Deskwall.com

to Google: part II (Windows Live news!)

2007-06-28T10:08:00.000+01:00

what was I saying yesterday: take a look at those links guys. New Windows Live services are on their way, still at beta stage and only available for now to a group of restricted users. More users will get access during the summer to Windows Live Photo Gallery and Windows Live Folders

link 1
link 2
link 3
link 4

to Google

2007-06-27T22:25:00.000+01:00

OK I'm trying to post now with less anger...I've been an intensive Google user for more than 2 years now, running anything possible like Blogger, Picassa, Gmail, Analytics, Adsense, and believe it or not even Google Desktop for a while in XP. Google has done a lot, an awful lot for the web and still offer the best online services ever. But this is not a reason to launch a new attack every month against Microsoft. Google can or should exist even if Microsoft still lives LOL! Jealousy is one of the worst characteristic, and the most shared one in the world. Google must understand that: they will not replace Microsoft, never. Google would actually not even exist if Microsoft, if Windows, if web browsers, weren't there. If that's money you're looking for there must be other ways. In a way it's like Google is asking Microsoft to feed them, by either complying to their stupid requests, or getting money from new fines inflicted to Microsoft in trials. Time to become an adult Google, and make your own products for a change, your own applications, your own OS may be...You've used other companies' technologies for a while now. So it's time to grow up may be, and do your own stuff without bothering Microsoft. What's the problem guys? You're afraid of Vista? Vista's better than anything ever expected. Windows live is getting better everyday (interactivity between Live Mail, Live Messenger, Live Writer)...so you're getting slowly scared. Cause you don't have the required imagination, nor the knowledge.
Afraid to be eaten by MS in the end? well that could well happen if you don't change your policies.

Desktop Search Tool in Vista: Google versus Microsoft

2007-06-27T09:51:00.001+01:00

I used to think that Google was a great company...during the last couple of years Google brought us Gmail, Blogger, Picassa etc...brilliant web tools...but now I'm thinking, I'm even thinking of closing this blog...the reasons? Google's attitude in the context of that conflict that opposes it to Microsoft about the ability to use a third party desktop search tool in Windows Vista. In this story there are already hundreds or thousands of users, of amazed users - and I'm one of them - standing for a change on the side of Microsoft. My position: for a start I don't even understand how Microsoft, threatened by Google, already accepted to make a change in Vista via the upcoming Service Pack 1. First of all I want to say and insist: NOBODY NEEDS GOOGLE DESKTOP IN WINDOWS VISTA. ESPECIALLY THE SEARCH TOOL IS NOT NEEDED, AND I WOULD SAY: UNWANTED!!! My god the indexing and it's search tools are a major feature of Vista. they're native in Windows now and noone, not even Google has the right to touch that. Considering how poor Google Desktop search tool performs when you compare it to the native Windows tool, considering the degree of integration of this native tool in Vista, GOOGLE SHOULD JUST KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT THIS TIME! And stop trying to get involved as a backdoor in an operating system that DOES NOT BELONG TO GOOGLE, if necessary to precise. Microsoft Windows Vista is a Microsoft Product my god! Who do you think you are at Google???
Can you imagine that? Even though Microsoft already complied by stupidly promising to change things in the upcoming Service Pack one for Vista, just to please bloody Google, Google is still taking the case to court just in case!!! Just in case Microsoft wouldn't hold a promise that they never should have made in the first place. I can't believe it! I feel some kind of disgust for Google actually. I'd like to say to Google: hey down there! be able to bring us an Operating System or keep your bloody mouth shut! God am I angry! Google won't be happy until all kind of crappy third party software will be able to run in Vista, making it unstable, and not Vista nor Windows anymore. Hey Google! who do you thing will be remembered in History, you or Microsoft???
Google is just, and only a good Web Search engine, there are hundreds of other search engines available and anytime one of them could replace you in the near future. Who is standing in front of Microsoft at the moment: NOBODY! and certainly not you. People are gonna hate you for what you're trying to do to Microsoft, and you will deserve it.

links here and here.

We need a big movement of users to stand for Microsoft at this time, and to stand against Google. Now if you guys at Google feel this post does not comply with your bloody EULA, feel free to close my blog, I don't care.

adding:
not to mention that Google Desktop sidebar is shamelessly imitating Windows Sidebar using gadgets reproducing the exact design of Microsoft gadgets. A good example is the gadget featuring the CPU and RAM usage. When is too much too much?

Could the next step be to require that Microsoft removes its native indexing tool in Vista, because such an integration wouldn't be fair for poor whining competitor Google, just like others in the past ridiculously required that Windows Media Player should be removed from the OS? The EU obtained that and there's a special "N" version of Vista available at retailers' all over Europe now. How pathetic! The point, the real point for the EU, or any other private organization is to get Microsoft complying, or paying huge fines. This is not acceptable! People are blackmailing Microsoft and that must stop! Now! so my last message will be: Google! STAY AWAY FROM VISTA! STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS! WE DON'T NEED YOU THERE!

Just in case guys, here's a link to a copy of that post in my blog in Windows Live Space.

for those interested, pdf files relating legal stuff from Google and Microsoft available here

blog name stolen

2007-06-25T15:45:00.001+01:00

I just cannot believe it. As I just launched a google search with the name of my blog, deskwall.com, I found that some stupid dudes stole it to create a kind of dodgy web site at www.deskwall.com. I have nothing to do with them of course. And once again I'm upset, must do something against those guys.

updating : I unfortunately have to admit that those guys registered their domain name in early 2006, long before I started that blog.

Yahoo Messenger: STAY AWAY!

2007-06-25T15:18:00.000+01:00

can't really tell what happens. As you might know Yahoo Messenger comes through a web install, automatically updated each time you need it. First thing you'll notice is that even though you're not prompted to allow the installation of the Yahoo toolbar in Internet Explorer, as well as in Firefox (as .xpi extension), both get installed.
Problems appear when you think, hey, I'd like to remove a couple of these unwanted components like the toolbars, some kind of browser manager, and a so called Yahoo Install Manager. You get the message that a dll was removed from the system (didn't take a screenshot unfortunately). So far so good, just reboot, open your ad/remove program panel and see how wonderful, most entries disappeared, and the ones left in peace have their remove buttons, well... removed. Hundreds of registry entries have been deleted. That's happened to me twice. the first time I thought another program could have been responsible, one I messed up with just after I uninstalled the yahoo components. No way, the second time it was only the removal of Yahoo components that was involved. Which means that twice in a week, I've had to reinstall Windows XP Sp2 completely. Hours spent and lost because of Yahoo. No work around, nothing on their web pages. I reported the bug and the only answer I got was a redirection to help pages containing nothing. Otherwise feel free to check those links from other users complaining about the same issue:

Yahoo answers 1
Yahoo answers 2
TechSupport forum

don't know what these guys from yahoo deserve for that, but I'm extremely upset!

Comodo Firewall 3.0 Alpha

2007-06-20T15:02:00.001+01:00

waiting for the beta actually, as the alpha is really too unstable. In the meantime I'm back to the 2.4 version (XP only).

