Armstrong - TechCrunch - CrunchGear - Time Warner

CD Duplication

Whether you've just bought a new PC running Windows 7 or you've been using it for a while, there are bound to be things you didn't know you could do.Whether it's tweaks to get the desktop the way you want it, tips for troubleshooting or ways to squeeze more performance from Windows 7, we've got it covered.We've updated our popular Windows 7 tips article with a load of new ones, including how to recover locked-up apps, how to extend your jumplists, leave a Windows 7 Homegroup, and more. Read on for 85 tips to help you get the best from Windows 7.22 common Windows 7 problems solved1. Problem Steps RecorderAs the local PC guru you're probably very used to friends and family asking for help with their computer problems, yet having no idea how to clearly describe what's going on. It's frustrating, but Microsoft feels your pain, and Windows 7 will include an excellent new solution in the Problem Steps Recorder.When any app starts misbehaving under Windows 7 then all your friends need do is click Start, type PSR and press Enter, then click Start Record. If they then work through whatever they're doing then the Problem Steps Recorder will record every click and keypress, take screen grabs, and package everything up into a single zipped MHTML file when they're finished, ready for emailing to you. It's quick, easy and effective, and will save you hours of troubleshooting time.2. Burn imagesWindows 7 finally introduces a feature that other operating systems have had for years - the ability to burn ISO images to CDs or DVDs. And it couldn't be much easier to use. Just double-click the ISO image, choose the drive with the blank disc, click Burn and watch as your disc is created.3. Create and mount VHD filesMicrosoft's Virtual PC creates its virtual machine hard drives in VHD files, and Windows 7 can now mount these directly so you can access them in the host system. Click Start, type diskmgmt.msc and press Enter, then click Action > Attach VHD and choose the file you'd like to mount. It will then appear as a virtual drive in Explorer and can be accessed, copied or written just like any other drive.Click Action > Create VHD and you can now create a new virtual drive of your own (right-click it, select Initialise Disk, and after it's set up right-click the unallocated space and select New Simple Volume to set this up). Again, you'll be left with a virtual drive that behaves just like any other, where you can drag and drop files, install programs, test partitioning software or do whatever you like. But it's actually just this VHD file on your real hard drive which you can easily back up or share with others. Right-click the disk (that's the left-hand label that says "Disk 2" or whatever) and select Detach VHD to remove it.The command line DISKPART utility has also been upgraded with tools to detach a VHD file, and an EXPAND command to increase a virtual disk's maximum size. Don't play around with this unless you know what you're doing, though - it's all too easy to trash your system.4. Troubleshoot problemsIf some part of Windows 7 is behaving strangely, and you don't know why, then click Control Panel > Find and fix problems (or 'Troubleshooting') to access the new troubleshooting packs. These are simple wizards that will resolve common problems, check your settings, clean up your system and more. 5. Startup repairIf you've downloaded Windows 7 (and even if you haven't) it's a good idea to create a system repair disc straight away in case you run into problems booting the OS later on. Click Start > Maintenance > Create a System Repair Disc, and let Windows 7 build a bootable emergency disc. If the worst does happen then it could be the only way to get your PC running again.6. Take controlTired of the kids installing dubious software or running applications you'd rather they left alone? AppLocker is a new Windows 7 feature that ensures users can only run the programs you specify. Don't worry, that's easier to set up than it sounds: you can create a rule to allow everything signed by a particular publisher, so choose Microsoft, say, and that one rule will let you run all signed Microsoft applications. Launch GPEDIT.MSC and go to Computer Configuration > Windows Settings > Security Settings > Application Control Policies > AppLocker to get a feel for how this works.7. Calculate moreAt first glance the Windows 7 calculator looks just like Vista's version, but explore the Mode menu and you'll see powerful new Statistics and Programmer views. And if you're clueless about bitwise manipulation, then try the Options menu instead. This offers many different unit conversions (length, weight, volume and more), date calculations (how many days between two dates?), and spreadsheet-type templates to help you calculate vehicle mileage, mortgage rates and more. Don't take any Windows 7 applet at face value, then - there are some very powerful new features hidden in the background. Be sure to explore every option in all Windows applets to ensure you don't miss anything important.CALCULATE MORE: The new Calculator is packed with useful features and functionality8. Switch to a projectorWindows 7 now provides a standard way to switch your display from one monitor to another, or a projector - just press Win+P or run DisplaySwitch.exe and choose your preferred display. (This will have no effect if you've only one display connected.)9. Get a power efficiency reportIf you have a laptop, you can use the efficiency calculator to get Windows 7 to generate loads of useful information about its power consumption. Used in the right way, this can help you make huge gains in terms of battery life and performance. To do this you must open a command prompt as an administrator by typing 'cmd' in Start Search, and when the cmd icon appears, right-click it and choose Run as administrator.Then at the command line, just type in 'powercfg -energy' (without quotes) and hit Return, and Windows 7 will scan your system looking for ways to improve power efficiency. It will then publish the results in an HTML file, usually in the System32 folder. Just follow the path it gives you to find your report.10. Understanding System RestoreUsing System Restore in previous versions of Windows has been something of a gamble. There's no way of telling which applications or drivers it might affect - you just have to try it and see.Windows 7 is different. Right-click Computer, select Properties > System Protection > System Restore > Next, and choose the restore point you'd like to use. Click the new button to 'Scan for affected programs' and Windows will tell you which (if any) programs and drivers will be deleted or recovered by selecting this restore point. (Read our full Windows 7 System Restore tutorial.)11. Set the time zoneSystem administrators will appreciate the new command line tzutil.exe utility, which lets you set a PC's time zone from scripts. If you wanted to set a PC to Greenwich Mean Time, for instance, you'd use the commandtzutil /s "gmt standard time"The command "tzutil /g" displays the current time zone, "tzutil /l" lists all possible time zones, and "tzutil /?" displays details on how the command works. 12. Calibrate your screenThe colours you see on your screen will vary depending on your monitor, graphics cards settings, lighting and more, yet most people use the same default Windows colour profile. And that means a digital photo you think looks perfect might appear very poor to everybody else. Fortunately Windows 7 now provides a Display Colour Calibration Wizard that helps you properly set up your brightness, contrast and colour settings, and a ClearType tuner to ensure text is crisp and sharp. Click Start, type DCCW and press Enter to give it a try.13. Clean up Live EssentialsInstalling Windows Live Essentials will get you the new versions of Mail, Movie Maker, Photo Gallery and others - great. Unfortunately it also includes other components that may be unnecessary, but if you like to keep a clean system then these can be quickly removed.If you left the default "Set your search provider" option selected during installation, for instance, Windows Live will install Choice Guard, a tool to set your browser home page and search engine, and prevent other programs from changing them. If this causes problems later, or you just decide you don't need it, then Choice Guard may be removed by clicking Start, typing msiexec /x {F0E12BBA-AD66-4022-A453-A1C8A0C4D570} and pressing [Enter].Windows Live Essentials also adds an ActiveX Control to help upload your files to Windows Live SkyDrive, as well as the Windows Live Sign-in Assistant, which makes it easier to manage and switch between multiple Windows Live accounts. If you're sure you'll never need either then remove them with the Control Panel "Uninstall a Program" applet.14. Add network supportBy default Windows Live MovieMaker won't let you import files over a network, but a quick Registry tweak will change this. Run REGEDIT, browse to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows Live\Movie Maker, add a DWORD value called AllowNetworkFiles and set it to 1 to add network support.15. Activate XP modeIf you've old but important software that no longer runs under Windows 7, then you could try using XP Mode, a virtual copy of XP that runs in a window on your Windows 7 desktop. But there's a big potential problem, as XP Mode only works with systems that have hardware virtualisation (AMD-V or Intel VT) built-in and turned on. If you've a compatible CPU then this may just be a matter of enabling the option in your BIOS set-up program, however some high profile brands, including Sony Vaio, disable the setting for "security reasons". And that blocks XP Mode from working, too.One solution has emerged, but it's a little risky, as essentially you'll have to alter a byte in your laptop firmware and hope this doesn't have any unexpected side-effects. Gulp. If you're feeling brave then take a look at the Feature Enable Blog for the details, but don't blame us if it goes wrong.A safer approach might be to use VirtualBox, a virtualisation tool that doesn't insist on hardware support, but then you will need to find a licensed copy of XP (or whatever other Windows version your software requires) for its virtual machine.16. Enable virtual Wi-FiWindows 7 includes a little-known new feature called Virtual Wi-Fi, which effectively turns your PC or laptop into a software-based router. Any other Wi-Fi-enabled devices within range - a desktop, laptop, an iPod perhaps - will "see" you as a new network and, once logged on, immediately