Entries for intelman

Want a GPU accelerated browser now? [Want a GPU accelerated browser now? ]

intelman — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 03:17:17 GMT

I saw this on Neowin, and instantly fell in love.

http://www.basschouten.com/blog1.php/2009/11/22/direct2d-hardware-rendering-a-browser

The guys are mozilla are working on taking advantage of Direct2D as well. Not only is the rendering quite quick, but the text due to directwrite. The text is the real killer feature. It looks quite beautiful, especially on higher DPI displays.

I encourage everyone to try out the test version. Ify ou already have firefox installed, you'll have to close all instances of it before running this test version. Or force it to use a local profile in the firefox folder.

in reply to Want a GPU accelerated browser now?

Ohio State Windows 7 Install Fest! [Ohio State Windows 7 Install Fest!]

intelman — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 04:24:41 GMT

I volunteered to help at the Windows 7 install fest at OSU. The Microsoft Student Partner there organized it.Mark Harris was there along with many IT professionals from the Columbus OH area.

We had at least 253 installs of Windows 7. A few people even brought their desktops in. In additon some mac users came. Afterwards we played some ODST in the library ;)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/obiwantoby/sets/72157622750810430/show/with/4082246676/

DeVaris Brown of Microsoft brought a TouchSmart PC to play with. Our digital union wanted to keep it to show 7 off, but that was not possible In General, students seemed to love Windows 7. A lot of PC gamers and scientists alike.

in reply to Ohio State Windows 7 Install Fest!

Tablet PC Experience [Tablet PC Experience]

intelman — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:25:46 GMT

Does anyone here use a Tablet PC? How has the experience been?

75% of my classes put their lectures online, and expect you to print them out and bring them to class to annotate. The problem is, my notebooks are now exploding with papers. Lectures can be as long as 60 slides ( I do 4 per page front and back, but it is adding up). I figure a tablet PC can aid in this area.

My concern seems to be focused around the lack of resolution these devices seem to have. 1280x800 seems kinda small compared to the 1680x1050 I have now. I think I could live without the resolution if the tablet PC device could cure my paper issues.

Also any recommendations for a tablet? I was looking at the x200 from Lenovo. It has a pretty nice student discount, plus from the student store, all laptops come with a 3 year warranty.

Is it worth working some overtime and holidays to purchase this device? Or am I better off printing paper and hand annotating for all of eternity?

I'd ask on C8, but it seems to have um changed.

in reply to Tablet PC Experience

Actually, HTML 5 does seem pretty cool... [Actually, HTML 5 does seem pretty cool...]

intelman — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 04:58:30 GMT

I came across this article,

http://www.geektechnica.com/2009/10/apple-com-leading-the-way-with-html5-implementation/

Stating that Apple.com has implemented HTML 5. It appears correct. If one goes to www.apple.com in Chrome or Safari, and wants to watch the video on the new iMac, the video just plays with some popup controls.

I absolutely love not having to get another plugin or rely on any plugins that currently exist. Now if only Apple would implement such a thing for their trailers website...http://www.apple.com/trailers/sony_pictures/

I kinda had my doubts, but this real life implementation seems decent enough to convince me. The picture is clear, playback is smooth and the popup controls are clean.

in reply to Actually, HTML 5 does seem pretty cool...

How is IE8 even usable? [How is IE8 even usable?]

intelman — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 19:13:19 GMT

Just got my copy of Windows 7 RTM from connect, the OS is just as fabulous as it was in the RC stages. The weakest point of 7 is IE8 still.

It is truly hard to use to. I see this dialogue on a few regular sites I visit, such as LifeHacker, Anandtech, and Phonedog.

Other browsers seem to handle those sites fine.... I have two additional plugins installed after a fresh install. Silverlight and Flash.

Pretty bad experience out of the box.

in reply to How is IE8 even usable?