Comodo Firewall Pro 3.0 alpha is out! (june 7)

2007-06-08T15:06:00.000+01:00

first the link: here.
Note this is only XP compatible for now. A version for both XP and Vista comes soon, maybe as soon as today.
and here is just a copy of my first comments in the Comodo Forum:

"in answer to people in the 3.0 release date topic, and to the dev team, here and now:

HEY HEY PEOPLE WAKE UP! there is and there will be much more to say about 3.0 than "I'm a bit disappointed" or "what? not yet for Vista". I belong to those who were also expecting a finally Vista compatible version. But I dual-boot with XP and I can wait, I can really wait, and in the meantime I'm quite happy to have the opportunity to test this fantastic piece of software under Windows XP.
Yes, I used the word fantastic. I've been waiting for 3.0 for a while now and I never thought that it would be so advanced. IT IS INCREDIBLY ADVANCED!
First I want to mention the UI. THE UI DOES MATTER!!! And in the case of 3.0 it is absolutely beautiful, very Vista oriented, very elegant, great job guys! No doubt the next alpha or beta version working with Vista will be here soon. Doesn't matter if it's tomorrow or in 2 weeks, the software is there, and it goes far beyond anything people like me and others who were testing 2.4 a couple of months ago could ever expect. I remember Melih saying "You'll see, you'll be amazed" or something equivalent. Well I am absolutely amazed. The interface is new in every way. The firewall section, if still using a couple of features from previous versions, good ones, brings this program to a totally new dimension. Not to mention the HIPS section, but guys, I've only been using the software for half an hour and I cannot yet go into details. But don't worry I will.

sincerely, thanks to everyone in the dev team,
best regards.

ps. here we go: right-clicking the tray icon makes the minimized tab appear in the taskbar, minor bug.
hope the tray icon animation will be back soon...
will post later when I've seen more, have already allowed Firefox to use my keyboard! (lol)"

OK this software might have major bugs at the moment, but it's got an incredible potential. And Melih was honest enough to warn us in his post, in his explanations about the "alpha" considerations. Once again what I've seen shows an incredible amount of work that has already been done to produce this first release. I've used Comodo Firewall for a while now and it's harder than ever to understand how such a program can be free. My rating, and I'm not kidding, would be about 1000 USD if that new version of CFP was not, free. CFP 3.0 is like bringing both Coreforce Firewall and System Safety Monitor to a human dimension. The dev team from Comodo couldn't do a better job.

about malware injection into Firefox: "New.net Quick Search 7.48 extension"

2007-06-04T16:24:00.000+01:00

from my latest post in the MozillaZine forum:
http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?t=555117&highlight=
" a couple of days ago I downloaded a theme for windows XP. The file came in the form of an executable. While warnings from both Windows Defender and AVG anti-spyware appeared very quickly during the installation process, allowing to remove files as well as many bad registry entries, I found out later, as I wanted to change one of my extensions options, that an unwanted extension got installed without my knowledge. I'm quite aware that Firefox can prevent an unwanted extension only when it directly comes from a website. I find this ability from third party programs to infect Firefox extremely worrying anyway.
Here is the link to the bad download:
http: //dl2.themexp.org/files/g/themexpdl1/4/7/74.exe
The bad extension that it installs silently is called New.net Quick Search 7.48
with id {AF8637B0-18E3-44D3-86B7-55E09D9C4261}.
I found more info in these sites:
http://www.symantec.com/security_response/writeup.jsp?docid=2004-020511-0558-99&tabid=2

http://www.cexx.org/newnet.htm

I want to add that I've installed this malware file a second time on purpose in order to keep tracks from what it does (logs etc...), what I had not done on the first time. So this second time, Comodo Firewall was loaded and sent me an alert that the bad extension was loaded into Firefox.
Since there seems to be no way to upload files with this post here, I cannot send you screenshots, unless you tell me how.

thanks for your attention
best regards."

and adding now:
now my request is clear: it's not all just about protecting our computers, using anti-malware programs or avoiding the bad links etc...but also: HOW CAN WE ACT LEGALLY AGAINST THOSE COMPANIES hiding behind websites, and making the malware stuff? did anyone here ever worry about that or is it just business as usual? When one knows exactly who and what, like I showed in my first post here today, does Mozilla do something against the attackers. Again not from inside Firefox, but legally, with lawyers etc...I gave an example of a website who deliberately injects malware into its downloads, to infect Windows, to infect both Intermet Explorer and Firefox. From what I've seen this website has been notorious for years for making malware. All anti-spyware programs detect it; there are articles everywhere about it. SO WHY ARE THEY STILL THERE? HOW COME THAT WEBSITES LIKE THEME.XP OR NEWDOT.NET STILL EXIST? IS THERE NO AUTHORITY TO SHUT THEIR SERVERS DOWN? AND EVENTUALLY TO ARREST THESE PEOPLE? I MEAN ACTUALLY SEND THEM TO JAIL?
Don't get me wrong, I do not want to attack anyone personaly in this forum, I'm just a bit upset about this atmosphere of acceptance, these attitudes of non-response, of perpetual passiveness. Yes thinking in terms of only protecting the PC, and never attacking the malware makers is passiveness. If that was done once in a while, security software companies would sell much less of their programs...is that the real issue?

Législatives du 10 et 17 juin prochains!

2007-05-08T00:24:00.001+01:00

Je vote depuis 1977 et honnêtement, je viens, NOUS venons de vivre la plus belle campagne présidentielle de toutes, la plus sincère aussi, et LA PLUS BELLE VICTOIRE qui soit! Nicolas Sarkozy me semble incarner à présent la concrétisation de ce que nous avons attendu et voulu pendant toute cette campagne, pour une fois, et peut-être la première dans ce pays, un VRAI changement. Alors maintenant il faut que nous nous mobilisions tous pour les législatives, TOUS pour donner à notre Président les moyens d'appliquer son programme en votant,massivement, dans chaque circonscription, pour un candidat UMP. C'est très très important!

ENFIN!

2007-05-07T08:50:00.000+01:00

élections présidentielles 2007: derniers sondages et liens utiles

2007-05-04T13:13:00.000+01:00

http://www.sarkozy.fr/home/
http://www.u-m-p.org/site/index.php
http://blog-ump.typepad.fr/blog/
http://annuaire.u-m-p.org/index.php

ces résultats de sondages ont étés empruntés au journal Le Monde

pourquoi Sarkozy?

2007-05-02T11:17:00.000+01:00

Il est le premier candidat à une élection présidentielle capable, désireux de s'adresser directement et clairement à son audience: nous. Enfin moi, c'est la première fois que je vois ça, que j'entends ça. Il est aussi le premier à hurler son amour de la France. Moi je ressent ça aussi, ce truc un peu charnel pour ce pays, ce truc qui fait que quand je rentre en France, après m'en être absenté longtemps, je fonds en larme. Parce que chez moi c'est ici, parce que la France c'est moi. J'aime ce pays qui est en moi autant qu'on aime une femme. Moi ce n'est pas le drapeau, ni la sécurité sociale, comme disait Ségolène Royal récemment, ridicule. Non, moi c'est cette langue, c'est cette terre, ces gens, cette liberté.
Et à chaque fois que j'ai eu l'occasion de suivre un discours de Sarko, j'ai senti dans ses mots certaines correspondances. Cet homme ne veut rien d'autre que défendre son (notre) bien le plus précieux. Et là je ne peux que le rejoindre. L'indifférence, l'inaction, le manque de clarté, l'absence d'idées, d'exaltation, ça c'est la gauche française. Et je n'en veux pas. JE N'EN VEUX PAS. Les années Mitterrand ont été une catastrophe économique pour ce pays, une catastrophe idéologique et culturelle aussi. Oui il y eu les radios libres, et les chaines privées, les grands travaux et j'en passe, avec en parallèle un contenu culturel des plus pitoyables. La France des années 80, des années Mitterrand, ça a aussi été la France de la misère, du chommâge entretenu à coup d'impôts et de charges sur les entreprises, ça a été la nationalisation de toutes les banques françaises: outre le coût et la bêtise de l'opération, j'appelle ça du fascisme.JE NE VEUX PLUS JAMAIS VOIR CA.
Sarkozy est aussi le premier candidat à s'exprimer ainsi sur la Tchétchénie. J'ose espérer qu'il s'inscrira en rupture avec l'attitude regrettable de Jacques Chirac à cet égard, je pense notamment à une remise de la Légion d'honneur au triste sieur Poutine, ce salaud de Poutine, ce fasciste qui se permet de donner des leçons de démocratie à l'occident...bref.
Sarko innove également en ceci qu'il n'oublie vraiment rien . Il n'est pas un aspect de notre société qu'il n'ait su aborder durant cette campagne. Et à chaque fois en proposant quelque chose de précis, d'intéressant, de neuf, tant pour l'école que pour le temps de travail...la liste serait longue. On ne compte plus en cette fin de campagne le nombre d'idées que la candidate socialiste a dérobé au programme de Nicolas Sarkozy. Exemple: l'instauration de taxes sur les produits importés en provenance de pays qui ne respectent pas le protocole de Kyoto, qui ne respectent pas les droits de l'homme, qui ne respectent pas les règles de la concurrence, qui ne respectent rien. Nicolas Sarkozy a évoqué ces thèmes bien avant la campagne déjà. Il serait en droit d'attaquer le PS pour plagia.
Mais nous n'en sommes plus là: nous en sommes à moins d'une semaine du second tour et la seule chose qui compte maintenant, ça n'est pas de se demander si on peut appeler la racaille la racaille, ce serait un comble de ne pas pouvoir le faire, surtout quand elle en est, et qu'elle n'aime pas la France, la seule chose qui compte c'est la victoire que nous fêterons dimanche soir, après qu'officiellement soit annoncé, enfin, que Nicolas Sarkozy vient d'être élu Président de la République Française.

hotmail, bloody hotmail

2007-04-21T12:40:00.000+01:00

nothing to add, the pic speaks for itself...

software news

2007-04-20T11:36:00.000+01:00

thunderbird 2 is out !
keypass1.07
windows live hotmail available for all (still in beta)
ccleaner 1.39
ATI Catalyst 7.4

"STALKER not nicking art after all" (Inquirer)

2007-04-16T12:26:00.000+01:00

I'll just quote the article here:

"SO IT TURNS OUT that STALKER isn't actually nicking lots of other people's artwork. Big surprise?

