Microsoft is getting serious about making sure that those ultra low-cost computers that will be hitting the market in mass will be powered by Windows and not Linux. Microsoft has contacted OEMs and is offering a version of Windows XP Home edition for very low pricing to try and stay competitive with Linux boxes. What is unknown is how much pressure Microsoft will use to make sure that Windows is the only OS to be used.

In a recent article from IDG it states:

Microsoft is launching a program to promote the use of its Windows OS in ultra low-cost PCs, one effect of which will be to limit the hardware capabilities of this type of device, IDG News Service has learned.

Microsoft plans to offer PC makers steep discounts on Windows XP Home Edition to encourage them to use that OS instead of Linux on ultra low-cost PCs (ULPCs). To be eligible, however, the PC vendors that make ULPCs must limit screen sizes to 10.2 inches and hard drives to 80G bytes, and they cannot offer touch-screen PCs.

The program is outlined in confidential documents that Microsoft sent to PC makers last month, and which were obtained by IDG News Service. The goal apparently is to limit the hardware capabilities of ULPCs so that they don’t eat into the market for mainstream PCs running Windows Vista, something both Microsoft and the PC vendors would want to avoid.

When ULPCs were first being introduced most of these inexpensive systems came with a version of Linux installed. It is being predicted that ULPCs will be the next computer boom and this is why Microsoft has taken such a keen interest.

Comments welcome.

Full article is here.

Full article is here.

During the past year many PC users have either switched or have considered switching over to a Mac system. One of the questions that comes up is how hard is the learning curve going to be? Fortunately Apple has a great site that takes some of the pain on making the switch. Called Switch 101 the site states:

Welcome to the Mac family! If you’re a PC user who has just switched to the Mac and want to find out how to adapt your old working habits to the Mac OS, you’ve come to the right place. Welcome to Switch 101: The former PC user’s guide to getting the most out of your Mac.

Whether you want to learn how to get around and access everything on your Mac; find out how to move your old PC files to the Mac OS environment; figure out how to connect your printer, iPod, digital camera, or other device; learn how to do those tasks you did on a PC on a Mac; learn how to use the software that came with your Mac; or even find out what to do when things don’t go as planned; we have the answers.

There is also assistance on how to migrate your important files, setup hardware and much more.

Apple Switch 101 site is here.

Over at Lifehacker they have a guide called Hack Attack which has very in depth articles to also assist those in making the change.

Lifehacker can be found here.

If you know of any sites that may also be helpful, please post them in the comments section.

Comments welcome.

Well my new toy arrived last Friday, February 29th 2008, right in the middle of a family illness. On Wednesday it was 911 time with my wife doubled over in pain for what was later determined to be a bowel obstruction. So between hospital visits and traveling back and forth to the hospital, I was fortunate enough to be home when UPS delivered the little laptop. It wasn’t until late Friday evening that I was able to play with the Asus Eee PC.

The first thing I noticed is what everyone else has complained about. The keyboard is small. But not to the point of being useless. I have used small laptop keyboards before and this for me was no different. It will just take some time and use to be able to type as well on the Asus Eee PC as a standard PC.

So this was a great time to test this puppy out in what I originally felt would be the sweet spot for a little laptop such as this. On Saturday I brought the Asus Eee PC to the hospital for my wife to use. It immediately connected to the Wi-Fi Guest account the hospital has set up for patient use. In a matter of minutes she was up and surfing the Net. She was instantly able to do e-mailings after I set up her account information. I left the system with her to play with and she did so until she came home on Monday morning.

What was her opinion? She liked it, plus enjoyed the super small footprint. The keyboard didn’t bother her much. Oh, yeah. She is A-OK now and the obstruction was cleared without surgery.

So now it’s my turn to try the little guy out. I’ll be reporting back in about two weeks or so.

Comments welcome.

While wandering around the Internet I found an interesting article by a television station in the Sacramento, CA area about an experiment done concerning PC repairs and three of the major chains. The TV station KCRA-TV had its own Manager of Information Technology (David York) create a problem on an IBM PC by disabling the hard disk in the BIOS. The station contented that the fix should have been an easy one and could be done in about 30 seconds with six or seven keystrokes.

It then took the PC to three of the major chains that advertise they fix computers, being Best Buy, Circuit City, and Staples for a fix of the problem. It reported the following:

Best Buy and Circuit City charged $60 up front to say what it thought was wrong with the PC.

