By Patrick Miller
January 28, 2010

SAN FRANCISCO – Mario can’t rescue the princess without his Fire Flower. Mega Man can’t beat Dr. Wily without his Mega Buster. If you’re going to save the world, you need the proper equipment–and a keyboard and mouse just won’t cut it. Fortunately, you can get pretty much any mainstream console gamepad working on a PC, so you won’t have to shell out megabucks for an X-Arcade TankStick to bring back your gaming glory days.

Current Controllers: Xbox 360, PS3, Wii

First off, if you haven’t tried using your Wiimote on your PC, you’re missing out. We’ve got a how-to on using your Wiimote with your PC already, but the abbreviated version is: Get GlovePIE.

Xbox 360 controllers also aren’t too tricky to get working, since they’re made by Microsoft. If you have one with a USB cable already, it should work when you plug it in, but if you’d rather not be tethered to your PC you’ll need to grab an Xbox 360 Wireless Gaming Receiver ($25), which will let you use up to four Xbox 360 gamepads and headsets at a time so you can brawl with your buddies.

Stalwart Sony fans will have to install a driver for their PS3 pad–although the pad is automatically detected when you plug it in via USB, it won’t work. You can find different homebrew drivers out there, but the most feature-heavy version comes from MotioninJoy, which supports both Sixaxis and DualShock 3 gamepads for Windows XP/Vista/7 (32-bit and 64-bit). MotioninJoy’s instructions are a little tricky to follow, but here are the basic steps:

• • Download and install the MotioninJoy package.
  • Restart your PC, and press F8 during startup (after the BIOS is done loading, but before Windows starts) to open the Advanced Boot Options menu, and pick Disable Driver Signature Enforcement. (Doing this could potentially open up your PC to a security risk, so don’t make it a habit.)
  • Plug your PS3 pad in.
  • Once you’re done booting up, open the MotioninJoy folder in your Start Menu, right-click on Install MotioninJoy Driver, and choose Run As Administrator.
  • Open the DS3 Tool app from the MotioninJoy folder and start configuring your PS3 gamepad. Bluetooth support is still a little bit shaky, but USB should work fine.

Classic Gamepads: PS2, SNES, Genesis, and Beyond

If you’re looking to get your Playstation/Playstation 2 controller working, your best bet is a Playstation-to-USB converter, but if you pick the wrong converter you might notice lag or compatibility issues. The Stepmania.com Wiki has a good listing of these converters (as well as GameCube-to-USB converters), though it’s written specifically with Dance Dance Revolution fans in mind.

Just don’t grab one without reading a few reviews first. Generally, these will either have manufacturer-supplied drivers included on a disc or for download, and they’ll be usable with any HID-compliant game software.

Even the grizzled gamers who just can’t bring themselves to play an NES game with a Playstation pad have options. Though a handful of companies make updated versions of classic pads with dimensions similar to the originals, RetroZone caught my eye because it offers adapters for NES, SNES, N64, Atari, Vectrex, and Sega Genesis pads as well as converted NES/SNES USB pads if you don’t have your old gear any more. The adapters typically run for about $22, while the pads are in the $35 range.

But what about gamepads for truly vintage legacy games (which might not support HID devices)? No gamepad how-to would be complete without a link to JoyToKey, a freeware utility that lets you take inputs from any USB gamepad and map them to keyboard inputs, so older PC games won’t be left out from the action.

All you have to do is download JoyToKey, install it, plug in the gamepads you want to use, and assign each button to your desired keyboard input. It takes a little trial and error (the buttons are typically named unhelpful things like Button 1 and Button 2 instead of X and Y or Square and Triangle), so be prepared to spend a few minutes testing it.

By Paul Trotter
January 11, 2009

By Rick Broida
January 10, 2010

SAN FRANCISCO – Good news! Having burned that system-repair disc, banished the crapware, bolstered your security, and imaged your hard drive, there’s only big step left in hassle-proofing your new PC.

You guessed it (probably from the headline): backups. Once again I’m going to lecture you on the computing equivalent of flossing your teeth. Bottom line: Do it now or regret it later.

Actually, I’m not going to lecture you at all, but rather steer you to a PC World feature I wrote last year: How to Prevent a Data Disaster. It has all the information you need about creating a diversified backup plan, which for my money is the only way to ensure total safety.

The one item that needs updating is the now-defunct DocSyncer, which made it possible to sync your local documents with your Google Docs account. Fortunately, a free tool called OffiSync can take its place.

Now go forth and enjoy that new PC! And let me know if you run into any other hassles that need solving.

