Blogulate » Windows

Six Versions of Windows 7

thinkdj — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 17:44:31 +0000

6 versions of 7. Yup.. Windows 7 would have six different versions. Customers would have to choose from Windows 7 Starter Edition, Windows 7 Home Basic Edition, Windows 7 Home Premium Edition, Windows 7 Professional Edition, Windows 7 Ultimate Edition, and Windows 7 Enterprise Edition.

The Windows Starter edition will only be offered pre-installed by an OEM (also, its limited to specific types of hardware).

So, here’s how the different versions of 7 differ from each other:

Windows 7 Starter (worldwide via OEM): up to three concurrent applications, ability to join a Home Group, improved taskbar and JumpLists
Windows 7 Home Basic (emerging markets): unlimited applications, live thumbnail previews and enhanced visual experience, advanced networking support (ad-hoc wireless networks and Internet connection sharing), and Mobility Center
Windows 7 Home Premium (worldwide): Aero Glass and advanced windows navigation, improved media format support, enhancements to Windows Media Center and media streaming, including Play To, multi-touch and improved handwriting recognition
Windows 7 Professional (worldwide): ability to join a managed network with Domain Join, data protection with advanced network backup and Encrypting File System, and print to the right printer at home or work with Location Aware Printing
Windows 7 Ultimate (worldwide): BitLocker data protection on internal and external drives, DirectAccess for seamless connectivity to corporate networks based on Windows Server 2008 R2, BranchCache support when on networks based on Windows Server 2008 R2, and lock unauthorized software from running with AppLocker
Windows 7 Enterprise (volume licenses): same as Ultimate, includes the following improvements: DirectAccess, BranchCache, Search, BitLocker, AppLocker, Virtualization Enhancements, Management, as well as Compatibility and Deployment.

Oh brother. You can run only upto three concurrent applications using the starter edition. Wonder if it includes the apps running in the background.. Nay.. cant be.

GNU Compiler collection for Windows

thinkdj — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 05:43:15 +0000

GCC stands for GNU compiler collection. There are precompiled versions / binaries of the GCC for windows available here.

Gcc for Windows (gcw) is yet another attempt to port gcc to Win32 platform. The major difference from MinGw and Cygwin is maximum possible acceptance of Microsoft Visual C++ source code and intended binary compatibility with Microsoft Visual C++.

Get GCC for Windows [GCW] 16 KB

Also check out : GCC for Microsoft Windows:

The Cygwin project;
The MinGW project.

Sysinternals AutoRuns for Windows v9.01

thinkdj — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 10:17:58 +0000

Sure, there are many applications out there for disabling automatic startup of programs on Windows. But this one is from Sysinternals

This utility, which has the most comprehensive knowledge of auto-starting locations of any startup monitor, shows you what programs are configured to run during system bootup or login, and shows you the entries in the order Windows processes them. These programs include ones in your startup folder, Run, RunOnce, and other Registry keys. You can configure Autoruns to show other locations, including Explorer shell extensions, toolbars, browser helper objects, Winlogon notifications, auto-start services, and much more. Autoruns goes way beyond the MSConfig utility bundled with Windows Me and XP.

Autoruns‘ Hide Signed Microsoft Entries option helps you to zoom in exclusively on third-party auto-starting images that have been added to your system while hiding the essential MS Windows images that start with windows. It’s basically something like an advanced MSConfig version.

Download Autoruns and Autorunsc

Vista Transformation Pack 8

thinkdj — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 17:27:32 +0000

Transform your Windows XP to Windows Vista like GUI. It makes it look like Vista with its cool GUI. Its free.

Some features :

CPU speed information in Welcome Center
Saving setup information file to save setup configuration for later uses with unattended transformation support
Added TrueTransparency 0.8.5 (Glass border with ported AeroStyle skin)
Updated Welcome Center to pre-configure user account with system optimized option on the first run in that user account

Download Vista Transformation Pack 8.0.1
- Rapidshare.com

Download Vista Transformation Pack 8.0 to 8.0.1 Patch
- Rapidshare.com

More Screenshots

Is XP better than Vista ?

thinkdj — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 10:05:23 +0000

Vista may not be right for everyone – at least not yet. XP still continues to be the workhorse operating system that can serve most users the best computing experience.

XP is faster

When it comes to our existing hardware, XP performs way better. Aero environment on Vista requires a 512MB GPU for crying out loud!

