Odds are, if you got your sporting a 1409-BRD or 1509-BRD from That Computer Store, you already do! Truth is, lots of laptops have fingerprint readers built in, and those that don’t can always benefit from a USB jobby job like the one Microsoft makes. So if you have one, what can you do with it? Hmm… indeed… what CAN you do with it?

Most laptops, or USB addon fingerprint readers come with a built in software package that allows you to do a number of things, least of which is sign on to Windows, or Linux, or a specific program with a fingerprint, kindof. Truth is, major operating systems like Ubuntu, and Windows don’t support real biometric identification (using your fingerprint instead of a password). They instead use your fingerprint to “type in” your password for you.

Biometric devices enable you to think of an insanely long and complicated password (Fuzzy Wuzzy Was a Woman!) and instead of typing that in EVERYTIME, you can just swipe a finger. Remember, fingerprint readers don’t use your fingerprint AS your password, they tyoe your password for you in the right place, when you sucessfully swipe your fingerprint. The day is coming when true biometrics will be available, but it’s still in the future, sadly.

But the REALLY cool news is that Windows Seven has biometrics built in. That means if you have a fingerprint reader, there’s a good chance you can get basic fingerprint/password functionality without additional software. It should be noted that the real drawback of biometrics right now is the lack of a software standard. Each manufacturer, until now, has had to provide their own software to hook into Windows to make it work. With Windows Seven, that’s starting to change. I’m not sure if it works natively in Linux yet, and I look to my co-host Chris to comment on this and let us all know.

Now another type of biometric login for computers that is starting to pop up is facial recognition, like Lenovo’s Veriface software. It takes a picture of your face, and compare’s it to a stored image, and logs you on… assuming you haven’t eaten 3,295 Twinkies or forgot to take off your Darth Vader voice changer mask. (Funny story about that. Remind me to tell you about the time I accidentally robbed a convenience store.) Sadly, that software in not widespread yet, but as webcams become more commonplace, I hope facial recognition software, as well as fingerprint readers, become more common place. In the meantime, check out KeyLemon. They have some software that, while I haven’t tested it (be warned I can’t verify if it is legit), it look pretty cool. I invite questions about this subject, as it is kindof neat to talk about.

Oh, one last piece of advice. When you setup your fingerprint reader, (and it really is easy in Windows Seven) be sure to record someone else’s finger for at least ONE of the ten fingers onyour software, especialyl if you work with power tools, or are a lumberjack. You never know when you might lose the ability to swipe your fingers, and have an insanely long password, and need someone else to log in for you. Can we say awkward?

Ok, a couple of big things to note. This is not the final release version of Windows Seven. The release date, as of May 10th 2009, has not been officially stated. BUT… speculation is rampant and a number of news agencies are claiming to know the release date. PCWorld has an article about it here. Another article from Windows7news.com claims that it won’t be till next year. Read about it here. The moral of the story? No-one that REALLY knows is talking yet. BUT… you can run the release candidate right now. Oh yea… the important facts I mentioned… here they are:

• Windows 7 Release Candidate will be downloadable at LEAST until July, 2009.
• There’s no set limit on the number of doanloads, or keys. That being said, go now and get it anyway, lest your procrastication screw you over.
• Yes, Microsoft says you should install it fresh. I’d concur. While it is possible to do an upgrade (with a little monkeying), do yourself a favor and just install fresh.
• Both the Beta and the RC have black out, and expiration dates. The Beta expires on August 1, 2009, and bi-hourly shutdowns will begin July 1, 2009. (Straight from Microsoft’s site) The RC will expire June 1, 2010, and the bi-hourly shutdowns will begin on March 1, 2010. In both cases, you’ll need to rebuild your test PC to replace the OS and reinstall all your programs and data.
• The bi-hourly shutdowns are not meant to make you lose data, but give you a STRONG reminder. A LOT of people are going to forget between now and then that they’re running RC software. My mom, for example, won’t even give it a second thought, because I’ll be the one doing the installing.
• The Release Candidate is available in multiple languages, Klingon isn’t one of them.
• This is NOT a release version of the software. There will most likely be big changes, so be certain to buy the final version when it comes out, if you like it. When the beta is up, don’t gripe too hard. Microsoft let you run it for a year for free.

