SiliconDust: No Word from Microsoft on Windows Media Center EPG Data End of Life
The future of Windows Media Center as a legacy app may only be 24 months away from shutting down, and Microsoft isn’t speaking yet.
Lenovo RapidDrive: The Wrong Way to Hybrid Drive SSD & HDD
I have a Lenovo Ideapad Y560p. It’s one of about a dozen or so notebooks from Lenovo that use Lenovo’s “exclusive” RapidDrive technology. I hate it. I’ll explain why it’s a bad way to go.
Download: Kworld ATSC-340U Driver for Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8
While testing out Windows 8 Media Center, I dusted off this Kworld ATSC-340U tuner that I got for free after mail-in rebate (or something like that). Luckily, I had the retail box, CD, and everything still inside… including an ultra-compact, albeit worthless TV antenna. Anyways, Windows 8 to my surprise failed to find a driver […]
What to do when Microsoft sells you an invalid Product Key?
No seriously, I’m asking what department I’m supposed to go to. Here’s the deal. I purchased two Windows Vista Home Premium product keys way back when Vista was shipping. They were $50/each, under their Family Upgrade Discount deal. I purchased the keys from a special Windows e-store that is since defunct. Fast forward to 2009. […]
Sprint Open Developer Conference Attendees: Do not use your Sprint 4G cards with Vista SP2 or Windows 7
That’s right. Unfortunately, Sprint just informed me that Vista SP2 and Windows 7 will not work with the Sprint 4G demo cards handed out at the Open Developers Conference. The reason is that Vista SP2 and Windows 7 are not compatible with the older Sprint SmartView included on the demo CD. That version of SmartView […]
Sorry Engadget, I don’t buy the TV Pack 2008 Excuse
Engadget HD posted an article that really was disingenuous, in my opinion. I’d link to it, but that would be giving them a SEO benefit for poor work. Basically, the article initially claimed that it had found out why Microsoft never released Vista Media Center TV Pack 2008 to end users. Unfortunately, when you hit […]
Next Windows Home Server to Bundle Live Mesh
At PDC, Microsoft let drop the announcement that I pushed for. The Windows Home Server Team has announced that the next version of the product will indeed feature Live Mesh technology integration. Live Mesh will be a big help for solving one of the inconsistencies in the Windows Home Server offering. As I’ve noted in […]
Vista Service Pack 2 Lacks Media Center TV Pack 2008 (Updated)
As it stands right now, Windows Vista Service Pack 2 still won’t include TV Pack 2008. I haven’t heard official word from Microsoft, but I can confirm that TV Pack 2008 is absent from SP2. It’s not clear why the Media Center team didn’t add this. Microsoft has confirmed to me that TV Pack 2008 will […]
Microsoft Won’t Let Mac Get its Bluetooth 2.1 On
That’s right. Even if you use Boot Camp, you’re stuck at Bluetooth 2.0 on your Windows-powered MacBook. I didn’t realize this until I considered getting one of those nifty MacBook Air units now that they have reasonably good graphics. Not that this would really tip my decision either way… but Microsoft added support for Bluetooth […]
Vista Keeps Thinking I’m A Guest
I’m on my third complete reinstall of Windows on my Inspiron 530n. Completely erased the hard drive, reinstalled Windows from scratch… and the same problem keeps happening. Worse, my Inspiron 530n is plugged into my HDTV… making troubleshooting a royal pain. Here’s the problem. With Vista SP1, this computer keeps corrupting my user account. This […]