Category Archives: Software

Category containing all information relating to software.

Vista SP2 and Server 2008 Release Candidate goes live!

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Microsoft yesterday lauched the Service Pack 2 Release Candidate for Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista.

32 bit users click here for download, and 64 bit users click here. If you would like an ISO image, click here. 

I’ve downloaded it and tested it, and so far I cannot see many huge differences, both visually and internally. I haven’t found any bugs, other than the fact that I had to reinstall Windows Live Messenger before it would work properly. 

Also, bare in mind that you will have to uninstall the Windows Vista Service Pack 2 Beta if you have it already installed, which is very time consuming. It’s unlikely the whole process is going to take you less than 2 hours, even on a fast computer.

So, if you want my verdict, don’t bother with it right now. There’s not much new to see, and personally I think it would be easier and less frustrating to just wait for the final release which is due in a couple of weeks time. 

By all means download it if you’re desperate to, but if you have Vista SP1 it is relatively pointless.

Windows Live Onecare – fantastic if it was free.

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I’ve been using Windows Live Onecare for a short while now. A friend recommended it to me, so I took the 90 day trial and that has just recently expired.

So what did I think? Well, I love it. It does my backups, antivirus, firewall, and all my other security for me all in one piece of it. It runs smoothly and quietly on my computer, doesn’t use much resources, and in general is very accurate on what is good and what is bad.

There’s one catch – it’s not free. It will cost you around £30-40 for a one-year license which will cover up to 3 computers in your home. That includes all updates and once you’ve paid up you can leave it alone. Now most people would say, “well thirty quid aint bad for a piece of kit that’ll cover my computers for a year” and I’d agree, but there is software out there that will do the same for free.

However, Microsoft (who owns and runs Onecare) did announce late last year that they were going to discontinue Onecare and replace it with a newer, better, free piece of kit that will do the same job. This I’m looking forward to. I’d love to use Onecare, but I just don’t feel the money is worth it when there’s software out there will do the same job for free. So if Microsoft can launch a good free piece of kit, I will definately be happy to use it.

But for now, I’m going to revert to good old Comodo Internet Security. I love Comodo software. It’s free, easy to use, and a “set and forget” firewall. It does my firewall, antivirus and anything else security related – like Onecare, but free. Updates are free, it doesn’t spam me with ads and adware, and I can just leave it to do its job. Perfect.

Microsoft says Vista SP2 RC is coming in the next week

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According to Techtree, Microsoft has said that the release candidate of Service Pack 2 for Windows Vista will be available sometime next week. No official date was disclosed.

Also on the above site, it was mentioned that the file sizes will be 302MB for the 32-bit standalone installer and will come with 5 languages. However, the 64-bit version will be a more alarming 508MB so anyone with low bandwidth available on their broadband packages ought to really decide if it will be better to just wait for the final release, which is still due in the second-quarter of 2009.

As usual, as soon as the RC is released there will be news here on GEEK!, and it will be reviewed here shortly after, so stay tuned.

Can you run a normal website using WordPress?

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Since, over the last few months, I have become a massive fan of the well-known blogging platform WordPress, it begs the question could you run a normal website using WordPress?

Well, I am quite confident in saying yes. I am now designing and setting up websites for a small range of people, and with all of them I’ve set them up using WordPress.

WordPress was originally designed as a platform for blogging. It is used by millions at wordpress.com, and you can also run it on your own site by installing the package at wordpress.org.

I love using WordPress with GEEK!. I have used it even since it was launched back in September 2008. It’s a great platform that not only blogs well, but has really neat features and great expansion capabilities.

And I believe that WordPress can be used for websites and not just blogs. Frankly, it beats many web design software packages available, both free and paid. The community that has accumulated with WordPress is also unbelievable. People are now producing fantastic plugins and themes that can be used for free on any site. Even the theme that I use on GEEK! is used with thanks to the people at jide.fr who produced the fantastic ‘Freshy 2’ theme.

So, if you are thinking of building a website any time soon, take a look at WordPress. It is quite obviously designed for blogs, but if you’ve got the time to play around with it a bit, you can get a perfectly good website going in a few hours. In my opinion, it’s better than any freeware or commercial product around.

Windows Vista Service Pack 2 Release Candidate now available to Technet and MSDN

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Today Microsoft announced the release of the Release Candidate for Windows Vista Service Pack 2 to MSDN and Technet customers. They have also said that a public release of the RC will available in the “very near future”. Today also brought a RC of Windows Server 2008 to Technet and MSDN.

According the Windows Team Blog, Microsoft are planning to launch Service Pack 2 in the second quarter of 2009, which is good news.

So I guess we will just have to wait and see over the next few days for a public release of the RC for both Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008.

Ofcourse, you will be informed on GEEK! as soon as it’s released publicly.