Database Develop

Microsoft I thank you!

I've just installed Microsoft Vista and find it a very nice operating system.
For my phone I had to install the Vista version of ActiveSync, I paired up my phone with that prorgam and it worked flawlessly.
But what FU#[email protected]% idiot has made an option to overwrite the phone data with that of outlook WITHOUT asking a deletion approval.
When installing software on my Vista machine askes me several time if I'm sure.... But that louwsy program just deletes everything without even asking.
Fortunately, I was just a merely 250 contacts that I've completely lost since my backup was lost due to the Vista installation.....
Normally the contacts would be in the deleted messages box, but since I've turned of that option I completely lost everything...
BASTARDS !!!!!!
(Sorry for that.)
I'm going outside now and break something....
Hope that'll release my frustration..
****ING BASTARDS AT MICROSOFT
IDIOTS
HOPE THEY ALL GO TO HELL FOR THIS
(Sorry again).

hahaha
It happened to me several times cuz I always reflash my PDA and format my laptop.. I decided to save them in Microsoft's servers and add them to Messenger live contacts

When you pair your devices the MOBILE DEVICE CENTER is asking you how you want your data synchronized: replacing on mobile device, replacing on pc or combining! I guess you haven't paid attention! Even after you paired your devices you can change this options in the settings.

yikes, im sorry about that. Also happened to me not too long ago except on XP when I deleted the contacts on my phone. I resynced hoping that phone contacts would be restored, but instead stupid activesync deleted all the contacts off outlook even though AS was set to "replace items on device"!
Thankfully, all my contacts were moved to the "Deleted Items" folder, and I could restore them! (hit ctrl-6 when in outlook) I hope this helps.
Ross

Microsoft needs to make Vista Windows compatible.

After this happened to me twice I started to backup my contacts regularly with PIM Backup...

KarhU said:
After this happened to me twice I started to backup my contacts regularly with PIM Backup...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
damn straight! best program i've ever used. by backing up to a memory card once/twice daily you cant really go 'wrong' as such!
now, if only it was a 'requirement' for all cooked roms!
sorry to hear about your loss. lol. i very nearly lost my ENTIRE MSN messenger contact list (comprising of some 400+ contacts) but luckily i had 'tried' WLM on my smartphone before hand and it had synced them to that!
WLM is weird in the only sense that it will delete from both your phone and from your messenger list!

go back to XP Pro.
Vista is crap.

zcink said:
Microsoft needs to make Vista Windows compatible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

MistaRip said:
go back to XP Pro.
Vista is crap.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Service Pack 1 set for early next year. Looks like it'll fix a lot of stuff.

mcorrie1121 said:
Service Pack 1 set for early next year. Looks like it'll fix a lot of stuff.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Typically one should never upgrade a Micky$ OS until SP1 is released, XP and W2k are both great examples. My biggest complaints are USB and network speed when copying data... just today went back to XP on my Thinkpad... just SO much easier when dealing with PDA's... (more importantly, my version of Ghost Server won't live under Vista... that's a deal closer for me... and screw Virtual PC and such, no time or desire)

Here is My 2 cents worth:
Windows 95 was a huge improvement over Windows 3.1. --- Excellent Job!!!!
Windows 98 was just a suckier version of Windows 95.
Windows Millenium Edition ME totally sucked. I fell for it. They got my $100.00 ----- ripped me off.
However Windows XP really hummed. --- Excellent Job!!!!
Windows Vista is just a suckier version of Windows XP.
Windows Vista = ME2 Only this time they're Not getting my $100.00
Thats just my Opinion.
Stick with XP Pro...............................(I can hear Mac users saying "get a Mac")

Mac is not a solution - it limits just about anything you want to do with the computer. IMHO Win XP offers much more in terms of available software and hardware compatibility (even over Vista).

I agree Mac is Not an answer. I got a supervisor at work always telling me how much better a Mac is. I never agree with him.
My Laptop has a door on the side where you can slide out the HDD. I have 3 Hard Drives.
1 has Linux -- can't begin to figure that one out.
2 has XP -- its my Old Faithful. Tried and True. The one I use.
3 has Vista Ultimate -- slmgr -rearm every 30 days. Testing it. It really does suck.

PIM Backup is the best!

Sorry to hear. I use intellisync to sync my data. I sync some stuff from lotus notes and some stuff from outlook. But the main reason i use intellisync is because before it does anything it prompts you with a dialog and tells you what it is about to do. Then I can go ahead or cancel or re sync everything.
I've tried other products and they didn't prompt and I've spent hours cleaning up duplicate entry's after the first sync.
Right now I'm having a few probs with intellisync though and am working with their support to figure it out. But its still one of the best sync programs I know of.

crispy78 said:
I've just installed Microsoft Vista and find it a very nice operating system.
For my phone I had to install the Vista version of ActiveSync, I paired up my phone with that prorgam and it worked flawlessly.
But what FU#[email protected]% idiot has made an option to overwrite the phone data with that of outlook WITHOUT asking a deletion approval.
When installing software on my Vista machine askes me several time if I'm sure.... But that louwsy program just deletes everything without even asking.
Fortunately, I was just a merely 250 contacts that I've completely lost since my backup was lost due to the Vista installation.....
Normally the contacts would be in the deleted messages box, but since I've turned of that option I completely lost everything...
BASTARDS !!!!!!
(Sorry for that.)
I'm going outside now and break something....
Hope that'll release my frustration..
****ING BASTARDS AT MICROSOFT
IDIOTS
HOPE THEY ALL GO TO HELL FOR THIS
(Sorry again).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just had the EXACT same thing happen to me. Its a good thing I had a "not too old" backup saved to the Airset Website. Otherwise I would have been TOTALLY screwed.

yep i know how you feel, had the same thing happen on my Magician and on the Hermes and more times than i can remember on the Nokia suite previous to that (believe it or not its worse than Activesync).
as for Vista im running it on the home laptop (it came with it) it is quite a shiny OS and considering the amount of surveys and control groups microsoft apparently did to perfect it (or finish it) its surprising there wasnt one Pocket PC user that said "hey you know that over write function in activesync..." unless there was and they didnt listen.

