GadGet and Tech News

Bad news for Window xp Sp3 User

2008-05-21T18:20:00.002+08:00

Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) causes problems with the remote desktop access feature of Windows Home Server.

Problems :-
-The remote desktop access feature would ask users to add their home server's Web site address in order to access it even after they already had.
-the problem arose because Windows XP SP3 by default disables Terminal Services Active X control as part of its security model
-affected the Windows Vista Service Pack 1 set of updates.
-XP SP3 put some AMD-based PCs into endless reboots
-the problem was identified as affecting certain Hewlett-Packard PCs

Make Your Wifi Easier and More Fun

2008-05-21T18:09:00.002+08:00

U can connect Your wifi Openly And Easier in Malaysia. Nowadays, Wifi had officially Open everywhere. Even u can sign up for wireless broadband. Example ? Celcom, Maxis, Jaring, and many more... This a few Famous Wireless Broadband company. Fee ? Arround 200 - 400 .. i think. depends what Speed and bandwithd u need. Mostly i think is unlimited bandwithd larh.

Dunno How to set up Wifi network ?

Many program that help u to set up wifi network that u can download and install it. Just a few step u can have it already :P.. they'll help you locate and connect to networks, enable you to set up a virtual private network for staying safe when you're connected, let you switch between networks with ease, and even allow you to do some social networking via Wi-Fi. Remember to do some restore point and backup first before trying to install those program. U know larh.. Many good and bad/evil program arround in the internet. It might harm and might not. U have to know also.. If u want to set up wifi network, u need to do some changes on ur firewall or disable it.

A few download i might recommend to u.. U may find out on the google site about their review :(

i never even use any wifi right now.. but i think wifi will be expand to whole public users. Since many fre wifi network arround also larh. U go shopping also will find right ? :P

Usefull Program for Wifi Network ?
JiWire Wi-Fi Hotspot Finder for Windows XP
WeFi
Plug and Browse

Avoid Vista at workplace ?

2008-05-12T20:15:00.002+08:00

* eSeong Network User Reviews *

* ) This is ridiculous. Microsoft needs to wake up right now, or a future PCworld article will be titled: How Vista and Arrogance Killed Microsoft.

I will Never move my company to Vista. I've been an avid supporter of Windows NT since setting up a Domain in version 3.1 (yes, there was a Windows NT 3.1). Now, if Microsoft actually fails to support XP before rolling out an acceptable replacement for Vista, I will bite the bullet and move to Ubuntu, enterprise-wide.

We're getting close to where switching entirely from Microsoft has an attractive ROI.

Vista inevitable? FAR from it!

* ) I think Microsoft should be slapped with a class action lawsuit.
The fact that they are forcing every user , corporate or personal to switch to Vista or higher and spend allot of time and $$$ is insane when there is nothing wrong with XP and XP pro. They finely got it right and now here we go again. After they actually gain back the trust of most people who went through the horror of, dear I say it (M E). Vista basically is an absolute nightmare with most hardware. Since it arrived we are now faced with paying more money on a PC that barely supports it without upgrading the system you just bought. What is wrong with this picture?? I put up with it because like most people I got sucked in thinking it is the way to go.Personally I think it is time to start thinking about migrating to Mac.They have been very patient with there product knowing this day would come.When they looked doomed years ago they kept there head above water and kept trying.My hat is off to them.

* ) As someone working in the IT branch outside the U.S. this is viewed by me as a worst-case scenario that caught the industry by surprise, because of the relatively small time frame between the launch and adaptation of Vista and the termination of XP support. This was not the case with 2000 Pro and XP as XP was available shortly after 2000 Pro had been out and the cost of an upgrade was relatively lower than from XP to Vista. In a developing country, where the majority of businesses are just now focusing on software licensing compliance, this becomes a nightmare very fast. At this stage more time and money is lost by trying to estimate what the impact of an alternative (ubuntu linux) will be for small to medium businesses. I personally am convinced that the consumers will eventually quit complaining about Vista because it's not bad (and yes, linux also has an annoying prompt that asks for a password for just about every major action but can be turned off just like in windows.

* ) if MS is dedicated to making money, then your "if you don't like it, don't buy it" shows how stupid their current position is. That's the point. I won't buy it. I personally replaced UNIX workstations and Mac desktops in 1993 with Windows NT 3.1 and I am a Microsoft Certified Instructor in their Server products. I've implemented and supported every release of MS Server and Desktop OS since then. Your juvenile defense of what Microsoft is "entitled to do" will do nothing to keep Microsoft from going down the tubes. What are they going to do when their fiercest defenders (which I have consistently been and hope to be in the future) are ready to scrap them and switch to Ubuntu or to Leopard?

By the way, how is it "whining" to point out the truth: that a company that has produced a string of great products for 15 years, and now brings out a complete dog (let me define dog for you: half as fast, needs twice as much memory, and has poor driver support) and on top of that stops selling or supporting the only desktop OS they make that actually works...how is it "whining" to point out they're being foolish and arrogant?

Downloadable Boot Discs

2008-05-08T21:05:00.000+08:00

* eSeong Network User Reviews *

* ) Excellent information! Very helpful! I have used Puppy Linux many times when I could not get Windows to boot. I love how I can copy all of the data from the Windows hard drive to a flash drive or external hard drive. This also is how crooks get the data off of a "password-protected" laptop. Just boot into Puppy Linux, steal the data, and no one will be the wiser. This is why ALL computers with important data must have the entire hard encrypted. (try TrueCrypt)

* ) I definately recommend the Ultimate Boot Disk. I've used it for a several months now, and it works fantastic. It does have a large number of programs to choose from, and can do almost anything you can think of. I mostly have been using it for wiping and copying hard drives, but it can do so much more. The article is correct however, that it can be tricky to create. Make sure you read the instructions on the site before taking a whack at it. And yes, you do need to have your Windows disk to make it.

10 All-Purpose Laptops

2008-05-08T21:04:00.000+08:00

* eSeong Network User Reviews *

* ) This list is nice. I am especially fond of the Lenovo IdeaPad Y510 Notebook PC

* ) I found it at Wal-mart for $698.00. Love it.

