Tag Archives ⇒ Windows

Windows 8 versus Windows 8 RT

· Brandon Hann

I’m writing this mainly for a friend, but after looking into the subject, I figured my site could use a bit of information on the matter as well. Windows 8 releases tomorrow and as expected, it comes in multiple flavors depending on your specific needs. There are some key differences between them, so listen up!

Windows 8 EditionsFirst, let’s look at the list of Windows 8 editions:

  • Windows 8 – Available in 32 and 64 bit versions, Windows 8 is the most basic edition you can get. It features all of the most essential requirements a typical home user would need like live tiles, Windows Store, Internet Explorer 10, Microsoft account integration, the standard desktop, etc. Windows 8 is the direct replacement of Windows 7 Home Basic.
  • Windows 8 Pro – Windows 8 Pro also comes in both 32 and 64 bit versions and includes everything Windows 8 has, but it adds more business-like features such as Remote Desktop, Windows server domain compatibility, encrypted file system, Hyper-V, Virtual Hard Disk booting, Group Policy and BitLocker. Media Center can be added to Windows 8 Pro as a free add-on. Windows 8 Pro is a direct replacement of Windows 7 Pro and Ultimate editions.
  • Windows 8 Enterprise – This edition will be much harder to find as it’s only intended for high-end corporate networks that require more than what Pro can do. Enterprise includes everything that Pro has (minus Media Center capabilities) and adds features like Windows To Go, DirectAccess and BranchCache.
  • Windows 8 RT – Windows 8 RT will only be available on ARM devices such as tablets and other mobile devices. RT features touch-optimized apps such as Office 2013 RT which ships free with Widows 8 RT.

As you can see by this list, Windows RT is considered to be the mobile version of Windows 8. The most notable difference will be how you get apps. On a typical Windows PC, to get software, you can download it or install it from a disc or local network share. On a Windows RT device, the only way to get software is to buy it from the Windows Store. This is because Windows 8 RT only has a partial desktop.

Let’s compare this setup to Apple. Apple makes computers and tablets. On their computers, they offer a full operating system called OSX (current version is 10.8.2, codenamed Mountain Lion), while on their tablets, they offer a mobile operating system called iOS (current version is 6.0.1). There are many things that can’t be done in iOS as compared to OSX.

So, if you’re planning on getting the Microsoft Surface, consider your choice. If you’re looking to have to a direct copy of your Windows 8 desktop with all the same features and the ability to install software not from the Windows Store, you should wait until the next version of Surface comes out (hopefully soon). But take into consideration that while RT comes with a free version of Office 2013 RT, the regular version of Office 2013 will cost you.

My Thoughts

I hope I like Windows 8 after I upgrade my desktop tomorrow. If I do, then I might consider buying a Microsoft Surface with full blown Windows 8 in order to have a device that syncs everything with my desktop. On the other hand, if Windows 8 doesn’t do much for me in the way of syncing my life as it is, I might just stick with Android on a new Nexus device although I’m hearing about a program called BlueStacks that allows Android apps to run on Windows 8!! This month has so many new things coming out…the choices are endless!

Then again, there’s always the $8,000 touch-screen table that has a computer in it.

Whatever happened to Microsoft Bob?

· Brandon Hann

An email was sent to me today with a link going over the top 10 failures of Microsoft and one of my favorites on the list came in at number 2: Microsoft Bob. I remember wanting to own this program because I thought for some reason, it would make life easier. Let’s see why…

Back in 1995, Windows 95 was released as a follow-up to the ever-so-popular Windows 3.1. If you remember correctly, there wasn’t much in the way of operating systems before Windows and without it (let’s be honest), there wouldn’t be much of computer world today. What’s interesting is that Windows 95 was supposed to be the crown jewel of the industry—making computing far easier than it had even been and with a bit of flash too. So why then must Microsoft create another piece of software on top of Windows that’s supposed to make things easier??

Introducing Microsoft Bob

Bob was a house. A virtual house that contained a virtual dog and many different rooms of varying design and function. This is how it worked:

  • You logged into Windows 95 – After realizing it was much too difficult to perform any tasks, you opened Bob.
  • Bob launches – You’re presented with a door that allows you to sign in.
  • You choose a room – Based on what tasks you want to do, you pick a room that has what you want inside.
  • Open an app – Click on the applicable icon to open the app you want to use.
  • Follow instructions – Now you get hand-walked through every single step of doing even the most mundane tasks.

