Code Retard » Windows

Student Discounts on Windows 7 Upgrade ($30)

MindysGrandson — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 18:42:40 +0000

If you missed out on Microsoft’s free Windows 7 upgrade for “qualifying” Vista users, there are still other ways to get it for cheap. One of the ways is through student discounts. By ordering through here with a student email, you may be qualified to order Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade or Windows 7 Professional Upgrade for $30 (MSRB $120 and $200 respectively). The only caveat is that those are digital copies of the OS, but you can get the disc version shipped for a fee. Microsoft is sure offering plenty of ways to get the new OS for cheap despite the closing release date of October 22nd.

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SharePoint 2010 Beta Install: Application Server Role: Web Server (IIS) Role

Son Riku — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 15:19:17 +0000

I was trying to install SharePoint 2010 and what i found was that it was restarting over and over again. It restarted the server 8 times before i decided to look at the logs, it seems like it was having problems configuing the IIR Roles:

“Multiple Server restarts on Error with Configuring Application Server Role, Web Server”
and
“Application Server Role: Web Server (IIS) Role: configuration error – pending restart of the computer”

Solution:
It seems that you CANNOT have Visual Studio 2010 Beta 1 installed before you install SharePoint 2010. I rolled back to a previous VM where i did not install VS2k10 and then ran in prereq install and everything worked.

Sneak Preview: Doxie scanner from Apparent Corporation

admin — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 16:30:00 +0000

Apparent Corporation, makers of the popular Intelliscanner barcode scanners, has announced that their new Doxie document scanner is in private beta-testing and on track for release to the public in November, 2009.
Doxie is a USB-powered 600-dpi photo, document, and receipt scanner designed to integrate with a number of undisclosed Web and Mac apps. While I’m personally disappointed that Apparent didn’t go with the pink and white Good & Plenty candy color scheme, the Doxie is heart-friendly and comes emblazoned with a number of pink hearts. The biggest heart is on the single scan button, which is just visible in the top right of the photo above. I was shocked to find a mistake in the press release, in which they said there were 9 hearts on the device. There are actually 10: one above the “i” in the logo, 8 after the logo, and one on the scan button.A cool thing about Doxie is that it will automatically know when you’re trying to scan a photo, clean up the photo (straighten it and trim if necessary), and then politely offer to put the photo into your iPhoto Library, Flickr pool, or other web apps. As an Apparent spokesperson noted, the company isn’t interested in coming out with yet another piece of software to store your receipts and documents. Instead, they want Doxie to work with as many existing Mac, Windows, and Web apps as possible. One comment from the developers that may point to some rather unique functionality is that they recommend using Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard. Doxie will retail for $129, and you can sign up for updates and early release information at the new website, which went live today.

Microsoft: how to port iPhone apps to Windows Mobile

admin — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 22:30:00 +0000

With just a few months to go before launching the Windows Marketplace for mobile applications, Microsoft has published details on porting iPhone apps to its Windows Mobile platform. It’s a case study of the app Amplitude [App Store link], which lets users hear far-off sounds with ease. It’s a detailed writeup that takes readers through the entire process.

Microsoft will have quite a task ahead of them in this market, considering Apple’s considerable lead and foothold. However, there are many (to say the least) Windows Mobile devices out there as well as people for whom “Windows Mobile” means business.

It will be interesting to see if and how iPhone/iPod touch app developers choose to move their products to Windows Mobile. The Windows Marketplace for mobile applications is expected to drop between September and December of this year, as are Snow Leopard and Windows 7. It’s going to be an exciting autumn.

[Via Macworld]

Enable KMS on MSDN Activate Windows 2008 Servers

Son Riku — Tue, 05 May 2009 17:49:08 +0000

microsoft logo

Activate Windows Server 2008 RTM (MSDN Subscriber Downloads version)
This weekend I downloaded and installed Windows Server 2008 RTM from MSDN Subscriber Downloads. I was building a VPC image with that + SQL Server 2005 + TFS 2008 + Team Suite 2008 + Office 2007. Everything installed smoothly, but when I tried to activate Windows Server 2008 I received the following error:

And when I clicked on the “More Information” link, this popped up.

Um, OK. So what’s that supposed to mean?

I poked around and found a KB article with a similar error message for Vista activations (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/938107), which says:

When you try to activate Windows Vista, you may receive an error message that resembles the following:

Activation Error: Code 0×8007232b DNS Name does not exist

This problem may occur if you use volume-licensed media to install Windows Vista.

OK. Lovely, but what do I do now?

I went back to the MSDN subscriber downloads to make sure I’d used the right product key, and read something interesting at the very bottom of the page:

Go to Start
Click Control Panel
Choose System
At the bottom is Windows activation
Click Change product key (do not select automatic activation as this is the KMS option)
Enter the correct product key (MAK) for the edition you are activating:
To activate Windows Server 2008 Datacenter use the key titled Windows Server 2008 Datacenter and Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-based Systems
To activate Windows Server 2008 Enterprise use the key titled Windows Server 2008 Enterprise and Windows Server 2008 Standard
To activate Windows Server 2008 Standard use the key titled Windows Server 2008 Enterprise and Windows Server 2008 Standard
Click Next
After a minute you should see the Activation was successful confirmation
OK. Let’s make something totally NOT intuitive. Instead of Clicking on the “Activate Windows” link, I should have clicked on the “Change Product Key” link. Riiiiiight. Makes sense. And after clicking on the link, I should have entered the exact same product key in the dialog box that I used during setup. Ooooookaaaay. Suuuurrreee. And from that dialog box I should have told it to Activate windows. Aaaaah… Now I get it.

