Jace 'n' Place: InfoTech

Fujitsu T4215: Latest Vista Drivers

Sun, 17 Feb 2008 09:08:45 GMT

Hi! Are you using a Fujitsu Transcend Series LifeBook?

It can be a frustration looking for new drivers when the official website doesn't really bother updating most of the time. Hope to share with you the updated generic drivers (actually suitable for T4220 as well) that can be installed in a T4215 system using Vista Business (x86):

Wacom Tablet Driver v5.05-7RC - re-enable pen hardness settings
Synaptics Touchpad Driver v10.1.8 - I use the middle 2 buttons for volume instead. However, I am having problem with SynTPEnh.exe being blocked at startup so have to resort to putting it in task scheduler startup with full admin privileges to resolve the issue (more info).

Intel Wireless LAN v11.5.1.15
Intel Wireless PROSet v11.5.1.15
Intel Chipset Driver v8.3.1.1009

Intel 945GM Video Driver v7.14.10.1461R - compatible but see "screen shut off completely" if related issue returns (only for T4215)

Fujitsu Shock Sensor Utility v2.0L20 - compatible with Vista SP1
ASUS Security Protect Manager v2.1 - compatible and much faster than Omnipass (thanks, Boxcar)
AuthenTec FingerPrint Driver v7.10.0.2
Sigmatel Audio v6.10.5362v45 - Any newer unofficial drivers seem to cause some errors (only for T4215)
BIOS Windows Flash v1.5 (only for T4215)

Some handy softwares that I use:

Microsoft Experience Pack v1.0 - more inking utilities
InkSeine v1.2 - insane inking!
Vista Battery Saver v2r1 - improve battery management
Vista Shortcut Manager v2 - change your shortcut arrow
LogoStudio Vista v1 - change your logon screen
Pitaschio v2 - customize windows easily
Vista Codec Package v4.6.5 - all necessary video codecs

Comodo Firewall Pro v3 - free and powerful firewall
ESET NOD32 Antivirus v3 - effective antivirus with fast scan and low resource usage
avast! Home Edition v4.8 - free antivirus if you are not gonna pay...
AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition v8

AutoRuns v9.13 - see all startup programs
Process Explorer v11.13 - see all processes
JKDefrag v3.34 - simplest defragging utility, but optional since Vista's own defragger is not bad
CCleaner v2.07 - clear unnecessary files and manage your cookies
Recuva v1.13 - recover lost files

FotoFlexer Online - nice online image editor
PicuSizer v1.7 - good for re-sampling images
Unshake v1.5 - deblur your images

Some comments:
- I have a Sandisk Ultra II SD/USB card that can't be enabled for ReadyBoost if I use the internal SD card slot, but ReadyBoost works perfectly if I plug it into a USB slot. I tried various drivers (such as the MSI ones) for the internal card reader to no avail. Sigh... Any ideas?

- Remember to get the modular bay battery (FPCBP136D/AP). It will definitely help a lot when out and about!

- With Vista Service Pack 1 and the latest graphics driver installed, 4GB of memory is shown as it is in the Welcome Center, a single point increment for Aero performance in Windows Experience Index, nothing found broken in Windows as yet and hopefully everything works fine! =p

- More about the current T4220 and myths about the new T4225 model (if correct)!

Lovely Emoticons For Messenger

Fri, 08 Feb 2008 01:05:20 GMT

Here are some emoticon packs to liven up your Live Messenger chats, crazily animated, absolutely free and direct from Microsoft! However, do remember to untick those options that adjust your default homepage and other IE settings. Have fun!

The Fun Family

The Love Family

Next Generation

Christmas Theme

...and more here @ Windows Live Gallery!

'08 Update: Or, you can even create your own characters and emoticons @ MSN Minimise Me!

