Advantages and Disadvantages of Vista

Windows Vista Advantages:

1. Improved Graphical User Interface, the Aero:

There is an entire new GUI for Windows Vista. The appearance of window, desktop, start button, start menu, taskbar, everything got a new look. Now, the window in Windows Vista looks similar to that of in Mac OSX. Minimize, maximize and the close buttons wore an entire new strange look. The windows can be made to appear in translucent, 3D modes, if the new Aero is applied. The start button has been modified to give a new look. The word “start” has been removed. Only the new Windows logo gets appear in start button. Start menu also got a new look. The desktop wallpapers got a new look too. The desktop contains a side bar, which shows a clock, and some of the widgets. Widgets are small programs, which is equivalent to standard short cuts.

2. Surf the net, without much worry about security

Browsing the net, without any security measures invites a major danger. Windows Vista enable one provide high level of security measures. Windows Vista has come with a latest version of Internet Explorer which is version 7.0. This provides a higher degree of security to the system, as well as, the operating system environment. It also warns strictly against visiting some fake sites. It includes phishing filter to provide higher security while surfing the net. Protection against spamming is also provided. The other security measures include tools such as Windows defender, advanced firewall, Encryption/Decryption of data, support for NTFS partitions, auto backup. The Windows Defender is a program which blocks suspicious programs which tries to do some illegal activity in the computer system. Advanced firewall provides security to both incoming and outgoing data.

3. Manage your knotty kids, using parental controls:

One can control kids by using parental controls in Windows Vista. Parents can now deny access to certain programs especially, the games. Through separate child account, parents can now keep track of what all activities done by the child. It also enables parents to control the activities by blocking certain activities such as running a game program, blocking some sites that, the child might have visited etc. For this to work, parent must setup separate account for the child with different password.

4. Play multimedia contents using latest media player:

The latest version of Windows Media Player bundled with Windows Vista. The Windows Media Player 11 enhances video, audio quality when playing sound, music, videos. It has got new look and has got a series of rich features. These features include URGE services from MTV digital music services, Simplified Library, Library layouts. The newest URGE services provide access to the huge collection of online music, song collections. The simplified library improves customization options. Whenever, one plugs some of the latest media player compatible devices, the media player detects the device and installs the drivers associated with the device automatically.

5. Improved search, Windows Explorer:

In Windows Vista, you will get the search result as and when you type some letters of a particular word. The explorer shows a list of all files in the folder by default. When one types in, the few letters of words in the search box, the files will get filtered out according to the letters. Suppose, if one searches for filenames of “govt. services”, the search will filter out and displays only files with filenames with the name “gov”, if you type “gov” in the search text box. It will further filter the filenames, when you type full form. Also, the look of Windows Explorer got changed rapidly. More sorting options are also provided. Different kinds of listing is also got introduced.

6. Date and time, know the difference in time across the world:

In earlier Windows operating systems, it was indeed difficult to know the time difference across the two countries. It proved difficult for online chat users. In Windows Vista, one can add additional clocks, to show the time of some other country. For example, if you want to know the time of London, then you can add clock of London to the additional clocks tray. The tray comes up for display, when one moves mouse over the time shown in the task bar.

7. Manage your photos using photo gallery:

Windows Vista has got an inbuilt tool called as Photo Gallery to manage digital photos. Using it, one can modify the photos. It has got ability to show previews of movie files, a feature, which was not there with Windows XP. Using this tool, one can transfer or share the photos from computer to devices such as mobile phones, PDA’s, etc. The photo gallery also has the ability to work high precision, high quality images, which are produced by latest high quality cameras.

8. Total different world, new experience:

Windows Vista brings you the new world of new experience. It starts from amazingly changed desktop, which goes beyond imagination. All icons look better this time around. The 256x256 resolution icons made Vista world to feel like you have got a computer from heaven. Networking aspect has improved further in Windows Vista, with the introduction of further security enhancements. Performance wise, vista makes life better, when compared with its predecessors.

Vista Disadvantages:

1. Requirements high, too hot deal:

Windows Vista, the next generation operating system requires superb computer to install. It consumes a lot more resources than its predecessor windows XP. For vista Aero to work, you need to invest something more than what you would have expected to invest before. The graphics card requirement is quite high. The graphics card must be of DirectX 10 supported. The required minimum graphics memory on the graphics card is 128 MB. For better performance, graphics memory must be of 256 MB. The minimum hard disk space required is 20 GB for installation of Windows Vista. Processor speed is also expected to be high for Aero to work smoothly without causing any hiccups. The memory requirement for Windows Vista system is high. The system will work smoothly when one has got RAM of about 2 GB installed. Totally, I would like to say that, Windows vista eats up lot of resources, than its predecessor, the Windows XP.