* ) I would never buy a Toshiba again. Mine along with many others had a design problem which caused a failure just after warrantee ended. No help except very expensive repair with uncertain results.

Play Arround with restore

2008-05-08T21:02:00.001+08:00

* eSeong Network User reviews *

* ) "If you're stuck with Vista..."

Again with the Vista bashing. Why don't you change the name to Visa-Bashing World? At least it'd be accurate.

To add injury to insult, the Vista tutorial that you linked to shows that Vista's System Restore functionality is much more full featured and robust than XP's. And despite the implication, if you just type "System Restore" in Vista's search bar, it shows up immediately in the results...it's not difficult to find.

PCWorld writers, Vista is here. Stop bashing (which is nothing more than intellectual whining) and deal with it, or go back to crappy old XP or Crappy new Leopard or nice-but-no-games Linux or whatever it is that floats your boat.

* ) System Restore in Windows XP needs to be watched to insure it is doing its job. See
http://blogs.cnet.com/defensive-computing/8301-13554_1-9838164-33.html
Also, see
Four tips to using System Restore on Windows XP
http://www.cnet.com/8301-13554_1-9750693-33.html

* ) I hate it when I read stuff like this & I'm upset someone like you taking this stance. Is it fear of the unknown? Cuz, if you do what I do to Vista, it will pretty much seem like XP, if you want another XP. Turn off UAC, Defender & MS Security Control. It's so simple, unlike XP, just Search for them in the Help & Support page found in Start Menu.
I read your articles, slamming Vista, & was terrified to get it. But I had no choice as I'm not rich but I like powerful computers. I got it, had my 2 day "OMG, what have I done?" phase & then turned off those annoying features. I use 3rd party Security programs that work better than MS's & all is great! Articles similar to yours said PSP 8 & other programs wouldn't work in Vista. WRONG! Mine work even better after turning off those things. XP started out like that too, but you apparently forget that. You need to open your mind to Vista for the readers. Not just give jilted opinions!

* ) Norton Internet Security interferes with successfully reverting to a previous restore point. I have experienced the problem myself. There is a FAQ on Symantec's site explaining the problem and how to solve it.

Here is a link to the FAQs for various editions:

http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/sharedtech.nsf/0/c7a9848df95596b9882570c900605bf5?OpenDocument&seg=hm&lg=en&ct=us

HTC Beats Apple to 3G

2008-05-08T20:58:00.001+08:00

* eSeong Network Reviews Top Topic *

* ) In the last area of where the Touch loses to the iPhone, size really doesn't matter, at least not to me. I'm not concerned with "how much" music I can listen to as I am concerned with "how" I listen to it. My current MP3 player is only 4GB. It's LIGHTYEARS better than the iPod for me because it has a bluetooth receiver built in. Since it is A2DP compatible, and my headphones are engineered as such, I have no more wires to worry about, which is why I really got it in the first place. But if having terabytes attached to your hip is important to you, so be it.

* ) a copy will always be a copy and nothing more, yes it launched a month before iphone but iphone was anounced years before that, plenty of time to copy the apples touch, and apple always takes her time to polish up its products, im glad she does.
ps: even windows is a copy of MacOS Classic(1984)

* ) Hope this in not another phone which does everything but does not ring when a call comes in. I was one among the many sprint touch users who are still having hard time with touch, and no one's talking abt the so called firmware update which is due q1 2008. And here if we were are talking about competing with an iphone, atleast put in a 3.5 mm jack in there so that we dont have walk around with a bunch of clumsy convertors attached to the phone.

* ) Chip, how long do we have to hear this garbage? Microsoft and IBM collaborated on what became OS/2 for IBM and NT for Microsoft, but what sold was Windows 95/98 which were Mac OS knockoff's. Eventually Microsoft moved the 95/98 UI to NT which is where XP came from.

As for the Mac being a knockoff of Xerox Star OS? Yes, star was out first with icons and a window (no over lapping windows) and a mouse pointer and WYSIWYG displays. All of which are elements of the mac OS, Windows and OS 2. Apple took this design much further with a menu bar, overlapping movable windows and a trash can and more importantly a rich toolbox for programers to use to make consistent looking and acting applications. That OS was dramatically re-written with OS 7 and then again with OS 9. Now OS X is yet another re-write.

Thank you to Xerox, but lets not dismiss Apple's contributions by saying that OS X is a Xerox Star knockoff!

http://www.digibarn.com/collections/software/xerox-star/index.html

Windows XP vs. Vista

2008-05-03T11:23:00.000+08:00

* eSeong Network User Reviews *

* ) I am a web designer and I have tried windows Vista on my brother's new laptop. After checking the new OS I have to say that they (Microsoft) put a lot of effort on the interface and some few things. It really looks nice. But after long consideration I have reach to the conclusion that why should I change to this new OS. There are no great new improvements. The web pages still look the same. My programs run the same way. And finally if you put them side by side (same hardware) XP is by far the winner, faster and still (more or less) reliable. So why to spend more money in better hardware just to get the same performance that I have with XP today?

* ) I like Ubuntu, I think its great.
BUT I am a gamer, since Ubuntu cant play the games I play on XP, Ubuntu is not suitable for me.

* ) I've used Xp since its release and was generally dissatified with it's performance until SP2 was made available. I've put Vista on my newest machine that i assembled last year. To be honest, Vista reminds me of my ex-girlfriend - cute, but a terrible resource hog. The operational speed of that machine is not much faster than the one it replaced (the older one dual boots XP and Mandriva Linux) despite having a faster processor and 3x more ram! Hopefully i'll see improvements when i patch it with SP1 this weekend...it's too bad girls don't come with patches!

* ) This does seem very reminiscent of the Win 2000 vs XP debate a few years back. At work we use XP because we don't need the advanced resources that Vista puts out there (and why would you when 512MB RAM runs all the business apps).

My parents were my first guinea pigs for Vista, and you know, they were able to figure it out and do more with this OS than on any previously (going back to Windows 95), and the best part is that I wasn't on the phone for hours walking them through things. The fact that Vista seems to be that intuitive for average people says something, in my opinion. I held out longer for my laptop at home, but finally took the plunge with Vista Home Premium and the first thing I noticed was that Vista seamlessly networked with my Ubuntu box without any poking and prodding. I've NEVER had a Windows networking experience work so well. Then, of course, there's the fact that my scanner now only works with the Ubuntu box since there aren't Vista drivers for it, but that's not really MS's fault (Canon, on the other hand....come on).

