Sidebars and Gadgets Explained

Understanding the Windows Vista Sidebar

A little while ago, Rick Robinette posted a great article on his site, What's On My PC..., that I think some of my readers will appreciate. It is sort of an 'ABC's In A Nutshell' about Vista's (and Windows 7) sidebar and desktop gadgets. Here's an excerpt--

"If you are a Vista user and you do not know what the sidebar is, it is an area, usually inhabiting the right edge of your desktop that contains gadgets (such as a clock, picture viewer, calendar, etc…).  What most people do not know is that you can install, add and remove gadgets from the sidebar and you can also drag gadgets from the sidebar and place them anywhere on your desktop; thus, making the sidebar an useful feature.

To assist you with Understanding the Sidebar
I have compiled the following, easy-to-follow tutorial.."

To visit his site and read the article, please click here. These gadgets are fun and informative, and I think you'll be glad you did. (I was going to discuss this in my next A Tech's First Impression of Windows 7 article, but he's done a much better job than I would have.)

Copyright 2007-9 © Tech Paul. All rights reserved. post to jaanix

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A Tech's First Impression of Windows 7 RC

Like many people, I downloaded the Windows 7 "Release Candidate", and I have been running it for a few days now. I will now describe to you, Dear Reader, my initial impressions of Microsoft's newest operating system, as I did for Windows 7 beta. (drum roll please)

(For those of you who would like to get a copy, please see, Click here to download Windows 7. For those of you who would like to read my earlier statements on Windows 7 first, please see, A Tech’s First Impression of Windows 7, Part 1.)

Let's get started: I opted to install the 32-bit version. I installed a “clean install”, though I could have “upgraded” an existing Vista or Windows 7 install (I recommend ‘clean install’ as a General Rule Of Thumb).

Microsoft is calling Windows 7 a whole new OS, and is expecting it to replace replace Vista.. in the same way that Vista is replacing Windows XP. I can tell you that it is not a whole new operating system. I can also tell you that it does not give us the new file system (WinFS) that was originally promised as one of the “three pillars of Vista”.

The install itself: My “clean” install on a freshly formatted volume took just 27 minutes, and involved three automated reboots. I then transferred in my settings tweaks and customizations, all my installed programs (except for my antivirus) and games, files and photos, etc., from the Win 7 beta in 20 minutes using Windows Easy Transfer.
It would have taken less time had I migrated the User Profile via my network, but I used a USB storage drive instead.

No device driver issues: I installed Windows 7 on a recent-vintage machine (it came with Vista Home Premium) and I had to install zero, zip, nada, device drivers — and this is a beta! Every device worked out of the gate. Microsoft claims Windows 7 is the most ‘backwards compatible’ OS yet and I believe them. A beta.. and no device driver installs??? Amazing.

In case you're not following along.. From inserting the CD, to a fully tweaked, loaded, and ready-to-go state in 47 minutes.. without the use of 3rd-party programs, tools or special cables.

That is simply... OUTSTANDING! (Yes, I'm shouting.)

In my earlier series, (see link above) I wrote "My experience matched that of other reviewers: it was by far the fastest, smoothest, easiest Windows installation I’ve ever had. That this is a beta release makes this fact all the more remarkable."
The RC beat it handily .

Folks, I cannot count the number of Windows Installs, re-Installs, and User State Migrations I've done -- I am a Support & Repair Tech, after all -- but this last was something I had previously only dreamed of.

I'm going to stop here but I will add this statement -- I will delay buying my next computer until they come with Windows 7 on them; and I advise you to do the same if you can. (Can you tell I'm impressed?)

More Windows 7 RC "impressions" to come..

Copyright 2007-9 © Tech Paul. All rights reserved. post to jaanix

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Banned From The Internet For File Sharing?

Internet service providers are cooperating more and more with copyright holders to crack down on illegal downloading and peer-to-peer file-sharing.

Becky Waring published a very interesting 'round-up' look at the current state of the 'battle' between copyright holders (primarily RIAA) and the very popular (yet largely illegal) "Torrent" P2P file-sharing phenomenon on Windows Secrets.

There are some tough new laws recently enacted, or under consideration, in many countries following the recent convictions of the operators of the popular Pirates Bay Torrent search engine in Sweden ... laws that could get people "blacklisted" from the Internet.

Internet Service Providers are coming under increasing pressure to use technology to identify people using Torrent applications and punish them, and Torrent users are using technology to escape detection. This 'battle' poses some very serious questions about the issues of privacy and technology.

Ms. Waring has done an excellent job with this article, and I invite my readers to read it. Please click the link below.

ISPs assist in cutting off file-sharing users

Today's free link: KidZui – Free, Safe Internet Browsing for Kids

Copyright 2007-9 © Tech Paul. All rights reserved. post to jaanix

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Video - How Hackers Infect Your PC

Ever wonder how they do it? This video from Panda Security shows one current method -- search results.

Blackhat SEO Attack Uses Wordpress to Spread Rogue Anti-Malware Software from Panda Security on Vimeo.

Please note: I have one, MAJOR, complaint about this video: it pretty much says that if you have an up-to-date anti-malware (such as an antivirus) on board, you’ll be protected from these things. WRONG! Once you click the links, ignore the the warnings, and click “Run”.. you’re hosed. Telling your machine to ‘run it’ bypasses all your protections.. even Vista’s annoying UAC.

Today’s free link: ErrorRepairTOOL Computer Infection? - Blame Your Search Engine!

Today’s free download(s): The best defense is to NOT click “Run” when you’re not sure.
But there are tools you can add to your web browser to help you detect and avoid these poisoned websites in the first place — known as “anti-phishing”. I suggest installing both:
WOT: (Web Of Trust) is a free Internet security add-on for your browser. It will help keep you safer from online scams, identity theft, spyware, spam, viruses and unreliable shopping sites. WOT warns you before you interact with a risky Website. It’s easy and it’s free.
Link Scanner Lite: Automatically inspect search results for exploits, hacked sites, fraud/crimeware, and other online threats. Includes right-click, on-demand scanning of any URL you choose.

Copyright 2007-9 © Tech Paul. All rights reserved. post to jaanix

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