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Google Chrome OS – Coming 2010

July 8th, 2009

Google announced yesterday that they will be releasing a new operating system called "Google Chrome OS," for the time being. The operating system sounds quite promising and is due to release in the second half of 2010.

google-chrome-OS

Google is designing the operating system for those who live of the web and are always searching for information, checking email, catching up on the news, shopping or just staying in touch with friends.

The OS will be light weight and targeted for notebook computers and focus on speed, simplicity and security. The user will no longer have to worry about downloading updates for their OS either. With the Google Chrome OS, they are going back to the basics and completely redesigning the underlying security architecture of the OS so that users don’t have to deal with viruses, malware and security updates.

Google will be releasing the source code for the OS later this year so keep your eyes open for that if you are a developer. The new OS should give Microsoft and Linux a run for its money.

People want to get to their email instantly, without wasting time waiting for their computers to boot and browsers to start up. They want their computers to always run as fast as when they first bought them and Google Chrome OS sounds like the answer we have been waiting for.

Read more: Click Here

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Sharing Files Made Easy

June 26th, 2009

If you are looking for a way to share files with your artists, band members, producers, clients, friends and / or family I have a few options for you. In no particular order these are the services that I would use based on what you need. Check them out and sign up since they are all free. Obviously there are limitations using their free services as opposed to the paid ones but you can still benefit. I hope you find this information useful.

Drop.io

drop-io Drop.io Has been a very useful site for me while collaborating with artists, sharing files, or just using it as a place for 100MB file storage which is much but it’s more for easy access when I am not near my computer but want to share work that I am doing. I also use Drop.io to collaborate with some of my clients which makes life easy because it is simple to use. Basically it is four easy steps:

  1. Create your drop URL, for example: http://drop.io/exampleURL.
  2. Add the files that you want to the drop. These files can be various formats such as: MP3, Video, Photos, ZIP files, Word Documents, Excel Documents and PDF files.
  3. Create an administrator password and recovery email. Important for gaining access to your drop if you forget the password.
  4. Drop the files to your new drop page. This will create the page that you can share with your artists, clients, friends and / or family. More Information, visit: http://drop.io

You Send It

yousendit YouSendIt works on the same concept as Drop.io but instead of creating a personal web page with your files it works like an email system. The free version only allows you to send up to 100MB files at a time. Which should be enough for smaller projects by the normal end user. YouSendIt is great for sharing files with artists, clients, friends and / or family for any reason. Here’s how it works:

  1. Input your recipients email address.
  2. Input your email address to receive a copy of the files to be sent.
  3. Type a subject to identify the send.
  4. Enter a short message to the recipient.
  5. Attach the file to be send. If you have multiple files you can always ZIP them making sure they are under 100MB per send.

More Information, visit: http://www.yousendit.com

Drop Send

drop_send DropSend is actually a service that I just discovered thanks to an artist that I am currently working with. This service will most likely be my service of choice to use when sending large files to and artist. The catch is that with the free service you can only send 5 DropSends per month, unless you sign up for their service. There are ways around this. You can create an email address that you and the artist will know and a common password and then just use the storage space to upload and download files. Here is how DropSend works:

  1. Signup for the free service, or any other plan that suits your needs.
  2. Once you sign up and log in you will be on a page that looks like an general email inbox. On the right hand side you will see: Send a File or Upload to Online Storage. Click “Upload to Online Storage” and follow the steps.
  3. Browse for your files to upload and give each file a description.
  4. Near the bottom of the page, type in a name for the folder you want to group all the files in.
  5. Click, start upload and be patient while the file(s) uploads.
  6. From there, your artist can sign in and download the files.

More Information, visit: http://www.dropsend.com

Live Mesh

live-mesh

With LiveMesh by Microsoft, you can sync, share and access your work computer, your home laptop, your Mac, your mobile phone and other devices live in multiple places.

With Live Mesh, you can synchronize files with all of your devices, so you always have the latest versions handy. Access your files from any device or from the web, easily share them with others, and get notified whenever someone changes a file.