What the hell Microsoft, hate PC gaming? [What the hell Microsoft, hate PC gaming?]

intelman — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 15:34:34 GMT

http://kotaku.com/5315022/pc-version-of-alan-wake-is-up-to-microsoft

http://www.bing.com/search?q=alan+wake&go=&form=QBLH&qs=n

Am I going to hear the disbandment of the direct x team next? Alan Wake was going to be beautiful in DX 10. Why alienate PC gamers? PC gaming is a huge advantage that PC users get over competitors, but that may all disappear.

"Then again, after Halo and Gears of War, PC users are getting used to this kind of treatment from Microsoft."

This is pretty much what we can expect.

http://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=795260&view=findpost&p=591277838

in reply to What the hell Microsoft, hate PC gaming?

Any hope for Freelancer 2? [Any hope for Freelancer 2?]

intelman — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 05:47:03 GMT

Microsoft Game studios, as seldom as it relases games, puts out great stuff. AOE, Flight Simulator, Midtown Madness....and my favorite and much overlooked Freelancer. Anyone else really enjoy this game? Curious if there are any rumors about a sequel in the works? Great PC game.

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=freelancer&FORM=BILH

Oh check out the horrid website. http://www.microsoft.com/games/freelancer/

in reply to Any hope for Freelancer 2?

Sidewinder X6, is flawed. [Sidewinder X6, is flawed.]

intelman — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 05:12:26 GMT

So I got his cool keyboard from the Channel8 contest...It feels like a good keyboard. It has a nice tactile feel, and the lighting is beautiful...but there seems to be a flaw. Sometimes a key will malfunction. The all important v key especially. Tech support was no help. There was a replacement sent but it exhibits the same problems (not the same key all the time).

So I took the keyboard apart, and to my amazement I think I found the issue. The membrane is really lose, it kind of bunches up. If i move that around a bit, try to make it all even, it works fine.

I do not know if you can see the bunching, but if you look at the bottom it is there....

My message to the hardware engineers at Microsoft, fix this. I am thinking about using some double sided tape or something...

There are a few others who have had the same issue.

Newegg had a review that expressed the same issue.

Pros: Pretty lights, thats about all it's good for.

Cons: After a few months of use the keys start failing.
The ones that get the most use begin to not register unless they are absolutely pounded.
The key right next to it will still function fine but the one you want will only show up half the time.
I've fixed my most used keys by rolling up bits of paper and sticking it inside the square hole on the underside of the key, but thats not something i want to do for every key on this keyboard to make it work like it should have out of the box.

Other Thoughts: Because of typing this on this very keyboard I have had to go back a dozen times and fix typos that were caused by the keyboard not registering keystrokes, and it's taken about twice as long as it would have on a 5 dollar one.

I apologize for any missed letters that I didn't notice the keyboard dropped.

Microsoft Community Posts:

http://www.microsoft.com/communities/newsgroups/en-us/default.aspx?dg=microsoft.public.mshardware.product&tid=5b5f2c87-88d7-4110-8e3d-4930b57a1b6c&cat=en_US_a8bc369a-5b15-4bb0-a772-f459abd462b1〈=en&cr=US&sloc=en-us&m=1&p=1

http://www.microsoft.com/communities/newsgroups/en-us/default.aspx?dg=microsoft.public.mshardware.product&tid=15f593f5-ecbd-482e-8c97-f7df73a9e5b9&cat=en_US_a8bc369a-5b15-4bb0-a772-f459abd462b1〈=en&cr=US&sloc=en-us&m=1&p=1

in reply to Sidewinder X6, is flawed.

Compelling Solutions for PC Gamers by Using Windows SideShow [Compelling Solutions for PC Gamers by Using Windows SideShow]

intelman — Mon, 18 May 2009 20:47:57 GMT

http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/device/sideshow/Gaming_Solutions.mspx

http://download.microsoft.com/download/7/E/7/7E7662CF-CBEA-470B-A97E-CE7CE0D98DC2/SideShow_Gaming_Solutions.docx

This stuff looks neat. With Ensemble Studios defunct, creating very little PC games to begin with, does Microsoft Game Studios plan to innovate on this? We need more PC games, better PC games. Not console ports, no more multiplatform games.