I think that the one thing I wish Vista could do is create a shell to run drivers for XP if there aren't any Vista drivers available. If I could run my scanner in "XP mode" that would be great (and cut down on all the "I don't have any drivers!" complaints, I should think).

My computer just installed SP1 last night, so now we'll see how things go. It does seem RAM usage is down slightly, but I just need more time to run it through its paces. All in all, Vista seems fairly solid, at least for home use.

* ) I really don't care what happens. I use Vista on my work computer, and other than slow startups and shutdowns, I don't see any problems with it; granted, I don't do anything excessive on it, but still. I still prefer XP at home, because it does everything I need it to do, and quickly. Also, if people really like the Aero interface that much, you can change XP's visual style to Aero if you want.

If they do discontinue sales of XP, it won't really matter to me. I already have a copy of XP, so it's not like I'm missing out, and most of the people who really care about XP that much already have a copy as well. Before they're removed from the market, I'll probably pick up another copy from the egg, just so I can have an extra laying around.

Also, eMJay, comparing Vista to your ex-girlfriend is priceless.

18 Features Windows Doenst have

2008-05-03T11:22:00.001+08:00

* eSeong Network User Reviews *

* ) RocketDock - FREE - http://rocketdock.com/

Stickies - FREE - http://www.zhornsoftware.co.uk/

Switcher - FREE Expose clone - http://insentient.net/ - (uses vista 3d desktop, so very resource light and fast, but vista only)

XP/Vista Virtual Desktops - FREE - http://www.codeplex.com/vdm (thumbnail previews, the works)

Before it was Otaku Deskpace , the software was called Yodm3d and was free, the last free version, 1.4 is still available on http://www.klitetools.com/comments.php?catid=58&id=5280

Windows Web server IIS is built into many (most?all?) distributions of windows 2k/xp/vista but not installed by default, use add/remove windows components. (as a dev I still preffer runing apache 2.2 locally though)

* ) Things PC World should have but doesn't:

1) Brains
2) More Brains
3) A little more brains

* ) This is quite possibley the worst piece of dribble I have seen come out of this pathetic rag in a long time. I must ask, do you actually use Windows? If you do, you'll see almost all of this is there. So are you saying you would like to see the implimentation of it copied EXACTLY? And what idiot said "Put a server in!" worst idea ever! Great, let's open up consumers to hack attacks over web servers. Oh and I seem to recall Microsoft making a server product... Geez, the name escapes me of their server offerings... OH! I know! Windows SERVER.

And if they put more software in, you'll complain saying it is anti-competitive.

To continue the trend:
7) A healthy portion of brains that would make Hannibal Lecteur squirm.
8) A PC
9) A copy of Windows
10) Ability to write articles without bias.

* ) As for sticky notes I think Vista has a sidebar gadget that does this.

Also for Screen sharing, check SharedView 1.0 from MS download, I think that provides the functionality that you've mentionedin iChat.

I don't really agree on the feature that having a unified menu sitting at top of the screen (rather than having individual menu strip in the application window). Apps for Vista have a tendency to loss the menu bar (eg. IE hid the menu by default, WLM (Messenger) hid the menu bar by default). I think this is a trend to simply hide the menu bar as the most-used features are accessible through other UIs in the window. Not to mention that some apps don't use menu at all.

10 Worst PC Keyboards

2008-05-03T11:21:00.002+08:00

* eSeong Network User Reviews *

* ) This is nothing more than a thinly veiled attack on everything not PC or Mac. Yes, the IBM PC Jr is there, but that is every PC users whipping boy. There were good reasons for some machines having many uses on keyboards. Why not point out the PCs history of bad keyboard layout? Backspace on the left of the keyboard? How about the bad keyboard layout that has survived in both the PC and Mac over the years? The Delete key not situated to the right of the Backspace key? The Return/Enter key smaler than one of the two shift keys even though it is the third most used key? The Tab key used to switch text fields when the Return/Enter key works perfectly (and has done on many dead machines)? The PCs insistance on having a disjoint between the Capslock and Numlock keys and their LEDs? Apple has not been the only manufaturer in the past who could fit an LED into the keys themselves.

How about some real improvements? I have been asking for a decade now for a keyboard with LED/LCD keys that will not wear out with use, that can be set up to show custom key usage and will change to the Alt and Shift usage when Alt and Shift are depressed. The technology has been there for a very long time now, yet we have to put up with keyboards that would not be out of place in 1912.

Do not throw stones when your own house is not made of safety glass.

* ) There have indeed been many bad keyboards, before it settled down to the "standards" that we have today.

A major remaining flaw is the Caps Lock key. Only useful to people who don't understand the etiquette of email.

And the Insert key: "Get me into trouble immediately!"

And of course the cryptic obsolete markings on the standard windows keyboard. What is "Pause" or "Scroll Lock" now?

Above all we should drop QWERTY and go to that other layout.

I liked the VT-52 keyboard the best. Very fast. Moving to the VT-100 was traumatic.

* ) How about a modern nightmare keyboard... Has anyone tried Logitech's modern looking, very pretty, and grossly overpriced DiNovo keyboard set? Between them, the keyboard and number pad use six AA batteries, which don't last very long. The included Bluetooth drivers, which have to be installed for the system to recognize the keyboard, are incredibly intrusive, and want to control much of the computer hardware and software which have nothing to do with the keyboard, and in my experience, conflicts with numerous programs and devices, causing crashes, programs stalling or acting erratically, etc. The software is almost like a virus, and is very difficult to completely remove from the system.

Your Digital Photography Tool Kit

2008-04-29T11:57:00.001+08:00

* eSeong Network User Reviews *

* ) Of course, theres also Paint.Net...
And MS has Groupshot (even for XP),
Photostory 3, and Windows Live Photo Gallery, which is a nice album too.
Google has Picasa...
Oh, you also forgot Photoshop... but then again that one is obvious, so I'll forgive ya.