Working on one computer, but need a program from another? No problem. Use Live Mesh to connect to your other computer and access its desktop as if you were sitting right in front of it. Here’s out it works:

  1. Create a LiveMesh account. If you already have a WindowsLive ID or hotmail you are set to go. Signup here: Click to Signup
  2. Login to your LiveMesh account and you will be on your devices screen. Click “Add Device” to install the application on your computer. Select your Operating System and click install.
  3. Once installed you can simply right click and folder on your computer and you will see an option that says, “Add Folder to LiveMesh…” Click that and the file will add to LiveMesh and start upload the files that are inside of it. Keep in mind you only get 1 gig of storage.
  4. From there you can access those files or add to them from any computer with an Internet connection. You can also share certain folders with certain people. This is great for wanted to share files with clients, artists, friend and / or family.

More Information, visit: http://www.livemesh.com

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Windows Vista Speed Tweaks for DAWs

May 29th, 2009

Turn off Windows Search Indexing

Windows Vista search indexing is constantly reviewing files on your system to make their contents available for quick searching. This is handy, but can severely impact system performance.

To disable constant indexing:

  • Click Start then Computer
  • Right Click the C: Drive
  • On General Tab, Uncheck Index this drive for faster searching
  • On the subsequent dialog box, Select Include subfolders and files

2. Turn off Remote Differential Compression

Remote Differential Compression measures the changes in files over a network to transfer them with minimal bandwidth rather than transferring an entire file that has previously been moved. By constantly checking for file changes, this service can hinder system performance.

To disable this service:

  • Open Control Panel
  • Switch to Classic View
  • Select Program Features
  • Choose Turn Windows features on and off
  • Scroll down and uncheck Remote Differential Compression

3. Turn off Automatic Windows Defender Operation

Windows Defender real-time protection against malware continues to run despite having Automatic operation disabled.

To disable this feature:

  • Open Control Panel
  • Select Windows Defender
  • Choose Tools from the top menu
  • Select Options
  • Uncheck Auto Start at the bottom of the window

4. Turn off Automatic Disk Defragmentation

Windows Vista and its always-on defragment feature isn’t really that necessary and can cause system slow down. Just remember to run a defrag manually every week or so.

To disable this:

  • Click Start then Computer
  • Right Click the C: Drive
  • Click on Properties
  • Select the Tools Tab
  • Click on Defragment Now
  • Uncheck Run on a schedule

5. Add a 2GB or higher USB Flash drive to take advantage of Windows Ready Boost (Additional Memory Cache)

Ready Boost is Microsoft’s name for using a USB thumb/flash drive to provide some quick access memory the operating system can use as extra RAM. The Ready Boost system can significantly improve system performance.

To set this up:

  • Insert a USB Flash Drive
  • Click Start then Computer
  • Right Click the USB Drive in My Computer
  • Select the Ready Boost Tab
  • Choose Use this device
  • Select as much space as you can free up for RAM usage vs. Storage

6. Turn off Windows Hibernation

Windows hibernation background services can use a large amount of system resources. If you don’t use the Hibernate feature on a regular basis you may want to disable it to give Vista a performance boost.

To disable Hibernation:

  • Select the Control Panel then Power Options
  • Click Change Plan Settings
  • Click on Change Advanced Power Settings
  • Expand the Sleep selection
  • Expand the Hibernate After selection
  • Crank the selector down to zero
  • Click Apply

7. Turn off System Restore

Analysis and restore point creation by Windows Vista can eat a fair amount of system resources. Disabling this service will obviously mean the system restore feature in Vista will not be available in the event of a system crash. Change this at your own risk.

To disable this service:

  • Control Panel > System
  • Click System Protection on the left panel
  • Uncheck the main system drive
  • Agree to the confirmation

8. Disable User Access Control (UAC)

This much-loathed new Vista feature attempts to protect your system from malware infection by making you manually confirm a whole host of everyday user operations. While it doesn’t directly impact performance, it can be annoying and might be more hassle than good.

