This whole debacle has come to a peak, with a settlement just completed with Hewlett Packard, but the CSIRO recently published the list of companies that legal proceedings have been filed with.

Intel, Dell, Toshiba, Asus, Netgear, D-Link, Belkin, SMC, Accton, 3-Com, Buffalo, Microsoft and Nintendo.

The settlements have all been confidential, but they would be significantly large when you consider the current broad deployment and usage of these technologies. It makes me smile, to know that in 1993 a patent filed on Wi-Fi is bringing massive multi-national companies to its knees, and it was essentially filed by the Australian Government.

Here’s a link to the Patent.

I do admit, it is a memory hog, using around 100mb at times, but I think it’s worth it.

You can get TweetDeck at: http://www.tweetdeck.com/

This post was NOT written under the influence of Microsoft Mind Control.

This has been the most exciting week that Windows has ever seen. I have had not one Blue Screen. Not one Total System Crash. There was 1 missing driver, but Windows Update found it for me yesterday. The experience I have had with Build 7000 has been terrific. The only way Microsoft could top my 9/10 for Windows 7 (in pre-beta) is if it were given to us for free. People have whinged and moaned in my presence about how they’ve ripped off all the Vista adopters. I feel their pain with a Windows Vista business tablet PC myself. I don’t know what it is, but I am not whinging — I’m amazed. If this can only get better (which it has, since build 6801) then I will pay for Windows 7 for all my computers.

Anyway, moving away from that, and onto the actual O/S, I’ve tried several pieces of software that can break O/Ses, cause BSODs, etc. The three I mainly have trouble with on Vista are virtual drive managers, VNC servers, and security software.

After using Windows 7 for three days, it was growing on me. I decided that I should try playing the full Black Books seasons 1-3 on DVD in Windows Media Centre. Trouble was, a friend had realised how good the show was, and nicked off with it for a few days. Luckily, I keep a backup on my hard drive just in case. I was feeling lazy, so I downloaded the first free thing I saw: Slysoft’s Virtual CloneDrive. That program scared the jibblies out of me when it didn’t create the drive and I couldn’t even access the control panel in Windows 7. Trying to delete it as quickly as possible, I found the related SCSI driver and bahleeted it. Luckily, I used PowerISO in the past, and knew it wouldn’t let me down (and it didn’t). It worked seamlessly with four drives running (all the ISOs I had! :D).

You can download it here.

Since the house and my wonderful shed are 50 meters apart, it’s good to be able to control computers at a distance. I do enjoy using Windows’ embedded Remote Desktop Connection software, but it doesn’t have any enthusiast features like File Transfer, etc. For those situations, I use UltraVNC. It worked perfectly as a server and as a viewer. Wouldn’t crash in when using a Direct3D game, which was great (this crashes in Vista regularly).

You can download it here.

Last, but definitely not least, security software is an essential with any build of Windows. I had previously downloaded ESET’s Smart Security (combining NOD32 and a firewall) for my Vista PC as I’d never had the flexibility to buy anything other than Norton 360. (I will probably try that in the coming days when my ISP resets my quota). It works a charm, also.

You can download it here.

I’ve managed to get Windows 7 working with my XP computer upstairs, and the Xbox 360.
I haven’t really run into any major problems that could bring me away from wanting to be an early Windows 7 adopter.

I have to mention this, but it seems to be the perfect storm at Apple in favor of Microsoft. Windows 7 is being heralded as an “incredibly stable” operating system by huge companies that banned Vista from their own departments (Intel blog), while Apple seems to be confused and bewildered by Steve Jobs taking six months’ leave. Shareholders have sent their share price tumbling, and the fact that a “succession plan” has been handed to the public seems to be like waving a red sheet in front of a pack of bulls.

