Sharing in a HomeGroup

In addition to sharing out individual folders, as was possible in previous versions of Windows, HomeGroup also shares out Explorer Libraries

• Explorer libraries aggregate multiple locations on a physical file system, and present them in a logical view.
• Each scope of a library is backed by an network share
• This allows multiple SMB shares to be aggregated into one library location
• Each library is published to the network

Users can browse either shared Explorer libraries or shared folders when browsing a HomeGroup computer, which is exposed in a dedicated node in Explorer labeled as HomeGroup. In the sample screenshot below, we see a user browsing their HomeGroup from a computer named Jeremy-laptop and logged in with the user account Jeremy.

From this screenshot we can see several things:

• Even though HomeGroup is primarily a network technology, it exists as a separate node from the Network node in the Explorer navigation pane.
• The list of computers under the HomeGroup node shows the user that that shared folders and libraries belong to.
• While logged into the local computer (with the computer name Jeremy-laptop) we see that the HomeGroup list in the navigation pane shows both local entries and remote entries. Every user that shares out folders or libraries on the HomeGroup gets a unique entry in the HomeGroup, even if they are on the same computer.
• While viewing the HomeGroup computer we see that the user Jeremy on Jeremy-PC has both libraries (which are a collection of folders) and unique file folders shared out to the HomeGroup. They are all combined into the same view.

Browsing Media in a HomeGroup

Windows Media Player and Windows Media Center are both capable of browsing and consuming media that is shared on the HomeGroup. Windows Media Player will show other HomeGroup PCs under Other Libraries. These other libraries contain the same contents as the explorer library scopes. These scopes are also accessible through compatible UPnP media playback devices like the Xbox 360 and the Roku Soundbridge.

Media Center will show other HomeGroup PCs under the Shared tab.

• Media Center uses the WMP Media Sharing Service for Music, Video and Pictures.
• Recorded TV is enabled by directly accessing the network share \\\public\recorded TV.
• Media Center can play back recorded TV that is not DRM protected from another HomeGroup PC or make a copy for playback while travelling.

Sharing printers in a HomeGroup

When a user shares their printer in the HomeGroup Control Panel, all USB-connected printers that are installed on that local PC are automatically shared:

• If the printer has drivers certified by WHQL (Windows Hardware Quality Lab), the printer will be silently installed on all HomeGroup PCs.
• If the printer does not drivers that have been certified , the printer will display a notification, and also show UI in the HomeGroup control panel, asking the user to elevate to install the printer driver.
  • This notification will only show once in the tray and always show in the control panel until the user has acted on it

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Several programs and features built-in with Windows, like Internet Information Services, must be turned on before they can be used. A variety of other features are turned on by default, but can be turned off if they are not used.

To turn off a feature in earlier versions of Windows, it had to be uninstalled completely from the computer.
In Windows 7, the features remain stored on the hard disk so its easy to be turned back on when needed.

If you turn off a feature in Windows 7, you really does not uninstall the feature, and it also does not reduce the amount of hard disk space used by Windows features.

Follow the steps below to turn Windows features "On" or "Off":

* Click the Start button, go to Control Panel, select Programs, and then click Turn Windows features On or Off. If prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, just type the password or provide confirmation.

*To turn a Windows feature on, select the check box next to the feature. To turn a Windows feature off, clear the check box. Hit OK.


Certain Windows features are grouped together in folders, and some folders include subfolders with extra features. If a check box is partly checked or is dimmed, then a few of the items inside the folder are turned on and some are turned off. To check the contents of the folder, just double-click it.

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DELL has recently launched the "Windows 7 Free and Easy Upgrade from Vista" program on select platforms. This promotion will enable Dell to be at par with their retail partners by letting customers purchasing a Dell PC starting October 5, 2009, to have Windows 7 installed on their PC by October 22. Below is Dell’s recent announcement:



Let Dell do the heavy lifting and upgrade your new PC to Windows 7 for you.

For those customers who are waiting for Windows 7 to arrive, Dell has a deal for you. Dell is expanding their upgrade program with a new option - the Windows 7 Free and Easy Upgrade program - which takes the hassle out of upgrading a PC to Windows 7 because Dell will do it for you. Now customers can purchase popular PCs like the Inspiron 15 or 17 laptop, Studio 15 laptop, Inspiron 546 or Studio desktop and Dell will install Windows 7 Premium on it before shipping.

