Microsoft officially announced Windows 7 prices. Most of the retail pricing is below what Windows Vista was when it came out. However the thing that’s really catching eyes is the upgrade pricing programs. From Friday June 26th until Friday July 11th users will be able to get a huge discount on Windows 7.

If you buy a copy of Windows 7 Home Premium you can get it for just $49! If you need Windows 7 Professional you can get that upgrade for just $99! This is good for anyone who uses Windows Vista or Windows XP. The amazing part is this discount. When Windows 7 goes on sale on October 22 it will be $119 for Home Premium, $199 for Professional, and $219 for Windows 7 Ultimate. This means that if you purchase it now you can save over half on the upgrade.

If you’re planning on buying a full version of Windows 7 you may want to consider just buying a new computer as the full versions are set to be expensive. For Home Premium you can expect to pay $199, for professional it will be $299, and for Windows 7 Ultimate it will be $319. These prices seem outrageous compared to the $49 that you can get it at right now. For anyone who’s considering buying a computer you can do it anytime after the 26th. After the 26th anyone who buys a computer is eligible for Microsoft’s upgrade program in which Vista PC buyers will get a free copy of Windows 7. This may be the better route if you need a new computer and you want Windows 7.

Linux is still free though. Many users are still moving towards Linux because of that. Microsoft may want to think of a new strategy if it plans to stay where it is within the next decade.

Source: CNET

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AMD and Intel are at it again but this time it’s not on the chip market it’s in court. The ruling of which was surprising and in AMD’s favor. The European Commission decided that Intel had taken part in illegal actions to hurt its rival’s sales. The result was the largest fine in regards to antitrust laws. The fine for breaking these laws was a whopping 1.45 billion dollars.

The case came because Intel was accused, and found guilty, two separate crimes. The first crime was that Intel gave manufacturers special rebates for buying the majority if not all of the x86 type processors from Intel. There were allegations that Intel also made payments to retailers so that they would only stock the Intel version of the x86 chips.

The second crime that the European Commission found Intel guilty of was paying manufacturers to delay the release of competitor’s computers containing the other x86 chips or delay releasing the chips themselves. This occurred from October of ‘02 until December of ‘07!

You may ask yourself how this is harmful to the market. Well besides being a highly unethical practice, the smaller chip makers such as AMD are unable to compete with Intel as their computers are not being sold in the same stores and the manufacturers are being paid to put the Intel chips in rather than a mix of chips.

There were some computer manufacturers that were named as accepting payments from Intel to follow these practices. The larger manufacturers were Acer, Dell, and Hewlett-Packard. There were some less known companies as well that were also named.

In one instance the rebates caused AMD to not even be able to give their CPUs away. The manufacturer (who was unnamed) only took 160,000 x86 chips from AMD because they would have lost their rebate from Intel if they had taken more.  Hopefully Intel will learn a lesson from this and not hurt the consumers further.

Source: CNET

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At first glance it appears that the Netbook craze may take over the laptop market. Many consumers are getting involved with Netbooks because of the portability and the cost efficiency of them.

In the economic downturn that exists, many products are losing sales as people tighten up their budgets. Laptop sales for example, are expect to fall by approximately 12 percent in 2009. In the meantime, Netbooks are actually experiencing a dramatic increase of sales. There are supposed to be nearly 21 million Netbooks that ship this year alone. To put that in perspective in terms of growth, that’s nearly double the number of Netbooks that was shipped last year.

Why the explosive growth you may ask? The biggest factor is the price point. Many companies are offering Netbooks at an extremely low cost. One example that you may have heard of is the 2 year plan through AT&T where you can get a Netbook for about $50.

While Netbooks seem to be the product everyone’s turning to, it’s unlikely that we’ll see laptops disappear. A Netbook may seem like a great investment at the time however after hours of use you’ll start to notice the downsides of a Netbook. Since the device is much smaller that means everything that you’re used to is going to be much smaller including the keyboard and screen. This can cause problems if you plan to use your Netbook for business or for extended periods of time as you may start to feel the anti-ergonomic effect of a Netbook.

