Windows 7 has now officially been out for more than 2 weeks and things are settling down now. Overall things have gone very smoothly not only for Windows 7 but also Microsoft with the opening of their new stores. However, as is with any new operating system release there are bound to be small hiccups, or in this case hanging during an upgrade.

The issue is that while a user is upgrading their machines from Windows Vista to Windows 7, the computer will hang at 62%.  The install at this point will then revert itself back to Windows Vista. While it is an extremely small percentage of people having this problem I am sure that many of them will appreciate knowing how to fix it.  Here is how to fix it according to Microsoft:

To resolve this problem yourself, follow these steps:

1. Restart the computer. Then, your computer will roll back to Windows Vista.
2. Click Start, right-click Computer, and then click Properties.
3. On the Advanced tab, click Environment Variables.
4. Under System variables, click New.
5. Type MIG_UPGRADE_IGNORE_PLUGINS in the Variable name field.
6. Type IphlpsvcMigPlugin.dll in the Variable value field.
7. Click OK three times to close the dialog boxes.
8. Start the upgrade installation again.

Of course there is also the Microsoft Fix It utility that you can run and it will do all of this for you, download it here. The fix is in english but you can use it on any language version of Windows Vista. If your upgrade is freezing at a percentage other than 62% it is not related to this issue.

Check It Out> Microsoft

One tool no matter the operating system that I always find myself going back to time and time again even for simple tasks is the Command Prompt.  The look of the Windows Command Prompt has not changed in a very long time and while personally I don’t mind it’s industrial look, maybe it’s time for a change.

This is where Komalo’s Glass for CMD comes in.  The application runs in the background and then when the command prompt is launched the Glass theme is applied to it.  It does add some nice eye-candy to Vista/7 if that is what you are looking for but it can be hard to see at times depending on the wallpaper you are using.

Thank’s to Fred for sending this in!

Check It Out> Deviant Art via Lifehacker

If you were not around for the first version of Windows or were just starting kindergarten like me in 1983 you probably missed the first Windows review ever.  If you were a user of Windows 1.0 I am sure that you appreciate all of Vista’s little flaws and were even grateful for Windows ME.  ToastyTech has the first review of Windows 1.0 posted on their site and after reading it I have to admit that I am grateful I was not using Windows until 3.11.

From Gizmodo:

• Microsoft Windows is an installable device driver under MS-DOS 2.0 using ordinary MS-DOS files.

• Complete compatibility with MS-DOS means that Windows will at least let you run any application that runs under MS-DOS.

• In the worst case, Windows will turn the fill display over to an MS-DOS application and return you to your place in Windows.

• During normal use, Microsoft Windows displays one or more [tiled] windows, each with a different application.

• The “session-control layer” becomes the equivalent of the empty desktop where you can manipulate files. The available commands appear near the bottom of the screen.

• To see the available applications programs, you either use the mouse to position the cursor on the command “Run” or type the letter “R.” Windows lists all the applications programs as commands, and you point at the desired program and click the mouse to run it. You could also type the appropriate letter instead.

• In this case, the program that’s run is “uncooperative” – that is, it doesn’t do everything through MS-DOS system calls, sometimes going beyond the operating system to write directly to the hardware addresses such as those of screen memory.

• …the transition from the uncooperative program to a “smart” one that can live happily in a smaller window and share the screen with other programs that take full advantage of Microsoft Windows. The smart program is Microsoft Word.

• Pointing at the PEN commands on the command bar at the bottom of the screen has brought the display of the menu of pen sizes and patterns. You select sizes and patterns by using the mouse to point at one of the boxes shown in each list, then pointing at the “OK” box

While I am sure that people were amazed that a computer could do these types of things times have changed.  We grew up on the Jetsons and are still waiting for our houses in the sky and robots to be our servants.

Check It Out> ToastyTech via Gizmodo

Microsoft has delayed Windows Vista Service Pack 2 by about another month.  It looks right now like it will be released in March instead of February.  But the real question is “Will anyone notice or even care?”.

Microsoft is not making this a required install for OEM’s (HP, Dell etc.) which is a good indication that Windows 7 is even closer to being finalized and getting released to the OEM’s.  It is a very costly operation for the manufactures to test their machines with new Service Packs or new OS.  With Windows 7 on the way I am sure they are not eager to do that amount of testing twice in such a short time.

Check It Out> neowin

Do you hate when an operating system tries to look pretty?  Are you one of those people that needs things to be grey and ugly so you feel like more of a geek? Do you miss the old quick launch menu?  Then Try My Product!