By Tony Bradley
January 7, 2009

SAN FRANCISCO – Reports suggest that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer will unveil details of Microsoft’s entry in the tablet PC arena during his keynote speech today at the 2010 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES). The announcement will steal some of the thunder from the extreme hype and speculation over Apple’s “iSlate” tablet PC– which may or may not exist and may or may not be announced at an Apple event later this month.

Tablet PC’s are not new. The slate form factor portable computer has been around for almost a decade, since Microsoft initially pushed the concept with its Windows XP Tablet PC Edition. Those tablets were before their time, though, and the concept never really caught on.

Technology has evolved now, as technology does, and with mobile phones like the iPhone, Droid, and Nexus One which are more or less mini tablet PC’s with phone capabilities thrown in, and newer technologies like netbooks and smartbooks, it seems the time has come for tablet PC’s.
Microsoft and Apple–assuming the rumors are on target and they both release tablet PC’s in the near future–are not the only players in the tablet PC market, but they will be the biggest and most visible. Speculation is already mounting that the Apple “iSlate” could spark lines similar to the launch of the iPhone, and one rumor suggests that Apple intends to sell 10 million tablet PC’s per year.

It’s hard to compare vaporware based on rumored specifications and capabilities , but I’ll give it a try anyway. Actually, I am not going to compare the devices directly, but instead address why a Microsoft tablet will be a more suitable business tool, while the Apple tablet will be more of a consumer gadget.

Apple has a legions of loyal followers and I assume that the “iSlate” will be a grand slam success, possibly rivaling the success of the iPhone. The “iSlate” may revolutionize tablet computing the way that the iPhone revolutionized smartphones. But, almost three years later the iPhone is still struggling for acceptance in the corporate world and is primarily a consumer-oriented device despite its popularity.

A Microsoft tablet will be a better business tool than an Apple tablet because of Microsoft’s dominant position in operating systems, business productivity applications, and Web browsers. Businesses rely predominantly on Windows, Office, and Internet Explorer, and Microsoft is in a position to deliver a seamlessly integrated experience between the applications businesses already use on a daily basis, and the additional functionality and productivity offered by a tablet PC.

While both devices, or any other entries in the tablet PC market like the Joojoo, will most likely deliver a similar suite of tools and functions, Microsoft is in a position to seamlessly sync and merge data between the tablet PC and the desktop without requiring additional applications, like enabling all users to install iTunes.

Businesses need to have control that Apple has been unwilling to relinquish. Whether it’s a desktop PC, a notebook, a mobile phone, or a tablet, IT administrators need tools like Active Directory and Group Policy that enable them to centrally manage and maintain the devices.

Businesses are also subject to regulatory mandates and compliance requirements. They need a way to monitor, log, and archive e-mails, voicemails, instant messaging threads, and other communications, and they need methods for ensuring that sensitive data is properly protected no matter what platform it’s on.

It remains to be seen which tablet PC will win the popularity contest. If the iPhone versus Windows Mobile is any indication, odds favor the “iSlate”. But, being popular doesn’t make it a good business tool, and Microsoft is in a unique position to provide businesses with a valuable productivity tool instead of a popular consumer gadget.

By Patrick Miller
December 28, 2009

Whether you’re a grizzled Windows vet or a relative newcomer, you can always use a trick or two for making things go faster. We’ve compiled our 26 favorite time-saving tips for Windows XP, Vista, and 7. Print out this story and keep it on your desk, under your pillow, or anywhere else.


Classic Windows Tips

Toggle between apps: Use Alt-Tab to switch open programs without touching your mouse. The oldest–and still the best–Windows timesaver.

Navigate app windows: Press Ctrl-Tab to cycle through an application’s windows (or through a Web browser’s tabs). First cousin of the tip above, and probably the most underrated tip ever.

When in doubt, type it out: If you don’t want to hunt through nested menus and the like, you can access most functions, applets, or files the old-fashioned way–by entering them into the Search box. Type Calculator, Control Panel, or even the name of a piece of music on your hard drive, and press Enter.

Full-frontal folders: In Windows Explorer, click Folder Options (located under the Organize menu) to reveal hidden files, show the full path in the title bar, display file extensions, and more.

Unobtrusive updates: Keep your OS current by opening Windows Update (Automatic Update in XP) and setting it to Download updates but let me choose whether to install them. (To get there, press the Windows key and type Windows Update.) That way, you won’t have Windows urging you to restart when you don’t want to (or worse, triggering a restart when you’re away from the PC with an unsaved document open).

Tweak your taskbar: Right-click the Taskbar and choose Properties to find options for switching to the old Start menu, choosing which icons show in the notification area, setting default programs to appear in the Start bar menu, and more.