I woke up at 5am (11pm PST) to a clock running on a laptop at my bedside. Once I clicked around Twitter, and others, I noticed that people had already wormed their way into the Windows 7 public TechNet page. Even at this time, I was too late. I spent at least three hours refreshing this page in a bid to get one of the 2.5 million keys on offer. It was fruitless, as I continued until the celebrity-like blogger from Microsoft, Brandon LeBlanc, posted on the Windows Team blog that it was being taken down. It surprised a lot of people that Microsoft 1) would have the top class server farms in the World, and 2) would have known the hype created by not setting an exact time, and setting a limit.

Next up, after that revelation, I found a direct link from Neowin.net, and began downloading the ISO, with the knowledge I could use it for 30 days. That really completes my heroic story through the depths of Microsoft’s accidental marketing strategy. Make a product launch fail, so EVERYONE knows about it.

My first impressions of Windows 7 are brilliant. The install took less than 30 minutes, and all my hardware was ready to go. The only thing needed was a security suite, which can be freely obtained from ESET as a beta. I’m already hooked on the HomeGroup idea, and the small quirks of being able to tile windows by flicking them to the side with your mouse are really growing on me. 

It’s not only me saying this. Simply watching the live feed here shows that people think that the download is worth the wait, and many, including myself, will be looking to buy a copy. I think it has appealed to two sorts of people: the sort who have used Vista and were appalled and those who haven’t ever used Vista. Both groups will be pleased with this update. Some will argue the need for another $100-200 is a bit much, but it is now, in my opinion, comparable to Mac OS X in its simplicity, usability, and polish. I think my day of mindless F5-punching was worth it. Hopefully though, you won’t have to do the same.

For the moment, here are some useful links. I’ll try to keep them updated.

The Public Beta announcement page.

The TechNet page that was overloaded yesterday morning.

A full blog post on downloading and installing Windows 7 using direct links.

The current way to retrieve keys. Think of it as a lottery.

With a few of my friends from Wyldryde, such as TheHitman and ramakandra, we conducted a small, live blogging session, in a channel on WyldRyde, and we discussed before, during, and after, what the future would hold for Microsoft.

In my last post, I scathed Apple for having a crumbling pyramid structure for its Board of Directors, and for charging 1900s prices. I am not here saying that Microsoft provides a ’saintful’ service to consumers, but to all those who aren’t deaf to those who say that Apple is anything but godly, it looks like a good decade to come.

At the pre-CES keynote, several speakers including the CEO, Steve Ballmer, who recently stepped into Bill Gates’ sweater, gave insight into the future of technology in this economic climate, and the future of Microsoft. There were many look-forward-tos for 2009, including:

• Windows 7 Beta out for TechNet and MSDN, out to Public on Friday 
• Demo of Windows 7, and new Windows Live Technologies
• Multiple current and upcoming hardware choices, ranging from PCs to Laptops to Mobiles
• Halo Wars and Halo ODST coming throughout 2009
• Game, programming, and community ‘channels’ coming to XBox Live
• Lots of multi-touch research done by Microsoft Research, including a futuristic paper-like surface.

Now, just for a bit of blurry comparision, lets compare this to the Macworld keynote by Apple.

• iWork and iLife ‘09 
• iTunes Updates
• Macbook Pro Refresh

The other interesting thing is that Microsoft has been at CES for 15 years, and doesn’t look to be faltering with lively presentations from two talented beat-boxers, Tripod (from Australia, W00T), and the best technology grasping presentation I have seen in a while. Also, when Steve Jobs is at the mercy of shareholders and the community, Steve Ballmer is making his step onto the world stage, and he is looking good.

Make your own conclusions from today. I know mine isn’t good for Apple.

You can watch the keynote here.

Yesterday’s keynote by Apple at Macworld in San Francisco showed to the world that Apple is running out of ideas and money. Trying to make out that all songs are now DRM-Free on iTunes, or that iLife and iWork ‘09 are colossal upgrades, made me squirm. Many news agencies are also saying this, with headlines such as:

Apple bows out of Macworld with a Fizzle - Sydney Morning Herald

Apple underwhelms at Macworld - BBC News

Source ~ Google News Australia

I would have to say the ‘biggest’, if you can even say that, is that they now have a 17″ Unibody MacBook Pro. To me, the product is beautiful, and deserving of a few Academy Awards, but the price tag makes it look like an expensive piece of fine China. In Australia, the new 17″ MBP is a mere $4500. What confuses me is how this pricing will attract anyone with a brain when the Mac Pro, with eight cores, is $3999. 

