Computers: Too Easy to Use

Editorial 44 Comments
It's conventional wisdom that computers need to be "easier to use." But do they? More reliable, yes. Easier to troubleshoot, yes. But now that so many people use computers so much, I think there's something to be said for making them less easy-to-use and less intuitive.
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X.Org 11R7.1 Released

  Submitted by Joel Dahl Wayland 34 Comments
"Five months after release of X11R7.0, the modularized and autotooled release of the MIT Licensed X Window System source code, the X.Org Foundation has issued its first modular roll-up release. X11R7.1 supports Linux, Solaris, and BSD systems. It includes important new server and driver features for embedded systems, 64 bit platforms, enhanced operating system support, and accelerated indirect GLX support. It most importantly demonstrates to developers and industry immediate benefits of modularization."
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Samsung To Sell PCs with Flash Drives Next Month

Hardware 29 Comments
Samsung will early next month ship the first notebook PC and the first ultra-mobile PC fitted with 32GB of solid-state NAND Flash storage instead of a regular hard disk drive, the company announced today. The two machines - respectively, a version of Samsung's Q30 12.1in notebook and its Q1 UMPC - are both fitted with the 32GB SSD (Solid-state Disk) the company unveiled in March this year. Both PCs will go on sale in South Korea for KRW3.5m ($3700) and KRW2.3m ($2430), respectively.
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Vista Beta 2 Released; Preparing for Public Release

  Submitted by anonymous Windows 37 Comments
"Windows Vista Build 5384 has been released to Tech Beta testers at Microsoft Connect. Build 5384 is the real deal: Microsoft Windows Vista Beta 2 Milestone Build! Contrary to public opinion and 'leaked' information, Windows Vista Beta 2 is not a mere recompile of Vista 5381.1 and it isn't 5381.4; Vista 5384 is Beta 2 and it's official! Microsoft has already launched the public download site for Vista Beta 2, but no more than that, only the site is live, but the build is not ready for download to non-techbeta testers yet." eWeek reviews the Beta ("Windows Vista Beta 2 shows steady progress, but the new 3D Aero Glass user interface in particular still flakes out"), and also has a slideshow.
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Microsoft Demoes Windows Hypervisor

  Submitted by Alessandro Perilli Microsoft 9 Comments
During the Bill Gates keynote at WinHEC 2006 Microsoft demonstrated the new Windows Hypervisor (codename Viridian). In the demo two unique features for a virtualization platform were demoed: 4 virtual CPUs per virtual machine and live modification of virtual hardware while the virtual machine is powered on (i.e. adding a NIC or more virtual memory while the guest OS was still running).
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AMD Socket-AM2: Same Performance, Faster Memory, Lower Power

  Submitted by aaron AMD 10 Comments
AnandTech reviewed AMD's new socket-AM2 in its usual in-depth fasion, and concluded: "And there you have it, quite possibly the most unimpressive launch from AMD (from a performance perspective), but given what we had already seen prior to today there shouldn't be any surprises. The introduction of the Athlon 64 FX-62 means that there is an even faster alternative for those looking to spend as much as possible on a desktop or workstation CPU, but the new 5000+ isn't really all that appealing, especially if you're a gamer."
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Inside Windows Vista Beta 2

  Submitted by DigitalDame Windows 24 Comments
"It's been a long and arduous journey, but Microsoft continues to make progress in its plan to release Windows Vista. This week, at the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference in Seattle, Microsoft is unveiling Beta 2 of its next-generation operating system, marking a critical milestone on the release plan. Because Vista code, at this point, is essentially feature-complete, Beta 2 - also known as build 5384.4 - doesn't contain a lot of readily visible changes from the builds we've covered previously. But in the months since the February CTP release, Microsoft has continued to improve Vista's fit and finish, flesh out the capabilities of bundled programs, and clean up bugs (though there are still plenty)."
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Porting Paint.NET to Mono

  Submitted by Mitarai Mono 23 Comments
"In the last few weeks a large number of bugs have been fixed in our Windows.Forms implementation which finally has allowed us to get larger applications running with Mono. As time goes by we are able to run more complicated applications with Mono. In October I imported a version of Paint.Net, a paint application built with .NET into our repository. I made some changes to it to get it working on Linux, this is a screenshot as of this afternoon."
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Microsoft Moves Deeper Into Virtualization

  Submitted by Joe August Microsoft No Comments
Microsoft on Monday updated its plans for new virtualization software and said it will expand its lineup through an acquisition. The company will begin testing its hypervisor software, developed under the code name Viridian, by year's end, Bob Muglia, senior vice president of Microsoft's Server and Tools business, told CNET News.com. The software will ship within six months of Longhorn Server, the next major release of the company's server operating system, due in the second half of next year.
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Free Downloads End Sony CD Saga

  Submitted by dylansmrjones Multimedia, AV 10 Comments
Millions of music fans will be given free music downloads or money to compensate for flawed anti-piracy software on CDs from label Sony BMG. The final approval to the settlement for lawsuits against the music giant was granted by a US judge on Monday. Sony BMG was accused of using copy protection program on CDs that left computers vulnerable to hackers. The episode caused much embarrassment for the world's second largest music label.
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Vista’s Make Or Break Moment

Windows 45 Comments
It's the hour of reckoning for Windows Vista. After five years of course changes, false starts and a host of beta and CTP builds, Microsoft is set to deliver a broad-scale build of Vista to two million testers. Microsoft is likely to drop the build - known by multiple names, including the consumer Vista CTP and Vista Beta 2 - as early as the week of May 22 at the WinHEC in Seattle, according to company watchers. And on a related note, if you want the fancy Vista look on your XP machine, check out this transformation pack.
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Review: Sony Vaio SZ160

Hardware 31 Comments
eWeek takes a look at Sony's Vaio SZ160, and concludes: "Sony's Vaio SZ160 is the type of laptop that executives ask for - and with good reason. With a 13.3-inch widescreen format and an Intel Core Duo dual-core processor, this 3.8-pound laptop offers business users exactly what they're looking for. It has great features, including a Web cam and an integrated microphone for videoconferencing, and the Vaio SZ160's bright screen is one of the best eWeek Labs has seen among the current crop of systems."
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Microsoft Opens Codeplex

  Submitted by houp Microsoft 21 Comments
"CodePlex is an online software development environment for open and shared source developers to create, host and manage projects throughout the project lifecycle. It has been written from the ground up in C# using .NET 2.0 technology with Team Foundation Server on the back end. CodePlex is open to the public free of charge." Microsoft goes open source, and it also launches pay-as-you-go computers.
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