Partition, partition, partition: Make backups and restores easier by partitioning your hard drive and keeping one partition for the OS and the other for your documents and data.

Make your text special: Need a special character such as © or á? Press the Windows key and type character map in the field to bring up an app that will let you copy and paste the characters you need.

Simple screen capture: Take a screenshot by pressing Print Screen, which copies an image of your full screen to your clipboard so that you can paste it into Paint or your preferred image editor. To capture just the active window, use Ctrl-Alt-Print Screen. For more fine-tuned controls, try Screenshot Captor.

Take a shortcut: Right-click on any application icon, bring up the Properties menu, and click the Shortcuts tab. You can specify a keystroke combination to start your application here. Our personal favorite: Making a shortcut for Windows 7′s Snipping Tool makes screenshots much easier. (Windows 7 only)

Sticky keys (the good kind): Holding down two keys at once–such as Ctrl-C to copy–is a royal pain. Press the Shift key five times to start Sticky Keys, a feature that allows you to initiate a keyboard shortcut by merely pressing Shift, Ctrl, Alt, or Windows instead of holding that particular key down. Press Shift five more times to toggle Sticky Keys off.

Line ‘em up: Want to arrange two (or more) windows side by side in Windows XP or Vista? Hold down Ctrl and click on the desired windows in the taskbar; then right-click the taskbar and select Tile Vertically. In Windows 7, you can simply drag any open window to the right or left edge of your screen and then let go.

Instant classic (control panels): Miss Windows’ old Control Panel, which conveniently displayed all of its items at once? In Windows XP and Vista, just open the Control Panel and select Switch to Classic View. In Windows 7, click the View by drop-down menu in the upper-right corner and select your preference.

Speed Up Your Services

Manage the Task Manager: Windows’ built-in Task Manager (pressCtrl-Alt-Del and click Task Manager) is great for seeing what your system is up to, but power users will prefer Process Explorer, which shows more details that can help you find a memory leak or troubleshoot a pesky DLL problem.

Nudge your network: If you have network problems, try opening the command prompt (enter cmd in the Start menu’s search box) and typing ipconfig /renew to reset your network connection.

Index this, not that: The Windows Search indexer speeds up built-in search functions, but the indexing process itself can consume system resources at inconvenient times. Open Indexing Options in Control Panel (or press the Windows key and type Indexing Options). The resulting dialog box will let you specify which folders or types of data are indexed to avoid bogging down your PC needlessly.

Clean up your startup: If your PC drags its feet during the startup process, press the Windows key and type msconfig to open the System Configuration utility. Check in the Startup tab to see what your machine is loading. Your computer might be loading services or apps that you don’t need or want to use on startup.

Sharing is caring: For a little assistance in tracking your shared folders, right-click My Computer (or Computer in Windows 7) and click Manage to bring up the Computer Management tool. Then click Shared Folders to see a list of all of your machine’s shared folders, file-sharing sessions, and open files.

Essential Add-Ons

Look, Ma, no mouse: XP users should grab Launchy, a free keyboard-driven launcher application that allows you to access programs, files, and even Web sites with just a few keystrokes. (Vista and Windows 7 users get the same functionality from the Start menu’s search tool.)

Cleaner than you found it: To make sure that your programs uninstall completely, use Revo Uninstaller–it’s often more thorough than the programs’ own supplied uninstaller routines.

Annoyance buster: If you’re tired of User Account Control dialog boxes popping up all the time in Windows Vista, but you don’t want to disable the security feature completely, grab TweakUAC to set it to Quiet Mode. Windows 7 has its own UAC controls, but can still benefit from TweakUAC.

Get your hands dirty with Greasemonkey: Optimize your Web browsing with Greasemonkey for Firefox, an add-on that lets you choose among thousands of user-designed scripts for blocking ads, changing the layouts of popular sites, and more. (Variants also exist for Internet Explorer, Chrome, and Safari.)

Work Your Windows Key

Photograph by Robert Cardin

Lock your doors (and Windows): Stepping out for a minute? Remember to press Windows-L to lock your computer’s screen so that no one can nose around without entering your account password.

Run, Windows, run: To access the Run command easily, press Windows-R.

Keyboard explorer: Want to open a new Windows Explorer window without leaving the keyboard? Press Windows-E.

Declutter your desktop: Access your desktop instantly by pressing Windows-D to hide all open windows. Press Windows-D again to return to where you were.

By Lincoln Spector
November 10, 2009

A number of issues can slow down a once fast PC. Here are some of the most common.

An overloaded and fragmented hard drive. If your drive is too full (more than about 80 percent), or too fragmented (the two often go together), it could be slowing down your PC, especially if you don’t have much RAM.

