How many Intel CPUs will fail the XP Mode test in Windows 7? | Ed Bott’s Microsoft Report | ZDNet.com

If you are planning on running Windows 7's XP virtualization on your existing processor read this. Read this especially if you are running Intel. I'm pleased to discover that both my CPU's, laptop and desktop, will run it if I choose to. If you can't run MS's virtualization the good new is that Parallels is working on their own solution and of course there is always VMWare, but you will need to supply your own XP license where as Win 7 will come with an XP license for the purpose.

Wireless Heart and Patient Monitor Trasmits Info to Doctor Via CallPhone

A new product costing hundreds rather than thousands of dollars that will let your doctor or staff monitor you wherever you are via cellphone. The system will be available via prescription from a physician and consists of the wearable, wireless sensor; a small portable device that transmits vital data to a patient’s physician from anywhere in the world.

SCO to fight US bankruptcy trustee's motion to liquidate it

From the "it couldn't happen to a better company dept.", it looks like after a long tortuous illness, brought about by hubris and greed, SCO is finally going to die a well deserved death. Ding dong.

OnComputers Radio show Podcast 05-03-09

This is the On Computers Radio show podcast for 05-03-09. You can listen live every Sunday from 10AM to 1PM Pacific that's 1PM to 4PM Eastern. Join us for the live show and chat. If you prefer, you can download the same MP3 file here via ftp.

Links from the Gregg Zone

1) For my green link this week I am going back to basics, do we really understand what is causing the problem? I have often noticed that it seems the more sure people are about something, the more likely it is they have overlooked something important. While I am sure we humans fit into the equation in a big way, when it comes to climate change causation it just seems their may be some missing pixels. This is a very interesting article about our current sun cycle, which is nothing like any thing we have seen so far. Of course when we look at the life time of the sun, and do the math we have only been observing it for the equivalent of a nano second or so. http://www.independent.co.uk/
2) For my second offering I am going to the very cool, but with a few little hidden thought provoking twists. This is one of the better illusions I have seen, it looks to be a picture of Albert Einstein, but if you back off the monitor seven or eight feet, from a distance it morphs into Marilyn Monroe. It reminds me of those objects I see by the side of the road in the distance that morph from an animal into a tree trunk. In an odd sort of way it illustrates many things in our lives other than vision. How many points of view have you had about something from opinions of people and politics, to views on theories of science, religion or whatever, only to have them morph into something else upon closer examination? http://www.wired.com
3) I cannot remember for sure who sent me this one, I think it was Troll, but it may have been Joe, as it has been in my show stuff folder for a few weeks. But, thank you. This has to be the definitive site on the Aurora, better known as the Northern Lights. If you have any curiosity about them, or just want to see what Joe is talking about when he refers to them, this is the place to go. The site is put up by Michigan Tech, and has everything from, forecasts and maps, causes and effects, to as many images as you could want. http://www.geo.mtu.edu
4) This is another of those definitive sites covering a subject to the nth degree. If you are at all interested in the Kryptos Sculpture at the C.I.A. headquarters, or if this is new to you and you want to read up on it, view videos on it, well this is the place. It is a fascinating read, I am not to sure what I think about the whole thing, but that is just not unusual. I will leave my opinions lying on the cutting room floor of my mind, and leave it up to you to try and make sense of it. http://elonka.com
5) And now, the geek link of the week, what could be better coming from the zone than the “global warming” of the internet. An article predicting we will run out of band width in the near future. Reducing the internet to an unreliable toy around 2012, funny how that year keeps coming up in the oddest places, usually about something dire. Anyway they make what seems to be a plausible case for a rather unfortunate end to our fun. I also learned another new term from the article though, just when I thought I might digest the concept of a petabyte, now I have to think about an exabyte, (billion trillion). Read it here, http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/

Earl's Cyber Steals and Deals

OCZ 2GB (2x1GB) PC3 DDR3 Desktop RAM Kit
newegg.com offers the OCZ SLI-Ready 2GB PC3-14400 DDR3-1800 240-Pin Dual Channel Desktop Memory Kit with two 1GB DIMMs, model no. OCZ3N1800SR2GK, for $54.99. This $40 mail-in rebate drops the price to $14.99. With free shipping, . Rebate ends May 8.