Great Moore’s Law Compensator

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 13:58:23 GMT

Have you ever wonder why the "busy" mouse pointer is still appearing ever so often these days? It was a familiar sight when we were using a Pentium II, yet it is persistently familiar when we start using a vastly superior Core 2 Quad (ok.. the tumbling hour-glass is replaced by a spinning wormhole =p).

As a brand new operating system, the presupposed cutting edge that one can expect from Windows Vista is barely visible to most as it seems to lose its shine even before the year is out. But as a Moore's Law compensator, it is doing pretty well. The following article best described the status quo some grudgingly accept, and a great analytical read on the vole-chipzilla alliance:

Quote

The net result is that, surprise, Vista + Office 2007 + state of the art hardware delivers throughput that’s nearly on par (~22% slower) with the previous generation of Windows XP + Office 2003 + the previous state of the art hardware. In other words, the hardware gets faster, the code base gets fatter and the user experience, as measured in terms of application response times and overall execution throughput, remains relatively constant. The Great Moore’s Law Compensator is vindicated.
What Intel Giveth, Microsoft Taketh Away by researchers of exo.performance.network

To be fair though, no new Windows release has been able to offer more application performance than its predecessor (tom's hardware).

Technorati Tags: Windows Vista,Intel,Wintel Duopoly

Live Migration

Sun, 11 Nov 2007 12:30:59 GMT

Jace 'n' Place is officially relaunched today! It took me some time but I have finally shifted my blog and other stuff to this new LIVE space account. *sweat*

To be honest, I find my previous blog to be unwieldy and the use of fonts a tad too whimsical so it is always nice to tidy up and start all over again.

It is a nostalgic time to say bye bye to the venerable Hotmail as Microsoft officially launched a newly revamped Windows Live Services, including a new @LIVE webmail service and the lifting of the beta moniker from several popular softwares such as Windows Live Mail Client, Windows Live Writer and Windows Live Messenger.

@LIVE Email Address

Finally, the free account signup is made available all over the world with a storage space of 5GB. Here are a few domains you might be interested in:

Singapore: create @live.com.sg address

Korea: create @live.co.kr address

Japan: create @live.jp address

USA: create @live.com address

UK: create @live.co.uk address

Hotmail evolves...

December 1997: Microsoft acquires Hotmail and its 8 million users.

December 1998: Hotmail tops 30 million users.

July 2005: Microsoft demos improved Hotmail (code-named Kahuna). Starts public testing.

November 2005: Microsoft announces Windows Live, including plans to rename Hotmail as Windows Live Mail.

February 2007: Windows Live Mail renamed as "Live Hotmail" to allay confusion among existing users.

May 2007: Windows Live™ Hotmail®, the successor to MSN Hotmail, is launched globally in 36 languages. (Ref: CNet)

Migrate From Hotmail

There are a few ways to move your emails and contact list over to your newly created windows live account. Using TrueSwitch, you can easily migrate your existing stuff over and automatically notify your friends of your primary email.

The other methods are mentioned concisely in this Quick-Switch Guide. For my case, I simply copy-and-paste the email archive using the Live Mail Client.

*Do not migrate yet if a lot of your older emails contain chinese (or other) characters that are NOT encoded in Unicode (UTF-8) format. In the new Live interface, such emails may become totally unreadable after the migration, and there is no way to revert back to the original Hotmail interface anymore.

Free Online Storage

Thinking of getting a free 1GB online storage that is easy to manage? I find Windows Live SkyDrive to be an ideal solution, especially as it is linked to your Live ID. You can also play music and videos on your blog directly from the files on it.

Alternatively, there is also another free Live service called FolderShare where you can access the files on your computer remotely, synchronize them between linked computers, and allow your friends to access them as well. *Oops... currently in beta and not error-free yet.

Technorati Tags: Windows Live Services,Live Hotmail,Live Skydrive,@live Signup,Jace 'n' Place

Bayas Hotmail

Sun, 21 Oct 2007 13:37:27 GMT

Guess what.. I found the title bar above my blog to be a little funny today:

Notice that after Home, there is a prominent Bayas link. Out of curiosity, I gave it a click and it led directly to my Live Hotmail inbox.. a very intriguing name indeed!

