October 2006 - Posts
I own quite a bit if Creative kit but if there has been a SINGLE comapny I can point out as NOT developing Windows Vista drivers for the community - at a pace the community expects, it is Creative.
WHY?
I have no idea but it does make me now think twice about buying their kit...
Sure there are a few Beta 2 and RC1 drivers out there, see there KB article:
http://dmzweb4.europe.creative.com/SRVS/CGI-BIN/WEBCGI.EXE/,/?St=327,E=0000000000169429057,K=2971,Sxi=10,VARSET=ws:http://us.creative.com/,case=14186
But they have been just pain slow at getting them out and where are the drivers for RC2!!!
Compare that to the situation over at NVIDIA HQ and you will see they have fully supported, WHQL-certified graphics drivers for its video cards under Vista RC2:
http://www.nvidia.com/object/winvista_x86_96.85.html
Come on Creative, you can do better than this and the community EXPECTS it!
Marc Liron - Microsoft MVP
Windows Media Player 11 for Windows XP has now come out of BETA and is officialy released to the general public.
As you may already know this version will come pre-installed on Windows Vista.
I think this is a great improvement on Windows media Player 11 in terms of:
- Speed
- Ease of use
- The user interface
- Mobile device support
I have a mini review here:
http://www.updatexp.com/windows-media-player-11.html
You can find out more about and download Windows Media Player 11 here:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/11/default.aspx
Regards
Marc Liron - Microsoft MVP
Looking for a powerful graphics card for Windows Vista gaming?
You just found it!
The Radeon X1950 Pro is the first graphics card to make use of new native CrossFire technology, simplifying the multi-GPU experience by eliminating the need for a branded CrossFire Edition card. Using CrossFire bridge interconnect cables that attach directly to the cards, installation is easy and gamers get a clean, elegant look. Native CrossFire technology also delivers the same high-performance multi-GPU gaming experience CrossFire is known for, enabling high resolutions and refresh rates. The new CrossFire technology works on the same broad range of Intel and AMD platforms that cable CrossFire technology supports, including AMD socket 939 and AM2 motherboards, and Intel 975X and P965 motherboards.
"The Radeon X1950 Pro is incredibly good value," said Rick Bergman, senior vice president and general manager, PC Business, ATI Technologies Inc. "Bringing ATI's high-end features into the mid-range gives gamers blistering performance and gorgeous image quality that's unmatched at this price. The Radeon X1950 Pro shows that ATI is taking gamers' feedback to heart with the introduction of new native CrossFire technology to make it easier than ever for gamers to get up and running with a CrossFire setup. ATI will continue to enhance CrossFire to be more open, flexible and easy to use, giving gamers the superior performance they expect from our products."
Read more about the card here:
http://ati.amd.com/products/RadeonX1950/index.html
Regards
Marc Liron - Microsoft MVP
Following the NVIDIA press release at Digital Life 2006 last week, where Microsoft announced the Windows Vista logo program, NVIDIA has posted the WHQL certified drivers for a broad range of their GPUs on on the corporate site in preparation of the upcoming release of Windows Vista.
"NVIDIA, the worldwide leader in programmable graphics processor technologies, today announced that its first publicly available Windows Hardware Quality Labs (WHQL) graphics driver is currently ready and available for download for Windows Vista. NVIDIA offers these certified drivers for the industry’s broadest range of graphics processing units (GPUs), supporting over 100 different products."
Read the press release here:
http://www.nvidia.com/object/IO_36287.html
Regards
Marc Liron - Microsoft MVP
Oh the sheer joy....
Well maybe a little over the top, but I am really impressed with Windows Vista. Here I am using the Ultimate Edition and I have the ability to burn a CD/DVD of my photos from within the Picture Gallery.
No more third party programs to pay for, download and install. Then having to navigate to find the images.
Now I can do it all from withing Windows Vista Ultimate or Home Premium editions, and with Vista's amazing search and picture tagging finding the images amoungst a 1,000 is now a very easy task.
