COMPUTERS & THE INTERNET – Page 6

X Box One and Active Shutter 3D Glasses

While I was watching a 3D Blu-ray movie on my PS3, I discovered that Active Shutter 3 D Glasses don’t work when the XBox One is turned on.

I am guessing that the new XBox One Kinect is the culprit. Even though none of this stuff works in Australia#, the Kinect has an inbuilt IR blaster which probably interferes with the infrared signals being sent to the 3D glasses by the TV.

In any case the problem goes away as soon as the XBox One is switched off.

This is going to be an issue if or when XBox One is upgraded to pay 3D Blu Ray.

# I have read that the the Australian free to air (FTA) channels will not provide their EPGs to Microsoft. (By that I assume it means they will not allow Foxtel to extend use of FTA EPGs already in in Foxtel / Austar STBs for use on X Box One.) Reports that FTA channels won’t co-operate come as no surprise. After all, these people can’t even tell the time. (I am talking about advertised program starting and finishing times.) And don’t get me started with the irrational chopping and changing of programming schedules. I remember when the Sopranos was being shown on FTA. It was almost impossible to keep track of broadcast times and I gave up trying to watch Fringe for the same reason.

Foxtel has also not yet allowed use of its EPG (with or without the FTA component). You can get Foxtel Play (for a fee) via the X Box 360 (as well as PCs and other devices). Foxtel Play is a way of getting Foxtel over the internet without a STB. So, unless I am missing something, it doesn’t appear that being able to plug the Foxtel/Austar STB into the XBox One would harm Foxtel Play.

In any case, it seems that Foxtel and MS are having “discussions”. See http://mmgn.com/xboxone/news–why-theres-no-foxtel-on-xbox-one

WINDOWS 8.1 UPGRADE PROBLEM WITH PC Refresh and PC Reset

This article – Windows 8.1 Update Leaves OEM Owners With Broken Restore Function describes a problem that I have encountered on all of my home built computers – AND it is bloody annoying.

In summary if you use the free app to upgrade an OEM Win 8 system to Win 8.1, the very handy and useful “PC Refresh” and “PC Reset” functions no longer work.

Quotes from this article:

Microsoft made a huge blunder that could leave you in a bind should you ever need to use the Refresh or Restore recovery tools after you upgrade.

AND

Amazingly, Microsoft is aware of the problem and doesn’t seem to care. IT did not apologize, nor does it have any plans to release the ISO, or seem to have any interest in fixing the problem

There is further information here:

http://www.neowin.net/news/some-windows-81-users-dont-have-any-reset-or-refresh-options-but-theres-a-solution

And information on how to download the 8.1 iso with a Win 8 key here:

http://winsupersite.com/windows-8/windows-81-tip-download-windows-81-iso-windows-8-product-key

I have not tried to download the iso yet and frankly I don’t see why I should have to go to all this effort.

Suffice to say that I am not a happy camper.

My work around is to create a system image (using the very useful old Win 7 system image function that can still be found in 8.1.)

In my opinion this is the best solution in that you can image the drive after you have set it up and installed and activated all of your programs. Even with the less destructive PC Refresh you lose traditionally installed programs / activations including Office.

In my case I used up my last remaining Foxit activation when I was trying to solve the problem caused by the 8.1 upgrade. I thought I had done something wrong and went back twice to do a fresh install from the Win 8 install DVD.

All of the time that I wasted on this was bad enough but I am really more annoyed that MS did not put a warning in the 8.1 upgrade app that this might happen particularly as I completed the upgrade on my 2 computers plus another home build from a friend before I became aware of the issue.

Anyhow, if the reports that Microsoft doesn’t care are accurate, there is little use in whining.

My MacBook is now a few years old and, even though it still works well, when the time comes to upgrade, it will definitely be another MacBook not a PC. (That’ll teach them to annoy me!!)

THIS IS HOW TO DO A SYSTEM IMAGE:

Find a place for the image to be recorded – either on a separate HDD in the computer or on an external drive. (Try to avoid burning to DVDs.)

Go to Control Panel / File History and click on “System Image Backup” in the bottom left.

Follow the prompts – it is easy.

IMPORTANT _ after you are finished you have to make a new USB Repair Disk or recovery drive. NOTE! a Repair CD/ DVD made for Win 8 will not work. You have to make a new one for 8.1 and it can only be on a USB Thumb Drive – not an optical disk.

Insert a Thumb Drive – a 500mb one is more than enough. Even though you don’t have to, I format it as NTFS and label it “Win 8.1 64 (or 32) bit recovery”.

Open Control Panel / File History / Recovery (bottom left) / Create a Recovery Drive – At this screen you will see (if you have the problem) that you cannot click on the option to “Copy the recovery partition”. If you can click this box you probably don’t have this problem.

Follow the prompts. It only takes a minute or so.

TO RE-INSTALL YOUR WIN 8.1 SYSTEM IMAGE:

1. IMPORTANT – If your computer has more than one internal HDD, make sure you know which drive is your (imaged) C drive – Either look at “This PC” in Explorer for the size of the disks (usually a good way to tell) or go to Disk Management for full details. You will need to know this when you get to No 10.

2. Boot from the USB recovery drive . The option to boot from USB HDD worked for me.

3. After allowing a few seconds for the USB Recovery to load, choose your keyboard layout. In Australia we use US keyboard – you have to use the mouse to click on more options to get to “US” at the end.

4. Now click on “Troubleshoot – Refresh your PC or use Advanced Tools”;

5. Click “Advanced Options”;

6. Click “System Image Recovery”;

7. Click “Windows 8.1” (this should be the only option);

8. The next screen asks for the location of the back-up image. Find / choose where the system image is located – usually the default “last image” will be the one;

9. Click “Format and re-partition” and then click the “Exclude” box;

10. IMPORTANT – Make sure you click to exclude all drives except the C drive to which you want the image to be re-installed. – See No 1;

11. Follow the prompts. When it is finished, remove the USB Recovery Thumb Drive and re-start.

The whole process is quick and painless and will restore your computer to the date that the image was made. I just did it on the computer I am now using (my HTPC) and it finished in 10 minutes. (Although my C drive only has 40 GB of stuff on it.)