It wasn't Vista that caused the problem...
Personally I like Vista, the only thing I find crap is that you have to approve every program to run. It's great for security, but really crap If you play WOW, everytime the answer is yes, Vista won't remember it.
And someone mentioned that there is a choice how to sync.
That's correct, but when you pair your device it's kinda hidden in extra options I believe, I've found the button now. Still lost my contacts.
I find it really absurd that there isn't any message or approval question on the device. I think it would be nicer to let the program ask what data to keep what data to lose, if I setup syncing with data from the computer It will overwrite telephonenumber I've changed in the phone.
But I think I have got my contact almost complete again. It's a shame that I lost the phonenumbers that I pickup with te red button (ignore) or wiggle the scrollwheel up and down (silence).

windows 7 and winmo

how do i access the windows folder in winmo through windows 7? it just keeps takeing me to Computer\Fuze\\ but i need access to fuze\windows\start menu folder. in xp it was easy to mod but dumb windows 7 wont let me get there and google isnt much help either lol

use total commander on win7 and use the winCE plugin then it works fine
some people report that it works if one set windows to show hidden files some people say it don't help

"some people report that it works if one set windows to show hidden files some people say it don't help"
that might work for some phones but it dosent with the ralph (maybe some custom roms)
anyway ty ill try that its just dumb to block it because i like a custom task bar lol that and im useing UTB android and i dont want to go to the file manager all the time to activate it

I can access my Windows Folder from Windows 7 if I have Windows Mobile Device Center installed.

Rudegar said:
use total commander on win7 and use the winCE plugin then it works fine
some people report that it works if one set windows to show hidden files some people say it don't help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It works without total commander!
You just need to turn off in folder options "Hide protected operating system files"!!!
And that's it, the only thing is that after that, in my case, to open windows folder takes about a minute.... but it works!

Help me config Myn's Donut to work better than WM + SPB

I'm using NFSFAN WM6.5 and SPB Mobile Shell 3.5. I've been playing with myn's donut, and I can't get some things setup that way I'd like. Appreciate any help with configurations and/or widgets and apps so I can move on to Android! Here's what I need:
Gmail - Using the WM app. I can switch between accounts. The widgets/apps I've seen just allow me to setup one account.
Opera browser - I want this to launch if I click a link anywhere (email msg, RSS reader, etc.)
Missed call, voice mail, text msg notifications on the home screen - I have a nice SPB setup using invisible widgets. Icons appear when there is something to check. I'd love something similar, although home screen widgets that show this would work. I don't like the top pull-down to see notifcations.
Ringtone - I want a normal cell phone ring. The built in one rings once and stops. The marketplace stuff I've seen is silly songs. Where can I get some normal tones?
Volume profile - SPB gives me a home screen widget that I press, get a menu, and I can select what I want. The widget changes to show the state it is in.
Backlight profile - I found a widget where each time I click it changes the level. OK but too many clicks. One click on the SPB widget gives me a menu with 5 options and I click one
Data off - Need an app/widget to make 100% sure data is off since I often go close to the US border and don't want the accidental roaming fees
Best RSS reader - I found one a while back that seemed good and automatically sync'd with Google Reader. I can't find it now. Open to suggestions here
Calendar - In SPB I display a nice transparent calendar showing next 3 events. Some in the marketplace are ok, but not quite the same. Ideas?
Streaming audio - I stream some Shoutcast by saving .pls files files on the device and opening them with TCPMP. I haven't really played with this in Android, so looking for ideas here.
Resolution - Myn's stock res is too small for me. I tried his 110 (not big enough) and 160 (too big) updates. How do I set something in between?
Looking forward to your suggestions so I can make the move! Thanks everyone.

4thought said:
I'm using NFSFAN WM6.5 and SPB Mobile Shell 3.5. I've been playing with myn's donut, and I can't get some things setup that way I'd like. Appreciate any help with configurations and/or widgets and apps so I can move on to Android! Here's what I need:
Gmail - Using the WM app. I can switch between accounts. The widgets/apps I've seen just allow me to setup one account.
Opera browser - I want this to launch if I click a link anywhere (email msg, RSS reader, etc.)
Missed call, voice mail, text msg notifications on the home screen - I have a nice SPB setup using invisible widgets. Icons appear when there is something to check. I'd love something similar, although home screen widgets that show this would work. I don't like the top pull-down to see notifcations.
Ringtone - I want a normal cell phone ring. The built in one rings once and stops. The marketplace stuff I've seen is silly songs. Where can I get some normal tones?
Volume profile - SPB gives me a home screen widget that I press, get a menu, and I can select what I want. The widget changes to show the state it is in.
Backlight profile - I found a widget where each time I click it changes the level. OK but too many clicks. One click on the SPB widget gives me a menu with 5 options and I click one
Data off - Need an app/widget to make 100% sure data is off since I often go close to the US border and don't want the accidental roaming fees
Best RSS reader - I found one a while back that seemed good and automatically sync'd with Google Reader. I can't find it now. Open to suggestions here
Calendar - In SPB I display a nice transparent calendar showing next 3 events. Some in the marketplace are ok, but not quite the same. Ideas?
Streaming audio - I stream some Shoutcast by saving .pls files files on the device and opening them with TCPMP. I haven't really played with this in Android, so looking for ideas here.
Resolution - Myn's stock res is too small for me. I tried his 110 (not big enough) and 160 (too big) updates. How do I set something in between?
Looking forward to your suggestions so I can make the move! Thanks everyone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Gmail - Set up your default Gmail account then set up more under the email app
Opera browser - Far as i know you can't change your default browser yet.
Missed call, voice mail, text msg notifications on the home screen - Check out AHome or OpenHome, sure they have something
Ringtone - I'm sure there's some on the internet somewhere
Volume profile - Try Toggle Settings
Backlight profile - Try Toggle Settings
Data off - If you open up the modem program and click disconnect, it turns off data till you reboot
Best RSS reader - BlueRSS is a good one, Doggcatcher is the best but costs
Calendar - Stock Cal works for me, but check out Smooth Calendar
Streaming audio - I use Streamfurious, you can import .pls into it
Resolution - I use MYN RL4 with 320x480, works great for me, but some people really like 320x428, but search the forums to change pixel density

