Well after a long wait and several beta’s, Skype have finally released the final version of Skype 4.0.
It’s very simular to the last beta version of Skype, just a few bug fixes.
Check it out – calls and messages all work OK, so I guess it’s worth the upgrade.
You can grab a download direct from GEEK! as it’s on our Program and Website Resources page, so grab a direct download here.
Enjoy!
Microsoft has repeatedly said, and reminded us Windows 7 users today, that there will be no Windows 7 Beta 2.
The next release that is due from the Windows 7 team is the Windows 7 Release Candidate (1?). No dates have been confirmed as to when the Release Candidate will be avaialble, and on that note when the final release will ship. But people are still passing round rumours that Microsoft want to release Windows 7 by Christmas – I’ve still got my doubts.
As soon as there is news on the next release of Windows 7, I will let you know. But for the moment, Microsoft says they are evaluating feedback and “making progress”.
Well, Internet Explorer 8 RC1 has arrived, and I decided I ought to download it for a review here on GEEK!
And, honestly… as usual, I’m not overly impressed. It’s install isn’t too bad, weren’t any problems and after about 20 minutes of installing the setup requested a reboot. So, after a swift reboot and Vista’s ‘Completing Setup’ procedure, I fired it up. The first thing I noticed, which really annoyed me, was that it had gone and set itself as the default browser without even mentioning it or checking it with me.
So, after that, it confirmed a few settings with me, and then opened up the homepage. So, knowing me, the first thing I did was go to www.geekonthepc.com and got open a new post (I’m writing this post now in IE), and annoyingly I already see the problem that it hasn’t rendered the page properly. Why?! Why does Google and Mozilla get it right by Microsoft just can’t seem to understand how a browser is supposed to render a page.
[Sorry, the images linked to this post cannot be found. Please try later.]
So, if you want my opinon, I don’t like it. Microsoft’s claims that it’s the simpler and better to use than any other browsers are just utter rubbish. What are they doing? So, for me, I’ll be sticking with Firefox and Chrome, and you should too.
The deadline for the Windows 7 Beta download has been confirmed. You have until February 10th to get your hands on a copy, if you haven’t already.
Users who have started but not finished the download will have until February 12th to finish it. And if you are an MSDN or Technet subscriber, you’ll be able to get the Windows 7 Beta download after the deadline.
However, Microsoft has said that product keys for Windows 7 Beta will still be available after the download deadline expires.
No matter what, though, the beta will expire on the 1st of August – even if you are a Technet or MSDN subscriber.
There are even rumours going round that a Windows 7 release may well be available in July – but that is hardly believable since I seem to remember Microsoft saying they would go through a second beta testing stage before a release. I highly doubt we’ll have a release before the fourth quarter of 2009 – at the very earliest.
So there you are – an update on Windows 7 and dates for your calendar.
I have recently been having a problem in Vista, where the three common notification items (battery, network, and volume) don’t show on the notification bar. It’s a pain, and if you try and fix it by right-clicking on the Start bar and clicking Properties, and then clicking the Notification Area tab you just get all of the items greyed out. It’s ridiculous and it never used to happen – it just started happening a couple of weeks ago.
So, when it frustrated me enough to persuade me to Google the issue, I found I’m not the only one with a problem. Apparenly, it’s an issue with the Local Group Policy Editor, and can be fixed either with the Local Group Policy Editor (if you have it enabled) or via the Registry Editor.
If you go to this site, you’ll find some guides that can fix the problem via the Local Group Policy Editor or via the Registry Editor.
However, I still can’t seem to get it working properly. Some of the icons show but I’m usually missing one or two.
Update 24.9.09: I thought rather than linking to another site, I could write a guide on how to fix it myself :P. So, if you’re having the problem, follow these steps to solve it:
1. First, click Start and type in the search box regedit, then press enter.
2. The Registry Editor will open. You now need to use the plus signs next to each category to reach the key below.
Navigate through the following threads:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER, Software, Classes, Local Settings, Software, Microsoft, Windows, CurrentVersion, TrayNotify
3. Delete the following keys by highlighting them and pressing the delete key, confirming by clicking Yes:
IconsStream
PastIconsStream
Now simply log off and log back on and your problem should be solved, or restart the explorer.exe process if you don’t want to log off.
Hopefully, if all that goes smoothly, you should have the icons back (thank god!)