Until now there have been a couple versions that have been leaked around the net, most easily obtained via Torrents. There has been speculation that Microsoft intentionally leaked early version to create buzz.

If you’re an MSDN subscriber, Windows 7 Beta is available immediately.

Window 7 Beta availability screenshot from my MSDN account

I haven’t played around with it yet, but I really want to. For now I’ll probably install it in a virtual machine or possibly install it on my Samsung NC10 netbook. I’ve heard most of the Vista hardware drivers have been working fine.

I’ve been using the NC10 for a little over two weeks and I’m very impressed with it.

Samsung NC10 Netbook

Design / Size:

I think the 10″ netbook is perfect. I really couldn’t imagine using any of the smaller netbooks. On the other hand, I’ve been thinking in the back of my mind that one of the 12″ netbook models may be better for me (Like the future Samsung NC20 or the Dell Mini 12) until I was on one of my recent flights.

Somehow it never fails, the person in front of me decides to recline their seat back as far as it will go. I think I’m one of the few people that doesn’t recline their seat out of consideration if there is someone behind me. When this happens while I’m using my 14″ Dell notebook it’s game over.

While using the NC10 on my most recent flight it wasn’t phased even the slightest by the seat in front of me being fully reclined, the only thing that suffered was my comfort. However, the seat was very close to the top edge of my notebook and I think anything bigger such as a 12″ notebook would have required me to make some adjustments.

Front:

The front of the notebook has Status Indicators on the left and a Multi Card Slot to the right.

The status indicators are as follows (left to right): Num Lock, Caps Lock, Scroll Lock, HDD, Wireless, Charge Status, Power.

The slot can read and write data to a SD card, SDHC card, and MMC card.

Samsung NC10 Indicator Lights

Samsung NC10 Multi Card Slot

Left:

The left side of the NC10 has the DC Jack, a Wired LAN Port, Fan Vents, and 2 USB Ports.

Left view of Samsung NC10

Right:

The right side of the notebook has a Headphone Jack, Microphone Jack, 1 USB Port, Monitor Port (15 pin D-SUB), Security Lock Port (Kensington Lock), and the Power button which illuminates when powered on.

Right view on Samsung NC10

Battery Life:

I wanted to do some comparison tests but didn’t get around to it. I will report that the battery indeed lasts very long. When I’ve been on flights I disable the Wi-Fi and bluetooth and dim the brightness down.

I also have my NC10 automatically hibernate when I close the lid. This can really extend the battery throughout the day.

Power Brick:

The power brick on this notebook is very small which is nice. It can easily fit into one of the side pockets in the Samsonite backpack that I usually use for travel. Another advantage of the power brick is the cord which is pretty long. This will allow you to plug it into outlets at the airport and be a comfortable distance away. The only lacking feature is a light on the brick itself telling you there is power once it’s plugged in. This is a feature I usually like. However, it doesn’t matter too much because there is an amber light that lights up on the notebook when the power cord is plugged in.

Samsung NC10 Power Brick

Screen:

At first I was really disappointed with the screen. Manufactures tend to apply anti-glare coatings to their screens which gives it a sparkly effect. These coatings actually hurt my eyes and give me headaches.

I did some searching on the web and found some techniques people use to remove their anti-glare coating and decided to be bold and give it a shot. Mostly it was successful. I’ll be adding a post to my site on my experience with that soon.

After removing the anti-glare coating the screen is very clear.

Heat & Noise:

I’m shocked how little heat and noise there is on the NC10.

I don’t have any tools to measure the exact heat, but usually I’m overly sensitive about palmrests being warm. I’ve returned prior notebooks because of this alone. I barely notice any heat at all, both the top of the notebook is pretty cool.

The hard drive and fan is also very quiet. This netbook could easily be used in meetings or in the classroom without bothering others around you.

Cost:

I find the most disappointing factor about the cost of the notebook is that you can buy a much better notebook for about the same price in terms of performance and features. However, what you’re paying for on the netbook is the portability and long battery life.

With that said, the price of netbooks is advantageous because it’s far less risky than lugging around a notebook that costs close to two thousand dollars or more. I could deal much easier with the loss or damage to my netbook than I could my Dell laptop.

Wireless:

Wi-Fi

From what I’ve seen my NC10 doesn’t pick up the wireless signal as good as my Dell Latituide notebook. From one test my Dell was reporting “Very Good” while my NC10 was reporting “Low” while side by side. That being said, there can be a wide disparity of factors such as interference and Wi-Fi card brands so it’s hard to pinpoint if the signal is that much worse. Nonetheless, I’ve used the Wi-Fi and it seems to work well without any disconnect problems.

Although I don’t have a N router, I wish the NC10 included the option for it. Lately I’ve been considering upgrading my router. One of the NC10’s rival, the MSI Wind includes N.