mrono said:
Gmail - Set up your default Gmail account then set up more under the email app
Opera browser - Far as i know you can't change your default browser yet.
Missed call, voice mail, text msg notifications on the home screen - Check out AHome or OpenHome, sure they have something
Ringtone - I'm sure there's some on the internet somewhere
Volume profile - Try Toggle Settings
Backlight profile - Try Toggle Settings
Data off - If you open up the modem program and click disconnect, it turns off data till you reboot
Best RSS reader - BlueRSS is a good one, Doggcatcher is the best but costs
Calendar - Stock Cal works for me, but check out Smooth Calendar
Streaming audio - I use Streamfurious, you can import .pls into it
Resolution - I use MYN RL4 with 320x480, works great for me, but some people really like 320x428, but search the forums to change pixel density
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you can change the default browser, dolphin browser is the only one i know of that you can

for Streaming audio I love DroidLive. I tried Streamfurius but it didn't work well for me on the site I like to stream - www.di.fm I use AAC+ 64k and it sounds GREAT and never buffers.

for ringtones i use myxer.com it lets you upload, edit, and sell ringtones but most of the ringtones are free

sak211l said:
for ringtones i use myxer.com it lets you upload, edit, and sell ringtones but most of the ringtones are free
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I prefer Zedge. It's a free app in the market. Or if you want to make your own rings off of mp3's on your sd card, try ringdroid (also free)

Thanks guys. I've got a setup that works pretty good now. I'm just trying to figure out how to connect it to my Win7 PC to transfer files. Time to search....

4thought said:
Thanks guys. I've got a setup that works pretty good now. I'm just trying to figure out how to connect it to my Win7 PC to transfer files. Time to search....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
are you running off of nand> if so then download the attatched file and install it onto your phone. then go into the app and enable it. then plug in your phone and win7 should install drivers. if your running off of sdcard then you need to find and download an app called ''dual mount sd widget'' and then add the widget to your home screen and click on it. then plug it in and let it install the drivers and your good to go. hope this helps good luck!!!

Thanks man. I'm using my SD card for now until I'm sure I want to switch. I'll give this a shot. Now to figure out how to install an app outside the market!

cp0020 said:
are you running off of nand> if so then download the attatched file and install it onto your phone. then go into the app and enable it. then plug in your phone and win7 should install drivers. if your running off of sdcard then you need to find and download an app called ''dual mount sd widget'' and then add the widget to your home screen and click on it. then plug it in and let it install the drivers and your good to go. hope this helps good luck!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
is this the only way to install the drivers?

inertone said:
is this the only way to install the drivers?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
for win7 i just plugged the phone in and it just installed drivers. what do you mean the only way?

cp0020 said:
for win7 i just plugged the phone in and it just installed drivers. what do you mean the only way?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i mean can i go download the drivers somewhere?
cus im running vista and when i connect my phone no drivers are installed

inertone said:
i mean can i go download the drivers somewhere?
cus im running vista and when i connect my phone no drivers are installed
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
im not sure. with the phone plugged in can you look for something called device manager then navigate to android phone then click on it then click find drivers online? that is what i did to install my wlan 2.0 adapter

inertone said:
i mean can i go download the drivers somewhere?
cus im running vista and when i connect my phone no drivers are installed
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you need to download android sdk and it will come with the drivers you need for vista. Then go to device manager and update drivers and point to the drivers you downloaded with sdk. or better yet, here you go.
Unzip and place on the root of you C: drive and use device manager to point to the folder

incubus26jc said:
you need to download android sdk and it will come with the drivers you need for vista. Then go to device manager and update drivers and point to the drivers you downloaded with sdk. or better yet, here you go.
Unzip and place on the root of you C: drive and use device manager to point to the folder
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
or do that lol

I don't remember any drivers being installed.
Intertone - Install the apk open the app tick enable sd card auto mounting plug your phone into your pc your phone's notification tab it should say preparing sd card and say something about turning usb storage turning off. It will take about 30 - 60 seconds and you should get a pop up on your screen anking what you would like to do with the removable drive.

Reddog80p said:
I don't remember any drivers being installed.
Intertone - Install the apk open the app tick enable sd card auto mounting plug your phone into your pc your phone's notification tab it should say preparing sd card and say something about turning usb storage turning off. It will take about 30 - 60 seconds and you should get a pop up on your screen anking what you would like to do with the removable drive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
is that all hes trying to do? mass storage. Then no drivers need to be installed. just need dualmount sd widget. But drivers are needed to do things like flash an nbh with windows ect..

Yep. He just wants to be able to transfer files. I;ve used both auto-mount and sd split

Reddog80p said:
Yep. He just wants to be able to transfer files. I;ve used both auto-mount and sd split
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
automount works but not near as good as dualmount

i got it working
i went to the device manager
anbd i uninstalled the adb driver i had
then connected my phone and i allowed to reinstall the drivers
and voila!
it works!

Windows XP vs windows 7

Im really thinking I should finally upgrade.
But due to lazy, I've been holding back on my own PC.
I like windows XP with the zune theme, its pretty.
Do you guys think I should go for windows 7 now?

Windows 7 > XP to be honest. I have no issues with it what so ever and have converted my pc's and laptops to it.
Its a decent OS, by Microsofts standards. Its prettier then xp, too

It's been a while since I've had a PC to call my own, but I loved Windows 7 more than XP. I used the Ultimate RC for a while and anything that didn't work well natively worked fine in the VirtualPC XP image.