Everything will be “as it was”, activations included. IMHO this is by far the best restore option. You can easily update the image but be sure that your computer is up to date and free of problems before you do.

Failing this, if PC Refresh / Restore does not work, you have no choice but to start over with a re-install of Win 8 from the original disk or source.

Refresh Your PC–Win 8

Windows 8 has some new features to make it much easier to restore the OS.

In previous versions of Windows, to fix major problems with the OS you really had little option but to do a fresh install either from the disc or the hidden partition or ,if you were lucky enough to have one, from a system image from before the time that the problems occurred.

Windows 8 has changed this and now has 2 “Push Button” functions – “Refresh your PC” and “Remove Everything and Reinstall Windows”.

“Refresh Your PC” retains your files but re-installs the OS and “Remove Everything and Reinstall Windows” wipes everything out and starts over.

I decided to try the “Refresh Your PC” and here is what happened.

You Find these functions in Charms / Settings / Change PC Settings / General.

When you click the “Refresh your PC Without Affecting Your Files” - “Get Started” button you get this warning:

Take notice particularly of the second last dot point. I did not really pay attention to it and, as someone who still lives mainly in the Desktop, I paid the price.

First, the good news – It is very easy and quick and did exactly what it said it would do. It kept all of my files plus all of the Tile Apps from the Windows store with their settings. (e.g. the Weather App was put back with all of my personalised settings etc.)

Windows is restored as ‘activated’ and a check of Device Manager did not show any problems with drivers. My printer is on the network and it remained in Devices and Printers as the default printer. (I printed a test page to make sure that it still worked. It did.) The network settings did not change but I have a wired connection to the router so I can’t say if things like WPA pass words need to be re-input.

About the only setting that it did not restore was my PIN sign In option. However this is no big deal and easy to reinstate and I now realise that this is what the second dot point says.

Also Windows Update needed to run again to re-install all updates.

The bad news (for me) is that it did exactly what it said it would do in terms of in the second last dot point. It removed all of my traditionally installed programs. Things like Chrome, Firefox, Paint.net, TrueCrypt and so on. It also removed MS Office which, to be fair, is not from the Windows App Store so I should have expected this as well.

In regard to MS Office, I note that it did retain the .pst file from Outlook (that I had started to set up but abandoned in favour of Live Mail).

I have gone to the subscription model of Office ( Office 365), so putting it back was painless. However, I will have to restore all the other programs.

I will do this over time and also take this opportunity to first try to use any alternative Win 8 Apps - like the PDF reader instead of installing Adobe Reader or Foxit etc..

In summary this is an excellent feature and is much better than how it had to be done in previous Windows versions.

But be sure to first do a back up of your data (just in case) and make a list of the traditionally installed programs and ensure that you have the install discs and / or the activation codes for any programs that you have installed/ purchased. Or better still, try to make more use of the Tile interface/ Windows App Store.

WINDOWS 8 – NEW USER EXPERIENCE

I have just finished listening to Windows Weekly Episode 307 where there was a general discussion about Win 8 including the reaction of inexperienced computer users to the new “tile interface”. The Windows Weekly team agreed that new users don’t seem to have the same aversion to the tile interface as some others who have used the desktop for years.

It just so happens that 2 of my friends recently bought their very first computers so I have first hand experience of how people with absolutely no previous exposure to computers react to the tile interface.

I will call them:

Subject 1 (S1) – Male in his early 70s

Subject 2 (S2) – Female in her early 60s

Both bought different brands of laptops from a national retailer – mid range with Core i3, 4gb RAM and 500GB Hard Drives. They each also bought a $20 Microsoft wireless mouse and neither laptop has a touch screen. Neither bought MS Office but instead will use WordPad (They come from a generation that knows how to spell so WordPad will be fine.)

I was not involved in the S2 purchase but I was with S1. S1 did not want to spend more than $500/$600 so a touch screen was not in the budget.

S2 chose Optus as her ISP and S1 chose Telstra as his.

I ended up being the “teacher” to get them up and running.

First up I have to say that, without question, both clearly favour the tile interface over the desktop. In fact they both never use the desktop apart from a couple of exceptions that I will detail later.This, I might add, put them both a little at odds with me as, after using Win 8 for over a year, I still tend to retreat too readily to the desktop.

When I say no previous computer experience, I mean just that. I had to start with lessons on how to use a mouse and generally how to use a computer.

BTW at this stage S1 is resisting using contractions like “BTW, LOL, LMAO” etc. but I can see his resolve staring to waiver as he has no typing skills and relies on the laborious “hunt and peck” method.

In addition to the basics, the extra instructions for Win 8 can be summarised as “Corners and Charms”. They also needed to be shown how to use the Tiles (Right Mouse / Settings / Search etc.) and how to use the Store to get Apps. I pasted a list of Win 8 Keyboard shortcuts on their laptops but I notice that in both cases they don’t use them, preferring instead to stick with the mouse.

S2 was the first to get her laptop. When I went back a few weeks later to see how she was getting along, she had progressed to the point where she was able to do most of what she wanted. Naturally she had some questions but was searching the net, sending and receiving Emails, getting her photos off her camera etc.. She had even installed the eBay App (which is something I have not yet done – I still go to the Desktop to access eBay on a browser).

She only had one main thing that she wanted me to do and that was to set up a Facebook account for her. She had not done this herself as there is no actual Facebook App and was not sure how to set it up via the desktop. ( At least I can’t see one – there are plenty of Apps for Facebook but not one that is actually Facebook.)

In any case she is now on Facebook and the most common response from family and friends who accepted her friend requests was “ welcome to the 21st century”.

