SuperSite Blog

March 2009 - Posts

• A second look at the Windows 7 Display control panel, across product versions

  The email that generated the previous post, Interesting new Windows 7 features ... But only for Starter and Home Basic, got me thinking. Why was this particular control panel so different across different Windows 7 product editions? To see what the differences really were, I took a shot of the Display control panel task list in each version, and then created this image, which shows each side by side: Curiously, those with lower-end editions need to do more from this central location while those with higher-end editions, presumably, are free to access certain features elsewhere. (Or, in some cases, like Change Welcome Screen Background, not at all.) To understand which features were unique to certain editions, I crossed out those options that appear in every product edition. The result looks like so: There are a number of oddities here. Why no "Connect to a projector" in Ultimate? UPDATE: Because that's installed on a desktop and not a notebook. My bad. --Paul Why no "Adjust brightness" in Home Basic? Why no "Change Welcome Screen background" in every single product edition? And so on. Weird. Posted Mar 31 2009, 05:10 PM by pthurrott with 24 comment(s) Filed under: Windows 7, Commentary

• Interesting new Windows 7 features ... But only for Starter and Home Basic

  I just got an email from Patrick U., who has found an interesting new feature in Windows 7. But it's only available in the Starter and Home Basic versions, at least in build 7068. On those systems, when you navigate to the Display control panel, you see a new link, Change Welcome Screen Background. Clicking it gives you the following two choices: I have to guess what these do, since choosing either doesn't appear to change anything. The first, Use the background that came with my computer, probably causes Windows to use the default Welcome screen background. The second, Use the Windows background, probably changes the Welcome screen background to match the Windows desktop wallpaper. Or vice versa. :) The lack of choice here does sort of suggest that Starter edition users will be stuck with whatever wallpaper the system comes with, though I still find this hard to believe. BTW: Patrick also notes that Home Basic has another unique link in this area called "Change desktop wallpaper." It doesn't appear to be in the other Windows 7 product editions, including Starter. Weird. Thanks, Patrick. Posted Mar 31 2009, 04:24 PM by pthurrott with 14 comment(s) Filed under: Windows 7

• A Windows 7 product editions follow-up (or, why Starter edition matters and Home Basic does not)

  As I had hoped, I've gotten a ton of email about my new Windows 7 Product Editions comparison, which provides a nice breakdown of which features are available in which Windows 7 product edition(s). Check it out if you haven't. Naturally, a lot of the feedback has involved features that aren't mentioned in the charts, so I've been updating it regularly since first posting the article yesterday, most obviously with a new section on Enterprise features. The goal, of course, is to make the comparison as complete and accurate as possible and evolve it over time. But the current version of the article is based on the different product editions that are available in Windows 7 build 7068, and that build isn't complete. Indeed, over the past several builds, some features have disappeared (presumably temporarily). The Windows Media Player "Play To" feature, for example, has been almost entirely missing in action for several builds now (it appears only if you have a Media Center Extender configured). And in build 7068, Guest Mode (previously called PC Safeguard) is suddenly gone. I'll add that back if and when I can. But the single biggest piece of feedback I've gotten involves the Home Basic and Starter editions of Windows 7. Why, I've been asked repeatedly, have I placed Home Basic at the start of the product editions list? Shouldn't Starter by first, since that is presumably the lowest-end edition? Here's why it's listed the way it is. Microsoft explained that it was reversing the roles of Windows 7 Starter and Home Basic editions back in early February. I wrote about this news in my original Windows 7 Product Editions article. Now, Windows 7 Starter edition is a mainstream Windows version that will be sold worldwide, and there is talk that many netbook makers will preinstall this version because it will be so inexpensive. Windows 7 Home Basic, meanwhile, will be made available only in emerging markets. I actually considered leaving Home Basic off of the comparison charts all together (as I had left off Starter in my similar Windows Vista chart from a few years back) because it will impact so few readers of this site. I didn't do so because I knew I'd get emails wondering about it. But given how this has gone, maybe I'll leave it off a future version of the list and include a note about Home Basic instead. We'll see. Anyway, I hope this clears things up. Put simply, Starter could very likely factor into a future buying decision you will make, while Home Basic will not. Posted Mar 31 2009, 03:21 PM by pthurrott with 21 comment(s) Filed under: Windows 7, Commentary