Win 7: The best OS MS has ever made

7 it is then

7 ftw
way better than xp

lonelykatana said:
Im really thinking I should finally upgrade.
But due to lazy, I've been holding back on my own PC.
I like windows XP with the zune theme, its pretty.
Do you guys think I should go for windows 7 now?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Switch to linux!

Deodexed said:
Switch to linux!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Already dual booting ubuntu

To be honest, unless you need to upgrade you might as well stick with XP.
It's got the better classic menu system, and the quicklaunch toolbar doesn't need a hack to work.
You can get aero snap and peek for XP now too.
It depends how you use it though. If you're more of a power user then XP is a hell of a lot easier, where as if you're just a home user then W7 is numptified for that target audience.
I use XP, Vista and W7, and to be honest I prefer XP and I hate to say it, Vista.
W7 has some nice features such as aero snap/peek but as I've mentioned they are now available on XP/Vista.
I hate the numpty menu system where it's quicker to type the name of the program rather than click on it (it now takes more clicks to start programs with W7 anyway) and you can't arrange things how you like.
Getting to network properties with W7 is a PITA, not much of an issue for home users, but working in support at users' sites we need to be able to easily change our network settings.
Having to "force shutdown" programs when I want to turn the computer off has gotten old very fast!
The removal of "All Users" from the user profiles folder is also frustrating.
Still, it's got less bloat than vista, so chances are it'll run faster, and in many cases faster than XP.

the major improvement on Windows 7 to Xp IMO is the ability to have the start bar what ever color you like

Max, you could also do that in xp too....
Good old themexp...

lonelykatana said:
Already dual booting ubuntu
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Linux is a dead end on the Desktop.
For gaming it's out, and if you rely on interoperability with Windows users in an office setting it's pretty much out. Use Exchange? It's out. Do Audio or Video editing? It's pretty much out due to the bad/fragmented sound architecture and poor performance of the Open Source graphics drivers (some people may be able to use proprietary drivers).
KDE is still trying to look like Windows Vista. Apparently Unaware that Windows 7 released a year ago. GNOME still looks like a depressed, yet less snazzy, version of OS/2 Workplace Shell.
There are so many issues with Linux on the desktop. If you want a UNIX desktop, get a Mac. Those actually work quite well
xaccers said:
To be honest, unless you need to upgrade you might as well stick with XP.
It's got the better classic menu system, and the quicklaunch toolbar doesn't need a hack to work.
You can get aero snap and peek for XP now too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only an [actually, I don't know a good word to put here. I shall consult a thesaurus one of these days] would say the Windows XP Start Menu is better than Vista, much less Windows 7 Start Menu. Aero Peek and Snap are only small Usability Enhancements when it comes to Windows 7. It's much more than that.
Both Vista and 7 can use a Classic Menu, but the Classic Menu has always been kinda terrible becase it doesn't automatically sort itself and can either run off the screen or take up 1/3rd of you screen. It's a colossal waste of screen real-estate navigate it, and finding applications is cumbersom compared to latter Windows Versions, where you can press the Windows Key and just start typing. In Windows XP you have to install Windows Search and use the Taskbar Toolbar.
Also, XP and Vista's Taskbar is pretty much a waste of screen real estate when you compare the functionality to that in Windows 7. Pinned Websites on the Windows 7 Taskbar are a bit of a revelation (an IE9 feature). Jump Lists? The way Jump Lists are integrated into the Start Menu allowing you to get at recently opened documents/internet history without loading the application and looking through a menu/dialog first?
I use XP, Vista and W7, and to be honest I prefer XP and I hate to say it, Vista.
W7 has some nice features such as aero snap/peek but as I've mentioned they are now available on XP/Vista.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If Aero Peek/Snap are the types of "nice features" that come to mind when you think of Windows 7, then I don't know what to say...
I hate the numpty menu system where it's quicker to type the name of the program rather than click on it (it now takes more clicks to start programs with W7 anyway) and you can't arrange things how you like.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's because typing the name is supposed to be faster than clicking on it unless you type 2 characters per minute.
You don't need to type the whole application (or file) name. You type part of it and it searches the index as you enter characters. That's a huge improvement in usability in Vista/7 and Microsoft Backported Windows Search to Windows XP for that very reason. The only difference is that it's in a Taskbar Toolbar instead of the Start Menu, which makes it less productive than Vista/7's Integrated Windows search.
KDE on Linux took a similar Approach to Vista (as they always do for good Windows features, Lol) and integrated Search into the K menu. On OpenSUSE Novell integrated Desktop Search into the GNOME Slab menu.
There are always some people who like to work like they did a decade ago, but usability has gone forward in Windows, not backwards. Navigating a Classic Start Menu for applications is an unacceptable use case these days. That's why so many Linux users complained about KDE/GNOME's cluttered menus, prompting them to clean them up and integrate Desktop Search...
I don't want to have to arrange applications in a menu. The OS should put applications over folders and arrange them alphabetically. The Classic Menu Structure never did this. That is why it was a PITA. Users should not have to manage their Application Menu. That's not acceptable, these days.
Getting to network properties with W7 is a PITA, not much of an issue for home users, but working in support at users' sites we need to be able to easily change our network settings.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Huh?
Right Click on your network icon in the System tray -> "Open Network and Sharing Center" -> Click "Local Area Connection" -> Click "Properties"
That takes 5 seconds or less to do, depending on where the mouse is on the screen.
The problem obviously isn't Windows, here.
Having to "force shutdown" programs when I want to turn the computer off has gotten old very fast!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This has to be done because if you press shutdown and an application has dirty data that you don't want to lose, you have a chance to cancel the shutdown and save that data to disk. This happens in Windows XP as well, the .NET broadcaster (or whatever it's called) always hangs on a Shutdown. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one that sees it cause I just reinstalled XP on my Dell and it happens in a completely fresh install.
The issue isn't Windows 7. It's the application. This is like complaining that Microsoft Outlook stopped to ask you if you REALLY want to empty you Deleted Items folder when you Exit it. It's a failsafe just in case you forgot about something, or want to double check yourself.
In any case, bad apps are bad. If the App is doing it, then report to the developer so they can see why and hopefully issue a patch.
The removal of "All Users" from the user profiles folder is also frustrating.
Still, it's got less bloat than vista, so chances are it'll run faster, and in many cases faster than XP.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All users was renamed in Windows Vista. Where have you been the past 4-5 years. Instead of All Users, it's Public. That more accurately gives the purpose of that folder. All Users is the Public folder on Windows XP. Do you want to complain that they Documents and Settings to Users, as well? My Documents to Documents? My Music to Music? See where I'm going here?
MacaronyMax said:
the major improvement on Windows 7 to Xp IMO is the ability to have the start bar what ever color you like
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Windows Vista didn't have any bloat. It had redundant Applications.
Things like Windows Mail, Photo Gallery, Calendar, Contacts, Movie Maker, etc. simply weren't needed and it got too bad when you had applications like Outlook and Live Essentials installed. You couldn't uninstall them.
Windows XP has similar redundant applications. Outlook Express, Windows Messenger, MSN Explorer, Windows Movie Maker, etc.
It's not that the applications add bloat. If you look at Internet Explorer it's very small. They don't actually take up all that much space because they use System Libraries/Components and wrap them in many cases (Outlook Express is like < 10 MB on Windows XP, for example). It's that they were unneeded redundancies and made the OS harder to harden. Security Exploits can be found in those applications. Decoupling as much of them from the Windows OS actually makes the OS more secure, and yes, it does decrease it's percieved weight.
Windows 7 outperforms Windows Vista simply because the OS is better. The performance difference isn't really all that dramatic compared to Vista with the latest Service Packs, but the usability enhancements augment it. You can get a lot of things done much quicker on Windows 7 than on Vista or XP.
On top of that, I'm sure Microsoft's developer tools matured and produce somewhat better code.
If you are running a 64-Bit machine, it's almost not even worth it to run XP over Vista or 7, IMHO.
If you are a gamer, XP is practically dead due to it not having DX10.x/11.
XP is a magnitude less secure than Vista or 7. It doesn't even have Mandatory Integrity Control, which is IMO a showstopper to consider it considering the amount of malware writters and hackers that target Windows (due to it's marketshare) and attack it through [for example] the browser.
The Taskbar in Windows 7 is a big deal, when you actually start to use it, pin Web Site, and Pin Applications that support it's features (or just run those applications, to be honest). Jump lists save tons of screen real estate when running Applications like Windows Live Messenger, and if you Pin Winows Live to the Task Bar (again, via IE9) you can Create a Mail, go to Calendar or Contacts, etc. without first opening a browser and going to the page through the Jump List. If you pin the Windows Team Blog it has every section in the Jump List and you can go to, e.g. the Windows Live Blog without having to go through the website (of course, you can also just use an RSS reader for something like that, but that's just an example). Media player controls are in the Jump List (as well as Zune Player). etc. etc.
captainstu72 said:
Max, you could also do that in xp too....
Good old themexp...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The problem with the Windows Task Bar isn't the color. It's the fact that it's borderline useless. You could change the taskbar color in Vista too. That didn't make it anything but "as useful as the XP task bar."