The internet was a-storm over the weekend with rumours that textures had been found in STALKER's game engine that looked similar to textures found in Half-Life 2 and Doom 3. We previously reported the rumours.

Thanks to reader Rob S. for pointing out that the water textures used by both Valve and GSC GameWorld, the makers of STALKER, come from a texture pack sold by Marlin Studios. The chaps at Marlin make all kinds of exciting textures, including 'Home & Office Furniture - High Detail, Low Price!' and 'Traffic - Low Poly Pretextured Vehicles, SUVs and trucks you can even animate!'

Stunning stuff.

Valve has confirmed that it picked up some textures from Marlin for HL2, and separate sources have discovered that the IMP_Light texture that it was thought could have been pilfered from Doom 3 was, in fact, just a standard Impact Light texture, rather than referring to the Doom 3 monster."

AVG anti-rootkit (out of beta!)

2007-04-14T18:26:00.000+01:00

Grisoft releases it's free anti-rootkit, version 1.1.0.42. here. First thing you'll notice is the program generates a random process name each time you start it. Brilliant; that goes without saying that the need of it gives you an idea of how malicious rootkits can be (lol).

AMD announces "real" QuadCore technology for the end of the year

2007-04-14T10:49:00.000+01:00

...real QuadCore as opposed to Intel technology that puts 2 dual-cores on the same chip.Here is the link for the AMD stuff.

Windows XP till jan 2008

2007-04-13T09:44:00.000+01:00

I got it in a newsletter from The Register this morning: MS will stop shipping XP to retailers and OEM in the end of january 2008. And I read here and there people already complaining, some of them would have wished etc... etc...some of them fell in love with Windows 95, and are still using it, complaining about the fact that Microsoft does not support it anymore. Why not go back to the MS-DOS good old times...VISTA IS THERE, and that's the best thing that could happen to our computers. I only would have wished a better Internet Explorer, or no Internet Explorer at all actually. Vista deserves better than that.

the end of DRM ???

2007-04-09T12:25:00.000+01:00

I just can't believe it. After they gave the "best" of themselves in bringing to the world that bloody DRM, MS themselves have already started to destroy their new toy. I suppose that's good news. Wonder what will happen with those hardware manufacturers who already invested billions in DRM hardware like graphic cards, motherboards, and monitors.
Here is the link to an article.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. (bad news?)

2007-04-08T08:22:00.000+01:00

This is not yet to take too seriously, but a bit worrying anyway: according to Shacknews , the development team GSC would have been using software material from Half-Life 2 and Doom 3 ,without permission, to produce STALKER. Both Valve and ID software have been contacted and at the time, only ID has cautiously reacted. Not a word yet from Valve.
The pic above will show you a water texture comparison between HL2 and Stalker. Once again, this is all to take very cautiously, as CryTek (Far Cry) has been accused in the past too, and it turned out that everything was bullshit. More to read in this thread.

new Google data center?

2007-04-08T08:01:00.001+01:00

according to this article from Tulsa Word, Google is planning to build a new data center somewhere in America.

Thunderbird 2 RC1 is out

2007-04-07T12:28:00.000+01:00

OK let's make thinks clear, in my previous post I let you know that nightly builds of RC1 and and RC2 were available. And my advice now is rather to install the latest RC1, which is not a nightly build and is available for download at the following link.
Let's bet that as usual, RC2 will be out in the next couple of days, if not tomorrow, and the final release in less than a week from now.

Thunderbird 2 RC1 and RC2 available ! (nightly)

2007-04-05T23:06:00.000+01:00

although not made officially available though the regular Mozilla announcements site, nightly builds, apparently very close if not equal to what should be the final release of Thunderbird 2 later this month are downloadable at the following links:

Mozillazine thread indicating the availability of the builds
Link to RC1 and RC2

RC2 download (eng-US)

The Register today: "MS releases emergency cursor bug fix"

2007-04-05T11:17:00.000+01:00

well that's good news:

here is the link to the Register article.
and the Microsoft patch is here.

the .ANI bug!...and Internet Explorer.

2007-04-03T13:57:00.000+01:00

wanna get more info on the .ani bug, not yet addressed by Microsoft, here we go: this security flaw in Internet Explorer affects all OS, including Vista. ONE MORE REASON, IF NEEDED, TO STOP USING INTERNET EXPLORER. As I said once, this browser is an insult to windows users. Check these links if you're unsure:

eEye
ZERT
Symantec
Determina
The Register
zdnet
Security Tracker
tailrank
p218news

although some patches have already been made available by third parties like eEye or ZERT, I'd personnaly rather wait for the official Microsoft update, if it ever comes. My advice: don't use Internet Explorer in the meantime. I personally run Firefox as default browser, which eliminates the risk of infection. Most web sites analysts seem to agree on the point that about 80 % of users still use Internet Explorer, to between 10 and 15 % for Firefox. I just can't believe it: how long will it take people to understand that using that bloody Windows native browser is just not good, absolutely unsafe! I suppose people just get what they deserve when using Internet Explorer, an absolutely proportional response to their stupidity.So let me tell you one thing people: you're using Internet Explorer not because you chose it, but because it's already there, ready to use in Windows, and you're not even aware that Opera or Firefox exist. Removing Internet Explorer from windows would actually be the best solution to get you people make that browser choice, hoping that Microsoft would be wise enough to make Windows Update accessible from other browsers, is that too much to ask? Will that ever happen? Well obviously the lessons given by Mozilla to Microsoft were not enough to have a secure IE7 bundled with Vista. No need to add that Microsoft is absolutely unable, or unwilling, to produce a good browser, reliable, functional and fast. Why? Ask them! And before you ever get an answer from Redmond, see how Internet Explorer keeps tracks of anything you do on your computer, even when it's not web related stuff, file operations etc...what for? Ask them! In the meantime empty your Internet Explorer cache and history on a regular basis, even if you don't browse with it. And for christ's sake use Firefox!

That said, if you refer to Windows XP, Vista brought a lot in terms of security, and I cannot understand how the same people who produced Vista bundled it with Internet Explorer, one more time. For those of you interested in Vista Security advanced features, here are links to the download of Symantec Reports:
"Impact of Malicious Code on Vista"
" Security Implications of Vista"

Windows Vista Bill Gates Edition: The WOW!

2007-04-01T12:56:00.000+01:00

get more info here
or if you don't want to bother with the pdf download, just check the 2 pics above. Good luck!

Firefox Security Update and TrueCrypt for Vista

2007-03-21T16:14:00.000+01:00

finally out, TrueCrypt 4.3, compatible with Windows Vista, and Firefox 2.003 update, either through the browser's menu or direct download.

Melbourne Grand Prix 2007

2007-03-18T12:00:00.000+01:00

Kimi Raikkonen won his first race on Ferrari today in Melbourne, giving the Italian team a nice present after Michael Schumacher's departure. Another amazing performance was the one of that new pilot driving this year for McLaren, Lewis Hamilton. He finished third, and I have the feeling that a team order actually prevented him from finishing second, giving way to Fernando Alonso during the last 20 rounds of the race.
Next race will take place in two weeks in Malaysia.

now a bit of history:

Battlefield 2142

2007-03-17T21:22:00.000+01:00

This is an exception, as I normally should avoid treating game subjects in this blog. I got another blog for games, well I have to admit that I rarely post there. So, BF 2142: the game is graphically a shame, a real shame, featuring bad textures, ugly vehicles, and under average animations. Not much to add.