The auxiliary display concept looks really neat. But I somehow doubt it will take off.

in reply to Compelling Solutions for PC Gamers by Using Windows SideShow

Whatever happened to Jpeg XR (HD Photo)? [Whatever happened to Jpeg XR (HD Photo)?]

intelman — Tue, 05 May 2009 05:38:12 GMT

I notice paint in Windows 7 does not support Jpeg XR. I have not really seen much support anywhere. Mainly flickr, Windows Live Photo's, Picasa....

Is this format left to die?

in reply to Whatever happened to Jpeg XR (HD Photo)?

Absolutely Brilliant, Windows XP Mode in 7 [Absolutely Brilliant, Windows XP Mode in 7]

intelman — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 00:59:49 GMT

http://www.withinwindows.com/2009/04/24/secret-no-more-revealing-windows-xp-mode-for-windows-7/

This certainly makes sense. I certainly suspected that Microsoft might go this route. There is no reason to be worried about compatibility, if this functions well. If the economy were not so down, I'd say this would be a real catalyst for Windows 7.

I wonder how Direct3D will work with this. Will I be able to playStar Wars Jedi Knight Dark Forces II?

in reply to Absolutely Brilliant, Windows XP Mode in 7

Why don't things just work? [Why don't things just work?]

intelman — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 02:45:52 GMT

How does one troubleshoot false DEP action? With the upgrade to IE8, I have been getting more false DEP crashes.

http://blog.kirb.us/2008/08/28/data-execution-prevention-closes-internet-explorer-8/

Seems that some people had the issue during the beta. In anycase, this is annoying. What triggers DEP to act and cause IE to "close" (which looks like a crash dialogue)? In XP, the user was notified if DEP was closing the app, which I think is a better experience, otherwise people think their apps are crashing due to shotty quality.

Does DEP even work to prevent malware? Its killed more legit processes than anything malicious. Visual Studio, IE, Sidebar....

My plugins are not out of the ordinary.

Adobe Flash
Adobe Reader
Java
Live ID Sign In
Silverlight 2

I hope the IE team suffers the same frustrations and it forces them to fix it so they can use it themselves ;)

in reply to Why don't things just work?

Outlook Gets the Ribbon Treatment [Outlook Gets the Ribbon Treatment]

intelman — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 18:07:11 GMT

http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/presskits/2010office/imageGallery.aspx?contentId=Office14VoicemailPreview

Looks pretty good, especially with that new/unknown Aero theme.

There are a lot of neat Outlook 2010 images out there. http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/presskits/2010office/imageGallery.aspx?contentId=Office14Ignore

Outlook seems slightly cleaner and less messy. We'll see if there are some hidden features revealed from the ribbon interface. I know I found quite a few when word switched to the ribbon.

in reply to Outlook Gets the Ribbon Treatment

Live @ Edu/Exchange Labs /Outlook Live Is Awesome but..... [Live @ Edu/Exchange Labs /Outlook Live Is Awesome but.....]

intelman — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 17:58:05 GMT

So my school recently switched to Live@Edu with Microsoft, and with that comes Outlook Live. It is pretty sweet to get exchange accounts that we can keep forever! This particular exchange product is nicer than the most recent Exchange 2007.

http://edge.technet.com/Media/Introducing-Outlook-Live/

But there are a few problems that Microsoft support and my school support simply do not understand or will not fix.

First of all, before the switch to outlook live/exchange labs, I received about 5-8 spam messages a week. I get about 30 daily now. All of which seem to not be addressed to me, but I realize that is one spammer tactic. To make matters worse, I can not block some of the spam messages. I get this error.

My school claims that it is normal to receive spam addressed to another recipient, that maybe the case, but that still does not explain why I have received such a large increase in spam. Now I can not even block all the spam because it has no sender! These things are out of my control and I am pretty ticked about it.