Bottom line: when you’re ready to activate Windows Server 2008 that you’ve downloaded from MSDN Subscriber Downloads, Click on the “Change product key” link on the Control Panel | System page. Just like the instructions tell you.

I kid you not.

Windows 7 RC Out Today

adm_snackbar — Tue, 05 May 2009 16:20:24 +0000

Microsoft is releasing its Vista replacement OS dubbed “Windows 7” today. A few months ago the Windows 7 beta was released for a few hours but hordes of early adopters crashed Microsoft’s servers. To remedy that, they extended the beta download period to two weeks. Rather than make the same mistake twice and force the world’s eager users to download the OS in a small Window, the Windows 7 release candidate will be available to download for three months until July. Not only that, the license is valid for more than a year, expiring on June 1, 2010 with no limit on the number of product keys you can obtain. This is a great way to try out Windows 7 for free and really sink your teeth into it with a year-long trial license. The release candidate is one release after the beta, but one release before the final release some time in 2010.

Get the Windows 7 RC and your free Windows key starting today through July and is available in 32-bit and 64-bit editions.

Image/Microsoft

Dell Adamo. When?

Son Riku — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 06:10:17 +0000

Dell Pulls a wanna be Apple Air with Latitude E4200

StarCraft Running on PS3

adm_snackbar — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 16:40:41 +0000

Think this is impressive? Want to play StarCraft on your PS3 as well? It’s definitely possible. The requirements? You need to take advantage of your PS3’s little known capability to run Linux. Linux you ask? Yes, because that’s the only way to run Windows. Since StarCraft came out way back in the day when Windows 95 was king, that’s all you need to install on top of Linux through an emulation layer. Fortunately, the PS3 has enough horsepower to run Windows 95, even via software emulation, so StarCraft is actually playable. Just imagine it, playing StarCraft on your big screen TV!

The steps to running Windows on your PS3 are a little bit involved, but we have step by step guides for you. Follow our guide on how to install Linux on your PS3. Then follow our guide on how to install Windows XP on your PS3 or Vista, except replace XP/Vista with Windows 95. Unlike Vista, Windows 95 is actually usable so StarCraft is playable.

After you’ve got Windows 95 running on an emulation on top of Linux, you can then install StarCraft on it.

Stardock Fences Up Your Desktop

MindysGrandson — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 16:56:34 +0000

Those with messy and unorganized icons on your desktop now have a way to organize them. Stardock, known for creating games such as Sins of a Solar Empire and Galactic Civilizations, has released a desktop utility named Fences that lets you draw boundries and labels to categorize icons. The application is free to use, so I recommend all to give it a try.

Though the application explicitly warns you, double clicking on the desktop while Fences is installed will make all icons fade away. Double clicking again reverses the process, so do not be alarmed if your icons suddenly disappear.

Setup Windows Remote Desktop on Multiple Computers with Same IP Address

New Left 4 Dead Update in Spring

MindysGrandson — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 05:13:41 +0000

After hours of zombie killing in Left 4 Dead versus, we are finally ready for valve to release new campaigns for versus. Not only will this new update add two more campaigns for versus, the update will also introduce a new mode called “survivor.”

February 5, 2009, 10:47 am – Alden Kroll – Press Release

Valve’s Zombie Thriller Expanding In 2009

February 5, 2009 — Valve, creators of best-selling game franchises (such as Half-Life, Portal, Team Fortress, and Counter-Strike) and leading technologies (such as Steam and Source), today announced a series of content and development releases for its latest title, 2008’s best-selling new game property for the PC and Xbox 360, Left 4 Dead (L4D).

The first L4D DLC — dubbed the L4D Survival Pack — is due for release this spring and introduces a new multiplayer game mode entitled, Survival, plus two complete campaigns for Versus Mode . A Critic’s Choice Edition of the game will be heading to retail stores this spring, and will include access to all the content introduced in the L4D: Survival Pack.

In addition, for PC gamers and aspiring developers, the first Left 4 Dead release for the Source Software Development Kit (Source SDK) will allow the creation of custom Left 4 Dead campaigns that will be discoverable via L4D’s matchmaking system. The SDK update is also due for release this spring, and is free of charge to all owners of L4D on the PC.

“Since Half-Life launched in 1998, Valve has made continuous efforts to expand the offering of its products beyond what’s included on the day of launch,” said Gabe Newell, co-founder and president of Valve. “With Half-Life and Counter-Strike, and more recently Team Fortress 2, we’ve learned that we’re no longer making stand-alone games but creating entertainment services. With Left 4 Dead we’re extending that tradition by creating additional gameplay and releasing our internal tools to aspiring developers so they may also create and distribute new Left 4 Dead experiences.”

Left 4 Dead is a survival action game from Valve that blends the social entertainment experience of multiplayer games such as Counter-Strike and Team Fortress with the dramatic, narrative experience made popular in single player action game classics such as the Half-Life series of games. Released in November of 2008, L4D has earned over 25 industry awards from outlets around the world.

For more information, please visit www.l4d.com

Now the questions we have left to ask is the following:

Will the new update be free?
Will the two new campaigns simply be the two previous campaigns that were not versus compatible? (most likely yes)
What is “survivor” mode?

Valve is certainly keeping the expectation low with this one. Regardless, we are looking forward to more ways to experience zombie killing.