TakeNote...

Jerry Seinfeld Is Going to Be a Celebrity Pitchman for Microsoft, Not that there's anything wrong with that...

2008-08-21T10:25:19-04:00:00

Looks like Microsoft is pulling out the big guns in it's war against Apple... Fox News is reporting that Jerry Seinfeld has been brought in to appear in upcoming Microsoft ads. Looks like Microsoft is serious about stopping any market share shrinkage. I wonder if the ad agency working for Microsoft is the same agency working for Vandelay Industries. I can see it now... Apple hires Newman (actor Wayne Knight) to make a cameo appearance in the Mac vs PC ads! I wonder who Elaine would find more sponge-worthy, Mac or PC??? :-)

Have a day. :-|

Notes From Computers 2K8 Radio Show! (August 17, 2008)

2008-08-19T11:59:25-04:00:00

"Good morning everybody, you're tuned to Computers 2K8 on sports radio 850 The Buzz" and so began today's show as we do every Sunday morning from 8am - 10am here in Raleigh, NC. You can download the show from the show's website or you can listen do us live as we stream the show across the web.

Here a few of the topics discussed on this week's show...

Gmail Crash Leaves Google App Admins Nervous

The whole "computing in the cloud" idea took a quite a hit this week with the Google Apps outage that affected all those who rely on Google Apps for their business.

Dell Monster Laptop

Check out this story about the new monster laptop from Dell... 16GB of RAM!!!

Cool Video of Shuttle Launch shot from passing airplane

OK, this video clip may not be all that computer related but it is very cool...

That's all....Have a day. :-|

Chewed USB Cable Doubles as a Thumbdrive!

2008-08-16T14:03:00-04:00:00

I think I need to either follow the directions to make one of these or buy one when they become available. Check out this picture of what I'm talking about.

It's a USB thumbdrive inserted into the end of a USB cable that looks like the dog got a hold of it. Quite funny actually... use it in front of people and they'll wonder just where that data transfer is going!

Have a day. :-|

Microsoft Silverlight Tools Beta 2 for Visual Studio 2008

2008-08-11T14:26:09-04:00:00

Looks like the VS 2008 SP1 has got company today. You can download the latest Microsoft Silverlight Tools Beta 2 for Visual Studio 2008 from here.

Have a day. :-|

Visual Studio 2008 SP1 Available for Download

2008-08-11T11:54:35-04:00:00

It is available here.

You'll find a l ist of what's included as well as a list of fixed issues here.

Have a day. :-|

Notes From Computers 2K8 Radio Show! (August 10, 2008)

2008-08-10T09:50:35-04:00:00

Here a few of the topics discussed on this week's show...

NovaShield anti-malware software

We spoke with Dr. Somesh Jah of NovaShield about their anti-malware software. Sounds like good stuff...

Olympics Using Microsoft Silverlight!

Head over to the NBC Olympics site and watch LIVE video feeds of events as they occur. All of the video streaming is utilizing the new Microsoft Silverlight technologies and will require you to download the small plug-in and you'll be watching events as they happen.

Microsoft Finalizes SQL Server 2008

WHAA-HOO!! Microsoft has finally gotten SQL Server 2008 out the door!

Delta To Offer Wi-Fi on all their flights!

Delta Airlines will become the first domestic U.S. airline to offer in flight wi-fi... very cool. Prices are $9.95 for short flights, $12.95 for longer flights.

That's all....Have a day. :-|

SQL Server 2008 RTM is available for download!

2008-08-06T16:31:21-04:00:00

Yes, you read that correctly. Check it out here:

http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2008/aug08/08-06SQLServer2008PR.mspx

Have a day. :-|

Welcome to the Microsoft Mojave Experiment!!

2008-07-29T13:26:55-04:00:00

What would people think of Vista if they didn't know they were looking at Vista? Checkout the video clips from the Mojave Experiment to find out. VERY interesting stuff indeed...

http://mojaveexperiment.com/

Have a day. :-|

Windows Vista Compatibility Center (Beta)

2008-07-12T12:02:36-04:00:00

Wondering if that video card you're considering or that printer you just bought is Vista compatible? Microsoft has announced the Windows Vista Compatibility Center for you to find out. It lists a number of hardware and software categories and provides lists of products and their compatibility rating. Cool stuff...

Have a day. :-|

2.5" Notebook HD Review on Tom's Hardware

2008-07-12T11:45:21-04:00:00

While doing some research/prep work for the Computers 2K8 radio show I co-host every Sunday (yep, blatant plug!) I came across this article on Tom's Hardware comparing/reviewing the currently available large 2.5" drives available for notebook computers. Good stuff...