The bottom line is that Netbooks are here to stay because of their inexpensiveness and their portability. However it’s unlikely that they’ll be the main use of portable devices by consumers that use laptops for work. If you are thinking about a Netbook you will want to weigh the cost effectiveness to the ergonomic disadvantage before you buy one.

Source: PC World

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There are many things that you should consider when buying a computer. For many, these things range from peripherals to processors. If you have wads of cash to spare, then you would definitely not settle for anything less than a Creative GigaWorks S750 or a Harman Kardon SoundSticks II for speakers, and the latest Intel Core 2 Duo chip for your PC’s processor.

There’s a very important consideration, though, that lies beneath the glam of the unit, and I’m not talking about the processor. The PC-Mac rivalry isn’t just about which unit has the coolest shell design. Rather, it’s about which architecture can best serve the needs of the user.

Of Frameworks and Platforms

In order for you to be able to distinguish between a PC and a Mac, let me give a brief background as to their origin. While the term “PC” generally refers to any computer, it also has a technical meaning. IBM gave birth to the PC, and as such, the term refers to computers that are based on the IBM design. On the other hand, the Macintosh (Mac) is a computer built by Apple.

The two were made from different blueprints. The PC is based on the Intel model, while the Mac follows the Power PC architecture designed by Apple, Motorola, and also partly by IBM. Since they were made from different frameworks, the two computers cannot run applications designed for a particular architecture. In other words, you cannot run PC-based software on a Mac and vice versa.

An Attempt to Unify

There really isn’t a competition between the two. For one thing, the PC has long captured the market and is the preferred class or architecture. There’s a growing fondness for the Mac, though. However, the Apple fad isn’t strong enough to unseat the PC as the unit of choice.

While the PC and the Mac could definitely coexist, a good number of users of both platforms are clamoring for the unification of the two. Thus, in 2006, Apple boss Steve Jobs announced that the Mac would depart from the Power PC architecture and would already follow the Intel blueprint. The development now makes it possible for Windows to be able to run on the Mac.

The shift was not well received by die hard Mac fans, though. They consider the Macintosh as a novelty that shouldn’t be modified by the PC. This is one of the reasons why the compatibility issue still exists and that Windows still hasn’t invaded the Apple desktops.

Both Vulnerable

Some Mac fans claim that their unit is less vulnerable to malware attack. This may be true, but not due to the reason that their architecture or OS is more barb-wired than the PC. It could just very well be that hackers favor Windows as the object of their affection since it is the most popular operating system in the world. Macs do need protective software like the PC, such as registry cleaners and antivirus programs.

You should definitely consider the compatibility issue when choosing between a Mac and a PC. If you want to play it safe, choose a PC-based unit. It’s the architecture that is widely accepted and used around the world.

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Many predict that 2008 will be the year when laptops would finally succeed in their bid to dethrone desktops as the PC of choice. I agree.

For two decades, the desktop has lorded over almost all conceivable machines which could read and process electronic data. It was supposed to be the “future” of data processing. Everybody thought that the size and shape of the PC would not change significantly for generations to come.

Small Enough?

It’s not difficult to see why many didn’t dismiss the desktop as something that’s only transitional. Back when hard disks were still as big as cupboards, many wished for a computer that could easily fit one’s bedroom without having to throw out everything in it, including the bed. It took several decades before that prayer was answered. When IBM came out with a design that perfectly fitted study and office tables, many fostered the conviction that this was what a computer should look like and that any alteration of its structure would considerably diminish its appeal and even functionality.

Of course, being the only constant thing in this world aside from politics, change redefined the looks and functions of the PC. The world shrunk, and time became a very expensive commodity. Everything has to be done fast. While the term “multitasking” was already popular even during the days of Windows 3.1, the word took on a whole new different meaning a decade after the IT industry had started to blabber it as if it was a cuss word.

