DailyTechTalk » Vista

The Last DailyTechTalk Post

Administrator — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 23:34:08 +0000

I’m on to new and better things. DailyTechTalk will be around indefinitely as a wealth of information for all but my content is moving around a bit. Here’s where you can find me.

Twitter/AdamJackson: The best way to reach me day and night and is the most updated form of Internet communication that I have. Want to know what I’m up to; then just check Twitter.

Adam-Jackson.net / AdamJacksonLive.com: Both of these are the same but I have them both pointed to one space. This is my up to date project list, resume and has other info about me as well. It’s the best place to find out what I’m up to professionally.

Blog.Adam-Jackson.net: My blog about me, what I’m up to, my rants, raves, updates and more. It’s only updated when I feel like it but I’ll be placing a lot of things on this blog so stay tuned.

AdamandLauraGoWest.com: This is mine and Laura’s travelog. We post things here when we feel like it but most of it is about our move to San Francisco with updates about our life and what’s new. It’s a good place to learn more about us and follow our progress through life. This blog will be around for a while.

MacworldBound.com: This blog only is active once a year when I’m doing some cool things for Macworld Expo but it’s a great blog with a very loyal following. I hope you’ll tune in if you’re a Mac user and fan of Macworld Expo.

Blog.AdamsBlock.com / OurBlock.TV: I’m no longer personally involved with this project but it’s a really cool project that will do big things one day. I hope you’ll stay tuned to that as well as things move forward.

I’m doing some big things these days and Tech just isn’t my foray anymore. I’ve tried to keep this blog current and I still have a love for tech and knowledge of the goings but it is time to move on and officially kill this blog. Sorry to all of my loyal fans to this blog (all 20 of you).

Windows Domain network Time Sync Command

Fri, 09 Mar 2007 20:22:46 +0000

If your computer is on a domain and the time is a little off, there’s a short command that I learned today. This can be helpful and saves time of having to create a group policy object. Open a command window and type, “w32tm /resync”. Minus the quotes of course. Your workstation will look to the Primary Domain Controller (PDC) for the network time and chance accordingly.

Office 2007 compatability how-to

Fri, 23 Feb 2007 18:17:04 +0000

If you’ve purchased a copy of Microsoft’s Office 2007, your default format for documents is XML based and will not be compatible with older versions of Office. The doc, xls and ppt formats for saving documents is being phased out for an XML based format that makes for smaller files, faster load times, searchability and collaboration among other Office users.

The docx, xlsx and pptx formats are being well received by new users but those that are not power users are calling their IT staff asking why the person they’re sending this file to can’t open the Word Document they created. The fix is choosing “97-2003 document” format when you send a file to clients that are running the older version of Office and the adoption of 2007 will continue through mid 2008 so my fix is changing the default save format for Office applications.

In Word, click on the new Office icon on the top corner of the window and at the bottom of the box, click “Word Options”. Select the “save” tab and change the default format to “97-2003 Word Document .doc”. Follow the same steps for every application that came with your Office suite (excluding Outlook). Keep it this way even if your entire company is using Office 2007 because there will be a day that you email a spreadsheet to someone running Office 2003, xp, 2000 of 97 and they’ll reply back with fury and try to avoid calling them a “newb”.

Vista and system performance

Wed, 31 Jan 2007 23:31:27 +0000

I’m learning how well my Core2Duo runs Vista. It does so surprisingly well. If you’re a power user, don’t get a video card with only 128 megabytes of Vram. Opting for the GeForce 7300 with 128 was a bad idea because slideshows and playing videos in “rolodex” app switching mode make the system slow to a crawl. The GeForce 7900 is my minimum specs for a Vista card and the cards are not that expensive. In other news, I am currently using 1.38 gigabytes of my 2gbs of ram. This is with 5 application (mail, iTunes, remote desktop, two IE windows with multiple tabs) and I have a few background windows open as well. Also of note, I have an instance of MS Virtual PC 2007 running Widnows xp for use with some older apps that just won’t work with Vista. The fact that I’m using 1.3gbs of ram is very nice! 2gbs is what everyone is recomending for Vista and I believe it. On a final note, a Core2Duo or Athlon 64 fx-2 is the minimum processor I would get for Vista. Pentium 4s just don’t cut it.