Sceptre 24" Widescreen LCD Display for $200 + $2 s&h
CompUSA again offers the Sceptre 24" Widescreen LCD Monitor, model no. x24wg-Naga, for $199.99 plus $1.99 for shipping

Acer X183H b 18.5" Widescreen LCD Monitor
$100 (29% off $140 retail) at CompUSA

TechBargains Coupon Page - Hundreds of coupons for lots of Computer, Electronics and assorted Internet merchant sites.

Motorola H680 Bluetooth Headset for $17 + free shipping
newegg.com offers the Motorola H680 Bluetooth Headset for $16.99 with free shipping. Features include nine hours of talk time and up to 300 hours standby.

Free Windows 7 RC1 from MS & Setup Secrets Article on ZDNet

Windows 7 setup secrets On May 5, the general public will finally be allowed to download the official Windows 7 Release Candidate from Microsoft. It’s been up on BitTorrent networks for more than a week. If you have a torrents client you can look for Windows 7 RC1 Build 7100. Then read the article at the above link. This software is valid for more than a year!

Office 2007 Service Pack 2 available for download | All about Microsoft | ZDNet.com

"SP2 provides the usual security, performance and reliability fixes that SPs deliver. SP2 is especially tuned to update Outlook and SharePoint Server, according to the company. SP2 also includes support for more file formats, such as PDF and ODF, Microsoft oficials said. Here’s more from Microsoft’s release on Office 2007 SP2:"
As we always tell you, do your Microsoft updates. This Service pack is out and ready to download and install.
AlaskaJoe

Are Linux netbooks becoming extinct?

The netbook ought to have been the domain of Linux. It certainly started that way, with the inaugural 7" ASUS Eee Linux PC sporting Xandros. Then Windows XP came back into vogue and the vendors backed away. Both ASUS and Dell confirmed today that Linux features little in their future plans

Gateway in the Dead Pool - Geek News Central

"In 2007, Gateway sold off its professional division to MCS, formerly Micron Computer. This mean all small, medium, and large business, as well as education and government contracts, went with it."
I have been saying for some time now that Gateway support is going down hill fast. As a tech when I contacted Gateway for support they wanted me to ship the whole computer to them so they could replace a failed hard drive on a 6 week old system.
It seems it is much easier to send me a replacement hard drive than to spend $50 to ship the whole computer to them.

As the guy that wrote this article said: Buyer beware. I wouldn’t buy a Gateway at this point, not even from a retailer. I agree, let Gateway die in peace!

AlaskaJoe

OnComputers Radio show Podcast 04-26-09

This is the On Computers Radio show podcast for 04-26-09. You can listen live every Sunday from 10AM to 1PM Pacific that's 1PM to 4PM Eastern. Join us for the live show and chat. If you prefer, you can download the same MP3 file here via ftp.

