LifeHacker

Install Windows XP on Mac in 5 steps

2009-01-02T03:45:00.000-08:00

Apple Boot Camp lets you install Windows XP on a Macintosh Computer using the original Microsoft Windows XP installation CD with the product key. After installation, you can start up you Macintosh using either Windows XP or Mac OS X.

Here are the steps required to install Windows XP on a Mac:

Step 1: Download Mac OS X v10.4.6 (or later) and latest firmware update from Apple Download website.

Step 2: Run the Boot Camp Assistant to create a Macintosh Drivers CD or DVD.

Step 3: Create a new hard-disk partition [minimum size, 5GB] to make room for Windows XP. All the software and data on the original Mac partition stays intact.
Step 4: Insert your Windows XP CD and start the XP installation. Select Partition C: and format the partition using either NTFS or FAT file formats. Though NTFS is more secure than FAT, you won't be able to write or save files to the Windows volume from Mac OS X.

Step 5. Once XP install process is complete, Boot Camp will restart your system in Windows XP automatically. Now is the turn to install Mac Drivers from the Macintosh Drivers CD that you created in Step 2. Restart.

This is an optional step. You can change the Startup Disk preferences page to choose which OS to boot by default. The default OS can also been changed from Windows Control Panel - Performance and Maintenance - Startup Disk.Change the Operating system and Restart.
At startup, hold down the option key (alt) to choose between Mac OS X and Windows.

More Resources on Apple Website:
Apple Boot Camp Homepage | Download Boot Camp [Direct Link]
Download Apple Firmware Update | Mac OS X 10.4.6 for Intel update
Run Windows XP on Mac | Boot Camp Guide

Change Display Icon Beside Address URL

2008-12-26T00:37:00.000-08:00

Materials needed:

1) Get your desired icon picture(around 22 x 22 pixel).

Steps:

1) Get an image of gif, jpg, bmp, ico, png type. Its dimension should be around 22x22 pixel(you can use Windows Paint to resize it)

.2) Upload the image to ImageShack(http://imageshack.us/). Please login through the link sent to your email.

3) Click on "My Images" after you login.

4) You can see the image that you uploaded just now. Click on the "i" button.

5) Take note the link in the "Direct" field.

6) Now login to your blogspot and choose "Layout"->"Edit HTML". Look for "HEAD" in the template as shown in 3.

7) Paste the following codes after the "HEAD" as shown in print screen. The bold address will be from STEP 5.

#link href='http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/3580/globewx5.png' rel='SHORTCUT ICON'/'@

*please replace # with < and @ with > or else it wouldn't work.

8) Lastly, click on "SAVE TEMPLATE" and it's all set.

A) Slipstreaming SATA driver into WinXp boot cd using nLite

2008-12-25T22:55:00.000-08:00

Options:
A) If you don't have Floppy Disk Drive especially on a notebook. You still can install Win Xp but you need to read the "Slipstreaming SATA driver into WinXp boot cd using nLite".
B) If you have FD drive, skip this step and go to "Shrink Vista Partition for WinXp Installation".
C) If you have an empty partition for WinXp installation, proceed to "WinXp Installation"
Materials needed:
1) nLite(download here), a free tool to help you slipstreaming(integrate) your SATA drivers into WinXp installation disk.
2) Extracted SATA drivers(if you are using Intel chipset Intel 82801GR/GH, 631xESB/632xESB, 82801GHM, ICH8R/ICH9R, 82801HEM SATA RAID Controller, get the drivers from here)
Steps:
1) Get your Windows XP installation disk and copy the contents to a new folder(I named it "WinXp").
2) Extract the SATA drivers you downloaded into a folder, namely "Floppy 32Bit". (Need help for "Extracting SATA driver from their EXE without Floppy Disk(FD)")
3) Run nLite->choose "Next".
4) Now, locate the Windows folder(for me, it's "WinXp").
5) Next again and you will come to "Presets". Ignore this by choosing "Next" again.
6) In "Task Selection", choose "Drivers" and "Bootable ISO" by high-lighting them.
7) Choose "Insert"->"Single driver"
8) Browse to the SATA driver folder(I named it "Floppy 32Bit") and select either one of the .INF file, I choose "iaahci.inf".
9) A screen like below will pop-up, make sure it's "Textmode driver" and select all of them by holding CTRL+A key and choose "OK"
10) You shall see something like this. Choose "Next" and you will be prompted.
11) Choose "Yes" to start the process.
12) Let it finish and choose "Next".
13) Finally, you can create your project as ISO image or burn it directly to CD-R under "Mode". I choose "Direct Burn". You can put anything for "Label" but not too long. Choose "Burn" and you will be prompted again.
14) Choose "Yes" to burn it to CD-R. Wait for it to finish and choose "Next"
15) Choose "Finish" to exit nLite.
Proceed to?
A) Go to "Shrink Vista Partition for WinXp Installation" if you don't have any partition to use.
B) If you have an empty partition for WinXp installation, proceed to "WinXp Installation"