So with that in mind… go… go now and download it! If you need help or advice on installing it, call That computer Store or someone you can trust, and remember to BACK UP YOUR DATA. I’ve not lost any data, but this is test software, do you REALLY want to be that guy (or girl) that lost everything because he was lazy?

Alright you sorry buncha maggots, you’ve been given the chance to enlist in one of this year’s most anticipated beta tests, Battlefield Heroes! Gamespot is giving away 100,000 beta keys, but if today was any indicator they are going FAST. (I signed up 2 minutes after getting the email and got in. One of my TCS Teammates wated ten minutes, and he got waitlisted). So run… don’t walk! Go here and get to it! I’ll report how the game goes as soon as I log in. Oh, and a note for Vista and Windows Seven users, make sure to run Internet Explorer as Administrator when you go to install the game.

Happy Hunting!

It’s finally out! More information on the update is available at their website. Be sure to check it out, and if you haven’t gotten your own copy, act now. They’ve got it on sale. Move people! Zombie’s are waiting!

On a Windows computer you should use this link:  Click Here

On Mac this should open our show in iTunes:  Click Here

For Linux users click either one.  They should just work.  Muhahahah.

Chris

UPDATE:   Hey if you have an iPhone or and iPod touch you can listen to us on it with the SHOUTcast app from the app store.  More about that here.

Yes, and no. According to the Microsoft party line Seven can and does use the same driver base as Vista. That should make upgrading a snap, since any machine that works in Vista should be a breeze with Seven. But I’m noticing a unique problem… The error message “driver is not intended for this platform” is popping up all over the place! What does that mean exactly? In a nutshell, the driver you are trying to install would most likely work, except that somewhere in the driver it says “Hey, I’m only intended for Windows Vista 64-bit, and JUST Vista 64… I CANNOT be installed on anything else.” Programmers do this so you don’t accidentally install the wrog driver, breaking your computer. But in this case it’s only hampering your experience. But don’t fret… most of these problems can be fixed by simply adding Seven to the list of supported operating systems. We’ll see a lot of this until vendors of hardware and software test their stuff on Seven, and add it to the list. In the meantime, you have to try and be patient. I see a number of people getting impatient. We can’t forget Seven IS just a beta… as usable as it is, the version we’re using isn’t even a release candidate. I’m seeing this exact problem on the Clevo tablet PC I’ve custom built. The real test will be to see how they react when I email them for updated drivers.

Yea… a simple formula that has compounded into one of the most compelling and replayable games in years. Granted there’s a lot of violence, and blood, and suspense, but the guys at Valve did an excellent job. It’s like playing in an action/horror film, and it is incredibly intense. I haven’t even started to cover the REAL multiplayer experience, where four people are survivors… and the opposing team? Yea, Zombies. You get to play as the boss zombies. And yes, it is as awesome as you might think. If you’re REALLY jonesin’ to try it out before buying, you can always visit an iGames affilliated gaming center. Yes, That Computer Store is iGames affiliated. Most centers have Left 4 Dead on tap, and a number of them are even in a national Left 4 Dead game night tournament on Mondays. I’d like to write more about the game… but at this point, Zombies need to die! And oh yea, it runs great in XP, Vista, and Seven. So get your autoshotty out and get crackin’!

I’ve so far tried sucessfully:

• MSN Messenger
• Trillian Instant Messaging Software
• Adobe Creative Suite 4 Web Premium (Dreamweaver)
• World of Warcraft Wrath of the Lich King
• Steam
• VirtualBox 2.1.2
• Left 4 Dead (Can I get a hell yea?)
• Microsoft Reader