Secondly, I think there is an error in the UI. In the message list, when I have a message selected, it does not highlight or give any indication it is selected. This is very difficult to work with, especially when selecting multiple messages to massively delete, I just have to remember which ones I have selected. This has become a common practice because of the amount of spam I am receiving.

The middle message from Marlon Purcell is highlighted, can't you tell?

My school has told me they will attempt to replicate this issue and to give them a list of browsers I use. I seriously doube they even understand and or will fix it.

Am I crazy or do these both seem like valid problems? Are messages not meant to highlight themselves? And is it normal to recieve such a high spam load by simply switching email systems? My email address is exactly the same, with the addition of one more possible address.

I was excited about the switch to exchange, you have no idea what shi** we were using before. Something from Sun and SquirrelMail.
I wonder if those were spam filtering and now it is turned off? In anycase, I think many students will be unhappy, heck half of the students will just be forwarding their mail to Gmail. But I know better, hosted Exchange, especially this particular version is most certainly more useful. I just wish it was working correctly.

in reply to Live @ Edu/Exchange Labs /Outlook Live Is Awesome but.....

Could this be!?! [Could this be!?!]

intelman — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 02:14:49 GMT

http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/10/is-this-the-zune-hd/

If so, I want it :P

in reply to Could this be!?!

The United States sad State of Broadband :( [The United States sad State of Broadband :(]

intelman — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 17:07:50 GMT

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/03/the-cost-to-offer-the-worlds-fastest-broadband-20-per-home/

I found that article amazing, amazing that companies over seas are so quick to upgrade and provide true value for the money. I'm stuck in an area (when I"m not at campus, there I have Internet2) where Time Warner's Roadrunner is the only provider right now.

The cable companies, like Comcast and Cablevision, that are moving quickly to install the fast broadband technology.... Meanwhile other companies, like Time Warner Cable, are moving much more slowly to upgrade.

I wish this could change, even the "best" cable providers in the US are pathetically slow in comparison. Uploading videos to youtube or vimeo are impossible. Even photos to photos.live.com, skydrive, or flickr are painfully slow. I can not even begin to think about hosting my own game server, which I have been working on for a few days only to find out that ping spikes will happen because of my poor upload.

The scary part about all this is I do not think it will change anytime soon. How can I even take advantage of all these neat services with this kind of connection? I simply can not.

Are you guys just as unlucky? Where do I have to go to get some decent internet access?

in reply to The United States sad State of Broadband :(

Channel8 Broken [Channel8 Broken]

intelman — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 17:39:23 GMT

Server Error in '/' Application.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Runtime Error
Description: An application error occurred on the server. The current custom error settings for this application prevent the details of the application error from being viewed remotely (for security reasons). It could, however, be viewed by browsers running on the local server machine.

Details: To enable the details of this specific error message to be viewable on remote machines, please create a <customErrors> tag within a "web.config" configuration file located in the root directory of the current web application. This <customErrors> tag should then have its "mode" attribute set to "Off".

Notes: The current error page you are seeing can be replaced by a custom error page by modifying the "defaultRedirect" attribute of the application's <customErrors> configuration tag to point to a custom error page URL.

Server Error in '/' Application.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I get those errors when trying to view the forums or trying to click "contacts us".

in reply to Channel8 Broken

Unreal III Titan Pack Released [Unreal III Titan Pack Released]

intelman — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 06:39:13 GMT

Epic Games has released, for the PC, a patch to bring Unreal Tournament 3 up to version 2.0 alongside it's hotly anticipated Titan Pack. You'll want to apply the patch first and then the pack. Get those right here:

UT3 Patch 2.0 (309 MB)
UT3 Titan Pack (916 MB)

For full details on what's in the pack, check out our Titan Pack Reveal. In a nutshell you get:

16 new maps + 3 bonus pack 1 maps
Titan mutator
Greed and Betrayal gametypes
Stinger Turret, Eradicator Cannon Artillery and the Stealthbender vehicle
X-Ray Field and Link Station Deployables
Slow-Field power-up (pickup version of the deployable of the same name)
Two new characters: Nova (Liandri) and Kana (Ronin)
57 Steam Achievements
Major enhancements, incuding AI, network performance, menu and UI, better mod support
Client-side demo recording, updated server browser, new maplist system, mid-game mutator and gametype voting functionality

http://beyondunreal.com/

Currently Steam has it on sale for 11.99.

