Stacks

We call these stacks. Just collections of things. TRL hasn’t updated in a while. The San Francisco server has been attacked many times. Also, since many of you are wondering, Harper has NOT quit TRL. Him and I are working on a side project

This week’s stuff: Poems.

Stacks: Poems

by Gillian aka Emma Wright

_____________________________

The wind

The wind whispers my name.

the flags are vibrating

In the morning breeze.

It is trying to tell me,

Spring is on its way.

_____________________________

Death and life are quite the same.

They come and go quite like fame.

Yet when you die you wave your loved ones good bye.

You feel regret and sorrow and heave a heavy sigh

One.

One.

_____________________________

A Pretty Picture may not compare,

Just to see her standing there.

_____________________________

My hearts in peices,

As he says his last good-bye.

I had known him all my life.

Yet, this hour is the saddest,

I have ever felt with him.

One sign that an Apple product launch is pending often comes in the way of blunders by various top-level executives who may somehow be involved with the launch. Case in point: France Telecom’s deputy CEO Stephane Richard (France Telecom owns Orange) has been asked a couple of questions about the Apple tablet, to which he answered “Yes,” thus implying that the tablet will have a webcam and 3G connectivity.

The conversation has been caught on video. In it, Stephane is asked whether Apple will launch a tablet with a webcam in a couple of days, to which he answers “Yes”. He is then asked whether Orange users will be able to use it, and he again answers “Yes,” indicating that the tablet will have 3G connectivity.

Of course, this could have simply been noise in the communication channel. But it makes sense: Orange had an exclusive agreement with Apple to sell the iPhone in France, and Apple is rumored to be unveiling the fabled tablet on January 27, and launching it sometime in March. As far as rumors go, we won’t mind if this one is true.

Update: Orange is now backing away from these comments, saying in a statement that “These responses in no way reflect Orange’s confirmation of the existence of the rumoured device. The spokesperson was merely confirming that he is aware of the speculation surrounding a launch and that Orange would be delighted to have such a product were it ever to be available.” Is Orange simply trying to appease Apple for the leak, or was this an honest mistake by a bunch of overzealous tech reporters? We’ll soon find out.

While many have been fixated on when Apple will announce a new tablet product, The Wall Street Journal says it has found out when the device will actually be available to customers.

Sources have told the Journal that a 10- or 11-inch touch-screen tablet computer will begin shipping in March. Another source says that there are at least two different finishes for the device that Apple is either still deciding on or perhaps planning to charge different prices for each.

Though there’s been a lot of speculation about the tablet, there are no confirmed details yet. Industry observers are anticipating a late January announcement (January 27, according to AllThingsD) of a slate-style computer that could be used as a touch-screen e-reader and video display with wireless access for around $1,000.

Microsoft has lost an appeal in a patent case that will force it to alter Microsoft Word to avoid an injunction on sales of the product.

Microsoft lost a patent case involving a company called I4i in May, after a jury ruled that Microsoft infringed one of i4i’s patents with a custom XML feature found in Word. In August an injunction was placed on sales of Word pending the appeal, which did not go in Microsoft’s favor Tuesday.

“We couldn’t be more pleased with the ruling (click for PDF) from the appeals court which upheld the lower court’s decision in its entirety. This is both a vindication for I4i and a war cry for talented inventors whose patents are infringed,” said Loudon Owen, chairman of I4i, in a statement.

The technology in question involves “any Microsoft Word products that have the capability of opening .XML, .DOCX or DOCM files (XML files) containing custom XML,” according to a copy of the injunction released in August. I4i’s Owen said at the time that his company wasn’t out to force a halt in sales of one of Microsoft’s most profitable products, and it doesn’t appear that will happen.

Microsoft said it planned to remove the feature from all copies of Microsoft Word 2007 that will be sold on or after January 11, 2010. Prior copies of Word 2007 are not affected by the injunction, and Word 2010 is being designed without the infringing technology, the company said.

“While we are moving quickly to address the injunction issue, we are also considering our legal options, which could include a request for a rehearing by the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals en banc or a request for a writ of certiorari from the U.S. Supreme Court,” said Kevin Kurtz, director of public affairs for Microsoft, in a statement.

The ruling also means that Microsoft is on the hook for $200 million in damages awarded by the jury as well as additional fees and interest. Reuters reported the total would reach $290 million.

I4i, unlike other high-profile patent plaintiffs of recent memory (what’s NTP up to these days?), appears to actually have a business. The company, based in Toronto, helps companies publish and organize documents created with XML, and appears to have carved out a niche in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries.

The patent in this case, No. 5,787,449, was issued in July 1998.

On December 23, 2009, The Resource Legend will come back full force. There will be hundreds of new features. Some of these include: New Games, Refined Social Networking, and Constant Updating News. Stay tuned interwebbies. The new beginning is coming.

At Google’s big Search Event today, realtime search took center stage. After announcing partnerships with Twitter and Facebook a little over month ago, Google has put together a system that delivers relevant results from the realtime web. Some users can already test it for themselves by picking “latest” in the “show options panel” on Google.com.

Realtime search draws from Twitter, Facebook, FriendFeed, MySpace, blogs, and even smaller sites like Jaiku and Identi.ca. Google says this adds up to over a billion realtime documents indexed per day. Google will soon start keeping track of realtime trends, but they’re likely to be very different from Twitter’s trends, which don’t usually overlap much with the most popular Google searches at any given time.