2. Regarding price, sucking your hard earned money:

The price of Windows Vista Ultimate edition seems to be too high. Ordinary user cannot thus, have a look into all the features of Vista, which is only available in the Ultimate Edition. Microsoft seems to be not so interested in country wise markets. The prices are set according to the US market. However these prices are on higher side for developing asian countries. Microsoft should set the price of Vista as per the market. It is the time for Microsoft to think over this aspect, having introduced stricter validation process.

3. Replace the oldies, another way of extracting:

This is a usual problem, which always exists whenever new operating system gets released, and you have an old system or have some old components in the system. If one decides to install windows vista in the old system, then they should check the compatibility of system components, checking whether Vista supports them or not. Some manufacturers will still provide Vista support for the oldies by providing the latest drivers for the same. If manufacturers are not providing the latest drivers, you need to purchase a new device as a replacement for the existing device. Before, you purchase a new device you need to check out for Vista compatible or Vista ready logo, which is put up on the device.

4.Window appearance. Did you like the different look?

In Windows Vista, the window appearance underwent lot of unwanted changes. The windows in Windows Vista, the window appears similar to that of MAC OSX. The Minimize, Maximize, and Close buttons, wore a different look. The three buttons got reduced in their sizes, making them unclear to aged people, people with eye sight problems. The minimize, maximize, and close buttons have reduced in sizes. The icon in the other end has disappeared, which makes the window slightly dull in appearance.

In overall, the new operating system, Windows Vista is said to be an ideal replacement to its predecessor, the Windows XP.

For more Visit: http://www.vistahunt.com/windows-vista-advantages-and-disadvantages.html

Top 10 advantages of Windows XP

1. Hardware support. How many times do you see a forum post entitled ‘there aren’t any Windows drivers for my new wifi adapter’? Yes, zero is an answer. Of course, Linux supporters point out (accurately) that their OS doesn’t have drivers because the manufacturer didn’t provide any. But users don’t care. When comparing Windows with (say) Ubuntu, they don’t think “half my devices won’t work, but it’s the hardware manufacturer’s fault so I’ll just do without those devices”. They just continue using Windows
2. Games. Partially related to the above (most Linux distros still won’t use 3d graphics cards properly, 12 years after their invention), partially due to the fact that most game developers are of the opinion that there is no market for paid-for Linux games. Given the sort of politically-motivated abuse that surrounds decisions to include proprietary hardware drivers, they’d probably get more grief than profit by releasing their (proprietary) games for Linux. This may become less significant over time - the similarity (and ease of cross-porting) of the PC and Xbox 360 may make PC gaming extinct as a separate platform.
3. Security. You might think that this one is a bit strange. Yes, Windows has more security flaws than any of the popular Linux distros. But Windows users are actually more likely to protect their computers. Take Ubuntu as an example (given its recent endorsement by Dell, and general brilliance). How many new Ubuntu users are aware that it doesn’t come with a firewall? Sure, getting one is a simple matter of running Synaptic and downloading the firewall of your choice (Lokkit, Guarddog, and Firestarter are all mentioned in that article), all for free in both senses of the word, but if you don’t do that? The average clueless newbie in Ubuntu would be likely to leave their machine open to malicious hackers.Sure, the Windows XP Firewall might not be the most illustrious in networking history, but at least it’s installed by default. A Windows system used by an advanced user will be no less secure than a Linux system used by someone similarly skilled (due to the former having antivirus, firewall, etc. set up) whereas a Windows system used by a novice user may actually be more secure than an Ubuntu system used by a novice (due to the built-in firewall and the general awareness of virus issues among Windows users - even if they do use garbage like Nortons).
4. Office 2007. I’m prepared for a bunch of Openoffice.org fans to jump on me at this point, but please folks, hear me out. For more or less the whole of the last academic year, I used Openoffice.org as my primary office suite. In just about every area, it was perfectly adequate for my needs - especially now that my university has Openoffice.org on its student computers (in addition to Office 200…3 I think). There were, though, quite a few things that annoyed me. The first was the inability to open DOC files properly - simple things like having an image (my university’s logo, in fact, it was a course document) inside a table cell just did not work.Yes, proprietary formats this and reverse-engineering that, but I don’t particularly care for the reason why something does or does not work - I care for the outcome. If your car breaks down, do you honestly care whether it was because of substandard steel used in its manufacture or an inadequately fitted fan belt? I’d suggest the answer is no. There isn’t any reason why the same should not apply to software, save for the FSF zealots who see their computers as pawns in their political crusade against paying money for things, as opposed to tools to do whatever job (web browsing, gaming, word processing, etc.) the user wants it to do.The price wasn’t actually too bad either - through Student Options (a Microsoft students-only site that validates student status by using your institution email address) I got the Enteprise edition of Office 2007 (yes, the volume-license only bells-and-whistles one) for less than the basic Student and Teacher version of Wordperfect. Before you ask, no it is not a dodgy copy - it’s already passed the OGA check and is from a Microsoft-run online store.

