Chris Pirillo » vista-ultimate

1TB Hard Drive + MS Vista Ultimate for only $229

coupons — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 22:30:05 +0000

1TB Hard Drive + MS Vista Ultimate for only $229 is a post from Chris Pirillo

Tiger Direct has the Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 1TB Hard Drive Bundle With Windows Vista Ultimate 32-bit DSP OEM DVD for only $229 + $2.99 Shipping

Not sure how long these will last, so you better move fast. Cheapest prices I’ve found on the drive and Windows Vista Ultimate are $100 and $185 respectively, so this is a good deal.

DreamScene: Another Vista Ultimate Snoozer?

Chris — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 05:15:51 +0000

DreamScene: Another Vista Ultimate Snoozer? is a post from Chris Pirillo

So, we finally have a new Windows Vista Ultimate Add-on… only it’s not all that new, and it’s not all that ultimate. My screen resolution is still too high for me to run DreamScene. To tell you the truth, that might be a blessing. I’m not so sure I’d want a motion background sucking away extra CPU cycles?

No matter, Barry Goffe (Director, Windows Vista Ultimate) posted on the Ultiamte Blog today:

While we are excited about shipping DreamScene, the remaining 19 language packs are, unfortunately, not yet ready for release. Recently we realized that Ultimate customers who tried to install the language packs that shipped earlier this year were experiencing an unacceptably high number of failures during installation. We continue to make delivering the highest quality, most secure Extras our top priority, and we will not ship any Extra until it is absolutely ready. We know this is disappointing, and again we apologize, but we are working hard to ensure that all of the remaining language packs will be ready for release by the end of October.

Not to take away from those who are anxiously awaiting these language packs, but I only speak English. Why should I be looking forward to anything other than something I could actually use? Moreover, since when was a language pack considered an “Ultimate” add-on? Shouldn’t a “language pack” be inherent in the OS itself?

While I can understand how community sites and bloggers may have read the new definition and assumed that Microsoft is not shipping any more Extras, in reality the opposite is true. In addition to the remaining Language Packs, we plan to ship a collection of additional Windows Ultimate Extras that we are confident will delight our passionate Windows Vista Ultimate customers. We will shed more light on these plans once the Language Packs are finally dislodged from our delivery pipeline!

By then, I’m sure even the most passionate Windows Vista Ultimate customers will be looking at Leopard as an even more Ultimate operating system for their needs.

Why Windows Vista Sucks

Chris — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 16:31:01 +0000

Why Windows Vista Sucks is a post from Chris Pirillo

Click Image to Play Video

http://live.pirillo.com/ – There is more than one version of Windows Vista: Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, Enterprise, and Ultimate. Why?!

Microsoft wanted to be able to sell Vista Home Basic with low-end hardware and Vista Ultimate with high-end hardware. Do you need Home Basic or Home Premium? Are you going to need the advantages that Ultimate has over Home Premium?

Then there’s the Windows Genuine "Advantage" which can be a support nightmare if you need to reinstall the operating system or install new hardware. And god forbid you try to move your legally licensed copy of Windows to another machine.

Compare this to OS X: there’s only one edition of OS X (although Apple is very guilty of pushing out new versions every couple of years), so there’s no confusion when it comes to selecting an operating system.

Ubuntu might even be a better alternative (depending on the technical level of the user), since you just install the operating system and go.

The bottom line is this: users don’t care about the multiple versions of Windows. They want the computer to start up and just work. They want it to be an appliance, like the car in their driveway, not something they have to constantly tweak to make it "just work."

What operating system do you use?

Want to embed our Windows Vista Home Ultimate Upgrade Super Version video in your blog? Use this code:

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Upgrade XP by Installing Windows Vista

Chris — Sat, 20 Jan 2007 19:58:24 +0000

Upgrade XP by Installing Windows Vista is a post from Chris Pirillo

First off, good luck. :)

If you’re wanting to put Vista on a machine that’s already running XP, don’t wipe out XP altogether. Instead, run through the Vista installation and place it on a different drive and/or partition (which can be dynamically created during the install process). You may not like Vista, or you’re likely to find that your software just doesn’t work like it does in XP. At least you can go back to using XP if Vista doesn’t work for you.

Start emailing your favorite software authors now – if they’re still actively developing your favorite applications. With any luck, they will release a new version if Vista incompatibilities exist. However, I’d ask ‘em today rather than waiting to find out later that the software doesn’t work correctly. Consider this a friendly reminder.

If you want to view PDFs, you’re going to need help installing Adobe Acrobat Reader 8 on Vista (as Adobe’s current installer chokes on its own spittle).