We’ll see how well Google’s relevance algorithms apply to realtime search. It sounds like they’ve got the right idea by, for example, distinguishing between bots and manual postings on Twitter. It’ll also be interesting to see how this changes the Search Engine Optimization game, and how people adapt to the challenges of realtime reputation management.

Remember when Microsoft thought it was a good idea to enlist characters from Family Guy as their new Windows 7 spokespeople? It was a funny idea, but somewhere between the beginning of production and the scheduled air-date, Microsoft executives realized two things: a) the target audience for a Windows 7 commercial is probably not getting high and watching cartoons right now, and b) the ads just weren’t very good.

After seeing clips of the Family Guy ads, I’m not convinced they’re better than Microsoft’s previous big-budget ad failure, those Seinfeld and Bill Gates spots. At least the Seinfeld ads were totally weird, instead of taking a show you know and love and painfully shoehorning some product placement where it doesn’t belong. A mention of Windows 7 in an actual episode of Family Guy could at least have been played for big laughs, but these clips fall flat.

Don’t believe me? See for yourself after the jump.

Apple’s latest mice sensation – the multi-touch capable Magic Mouse introduced iPhone-style touch capabilities in the world of mice for users running OS X. This amazing product of engineering which is a multi-touch descendant of the iPhone soon became the heartthrob of Mac users. Since Magic Mouse is officially supported to work on Macs only, PC users running Windows were left out in the dark since there is currently no multi-touch capable mouse available for PC market.

Good news is that the folks over at UneasySilence have managed to hack the driver to make it run on PCs running any version of Windows from XP to 7. Thanks to Apple for the Bluetooth driver update, and thanks to hackers for the hack which has enabled them to extract the two .exe files from the update so that Windows users can enjoy the taste of the first multi-touch capable mouse on their PCs.

Thanks to a little hackery from Apple’s Bluetooth Update (located here) the Magic Mouse driver was extracted via WinRar resulting in a 32bit version and a 64bit version that you can install on any ordinary Windows PC that will enable all the scrolling ‘magic’ of the Magic Mouse.

With the help of these modified drivers, you can use Apple Magic Mouse on both 32, and 64 bit editions of Windows Vista and 7.

Download Apple Magic Mouse Driver for Windows (32 Bit)
Download Apple Magic Mouse Driver for Windows (64 Bit)

In a marketing ploy so draconian and heavy-handed as to be reminiscent of the original X-box launch, Microsoft is now offering to pay-off publishers if they delist their content from Google’s indexes.

Sounds crazy, but it’s true. Microsoft have approached News Corp and offered to pay them to de-list from Google’s search indexes. So you have some idea of how big a deal this is, News Corp owns the Wall Street Journal, MySpace and dozens of other publishers and news sources around the world. They are the second biggest media group in the world after Disney.

Google have already gone on the record and said that news content isn’t a huge money-spinner for them, but it begs the question: how much money is Microsoft willing to throw around?

They have one of the largest cash reserves in the world. And let’s face it, content providers drive the Internet. If Microsoft is really this serious about securing a slice of the search pie, you might begin to see ‘Bing exclusive’ content very soon.

It won’t stop with News Corp — slowly but surely searching for news on Google will become impossible. And then MySpace music pages won’t turn up in your searches either.

Deserved or not, Microsoft had dug itself a cool, deep, dark hole with Windows Vista. Users demanding that Redmond extend the life of Windows XP wasn’t exactly something they could be proud of, either. Bombarded by complaints and negative press even after the first service pack was released, the bar had been set high for Vista’s successor: Windows 7.

Luckily for Microsoft, Windows 7 is more than just spin. It’s stable, smooth, and highly polished, introducing new graphical features, a new taskbar that can compete handily with the Mac OS X dock, and device management and security enhancements that make it both easier to use and safer. Importantly, it won’t require the hardware upgrades that Vista demanded, partially because the hardware has caught up, and partially because Microsoft has gone to great lengths to make Windows 7 accessible to as many people as possible.

It’s important to note that the public testing process for Windows 7 involved one limited-availability beta and one release candidate, and constituted what some have called the largest shareware trial period ever. As buggy and irritating as Vista was, Windows 7 isn’t. Instead, it’s the successor to Windows XP that Microsoft wishes Vista had been, and finally places it on competitive footing with other major operating systems like OS X and Linux.

Microsoft is offering six versions of Windows 7: Starter, Home Premium, Professional, Ultimate, OEM, and Enterprise. The three versions that Redmond will be promoting most heavily are Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate, although Starter will also be available to consumers.

Windows 7 will support both 32-bit and 64-bit systems. The bare minimum requirements for the 32-bit include a 1GHz processor, 1GB RAM, 16GB available hard-disk space, and a DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver. 64-bit systems will require at least a 1 GHz processor, 2GB RAM, 20GB of free space on your hard drive, and a DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver. A touch-screen monitor is required to take advantage of the native touch features. Do note that some users have claimed to have limited success running the Windows 7 beta with less than 1GB of RAM, but that’s not recommended.

Installation
Microsoft is offering several paths to install Windows 7. People can buy a new computer with the operating system already installed, upgrade from Windows XP or Vista, or do a clean install on a computer the user already owns. The clean installation took us about 30 minutes, but that will vary depending on your computer.