* ) Another good one with some awesome effects (and FREE) is PhotoFiltre. Be sure to download the add-ins! This one rivals most of the photo aps in the $50-$200 range and is incredibly easy to use. As a Photoshop user I don't use it much, but I have recommended it to several others who have sent me their undying gratitude--definitely worth checking out if you need an ap and don't have the cash!

* ) What about Image Compressor?
It's been around for some time and has many users as well (according to download.com):
http://www.download.com/Image-Compressor/3000-2192-10582323.html

* ) How could you miss faststone??? Powerful, multi faceted,works with RAW images from all manufacturers.....SHAME!
http://www.faststone.org/FSViewerDetail.htm

* ) Image Resizer is not compatible with Windows Vista, even though the article indicates it is.

Sony Playing With Apple

2008-04-29T11:56:00.001+08:00

* eSeong Network User Reviews *

* ) I find microsoft's database for WMP11 nice, It found album info for old (before 2000) CDs that I never heard of before

Best Free Stuff Web

2008-04-29T11:53:00.001+08:00

* eSeong Network User Reviews *

* ) Well, you have a good list of freebies but, I think you missed quite a few good or better ones.

I'll give you a few names AND their addresses so you can check and evaluate them for yourselves.

File sharing & Storage:

FILE SHARING:

uTorrent: light and fast,

http://www.utorrent.com/

BitComet: New kid on the block,

http://www.bitcomet.com/

STORAGE:

WindowsLive SkyDrive: 5 GIG. of online storage

http://skydrive.live.com/

SECURITY:

F-Secure: Black Light , AntiRootkit

F-Secure: Online Scanner, You will find both on the same page of this site

http://www.f-secure.com/security_center/

Avast: AntiVirus with Shields

http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html

AVG: AntiVirus, Very Popular with this Community

http://free.grisoft.com/

RunScanner: Start-Up Analyzer

http://www.runscanner.net/

Dial-A-Fix: Well worth a look. I believe you had an article about this, not to long ago.

http://wiki.djlizard.net/Dial-a-fix#Mirrors.2Fdownload_locations.2C_and_articles

System Backup and Utilities

Tweak-UI: customizing wizard for XP

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx

WinBubble: customizing wizard for Vista, all new.

http://www.snapfiles.com/get/winbubble.html

Windows Sysinternals: A collection of security utilities from MicrosoftTechNet.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/25e27bed-b251-4af4-b30a-c2a2a93a80d9.aspx

Music

Jango: Listen to any kind of music online anytime for free, You don't even have to register if you don't want to.

http://www.jango.com/users/6418129?l=0

MediaMonkey: A free music collection organizer. Everything from tags to converting to even IPods for free!

http://www.mediamonkey.com/.

So, PCW , this is what you missed and IMO are among the Best Freebies on the web. I hope you will check them out for your next freebie party.

FLASHORN.

* ) i agree their are some things they missed as well as better apps out there than what they chose. im also talking by a lot not just by preference like antivir vs avast

1) regseeker or easycleaner over eusing
reason: both find more and clean more and both are safe though i find regseeker best.

2) halite over torrent swapper
reason: one torrent swapper isnt updated anymore and second is halite is smaller and does more like allow emule blocklist

3) digsby over pidgin
reason: just all around the best instant messenger around including over trillian pro, contains everything pidgin does and more such as skinning, being able to access facebook from the account, having guifications type toasties already available but you can actually reply in them and its developed a lot more.

4) updatestar over appsnap
reason: why settle for just freeware updates when update star tells you all current versions of products on your pc including freebies?

these are off the top of my head btw.l

* ) Hello, thanks for this list, good stuff here! I would like to offer up my service for everyone to use. Free TeleConferencing is a conferencing service offering crystal clear digital communications, free to the user, the only charges are your normal long distance charges, so if you use a phone with a good plan, its FREE! The website is www.freetelecon.com and we also have a blog at www.freetelecon.blogspot.com Check it out, Thanks for your time and your work putting together this list!
Chris McCormick
Free TeleCon

Dell Offering Window XP Till June 30

2008-04-27T11:03:00.001+08:00

* eSeong Network User Reviews *

* ) why would anyone want XP?
I have both a vista computer and a XP computer, and the vista one is far superior. I can list a bunch of reasons o prove it if I want to, but I need to go back to enjoying vista. And yes, it DOES run fast- I only have 2 GB ram.

* ) You can't prove something is better than something else when that is entirely an opinion, not a fact. Facts can be proven. An opinion, though based on facts, is still just an opinion. Even if you state the security is best on Vista, which would be a fact, your ability to say that makes Vista better, is still not a truth, but merely an opinion. You can point out that Vista has better built-in security than XP, and that's about it.

You're also missing the big picture. If customers want XP, then that's what they want. Microsoft doesn't choose what consumers purchase. There merely offer products for sale. The customer ultimately decides. Microsoft is forgetting this point. Who gives a crap what Microsoft wants. They work for me. I'll tell them what I want, and if they follow my instruction they get a sale. If they don't, they can watch my money go bye bye.

* ) It seems at least Dell is hearing it's customers
We can debate the Vista thing all day, fact is, not for enterprise, at least not yet. Most apps still do not run on it, I have a customer who's app Vantage will not even support Server 2003 With SP2! Their tech advises "use at your own risk, but it should work"...??? What kind of B.S. is that! Sp2 has been out for over a year, so has Vista........

Apple's Stealth Safari Update

2008-04-27T11:01:00.001+08:00

* eSeong Network User Reviews *

* ) Apple does this to Mac users also. Anything that is available in OS X's software update is automatically checked to download.

* ) I agree with Mozilla, it is just plain wrong for Apple to push their web browser through I-tunes and quicktime. Many will install Safari and wonder

where it came from. Shame on you Apple.

* ) believe apple is doing this because they know they cant compete with ie and firefox without being sneaky about it. funny thing is, is other audio players are working to make their products more iPod and iPhone friendly thus apple might be shooting themselves in the foot. they would be best off just leaving the browser out of it because those who dont download safari purposely arent just gonna use it cause its there. if apple knows that then they only care about how many pcs they can get the browser on to now how many people will use it. guess its their way to say as many ppl have safari installed as ie and firefox, knowing people wouldnt choose to install it.