To disable User Access Control:

  • Click Start then Control Panel
  • Select User Accounts
  • Select Turn User Account Control on or off
  • Uncheck User Account Control Box
  • Restart as recommended

9. Disable excess Windows Services that Auto-Launch at Startup

Just like Windows XP, Vista ships with all kinds of services enabled that load at startup and may never be used by most users.

To see what loads at startup and disable the ones you likely won’t be needing (they can always be started manually later):

  • Click Start then Control Panel
  • Select Administrative Tools
  • Choose System Configuration
  • Click the Services Tab
  • You can safely deselect:
    • Offline Files (unless you’re using Offline File Sync)
    • Tablet PC Input Service (unless you have a tablet PC)
    • Terminal Services
    • Windows Search (If you have already disabled indexing)
    • Fax (unless you’re using a fax modem)

10. Disable Excess Windows Features

Windows ships with other features that are listed separately in the Vista operating system from the startup services.

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Windows 7 RC – Test Drive

May 5th, 2009

Microsoft released the Windows 7 RC today and can be downloaded and given a test drive from this link: Download Instructions for Windows 7 RC. I think Windows 7 is much smoother and snappier than Windows Vista and enjoy its overall use. It is very easy to install and I also hear can boot from a 2 GIG thumb drive. This is covered over at Crunch Gear: Click Here.

windows7

Here are some videos for Windows 7 and what is to come: Click Here

Additional Notes

Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Ultimate and Windows 7 Enterprise provides the capability to run a virtual PC such as Windows XP Mode right from your Windows 7 desktop: Take a look: Click Here.

admin Computer Service, Microsoft, Software , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Freestyle Fest – Video

May 2nd, 2009

Here is the video (in 3 parts) from the Freestyle Fest in Fontana, CA on April 25th 2009 brought to you by Magnificent Ruffians and Untamed TV:

Freestyle Fest part 3 of 3

admin Computer Service, Entertainment, Music, News & Events, Software, Video , , , , , , , ,

Virus: Conficker computer worm

April 18th, 2009

Please note that this is not a Hoax. There is an alert out on a virus called “Conficker”, which is actually a computer worm, and is set to trigger on April 1. Below are some videos from TV news coverage as well as from some computer industry experts. There is also a link to Microsoft’s web site regarding the Conficker computer worm.

I just want you make sure you keep your Antivirus software up to date as well as your Microsoft Windows updates. At this point the experts are still not sure what this worm infection is going to do, but it could be a preparation for something bigger in the future.

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Computer Tools – Maintenance

April 4th, 2009

Here are some tools that I highly recommend you to download, install and scan your system. I would suggest at least scanning your system once a week, unless your heavy Internet surfer… Then I would suggest scanning daily. Let me know if you have any questions!

Other Useful Tools

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Microsoft Service Pack 3 Boot Cycle

March 25th, 2009

I recently did some major updates on my music production computer which included finally biting the bullet and installing all of the Microsoft Critical System updates which I have been neglecting for over  a year now. I wanted to get my system ready before I install my Cakewalk Sonar 8.3.1 Producer Edition Updates that were recently released. Anyway, after installing SP3 I ran into a life or death situation, well not really but you know what I mean!

The infamous Windows XP Boot Cycle. You can imagine how upset I was!!! Every time I hit the Windows Logo during the boot of my system, it would reboot and there was nothing I could do about it. I tried everything after spending some time researching online. I spent over an hour with technical support with my computer manufacturer and still no luck. Eventually, I tried unplugging all USB and FireWire devices and “wah lah” I narrowed the search. It was a driver issue…

To fix this issue, I went into the Device Manager and deleted all USB drivers and rebooted the system. Then I plugging in my USB keyboard and mouse and Windows reinstalled the drivers. This did remedy my issue (you may have a different issue altogether). I have successfully installed all my Sonar updates and my system is back to normal again, thankfully! I hope this helps anyone else that runs into this issue! Have a great night…

Some links I wanted to share as well:

Note: Now please take caution here, it is important to install the hotfix which I gave above before installing SP3.

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