The upgrade procedure is different depending on whether you’re running Windows XP or Windows Vista. Vista users merely need to back up their data before choosing the Upgrade option from the install disc. Both XP Home and XP Pro users will have to back up their data, then choose Custom from the install disc. Custom will have the same effect as a clean install, although it’ll save your old data in a folder called Windows.old. Once you choose Custom, you’ll need to select the partition of your hard drive that contains Windows XP, and then follow the instructions to enter your product key and allow the computer to reboot as needed.

If you’re not sure if your current computer can run Windows 7, you can download and run the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor from Microsoft.

Features: Taskbar and Aero Peek
Although the look of Windows 7 may seem to be nothing more than some polish applied liberally to the Vista Aero theme, make no mistake: This is a full replacement operating system, and more than just “Vista done right.” From driver support to multitouch groundwork for the future, from better battery management to the most easy-to-use interface Microsoft has ever had, Windows 7 is hardly half-baked.

The first thing that should stand out is the new taskbar. This is one of the best improvements Microsoft has made–third-party program dock makers are going to have to do some serious innovation when Windows 7 goes public. Besides incorporating the translucent style of Aero, the new taskbar is arguably even better than the Mac OS X dock. It features pinned programs using large, easy-to-see icons. Mouse over one and all windows associated with that program appear in preview. Mouse over one of those preview panes to reveal an X to close the window. Hover over the preview to show a full-size preview of the program, or click on the window to bring it to the front. Because of the button size, people with touch screens should find it especially easy to use.

Jump lists are another new taskbar improvement that make recently opened documents easier to get to. Right-click or left-click and drag on any program icon pinned to the taskbar to see a list of files that you’ve recently used in that program. In Internet Explorer, this will show recently visited Web sites, although it doesn’t yet seem to work in Firefox.

If you’ve noticed the missing Show Desktop icon, that’s because it’s been baked into the taskbar itself. Mouse over to the right corner. Hovering over the Show Desktop box reveals the desktop, and then hides it when you mouse away. Click on the box to minimize all your programs.

 

Aero Peek shows the desktop when you hover over the right edge of the toolbar, and is also an option in the program-switching hot key Alt+Tab.

Resizing programs has been simplified and improved by the capability to drag a window’s title bar. Drag a program window to the top of your monitor to expand it to full screen. If you want to work in two windows simultaneously, drag one to the left edge and one to the right edge of your screen, and they’ll automatically resize to half the width of your monitor. Dragging a program away from the top or sides will return it to its original size. This is an entirely new feature in Windows 7, but it should prove easy to adopt because it mimics and expands on the maximize/restore button that people have been resizing windows with since Windows 95.

Theme packages also make it much faster to change the look of Windows 7. From the Control Panel, you can change the theme under Appearance and Personalization. Microsoft has created several theme packages to give people a taste for what the feature can do. Click on one to download it, and it instantly changes the color scheme and background–no need to reboot. Users can create their own themes, as well.

Windows Media Player and Device Stage
One of the biggest new features makes Windows Media Player useful again: you can now stream media files from one Windows 7 computer to another, across the Internet and out of network. Even better, the setup procedure is dead simple.

When you open Windows Media Player, there’s a new Stream option on the toolbar. Click it, and you’re presented with two choices. Both require you to associate your computer with your free Windows Live ID. When you’ve associated a second Windows 7’s WMP with that same ID, you can remotely access the media on the host computer. Windows Media Player’s mini mode looks much slicker, emphasizing the album art–sometimes at the expense of clearly seeing the controls, but it’s a definite improvement.

 

Microsoft reinvigorates the Windows Media Player by allowing users to stream their media files to themselves. All it takes is two Windows 7 computers, an Internet connection, and a free Windows Live ID.

The new Device Stage makes managing peripherals significantly easier, combining printers, phones, and portable media players into one window. A large photo of the peripheral summarizes important device stats and makes it easy to identify which devices you’re using. Device Stage can also be used to preset common tasks, such as synchronization. Device Stage support for older devices makes one of Windows 7’s best features applicable to peripherals and externals that don’t need to be upgraded. One annoying change is that Bluetooth driver support no longer comes baked into the operating system. If you need a Bluetooth driver, you’ll either need the installation disc on hand or you’ll have to go download it.

Search, touch screens, and XP mode
Windows 7’s native search feature has been improved. Files added to the hard drive were indexed so fast that they were searchable less than 5 seconds later. Search result snippets now include a longer snippet, and highlight the snippet more clearly. This should appeal specifically to people who juggle large numbers of long documents, but it’s a useful feature for anybody who wants to find files faster. However, the search field is available by default only in the Start menu and in Windows Explorer, and cannot be easily added to the taskbar.

 

Search snippets do a better job of highlighting relevant terms in your documents, exposing useful data even if it’s not in the file name.

Touch-screen features worked surprisingly well. The hardware sometimes misread some of the multitouch gestures, occasionally confusing rotating an image, for example, with zooming in or out of the image. Overall, though, there were few difficulties in performing the basic series of gestures that Microsoft promotes, and this places Windows 7 in an excellent position for the future, as more and more computers are released with multitouch abilities.

The new Device Stage makes managing peripherals significantly easier, combining printers, phones, and portable media players into one window. A large photo of the peripheral summarizes important device stats and makes it easy to identify which devices you’re using. Device Stage can also be used to preset common tasks, such as synchronization. Device Stage support for older devices makes one of Windows 7’s best features applicable to peripherals and externals that don’t need to be upgraded. One annoying change is that Bluetooth driver support no longer comes baked into the operating system. If you need a Bluetooth driver, you’ll either need the installation disc on hand or you’ll have to go download it.