Staples charged a $50 diagnostic fee.

Best Buy’s Geek Squad on Freeway Boulevard in Sacramento thought the problem was a software issue and asked for the Eventually, Best Buy found and fixed the problem, but it gave the worst customer service of the three chains. Best Buy promised five times to return Call 3’s phone calls but never did. It also kept the computer the longest amount of time. Windows restore disc. When that did not work, they asked to use their own Windows disc. York gave BB a letter grade of D.

Circuit City Firedogs in Elk Grove ran disc fitness and memory tests. The computer passed both. Circuit City said there was no operating system and charged an additional $129.99 to restore it. Later, they found and fixed the real problem. “You got charged $130. It wasn’t for fixing the real problem — it was for reinstalling the operating system. You also lost all your data. Any personal folder, files, pictures of the kids — it’s all gone. You’re not getting it back,” York said.York gave Circuit City an F.

Staples on Howe Avenue in Sacramento assigned Easy Tech Kevin Sakamoto to work on the Call 3 PC.But when that did not work, Sakamoto started poking around the system settings and hit on the real problem.”It was actually pretty easy because you could see in there that the boot device was turned off. It was just a matter of turning it back on, and then somehow it magically worked,” said Sakamoto.Staples found the problem the fastest. Sakamoto thought the hard drive was missing and charged an additional $139.99 to replace it. It returned the computer working in the same condition in which we gave it to them. Staples also said they initially misdiagnosed the problem and refunded the money for the hard drive.He gave Staples a letter grade B.

This makes for an interesting read. But how accurate is the information? Does it judge every store in the chain’s service department the same? Or should one take these findings with a grain of salt?

What has your experience been with one of the major chains? Were you satisfied or did you feel like you got ripped off?

Let us know. Comments welcome.

Full article is here.

I received [Lockergnome] Pirillo’s Picks newsletter dated 2-15-08 and what do I see listed at the top? A super deal on all three of Uniblue’s products, each at only $14.95 apiece. What I found interesting is that this special pricing is the cheapest I have seen on these fine products and I wanted to pass this along to all of you immediately.

I have been using all three of these products and have previously made reports on SpeedUpMyPC3 here and also for RegistryBooster3 here. As I have mentioned in the past, I have never been a big fan of one product doing it all. But I did mention I was going to give my system totally over to Uniblue to see what happens here? I was planning on a 30-day test, which I am still going to complete, but I did want to mention these great sale prices.

So far during my testing all of the Uniblue products have performed flawlessly. No problems whatsoever. I have also tested my system using other software and so far Uniblue has kept me totally protected and also my system running at peak performance. As I have stated, I am going to do a 30-day review later on.

Comments welcome.

• Lockergnome RegistryBooster2 - Exclusive Price @ $14.95
• Lockergnome SpeedUpMyPC3 - Exclusive Price @ $14.95
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Here is another one of those WHY questions. The Apple folks are running a commercial on TV with the PC guy and Mac guy at it again. But this time it relates to an alleged fact that Vista runs faster on a Mac. Naturally the PC guy denies this fact and does try to lead us to believe that this isn’t so. Up pops the Apple logo and thus ends the commercial.

Putting aside for one moment the dubious test results being touted as fact, and putting aside also the PC vs Mac debate to which there will never be a clear winner, one needs to ask WHY? Why would anyone want to run Vista on a Mac in the first place, except as a testing platform and bragging rights to say that it can be done? What is the purpose of the commercial?

Maybe I am missing something in the translation. But last night when the commercial aired once again, my wife asked me “why would anyone want to run Vista on a Mac?” I didn’t have an answer for her. Thus again the question goes back to WHY?

For years we have been told from the Mac crowd that the beauty part of using a Mac is the operating system itself. Little is mentioned about the hardware nor the performance capabilities. We have been told that Apple systems are more secure, less prone to infections, and more intuitive with the added benefit of being easier to use. For the most part these assumptions have always been based on the operating system, not the hardware. With Apple using an Intel based system along with its own hardware specifications tuned for the Apple operating system, one would suspect that this is the reason a Mac OS does not function on a standard PC.

My WHY question is not designed to start a Mac vs PC debate. But rather to enlighten me as to WHY anyone should care if Vista runs faster on a Mac than on a PC? Wouldn’t that kind of defeat the purpose of buying a Mac in the first place?

Comments welcome.