Umm...Not Quite So Fast: PC TV Works Again in Win 7...

So, just when I thought I'd be able to return this blog to its original format, namely, Linux and BSD OSs, my PC TV suddenly started working again in Win 7.

This really baffles me: because I thought I had read somewhere that MS had disabled the TV Card function in the beta version, for their own obscure reasons.

But, now, when I reboot into Win 7, it works again! WTF?

Oh, well....I'm still planning on phasing out blog entries about Win 7, since it's on the verge of coming out in the final version soon, and no further beta versions are planned.

So: stay tuned: a review of Ubuntu 8.10, Intrepid Ibex, coming soon!

PS: I'm also going to be dismantling some of the 'Windows Beta' RSS feeds and sidebars here, as well.

End of Windows Beta for Me....

OK, so after all the hype about Windows Beta on this blog, while I have it running alongside Vista now and am, overall, quite happy with it, I won't be using it much:

--Microsoft has disabled the TV Card drivers in the Beta version, so it no longer runs my Windows Media Center TV program, which I use extensively, which means I am now more or less relegated to Vista.


I say 'no longer runs' because, at first I thought the TV Card Drivers had been disabled only in the final Beta, so I rolled back to Build 6596, because the TV always seemed to work in that version.

No longer. The TV function worked once, then quit.

I tried reinstalling the drivers--to no avail. It still won't run TV in the Media Center.

You can't even run the TV from the ATI Catalyst Program either, because once installed, the .exe
simply disappears and you can't locate it to run the TV.........so, I give up.

It was a noble experiment, but it looks like I'm stuck with Vista until MS allows Windows 7 to run with TV cards, most likely in the RTM in June. Bleh.

The Latest Leak of Windows 7 Beta: Ars Technica

Dec. 29:

This past weekend, Windows 7 build 7000 leaked to torrent sites. It's not the first build of Windows 7 to leak, but it definitely is the most important one so far. You see, the first 7xxx build marks the entrance of Windows 7 into beta phase (6xxx builds were pre-beta builds).

http://arstechnica.com/journals/microsoft.ars/2008/12/29/the-windows-7-build-7000-leak-and-microsofts-reaction

Major Complaint About Website Log Ins: "Your PW OR Your User Name Are Incorrect"......WHICH Is It????

Sorry to start off Christmas Day with a complaint [Merry Christmas and Happy Hannukah!], but the whole business of web page log ins has gotten waaaay out of hand.

I understand that spammers are primarily to blame for this but, nonetheless, the whole situation with websites which require setting up an account to log in has really become a pain in the ass, for several reasons:

--you must set up a User Account with a Password AND a User Name AND: enter 'security information' such as your pet's name and fill in what's called a 'Captcha' image of nonesense letters, like: LNYEW to prove you're not a spammer.

--OK: as I just said above, I understand the need to foil spammers, but:

--after about the 27th webite, you realize that you're never going to remember all those damn passwords, and, against your better judgment, you start using the same PWs and UNs over and over, simply because no one can remember them all!

--now, here is my MAJOR GRIPE: so, you've got your 27 favorite websites, all of which require you to log in with a User Name and PW, which you're not sure you can remember.

--you log in and you get an error message which says: "Your Password or Username are incorrect, please try again."

Your Password OR your Username?

Why can't they tell you which one?

Let's say you have NOT been using the same UN and PW from site to site.

--Don't they realize how many permutations there could be between the possible number of UN combinations and the possible number of PW combinations in your head?

WEBSITES NEED TO TELL YOU WHICH ARE INCORRECT: THE PASSWORD OR THE USERNAME, BECAUSE OTHERWISE, YOU'LL BE THERE ALL DAY, TRYING ALL THE VARIOUS COMBINATIONS OF THE TWO.....

AND: many website log ins do NOT remind you that your User Name is your email address, so you sit there entering all these fancy UN combinations, not realizing it was your EMAIL ADDRESS the WHOLE time!

And, guess what else?

Some websites LOCK YOU OUT AFTER 5 ATTEMPTS!

I cannot believe that I am the only person who has run into this irritating situation........

Lemme me know if you've experienced something similar.

Thanks,

More Info on Windows Beta 7 Testing [Don't Get Your Hopes Up]

Here's some more information on becoming a beta tester for Windows 7.

Basically, don't get your hopes up.

While there are many web links, like the one below, basically, unless you know a Windows Developer or have actually been a beta tester for Microsoft before, your chances of being selected are slim to none--which really begs the question of how you become one--answer: have been one before. Not much help, right?

Microsoft has a couple sites which sort of get your hope up with links like: "Click here to sign up to become a beta tester for Windows 7, " but then you click on them and see something like:

"Thank you for your interest in becoming a Window Beta Tester, but the program is closed at this time [meaning: we've selected all the same people we hired last time and you weren't one of them then and you won't be one of them now] and we are not taking any more applicants."

Your other option [the really expensive one ] is to pay $300-$600 for a MSDN developer's membership, and maybe, just maybe, they'll send you some beta DVDs as part of your membership.

But, anyway, here's a link to artificially get your hopes up:

http://community.winsupersite.com/blogs/paul/archive/2008/12/16/windows-7-beta-testing.aspx

An even more depressing link is this one, which I also gave on the right side of this blog earlier last month:

https://connect.microsoft.com/Connect/feedback/ViewFeedback.aspx?FeedbackID=371972

from the Microsoft Connect web site, devoted exclusively, near as I can tell, to getting your hopes up that you may have a slim chance [which you don't] that mentions the Beta Testing Program, says it's closed and then shows all the 1,234,9546 other would-be beta testers' fawning 'OH, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, LET ME BECOME A BETA TESTER!' begging pleas.

You can almost hear Microsoft saying "HA, HA! YOU CAN'T!" followed by evil cackling in the background....

I hate to say it, but, ACTUALLY, you're best bet is to type in 'download Windows 7 Beta' into Google and go download one of the many leaked beta versions floating around, illegally, of course, and at your own risk.

But, I would NEVER recommend such a thing. :)

Mac Rumors: 'Snow Leopard' Due in 1st Q '09

Mmmm.......very, very interestink! [Germanic accent here]:

http://www.macrumors.com/2008/11/18/mac-os-x-snow-leopard-10-6-due-in-q1-2009/

--Click on Apple's Director of Engineering of Unix Technologies Jordan Hubbard's .pdf Slide Show towards the end of the first paragraph.

Defunct 'Open Darwin Project' Has Become 'Pure Darwin'

On July 25, 2006, the OpenDarwin team announced that the project was shutting down, as they felt OpenDarwin had "become a mere hosting facility for Mac OS X related projects," and that the efforts to create a standalone Darwin operating system had failed. They also state: "Availability of sources, interaction with Apple representatives, difficulty building and tracking sources, and a lack of interest from the community have all contributed to this."[12] The last stable release was version 7.2.1, released on July 16, 2004.[13]

PureDarwin

In 2007, the PureDarwin project was launched to continue where OpenDarwin left off, and is currently working to produce a release based on Darwin 9.