Search, touch screens, and XP mode
Windows 7’s native search feature has been improved. Files added to the hard drive were indexed so fast that they were searchable less than 5 seconds later. Search result snippets now include a longer snippet, and highlight the snippet more clearly. This should appeal specifically to people who juggle large numbers of long documents, but it’s a useful feature for anybody who wants to find files faster. However, the search field is available by default only in the Start menu and in Windows Explorer, and cannot be easily added to the taskbar.

 

Search snippets do a better job of highlighting relevant terms in your documents, exposing useful data even if it’s not in the file name.

Touch-screen features worked surprisingly well. The hardware sometimes misread some of the multitouch gestures, occasionally confusing rotating an image, for example, with zooming in or out of the image. Overall, though, there were few difficulties in performing the basic series of gestures that Microsoft promotes, and this places Windows 7 in an excellent position for the future, as more and more computers are released with multitouch abilities.

Experts and people or companies who hope to use Windows 7 for business situations will appreciate the new XP Mode. It doesn’t have much of a practical application for the home consumer, but if you need to access programs designed for Windows XP that have not been upgraded to Windows Vista or 7, XP Mode creates a virtual environment within Windows 7 that should assuage any fears of upgrading without backward compatibility.

 

Windows 7 supports a feature that won’t be useful to most users, but businesses might do a double-take. XP Mode is a free add-on for Windows 7 that creates a virtual XP environment in which you can run older programs.

It’s not easy to set up once you’ve downloaded the XP Mode installer. You’ll need to double-check that you have the right hardware, and can get the right software. Hardware Virtualization Technology, also known as AMD-V, Vanderpool, or VT-d, must be supported for it to work. Motherboards older than two years probably won’t work, and even if you do have a newer one you might have to go into your BIOS and activate Hardware Virtualization. CPU-identification utilities are available from Microsoft that can tell you if you’re in the clear or not. However, if compatibility is the issue, this hassle will be worth it to you. Users will have full access to peripherals connected to their Windows 7 hardware, including printers, and the clipboard can be used to cut and paste between the virtual operating system and the “real” one.

Security
User Account Control, or UAC, is back in Windows 7. Microsoft has tweaked the feature so that it’s less intrusive, but it’s not clear whether that means you’re actually more or less secure than you were in Vista. UAC was one of the biggest changes in Vista. It tightened program access, but did it in such a way as to frustrate many owners of single-user computers. Windows 7 provides more options for user customization of UAC.

The default setting is to notify users only when programs try to make changes to the computer, one step below the most restrictive setting of Always Notify. Under Always Notify, anytime a program tries to access the Internet, or you try to make changes to the computer, Windows 7 will require user confirmation. The second-least restrictive option doesn’t dim the desktop when UAC is activated, and will only notify the user when programs try to make changes to the computer. When the desktop dims, Windows 7 is locking it down and preventing access. Never Notify is the most relaxed option, and is only recommended by Microsoft for programs that aren’t compatible with UAC.

UAC also displays a blue banner when confronted with a program from a known publisher versus a yellow banner and exclamation point when the program is from an unknown publisher. The number of clicks it should take to use UAC safely has been reduced, However, it’s important to note that it’s a less aggressive default posture by UAC.

A less glitzy, but no less important, change to how removable drives are handled also can affect your media. Unlike Windows XP and Windows Vista, Windows 7 will no longer AutoRun external hard drives and USB keys when they’re connected. This kills off a risky vector for malware infections that has been the bane of many security experts.

Although Microsoft is working on a revamp of its antivirus and antimalware program, now called Microsoft Security Essentials, it won’t be bundled with Windows 7. Users are still required to download a third-party antivirus and antimalware program, although the Windows Firewall remains intact. As with many features in Windows 7 that have been carried over from Windows Vista, people will notice there’s far more granular settings control than before. Features like filtering outbound traffic, which were available in Vista but not exposed, are easier to access in Windows 7.

