Traffic Circle 2.0

I’ve been working hard on a couple of new Windows projects lately:

•  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.

I’ll be speaking to the Greater Evansville Territory Information Technologists (GETIT) group on Wednesday, October 3 from 11:30AM to 1:30PM:

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.

In several of my recent articles at the Maximum PC website, I’ve put on my investigative journalism cap to find out what’s behind the headlines of some major stories:

• 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.

See me discuss my new book, Maximum PC Microsoft Windows Vista Exposed, on Evansville’s Fox TV affiliate, WTVW Channel 7, on Monday, September 17, at 7:24AM. For cable TV users, tune into Channel 8 on Insight, WOW (formerly Sigecom), and Time Warner services.

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

Microsoft has just introduced a public beta of Windows Live Suite, a set of communications and social networking tools and web services. I’m using the Windows Live Writer component to write this blog entry.

It’s easy to add pictures (you can edit your photos with the new Windows Live Photo Gallery),add a table (this one’s in honor of an old Sci-Fi book series I enjoyed)…

insert a map…

I can insert tags from Technorati, 43 Things, and other services, and videos too…

I’m going to like this service!

To learn more about Windows Live Suite, see my Maximum PC blog.

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Discover the best new and improved features in Windows Vista (and a few that need work): get my new book Maximum PC Microsoft Windows Vista Exposed: an Insider’s Guide to Supercharging Windows Vista. It’s available from Amazon.com and other fine bookstores.

It’s finally here! (And coming soon here!)

What is it? My newest book, Maximum PC Guide to Microsoft Windows Vista Exposed.

Read it to discover:

- How to perform a clean install using a Vista upgrade DVD

- Why Windows Vista Ultimate protects your data better than other editions

- How to protect your children from unsuitable websites and media (and how not to)

- What you need to make Windows Vista and Windows XP share nicely on the same network

… and much, much more!

It’s based on the final release of Windows Vista and Windows Vista Ultimate Extras, so it’s an up-to-date reference to what’s new, what’s improved, what’s great, and what needs work in Windows Vista Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, and Ultimate editions. Enjoy!

Check out Chapter 8 on Windows Media Player 11 free.

In an era in which operating system updates are delivered ‘to your door’ by Windows Update and similar online services, it’s fair to say that modern operating systems are truly ‘works in progress.’ Windows Vista is no exception.

Several recent updates are worth checking out. The first two are especially useful if you play PC games. You might have already received these updates via Windows Update, but if not, you can follow the links to install them manually:

• If you’re using two graphics cards with NVIDIA’s SLI or ATI’s CrossFire dual GPU configuration, Windows Vista might not be using the second graphics card. Fix this problem and get the 3D performance you paid for with the update discussed in Knowledge Base article 936710. You can request this update and receive a link to it via email. To learn how, see my Maximum PC blog posting Hotfixes by Email – Just What the Windows Doctor Ordered.
• 3D games based on DirectX 9 and earlier DirectX versions use a lot more virtual memory address space under Windows Vista than under Windows XP. As a result, you may experience crashes while playing your favorite games. Microsoft has updated the virtual memory manager for Windows Vista to solve this problem. See Knowledge Base article 940105 for details. To request a link to this update, see Hotfixes by Email – Just What the Windows Doctor Ordered.

Whether you’re a hardcore gamer or not, you’ll want to get your hands on the next two updates:

• Fix various performance and reliability headaches with the update discussed in Knowledge Base article 938979. The update can be downloaded directly from the article.
• Fix various compatibility headaches with the update discussed in Knowledge Base article 938194. The update can be downloaded directly from the article.

To find out if you’ve already received these updates, open the Windows Update icon in Control Panel and review your system’s update history. If you still need some of these updates, fire up your browser and get downloading!

I’ve been blogging regularly for several months at Amazon.com as well as elsewhere. If you haven’t caught my Amazon.com blog yet, here’s what you’ve been missing:

• How to use the Windows Vista Recovery Environment (unlike Windows XP’s Recovery Console, it works – and you will understand what it’s doing)
• How to help Windows XP and Windows Vista share folders with each other
• How to find out how much working RAM Windows has, and why you may need to add more than you think for adequate performance
• Coverage of Windows Vista Ultimate Extras: useful added features, tools, and (let’s be fair) a bit of additional eye candy as well especially for Vista Ultimate users

Thankfully, it’s not too late to dive in. Enjoy!

… I have digital imaging in Windows Vista covered.

• Learn how to use the Photo Gallery feature in Windows Vista to edit your photos without overwriting your originals.
• Tired of waiting, waiting, and waiting for the Importing Pictures and Videos wizard to load up the pix from your digital camera? Do a Donald Trump on it and replace it with faster and smarter transfer programs (some of which also work for free).

Keep an eye on the continuing Windows saga (Windows XP fans also get their fair shakes).

I’m heading off to Microsoft’s Tech Ed 2007 extravaganza in Orlando this week. While I’m down there, I’ll be recording a half-hour video podcast for my publisher – I’ll post links to the video and audio versions when they’re available.

Before I’m out the door, let me say a big thank you! to the Southwest Indiana PC Users Group for inviting me to talk about layers in Photoshop Elements and Photoshop on May 20th. It was a well-attended meeting, with lots of great questions (and, I hope, some decent answers from yours truly).  The notes from the meeting will be available shortly at the SWIPCUG newsletters page.