   Sure, even at this extremely reduced price it is more expensive than Openoffice.org (free), but that’s like saying that eating a burger is more expensive than eating grass. It’s true, but it misses the point entirely. Office 2007 is actually a brilliant piece of software - the new interface is much less convoluted, and I spend my time actually getting on with whatever I’m doing rather than googling for a workaround for Openoffice.org’s latest flaw (As unimportant as the feature may seem to the OOo devs, I do actually want to make landscape documents once in a while). Office 2007 is that rare ‘killer app’ - it is worth using Windows just to get using Office 2007.

5. Wireless networking. The advent of broadband and wireless internet connections was supposed to make the internet seamless - no longer would you have to fiddle with access codes, and wait for a screeching noise to finish, every time you wanted to use the internet. That development seems to have passed Linux by. First of all you have to buy a wireless card that is supported by your Linux distro - which is difficult to the point of not being worth bothering in the case of USB adapters. Second, your router has to be set up to use a discredited, completely useless encryption system which was obsolete in 2003.Now, I’m all for non-bloated software which allows the user to set it up for their own needs (writing this in Firefox, after all). But in an operating system where every additional piece of software is installed via an internet connection, not having the encryption system necessary to connect to those updates presents something of a Catch 22 situation. Windows Vista has been roundly criticised (fairly, to be honest) for its sometimes-inadequate driver support. At least it installs basic networking software!
6. Software availability. More widely than Microsoft-produced applications like Office, there is a distinct lack of commercial application software on Linux. That isn’t the fault of the various Linux distro communities, but nor is apportioning blame something the end-user is bothered about (as I pointed out in the Office section above). There are of course Linux substitutes for most of these available, but few are up to the task. Despite what any FSF zealot might tell you, Gimp is NOT as good as Photoshop, Openoffice.org is NOT as good as Office 2007.
7. Availability of community help. ‘The Community’ (capitalisation intended) is often cited as one of the main strengths of Linux. I’ve found the opposite. There are plenty of threads on the Ubuntu Forums in which the gracious responses of the community are ‘RTFM’ or ‘Use the search function asshole’. Ignoring of course, the proposition that the user is asking for help because he/she cannot find the solution in the profanely-referenced sources. The sheer number of Windows users out there also increases the chances of your help request being seen by someone who has had the same problem, and is willing to help. Addressing a question to 92% of computer users is, for obvious reasons, more likely to get you an answer than addressing it to 0.7% of computer users.
8. Actually being able to buy a computer. Price is often quoted as one of the primary advantages of using Linux. I suppose in the USA, where Dell and many others will sell you a computer with Linux (or no operating system - just a DVD’s worth of difference after all) preinstalled. I have yet to find anyone doing the same in the UK. So if, in the process of your cost-saving switch to Linux, you have to buy a computer and a copy of Windows anyway, you have sort of defeated the point of the exercise.Unless you’re going to live in the USA (the likes of Dell won’t ship their US machines overseas), buy a Linux-equipped computer, then come back to the UK (which would cost more than that OEM copy of Windows you’re so against - even before the import duty), you’ll be buying a copy of Windows anyway. Yes, that’s because Microsoft has questionable bundling deals with computer manufacturers, but unless you’re the EU competition commissioner (I’ll work on the assumption that you aren’t) there isn’t anything you can do about that. EDIT: Dell’s announcement of Ubuntu-equipped PCs for the UK weakens this advantage slightly. For ‘Actually being able to buy a computer’, now read ‘Having a choice of computer manufacturer’
9. Plug and play. Fiddling with a computer is fun, but it is something that the geeks among us to for choice. I would hate to be forced to do that on a regular basis. Vista teething problems (which have occured with every operating system release, Microsoft and otherwise) aside, when you go out and buy a piece of software, or a piece of hardware, you don’t have to worry about whether it will work. You don’t have to spend hours googling, and weighing up often-conflicting compatibility reports before deciding to gamble with your money. You just hand over the cash (or, more likely these days, type in your card number) and use whatever it is you’ve purchased.
10. Guaranteed availability. Whatever our opinion of them, I think we can all agree that Microsoft won’t be going out of business any time soon. If you buy a copy of Windows today, there will still be a company around to support it in five years time. Can you say the same about the myriad, usually very small, companies which produce the various Linux distributions? Competing for 0.7% of the market doesn’t leave you with much room to cope with difficulties.