Comparing Windows: XP vs. Vista vs. 7

	Windows XP	Windows Vista	Windows 7
Minimum hardware	–Processor: 300MHz –RAM: 128MB –Super VGA graphics device –HD: 4.2GB (for SP3)	–Processor: 1GHz –RAM: 1GB (32-bit), 2GB (64-bit) –Support for DirectX 9 graphics device with 128MB of memory –HD: 20GB (32-bit), 40GB (64-bit)	–Processor: 1 GHz –RAM: 1GB (32-bit), 2GB (64-bit) –Support for DirectX 9 graphics device with 128MB of memory –HD: 16GB (32-bit), 20GB (64-bit)
Interface	–Luna theme –Introduces task-based windows options –Skinning possible but difficult –Desktop Cleanup Wizard automates removing old icons	–Aero theme –Introduces transparent panes, window animations, live thumbnails of running programs –New desktop sidebar supports gadgets –Supports touch screens	–Aero theme –Supports slideshow backgrounds, RSS and theme packs –Introduces Aero Shake and Aero Snap –Desktop gadgets can be placed anywhere –Supports multitouch on touch screens
Explorer	–Replaces tree navigation by default with task pane –Improves image handling –Offers thumbnail previews and group views –Supports some metadata	–Task pane integrated into toolbar –New breadcrumb navigation –New metadata display –Improved icon resolution –Some documents can be edited from the preview pane	–Support for federated searches and libraries –Virtual folders aggregate content from local and networked drives
Start menu	–New layout –Devices and some Control Panel options appear in menu	–Added search box –All Programs folder changed to a nested format –Configurable power button –User profile picture	–Taskbar jumps appear in the Start menu and replace the right column when viewed –Documents, Pictures, Music buttons now link to their libraries –Control Panel options have been integrated into search results
Taskbar	–New look –Hideable icons in System Tray	–Refreshed look –Alt-Tab hot key now shows preview thumbnail of program	–Interactive mouse-over preview panes –Replacement of the Quick Launch bar with pinned programs –Program-specific jump lists based on pinned programs –Aero Peek for mouse-over desktop viewing –Revamped System Tray
Devices	–Introduces Universal Plug-n-Play –New driver library allows for downgrading drivers when necessary	–Debuts portable device API, designed to communicate with cell phones, PDAs, and portable media players –Introduces Sync Center for managing data synchronizations	–New Device Stage provides a centralized, unified window for managing all aspects of printers and portable devices
Misc.	–Introduces context-menu CD and DVD burning from Windows Explorer –Supports multiple versions of a single DLL to prevent programs from overwriting each other –Introduces Hibernate and Sleep modes –Remote Desktop for accessing a computer from another location –Fast user account switching	–Built-in drive partitioning –More powerful screen-capturing tool –Hybrid Sleep and better configuration options for more nuanced power management –User-based file-type associations –Previous Version automatically backs up changes to individual files	–Expands Windows Explorer disc burning to include ISOs –Introduces XP Mode –Expanded options for disabling components –Can search text in scanned TIFF –Additional power-saving features for laptops

Performance
Windows 7 feels faster than Windows XP and Vista, but it turns out that’s not always the case–sometimes, it’s the slowest out of the three operating systems. CNET Labs tested four 32-bit Windows operating systems: Windows 7 RTM build 7600, Windows 7 Release Candidate build 7100, Windows Vista with Service Pack 2, and Windows XP SP3, all on an Inspiron Desktop 530 Mini Tower running an Intel Core 2 Duo Processor E4500 at 2.20 GHz, with a 128MB NVIDIA 8300 GS graphics card, 4GB of RAM, and two 320GB SATA 7,200rpm hard drives.

Microsoft Office Performance (in seconds)
(Lower numbers indicate better performance)

Windows Vista SP2 (64 bit)

 

571

Windows 7 RTM Build 7600 (64 bit)

 

600

Windows 7 RTM Build 7600 (32 bit)

 

684

Windows 7 RC Build 7100(32 bit)

 

752

Windows Vista SP2 (32 bit)

 

673

Windows XP SP3 (32 bit)

 

483

iTunes encoding (in seconds)
(Lower Number indicate better performance)

Windows Vista SP2 (64 bit)

 

199

Windows 7 RTM Build 7600 (64 bit)

 

199

Windows 7 RTM Build 7600 (32 bit)

 

187

Windows 7 RC Build 7100(32 bit)

 

188

Windows Vista SP2 (32 bit)

 

189

Windows XP SP3 (32 bit)

 

187

Boot time (in seconds)
(Low numbers indicate better performance)

Windows Vista SP2 (64 bit)

 

60

Windows 7 RTM Build 7600 (64 bit)

 

50.3

Windows 7 RTM Build 7600 (32 bit)

 

41.25

Windows 7 RC Build 7100(32 bit)

 

44.81

Windows Vista SP2 (32 bit)

 

40.16

Windows XP SP3 (32 bit)

 

40.03

Shutdown time (in seconds)
(Lower numbers indicate better performance)

Windows Vista SP2 (64 bit)

 

5.68

Windows 7 RTM Build 7600 (64 bit)

 

5.32

Windows 7 RTM Build 7600 (32 bit)

 

5.1

Windows 7 RC Build 7100(32 bit)

 

6.2

Windows Vista SP2 (32 bit)

 

5.69

Windows XP SP3 (32 bit)

 

29.9

Cinebench
(Larger numbers indicate better performance)

Windows Vista SP2 (64 bit)

 

4,813

Windows 7 RTM Build 7600 (64 bit)

 

4,822

Windows 7 RTM Build 7600 (32 bit)

 

4,213

Windows 7 RC Build 7100(32 bit)

 

4,184

Windows Vista SP2 (32 bit)

 

4,174

Windows XP SP3 (32 bit)

 

4,217

As you can see in the chart, we found that Windows 7 RTM was the fastest to shutdown, and was tied with XP for iTunes encoding. However, it was slower than XP and Vista for both booting up cold by a bit more than 1 second, and slower than either of its predecessors in its Microsoft Office performance. After having used Windows 7 beta, RC, and now the RTM for more than six months combined, it still feels faster for us when launching programs, opening the control panel, and dragging icons, files, and folders around than XP. That’s not to denigrate the value of the benchmarks, but keep in mind that the perception and reality might differ based on hardware and usage.

Support
When you try to use a file already in use, Windows 7 goes beyond Vista and XP by telling you not just that it’s being used, but where it’s being used so you can manage the situation faster. Other than that, Windows 7 offers on-board operating system support nearly identical to Windows Vista. Screen darkening, one-click action hand-holding, and a useful question mark icon on all Explorer windows maintain Vista’s improved help features, when compared with Windows XP.