Extracting SATA driver from their EXE without Floppy Disk(FD) driver

2008-12-25T22:39:00.000-08:00

Options:Obiously, you don't have any option to use Floppy Disk.

Materials needed:

1) SATA drivers(from your respective chipset manufacturer website, for me it's intel http://downloadcenter.intel.com/)

2) WinImage(30 days trial copy from http://www.winimage.com/)

Steps:

1) Download the intel SATA drivers. Make sure you get the correct file by downloading something called "Floppy Configuration Utility". 2) Extract the file and you will get green icon "f6flpy32". 3) Extract the "f6flpy32" again and you will get this a file with .IMA extension. 4) Ok, now you need to open up WinImage and browse to the latest extracted folder "f6flpy32" to load the .IMA file. 5) TATA, you will see all the SATA driver files needed for slipstreaming WinXp using nLite. Before you can use them, extract them to any folder(I name it "SATA driver" on my desktop) by selecting all of the files and choose "Extract". 6) You will be prompted, choose "Extract all files into the same folder".

7) If you open up the "SATA driver" folder, the content is exactly the same with the content Floppy Disk. The difference is that you don't need a FD.

Proceed to?

A) Guide for "Slipstreaming SATA driver into WinXp boot cd using nLite"

config Preferences in User Friendly GUI with gui:config

2008-12-14T03:41:00.000-08:00

Firefox about:config is powerhouse of all Firefox settings and preferences, if modified in proper way you can turn your Firefox browser in super browser. about:config lets you to edit almost any type of preference of firefox but problem with about:config is the preferences are shown in the form of variables and value, and by just name of variable its very difficult to determine which preferences are controlled by that variable.

This requires the need of GUI to let us edit Firefox about:config in more user friendly manner. Well then here the extension gui:config for firefox which does then exactly what we want. gui:config is firefox extension which makes it easier to change preferences that can only be found in the about:config.

The extension supports a comfortable way to apply changes to about:config options. It displays the options, included in the current version, using checkboxes, dropdown lists and textboxes.

Screenshot of gui:config Firefox extension

Download gui:config Firefox extension and edit about:config in user friendly GUI user interface.

Backup Your Blogger Blog in a Click OR Merge Multiple Blogs into One

2008-12-14T03:29:00.000-08:00

The Import & Export feature in Blogger is now live and can be accessed from the Settings tab of your Blogger dashboard.

With "Export Blog," you can easily create a complete backup of your Blogger blog on to the hard drive and this may come handy in situations when you accidentally delete some old blog post or if Google blocks your blog due to policy violations - at least you’ll have a local copy of all the content that you may publish elsewhere.

Other that creating a safe backup, you may also use the export (followed by import) function to merge multiple blogs into one.

Important: The XML file created by Blogger is not compatible with external blogging platforms so if you like to move blogs from Blogger to WordPress, use the built-in import function available inside WordPress.

Download McAfee Antivirus Software for Free

2008-12-11T02:30:00.000-08:00

McAfee VirusScan Plus is a popular anti-virus software that also provides firewall and anti-spyware capabilities.

A single license of McAfee VirusScan Plus 2009 costs around ~$40 but you may have it for free via this link. Enter coupon code VSPPROMOCF and click Checkout.

