Hewie Poplock's Blog (11)

From what I am reading, USB 3.0 is getting closer. The implementers forum have set the end June to ratify their test specs. Testing will continue and you should see consumer devices with USB 3.0 in 2010. You should see 500Mbps external USB hard drives and new power features, which include the elimination of device polling to enable an energy-saving "virtual sleep" mode, more juice for bus-powered devices, and the ability to charge a completely dead device, which USB 2.0 can't do. This means we… Continue

It's off to Las Vegas for the Consumer Electronics Show. The trip was exciting. I was routed through Chicago and got to see snow on the ground. It was the first time in about 20 years. Usually I have to ask for an extension for the seat belt on the plane, but this is the first time I have flown since I lost weight. I was able to forgo the extension. Yeah. I got to the hotel where I am staying and waited for Mike to arrive. I am sharing a room and it was in his name. United had us flying in diff… Continue

The BBC reported Monday that Microsoft has extended the deadline for smaller PC builders and resellers to obtain licenses for the discontinued operating system from the previous deadline of January 31, 2009 to May 30, 2009. Plus, big PC makers plan to offer PCs with Vista Ultimate and Vista Business that have been factory downgraded at customers' request until July 30 next year. See the whole article on… Continue

Find answers to your Windows Vista questions by going to a new Microsoft site. You can get your Answers now, which searches existing answers. You can browse specific category pages under Find Answers. You can tap into the expertise and enthusiasm of Windows Vista customers and Microsoft support professionals worldwide. If the needed information is not already on the site, your question should get answered there. There are three ways to know when your question has been answered. You can come ba… Continue

The Windows SIG pages were gone. What a surprise. I was checking the Windows SIG site and it was in the middle of the setup mode. I freaked. The site has been growing. The discussions and blogs have been getting popular. I was afraid that we lost all of the information, pages, and member pages. However, I went to the Ning help page and they said that they were having a problem since they completed a software update. I went to the help form to report my problem. When submitting the report, I got… Continue

Some free Quick Reference Guides are available from Bar Charts Publishing at http://www.barcharts.com/Free%20Downloads Two that I highly recommend that you download and print to reference are : EMAIL ETIQUETTE http://www.barcharts.com/images/productdownloads/FD000011.pdf IM ACRONYMS AND EMOTICONS… Continue

In case you missed the links in the weekly e-news, here are the recordings of the Sunday November 16 Windows SIG and the main meeting. The main meeting has a hum in the audio that we could not get rid of during the recording. The main meeting was streamed through uStream.tv. The Windows SIG was streamed using DimDim. Any comments about the recordings or sessions are welcome.

Our November CFCS Main Meeting (about 90 minutes):
Click here to view

… Continue

Microsoft Announces Plans for No-Cost Consumer Security Offering New anti-malware solution will broaden PC protection and help improve Windows experience. Read the full article at http://www.microsoft.com/Presspass/press/2008/nov08/11-18NoCostSecurityPR.mspx To address the growing need for a PC security solution tailored to the demands of emerging markets, smaller PC form factors and rapid increases in… Continue

Liz B. Davis just posted a wonderful 2 and a half minute video screen cast about how she uses OtherInbox. Take a look! She just saw a tweet from OtherInbox that they are giving out 100 beta invites. She really likes this app and wanted to share this with you all. She made a quick screencast to show why She likes it. Click here to get one of the invites.… Continue

Mark Minasi, noted author has a PowerPoint of his new "Windows 7 Overview" presentation. Curious about the next version of Windows? Then give it a peek. He was fortunate enough to be in Barcelona for Microsoft's TechEd Europe in early November and so got to see Microsoft unveil a lot of details about their upcoming replacement for Vista and Server 2008, "Windows 7." He put that info into a keynote talk that he did in Las Vegas the next week. You can find the PowerPoint at… Continue

This past week I attended the ImpactNow Conference in Orlando. I learned a lot, as usual. There were lots of swag, and fun times, as well. The keynote was a talk by Steve Wozniak, one of the founders of Apple Computers.

I also got an autograph & picture of Danic… Continue