be able to share your internet connection.This will only work if your wireless adapter driver supports it, though, and not all do. Check with your adapter manufacturer and make sure you've installed the very latest drivers to give you the best chance.Once you have driver support then the easiest approach is to get a network tool that can set up virtual Wi-Fi for you. Virtual Router (below) is free, easy to use and should have you sharing your internet connection very quickly.If you don't mind working with the command line, though, maybe setting up some batch files or scripts, then it's not that difficult to set this up manually. See Turn your Windows 7 laptop into a wireless hotspot for more.17. Recover locked-up appsIf an application locks up under a previous version of Windows then there was nothing you could do about it. A new Windows 7 option, however, can not only explain the problem, but may get your program working again without any loss of data.When the lockup occurs, click Start, type RESMON and click the RESMON.EXE link to launch the Resource Monitor.Find your frozen process in the CPU pane (it should be highlighted in red), right-click it and select Analyze Wait Chain.If you see at least two processes in the list, then the lowest, at the end of the tree, is the one holding up your program. If it's not a vital Windows component, or anything else critical, then save any work in other open applications, check the box next to this process, click End Process, and your locked-up program will often spring back to life.18. Fault-Tolerant HelpWindows 7 includes a new feature called the Fault Tolerant Help (FTH), a clever technology that looks out for unstable processes, detects those that may be crashing due to memory issues, and applies several real-time fixes to try and help. If these work, that's fine - if not, the fixes will be undone and they won't be applied to that process again.While this is very good in theory, it can leave you confused as some applications crash, then start working (sometimes) for no apparent reason. So if you'd like to check if the FTH is running on your PC, launch REGEDIT, and go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\FTH - any program currently being protected by the FTH will be listed in the State key.Experienced users may also try tweaking the FTH settings to catch more problems, and perhaps improve system stability. A post on Microsoft's Ask The Performance Team blog (bit.ly/d1JStu) explains what the various FTH Registry keys mean.19. Automatically switch your default printerWindows 7's location-aware printing allows the operating system to automatically switch your default printer as you move from one network to another.To set this up, first click Start, type Devices, and click the Devices and Printers link.Select a printer and click Manage Default Printers (this is only visible on a mobile device, like a laptop - you won't see it on a PC).Choose the "Change my default printer when I change networks" option, select a network, the default printer you'd like to use, and click Add.Repeat the process for other networks available, and pick a default printer for each one.And now, as you connect to a new network, Windows 7 will check this list and set the default printer to the one that you've defined.20. Explore God ModeWindows 7 has changed Control Panel a little, but it's still too difficult to locate all the applets and options that you might need. God Mode, however, while not being particularly godlike, does offer an easier way to access everything you could want from a single folder.To try this out, create a new folder and rename it to:The first part, "Everything" will be the folder name, and can be whatever you want: "Super Control Panel", "Advanced", "God Mode" if you prefer.The extension, ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C, must be entered exactly as it is here, though, including the curly brackets. When you press [Enter] this part of the name will disappear, and double-clicking the new folder will display shortcuts to functions in the Action Centre, the Network and Sharing Centre, Power options, troubleshooting tools, user accounts and others - more than 260 options in total.21. Right-click everythingAt first glance Windows 7 bears a striking resemblance to Vista, but there's an easy way to begin spotting the differences - just right-click things.Right-click an empty part of the desktop, for instance, and you'll find a menu entry to set your screen resolution. No need to go browsing through the display settings any more.Right-click the Explorer icon on the taskbar for speedy access to common system folders: Documents, Pictures, the Windows folder, and more.And if you don't plan on using Internet Explorer then you probably won't want its icon permanently displayed on the taskbar. Right-click the icon, select 'Unpin this program from the taskbar', then go install Firefox, instead.22. Display the old taskbar button context menuRight-click a taskbar button, though, and you'll now see its jumplist menu. That's a useful new feature, but not much help if you want to access the minimize, maximize, or move options that used to be available. Fortunately there's an easy way to get the old context menu back - just hold down Ctrl and Shift as you right-click the taskbar button.23. Desktop slideshowWindows 7 comes with some very attractive new wallpapers, and it's not always easy to decide which one you like the best. So why not let choose a few, and let Windows display them all in a desktop slideshow? Right-click an empty part of the desktop, select Personalise > Desktop Background, then hold down Ctrl as you click on the images you like. Choose how often you'd like the images to be changed (anything from daily to once every 10 seconds), select Shuffle if you'd like the backgrounds to appear in a random order, then click Save Changes and enjoy the show.DESKTOP SLIDESHOW: Select multiple background images and Windows will cycle through them24. RSS-powered wallpaperAnd if a slideshow based on your standard wallpaper isn't enough, then you can always create a theme that extracts images from an RSS feed. For example, Long Zheng has created a few sample themes to illustrate how it works. Jamie Thompson takes this even further, with a theme that always displays the latest BBC news and weather on your desktop. And MakeUseOf have a quick and easy tutorial showing how RSS can get you those gorgeous Bing photographs as your wallpaper. Or you can watch our custom theme video tutorial.25. Customise the log-on screenChanging the Windows log-on screen used to involve some complicated and potentially dangerous hacks, but not any more - Windows 7 makes it easy. First, browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Authentication\LogonUI\Background in REGEDIT, double-click the DWORD key called OEMBackground (not there? Create it) and set its value to 1.Now find a background image you'd like to use. Make sure it's less than 256KB in size, and matches the aspect ratio of your screen as it'll be stretched to fit.Next, copy that image into the %windir%\system32\oobe\info\backgrounds folder (create the info\backgrounds folders if they don't exist). Rename the image to backgroundDefault.jpg, reboot, and you should now have a custom log-on image.Alternatively, use a free tweaking tool to handle everything for you. Logon Changer displays a preview so you can see how the log-on screen will look without rebooting, while the Logon Screen Rotator accepts multiple images and will display a different one every time you log on.26. Recover screen spaceThe new Windows 7 taskbar acts as one big quick launch toolbar that can hold whatever program shortcuts you like (just right-click one and select Pin To Taskbar). And that's fine, except it does consume a little more screen real estate than we'd like. Shrink it to a more manageable size by right-clicking the Start orb, then Properties > Taskbar > Use small icons > OK.27. Enjoy a retro taskbarWindows 7 now combines taskbar buttons in a way that saves space, but also makes it more difficult to tell at a glance whether an icon represents a running application or a shortcut. If you prefer a more traditional approach, then right-click the taskbar, select Properties, and set Taskbar Buttons to "Combine when taskbar is full". You'll now get a clear and separate button for each running application, making them much easier to identify.28. Remove taskbar buttonsOne problem with the previous tip is the buttons will gobble up valuable taskbar real estate, but you can reduce the impact of this by removing their text captions. Launch REGEDIT, browse to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\WindowMetrics, add a string called MinWidth, set it to 54, and reboot to see the results.29. Restore the Quick Launch ToolbarIf you're unhappy with the new taskbar, even after shrinking it, then it only takes a moment to restore the old Quick Launch Toolbar.Right-click the taskbar, choose Toolbars > New Toolbar, type "%UserProfile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch" (less the quotes) into the Folder box and click Select Folder. Now right-click the taskbar, clear 'Lock the taskbar', and you should see the Quick Launch toolbar, probably to the right. Right-click its divider, clear Show Text and Show Title to minimise the space it takes up. Complete the job by right-clicking the bar and selecting View > Small Icons for the true retro look.30. Custom power switchBy default, Windows 7 displays a plain text 'Shut down' button on the Start menu, but it only takes a moment to change this action to something else. If you reboot your PC a few times every day then that might make more sense as a default action: right-click the Start orb, select Properties and set the 'Power boot action' to 'Restart' to make it happen.31. Auto arrange your desktopIf your Windows 7 desktop has icons scattered everywhere then you could right-click it and select View > Auto arrange, just as in Vista. But a simpler solution is just to press and hold down F5, and Windows will automatically arrange its icons for you.32. Disable smart window arrangementWindows 7 features interesting new ways to intelligently arrange your windows, so that (for example) if you drag a window to the top of the screen then it will maximise. We like the new system, but if you find it distracting then it's easily disabled. Run REGEDIT, go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop, set WindowArrangementActive to 0, reboot, and your windows will behave just as they always did. 33. Browse your tasksIf you prefer the keyboard