Have a day. :-|

Notes From Computers 2K8 Radio Show! (July 6, 2008)

2008-07-08T10:05:36-04:00:00

Here a few of the topics discussed on this week's show...

Survey: More than 10,000 laptops lost each week at airports!

Holy cow! 10,000 a week??? This is what a story on Computerworld reported on June 30th. 10,000 a week??? REALLY?? Have you ever lost your laptop at an airport? Fortunately I carry my laptop around in a backpack that rarely comes off when I'm in the airport. I also have a number of stickers on my laptop so that when it comes through the machine at the security checkpoint there is NO DOUBT who's machine it is.

DSL: Damn Small Linux

Somehow I got started discussing the benefits of virtualization using Virtual PC and we had a caller tell us about Damn Small Linux. The DSL website says "Linux is a very versatile 50MB mini desktop oriented Linux distribution." Looks like a complete OS that fits on a thumbdrive. Looks pretty cool. I'm going to check it out.

Chrysler Adds In-Car Wi-Fi

Chrysler has announced that they are going to be adding in-car wi-fi as an available option on their cars in August. Family vacations for Dads driving the family to their destination will never be the same... little Johnny will be playing an online video game, little Susie will be updating her MySpace page, and the wife will be surfing the web shopping. Finally, some peace and quiet for dear ol' Dad driving along... He'll be so content driving he won't notice the car right behind him stealing the wi-fi signal... :-)

SDD Prices They Are a Falling

OCZ has jumped into the SSD market with some very affordable priced SSD drives. Check out this story on Daily Tech.

Have a day. :-|

FarPoint Spread Training

2008-06-19T11:09:08-04:00:00

My company, TakeNote Technologies, still has seats available in our FarPoint Spread training classes next week. If you're a FarPoint Spread user looking to get up to speed with the power of the best spreadsheet component on the market make plans to attend our classes. For more information click the links below.

FarPoint Spread for Windows Forms 4.0

FarPoint Spread for Web Forms 3.0

Have a day.

Microsoft PDC Registration is OPEN!

2008-05-28T08:53:38-04:00:00

Registration for the Microsoft Professional Developers Conference (PDC) is now open. The conference runs October 27 - 30 in Los Angeles, CA. I can tell you that it in the past it has SOLD OUT so if you're even remotely interested I'd make up your mind and get registered. Register by August 15th and save $200!!

I've been to the past two PDCs and consider it one of the conferences/events that I do not miss. I'll be there...

Have a day. :-|

I'm Presenting at the RDU .NET User Experience Group TONIGHT!

2008-05-27T10:24:52-04:00:00

Just a reminder that I'm going to be covering some of the highlights from the day-long Silverlight post-conference event that Rod Paddock and I conducted at DevTeach 2008 TONIGHT at the RDU .NET User Experience Group. Head over to Rob Zelt's blog here for more infomation. I hope to see you there...

Have a day. :-|

Notes From Computers 2K8 Radio Show! (April 27, 2008)

2008-04-27T12:52:58-04:00:00

"Good morning everybody, you're tuned to Computers 2K8 on sports radio 850 The Buzz" and so began today's show as we do every Sunday morning from 8am - 10am here in Raleigh, NC. You can download the show from the show's website or you can listen do us live as we stream the show across the web.

Vista Tip of the Day: Running Legacy Data in Compatibility Mode

If you're having a problem running older software in Vista you might want to try running in compatibility mode. Here's how:

1) Right-click on the program's EXE file and choose Properties

2) Click the Compatibility tab

3) Select the checkbox that says Run this program in compatibility mode for: and then select the OS you want to try.

Windows XP SP3 Goes RTM

If you've been anxiously awaiting Windows XP SP3 I have good news. It was released to manufacturing on April 21st and should be available for you to download as a part of Windows Update on April 29th. You can read more about that here.

Intel Slashes Processor Prices!

Intel this week slashed prices on a number of their processors. For more information check out this story I referenced on the show this morning.

AVG Releases Updated Version of Their Anti-Virus software (Free and Non-Free versions)

If you're a regular listener of the show you know we always recommend people protect their computers with the free version of AVG Anti-virus software. This past week AVG announced their new AVG Anti-Virus 8.0 software. You can read more about that here.

Links Mentioned on the Show

Spencer mentioned a couple of interesting websites on the show today. Tom's Hardware and Gibson Research Corporation. Gibson research, founded by security and hardware expert Steve Gibson, provides software and podcast content to help you better understand and secure your PC.

Ok, that's it for today's show!

Have a day. :-|