Just an idea, I think Buaya sounds more cool. Don't you think?

By the way, now you can link your different Windows Live IDs up and switched easily without repeatedly going through the log-in/log-out process.

Windows Live Account enables Linked IDs

Technorati Tags: Live Space,Live Hotmail,Bayas

Cartoonize Your Own Face

Sat, 25 Aug 2007 11:50:21 GMT

There is an incredibly easy way to cartoonize your own face now! Just go to MSN Cartoon (you'll have to install an ActiveX plugin), use your best portrait photo and follow the instructions on the website. In fact, the simplicity of the creation steps kind of amazed me. Some of the cartoonized pictures are animated and hence, you can load them up in MSN Messenger as emoticons or display pictures too.

Here it is, ME , with the various facial expressions! Haha..! But, who is she?

Technorati Tags: MSN Cartoon,Animated Emoticons,Cartoonized

Haemo Theme

Fri, 24 Aug 2007 11:42:04 GMT

Another quality creation by our very own oddbasket from HWZ! As quoted from him:

"Case modders might like this!
An oddbasket original. Simple black theme with a full set of options.
My first release after winning 2nd place in the TuneUp Style contest."

Haemo is a desktop theme for Windows XP. You can even customize the start button with your own name (instructions given on the website)! Just so COOL and thumbs up for the effort! (A little reminder to patch your uxtheme.dll using the uxtheme multi-patcher v6.0, which is compatible to xp sp3)

Update: Constin has also created an impressive Back To Basics edition of the theme with matching desktop icons as well.

Technorati Tags: Haemo,Visual Style,XP Theme

World Of Jobs And Gates

Fri, 06 Jul 2007 12:15:22 GMT

From the article "Jobs & Gates, the Biggest Reunion Since Simon & Garfunkel" by Wired News:

Gates on Jobs:

"The next generation of interesting software will be done on the Macintosh, not the IBM PC."
-- Business Week, Nov. 26, 1984
"The Macintosh was truly unique, but I personally don't understand what is so unique about Steve's new computer (NeXT)."
-- Fortune, Oct. 9, 1989
"In terms of public relations, yes, Steve is the most successful in the industry. But he does it by saying how crummy everyone else is."
-- Fortune, Oct. 9, 1989
"We think Apple makes a huge contribution to the computer industry."
-- MacWorld, 1997, via satellite video broadcast, announcing a patent settlement, $150 million investment in Apple and a promise to maintain support for Microsoft Office for the Mac.
"Do you really think Steve Jobs has got anything there? I know his technology, it's nothing but warmed-over Unix."
-- Attributed in On the Firing Line: My 500 Days at Apple, by Gil Amelio, 1998
"I don't think the success of the iPod can continue in the long term, however good Apple may be…. I think you can draw parallels here with the computer. Apple was once extremely strong with its Macintosh and graphic user interface, like with the iPod today, and then lost its position."
-- Frankfurter Allgemeine, May 2005

Jobs on Gates:

"Unfortunately, people are not rebelling against Microsoft. They don’t know any better."
-- Rolling Stone, June 16, 1994
"The desktop computer industry is dead. Innovation has virtually ceased. Microsoft dominates with very little innovation. That's over. Apple lost. The desktop market has entered the dark ages, and it's going to be in the dark ages for the next 10 years, or certainly for the rest of this decade."
-- "Steve Jobs: The Next Insanely Great Thing", Wired magazine, Feb. 1996
"I am saddened, not by Microsoft's success -- I have no problem with their success. They've earned their success, for the most part. I have a problem with the fact that they just make really third-rate products."
-- Triumph of the Nerds, PBS documentary, 1996 (Ed. note: According to an Aug. 8, 1997 New York Times story, Jobs later called Gates to apologize for his comments in the film.)
"I wish (Bill Gates) the best, I really do. I just think he and Microsoft are a bit narrow. He'd be a broader guy if he had dropped acid once or gone off to an ashram when he was younger."
-- The New York Times, 1997
"Apple has to move beyond the point of view that for Apple to win, Microsoft has to lose."
-- Time magazine, August 18, 1997
"Here's something Microsoft will never be able to rip off."
-- Mac World Expo, 2007, introducing the iPhone

