Firefox 4 will be delivering GPU-accelerated rendering for graphical elements via the Direct2D APIs on Windows, among many other new features like a new tab layout, new look and feel for Windows and new privacy features.
Currently at Beta 4, Firefox 4 has had GPU-acceleration in the code-base, but it has always been disabled by default [...]
Tag Archives: Windows
Firefox 4 Adding GPU-Accelerated Graphics Rendering
Using MoveFile on Windows for Unmovable Files
Grant Gochnauer sent in a handy tip on using the MoveFile utility on Windows to schedule locked files to be moved at the next system startup.
I’m sharing this here so the next time you get some pesky spyware or virus on your machine, you have 1-more way to combat it.
Mac OS X Offers 2x Battery Life than Vista or Windows 7
I’m not a fan of Macs generally speaking, but due to recent realizations that Microsoft was never going to create an operating system that didn’t share fundamental behaviors with all past and present versions of Windows — I’ve decided to jump ship and get a computer that will “just work”. Keep in mind I don’t [...]
Global, Mac-like Menubar on GNOME with gnome2-globalmenu
Caught the introduction of this story over on OS News — apparently folks have been voting on the addition of a global, application-context sensitive menubar in Gnome for a while. The design of the bar is very similar to the way the global bar in Mac works. For those that don’t know, there is a [...]
Microsoft Will Never Understand Usability – Vista Device Driver Security Example
We took our first look at Microsoft’s inbility to create something genuinely useful and a minature review of Vista when we evaluated Windows Vista Backup at the beginning of the year. The premise of that article being that by evaluating a single program, and all the usability/functionality flaws it had, you got an impression of [...]
PC Hardware Virtualization Basics
With single core processors reaching their peak potential, and the latest quad core processors either on the market or a short distance off (dual 4-core Penryn), we are left to wonder how consumer computing will change beyond editing Word documents and playing 3D photo-realistic games. Enter virtualization.
Virtualization refers to virtualizing hardware in software, allowing [...]
New Multi-Touch Windows Taskbar In Action
My apologies, this is actually older news back from May, but we hadn’t run across it until now. It seems that the media semi-blitz required to reset people’s perspectives of Microsoft (and erase the bad name they got for Vista) are starting early… way early.
Microsoft isn’t slated to release Windows 7 (Vienna?) until January 2010, [...]
The PC Game Market is Not Dead
You remember that old saying “Follow the money?” whenever you wanted to find the answer to something? It still applies…
For years now PC Gaming has “been dying” and giving way to consoles; the more locked down, publiser/advertiser friendly, vendor lock-in-encouraging devices that have meant to replace the 20 billion PC gamers on the planet.
Yea after [...]
Windows 7 (Vienna) Screenshots – Confirmed for 2010 Release
If you haven’t seen it already, supposed pictures of the Windows 7 (Vienna) interface were leaked online yesterday along with a bit of information of “what we know so far”. Possible returns of WinFS, obviously a much more enhanced candy-esque UI is going to grace us and also a confirmation that consumers will be getting [...]
Windows XP SP3 – FAIL
I don’t know why I didn’t think this would happen… it is Microsoft and they have proved for the last 8 years that they are absolutely incapable of releasing valuable, stable, robust and well-designed software.
Rumors abound that Windows XP SP3 installs are fucking over computers world-wide, resulting in the inability to boot after the patches [...]
Getting Virtual / Multiple Desktops on Windows (XP and Vista)
Have you ever found yourself juggling so many extra windows at work (or at home) on your desktop that you wished you have access to multiple desktops so you could group them together and not clutter one desktop with everything? Yea, me too…
Linux has had the idea of “multiple desktops” or “virtual desktops” for a [...]
Legit Vista Crack (OEM Emulation) Released
APC reports that a legit Vista crack has made it’s way out in the form of an OEM emulator. Apparently Microsoft does not require activation from machines with Vista on them from some OEM partners (See above screenshot) and the crack takes advantage of that.
Also… for the folks reading this, “legit Vista crack” doesn’t mean [...]
Music Using Windows Sounds Only
This is pretty awesome, it’s music created using simply the system sounds from a Windows install. I was surprised how cool it could still sound… like music is 80% beat and 20% actual sounds? I guess that is why Stomp is able to exist?
Create Customized Windows Vista ISO with vLite
For the folks that have used nLite with Windows XP and love it, stop right there… vLite is for Vista and works just as awesome.
For folks that have no idea what nLite or vLite are, they are these badass programs written by Dino Nuhagic that are used to take the install files for Windows XP [...]
Windows 7, Extensive Detailed Revealed
Grant Gochnauer sends in a link to the istartedsomething blog where a commenter, rumored to be an insider from Microsoft, left a comment that equates to an essay covering the development, design, features and strategy all coming in Windows 7.
We’ll try and highlight the juicy parts below, but if you love this stuff, you are [...]
Windows Install Recovery Tips (Not a Reinstall)
Following up with our previous tip about keeping windows from “rotting”, Grant Gochnauer sends in another great tip from the ShippingSeven blog for recovering a really fuck-up Windows install without reinstalling. There are actually two tips, and they are:
Try logging off, then back on instead of rebooting.
Try backing up your data and then erasing [...]
Windows Utility: Process Lasso
Grant Gochnauer sent along a heads-up to a pretty kick-ass little Windows utility application named Process Lasso. The purpose of Process Lasso is to manage the priorities and CPU-quotas of all running processes to make sure your computer stays responsive, even in times of trouble (e.g. a single process runs out of control and pegs [...]
What Causes "Windows Rot" and How Can it be Avoided?
NOTE: “Windows Rot” is the name given to the phenomenon that every install of Windows degrades over time, gradually getting slower and slower, using more and more ram, until the computer running it needs to be reformatted and have Windows reinstalled. This phenomenon has existed since Windows 3.1 and is alive and well today more [...]
Is 64-bit Vista Stable And Why Should I Care?
If your a Mac person your not going to care either way, but for you Windows user 64-bit Vista has some things to offer……
A 64-bit computer can theoretically process twice as much information as a 32-bit computer. This makes a 64-bit computer a good choice if you’re working with video, large database searches, or games [...]
Funny Windows Errors
These are always enjoyable… a collection of funny errors that folks have screenshotted in Windows.
Windows Vista HDMI DRM Fucks All DRM'ed Media
Laurence Hartje sends in a link to a story that is pure-suck…
The gist of this (as I understand it) is that in Windows Vista, the new DRM functionality in the operating system is universal and tied to the hardware. More specifically, if you purchase movies while a monitor with a specific HDMI signature is attached [...]
Windows XP SP3 RC Ready for Download
OSNews reports that Microsoft has put the release candidate (RC) of Service Pack 3 (SP3) for Windows XP up on their download site for you to grab.
The entire download weighs in at 580mb while the Windows Update version that will be available when the release goes final, will be roughly 70mb. Not too shabby for [...]
Get Windows Vista Ultimate for Free
Brad Agdern just sent in a cool bit of news for folks that aren’t privacy aficionados. If you don’t mind Microsoft monitoring your computer usage for 3 months (I’m not sure of how detailed the monitoring is… but my guess is that it covers everything you are doing, sites you browse to, files you open, [...]
Windows Vista SP1 RC Tommorow
Well it looks like the public RC of the Windows Vista SP1 release is going to drop tomorrow (for TechNet and MDSN subscribers). In addition to that, you can grab a whitepaper describing all the changes here. If you don’t want to skim the PDF, here’s the list:
Security
Provides security software vendors a more secure way [...]
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