Once again, Microsoft has appealed the case for their Word XML patent case. And once again, I’m sure the outcome will be the same. I guess they are
So, I don’t know if you’ve noticed… Ok, I’m sure you have. This “new” God Mode for Windows 7 has been making it’s rounds. There seems to be a lot of people excited about it. Yet, as usual, there are those that “already knew” about it, or realize that it’s just a shortcut, nothing spectacular. They bash the author and the website for posting such drivel. Yet, these same websites (mine included) also included other simple things. Like, customizing your desktop (REALLY?!) or setting up your email (SAY IT AIN’T SO!).
Sure, the “super uber leet God Mode/Master Control/Super Dooper God Mode” isn’t new. No one has really claimed it was. In fact, it dates back to the beginning of the registry, way back in Windows 95. 15 years or so. Nothing new.
So, why all the hate for those helping out other users? And then there are the few website owners that are taking advantage of these bashers, making their own posts calling others out in weird and obnoxious ways. So, does that mean all the other help they offer is bunk as well? The simple things (like setting up email) have been around a lot longer than “God Mode”, yet these are helpful posts. Why is it that this is not helpful? I find it extremely helpful. The Control Panel is a ever more complicated place to go. It takes twice as many clicks to get to where you want (or 3 or 4 clicks). A quick shortcut is great. It works for Quick Launch. If you use something frequently, why not have a shortcut to it?
There will ALWAYS be those that are new to something. New to computers, new to cars, etc.. They need to be shown the ropes, the same way we all were. There were times when we heard of a certain technology or tip that wasn’t new, but we were excited, weren’t we? I started overclocking my PC in the 486 era. And I loved it. But, it wasn’t anything new. PC tinkerers have been doing it for years! But, I was a newbie to that area, so I took in all the information I could and learned what I could.
Come on guys, cut the new guys some slack. We were all there at some point. ALL of us.
Ok, it being called “God” mode is getting ridiculous. Sure, it’s a special little tip, but it’s nothing that’s not documented or not built into the operating system to be anything “secret”. And it doesn’t give you any special options that weren’t there before. It does give you a quick, easy way to access those regular options with a single click, rather than the multiple clicks that it would take to browse the Control Panel. I like using it, but it’s nothing that would be considered Godly or even like a special Doom style “cheating” mode. It’s just a shortcut menu. But, if you’re like me, it’s handy.
Ed Bott has wrote an article about how and why it works, and some other GUID shortcuts for you to use at your pleasure. Quite a bit of them, really, and it seems like there are more and more options in each Windows version. So, with so many options out there, of course it could be handy to have a shortcut with them all listed!
As with the other shortcuts, the process of turning one of these GUIDs into a shortcut that opens a shell folder or Control Panel item is straightforward. Start by right-clicking any empty space on the desktop or in a folder. Right-click and choose New, Folder. Type the name you want to appear under the shortcut, followed by a period and then the GUID shown in the list here, complete with curly braces on either end. Press enter and voila, you
Download Squad posts that Windows 7 is the fastest selling OS in history. Usually, these claims are pretty baseless, but the author includes a nice chart and numbers to back it up. Not bad, Microsoft. But, with my experience with Windows 7, it’s no surprise!
I don’t like reporting news without exact numbers, especially when making claims like this, but the Director of Marketing at Microsoft is fairly confident about this one: “Windows 7 is by far the fastest selling Operating System in history.”
We’ve all had some troubles with e-mail in the past. Well, Outlook can be troublesome and Computer Talks helps you troubleshoot some of the most common errors.
Email is one of the most common forms of communication for home and corporate users alike. For many, it has become a way of life. There are several mail clients to choose from but Microsoft Outlook is easily the most widely used. While the application is efficient and very useful, there may be times when you encounter nagging errors.
Microsoft has released Compatibility Pack 4 for Microsoft Office. What’s this mean? If you are running an older version of Office (2000, 2003, XP), and you try to open a newer XML based 2007 or 2010 document (.docx, .xlsx, etc.), it will give you an error. With this pack, you will be able to open the newer documents.
By installing the Compatibility Pack in addition to Microsoft Office 2000, Office XP, or Office 2003, you will be able to open, edit, and save files using the file formats in newer versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint . The Compatibility Pack can also be used in conjunction with the Microsoft Office Word Viewer 2003, Excel Viewer 2003, and PowerPoint Viewer 2003 to view files saved in these new formats. For more information about the Compatibility Pack, see 924074.
2 Million downloads for the Office 2010 beta? This sounds like Windows 7 all over again! Like the article says, Microsoft Office is an industry standard. Sure, there are alternatives, but there are also a lot of downsides. The alternatives are good for a beginning user, a high school student doing basic word processing or spreadsheet work. But, if you do much more, you’re almost out of luck with VBA and other Microsoft Office features. Time will tell if the alternatives will catch up. I’ve checked out some of the others, and they have some VBA compatibility, but not 100%. Not to mention the other 1000 features that MS Office has that the others don’t (I just threw that number out there. It may be closer to 6).
As one person replied to the question on
As if the battles of the MP3/Video/Everything else portable device (MP3 player, to most!) weren’t enough, Microsoft and HP are set to reveal a new tablet PC to go head to head with Apple’s upcoming tablet PC. I’m sure that there will soon be a battle of the apps, as I think that the majority of iPod Touch’s and iPhone’s think they are the major reason for owning the device. My wife owns an iPod Touch (I don’t claim that bastard stepchild!), and there are times when I’ll pick it up and play with the apps or Digg for Microsoft stories! 😉
According to leaked details at that time, the Microsoft Courier is a tablet built like a notebook, with a two screen setup and a stylus, made for saving and sharing content and
Our friends over at Into Windows have posted a nice collection of gadgets made for Windows 7. I have to agree with 19 of the 20. I really don’t like the Alarm Clock. I don’t like it going off when I’m on vacation and forget to turn it off! 🙂
As you all know, Gadget feature was introduced with Vista and has been improved in Windows 7.
The same Windows God Mode that was available in Windows Vista, which has been know for the past year and a half, has been proven to work in Windows 7. You may have noticed all the Diggs and news stories out there today posting the news, so I thought I’d put up an update. We weren’t the first to know about this, and credit goes to some Microsoft engineer that brought the tweak to light.
Windows Vista, as well as Windows 7, has included a “Master Control Panel”. Problem is that it’s not enabled by default. Here is how to gain access to all your Control Panel items, and their child options, and put the icon on your desktop or your Start Menu.