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4951

General Software Discussion / Re: Ripoff Britain strikes again ... this time with Vista Pricing

« Last post by Carol Haynes on February 02, 2007, 05:47 AM »

I can't find OEM versions of Vista, and I think I heard something about Microsoft not wanting to allow this anyway (can't find any references though, so I might be wrong). Anyway, Vista price at www.shg.dk: Windows Vista Ultimate, 32/64 Bit, Retail: DKK3.899/GBP345.87. That's pretty insane.

-f0dder (February 02, 2007, 04:10 AM)

OEM versions are out there. www.overclockers.co.uk stock them.

4952

General Software Discussion / Re: Ripoff Britain strikes again ... this time with Vista Pricing

« Last post by Carol Haynes on February 02, 2007, 05:45 AM »

does that mean we could get a friend in canada to buy it and then ship it over without having to pay extra duty when it got here?

like Carol, i'm not going to use Vista, i'm just curious as to what would happen - you could even buy it in canada and flog it on and make a profit in the UK. it can't be that simple, i'm sure.

-nudone (February 02, 2007, 01:37 AM)

In theory you can do that and if your friend is willing to declare the package as a cheap DVD or a gift you may get away with it. If it is all decalared properly the only charges you will incur will be VAT at standard rate plus a fixed fee from the Post Office for doing the paperwork (IIRC ~£5). There is no duty on software.

The full cost of a copy from Canada would therefore be about £260 after VAT is paid.

The only other issue to consider is that MS do not allow sellers in one trading block to export their products - which is why you can't buy the software on amazon.ca or .com and so technically you would be breaking their terms of trade. I am not sure if installation codes are serialised by country so that MS can check. The DVDs in the EU may be different to the CDs in the US as the EU has restricted some of the bundled software as a result of the antitrust hearings - whether that means the discs are different or you get a different install if you say you are in an EU country I don't know.

Personally I have no qualms about purchasing software from MS, Corel and Adobe from Canada because as far as I am concerned the restriction to individual markets around the world is effectively a restriction of trade and price fixing which I think is illegal. It is certainly illegal to have trading restrictions within the EU so you can save a bit of money by buying it from a Euro economy - so long as you can find a language version you can live with. I presume there are English versions available in France and Germany as well as the national language but you may find they are a different version and restricted to the update cycles of those countries (which tend to be much slower than the English/US versions available in most English speaking countries).

See http://customs.hmrc....tID=HMCE_PROD_009989 (it is a pdf file) which details the charges applied on imports for common items.

4953

General Software Discussion / Ripoff Britain strikes again ... this time with Vista Pricing

« Last post by Carol Haynes on February 01, 2007, 07:05 PM »

I am not upgrading to Vista but I was curious to compare prices on both sides of the pond ... list prices according to Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com are:

US: Vista Ultimate Ed ... $379.99

UK: Vista Ultimate Ed ... £369.99

At today's exchange rate that means that UK Vista costs $728 US .... so it is probably just about cheaper to hop on Virgin Atlantic and buy it in New York !

If I hop over to Germany the list price is 519.99 Eur (which is £314 UK / $677 US but I would have to learn German).

In Canada it is $499 CAN (equivalent to $423 US or £215 UK)

Apparently in Australia it is $751 AUD (equivalent to $580 US / £295 UK)

How do list prices (not the actual prices you pay) compare in other countries ?

Can anyone beat the UK price ?

4954

General Software Discussion / Re: If you have to use Vista buy the upgrade version ... a true WindowsSecret

« Last post by Carol Haynes on February 01, 2007, 01:35 PM »

Ha ha ... not a chance - I just thought others may find it useful.

4955

General Software Discussion / If you have to use Vista buy the upgrade version ... a true WindowsSecret

« Last post by Carol Haynes on February 01, 2007, 10:49 AM »

Apparently there is a workaround to install the upgrade versions of Vista to a clean hard disc without installing XP or 2000 first - and it works whether you have a previous version of windows or not.

It goes like this ...

1) Boot from the Vista DVD and install it to a fresh partition. However do not enter the serial number and uncheck activate online during the installation. You have to answer various prompts about installing without a serial code but that's OK just push on.

2) When Vista is installed at the desktop run the setup again (eject and reinsert the disc) and use the upgrade option. This runs the installer again - this time enter the serial code etc.

Presto Vista upgrade installed without reference to any previous versions in the form of installed windows or proof media.

This came from the Windows Secrets newsletter which has the whole process in more detail and some discussion about the ethics. Basically the argument goes that you are not using the installer to do anything it wasn't designed for and MS must know this method is available to all users and would be widely publicised.