The code is valid through December 31, 2008. You will also receive free upgrades to McAfee software for the next one year.
This release of VirusScan Plus is available for download on Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Vista systems only. [via]

Blogger in Draft New feature: Geotagging !

2008-12-11T01:03:00.000-08:00

Google has added geotagging to the new post editor on Blogger in draft. With geotagging, you can add a location to your each of your blog posts. Just as time stamps help readers find posts from a certain date or time, geotags give your readers a way to browse posts near a specific location.

Adding a geotag to your post is easy. Log into draft.blogger.com, open the post editor, and click the add location link below the main text field.
Use the location editor to search, drag, click and zoom on a map to choose and save a location. Google will try to label the location you choose using our reverse geocoder, which looks up a name for a point on the map. You can also edit the location name by clicking the blue location name text below the search field.
When you publish your post, the geotag is displayed below your blog post as a link, which will open up Google Maps.

Fully integrated chat in orkut = GTalk + Orkut

2008-12-10T23:01:00.000-08:00

One of our favorite features in GMail is its integrated Chat box. Now I have got another reason to stay logged into my Orkut account, whenever I am not blogging!But with this integration, I think that the scrap books will become much like a testimonial page or spam book! Because most of the people will use the sophisticated Chat box instead of sending scraps to eachother and keep waiting and refreshing to see the new scraps!
And people may argue that, in offices and schools, the administrators will block the Chat box, so people will still be sending the scraps(as chat messages). But we think, if the administrator thinks that Chatbox in Orkut isn’t safe, then he is also likely to think that Orkut itself isn’t safe to be allowed to access!
Anyway, with this new feature we can:-
* Chat with your orkut friends in real time from directly within orkut.
* Control which of your orkut friends can chat with you.
* Chat with your Google Talk and Gmail chat contacts.
* Visit different orkut pages while keeping your chatboxes open.
My favorite thing would be, chating with GMail and Google Talk buddies using my Orkut account. Thats cool, isn’t it?
You get full control of who can see you online, who can chat with you etc, in Orkut “Settings” page.If you don’t see this feature enabled in your account yet, just be patient, Google will rollout this feature to all its users in a couple of days.
Till this feature is enabled to you, have a look at: ...pic missing??
What do you think about the new features in Orkut? Do you think it will reach a state of facebook soon?

Voice and Video chat - right inside Gmail

2008-12-10T22:58:00.000-08:00

Google has released the Voice and Video chat feature to its Gmail. Switching from email to chat as needed, all within the same app, is really great for productivity.

From Gmail Blog:
All you have to do is download and install the voice and video plugin and you are ready. And in the spirit of open communications, Google has designed this feature using Internet standards such as XMPP, RTP, and H.264, which means that third-party applications and networks can choose to interoperate with Gmail voice and video chat.

Orkut allows photo sharing with friends who do not have Orkut a/c

2008-12-10T22:52:00.000-08:00

You can now share your orkut photos with anybody with an valid email ID.
Here’s how it works:
After creating an album, go to the “share with” drop down menu and choose “only selected friends”. In addition to being able to enter the names of your friends on orkut with who you want to share photos, now you can include the email addresses of all of your friends who aren’t on orkut as well.Add/Remove the friends with who you share your photo album any time by using the blue “Share Album” button.
When you invite your friend to view a photo, he will be mailed with a link which is linked to a limited access page of Orkut. Note that, if your friend decides to share those links with others and if he mails that link to some other people, they too can view those photos.So be careful while sharing your photos with non-orkut friends.
Now I wonder, what if some people start using Orkut as a image hosting site!We use and recommend using flickr to share photos with friends and family. Integration of this feature in Orkut isn’t that bad either, but surly needs lot more improvement. But being a Social Networking site, the features are well enough for photo sharing.Here is a sample image that I have shared with my orkut profile click here[hmm..now there is no need of a valid email ID either, if you want to share the photos in the public places, by sharing the link].
Note that, people visiting your photo need to have an orkut account and permission of the image uploader, if they want to comment there.