• The mystery of the 3 app limit in Windows 7 Starter

  One of the things I've been asked about with regards to Windows 7 Starter (see my pre-RC screenshot gallery) is that controversial three application limit. Is it really there? And is it really much of an issue? It really is there. (See this shot in particular.) But. It doesn't pop up that often. In fact, you will often have far more than three applications running before you see it. How is that? One theory is that the built-in applications don't count, or perhaps its just Explorer-based apps. For example, you can launch SnagIt (third party app), WMP, and IE 8, and then launch Paint. No problem. The, launch WordPad. No complaints. Windows Anytime Upgrade. But if you try to launch Windows Fax and Scan at this point ... bam. Or Windows Live Photo Gallery. Blocked. But launch Windows Explorer? No complaints. It starts right up. OK, let's start over. No apps are running. Launch, in order, SnagIt, Windows Live Photo Gallery, Windows Live Movie Maker, and then Windows Fax and Scan. No problem. That's four apps right there. Now launch IE 8 ... nope, it's blocked. But Windows Explorer will run. So will Windows Anytime Update. WMP? No. Oh, and ESET NOD32 is running in the background the whole time. Regardless of the exact mechanism used, it's pretty clear that most people who end up with Windows 7 Starter will be using a netbook anyway, and will likely never (or rarely) run into this limit. I'll keep testing to see if that is true. But it doesn't appear to be the huge issue tht people are making it out to be. And if Starter is cheap enough, I could see many being A-OK with this. Hey, anything is better than a stripped--down netbook version of Linux. Posted Mar 30 2009, 11:53 AM by pthurrott with 35 comment(s) Filed under: Windows 7, Commentary

• One last look at the 'Lauren' I'm a PC ad

  The tech world--especially the Mac world--is still aflame in some sort of weird controversy over Microsoft's latest "I'm a PC" ad, the one in which Lauren buys a $699 HP laptop. There's been all kinds of silliness about this ad. But there's also been some more reasoned commentary as well. My favorite might be Todd Bishop's. I asked Microsoft for the precise PC shown in the ad, then compiled the chart below. This isn't an exhaustive list of specs, but here's how Lauren's prized HP Pavilion dv7-1245dx stacks up against Apple's 17-inch MacBook Pro. Just so we're clear: For the price of a single 17-inch MacBook Pro laptop, Lauren could have bought FOUR HP laptops. LOL. Yes, there's way more to this comparison than that. But the whole notion of the Apple Tax is so very true. And while it may not normally be a 300 percent markup, it's always there. Posted Mar 30 2009, 11:37 AM by pthurrott with 152 comment(s) Filed under: Windows 7, Humor, Commentary

• Get the Zune preloads back

  Christian P. sent an email over the weekend describing a Microsoft KB resource that lets you re-download the Zune preloaded content if you’ve lost or deleted it: Availability of the preloaded content for Zune devices This article describes the availability of content that is preloaded on some Zune devices. If your Zune device came with preloaded content and you accidentally deleted the preloaded content, you can download it. To do this, visit the following Microsoft Web site: http://download.microsoft.com/download/d/f/c/dfc12b52-402c-4872-a734-37b5e4282d70/PreloadContent.zip After you download the file, open the compressed (.zip) file, and then copy the contents of the .zip file into your Zune collection. Then, connect your Zune device to synchronize the content that you want. Applies to: Zune Digital Media Player Zune 4GB Digital Media Player Zune 8GB Digital Media Player Zune 16GB Digital Music Player Zune 30GB Digital Media Player Zune 80GB Digital Media Player Zune 120GB Digital Media Player Posted Mar 30 2009, 11:31 AM by pthurrott with 2 comment(s) Filed under: Zune

• Sorry, Virginia, but there is no IE performance 'fix'