For more Visit: http://www.davidarussell.co.uk/2007/07/11/top-10-advantages-of-windows-xp/

Advantages and Disadvantages of Linux:

Advantages of Linux:

• Cost - The most obvious advantage of using Linux is the fact that it is free to obtain, while Microsoft products are available for a hefty and sometimes recurring fee. Microsoft licenses typically are only allowed to be installed on a single computer, whereas a Linux distribution can be installed on any number of computers, without paying a single dime.
• Security - In line with the costs, the security aspect of Linux is much stronger than that of Windows. Why should you have to spend extra money for virus protection software? The Linux operating system has been around since the early nineties and has managed to stay secure in the realm of widespread viruses, spyware and adware for all these years. Sure, the argument of the Linux desktop not being as widely used is a factor as to why there are no viruses. My rebuttle is that the Linux operating system is open source and if there were a widespread Linux virus released today, there would be hundreds of patches released tomorrow, either by ordinary people that use the operating system or by the distribution maintainers. We wouldn’t need to wait for a patch from a single company like we do with Windows.
• Choice (Freedom) - The power of choice is a great Linux advantage. With Linux, you have the power to control just about every aspect of the operating system. Two major features you have control of are your desktops look and feel by way of numerous Window Managers, and the kernel. In Windows, your either stuck using the boring default desktop theme, or risking corruption or failure by installing a third-party shell.
• Software - There are so many software choices when it comes to doing any specific task. You could search for a text editor on Freshmeat and yield hundreds, if not thousands of results. My article on 5 Linux text editors you should know about explains how there are so many options just for editing text on the command-line due to the open source nature of Linux. Regular users and programmers contribute applications all the time. Sometimes its a simple modification or feature enhancement of a already existing piece of software, sometimes its a brand new application. In addition, software on Linux tends to be packed with more features and greater usability than software on Windows. Best of all, the vast majority of Linux software is free and open source. Not only are you getting the software for no charge, but you have the option to modify the source code and add more features if you understand the programming language. What more could you ask for?
• Hardware - Linux is perfect for those old computers with barely any processing power or memory you have sitting in your garage or basement collecting dust. Install Linux and use it as a firewall, a file server, or a backup server. There are endless possibilities. Old 386 or 486 computers with barely any RAM run Linux without any issue. Good luck running Windows on these machines and actually finding a use for them.

Disadvantages of Linux:

• Understanding - Becoming familiar with the Linux operating system requires patience as well as a strong learning curve. You must have the desire to read and figure things out on your own, rather than having everything done for you. Check out the 20 must read howto’s and guides for Linux.
• Compatibility - Because of its free nature, Linux is sometimes behind the curve when it comes to brand new hardware compatibility. Though the kernel contributors and maintainers work hard at keeping the kernel up to date, Linux does not have as much of a corporate backing as alternative operating systems. Sometimes you can find third party applications, sometimes you can’t.
• Alternative Programs - Though Linux developers have done a great job at creating alternatives to popular Windows applications, there are still some applications that exist on Windows that have no equivalent Linux application. Read Alternatives to Windows Applications to find out some of the popular alternatives.

For more Visit: http://www.foogazi.com/2006/12/19/5-advantages-of-using-linux-over-windows/

Apple announces iPhone 3G; firmware 2.0

As was widely expected, Apple today announced the iPhone 3G and formally demonstrated the new features coming in the iPhone 2.0 firmware update. Both will be available beginning on 11 July 2008:iPhone 3G features:

• 3G data that is 2.8 times faster than EDGE
• Microsoft Exchange support
• Maps with GPS
• App Store for browsing and downloading applications
• The phone itself is thinner
• Black plastic rear panel
• Flush headphone jack
• Price drop: 8GB - US$199, 16GB -$299
• The 16GB model will also be available in white
• Shipping in 22 countries on July 11

iPhone firmware 2.0 features:

• Push email
• Push contacts
• Push calendar
• Auto-discovery
• Global address look-up
• Remote wipe
• WPA/WPA2 Enterprise wireless
• 802.1x authentication
• LEAP, PEAPv0, PEAPv1
• Contact search with live searching
• Full iWork document support
• Complete support for Office documents (Word, Excel, and now PowerPoint)
• Bulk delete & move for messages
• Ability to save received images
• New calculator with scientific mode when you rotate the iPhone
• Parental controls
• Temendous language support
• Asian language support, including character recognition
• iPhone 2.0 will be available in early July
• Free for original iPhone owners
• US$9.99 for iPod Touch owners

For more Visit: http://blogs.zdnet.com/Apple/?p=1841

Apple: 35 percent of Fortune 500 in iPhone beta

Apple CEO Steve Jobs went a little enterprise in his Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) keynote and put some numbers behind iPhone’s traction.

