Month: August 2005

Final version of SyncToy released

I’ve been using the beta version of SyncToy for a few weeks. The final version is now released. This white paper explains how it works:

SyncToy is a free PowerToy for Microsoft Windows XP that provides an easy to use, highly customizable program to help copy, move, and synchronize different directories. Most common operations can be performed with just a few clicks of the mouse, and additional customization is available without adding complexity. SyncToy can manage multiple sets of directories at the same time; it can combine files from two folders in one case, and mimic renames and deletes in another. Unlike other applications, SyncToy keeps track of renames to files and will make sure those changes get carried over to the synchronized folder.

It also includes a download link.This is a marvelous little program, and it’s free. Ironically, Walt Mossberg in tomorrow’s Wall Street Journal reviews some commercial products that perform similar functions. If you need a PC-to-Mac solution, one of those alternatives might make sense; otherwise, SyncToy should do the trick.

Update: As Hubert Kay points out in the comments, the programs that Walt reviews also include online services and are primarily intended for synchronizing folders over the Internet. They typically cost up to $100 a year. If you need to sync files on machines that aren’t part of the same network and you’re willing to pay that price, read his review. For synchronizing files between two or more computers on your own network, though, the free SyncToy is a better choice, IMO.

A spin-off for Media Center fans

I’ve decided to spin-off a separate site just for Media Center news and information. That will allow me to keep this site focused on broader topics related to Windows. I’ll cross-post when I feel that information will be interesting to a wider audience.

I’m still experimenting, but the URL won’t change, so feel free to drop in at Ed Bott’s Media Central and look around. The Web feed (RSS) is here.

IE7, Windows Vista release dates “leaked”

VNUnet.com is reporting that a Microsoft staffer in France has revealed the projected release dates of IE7 and Windows Vista:

“Beta 2 of Windows Vista, Microsoft’s future operating system, is slated for release in the first week of December 2005 at best,” a posting dated 29 August said. “The final release has been pushed back until September or October 2006.”

This comes shortly after a similar post in Windows IT Pro earlier this week, which was reportedly gleaned from “very recent internal Microsoft documentation.”

It’s reasonable to expect the final release of IE7 and the Beta 2 release of Windows Vista to be in sync, probably in early December, before the developers leave for the holidays. And you can expect Microsoft to do whatever it takes to have the operating system ready for release to large system builders by August 2006. If they miss that date, they miss the crucial fourth-quarter holiday buying season. Of course, there’s a lot of wiggle room in the definition of “released” – do you mean the date when the code is signed off as final? It can be weeks or even months before shrink-wrapped copies appear in retail outlets, but unlike the halcyon days of Windows 95, retail sales are just a drop in the bucket. The big market is in copies preloaded on new computers.

When I see stories like this, I assume that the leaks were deliberate and that the reporters in question were specifically targeted to pass the information along without a lot of filtering. A “leak” gets a lot more publicity than a press release, and it also gives Microsoft the opportunity to change its schedule later without too many recriminations. This isn’t an “official” schedule, after all, and in fact the VNUnet story specifically notes that a spokesperson refused to confirm or deny it.

A welcome change in Microsoft licensing terms

For the past few years, OEM copies of Windows and Office have been sold under licensing terms that are just plain silly. Yes, you could buy an OEM copy of either product, at a substantial savings over the retail versions, but you had to purchase a “qualifying non-peripheral computer hardware component” with it. This resulted in the absurdity of people buying a 99-cent cable for a power supply to make the purchase legal. It also created lots of confusion in the marketplace

That’s now changed. The new licensing rules (link restricted to registered members of System Builder program) allow resellers to distribute unopened packs of Windows and Office to any “system builder” without requiring a trivial hardware purchase:

If you don’t open the pack, you can redistribute to other system builders without any hardware.

The new rules also specifically recognize hobbyists and PC enthusiasts as system builders:

OEM system builder software packs are intended for PC and server manufacturers or assemblers ONLY. They are not intended for distribution to end users. Unless the end user is actually assembling his/her own PC, in which case, that end user is considered a system builder as well.

So, go build yourself a PC!

When ads go bad

I’ve expressed my displeasure before with the hideous ads from Vibrant Media. These are the hyperlinks that appear within stories where certain keywords appear; the links are usually indicated by a double underline or an underline of a different color.

