Q:
What is Windows SteadyState?

A:
You know, I was wondering the same thing! I came across Windows SteadyState last week when I was writing a tip for the Windows Vista parental controls, but at that time, I didn't have a chance to look into it more. So, when I received this question in my e-mail Inbox yesterday morning, I knew I had to write about it right away! I'm sure there are several of you out there wondering what it is too, so we'll just all learn together! After you're done reading this article, I think you'll have a better understanding of what Windows SteadyState really is. Let's check it out!

To begin, SteadyState is mostly used with shared access computing. So, what is shared access? Well, it's basically when one or more computers serve multiple users all from one location. For example, the computers in schools, Internet cafes, libraries and even in a few homes. SteadyState was created by Microsoft for the main purpose of keeping all those shared access computers running smoothly and without any trouble. Also, with it, the computers will stay the way they're supposed to, no matter who uses them from day to day.

With shared access computers, you never know what sort of condition they will be in by the time everyone is done using them. Each computer probably has several users on it throughout the day and more than likely, each one did something different, depending on the type of work they had to do. So, by the end of the day, those computers could be filled with downloaded files, newly installed programs, the normal settings could be changed, there could be some viruses or spyware on the system and so on. Basically, a shared access computer is always filled with different items and it could be bogged down for various reasons.

Because of that, you need something that will be able to clean up those computers and get them ready for the next day. And that's where SteadyState comes into play. With SteadyState, you're given an easy way to manage multiple users, you can set in place a locked down platform that will make each computer more stable for shared computing and there's even an easy way to keep all of your settings in place, meaning no one will be able to alter them.

Like I said earlier, SteadyState really comes in handy for certain locations, including schools, Internet cafes and libraries. In a typical day, the computers at those types of places will be used by hundreds of people. Luckily, SteadyState comes with a design that fits each of those locations the best. So, for example, if you're managing the computers at a school, you can use the specialized part of SteadyState that generic cialis professional works the best for computers in a classroom. Or, if you have shared access computers in your home (maybe you have one for yourself and a couple for your children), there's also a special design in SteadyState for that. Each one really fits each location to a tee and it makes managing your computer so much easier!

So, how can you get SteadyState? Well, I will give you that information in a second, but there are a few things you'll want to do before you install it on your main computer. First, you'll want to double check the system requirements. SteadyState only works with Windows XP with the SP2 and Vista. It works for XP Professional, Home and even the Tablet PC edition. Now, you may already be using a utility called the Shared Computer Toolkit, but you'll want to upgrade to SteadyState, as it is the newer version. You'll want to uninstall the Shared Computer Toolkit first as well. You will also need to defrag your computer before you install SteadyState. That's just to ensure that your computer is optimized and ready to go.

When you're ready, you can click here to install SteadyState. Just click on the blue Download Now button and follow the directions. It will bring up a wizard for you to follow and it's not that long of a process. For more information on everything we've discussed today, you can visit this Web site. It should answer any additional questions you may have. Once you have SteadyState installed, you'll be all set and ready to go with your new shared access computers. Check it out today!

February 2nd, 2009

Posted by Mary Jo Foley

Whenever Microsoft releases a new version of Windows, there’s always some period of uncertainty when customers face the choice of moving to the current release or waiting for the new product. This year,  however, that transition period is especially uneasy.

Windows 7 is — by all accounts (except from the Microsoft honchos) — due out later this year and is looking faster, smaller and more stable than any Windows release out there. Windows Vista is here, but not a user favorite (to put it mildly). And eight-year-old Windows XP is still the dominant version of Windows out there.

So what’s a Windows user to do? Follow Microsoft’s corporate guidance and upgrade to Vista now in preparation for 7? Hang on a bit longer with XP? Try mixing and matching the three in your IT shop?

Microsoft’s Windows brass have been reticent to provide a detailed answer to the question “What should my desktop strategy be?” But Mike Fiorina, a Microsoft account tech specialist based in New England, grabbed the Windows-upgrade-confusion bull by the horns in a blog post this past weekend.

Fiorina explained that a perfect storm is brewing: XP SP2 mainstream support is set to end in July, 2010 April 2009 (and all support for it by July 2010).  XP SP3 extended support isn’t retiring until April 2014, which, Fiorina said, “gives XP environments some breathing room, but not necessarily as much as you might think.”

Even though Vista SP1 has been out for a year (and Vista SP2 is expected some time in the next few months), Vista still is suffering from both real and imagined limitations, Fiorina admitted. From his January 30 post:

“The one recurring theme in discussions with corporate customers is that (Vista) application compatibility is a problem. Applications may not run in Vista, or maybe they can, but it’s not supported by the vendor. Remediation will be costly and time consuming. We get it. Many of the acquisitions and investments we’ve made in the past few years are targeting that problem specifically (Application Virtualization – SoftGrid, Enterprise Desktop Virtualization – Kidaro, etc.)”

Fiorina noted that the generally positive beta reviews of Windows 7 has meant “we’re hearing from a lot of folks ‘Why should I upgrade to Vista when Windows 7 is right around the corner?’” His answer:

“If we look at it from the perspective of an enterprise with fairly unaggressive adoption cycles, then you’ll see that you may be putting yourself in an untenable situation a few years down the road.”