  Ed Bott has written up a hopeful but ultimately misguided post about a supposed Internet Explorer 8 performance fix. There's just one problem. It doesn't work. So please don't write me about it--surprisingly, no one has, so far--as it just doesn't work. Fortunately, you don't have to take my word for it, as there are far more technical people out there than I, one of whom, my Windows 7 Secrets co-author Rafael Rivera, has the chops needed to tell the difference between wishful thinking and empirical fact. So what is actxprxy.dll? Well, as Ed pointed out, the library is pretty obscure and has almost zero documentation. The fact it came from back in Internet Explorer 3/Office 97 days doesn’t help either. From what I’ve been able to gather via method of poking, actxproxy.dll is a proxy for software to communicate with out-of-process ActiveX/COM objects. … and regsvr32? Regsvr32 is a very simple tool that simply loads a binary and calls its DllRegisterServer, DllUnregisterServer, or DllInstall function, depending on the switch you pass it. I sat down and spent some time disassembling actxprxy.dll… and to no surprise the DllRegisterServer function simply calls NdrDllRegisterProxy with a bunch of interfaces to register. I also conducted a few experiments. First, I exported portions of my registry to file and tried re-registering the DLL. After re-registration, I used WinMerge to compare the two files and noticed zero (relevant) changes. Second, I tried unregistering the DLL. Internet Explorer immediately malfunctioned and ultimately ceased to work at all, indicating the library had to have already been registered. As a result of some pretty simple testing, I’ve come to the conclusion that reports of success with this wanna-be tweak are no more reliable than the average Bigfoot sighting. That is, people see what they want to see. End of story. Unless of course you believe there was a second shooter in Dealey Plaza. Posted Mar 29 2009, 10:55 PM by pthurrott with 39 comment(s) Filed under: Internet Explorer, Commentary

• Today: Windows 7 Build 7068

  I've been installing Windows 7 build 7068 on various PCs here this morning, and while that's notable for a number of reasons, the big one is that this is the first external build to include install options for all the final Windows 7 SKUs, as you can see here. I'll have a ton of screenshots posted later in the day. Stay tuned. Posted Mar 28 2009, 10:35 AM by pthurrott with 41 comment(s) Filed under: Windows 7

• Is IE8 really fat and slow?

  In sharp contrast to certain dimwitted bloggers out there, no one can ever accuse Ed Bott of "false misunderstanding." The guy grabs on to a topic and shakes it until it squeaks, and for this reason, he'll always be the voice of reason in our industry. The topic du jour: Reports that IE 8 is slow and a memory hog. Take it away, Ed: Two criticisms have come up repeatedly that can be measured empirically, so I thought I would do that here. One is the burning question of whether IE8 is faster or slower than its competitors; the other is whether it makes reasonable use of system resources. A series of independent tests performed by PC World, which concluded that IE8 really is faster than Firefox ... On the other hand, the Wall Street Journal’s Walt Mossberg reached the opposite conclusion in his review ... I was baffled by Mossberg’s results. [As was I, sort of. I mean, it's Mossberg. --Paul] When I tried the same tests on several PCs here with IE8, Firefox 3.0.7, and Google Chrome, I got the same results as PC World. In general, all pages loaded so quickly in all three browsers that detecting any difference with a stopwatch was nearly impossible. Ed highlights an amazing potential fix for people who are experiencing trouble with IE performance. Check out his post for that fix. As for RAM usage... Microsoft’s browser using more RAM than its rivals. Are those reports true? The answer, it turns out, is a qualified yes. Firefox and IE7 use a single process that hosts as many tabs as the system can stand. That means the browser and its supporting files only have to be loaded once, and each tab can share those resources. That explains why Firefox and IE7 are so sparing with memory usage. Unfortunately, the side effect of that single-process model is that one crashed tab can bring down the entire browser. To work around this major annoyance, IE8 and Chrome use multiple processes. Tab isolation requires more memory, whether you use IE8 or Chrome. If you’re bound and determined to use less RAM, use Firefox – and pray that you don’t have a crash. I would just add one point here. Application memory consumption is not an issue on modern Windows versions unless that app slowly eats up RAM over time for no reason (Firefox, cough) or doesn't give up the memory when you close the application. Folks, memory is cheap. And let's be honest: Tab isolation/recovery is more than a fair tradeoff for some RAM consumption. And how much RAM are we talking, exactly? In Ed's test, he loaded up 12 tabs. That takes up just 256 MB of RAM on a 4 GB system. Come on. As always, the truth is so much less sensational then the headlines (and reports) that Ed is skewering here. Posted Mar 27 2009, 09:52 AM by pthurrott with 38 comment(s) Filed under: Internet, Google, Internet Explorer, Mozilla, Commentary

• Is PC World for losers too?