3G

There is no option for embedded 3G. There is potential for 3G if you’re good at electronics and soldering and willing to risk the hack. However out of the box you’ll have to depend on a USB 3G device as there is no other option such as an Express or PCMCIA card slot. I tested my NC10 using my Verizon USB727 USB modem and it works great.

Photo shows the lack of embedded 3G connection on NC10 Motherboard

Sleeve
The NC10 comes with a cloth sleeve. I wish the lip of the sleeve had some Velcro of some kind, so instead I’ve been tucking it in.

Sleeve included with the Samsung NC10

Speakers: - Nothing unexpected here, typical netbook quality. To do any serious listening you need to use some headphones or use some external speakers. I used my Bose headphones on my flights with it for watching movies which worked great. The speakers are located on the bottom of the notebook towards the front.

Touchpad: While expected, I wish Samsung would have incorporated a larger touchpad on this netbook somehow. Sometimes it’s very hard to use but over the course of 2 weeks I have adjusted to it more and more and have been able to use it effectively.

The touchpad button appears to be one large button but when you press down on it it works just like a left or right click. Before buying the NC10 I was wondering if this would bother me, but I have no problems with it at all.

Webcam: Out of everything, I’d say I’m the most disappointed with the webcam on the NC10. It responds extremely poor to low light conditions and the quality of the picture isn’t that clear. I wish a better quality webcam was put on this netbook. It came with a 1.3 MP cam and I wish it came with a 2.0 MP cam.

Conclusion:

Overall I’m very happy with the NC10, most notably with the long battery life and the low heat. The only major cons I find with it is the lousy webcam and the small trackpad. It’s been a great notebook for traveling and having an extra screen open for e-mail or Twitter while working at my desk.

For anyone looking for a netbook I highly recommend the Samsung NC10.

For several months I have been using the CTR500 Cellular Travel Router by CradlePoint. I have been a fan of 3G for a long and have been using Verizon’s EVDO service for several years.

CradlePoint CTR500 Cellular Travel Router

I wanted to purchase a 3G router for the ability to have a couple different connections at my home. I also pay for a cable broadband connection. This has come in very handy when one of my services is unavailable, I can easily and quickly connect to either connection.

Another reason I wanted the router was for a connection on the road that more than one person can use. I can easily setup my 3G router and share among several notebooks.

The reception of this router has been great. I keep it upstairs in my home and can go downstairs while still maintaining a full signal. There is an optional antenna that can be purchased for the router but I found that it isn’t necessary.

The CTR500 has options of using express card and USB devices. I use mine with the USB727 from Verizon wireless.

CTR500 Router with USB727 modem plugged in

The feature set of this router is very rich. I have configured mine with WPA2-PSK and additionally there is an option of having a password protected landing page for access to the Internet. I heard a story from one person where he will take his CradlePoint to the airport and let other people connect which automatically takes them to the landing page and gives a little free advertising and service to those wanting to connect.

A full list of features can be seen here: http://www.cradlepoint.com/ctr500/ctr500overview.php

The 3G router has been a great device and has really been useful for me in many situations. For anyone that uses a 3G device I definitely recommend one of these.

While not recommended for most people, you can disable System Restore in your Windows Operating System. I happen to hate extra processes running on my system while I’m trying to use it. With that said, you can schedule System Restore to run during times you’re not using your system. Since I disabled it, I’ll probably only use it on a case by case basis when installing software. I keep most of my data on my file server, so a full system crash isn’t the largest concern of mine.

1. Go to System Properties. I like to take advantage of the run commands. Press the Windows key and then R, to open the run box. Then type in: sysdm.cpl and it will open the system properties. You can also get here by navigating to start -> control panel -> system -> Advanced System settings, but learning your windows key commands and run commands is much quicker!

2. Click on the System Protection Tab.

3. A box will be checked next to the drive that System Restore is enabled on. Uncheck the box to disable System Restore. A window will pop up confirming that you are disabling System Restore. You can come back here at a later time to enable it if you want.

I’ve been interested in getting more screen real estate and after reading many reviews I decided to settle on the 24″ Dell 2408WFP monitor.

I received the monitor and overall I really like it. The ability to adjust this monitor is great such as changing the height and angle. Also the monitor didn’t have any dead pixels. I refuse to keep a monitor that has dead pixels, it’s unacceptable.

Unfortunately there is one factor that has been really bothering me. It has to do with what I believe is the 3H anti glare coating that Dell puts on their monitors. It makes the surface look grainy and really kills my eyes. I don’t think everyone will notice this or will be bothered by it, but it’s very apparent to me and having a sharp and clear display is very important to me and my eyes.