Untenable? Fiorina continued his line of reasoning with the caveat, “for the sake of argument, make these assumptions”:

• “Company A doesn’t deploy new operating systems or major applications until Service Pack 1 (or a similar bug-fix milestone) has been provided by the vendor
• Company A probably won’t even begin testing their application footprint against the new OS until said SP1 is available
• Windows 7 ships in the fourth quarter of 2009
• Service generic cialis overnight Pack 1 for Windows 7 would likely not be final until the first half of 2011, if not later (going by our historical timelines for SP1 releases)
• So, Company A would begin testing migration from Windows XP to Windows 7 SP1 in 2011 sometime. How long would it take to perform adequate testing of your application suite to certify\remediate it for Windows 7? For most, this is at least a 6 to 12 month process…so, now we’re in mid-2012.  At that point, you’re ready to start building an image (hopefully using the MDT to make your lives easier).  Maybe the image is ready to go in early 2013. Then you have a little over a year to get it out company-wide until Windows XP hits end-of-life. Is that enough time?  Perhaps…but is it worth backing yourself into a corner?”

Sure, you could argue that Fiorina is a sales guy and is looking for any way possible to chalk up a few more Vista sales while Windows 7 is gaining steam. But, to me, his post highlights what’s likely to be one of the biggest IT questions in 2009: On which version of Windows should I standardize as my corporate desktop?

Corporate users: What’s your thinking here? Has your first taste of Windows 7 led you to change your deployment plans?

Just For Vista?

I received a phone call yesterday morning from a fellow newsletter reader who was wondering if the Windows Defender security package only works with Windows Vista. At first, I told him yes, because from what I understood from articles I've read in the past, that's how it's set up. He then asked me to double check on it and I gladly said I would. Well, let me tell you, I'm really glad I did! I have been wrong this whole time and I'm not too proud to admit it. Here's the scoop!

After doing some more research, I found out that Windows Defender automatically comes along with Vista, but you can also download a free version of it for earlier Windows operating systems. Wow, who knew?! The free version of Windows Defender is available for Windows XP SP2, as well as, Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003. (It will only work with the last two if you validate it through the Windows Genuine Advantage program first though).

Now, I know you're probably wondering how the free version stacks up next to the Vista version, right? Well, as far as I can see, it seems to work just as well. If you download Windows Defender to an earlier operating system, it will run through all the same scans, etc. that it does for Vista. generic cialis fast delivery It's obviously going to work a little better for Vista, because it's the security program that was made specifically for it, but if you're looking for something new for an older Windows computer, the free download will do the trick! So, if you're not using Vista and would like to download the free version of Windows Defender, you can do so right here. I hope you enjoy it!

January 6th, 2009

Posted by Jason Perlow

Okay, never mind that I’m a dinosaur with an affinity for 1990’s era User Interfaces –  I think even my best critics will very likely agree with me that Windows 7, for all of its performance improvements and bling, is essentially one big service deluxe pack for Windows Vista. It’s the Windows Vista that customers were promised when they bought “Vista Capable” PC’s 3 years ago, and despite the rest of us dinosaurs that are set in our ways about the way we like to work, it’s the Windows Vista that even Micosoft’s most ardent supporters hoped that would finally replace Windows XP. Windows 7 is the Vista that we were guaranteed would work properly, the first time around.

Taking a page from the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers, Windows 7  and it’s accompanying sales propaganda is the Microsoft corporate mantra equivalent of “Wait ’till next year” that everyone is hoping may actually cialis soft tabs online result in that all-elusive pennant win — the end-user and corporate acceptance that Windows Vista was never able to achieve.

Click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below for more.

Let’s face it, Windows 7 is Windows Vista Service Release 2, more than a service pack but less than a major release, with only a few added extra features, or as I am now in the custom of calling it, Windows Fixta. And since Windows 7 is essentially a performance and usability fix for a defective product, I’m of the increasing opinion that a Windows 7 upgrade should be free to anyone who was conned into buying Windows Vista.

Yes, you heard me. If you own a copy of Windows Vista — Microsoft should be giving you a download entitlement to whatever corresponding version you have. So if you have Home, you should get Windows 7 Home. If you have Ultimate, you should get Windows 7 Ultimate. For Microsoft to do anything less would be a disservice to their loyal customers, especially to the enterprises that actually bought into Enterprise Agreements for Vista desktops.  It isn’t just good business for Microsoft to redeem itself in this way, it’s simply the right thing to do. Anything less than a complete “Mea culpa, we’ll do anything to make this up to you” move by Microsoft is likely to open them up to further litigation, especially by angry EU lawmakers who are just looking for another excuse to hit the company with billions more in fines as well as an expansion of existing class action in the United States.

As reported by Mary Jo Foley today, selected PC OEMs will begin offering free upgrades from Vista this summer, but these upgrades will not be retroactive. Microsoft needs to address their loyal customers and early adopters with free certificates NOW.

January 2nd, 2009

Posted by Jason Perlow

In round two of Perlow gets a Bott Beating, I am educated by our esteemed Windows expert that you don’t need a “Run” function in the Windows Vista or Windows 7 Start Menu because “The Windows Key” combined with “R” is the same function. Wow, I didn’t know that. Really.

I have to admit here, this is probably not something that is unique to actual computer experts who have been using PC’s prior to 1981.  I’m sure plenty of people have no idea what the Windows Key does.

Click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below for more.

The Windows key was introduced by Microsoft in Windows 95. At the time, most PC’s used the IBM AT 101 key layout. It was only a few years later that many keyboard manufacturers and PC makers started to license its use and that it became standard. Still,  many of us never got into the use of the Windows Key. I informally polled a number of real veterans this cialis soft tablets morning — most of which have been using PCs 20 years or more — and most of them don’t use the Windows key. Some of them, like former PC Magazine Editor In Chief Bill Machrone, use CTRL-ESC instead.

I personally own a number of keyboards manufactured by UNICOMP, which is the company that bought the rights to produce the original IBM buckling-spring AT keyboards. They aren’t cheap, their basic model, which is a 101-key model which has no “Windows” key, is  $69. They do also make a model with the Windows Key, but I don’t own any. They are incedibly durable keyboards, and if you are someone who writes a great deal or who lusts after a good-ol style IBM keyboard, I highly reccomend them.