over the mouse, you will love browsing the taskbar using this nifty shortcut. Press Windows and T, and you move the focus to the left-most icon on the taskbar. Then use your arrow keys to change the focus to other icons, and you get a live preview of every window.34. Display your drivesClick Computer in Windows 7 and you might see a strange lack of drives, but don't panic, it's just Microsoft trying to be helpful: drives like memory card readers are no longer displayed if they're empty. We think it's an improvement, but if you disagree then it's easy to get your empty drives back. Launch Explorer, click Tools > Folder Options > View and clear 'Hide empty drives in the computer folder'.35. See more detailThe new and improved Windows 7 magnifier offers a much easier way to zoom in on any area of the screen. Launch it and you can now define a scale factor and docking position, and once activated it can track your keyboard focus around the screen. Press Tab as you move around a dialog box, say, and it'll automatically zoom in on the currently active control.36. Extend your jumplistsBy default a jumplist will display up to 10 items, but it can often be useful to extend this and add a few more. Right-click Start, select Properties > Customize and set "Number of recent items to display in Jump Lists" to the figure you need.37. Disable Aero PeekHover your mouse cursor over the bottom right hand corner of the screen and Windows 7 will hide open windows, showing you the desktop. Seems like a good idea to us, but if the feature gets in your way then it's easy to turn off. Simply right-click the Start orb, select Properties > Taskbar and clear the "Use Aero Peek to preview the desktop" box.38. Pin a drive to the taskbarThe taskbar isn't just for apps and documents. With just a few seconds work you can pin drive icons there, too.Right-click an empty part of the desktop, select New > Text File, and rename the file to drive.exe. Drag and drop this onto your taskbar, then delete the original file.Right-click your new "drive.exe" taskbar button, then right-click its file name and select Properties. Change the contents of both the Target and Start In boxes to point at the drive or folder of your choice, perhaps click Change Icon to choose an appropriate drive icon, and you're done - that drive or folder is now available at a click.39. Expand your taskbar previewsMove your mouse cursor over a Windows 7 taskbar button and you'll see a small preview of the application window. To make this larger, launch REGEDIT, browse to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Taskband, right-click in the right hand pane and create a new DWORD value called MinThumbSizePx. Double-click this, choose the Decimal option, set the value to 350 and reboot to see the results. Tweak the value again to fine-tune the results, or delete it to return to the default thumbnail size.40. Hiding the Windows Live Messenger iconIf you use Windows Live Messenger a lot, you'll have noticed that the icon now resides on the taskbar, where you can easily change status and quickly send an IM to someone. If you prefer to keep Windows Live Messenger in the system tray, where it's been for previous releases, just close Windows Live Messenger, edit the shortcut properties and set the application to run in Windows Vista compatibility mode.41. Customise UACWindows Vista's User Account Control was a good idea in practice, but poor implementation put many people off - it raised far too many alerts. Fortunately Windows 7 displays less warnings by default, and lets you further fine-tune UAC to suit your preferred balance between security and a pop-up free life (Start > Control Panel > Change User Account Control Settings).42. Use Sticky NotesThe Sticky Notes app is both simpler and more useful in Windows 7. Launch StikyNot.exe and you can type notes at the keyboard; right-click a note to change its colour; click the + sign on the note title bar to add another note; and click a note and press Alt + 4 to close the note windows (your notes are automatically saved).43. Open folder in new processBy default Windows 7 opens folders in the same process. This saves system resources, but means one folder crash can bring down the entire shell. If your system seems unstable, or you're doing something in Explorer that regularly seems to causes crashes, then open Computer, hold down Shift, right-click on your drive and select Open in New Process. The folder will now be launched in a separate process, and so a crash is less likely to affect anything else.44. Watch more videosWindows Media Player 12 is a powerful program, but it still won't play all the audio and video files you'll find online. Fortunately the first freeware Windows 7 codecs package [shark007.net/win7codecs.html] has been released, and installing it could get your troublesome multimedia files playing again.45. Preview fontsOpen the Fonts window in Windows XP and Vista and you'll see the font names, probably with icons to tell you whether they're TrueType or OpenType, but that's about it. Windows 7 sees some useful font-related improvements.Open the new fonts window and you'll find a little preview for every font, giving you a quick idea of how they're going to look. The tedium of scrolling through multiple entries for each family, like Times New Roman, Times New Roman Bold, Times New Roman Bold Italic and so on, has finally ended. There's now just a single entry for each font (though you can still see all other members of the family).And there's a new OpenType font, Gabriola, added to the mix. It's an attractive script font, well worth a try the next time you need a stylish document that stands out from the crowd.46. Restore your gadgetsWindows 7 has tightened up its security by refusing to run gadgets if UAC has been turned off, so limiting the damage malicious unsigned gadgets can do to your system. If you've disabled UAC, miss your gadgets and are happy to accept the security risk, though, there's an easy Registry way to get everything back to normal. Run REGEDIT, go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Sidebar\Settings, create a new DWORD value called AllowElevatedProcess and set it to 1. Your gadgets should start working again right away.47. New WordPad formatsBy default WordPad will save documents in Rich Text Format, just as before. But browse the Save As Format list and you'll see you can also save (or open, actually) files in the Office 2007 .docx or OpenDocument .odt formats.48. Protect your dataUSB flash drives are convenient, portable, and very easy to lose. Which is a problem, especially if they're carrying sensitive data. Fortunately Windows 7 has the solution: encrypt your documents with an extension of Microsoft's BitLocker technology, and only someone with the password will be able to access it. Right-click your USB flash drive, select Turn on BitLocker and follow the instructions to protect your private files.PROTECT YOUR DATA: Your USB flash drives can easily be encrypted with BitLocker49. Minimise quickly with shakeIf you have multiple windows open on your desktop and things are getting too cluttered, it used to be a time-consuming process to close them all down. In Windows 7 you can use the Aero Shake feature to minimise everything in seconds, using a cool mouse gesture. Grab the title bar of the window you wish to keep open and give it a shake, and rejoice in a clear desktop area.50. Configure your favourite musicThe Windows 7 Media Centre now comes with an option to play your favourite music, which by default creates a changing list of songs based on your ratings, how often you play them, and when they were added (it's assumed you'll prefer songs you've added in the last 30 days). If this doesn't work then you can tweak how Media Centre decides what a "favourite" tune is- click Tasks > Settings > Music > Favourite Music and configure the program to suit your needs.51. Customise System RestoreThere was very little you could do to configure System Restore in Vista, but Windows 7 improves the situation with a couple of useful setup options. Click the Start orb, right-click Computer and select Properties > System Protection > Configure, and set the Max Usage value to a size that suits your needs (larger to hold more restore points, smaller to save disk space). And if you don't need System Restore to save Windows settings then choose the "Only restore previous versions of files" option. Windows 7 won't back up your Registry, which means you'll squeeze more restore points and file backups into the available disk space. System Restore is much less likely to get an unbootable PC working again, though, so use this trick at your own risk.52. Run AsHold down Shift, right-click any program shortcut, and you'll see an option to run the program as a different user, handy if you're logged in to the kids' limited account and need to run something with higher privileges. This isn't really a new feature - Windows XP had a Run As option that did the same thing - but Microsoft stripped it out of Vista, so it's good to see it's had a change of heart.53. Search privacyBy default Windows 7 will remember your PC search queries, and display the most recent examples when searching in Windows Explorer. If you're sharing a PC and don't want everyone to see your searches, then launch GPEDIT.MSC, go to User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Explorer, double-click "Turn off display of recent search entries..." and click Enabled > OK.54. Tweak PC volumeBy default Windows 7 will now automatically reduce the volume of your PC's sounds whenever it detects you're making or receiving PC-based phone calls. If this proves annoying (or maybe you'd like it to turn off other sounds altogether) then you can easily change the settings accordingly. Just right-click the speaker icon in your taskbar, select Sounds > Communications, and tell Windows what you'd like it to do.55. Rearrange the system trayWith Windows 7 we finally see system tray icons behave in a similar way to everything else on the taskbar. So if you want to rearrange them, then go right ahead, just drag and drop them into the order you like. You can even move important icons outside of the tray, drop them onto the desktop, then put them back when you no longer need to keep an eye on them.56. Extend your battery lifeWindows 7 includes new power options that will help to improve your notebook's battery life. To see them, click Start, type Power Options and click the Power Options link, then click Change Plan Settings for your current plan and select Change Advanced Settings. Expand Multimedia Settings, for