In sum
Windows 7 looks like the operating system that both Microsoft and its consumers have been waiting for. By fixing most of the perceived and real problems in Vista, Microsoft has laid the groundwork for the future of where Windows will go. Windows 7 presents a stable platform that can compete comfortably with OS X, while reassuring the world that Microsoft can still turn out a strong, useful operating system.

We’ve just been tipped off that 1080p or ‘the highest-quality HDTV standard (Blu-ray quality)’ has begun to appear on YouTube.

So far there doesn’t seem to be a way to search for the high-high definition videos, and the only example I have is a Nokia video of some poor, disadvantaged Indonesian farmer — but I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before YouTube/Google officially announce the changes to their video player.

Kindle book buyers can now read their books right from their PCs without having to buy a Kindle reader.

Amazon onTuesday made available its new Kindle for PC, free software that lets Kindle customers read their e-books on tablet PCs, Netbooks, notebooks, and other personal computers.

The software can be downloaded from the Kindle for PC page. The quick installation sets up the reader application, prompting you to log in and register with your Amazon account or create a new one. After logging in, you can download books that you’ve already purchased at the Kindle store or click on a link to buy new ones.

Microsoft had demonstrated the Kindle for PC software at its Windows 7 launch event in New York last month.

Kindle for PC offers many of the options you’ll find on a Kindle reader. You can increase or decrease the size of the font and change the width of the page and words per line. You can navigate from one page to another by clicking on the Next or Previous Page arrows or by using the scroll wheel on your mouse. You can jump to a specific page, such as the cover, table of contents, or last page read, and bookmark a specific location for future reference. You can also read notes and highlights created on your Kindle device, but you can’t create them on Kindle for PC yet.

People with a Windows 7 multitouch PC can zoom in or out of a page by pinching it with your fingers.

Amazon has also tapped its Whispersync technology to automatically save and sync bookmarks across multiple devices. So you can read a book up to a certain page on your Kindle device and then automatically jump to that same page on your PC to resume reading where you left off.

“Kindle for PC is the perfect companion application for customers who own a Kindle or Kindle DX,” Ian Freed, vice president, Amazon Kindle, said in a statement. “Kindle for PC is also a great way for people around the world to access a huge selection from the Kindle Store and read the most popular books of today even if they don’t yet have a Kindle.”

Amazon plans new features for the next edition of Kindle for PC. The company said it will offer the ability to create notes and highlights, search for words or phrases in your books, and click on an image to zoom in or rotate it.

With the launch of Kindle for PC, Kindle books can now be read on Kindle readers, the iPhone, the iPod Touch, and personal computers. Kindle for the PC is compatible with Windows 7, Vista, and XP. A Mac version is coming soon, promises Amazon.

Although technology and the Internet have taken a beating in the past for potentially limiting people’s social interaction, a new study from the Pew Research Center has found that the opposite might be true.

According to a Pew Internet Personal Networks and Community survey, which polled 2,512 adults, the dawn of new technology and the Internet has not caused people to withdraw from society. In fact, the study found that “the extent of social isolation has hardly changed since 1985, contrary to concerns that the prevalence of severe isolation has tripled since then.” Pew said that 6 percent of the entire U.S. adult population currently has “no one with whom they can discuss important matters or who they consider to be ‘especially significant’ in their life.”

That said, Pew did find that Americans’ “discussion networks”–a measure of people’s “most important social ties”–have shrunk “by about a third since 1985″ from three people to two. However, Pew found no evidence to suggest that it had anything to do with mobile phones or the Internet. In fact, the organization’s study found that mobile-phone use and active Web participation yields “larger and more diverse core discussion networks.”

Social media is also helping people expand their social interaction. According to Pew, those who use the Internet frequently “are much more likely to confide in someone who is of another race.” Users who share photos online are more likely to discuss political topics with someone of a different party, the organization found.

Frequent Web users are more likely to communicate with neighbors in person than those who don’t use the Web as often, Pew found. In fact, 61 percent of respondents said that they talk to a neighbor at least once per month. The study also found that bloggers are 72 percent “more likely to belong to a local voluntary association” than those who don’t blog.

Perhaps most important, Pew found that just because someone is a heavy Web user, that doesn’t mean they remove themselves from traditional social activities like visiting a restaurant or hanging out at library. According to the study, Web users are “45 percent more likely to visit a cafe, 52 percent more likely to visit a library, 34 percent more likely to visit a fast-food restaurant, 69 percent more likely to visit other restaurants, and 42 percent more likely to visit a public park.”

So, next time someone tells you that the Web is jacking up the world, you might want to tell them to check out Pew’s study. For more on these figures and many more, click here.



This is awesome, but it came out of nowhere. MSN has dumped the look that it had for 10 years! With today’s clean, whitespace-friendly, reimagining of MSN.com, Microsoft ditches MSN search and delivers a site that’s a little more worthy of showing off the company’s new search engine, Bing.

A prettier, less jacked-up layout and a cool Bing search bar aren’t the only upgrades to the homepage. In a touch that says Microsoft actually knows what year it is after all, you can add your Facebook newsfeed and your Twitter stream to an area on the right side of the page. The news is still there, but it’s more customizable, and the layout presents fewer stories at a time than the cluttered old MSN.com did. There’s also a local focus, with local weather and a Bing-powered local news widget at the bottom left.

