The Singularity

The second coming? Computers will rule the world? Mankind becomes immortal?

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

DirectX update

The Microsoft DirectX® End-User Runtime provides updates to 9.0c and previous versions of DirectX — the core Windows® technology that drives high-speed multimedia and games on the PC.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=2da43d38-db71-4c1b-bc6a-9b6652cd92a3&mg_id=10045&displaylang=en

FixTunes

If you have more than a few MP3s on your computer, you know what we're talking about. Missing album names. Misspelled titles. Ten different spellings for the same artist. Browsing is not a pretty experience.

You need FixTunes. FixTunes will scan your music files and download the correct artist, album, title, track numbers, release year, genre and even album cover art. No hours spent typing or looking up album names, FixTunes will clean up your MP3 files automatically. And it doesn't just work for popular music, either. FixTunes utilizes a database of over 56,000 artists, over 188,000 albums and over 3 million tracks! Everything from pop, rock, classical and obscure jazz. If the song is from a commercially available CD, chances are its in the database. Other programs claim to help you rename files but still make you type in all the information. FixTunes is automatic - no typing!

http://www.fixtunes.com/

Microsoft Research downloads

Here you’ll find tools, programs, and presentations created by Microsoft researchers. All software on this site is available for non-commercial use only.

Lot's of interesting stuff here. Frequent updates and new programs.

http://research.microsoft.com/research/downloads/default.aspx

Link your photographs to your GPS track

The World-Wide Media eXchange (WM) is a centralized index of digital photos, where photos are tagged by the geographic location where they were shot. It's an experimental research project run by the Interactive Visual Media Group at Microsoft Research.


If you would like to create your own web travelogues, incorporating information from GPS tracks (optional), text, and photos, try our Travelogue authoring tool. You just add the items, and the tool puts together a web page with a map (with or without your travel path) and photos linked to their locations on the map.

I have not tried this yet but it sounds intriguing.

http://wwmx.org/

Password Protection

PC Man:

My wife wants to password protect files on her laptop. She has files with very personal client information and wants to protect this information as securely as possible.

She would like something that goes beyond a sytem or screensaver password, something that works on the hard drive itself. Ideas on a strategy?

Thanks,

Dave

AVG Free - new version

GRISOFT is announcing a new version of the AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition. This new 7.5 version with improved performance and full compatibility with the latest Windows Vista version will be available very soon. Users that are using AVG Free 7.1 will be provided with a specific dialog, within the next few weeks, with the opportunity to choose the right option fulfilling their needs. AVG Free 7.1 version will be discontinued on 15th of Jan 2007.

http://free.grisoft.com/freeweb.php/doc/5390/lng/us/tpl/v5#avg-anti-virus-free

Internet Explorer 7

Microsoft plans to release/automatically download Internet Explorer ver. 7 soon (by the end of October). This will only apply to users of Windows XP Service Pack 2.

While the program will download automatically it will ask your permission to install. I recommend you say 'Yes'.

I have been using the beta test version for several months and like it a lot. The main differences you will notice will the the layout of the toolbars and the ability to use tabs to quickly move between web sites.

If you do not like the new version you can remove it via the Add/Remove Programs utility

Update: 10-20-2006. You can download the program from http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/downloads/ . Microsoft will start sending it via Windows Update after November first. I have downloaded and installed it on my three computers with no problems.

True Image

Acronis has just released True Image version 10. ($50)

This version supports the new Windows (Vista) and enables you to easily backup selected files/folders in addition to backing up your entire hard disk.

I use Acronis ver. 9 to automatically backup my hard disk to an external hard disk every Friday night.

I use another backup program (Second Copy) to backup my data daily to different devices - USB, DVD and external hard disk.

http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/products/trueimage/

Diskeeper

Diskeeper has long be the big daddy of disk defragmenting programs but I never felt the need to spend $29.95 (or more) to defragment my disks.

But then I read about it (in the LangaList) being able to defragment several Windows system files - the MFT (Master File Table) and the Windows paging file. Ok - I want to try that so I spent the $29.95.

Seems to work well (and fast). It found a lot of fragmented files even after I ran the Auslogic free defragmenter.

You have to poke around and set the options to defrag the MFT and paging file.

Recommended if you are into defraging. You may or may not notice a difference in your computers response.

There is a 30 day free trail option.

http://www.diskeeper.com/defrag.asp?RID=1046&APID=PPS0001209

Test your computer for Windows Vista compatability

Download and run the file from the URL below.

I ran it on my 2 year old Dell. The advisor said I would need 15 gigabytes to install and there was not enough space on my C: drive. It also reported that my current video card would not support the 'Aero' user interface and that my sound card would require an updated driver.

Software that it complained about:
NOD32 antivirus, Java, Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.0 and several Microsoft 'PowerToy' programs.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/getready/upgradeadvisor/default.mspx