When it is working correctly, Windows is a great program.  When it has problems though, and you need Windows help, few things are more frustrating.  If you have ever had a series of error messages pop up when booting up or shutting down, then you know exactly what I mean.

Identifying Windows Problems
If you intend to call Microsoft or your computer company, you will need to provide error codes and types for them to start looking into the problem.  Some error messages flash by so quickly you would have to be extremely fortunate to get a glimpse at them.  Overtime, all these little errors combine into one really significant problem.

I’ve called both Microsoft and my computer provider for help.  Days later, I would still be reeling from the barrage of questions, misinformation and interpretation I needed to do.  Worse, the problems weren’t always fixed, often they were just reduced and I have to live with it.

Get a Computer Tech in Your Area
If you are fortunate, you know someone who is really good with computers.  They can often help you solve windows problems.  If you don’t have a friend who is a computer geek, then you are reliant upon other sources; computer stores, service stores, and the like.  Of course, you have no idea who these people are and whether or not they will use their time with your machine to extract private data.

Quick, Stress-Free Windows Help Solutions
Because Windows is such a complex system, designed to run everything in your computer from behind the scenes, it can be overwhelming to think about trying to fix it alone.  It also means that it is prone to errors in the code developing.  To repair these errors and avoid Windows Help nightmares, consider downloading and using a registry cleaner that will search for and eliminate any problems within the code for you.

Download a registry cleaner as your main Windows help; it  takes only a few minutes.  It sets to work fixing damaged files, repairing missing data, and in general speeding up your computer by removing the things that slow it down.  For a few minutes effort, you have a great solution.

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Back when Windows Vista came out it was said to be Microsoft’s baby. However many people were skeptical and therefore didn’t go with the system at launch. Consumers are now skeptical of Windows 7 and rightfully so in light of what happened with Vista. Microsoft has definitely shaped up Windows 7 a lot better than then did Vista in both performance and looks. However that doesn’t change the fact that many businesses still are reluctant to switch to Windows 7 anytime soon.

This was just found in a recent survey where 1,000 IT administrators were surveyed. Out of those 1,000 around 60 percent stated that they were not planning to move to Windows 7 at this point. Surprisingly only 5.4 percent of those surveyed actually plan to move to Windows 7 this year. While another third of those surveyed plan to move to it by the end of 2010. This is a surprise from the original survey that had been taken previous where 60 percent of those who were surveyed planed to move to Windows 7 in the first year. Microsoft is expected to finish Windows 7 officially by the end of the month.

One huge impact on many of the IT administrator’s decisions has been the economy. Many professionals have said that they’ve saved a good amount of money skipping upgrades and operating system changes. With the economy in the shape it is even businesses are looking to save as much money as possible. This is most likely the main reason that so many businesses that were going to upgrade are holding off, at least for the time being. With many companies having the lack of time and resources to upgrade it’s expected that Windows 7 along with the IT world in general will continue to suffer for the time being.

Source: CNET

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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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When Microsoft originally announced Bing (which was initially named Kumo) many people thought that it was going to be a complete failure. No one believed that it would be able to compete with Google. Even though Bing has not officially hit the market yet, users that got to test it said that not only will it compete with Google but that it may be in fact better in some aspects.

Bing is supposed to go Live on June 3rd and replace the Live Search that currently exists. Microsoft is trying to reclaim some of its consumers that it lost to the Google technology years ago.

The new Bing is powered by a special technology that Microsoft acquired when it acquired Powerset. This allows for Bing to give users an extra side bar on the left side that shows refined versions of your search. For example if you search for a game you will most likely get a walkthrough displayed in the refined search area.

While Bing maybe a competitor for Google it’s by no means 100% better. When tested with real world searches, Google still found better results than Bing. However it wasn’t by much. Even when searching for product reviews this was true. This could still be a problem for Google though as “not by much” could turn into “better than”.