The first thing that S1 wanted was to be able to access his Tatts phone betting account on the computer. He now knows how to access it to check up on “form” for the horses and to keep an eye on how much money he has in his Tatts betting account. But he said he will continue to go to the TAB to put his bets on. (I’ll give it 6 months at the most before the convenience of placing his bets on line with his Tatts account wins out over the TAB. Or I might be wrong – All the other punters gather at the TAB to swap tips so I’ll modify that to “betting on the computer wins out over using the phone”).

One of his first Emails was from another mate of ours who gave him links to various sites that cover Australian horse racing and I showed him how to add these to his favourites bar on his browser.

EXCEPTIONS TO THE TILE INTERFACE

I mentioned above that there were a couple of exceptions to 100% use of the tile interface.

These are:

E mail.

This applies only to S 2 as she was given a POP Email address by her ISP, Optus. In both cases I set up a Hotmail Email address for Win 8 sign in and also as their main main Email addresses to use with the Win 8 Email App. However Optus still gives its subscribers a POP Email and they send their bills to this address. Therefore, in the case of S2, it was necessary to install the old desktop Windows Live Mail program just for this address. However, it was interesting to note that one of the follow up questions she had for me was to remind her how to use this program. She had no such problem with using the new “tile” Email App in Win 8.

PLEASE Microsoft fix the Win 8 App to accept POP Emails.I will probably set up the Optus Email to forward to her Hotmail next time I call – BUT I should not have to do this and she herself as a new user would not be able to do so.

It was interesting to note that while Telstra gave S1 an account sign in that looks like an Email address ( xxxxx@bigpond.com), there is no actual Email set up by default. Therefore I simply set up a Hotmail and input this to the Telstra/Bigpond account as the Email address.

Internet Explorer

I just cannot come to grips with the new IE. Also, most of the remedial questions S2 had concerned this browser. I solved the issue by installing Chrome on both laptops and making it the default. Both of them seemed to prefer a desktop browser particularly for things that the “tile” IE does not have like a Home button, a Back Button and a Favourites Bar – Problems solved!

SUMMARY

No matter what some people might say about the new tile interface, in this case it was really no contest. Not only do both of them not want to use the desktop, but when I start to explain it to them, I can almost see their eyes glaze over. If it can be done with the tiles, they really do not want to know.

BTW, after being shown once, neither one has any trouble finding and using the Power Button to turn the computer off which seems to be the main gripe from people who appear to have decided not to like Win 8.

Win 8 Day to Day use

I have been using Win 8 for long enough to now make an informed judgement about it.

My Desktop computer dual boots Win 7 and Win 8 and to summarise, I now rarely boot to Win 7.

The only time I boot to Win 7 is:

Run updates to the OS and Security Essentials and run Google Calendar Sync *
Use Live Mesh PC to PC Sync – Skydrive keeps improving so here’s hoping that Skydrive eventually gets this function; and
Use programs I bought on Win 7 . I will have to look into whether I can transfer these licences to the new OS.)

(* Google calendar Sync is not yet available for Outlook 2013)

In other words, I prefer Win 8 to Win 7.

That is not say that Win 8 does not have some issues.

Win 8 is a mixture of the traditional desktop and the new Tile Interface. The more I use the Tile interface (formerly called Metro) the more I like it. But it is still early days and most of the applications (programs) that I use default to the old Desktop including Office.

I can now see more clearly where Microsoft is going and, as the App store expands, there will be a reducing need to download programs directly from the internet via the traditional installation method . For example, if you want one of the millions of programs available for Windows on the internet, instead of going to the related web site and downloading the installer and running it on the Desktop, you would go to the App store and install it to the Tile Interface.

No doubt, over time more and more programs will be in the App store and there will be a gradual move away from the current method. Hopefully this will also mean safer downloads with some oversight maintained on the items in the App Store. (Like what Apple does with its Apps – not perfect but better than nothing).

I don’t miss the Start Button but I can see some argument for its restoration at least until there is a “critical mass” of available Apps (programs) in the App Store.

But you don’t need the Start Button. Remember that you can always click Win Key X (or right mouse in the bottom left corner )to bring up the Power User Menu that has access to most of the things you want.

Nevertheless I do have some complaints.

MAIL APP (TILE VERSION)

Lack of support for POP Email in the Mail App is my number one complaint.

When I saw that the Mail App had support for Hotmail, Gmail and Yahoo Mail with a button for “Other” I thought I was good to go. But alas it does not support POP email.

A very, very large number of people use POP Email and in my case I have POP Email addresses from Telstra/Bigpond plus my own Domain.

There are suggested ‘work arounds’ like redirecting POP Emails via your Gmail or Hotmail but I don’t want to do this and I shouldn’t have to. This is not a big deal on a computer as you can use an Email program like Outlook or Windows Live Mail. However, if you get one of the new Windows RT Tablets (with the ARM CPU) you are out of luck. In fact this was the deal breaker when I was deciding whether or not to buy a Surface RT. I will stick with my iPad as it has no problems with POP Email.

What a pity as the Mail App is otherwise excellent and I like the way it looks and works.

INTERNET EXPLORER – TILE VERSION

OK I admit that I have a bad attitude towards the Tile Version of IE. But I have reasons. I had it set as my Default browser, but as it cannot install plug ins such as Flash, more often that not, you end up on the Desktop version. It does not take long to decide that you may as well just use the Desktop version.

Also it does not have a favourites list nor a Home button plus many other annoying omissions.

I gave up and went back to my preferred set up of Firefox with No Script as my default browser plus Chrome (with Google Search) and IE10 with Bing for day to day use.

However there are so many other excellent things about Win 8 that these two annoyances can be overlooked.

There are too many to detail but some that come immediately to mind are:

Great Tile Apps like the Finance, News and Weather that come pre installed. When you dig down into them they are fantastic and so much better that anything I have on my iPad;
The Restore and Back Up functions including Push Button Refresh which enables the OS to be restored without wiping out your personal data and settings. This one feature alone justifies the upgrade but it is by no means the only reason to do so.
The Win 8 “Search” function which is an improvement on the previously excellent ‘Start Search’ in Win 7;
The ease of installing Win 8 (including, in my case having all of the drivers for my hardware being installed automatically);
The new improved Task Manager;
It seems to me to be much quicker.