N8ter said:
...
The problem with the Windows Task Bar isn't the color. It's the fact that it's borderline useless. You could change the taskbar color in Vista too. That didn't make it anything but "as useful as the XP task bar."
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you missed that I was all for windows 7 and not XP, and that if Max only wanted to colour the taskbar, it could be done in XP.

xaccers said:
To be honest, unless you need to upgrade you might as well stick with XP.
It's got the better classic menu system, and the quicklaunch toolbar doesn't need a hack to work.
You can get aero snap and peek for XP now too.
It depends how you use it though. If you're more of a power user then XP is a hell of a lot easier, where as if you're just a home user then W7 is numptified for that target audience.
I use XP, Vista and W7, and to be honest I prefer XP and I hate to say it, Vista.
W7 has some nice features such as aero snap/peek but as I've mentioned they are now available on XP/Vista.
I hate the numpty menu system where it's quicker to type the name of the program rather than click on it (it now takes more clicks to start programs with W7 anyway) and you can't arrange things how you like.
Getting to network properties with W7 is a PITA, not much of an issue for home users, but working in support at users' sites we need to be able to easily change our network settings.
Having to "force shutdown" programs when I want to turn the computer off has gotten old very fast!
The removal of "All Users" from the user profiles folder is also frustrating.
Still, it's got less bloat than vista, so chances are it'll run faster, and in many cases faster than XP.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
how to you get the aero snap and peak on xp???

N8er summed it up pretty well.
XP is an old redundant operating system. For one thing, XP is FAR less secure than 7.
7 is functionally superior...it's more productive and user friendly, while at the same time being much more powerful for "power users".
Those saying it's been "numptified" obviously dont use any of the "non-numpty" features
Only my opinion, the opinion of an IT Sys Admin (plus a member of the Microsoft technical beta test team for Windows 7).
My advice to the OP...going to 7 is the only way to go...just make sure your hardware is capable.