The cheesy chit-chats over the years:

The sharpening of claws in public:

So, who is the good guy? You be the judge.

Havoc BSOD Screen Saver

Sun, 19 Nov 2006 13:31:30 GMT

This is fun! I found this out from a thread posted by smith2006 on HWZ Forums. I have devised the ultimate way to create havoc; simply install this screensaver on a PC (preferably with wireless mouse and keyboard), change the screensaver wait time to 1 min and secretly pull out the USB connector of the wireless adapter from the back of the CPU casing. Then, just watch your friend stare in utter horror while banging frantically on his keyboard and mouse, pulling his hair out and going haywire!!!

Jacen has finally become an evil being... kekeke =p

BlueScreen Screen Saver v3.2

Published: November 1, 2006

Introduction

One of the most feared colors in the NT world is blue. The infamous Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) will pop up on an NT system whenever something has gone terribly wrong. Bluescreen is a screen saver that not only authentically mimics a BSOD, but will simulate startup screens seen during a system boot.

• On NT 4.0 installations it simulates chkdsk of disk drives with errors!

• On Win2K and Windows 9x it presents the Win2K startup splash screen, complete with rotating progress band and progress control updates!

• On Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 it present the XP/Server 2003 startup splash screen with progress bar!

Bluescreen cycles between different Blue Screens and simulated boots every 15 seconds or so. Virtually all the information shown on Bluescreen's BSOD and system start screen is obtained from your system configuration - its accuracy will fool even advanced NT developers. For example, the NT build number, processor revision, loaded drivers and addresses, disk drive characteristics, and memory size are all taken from the system Bluescreen is running on.

Use Bluescreen to amaze your friends and scare your enemies!

Bluescreen runs on Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 and Windows 9x (it requires DirectX).

Installation and Use

Note: before you can run Bluescreen on Windows 9x, you must copy \winnt\system32\ntoskrnl.exe from a Windows 2000 system to your \Windows directory. Simply copy Sysinternals BLUESCRN.SCR to your \system32 directory if on Windows NT/2K/XP, or \Windows\System directory if on Windows 9x. Right click on the desktop to bring up the Display settings dialog and then select the "Screen Saver" tab. Use the pull down list to find "Sysinternals Bluescreen" and apply it as your new screen saver. Select the "Settings" button to enable fake disk activity, which adds an extra touch of realism!

Download Bluescreen (64 KB)

Source: Microsoft Sysinternals Team

Importance Of UAC In Vista

Sun, 12 Nov 2006 12:53:27 GMT

I think it might be too early to discuss much about Vista these days but sometimes, there are some things we as typical home users should be made well aware of in advance before falling into a trap later when we start to use Vista. It is another lengthy post by me but it is important.

The Trap:

The only concern I have, though, is that now the attackers will turn their focus to non-admin accounts, perhaps going after privilege elevations and information within the user profile. I hope Vista is up to that challenge. I also hope that UAC isn't "one more dialog" that people simply click through without reading. The standard user account provides the *right kind* of inconvenience to the user--requiring them to launch a privilege escalation *manually*, not having it done for them. - by bluvg

What is UAC?

The main goal of User Account Control (UAC) is to reduce the exposure and attack surface of the operating system by requiring that all users run in standard user mode. This limitation minimizes the ability for users to make changes that could destabilize their computers or inadvertently expose the network to viruses through undetected malwares that have infected their computer.