* ) I agree with the CEO. Realone player and quicktime love installing a bunch of crap they claim are updates. In the end I have to uninstall realone games ect. and itunes. I've done this numerous times. Not to mention when you install their software, they secretly put stupid google toolbars and stuff.

* ) We call that "invasion of privacy" not to mention infectious!!

* ) It's truly crossing the line when this approach is used to get software onto computers. I initially installed the Safari browser just to see how it functioned under XP a few weeks ago when i became aware of the beta for XP. I also have Quicktime and ITunes installed for a while now but rarely use either. But imagine my surprise when i was browsing CNN news in my Firefox browser the other day - the updater pops up out of the blue and tells me i need to update Safari to 3.1....and Safari isn't even opened. Now normally it's when you open the browser that you expect to see notifications about updates for it, so I immediately checked my system to make sure that Safari wasnt running in the background against my will. After all nobody in their right mind would let a beta run in the background to create potential areas of instability and insecurity in one's system. That's when i found out that there was an ITunes updater program that was responsible for this behaviour, which was running even when ITunes was closed. Now I find out that i would have gotten the prompt even if i didnt have Safari installed. Another thing that bugs me is that the installer even said the update was a critical installation! It never even said that it was installing a browser, although i knew what it was that i was installing. The only reason why i let it install to version 3.1 is that the browser on my system was the previous beta and it crashed whenever i tried to use it to view CNN Live video streams. In fact, the final release is still crashing for the same reason. IE7, Firefox, Opera and even Flock are all able to accommodate CNN LIVE video streaming. So what's Safari's excuse?

Now i have to consider whether i want Safari and ITunes to remain on my system as i will not tolerate any type of pseudo-drive-by installation from any company. If they want people to download Safari they should advertise it in ITunes with a link to the website. That's how responsible people do things. The next thing we'll be hearing is that some virus is using Safari to make it's way through XP systems. It was bad enough when i went to the Quicktime install page at Apple.com more than a year ago and found Quicktime bundled to ITunes when i tried to download it! They hid the Quicktime standalone link elsewhere on the page so that persons would install both without noticing it...very sneaky.... at least now they are next to each other on the webpage but the default option is still the combo.

FBI Knock Door

2008-04-27T10:59:00.002+08:00

* eSeong Reviews On the top Topic *

* ) That'd be a fun trojan to make. Something that automatically accesses http servers that the FBI has set up to watch. Kick open an http socket, do some recursive http GET commands, and the whole company is boned.

Now all you have to do to silence a blogger who says things that you don't like is make his computer (or router) access the wrong server.

This just underscores the necessity for having off-site backups. Secret ones, at that. Reason being, if any form of police, local, county, state or federal come and grab your computer equipment, they'll grab all of your backups as well, and you're not likely to see any of that equipment or media again EVER. Even if you do, it'll be years before it's returned, and probably obsolete AND broken.

So having multiple backups stored at undisclosed locations means the warrant isn't likely to cover all copies of your data. You'll at least be back in business as soon as you purchase new copies of ALL of your computer hardware and restore the backup to it. You'll still lose a week or two of data and from thousands to millions of dollars worth of hardware, but nothing like losing EVERYTHING, and not being able to process payroll.

Otherwise, game over, you're out of business. All records are lost in legal limbo indefinitely. You can have your lawyer demand copies, but they only have to be generated a reasonable period before a trial, and if a trial isn't scheduled, or is postponed for years, your data will just sit in an evidence locker until some cop with sticky fingers steals it.

Another critical lesson this teaches is to outsource. If your payroll, data and records are on other people's servers, and the FBI breaks down your door, it's a bit less likely they'll go and kick down Google's door, an SVN repository's door, the door of a payroll management company that handles hundreds of companies, etc.

And of course, if you have a business that the current administration doesn't like, be sure to have multiple international mirrors that you can automatically fail over to. After all, the information that you clicked the wrong link can be inserted into a file by anybody with the right knowledge and access.

Dell Closing Customer Service Centers

2008-04-26T19:11:00.001+08:00

Dell Closing Customer Service Centers in Canada

* eSeong Network User Reviews *

* ) Swell for Dell, Bad for computer owners

* ) They were originally supposed to Hire 2700 support staff when dell
opened that facility.
Now they are shutting it down.
I think dell is not making out as good as they thought.

But, who would buy dell anyways?/?

* ) Hey, who needs any CSR's on this hemisphere? Customers who can't cut their way through an Indian accent just hang up and aren't a problem anymore.

Which Browser suitable for us ?

2008-04-25T20:13:00.002+08:00

* eSeong Network User Reviews on the Above topic *

* ) I prefer Seamonkey for three reasons: integrated browser, email, and editor.

When in the browser, I can email something directly without opening a separate application. I don't like having to deal with multiple apps open when one will do.

When I am in email, I like to be able to jump to the browser to check some info, a URL, or grab some data to inclued in the email.

I use the editor to make a home page and subpages filled with sites I frequent. For example my front page has 15 news sites, auto sites, church and bank sites, travel, tools, shopping, etc. Tool, for example opens a subtable with Lowes, Kmart, Enco, Harbor Freight, etc.

When I find a site I want to add to my list, I copy the url, jump to the table, hit editor, insert the url and descriptive title, then go on about my business. The bookmark feature is not nearly as immediate or powerful as this.

I have tried separate browser and email apps, but they are so cumbersome. The editor function is just not easily available.

* ) Firefox is superior. It can do ANYTHING with add-ons. I hate it when you talk about features; with add-ons, Firefox can Have them all, and a million better ones too. I think you need to get used to the bookmarks icon in Firefox; I love it, now. Under the hood, Firefox is better, as well.

* ) Ok, you say it is superior and can do anything. I have downloaded every version of Firefox, Seamonkey, and Safari. I can barely tell the difference in speed, but there is a great difference in utility with the all in one browser. That makes it much faster for me. The Seamonkey team has released numerous upgrades over the past 6 months, so I don't think they are behind at all. Far more usable for me.