For the best instructional walkthrough, you must watch this video:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZegWedG-jk4

I think what’s most disturbing about how Bob worked was just how much more difficult things seemed to get after using him. This is pure irony considering Bob was supposed to simplify things. Bill gates was even quoted as saying Bob was ahead of his time. I’m sure at that time, this seemed far-fetched, but if you really think about it, software interfaces have become more GUI-based and things are becoming much easier to do on computers than ever before.

$0.45 per email?!

As I was learning more about Bob, I found out that when he came out, the Internet was just starting to take off so Bob included an email app that would allow you to send up to 15 emails per month that were each limited to 5,000 characters. Beyond that, you would have to pay $0.45 per email sent! These emails were sent over the MCIMail service, which was essentially a dial-up email account.

Can you imagine having to pay to send emails? What a bargain—a stamp to mail a real letter cost $0.32 and an email cost $0.45. I guess things have really changed for the better. Now you can buy a stamp for $0.44 and send as many emails as you want for free. I wish we could still charge spammers though.

The power of 'autoblogging'

· Brandon Hann

Whether you know it or not, the key to the success of your blog is post consistency. Imagine if you went to MSN.com every time you opened your browser and for three days straight, you saw the same news stories, videos, etc. Would that make you want to go back? Probably not, and for your visitors, this is more of a reality! You’re not MSN, you don’t have the manpower or resources to be MSN, so you have to work especially hard to keep your visitors coming back.

Welcome to the power of autoblogging! What this is, is a simple plugin that you install within WordPress that enables you to configure automated keyword searches throughout the entire Internet and have content posted directly to your blog. No longer do you have to try and fit consistant blog posts into your busy schedule!

Although I don’t use this plugin on ledfrog.com, I do have a couple of other blogs that I use it on and I can tell you first-hand, this thing is amazing! It’s almost like I have a full-time writing staff constantly updating and adding new things to my site. The best part is that I can control everything such as when the posts appear, how many per day, what topics I want to include, etc.

Advantages of autoblogging

  • Your blog populates content about whatever you choose based on keywords
  • You determine post frequency
  • You can customize the actual post times
  • Content is fresh and always sourced from the latest articles online

Just the first reason alone makes this software worth it. But, this software is EXTREMELY powerful as you can imagine and you want to be careful about how you use it!

DIS-Advantages of autoblogging

  • Your blog can become “polluted” with recycled content
  • Some keywords can pull up mis-information (i.e. you want in article on Windows 7 and it pulls up an article about 7 different window treatments you can buy for your home)
  • Since the content is not entirely original, your blog can suffer in the rankings if you don’t add your own content
  • You will become a lazy blogger!

All-in-all, I love auto blogging software because I do it the right way. I’ll have it scour the Internet for me, grab a few articles and once they’re posted, I’ll go back into them and write up some additional notes or commentary. However, I never use content from any other source without given the original author credit. For example, in every single case where I might use someone else’s content, I’ll post a backlink and some very obvious text that clearly states I’m not the creator of the content.

Doing this will ensure that people know you’re not copying content and information just to try and rank higher in the search engines.

My advice is if you want to increase your post frequency, but you just don’t have the time, use PowerAutoblog and let it build your blog for you!

There’s a limited time offer (ONLY $47!!) on this software, but you’ll have to act now to get it. I’m kind of upset really, because I had to pay $150 for this when it first came out!

Download PowerAutoblog Now

Fix Windows XP Log On/Log Off Loop

· Brandon Hann

I’ve run into this issue so many times while fixing client computers and it seems like every time I do a search for a fix, I get a different answer each time and sometimes, the fix works, sometimes it doesn’t. Well today, my troubles are over! And hopefully yours as well.

I found this ridiculously organized and thorough tutorial over at DanFischbach.com that should fix this problem 99% of the time. In fact, if it can’t fix this issue, you’re better off restoring your system. When you’re done with that, give your pc to your little cousin and buy yourself a Mac. 😉

Anyway, moving on…this guide was written by Dan Fischbach way back in 2006, but for all you Vista-haters out there, it’ll still hold up today. I’m not going to re-post the multi-page guide here, but I will provide a mirror for at least one of the large downloads required for the repair to work.

To see the guide, click here. To download the needed disc images, see below.

Windows Vista Recovery Disc (Direct download removed due to Microsoft copyright claim) — 120Mb
Save Me Disc — For good reasons, I won’t be posting a download of the second disc. As it often changes, it would be a much better idea to download it directly from the source.

*If the link above is not there, the mirror is not available at the moment. Try again later.

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