My objection is that these links are usually completely inappropriate; some advertiser “bought” a keyword and the ads pollute a medium where hyperlinks have a traditional meaning.

Today I saw the ultimate example of how bad these ads can get. In a story about the horrible floods in Mississippi and Louisiana (no, I refuse to link to the site where the story originally appeared – I just stumbled across it through Google News), I read these two paragraphs:

Meanwhile, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin said a levee holding back the waters of Lake Pontchartrain breached, forcing the air evacuation of 90 patients from a hospital.

“The city of New Orleans is in a state of devastation,” Nagin told WWL-TV. “We probably have 80 percent of our city underwater. With some sections of our city, the water is as deep as 20 feet.”

It’s a horrible human tragedy. But thanks to Vibrant Media, I was able to mouse over the word devastation and see this pop-up ad:

That’s disgraceful.

Media Center hits the mainstream

Market research firm Current Analysis says sales of Media Center PCs have skyrocketed since July 9:

For the week ending August 20, 2005, Media Center PCs accounted for 43% of all desktop personal computers sold in the U.S. retail market, based on data from a sampling of U.S. retailers.

Accounting for this phenomenon was a decline in pricing for Media Center systems, with the average price dropping below $900 for the first time ever. In addition to the more affordable price points, Microsoft has lead [sic] the charge to promote Media Center PCs at select retailers in an attempt to generate a higher level of interest for the platform.

More than 70% of the PCs sold had no TV tuner, which suggests that Media Center features are being incorporated into Windows as a basic feature.

(via Mavromatic)

Unplanned outage today

Qwest decided this morning to cancel my DSL account. I had paid the bill, and there wasn’t a problem that required it. But based on a conversation I had with them last week they needed to make a configuration change. And to do that, apparently, they had to completely eliminate my DSL connection and then create a new one – a process that can take up to eight hours. If you think that’s a dumb way to handle technical changes, well, you and I think alike. If you think it’s kind of rude to your customers to make changes like this without notifying them, well, so do I.

It all seems to be fixed now, but whatever plans I had for today didn’t happen, needless to say.

A rich man’s view of Media Center

No doubt about it… The Robb Report is a magazine for rich men. I say “men” deliberately, because this magazine is aimed at gadget freaks with lots and lots of disposable income, the “boys and their toys” crowd. I was pleasantly surprised to see this review of Windows Media Center Edition 2005 in the (digital) pages of the Robb Report’s Home Entertainment Design:

[T]hanks to Microsoft’s Windows XP Media Center Edition computer operating system, PCs have begun invading our home theaters. They assume the roles of DVD player, TV tuner, digital video recorder, music server, digital photo archive, online portal, and so much more—all in one box with a unified control screen.

It’s a well-balanced look at Media Center, with a focus on the high end and a willingness to acknowledge the problems with the platform:

Versatile and promising as Windows Media Center may sound, our initial experience with it raises more red flags than a military parade in Beijing. In its current iteration, WMC is more of a Band-Aid than a fully integrated, well-thought-out system. While Band-Aids work great if you prick your pinky with a paring knife, they don’t work well for severed limbs. And given the wide range of hardware WMC attempts to control, the severed limb analogy seems appropriate. Obviously, I’m overstating a bit—but severed limbs are often reattached in less time than it takes to get many Windows Media Center machines running properly.

I hope the developers in the eHome division at Microsoft have seen this article. If so, they know exactly where the challenges are to win this audience over.

A sneak peek at the new DirecTV DVR

Matt Haughey at PVRBlog ran across some info about the new R15 DIRECTV Plus DVR, as posted at TV Predictions. There’s only one very blurry black-and-white screenshot, and the details are sketchy. Highlights: The new service will cost $5.99 a month (hardware is extra) and will have a 90-minute live buffer. It will also allow you to “bookmark” a program, which is a nifty idea. There are also some vague details of an on-demand pay-per-view service that sounds a little kludgey. The hardware is supposedly due in October.

With any new DVR, of course, the devil is in the details. And given that this material is from a bootleg copy of a product manual, it’s difficult to characterize the experience of using the actual product. Meanwhile, DirecTiVo users can rest easier knowing that they’ll be supported for a long time to come.

Update: In the comments, Brian Hoyt points out that the R15 is SD only, and the long-awaited HD version is still under wraps. I’ve changed the headline accordingly.