N8ter said:
Only an [actually, I don't know a good word to put here. I shall consult a thesaurus one of these days] would say the Windows XP Start Menu is better than Vista, much less Windows 7 Start Menu. Aero Peek and Snap are only small Usability Enhancements when it comes to Windows 7. It's much more than that.
Both Vista and 7 can use a Classic Menu, but the Classic Menu has always been kinda terrible becase it doesn't automatically sort itself and can either run off the screen or take up 1/3rd of you screen. It's a colossal waste of screen real-estate navigate it, and finding applications is cumbersom compared to latter Windows Versions, where you can press the Windows Key and just start typing. In Windows XP you have to install Windows Search and use the Taskbar Toolbar.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The classic menu was removed form W7. It enabled users to work more efficiently (especially for the physically impaired where keyboards aren't practical or quick). Quick launch for most commonly used programs, nice and neat without taking up too much space. First menu for regularly used apps (ie just click on the start button), and so on depending on frequency of use.
Instead now we have to hack the quick launch toolbar back into existance, clicking on the IE icon pinned to the task ribbon doesn't bring up a new instance of IE it just opens or minimises once instance (you now have to right click it to then be able to open a second instance), applications are grouped so you can't use your own work process, and woe betide you click on a well populated group in the start menu by mistake! Having to use the search function exposes the failings of the menu system.
N8ter said:
Also, XP and Vista's Taskbar is pretty much a waste of screen real estate when you compare the functionality to that in Windows 7. Pinned Websites on the Windows 7 Taskbar are a bit of a revelation (an IE9 feature). Jump Lists? The way Jump Lists are integrated into the Start Menu allowing you to get at recently opened documents/internet history without loading the application and looking through a menu/dialog first?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The great thing about XP/Vista taskbar is that you can see, without having to put the mouse over each app, what they are. Grouping of apps is a feature which only becomes bearable in W7 because of the popup preview (an improvement on the Vista preview I have to say).
Jump lists to to recent docs is a great feature.
N8ter said:
That's because typing the name is supposed to be faster than clicking on it unless you type 2 characters per minute.
You don't need to type the whole application (or file) name. You type part of it and it searches the index as you enter characters. That's a huge improvement in usability in Vista/7 and Microsoft Backported Windows Search to Windows XP for that very reason. The only difference is that it's in a Taskbar Toolbar instead of the Start Menu, which makes it less productive than Vista/7's Integrated Windows search.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It shows the shortcomings of the menu system in W7. It's also, as I've mentioned before, not very user friendly to those who find typing difficult.
It's also not helpful to those users (oh there are hundreds of them unfortunately) that don't know the name of the app they use, the sort that say they aren't running XP but 2007 (what they mean is office), that navigate to the apps by the icons, that think their monitor is the computer and the thing under the desk is a "hard drive"
N8ter said:
I don't want to have to arrange applications in a menu. The OS should put applications over folders and arrange them alphabetically. The Classic Menu Structure never did this. That is why it was a PITA. Users should not have to manage their Application Menu. That's not acceptable, these days.
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Click to collapse
So users shouldn't be able to customise their computers? You're not an iPhone user are you?
N8ter said:
Huh?
Right Click on your network icon in the System tray -> "Open Network and Sharing Center" -> Click "Local Area Connection" -> Click "Properties"
That takes 5 seconds or less to do, depending on where the mouse is on the screen.
The problem obviously isn't Windows, here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Except in W7; right click network icon in system tray > Open network and sharing center > move up and click on Manage network connections > right click network connection
Classic menu; Click start then flow through settings (no 2 second wait unlike W7's menu) > network connections > right click the network connection
Heck you can even do that just as easily using only the keyboard.
N8ter said:
This has to be done because if you press shutdown and an application has dirty data that you don't want to lose, you have a chance to cancel the shutdown and save that data to disk. This happens in Windows XP as well, the .NET broadcaster (or whatever it's called) always hangs on a Shutdown. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one that sees it cause I just reinstalled XP on my Dell and it happens in a completely fresh install.
The issue isn't Windows 7. It's the application. This is like complaining that Microsoft Outlook stopped to ask you if you REALLY want to empty you Deleted Items folder when you Exit it. It's a failsafe just in case you forgot about something, or want to double check yourself.
In any case, bad apps are bad. If the App is doing it, then report to the developer so they can see why and hopefully issue a patch.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not because office has a doc open. I'd love to be able to tell you which app is causing it, but W7 doesn't tell me. System tray is empty of all but W7 icons. I've seen it on several W7 machines, some just after W7 has been installed from scratch.
N8ter said:
All users was renamed in Windows Vista. Where have you been the past 4-5 years. Instead of All Users, it's Public. That more accurately gives the purpose of that folder. All Users is the Public folder on Windows XP. Do you want to complain that they Documents and Settings to Users, as well? My Documents to Documents? My Music to Music? See where I'm going here?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You what? I think you'll find there's a difference between Public and All Users.
The all users profile is used to apply settings etc to, I'm sure you can guess; all users.
In Vista/W7 it was moved to C:\ProgramData. The all users desktop etc was moved over the the Public profile.
So now if you install an app and it adds shortcuts to the All Users start menu, but you want to move it to the desktop, it's no longer in the same tree, which when you're using scripts to do things becomes a PITA.
I'll give you an example, from a cmd prompt, do a dir in the following directories:
C:\users\all users\desktop
C:\users\public\desktop
Now they're the same location, you can test this by making a directory in all users\desktop and it will appear in public\desktop, but do a dir again and nothing.