It is a pretty fun first person shooter, lots of neat veichles. My favorite being the artilery, where you shoot a camera in the air, then you use that camera and barrage the enemy.

Plus it has great support, and it plays on the PC, the only platform that is suited for first person shooters. If C9 ever has extra bandwidth...they should host a dedicated server.

in reply to Unreal III Titan Pack Released

Lenovo + Microsoft = Sweet [Lenovo + Microsoft = Sweet]

intelman — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 19:26:02 GMT

The Ultimate steal was nice, not perfect, but nice, and now this announcement from Microsoft and Lenovo.

http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2009/mar09/03-03UltimateAcademicPCPR.mspx

They are still pricy, but that is expected...at least there is some hope for help.

I hate my Dell, this looks like it might be a good opportunity for replacement...if I ever conjur up the money.

The Ultimate Academic PC promotion offers four exclusive configurations:

•	ThinkPad T400. The 14-inch widescreen laptop gives users powerful processing functionality, a host of wireless connectivity options and multimedia features essential for college students. Lenovo also builds in a roll cage to give the laptop extra durability to meet the rigors of academic life.
•	ThinkPad R500. This laptop packs in the same functionality as the ThinkPad T400 but gives users extra screen real estate with a 15-inch display.
•	ThinkPad X200 Tablet. The Tablet offers note-takers the best of both worlds with a Tablet PC and a laptop all in one. The 12-inch screen swivels both directions for easy maneuvering in class, and has low reflectivity and wide viewing angles; the Tablet also features a full-size keyboard, and more than 10 hours of battery life for all-day computing. (1)
•	ThinkPad X301. Lenovo’s thinnest and lightest full-function PC, the ThinkPad X301 comes with several leading technologies such as solid state drive storage for greater reliability, an LED display for a crisp viewing experience and two roll cages to make the laptop extremely light yet sturdy.

in reply to Lenovo + Microsoft = Sweet

Windows 7 Cannot Come Soon Enough [Windows 7 Cannot Come Soon Enough]

intelman — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 16:10:57 GMT

I am a bit late on my thoughts on 7, but I feel obligated to share. I finally realized how great 7 was, when I was forced to use Vista :(

So I am really bothered by Windows 7, it makes me hate. Microsoft gave us a taste of something that really is a vast improvement over Vista. I loved Vista, but I find it hard to love after using Windows 7. Why would I want to go back? Why am I still forced to use Vista?

The instant search in Windows 7 truly is instant. I download a file, the index is updated. I delete a file, the index is updated. The UI is greatly improved .

It is so pretty, so nice, so beautiful. Windows Desktop Search 4 in Vista cannot compare. I do not know why but in Vista I have never been able to search a file I just downloaded, I can do that in Windows 7. The start menu is perfect. I download skype setup, it finishes, I type in skype in the start menu, press enter, boom.

The Resource Manager is actually useful.

This is certainly the most pretty section of the resource manager...it just works better than Vista.

Finally I can't live without the improved cleartype in Windows 7. I can read my online lecture slides, do online homework, and read for fun with greater ease.

I am hoping whatever is released after Beta 1 I can use on my desktop for some hardcore gaming. Microsoft has succeded, but I really think they just made Vista look really bad, I really hate to use it now.

in reply to Windows 7 Cannot Come Soon Enough

Make the Live Messenger Spam Stop, Please! [Make the Live Messenger Spam Stop, Please!]

intelman — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 23:12:46 GMT

So my xxxxx@live.com account is flooded with requests for friend invities. I am not sure why I am having this issue, I know 2 others with this same issue. I wonder if through my network if these spam bots found them. The majority of my buddies on my Windows Live Messenger list do not experience this issue.