Software Piracy

2007-03-16T23:13:00.000+01:00

Just read a bit from that page. Although I quite agree on the matter of saying NO TO PIRACY,
I must admit that the last part of the paragraph makes me raise a smile.
Quoted:
"Do not download pirated software or patches from the internet - When you download a crack, you can be almost certain that some bad things will be included. "

and now comes the funny part:

"If you really can't afford the software you are looking for, contact the author and explain your situation. There is a big chance that you get a reduction or that you get the software for free."

the original link here.

Vista: THE WOW!

2007-03-16T20:31:00.000+01:00

I have to admit that I'm the author of that stupid joke, feel free to download it from DeskwallMag at the following link.

Windows Live Messenger down!

2007-03-16T19:42:00.000+01:00

Although the status shows "All systems up and running", Messenger has been down for a few minutes now, as well as other related Microsoft products, like hotmail. Any attempt to login to Windows Live fails too. What's up?

announcement: DESKWALL MAG!

2007-03-16T12:50:00.000+01:00

I'm in the middle of preparing what's gonna be once a week the magazine of this blog. I must still find a place to host that so that anyone reading this blog can download it.

DESKWALL.COM SPAM BLOG?

2007-03-16T12:07:00.000+01:00

For a while now I have to go through the word verification process before I can post anything in my own blog. I didn't know why and didn't care really either, thought that could just be Google implementing some kind of extra security. And yesterday for the first time I clicked on that question mark next to the letters, got redirected to a new page telling me that my blog had been detected as a spam blog by Google's robots. I requested an unlock , and I'm still waiting...

Skype 3.1

2007-03-15T22:33:00.000+01:00

the pic shows how you'll end up with a search on Vista in the Skype Website. Running Skype in Vista is not always that smooth. Not a word about it.The guys at Skype seem to ignore that a new OS came out one month and a half ago. Anyway here is the link to the download of the latest 3.1 version. Can't tell yet what it brings.

useful links

2007-03-15T21:37:00.000+01:00

I found that link yesterday, to a page called "TechSupport Alert - Gizmo's top picks". It's full of links and reviews about the best freeware stuff you can find on the web.

And here's the official Microsoft link to Vista download stuff (Ultimate exclusively). You'll find out which extras are available there, plus a couple of useless and ugly screenshots.

And finally, stay up to date with that page from the Tweak Guides.

Vista: Ultimate or Home Premium?

2007-03-15T14:44:00.000+01:00

Main restrictions in Home Premium:
- no bitlocker
-no EFS (encrypting file system)
- no group policy management ( so no admin management for users accounts or local security for instance)
- one way remote desktop (Home Premium can control an Ultimate system remotely, but Ultimate cannot connect to Home Premium, probably to protect average users of Home Premium). Remote assistance still works both ways.
- Downloadable Ultimate Extras (new features you get through Windows Update), well as the name says, only available for Ultimate lol.

Now the worse, don't know if that's just funny or sad, is that for instance the EFS function appears in Home Premium, but grayed. The local security management console is there, but when you click on it you get the message: Sorry, you're running Vista Home Premium, and this feature is not available, Upgrade to Ultimate. As you know all DVDs are the same, you just got to order an upgraded version online to get a new key and unlock features (it's called "Anytime Upgrade"). By the way Ultimate (Retail and Upgrade versions) has 2 DVDs in the package: 64 and 32 bit. Ultimate OEM contains only one version.
So it's up to you to buy the version that matches your needs, and the money you wanna spend. If you think you might wanna use Ultimate advanced features, OK, if not, then Home Premium will be enough. You'll still get AERO (with a suitable graphic card) and UAC for security. Home Premium is to Ultimate exactly what XP home was to XP pro. That also means, obviously (for those of you who might have doubted that), that XP pro has advanced features that Vista Home Premium does not have.
I have to admit that the way Microsoft handles all those different versions of Vista (Ultimate, Home Premium, 64 or 32 bit) does not meet what I could have expected from them. Don't know if that was the same with XP home, cause I never saw it, but showing disabled features to the user, in what is supposed to be a limited, but still a full featured OS is not really fair.
It's kinda promoting more expensive products from the same company,through the use of a restricted OS version, and put the end user under pressure. I call that Adware.

and here we go (turn your speakers on!)

2007-03-07T02:53:00.001+01:00

WYMIWYG: 3D Desktop! TouchScreen and XGL on Linux!

2007-03-07T02:04:00.000+01:00

as mentioned on this article from WYSIWYG, watch this absolutely amazing video showing a Linux desktop as you might have never seen one before.
I just found this other one, nice but may be not as spectacular.

numbers...Microsoft versus Google...

2007-03-07T01:38:00.000+01:00

not much to add here...just watch the picture, and these links:
here, here, and there.

(this picture comes from "Le Monde.fr: Economie")

Microsoft launches attacks on Google

2007-03-07T00:54:00.000+01:00

as read in several articles today, Microsoft might attack Google about copyright protection violations on books (Google Books). and movies (YouTube). You might wanna check this article in Fox News, as well as that one for French readers in Le Monde.

Windows Vienna: to soon to tell...

2007-03-06T17:37:00.000+01:00

recent speculations about Microsoft next operating system led to the following answer from the software company: see thumbnail. Watch also here and there.

Firefox 2.0.0.3

2007-03-05T21:23:00.000+01:00

quote:from here

"Firefox 2.0.0.3 and 2.0.0.4

In order to fix a small number of serious regressions, we are looking to do a very quick 2.0.0.3/1.5.0.11 release to pick up some fixes for recent regressions. 2.0.0.4/1.5.0.12 will be the next regular security/stability releases.
2.0.0.3 blockers
We are going to be looking at nominations over the next few days, based on the following criteria:

* Significant regression since Firefox 2 with a well-tested and well-understood patch
* Major public security bugs (if any appear) (sg:high and sg:critical)

This is a very high bar, we are hoping to freeze Tuesday evening at 6 PM PST (all confirmed blockers already have patches) and have builds available for testing starting on Wednesday. If you have a bug that meets this criteria please get that nominated as soon as possible. Drivers will be meeting daily at 10 AM PST to address nominations and approvals."

OK I must admit that the only issue that I've had with 2.0.0.1 and 2.0.0.2 was a complete system freezing when browsing ssl secured https web sites.I had to force a shutdown of my PC may be 20 times because of that. I have not read that the issue occurred on other systems than mine, though. Don't know if that comes from Vista, UAC, or just 2.0.0.2...let's wait and see.

updating: there was apparently a misunderstanding on the release date of Firefox 2.0.0.3. as the date I gave you earlier seems only to concern some kind of internal testing in the Mozilla dev team.

Firefox not starting: tip!

2007-02-28T01:13:00.000+01:00

OK say you launch Firefox and nothing happens. You try again, and again, and still get no result. First thing to try is launching the task manager, either in XP or Vista. If you see firefox.exe is running, just end the process, and try again. If it still does not work, go to your profile folder and see if a file named "parent.lock" still appears. This file is supposed to be naturally erased everytime Firefox is closed normally. It's there when Firefox is in use to tell the system that your profile is in use. Well now, after a crash from Firefox, this file might still reside in your profile, and block a Firefox restart. Then just delete parent.lock, and restart Firefox. That should work.
More on that here

Blogarithm

2007-02-27T15:51:00.000+01:00

you might want to check this blog tracker. I just found that deskwall.com was made available for subscribers there. Enjoy!

Firefox oddities...Satanic Browser! (lol)

2007-02-27T02:45:00.000+01:00

I thought you guys might enjoy that one, I just found it in a Mozilla news group:

from: ChristianWarrior4Christ@unitedchurch.org

Firefox will not let me install it when I select "I do NOT Accept the
terms of the License Agreement". Hey, I'm being honest. I DO NOT
accept the terms, and that is my honest opinion. I am a Christian,
and I am not going to lie, because telling lies is sinful which
condemns a person to hell. I'd still like to use Firefox, but I am
not going to go to hell because of their terms which I will not
accept, and I refuse to lie about it. I love Jesus and he will know
that I lied and I will be punished every time I open Firefox if I were
to lie. If I check the box that says "I do NOT Accept the terms of
the License Agreement", I can not proceed with the install because the
"next" box does not work. I dont understand why Firefox is setup to
force people to lie, and thus go to hell. I believe Firefox is owned
by athiests who are truely the Anti-Christ, or else it was created by
Jews, who are trying to take Christ away from all of us because they
wont accept their own guilt for killing Jesus. I believe that the
creators of Firefox are evil satanic beings who must be punished, or
must repent for their sinful ways.