xaccers said:
The classic menu was removed form W7. It enabled users to work more efficiently (especially for the physically impaired where keyboards aren't practical or quick). Quick launch for most commonly used programs, nice and neat without taking up too much space. First menu for regularly used apps (ie just click on the start button), and so on depending on frequency of use.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're starting to sound REALLY bad. Seriously, you are.
Quick Laugh has been superceded by the Window 7 Taskbar. You can pin appliations to it, and there are jump lists. Quick Launch is useless compared to that taskbar.
For the physically impaired the Windows 7 Start Menu is better. Windows 7 also has better Accessibility tools than both Vista and XP. You're not going to win any wars on that front. Windows 7 is better than both.
For the physically impaired the "Disorganized by default" Windows Classic Menu has proven to be worse than the new Windows Vista/7 Menu type. Windows Vista/7 also has monumentally better built-in speech recognition than Windows XP.
Instead now we have to hack the quick launch toolbar back into existance, clicking on the IE icon pinned to the task ribbon doesn't bring up a new instance of IE it just opens or minimises once instance (you now have to right click it to then be able to open a second instance), applications are grouped so you can't use your own work process, and woe betide you click on a well populated group in the start menu by mistake! Having to use the search function exposes the failings of the menu system.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hack it into existence?
In an IE instance you press the new tab button behind the last tab, or you right click it on the task bar adn select "Open New Tab." Are you actually trying to convince us you're retarded?
Also, yes the menu system is full of fail. That's why Windows Vista did away with the classic programs menu structure of Windows XP. Thanks for agreeing with me that the Classic Meny was utter ***. I appreciate it.
The great thing about XP/Vista taskbar is that you can see, without having to put the mouse over each app, what they are. Grouping of apps is a feature which only becomes bearable in W7 because of the popup preview (an improvement on the Vista preview I have to say).
Jump lists to to recent docs is a great feature.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can easily tell what they are in Windows 7. Windows 7's Icon-Based Task Bar also allows you to have more applicatiosn open before the task bar become unusably cluttered. You can tell if you have multiple instances/tabs open in an application because there is a visible indicator. Unless you're computer is utter crap, it does not take any amount of time to get tot he tab you want.
It shows the shortcomings of the menu system in W7. It's also, as I've mentioned before, not very user friendly to those who find typing difficult.
It's also not helpful to those users (oh there are hundreds of them unfortunately) that don't know the name of the app they use, the sort that say they aren't running XP but 2007 (what they mean is office), that navigate to the apps by the icons, that think their monitor is the computer and the thing under the desk is a "hard drive"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What?
Like I said, better accessibility tools, better speech recognition, and it's actually easier to find stuff in Windows 7 because Windows search is so good, jump lists, and the menu organizes itself - unline earlier versions of Windows.
What are you talking about...
If they don't know the name of the app they use, then they will likely find it faster in Windows 7 (or even Vista) than XP.
Windows 7 also defaults to medium sized desktop icons, which makes it easier on the eyes for people with Visual impairments.
So users shouldn't be able to customise their computers? You're not an iPhone user are you?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What does butchering up a menu to make it as disorganized as possible have to do with customizing you computer? People want their apps to be organized. Hardly anyone cares about mixing things up this way. If they ared, they would all be running Linux + KDE, which is the epitome of customization.
Linux's 1% marketshare and the fact that apple has 10x more with an OS that is less customizable than Windows speaks for itself.
I use an Android phone. No, I don't hack of my phone or rom jump. I like to get work done, not play around and cry on a forum about how I soft bricked it or corrupted a system file.
Except in W7; right click network icon in system tray > Open network and sharing center > move up and click on Manage network connections > right click network connection
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Incorrect. Your network connection is on the page in the Network and Sharing Center. You can simply Click on it and click Properties on that page to get to it.
Classic menu; Click start then flow through settings (no 2 second wait unlike W7's menu) > network connections > right click the network connection
Heck you can even do that just as easily using only the keyboard.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't need to go through the Start Menu on Windows XP. You can right Click Network/My Network Places on the desktop and get to all that.
Obviously you're a complete and utter rookie when it comes to using computers.
BTW, you can also Right Click Network on Windows 7 and Properties will take you to Network and Sharing Center. Then you just Click your Connection and click Properties. You only need to go to Manage Network if you have multiple network cards plugged into a network (i.e. a Wired Network plugged it a Router, in addition to a Wireless Network). Typically Windows will use Wired when available, and fall back to Wireless automatically so you should almost never have to click on the Manage link.
It's not because office has a doc open. I'd love to be able to tell you which app is causing it, but W7 doesn't tell me. System tray is empty of all but W7 icons. I've seen it on several W7 machines, some just after W7 has been installed from scratch.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Apps and Services run in the background. Not all of them have a System Tray Icon. That is all I will say on that.
You what? I think you'll find there's a difference between Public and All Users.
The all users profile is used to apply settings etc to, I'm sure you can guess; all users.
In Vista/W7 it was moved to C:\ProgramData. The all users desktop etc was moved over the the Public profile.
So now if you install an app and it adds shortcuts to the All Users start menu, but you want to move it to the desktop, it's no longer in the same tree, which when you're using scripts to do things becomes a PITA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Incorrect. There were some fundamental Changes in Vista/7, but you will find that C:\Users\<Name>\AppData still exists. That's the Application Data folder (previously under C:\Documents and Settings\<User>).
I'd also like to remind you that very long path names can cause issues with older applications and can lead to environment conflicts. Folder names like Documents and Settings and Application Data are just terrible. They had to get rid of that crap. It also makes navigating via Explorer (cause some folders are hidden by default) and the command line cludgy as hell. Windows XP sometimes wants the path in quotes, sometimes not. It just depends on where you type it in.
I'll give you an example, from a cmd prompt, do a dir in the following directories:
C:\users\all users\desktop
C:\users\public\desktop
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The way it should be. There should be no Desktop Folder in the Public folder. It's for sharing files, not profiles. Bad things happen when a profile gets infected/corrupted and new users use it. Security is utmost.
Now they're the same location, you can test this by making a directory in all users\desktop and it will appear in public\desktop, but do a dir again and nothing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh, you found out NTFS supports links now (well... on a consumer level and not just hidden functionality). Great. Yes, there is a link for that folder because older applications written for XP still have paths hard coded in them. That needed to be done for compatibility reasons.
You should spend more time actually using the OS. You don't actually know much at all...
MOD EDIT: Foul Language removed

Another thing.
Even Microsoft is dropping support for XP in it's client applications.
Windows Live Essentials 2011 doesn't support Windows XP. Windows Live Movie Maker never supported XP (it's different/better than Windows Movie Maker in XP/Vista). Don't expect the next version of Office to support XP. IE9 is not being released on Windows XP, and if you're used the beta, you'd know that once it's released there will be no reason to install a third-party browser on Windows unless you're an add-on'aholic.
Lots of Graphics/Audio/Video Applications will began to drop XP due to the lack of APIs from Windows 7/Vista that were backported. Lots of hardware will start to drop support for XP once its extended support runs out.
On top of that, Windows 7 Pro/Ultimate has Windows XP Mode which allows you to run XP/XP Apps seamlessly on top of Windows 7 for compatibility reasons.
Windows XP is a dead end. It's time to move on. Better than Linux. Worse than Vista/7 by a long shot.
EDIT: Also, if you're a developer you're not doing yourself any favors by running XP as your main OS, instead of just in a VM or on an older machine for testing.
WPF applications get no hardware accelleration on Windows XP, so they run like crap as well. That includes quite a few newer applications that use it in some form or another in the UI layer.