Use iGoogle's Gmail Gadget to Get Around Blocked Gmail

2008-12-08T03:39:00.000-08:00

Today we'll work-arounds to access Gmail at places where it's normally blocked—this time, by using the fully-functional gadget available in the "new" iGoogle. If you're willing to sign up as a "developer" to get an early preview of Google's reworked start page, you simply add the Gmail gadget, click the "maximize" button on it, and you've got a nearly complete inbox view. And since iGoogle comes from a Google.com URL, it's less likely to be blocked, unless, of course, the IT overlords in question are reading this right now.

And if you are not getting "Maximize Button" then goto "MyAccount"

Click on "Setting" and disable the

"Open links in a new tab or browser window" option.

Remove Watermarks from PDF Files

2008-12-07T05:33:00.000-08:00

It is very much possible to get rid of those annoying watermarks in PDF documents, the quality of the final output would largely depend on what software you have to process PDF files.

Let's look at Foxit Editor Software here:

Have you ever faced one of the following challenges? You are ready to print out a PDF file, and suddenly find some typos. You want to fill out a PDF form electronically, but realize it is non-fillable. You receive a PDF file from your colleague and want to make some changes before forwarding it to others. You want to consolidate several PDF report files into a single PDF document.

With Foxit PDF Editor, you can easily meet the above challenges:-

Check out the link

http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf/pe_intro.php

From here either you can order the full version or can have the trial version.

And if you want to download Crack version :-)

here you go.... Download Crack from rapidshare or Download from megaupload

Orkut Friends Map is still Alive

2008-12-06T06:08:00.000-08:00

How to Find a Map of Your Friends on Orkut

To see where all of your orkut friends are located, check out the friends map feature. This feature combines Google Maps and orkut profiles (actually a mashup of Orkut information and Google Maps.) to let you see where all of your friends live around the world. To see the friends map, just follow these steps:
Login into your orkut Account
than on the Address-Bar Paste the following :-
http://www.orkut.com/Map.aspx

You can click a friend's profile picture to see their location on the map. Please know that if we don't have map data for a particular region or if your friend chose not to put the location in the orkut profile, you'll see a '(not on map)' message below the profile name.
You can also click the little blue men to see your friends' locations. Click one of these figures to see a bubble with information on what friend lives in that location.

Technorati Ad Network for Blogs is Live

2008-12-05T04:50:00.000-08:00

Technorati Engage, the self-service ad network for bloggers is now live at technoratimedia.com. You can sign-up for the CPM program here but may have to wait as someone will manually approve your request into the Technorati Ad Network.
One of the attractive features in Technorati Engage is support for rotating ad units. So if you limited advertising space on your blog, you can still engage multiple advertisers as their ads will rotate randomly after every page load.
Second, Technorati displays detailed information about the performance of ad units on different sites so it becomes easy for advertisers to shortlist sites for their campaigns. A less popular site with more ad clicks could be more attractive for an advertiser than a site with high impressions but no clicks.
Revenue: The revenue split is 60-40 between Technorati and bloggers. So if you host an ad from Technorati Media and earn $100 in a month, your share will be $60 while Technorati keeps the remaining $40. (BlogAds uses the 70-30 model).
Ad Formats: Currently, Technorati Engage offers 125×125 square ad units (image), text ads and the new PhoText ads which are like image ads but with a text description. PhoText ads are available in 4 set square dimensions: 25, 50, 100, and 200 pixels in width.
Payment: Publishers can request payment via PayPal, Printed Checks (yes they still exist) or a Wire Transfer.

Registration for .TEL Domain Names Now Open!

2008-12-05T03:50:00.000-08:00

A .tel domain name, like a virtual business card, is primarily for people / businesses who don’t have a dedicated website but need simple mechanism to put all their contact information on the web.
So if your name is Raghav, you can register a domain like www.raghav.tel and put your phone numbers, email addresses, IM ids, snail mail address, links to social networks, etc - all in one place.
How is .tel Different from .com
The main difference between a regular .com and .tel domain is that the latter stores all your different contact information at the DNS level (like whois database records) and you don’t have to worry about creating a website.
If you are willing to book a .tel domain for your own self (see example), just head over to Domain Monster as they are now accepting pre-orders. You can even try a .tel domain before buying one using this link.
Personally, I can’t think of a single reason why would someone invest in a .tel domain where there so many other services offering similar features for free*.
*The pre-order price for domain amit.tel is around $400 with a three year registration. Simply not worth it.