Links from the Gregg Zone

1) Green link of the week takes me back to boy scouts. I remember some sort of a project we did making a solar oven supposedly to bake bread, if memory serves me it did not work so hot, pardon the pun. Well evidently that concept has been revised somewhat, with the Koyto box, named for the summit. This is the - "two cardboard boxes, and some paint that can save the world” Winner of the Financial times-sponsored climate change challenge contest for innovative ways to decrease human impact on the environment. The manufacturing cost of the box is only six dollars, and it can boil water, cook a casserole, bake bread, using solar, but it can also save a rain-forest. The sub-link in the article on the prize is also interesting reading. http://blogs.discovermagazine.com
2) Okay, this is my advancing technology blow your mind link for the week. At least if you are not up on metamaterials. This has been hanging around in my use for the show, maybe folder for a month or two; I just kept skipping over it because I had not taken the time to read it. I am correcting that now, if you have not heard about metamaterials do yourself a favor and read this, I believe you will be hearing a lot about this in the future, maybe under a different name, but this has unbelievable potential. http://discovermagazine.com
3) I don’t know if any of you have picked up on this, it sure was news to me. One more of those mind blowing articals, this brings a lot of thoughts to mind. It is an article about re-growing body parts. Started out with a guy in a hobby shop showing a customer why the propeller on a model plane was dangerous. He went beyond what was expected by cutting off the end of his finger. Lucky he knew someone doing limb replacement research that sent him some magic powder. Grew back his finger, evidently this is for real check it out. http://health.howstuffworks.com
4) I was tempted to save this for my opening link next week, but decided to use it here. Sent to me by Wills of show host fame, it is one more of those how we can really make a difference with small adaptations of what is available around us. I was impressed by this because of its practicability using materials available in the local area to change, or improve a simple human problem. http://www.cbsnews.com
5) Now for some geekyness, spell check did not like that, but had no suggestions so forgive me. Started off by a suggestion from Troll, who seems to find some joy in tweaking my mind, but I like that. The whole idea of cloud computing, well explained here http://www.geeks.com Thanks Troll, now for just a little something more I ran across at Stock Gumshoe, another site I like dealing with those stock offers from the stock touting crowds that show up in our email, I really like this site anyway, just a little additional reading if you are inclined http://www.stockgumshoe.com

Earl's Cyber Steals and Deals

ZOTAC GF8200-A-E AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 8200 Micro ATX Motherboard $49.99AR Free Shipping, Apr. 25 2 PM
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Newegg has the ZOTAC GF8200-A-E AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 8200 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard, for a low $49.99 after rebate. Free Shipping. Tax in CA, NJ, TN, PR.
Add a processor: Newegg has the AMD Phenom 9950 Agena 2.6GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 2MB L3 Cache Socket AM2+ 125W Quad-Core Black Edition Processor, for a low $104.99 after $25 off Coupon Code: AMD42325 (Exp 4/30) Free Shipping. Tax in CA, NJ, TN, PR.
$15 rebate Exp 4/30/09


Deal at newegg.com Western Digital Caviar GP 750GB Serial ATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Hard Drive, model no. WD7500AACS, for $59.99 with free shipping ($0.08/GB). That ties a mention from two weeks ago for the lowest total price we've seen for a 750GB 3.0Gb/s hard drive. This "green" product promises reduced power consumption compared to other models by up to 50%. It runs at 5400 rpm and features a 16MB cache.

Deal at newegg.com Western Digital Caviar GP 750GB Serial ATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Hard Drive, model no. WD7500AACS, for $59.99 with free shipping ($0.08/GB). That ties a mention from two weeks ago for the lowest total price we've seen for a 750GB 3.0Gb/s hard drive. This "green" product promises reduced power consumption compared to other models by up to 50%. It runs at 5400 rpm and features a 16MB cache.


Seagate.com Outlet Sale: Hard drives from $50 + $8 s&h
Maxtor OT4 Mini 160GB External for $49.99
Maxtor 500GB IDE Hard Drive Kit for $69.99
Seagate FreeAgent Desktop 500GB USB 2.0 External for $79.99
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 750GB IDE Internal for $89.99
Seagate FreeAgent Desktop 750GB USB 2.0 External for $89.99
PNY GeForce 9400 GT 512MB PCI Express Card for $20 after rebate + free shipping
newegg.com offers the PNY GeForce 9400 GT 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 Video Card, model no. VCG94512GXEB, for $44.99. This $25 mail-in rebate chops it to $19.99. With free shipping, that's the lowest total price we've seen for any GeForce 9400 GT 512MB by $17. This HDCP-ready video card features two dual-link DVI-I outputs with a maximum resolution of 2560x1600, 550MHz clock