instance, and you'll see a new "playing video" setting that can be set to optimise power savings rather than performance. Browse through the other settings and ensure they're set up to suit your needs.57. Write crash dump filesWindows 7 won't create memory.dmp crash files if you've less than 25GB of free hard drive space, annoying if you've installed the Windows debugging tools and want to diagnose your crashes. You can turn this feature off, though: browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CrashControl, create a new DWORD value called AlwaysKeepMemoryDump, set it to 1, and the crash dump file will now always be saved.58. Protect your dataIf you have confidential files in a particular folder or two, and would like to keep them away from other network users, then right-click the folder, select Share With > Nobody, and they'll be made private, for your eyes only (or your user account, anyway).59. Reorganise the taskbarWindows 7 taskbar buttons are now movable - feel free to drag, drop and otherwise reorganise them to suit your needs. And then remember that each button can be launched by holding with the Windows key and pressing 1 to activate the first, 2 the second and so on, up to 0 for the tenth.60. Repair your PCIf Windows 7 won't start, you may not need an installation or repair disc any more, as the repair environment is now usually installed on your hard drive. Press [F8] as your PC starts, and if you see a "Repair Your Computer" option, choose that to see the full range of Windows 7 recovery tools.61. ReadyBoost revampedIf you were unimpressed by ReadyBoost in Vista, it may be worth trying the technology again under Windows 7. The operating system now allows you to combine multiple USB drives, each with larger caches, to deliver an extra speed boost.62. Fixing Windows 7 NIf you have Windows 7 N then this means you'll be missing key multimedia applications, like Media Player, Media Centre, DVD Maker and more. But that's not all. You also won't have some of the subsystems required by third-party apps like Nero MultiMedia Suite, which means that even if they install, you could have problems getting them to work correctly. Fortunately there's an easy fix, though, as the missing components are available in the form of Microsoft's Windows Media Pack. If you're currently having media-related issues on a Windows 7 N installation, grab your copy from support.microsoft.com/kb/968211.63. Find bottlenecksFrom what we've seen so far Windows 7 is already performing better than Vista, but if your PC seems sluggish then it's now much easier to uncover the bottleneck. Click Start, type RESMON and press Enter to launch the Resource Monitor, then click the CPU, Memory, Disk or Network tabs. Windows 7 will immediately show which processes are hogging the most system resources.The CPU view is particularly useful, and provides something like a more powerful version of Task Manager. If a program has locked up, for example, then right-click its name in the list and select Analyze Process. Windows will then try to tell you why it's hanging - the program might be waiting for another process, perhaps - which could give you the information you need to fix the problem. FIND BOTTLENECKS: Resource monitor keeps a careful eye on exactly how your PC is being used 64. Keyboard shortcutsWindows 7 supports several useful new keyboard shortcuts.Alt+PDisplay/ hide the Explorer preview paneWindows Logo+GDisplay gadgets in front of other windowsWindows Logo++ (plus key)Zoom in, where appropriateWindows Logo+- (minus key)Zoom out, where appropriateWindows Logo+Up Maximise the current windowWindows Logo+DownMinimise the current windowWindows Logo+LeftSnap to the left hand side of the screenWindows Logo+RightSnap to the right hand side of the screenWindows Logo+HomeMinimise/ restore everything except the current window65. Drag and drop to the command lineWhen working at the command line you'll often need to access files, which usually means typing lengthy paths and hoping you've got them right. But Windows 7 offers an easier way. Simply drag and drop the file onto your command window and the full path will appear, complete with quotes and ready to be used.This feature isn't entirely new: you could do this in Windows XP, too, but drag and drop support disappeared in Vista. There does seem to be a new Windows 7 complication, though, in that it only seems to work when you open the command prompt as a regular user. Run cmd.exe as an administrator and, while it accepts dropped files, the path doesn't appear.66. Customise your jumplistsRight-click an icon on your taskbar, perhaps Notepad, and you'll see a jumplist menu that provides easy access to the documents you've been working on recently. But maybe there's another document that you'd like to be always available? Then drag and drop it onto the taskbar icon, and it'll be pinned to the top of the jumplist for easier access. Click the pin to the right of the file name, or right-click it and select "Unpin from this list" when you need to remove it.67. Faster program launchesIf you've launched one instance of a program but want to start another, then don't work your way back through the Start menu. It's much quicker to just hold down Shift and click on the program's icon (or middle-click it), and Windows 7 will start a new instance for you.68. Speedy video accessWant faster access to your Videos folder? Windows 7 now lets you add it to the Start menu. Just right-click the Start orb, click Properties > Start Menu > Customize, and set the Videos option to "Display as a link". If you've a TV tuner that works with Windows 7 then you'll appreciate the new option to display the Recorded TV folder on the Start menu, too.69. Run web searchesThe Windows 7 search tool can now be easily extended to search online resources, just as long as someone creates an appropriate search connector. To add Flickr support, say, visit I Started Something, click Download the Connector, choose the Open option and watch as it's downloaded (the file is tiny, it'll only take a moment). A "Flickr Search" option will be added to your Searches folder, and you'll be able to search images from your desktop.A multitude of other ready-made searches, such as Google and YouTube, can be downloaded from the windowsclub.com website.70. Schedule Media Centre downloadsYou can now tell Windows Media Centre to download data at a specific time, perhaps overnight, a useful way to prevent it sapping your bandwidth for the rest of the day. Launch Media Centre, go to Tasks > Settings > General > Automatic Download Options, and set the download start and stop times that you'd like it to use. 71. Multi-threaded RobocopiesAnyone who's ever used the excellent command-line robocopy tool will appreciate the new switches introduced with Windows 7. Our favourite, /MT, can improve speed by carrying out multi-threaded copies with the number of threads you specify (you can have up to 128, though that might be going a little too far). Enter robocopy /? at a command line for the full details.72. Load IE fasterSome Internet Explorer add-ons can take a while to start, dragging down the browser's performance, but at least IE8 can now point a finger at the worst resource hogs. Click Tools > Manage Add-ons, check the Load Time in the right-hand column, and you'll immediately see which browser extensions are slowing you down.73. An Alt+Tab alternativeYou want to access one of the five Explorer windows you have open, but there are so many other programs running that Alt+Tab makes it hard to pick out what you need. The solution? Hold down the Ctrl key while you click on the Explorer icon. Windows 7 will then cycle through the Explorer windows only, a much quicker way to locate the right one. And of course this works with any application that has multiple windows open.74. Block annoying alertsJust like Vista, Windows 7 will display a suitably stern warning if it thinks your antivirus, firewall or other security settings are incorrect.But unlike Vista, if you disagree then you can now turn off alerts on individual topics. If you no longer want to see warnings just because you've dared to turn off the Windows firewall, say, then click Control Panel > System and Security > Action Centre > Change Action Centre settings, clear the Network Firewall box and click OK.75. Parallel defragsThe standard Windows 7 defragger offers a little more control than we saw in Vista, and the command line version also has some interesting new features. The /r switch will defrag multiple drives in parallel, for instance (they'll obviously need to be physically separate drives for this to be useful). The /h switch runs the defrag at a higher than normal priority, and the /u switch provides regular progress reports so you can see exactly what's going on. Enter the command defrag /c /h /u /r in a command window to speedily defrag a system with multiple drives, or enter defrag /? to view the new options for yourself.76. Fix ExplorerThe Windows 7 Explorer has a couple of potential annoyances. Launching Computer will no longer display system folders like Control Panel or Recycle Bin, for instance. And if you're drilling down through a complicated folder structure in the right-hand pane of Explorer, the left-hand tree won't always expand to follow what you're doing, which can make it more difficult to see exactly where you are. Fortunately there's a quick fix: click Organize > Folder and Search Options, check "Show all folders" and "Automatically expand to current folder", and click OK.77. Faster file handingIf you hold down Shift while right-clicking a file in Explorer, then you'll find the Send To file now includes all your main user folders: Contacts, Documents, Downloads, Music and more. Choose any of these and your file will be moved there immediately.78. Create folder favouritesIf you're regularly working on the same folder in Explorer then select it in the right-hand page, right-click Favourites on the left-hand menu, and select Add to Favourites. It'll then appear at the bottom of the favourites list for easy one-click access later.79. Disable hibernationBy default Windows 7 will permanently consume a chunk of your hard drive with its hibernation file, but if you never use sleep, and always turn your PC off, then this will never actually be used. To disable hibernation and recover a little hard drive space, launch REGEDIT, browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Power, then set both HibernateEnabled and HiberFileSizePerfect to zero.80. Create a new folder shortcutWhen you need to create a new folder in Windows 7 Explorer, don't reach for the mouse. Just press Ctrl+Shift+N to create the folder in the active Explorer window, then type its name as usual.81. Open a jumplistMost people right-click a Windows taskbar icon to view its jumplist. You can also hold the left mouse button over the icon, though, then drag upwards to reveal the jumplist and choose the option you need, a more natural action that should be just a little faster.82. Search quicklyIf you'd like to search for something in an Explorer window then there's no need to use the mouse. Simply press [F3] to move the focus to the search box, enter your keyword and press [Enter] to run the search.83. Search file contentsThere's no obvious way in the Windows interface to search the contents of files that haven't been indexed, but all you need to do is start your search with the "content:" search filter. So entering content:Microsoft , for instance, will find all documents (whether they're actually indexed or not) that contain the word Microsoft. 