Portable Google Chrome 0.4.154.23 Beta MultiLang

2008-11-25T03:19:00.000-08:00

Portable Google Chrome 0.4.154.23 Beta MultiLang 9.27 MB

Google Chrome is a browser that combines a minimal design with sophisticated technology to make the web faster, safer, and easier. It has one box for everything: Type in the address bar and get suggestions for both search and web pages. Will give you thumbnails of your top sites; Access your favorite pages instantly with lightning speed from any new tab.Google Chrome is an open source web browser developed by Google. Its software architecture was engineered from scratch (using components from other open source software including WebKit and Mozilla Firefox) to cater for the changing needs of users and acknowledging that today most web sites aren't web pages but web applications. Design goals include stability, speed, security and a clean, simple and efficient user interface.

Security

• Sandboxing

Every tab in Chrome is sandboxed, so that a tab can display contents of a web page and accept user input, but it will not be able to read the user's desktop or personal files. Google say they have "taken the existing process boundary- and made it into a jail". There is an exception to this rule; browser plugins such as Adobe Flash Player do not run within the boundaries of the tab jail, and so users will still be vulnerable to cross-browser exploits based on plugins, until plugins have been updated to work with the new Chrome security. Google has also developed a new phishing blacklist, which will be built into Chrome, as well as made available via a separate public API.

• Privacy

Google announces a so-called incognito mode claiming that it "lets you browse the web in complete privacy because it doesn’t record any of your activity". No features of this, and no implications of the default mode with respect to Google's database are given.

• Speed

Speed improvements are a primary design goal.

Stability

• Multiprocessing

The Gears team were considering a multithreaded browser (noting that a problem with existing web browser implementations was that they are inherently single-threaded) and Chrome implemented this concept with a multiprocessing architecture. A separate process is allocated to each task (eg tabs, plugins), as is the case with modern operating systems. This prevents tasks from interfering with each other which is good for both security and stability; an attacker successfully gaining access to one application does not give them access to all and failure in one application results in a "Sad Tab" screen of death. This strategy exacts a fixed per-process cost up front but results in less memory bloat overall as fragmentation is confined to each process and no longer results in further memory allocations. To complement this, Chrome will also feature a process manager which will allow the user to see how much memory and CPU each tab is using, as well as kill unresponsive tabs.

User interface

• Features

Chrome has added some commonly used plugin-specific features of other browsers into the default package, such as an Incognito tab mode, where no logs of the user activity are stored, and all cookies from the session are discarded. As a part of Chrome's V8 JavaScript virtual machine, pop-up JavaScript windows will not be shown by default, and will instead appear as a small bar at the bottom of the interface until the user wishes to display or hide the window. Chrome will include support for web applications running alongside other local applications on the computer. Tabs can be put in a web-app mode, where the omnibar and controls will be hidden with the goal of allowing the user to use the web-app without the browser "in the way".

• Rendering Engine

Chrome uses the WebKit rendering engine on advice from the Gears team because it is simple, memory efficient, useful on embedded devices and easy to learn for new developers.

• Tabs

While all of the major tabbed web browsers (e.g. Internet Explorer, Firefox) have been designed with the window as the primary container, Chrome will put tabs first (similar to Opera). The most immediate way this will show is in the user interface: tabs will be at the top of the window, instead of below the controls, as in the other major tabbed browsers. In Chrome, each tab will be an individual process, and each will have its own browser controls and address bar (dubbed omnibox), a design that adds stability to the browser. If one tab fails only one process dies; the browser can still be used as normal with the exception of the dead tab. Chrome will also implement a New Tab Page which shows the nine most visited pages in thumbnails, along with the most searched on sites, most recently bookmarked sites, and most recently closed tabs, upon opening a new tab, similar to Opera's "Speed Dial" page.