Run Run Run

As we all know, recent operating systems allow the juggling of different tasks, functions, or programs. Depending on the amount of memory and the type of processor that your computer have, large applications like CAD or multimedia programs could run side by side with other software. Nobody now asks if one could perform several things at the same time on a computer. The question has already been answered a long time ago.

Now that programs could already be ran simultaneously in a single computer, the question that was next asked is if one could still run all of them while he is actually running. As I have intimated a while back, everybody seems to be running after time and running out of it. Eight hours seem to be just eight minutes. It’s not surprising then when people started to wish that they could bring and do their tasks even when they’re out of the office.

Personal Accessory

To inaccurately borrow the words of the HP slogan, laptops made personal computers personal again. While mainframes exponentially shrunk to desktop size, it still isn’t exactly personal and portable as your watch or mobile phone. You simply can’t bring it anywhere, well at least not conveniently.

Everybody is maximizing the use of his or her time. It’s not surprising then if people treat travel time as an extension of their office hours. Laptops are not just becoming more affordable, but more importantly, they are also making time an affordable commodity. Don’t be surprised, then, if laptop sales exceed desktop purchases this year.

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Application crashes are facts of life that happen almost everyday whenever you’re spending a great deal of time in front of the computer. Fortunately, most of these program malfunctions can be remedied by just closing it down and running it anew. It’s quite annoying though, especially if the application that crashes is a word processor and you weren’t able to save what you’re doing. Argh!

Some crashes are even nastier. Not only does it require you to run the program all over again, but it sometimes calls for the complete shut down and rebooting of the whole system. This was the dilemma that many PC users encountered during the days of Windows 95 and 98. Microsoft incorporated a mild solution to the problem by giving the user an option to report the crash to them.

I’m quite shameful to admit that I haven’t tried clicking the “report” button whenever I’m prompted after a crash to send a report about the incident to the OS maker. It’s not that it would entail extra time to fill out some electronic forms for the report. In fact, you don’t need to do anything other than click the button. The reason why I haven’t tried clicking that button yet is because I’m quite skeptical if Microsoft would really work on the problem. Many consumers have already sent complaints to Bill Gate’s company about various problems, but only a few of them were entertained and resolved.

I guess my skepticism is misplaced. Who knows, application crashes might be on top of the OS maker’s “to-do” list. Give it a try. You might just get a solution to that frequent software malfunction that you’re having. But don’t just sit and wait for Microsoft to solve your problem for you. Try to find other solutions. System crashes are also frequently caused by problems in the registry. Run a registry cleaner and see if it fixes your problem. Based from experience, it usually does.

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Does your PC spend a lot of time loading software applications like Excel, Word or any commonly used application? This strange behavior is equally true for newly purchased as well as old PCs. Here are the Top 10 most probable reasons why your PC is slow.

1. Spyware is a name given to a software program that has malicious intentions and downloads itself without the user’s consent or knowledge. They can do all sorts of nasty things and slow down the computer considerably.
2. Installation of many programs under the StartUp menu. As you install applications on your system, some of them take up start-up status discreetly. This results in slower start up times as all of them take up memory for initialization. As a result, booting up a system consumes a lot of time.
3. Corruption of the Windows registry. The Windows Registry is regarded as the master control center of the operating system and all the applications that it executes. If it is corrupted, it can lead to a variety of performance problems like slow Windows start ups and shut downs along with general disturbance in Windows processing activities.
4. Fragmented memory. When you use your PC on an every day basis files stored on the computer gets ‘scattered’ and thus consumes noticeable time for file searches.
5. Security software may aim to protect you but their constant surveillance against all kinds of malicious software can actually contribute to slow PC performance because they take up a lot of main memory. By all means install and use security software but ensure that settings are at its best for you (e.g., using the Ignore List, etc.) so that it does not meddle with your everyday PC tasks.
6. Improper removal of programs. When programs are not uninstalled properly, they leave certain things behind. This results in cluttering the Windows registry with invalid and obsolete data, occupying plenty of unwanted space.
7. Page file size. This is known as the temporary work area in the memory used by a system for efficient processing of various functions. Think of it as a buffer used by the operating system. If you allocate only a small portion of memory for this, the consequence may be poor performance and system instability.
8. Permanent Internet files. If your Temporary Internet folder is never emptied, all the used memory will make your PC slow.
9. Viruses are software programs with malicious intentions and cause irreparable damage to computers. It is also the most prevalent reason of reducing the speed of computers as they can sap down computer performance and cause frequent shut downs.
10. Hardware problems. Last but not the least, hardware problems as a result of dust, overheating and wear and tear of components can cause sluggish PC performance.