Tell me what all the plug-ins are for Firefox that will let it seamlessly go back and forth between browser, email, and editor. I would be interested to know.

* ) The biggest reason I would say NOT TO use IE (or Microsoft's mail programs) is compatibility. 100% compatibility with every exploit designed to take over your Microsoft branded OS. 100% compatibility with ActiveX, the worse idea EVER in client software. Someone could write you a nice ActiveX control to delete your partition table and overwrite random sectors on your hard drive until your computer crashed if they wanted. You couldn't prevent it. Years after Microsoft 'fixed' all the bugs that 'let malicious code execute because a picture popped up in your inbox', they're STILL fixing those bugs!

Just staying away from 'odd' sites isn't enough. People go around cracking web sites and redirecting them to the 'odd sites' that look just like the real ones. Most people dismiss that 'I'm about to install a plug in' warning and let it install anything from any site at any time, rendering whatever security has been engineered into the system useless. Especially since it's 'Whack a key' or mouse 'Muscle memory' buttons people are trained to dismiss with endless repetition, like in Vista.

After all these years, people are still writing nasty things that exploit the standard availability of Microsot's 'Address Book' to flood all of your friends and family and coworkers with X-rated spam in your name.

Mix it up a little. It doesn't matter WHAT browser or email client you use (I use Firefox and gmail's web client), as long as it is NOT Microsoft's.

1. Don't use IE, Outlook, Outlook Express, Microsoft Mail, etc. As I said, 100% compatibility with the vast majority of viruses, worms, spyware and all manner of malware. When criminals write this stuff, they save time and money by developing it for the #1 prevalent combination OS, email and browser. It's called a 'monoculture', and they're always bad. Be the 'mutant' that doesn't die from the latest, nastiest blight because he/she ran something different.

2. Don't let ANY browser remember form entries and passwords. Go into the settings and turn that crap OFF! Remember them yourself. If something does get in, your phone number, mailing address and shopping habits will be wide open (you pecked it into dozens of online shopping forms) and your bank password will be appreciated when they crack your uploaded password cache about five minutes after they get it.

3. You don't need different passwords for every site, but you do need different passwords for every IMPORTANT site. Too many people use the same login/password for everything. Is your PC World password as important as your bank password? What happens if 'PC World' gets hacked and the username/password database is compromised? Nothing much. Of course if someone gets their hands on that list and starts trying those user names and passwords on high value web sites like PayPal, Ebay, major etailers like Amazon that remember your credit card, banks, credit card sites, etc., and you use the same login everywhere, chances are good you'll get boned. Change your important passwords!

Reasons to use Firefox...

Well the main one is a nice little setting in "Edit->Preferences->Privacy->Always clear my private data when I close Firefox", with a button to set what to clear (I clear everything, every time). Turn it on. Unlike IE that has historically made inaccessible logs of everything you do with the browser, Firefox can 'forget' your session after you close Firefox. Turn off 'Remember Passwords', too. Nothing can make stored passwords safe. Nothing.

Why would you want it to 'forget' things? Besides visiting off-color web sites? Besides corporate policies for spying on the company's portable PCs? Besides privacy, in case someone pokes around inside my computer? Because the browser can temporarily 'remember' web sites you visited during your current session, accept cookies, remember forms in case of errors, etc., and then when you close it, it will forget - erase everything.

Another nice feature, yeah Add-Ons. Adblock Plus and Adblock Updater, and Flashblock. The internet is so much nicer with these installed. No banner ads, no animations with noisy sound effects popping up in your face after they choke your browser to a crawl. The first two simply filter typical ad sites. You can pay $50 a year to install a proxy server that blocks ads in IE and stays up to date, or you can get a free, simple plugin that doesn't remain running after you close the browser. The Flashblock one replaces Flash content with a button to load and play Flash content on demand. So you go to a web site with a bunch of flash nonsense on it, you can click the big, middle pane with the content you want, or decide "Oh, it's just full of cartoons and has no useful content", like most car company web sites, but you can find that out right away rather than at the end of a 14MB download of crap. Also, if you go to YouTube or LiveLeak, and you spot a dozen interesting things to watch, you can open them ALL in tabs and play them as you get around to the tabs, rather than have the computer choke when it tries to play a dozen videos all at once. A lot less back-button pressing and scrounging around retracing your steps.

All of these plug-ins are free and also have settings to temporarily or permanently 'ignore' certain sites. Some of the AtomFilms based sites break down if the ad-blocker of any sort blocks an ad. AtomFilms COULD simply serve up the ads themselves as part of the movie clips, but no, they choose to have an external and well-recognized ad service inject ads, and have the content quietly fail to play with no explanation.

What Motherboard is the best ?

2008-04-25T20:08:00.001+08:00

* eSeong Network User Reviews on the topic above *

* ) How does your X2 5000 setup perform? I've been a AMD user for 4 years but I think I need to go back to Intel now. I'm gonna build a new system soon.
ASUS A8V, (939) Athlon64 3700+ (oc to 2.5Ghz) 2GB GSkill, ATI9600. on board audio

* ) And I love your random question about my system! Prepare for a horrible answer. I've been an AMD user for 3 years, and it's never given me any trouble. I've never owned an Intel machine, and unless Intel can put out cheaper processors, I don't plan on using them (I know they just lowered prices, but it was too late for my system). I just built that system slowly over the process of 2 months, swapping out parts as I went, and I finished about a month ago. Yes, I know, all the new parts I bought are old news, but I got some good deals on them, and I didn't want to spend much money. Here is what I came from:

Athlon X2 4200+
MSI K8N Platinum, nForce 4, 939
EVGA 6600GT
2GB of 4 random sticks slapped together
Crappy no name PSU that came with my old case
Cheapo Sound Blaster Audigy sound card (I fried my onboard sound...don't ask)

As you can see, while it isn't a drastic improvement, it's still pretty nice. My 5000BE is great. I love it to death. Personally, I think it's the best AM2 dual core out there. It can go as fast as the 6000 series, yet it costs less. Overclocking it to 3.1GHz is so easy it's not funny. And that's coming from someone who's afraid of overclocking. And again, at less than $90, the 5000BE has a very nice price to perfomance ratio. It's not the fastest in the world, but it works for me, and it's crazy cheap.

