vista

Imagine consumers en masse dumping their old PC clunkers for a svelte MacBook Air running the sleek, new Snow Leopard operating system. An implausible Orwellian vision but probably not that far removed from Apple's marketing aspirations.

In short, walk into any Apple Store in any tony neighborhood and the message is: relieve yourself of those old bulky PCs and flip phones and we'll give you smaller, more stylish computing with the Apple cachet.

The analogy may be a bit strained, but imagine trading in a 14 mpg Hummer H2 for a 45 mpg hybrid Ford Fusion. The point: … Read more

Sometimes it seems like you need to be a software engineer to understand how to keep Windows running smoothly. That's why I appreciate free utilities that collect various Windows settings and make the OS easier to customize.

Last May, I described two utilities that improve Vista's performance: Stardock's $20 Tweak Vista and Iolo Technologies' $40 System Mechanic. A week earlier, I wrote about two other Vista tweaking tools: the free Ultimate Windows Tweaker from Microsoft MVP Anand Khanse and WareSoft Software's $30 Vista Smoker Pro.

All four of these programs have their pluses and minuses, but … Read more

Some people's work on the PC immerses them in one or more applications. Other users prefer to think of the desktop as their center of operations. For the latter, this desktop sidebar offers plenty of gadgets to simplify their accessing the tools and info they want.

Thoosje Vista Sidebar installs an unobtrusive icon in the system task bar and a vertical pane along the right side of the monitor. Moving the bar to another spot is simply a matter of dragging it, and changing its skin to suit your fancy is a snap by clicking a button at its … Read more

You don't look or act like anyone else, so why should your PC boot screen look like every other one in the world? Take care of that quickly and easily by personalizing your system's Vista boot screen with this easy-to-use app.

Vista BootSkin launches a simply designed, easy-to-understand window with five large, colorful icons and some contextual fields and drop-down menus. A large, colorful nag screen also accompanies every launch until the app is registered, but a single click sends it on its merry way. This free app performed very nicely during our tests. It responded quickly to … Read more

SAN FRANCISCO--Upgrading a newer machine from Windows Vista to Windows 7 might mean that you get to see the last few minutes of that DVD on a long flight.

At a demo on Tuesday, Microsoft showed two identical laptops playing the same DVD, with the Windows 7-equipped notebook getting 20 percent better battery life than one running Windows Vista. In general, users can expect newer systems running Windows 7 to offer 10 percent to 20 percent better battery improvement when watching a DVD.

"We're achieving a very significant amount of battery savings," said Microsoft principal program manager … Read more

Microsoft recently released Windows Live Movie Maker for Vista. Those acquainted with Windows Movie Maker for XP or Vista may be scratching their heads right now--is this an update? Actually, Microsoft intended for it to be a distinct new product for Vista and Windows 7, though you may not guess it based on the almost-identical naming convention.

At any rate, a few points set Windows Live Movie Maker apart from its cousins. Its audience, for a start. While the free application was always intended for the average Windows user (as opposed to a prosumer or professional), this edition strives even … Read more

The federal economic stimulus package provides $19 billion to upgrade the U.S. health care system to digital records. It's a nice gesture, but the U.S. federal government has already developed a robust medical ERP system that could significantly improve U.S. health care. It's called VistA. It's open source.

It's already paid for.

VistA was developed by the U.S. Veterans Administration and the medical professionals involved in its extensive hospital network. Read: doctors developing software for other doctors.

This bottom-up development effort appears to be working: the VA hospital system consistently delivers superior … Read more

As consumers hold their breath for the rumored Apple tablet, KCI Communications has an immediate and possibly better solution for those who can't wait to get touchy-feely with their screens.

The Duo turns monitors and laptops 17 inches or smaller into a tablet. A small device that acts as a "base station" clips onto the top of the monitor, continuously picking up the user's input with the Duo pen. Lee Jae-jun, head of research and development at KCI Communications, explains the technology: "The pen's coordinates are calculated by the amount of time it takes for the infrared and ultrasonic waves to be reflected from the base station."

The user can write or draw directly on the screen in eight different languages, marking up Web pages, documents, or PowerPoint presentations while using the pen to navigate through the desktop. One of the more remarkable features is that the Duo also converts into a ballpoint pen, letting the user take notes on traditional paper and watch them appear in the included NoteTaker software.

Earlier this year, we reviewed Canson's Papershow, a dedicated paper-to-screen device that's mostly aimed at professionals who want to conduct interactive PowerPoint presentations. A similar gadget is the LiveScribe Smartpen, which is geared toward students, linking audio to written text. But the Duo appears to be is the first device to capture ink and convert a plain monitor into a touch screen. … Read more

Intel's sales chief said Wednesday he expects Windows 7 to deploy at a faster pace than Vista did.

Intel made a splash last year when it said there was "no compelling reason" for Intel's IT department to upgrade to Windows Vista.

"This time I think it will go faster," said Sean Maloney, speaking Wednesday at the Intel Technology Summit.

"There was a reason not to deploy Vista because you're waiting for service pack X or (because of) compatibility issues," he said.

"There are really good reasons (to deploy Windows 7) … Read more