If you’re searching for news then you may want to consider trying Bing as the results were more current with news without having to sort and search through all of the news. Equally good is Bing’s video results. You would expect that Google would do a lot better than Bing in this area however Bing’s results are easier to search through than Google’s. While the actual results are approximately the same many people may prefer the better presentation that Bing has to offer in some categories. Ultimately Google will have to step up their game to keep their full market share.

Source: CNET

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The first thing that may come to your mind are words of disbelief. Yes this is a shock to anyone who knows anything about browsers. Actually 60 percent of companies use Internet Explorer 6 as their default browser.

There’s a huge gap between the number of companies that use Internet Explorer and companies that use other browsers. Between IE 6 and IE 7 they control 78 percent of the market. Firefox is in second with 18.2 percent, Google Chrome has 2 percent, and Safari has 1.4 percent.

So why do so many companies lead towards IE6? One of the reasons is that they go with the browser that was already installed on the computer. Since Microsoft creates Windows, Internet Explorer is always the first browser on the computer therefore a lot of companies just go with IE.

Once a company has decided to use a browser they will usually stick with it and block other browsers. This is because most companies worry about the security on new browsers as well as programs that may come with them.

Many companies don’t upgrade their browsers even though the upgrades include faster browsing, better security, and better tools. So if you’re in a company that’s looking at choosing a browser or you think your company has chosen the wrong browser, what can you do about it?

Each browser has pros and cons for each type of company. The four main browsers your company will look at are Internet Explorer 7 or 8, Firefox 3, Google Chrome, and Safari 4. So what are the differences between them?

Internet Explorer is great for companies that use several Microsoft programs and applications such as SharePoint. It’s also good for letting the company control what web pages can be used. It’s great for a company that wants a lot of security. The main downside is that the browser updates rarely include new features.

Firefox is a great browser in terms of all of the add-ons that you can get for it. There are several cool gadgets that you can have fun with however they are mostly geared towards consumers. Firefox is great for having better innovation than the others but has some lack in LAN control.

The New Google Chrome is questionable when it comes to security since it is so new.  However the browser itself is clean, fast, and offers many features that make it easier to work.

Safari 4 is also newer and therefore has questionable security. Safari allows for Mac and iPhone features that the other browsers don’t offer.

Overall which one should your company go with? Most likely the answer will be IE7/8 or Firefox 3 because of the security and features that they offer.

Source: CNET

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It is official that government agencies won’t be able to upgrade to Windows Vista unless they have written consent of the Texas legislature. While the bill has yet to be finalized, it’s looking like this is what’s going to happen. The Texas government has decided to go this route for several reasons.

While Windows 7 is right around the corner, they claim that this isn’t the reason that they are not upgrading. One of the senators proposed this line of action because of the widely known problems of Windows Vista. Windows XP seems to be working just fine for the state and they’re trying to avoid spending more money than they already have. It’s estimated that Texas has already spent in excess of 6 million dollars in upgrades to Vista.

The rider not only covers purchasing the operating system but new computers that have Vista already installed on it. The rider actually states Microsoft’s name in it. Microsoft commented that they were surprised that the rider singled them out. While this is true, Microsoft does own 99% of the government market for operating systems. In fact the state agencies only have 1,500 Macs.

Microsoft also controls 89% of the operating systems used on computers in the public school system. While schools are exempt from the rider it’s unlikely that they’ll upgrade before Windows 7 is released.

Texas has been plagued with bad contracts when it comes to technology. The first incident was when the stated suspended a deal because of data loss. The second was only a few months later in December.

Although the bill has been defeated before in Texas and many other states it’s likely to pass this time because of the financial situation that Texas is in. In reality it only makes sense for the government to hold off on upgrading until Windows 7 is released.

Source: Computer World

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Many people may remember what happened the last time this situation occurred. Back in October of 2006 when Microsoft released its upgrade program from Windows XP to Windows Vista many people were left waiting a long time for their upgrades. Many consumers waited weeks or months for their upgrade DVD’s and many consumers were very upset at the time it took for them to be delivered.

