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Posts Tagged ‘server’

You’ve probably heard the saying “the clothes make the man (or woman).”   It’s true; clothes aren’t there to simply shield us from the elements, they are the front-line of self expression.  Today’s Windows PCs are the same way.  They are not just tools to get work done, connect and share with friends, and stay entertained.  Rather, they are works of functional art – well designed, well built accessories in a huge range of sizes, colors, materials and form factors – that are as unique as the people who use them. 

It’s a hot trend that’s getting a lot of buzz … [Read More...]

Microsoft finally announced Windows 7 SP1 availability!

MSDN and Technet subscribers will be able to pick up Service Pack 1 for the software giants best ever selling OS on 16th February 2011.  Respectively, the web release will be live 22nd February 2011.

As ever, expect a delay before actually getting your hands on the SP as Microsoft notoriously “underestimate sever loads”.

Final build number, for those interested: 7601.17514.101119-1850

[Windows Team Blog Post]

This article was written by Windows Guides (Source)… [Read More...]

Cirago’s device fills plenty of media roles, but it doesn’t excel at any

The Cirago TV Platinum CMC3000 is a small, network-connected box with HDMI output and an internal hard drive. This box can play back all manner of content, record TV from your set-top box, and provide 1TB of network-attached storage. You get all this for a street price less of than $200. What’s not to like? As it turns out, the Cirago is a classic jack-of-all-trades and master of none.

The box connects to your TV or A/V receiver via HDMI, and it has three USB ports on … [Read More...]

So you’re jetting off to a tropical island in uncharted waters. But how are you supposed to enjoy paradise when copyright laws put the international hammer down on Netflix? Winter travelers, meet your new best friends: Proxy and VPN services.

Getting Started

Watching geographically restricted content can be tricky. Streaming services like Hulu and Netflix (as well as other network sites) employ geotracking software to make sure nobody outside of the US can dip in to watch The Office or Exit Through the Gift Shop. And it’s not just Americans who have this problem: Foreigners traveling to the US can’t … [Read More...]

Windows PowerShell is a command-line shell and scripting language designed for system administration and automation. Built on the .NET Framework, Windows PowerShell enables IT professionals and developers to control and automate the administration of Windows and applications.

If you have begun using PowerShell and become so attached to it that you cannot imagine life without – working on a computer (such as Windows XP) that does not have PowerShell seems not worth it. Wouldn’t it be great if you could just install PowerShell on your Windows XP computer ??

The good news is – You can!… [Read More...]

PowerShell available on several

Our customers and prospective customers frequently come to us and ask that we suggest either upgrades or whole new PC’s that will solve their current non-performance nightmare with an aging PC. It’s quite amazing how sometimes as the conversation and understanding of requirements and problems experienced proceeds we discover that actually the PC they already have may just still have a few laps around the circuit left in its tired chassis.

In earlier versions of Windows, you’d need a third-party solution to help you monitor key subsystems (CPU, RAM etc.) of your computer. With Vista, came the Resource Monitor (Resmon) and with Windows 7 came improvements to the Resource Monitor.

In this guide, we talk more about Windows 7?s Resource Monitor.

Open Resource Monitor

To open Resource Monitor, either:

Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc and, when Windows Task Manager loads, click Resource Monitor…:

Or:

Click the Start button and click All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Resource Monitor.

View System Information with Resource Monitor

Resource monitor has five tabs:

1. Overview.

… [Read More...]

Hardware manufacturers frequently update device drivers for their hardware to improve compatibility, efficiency, performance, and security.

A device driver simplifies programming by acting as a translator between a hardware device and the applications or operating systems that use it. Programmers can write the higher-level application code independently of whatever specific hardware device it will ultimately control, because code and device can interface in a standard way, regardless of the software superstructure or of underlying hardware.

Source

This guide will show you how to update your drivers using three different methods:

1. Update drivers using Windows’ Device Manager
2. Update drivers with Device

… [Read More...]

A low-down on what Microsoft Windows Update is all about and why it’s useful. Or not useful.

If you live in an area that has a lot of blackouts, brownouts, and spikes in your electricity, it’s important to have a UPS (Uninterruptable Power Supply)  to protect your investment. Here’s how your APC UPS can shut down your PC gracefully.

A UPS isn’t just for IT infrastructures and should be part of your desktop PC and home network protection strategy—especially if you have a home media server. In a power outage, it provides emergency power via battery, allows you to safely save your data, and power down your machine properly.

Photo by Aaron Landry

This article was … [Read More...]

This book is a gift from the Windows Phone 7 team at Microsoft to the programming community. Within the pages that follow, I show you the basics of writing applications for Windows Phone 7 using the C# programming language with the Silverlight and XNA 2D frameworks.

Yes, Programming Windows Phone 7 is truly a free download, but for those readers who still love paper—as I certainly do—this book will also be available (for sale) divided into two fully-indexed print editions: Microsoft Silverlight Programming for Windows Phone 7and Microsoft XNA Framework Programming for Windows Phone 7. [Note from Devon: … [Read More...]

Image by jacobian

Heard of BitTorrent, but not quite sure how to use it, or wonder whether you should use it at all? Here’s a quick guide for newbies on how it works and how to get started downloading torrent files.

What is BitTorrent?

BitTorrent is an internet peer-to-peer file sharing protocol that works in a sort of decentralized fashion. Its uniqueness lies in the fact that as you download portions of your files from the the person who originally shared the file, you are also getting portions from fellow downloaders to maximize data exchange.

BitTorrent is one of the … [Read More...]

Create an Ad-Hoc Wireless Network

What’s the best way to transfer files from one computer to another? You can use a USB thumb drive or an Internet service like Dropbox, but a network connection is almost always the most efficient choice. You might think that both computers need access to a common network to use network sharing, but that’s not actually the case. Thanks to ad-hoc networking (a built-in feature in Windows) any two Wi-Fi-enabled laptops can shares files and play games as though they were on a LAN.

Setting up an ad-hoc connection in Windows Vista or 7 is … [Read More...]

Libraries were introduced with Windows 7; these libraries are special folders with special views. They are “special” because each library is an aggregate of many different folders. The default libraries include pictures, videos, music, and documents. The data in these folders is a mix of personal files and publicly shared files on the computer/network.

In this guide, we share the top 10 tips for getting the most out of Windows 7 Libraries. If we missed a tip that you feel should be included, let us know in the comments. Here’s a preview of the 10 tips:

1. Add a New Library

… [Read More...]

Overview

Virtual CD 10 is a unique app that will virtualize all off your optical media. You can virtualize CDs, DVDs, HD DVDs, and Blu-ray Discs. This is different than a just a virtual CD drive, as it creates images of your optical media, and allows you to manage it. You’ll no longer need to worry about your physical media being wrecked by scratches and constant use. Version 10 introduces a revised user interface and a lot more enhancements compared to previous versions.

Installation & Setup

There are a few things to take note of while installing Virtual CD 10. … [Read More...]