  In the same vein as "false indignation" let's add the term "false misunderstanding" to the lexicon. In this bizarre and silly editorial/blog post, PC World's Nick Mediati (whoever that is), pretends he doesn't "get' Microsoft's latest ad: With this latest ad, I'm confused. While the meat of the ad focuses on how Windows PCs come in more shapes and sizes than Macs do and can be had at lower prices, Lauren, the woman portrayed in the ad, quips at one point, "I'm just not cool enough to be a Mac person." So, Microsoft, if this is the message you're pushing--that your prospective customers "aren't cool enough" to own a Mac, what does this make your users? Losers? No, Nick. That's not what it means. And no, that's not what you believe either. Duh. First, watch the ad. It's about a girl who (artificially) has $1000 to spend on laptop with a 17-inch screen. She traipses into the Apple Store (called "The Mac Store" in the ad) first and then encounters sticker shock: Apple only has a single $1000 laptop and it has a woefully small screen. "I would have to double my budget, which isn't feasible. I'm just not cool enough to be a Mac person," she says. Controversial, eh? The message, obviously, is that by "cool enough" she means "rich enough." OBVIOUSLY. Case closed. End of discussion. Anyone who claims pretends otherwise is doing so for show. PS: Most people, of course, do get it. Here's a good example. Someone who goes by the humorous moniker "CheeseMan42" apparently has more common sense than Nick here, noting in an Overclockers Club post that the new ad "points out what everyone already knows: Macs cost more than PCs ... This commercial should help Microsoft at a time when most people are trying to cut spending across the board." If PC World is ever hiring again, maybe they could look the CheeseMan up. Posted Mar 27 2009, 09:35 AM by pthurrott with 74 comment(s) Filed under: Commentary

• Big Nintendo Wii update

  I realize I'm not exactly the Wii's biggest backer, but this does change things a bit: Wii System Update Download Wii Menu 4.0 today, and expand the potential of your Wii console with a comprehensive storage solution. Store downloaded games and channels with ease. View even more media* on the Photo Channel or Wii Speak Channel. Manage the content on your Wii console more effectively. What’s new with Wii Menu 4.0? Store more—Add more Wii storage using SD Cards or the high capacity SDHC Card format (up to 32GB). Improved SD Card support—launch WiiWare titles, Virtual Console games, or channels directly from an SD/SDHC Card. Let your Wii console move games and channels to an SD/SDHC Card with Auto Manage when system memory fills up. Download titles from the Wii Shop Channel to Wii system memory or directly to an SD/SDHC Card. How do I download it? Updating your Wii Menu is easy! Just select the System Update option in Wii System Settings. * Images in JPEG format only. Video in Quicktime or AVI format only. Music in AAC format only Thanks to Michael G. for the link. Posted Mar 26 2009, 01:26 PM by pthurrott with 21 comment(s) Filed under: Video games

• Call of Duty 6 coming this November

  Of course, they're not calling it that--it's going to be called Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2--but it's coming this November. And really, that's all that matters. :) Just a teaser for now, with very little in the way of in-game graphics. Posted Mar 26 2009, 01:21 PM by pthurrott with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Video games

• Windows 7 RC lock-down? (Updated with Microsoft leak)