What should I do?

Rev. Adam Taylor
Christian Warrior For Christ
http://www.unitedchurch.org

TrueCrypt for Vista...not yet.

2007-02-26T22:49:00.000+01:00

could you give us a release date please? (lol)

SCAM! SCAM! SCAM!

2007-02-25T20:46:00.000+01:00

I got a bloody scam in my gmail inbox today for the first time, thanks Google in the spam section. I thought it would be a good idea to publish that shit here, and warn the readers of this blog. This mail was sent to me by criminals, the sender address that appears on it is the address of a criminal.

You can visit this link for more info on scams of this type.

update: according to sources, the scamer mailed me from Valencia, Spain.

FIREFOX 2.0.0.2

2007-02-24T13:18:00.000+01:00

MAJOR SECURITY UPDATE FOR FIREFOX! upgrade now from 2.0.0.1 to 2..0.0.2. You can do it directly from the Firefox window, or download the new updated version here. And here is a link to the release notes. The new version seems to include security updates and more compatibility with Vista.

Deskwall News: Issue 3

2007-02-24T03:01:00.000+01:00

Deskwall News Issue 3 Web Edition has now been released, you can view it by clicking on the image below.

If you are interested in subscribing to Deskwall News, please e-mail us at dwnews1@gmail.com with the subject as Subscription. Thanks and enjoy!

Pilotes SAGEM pour USB dongle 760A sous Vista!

2007-02-23T20:51:00.000+01:00

Ca c'est seulement pour les francais qui utilisent une LiveBox et auraient lu comme je viens de le lire sur le site Orange que les pilotes du module USB Wi-Fi Sagem 760A ne seraient pas disponibles avant le mois d'avril. LOL! Cela fait trois semaines qu'ils sont telechargeables via un site de Sagem. Voici le lien: http://lgsagem.free.fr/
Le personnel de chez Orange est vraiment en dessous de tout, une fois de plus. Et pour ceux qui auraient des hesitations dans la liste, prenez ca, et rien d'autre, meme si Vista n'est pas explicitement mentionne!
http://lgsagem.free.fr/Telechargement/Driver%20WIFI/Windows/Sagem-UtilityXG760A.zip

et surtout ne vous croyez pas dispenses d'installer l'utilite Sagem livre avec avant d'intaller les pilotes. Si vous ne faites pas ca rien ne marchera!

PGP 9.6 beta: full support for Vista!

2007-02-23T12:22:00.000+01:00

I've been notified late at night yesterday: at last, after all that anger and impatience from us users, I must admit that the PGP team did a really nice job. PGP 9.6 beta with support for windows Vista is out and it works like a breeze. Here is the link where you can subscribe to the beta testing till the end of next march. Cannot say if then the final version will be there, or a beta 2. Anyway that's good news!

ATI 7.2 for Vista

2007-02-22T12:11:00.000+01:00

as you might not know, I'm running a PC with a P4 2,8 GHz from 2003, and only 512 MB of RAM. So running Windows Vista in those conditions is not always easy, as the new OS is very demanding in resource when running Aero for instance. My graphic card, an "old" ATI 9800 pro 256 MB supports all the features from Aero...but everytime I've installed Vista, the whole system became like crippled after the installation of ATI drivers 7.1. These drivers might have been good, in compare with the ones provided by NVidia for their cards, but not good enough anyway. And yesterday at last, new drivers were released. Catalyst Suite 7.2 for Vista ( think they work on XP too, same file with a different name, but just the same file). These new drivers are awesome! They made my PC run suddenly twice faster as before under Windows Vista. So if you're running a PC with an ATI card under Windows Vista, I can only recommend to install those drivers as soon as you can, the difference is amazing.

NEW BLOG: GIMP TO GO!

2007-02-21T10:37:00.000+01:00

I just wanted to place here a warm welcome to blogger to "GIMP TO GO", where my friend Justin, a contributor to Deskwall.com, and ComicFan are now writing about this really interesting piece of software called GIMP, an opensource and freeware program that allows the editing of images. An interesting solution for those who cannot afford Photoshop indeed, and may be a new way to work for Photoshop users themselves.Good luck to "GIMP TO GO".
You might of course wanna check that GIMP LINK!

Google Toolbar 3.0 for Firefox: bug!

2007-02-19T21:19:00.000+01:00

That's been driving me mad all day today. I have tried everything, from uninstalling Firefox, reinitializing the toolbars and buttons, even reallocating the bloody pagefile , no result!I've even thought that it could be Vista... The issue I'm talking about is getting an extremely choppy scrolling in Firefox windows as soon as the mouse cursor passes over links. A couple of minutes ago I disabled the Google toolbar, which I normally find very useful. AND HERE WE ARE: THE BUG IS GONE!
Don't worry I won't leave it there, I need that toolbar, will re-enable it, and troubleshoot it until I find what in it brings that extremely upsetting choppy scrolling of web pages in Firefox. More as it comes...

updating:It sounds like this Google Toolbar Version 3.0.20070201W, even when remaining as the only enabled extension in Firefox, brings the bug. It's a no go.

comodo firewall 3.0

2007-02-19T12:02:00.000+01:00

that's a French expression: no news, good news. As I'm not actually ready to spend half of my time configuring the advanced firewall in Vista, the only alternative I can imagine at this time is the upcoming 3.0 version of Comodo Firewall. This version will integrate a HIPS, as you might already know, and will be fully compatible with our new baby: Windows Vista. The only problem is that not even a beta has been released yet. Come on guys, we need that firewall again. I haven't posted in the Comodo Forum for a while no. Actually for the same reason: there's not much to comment in such a place when there's no beta testing anymore. Not that I miss these long and sometimes disappointing beta testing phases. but I really think that such a firewall, in his new version, without all the bugs that affected it in version 2.4 of course, is badly needed in Vista. If anyone from the dev team there reads this post, thanks in advance.
Here are the usual links to the web site and its forum:
http://www.comodogroup.com
http://forums.comodo.com

Deskwall News: Issue 2

2007-02-18T07:27:00.000+01:00

Deskwall News: Issue 2 Web Edition has now been published. To view it please click the image below.

To subscribe: e-mail us at dwnews1@gmail.com with the subject as Subscription

Subscribers get clickable links and receive the issue in their e-mail inbox before the web edition is published.

You can view the Deskwall News archive HERE.

TrueCrypt 4.2a on Vista: DON'T USE!

2007-02-18T00:42:00.000+01:00

I said in a previous post that despite the advice from the author I was keeping using TrueCrypt on Vista, but I have now to update my comments urgently. As long as you just read files or execute them from an encrypted TrueCrypt volume on Vista, everything's fine. I'm talking about files written previously under windows XP. But as soon as you try to write to it, save data to the volume , you'll get data corruption , unreadable files, also impossible to delete. SO WAIT FOR THE NEXT VERSION BEFORE YOU USE TRUE CRYPT ON VISTA!

the author's link

ps: also saving from a dialog box make appear the same TrueCrypt volume mounted on 2 bloody drive letters, instead of just the one you chose.

ps: also saving from a dialog box make appear the same TrueCrypt volume mounted on 2 bloody drive letters, instead of just the one you chose.

don't get me wrong: TrueCrypt is a fantastic program that I've used for a long time under windows XP. Here is a link to the page where the author announces future features of TrueCrypt.

why there might never be a Vista sp1...(codename Vienna)

2007-02-17T19:21:00.000+01:00

according to gossips found in many places on the web, actually not gossips but founded stories, Windows Vista might just be a temporary OS between XP and the "real" next OS generation: codename Vienna. According to this article of PC World, the Microsoft Team got so busy in the making of SP2 for XP (major security issues back in 2003), that they just left Vista development behind for a while. The result is that many features that should have been implemented are not, like this new file system that was supposed to replace NTFS, and other things kept secret...The planning is now to release Vienna in a bit more than two years, by the end of 2009. In these conditions I can well imagine that the step of a SP1 release for Vista could be easily skipped, unless some really major security flaws came out of Vista in the following months.

quick news

2007-02-17T01:29:00.000+01:00

first I've just read on the owner's website, that it was not advised at all to install TrueCrypt 4.2a on Vista. There's gonna be an updated version soon (quote).I understand that, and despite the 2 bugs that I encountered, I still use it. The bugs are: when you mount a volume and choose a drive letter for it, this letter disappears from the TrueCrypt windows, and then instead of seeing just your new virtual drive appear in "Computer", you'll find the one you choose, and an additional one. The volume gets actually mounted on 2 drives at the same time.

second, bad news for gamers, DirectX 10 will never be available for Windows XP. That's a shame.

