Tech Link (Overclock): Core Temp 0.99.7.7 and Core Temp Gadget 2.3 Released

Well, I know I'm late but hey, better late than never. Anyway, since I am "trying" to come back in being active with Blog and in the tech community, I have started to visit my old favorite sites. It's a good timing I guess, as I'm just a few days late about the cool new updates from CoreTemp author. Aside from the latest CoreTemp 0.99.7, there's also a new Core Temp Gadget 2.3!

This cool little add-on looked really nice on my Win7 desktop and I'm like "Ohh, schweeetz!" I suggest you go and grab 'em coz they are not only hot, they are FREE! I mean, with such cool software costing nothing, not even crippled, but a full-blown, no fuzz software, this is totally awesome! Grab it!!!!!!

Tech Link (Operating System): Vista Service Pack 1: It lives

I just saw it on my email InBox, zdnet Blogger Marley Jo Farley blogged about an alleged Service Pack One for Vista. Below is the screenshot referred by Farley, which links to the article over at WinHEC 2007.. Expand if you would like to read the Blog from Farley..

With all the Microsoft-created confusion out there around when — and even whether — the company plans to deliver the first service pack (SP) for Windows Vista, it’s nice to see some concrete proof that Vista SP1 does exist.

The WinFuture.de folks managed to grab a quick snapshot of a machine running a build of Vista SP1 during one of the Rally talks at the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) in Los Angeles this week. Plain as day, it says: “Windows Build 6001 Service Pack 1, v113.”)

I also saw a PowerPoint slide mentioning the existence of Vista SP1 during a WinHEC chalk talk on “The Future of Input” at this week’s show. (The context: A shim for the kernel-mode driver foundation version of the digitizer driver will ship as a Windows Driver Kit sample in Vista SP1. That was it.)

Given all the mumbo-jumbo coming from the Windows brass lately about SP1, I actually was starting to wonder whether Microsoft might to try to go without one and just use Automatic Update and Windows Update Services to roll out all of the Vista fixes and updates.

I asked Directions on Microsoft analyst Michael Cherry before the Vista SP1 screen-shot sighting this week whether he thought Microsoft might try to do away with client service packs, starting with Vista. Cherry’s response:

“It appears that a number of people within Microsoft think that the full fledged service pack is no longer needed, because Windows Update provides a mechanism to get fixes to customers. Because everyone can download the fixes they need as soon as they are released, there is less need have rollups or service packs.

“The only thing keeping me thinking they would do a service pack was to formalize the delivering of the PatchGuard API (application programming interface) to the software vendors who need it.

“Key to keep in mind when discussing Service Packs–I can find nothing that obligates Microsoft to produce any. Any killing them kills the ‘wait for SP1 mindset.’”

Now we just need an SP1 date, beyond the “simultaneous with Longhorn Server” one that Microsoft execs provided last year. Anyone got any updated SP1 timing info to share?

Source:Vista Service Pack 1: It lives

Tech Link (Operating System): Run Vista Legally Without Activation (For Awhile)

While I have known this even before Vista launched earlier this year, there is now a public document or link on the web that actually explains this "extension" of activation (PCWorld). It is interesting actually, it is now less annoying to activate the license, unlike before that you will be denied logon to OS once the license expires.

Please read thru the document, it is helpful in its own way, yay. But of course, the bottom line is, after the extension, you'll still be needed to activate the copy to ensure full functionality. Expand for more...

Windows Vista can be used for as long as 120 days without agreeing to its product activation antipiracy software, the company confirmed Friday. That's four times longer than the 30 days the company has widely used as the maximum time span the operating system can be used before it shuts down.

Several bloggers and Windows experts, including Brian Livingston, who publishes the Windows Secrets newsletter, have posted details on how to extend the 30-day grace period a maximum of three times, for 120 days. "All versions of Vista allow a 30-day period without activation, except the corporate-oriented Vista Enterprise, which supports only a three-day trial," said Livingston in the latest issue of his newsletter. "If you know the secret, however, you can extend the activation deadline of editions such as Vista Home Premium and Vista Business up to four months past the original install date."

The one-line command of "slmgr -rearm" changes the activation deadline to 30 after the current date, Livingston said.