Triso.me (first .me domain I have ran into) has posted how to make your Windows 7 look like the classic theme we have all come to love and add the quick launch to the toolbar.  Microsoft decided for some reason to make this feature a little more obscure and hide it a bit for some unknown reason.  Maybe they are trying to convince people even harder that Windows 7 has nothing to do with previous operating systems (Vista).

Check It Out> Triso

This week Green Hill Software announced the certification of Integrity 178B RTOS (Real Time Operating System).  The OS has been engineered from the ground up and as been certified to the highest level ever by the NSA.  With it having been designed for security it now has the certifications to prove it.  Integrity has been in use for 10 years in such aircraft as the Boeing B1-B intercontinental nuclear bomber, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, and Lockheed Martin’s F-16, F-22 & F-35.  Current customers include Lockhead Martin, Boeing, BF Goodrich Aerospace, Ratheon, Rockwell, Alenia Aerospatiale and BAE Systems.

The primary purpose  of Integrity RTOS is for aerospace applications and as such must be substantially more reliable than Windows Vista.  This is one OS I don’t expect to see on a torrent site anytime soon but maybe we can get it some good screen shots in an upcoming movie (if we don’t have them already).

Check It Out> Green Hill Software, RTOS Information, Aerospace Online

One of the newest clones is iTable which Crunchgear ran into at CES.  iTable is powered by XP where as Microsoft Surface is powered by Windows Vista.  Most users will see the interface and assume that with it’s Apple like dock OSX is behind it.  This seems to have been a good operating system choice as more developers will adopt their programs for XP rather than Vista.  One of the things that really differentiates the iTable over the competition is that you can buy it as an overlay to your current screen.  The price is also substantially cheaper at $2,399 where as Microsoft Surface starts at around $10,000.  PQ Labs does have models that are more similar to Surface at the price level and the form factor of a table.  Both companies are offering only it to commercial customers right now as they are making the products to order.

Maybe Microsoft Surface owners can buy the iTable overlay and make their experience more enjoyable?  Make sure you check out CrunchGear’s video of the iTable in action.

Check It Out> CrunchGear, PQ Labs, Savant

HyperSpace

I always thought HyperSpace was exclusive to science fiction movies and TV shows but today I have had the pleasure of using a new type of HyperSpace. Most geeks have heard of Phoenix Technologies which makes BIOS’s for the computers we love so dearly. Well now you get to be introduced to a new side of Phoenix, the creators of a simple operating system.

HyperSpace is a very lightweight operating system that installs along side of your Windows operating system. The versions of Windows currently supported are XP (all flavors) and Vista SP1 32-Bit. What makes this operating system so unique is its instant on capability. When you turn on your computer its instantly ready for you to use. There is no waiting for it to load files or perform random tasks. You start the computer and use it!  This is something that computer users have been waiting for a long time to have.

Asus announced Splashtop a few months ago which is a Linux based operating system that resides on the computers motherboard and is always available to be used very quickly. One of the biggest downsides to Splashtop is that it must come installed in the computer. It was also notoriously slow to connect to the Internet. With a light weight operating system used primarily for it’s Internet connection its important for all aspects of it to be fast.These downsides to Splashtop is where HyperSpace really shines.

Compared to similar operating systems HyperSpace works on a much larger range of computers, in particular Intel based machines. It works along side Windows and with the premium version even allows instant switching between HyperSpace and Windows. The Internet connection is substantially faster and attempts to connect to the first available connection which is great to quickly connect to hotspots.

4 Seconds. Thats how fast it takes for HyperSpace to start and another second for me to click Web Browser and start surfing the internet,  then about 1 second to turn off.  It’s so fast that I had to keep turning it on and off just because its fun to watch. If you simply hit the power button it’s an instant sleep mode. Hit it again and it’s ready to go and do what you need.

Installation

To install simply download the little installer which is a compatibility testing utility and downloader to download the actual install. Once its done testing your machine for compatibility you can start the install which takes about 15 minutes to download and install the operating system.

During the install HyperSpace automatically re-sizes the partition selected to allow for installation of HyperSpace. In my case I chose to re-size the primary partition which hosts Windows Vista Home Premium. The first time that I attempted the installation I received a “Unknown error please reboot and try again”. I believe I received the error due to Windows Updates that had been installed which required the machine to reboot before the installation could continue.

Setup and Options

Once installed I had to configure in the WPA key for my network which only took a few seconds to install then it was ready to go. There was no other configuration to be completed as the operating system is very minimal (intentionally). There are basic options to change some power settings, volume, network options, date & time, and of course to purchase it. The web browser is a customized version of Mozilla which suits well to the operating system. Also included is a My Documents directory.