Deodexed said:
Switch to linux!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 ... Linux has them both beat.

@ all - Please don't make this thread a flame war, if I see this coming I´ll close this and start sending offenders on vacations from xda.
@ N8ter: I removed your foul language and I will kindly ask you to respect other members, since this thread should be a mature exchanging of opinions (eventhough it's on off-topic) consider this as a friendly first and final warning.

[Q] Htc Hd7 as a USB drive.... Now What?

I managed to follow the instructions found at knowyourcell.com about turning your HD7 into a USB drive... It will open and read as a drive, but I can't transfer or read anything... Help would be appreciated. I am a noob so please take it easy on me.... What now? How can I open it up?
Instructions:
1. Open Windows Registry Editor by typing regedit in your start menu
2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\USB
3. Perform a search for ZuneDriver
1. The search should yield a result similar to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\USB\VID_045E&PID_04EC&MI_00\6&27ffd631&0&0000\Device Parameters\WUDF
4. Click up one level to the Device Parameters key
5. Change ShowInShell from 0 to 1
6. Change PortableDeviceNameSpaceExcludeFromShell from 1 to 0
7. Change EnableLegacySupport from 0 to 1
8. Change EnableDefaultAutoPlaySupport

Thats what i saw in my Explorer.
Tried to cpy a mp3 file into Music, that did not work.
After a restart of hd7 i came only to the level Storage - no sub folders are visable any more now.
And even with my first attempt i had now folder for movies. May be as i do not have any movie in devices storage?

Now everything works fine.
It did'nt work, as there was a filtransfer by zune on his way to the phone. And even killing zune on pc blocked the storage card.
-So edit the registry as mentioned above
-connect your hd7 via usb to pc
-zune starts now
-kill all zune transfer processes
-kill zune
-go to your windows explorer
-you can copy and past media files now.
unfortunaly the office hub is not visable by this procedure.
But i think we are not far away do find out in very near future.

nice! thanks for this. it works.

Sweet!! Got it to work!! Thanks for the help HUMS... Now what? Is there any way to mod up a Ringtone folder? I tried putting in a WMA ringtone and added the folder but no dice... Any suggestions?

great. it works... thanx!

z31k said:
Sweet!! Got it to work!! Thanks for the help HUMS... Now what? Is there any way to mod up a Ringtone folder? I tried putting in a WMA ringtone and added the folder but no dice... Any suggestions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sorry m8 - no idea.
For the moment only copy and paste available for media data.
As every program has its own hub.

Hi all, I'm getting a little frustrated with my HTC HD7. I installed Zune, but it wouldn't recognize my phone (it keeps saying "connect device") and I changed the registry as mentioned above also but whenever I plug the phone in, nothing happens and it changed all the registry values back to what it was before. Also the computer keeps failing to install the phone. Anyone with any helpful info help please? thanks.
-on a side note, i'm running windows vista

hungboii said:
Hi all, I'm getting a little frustrated with my HTC HD7. I installed Zune, but it wouldn't recognize my phone (it keeps saying "connect device") and I changed the registry as mentioned above also but whenever I plug the phone in, nothing happens and it changed all the registry values back to what it was before. Also the computer keeps failing to install the phone. Anyone with any helpful info help please? thanks.
-on a side note, i'm running windows vista
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
have you checked your USB cable or your USB port on PC?

hums said:
have you checked your USB cable or your USB port on PC?[/QUO
Yes I have; I have 6 USB ports and tried all of them. My wife's iphone and my HTC HD2 connects perfectly to the computer. When I plug in the HD7 however, it takes a charge, and windows will try to install it, then says "installation failed" and thats it. I wonder if its problem with vista, with everyone that is successful at connecting their devices, anyone on vista?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

I'm running windows XP...

What is the point to copy media files to your phone via rather complicated way if you can do it simply by the Zune?

Not that simple
homer.web said:
What is the point to copy media files to your phone via rather complicated way if you can do it simply by the Zune?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry but really is not that simple with zune or may be we the users can not understand how to copy folders with zune so can you tell us how simple it is .

Yellowarmadillo said:
Sorry but really is not that simple with zune or may be we the users can not understand how to copy folders with zune so can you tell us how simple it is .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK. Lets split it to two issues:
1. you want to copy media files (Music, video, photos) to and from your phone
Use mouse and drag and drop what you want to sync with your phone. Its so simple.
2. you want to copy any other types of files to and from your phone
Its pointless, because files will NOT be vissible to WP7 and if you want to move files from A to B, than use what is more appropriate and designed for this purpose, like this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_flash_drive#Uses

homer.web said:
OK. Lets split it to two issues:
1. you want to copy media files (Music, video, photos) to and from your phone
Use mouse and drag and drop what you want to sync with your phone. Its so simple.
2. you want to copy any other types fo files to and from your phone
Its pointless, because files will NOT be vissible to WP7 and if you want to move files from A to B, than use what is more appropriate and designed for this purpose, like this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_flash_drive#Uses
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
homer.web. He speaks the Truth.

homer.web said:
What is the point to copy media files to your phone via rather complicated way if you can do it simply by the Zune?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wanted to try this method because zune was in no way connecting to my hd7. I found the problem though. its my operating system. i plugged it into my laptop running windows 7 and it connected perfectly.

Did the required registry edits but unable to view any folders inside the Storage device on the computer, both computer & zune detects the phone though. Need to transfer a .cab file for installation of Satguide.

Would be great, except for the fact that wp7 doesn't use .cab files, only .xap files.
Sent from my HD7 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App

devinwy83 said:
Would be great, except for the fact that wp7 doesn't use .cab files, only .xap files.
Sent from my HD7 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow! thats sad, so is there anything that we can do get it to read .cab files

no there isnt
wp7 isnt simular to windows mobile 6.5