XP 64, and other 64 bit OS...

2007-02-15T23:16:00.000+01:00

here is a link for a 2 months trial of Windows XP 64. I'll take here an opportuniy to say that Microsoft made a huge mistake by releasing all versions of Vista in both 32 and 64 bit. Jesus, they should only have made a 64 bit version available this time! Thousands of software companie have not yet been able to release compatible versions of their products since the release of XP 64, a couple of years ago (and PGP corporation belong to them). What can we expect from the same lazy teams if they still have the choice? Microsoft should have definitely forced them to develop for 64 bit by releasing ONLY 64 BIT VERSIONS OF VISTA! What a loss of time...I heard Gates say that we were still in a transition phase between 32 and 64 bit OS, when will that transition end? (he actually talked "slowly slipping into the 64 bit era", lol!).

PGP for Vista? not yet!

2007-02-15T22:52:00.000+01:00

for those of you desperately waiting for a compatible version of PGP with Windows Vista, here is a thread of angry customers. Since Vista was already released to corporate users back in November 2006, imagine companies who subscribed to PGP services for years and must suddenly decrypt all their sensitive stuff, remove keys from email clients, or renounce to use the new OS. It's a real shame. These guys, like the ones from Creative Labs for instance, who still provide beta drives for their sound cards, have had months to get ready, and they're not. These guys mean than beta 1, beta 2, RC1, RC2, and RTM in November was not enough to get some kinda work done.
http://forums.pgpsupport.com/viewtopic.php?p=30542&sid=ee4666f408cd240aad286e5b418d75ee

Gran Paradiso alpha 2 released (febr. 7)

2007-02-13T22:51:00.000+01:00

for those of you who'd be interested into very early beta testing (alpha, actually) here is the link to the download of Gran Paradiso alpha 2.

Vista gadgets

2007-02-13T22:23:00.000+01:00

desperately looking for brand new gadgets for the Vista sidebar, the gallery is a bit poor...

Firefox 2.0 and WMP

2007-02-13T14:07:00.000+01:00

as you've probably noticed, Firefox 2 does not detect the presence of Windows Media Player in your system. The cause is that the needed plugins are not there, since WMP turned 11 I suppose. He is a link where you can find all the explanations and the dll files you will have to paste into the plugin folder of Firefox.

microsoft technet forum
mozillazine solution
download page 1
download page 2
download page 3

the files you need are called:
npdsplay.dll
npwmsdrm.dll
npdrmv2.dll

Gmail: no invite needed anymore!

2007-02-13T14:01:00.000+01:00

don't know if I belong to the ones who noticed that a bit late, but yesterday I saw that anyone can now, without the need of an invite, open a Gmail account. Sounds like Windows Live Mail is coming guys!
update: the exact date when Gmail was open to public in the States, Europe and Japan was February the eighth. They started in Australia a few months before this.

Google Desktop 3.0: NO!

2007-02-13T03:43:00.000+01:00

sorry guys, I'll translate this later into English. Here is a copy of the message I sent to the french Google team after I uninstalled Google Desktop 3.0 from Vista:

" graphisme deplorable de la barre d'outil laterale, completement depasse depuis la sortie de Windows Vista, probablement spyware, interface pc-web trop "intime" (lol),la version 2.0 reprenait des projets de Microsoft, la version 3.0 tente d'imiter Vista. STOP. Pour etre prix au serieux sur ce terrain, Google devrait nous pondre un OS...la version 2.0 pouvait repondre a une attente, combler quelques lacunes d'XP, mais la vraiment, la 3.0, c'est du rechauffe. Inutile.Google devrait se contenter de faire dans les domaines dans lesquels il sait faire: Gmail, Blogger, Picasa..."

WinFS

2007-02-11T17:11:00.000+01:00

originally intended to be implemented in Vista, the WinFS program was actually not stopped, but not implemented in Vista. It would have given to Vista still more performing search and indexing features, but Microsoft for some reason decided to use a more traditional technology, and the result is still amazing. I believe WinFS will probably be there in Windows Vienna, may be as soon as end 2009. Don't expect it in a service pack for Vista! A service pack can't obviously transform the file system of an OS. Don't be too sad though, NTFS is still fantastic!

here is a good wiki article about WinFS

Vista or XP?

2007-02-11T16:53:00.000+01:00

I started yesterday thinking more and more that many Vista features, apart from Aero, were already available in XP, and wanted to describe them here in a new post: a feature like the indexing system was already available through Windows Desktop Search from Microsoft itself, or through Google Desktop with sidebar etc...

This article from Paul Thurott will give you all the guide lines.

don't forget, if actually many features can be installed through the use of third party software, they'll never match the quality of integration that they have in Vista. So don't expect to transform XP into Vista for free! Vista is a new OS, definitely. And Stardock might give you soon or later an aero for XP, because Stardock products are good, I've used them and liked them, but Vista is much more than Aero, and Windows Desktop Search for XP might be fast, but matches in no way the Vista interface, even if it uses the same technology.

Vista Upgrade: part 3

2007-02-11T16:23:00.000+01:00

here are definitely 2 serious links:

http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/winvista_upgrade_clean.asp

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/930985/en-us

well some of that stuff was not totally crap...

Vista Upgrade: part 2

2007-02-11T15:41:00.000+01:00

now I read from a thread in the Vista Community Forum that an upgrade DVD is only bootable for repair. AND THE WHOLE THING MAKES SENS NOW! I guess the article I mentioned in my previous post below is pure...crap. Not to mention that this site shows illegal links to Vista RTM download and cracks...It might be the first time that I mention it in this blog, but anyway here it is: I HATE PIRACY! done.
The ununderstandable part of the article in the Vista Community Forum is that they pretend the 64 bit upgrade version would be bootable...why would it be? not because of a probable incompatibility upgrade process with XP 32, you could always go for a "clean install" from XP, moving the xp install to "windows old" folder... well I'm not gonna buy all Vista versions to test them (lol). Never read so much crap!
It would have naturally been fairer from Microsoft to allow, like before, a clean boot install from an upgrade CD requiring the short insertion of the old OS CD, and its key. They just wanted to make it more secure by requiring the old OS activation too, just in case you would use an illegal copy of XP to launch Vista upgrade I suppose...

why you might not need to buy a full version of Vista

2007-02-11T14:09:00.000+01:00

The guys at Microsoft changed the upgrade process in Vista. In old good times, when you for instance upgraded from win95 to win 98, you didn't necessarily have to launch the upgrade from inside 95. You could boot your upgrade CD, and when prompted insert the old version CD, and enter the old key. NOT WITH VISTA! These bastards want to force you to launch the Vista upgrade from inside XP ,that means first install XP, activate it, then insert and launch the Vista CD, and have the choice between an upgrade process (the worse), or a pseudo-clean install that will put all your old xp files into a folder called windows old, with possible rollback. Whatever your choice is, the install won't be clean at all. You won't be able to format and install directly from the Vista CD. Disgusting!
Now some guys found this:

"Boot from the Windows Vista Upgrade DVD and start the setup program.
When prompted to enter your product key, DO NOT enter it. Click "Next" and proceed with setup. This will install Windows Vista as a 30-day trial.
When prompted, select the edition of Vista which you have purchased and continue with setup.
Once setup has been completed and you have been brought to the desktop for the first time, run the install program from within Windows Vista.
This time, type in your product key when prompted.
When asked whether to perform an Upgrade or Custom (advanced) install, choose Custom (advanced) to perform a clean install of Vista. Yes, this means that you will have to install Vista for a second time.
Once setup has completed for the second time, you should be able to activate Windows Vista normally. You can also delete the Windows.old directory which contains information from the first Vista install.

