Have Laptop Will Travel

Windows 7 Starter Edition will cost more than XP

Originally posted on August 26, 2009 @ 10:00 am

We all know that Windows 7 would be (finally) spell the death of the venerable Windows XP. You see, XP had a pretty good run, but I think it’s time to finally let it rest. Windows 7 is the future, baby!

But this is weird: if they want to phase out Windows XP so badly, why are we seeing Windows 7 Starter Edition prices go higher than XP? It doesn’t make sense at all.

Microsoft still hasn’t officially announced exactly how much it will charge for Windows 7 Starter Edition, and the price could be variable since it will be sold in large volumes to PC makers. Consumers won’t be able to walk into a store and pick up a copy. But Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer did suggest recently that the pricing scheme will go something like this: Windows XP, Windows 7 Starter, Windows 7 Home, and then Windows 7 Professional.

Via Liliputing

New Google Chrome beta features zippier performance

Originally posted on August 11, 2009 @ 5:09 am

Subcribers to Google’s beta channel can now play with a new beta of Google’s hot Chrome browser. Non subscribers will usually get the stable builds of these beta versions at a latter date.

So what should we expect from this beta? Well, first, it is going to be a faster browsing experience. Benchmarks show that a 30 percent increase in performance can be expected from the new build. The benchmarks used are the V8 and SunSpider benchmarks, this means you can expect significant speed boosts in running JavaScript.

The improvements do not end with faster performance though. Google has programmed Chrome to be smarter in prioritizing the loading of pages when a user opens a new web page while other pages are still loading.

Chrome’s New Tabs page has also been improved along with the unique Omnibox. The New Tabs page is now customizable. Users can now pin frequently visited sites in certain locations. The Omnibox now also includes icons next to the suggestions as a way of differentiating between a web site address or a bookmark. An additional aesthetic improvement is the addition of customizable themes.

If you want to try it for yourself now, subscribe to Google’s beta channel. But if you’re not a fan of unstable betas, then just wait for when Google officially releases it.

Microsoft issues new fixes to vulnerabilities on Windows, other products

Originally posted on July 14, 2009 @ 11:50 pm

By this time, Microsoft has already released the updates that will fix vulnerabilities in some of its products. Some of those that are affected by these fixes are the vulnerability in DirectShow that was first mentioned in May and also zero-day vulnerability that was only noticed in the last few days.

it should be noted that three of the six bulletins that Microsoft issued directly affect Windows and are considered critical fixes for both Windows XP and Windows 2000. Actually, even the first one, which has been given the Windows 1 tag has been identified as critical on practically all Windows platforms. The second flaw is for the aforementioned DirectX capability. The last one, on the other hand is critical on Windows XP and moderate threat on Windows Server 2003. The remaining three vulnerabilities are considered not very crucial but still should be addressed though.

So if you guys haven’t installed these new updates yet and you didn’t activate automatic updating, go and visit the Microsoft site and download these fixes.

Acer coming up with netbook running Google Android

Originally posted on October 6, 2009 @ 10:00 am

Apparently, Acer’s Android netbook will be available to the general public by November. The reported of the netbook is around $300 to $350, and it won’t be all that much cheaper than the current 10-inch Aspire One since it still runs Windows and will have comparable specs.

So now I’m wondering why install Android in the first place if Windows is still going to be running alongside it. I’d rather wait for the Google Chrome OS netbook, mind you.

Netflix now suported by Windows Media Center

Originally posted on May 21, 2009 @ 12:39 am

Windows Media Center users will be happy to know that Netflix is now OFFICIALLY supported.

This is the first time Netflix will have official support for Microsoft’s media-optimized OS even though users of the WMC have been using a workaround to access Netflix. When the DVD distribution company began offering streaming video services, some programmers were able to create small apps that allowed them to view the content on the Media Center. But since it was unofficial, these apps had a tendency to break down and suffer from glitches especially when Netflix makes changes from their end. It also requires an advanced level of technical knowhow to make it work. The official support for Netflix now eliminates all of these difficulties.

The new Netflix app uses Silverlight to present a seamless interface and easy video streaming capabilities. The app will even guide users in installing Silverlight in case they haven’t downloaded and installed it in their PCs yet.