gHacks technology news » features http://www.ghacks.net A technology blog covering software, mobile phones, gadgets, security, the Internet and other relevant areas. Wed, 25 Nov 2009 09:10:56 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 en hourly 1 Features coming with Windows 7 http://www.ghacks.net/2008/10/14/features-coming-with-windows-7/ http://www.ghacks.net/2008/10/14/features-coming-with-windows-7/#comments Tue, 14 Oct 2008 09:59:01 +0000 joshua http://www.ghacks.net/2008/10/14/features-coming-with-windows-7/ As you now know, Windows 7 is being officially called… Windows 7.

Microsoft has been pretty tight on leaks up to now so we haven’t had a great deal of information about the upcoming OS, however here are some of the features which you will see introduced with Windows 7:

Evolutionary changes.
This means substantial performance improvements, UI changes and security improvements. Windows 7 basically will improve on all of Windows Vista’s real and perceived shortcomings.

Virtual Drives
This is just speculation at the moment although Long Zheng has some good reasons to suggest it. Native support for disc images is definitely coming with Server 2008 R2 and may also come with Windows 7.

Sensors
Support for contextually aware applications which can detect the location of you and your device.

Windows Credentials
This sounds great and is something I’ve been wanting for ages… a secure ‘vault’ to store logins and registration details for any server, website or program. Windows will be able to log you in automatically anywhere.

Changes to UAC
Windows 7 will introduce a control panel setting which provides a ‘slider’ and 4 different settings for the UAC, essentially ‘most annoying’ to ‘least annoying’. What’s ironic is that Norton Labs have created an alternative UAC which actually does the whole job a great deal better.

Customisable Installation
Bundled Windows application are being removed and replaced with downloadable Windows Live services including Movie Maker, Mail, Photo Gallery, Writer and Parental Controls. There will also be the introduction of a system to control which applications are installed and which aren’t.

Windows Solution Center
Basically an improved Security Center, but with an improved UI and access to all system maintenance and troubleshooting tools.

Home Group Networking
Another Longhorn concept which is now making its way into Windows 7. Easy home networking for sharing files and media.

Updated Applications and UI
Applications like Paint, Calculator and Windows Media Player are all getting a new version and in the case of WordPad and Paint, the office ribbon interface. Paint is now actually pretty decent, a half-way point between the current Paint and Paint.NET.

Unspecified Taskbar Improvements
All that has been mentioned is that a lot of time has gone into improving the Windows Taskbar, and that support for the taskbar over multiple monitors is almost certain.

Improved Games Explorer
Now checks for Game updates and patches which is a great addition.

Virtual Desktops
Finally! Windows gets virtual desktops or ‘workspaces’ which is going to be a huge improvements.

Windows Mobile Device Center
I thought the point was to remove a lot of the unnecessary applications, for some reason the decision was made to include Windows Mobile Device Center rather than as a separate download.

Themes
Not custom visual styles unfortunately, but the kind of themes you could make with Windows 95 and 98 – saving the background, sound scheme and colors.

Multi-Touch
You know this one.

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]]> http://www.ghacks.net/2008/10/14/features-coming-with-windows-7/feed/ 12 Add Features to your MP3 Player http://www.ghacks.net/2006/12/18/add-features-to-your-mp3-player/ http://www.ghacks.net/2006/12/18/add-features-to-your-mp3-player/#comments Mon, 18 Dec 2006 14:56:51 +0000 Martin http://www.ghacks.net/2006/12/18/add-features-to-your-mp3-player/ If you are currently unhappy with the features of your mp3 player you might want to take a look at the open source rockbox firmware which adds lots of functionality to your mp3 player including iPods, iRiver and Archos models. A firmware update is of course something that should only be done with extreme precaution because it will void the warranty. Take a look at some of the features that can be added:

  • support for additional sound codecs such as ogg and flac
  • support for games such as Doom, Sokoban and Sudoku
  • support for applications like calculators, battery related and text editors
  • video support (yes even for ipod nanos 1st gen for instance)
  • Gameboy emulator

Installing Rockbox is not as difficulty as it sounds. Take a look at the manual pages which contains all the information you need for all supported mp3 players. Again, you should be very careful before you proceed. Everything is explained in detail and it should not be that much of a problem to install the new firmware. The rockbox forums are also a great way to have any remaining questions answered before making the changes.

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