Tag: Windows

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Apple Releases AirPort Base Station Update 2007-001

Apple releases AirPort Base Station Update 2007-001 for Mac and Windows.

AirPort Base Station Update 2007-001 for Mac – 12.7MB
AirPort Base Station Update 2007-001 for Windows – 5.0MB
The AirPort Base Station Update 2007-001 includes general fixes and compatibility updates.

From Apple Support

AirPort Base Station Update 2007-001 for Mac
The AirPort Base Station Update 2007-001 includes general fixes and compatibility updates for the following applications:

  • AirPort Utility
  • AirPort Admin Utility for Graphite and Snow Base Stations
  • AirPort Disk Utility
  • AirPort Disk Agent

System Requirements:

  • Mac OS X 10.4 or later
  • AirPort Utility 5.0

Note: Only previously installed software from the list above will be updated. AirPort Utility v5.1 for Mac OS X 10.4.x or later software supports the AirPort Extreme Base Station with 802.11n, AirPort Extreme Base Station and AirPort Express Base Station.

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AirPort Base Station Update 2007-001 for Windows
The AirPort Base Station Update 2007-001 includes general fixes and compatibility updates for the following applications:

  • AirPort Utility
  • AirPort Disk Agent
  • AirPort Disks Control Panel

System Requirements:

  • Windows XP with Service Pack 2
  • Windows Vista
  • AirPort Utility 5.0
  • Wi-Fi certified wireless card

Note: Only previously installed software from the list above will be updated. AirPort Utility v5.1 for Windows software supports the AirPort Extreme Base Station with 802.11n, AirPort Extreme Base Station and AirPort Express Base Station.

Download AirPort Base Station Update 2007-001 from Apple Support.
http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/

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Apple Releases Boot Camp 1.2 beta With Windows Vista Support

Apple has just posted Boot Camp 1.2 beta with Windows Vista 32-bit support.

From Apple Boot Camp page:

Changes in Boot Camp 1.2 beta
Boot Camp 1.2 beta contains several updates and is intended for all new and previous Boot Camp beta users.

Boot Camp 1.2 beta includes:

  • Support for Windows Vista (32-bit)
  • Updated drivers, including but not limited to trackpad, AppleTime (synch), audio, graphics, modem, iSight camera
  • Support the Apple Remote (works with iTunes and Windows Media Player)
  • A Windows system tray icon for easy access to Boot Camp information and actions
  • Improved keyboard support  for Korean, Chinese, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Russian, and French Canadian
  • Improved Windows driver installation experience
  • Updated documentation and Boot Camp on-line help in Windows
  • Apple Software Update (for Windows XP and Vista)

Boot Camp 1.2 beta weighs in at 138MB

Download Boot Camp 1.2 beta here
http://www.apple.com/macosx/bootcamp/publicbeta.html

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Vista PC Reviewed: Gateway GT5408 Desktop

This Gateway® GT5408 Desktop is one of three Vista PC’s I worked on shortly after Windows Vista was released. The other two are Gateway® GT5404 Desktop and HP Pavilion Slimline s7700n PC.

Specifications
Processor: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E4300 dual-core Processor 64-bit processor with Intel® EM64T Technology (1.80GHz, 800MHz FSB, 2MB L2 Cache)
Operating System: Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Premium
Chipset: Intel® 945G DH Chipset(Viiv™)
Memory: 1024MB dual-channel DDR2 Memory (2 x 512MB), 533MHz (PC4200). Expandable to 4GB (2x2048MB) 667MHz (PC5300)
Video: Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 950 with up to 224MB Shared Video Memory – VGA port
Audio: 8-Channel (7.1) High Definition Audio
Hard Drive: 320GB SATA II (7200rpm, 8MB cache)10
Optical Drives: 16x multiformat dual-layer DVD±RW drive
15-in-1 Digital Media Manager™ (Memory Card Reader)
56K ITU V.92 ready fax/modem (RJ-11 port)
Intel® 10/100 Mbps Ethernet LAN (RJ-45 port)
6 USB 2.0 Ports (2 in front, 4 in back)
2 IEEE 1394 port “FireWire” (1 in front, 1 in back)
1 Parallel Port, 1 Serial Port
2 PS/2 Ports (Keyboard and Mouse)
5 Audio (Rear): Front/Headphone (Stereo), Rear (Stereo), Center/Sub, Microphone, Line-in/Side (Stereo), plus S/PDIF Optical
2 Audio (Front): Microphone, Front/Headphone (Stereo)
1 PCI-E x16, 1 PCI-E x1, 2 PCI

Out of the box, Gateway GT5408 Desktop is somewhat an adequate performer. It does have an Intel Core 2 Duo Processor for nice performance potential. It comes with 1GB of RAM (2x512MB) and an integrated Intel GMA 950 with up to 224MB shared video memory. That leaves 800MB of RAM to the system. Booting Windows Vista on this PC is a little bit painful. Right of the bat Windows Vista is using 700MB-900MB of RAM and settles around 500MB.