When users encounter a system task that requires administrator privileges, such as attempting to install an application, Windows Vista will notify the user and require administrator authorization. This type of prompting helps ensure that users do not accidentally make modifications to their desktops. It also helps eliminate the ability for malware to invoke administrator privileges without a user's knowledge. Here is a more technical read.

My Experience:

When I was testing Beta 2, I was very annoyed of those UAC popups that occurred every single time I did something on the PC, really getting on my nerves! I started to behave as quoted above, just "OKed" every time without looking. However, after reading up on it more and more, and with massive improvements made to the prompts by the time RC 2 was released, I was treating UAC prompts more seriously.

Can explain UAC in simple terms?

UAC is a pest, but it’s a good kind of pest. Specifically, it's a new system that runs all applications with the privileges afforded to the basic user. The "Power User" mode is gone with Vista and with Windows Server 2003 R2.

When an application is capable of making any changes to the system that could impact its ability to function, Windows shuts down – to coin a phrase, it makes like a hole in your monitor. Network access is shut tight, and all other applications are suspended. The screen goes half-dark, except for a dialog box that asks for the user’s explicit permission to let the program do its job, which the user may refuse.

The point is, you can’t avoid seeing this. Anything that could change your system must identify itself. Now, while you’re thinking that all a virus needs to do is to identify itself as an "IMPORTANT SYSTEM PROCESS", it will realize that as an application, it must now be authenticated by the operating system to request this very privilege - invoking this UAC stop-the-presses feature. It can't identify itself to you as Word, unless it is Word.

For viruses that have been designed to root themselves in specific, unmonitored locations within the Windows memory map, Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR) turns the system kernel into a kind of linear Rubik’s Cube, assembling it in pieces, at random, each time the system boots.

(By Scott M. Fulton, III, BetaNews)

Not to say malware authors are not capable of producing a capable Vista virus but this small excerpt from Scott's article succinctly sums up the benefits of UAC, on top of other deeper layers of protection, as long as UAC is on. You are in control of your own system. Even if you accidentally click "yes" to a virus, you are still protected to a certain extent by the other layers of defense.

In a Nutshell:

Treat UAC in a serious manner when using Windows as it is a right kind of inconvenience that we should accept in order to protect ourselves effectively.

** Read the prompts properly each and every time UAC pops up and make the right decision. Never turn this feature off unless you know what you're doing.

Royale Noir Theme

Thu, 02 Nov 2006 11:40:50 GMT

Previously unreleased XP Theme found!

It is called the Royale Noir Theme from Microsoft, and it provides an aesthetic black appearance for your Windows XP desktop but was never officially released! Here is for the story and the actual discoverers (source: Bink.nu).

I think this theme is way cool in the sense that it changes the green start button and all without using any third party softwares (since it's from Microsoft anyway). A bit rough on the edges as Microsoft decided against completing this theme for official release until the release of Zune Desktop Theme. However, oddbasket from HWZ has strived to eradicate all possible bugs to create an almost faultless theme for us to enjoy!

PS: As this is my own screenshot, I had changed the default wallpaper to a different one to suit my style. No more green start button! :p

Here are the excellent releases, especially the improved versions by Mr oddbasket (REMEMBER to patch your UXTheme.dll before applying the theme):

A complete Royale Noir Theme called Royale Remixed Theme v1.46 by oddbasket.
Previous Royale Noir Themes by oddbasket.
Original certified Blue Royale Theme from Microsoft.
The Zune Desktop Theme with an orange start button.

Haemo Theme new!

All Credits and Appreciation to:
Creator: oddbasket (HWZ Forums Singapore)
Originator: W3bbo (channel9.msdn.com), Long Zheng (istartedsomething.com)
Source: Microsoft
Disclaimer: The work done for Royale Noir is neither by a professional nor for profit.