In other words, I give Win 8 a big “thumbs up”.

WINDOWS 8 RELEASE 26th Oct 2012

I have (finally) made some decisions in regard to Win 8.

Before I start I would like to make people aware of a situation that I encountered when I went to a local retailer to buy the Win 8 Pro upgrade.

When I bought the disks for Win 8 Pro I was also offered the Windows 8 Pro pack. NOTE If you buy the upgrade to Win 8 Pro you DO NOT need this pack.

The only thing that is missing from Win 8 Pro is Windows Media Centre (WMC). BUT you can buy this on line for USD$9-99 so DON’T PAY for the pro pack which costs as much as the Win 8 Upgrade.The Pro Pack is designed to upgrade Win 8 to Win 8 Pro and, even though this pack does have WMC, don’t pay again for the other things in the pack which are already in Win 8 Pro.

If you want and use Windows Media Centre(WMC), buy it separately for $9-99.

Furthermore, after I paid tor WMC I noted that Microsoft is giving away WMC for free until 31st Jan 2013. See http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/feature-packs (Look under “Add Windows Media Center to Windows 8 Pro” – “For a limited time, get Windows 8 Media Center Pack for free”). However I won’t quibble about $9-99. But don’t get caught paying say $60 or $70 for the Pro Pack if you have already bought Win 8 Pro and DON’T pay for an upgrade from Win 8 to Win8 Pro if you don’t need it (and most won’t) and / or you don’t use WMC.

I don’t think the retailer was trying to rip me off. I am sure that it was just a staff member who was not properly trained. (He said that, as he used WMC he was going to buy the pro pack – I told him that, if he has Win 8 Pro, I was sure that it was not necessary to pay for the Pro Pack and that he just needed to get WMC.)

The other thing is to shop around for Win 8 Pro. I paid AUD$58 and I later found out it was priced at $48 at Office Works.

I have decided to dual boot my desktop with Win 7 and Win 8. I did this mainly as I still use the PC to PC syncing that comes with Live Mesh to transfer large video files. When you install Windows Essentials 2012 on Win 8, Live Mesh is no longer available as it is replaced by SkyDrive. However SkyDrive does not have direct PC to PC file syncing and the video files significantly exceed the file size limits for SkyDrive.

Apart from this issue, Windows 8 installed without any problems and the only additional device software that I have had to install is a driver pack for my Canon printer so that I can install and use Canon MP Navigator EX. The printer / Scanner worked OK but I like Canon MP Navigator EX.

I installed Win 8 Pro on a separate drive ( 120 GB WD VelociRaptor – Win 7 is on another WD VelociRaptor) and I have access to all of my data on separate drives no matter what OS I use.

Eventually, I will build a new system with a modern main board and SSD plus a touch screen. I also intend to buy a new Ultra Book ( My Specs – Core i5, 8gb ram, 256GB SSD and Touch Screen – I am looking.)

In the meantime Win 8 is working very well with my current hardware.

I had been using the Release Preview for some time and, as a result, I am very familiar with Win 8. Naturally there is a learning curve but none of the people I have shown it to have had any real problems particularly after they are shown the basics.

Don’t believe the naysayers – it is about the same as learning how to use an iPad.

There are many small changes but they are generally no big deal – an example is with Windows Update. Updates are all handled automatically but if you open the Windows Update Control panel, the “Install” button has been moved from the main page to the “Select updates to install” page as shown.

The only real issue I have had has been with the free preview edition of Office 2013. ( http://www.microsoft.com/office/preview/en) This version of Office will be available on a subscription basis and you can download it onto 5PCs or Macs. Also it is a full version of Office with Word, Excel, Power Point, One Note, Outlook, Access and Publisher for USD $99-99 per year. That is a good deal particularly for me as I will have use for at least 4 of the licences..

The problem that I encountered was that Outlook would only partially import the set up from the .pst file from my copy of Outlook 2010. When I upgraded from Outlook 2007 to 2010 it was only necessary to import the 2007 .pst file and everything was set up just as it was in the previous version. I am not too concerned as this is only a free “preview” edition but I think that I will use this excuse to abandon Outlook and instead use Windows Live Mail.

Also as mentioned in a prior post, this version of Office does not have the photo editing software that has been in previous Office Versions. The Editing that comes with Windows Live Photo Gallery is as good but I had become familiar with and liked using the Office version.

However overall I really like Win 8. I admit that in the setting up phase I mainly used the desktop but, after it is up and running with everything set out the way I want , I use the Tile Interface.

Everyone highly recommends that you set up or update your Hotmail / Windows Live account so that you can use this as your sign in to Win 8 on your computer. Make Hotmail / Live mail your main Email account and update your Hotmail Contacts and Calendar. I agree, as by doing so all of this stuff is backed up in the cloud making it that much easier when you move to a new computer etc..

Tips for the beginner:-

First Up watch this YouTube Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nh5JjErbXE8
Then (for Keyboard and Mouse) remember “Corners” and “Charms”
Arrange your Tiles to your personal taste: (See http://www.winsupersite.com/article/windows8/windows-8-feature-focus-start-screen-144643 )
Un-Pin any Tiles you don’t think you will use regularly ( Right Mouse on the Tile and a menu will come up at the bottom which includes an “un-Pin” button)
Search for the “Help and Support” Tile and pin it to the Start Screen (Right Mouse – Pin). Don’t hesitate to use the Help function – It is well set out and has clear instructions
Group your Tiles using the Groups function (See link above to Win Super Site)
Now name your groups (Use the “Help and Support” Tile to find out how)
Remember some basic Keyboard shortcuts.

Here are some handy Keyboard Short Cuts –

Windows Key C	Charms
Windows Key Z	App bar
Windows Key Q	Search charm
Windows Key full stop	Snap
Windows Key Tab	Switch apps
Windows Key D	Desktop
Windows Key I	Settings
Windows Key (on its own)	Start Screen (Tiles)

A full list is here http://www.winsupersite.com/article/windows8/windows-8-consumer-preview-windows-key-keyboard-shortcuts-142358

This is how I have grouped, labelled and set out my tiles.