Easy-Share LinksClick to Download

Megaupload LinksClick to Download

Rapidshare LinksClick to Download

Build a Google Maps service

2008-11-21T03:40:00.000-08:00

[8Ball] was interested in building a Google Maps based service, but didn’t know where to start. Luckily he stumbled across Peter Rukavina’s Charlottetown Transit Map. The project shows the bus routes and has schedule popups linked to each of the stops. Peter was nice enough to include full source code for how this was implemented in PHP and Javascript. He also describes setting up the necessary MySQL tables.

There is one more article on Google maps development using their free API, PHP, MySQL, the U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line data, and the Geo::Coder::US Perl package. Here’s the article list:
1. Integrating Google Maps into Your Web Applicationshttp://www.developer.com/tech/article.php/3528381
2. Retrieving Map Location Coordinates with geocoder.ushttp://www.developer.com/tech/article.php/3548171
3. Build Your Own Geocoding Solution with Geo::Coder::UShttp://www.developer.com/tech/article.php/3557171
4. Build a Geocoding Web ServiceDue to be published on 11/16

check out sites related to this.. ..

http://www.yourgmap.com/

Reversing Google’s iPhone voice search

2008-11-21T03:31:00.000-08:00

Google recently updated their Google Mobile App with a couple new features. Voice Search automatically starts listening when you raise the phone to your ear. Just say what you’re looking for, and it will poll Google and return the results. The app leverages Google’s voice recognition engine, which they’ve been training with Goog-411. [Andy Baio] has been experimenting with audio transcription and was curious what the new app was doing behind the scenes. He started by sniffing the packets as they traversed his network. Unfortunately, the size of the data packets transmitted is so small that he’s almost certain he’s missing something. He’d appreciate any help in this endeavor. Part of the problem might be Google getting special treatment and using undocumented iPhone SDK features.

Ping to all in 1 Min

2008-11-18T01:27:00.000-08:00

Want to ping your latest Blog to the major Blogging directories? Then there is no need to ping individually for each Blog Directory.Just go to PingoMatic and put some information about your blog, tick all the Box and click on send pings. And you have done !!! See an example below.

Now, Bookmark the Final page which you get after Pinging process and for the next time just open this address. Your blog will be pinged to all in just 5 seconds.

Google Launches SMS Channel in India

2008-11-18T00:57:00.000-08:00

Google has launched SMS Channels in India. It is the service Provided by Google Labs By which You can create A Free "SMS Newsletter" for Your blog or Google Groups. Just submit Your Blog feeds there and Whenever You post Your Readers will get the Updated Post Title on their Mobile.
You can also use this for sending some important information to your Group.

Fantastic...isn't it? They are Providing it for free and for Everyone. There is no complex Rule or regulation for Setting a group or for subscribing.
But You have to verify Your Mobile before using this Service. Google also provide Privacy for your number.
Then, What next? Just go to Google SMS Channel if You are from India or if Your user base is filled from Indians.

Get Vista's Best Features in XP

2008-11-16T21:08:00.000-08:00

Despite the fact that most of you prefer XP to Vista and would rather Microsoft extended XP's shelf-life, several new and improved features available in Vista would be great to have in XP. This new functionality may not be enough to get you to switch to Vista, but that doesn't mean you're out of luck. Let's take a look at a few ways you can incorporate Windows Vista's best features into your current XP PC for free.
We're going to focus on Vista's small and large features that are missing from XP, separated into three categories: applications, functional, and aesthetic (e.g., transparency is aesthetic; the new start menu search is functional). This list is not exhaustive, but it does cover the features readers feel make Vista worth it.

Bring Vista's Best New and Improved Apps to XP
First, aside from some of the small operating system improvements we'll go into below, Vista also bundles up a few new and improved applications worth mentioning.

A Better Explorer: Windows Explorer is one of the most improved applications in Vista, thanks to added features like breadcrumb navigation, better file previews, and more. There are a few add-ons that add some of these better functional adjustments to Explorer, but in general XP users might want to consider replacing XP's Explorer altogether with something like Xplorer2 or significantly beefing it up with a tool like QT TabBar. You can also get that saucy breadcrumb navigation alone with Explorer Breadcrumbs.