  Has anyone else noticed that the sudden rush of interim Windows 7 builds we experienced over the past month has just as suddenly dried up? Based on conversations I've had with Microsoft officially, and some unofficial conjecture, I'm starting to think that we're now in a Windows 7 Release Candidate (RC) information lock-down. That is, I believe that Microsoft is trying to pull an Apple and unveil some secrets--and really surprise people--in the RC build. And instead of handing out builds willy-nilly to its TAP partners, or whoever else had been leaking the several post-builds I installed and evaluated (only some of which I've written about on the site for source protection reasons), Microsoft is holding things close to the vest right now. At least it appears that way. Over on the ever-verbose Engineering Windows 7 blog, Microsoft executives continue to wax on and on about absolutely nothing new, as if trying to keep our attention away from the fact that they're hiding something ("Look, we 'designed' Aero Snap!" Nothing to see here!). Conspiracy theorists, unite ... Sort of. This is only partially a guess. That said, I'd really like to see another interim build. :)   Update: A number of readers have pointed that Microsoft has (inadvertently?) posted the following page to TechNet today: Windows 7 Release Candidate Published:  May 2009 Download instructions Welcome to Windows 7 Release Candidate (RC) testing.  We’re on our way to Windows 7, and the RC is a great opportunity for IT professionals like you to take Windows 7 and begin testing it in your real environment. You get to see what’s coming, and we get to see if our changes and fixes from the Beta testing are working correctly.  We want to encourage you to install and actively test the RC code. This will help us ensure Windows 7 is the best possible release, and help you get ready for Windows 7 deployment. Here’s what you need to know: This is pre-release software, so please read the following to get an idea of the risks and key things you need to know before you try the RC. You don’t need to rush to get Windows 7 RC. The RC release will be available at least through June 2009 and we’re not limiting the number of product keys, so you have plenty of time. Watch the calendar. Windows 7 RC will expire on June 1, 2010. So if you install the RC release you’ll either need to upgrade to the final version of Windows 7 before that date, or install a prior version of Windows. (For more about installing Windows, see installation instructions. Protect your PC and data . Be sure to back up your data and please don’t test Windows 7 RC on your primary home or business PC. Technical details/updates: before installing the RC please read the Release Notes, and Things to Know for important information about the release. Keep up with the news. You can keep up with general technical information and news by following the Springboard Series blog or Windows team blog. Want technical guidance, tips, and tools? Visit the Springboard Series on TechNet. And, you can get non-technical news, tips, and offers on the Springboard Series on TechNet Keep your PC updated: Be sure turn on automatic updates in Windows Update in case we publish updates for the RC. Microsoft Partners: Learn more about Windows 7on the Microsoft Partner Portal. Get the download The 32- and 64-bit versions of Windows 7 RC are available in five languages: English, German, Japanese, French, and Spanish. (Note: The RC version will not be available in Hindi or Arabic.) Just choose the version that fits the system you'll be using, pick your language, and click go to register for and download the RC. Downloading the Windows 7 RC could take a few hours. The exact time will depend on your provider, bandwidth, and traffic. The good news is that once you start the download, you won't have to answer any more questions – you can walk away while it finishes. If your download gets interrupted, it will restart where it left off. See this FAQ for details. Just so we're clear: The RC is not here. And this page will almost certainly disappear. Posted Mar 26 2009, 12:14 PM by pthurrott with 29 comment(s) Filed under: Windows 7, Commentary

• Wolfenstein 3D for the iPhone ... DOOM is coming soon

  Nice! Id Software has released a version of the classic DOS game Wolfenstein 3D for the iPhone, and they promise a version of the original DOOM soon as well. The grandfather of the FPS is at your fingertips! Wolfenstein 3D Classic is non-stop action and all of the memorable enemies are there for you to conquer, from Hans Grosse to MechaHitler! Includes all six original episodes with 60 classic levels and unforgettable weapons like the brutal chain gun. Search levels for hidden secrets that reveal stolen Nazi treasure, health packs, ammo and weapons or even short cuts. Choose clever new touch controls or drive with the tilt controls to halt the diabolical Nazi schemes. Wolfenstein 3D Classic makes use of an all new control system designed for the iPhone by technical visionary and id Software founder, John Carmack. More: John Carmack on developing for the iPhone Download Wolfenstein 3D Classic for iPhone (Direct FTP download) Posted Mar 24 2009, 11:56 AM by pthurrott with 19 comment(s) Filed under: iPhone, Video games, Smartphone, Mobile

• A Plea to Paul and Leo of Windows Weekly

  This is funny, though I feel bad that I basically caused this. Long story short, on the Windows Weekly podcast last week, we played a couple of clips from ex-Windows Chief Jim Allchin's new CD, Enigma, and I mentioned that, hey, I do know this guy, and maybe we could use on of the more rocking tracks as the theme song for the podcast. It sounds like a good idea on the surface. The thing is, we already have a good theme song. And the guy that made it, Derek K. Miller, wasn't too happy when he heard Leo and I discussing replacing it. So he came up with this video... And ... wow. So I feel like a jerk. And obviously, we're sticking with Derek. For the world to see, Sorry Derek. Seriously. Posted Mar 24 2009, 11:08 AM by pthurrott with 9 comment(s) Filed under: Personal, Commentary, Podcast