As the program name implies, there are no additional charges associated with this. Dell’s goal is to make it as easy as possible for customers to order a new PC powered by Windows 7 and get on with the daily business, and around Oct. 22, or soon after the new PC will arrive. Of course for those customers who prefer a do-it-yourself, Dell is still offering the Windows 7 Technical Upgrade program, in which a customer buys a qualifying PC with Vista Home Premium, Vista Business Pro or Vista Ultimate, and registers for the Windows 7 upgrade kit, which then ships within a few weeks of October 22.

Dell is looking forward to the customer’s feedback on this new option in our upgrade program, and depending on customer response, Dell will investigate adding additional PC models as well as expanding it on a global basis. Go to http://www.dell.com/content/topics/segtopic.aspx/windows-7-easy-upgrade?&s=dhs.
For more details, head over to the Direct to Dell blog: http://en.community.dell.com/blogs/direct2dell/.

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As smartphones increased fame outside of the business world, a division formed among devices created for consumers (lifestyle smartphones) and those created for enterprise deployments (professional smartphones). Professional devices become more integrable into bigger systems and now provide more in the productivity department whereas lifestyle devices accommodate more to the individual's tastes as well as provide more in terms of entertainment.



Though Microsoft has plenty of consumer smartphones running Windows Mobile, the operating system has found itself on the far end of "Professional," struggling to appeal to consumers enamored with touch-based operating systems. So Microsoft has worked to make Windows Mobile 6.5 and future versions much more "finger friendly," without sacrificing their professional capabilities.

For the meantime, SPB Software has developed its own interface for earlier versions of Windows Mobile that does that very thing. At present, the company has released the most recent update to its SPB Mobile Shell, an interface for Windows Mobile Professional that has layouts for both lifestyle as well as professional users which can run either simultaneously or individually.

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Microsoft officially launched its own antivirus tool today after their Beta launch last June.

After the Redmond-based company pushed out a beta of Microsoft Security Essentials last June, enabling the software to be available to users in the United States, Israel (English only), People's Republic of China (Simplified Chinese only) and Brazil (Brazilian Portuguese only), Microsoft president for Server and Tools division Bob Muglia announced that the tool will be available for everyone today.

Previously known as Morro, Microsoft Security Essentials aims to provide basic protection from various types of malicious software, including viruses, spyware, trojans, and even rootkits. After today's launch of Microsoft Security Essentials, Microsoft will then completely discontinue OneCare, the company’s current security software that was released three years ago.

Even with Microsoft's offer of a free security suite that requires no registration, trial or renewal may sound like something that would threaten competitors, it seems like major rivals are completely unaffected by the product. Even when the Beta was launched, neither Symantec nor McAfee showed any sign of worry.

Symantec's Consumer division president, Janice Chaffin, explained that Morro is mainly a stripped down version of OneCare. "A full Internet security suite is what consumers require today to stay fully protected," she told Reuters when news of the software came out last summer. McAfee confirmed that it remained confident in its ability to compete with "anyone who might enter the marketplace."

You can download MSE by visiting the download page here and be sure to let me know what you think.

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There are a few requirements which need to be checked before troubleshooting Blu-ray movie playback issues using MediaDirect 4.0 on Studio Hybrid 140g systems.


*Ensure Broadcom Blu-ray accelerator card is installed correctly and accelerator card driver is A04 or above.

*Dell MediaDirect 4.0 Blu-ray 1.0 profile must also be installed.
-- Launch Dell MediaDirect 4.0, click "Home", select "Settings"
-- Click "About Dell MediaDirect 4.0". The Blu-ray version should listed as 3.5.xxxx

*Onboard Intel video driver A02 or above must be installed.

*High-bandwidth digital content protection (HDCP) compliance display is used.

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If you’ve noticed your MS Outlook being excessively slow or simply just having errors, you might need to probably scan and repair your Personal Folders file for any problems. It’s kind of like a checkdisk for your email.

How to Repair Your PST File

In order to repair your PST file, you’ll need to open the Scanpst.exe utility that’s integrated by default with MS Outlook. The only problem in there is because there’s no shortcut to it so you’ll need to find it in the MS Outlook folder.

To do this, open up Windows Explorer and then browse down to the following folder for MS Outlook 2007:

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12

Or one of these folders for MS Outlook 2003 and earlier:

C:\Program Files\Common Files\System\Mapi\1033
C:\Program Files\Common Files\System\MSMAPI\1033


Once you have opened up the utility, you’ll need to find the location of your PST file by clicking the on Browse button. If you don’t know the location, I have included a set of instructions for figuring out the location further down in this article.


Hit the Start button to start the scan.