If you need to transfer any files to or from HyperSpace you can easily use a pendrive or USB hard drive. To access the drive you simply need to go to the My Documents shortcut.

Now for the criticisms:

Computer graphics don’t look the best as it is a minimal operating system. It would be nice to have the option to set screen resolution so that things are not so big on my screen.

Shortcuts to various websites on the left menu that unfortunately can’t be removed. As someone that does a fair amount of traveling I like Orbitz but I don’t really see a place for their shortcut on any computers start menu. The other website links are The Weather Channel, Amazon, Flickr, Facebook, YouTube, Meebo and Gmail.

Web browser sizing. This was probably done to make it look cleaner and keep it consistent but it gives the impression to the typical user of wasted space on the screen. It’s about a 1/2 inch of black screen all the way around the browser on all sides. It would be nice to at least reduce that quite a bit. Thankfully Mozilla has the option to zoom in and out of websites or many would not fit on the screen. There is one bright spot here though, apparently they forgot about the F11 key that can be used to go full screen and get some of that real estate back.

The scroll pad doesn’t work on the touchpad. Some people might not be annoyed by this but to me it’s pretty difficult to get used to. Even Windows PE has the ability to use the scroll feature so why doesn’t something like this have that enabled?

White pixel in the middle of the black screen. Why? At first I thought it was a dead pixel on my test machine but nope, it’s only visible in HyperSpace. Maybe its like the portal to awesomeness or something.

Screen brightness is either all the way up or all the way down. This is a good way to drive some people crazy as brightness levels on some laptops can be pretty intense. My Asus G1sn can make you go blind it’s so bright and all the way down actually makes the screen invisible.

Battery life is touted as being a huge savings with HyperSpace however I am not entirely convinced. Due to the screen brightness issue there is a lot of power being wasted. One of the big savings comes from it’s aggressive sleep modes. If it’s idle it turns the screen off or goes in to like a super sleep. Yes that can save battery life but its not really that efficient. Seeing as HyperSpace is so minimal I think the CPU usage needs to be throttled down substantially more. For the machine I installed it on the battery life is at about 2.5 hours. Which might not sound too bad but considering when this laptop is in Windows Vista it gets almost 4 hours of battery life. I will be looking in to this and testing it more thoroughly but for now I think they need to make this better.

Pricing! The operating system is subscription based which Microsoft has been toying with for years. HyperSpace is fully subscription based at this time and while not entirely out of most peoples price range it does seem a little high to me.

HyperSpace Dual
Annual Subscription $39.95
3-Year Subscription $99.95

HyperSpace Hybrid
Annual Subscription $59.95
3-Year Subscription $149.95

Seeing as the operating system is Linux based and Open Source I have to admit I would have a hard time paying those prices. A little more realistic to me is in the $20 price range especially considering how much it would actually be used.

Conclusion

It’s very well designed and wow is it fast. If your someone that likes instant on access to the Internet then this is for you. I am really looking forward to future versions of HyperSpace as it is something that is not going away. There is a big demand for quick access to the Internet without having to wait for Windows and this is a huge step forward for all of us. Expect this to start showing up on OEM computers when you buy them, similar to the ASUS Splashtop.  Something so easy and user friendly will be forced in to more users hands just for that little “value-add” to help sell more computers.

If your someone looking to just try it out, you can do so with their free 21-day trial.

Check It Out>

Phoenix HyperSpace
Engadget on Splashtop
Laptop Mag Review of HyperSpace

Michael Ciarlo’s Cairo Shell project has been in the works for some time but it looks like the testers are ready to start testing the first official alpha release.  The Shell is basically a replacement for Vista’s explorer which has been notoriously slow.  It will still use the underlying operating system of Vista but replace the way that it looks and feels to the user.

The test is private to only a select few testers that have been waiting for almost a year just for the chance to test it.  While no official release has come from the company yet they have posted a countdown timer on their website that indicates the release to the testers.

Maybe when Cairo Shell releases to the public it will help alleviate some of the pains of Vista for users.  Only time will tell.

Check It Out> Blog Post,  Cairo Shell

UPDATE:: It looks like the Cairo team has been looking forward to Windows 7 and has made Cairo Shell Windows 7 compatible.  Personally I am looking forward to this as so far I am not a fan of the Windows 7 shell.  There is quite a bit of tweeking that needs to be done to make it more user friendly in my oppinion.