I was looking around on the web, and another blog, LevelsOfDetail has the same experience with their Dell monitor purchase.

This is really disappointing because I love everything else about this monitor, although I did seem to notice some lag with the DVI-D connector. I ended up using a DVI-D to HDMI connector which seems to improve this.

It’s pretty well known that Dell doesn’t make their own panels. The panel inside this monitor happens to be from LG Philips.

Here is a photo of the monitor. The wallpaper is a photo of one of my favorite places, Huntington Beach, California.

I decided I would at least try to cope with the monitor for a week, but I don’t think I can continue with it. I will be returning this to Dell. Going back to relying my 19″ monitor is going to be tough!

On the other blog I read, they were very happy with the NEC displays. They’re very expensive, but you get what you pay for I suppose. I’ll just need to find a place I can purchase one with a reasonable return policy in case I’m not happy with it. Luckily Dell is pretty good with returns.

Update:

I didn’t know Dell was doing this now, but they are apparently charging a 15% restocking fee on returns. Time to file a dispute with my credit card.

Right click the shortcut (In this case it’s for IE) then click on properties properties:

Change the value in the Start in field to the following:

A great alternative is to remotely connect and do a reboot. Here is how:

1. Start -> Run -> compmgmt.msc
2. Right Click on Computer Management and select “Connect to another computer”
3. Once connected you can do stuff such as stop and start services.
4. To reboot or shutdown, right click on Computer Management again and click on properties.
5. Click the Advanced Tab.
6. Under Startup and Recovery, select the Settings button.
7. Click the Shutdown button. When you click the Shutdown button, you will be presented with more options such as the ability to restart instead of Shutdown, and to force applications to close if hung.

Now go reboot some machines!

Here is the full error:

The IP address XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX you have entered for this network adapter is already assigned to another adapter Name of adapter. Name of adapter is hidden from the network and Dial-up Connections folder because it is not physically in the computer or is a legacy adapter that is not working. If the same address is assigned to both adapters and they become active, only one of them will use this address. This may result in incorrect system configuration. Do you want to enter a different IP address for this adapter in the list of IP addresses in the advanced dialog box?

To solve this issue do the following:

1. Click Start, click Run, type cmd.exe, and then press ENTER.
2. Type set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1, and then press ENTER.
3. Type Start DEVMGMT.MSC, and then press ENTER.
4. Click View, and then click Show Hidden Devices.
5. Expand the Network Adapters tree.
6. Right-click the dimmed network adapter, and then click Uninstall.

Now your old devices will be removed from the server.

From:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/269155

Today I was looking for a solution to pause or temporarily disable file shares in Microsoft Windows Server. There are some obvious and easy answer to do this such as removing users / groups, or stopping or pausing the Server service. However I had a couple constraints, one of which was keeping the Server service on as it was needed for a live migration. The other constraint was that I didn’t want to remove users and didn’t want to completely remove the shares as I didn’t want to recreate them as well as the permissions that go along with them.

I asked around but no one really had an answer for me, but I always know that I can turn to my fellow netizens. I turned to a great site, experts-exchange.com where I was able to post my question and receive several responses from people. Most of the responses weren’t that great or were things I already knew, but one person provided a really good solution. Here it is:

export registry: HKLM\SYSTEM\CCS\Services\LanmanServer\Shares
Then delete shares that you don’t want during migration (compmgmt.msc)
After migration -> import that registry hive back
restart server service

As an extra precaution I also backed up from the LanmanServer level.

This solution worked great and I was able to perform my migration without worrying that anyone would be accessing the server shares and with some extra relief that I wouldn’t have much post migration work to perform.

Below you will see a screen shot from Firefox showing my latest Favicon which is the letter G. You can also see the Favicon for Engadget’s website in the next tab.

In the past I have used graphic editors to create my Favicons such as Adobe Photoshop. To create a Favicon you typically start with an image that is 16×16 pixels in size. You can also do 32×32 which will scale down. Once finished creating the image, you would save the icon with a .ICO file extension. There are many converters that can be found on the web to convert your graphic file to this format. There are also plugins for Photoshop that will let you directly save in this extension.

To create my most recent Favicon I stumbled across a great website http://favicon.cc/ that allows you to create your own on the fly and automatically download it. You are presented with a grid that is 16×16 pixels in size and you have various paint tools to create your Favicon.

After downloading the Favicon you can upload it to your web hosting provider. You will need to place the following code inside the HEAD tags of your webpage.

Here is an example:

<html>
<head>
<title>My Website</title>
<link rel="shortcut icon" href="/favicon.ico" type="image/x-icon" />
</head>
<body>
</body>
</html>

Be sure the href option has the correct file name and that you give it the proper path to the Favicon file. The example assumes that the file is located in the root directory.

Enjoy your new Favicon for your website!