(Updated on Jan 15 2007)

A Live.com Experience

Mon, 23 Oct 2006 10:35:06 GMT

I have been using the simple google.com as my default homepage for years, as I had never liked the idea of using those content-heavy portals like yahoo or msn then. Occasionally, I might switch to a more personalized version of google with useful gadgets such as a currency converter and babelfish nicely embedded on the interface, as well as an easier way to access google video directly.

Thenceforth, the daily pre-sleep routine begins, of opening all my favourite websites lined up like an infantry troop inspection on the Links bar in standard sequence *yawn*. On a more leisurely night, I would also dwell into my terribly messy Favorites folders to do more surfing. A change of habit was hard, even to try using msn search for web research and the lack of key words highlighting on the cached pages was a big turn-off then.

The installation of the final version of Internet Explorer 7 was a turning point, not because I was drooling over the newly added features (I had been using the various beta builds for months and also use Firefox sporadically), but because I somehow stumbled onto the interesting Live.com!

Live Search is much improved now and has the same simplicity as a homepage, and a little ‘Hi Jacen!’ on the top corner, or '안녕하세요, Jacen 님' if you tweak the language setting; a nice touch really. The real attraction that got me ultimately hooked was when I pressed the ‘Personalized page’ link. Initially, I did not get excited as the use of gadgets is nothing new as I basically started adding stuff to my personalized interface, such as a clock, a lunar calendar and some weather forecasts. It is interesting though, that I can actually add services like Live Mail and OneCare Safety Scanner.

Thereafter, a mind-blowing experience was right upon me as I could literally organize all my favourite websites and online friends' blogs directly into customized pages on the interface, utilizing their specific RSS feeds! In simple terms, all the latest articles of each websites are nicely shown on the various pages to my liking. Even more surprisingly, I only need to hover, not click, my mouse over the ‘more’ link to view a snippet, sometimes complete view, of the news and articles. No more boring *troop inspection* every night, no more multiple new tabs, no more webpages taking up real estate on the windows taskbar, but most probably, a change of homepage!

More importantly, the new Live.com definitely cuts down the surfing time and provides a definitive overview of all that I needed to see. Of course, I could still click on that particular web link if I desire to pore over the whole article or the website itself. Moreover, it will be remarkably helpful when I am out in an internet cafe or library where I can easily access all my usual web resources, as well as the other *messy* web links stored in the embedded Live Favorites gadget, all nicely integrated on the Live.com interface.

Obviously, you can also have a similar tabbed experience on the personalized google website, even with more partner contents, tools and custom feeds. So it is just a matter of personal preference. Nevertheless, I like Live.com and it is interesting to be part of a new initiative as I watch the site evolved and read about the efforts from the development team.

Here is a nice one from the live.com team : Have you tried...

pointing your mouse to the Windows Live logo (on any Windows Live site)?
refreshing the mail gadget?
changing your language?
clicking "read all" in an RSS feed?

Update: A candid and slick podcast presentation by Sanaz Ahari, program manager of live.com homepage (Jan 8, 2007)

My Take On Windows Vista

Mon, 16 Oct 2006 07:35:20 GMT

Introduction

Given the chance to test-drive a near final version of Windows Vista Ultimate (RC2 Interim Build 5744), I installed it on my sister’s computer. Naturally, my sister had become one of the approximately 30,000 official technical beta testers for Microsoft! With the recent release of Virtual PC 2007 beta, I had also created a virtual version of Vista (Build 5840) on my main Windows XP machine. Final RTM is on November 8, 2006 and will be broadly available as a stand-alone product or pre-installed on new PCs on January 30, 2007.

I guess it is not surprising to most people that a new incarnation of Windows will definitely come with a major graphical facelift, i.e. the new Aero user interface with Flip 3D in action as seen above, and a whole host of new and improved software tools. In reality, the main effort seems to be spearheaded at security and stability, which is definitely a big plus to consumers like us.