One thing I have to ask; if you're building a new system, why are you getting a 939 board? The whole reason I built my new system was to get away from 939. Finding processors for 939 boards is getting tougher by the day, and motherboards are even worse. Unless you already own the board? If you want raw power, and have the cash, then Intel is indeed a good choice. Unfortunately, as a poor college student, I don't think I'll be going Intel for a while yet. Also, what is the ATI9600? I don't think ATI cards have numbers that big, and I know there's a Nvidia 9600GT. I've heard some good and bad things about GSkill. They are pretty cheap, but I know some people have problems with their memory. I was looking at their memory though, until I saw the combo deal with my processor. My RAM was $30 after rebate (which I haven't received yet :( ), plus a $10 discount with the combo deal. That instantly won me over.

Although I have heard that Intel is coming out with a new socket sometime, so maybe now isn't the best time to make a new Intel build (I have no idea when though, so maybe I'm just being paranoid). I got my AM2+ board so I can be somewhat futureproof. Plus, it has all solid state capacitors, which are supposed to last longer. The only thing I regret about my build is the 8600GTS. I jumped on it when I saw the deal for $80 after rebate (which I also haven't received). Now that the 9xxx series is out, it's pushing the prices down on a bunch of cards. I could have gotten a 8800GTS 320MB for about $20 more. :( Also, if I paid a little bit more than that, I could have gotten a 9600GT! Or even...a 3870! (Sorry, I'm biased against ATI cards) My 8600GTS isn't bad, and it's leaps and bounds better than my 6600GT, but I just don't like how the prices have gone down right after I bought it.

* ) Anyhow I'm not building a new 939 system, that is what I have now, sorry I don't write well sometimes. ATI 9600 is my ATI Radeon 9600 Pro graphics card, an ole AGP8X model. Only 128MB. I only need to see an image and don't game, except for Win solitaire :_| . It was on sale at Best buy and I grabbed it. I built this system in Jul 05, and have been trying to make it as fast as possible with the mobo and CPU I have. I had 1GB of Corsair Value RAM and it was excellent, just tranferred it to my wifes PC and bought another gig of it so we both have 2GB RAM now.

The GSkill is a 2GB dual channel kit and so far at least, is really good. Got it at 440Mhz with no probs. My CPU is a 2.2Ghz znd it has run at 2.6Ghz but it doesn't like to very long so I slowed it some.

Nothing has been change in Plan XP

2008-04-25T20:03:00.002+08:00

*eSeong Network User Reviews On the Topic Above *

* ) Um, what customers and partners has HE been listening to? All over the 'net I'm reading where users want XP, not Vista. I know Microsoft doesn't want to hear that, but it seems to be a fact. To say they're going ahead with their plans for XP tells me they're trying to force Vista on users. Strangely enough, Ubuntu 8.04 was released today.

* ) I did try Vista on one computer and while I could probably live with it, some of my other hardware could not. An example is my Brother multi function printer/scanner/fax/copier among others. It was just too much trouble to wait and hope for new patches to make them work again, so I put XP back on that computer and everything once again works well. That was something MS should have taken care of in the original release.

* ) That's strange. I just read this article

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9040318&pageNumber=1

And they swear that you can activate XP over the phone with a Vista License in front of you. I wouldn't even do that. I could SWEAR that I bought a retail HP computer with Vista Business OEM on it, grabbed a holographic Windows XP Pro SP2 disk, then used the Windows Vista Product Key and it worked for XP. This was about 6 months ago so my memory could be serving me incorrectly.

* ) Unless the money talks to Microsoft, they will go ahead with their plans regardless of the desires of the consumer. This is, was and will continue to be their Modus Operandi. They have never taken the needs of the average consumer into account based on the real world. They don't listen to anyone who has a contrary opinion. Why is this? Because they can.

I won't ever put Vista on my machine or on my client's machines. I don't recommend it to my clients. I expect to be making a lot of money in the next few years making custom XP machines once OEM's stop selling them. Vista has its advocates, but they are almost universally running it on extremely high-end machines. For the average consumer, and Enterprise IT Admin, that is too expensive an alternative. A petition with 100000 signers asking to extend XP's service life was sent to Balmer, but he refused to accept it. He has his goals set and they don't include the rest of the world. More's the pity for them when Linux takes over.

5 Best SLR Cameras

2008-04-22T19:49:00.002+08:00

5 Best SLR Cameras

* eSeong Network User Reviews *

* ) Remember the Sony SLR's take all of the Minolta A mount lenses so I think that there is a wide range of different lenses available for this camera. Perhaps not as many "dedicated" digital lenses but still a more than adequate choice since most photographers only use one or two lenses most of the time anyway.

* ) These reviews are useless. These cameras are NOT for amateurs. Their instruction books are 100-200 pages of VERY thorough material and cannot be described in 1 short paragraph as a "comparison". Their makers list them as powerful machines for "Advanced Amateurs and Professionals". In addition, Pop Photo ranked the D300 as their Camera of the Year, in spite of the fact it lacks some amateur gizmos like swiveling screens. It's nice to list these cameras as top cameras, but don't try to be Pop Photo without a REAL test-bench. Stick to PC's. OR at least point to REAL comparisons at www.dpreview.com.

* ) I tend to agree.

Personally for in depth camera reviews I go to http://www.steves-digicams.com/

or http://www.dpreview.com/ and then I take every review with a grain of salt. It's amazing how

in photography if it's not Nikon or Canon it's not worth owning!

* ) There is no way in heck that they can tell me that an Olumpus E-510 is a better camera than a Nikon D300 or a Canon EOS 40D. Not to mention that these are PROFESSIONAL cameras that are built for PROFESSIONALS and PRO ENTHUSIATS. They are NOT built for AMATEURS. If you want reliable reviews of DSLRS, then go to www.popphoto.com, your only wasting your teim reading DSLR reviews here.