Regards
Marc Liron - Microsoft MVP
...a great new visual aspect of Windows Vista!
WinKey+Tab opens the Flip 3d task switcher, then use your mousewheel to scroll through the open programs while continuing to hold down WinKey+Tab.
WinKey+CTRL+Tab leaves the the Flip 3d task switcher open after you release the keys, handy for showing off Vista or just keeping an eye on things.
Alt+CTRL+Tab to leave the none 3D task switcher open
Please Note: You must have Aero enabled for this to work!
Regards
Marc Liron - Microsoft MVP
Today I installed Windows Vista RC1 on an old Dell laptop, a Latitude D800. I know RC2 is available, but I wanted to see how the mobile side of things has changed between versions...
Well this particular laptop has an NVIDIA GeForce4 4200 Go graphics card and on install only a generic VGA driver was available.
So I popped over to the main NVIDIA website to see if there was a beta driver I could use and found there was not... oh dear. No AERO for me on that laptop then!
They do however have a Windows Vista RC1 driver download for a bunch of their more modern graphics cards. On inspection of the supporting documentation it showed a list of supported cards.
Am I to assume therefore that this will be the final list of legacy cards that NVIDIA will support in Windows Vista when it finaly ships? I think that is a safe bet.
Here is the list:
• NVIDIA GeForce 7950 GX2
• NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GS / GT / GTX
• NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GS / GT / GTX / GTX 512
• NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT / GS
• NVIDIA GeForce 7500 LE
• NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GS / LE / GT / SE
• NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT / GS / LE / XT/ XE
• NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra
• NVIDIA GeForce 6800
• NVIDIA GeForce 6700 XL
• NVIDIA GeForce 6610 XL
• NVIDIA GeForce 6600 GT / LE / VE
• NVIDIA GeForce 6600
• NVIDIA GeForce 6500
• NVIDIA GeForce 6200 LE
• NVIDIA GeForce 6200 w/TurboCacheTM
• NVIDIA GeForce 6200SE w/TurboCacheTM
• NVIDIA GeForce 6200
• NVIDIA GeForce 6150
• NVIDIA GeForce 6150 LE
• NVIDIA GeForce 6100
• NVIDIA GeForce FX 5950 Ultra
• NVIDIA GeForce FX 5900 Ultra
• NVIDIA GeForce FX 5900/GeForce PCX 5900
• NVIDIA GeForce FX 5900ZT / 5900XT
• NVIDIA GeForce FX 5800 / 5800 Ultra
• NVIDIA GeForce FX 5700 Ultra/GeForce PCX 5750
• NVIDIA GeForce FX 5700LE / 5700VE
• NVIDIA GeForce FX 5700
• NVIDIA GeForce FX 5600 Ultra
• NVIDIA GeForce FX 5600XT / 5600SE
• NVIDIA GeForce FX 5600
• NVIDIA GeForce FX 5500
• NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 / 5200 Ultra
• NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200/GeForce PCX 5300
• NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200LE
• NVIDIA Quadro FX 5500
• NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500 X2
• NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500
• NVIDIA Quadro FX 3500
• NVIDIA Quadro FX 3400 / Quadro FX 4400
• NVIDIA Quadro FX 3450 / Quadro FX 4000 SDI
• NVIDIA Quadro FX 1400
• NVIDIA Quadro FX 3000 / Quadro FX 1300
• NVIDIA Quadro FX 700
• NVIDIA Quadro FX 600
• NVIDIA Quadro FX 560
• NVIDIA Quadro FX 550
• NVIDIA Quadro FX 540
• NVIDIA Quadro FX 350
• NVIDIA Quadro FX 330
• NVIDIA Quadro NVS 440
• NVIDIA Quadro NVS 285
• NVIDIA Quadro NVS 210s
Here is the driver download page: http://www.nvidia.com/content/drivers/drivers.asp look under "start here" select Graphics and go from there.
Regards
Marc Liron - Microsoft MVP