A Microsoft spokeswoman confirmed the feature and command on Friday. "Yes, 'rearm' can be run up to three times from the release media from Microsoft," she said in an e-mail response to some questions. "This means [that] a total of 120 days total time is available as a grace period to customers that take advantage of rearm."

Microsoft has documented this option on its Vista Volume Activation 2.0 support site. Although the bulk of the technical information posted is aimed at corporate administrators, the sections dealing with repeated activation also apply to consumer users of the operating system.

Extending the grace period, the spokeswoman continued, is not a violation of the Vista End User License Agreement (EULA). Microsoft introduced product activation in 2001's Office XP and next used it in that year's Windows XP. The feature was toughened up for Vista, however; after the grace periods, nonactivated PCs running Vista drop into what Microsoft calls "reduced functionality" mode. In reduced mode, users can only browse the Web with Internet Explorer, and then only for an hour before being forced to again log on.

Some critics have argued that the new activation rules and reduced functionality combine to make what's essentially a "kill switch" -- a way for Microsoft to disable PCs running counterfeit copies of Vista. Microsoft has repeatedly rejected that characterization.

Source:Run Vista Legally Without Activation (For Awhile)

Tech Link (Operating System): Build a Windows Vista Upgrade Parachute

THG has posted an article which I find is really nice and right on time. I can't believe I sifted through all pages (12 of them) and read them all with interest, I barely spend time reading past the conclusion nowadays. Do take time to read through it, I believe the article is well thought out and free from a lot of crap and focuses on the bare essentials necessary for the topic. Check it out...

The purpose of this article is to guide you through the myriad options for upgrading to Windows Vista. My goal here is balance: I will not slavishly regurgitate Microsoft's hype, but neither will I join the growing army of Microsoft bashers.

The choices for creating a Vista computer are bewildering. Since there are so many possibilities, let me start by offering you a default solution to the main question: "what should I do about Vista?" My default advice is that you wait until June 2007 - then buy a new machine with either Vista Home Premium or Vista Business pre-installed.

From that default position, I'll review the other options for Vista. My goal is to give you the information necessary to make the best decision for your particular circumstances.

Source:Build a Windows Vista Upgrade Parachute

Tech Link (Industry): Finally, Vista Makes Its Debut. Now What?

You gotta love Bill Gates' reply on Newsweek questions. While I find the article a nice read, knowing what Bill Gates has to say on all the (negative) publicity the new Vista* OS is getting, I really find how he reacts to the new Mac* ads really funny and entertaining! I embedded one of YouTube Mac* ads for your viewing pleasure. If you want to read more, just expand. And oh, here's a quote from from the news:

Are you bugged by the Apple commercial where John Hodgman is the PC, and he has to undergo surgery to get Vista?
I've never seen it. I don't think the over 90 percent of the [population] who use Windows PCs think of themselves as dullards, or the kind of klutzes that somebody is trying to say they are.

NEWSWEEK: If one of our readers confronted you in a CompUSA and said, “Bill, why upgrade to Vista?” what would be your elevator pitch?
Bill Gates: The most effective thing would be if I could sit down with them and just take them through the new look for a couple of minutes, show them the Sidebar, show them the way the search lets you go through lots of things, including lots of photos. Set up a parental control. And then I might edit a high-definition movie and make a little DVD that's got photos. As I went through, they'd think, “Wow, is that something I could use, would that make a difference for me?”

Source:Finally, Vista Makes Its Debut. Now What?

Tech Link (Operating System): Microsoft Reveals Downloadable Vista, Office

DailyTech posted that Microsoft* Vista will also be available as a "download" purchase. It actually makes sense, now that high speed broadband seems more affordable, relatively speaking of course. For dial up users, well, I don't think it's a viable option ;). Check it out...

Microsoft will be selling its latest operating system and office suite online for customers to download


Microsoft today detailed three new distribution methods for customers looking to buy, upgrade or license multiple copies of Windows Vista. One such method involves Microsoft selling a copy of its operating system via the Internet for the user to download onto his or her system, marking a first for the software giant.