I have only just scratched the surface with all that is new with Win 8 but I repeat , don’t listen to the naysayers – It is great and, with a bit of help at the beginning, easy to use. I can’t wait to get a Touch Screen Ultrabook.

PS In addition to Hotmail/MS Exchange, The Mail App now supports Gmail and POP Emails but not Yahoo Mail.

Windows 8 Update

Before I start I would like to acknowledge the following:

Paul Thurrott’s Supersite for Windows / Windows 8

Tekzilla

Without information form these sources, I would have struggled a lot more in coming to terms with Windows 8.

However I have become a Win 8 fan and am now at the point where I am considering loading it onto my main computer.

I have had a couple of issues:

When I went to update from the Consumer Preview to the Release Preview, I found that the old computer that I was using was not compatible. This computer has an Intel Pentium 4 (Prescott) CPU that does not support XD (Execute Disable). This is a technology in modern CPUs designed to provide protection from certain types of Malware. (See Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NX_bit )
The standard version of Win 8 will not have Windows Media Centre. I have a TV Tuner card in my main computer and regularly use Windows Media Centre linked to my TV via Xbox 360. Media Centre will be available in Win 8 but only as a paid extra for the higher priced “Professional” version; annoying but not a deal breaker.

In reference to Point 1 above, I was about to abandon Win 8 but as a last resort I decided to try to install it on an old ASUS Note Book. It is an Asus M5200AE with a 1.73 GHZ Pentium M CPU and only 512MB RAM. Even though I was presented with many warnings, Win 8 Release Preview loaded and ran OK (although slowly). I went on line and bought a RAM Upgrade to 1GB (for $70 which is more that the notebook would be worth) and Win 8 now runs well enough to be very usable. In fact I am writing this post on it.

The only problem I have with this notebook is that Win 8 does not see the optical drive. I installed it from an iso image on a DVD and right after installation it sees the DVD drive. However, when the updates are installed, it no longer sees this drive. I have looked on the ASUS site for drivers but as it is a superseded model the only drivers are for XP which will not install in Win 8. However this is not a big issue and, in any case, most modern notebooks don’t have optical drives. I wonder if during the update phase, Win 8 detects that it is a low powered device and disables things like Optical Drives on the assumption that it is a device without an optical drive.

Win 7 Start Search

Thanks to Tekzilla, I was very pleased to learn that Win 8 retains this function and it actually is better. On the Metro Start page you only have to start typing your search term and it automatically enters into the search function. For example if want to find a WordPad document called “Test” saved in My Documents, I only have to start typing “test” on the Metro Start screen and it will go to the Search interface. I then select “Files” from the options (Apps, Settings, Files etc.) and my Word pad file is there.

Email

On the Desktop you can still use Outlook or Live Mail etc. On Metro there is a mail App that works well but at this time you can only add Email for Hotmail and Gmail (& MS Exchange)

A comparison between the iPad (left) and Metro (right) for adding Accounts shows that the iPad can add all types while Metro only has Hotmail, Gmail and MS Exchange.

So it is hoped that there will be additions to the Metro App so that POP mail, Yahoo etc. can be added. I hope they do as I want to add Email Accounts on my own domain as well as Bigpond and Yahoo.

Keyboard Shortcuts

If, like me, you are using Win 8 without a Touch Screen, then it is essential to be aware of a few handy Keyboard Shortcuts.

Windows Key (WinKey) + I Opens the Settings for a particular App

WinKey + Q – Search

WinKey + D – Desktop

WinKey + C – Charms Bar

There are many more but these will solve most problems particularly the WinKey + I that opens up the settings for an App that you have open.

Snipping Tool

The Snipping Tool does not work in Metro. As soon as the Snipping Tool is opened it changes to the Desktop. That is why I had to use my camera to get the above images under Search and Email.

MS OFFICE

I have not installed Office as I do not have a spare copy. I assume that it will work as before but in the Desktop. I wonder if Metro style Apps for Word, Excel etc. will become available. It would be good if you could buy them separately at a reasonable price.

CONCLUSION

I think that I will delay installing on my main machine for now. There are still some things that could be improved so I will continue using it on this old Notebook. Also I would like to have a touch screen when I go ahead with Win 8 as my main OS.

Windows 7

I have had my brand new copy of Windows 7 for a couple of days now but was holding back on installing it as I wanted to finish with the old computer on which I was testing Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic Koala). This computer will be going back to a Windows Vista home network and I need to make sure that all is well with file and printer sharing with Vista. I have been using my main computer for these tests.

Patience is not one of my virtues however. As I have Vista on my Mac Book I could see no reason to wait any longer so I went ahead with the Windows 7 installation.

Backing up for a clean install is not a big deal for me as I keep everything backed up on external drives and, in any case, all of my data is saved on separate internal hard drives. As a result, it was just a matter of copying my IE favourites and the .pst file for Outlook to another drive and I was good to go.

This is how long it took:

7:50 am booted to the Win 7 DVD

Including a quick format of the C drive I was finished the installation and was downloading the updates by 8:09 am – 19 minutes. There were not many updates and, even including a download of Windows Live Essentials (which is one of the updates), I was finished by 8:40am – 50 minutes all up.

The new “Libraries” feature of Win 7 makes attaching photos, music etc to the correct “Library” trivial. (Right Mouse \ Include in Library). This is far easier that re-locating the old My Documents etc folders and it means that you can save stuff anywhere and attach it to the appropriate library.

Everything just worked. All drivers came down from Windows Update except the driver for the scanner in my Canon MP610 ‘all in one” printer. A quick visit to the Canon site soon fixed this minor issue.

After I re-installed my copy of office the usual large volume of updates needed to be downloaded but, as there has been a recent Office Service Pack, even this did not take long. Setting up my somewhat complicated Outlook arrangements took the most time but I was smart and have “how to” instructions, so by about by 9.30am I was finished.