Encrypt Your Hard Drive: Some versions of Vista—toward the Ultimate end of the scale—come with a new drive encryption software called BitLocker built in. If you're keen on security and encryption but you want to stick with XP, check out the free, open source TrueCrypt. If you need a little help getting started, check out our guide to encrypting data with TrueCrypt.

Take Quick and Easy Screenshots: PrtScrn has been around forever, but it's never been the most user-friendly way to get a screenshot. In Vista, Microsoft threw in a screenshot utility called the Snipping Tool. Fact is, if better screenshots are important to you, there are gobs of excellent free screenshot apps available for XP like Screenshot Captor, Clip2Net, and Jing, among many others.

Bring Vista's Best Functional Features to XP

Task-Switching à la Flip 3D: Vista's Flip 3D is like Alt-Tab on steroids, displaying full previews of each window as you move through it. To a large extent it's eye candy, but it can also be really useful in finding the right window when you're switching from your keyboard. Freeware applications like Shock Aero 3D and WinFlip bring the same 3D shuffling (and then some, in the case of WinFlip) to your XP desktop.

Integrated Start Menu Search and Launch: Dubbed Instant Sea rch by Microsoft, this new feature adds a search box to the Windows Start menu for quick searching and launching of documents and applications. If you want to port this same functionality to XP, you can do so with apps like ViStart or Vista Start Menu —an extraordinarily beefed up version of the Windows Start menu. Then again, if you're not stuck on the notion of a search-and-launch box built directly into the Start menu, you can't go wrong with Launchy or Google Desktop Search.

Replace the Windows Sidebar: Third-party tools similar to Windows Sidebar and Gadgets pre-dated Vista, so you can trade in desktop real estate for the same functionality with SideSlide or the Google Desktop Sidebar.

Live Thumbnail Previews of Files: Vista does a nice job of providing thumbnail previews to most image files and even text files, and while XP does have similar functionality, it's not as advanced as Vista's. Freeware application Xentient Thumbnails creates live thumbnails for virtually all images, and if you want a more intimate look at the innards of text and other files without opening them, check out InfoTag Magic.

Speed Up Your System with a Thumb Drive: Windows ReadyBoost speeds up your performance by using a USB thumb drive as system memory, and while nothing beats an actual RAM upgrade, XP users can check out eBoostr to bring the same functionality to XP.

Streamline Your File Renaming: Microsoft got smart in Vista and changed the behavior when you hit F2 to rename a file, selecting only the name of the file and leaving the extension alone. For a very simple integration of this feature into XP, check out the Better Rename utility. Alternately, if you feel like adding this feature and beefing up Windows Explorer on top of that, you can get the same renaming behavior in Xplorer2 or QT TabBar.

Taskbar Window Previews: If you like how Vista offers handy little thumbnail previews of windows when you hover over their taskbar item, freeware application Visual Tooltip brings the same goods to XP.

Give XP that Vista Look

Ultimately, despite all the little feature improvements Vista can throw your way, a new operating system's biggest selling point is often the eye candy—in Vista's case, Aero. There are a lot of tools available that can help you theme XP to look more like Vista, though often users of such applications see mixed results, so proceed at your own risk.
Probably the most comprehensive XP-to-Vista tweaker is the Vista Transformation Pack, which transforms everything from the Start menu and Control Panel to icons.
For a less full-on approach, you could try out skinning utility Uxtheme Patcher with one of several themes from art web site deviantART (like this one or this one) to make XP look and feel more like Vista.

Install the Windows Vista Sidebar in XP

2008-11-16T21:04:00.000-08:00

Windows only: If you're in no hurry to adopt Windows Vista but you've taken a shine to the Vista Sidebar, Joshoon over at Deviant Art has uploaded a port of the actual application to Windows XP. Using a combination of resources such as Alky for Applications, a Windows Vista to XP compatibility client, and the sidebar extracted from Vista the port allows XP users to run Vista Sidebar. Users can grab additional sidebar gadgets directly from Microsoft and experience the same functionality as they would with the sidebar on a Vista system. If you're running Windows XP and looking for something to round out real estate on your widescreen monitor this might just be it. For other sidebar candidates and general Vista goodness, check out how to get the best features of Vista in XP. The Windows Vista Sidebar pack is free, Windows XP only.