I have to block and deny requests for friends everyday. The latest example just appeared on my list...

In addition, my profile.live.com page had a lot of "Notes" posted by random bots, I spent ~45 clicks deleting all those messages.

Live needs to do something. My block list is huge, I hope there is not a limit. What can be done!?!?!

in reply to Make the Live Messenger Spam Stop, Please!

Removing Old Volumes from WIndows Home Server [Removing Old Volumes from WIndows Home Server]

intelman — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 07:45:44 GMT

I know a few of you guys run a Windows Home Server at home, I am curious how you remove old volumes that do not exist anymore.

The smaller "F:" just died, and restored to a new 1TB drive (worked nicely btw). The "K:" drive is an old previous backup solution...

How can I get traces of these old volumes to just disappear?

in reply to Removing Old Volumes from WIndows Home Server

Whatever happened to Hybrid Hard Drives? [Whatever happened to Hybrid Hard Drives?]

intelman — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 05:45:02 GMT

I know during the Vista lauch and development, a feature that was widely talked about was support for Hybrid Hard Drives.

How many people do you know that use a Hybrid Hard Drive? I know none...

Is this technology a flop? There seems to be a lot of drawbacks in the wikipedia article.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_drive

in reply to Whatever happened to Hybrid Hard Drives?

Youtube's Symphony [Youtube's Symphony]

intelman — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 18:21:58 GMT

http://www.youtube.com/symphony

I just stumbled upon this today...I think it is a really neat idea. The idea of a limitless pool of musicians contributing to one musical piece. Anyone here with some musical talent?

I myself do not play a symphonic instrument, Saxophone, but I suppose I could play the Horn part...

in reply to Youtube's Symphony

Debugging Crazy Video Flashing [Debugging Crazy Video Flashing]

intelman — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 04:18:50 GMT

So for the past few months, when I return to my computer and move my mouse to wake up the screen, crazyness happens. The screen will flash on and off crazily, with each flash resetting my mouse cursor back to the middle of my screen.

Sometimes I can catch a glimpse of programs hanging in the background, one by one. And sometimes Vista will ask me if I want to disable Aero.

This doesn't always happen though, I cannot figure out what, if anything causes this. I've formatted at least 4 times since this started happening, in the hopes it is something I've installed.

I use Office, Live Suite, BOINC for Rosetta @ Home ( I recently added this, it happens without this app) and A few PC games, like Call of Duty.

I have also been through 3 ATI drivers. 8.9 8.10 and 8.11. A bug could be carried through all three drivers, but I figure a google search would have turned up such a thing. I also install the latest Intel Chipset installation utility from their website.

Another issue that happens is sometimes when I logout, or do a "switch user", my screen will go black, like it is recieving no signal. If I press arrow keys tab and enter a few times, I usually can login to the user with no password. If I am really luck, I can press a combination, type my password, press enter, and get logged in. I assume this is related somehow.

Now in addition, I have ran memtest86+ for 26 hours, it all passed, I have ran Prime95 for 18 hours, it passed.

This past time that my screen flickered alot I pressed control atl del, selected log off, waited for a bit, and my PC went to a black welcome screen. I then luckily logged back into my account, and I am now here typing to the world just fine.

Wtf is going on here? I've tried formats (with different Vista Discs), I've tried different drivers, I've tried stress testing (including my video card, with folding @ home).

Any ideas on how to track this down? I am betting it is software, it seems too inconsistant to be faulty hardware. In my short experience, hardware either works, or does not. If it is hardware, I wonder WTF it is.

Here is a shot video of what happens.

http://flickr.com/photos/obiwantoby/3039459273/

in reply to Debugging Crazy Video Flashing