Defragging is the easiest solution, so you should try that first. To defrag in XP, select Start, then My Computer. Right-click your C: drive and select Properties. Click the Tools tab, then Defragment Now. Vista defrags automatically–or at least it does so in theory. See Vista Defrag Problems for details. Or you can go with a third-party defragger. Forum regular Flashorn recommends the free MyDefrag, which looked pretty good when I checked it out.
If your drive is getting full and defragging doesn’t help, you may have to make hard decisions about what you can delete or off-loaded to an external drive. Or you could replace the drive with a larger one.

Avoid new programs. Software has a way of cancelling out Moore’s Law–as hardware gets faster, software gets slower. (I attended a programming conference once where Bill Gates advised programmers to write for the most powerful PC currently available, because that would match a normal PC when their product was released.) So if you keep buying the latest office suite or photo editor, performance will suffer.

Watch your security software. You can avoid upgrading Office and Photoshop, but you have to keep your security software up to date or you risk infection. Major security suites like Norton and McAfee use a lot of resources, and keep using more with each major upgrade. They can seriously slow down an older PC. Consider switching to smaller, sleeker (and often free) alternatives. See Can You Trust Free Antivirus Software? and What Free Security Programs Can Protect My PC? for product suggestions.
Reduce the autoloaders. Your security programs probably aren’t the only ones that load automatically each time you boot and stay in memory, although they may be the only ones that should. Any number of programs you’ve installed may have inserted a piece of themselves into Windows’ Startup list, and could thus be slowing you down. See Why the Slow Boots? for more information.
You could be infected. See Remove a Virus or Other Malicious Infection for details.
And remember, when it comes to upgrading your hardware, adding RAM is relatively cheap and usually very effective.

By Tony Bradley
November 10, 2009

Businesses planning a move to Windows 7 need a more rigorous planning and assessment tool than the consumer-grade Upgrade Advisor. The early success of the operating system notwithstanding, you need to do some due diligence up front to determine if the existing hardware and software you rely on will work with the new operating system. If you only have a handful of systems to assess the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor should do the trick. For larger deployments, the more appropriate tool is the Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit 4.0–or MAP.

MAP is a Solution Accelerator from Microsoft that allows you to inventory and analyze the systems in your organization without requiring any sort of agent software to be installed on the endpoints. MAP leverages existing Microsoft technologies such as Active Directory Domain Services, the Remote Registry Service, and the Computer Browser Service to gather information and produce informative reports to help guide your IT planning.

MAP analysis and reports can help with a variety of IT planning scenarios. MAP can help inventory servers and clients on the network, identify physical servers that are not being utilized effectively, and make recommendations for consolidating servers and virtualizing roles using Hyper-V. In this case though, we’re mainly interested in the ability of MAP to determine hardware compatibility and readiness for upgrading to Windows 7.

MAP identifies systems running earlier versions of Windows like Windows XP and Windows Vista, then compares the MAP scan results against Windows 7 minimum and recommended system requirements. Systems that do not meet the needs of Windows 7 for things like memory, free disk space, or processor speed are identified, and MAP makes specific recommendations for actions to take to make the system ready for Windows 7.

The resulting Windows 7 Readiness Summary report provides a simple overview of the number of systems that are ready for Windows 7, the number that are not ready, and the number that will never be ready. The MAP results deliver the information you need to get your hardware up to speed for Windows 7.

MAP is great, but it actually only tells half of the story compared with the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor. You also have to consider the software you rely on and whether those applications will work in Windows 7. Microsoft has another Solution Accelerator to fill that need–Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT).

Similar to MAP, ACT will scan the systems on your network and identify any software that is incompatible with Windows 7. Most applications should be able to run under Windows 7. For those critical applications that don’t work in Windows 7, Microsoft provides XP Mode to bridge the gap and let you continue to run them in a virtual Windows XP system within Windows 7.

Armed with MAP and ACT results, you can plan your upgrade to Windows 7 to make it as efficient and hiccup-free as possible. A little due diligence and planning goes a long way to ensuring a smooth migration experience for your organization.

Next, determine which version of Windows 7 is right for you, and start planning your upgrade.

By Agam Shah
IDG News Service
October 28, 2009

Dell Latitude XT2 XFTR
$5,599
www.dell.com

Dell on has started shipping its first rugged laptop with a multitouch display, which can operate in extreme environments and withstand drops, dust and spills.

The Latitude XT2 XFR is also the company’s thinnest and lightest rugged touch-screen laptop, the company said. The laptop measures 38.1mm at its thinnest point, and weighs 2.45kgs with a four-cell battery and solid-state drive. Dell already offers a rugged single-touch-screen laptop, the Latitude E6400 XFR, which has a 14.1-inch screen and weighs 3.87kgs.