The scanning process will take awhile and you’ll get a report at the end showing you whether you have errors in the file.


Hit on the Repair button and after it’s completed you’ll finally get the “Repair complete” message.


If you want to know what was actually repaired during the process, you’ll find a text file in the same directory as your PST file named exactly the same as your PST file.


Almost all of the information in the file is a bit cryptic so I’m not sure reading it will help you all that much.


Find Your Outlook PST File Location

If you only have a single PST file created automatically by MS Outlook, there’s a standard location under your user profile directory. Open up MS Explorer window and then paste the text below into the address bar:

%appdata%\Microsoft\Outlook


You should be able to see your PST file in the list; it’s normally named Outlook.pst at least in the later versions of MS Outlook. If you’ve created a new personal folders file, of course it might be in a different location where you’ve chosen to saved it.

Find Location of Outlook PST in Non-Standard Location

Occasionally your PST file will be in a different location for a number of reasons. For example, if you created a second PST you would have saved it somewhere.

If you can open MS Outlook, just right-click on your personal folders location and then select Properties.


Under the properties screen, hit on the Advanced button.


Now you’ll be able to see the location of the file in the Filename field. As a bonus, you can also compress the folders from here (although you shouldn’t compress it until it’s repaired first)


It’s well significant to scan your PST file every so often so you don’t lose data. You definitely should be backing up your files as well.

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Palm's latest version of webOS has been leaked. The chief feature of webOS 1.2 is support for paid applications. Reviewers have considered the Pre’s app selection notoriously weak; hence allowing developers to offer paid apps is an extremely necessary step.

Surprisingly, Palm's app process seems to be following in the footsteps of Apple a bit too close. Embedded within the code for 1.2 is the sentence, “Palm had to delete this application from the App Catalog and your device. If you paid for this app, your money will be refunded.”



If you find that a bit annoying, you're not alone. It's understandable that Palm intended to have the ability to remove any, if not all, apps that they deemed to be breaking copyright law or policy, however it's completely understandable that you do not want to give them that power over your phone. That line was discovered in the apprevokedalert_scene.html file, and private webOS users being able to find a way to disable it in pretty short order is still expected.

Aside from those two features, there’s a 'select all' option in the edit menu, “improved browser functionality”, and finally a “find as you type” support for email. All in all, the new webOS1.2 is gearing up to be a solid update. It might be a little necessary to come out soon enough to save the Pre's app market from dying a premature death in the market.

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People from WZOR.net have again showed up screenshots of Microsoft Office 2010 build 4417, which is the Beta 1 build of the suite. Screenshots leak of upcoming Microsoft products has turned out to be a norm now. The new Beta 1 build of Office 2010 suite provides better Back Stage view and Upload Center to carry documents online.

The Back Stage view is where information about the correspoding document is displayed in detail like that in the Office 2007. Document properties, version, statistics protection and other features are also available in the Back Stage view. New Upload Center probably gets desktop's Office 2010 documents to Office live interface in order to enable mobile and easy accessing. However, there would be loads of other known-unknown bug fixes as expected.

Below are some screenshots of the MS Office 2010 Beta 1 Build 14.0.4417.1000:

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Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard includes software for many printer and scanner models. This article lists software provided for printers and scanners. This software can be installed from the Mac OS X Install DVD, and updated by using Software Update (some models have software available through Software Update only).

To view the complete list of printer and scanners that are supported with Mac OS X v10.6, see below or use your browser's Find feature to look for a specific name or model number. If you cannot find a driver for your specific model, check the list to see if a driver is available for a series of printers that may include your model. For example, a printer with the model number 5070 might use the driver for the "5000 Series".

For more information about setting up and using printers in Mac OS X v10.6, see this article.

Source: Apple.com

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Flash News: AT&T posted a new version of Navigator, the version 1.2i.5: this should the correct the problem, and update properly.

A lot of users of the $10-a-month AT&T Navigator iPhone app have been complaining of a little problem. The periodic crashes of the app every time it calculates directions. Not to worry, the problem is easy to fix. Stop blaming yourself for doing something wrong.

“There is a software glitch. It’s our issue, not Apple’s,” confirmed by Mark Siegel, an AT&T spokesman.


The problem occurs in an indefinite number of phones when people use the update button to get the most recent copy of AT&T Navigator.

This is the easy fix:

Remove first your current copy. You won’t lose your contacts or any other information so don’t worry.