4956

General Software Discussion / Re: MOVAVI,avoid this company like the plague

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 31, 2007, 06:31 AM »

Sorry ... I brought up the VISTA part of the thread unintentionally - I was actually using a VISTA upgrade as an example of company policy. I am really saying it would be unreasonable to expect MS to cough up an upgrade for free when the release of the new version was known about.

Sorry if it sounded like an MS rant - that wasn't my intention. It really followed on from my earlier comment about upgrades in general from any company. If a company releases a planned new version I think it is reasonable that they announce that in advance so that potential purchasers have the choice of buy now or wait for the latest version to be released. I don't think it should really be expected of companies (esp. small ones) to provide free upgrades to major releases unless they choose to offer that as a generous incentive (such as Adobe do).

4957

General Software Discussion / Re: MOVAVI,avoid this company like the plague

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 31, 2007, 05:25 AM »

OK you place an order for cheaper XP on Monday at 23.59 - do you expect MS to cough up Vista at 00:00 Tuesday ?

4958

Living Room / Re: cost of running a pc (in the UK)?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 31, 2007, 05:24 AM »

How can you tell?

It really depends on the electricity company you use as much as anything else as there is probably 30% variation in charges and it no longer depends on region.

Plus you have the cost of other parts of "usage" to take into account if you want to be accurate - lighting/heating where the computer is may be an essential cost for some (it is for me as the computer is in a room without windows - and it is a room I wouldn't sit in without the computer so heating is effectively part of the computer running cost), the cost of printers and standby on other peripherals, the cost of a UPS if you use one (which requires regular servicing .... note to self on this!), the cost of consumables (such as printer ink and blank disks) for essential use beacuse you 'own a computer'. Software updates and upgrades? What about devaluation and wear and tear? Specialist furniture (replacement/wear and tear on that too) ...

The list is potentially endless and varies from user to user and could all justifiably be considered as running costs on a system.

4959

Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: Mini-Review: Altiris SVS

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 31, 2007, 05:12 AM »

Absolutely - as soon Symantec announce and acquisition you can hear a bell tolling in the distance ... the funeral for Altiris software is on the way I'd guess.

4960

General Software Discussion / Re: MOVAVI,avoid this company like the plague

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 31, 2007, 05:11 AM »

at least have a warning on the website that a new version is coming soon so that people can hold off until the new version appears.

i think this is key.  IF they do this - warn you that a new version is imminent and tell you that you are not going to be upgraded if you buy now, then all's fair.

-mouser (January 30, 2007, 05:14 PM)

Quite and that is what the big players do ... eg. once Adobe announce a new release they guarantee a free upgrade to the new version if you 'buy now'. Having said that there are still loads of copies of Windows XP knocking around - hands up all those who think uncle Bill will supply you with a free copy of VISTA if you buy XP now ?

4961

General Software Discussion / Re: MOVAVI,avoid this company like the plague

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 30, 2007, 12:27 PM »

Even major companies like MS, Apple, Adobe don't offer free upgrades from version to version - there may be a period of grace (like a free upgrade if you purchase after an imminent release is announced which is what Adobe do - typically 3 months). Most of these companies don't offer major updates to functionality between versions just bugfixes and security patches.

I think it is reasonable to offer a free upgrade (or difference in price if the price changes) when you purchase something less than a month from a new release or else at least have a warning on the website that a new version is coming soon so that people can hold off until the new version appears.

Having said that I don't think there is anything inherently immoral about releasing a new charged for upgrade. What have they really done wrong? You still have the software you purchased - it still works and does the job you bought it for. There is no obligation to purchase the later version. What I would say is that if they release a paid upgrade they have a responsibility to support the previous version with bug and security fixes for a reasonable length of time.

4962

General Software Discussion / Re: WIndows Vista Ultimate ... worth upgrading ... CNET say no!

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 30, 2007, 11:57 AM »

Another couple of interesting articles from PC Magazine:
    

Vista's Nine Most Annoying Features

This OS is good, but it's not perfect. Here's some stuff I wish Microsoft had done differently.

By Lance Ulanoff
Windows Vista

Microsoft Windows Vista is gonna be with us for a long time. It's a fine operating system, so that's good news. Still, riding shotgun with all of Vista's charms are its many little annoyances. Here are nine that stick in my craw.
http://www.pcmag.com...,1895,2088329,00.asp

and

The Vista Era Begins

It's got a few new features, but is it actually more functional than what we've had before? Such is the plight of the modern-day OS.   

By John C. Dvorak

http://www.pcmag.com...,1895,2088472,00.asp

4963

General Software Discussion / Re: WIndows Vista Ultimate ... worth upgrading ... CNET say no!