MSN also has a new logo. Like it? Click here!

Google Chrome hit the scene about a year ago and the Chrome team is now working on version 4, which hit beta yesterday. It has been said to be 30% faster than Chrome 3, and it can sync bookmarks across multiple computers. It’s made possible by the magic of XMPP, which also powers Google Talk. Does that sound awesome? Go and download it! However, Google did leave out one VERY awesome thing: Add-ons. If you use Firefox, you probably know the awesomeness that add-ons provide.

New Domain

The new TRL domain has changed from theresourcelegend.wordpress.com to theresourcelegend.com! The old address will come to this site, so don’t worry if you forget. We are also proposing a TRL Bash later on this month.

LL’s Fate

We know the Ladybug Legend. Some of us like it. The question is though: Will it last? In order for it to last, the LL has to add more features. Some people use the excuse “We don’t have enough time!”. However, comparing the time the computer is open to the people that are actually using it, about 1/2 the time you would see someone using a computer. Actually using it would unlock a chest of new features. Just to answer the question, yes it will last.

Book Report Update

It’s coming sooner than we thought, isn’t it? Believe it or not, the book report is due on Wednesday. We also have to dress up. A project is not required. A review will be posted here and on the TRL Facebook and Twitter.

Zune HD

We’ve heard about the anticipated Zune HD. Does it really broadcast HD video? Well, it broadcasts the lowest quality HD video you can get, 720p. Here is a quote from Wikipedia:

The Zune HD utilizes the Nvidia Tegra 600 chip ^[3], allowing it to play 720p video through the optional HDMI Zune dock on a high-definition television. Otherwise, content will be scaled down to 480×272 pixels on the player’s OLED screen.^[5]

Seriously, an extra cord and TV just to play HD video? They also only support 16GB and 32GB. An average HD movie is about 2GB, and a HDTV show is 600MB.

The Zune HD can browse the web, download songs from the device, and have games! Like an iPhone or iPod Touch app that you have to have? You can even get it on the Zune HD in just 12 hours. It also supports Wi-fi. The starting price is USD$220.

25K RSS Subscribers!

I was looking at the TRL statistics today, and I found that there are 25,000 computers subscribed to the TRL RSS Feed! If you aren’t already subscribed, click the first icon in the ‘Follow Us’ bar!

LL Website Update

The Ladybug Legend website is up and running. The website is also going under approval.

Yesterday, TRL decided to host the Ladybug Legend URL. The website is currently going  under testing. Different templates are also being tested.

Book Report Change

The book report due date has been changed to September 30th. Also, we will have up dress up for the report.

This week, we have Map Testing. We have these every quarter, so there’s nothing to worry about.

This is just a ignert poll. All we at TRL want you to do is vote as much as you can. Our goal is to reach 10 million votes in one hour. 15-Minute update: 10-million already! Let’s go for 20 million! 45-minute update: ALMOST 90 MILLION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After the Trip

We’ve went on the camping trip. So, what’s next? Well, we are gonna have a MAP test next week. After that, on the 25th, our book reports are due. In october, honestly, TRL has no idea. So, instead of talking about news all the time, let’s try something fun. How about a poll? Man, you people! 2 million votes in just one hour? You’ve got to be kidding us at TRL. Update: Wow! 10-million votes in one day.

The Resource Legend on Facebook

Camping Trip Tomorrow

The camping is coming soon… very soon. We get to go all the way to Elmdale, KS to sleep in cabins, go play with fish in the stream, and possibly get to go through a forest. We will go tomorrow and take the $300 worth of supplies with us. If you’re going, have fun! Before you go, just be warned: Cell phones, computers, high-speed internet and other common necessities are not allowed.

Back to School

Wow. We at TRL are amazed by this odd schedule. We have a 4-day weekend, 1 day of school, a camping trip, and then Map testing the following Monday. I don’t know about you, but this is messed-up. Why couldn’t they just have moved the camping trip? or cancel the camping trip? or had no school on Wednesday? or just have school all the rest of the week? Oh well. Wait a minute. What are your opinions? Leave a comment by clicking leave a comment by clicking right below this post.

Holy cow! Over 7 million voters!

TRL Needs your feedback. Is this place awesome? If not, e-mail zachvega@live.com and suggest what we can change.

Get your own Poll!

Web Browsers Working with TRL

Many people have asked why TRL images are not displaying, buttons are not working properly, and more non-awesome errors. We at TRL think that the problem is the web browser. So, here are the web browsers that work correctly with TRL:

If you don’t have any of the supported browsers, you can download them here.

To go along with the camping trip, we have a 4-day weekend. That means more time doing what you want. Oh yeah, and more homework! You have to admit though, the guy in the picture looks like he is having a lot of fun.

Camping Trip

We are going on a camping trip!  The camping will happen at Camp Wood YMCA. You will have to sleep in a cabin, be without a computer, and go walk in a stream ! TRL has looked at the camping supply list and the cost stacks up to $300.  We also forgot to mention the $25 fee, and an extra $20 each if you want your parents to come. If you want to go, have fun with it!

TRL Membership Area Opens!

The membership area has now opened! You can visit it here. You need the membership password to get in. If you want to get the password, visit the membership area page on this site for more info.

Server Upgrades

TRL and all its affiliates (TRL Members, DavisBlog, NextGen, TRL Collabs, Yank the Donkey) will be going under server upgrades in order to hold up to 10 million visitors per day. You might see some stuff messed up, but don’t worry. It will come back up ASAP.