Overall, the feel of the menu is intuitive, and it somehow performs admirably on a Celeron-based desktop despite a significant number of open bugs in the previous interim build of 5743. Moreover, RC 2 is really a gigantic leap from Beta 2 which I was using several months ago. Kudos to the Vista development team for that.

Personal Opinions

Of course, there are a few setbacks in relation to Windows XP that will need months to iron out or get used to, such as a less than ideal gaming experience, a terribly confusing Windows Experience Index that will surely mislead a buyer’s choice of computers, an annoying User Account Control prompt that pops up a wee bit too often (improved significantly in RTM edition), the need to install Java 6 to access banking websites properly without disabling Aero and sadly, a lack of a revolutionary feel to it. I actually felt a tint of sadness reading Paul Thurrott's Road to Gold. Besides, there will always be endless comparisons with the Mac OS: A chicken-or-egg conundrum..

Nevertheless, it is an important shift in desktop computing, and the greatest improvements are mostly hidden under the hood and a good list of compatible softwares can be found here. More significantly, Microsoft is gradually opening up, and it is interesting to find all the live development teams blogging earnestly about their progress, and sharing their experiences online. As Paul Thurrott had pointed out, “It's easy to criticize Microsoft because they're dominant and huge, an easy target. I criticize the company when they deserve it, but I also think it's fair to applaud Microsoft when it makes positive moves.”

In conclusion, if you are going to purchase a new computer, do wait for a system that is bundled with Windows Vista in January next year. Alternatively, you can get your system this coming holiday season since it will come with an Express Upgrade offer allowing you to get a free or discounted Windows Vista upgrade later on. Most crucially, 1 GB of system memory and a standalone DX9 graphics card with a minimum of 128MB video memory are absolute MUSTS! Otherwise, there shouldn't be any rush to upgrade from Windows XP with Service Pack 3 due in 2008. (kind of long though..)

Future Outlook

Sneaking a glance at the horizon, do look out for the next generation of notebooks that are equipped with a Nokia 3G chip based on the Santa Rosa platform, an integrated flash memory cache which is either onboard or on a hybrid hard disk, as well as Windows SideShow, an informative secondary display on the notebook cover! It is also interesting to note that the power-guzzling Aero interface will probably negate the power saving features of the newer Core 2 Duo notebook chips to a certain extent, and it is probably too early to invest in a quad-core system for gaming in the meantime ;p

Updated News

Here are some scoops on the latest RTM builds (build 5840 might have been leaked but you'll not be able to use your CPP key after installing, so be warned!):

"Vista build 5840 includes a surprising number of brand-new and final icons, and a new set of final wallpapers, including a default wallpaper that's a variation of the Aurora "swoosh" that Microsoft has been using as a Vista identifier since it announced the branding in July 2005. There aren't any major functional changes in this build. (WinInfo, Oct 23)"

"According to my Microsoft sources, the current internal Vista build is now 6.0.5920.16384. Whenever Microsoft finalizes Vista--and I'm told it will be on or before November 8--the company will artificially increment the build number to 6000, as in "6.0," which is Vista's version number (aka Windows 6.0). Come on, admit it: You knew Microsoft would pull something silly like that. (WinInfo, Oct 27)"

"Several key Microsoft employees has firmly stated that Vista has not been released to manufacturing. The day might be soon, but is certainly not today, or tomorrow. There’s still a bit more work to do. Build 6000.16384 is real, but it also doesn’t mean RTM. These days, Microsoft doesn’t have to increase the major version number when building, so theoretically, any sub-set of build 6000 (6000.16385, 16386, etc...) can be RTM. (Neowin, Oct 31)"

A Conclusive Rejoinder

Windows Vista Ultimate Final (RTM on Novmber 8, 2006)

The full Review by Paul Thurrott
Interesting FAQs on Vista
Some useful Descriptions and screenshots of all Vista editions
RTM announcement Video