Vista User Access Control

Wed, 31 Jan 2007 21:54:34 +0000

The Vista User Access Control (UAC) is an awesome feature that keeps you safe and secure as you make changes to the system. UAC was implemented to make sure that you knew what you were doing before making changes. For example, the UAC may prevent you from installing an application unless you reenter your admin password. This is what Apple’s Mac OS (based on UNIX) has had for a while now but is being well received on Microsoft’s newest OS.

My only complaint is when setting up a new install of Windows Vista, you’re stuck with constantly clicking through screens, entering your password and telling Microsoft that, “I’m sure I want to move this file from its original location.” I don’t suggest users perform daily duties with the UAC turned off but while you’re setting up a new install, its easy to turn this feature off. In the Control Panel, browse to “User Accounts” and click, “Turn user account control on or off”. Restart and enjoy!

iTunes and Vista

Wed, 31 Jan 2007 21:51:00 +0000

If you’re having issues installing iTunes 7.0.2 on any version of Vista, I found this great link that outlines the steps to take that make this a much easier process. Check it out.

Acrobat and Vista

Wed, 31 Jan 2007 21:49:58 +0000

You’ve setup your system with Vista and you’re installing all of those much needed apps and as Adobe Reader 8 installs, you receive an error saying something about a temp file being full. No worries. Right click the Adobe installer (assuming you chose to save to disk and not run the file when you downloaded it from Adobe), navigate to properties and select the “compatibility” tab. then run the application in Windows xp Pro (sp2) mode. Launch the installer again and bask in PDF goodness.

DTT is running Vista

Wed, 31 Jan 2007 01:28:08 +0000

Wow! Microsoft Vista is the best OS ever created but we’ll have to see what Apple has in store for its next generation OS (10.5). For now, this is the best operating system I have ever used. As I test, break and fix this OS I hope to be able to document my findings here for everyone to see.

Bill Gates on The Daily Show [UPDATED]

Tue, 30 Jan 2007 08:14:12 +0000

Bill Gates is a guest on The Daily Show this evening. Images after the jump. Just click “Full Story”

adjusting glasses:

Daily Show Logo w/ Windows Screensaver (haha)

In case you missed it tonight: (est times)

Microsoft finally begins marketing Vista [UPDATE 2x]

Tue, 30 Jan 2007 07:34:37 +0000

While watching Comedy Central tonight, I finally began to see advertisements for Vista. Microsoft is wasting tons of money by trying to be unique and “Viral”. They have 2 minute ads at every commercial break featuring an old guy talking about “IAP” which is a school for intellectual individuals. The end links to http://clearification.com with a Windows logo next to it. Very weird and I don’t think it will catch on at all. I can’t wait to see what the blogosphere has to say about this one. Furthermore, I hope M$ hasn’t spent more than 10 million on this campaign and that Comedy Central viewers were the only people that had to sit through these ads. I’m almost afraid to channel surf and find this guy on every other station. Thank god for EyeTV 2.0 I can skip right through the commercials. Back to The Daily Show. Click, “Full Story” for screenshots.

1x It appears that a digg post is referencing this blog saying that the ads are sponsored by Microsoft but are actually ads for the Daily Show. Interesting. Ads sponsored by an advertiser? I’m confused.

2x Ok. I am beginning to see the pattern now. Microsoft has sponsored Demitri’s ( a standup comic) standup special on Comedy Central. The advertisements are original and are paid for by Microsoft. They feature the comedian but only feature and aren’t mean to market him. Microsoft is touting “clutter free tv” by making the entire one hour special commercial free and offering no mention of Microsoft Vista just saying that “you” can be clutter free just like this TV show by going to http://clearification.com The website is all tied to Vista but it certainly entices people to pay visit.

Old guy:

Link:

Demitri featured in ad:

Vista: Why nobody cares

Mon, 29 Jan 2007 23:20:27 +0000

A tidbit featured in Time Online pretty much says it all.