84. Close in a clickHover your mouse cursor over a Windows taskbar button will display a preview thumbnail of that application window. You don't need that app any more? Then middle-click the thumbnail to close it down.85. Leave the HomegroupHomegroups are an easy way to network Windows 7 PCs, but if you don't use the feature then turning it off can save you a few system resources.Click Start, type Homegroup, and click "Choose homegroup and sharing options". Click Leave the Homegroup > Leave the Homegroup > Finish.Now click Start, type services.msc and press [Enter] to launch the Services Control Panel applet.Find and double-click both the HomeGroup Listener and HomeGroup Provider service, clicking Stop and setting Startup Type to Disabled in each case, and the services won't be launched when you need reboot.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Liked this? Then check out Tips and tricks to make Windows 7 more awesome. Sign up for the free weekly TechRadar newsletterGet tech news delivered straight to your inbox. Register for the free TechRadar newsletter and stay on top of the week's biggest stories and product releases. 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BlackBerry has announced its new tablet, the BlackBerry PlayBook.Set for a UK release date of "before summer 2011" in the UK, the PlayBook features a 1GHz dual-core Coretex A9 processor, 7" capacitive touchscreen with a 1024 by 600 widescreen resolution, dual HD cameras, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.There's 1GB of RAM and a choice between 16GB or 32GB of storage.But RIM hasn't yet announced the PlayBook price.So how much would you pay? Let us know in the comments.For more on the PlayBook, check out BlackBerry PlayBook: what you need to knowRelated StoriesRumour: RIM tablet device next weekDell reveals new 7-inch Android-powered tablet PCIn Depth: BlackBerry PlayBook: what you need to knowIn Depth: Blackberry PlayBook vs iPad vs Samsung Galaxy TabFacebook

Today at the midVenturesLAUNCH conference an expert panel of technology luminaries from the Mid West community spoke in unison about a lack of technology press for the greater Chicago area.
Sitting there in the audience, the claim did not surprise me. �There is not enough coverage, it is true, but you just can?t blame us writers for it.�?We threw a big demo day that was attended by hundreds of investors,? said one of the panelists, ?and no tech journalists showed up! Not one!?
If we lack tech press in the area, what we lack even more is communication from people who want coverage to the people who can provide it. How do I know? I live here, I blog about tech for a living, and nearly every pitch or�invitation that I get is from someone not in Chicago. Heck, I get enough NYC invites that I could move there.
That big demo day? They never reached out to me. Not that I am the most important person in the world (I?m not), I don?t take it personally,�but here in Chicago there are only so many tech bloggers. I?m one of them. I would have shown up with a laptop and smile.
There are three big blogs represented in Chicago: TheNextWeb, TechCrunch, and Mashable. The last time the three of us (Leena, myself, and Samuel) were in the same room here in Chicago? I can?t recall the date, but it was only once, and only for a few minutes.
If you are doing technology in Chicago, I want to talk to you. Call me, email me, or tweet at me. Here:
Alex Wilhelm
1 541 231 7371
Alex@TheNextWeb.com
@Alex on Twitter
I believe in Chicago. I love that we are trying to create the next great technology city. I want to be a part of it. So if you are helping to build it, and you think that you deserve coverage, call me. We?ll get a drink at Elephant and Castle downtown and talk over what you are up to.
I can?t cover everyone, and I can?t provide all the coverage that our great entrepreneurs and developers and investors deserve, but I can sure as hell try.
If you want tech journos, you have to get in touch with us. Startups, holler at your boy. Let?s put Chicago on the map.
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Microsoft has announced a raft of new features to boost the security of Hotmail, including new ways to combat account hijacking.Announcing the new updates on its blog, John Scarrow at Microsoft explained: "We are releasing new features to safeguard everyone's account from hijackers. "These updates help you protect your password and, in the unlikely event that a hijacker gains access to your account, provide a more secure recovery path so you will always be able to get your account back and kick the hijackers out."New securityThe new 'secure recovery path' is as follows: There is now a single use code (a one-time password) that can be sent to your mobile phone, which can be used to log into your Hotmail account when you are on an unsecured computer.Two new kinds of proofs for account recovery have been introduced: A Trusted PC can now be assigned, so if you sign on using this PC, then it is likely it is you; there is also the option to get a secret code sent to your phone which can be used to reset your password and reclaim your account.You can also get access to one proof when your account has been locked, which means that hackers can't completely claim the account for their own. You can now change a proof and access your account this way."Account security is more important than ever, and with this release, and Hotmail is making your email account more secure than ever," explained John Scarrow at the end of the blog.This is all part of a number of updates to the new Hotmail. Just last week, it was announced that Facebook Chat integration is coming to the email service.Related StoriesOnline porn boss meet-up announced to tackle piracyIn Depth: 10 news stories that broke on Twitter firstApple's iAd closes in on Google's mobile ad salesMassive porn data leak at P2P piracy law firmSony SMP-N100 takes on Apple TV and YouViewAir Ambulance

By Joe Wilcox, Betanews
...There's no place to go but up. But up doesn't have to be an arduous climb.That's the attitude Microsoft product managers and marketers should adopt when launching Windows Phone 7. Microsoft has been humbled by upstarts Apple and Google; from that admission comes a fresh start. Windows Mobile has already lost the major battles of the mobile phone wars. Windows Phone cannot win if Microsoft plays by the rules set by its adversaries. The company must instead engage guerilla tactics, starting by leveraging off core strengths -- and Xbox gaming and mobile Office simply aren't enough. This kind of thinking might yet pull Microsoft out of the mobile OS gutter.Bottom is an ugly place to be, but there's only one direction to go, eh? According to Gartner, Microsoft will sell 12.69 million mobile OS units this year, down 2.34 million units from 2009. By 2014, Gartner predicts only 34.5 million Windows Phone OS sales. By comparison, Android will go from 6.8 million in 2009 to 259 million units in 2014, or 7.5 times more than Microsoft's mobile operating system four years from now. During Q2 2010, like the previous quarter, Microsoft ranked No.5 in smartphone OS market share. However, the Gartner forecasts just stated are for the entire global handset market. The "other" category, which Gartner asserts will fall just below Microsoft this year, will be 2.5 times larger in 2014. But already, by next year, Windows Phone will rank sixth in market share behind "other." How low the mighty has fallen.Even the fallen can rise to greatness. Apple was a near-death case in 1996, with many people asking: Should the board of directors pull the life support plug and give the organs to shareholders? Now look at Apple, with market�capitalization greater than Microsoft's, which stock closes on a record $300 a share and products are hot, hot, hot. If Apple can achieve such greatness with so much less than what Microsoft can bring to bear, Windows Phone can yet push upwards from the bottom. After all, Microsoft isn't a company teetering on the edge of collapse like Apple was in the mid 1990s. Microsoft generated $18.76 billion in net income off $62.48 billion revenue during fiscal 2010.It's Time for "David Thinking"December 2009 post "Why Apple succeeds, and always will" used an audacious headline to make a point: The company doesn't play by the rules but sets new ones that favor its strengths. Apple applies what I call "David Thinking." In the Biblical battle between David and Goliath, the giant played by one set of rules. David chose to change the rules, which favored his strengths rather than those of Goliath.In PC operating systems and productivity suite applications -- and increasingly server software -- Microsoft is Goliath. But in search and mobile operating systems, the company is David and shouldn't apply Goliath thinking when competing against Google and other companies.As I explained in the "why Apple succeeds" post:At one time Microsoft changed the rules, too, when David to the IBM Goliath. For example: Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates admonished early developers in 1976 "An Open Letter to Software Hobbyists." The convention had been to share code, which he called stealing. Gates and cofounder Paul Allen licensed what would later be called MS-DOS to IBM in 1981, rather than selling the software. The approach broke the end-to-end hardware/software model and later flourished a robust IBM PC-clone market. Microsoft's approach to partnering, particularly software developers and resellers, put more money in others' pockets. In the IBM model, money flowed up. By contrast, Microsoft shared the wealth.
