IT Support W1 London

From technology enthusiasts to the average Joe running Windows, everyone was looking at Microsoft for the past 2 years, their hopes gathered around a simple name: Windows 7. There are many reasons why this version of Windows was sought after, not the least being the public relations nightmare brought by Vista.

But did Microsoft come through with a stable computing platform, with decent hardware requirements and a hardened security model? The definite answer is yes. I’ve been running Windows 7 on my laptop for over a month, installed all the applications I’d normally use – iTunes, Office, Firefox, Mozy – and they all worked fine, without any compatibility settings or whatnot.

While my computer is far from being state of the art, it is able to run Firefox, iTunes, Word and Photoshop at the same time, with decent speed. On just 1GB of DDR2 RAM and a 2,2Ghz AMD Turion 62 single core processor. The visual effects are fluid on a two year old ATi X200M graphics chipset with just 64MB of RAM. What they did under the hood, optimizing the code to run faster, is simply amazing. Running Vista on this laptop was like swimming with cement boots, even with the visual effects turned off.

A very important aspect for Windows users, security, has also been addressed in many ways, and while most of the technologies were present in Vista, they have been improved in Windows 7. The UAC (User Access Control) dialogs are less frequent and not so annoying, executables are scanned for digital signatures of their vendor, you are notified about files downloaded from the internet as well as an improved firewall and notification center. DEP (Data Execution Prevention) is enabled by default, we still have the KPP (Kernel Patch Protection) and a significantly improved Autorun. Also, the privilege level of your account is not root, which would grant you unlimited access to system resources, but a member of the Administrators group. To affect changes that may affect system integrity and security you have to accept an UAC prompt. In addition to this, all start-up items that access critical system areas are also required to be manually approved via an UAC prompt. Checks and flags are implemented all around, to the point that you would have to ignore multiple security warnings in order to get infected. These are all significant changes from Windows XP. All around, you can see that the engineers have dedicated a significant amount of time to securing the operating system.

From such an important aspect as security,we go on to examine the improvements in the user interface department. The taskbar, part Mac OS X dock, part Start menu is an elegant and comprehensive UI element. The functionality offered is simply amazing; We have quick access to commonly used applications, an amazing way to find the window you’re looking for with Quick Look, a streamlined notification area which is clean yet retains usability and instant search from the Start menu. I’m sorry to disappoint the Linux and Mac OS fans, but Windows 7, as it is today, has the most advanced and usable UI.

With Windows 7 Microsoft has changed the game. I for one was saving money for a MacBook, which from a Windows XP viewpoint is an incredible upgrade. But compared to Windows 7, not so much. We have performance, stability, a not too shabby security model, an incredible selection of hardware and software. If lastly, we consider the price – free until June next year – we have an incredibly attractive offer. The ball is at Apple and the pitch is going down at WWDC. Unless something amazing comes out, it’s going to be a homerun for Windows 7.

As always, I’d love to hear what you think about this topic. You can check out How To Install Windows 7 on a Virtual Machine with VirtualBox and Test Windows 7 RC on a Virtual Machine written by Guy McDowell.

Tweet This Post 

Last week we built a head tracking device, from a project originally created by a professor at Carnegie Mellon University named Johnny Lee.

His other project, the Wiimote powered interactive whiteboard, is just as impressive and twice as useful. It turns any projector, monitor, or laptop screen into an interactive display.

Here is an eye-popping video by Dr. Lee giving an example of his interactive whiteboard technology:

After you build the infrared LED pen (detailed later in this post), you can use it just like you would your mouse. Move around windows, draw diagrams, and distract annoying kids by opening Microsoft paint and letting them have at it. It is not only a simple software toy, but it can be immensely useful as a presentation tool.

Connecting your Wiimote via Bluetooth

Bluetooth Dongle & Wiimote

The first step in both of these projects is to connect your Wiimote to your PC via Bluetooth. You have two choices with this, you can connect using a 15 day free trial of a program called BlueSoleil, or you can trust windows to connect to your Wiimote and handle the connection. I have had terrible luck with BlueSoleil so I used the Windows Bluetooth connection suite. If you choose to use BlueSoleil here is a page showing what needs to be done.

I’m not a fan of trial software, so here is how I did it in Windows:

With the Bluetooth dongle of your choice (I chose a Linksys USBBT100) inserted into your computer, the new hardware wizard should detect and automatically install your dongle. When that is done there will be a Bluetooth symbol in the bottom right hand corner of your screen. Double click it and this screen should come up:

Click on Add… and the Add Bluetooth Wizard will come up. Make sure to click on the option showing that your device is ready to be connected.
After that, hold the 1 and 2 buttons on your Wiimote, this puts it in discovery mode. After the Wizard sees and adds your Wiimote, this screen will pop up:

Double click on the Nintendo peripheral:

Make sure you choose ‘Don’t use a passkey’! This is crucial. Hit next:

And you are now connected with your Wiimote. It will show up in your Devices list and all four blue lights on your Wiimote should be blinking. They will stay blinking as long as it is connected to your PC.
With that over with, 90% of the pain and suffering you will most likely have with this project are over. The first time I tried to do these projects it took me over an hour to connect my Wiimote using BlueSoleil. Finally fed up, I worked out the Windows version you see above.

