Top things to do after you upgrade from Windows 7
The Windows 7 launch is a proud moment for us at Windows Live. Windows Live delivers the software and services that make your new, or upgraded, Windows 7 PC lots of fun. So, we want to remind you to get the latest and greatest of Windows Live for your new Windows 7 PC!
We recommend the following top things to do after installing Windows 7:
1. Personalize your PC: Make your Windows 7 PC your own by pinning your favorite programs to the enhanced Windows Taskbar, to easily preview and switch between Windows. Then, customize your desktop with one of the many new themes available in Windows 7 (or easily download a new one that suits your personality), and drag your favorite gadgets where you want them on your desktop.
2. Download Windows Live Essentials – the killer apps for Windows 7: Once you have Windows 7 installed, go to download.live.com to download free programs for email, IM, movie-making, photos and more!
3. Organize your multiple email accounts in one place: Organize your multiple email accounts using Window Live Mail (including Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail Plus and Gmail) so you can receive email in one place, organized into separate folders. You can even add RSS feeds to stay up on your favorite sites and blogs. Read more
Nero Free For All
Back in the days when recordable CDs were still a bit of a novelty there were only a couple of applications on the market that could actually make recordings, and one of them was Nero Burning, and it is still regarded as one of the best CD/DVD utilities you can get. Now here’s the good news, you can get it for free, that’s right, Nero 9 Essentials Free version is all yours for the cost of a download. There are no catches unless you count the pre-checked facility to install an annoying toolbar – so read before you click – and the nags to upgrade to the paid for version. Otherwise it’s good to go with a decent set of basic but efficient CD and DVD burning and copying facilities.
Firefox 3.5 RC Just Around the Corner
The first Release Candidate of Firefox 3.5, codenamed Shiretoko, is just around the corner. The RC development milestone means that Mozilla is extremely close to wrapping up the successor of Firefox 3.0, released back in mid-June 2008, almost a year ago. While there are voices claiming that Firefox 3.5 RC1 will be made available for download as early as tomorrow, fact is that Mozilla has a test day planned for the upcoming build of its open-source browser this Friday, May 29.
“MozQA is holding a Testday for the rollout of Firefox 3.5 RC 1 which is as close to a release as possible! I don’t need to remind everyone of how important this phase is, so we’re going to need your awesome testing skills to make sure it’s as polished as possible,” revealed a member of the Mozilla Q&A team. Read more
How to update the firmware of your Nokia mobile phone?
Got a Nokia mobile phone? It’s important that you update the mobile phone’s firmware once in a while. Firmware is actually the software that keeps things on your Nokia mobile phone running.
There are a lot of benefits of upgrading your phone’s firmware. You may get functional enhancements, bug fixes etc. Some issues that you might be having with your phone can be solved with a firmware upgrade.
Updating Nokia Mobile Phone Firmware:
Updating the firmware on the Nokia phone is very easy, we only need 3 things, the internet connection, Nokia PC Suite and Nokia Software Updater. There are steps that you can do to update the firmware on your Nokia phone. Read more
Vista Sidebar for XP
Maybe you’ve been putting off upgrading to Vista, but quite like the look of the operating system? Well, we’ve already shown you how to upgrade XP to look and feel like Vista, but one thing has been missing, the Sidebar, which hosts the famous’ Gadgets’. These are small desktop applications and utilities that have proved to be one of Vista’s most popular features. Now they’re yours, for free, with the Windows Sidebar Real One Pack. It’s not just a copy but the original Sidebar, rescripted for XO, so it looks and behaves just like the real thing, you can download gadgets, funky clocks and so on from Microsoft and all of the other goodies developed for the original.
New AVG Annoyance
It’s hard to get too upset with AVG, after all they have been providing us with top-notch virus protection for free these last few years, but the release of AVG version 8 has annoyed a lot of otherwise loyal users. Over the last few weeks popups have been appearing that appear to suggest that AVG was no longer free and to stay protected you had to upgrade to a paid-for version. The fact is AVG 8 is still free for personal use, but of course AVG would rather you purchased the better-specified commercial version – well, you can’t blame them for trying. For the record the free version can be downloaded from http://free.avg.com
The latest problem is a component in AVG 8, called Link Scanner, which has been driving some website owners potty. The idea is when you do a web search it pre-checks all of the links, looking for malicious sites. The trouble is websites get bombarded with fake hits from PCs running AVG 8, clogging up the web with pointless and wasteful traffic. Some users also suggest that the Link Scanners slows their PC down, which could well be the case on older machines. Read more
Vista Price Changes on the Way?
Microsoft raised a few eyebrows late last week with an announcement that it is planning significant price cuts for some versions of the Vista operating system. So far we only have details of the US changes, which apply to the upgrade versions of Ultimate (down from $299 to $219) and Home Premium (drops from $159 down to $129), but according to a CNET News report the company also has plans to reduce prices in other ‘developed’ markets which presumably means Europe and Japan. There will also be changes too for emerging markets, where the distinction between full and upgrade versions will be eliminated. Read more