* ) Okay: I'm just a 16 year old kid who has taken photography up as a hobby, and for our yearbook, but I don't know. From an artistic point of view, yes, the photographer has the "eye" for the image. BUT if you shoot photojournalism, sports, weddings, or shoot for nearly any professional reason in hard conditions, fast, sharp, glass and a camera that can deliver great images at high ISOs is necessary. Even shooting indoors in a well lit room with P&S cameras without flash can yield really, really noisy images at ISO's as relatively low as 400. Switch to a DSLR, and even ISO 1600 are usable in the same room, infact most of those 1600 images look better then the P&S's Iso 400 images. Jump to a D300 or 40D with fast glass, and you are looking at a truly wide number of shooting situations that a P&S can't even touch.

* ) I wouldn't categorize the Sony Alpha A700, nor the Panasonic DMC-L10 in the same category as the D3 or the 1Ds MKIII nor the E3. Sony Alpha, I'd put it with 40D, along side with the E3. D300 I would say is in a category for themselves.

Nikon D300 is COMPLETELY weathersealed. which, the only other cameras that has this feature is D3, and the 1Ds MKIII.

Also, i shouldn't have to mention the size of the sensor too... Anyway, I've had the Panasonic DMC-L1 (which i like the body better than the L10) and I hate that 4/3's sensor as looking through the view finder seems to be looking down a tunnel because it's so small.

Fantastic Freebies!

2008-04-22T19:45:00.001+08:00

We surfed, clicked, and installed to find sparkling free gems capable of keeping you in touch, planning your time, and tuning and securing your PC, not to mention keeping you productive, glitzing up your desktop, and entertaining you with music, videos, photos, and games. We paid special attention to programs and services you may not have heard of before. The results will be published in the June magazine feature "100 Fantastic Freebies." But we want to hear your picks for the best freebies, too, whether they appear in our article or not.

* eSeong Network User Reviews *

* ) Media Player Classic uses few resources, has cool features no other media player has, plays all kinds of media, comes with built DVD decoder for playing DVD movies.

EVEREST Home Edition tells you everything you ever wanted to know about your PC.

JkDefrag is a fast & super efficient defragger, uses almost ZERO resources, you can defrag while in safe mode, or in Windoze.
Even after defraging often with the regular Windoze defragger my PC was a bit sluggish, JkDefrag in safe mode made a big difference, my PC perked rite up after that.

* ) neat little tool from a Japanese company..... http://www.hyper-anchor.org/en/

This
tool lets you bookmark a specific graphic or selected text in a webpage
and save as a favourite (as you would do with traditional bookmarks) -
handy when you want to bookmark something in a webpage with heaps of text
and you don't want to have to wade through it all again when you go back to it. Can be used on IE or Firefox

* ) A usefull tool that I use is the free Address Correction Tool by DYMO. It can be found at http://global.dymo.com/enUS/PressRelease/DYMO_offers_easy_address_correction.html

* ) BoomVote.com is free to join and gives away frequent cash prizes.

Your thoughts on 1.5 bn FTTH proposed by National Party?

2008-04-22T19:38:00.002+08:00

The NZ National Party has announced the intention to invest 1.5 bn dollars in broadband with the deployment of fiber to the home (FTTH)

* eSeong Network User Reviews *

* ) I'll be voting for National, not too worry about more affordable housing etc but yeah it is good! Hope he delivers!

* ) Must be election year, my fanciful-bribe-o-meter just bent the needle.

So he wants to spend 1.5 billion dollars (and let's be realistic, better make that 3 billion by the time budgets overuns and prices increase), that's (asuming an American billion) $1,500,000,000. Where exactly is that coming from, certainly not from the taxes we pay, because Mr Key also reckons he's going to give that back to you in cold hard cash.

You can't have your cake and eat it too.

* ) Forward thinking as far I'm concerned , why have outdated technology like dsl when you can start looking forward to the advanatges of Fibre, so judging by this the only people in NZ that could realisticlly roll out a national fibre network were only ever going to be Telecom and possibly one other government backed so now we have 2 wholesale fibre networks and this can only be a good thing.

And hopefully when they get in they will roll this out faster than what we see LLU happen, And I for one know that a fibre connection is far better than a DSL one, trust me I know I will post shortly the current speeds over the pilot ones we are working on now and it dosn't matter how far away you are from the exchange and every one of them are fater than any DSL / DSL2 offerings now Wink

Be interesting to see what the LLU guys think, that is if they havn't started slitting there wrists yet

* ) I think National is really out of touch on what's needed and there policy's are week and only full of words that people want to hear.
Everyone wants fibre but getting it delivered take more than words, and it's a suck in that it hands power back to the incumbent monopoly.

At least there copyright will be more laxed (point at john keys dodgy use of music on his promo dvd).

* ) Um have to say this is forward thinking, certainly if the current lots best effort is to Split Telecom up and unbundle, they have not a chance.

Good to see some good policy with a vision in mind, a more productive society.

AMD SB750 will unleash more overclocking., AMD has a secret weapon?

2008-04-22T19:23:00.001+08:00

AMD SB750 will unleash more overclocking.

sos :
http://www.nordichardware.com/news,7660.html

http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?option=c...d=6956&Itemid=1

* eSeong Network User Reviews *

* ) http://news.mydrivers.com/1/104/104134.htm

read on this ( Chinese )
this will be another reason pushing me towards amd quad core on my next upgrade~~ wow.. AMD quad core kicks intel highest end quadcore 16% further:)))

Noted: amd quad core is the 9850..not the 45nm deneb...

* ) ccm....cannot read.i really wanna see if amd really kick intel 16%...

* ) amd chipset is a revolution.hybrid cf is very cool for the budget.they (amd) are just losing on the high end , but low end and the given price performance totally kicks intels a$$.not eveyone ocs

* ) yeah, their 780g chipset almost unbelievable , for IGP ..

foobar2000 v0.9.5.2

2008-04-22T19:15:00.001+08:00

0.9.5.2

* New array of built-in visualisations.
* Cleaned up freedb component user interface.
* Ability to auto-resize playlist columns to match playlist view size.
* Improved ID3v2 specification compliance.
* Converter: Improved handling of very long tracks.
* Support for displaying cover art extracted from WMA files.

http://www.foobar2000.org/download.html

* eSeong Network User Reviews *

* ) Just download this last night and start customizing

* ) nica software,been using winamp,but now migrate to foobar