I was a little worried about the software program for my Logitech Harmony Remote. This program would not install on the pre-release versions of Windows 7 but , once again, there was no problem with the retail copy of Win 7.

My general impressions so far ( after 1 day) is that it seems to be faster (but I have just done a clean install and I had everything including the kitchen sink installed on Vista).

It looks “pretty” and works with a minimum of fuss. Many things particularly home network set up have been made much easier.

Windows Media Centre has been updated and I can now get an Electronic program guide for my area. There is also an FM radio section for TV Tuner cards that support this (mine does).

My Only complaint is that the free Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) was not an optional update. I went ahead and downloaded MSE so I forgot to see if it was offered in the “Action Centre” – The Action Centre” takes the place of “Security” Control Panel.

I will keep playing and report on major differences (with Vista) that I notice.

by 8:05 I was at the Desktop to change from Sydney to Brisbane time and the Device Manager showed no exceptions.

Windows Live Essentials was an Optional Update (and it is needed as you don’t get any of these programs as you did with Vista).

In summary – “Very Slick”.

Additional Ubuntu Notes

I keep forgetting to mention a firewall for Ubuntu. This is because I am behind a router and consequently a firewall is not essential. However, Ubuntu has a very good firewall called UFW that is installed but is disabled by default. The best way to configure it is to install a program called “Firestarter” from Add/Remove Programs.

I have also downloaded and installed the pre-release version of Ubuntu 9.10 “Karmic Koala”. The excellent news is that 9.10 has solved all of those annoying problems that I have had with my D-Link and Netgear Wi-Fi adaptors. The Netgear WG111works “out of the box” and the D-Link DWL G132 works after installing the windows drivers (both of the .inf files) via Ndiswrapper.

The only problem I am having with 9.10 is that I can’t connect to the printers on my Vista and Windows 7 machines. However, updates are coming through every day and I hope that this can be resolved. Both of my printers work well when connected directly.

UBUNTU 9.04 (JAUNTY JACKALOPE) – SET UP

Posted by whycal on October 6, 2009

Please refer to my post 1^st Oct 2009 “RE-FURBISH”. As I have just completed a full set up of Ubuntu, I have listed below details of what I do to get Ubuntu functional for my purposes. DISCLAIMER – This is what I do using my hardware / operating systems. There are no guarantees that it will work in other cases.

Also, I think it is only fair to retract some of the praise I was heaping on Ubuntu when comparing installation times with Vista. It is true that Ubuntu (including Open Office) can be fully installed and updated in about 30 minutes. Installing Vista and MS Office takes much longer but only because of the need to run Windows Update multiple times. The actual installation of Vista & Office takes about the same time as Ubuntu; it is those multi hundred MB Windows updates that make the difference.

But, and this is a big “but”, Vista is very functional at this point particularly if you throw in the easy download of Windows Live Essentials. In particular, Windows update now automatically provides the drivers needed for most, if not all, hardware devices. However, the same can’t be said about Ubuntu. Granted, Ubuntu can do all of the basics at this point but I find it necessary to carry on with a number of tweaks to get Ubuntu to an acceptable level of functionality.

When all of this is completed, Vista is very much the quicker of the two to set up. Whether you like Microsoft or not, no one can deny that they do a first class job in getting their products to work with an almost unlimited number of different systems and/or devices. There is value in paying for their software.

The following list contains the additional steps that I take with Ubuntu 9.04 to get it to a point where I think it is a viable alternative system. Sometimes the information on the internet is a little dated and, even though I have done this many times, I find myself wasting time by going down dead ends. Therefore I use this list to save time. Of course, it will all change when the next Ubuntu version “Karmic Koala” is released at the end of October 2009.

No 1 – GET CODECS FOR PLAYING VIDEO FILES.

My method for doing this is to have small video files in the formats you think you will need. Transfer them to your new Ubuntu machine and open and play them in the default program. I usually use .wmv , .mov & .avi. You will get a pop up asking you to download the appropriate “plug in”. Just follow the prompts – simple.

No 2 – GET FLASH PLAYER

Open Firefox and go to a site that has Flash Video like You Tube (I go to http://live.twit.tv/ ). You will be prompted to get adobe flash. Click to go to the Adobe site. In the drop down box called “Select Version to Download”, select “.deb for Ubuntu 8.04+” and then click “Agree and install now”. When the download window opens, it should show the default which is to open with “GDebi Package Installer (Default)” – Don’t change this – click OK and follow the instructions. Re-start Firefox and Flash video should work.

No 3 – MP3 FUNCTUALITY FOR AUDACITY

To enable export of audio files from Audacity as MP3, “Lame” needs to be installed. The first thing to do is to open “System / Administration / Software Sources” and enable everything under the Tabs “Ubuntu Software” and Third party Software”. On the Ubuntu Software tab there is a “Download From” drop down. The default is “Australian Servers” but I have had trouble with these servers so I change it to “Main Server”.

Now run the “Update Manager” (System / Administration / Update manager). You will find that these changes generate a large number of updates.

When the updates are finished, open “System / Administration / Synaptic Packet Manager” and install LAME from “Multimedia (Multiverse)”. Then from “Synaptic Packet Manager” select “ALL” and find and install – libmp3lame0

No 4 – RIP CDs AS MP3

Ensure “Multiverse” and “Universe” are installed in “Synaptic Packet Manager” (They should be from the above “Lame” installation).

Once again from “Synaptic Packet Manager / All” – find and install “Ubuntu Restricted Extras”

From “Applications” install the program “Audio CD Extractor (Sound Juicer)” using “Add/Remove Applications”.

Open “Audio CD Extractor” – Edit / Preferences / Format / Output Format / Edit and select “CD Quality, MP3 (mp3 type)”.

NOTE – Click on “Applications / Add / Remove” and install and use “Banshee” rather than “Rhythm Box” for a music player. I always un-install Rhythm Box” as it never seems to work properly for me.

Open “Banshee” and set the default for ripping to “MP3” by clicking on – Edit / Preferences / Audio CD / Edit and select “MP3 lame Encoder”.