There are many other examples how Microsoft defied convention over the years, how the company changed the rules. No longer. Microsoft seeks to preserve the status quo it established through success and becoming Goliath.Perhaps "no longer" isn't right. Microsoft's recent product marketing for Bing, Internet Explorer 8 and Windows 7 are examples of exceptionally good advertising that applies David Thinking. For example, Google search is all about keywords. Rather than play the keyword game, Microsoft shows keyword search to be a negative. Bing is the "cure for search overload" and "decision engine" rather than search engine. The connotations are all positive for Bing and negative for keyword search, all without ever using the dreaded "G" word.Then there is recent history. Before launching Xbox in late 2001, Microsoft was less-than David in the game console market. But the company applied David Thinking to taking on Nintendo and Sony. Among Microsoft's strengths: Assets. The company chose to lose money on every console to gain market share, a strategy that later pushed Xbox ahead of Nintendo (despite early Wii sales successes) and Sony. From games development, to online gaming and to bundles, among other things, Microsoft changed the rules that Sony Goliath played by. And won.Clearly many people inside and outside Microsoft are looking to Xbox as means of driving Windows Phone 7 sales. Xbox thinking is right, but not leveraging Xbox gaming to Windows Phone 7, which clearly is the current strategy. I'm not suggesting that making Xbox gaming available on Windows Phone is a bad idea. The approach has merits. But if that's as far as it goes, Microsoft can't go far enough to take on competitors, particularly Apple, which iOS gaming has huge tactical and market share advantages. Apple is Goliath in mobile gaming. Leveraging Xbox gaming plays by Goliath's rules.But Xbox thinking, which is David Thinking, can work. Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices division was built on David Thinking, defying the corporate status quo inside and outside the company. Unfortunately some of the key architects -- the David Thinkers -- have left the company. My concern: Microsoft's attempts to bind Windows Phone 7 to status quo products, like Office and Xbox, will bring the software and its supporting devices to Goliath by his rules. Microsoft cannot win there.Change the Rules of the GameSo how then should Microsoft change the rules? I have a few suggestions but would like to ask Betanews readers to offer more. For starters:1. Attitude: Product managers must treat Windows Phone 7's launch as guerilla warfare. Throw out the old rules of engagement. Decision makers must admit defeat and from that humbled position look to different tactical approaches. This suggestion may seem nebulous, but attitude is everything. Without accepting past defeat, key Microsoft decision makers cannot apply David Thinking. They will be burdened by status quo thinking, which for Microsoft means binding everything to Office and Windows.2. Mindshare: There must be aggressive aspirational marketing that is at least as good as recent Bing, Internet Explorer and Windows 7 advertising. Microsoft's first objective must be building, or perhaps rebuilding, mindshare around the mobile Windows brand. Advertise, advertise, advertise. If Christmas shoppers don't think that Windows Phone 7 smartphones are simply the coolest devices on the planet, Microsoft has already stumbled at the start. First impressions mean everything. Microsoft made the right, positive impressions when rebranding Windows Live Search to Bing -- thanks to supporting marketing. Windows Mobile is dead. Long live Windows Phone. It's a new brand that buyers must rightly meet.3. Change competitive perceptions: Microsoft should aggressively countermarket "myths" about Android. I'm a big fan of recent Microsoft assertions that "Android isn't free." Pundits scoffed at Microsoft's "Get the Facts" campaign against Linux, but it worked. Microsoft helped change "it's free" attitudes about Linux. Whether or not the open-source software is free doesn't matter as much as the effectiveness of Microsoft's FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) campaign. Microsoft could easily do to Android what it did to Linux -- create doubts about costs, security and reliability. People believe what you tell them. Look at recent political polls as example. According to a recent Pew report, nearly one in five Americans think President Obama is Muslim. The point: well-executed FUD campaigns can be hugely successful and believed.4. Give it away: Microsoft should do to Windows Phone 7 what it did with Xbox -- give up short-term profits for long-term gains. Every Windows Phone 7 smartphone sold in the United States this year should come with affordable unlimited calling, texting and data/Web plans, and Microsoft should subsidize the costs wherever necessary. So when AT&T subscribers compare every other smartphone to Windows Phone 7 handsets, they see a huge advantage: Unlimited everything for the same price as capped plans. Microsoft can make "unlimited" a holiday and launch promotion through December 25. Subscribers keep the promotional plan for as long as they don't switch to another one.As for the other suggestions, I ask you to make them. How would you advise Microsoft to change the rules in its favor so that Windows Phone 7 can rise from Windows Mobile's market share dearths? Perhaps Microsoft shouldn't even bother with market share but focus on profit-share per phone. Please pipe in with your suggestions. This is your chance to offer Microsoft valuable feedback about Windows Phone 7.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Microsoft - Apple - Xbox - Windows Phone 7 - Google

Apple

Last week, Yelp passed the 13 million review mark -- and it?s no secret that because our community is sharing all these great reviews, that Yelp has become the best place to find a local business. But did you know...Advertising

Facebook has brought its Page discovery system ?Page Browser? back online. The tool, which helps users find Pages to Like, debuted earlier this month but was quickly removed after going live, for unclear reasons. It also appears to work the same as before. Users can navigate to Page Browser via a link at the bottom [...]Dog training

HP Executive Vice President Todd Bradley just said at TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco that HP, ?won?t license WebOS? to other companies.
Bradley also said when questioned about whether HP is trying to be like Apple by offering a single closed platform across multiple devices:�?emulating Apple or Dell is not part of our strategy,? for what he believes will be a $40 billion tablet market.
Bradley also said that HP is innovating both through internal research and acquisitions, and that the company grew the last five years, ?HP has dramatically transformed as a company,? said Bradley.�Bradley finished up saying that HP has, ?become a big services company as well as a product company.?
