Posted 11/08/2009 at 10:18:19am

FIRMware, you knucklehead.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firmware

Posted 10/27/2009 at 08:16:41pm

I wouldn't spend more than $50, unless it's this bad boy:

http://www.microsoft.com/products/info/product.aspx?view=22&type=ovr&pcid=a9fdd4c0-41da-4045-9d6f-f087c17ffd30

I'm pretty sure it originally retailed for around $69.99, but they are so sought after that you can rarely find one for under $150 in new condition.  Mine recently died and I'm on the verge of getting a new one.

 -Helmet

Posted 10/27/2009 at 08:10:49pm

I CAN'T BELIEVE they didn't add the ability to mount an ISO.  Even the people on the Windows 7 team at Microsoft admitted they should have included that function in this article: http://blogs.msdn.com/e7/archive/2009/04/07/delivering-a-quality-upgrade-experience.aspx

Here's the quote: "At Step 1 above many of you are probably thinking, “hey why don’t you just let me mount the ISO and skip the plastic disc”. We’ve heard this feedback and we deserve the feedback. We don’t have this feature in Windows 7 and we should have."

Anyway... check out MagicDisc.  Works GREAT and it's free! http://www.magiciso.com/tutorials/miso-magicdisc-overview.htm

-Helmet

Posted 10/27/2009 at 07:58:35pm

MaxPC answered the question, as I was sure they would.  It's a pretty piss poor solution, but that's Microsoft's fault, not MaxPC...

 http://www.maximumpc.com/article/howtos/how_use_your_windows_7_upgrade_disk_fresh_pc?page=0%2C1

-Helmet

Posted 10/22/2009 at 03:37:10pm

It's called Maximum "PC", you tool.  And Windows runs on the majority of the world's PCs, which would also include the majority of Maximum PC readers, so why shouldn't they extensively cover it?  If you they doing article after article about the latest Apple OS, I'd see your argument.

 -Helmet 

Posted 10/21/2009 at 07:32:33am

Yeah, I get all that, but since nobody has actually gone through the process with Windows 7 Upgrade media yet (because it isn't released yet), notbody *really* knows how the experience will go.  If you read the above article, the XP to Vista upgrade experience did not work the way you are describing it, and was quite a pain in the ass until a workaround was found.

I prefer not to assume.

 -Helmet

Posted 10/20/2009 at 02:52:52pm

"How Does An Upgrade Edition “Clean Install” Differ From Retail Copies of Windows 7?"

Mentioned on Page 2 of the above article.

I'm holding out on purchasing my Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade Family Pack until we finally get a definitive answer on how this process will work.

Windows 7 ships the day after tomorrow, so if anyone figures this out, please post it!  Thanks.  :)

-Helmet 

Posted 07/28/2009 at 10:31:15pm

I have been wrestling with this also because I have a server in my house, and all my photos and music are there.  Also, it's convenient because it gives me one point of backup.  So, naturally I want the Photos and Music libraries in Windows 7 to include that network location.  One problem.  I have about 25GB of photos, and my iTunes library is about 65GB.  So OfflineFiles is a little unwieldy.  It makes the computers take FOREVER to login, because Windows syncs those files on login.  Now, since one of my computers is a laptop, I actually *LIKE* having an offline cache of my photos and music, even though some would consider that a waste of hard drive space. At the moment I'm playing around with LiveMesh to sync between the PCs and so far it seems to work well, without the login delay.  I recommend trying it.  You can use it to keep local folders in sync between PCs, without the need for the funky Symbolic Links to add them to a library, because... well, they're local.  One tip on this: LiveMesh will also sync online, but they only give you 5GB of space.  So if you want to sync more then that, you can tell the LiveMesh client to not sync to the online space, and then you will have unlimited capacity for syncing peer to peer.  https://www.mesh.com

-Helmet

Posted 09/26/2008 at 01:23:32pm

Seriously, I feel naked without this thing:

Victorinox Cybertool 34

I love the interchangable heads, they give you several sizes of phillips, a slotted, and several hex heads.

I rarely find anything electronic, PC, laptop, or otherwise, that I cannot take apart and put back together with this thing.

-Helmet 

Posted 03/11/2008 at 09:25:04pm

Dunno if you guys check comments for Podcasts this far back, but here goes. Gordon: It is perfectly OK to be using your Windows Mobile Phone while on the crapper. It is natural. It is good. Don't fight your true nature... :) Think of it this way. The previous generation read the paper or a magazine while on the crapper, right? Well this is just the 21st Century digital equivalent. In fact, you should be applauded for advancing into modern times the art of entertaining yourself while pinching a loaf. I'm all for moving forward, whether that movement be bowel related or technology related, it's all good. :) -Helmet