In order to remove it, hold your finger on the icon of the AT&T Navigator on the phone’s home screen until all of the icons wiggle around. You will see a white X in a circle on the upper left corner of all of the application icons. Touch the X on the AT&T icon, and then press “yes” when it asks you if you are sure you want to remove it. Then press the phone’s home button to stop the other icons from dancing.

Next, go to the App Store to download a fresh copy. The application is free. You will need to re-enter your name, e-mail address and pin number to get all of your stored data.

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For quite sometime, Yahoo Messenger has really been at the forefront of desktop video but also ignored by many. Even the former client SightSpeed as well as Skype all got the immense commendations from the press including the newcomer ooVoo. Confident that their numbers of installed users with video chat capability and consumption were dwarfing the competition, Yahoo kept their smiles and went along their merry way.

Not for long, now with Google joining the battle with their web based chat, Yahoo has made a big leap forward and implanted the GIPS Video Codec into Yahoo Messenger 10 for the Windows platform.

For many Yahoo video users, majority of whom are all in Asia, this will definitely brighten things up. The GIPS video codec has astounding clarity, depth and field of vision. More importantly, it handles transitions flawlessly, with absolutely no jumping when you are moving in front of the camera.

This is actually a huge win for both Yahoo and GIPS. Yahoo Messenger represents the most significant number of users all over the world with a major segment of those users are on Windows operated laptops and desktops. Provided how Yahoo Messenger hasn't ebbed away, most particularly outside of the USA, developing their video platform better is simply a significant commitment to the next wave of person-to-person communications. For a Global IP Solutions, the back to back wins with Google and Yahoo are suggesting to the market that top companies want to work with a less competitive codec provider against using Skype's SILK. Although SILK is royalty free, it is still associated with Skype and to both Yahoo and Google, Skype is the competition today.

From Yahoo, the message is clear: they provide their users with the best possible experience by developing the state-of-the-art; market-leading technologies for them deliver the best full screen video experience for free. And to do just that, they found it with GIPs.

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Google Reader is a very useful tool for consuming your news feeds (assuming you still use RSS), however it lives in the browser, which means it doesn’t have the responsiveness and polish of a desktop app. For all of you Mac users out there, like me, if you’re looking for the best of both worlds, I hereby present to you Gruml, an excitingly new and handy desktop Google Reader application.


Gruml is just a lightweight application that sits in your dock and menu bar, and provides you with all of your RSS goodness. What’s great about Gruml is that it carries a lot of the features in Google Reader that we have come to know and love and carries them into the desktop client, which also includes features like starring, “liking,” and sharing posts (with tags and notes), and reading headlines that your friends share with you. And for those Twitter addicts out there who always have the need to tweet their news, Gruml also comes with Twitter support, permitting you to tweet articles (converted to short URLs) directly from the application itself.
Please note though that Gruml is still in beta, and as expected has its flaws, like running slowly on startup as well as lacking some settings in the preferences menu. Nevertheless, it’s a great application that runs well and shows great promise.

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Are you disgusted with search engines logging and retaining all information concerning every search that you do on the Internet? Then Startpage will give you back your privacy and peace of mind.

Startpage (previously known as Ixquick) has a pleasant easy layout for the search homepage with related links, adding Startpage to your browser, more information, and settings. It is advisable to have a quick look at the Settings Page to check if you need to make any refinements to the search parameters or how your search results will then be displayed.


Startpage Settings
This is what the settings page looks like. You can immediately modify how your results will display, the filtering level that you wish, video filtering if preferred, enable secure https connections, and finally, anonymous picture searching if desired.
Note: Startpage will place a cookie on your computer only to maintain your desired settings.


So How Private is Startpage?
Startpage does not record IP addresses nor retain any records on the searches that you do (that is simply awesome, right?).


Startpage has bagged awards and recognition by the European Data Protection Supervisor and the Certified Secure Service for their excellent work in protecting your privacy.

Startpage also references a very well known incident (the AOL Privacy Scandal – August 2006) to basically demonstrate just how easily information retained by search engines can be turned against people.
There is also an active link so that you will be able to take a look at the leaked database for yourself. It will leave you with a less than wholesome feeling by just thinking about it and what can be done with that kind of information.


More Information About Startpage Search
Startpage uses multiple search services to provide you results – anonymously! You even see an accuracy indicator for specific results with “Star Ratings”. The higher the number of stars that are shown for a specific result, the higher the possibility that it is a good match for what you are looking for.


Once you have the results for a search displayed, you can also further refine the results by using the “Check Mark/X Mark” method that will be displayed beside some of the results.
Note: You need to activate this feature on the settings page for you to be able to use it.