The Latitude XT2 XFR laptop, priced starting at US$3,599, comes with a 12.1-inch four-finger-input multitouch display that can be used to record data, manipulate images, zoom into maps or scroll through documents. The screen has a protective layer so that it resists impact damage.

The laptop is designed to meet the US military’s MIL-810G standards, which define a minimum set of conditions under which such laptops can operate. The laptop can withstand rain and a three-foot drop and will operate in temperatures ranging from -10 degrees Fahrenheit (-23 degrees Celsius) to 140 degrees Fahrenheit (60 degrees Celsius). The screen also can be flipped for use like a tablet PC.

Touch and stylus interfaces could help field workers such as sales and service technicians complete forms, create status reports or obtain customer signatures, said Jeremy Bolen, a Dell spokesman.

“Touch screens come in very handy in patrol cars and service vehicles where users can easily interact with the system without it becoming a distraction, unlike a keyboard or mouse,” Bolen said. “Essentially, touch makes data accessible and collection faster in many cases.”

Companies like Lenovo and Hewlett-Packard are shipping PCs with multitouch displays for businesses. The laptops are designed to input or retrieve customer data or manipulate objects that require higher levels of precision, such as sharply edged images in engineering and design applications.

Dell’s laptop is powered by an Intel ultra-low-voltage Core 2 Duo SU9600 chip, which runs at 1.6GHz and includes 3MB of cache. It supports up to 5GB of RAM with solid-state drive storage of up to 160GB. With a six-cell battery the laptop can run for up to six hours. The laptop includes multiple wireless communications options including Wi-Fi networking, mobile broadband options and GPS.

The laptop comes with Microsoft’s Windows Vista OS for now, but the recently released Windows 7 will be added as an option “very soon,” Bolen said.

The XT2 XFR has started shipping in US, Canada, France, Spain, the U.K., Germany and Italy, Bolen said. Dell did not immediately comment on worldwide availability.

Acer again brings to the fore its renowned vision for innovation with the introduction to the local media of its newest desktop product, the Acer AspireRevo R3600, an all-in-one personal computer that truly lives up to its name.

A true desktop at first glance but in an unmistakably smaller frame from that of usual laptop, the Acer AspireRevo offers itself as a radical and uncompromising yet innovative desktop available today. The AspireRevo is truly representative of the new generation all-in-one PC able to metamorphose instantly from an ordinary desktop, to a home media center and to a gaming gadget almost effortlessly to provide the entire family with great entertainment and digital value. 

With its ultra-slim, screw-less design, the AspireRevo is so innovative and easy to use that you can simply attach it at the back of your monitor, make a few adjustments for it to fit most monitor brands, and it’s all good to go whether in the office or the home. Powering on is also easy since you can position it in a way that its power button peeks over the monitor for easier reach.  

But despite its undersized dimensions, Acer made sure that the AspireRevo does not lack the processing power and environment-friendly features, which is a must for digital devices today. The AspireRevo boasts of the Intel Atom 230 processor that revolutionized the processor platform today because of its energy-saving, low-power consumption attributes.

The AspireRevo also comes with an NVIDIA ION chipset for a more flawless processor operation and execution of computing and gaming tasks is also not undermined because of the AspireRevo’s 2GB DDR2 memory that guarantee peak performance even when doing multiple operations without worries of downtime or less-than-optimum run time. Added to these features is the NVIDIA ION graphics solution for a more impressive graphics display, perfect for everyday computing. 

Connectivity to other forms of media is also a plus factor for this power-packed PC package, with featured ports for D-sub VGA, High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI), and even for eSATA hard drives for unhampered transfer of files. There are numerous USB ports as well, two in front and four in the rear, and a four-in-one card reader that supports various removable storage cards like MultiMediaCard (MMC), Secure Digital (SD), xD-Picture Card and Memory Stick. 

For the ultimate living-room entertainment, you can also purchase gaming and other accessories like a 3D game controller in case you want to throw a gaming party with friends at your house, or peripherals like the usual keyboard, Webcam, speakers, and mouse if you want the AspireRevo to function as normally as a traditional PC would. 

Overall, the Acer AspireRevo R3600 presents itself as the newest, coolest and hippest gadget you can ever own and be proud to proclaim as one of your most important digital finds of the year that can fit any type of office or home and you can enjoy thoroughly with family and friends. 

Go head off to the nearest Acer authorized reseller and see how this pocket-sized powerhouse can change your vision of the digital age.