If you have a Smartphone or Pocket PC device, you’re going to need to download Windows Mobile Device Center instead of using ActiveSync. I’d imagine that by the time Vista officially hits the streets, this will be passed through Windows Update automatically.

And there are a thousand other things that I haven’t figured out yet.

Top 10 Tweaks, Tips, and Tricks for Windows Vista

Chris — Sat, 20 Jan 2007 10:54:55 +0000

Top 10 Tweaks, Tips, and Tricks for Windows Vista is a post from Chris Pirillo

If you’re annoyed by Internet Explorer’s incessant barking that you’ve lowered your security settings (like, if you’re a non-paranoid expert), launch “gpedit.msc” from either the Run command or Start Search field, navigate through Local Computer Policy / Computer Configuration / Administrative Templates / Windows Components / Internet Explorer. In the rightmost pane, double-click “Turn off the Security Settings Check feature” and set it to Enabled.
If Internet Explorer’s Information Bar also annoys you, you can turn it off (again) in the Group Policy Object Editor (gpedit.msc) through Local Computer Policy / Computer Configuration / Administrative Templates / Windows Components / Internet Explorer / Security Features. In the rightmost pane, double-click “Internet Explorer Processes” and set it to Disabled. Hallelujah!
I’ve just mentioned two tweaks that are buried inside the Group Policy Editor. Jim Allchin pointed out that there’s a Group Policy Settings Reference spreadsheet available. Makes for great weekend reading.
Read the Background on Backgrounds if you’re a performance junkie. Don’t set your wallpaper through Internet Explorer ever again! Now that Windows supports JPG wallpapers, there’s absolutely no need (or excuse) for using BMPs anymore.
If you insist on keeping UAC (User Account Control) turned on for yourself, you might care to make the elevation prompts a bit less visually jarring. Brandon told me about this one, even though I have UAC turned off. Launch the Local Security Policy manager (secpol.msc), and navigate through Security Settings / Local Policies / Security Options. In the rightmost pane, scroll to the bottom and double-click “User Account Control: Switch to the secure desktop when prompting for elevation.” Disable it, and you can keep UAC turned on without getting turned off by the embarrassingly craptacular Aero Basic theme.
Vista can send you emails! The Computer Management tool can still be accessed by right-clicking “Computer” and selecting “Manage” from the menu. However, now you can attach a task to any event. Try navigating through System Tools / Event Viewer / Windows Logs / Application. Now, go ahead and select an event – then look to the rightmost pane and click “Attach Task to This Event.” Name it whatever, describe it however, click through the next step, then in the Action step, you’ll see the “Send an e-mail” option.
The Windows Task Manager gives you a lot more troubleshooting information in Vista. Flip to the Processes tab, and in the View menu, click “Select Columns” and add Description, Command Line, and Image Path Name. Moreover, when you right-click a process, you can select either “Go to Service(s)” or “Open File Location.” These are all long overdue options.
This one’s interesting. Open up the Date and Time Control Panel applet. Flip to the “Additional Clocks” tab. There, you can configure two more clocks from different time zones. They’ll appear in the tooltip when you hover over the Taskbar clock. No additional software (or silly sidebar widgets) necessary.
Applicable in other versions of Windows, I’m going to throw it in here for good measure. Create a shortcut to RegSvr32.exe in your SendTo folder. To get there quickly, enter “shell:sendto” in the Run command dialog or Start Search field. Now, when you wanna register a DLL or OCX file with the system, you can select it/them and “Send To” the RegSvr32 shortcut.
I figured I’d round out my first set of Windows Vista tips and tricks with a tiny bit of eye candy. It doesn’t beat Picasa, but the Windows Photo Gallery is better than nothing. Once it’s indexed all your photos, click the icon next to the Search field and turn on the “Table of Contents.” That’s kinda nifty.

If this list doesn’t make Lifehacker, nothing will.

How to Handle Remote Tech Support

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 06:30:00 GMT

Using GoToAssist is the easiest way to view and control another person's computer online. Use it to provide instant technical support to family, friends and customers. Start a session with just one click, and instantly connect with the other party.

Network Tools for Windows

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMT

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chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMT

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VMware and Parallels for Virtual Machines

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMT

It doesn't matter if you're running on Windows or Mac OS X - every power user needs either Parallels or VMware (or both). There's never been an easier way to test software without destroying your primary operating system's stability. Think of how many times you wish you could press a 'reverse' button on your computer. Plus, there's no easier way to try new Linux distributions - see what all the fuss is about. Run Windows in OS X, run Linux in Windows, but the best way to do either is with VMware and/or Parallels.

Coupons for Online Shopping

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 07:56:13 GMT

This feed is fueled by Lockergnome Online Shopping and Coupon Codes

Before you shop next time, see if we have a coupon first.