Here is an example at the services that Startpage utilizes to help you search with. You can simply deselect any of the search services that you do not want to have used.


What Do the Search Results Look Like?
This is an example of a search for the term “Firefox Fangirl” with Startpage. Notice the “Star Ratings” and the “Check Mark/X Mark” power refinements shown besides these results. Star Ratings will differ depending on the specific information that you are searching for.
For this example, the search was performed using a less well-known reference term to check how well Startpage did with it.


Conclusion
If you’re already sick and tired of being tracked and having your searches logged and recorded for someone else’s database use, then Startpage can offer a refreshing change of pace and grant you back your peace of mind.
Source: https://us2.startpage.com/?r=9686

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Google has decided to enhance the task feature that has been integrated into Gmail and other Google products so other users can share their lists with others. Gmail users can now opt to share an entire task list in a new email message. This enables the transfer of all of your tasks including pertinent information like due dates as well as any tasks that have already been completed which normally show up as being crossed out.

Please take note though that this only works with Gmail and not in other Google product where tasks can be found, like Google Calendar, the mobile version of Gmail, and iGoogle. However, the e-mailing feature will surely make its way to each of these places soon enough as Google is known for its light-speed development.
Gmail Tasks is actually the one and only feature to "graduate" from the Gmail labs, Google's test bed for new and experimental features. This feature was launched in early December of 2008, and it graduated from the labs last month. The other labs-only features, including the other 13 developments that were launched alongside the release of the labs program, still need to require user action to be enabled.

Source: CNET.com

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A lot of my colleagues have been experiencing this problem lately on their Dell Mini 10. Well, they've resigned to the idea that since they're using a 9-inch netbook, isolated cases related to screen issues are expected. Luckily, I was able to find a fix and they're glad it worked!

To fix the application dialogs exceeding the screen size on a Dell Mini 10, just do the following:

Change the DPI settings to 96 DPI in order to prevent the application dialogs from exceeding the screen size. Follow below steps:

Right-click the blank area on the desktop and select 'Properties'.
Click the 'Settings' tab, click 'Advanced'.
In the 'General' tab, choose '96 DPI' in 'DPI Settings'.
Click 'OK' and 'Restart' the system.

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There will always be that time when you may encounter some problems or get stuck with something you don't exactly have a clue what it's all about while using your new Windows 7 operating system. It's always pretty convenient if you have a friend or colleague whom you can ask help from. I'll show you how to use Windows Remote Assistance to have someone you trust to help you with your concern remotely by allowing him/her to connect to your computer to help you troubleshoot the problem.

Windows Remote Assistance actually started out with Windows XP and it was also included in the Help and Support section. It was then already a stand-alone application in Windows Vista. Below is a simple demonstration of the Easy Connect feature of Windows 7.

Request Help
In order to request support on your Windows 7 computer, type “troubleshooting” into the search box and press Enter to bring up the Control Panel view. Click on “Get Help From A Friend”.


Then hit on Invite someone to help you


You can now save an invitation file as an attachment or you can automatically send it using your default email program. If the other computer is also a Windows 7 computer, the simplest method is to Use Easy Connect so the other user will just need the generated password.


Remote Assistance will open up with the Password you will give to the person you’re requesting help from in order from them to connect to your computer.



Accept Invitation to Help
The helper computer needs to access Remote Assistance and click the link to offer assistance. In here, download the Invitation attachment and double click to launch <Remote Assistance.


After the invitation is sent then just double click on it to start Remote Assistance.


Once Remote Assistance open ups, you will be prompted to key in the password given by the machine that needs help.


You will now have a remote view of their machine and you can now start diagnosing the problem. The controls at the top will allow you to gain control of the computer, change view settings and chat with the user.


You can also access XP computers for support as well but they will need to send an invite to the Windows 7 computer.


Miscellaneous Info
Another way to launch Remote Assistance is through Start \ All Programs \ Maintenance \ Windows Remote Assistance. This also works on Vista.


To start establishing a session, you need to approve the helper’s connection.


When the person helping you is requesting to take control of your machine, you will get a confirmation to approve control. You will notice that the graphics settings will switched automatically to lower quality making it easier on system and network resources.



During the Remote Assistance session, you can chat with each other which certainly comes conveniently if talking on the phone is not possible.


As the person getting help, you can also change different sharing settings.


A list of computers that you have done remote sessions with will also be stored for easier access in the future.


This should help you with doing Remote Assistance sessions to help out your family and friends. Though this is aimed for the home user, it can definitely be used in a small business setting.

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