Book Reports

That’s right, it’s that time of year again! We chose a Historical Fiction book and are currently reading it by hand or on a Kindle. Correct TRL if wrong, but the reports are due on September 25. There will also be a project due with the book (i.e. a Kindle showcase, PowerPoint, Microsoft Publisher Newspaper). In addition, the presentations can be self e-mailed so that they are not forgotten.

More of the Ladybug Legend

Yay! We will be publishing the 2nd copy of the Ladybug Legend tomorrow (Tuesday). No one knows when the largely wanted expansions will be published. Still, let’s take a poll and see what you want on the Ladybug Legend!

Yep, that’s right, TRL is now getting over 5 million visitors per day! Did you hear that? Per day. Of course, we thank you guys (and gals), because without you we would only have 2 visitors (or 1 on weekdays). WooHoo! BTW, we also have 18 million hits a day! I’m now gonna open up the Membership Section in a day and will have a wallpaper for non-members. You can check out the demographics of the daily 5-million visitors here.

Wallpaper

Here is the wallpaper. Choose your size and go!

Sizes: 800×600 | 1024×768 | 1400X900

The Buzz on the Ladybug Legend

The new newspaper was published yesterday. It was cool. We wrote articles. The result was 1 page. You can’t get it from TRL  because TRL doesn’t have the file. Sorry if this becomes offensive, but I have to put this here!

LOL!

New Newspaper Sees Glory

The new newspaper will publish today! We just wrote about the topics in Resource, but the Newspaper owner says that the fact will change. Let’s hope this will work!

Not Really New Writing, But We Did Something

We in Resource finished a writing project. It was an essay about one our favorites. A couple of students managed to write over 6 pages, but then finished with 4-5. The finished essays are currently hanging out in the hall with the students’ pictures.

New Newspaper

This new newspaper is just something that Resource came up with on Friday. As negative as the last sentence sounds, it is actually awesome. The new newspaper does not have a name yet. It will be distributed in Resource only. For those of you who have no clue about this, just go on, just go on…

Gummy Bear Video

Is this a joke? No, someone actually made $2,400 a week by making this stupid video. If you just HAVE to see this ignorance, then there you go:

New YouTube #1 – NigaHiga beats Fred

Everyone said that it was gonna happen and it did.

NigaHiga beat Fred in popularity (Subscribers) a couple of days ago.

That pic is of the ‘Big 3′ YouTube users, BTW. Click on the pic to see the full list.

Oh yes I did. Since there is no news today, TRL will begin with a ignert topic. So, how was your burger party? What burger party? Oh yeah. I forgot to press the red button! See the seashells that she is picking up? Are you trying to make a tongue twister? If you are it isn’t working. Press the red button! Oh cool! Some money on a bench!

Yep, that’s right, Resource will start today at 1:00! There is not much other information given out at this time, though.

When I came across this, it kind of made me wonder.

Yep, that’s the ‘assumed’ College Hill Twitter. It looks genuine, but with people these days, you never know. You can visit it here. Post your comments. Do you think it is real or is it a hoax?

Well, we’ve been growing lately and we at TRL need more staff to run the site. The pay is $0.00/hr and the following jobs are available:

Moderator (We need one)

• You get to post messages.
• You get to have your pic and name on the sidebar over there. <—-
• It’s easy to get recognized all over the web. For instance, over 9,000 results: http://bit.ly/3pwNS0
• You will always be a member.
• You get to moderate the chat rooms.
• You can kick users out of the chat room.

Advertiser (We need 1-3)

• You get to advertise the site.
• Your pic and name will go on the sidebar over there. <—–
• You will get to be a member up to 1 year after you quit.
• You can kick users out out the chat room , but with Administrator permission.

We’re back, and better than ever! Anyways, like it or not, school is back in session! So that means that TRL is back in business! I will also give out a gift later on for people who have their membership.

BTW, we now have a chat room! Go to the chat room page to read the rules and chat!

This week, the students will be taking the MAP Test. The MAP test is a computer program with thousands of questions. The questions will be given to the students by what level they are at.

In an eariler post, we predicted that 4th Grade would be going to the Museum of World Treasures. As it turns out, 4th Grade will be going to the museum. We will be going on May 12 at 9:15 and return at 12:30. The admission fee is $8.00 and the students will need to bring a ‘pak’ lunch.

Since some of 4th grade was at Riverside Tennis Center, there will be some Mystery Presentations given on Thursday. The puzzle was due as well for 4th graders on Friday, and four out of five of the fourth graders had them done at the due date. The presenting will happen the same with the 4th graders as the 5th graders.  No ‘non-puzzle’ project is required for the presentations.

This week, we will be going on two field trips. On the 23rd, we’ll be going to a Young People’s Concert at Century II at 9:10 AM and on the 24th, some of us will be going to a tennis practice at 1:00 PM. Mrs. Ludwig’s class was going to go to tennis last month, but because of weather the trip was canceled. The terminology in ’some’ meant Mrs. Henning and Mrs. Irick’s classes. Many people fall asleep at YPC and many people get morbidly tired at Tennis. Those are just some things to look out for when going on these trips.

On April 23rd, the 3rd through 5th graders will be going to the Young People’s Concert. The admission slips were sent home in October for both the concert in November and the concert coming up.