There's no telling why Microsoft left this loophole wide open with Windows Vista Upgrade DVDs, but this means that any retail upgrade DVD can be used as a fully functioning full retail copy of Vista."

I can imagine why, they just didn't have the choice, as any windows Vista DVD must remain bootable for repair purposes or else, you can naturally boot with an upgrade DVD, and upgrade your install with a new "clean" install" of Vista itself. Well they actually could have prevented the install with no key, that leads to a 30 days trial version, and miss an opportunity to make buy a new license after install, just in case you would like to upgrade you initial key from Home Basic to Premium for instance. That's ridiculous. My conclusion is that anyone wanting to perform a real clean install of Windows Vista should unfortunately buy the full retail version, and avoid the upgrade!

ps. well they could have forced the user to enter a key when booting from CD, and then block the install in case of an upgrade version.But they left it open the way it is open when you boot from a full version, or the way it is open when you launch the upgrade normally, from XP. I wonder what happens when after a no key install, you enter it from inside Vista...probably no possible activation, or no entering of a new key if the product is not already activated...I don't care really. Once again, 2 obvious choices: OEM, or FULL!

Deskwall News: Issue 1

2007-02-10T18:51:00.000+01:00

Issue 1 of Deskwall News has been published.

This issue contains a poll, to submit your vote send your answer to: dwnews1@gmail.com with the subject as Community Poll.
We need a minimum of 5 votes to show the results in the next issue.

NOTE: In the web edition of Deskwall News, the links do not work, they only work in the e-mail edition, to subscribe/un-subscribe to the e-mail edition please e-mail us at dwnews1@gmail.com with the subject as Subscription.

Is Skype spyware?

2007-02-10T04:13:00.000+01:00

I was extremely shocked when I heard about what Skype does. For all information, please click the link below.

http://www.pagetable.com/?p=27

Deskwall News: Sample Issue

2007-02-09T03:38:00.000+01:00

Hello everyone,

Deskwall.com has decided to make a newsletter! Below is an image of a sample newsletter, it includes information on subscribing to the newsletter so you receive it via e-mail .

All subscribers will be the first ones to see the newest issues, non-subscribers will have to wait a little longer until the latest issue is posted before they can view it.

Subscribing is free and we highly encourage it!

Simply click the image below to view the sample issue.

Issue on installing Adobe Reader in Vista

2007-02-09T00:53:00.000+01:00

This issue did not happen to me after my first installations of Vista, but it did in the two last ones. When attempting to install Adobe Reader 8.0 in Vista you might get the following error message:
the temp folder is full etc...(see picture). I coild not find a solution either on Adove website, either anywhere else on the web, but I found threads in forums from people who had the issue too.
So I just found that work around. There's a moment during the install process when a windows tells you exactly where the installation files are located. Just don't close that window, and go to
C:\users\your account\appdata\local low\Netopsystems. Just copy the files from there and paste them anywhere else on your hard disk. Run the program from the new place and you're done.

Vista Firewall (lol)

2007-02-07T03:31:00.000+01:00

thanks for the article Justin, that confirms what I saw and why I haven't used it so far. You must create a rule to see something happen with this firewall, otherwise everything is allowed. Which means that you basically have to manually create one rule for each application that can potentially connect to the network. Can take bloody ages to achieve (lol) ! The argument from Microsoft to give a good out of the box experience of Vista, by not pre-configuring this "advanced" firewall is more than funny!

Windows Vista Firewall: Is it a full firewall?

2007-02-07T00:19:00.000+01:00

Read the full article HERE.

Exclusive Vista Tests

2007-02-05T00:58:00.000+01:00

With Windows Vista here, you should be preparing to upgrade as we all will have to do sooner or later. Here is an article about Vista from PC World. They did some Vista PC Tests and here are the results!

http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,128273-page,1/article.html

Vista test drive (reminder)

2007-02-02T23:17:00.000+01:00

Intel Core 2 Quad

2007-02-02T01:45:00.000+01:00

nice shot Charlie, new baby from Intel!

Google News (WSJ)

2007-02-01T00:08:00.000+01:00

"Google's Profit Nearly Triples As Revenue Surges 67% "
here.

SimpLite - freeware IM encryption

2007-01-29T23:12:00.000+01:00

Actually this program concerns many of us users running instant messaging programs on our desktops. Let's just take an example: MSN, sorry Windows Live Messenger. Are you aware that your conversations are transmitted in clear through Microsoft servers? It is not a secret: the guys at Microsoft recognize that. I read it a year ago in a comparative test between MSN messenger and Windows Messenger. It sounds like I'm going to advertise a product, but I'm not. I'll speak here about it just because I like it. This product, in it's freeware version, is called SimpLite (developed by SecWay). This freeware version actually includes several programs, depending on the protocol that you want to use in instant messaging:

- SimpLite for ICQ/AIM
- SimpLite for Jabber (Google Talk protocol)
- SimpLite for MSN (works with Windows Live Messenger 8)
- SimpLite for Yahoo

All you have to do is install the version that meets your needs, launch it, create a key that will authenticate you on the network, and you're done. To achieve that, SimpLite puts a socks proxy server between your computer and Microsoft Messenger service. Now see what happens when a friend of yours has done the same and get in touch with him; really cool. Just privacy OK?

Now you can always go for the commercial version, called SimpPro, that has all protocols in one program, and stronger encryption, plus the ability to also encrypt file transfers. OK Skype does that already for free in his chat interface. But Skype does not allow authentification, and its chat interface doesn't match MSN. So I'd rather go for an IM solution that includes MSN + SimpPro.

One last thing, Secway is french, and that's good news !

ATI drivers for Vista (part 3)

2007-01-29T21:44:00.000+01:00

now definitely available from the links I mentioned in my previous post.

updating: the update manager is already included into ATI drivers for Vista.

ATI final Catalyst drivers for Vista ! (part 2)

2007-01-29T19:42:00.000+01:00

a couple of screenshots from the new Catalyst CC for Vista

ATI final Catalyst drivers for Vista !

2007-01-29T18:56:00.000+01:00

as you'll find in the following links, the drivers are released, but not yet allowed for download. You'll probably have to wait for Microsoft to give a green light, and that's in a few hours from now.
Anyway, 64 bit drivers, 32 bit drivers, some comments.

updating this post: there's no way to download anything, any driver at all from the AMD-ATI website at the moment, don't know what's going on...

the best news I've had so far about these new drivers is the announcement of an upcoming download manager allowing to update future releases without going through the old procedure: unintall, reboot, reinstall, reboot...this has of course to be confirmed by ATI, or AMD...

you might want to read this other article from BetaNews relating interesting details on the development of these drivers, and DirectX 10, in the context of a close collaboration between AMD/ATI and Microsoft. Here's an extracted part from this article:

"It has been no secret that ATI has worked in tandem with Microsoft in the development of DirectX 10, the new Windows software drivers built specifically for Vista. Most likely, a new slate of games -- or, at the very least, new and unique features for existing franchises -- will take advantage of DirectX 10, including Electronic Arts' heavily promoted Crysis. When AMD acquired ATI, it may have also gained an advantageous relationship with Microsoft that may not be at quite the same level as rival nVidia in recent months, although nVidia would beg to differ."

Tweak Guides

2007-01-29T15:06:00.000+01:00

here's the link to one of the best winXP tutorial: "Tweaking Companion". The author explained a while ago how he had to remove the words "Windows XP" from his guide title...a telephone call from the MS team (lol). You'll notice that in the quick links panel of the page, more and more guides from the author concern games. That was formerly not so, as Tweak Guides used to relate mostly windows related software, or windows itself. So here is the link for guides that only treat system software. There's also a forum there.

Thunderbird 2 (beta 2)

2007-01-29T13:12:00.000+01:00

I did not try the first beta; thought it might be too unstable, but I downloaded and installed the second one 2 days ago. First thing, but that was expected, long ago, I loose my favorite theme, BlackJapan, just like with Firefox 2.0. That was for the downside. the rest is just new stuff, and good stuff. One single window for extensions and themes, like in Firefox 2, including an easier update of both. Better junk management, and most of all: tagging! yes, you can now apply a custom tag to any message. The search box is also improved: it's a "get results as you type" search. Last thing, you can now configure a gmail account more "easily", that is for those who were not able to type pop 995 and smtp 465 manually (lol). You understood I find this one useless, although it demonstrates one more time how close Mozilla and Google are getting to each other. And I certainly won't complain about it. Thunderbird 2, although still in a beta stage, is already a very good email client, and what actually counts, it's still better than 1.5.

