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Robert McLaws: Windows Vista Edition

I'm just an online pundit who's barely old enough to legally buy alcohol


I Am Boycotting IE Mobile Until Microsoft Gets Its Act TogetherJanuary 6

I have very high expectations for Microsoft’s Windows Mobile announcements at CES this year. You see, I have been a fan of Windows Mobile for quite some time. but, for whatever reason, Microsoft has completely dropped the ball on their platform for mobile devices. For evidence, look no further than the Windows Mobile roadmap. First Microsoft said that Windows Mobile 7 was coming soon, and it was going to radically change the platform. We haven’t heard anything about that in a while, then Ballmer mentioned Windows Mobile 6.5, and everyone went.. .WTF? Then, Microsoft announced that IE6 Mobile was only going to be available on new devices under Windows Mobile 6.1.4.

We’ve waited something like 4 years to get a decent browser for Windows Mobile, and they’re not even going to make it a downloadable update? Screw multimedia features, i just want a better renderer, mmkay?

IMO, I think that the Samsung Omnia is the closest thing the Windows Mobile ecosystem has to an iPhone competitor… the featureset is just spectactual. But the whole UI is custom, and if you do it right, you’ll hardly seen WiMo at all. It’s a shame that the platform can’t have these features out of the box. But the most telling part is, Omnia’s default browser is… opera Mobile. I had the chance to try an Omnia out for myself the other day, and browsing is a dream… so much so, that I’m making a drastic decision.

Until the Windows Mobile team gets their act together

Who Benefitted the Most from the Vista Capable Program?January 5

Ars Technica has a wonderfully insightful piece about the Vista Capable lawsuit, and the ramifications of the $1.5B number that the plaintiffs have been floating around in the case. if you haven’t read it yet, please do so, as I agree with their points, and it is the jumping-off point for what I am about to discuss.

First off, I want to point out that the lawsuit itself is totally bogus. While it is very good that some of the information came to light, I don’t personally think it has any merit whatsoever, and it is just an attempt to pry money from Microsoft’s hands for no good reason. “Capable” means that it can run Vista, which computers that were so labeled were technically capable of. It did not say “capable of running all editions of Vista,” so any assumption on the consumer’s part, without reading the fine print, is the consumer’s fault. Caveat Emptor.

I admit that the program was confusing, but any consumer taking more than 10 seconds to look at it could have figured it out. Also, it’s not like these computers were not capable of running Home Premium or Ultimate, it’s just that a) you wouldn’t get Aero, and b) you wouldn’t get that great of an experience due to lack of pe

WARNING: Windows 7 Beta Eats MP3s, Fix ComingJanuary 4

Tom Warren from Neowin warns us that Windows 7 Beta (Build 7000) has an issue where Windows Media Player 12 corrupts the first few seconds of MP3 files when it tries to download additional metadata about the file (which is the default setting).

"The problem only happens when you edit metadata on a certain class of MP3 file (a file with a header larger than 16KB). When the new metadata is written, it corrupts the beginning of the file. This can happen either when you edit the metadata from inside WMP or Explorer, or it can happen if you have WMP set to automatically fill in missing metadata using the online service and add the MP3 to your library. This problem is only present in the recently leaked build" according to one poster in our forums.

Microsoft's official response is "Microsoft is aware of this issue and it will be addressed in the beta program". Microsoft is currently readying QFE (quick engineering fix) that will be distributed by Windows Update for those with official and non-official access.

Personally, I think it’s great that MS will put out a patch that will work with the build that leaked. I wonder how the bug creeped into the build in the first place. Well, I wou

Chris Holmes Thinks Windows 7 Will Save MicrosoftJanuary 4

It’s a new year, and in a few short days, Microsoft will introduce the world to a piece of software they are hoping will change the tide of public opinion. Windows expert and former Windows-Now blogger Chris Holmes (AKA Chris123NT) just posted an editorial that is definitely worth your reading. It sums up what many of us Windows geeks have been feeling the last few months, playing around with the various Windows 7 builds that have been been released/leaked/stolen.

I was doing some thinking over the past few weeks and I came to a realization.  Windows 7, with all of its improvements in performance, new features, and more streamlined development process, will actually save Microsoft and redeem them from the whole Vista crash.  So I decided to write up WHY Windows 7 will tromp every previous Windows version and why we should pay close attention to it.

Of course, it is going to have its detractors. Of course Microsoft still has a LONG way to go on the PR front. But while people often malign Vista, the success of Office 2007 often gets ignored, and after almost 2 years of fighting the silence, I am glad Microsoft is bringing Office’s successes to Windows. if my experience over the last 3 months has been any indication, Windows 7 will be the most stable version of Windows ever. And the one you will enjoy using t

My Samsung Q1 Gets an OverhaulJanuary 4

Nearly a year ago, I received a Samsung Q1 Ultra-Mobile PC for review. I still have it laying around, although it hasn’t gotten much use lately. I tried using it for a while as a mobile TV device when my wife and I go on trips with the kids, but the 1GB RAM and the 4200 RPM hard drive were not enough to keep just about any video from stuttering to the point of unwatchable.

So this Christmas, I got brave, and decided to perform some minor surgery on this underpowered little device. For just about $50, my Q1 now has 2GB RAM, as well as an Intel WiFi Link 4965AGN card. Coupled with a clean install of the Windows 7 Beta, I now have a mobile entertainment system that streams media from my home network, and plays it off the hard drive, with ease. It is also surprisingly responsive to everyday tasks like web browsing and e-mail.

So how did I do it?

The Parts

The Tools