I also use “Banshee” to rip CDs so I change the preferences to do this automatically when a CD is inserted. With MP3 functionality installed, Banshee can be used with MP3 players (but not iPods).

No 5 -BURNING AUDIO CDs

The best program for this task is Brasero (it comes installed by default). However, another word of warning; this program seems to hang forever at the “Normalise” phase. I don’t know if it ever finishes “normalising” as I have never had the patience to wait long enough. As a result, I suggest that this function be turned off by clicking on – Edit / Plugins – Un-tick “Normalise”.

No 6 – SKYPE

I follow the instructions on this site – http://beginlinux.wordpress.com/2009/04/28/installing-skype-on-ubuntu-904/ Everything works ok except the Video. I have not been able to resolve this issue but video works on “aMSN” (See below)

No 7 – MSN Messenger

Install “aMSN” from “Applications Add/ Remove” (Internet Section). “Emesene” is another choice. Both of these look and work like MSN messenger and “aMSN” picked up my contacts list from Messenger. Unlike Skype, the video works.

No 8 – WEB CAM

Web cams can be a problem due to the driver issue. It depends on what brand you own. Some of mine work (the Logitech ones) but another cheap brand does not.

No 9 – E MAIL

Web based Email programs like Gmail, Hotmail or Yahoo Mail work fine via Firefox. However for POP mail (like Bigpond) I generally use the pre-installed Evolution mail. However, you can easily install Thunderbird (from the Firefox people) via “Applications / Add Remove” if you prefer.

Evolution Mail has fully functional “Calendar” and “Contacts” utilities including the ability to import contacts from other programs like Yahoo mail. When you first open Evolution mail, it walks you through the set up similar to Outlook or Windows Live Mail (desktop).

No – 10 Open Office

As long as the correct time zone was input during the installation, Open Office is fully set up with the correct language in Spell Check. Nevertheless, I always open the word processor and type in the American spelling of colour (color) just to make sure that it picks up the spelling error and Australian English is the default language in the spell checker. (It always is).

No 11 – Wi-Fi

This has been the most frustrating part of my experience with Ubuntu. To get USB Wi-Fi adaptors to work you need drivers. My D Link adaptor will not work “out of the box” and from what I have read there are few if any Linux drivers for these devices. The first thing to do is to install Ndiswrapper from “Applications / Add Remove” as it facilitates use of Windows Drivers for your particular device. Once installed, this program is accessed from System/ Administration – “Windows Wireless Drivers”. With my D Link DWL G132 adaptor, I have installed the .inf files from the Windows Driver folder (numerous versions) but it just won’t work with WPA. It works OK without any protection but I refuse to have Wi-Fi without WPA. On the other hand, the in-built Wi-Fi on my laptop worked without any drivers being installed. Obviously Ubuntu 9.04 comes with the software for the Wi-Fi chip used on this particular Asus laptop.

If your Wi-Fi will not work, there is no choice but to attach to the router via cable.

Netgear WG 111 Wireless USB Adaptor

After much weeping and tearing out of hair, I have been able to get a Netgear WG 111 V2 working. (This is the adaptor that is sent with the Bigpond Wi-Fi modem / router). This is what I did – go to “System / Administration / Synaptic Packet Manager / All” and look for and install “RTL8187 SE-Source”. Reboot. Then use Ndiswrapper to install the .inf file from the Windows drivers for “Realtek RTL8187 USB Wireless LAN (ME/2000/XP) 1.221″ – (RTL8187 is the chipset used in the Netgear WG111 V2). This is the link to get this driver:-

http://majorgeeks.com/Realtek_RTL8187_USB_Wireless_LAN_ME2000XP_d5165.html

Open the zip file and look for “netrtux.inf” under the Windows 98 folder and install it in Ndiswrapper. After much experimentation, I found that the drivers for Windows 98 worked the best. This driver only has WEP encryption but if you close the first pop up window requesting the WEP password, Ubuntu will pop another one that enables input of WPA passwords. So far (touch wood) it connects to my router.

I do have some problems however, particularly when I turn on the computer for the first time each day. The Wi-Fi won’t immediately connect. Instead it gets in a loop requesting and dropping the WPA password. To stop this, I open “System / Preferences / Network Connections / Wireless” and delete any Wireless connections. Then I go back to the Wireless Strength Meter Icon at the top right of the desktop and left mouse click on this icon then click again on any wireless connections. This disconnects the Wi-Fi and it will then automatically re-start and re-connect properly. Repeat this process if it does not work the first one or two times.

Update!! I have since discovered that the problem of not immediately connecting can be resolved. First obtain the MAC address of the Netgear Wi-Fi adaptor from System/ Administration/ Network Tools/ Devices / Network Device / Wireless Interface. Now configure your router to deliver a “Static IP” to this MAC address but leave the Ubuntu machine as DHCP. For reasons known only unto the gods, when I did this the Netgear WD111 connects first time every time. Choose and IP towards the top of the range allowed by the router to avoid IP clashes.

No 12 – PHOTOS / CAMERAS

Ubuntu works with many cameras. Just plug your camera in via USB and let it mount as a drive. Then look for the photos in the camera’s memory and copy to the HDD.

PICASA:–

The default program for correcting photos is Gimp (free version of Photoshop) which I find a bit hard to use. However Picasa can be obtained from Google here http://picasa.google.com/linux/thanks-deb.html

Download the installer and open it with the default “GDebi Package Installer”. After it installs, it works just like – well – Picasa; thank you Google for making it so easy to install.

No 13 PRINTERS – INCLUDING PRINTER ATTACHED TO A WINDOWS COMPUTER

Printing can be set up for a directly attached printer or, if your existing printer is attached to a Windows machine, Ubuntu can print over the network to this printer.

Directly attached printers are easy to set up. Plug the printer into the computer via USB and turn it on. Go to “System / Administration / Printing / New” and select your printer. In most cases it will automatically search for and install the drivers. If not, follow the “choose driver” procedure to get drivers as set out below with printers attached to a windows machine.

