Windows 7 Gets Major UI Overhaul

Microsoft this week handed out pre-beta versions of Windows 7, and luckily for us, screenshots are littered all over the web, giving us an inside preview of what's to come. Ars Technica got hold of the pre-beta and gives a quick preview on what's new, and I have to admit, I'm already excited. While Vista from XP didn't change much except eye-candy, 7 will drastically alter the overall UI, while retaining some common elements as we'd expect to see Windows.

The biggest difference is the taskbar. No longer do the tasks have titles (eg: Windows Internet Explorer). Instead, it will just be a simple icon, and from my personal experience, that's all that's going to be needed. Even the most novice PC users quicker notice an icon than the application name, and what this helps to do in 7 is just keep the taskbar clean. Instead of having so many applications open that you actually need to use a "next" button, this will allow many, many more applications to fill up that real estate.

Past that, another huge feature addition, which I've been wanting forever, is the ability to move these application icons around. I have a very specific order for how I do things, and when one application crashes, or has to be restarted, I hate having to use an out-of-order list. Windows 7 looks to change that. I'm just touching on the basics here though. You have to read the article, because there are many finer details that I can't surmise in a simple news post.

Dragging a window to the top of the screen maximizes it automatically; dragging it off the top of the screen restores it. Dragging a window to the left or right edge of the screen resizes the window so that it takes 50% of the screen. With this, a pair of windows can be quickly docked to each screen edge to facilitate interaction between them.

Source: Ars Technica

Chinese Users of Pirated Vista Upset at WGA

Sometimes... I just cannot wrap my head around the pirate's mind. Take for example the ridiculous outrage that people in the Chinese market are engaged in because Microsoft finally implemented their Windows Genuine Advantage program over there. For those unaware, WGA detects whether or not a version of Windows is legal, and if not, it will remove your desktop wallpaper and give you occasional messages reminding you to purchase. It doesn't halter the usage of the OS.

Seems fair, right? After all, if you didn't pay for the program, why should you expect quality service? I'm against copy protection, don't get me wrong, but if you don't pay for whatever you're using and then complain about it, something's a little strange. The reason I hate copy protection is because it effects the legal consumer more than the pirates, but when it comes to protection against the actual pirates, I say bring it.

The odd thing is, even a Chinese official is aganst Microsoft, claiming their product is too expensive for that particular market. What? Last I checked, Chinese versions of Windows were less expensive over there. I could be wrong, but even then... how does that justify things? The same thing happened on these shores, but as far as I know, but US official got their panties in a twist.

In a PC World article Dong said, "Microsoft's measure will cause serious functional damage to users' computers and, according to China's criminal law, the company can stand accused of breaching and hacking into computer systems of Chinese." Dong also said Microsoft was targeting the wrong group stating, "I respect the right of Microsoft to protect its intellectual property, but it is taking on the wrong target with wrong measures." He also added, "They should target producers and sellers of fake software, not users."

Source: DailyTech

Mega-Roundup: 100 Processors Compared

Well over a year ago, we linked to French site Matbe for one good reason. Although roundups are all-too-popular, not too many roundups involve over one hundred products. In that case, it was power supplies. But now, the same site has gone and done it again, but this time it's with processors, from the latest and greatest from Intel (QX9775) and AMD (X4 9950) to the much-older single-core Pentium 4's and Athlon 64's.

I'm not going to begin to imagine how much time this all took, or how one person can wind up with over 100 different processor models, but it's an amazing feat any way you look at it. Although the entire review is in French and I'm not sure of the methodology in place, the author looks pretty thorough in all of his testing. Some interesting benchmarks run include Excel 2007, 3ds Max 9, Photoshop CS3, TMPGEnc Xpress, among others.

Although the usefulness of such a roundup can be debated, it's interesting to see just how the processors scale, from models released four years ago to processors released just recently. Not surprisingly, Intel's 3.20GHz QX9770 took the cake in almost every one of the tests, but I'd expect that processor to lose its crown when Core i7 is released in the coming weeks (no-brainer).

Yes you read well, we propose comparative of 100 processors to you. Why 100? And why not. Beyond the fact that this figure is round and outstanding, we wanted to propose to you comparative complete which gives a progress report on the current offer of Intel and AMD, at the dawn of major changes in the world of the processors.

Source: Matbe (Babelfish Translation)

Tech Roundup - October 29, 2008

Displays & Video Cards
• MSI N9800GT GeForce 9800 GT 512MB - Legit Reviews
• NEC MultiSync 24WMGX3 - XS Reviews
• Zotac GTX280 AMP! Edition - Overclockers Club

Peripherals & Gadgets
• Das Keyboard Professional and Ultimate - TechSpot
• Microsoft Sidewinder X6 Gaming Keyboard - Benchmark Reviews
• Nextar M3-MX GPS Gadget - i4u
• Scythe Kama Bay Amplifier - techPowerUp!
• SilverStone Raven Mouse - Modders-Inc
• SilverStone Raven Mouse - Test Freaks
• WolfKing Trooper MVP Gaming Mouse - TweakNews

Cooling
• Antec Notebook Cooler 200 - Virtual-Hideout
• Arctic Cooling Accelero Twin Turbo VGA Cooler - Overclockers Club
• Cooler Master Hyper Z600R CPU Cooler - TweakTown
• FrostyTech Top 5 Best Heatsink Chart - October 2008 - FrostyTech
• Sunbeamtech Core-Contact Freezer Heatsink - Ninjalane
• Thermalright TRUE Black 120 - Bjorn3D
• Thermaltake MaxOrb EX Heatsink - FrostyTech

Chassis & Power Supplies
• Antec Fusion HTPC - Technic3D
• Xigmatek NRP-MC651 650W Power Supply - TweakTown

Competitions, Complete Systems & Et cetera
• A Closer Look At Red Hat's Plymouth - Phoronix
• Sansa SlotMusic Player - Digital Trends