Here is a link for the release notes, and one for the download.
(available for windows,mac,linux)

Windows Vista

2007-01-28T21:42:00.000+01:00

For those of you who might still ignore it, on January 30, all versions of Vista, from basic to ultimate will be available in 2 versions: 32 & 64 bit. The main difference is that 64 bit versions support much more ram (4GB versus 128 GB, if you find the motherboard lol). For those who will go for the 64 bit version, be aware that you'll need all your hardware and software to be 64 bit compatible.

CoreForce

2007-01-27T19:16:00.000+01:00

sorry CoreForce, I don't like the interface. Don't want to spend a whole week configuring programs access to get my PC back online normally. Adding, almost none of the predefined profiles work well (community issues...), and Skype was not detected at all. Could connect with no permission at all. There was also this host file issue with MSN messenger, and the BSOD related to CoreForce drivers, that's it for now, will wait for Comodo Firewall 3.0, or something else.

CoreForce

2007-01-26T13:37:00.000+01:00

First I want to thank Alg for this article. I can only advise new users of CoreForce to read it carefully. I confirm it's better to first deactivate Coreforce on first use, until you're done with some settings. Otherwise you'll get into issues without knowing what did what. And if you're worried about being hacked while you do that, just put windows firewall back on in the meantime. And don't forget to turn it off once CoreForce is active again!(that's a joke again Alg). I intended to reinstall CoreForce today, after my last bad experience with Comodo Firewall. More on it as it comes.

Think I solved the issue between CoreForce and MSN messenger. The error message I got after no being able to sign in with messenger while coreforce was active, was host file related. What I did is remove the entries put in the host file by Spybot S&D. After that I could just sign in again normally with msn messenger, and CoreForce active. That could mean that CoreForce has an entry in the host file that Spybot S&D doesn't like. I have not found which one yet. The list shown in Spybot is huge with no tool to edit or to search. As soon as I've got a host file utility installed, I will investigate.

Now going into new problems: can't have windows update running while CoreForce is on. Just found that interesting link about a user's experience with CoreForce and Cyber Hawk (Online Armor forum).

SP3 for Windows XP

2007-01-26T13:04:00.000+01:00

thanks for the info Justin, nice to hear that for people willing to stick to XP, Microsoft will still provide support during 7 years. As I read the article I found that other link about SP3 for XP, being delayed to 2008.
I personally would not advise to anyone to rely on that, not that I doubt that Microsoft will hold its promises, support will be there, and sp3 will be released. But who will want to count on an OS in 5 years from now, when 99% of software will be optimized for Windows Vista. Then as you might have already understood, my advice is, people if you can, upgrade to Vista, as soon as you can.

Windows XP Gets a new lease on life

2007-01-26T02:06:00.000+01:00

Read the full story at the link below.

http://blogs.zdnet.com/Bott/?p=188&tag=nl.e622

comodo firewall 2.4 ( the end?)

2007-01-25T21:00:00.000+01:00

bad news for cfp 2.4, the 100% cpu load on cmdagent.exe happens again, 5 days after the installation. It does not really matter, there's CoreForce as alternative, and cfp 3.0 in two or three months. Funny thing is that cpu load always happens a few days after the installation of a new version. In the meantime back to old windows firewall, the best one, ever (lol).

parthenogenesis (flora the Komodo)

2007-01-25T01:39:00.000+01:00

see this amazing article from Alg on WYSIWYG on the origin of the name "flora", that was given to the latest release of comodo firewall.

Spyware Doctor

2007-01-25T00:16:00.000+01:00

I just want here to confirm what Justin said in his message below. I've also used Spyware Doctor, more than a year ago. Just before that, I was using several anti-spyware programs at the same time,until I realised that Spyware Doctor could replace them all, and even do a better job. Unfortunately, the program became very resource demanding, and occasionally conflicted severely with other applications on my system. That was the end of my relationship with Spyware Doctor. Despite an obvious change of behavior in a windows environment, Spyware Doctor remains in most reviews one of the 2 best anti-spyware, together with SpySweeper, that I never tested. I promise that I will, and report my experience in this blog.
One thing though, don't be abused by the button "START SPYWARE SCAN NOW", it does not mean that you will get an online scan of your drives; in PC Tools language, it's the download button for Spyware Doctor. I do not not appreciate such marketing methods.

PC Tools Software

2007-01-24T23:15:00.000+01:00

Hello everyone,

Some of you may know already that PC Tools has just recently released new security software free of charge.

PC Tools Antivirus Free Edition and PC Tools Firewall Plus. I have used PC Tools Spyware Doctor in the past and liked it very much but recently it has gotten very resource demanding for an antispyware program so I uninstalled it. However these 2 programs caught my interest, especially the antivirus, which use to cost money, but they limited a few features and made a free version. The Firewall I thought they would make sooner or later, but never thought that they would make it free as well. It seems PC Tools is trying to get its name more popular in the security market. The Antivirus program will run on Vista, XP, and 2000. However the Firewall will currently only run on XP, 2000, and 2003 Server, I suspect they will add Vista support in the near future.

If you are looking to test new products you may wish to checkout these 2 free tools, they are new and have not yet been proven as good software, so as of now I do not currently recommend them, however depending on PC Tools, that may change in the future.

Justin

(very) basic guide for beginners

2007-01-24T19:22:00.000+01:00

for those of you may be using a desktop computer for the first time, here are a few guidelines for keeping your system safe from online threats. So what do you need?

1 an anti-virus software
I advise AVG free edition. Extremely fast at scanning, belongs to Grisoft ( you might want to know that Intel owns some of the capital of Grisoft).

There is also Avast, partly free, full of useless features, resource demanding, but very good-looking, the first skinable anti-virus.More on it later in this blog.

2 an anti-spyware
my pick goes to Spyware Terminator, it is free, performing , fast, complete.

If you wanna go for a commercial software, no hesitation: AVG anti-spyware.
(see my post below) I do not recommend using the Claim anti-virus component of Spyware Terminator; first I read bad reviews about it (security leaks), second I tried it and it's really basic, too basic. Expect anyway that future software will integrate anti-virus & spyware in an all-in-one solution. That's already the case of Norton 360, for these components.

3 a good firewall
here my choice is Comodo Firewall. Its default configuration will already make your computer really safe. You can always choose later to get into network rules etc...

not good for microsoft...(WSJ article)

2007-01-24T16:32:00.000+01:00

"Microsoft Offers to Pay For Wikipedia Edits" : an article in the Wall Street Journal Online relates this story. This can't be true...well if that is then I'm really shocked. Follow this link.

quoted from this article:
"Microsoft Corp. landed in the Wikipedia doghouse after it offered to pay a blogger to change technical articles on the community-produced Web encyclopedia site."

comodo firewall version 2.4

2007-01-24T14:19:00.000+01:00

I've used this new release, non-beta version for more than 4 days now. All I can say is that the cpu load on cmdagent.exe (comodo firewall service) is gone. In these conditions I can only advise desktop users looking for a free and performing solution to install this firewall. It includes features matching some of it's best commercial competitors:

- application, component and network monitor (ability to fully customize rules)
- connections and event logs
- animated tray icon showing traffic (switchable)
- advanced features including packet checksum verification
- adjustable alert frequency level ( valuable for experienced user)
- own registry keys protection
- misc. tasks including the ability to define a trusted network, a banned or trusted application

and a very good support team running a forum at: comodo forum
the firewall download link will be found on the comodo website.

it seems important to mention here that to the future of this firewall belongs a 3.0 version that will include a full HIPS (host intrusion prevention system), among other improvements (that's according to members of the development team at Comodo). A final version should be available in march or april this year (I guess beta testing will start in the coming weeks).

update on this post: Spyware Terminator auto-updated both its software and its database a bit earlier tonight on my PC, and as soon as I started again the UI after that, Comodo Firewall detected a change in the signature of ST.exe, hence I got an alert. Good, very good!