XP is compatible

Almost all the programs that have been developed for any Windows version is compatible with XP.

XP is familiar

XP has been around for a long time now and people are comfortable with the look and feel and ease of use of XP.

XP is mature

Released in 2002, XP has stayed in limelight for over 5 years now. It has a very large user base and most of the bugs and security issues have been fixed in the previous 2 service packs.

XP is flexible

With slight customizations and theming, XP can look just like Vista. Try out WindowBlinds and add some Widgets .. and you’re done!

To further corroborate our hypothesis, here are the results of tests run at AnandTech

Dynamic Disk Storage in Windows

thinkdj — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 18:30:20 +0000

Dynamic storage is supported in Windows 2000 and Windows XP Professional. Dynamic disk does not use partitions / logical drives. Instead, it contains dynamic volumes, such as simple volumes, spanned volumes, striped volumes, mirrored volumes and RAID 5 volumes created by Disk Management Console.

Dynamic Disks are very flexible. The number of volumes that you can create on a physical hard disk is only limited by the amount of free space available. You can also extend a volume, if it needs more space (if unallocated space is available). Dynamic storage management lets you manage disks and volumes even without a need to restart Windows after a change has been made.

Windows XP Professional can repair a corrupted database on one dynamic disk by using the database on another dynamic disk.

You can upgrade from Basic to Dynamic storage any time. Sstart Disk Management (Start > Control Panel > Performance and Maintenance > Administrative Tools > Computer Management > Disk Management). Right-click the Basic disk you want to convert to Dynamic, and click Convert to Dynamic Disk.

Note: After you convert to a dynamic disk, the dynamic volumes cannot be changed back to partitions. You must first delete all dynamic volumes on the disk, and then convert the dynamic disk back to a basic disk. If you want to keep your data, you must first back up or move the data to another volume. Also, do not try Dynamic Disks with multi boot OSes like multiple installations of WIndows on a single system.

All in one web development suite for Windows

thinkdj — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 16:59:33 +0000

Web.Developer Server Suite is an all in one developer suite for Windows. It is an open-source WAMP-based [Windows, Apache, MySQL, PHP] Web-server distribution for Windows that is fully configured and ready to run. Create, test, publish, and maintain your Website in-house, on your local system, where you are in absolute control. No more time delays for uploading files onto a server and running it.

Features include :

Server

Apache 2.2 HTTP Server
MySQL 5.0 Database
PHP 5.2 and Perl 5.8 Scripting Languages
GUI WAMP-stack Controller
Dynamic DNS Service

Pre-installed Frameworks

Joomla - Content Management system
Drupal - Content Management system
WordPress - Blogging software
MediaWiki -wiki
phpBB,SMF - Forum

Applications

Tomcat Servlet/JSP Container
mod_aspdotnet ASP.NET Host Interface
OpenSSL Cryptography Toolkit
mod_security Web Application Firewall
phpMyAdmin MySQL Administration

Web-Developer Suite for Windows Screenshot
Web-Developer Controller

GET IT NOW – wdsetup-v1.95.exe 29.9MB

Windows is a virus according to Apple.com

thinkdj — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 16:09:18 +0000

Go to Apple’s website and search for virus. This is what you get

Well, it was working when I last checked apple.com, but it may be removed soon

WinStep Xtreme Black Aero XP theme for XP

thinkdj — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 06:24:26 +0000

Click for a high resolution Screenshot

WinStep Xtreme is a free noir style XP theme. Extra fetures include a talking clock, a periodic mail Checker, a weather monitor and CPU, RAM and Internet meter.

It comes with a great collection of Widgets and launchers. This will transform your XP into something more appealing than Vista See the screnshot above.

Get it here : Winstep Xtreme 7.4 – (16.6 MB)

Vista sales slowly killing XP

thinkdj — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 05:25:17 +0000

XP is going down in the Windows market, in order to make room for Vista, although the last operating system to come out of Redmond has had a rough ride since the launch.

Vista has managed to establish itself as Microsoft’s main source of income, driving a revenue of $4.14 billion. “Microsoft announced revenue of $13.76 billion for the quarter ended September 30, 2007, a 27% increase over the same period of the prior year.

Statistics made available by Net Applications at the end of September 2007, paint a picture that comes to confirm Microsoft’s own perspective over the consistent growth in Vista uptake. XP is credited with 79% of the operating system market, down from 85% in January, while Vista increased its foothold from 0.18% in the first month of 2007 to 7.38% at the end of September.