Materials Required for Interactive Whiteboard

• A Windows computer* with Bluetooth and a monitor or projector
• One Wiimote
• One Infrared LED
• One AA or AAA single battery pack
• Around a foot of small gauge wire
• A pushbutton momentary switch
• Body of a pen
• Soldering gun and solder
• Wire cutter/stripper
• Electrical Tape
• Latest Wii Interactive whiteboard software

*There are some hit and miss issues with Vista. When I did this project I used XP machines; your results may vary.

Creating Interactive Whiteboard Hardware

In this section you basically create something from scratch. It’s a very simple circuit involving a power source, a switch, and an infrared LED.

Here is a preassembled pen light. It shows the simple circuit before it is compacted:

A good place to start would be to solder both of the wires onto the switch:

Then threading those wires into the body of the pen:

And then soldering the LED to both of the exposed wires. Take care to either hot glue or tape one of the terminals so that you don’t get a short circuit:

When that is completed tidy up the pen however you like, but you should have a final product:

Connect your Wiimote to your PC and place it at a distance and an angle that allows it to see all of the whiteboard. Launch the whiteboard program and go through the four point calibration. After that you are good to go!

I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial, if you have any issues with setting up either of these projects please visit Dr. Lee’s homepage and forums. There are a lot of resources there that can help with Vista issues and hardware incompatibility.

Here are some links that may prove useful: Johnny Lee’s Wiimote Project,  Interactive Whiteboard FAQ, Head Tracking FAQ.

Tweet This Post 

From technology enthusiasts to the average Joe running Windows, everyone was looking at Microsoft for the past 2 years, their hopes gathered around a simple name: Windows 7. There are many reasons why this version of Windows was sought after, not the least being the public relations nightmare brought by Vista.

But did Microsoft come through with a stable computing platform, with decent hardware requirements and a hardened security model? The definite answer is yes. I’ve been running Windows 7 on my laptop for over a month, installed all the applications I’d normally use – iTunes, Office, Firefox, Mozy – and they all worked fine, without any compatibility settings or whatnot.

While my computer is far from being state of the art, it is able to run Firefox, iTunes, Word and Photoshop at the same time, with decent speed. On just 1GB of DDR2 RAM and a 2,2Ghz AMD Turion 62 single core processor. The visual effects are fluid on a two year old ATi X200M graphics chipset with just 64MB of RAM. What they did under the hood, optimizing the code to run faster, is simply amazing. Running Vista on this laptop was like swimming with cement boots, even with the visual effects turned off.

A very important aspect for Windows users, security, has also been addressed in many ways, and while most of the technologies were present in Vista, they have been improved in Windows 7. The UAC (User Access Control) dialogs are less frequent and not so annoying, executables are scanned for digital signatures of their vendor, you are notified about files downloaded from the internet as well as an improved firewall and notification center. DEP (Data Execution Prevention) is enabled by default, we still have the KPP (Kernel Patch Protection) and a significantly improved Autorun. Also, the privilege level of your account is not root, which would grant you unlimited access to system resources, but a member of the Administrators group. To affect changes that may affect system integrity and security you have to accept an UAC prompt. In addition to this, all start-up items that access critical system areas are also required to be manually approved via an UAC prompt. Checks and flags are implemented all around, to the point that you would have to ignore multiple security warnings in order to get infected. These are all significant changes from Windows XP. All around, you can see that the engineers have dedicated a significant amount of time to securing the operating system.

From such an important aspect as security,we go on to examine the improvements in the user interface department. The taskbar, part Mac OS X dock, part Start menu is an elegant and comprehensive UI element. The functionality offered is simply amazing; We have quick access to commonly used applications, an amazing way to find the window you’re looking for with Quick Look, a streamlined notification area which is clean yet retains usability and instant search from the Start menu. I’m sorry to disappoint the Linux and Mac OS fans, but Windows 7, as it is today, has the most advanced and usable UI.

With Windows 7 Microsoft has changed the game. I for one was saving money for a MacBook, which from a Windows XP viewpoint is an incredible upgrade. But compared to Windows 7, not so much. We have performance, stability, a not too shabby security model, an incredible selection of hardware and software. If lastly, we consider the price – free until June next year – we have an incredibly attractive offer. The ball is at Apple and the pitch is going down at WWDC. Unless something amazing comes out, it’s going to be a homerun for Windows 7.

As always, I’d love to hear what you think about this topic. You can check out our IT Support London website at this link.

Tweet This Post