To increase the performance of this computer, consider upgrading the Memory to at least 2GB and/or installing a decent Video Card with minimum of dedicated 128MB of video RAM.

This computer comes with an optical mouse and a USB-powered stereo speaker. The mouse is nice enough to use. The speaker lacks low frequency and sounds terrible when it comes to music.

GT5408 CPUz 01 GT5408 CPUz 02 GT5408 CPUz 03

…….to be updated

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Apple Releases iTunes 7.1.1

Apple updates iTunes again, 11 days after version 7.1 was released.

iTunes 7.1.1 addresses a stability issue and minor compatibility problems in iTunes 7.1.

http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/

In somewhat related news, Apple has also re-released iPod shuffle Reset Utility and renamed it to simply iPod Reset Utility. The utility supports 1st and 2nd generation iPod shuffle. (03.15.2007)

About iPod Reset Utility 1.0 for Windows

Use iPod Reset Utility to restore the following iPod models back to their factory settings, when iTunes is unable to do so:
– iPod shuffle (1st Generation)
– iPod shuffle (2nd Generation)

iPod Reset Utility 1.0 for Mac – 3.4MB
iPod Reset Utility 1.0 for Windows – 2.2MB

If you’re using Windows Vista and iTunes, please read the following Apple knowledgebase:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=305042

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Microsoft Releases Windows Server 2003 & Windows XP x64 Service Pack 2

In lieu of Patch Tuesday, Microsoft releases Service Pack 2 for 64-bit Windows XP and Windows Server 2003.

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/windowsserver/sp2/overview.mspx 

Windows Server 2003 x86 (32-bit) Service Pack 2
WindowsServer2003-KB914961-SP2-x86-ENU.exe – 372.0 MB

Windows Server 2003 x64 (64-bit) and Windows XP x64 (64-bit) Service Pack 2
WindowsServer2003.WindowsXP-KB914961-SP2-x64-ENU.exe – 350.9 MB

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Vista PC Reviewed: HP Pavilion Slimline s7700n PC

This HP Pavilion Slimline s7700n PC is actually the second PC with Windows Vista pre-installed that I worked on. The first one was Gateway® GT5404 Desktop.

UPDATE: Download and install the latest nVidia GeForce driver to enable higher resolution display. I tested it with Samsung SyncMaster 940MW at 1440×900 resolution.
http://www.nvidia.com/content/drivers/drivers.asp

HP Pavilion Slimline PC is roughly one-third the size of a mid-tower PC. Previously it was equipped with Intel Celeron, AMD Sempron, and AMD Athlon 64 Processor. HP Pavilion Slimline s7700n PC is equipped with AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ dual-core processor.

Product specifications:

  • AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ dual-core processor (2GHz)
  • 250GB Serial ATA hard drive
  • 1GB DDR2 PC4200 RAM (2x512MB); Supports up to 2x1GB
  • Multi-format/dual-layer LightScribe DVD drive
  • 5 USB, 1 FireWire, 1 VGA, 1 headphone, 1 microphone, 1 S/PDIF out, 2 PS/2, 9-in-1 memory card reader
  • 54g Wi-Fi LAN (802.11b/g)
  • 10/100 Ethernet
  • Integrated nVidia GeForce 6150 LE video card with 128MB dedicated memory and TurboCache
  • 1 PCI slot
  • 56K bps data/fax modem (occupying the PCI slot)
  • Windows Vista Home Premium

It is a great Windows XP machine, but it is a little sluggish running Windows Vista. I eventually upgraded the RAM to 2GB (2x1GB) and it’s been running a lot better.

Windows Vista uses around 800MB of RAM right after it finishes booting up. The computer was unusable for the first few minutes when it has only 1GB of RAM. After Windows Vista settles down it uses around 500MB of RAM; that’s before having an anti-virus software installed. It is imperative to have a minimum of 2GB of RAM on this machine if you want to run Vista comfortably.

This computer is equipped with nVidia GeForce 6150 LE video card with 128MB dedicated memory. It also takes 191MB from the sytem RAM. It has one VGA port, no DVI. It has no problem driving a 22-inch flat panel at 1680×1050 resolution. It has one PCI slot available, so theoretically a PCI graphic card can be added. Unfortunately it will only accommodate cards with shorter bracket. At this point there is no option to adjust the amount of system RAM shared by the graphic card. There is no such option in the BIOS or in nVidia control panel.
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