I hope the above helps you understand just how many factors can cause slow PC performance.

Hungry for more info? Here is an extra interesting read for you -> Slow Computer? Speed Up Your PC By Disabling Unnecessary Windows Services.

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The easiest way to decorate your PC or to express yourself through it is by changing its wallpaper. Indeed, the first thing that users often do to broadcast or signify their ‘dominion’ over their PC is to change its wallpaper.

Windows has a vast repository of wallpapers (Vista wallpapers anyone?)that could match the taste or personality of almost every PC user. However, not everybody wants to be dictated upon as to how their desktop should look. Most of the time, people scrap the pre-installed or pre-loaded designs for third-party ones.

Of course, there’s no ‘rule’ as regards the kind of wallpaper that you should paste on your desktop. You could post any picture or painting that you like. However, there are some instances where you may have to limit your choices.

Wallpapers consume memory space. The bigger the file, the less space you’re going to have for other applications. If you’re quite short on RAM, I suggest that you choose designs which are not that intricate. Keep it simple. Plain-looking wallpapers are usually small in terms of file size; hence, they are easier to load.

PC optimization doesn’t just mean cleaning your cache or registry. If you want your unit to always perform at its best, you should first ascertain and acknowledge its limitations. If you only have 128MB of RAM, don’t use an intricate photo of a Da Vinci Masterpiece for a wallpaper. Every byte counts. Save valuable memory for more important processes.

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How’s your cache? If you’re not a techie, then chances are that you might think that I’m asking for your current financial condition.

A cache is a space in your system’s memory that stores data that you frequently use or access. Your computer usually checks this storage first before it goes to other sources for the information that you’re requesting. This saves time since your PC won’t have to go far in order to find the data that you need.

However, your cache may actually slow down your PC if it’s clogged with unnecessary files or data. Hence, it is advisable that you clear it regularly. Clearing your browser’s cache is very simple. Just click on Tools then select Internet Options. There are also third-party software which allows you to sort out the files or data that you want to retain or delete.

Optimizing your PC is very simple. However, it’s not a one-time task that you could just forget about after performing it the first time. Clearing your cache, as well as your registry and hard drive, is a task that you should be doing as often as you clean your room (my analogy would be flawed if you only clean your room once a year )

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A federal court in Germany has recently ruled that law enforcers cannot secretly go through the hard drives of the persons they’re investigating.

The decision came in the midst of government efforts to nip terrorism at the bud by checking the computer files of suspects over the Internet.  The Federal Prosecutor’s Office frowned upon the ruling, saying that the procedure or investigation over the Internet is no different from the eavesdropping methods conducted over telephone lines.

I wonder what type of computers the police use when they are conducting stealth searches on hard drives. I bet they’re no different than the ones we use at home or at the office. Hackers even claim that they could ransack business and government Web sites using the laggard PC units at the public libraries.

I’m sure that many wouldn’t want their PCs to be secretly searched by the authorities. But if you’re going to ask me, I think the police should be given a reasonable elbow room in conducting stealth searches. I wouldn’t mind them searching my desktop as long as they won’t erase any file therein. And since they’re good at public service, maybe they could do us a favor by defragmenting our disks or checking and fixing our registries while they’re rummaging through our units

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