As most of the world has known, the iPhone 2.0 software as three parts: Enterprise support, the software development kit (SDK) and new features.

Jobs’ Apple as premier platform mantra to accelerate

Apple CEO Steve Jobs will deliver another sermon to the Mac faithful at the Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC), but amid all the pyrotechnics about the iPhone, App Store and third party software goodies keep in mind the big picture: There’s a platform war about to start.

It’s safe to say that Apple is winning over developers–the WWDC is sold out–but the game of software has always been won in the trenches. And if the rumors (Techmeme) are to be believed Apple will roll out a new Mac just for developers. The game is clear: Win over developers–ideally as young as possible–and keep them on your platform. That’s Microsoft’s secret. The software giant has its faults, but it’s not to hard to find teenage programmers on its platform. Microsoft is good to its developers.

Open source also has its legions of developers focused on everything from desktop operating systems to mobile platforms to enterprise tools. And take the developer game out further you get the Webtop where every company from Google to Adobe to Facebook is making a play to be a platform.

Computer Model For Finding Mosquito Repellent Compounds

Summer reminds us that one of the most useful tools for preventing mosquito bites is insect repellent. Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists and colleagues at the University of Florida (UF) have shown that a computer modeling program that looks at compounds' chemical structure can predict which compounds are likely to stop mosquito bites.

For more than 50 years, DEET has been the "gold standard" of mosquito repellents. DEET was discovered during a USDA screening program that tested 40,000 chemicals in an expensive process that took a decade.

The ARS research team included chemist Ulrich Bernier; Gary Clark, research leader of the Mosquito and Fly Unit at ARS' Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology (CMAVE) in Gainesville, Fla.; and CMAVE Director Kenneth Linthicum. The UF researchers were Alan R. Katritzky, Zuoquan Wang, Svetoslav Slavov, Maia Tsikolia, Dimitar Dobchev, Novruz G. Akhmedov and C. Dennis Hall of the Center for Heterocyclic Compounds, also in Gainesville.

In the research, a modeling system that can use chemical structures and insect receptors was used to predict repellents’ effectiveness against mosquitoes. The researchers used a particularly efficient approach, called quantitative structure-activity relationship, or QSAR. They chose a modeling system called an artificial neural network (ANN), because it can test theoretical compounds generated by the computer against a complicated phenomenon like duration of repellency.

Biometrics: Tell Me By The Way I Walk

Biometrics is commonly associated retinal scans, iris recognition and DNA databases, but researchers in India are working on another form of biometrics that could allow law enforcement agencies and airport security to recognize suspects based on the way they were, their characteristic gait. The team has revealed details of a comprehensive framework for gait recognition by computer.

C. Nandini of the Vidya Vikas Institute of Engineering & Technology and C.N. Ravi Kumar of the S.J. College of Engineering in Mysore, India, explain that human gait typifies the motion characteristics of an individual. Viewed from the side, we each have a unique gait that makes us easily recognizable.

They point out that a camera with a side view can record a set of key frames, or stances, as a person heads for the security desk at an airport, military installation or bank, for instance. Key frames over the person's complete walk cycle, can then be converted into silhouette form and statistical analysis using so-called Shannon entropy, together with height measurements and the periodicity of the gait used to classify the person's gait.

The gait of individuals checking in at an airport could then be compared with the database, perhaps even before they enter the airport concourse. Such data compared with CCTV footage might also be used to track suspect terrorists or criminals who may otherwise be disguising their features or be carrying forged documents.

For more Visit: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080609141241.htm

School Of Robofish Communicate With Each Other In Underwater Robot Teams

In the world of underwater robots, this is a team of pioneers. While most ocean robots require periodic communication with scientist or satellite intermediaries to share information, these can work cooperatively communicating only with each other.

Over the past five years Kristi Morgansen, a University of Washington assistant professor of aeronautics and astronautics, has built three Robofish that communicate with one another underwater. Recently at the International Federation of Automatic Control's Workshop on Navigation, Guidance and Control of Underwater Vehicles she presented results showing that the robots had successfully completed their first major test. The robots were programmed to either all swim in one direction or all swim in different directions, basic tasks that can provide the building blocks for coordinated group movement.

For more Visit: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080606105454.htm