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 30, 2007, 03:22 AM »

LOL - this one beggars belief ... apparently you cannot do a clean install with the VISTA upgrade discs like you could with the XP discs ...

see  http://blogs.techrep...ic.com.com/Ou/?p=414

Effectively if you have a problem (eg. hard disc crash, virus infection) which means that you have to start with a freshly formatted hard disc then you will need to fully install Windows XP or Windows 2000 befaore installing VISTA from an upgrade disc! As if it didn't all take long enough anyway!

4964

General Software Discussion / Re: WIndows Vista Ultimate ... worth upgrading ... CNET say no!

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 29, 2007, 04:57 PM »

Interesting article at ZDNET with some GOTCHAS for people who are daft enough to try and upgrade ... some really good ones here - like if you used Windows XP Backup then VISTA can't read the backup files!

See http://blogs.zdnet.c...=221&tag=nl.e550 for the complete list.

4965

Living Room / Re: moving operating system from one partition to another?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 29, 2007, 12:34 PM »

I hesitate to suggest it but I think Partition Magic comes with a built in utility to change all paths when you relabel a drive.

Having said that using a utility to replace L:\ to C:\ globally in your registry SHOULD do the trick - just make sure you have solid backups first. You do have the problem however that your system is likely to get royally screwed during the process ... one way round this is to restore the whole partition to C:\ before you do the search and replace - that way the paths all remain vaild because both partitions have all files present - then do the search and replace on drive L: and finally do another backup of L: and restore it to C: which should then boot properly.

Another suitable utility (and it is useful for other things) is Resplendent Registry Manager.

4966

General Software Discussion / Re: Stickies 6.0a released

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 29, 2007, 09:12 AM »

Do not buy before you have tried The Reference:
NoteZilla - it can do so much more!

- unfortunately NoteZilla is $30  - but worth it 

XP & Vista only.

-Curt (January 29, 2007, 08:54 AM)

Difficult to buy Stickies as it is totally free - and just gets better and better!!!

I haven't tried NoteZilla but it would have to do a heck of a lot more to justify $30 more than Stickies.

4967

Living Room / Re: Hard Drive File System Questions

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 28, 2007, 06:15 AM »

When you start PTD it scans the drive to see if the Partition table is consistent. You can force it to do this using the Partitions > Check Properties.

If it reports the partition properties with no problems showing the fault must lie somewhere else. The trouble is programs like Partition Magic tend to use Windows utilities to do the formatting and verifying so if you can't sort it out via Windows Explorer you are likely to find PM won't be able to either.

Since you want FAT32 partitions you could always use a Windows 98/ME startup disc or CDROM to check properties with FDISK (take care though) and format these partitions from MSDOS (though you will need to be careful to work out the correct drive letters as they won't be the same as in Windows). If you format this way you may find when you start windows it says it has found new hardware (the partition id changes when you format) and need to reboot. You may find the drive letters change to but you can change those back to what you want easily enough using the Disk Manager in the system management tools.

The other option you could try is to use Windows Management tools (right click on My Computer in the Start menu and choose Manage) to delete the offending partitions and then recreate them using that tool rather than PM. If Windows can't create FAT partitions something in your file management system is seriously screwed up. In which case you may want to revert your system disc to a backup where disc management works properly.

4968

Living Room / Re: Hard Drive File System Questions

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 27, 2007, 06:57 PM »

What happens if you go to My Computer, right click on the offending drives and choose Format ...?

Do you get the option to format FAT32 then?

There is no reason I know of why you can't have as many logical FAT32 partitions as you like.

Out of curiosity is there a reason why you are hanging on to Windows 98 on your other box? You can find cheap remaindered copies of Windows 2000 (and probably cheap WinXP OEM soon) if you look around and then you can use NTFS across both systems. (I don't mean second hand copies by the way).

I don't know where you are based but here is a UK site with pretty reasonable OEM WinXP offerings ... http://www.overclock...upid=33&catid=20 (and even Vista OEM offerings at knock down prices).


A useful tool that has saved my life a number of times is Partition Table Doctor (http://www.ptdd.com/). You can download a free trial which will check your drive for consistency. If it finds errors and you want it to fix them you will need to buy it. I haven't needed it often but a number of times utilities like Partition Magic have left my drives screwed up and PTD has fixed the errors. One of the good things is that you can backup your partition table details when you know you have a good setup and then restore those settings if something should get broken in future. The purchased version comes in two versions - a windows app and an ISO file to burn to CDROM which is bootable and allows you to fix partitions without having to get into Windows.