Acer X233Hbid 23 inch Widescreen LCD Monitor $179.99 + $2 Shipping, Apr. 25 6 AM
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TigerDirect has the Acer X233Hbid 23" Widescreen LCD Monitor for a low $179.99. $1.99 Shipping. Tax in FL, NC, IL.
1920 x 1080; 5ms; 40000:1 (ACM); 300nits; HDMI, DVI, VGA

Windows XP will be Integrated Into Windows 7

Windows 7 is approaching its official release date not too long from now, and this week Microsoft unveiled one of the "secret" technologies that will ship with Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise and Ultimate. Called XP Mode or XPM for short, the new feature essentially virtualizes the legacy Windows XP operating environment within Windows 7

Microsoft Watch - Business Applications - Office 2007 SP2 Arrives in Two Weeks

Office 2007 SP2 Arrives in Two Weeks
"Service Pack 2 adds the ability to open, edit and save documents in version 1.1 of the OpenDocument Format for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. These applications now let users save, open, and edit files as OpenDocument Text (*.odt), OpenDocument Spreadsheet (*.ods), and OpenDocument Presentations (*.odp)."
If your running Office 2007 you need to do your Microsoft updates and get this Service Pack.
AlaskaJoe

Security outfit calls for roll back of IE - The Inquirer

"INSECURITY OUTFIT Kaspersky Labs is apparently so alarmed that so many of its customers are reporting problems with Microsoft's Internet Exploder 8 that it is advising them to roll back to IE7."
Have you tried Internet Explorer 8 yet? You might want to hold off for a little while. I am running IE 8 but only use IE when I need Active X (like in Microsoft updates)

AlaskaJoe

Ubuntu 9.04 as slick as Windows 7, Mac OS X | Business Tech - CNET News

"Here's what the official press release won't tell you about Ubuntu 9.04, which formally hit the streets overnight: its designers have polished the hell out of its user interface since the last release in October."

Here is your chance to play with Ubuntu 9.04 "Jaunty Jackalope" . You will need to download the ISO then burning the image to a CD (I use image burn) then just boot to the new CD you burned. If you want to install it on your computer, just click the icon on the Ubuntu desktop. If you only want to play with Ubuntu, when your finished just reboot and take the CD out.
Have fun with Ubuntu 9.04 "Jaunty Jackalope"
AlaskaJoe

Stop using Adobe Acrobat Reader - The Inquirer

"INSECURITY OUTFIT F-Secure has warned people to stop using Adobe's Acrobat Reader and switch to using an alternative PDF reader until the company sorts out its security.

Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer of F-Secure, told a briefing of journos that nearly half of hacker attacks this year exploited holes in Acrobat Reader, while six vulnerabilities have been discovered that target the program.

He said that users would be better off with an open sauce flavour of PDF reader."

I have been using Foxit reader for years, It's free.

AlaskaJoe

Run Ubuntu as a Portable App on Windows! | Daily Cup of Tech

"Portable Ubuntu for Windows provides the user with the ability to install Ubuntu on a Windows machine and do pretty much everything that you can do on a regular Ubuntu machine! And, you can do the install to a USB device so that you can take your Ubuntu with you and run it from any Windows machine you want!"
This is very cool tool/toy. If you have it on Windows XP: Just click on run_portable_ubuntu.bat and the whole thing will start. In Vista it take a little more, but not a lot.
The second YouTube video shows you how it works. It's very cool!
AlaskaJoe

» Here It Comes: an Internet Sales Tax » Blog Archive Alice Hill’s Real Tech News - Independent Tech

With states needing as much revenue as possible during this recession, it looks like Congress is now ready to move in the direction of creating a sort of “Internet sales tax,”

It looks like the government wants more of our money. A national sales tax. Up here in Alaska we don't have a state sales tax, however now we might have to pay an internet tax for anything we buy online. I don't like it, but I can see the writing on the walls. (or on the invoice)

AlaskaJoe