Microsoft will make Windows Vista and Microsoft Office 2007 available for direct download via Windows Marketplace starting January 30 at suggested retail prices (but without the discs, packaging and manuals of the retail version). Windows Vista editions offered through Windows Marketplace will be available in English only, in either 32-bit or 64-bit versions. Windows Marketplace visitors also can find a wide variety of Windows-compatible hardware and software, including products carrying the Certified for Windows Vista logo.

Microsoft also detailed its Windows Anytime Upgrade program, a new option that allows customers to upgrade their existing edition of Windows Vista to a higher-grade edition by way of an online transaction. For example, if a Windows Vista Home Premium or Windows Vista Business user decides he or she wants more capability — perhaps to join his home PCs to secure domains at the office, or to experience the multimedia capabilities of Windows Vista on his work laptop — the user can click on the Windows Anytime Upgrade option in the Start menu, select the desired upgrade edition, purchase it online to secure a new digital key, and then follow the on-screen instructions to complete the upgrade. It was previously revealed that Microsoft would be shipping all versions of Vista on a single DVD, meaning that those who purchase the operating system on DVD will not have to download additional parts of the operating system for the upgrade.

The manufacturer's suggested retail prices to upgrade to more premium editions of Windows Vista are as follows: Home Basic to Home Premium $79, Home Basic to Ultimate $199, Home Premium to Ultimate $159 and Business to Ultimate $139.

The third part of Microsoft’s announcement today reveals a limited-time offer for customers who buy retail copies of Windows Vista Ultimate. From January 30 through June 30, the Windows Vista Family Discount will allow North American customers to license two additional copies of Windows Vista Home Premium for use on other PCs in the home at the reduced price of $49.99 each. Before completing the order online, customers will need to enter one valid full or upgrade Windows Vista Ultimate key from their retail boxed product. After eligibility is verified online, the customer can purchase licenses to install Windows Vista Home Premium on one or two additional Windows-based computers.

"With the consumer launch of Windows Vista so close, we're excited to announce three new ways to make the purchase and upgrade experience easier than ever," said Brad Brooks, general manager of Windows Client Marketing at Microsoft. "These new programs give our customers more flexibility and choice to ensure they get the edition that's right for them."

Source:Microsoft Reveals Downloadable Vista, Office

Tech Link (Operating System): Vista, Office 2007 cracked. Kind of.

Well, this just sucks. Err, I guess for some people it's a blessing but for the honest ones this is just unfair. Hey, it's piracy, stop stealing people's money off some workers at MS!

Microsoft has had a long history of battling against piracy, ever since Bill Gates' Open Letter to Hobbyists in 1976, long before there was even a personal computer software industry to speak of. Now, Microsoft finds itself in its latest piratical engagement, with the recent cracks of Windows Vista and Office 2007, both of which just hit gold release status. Torrents of the cracks are already finding their way around pirate sites.

The crack for Windows Vista (which is called "Vista BillGates") is not a true crack, as it replaces components from the final version of the operating system with those from earlier betas. This allows the would-be pirate to use a product key that worked with Beta 1, Beta 2, RC1, or RC2, with the Gold release of the operating system. This allows the OS to be activated normally over the Internet, but does not bypass the activation system itself. Microsoft had made these earlier betas available to the public on a limited basis.

The other piratical news today is that a copy of the Enterprise edition of Office 2007 was also made available on the 'Net. This version, like other "Corporate" editions of Microsoft products, uses a volume license key (in this case, Volume Activation 1.0) and does not require activation over the Internet.

Of course, Microsoft has methods of fighting back against these latest leaks. The company can push updates through Windows and Office Update that deactivate the pirated copies. As the company did with Windows XP Corporate Editions, Microsoft can invalidate corporate volume license keys that have leaked out at a later date. This latter strategy worked moderately well for Microsoft—at least a few people whose pirated copy of XP had its VLK invalidated did bite the bullet and replace it with a legitimate version. Also, Microsoft can continue their strategy of using Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) to restrict access to certain non-essential updates. Internet Explorer 7 was an example of a product offered only to users who passed WGA.

Microsoft's aim is to make piracy annoying enough that casual users will stop bothering with it, despite the fact that dedicated pirates will still manage to break it again and again. Still, it's clear that the battle between pirates and those who would wish to stop them is far from over.

Source:Vista, Office 2007 cracked. Kind of.