4969

General Software Discussion / Re: 1.3 GB deleted, but not deleted, so where are they?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 27, 2007, 03:00 PM »

The size of file allowed in the recylce bin depends on how big your bin is (I think) under NTFS. If a file is too big you get a warning message asking if you want to delete the file permanently.

The problem to me sounds like parts of the drive are marked as in use but are not actually referenced in the file allocation table. This happens a lot in NTFS and the only way I know of to get rid of them is by running a utility such as Perfect Disc in offline mode on the drive. PD can remove excess fragments from the file allocation table and thus free up the full available space.

4970

Living Room / Re: is it me or is it the machine (i'm sorry for even posting this).

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 27, 2007, 03:24 AM »

You don't have to be quite so drastic in Windows XP you can use the recovery envirnment and run FIXBOOT to replace the MBR without having to reformat and rebuild.

See http://www.microsoft...ixboot.mspx?mfr=true

4971

General Software Discussion / Re: WIndows Vista Ultimate ... worth upgrading ... CNET say no!

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 26, 2007, 10:06 AM »

It sure is hard to be number one... If Vista had been named XP SP 3, you would all commemorate Microsoft, wouldn't you 

-Curt (January 26, 2007, 10:02 AM)

I somehow doubt it if installing SP3 involves the extra hardware required to run Vista fully without even consider any applications!

MS have also cynically postponed XP SP3 to 2008 (after Vista SP1 is due) to try and convince people to upgrade ...

4972

General Software Discussion / Re: WIndows Vista Ultimate ... worth upgrading ... CNET say no!

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 26, 2007, 10:04 AM »

Let's look at Carol's top 10 list....

-f0dder (January 26, 2007, 09:56 AM)

Weren't mine - I quoted them from Ruffnekk's post.

4973

General Software Discussion / Re: WIndows Vista Ultimate ... worth upgrading ... CNET say no!

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 26, 2007, 09:17 AM »

Yesterday I heard news about Dutch authorities filing a complaint against Apple because of the iPod and the iTunes music. They say it is unfair for someone to buy music from Apple online and not being able to play it on any other music player than an iPod. They demand that music downloaded from the Apple site is playable on every MP3 music player. They also demand Apple to correct this for every song they ever sold if the customer wants it so.

-Ruffnekk (January 26, 2007, 07:53 AM)

There have been Europe wide legal challenges on market issues such as monopoly and unfair trade against Apple - and growing calls in the US. Personally I think as a matter of principle Apple will withdraw the iTunes shop from Europe before they comply with such issues. The only effective way to do what the Dutch are suggesting is if they use MS's WMA DRM in tandem with their own DRM formats (there is no way they will swap to WMA fully and the music companies won't allow MP3 distribution).

Given that you can't download iTunes tracks more than once when you buy them in Apple's format I can't see Apply allowing users access to a different format retrospectively even if they could be persuaded to make other formats available.

The other issue is that Apple don't want to allow other companies access to the Apple DRM so that they can supply iPod compatible  music. Apple say it is for security reasons but it is really down to simple economics - they have 80% of the MP3 player market and that 80% are currently tied to the iTunes store if they want to buy legitimate music (except for a few MP3 stores such as emusic). If Apple won't licence the use of their DRM will MS license them to use the MS DRM system ?

4974

General Software Discussion / Re: WIndows Vista Ultimate ... worth upgrading ... CNET say no!

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 26, 2007, 06:49 AM »

I didn't mean MacOS is style beyond substance - it is the hardware that annoys me. They spend huge amounts of money designing stuff for people with more money than sense just because it looks pretty but it is distinctly lacking in functionality. The iPod is a cases in point where you can't even change the battery without paying Apple £60/$100 to 'service' the item. What the 'yuppies' who buy this stuff don't realise is that the stuff inside the box is the same as stuff in other machines by other manufacturers but Apple charge twice as much for the box they ship it in and deliberately restrict interoperability to force them to use Apple's overpriced services (such as iTunes - even though the iPod hardware is third party and supports WMA but it has been disabled).

4975

General Software Discussion / Re: WIndows Vista Ultimate ... worth upgrading ... CNET say no!

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 26, 2007, 05:52 AM »

I'm very sorry to say i think the next generation's OS might very well be made by apple.

-jgpaiva (January 26, 2007, 05:46 AM)

The trouble is that if Steve Jobs had any real sense of vision he would have spotted this long ago. There is now no real barrier to porting MacOS to PC hardware (since the new Macs basically use PC hardware these days anyway). If MacOS was ported and sold as a viable alternative to Windows on existing hardware it would benefit everyone - not least Apple who would expand their OS market share exponentially.

While Jobs and co. are committed to style beyond substance and the perennial aim to sell basic hardware at ridiculously inflated prices MS will maintain its dominance.