Although there’s nothing official from Microsoft yet it’s speculated that there’s going to be a similar program for Windows 7 as well. The speculation is that the program will begin July first and run through January of 2010. However, some companies are jumping to release their own promotions similar to this.

For example, one company in Seattle is planning on allowing users to upgrade from Windows Vista to Windows 7 for free. There are a few requirements for this such as you have to buy a PC that’s $1,000 or more and it has to have the 64 bit edition of Windows Vista on it. However, the deal overall is a good one as they will upgrade the PC to the 64 bit Windows 7 Ultimate version. The company is doing this to help boost PC sales as consumers are holding back buying PC’s until Windows 7 releases. The company is expecting it to be a break even exchange as their profit will go into giving consumers the new operating system for free however it will allow the company to get some exposure as well. Currently the company is offering the program through June 15th. The reason for the expiration date being set then is to avoid Microsoft’s upgrade program. The advantage for the consumers who buy through an upgrade program such as this is that they will avoid any type of delay that Microsoft’s upgrade program may have.

Source: Computer World

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Following millions of Windows fans downloading Windows 7 Beta OS, Microsoft decided to lift the 2.5 million download limit to the most anticipated OS since, well Vista.

Reports indicated that just a few hours after Windows 7 Beta was launched, the servers hosting the OS were put into a critical tension. Users from all over the globe rushed in an effort to be among the 2.5 million beta testers.

Microsoft Windows communications manager Brandon LeBlanc said the following on a blog post: Due to an enormous surge in demand, the download experience was not ideal so we listened and took the necessary steps to ensure a good experience.

The download limit is lifted effective today up to January 24.

Engadget was able to test the new operating system using MacBook Pro and VAIO P. Initial impressions from different tech bloggers revealed that Windows 7 is better than Vista in terms of speed. Security and total performance on the other hand offer different issues. For example, McAfee anti-virus failed to work on Windows 7 during the test, but as Microsoft calls the OS, it is still in beta.

Windows 7 have a feature similar to Mac’s Time Machine; there is also an auto backup system for MP3s. Microsoft is continually issuing update patches as of this writing.

Source: Engadget

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The news that Microsoft will not release Internet Explorer 8 to the public is not something that is surprising. Microsoft’s latest browser IE8 will remain in beta until 2009.

The announcement was made on Microsoft’s official blog. Dean Hachamovitch, General Manager of Internet Explorer project noted that they will release another beta next year. “We will release one more public update of IE8 in the first quarter of 2009, and then follow that up with the final release,” he said. The browser is currently in Beta 2.

Tech enthusiasts on the other hand agree that the decision is very just. A review on ArsTechnica noted that they are perfectly fine with more testing and bug fixing being done. Internet Exlorer 8 Beta 2 is noted with numerous bugs and crash errors, something that is not present in its grand rival Firefox 3.

As of this writing, Microsoft encourages users and beta testers to submit bug reports to help improve the once leading browser.

Source: PopuTech and ArsTechnica

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Microsoft is now reading its Virtualization application for launch in the coming Redmond event next week. It will carry the official name App-V 4.5. This is the latest version of the application and it has a number of tweaks and twists.

App-V 4.5 is used to be called SoftGrid Application Virtualization. This software is Microsoft’s attempt to make the app a mainstream commodity. The software involves functions that benefits application streaming betweens PCs as well control, licensing and update management.

The new app is bundled in the coming version of the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP). The pack will also include other desktop protocols, inventory services programs and System Center error monitoring and other network management applications.

According to Shanen Boettcher, general manager of Windows Product Management for the enterprise, they will release the MDOP 2008 R2 “in the next several weeks.”

On related news, Microsoft will also introduce a new Service Providers License Agreement (SPLA) that will allow service providers to use App-V 4.5 to stream products to their subscribers.

Source: CRN

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