If that isn’t enough for you, Steve Jobs, who is the point of a crumbling pyramid of Apple’s C-Class execs, came out with a statement a few days ago.

“So now I’ve said more than I wanted to say, and all that I am going to say, about this.” ~ Steve Jobs, Apple PR

On top of that bombshell, a desperate, smaller release from the board of directors, stating that Jobs:

“…deserves our complete and unwavering support during his recuperation. He most certainly has that from Apple and its Board.” ~ Apple PR

These arrogant measures from a company that has been given support and praise from the community need to be reversed sooner, rather than later. Otherwise, with the coming of Windows 7, Apple is at risk of returning to the generic runner-up position it so hated.

To enter, you need to:

• Fill out the contest entry form
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• Make sure your nickname for Ventrilo is registered
• and participate in the server

Not wanting to risk anything, I installed it under VMWare Workstation, on an Intel Q6600 CPU, with 2GB of RAM, as a Host O/S. The install was complete in under an hour, and I was ready to go! It feels funny, as Macintosh users usually exclaim, that the computer is ready to use the first time you start up. Windows 7 has made a decent step towards this. It comes packed with more drivers than Vista, and I was able to plug some pretty obscure accessories that failed with Vista, but worked with 7. You will still need to install a security suite, and I did so with the Norton 2009 beta, which was fast, and thin, as proclaimed. After that, it’s business as usual. Another thing to point out, is that Windows 7 is stable. Now, what I am saying here, is that pre-beta, non-public release software, is “stable”. In my opinion, Windows Vista isn’t stable. I have never had a crash with Windows 7, and I hope that it will continue to the disc-printing stage. 

It’s hard to put it into words, so I will keep this short. Windows 7 is a definite revolution in the Windows cycle. As they say, never buy any point-0 of a software. Just like with the iPhone, 2.0 was a shambles, but the later versions picked up on the philosophy. You can see Windows 7 this way. Many others have said this, and so do I, that Windows 7, is “Vista done Right”.

This is quite a change for Apple, signifying for some people, their loss of the “underdog” status. Others however, are seeing the move as arrogant, as Apple turns its back on the idea of gathering all their developers, resellers, and enthusiasts, and showcasing new ideas and products, in an exciting way. It is also seen as a betrayal to one of Apple’s biggest supporters, Macworld itself. Macworld was started in 1984, as a magazine, but has since moved onto formats such as their website, and their conference/expo. With the removal of a main element from the expo, its situation has been the subject of much speculation.

My Question is, Why?

There is no real reasoning for this to happen. An article published by Yahoo! Finance yesterday doesn’t give a very good prediction of the Mac’s future.

The analyst said the numbers are a sign that Apple’s iMac line needs to be refreshed. The company’s desktop computers saw a 38 percent sales decline, compared with a 15 percent decline for Windows desktop PCs.

Apple’s declining desktop sales could also be a sign that consumers are becoming more price conscious amid the deepening recession. Apple’s computers are more expensive than their Windows counterparts.

If this is the prediction, that the current recession, which has made interest rates fall to nearly zero percent, is going to make consumers more dollar conscious, then Apple needs to keep communicating with their customers, not remove themselves from the biggest fan club a hardware company has seen.

Anyway, we’re trying to send a message to Senator Conroy about the fact that this filter is a blatant removal of free speech, will take down speeds by up to 87%, and considering the average speed is a boring 1.5mbps, that’s a pretty big impact.

If you want to help us send a message, sign THIS petition, or pass this link on to your friends:

 http://tinyurl.com/SaveOurOzzieNet

If you have anything else to say, say it below in the comments section. I’m sure someone will see it.

J