Update to hard disk technology could leave XP behind

Since the days of the first IBM PC, hard disks have always split the data that they store in to small chunks of 512 bytes, called a sector. All versions of Windows have been developed to deal with hard disks that use the 512 byte sector, since it was the industry standard. However, many hard disk manufacturers are now switching to disks with 4 kilobyte sectors – eight times the size of the previous sector size, as 4KB sectors allow today’s very large hard disks to be used more efficiently.

Windows 7 and Vista both take this shift in the size of hard disks in to account, and can use 4KB sector disks without any problems. Unfortunately XP was developed before 4KB disk sectors became the norm, and by default is incompatible with such disks. If you’re an XP user and are thinking of upgrading your hard disk, first check that your new disk doesn’t use 4KB sectors. Alternatively, you can choose a Western Digital disk, since they supply a tool to allow you to use 4KB sector disks with XP. You can get the tool here:

http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2010/03/10/wd_targets_windows_xp_4k/ 

Article from Windows Advisor

New designs made easy

Love this new template designer, just released by Google.

Browsers. You've always had a choice. Now Microsoft has to tell you.

A European Court ruling has required that Microsoft offers people a selection of browsers to choose from of which Internet Explorer will be just one. Starting around now, a Windows update will result in those with Internet Explorer as their default browser being presented with a screen showing what appears to be the five alternatives, in random order. So Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari, Opera and Internet Explorer will be offered on a panel with buttons for download.

This is good news and should result in a much more pleasant internet experience for lots of people who have never even thought there might be another way than the familiar blue e symbol and its continuous warnings and annoying pale yellow bars and boxes asking questions that even now I have to think about before clicking Yes or No.

What is particularly interesting, though, is that those five are not the only ones actually being offered. Those five are the applications that are the First Panel contenders. However, look carefully and there is a second panel. Scroll horizontally and you'll see a selection of a further seven that I have to say includes six I had never heard of before!

[screenshots by Stephen Shakland, CNET]

Goodness only knows what people will make of these! Those behind these currently lesser-known browsers are expecting to see downloads rocket as to date their growth has been 99% through word of mouth and mostly among pretty specific groups of geeky types at that. Maxthon is apparently second to IE in China and even a 1% addition to its current user numbers will double its present share of the browser market! It will be fascinating to see which of these seven do best and how they react to their new-found fame as, courtesy of some suits in Europe, an estimated 100 million Europeans could see their logos on their screens.

I say could see as the Second Panellers are a little miffed that in order to see their wares people have to perform that unnatural business of horizontal scrolling and the bar isn't exactly obvious either.

I guess I'd better download all seven now and review them on the webtools site before the European Commission start knocking on my door.

Creating a blog and using it for an on-line portfolio

Windows Media Player 12 and the red N on your desktop

If you have a red N next to Windows 7 Professional then you have the version without Windows Media Player. I can't imagine that you actually bought it. It's probably a version that you got on the back of an employer's licence, like me. It's the version without Windows Media Player. Apparently some EU ruling forced Microsoft to offer two versions of Windows - one with WMP and one without. They both are otherwise exactly the same and cost the same. So you'll deduce that Windows Media Player is 'free' and yes, if you do have that red N, then you can download the Windows Media Feature Pack from Microsoft.

As usual, though, finding it ain't that simple! I actually only discovered that I didn't have WMP when I wondered what the red N was as googled it! The link to the free WMP download wasn't obvious on any of the Microsoft links but, thanks to CNET, all was revealed.

Here's the link.

Essential tip to enable Aero in Windows 7/Vista

If you reinstall Windows 7 or Vista, or buy a brand new PC, you may find that the Aero interface is not enabled by default, even if you have the correct graphics driver installed. If this is the case, then you need to run the System Rating tool, which Windows uses to check that your PC can actually support Aero. This tip will also help if you have just installed a new graphics card too. To do so, follow these steps:
Right-click on Computer and choose Properties.
Click the link System rating is not available.
Click Rate this computer. The rating process can take some time, but when it is complete, Aero should be enabled.

Information from the excellent Windows Advisor

Helping an old friend out with Facebook . . .

A colleague has just asked me and someone else he knows this question about Facebook, having been contacted by someone he didn't think he knew. Couldn't resist sharing the correspondence! I'll add 'Mum's' when I get it.

Dear Andrew & Shelagh

. . . I went on it for the first time in a year and I saw a debbie mclaren who asked me a question about my flying apparel on the front page - she seems a perfectly decent sort though I have no idea who she is and wondered if she came via your good selves?As you can tell I'm not sure how it all works . . .

Steve

Dear Steve

Come along, old boy, some frilly wants to be friendly and you need advice??!! Shelagh & I feel like your mum and dad!!I don't recognise the name but you may be able to find out more about her by clicking on her name or profile picture which should link to her profile. That may provide a hint. Could be someone that's been in an audience at one of your events, a friend of a friend or just someone who liked your picture!

My guess is that Debbie was looking for someone she had met called Steve Smith and Facebook has a simple name search facility which will have, in your case and unfortunately for her, probably come up with 100,000+ possibilities. (My name's pretty common - probably 20,000+ but Shelagh's luckier and simpler to find).

Anyway, Debbie has probably liked your floppy bits and decided to while away a couple of minutes in the office making a comment before proceeding with her search of the other 99,999+ Steve Smiths. You may find she's asked you to be a 'friend' (look at the top of the right panel) which would help identify her if you say yes. No harm done. You can always delete her if she's a nuisance. My daughter has an incredible 1000 'friends'.

Think of Facebook as something like a car park. People may occasionally scrawl on your dusty bootlid or stick a note under your wiper. You may even wind down the window and chat with someone else. When you're away from the car you can leave a note saying 'Back soon' or leave some pics on the dashboard shelf. Or you may just sit there listening to some CDs (sorry, cassettes in your car) or playing with yourself. Games I mean. I think. Maybe not but that's another matter we needn't develop here. Debbie may have parked next to you once a while ago or has just been leaving notes on anyone's car with something she's liked inside.

Just a thought . . it is dead easy to make a profile so, for instance, Geoff Foot may have decided to make a new one with some random picture and a different e-mail address and to call himself Debbie. Always sobering to bear that in mind should some particularly attractive person appear on your page before you jump in the old red Cavalier and head for Cardiff on a promise :)

Andrew