Attached to a Windows machine: Make sure that “Sharing” is turned on for this printer on your Windows machine. (Vista – Control Panel/ Right Mouse / Sharing). On the Ubuntu machine, click on “System / Administration / Printing / New / Printer / Network Printer / Windows Printer via Samba”. Click the “Browse” button next to SMB printer and this will activate a small window that should show your Windows Home Network name. Click on the drop down on your Windows Home Network name to expose the list of computers on your network. Select the computer that has the printer attached. This will bring up a “Log In” Window. With Vista make sure that you input the Administration Log In name next to “User Name”. (With XP most people are logged as Admin).Insert your Home Network name for Domain and the Windows Admin password.

The printer should now be listed – Click on the Printer then “OK” & “Forward”. Ubuntu will then search for the printer and hopefully find it. A new window called “Choose Driver” will appear. Select the brand and then the model to install the printer software. Mine is a Canon MP610 and it is listed along with hundreds of other models and makes. Click “Forward” and a new screen called “Describe Printer” appears. The printer can be re-named but, unless you have multiple printers, it can be left at the default name. Click “Apply” and you will be asked to print a test page. At this point Ubuntu will again ask for Authentication. Input the Windows Admin User name and password again and be sure to tick the “Remember” box. With a bit of luck the test page will print.

WARNING !! There is an annoying bug in Ubuntu when printing to a windows attached printer. Every time you print something to your windows printer, you will need to “Authenticate” as follows: – After you have clicked to print your document, go to “System / Administration / Printing” and right mouse on your windows attached printer and click “Display Print Queue”. This will bring up a window with a list of pending print jobs. You will notice that the Status of your print job is noted as “Held for Authentication”. It is necessary to right mouse on the relative entry and click “Authenticate”. Input your Windows Admin User Name and Password.

I was able to do all of this with the Windows Firewall set to Printer sharing. No doubt, anyone with one of the security suites (like Norton & McAfee etc) will be in for a whole world of firewall hurt but, as I will not allow programs like these within a hundred feet of any computer I own, I can’t help with this. As long as your home network is behind a router, it is quite safe to turn off firewalls while these things are being set up. – This comment also applies to Windows Network below.

No 14 – WINDOWS NETWORK

Notwithstanding Firewall issues, (I had no trouble with “File Sharing” turned on in my Windows Firewall), seeing the Vista shared drives and files from the Ubuntu machine is not difficult.

This is how – Click “Places / Network “and a window will come up showing “Windows Network”. Double click on the “Windows Network” icon and, if the windows firewall is being co-operative, an icon for your windows home network will appear. Double click again for the icon for your computer. Double click on this icon and a username and password screen will appear. By default it has the Ubuntu username and the generic Windows “Workgroup” inserted in the Domain space. You need to change this to the windows Admin user name and password with the name of your work group in the domain space. Click “Connect” and you will be able to see the Vista shared drives and public folder. Remember, when prompted to input username, domain and password, always use the Windows Admin Sign In and the name of your windows workgroup.

Going back the other way from Vista to Ubuntu is another issue entirely and I have not had the time to look at this in any great detail. I will leave this for another time.

Note with Windows 7 to get any network access to files on a Win 7 from a non Win 7 machine go into “Home Group” / “Advanced Sharing Settings” and turn off “Password Protected Sharing” and click “Use User accounts and passwords …” under “Home Group Connections”.

Vista– If you’re having trouble logging into other computers from Vista, go here http://support.microsoft.com/kb/947232 and run the “Fix It” tab

No 15 – BURNING DATA CDs/ DVDs & BURNING A DVD TO PLAY IN A DVD PLAYER

When you insert a blank DVD (or CD) the default program is CD/DVD Creator (Applications / Accessories). There are a number of other CD DVD burning programs including “GnomeBaker CD/DVD Writer” and “Brasero” but these will not produce the files needed for a disk that will play in a DVD player.

If you want to burn a DVD that will play in a DVD player, go to “System / Administration / Synaptic Packet Manager” and install “DeVeDe”. Reboot so it appears in Applications / Sound & Video. Then use “Applications Add/Remove” to install “K3b”. Use “DeVeDe” to convert your video file to an .iso file (that contains the correct structure for use in a DVD palyer). Then use “K3b” to burn the .iso to a DVD. Click the “Burn DVD ISO Image” Box on the main menu.

Like any other system, if a burn fails, try another brand of blank disk.

No – 16 GOOGLE EARTH

Installing Google earth is not as straightforward as installing that other Google product Picasa (See No 12). Go to http://earth.google.com/intl/en/download-earth.html

Click “Agree and Download” and save it to your Desktop. The download is called “GoogleEarthLinux.bin”. Right Mouse on it and click “Open with other application”.

At the bottom of this menu is an entry called “Use Custom Command”. Click the little arrowhead to the right of this to reveal an input box and type in – sh – (just sh).

Click Open and, at first, a black Terminal type window will open. Do nothing with this window, instead wait a few seconds until a second window called “Google Earth Set Up” opens fully and then click “Start” and follow the prompts. When it is finished, click on “Quit” rather that “Start”. This will close this window then click inside the first black terminal window and just hit enter to close it. Google earth can now be found in Applications / Internet.

CONCLUSION

There a large number of programs available via Applications Add/Remove and Synaptic Packet Manager but it is a matter of trial and error to find one that will work with your set up. Believe me, I have “trialled and errored” for hours to get things working and something that works on one computer may not work on another.

Some of my friends question my sanity but it is good to learn about these things and, when you manage to get it working, it is good to know that Ubuntu is not only a fully functional alternative but is also free stable and safe.

After all of the above items have been completed, your Ubuntu machine should be able to do most of the things that a home user would want. However, there will always be issues with hardware drivers and it definitely takes more time, patience and effort than Vista to set it up to this point.

P.S. There are some excellent Ubuntu tutorial videos here http://www.butterscotch.com/search.html?srchfld=Ubuntu