TechBait

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If you want more features than you currently have in your existing edition of Windows 7, you can upgrade to another edition using Windows Anytime Upgrade. Upgrades from Windows 7 Home Premium edition to Windows 7 Professional edition. With Windows Anytime Upgrade, you can upgrade to a more advanced edition of Windows 7 in as little as 10 minutes. Click to enlarge. Windows Anytime Upgrade No disks, no delays. And no leaving the house: With Windows Anytime Upgrade, you (more…)

Have you ever wanted to communicate somewhat securely over a public network, like the Internet, in order to exchange confidential or sensitive information, passwords, or other data?  You need a VPN to connect you from one point to another over the insecure public medium.  This secure connection is the VPN, or Virtual Private Network.  The VPN, whether purely software or by utilizing a VPN appliance device containing it’s own software, uses encryption software to construct a tunnel between the two points, thus allowing the user to exchange confidential information or sensitive login information between two points.  VPN’s can also be useful for simply contacting your private network remotely, since you don’t want unknown entities to see your internal network infrastructure, hosts, or to sniff out your passwords.

On a similarly related line of thought, if you use UNIX or Linux, a good way to access your home network over the Internet from a remote point is to set up an SSH tunnel, where the Secure Shell is used to contruct a tunnel.  You login to the remote UNIX or Linux host via SSH, and then you can launch graphical Xwindows applications using an SSH tunnel.  You can do this from a Windows client by using the Cygwin or other software which allows one to run POSIX, GNU, and UNIX/Linux utilities on a Windows machine.  You can do this from work if your network allows this sort of Internet access.  It is handy to be able to access your home UNIX/Linux server over an SSH tunnel.

$ ssh -X u...@server.homenetwork.com
$ ssh -X user@<public ip address of server>

You can requests compression of all data to improve up user experience (good for a low speed link such as wan link) using -c option:

$ ssh -c -X user@<public ip address of server>

You can then run any Xwindows application on the remote xterm by simply typing the program executable name followed by the ampersand to spin it off into it’s own process ID.  You can also run an entire desktop like KDE, Gnome, or the default Xwindows desktop with the startx command.

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With Windows 7 Professional, fewer walls stand between you and your success. You can run many Windows XP productivity programs in Windows XP Mode and recover data easily with automatic backups to your home or business network. You can also connect to company networks effortlessly and more securely with Domain Join. With all the exciting entertainment features of Windows Home Premium, it’s a great choice for home and for business. Need to use multiple languages on your (more…)

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Upgrade to Windows 7 Ultimate. Windows 7 Ultimate is the most versatile and powerful edition of Windows 7. It combines remarkable ease-of-use with the entertainment features of Home Premium and the business capabilities of Professional, including the ability to run many Windows XP productivity programs in Windows XP Mode. For added security, you can encrypt your data with BitLocker and BitLocker To Go. And for extra flexibility, you can work in any of 35 languages. Ge (more…)

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Windows 7 Home Premium makes it easy to create a home network and share all of your favorite photos, videos, and music. You can even watch, pause, rewind, and record TV (a broadcast TV tuner may be required). Get the best entertainment experience with Windows 7 Home Premium. Do you use your PC for work, run Windows XP programs, or require enhanced security? Consider Windows 7 Professional. More work, more play, and more of everything in between. Click to en (more…)

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Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007 is the essential software suite for home computer users and includes 2007 versions of Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and OneNote. This system enables you to quickly and easily create great-looking documents, spreadsheets, and presentations, and organize your notes and information in one place, making it easier and more enjoyable for you to get things done. The new streamlined workspace and easy-to-browse tabs make program features ea (more…)

I agree with Google that the outlook for Android is VERY good since they are doing with mobile phones what Microsoft did with PC operating systems.  It’s funny that Microsoft was there first and failed horribly at the PDA/mobile phone OS market.  Android is one OS that is running on the devices from multiple manufacturers, and in time there will be so many more Android devices than iPhones.  It’s just the Law of Averages at work.  The article mentions that Microsoft is entering the fray by attacking HTC over patent violations, but another story states that HTC cut a deal with Microsoft, which would mean Microsoft sticking it to Apple by giving HTC a pass of sorts through a royalty agreement.  The software business is once again looking like a soap opera script.  It’s fun though.  :)

HTC is licensing Microsoft patents as they are facing patent lawsuits and possible injunctions by Apple, who wants the HTC phones banned from the US market.  Sorry, but IMO this is just another illustration how these micro patented features are just a bad idea.  It hobbles creative freedom and results in less choice for consumers.  If Apple’s iPhone is so great, then let it compete for the hearts and mind of consumers based on the whole Apple aura that surrounds it, rather than Apple using these patented features to force HTC to stop selling what seems like great phones in the US market.  This is just Apple afraid of Android, IMO.

The article also proposes a fun conspiracy angle claiming that maybe Microsoft is “throwing HTC a life preserver” in it’s pending battle with Apple.  i.e. Microsoft sticking it to Apple.  That is funny, and very possible.

Last summer I purchased a fully loaded top of the line HP HDX 18 Premium Series notebook under the HP employee discount before being laid off by Hewlett Packard when they closed the New Jersey software development site at which I worked.  Windows 7 wasn’t released yet but the machine came with a free upgrade.  I eventually sent away for the upgrade and I have my disks, but I have been sitting on it since I rely on my machine for, like, everything and I am always wary of Windows OS upgrades.  I have yet to back the thing up and have an emergency plan should something go wrong.  I found this interesting upgrade article from PC Magazine.  The time draws close.  Wish me luck.

I guess that you never know, but I think that i4i is going after Microsoft because they are a deep pockets company, and frankly if I had a patent that I thought was being unfairly taken advantage of by a behemoth like Microsoft then I might sue as well.  Maybe the company founder(s) want to lure Microsoft into a lucrative acquisition deal and spend the rest of their days checking email via satellite wireless from some private island somewhere?   It would be a shame if they went after OpenOffice, especially since OpenOffice has a small market share and couldn’t possibly be threatening this i4i’s business.  I wonder how valid their patent claim really is?  There is not a great track record of for profit software companies suing open source software providers.  I recall the famous SCO vs Linux debacle.   Anyone even hear of SCO lately?