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By Tim Conneally, Betanews
Google TV is launching to the public in just a short few weeks after being in development for more than a year. The platform will let users stream video content from Netflix, Amazon Video On Demand, and YouTube, browse the Web with Chrome, search for and organize content, and eventually install Android apps. The first piece of Google TV-compatible hardware expected to hit the market is Logitech's Revue set top box, which adds a layer of home automation control with its "Harmony Link" Infrared (IR) Blaster capabilities.Harmony Link lets users communicate with Google TV with Wi-Fi devices, and the commands they send get translated into IR signals that control their TV, sound system, DVR, set top box, disc or media player, and so forth.This feature, however, has received a considerable amount of criticism from certain publications that think IR is too limited of a communication medium, and that it could even be a kiss of death for the device.But how else could the box communicate with more than 5,000 other pieces of home entertainment equipment? Infrared control may offer fewer capabilities than Bluetooth, and may have line of sight limitations that RF connections do not, but there is simply no other control technology that has been so widely used. If you want a single device that can turn up the volume on your TV, change the settings on your stereo, launch applications on your PC, or dim the lights in your house, IR is pretty much your only option. It's also something that Logitech does quite well.The Revue is, in fact, the first non-remote control device from Logitech to use their Harmony Link technology; so to commemorate the impending launch of the Revue, and to show the power a good IR unit has, we're giving away a Logitech Harmony One remote this weekend to the Betanews reader who wins our little contest. THE CONTEST:
The Harmony One is one of Logitech's most well-regarded remotes, earning it a Best of CES award, and a CNET Editor's Choice award when it launched in 2008. With its touchscreen interface, broad device support, macro capability, and full customizability, this remote is a versatile and powerful addition to a home theater setup. What's more, it is fully compatible with all of the upcoming Google TV products, so depending on which item you add to your home theater, if it's a Sony Bravia TV, connected Blu-ray player, or Logitech Revue set top box, you can use the Harmony One.In the comment section below, give us your answer to the following question in the form of an anagram: "WHAT HAPPENS IF I PUSH THIS BUTTON?"Please use every letter in your response, and have fun!UPDATE: Congratulations to our winner, stopgap, whose answer "Bah, this Thai puppet show isn't fun!" made us all laugh and used every letter in the question. Answers from Slartibardfast, FLKeith, djhalfton, and boblinds were runners up for the prize. Thanks to everyone for participating!
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Google - Netflix - YouTube - Remote control - Home automation

Boarding

By Tim Conneally, Betanews
Google TV is launching to the public in just a short few weeks after being in development for more than a year. The platform will let users stream video content from Netflix, Amazon Video On Demand, and YouTube, browse the Web with Chrome, search for and organize content, and eventually install Android apps. The first piece of Google TV-compatible hardware expected to hit the market is Logitech's Revue set top box, which adds a layer of home automation control with its "Harmony Link" Infrared (IR) Blaster capabilities.Harmony Link lets users communicate with Google TV with Wi-Fi devices, and the commands they send get translated into IR signals that control their TV, sound system, DVR, set top box, disc or media player, and so forth.This feature, however, has received a considerable amount of criticism from certain publications that think IR is too limited of a communication medium, and that it could even be a kiss of death for the device.But how else could the box communicate with more than 5,000 other pieces of home entertainment equipment? Infrared control may offer fewer capabilities than Bluetooth, and may have line of sight limitations that RF connections do not, but there is simply no other control technology that has been so widely used. If you want a single device that can turn up the volume on your TV, change the settings on your stereo, launch applications on your PC, or dim the lights in your house, IR is pretty much your only option. It's also something that Logitech does quite well.The Revue is, in fact, the first non-remote control device from Logitech to use their Harmony Link technology; so to commemorate the impending launch of the Revue, and to show the power a good IR unit has, we're giving away a Logitech Harmony One remote this weekend to the Betanews reader who wins our little contest. THE CONTEST:
The Harmony One is one of Logitech's most well-regarded remotes, earning it a Best of CES award, and a CNET Editor's Choice award when it launched in 2008. With its touchscreen interface, broad device support, macro capability, and full customizability, this remote is a versatile and powerful addition to a home theater setup. What's more, it is fully compatible with all of the upcoming Google TV products, so depending on which item you add to your home theater, if it's a Sony Bravia TV, connected Blu-ray player, or Logitech Revue set top box, you can use the Harmony One.In the comment section below, give us your answer to the following question in the form of an anagram: "WHAT HAPPENS IF I PUSH THIS BUTTON?"Please use every letter in your response, and have fun!UPDATE: Congratulations to our winner, stopgap, whose answer "Bah, this Thai puppet show isn't fun!" made us all laugh and used every letter in the question. Answers from Slartibardfast, FLKeith, djhalfton, and boblinds were runners up for the prize. Thanks to everyone for participating!
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Google - Netflix - YouTube - Remote control - Home automation

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Well I just came onto twitter to find my account had tweeted something extrememely vulgar ? something I clearly would not have tweeted. It wasn?t long before I discovered a number of other users had tweeted the exact same tweet , all�preceded by a ?WTF? tweet with an attached link (do NOT click that link).
That WTF link opens two iframes. It doesn?t technically hack your Twitter account but does use your logged in browser session to tweet ? this is reportedly called ?cross-site request forgery?. For a detailed run through of how the script works,�read this.
This isn?t the first twitter ?hacking? to take place recently. Earlier this week, twitter was aflutter with news of a worm spreading through Twitter. The ?onMouseOver? issue?which presented pop-up boxes and redirected users to porn sites?relatively quickly handled by Twitter.
What you need to know: Simple, don?t click on any links that look suspicious or include ?WTF?.
Update: The exploit has reportedly been fixed in both old and new twitter but for now don?t click on any links that look suspicious or include ?WTF?.
Update 2: Twitter just posted this message on their Status blog: ?A malicious link is making the rounds that will post a tweet to your account when clicked on. Twitter has disabled the link, and is currently resolving the issue.?

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MeeGo is less than a year old. KDE, by contrast, has 14 years of experience in building the Linux desktop. Even with the backing of the world's largest mobile phone and processor vendors, it takes a bold man to turn up at Akademy, KDE's annual global conference, and announce that MeeGo is "redefining the Linux desktop landscape". Valtteri Halla, Nokia's director of MeeGo software, is such a man. He not only set out his vision for how MeeGo will take over the world, but invited KDE along for the ride. Akademy begins with a two-day conference showcasing the latest advances in KDE technology, news from the community and the views of speakers from outside that group, such as Halla. The conference is then followed by five days of meetings, workshops, hacking sessions and networking, during which consensus for the year ahead is reached and problems spanning more than one of KDE's teams get solved as contributors meet face to face in the same time zone. This year's conference had two main themes: extending use of KDE software beyond Linux on desktop computers, and connecting users and data through social networking and cloud computing. With the recent advances of Google's Android operating system in the smartphone marketplace and the merger of Nokia's Maemo with Intel's Moblin projects to create the MeeGo operating system, these are exciting times for free software beyond the desktop. The success of services such as Google Documents, Dropbox, Facebook, Twitter and the buzz around Google's upcoming Chrome OS has also focused the KDE community on greater interaction with, and control over, online services. Going mobile KDE has had mobile devices as a target ever since planning began for KDE 4.0. Having Valtteri Halla present, along with other Nokia and Intel representatives with an interest in MeeGo, provided a great opportunity for KDE to show off its existing mobile technologies, present its plans for the future and share experiences. MeeGo's policy of working with and contributing to upstream projects has already worked well for KDE. Nokia has adapted KDE's KOffice applications to make a mobile office viewer application, fixing bugs in KOffice and improving its handling of Microsoft's document formats at the same time, while also saving Nokia the time and expense of developing a solution from scratch. Some key KDE teams presented their work on porting applications to mobile devices. Till Adam, from the KDE Personal Information Management team, explained how the port of the communication suite Kontact is going. Adam already uses Kontact on his own phone, although some optimisations are needed before it's ready for general use. The main challenges for Kontact are adapting the interface to small screens, reducing processor and memory demands, and minimising network traffic. The ultimate goal is to go far beyond the capabilities of currently available mobile mail clients; Adam believes that users will do more with their phones if the negative effects on battery life can be alleviated. Find your way with Marble The team behind Marble, KDE's desktop globe, have also been busy. With the release of KDE 4.5, Marble will include advanced location search using OpenStreetMap data, enabling the user to find and zoom to a particular street by typing its address. Marble is also gaining route planning capabilities, showing a route between points on a map and providing step-by-step instructions. Combined with GPS location awareness, this will make Marble a complete free software navigation system. The remaining feature to implement is having the map follow the user's current position, and this