If you need to run non-3D Windows XP applications and don’t want to worry about tinkering with them for Windows 7, take a close look at XP Mode.

Even if you think you know what XP Mode can do for you and how it works, be sure to check it out. It cuts through the misinformation and helps you deal with some of the trickier features of this new virtualization environment.

This blog is primarily about my full-time work as a technology writer and consultant. I do most of my day-to-day blogging at Maximum PC’s newly-remodeled website, and also blog from time to time at Amazon.com (where my current and older books are available for purchase) and my publisher’s developer-oriented website, InformIT.com.

To get a taste of what I think about topics that are more important in the long run than the latest computer or photography gizmo, see the Beyond Technology – Thoughts on Ultimate Issues (God, Life, Right and Wrong) section of this website.

Have a wonderful 4th of July – and beyond.

 

Get a taste of what vLite can do from my original blog posting, which inspired the article.

See you this Sunday, February 17, at 2PM at

Evansville Central Library’s Browning Events Room B

 200 SE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd
Evansville, IN 47713

I’ll be signing copies of my latest book, Maximum PC Microsoft Windows Vista Exposed: an Insider’s Guide to Supercharging Windows Vista, and I’ll have copies of this book and others available at attractive prices. I hope to see you there!

One user reported it was the only way he could install the 64-bit version of Vista to his nVidia 680i-based system. It’s an impressive utility!

Windows Vista’s networking features are among the biggest changes compared to Windows XP, and this chapter will help you understand how to master new features like the Network Center, network mapping, setup and management of wireless networks, helping Windows XP and Windows Vista coexist on a single network, and network troubleshooting. Whether you’re already using Windows Vista or planning to take a look at it this year, it’s a must-read.

•  some chapters for the upcoming Second Edition of Upgrading and Repairing Microsoft Windows
• My forthcoming book Unleashing Microsoft Windows Vista Media Center

And, in addition to those, I’ve also been covering the Windows beat at Maximum PC’s website. If you haven’t dropped by lately, here’s what you haven’t seen yet:

• Learn how to protect yourself from Windows Vista’s activation problems
• Find out what reviewers think about Windows Vista’s backup, Windows Live Photo Gallery, and Windows Movie Maker HD utilities
• Discover why your Windows XP system downloaded the performance-robbing Windows Desktop Search, and how to banish it – for good.
• Find out how to protect your Windows XP system from the Mailto URI threat in Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Reader.
• Learn how to become an unofficial beta tester of Windows Vista SP1 by making a few simple changes to your system.
• And, on the brighter side, find out how the Atari 2600 VCS (now 30 years old!) inspired today’s booming console and PC gaming industry.

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Discover how Windows Media Center, Windows Media Player, Windows Movie Maker and Windows Photo Gallery work together to make Windows Vista the most compelling multimedia platform for Windows yet. Get Mark’s new book Maximum PC Microsoft Windows Vista Exposed: an Insider’s Guide to Supercharging Windows Vista. It’s available at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, BooksaMillion, and other fine bookstores.

Windows Vista: Hardware Hog or Multimedia Maven?

Browning Events Room B
Evansville Vanderburgh Central Library

200 SE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd
Evansville, IN 47713

Discover

• Why Windows Vista needs more powerful hardware than previous Windows versions
• How Windows Vista makes digital photography, music, and video easier to manage and more fun
• The benefits of other new features included in Microsoft’s latest operating system.

If you’ve never seen Windows Vista in action before, it’s the perfect opportunity to see how it works, what makes it different, and how it’s better than previous Windows versions. You don’t need to be an IT “propellorhead” to drop in, and attendance is free. Bring lunch, or stop in the newly reopened library cafe and pick up a meal.

I’ll have copies of my new book Maximum PC Microsoft Windows Vista Exposed: An Insider’s Guide to Supercharging Windows Vista and other recent books available at special prices, and I’ll be signing books too.

I’ve been using Windows Vista daily for over a year and writing about it and other Windows topics for Maximum PC’s website, so I’m ready to answer your questions. I hope to see you there!

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For more information about GETIT and Owensboro’s sister organization, GOTIT, see the GETIT page at the Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library website.

• Learn more about how Skype’s VoIP system works – and why it stopped working in August.
• Discover how Sony created yet another potential entry point for malware in the driver software for its USB memory stick/fingerprint reader
• Find out the disadvantages of the new Microsoft Office 2003 SP3 – and how to get around them
• Explore the reasons why Monster.com’s security breach reveals that today’s phishers want to make it ‘personal’ – and thus, harder to stop

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For more no holds barred analysis, see what I think about the new and improved features in Microsoft Windows Vista, and how to use them better, in my book Maximum PC Microsoft Windows Vista Exposed: an Insider’s Guide to Supercharging Windows Vista. It’s now available at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, BooksaMillion, and other fine bookstores.

Set your TiVos, Replay TVs, DVRs, and Windows Media Center devices on ‘Record.’ My WMC box is ready!