Monthly Archives: January 2009

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Free Windows Vista to Windows 7 Upgrades

Published by kyleabaker on January 8, 2009 in Microsoft, News, Operating Systems and Windows. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , , , , .
windows 7 startup boot screen

screenshot 150x150 Free Windows Vista to Windows 7 UpgradesAccording to Tech ARP, Microsoft has been drafting a plan that will allow some Windows Vista users to upgrade to the next version of Windows, Windows 7, for free.

This upgrade plan, which is temporarily named “The Windows 7 Upgrade Program,” is being developed in order to “assist Microsoft’s OEM partners in minimizing the number of end users who may postpone acquiring a new computer because of the impending release of the Windows 7 operating system. This program allows OEMs to offer an upgrade to Windows 7 to end users who qualify.”

While plans and drafts have been developing since December 10, 2008, there is still no official word on the exact eligibility rules. However, according to a draft, eligibility will apply as follows and a requirement must be met before you are eligible.

End users must purchase a new PC that is pre-installed with an eligible Windows Vista Operating System (OS), during the program eligibility window.

The PC must have a valid Certificate of Authenticity (COA) attached.

The only Windows Vista® versions eligible for the program are :

  1. Windows Vista® Home Premium
  2. Windows Vista® Business
  3. Windows Vista® Ultimate

* Microsoft Windows Vista® Home Basic, Windows Vista® Starter Edition, and Windows® XP (all editions) are not qualifying products under the program.

The Program does not support multiple upgrades for medium, large, or enterprise customers. Customers that want to upgrade multiple PCs should use the appropriate Microsoft Volume Licensing program. See www.microsoft.com/licensing for more details.

The following are the only valid upgrade paths under the program :

  1. Windows Vista® Home Premium -> Windows® 7 Home Premium
  2. Windows Vista® Business -> Windows® 7 Professional
  3. Windows Vista® Ultimate -> Windows® 7 Ultimate

For those of us who forked out the cash to buy Windows Vista Ultimate, it looks like we are getting the shaft end of the deal to the extreme. If the program is revised and Vista Ultimate users are allowed an upgrade then I will continue to support Microsoft with future releases. However, if I am forced to purchase Windows 7 after having purchased Vista Ultimate with absolutely no benefits then I plan to simply boycott Microsoft. (Period).

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My One Year Anniversary With Netflix

Published by kyleabaker on January 7, 2009 in Apple, Mac, Microsoft, Multimedia, News, Product Review, Video, Web, Web Browsers and Windows. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , .
s-video-port

As you can tell from the goofy title, I’ve been with Netflix for one year now!

I must say that I’ve loved the service! I use the Watch Instantly feature daily and get two in the postal mail every 3-4 days!

I recommend it to all of my friends if you don’t have it already. If you’re even the slightest bit tech savvy then you’ll also find that it’s easy to stream movies from Watch Instantly to your television!

My laptop has an S-Video out and my television at home has an S-Video in. If you’re not sure what S-Video is then here’s an image.

s video port 150x150 My One Year Anniversary With Netflix s video cable 150x150 My One Year Anniversary With Netflix

The image on the left is the port that you should look for on your television and computer, while the image on the right is the cable that connects the two. You can click on the images to view a larger version.

The only problem that some of you may run into after getting the two connected is figuring out how to switch the computer view to an output source. I won’t go into too much detail on that since there will be far too many computers and layouts for me to cover, but simply put there is typically a button on your keyboard up on the top row that will toggle output sources. You may need to use a key combination such as the function key and the output source key which for me is Fn+F4.

I hope that helps and for those of you who suddenly realized the potential of Netflix (and other video sources such as Hulu), I hope your on your way to streaming more. icon wink My One Year Anniversary With Netflix

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3 Monitor Goal = 4 Monitor Result

Published by kyleabaker on January 5, 2009 in News. 1 Comment Tags: , , .
3172318396_7fdeef6bbf_b

So I brought an extra monitor from home with the intention of connecting it with my desktop which is already dual screen.

I ended up having problems with my extra video card, so I decided to just connect the third monitor to my laptop and extend the work space. After doing that I was able to connect both computers using Synergy so that I can use my desktop mouse and keyboard across both computers as if all of the monitors were connected to one machine.

Here is a quick picture to give you an idea (I’m running out of space on my desk, haha).

3172318396 7fdeef6bbf b 300x225 3 Monitor Goal = 4 Monitor Result

One cool thing about using two machines like this is that you can be very productive on both and use a great deal of CPU power from one machine and it doesn’t slow down the entire system since the other computer and screens are independent!

Looks like I’ll be running my laptop full-time until I finally get around to purchasing another GeForce 7300 LE to match the video card that already in there. I hope this works.. icon wink 3 Monitor Goal = 4 Monitor Result

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