is currently under development as part of a Google Summer of Code project. The Marble developers have also been working on making Marble mobile. It already works on Linux, Mac OS X, Windows and MeeGo. It's in an experimental state on Maemo 5 and work is ongoing on Symbian. With mobile use cases in mind, Marble's developers have implemented the ability to download OpenStreetMap data for later use, so that maps are still available in high resolution when an internet connection is unavailable or expensive. Plasma on your phone It's not only KDE's applications that are going mobile. A new workspace, Plasma Mobile, is being developed for use on smartphones. Artur Duque de Souza and Alexis Menard presented its state so far. Although some experimental work on making a KDE interface for phones began late in 2009, the Plasma Mobile project officially launched in February. Plasma Mobile aims to have greater location and context awareness in the interface. For example, games will not be on the main screen while a user is walking, and social networking can be disabled during the working day to avoid distractions. This could help to eliminate the large grid-style menus found on many phones, replacing them with an initial view of just a few of the most relevant applications. Plasma Mobile is heavily based on widgets to provide easy tracking of news feeds, incoming messages, weather, travel information and more. The widgets will adapt to the device on which they're run, so they can increase or decrease in size according to screen size and resolution. Artur and Alexis were able to show a quick demonstration running on top of Maemo 5, although a MeeGo port is also underway. Plasma, like MeeGo, is intended to run everywhere and so the lead architects of two more new Plasma workspaces also gave presentations. Marco Martin gave an overview of the current state of Plasma Netbook for mobile internet devices. Plasma Netbook debuted with KDE 4.4 and will be receiving stabilisation and polish in KDE 4.5, with smoother animations and more caching of the data used by widgets to reduce processing and network demands. Alessandro Diaferia presented his work on the upcoming Plasma Media Centre that aims to wrap the basic functions of playing videos, listening to music and viewing photos in a consistent interface that makes use of KDE technologies. Everything in Plasma Media Centre is a Plasma widget, meaning that any of the components, including players, can be easily swapped for another according to personal preference. Widgets can also be used simultaneously, so it'll be easy to listen to a favourite music album while viewing holiday snaps. Metadata will be tracked using KDE's semantic desktop layer, Nepomuk, so that it will be possible to share tagging and rating information between traditional KDE desktop applications and the media centre. Web services will also be integrated, enabling direct access to content from the likes of YouTube and Flickr without leaving the interface. A technology preview should be available this autumn and the 1.0 release is expected with KDE 4.6 early in 2011. Bringing the web to the desktop Sebastian K�gler began Akademy's web and cloud computing session by discussing how KDE software can take advantage of web services without throwing away 14 years of work on desktop applications. He explained some of the current problems with web-based applications: they're dependent on a working network connection and have inconsistent user interfaces, and because they need to work on a wide range of device types they fail to take full advantage of the power and large screens of the majority of home computers. Sebastian's proposal is to overcome these problems by separating data from its presentation. Data can be stored in the cloud, but should be cached locally for offline use, and presentation can be handled by KDE applications that are aware of the capabilities of the device on which they are running, modifying their appearance and behaviour accordingly. Within KDE, these concepts are known as Project Silk and unify existing KDE technologies. These include indexing web pages using Nepomuk (KDE's semantic desktop layer) and using Akonadi (KDE's data storage engine) for parsing RSS feeds and making them available offline. Sebastian also proposes accessing YouTube videos using KDE's Dragon video player and browsing and tagging Flickr images in the Gwenview image viewer. These visions are already starting to become reality, with uploading of photo content to Flickr and many other services built into KDE image applications and downloading of OpenStreetMap data for offline use coming to Marble. Having KDE applications interact seamlessly with web services is good, but for free software advocates, the closed nature of many of these services is a problem. Frank Karlitschek, the force behind the OpenDesktop family of social networking and content-sharing websites (including KDE-Apps, KDE-Look and Gnome-Look), has turned his attention to freeing the cloud. His latest project within KDE, known as OwnCloud, aims to provide a free cloud computing system that anyone can install. Freeing the cloud You may wonder why anyone would want to go to the trouble of installing their own server, but the motivations are clear for Karlitschek. Not only does it further the cause of free software, preventing the free desktop from becoming nothing more than an interface to proprietary web services, but it also gives the user complete control over their data and features encryption options. This is important for individuals to protect their privacy, but is essential for companies handling sensitive data. It's also easy to keep track of changes, because OwnCloud uses the FreeDesktop.org Open Collaboration Services standard for notifications, integrated with KDE's notification system. Work is already underway with KOffice to develop a web-based OpenDocument Format editor so that it will be possible to edit documents either in the familiar KOffice interface or via a web browser. Collaborative editing capabilities are also planned for the future. By the time OwnCloud 1.1 is released later in 2010, sharing of data will be enabled and plugins will be available to integrate a web-based picture gallery and music server. Further in the future, file versioning (probably based on Git) will be added. While mobile applications and web service integration are exciting new areas of KDE development, the contributors haven't lost focus on traditional desktop computing. KOffice celebrated its 2.2 release in May, the first KDE 4.x version deemed suitable for 'real work'. Inge Wallin presented the future directions of KOffice and previewed upcoming features including support for version 1.2 of the OpenDocument Format. He also discussed the use of 'shapes' in KOffice that make capabilities from any of the applications available to all others. In this way KPresenter simply embeds text shapes from KWord, graphics from Krita (pixel editing) and Karbon14 (vector drawing). KOffice applications were also demoed running in a Windows environment. Calling all artists KOffice's drawing application, Krita, featured in a separate presentation. Lukas Tvrdy gave demonstrations of its brush engine for natural painting. Tvrdy has been working on this extensively, thanks to funds received from a community appeal. These improvements are particularly important to Krita's focus on becoming the premier free software painting application, leaving tasks such as photo editing to other capable applications such as Gimp or KDE's Digikam. Polishing KDE software was a central theme of Sunday's keynote address. Given by long-time KDE developer and evangelist Aaron Seigo, this talk focused on the successes of and challenges for KDE. He said KDE had enjoyed a great year and listed a number of its successes. These included retaining a deployment of 50 million school desktops in Brazil and gaining several hundred thousand additional deployments in universities. Deployment of KDE desktops in Portugal has almost doubled from four to seven hundred thousand laptops. There are a million KDE deployments in Venezuela and KDE software is used on 11,000 computers in German embassies worldwide. Seigo urged the community to seek consensus rather than always striving for unanimity, in order to agree on courses of action and pursue them more rapidly. Above all, he called for elegance in everything KDE does. He urged application developers to review their interfaces to make them more intuitive and consistent. Library developers should do the same with their APIs, he added. Jargon should be reduced and warning pop-ups eliminated for all but the most critical errors. The impact Seigo's message had was visible during the week, as developers tweaked their interfaces, discussed the best way of doing things and constantly called Seigo over to assess their elegance. One annoyance of the free desktop at present is the use of incompatible systems for storing sensitive user data such as passwords. Every web browser may have its own password store and anyone using both KDE and Gnome applications will likely have to open both KWallet and Gnome Keyring in every desktop session. Michael Leupold presented a collaboration between KDE and Gnome to develop a unified standard for storing secrets. The aim is that KDE and Gnome applications will both be able to share a common secrets architecture but still have separate graphical interfaces. A KDE user will be presented with a KDE interface if they need to unlock an account in Empathy (the Gnome instant messaging application) while a Gnome user will see a Gnome interface for password management even if they prefer to chat using KDE's Kopete. It is also hoped that the standard will attract the support of other vendors, such as Mozilla. KDE as a community Although KDE is male-dominated, with around 95% of contributors possessing a Y-chromosome, most teams have important female contributors. The women of KDE discussed how they had the feeling of being impostors ? that they do not know enough to contribute effectively and that their lack of knowledge might be found out ? even though they're generally as well-qualified their male counterparts. But they agreed that KDE was a good home for women in free software with a welcoming community where the gender of a contributor is unimportant as long as what they bring to the table is of value. Akademy closed on Friday after seven days of presentations, discussions, work and fun. Many new friendships had been made and old ones strengthened. Contributors commented that they had achieved several months or work in just seven days by meeting face to face to sort out problems without other distractions. Next year's Akademy will be co-hosted with Gnome's GUADEC and should be the biggest ever meeting of the free desktops. It will aim for greater than ever cooperation between the two communities to provide a smoother, more integrated and perhaps even more elegant experience for users of the free desktop everywhere.Related StoriesIn Depth: Which is the best Windows for gaming?In Depth: How we build UbuntuBack pain

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