Microsoft has begun rolling out to testers a near-final Release Candidate build of Windows XP Service Pack 3. Testers said they began pulling down the bits from Microsoft’s private download site on…

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• Windows Vista Team Blog : Silicon Valley Install Fair next month
  Another opportunity to install SP1 with Microsoft’s help.
  (tags: SP1 Beta Install )
• Microsoft struggling to convince about Vista
  Yet another survey that says Vista is in trouble in the enterprise. If you ask 1000 people if they are concerned about something, anything, you’re gonna get a large percentage that are. The question is loaded, as are many of these surveys.
  (tags: PR Enterprise Deployment )

What a beautifully still picture of a mountain range next to a lake. Wonderful reflection of the mountain peak in lake water. The icons are perfect for this theme. This author knows what he’s doing.
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Tired of the old Windows Vista default Boot Screen? Well then, there is a simple alternative solution involving nothing more than your copy of the operating system. And just a tad of tweaking, but nothing extensive, and certainly nothing that would cause Vista to become instable or unusable. The fact of the matter is that you will only have to make use of one of the system maintenance tools that ships by default with the platform. And of course that the first tool coming to mind is the System Configuration Utility, or msconfig.

In order to access the System Configuration Utility all you have to do is enter “msconfig” in the Search Box under the Start Menu. Then right-click the highlighted search result and from the contextual menu choose Run as Administrator. The second tab of the utility involves the boot configuration of the operating system or the operating systems installed. From here, you will be able not only to change the default Windows Vista boot screen but also to alter the way in which the platform starts. (more…)

aurora borealis, boot screen, default configuration, default windows, hidden vista,

Venture Arctic is an interactive ecosystem that you can control as you please.

Unlike other Tycoon Games, there are no people in Venture Arctic. You won’t have to build hot dog stands, hire janitors, or balance your checkbook. Build your ecosystem however you want to! There are 22 completely unique animals, all with realistic behaviors.

Harness the forces of sun, snow, and wind to create balance in these fragile ecosystems of wolves, whales, and more!

[Download free trial of Venture Arctic]
[Buy Venture Arctic]

Arctic Quest 2
Arctic Rush
No Nightmare Before Christmas
Wildlife Tycoon: Venture Africa
Ocean Diver

Arctic Rush
Going Green For The Green
Taking off for the Great White North
The Return of the Venture Capitalists
A Chilly Adventure Awaits Puzzle Gamers

If you’re tired of annoying popups, flash ads, and the rest, you’ll find these downloads (as selected by our friends at PC World) useful. Check the reviews thoroughly, however, as some are more effective at different tasks.

Adblock Plus
This is one of the most popular Firefox add-ons, and for good reason.

Ad Muncher
Not happy with your ad-blocker? Try this one, a favorite of columnist Steve Bass.

Quero Toolbar
This navigation bar replacement blocks some advertisements and gives you plenty of other useful options.

Super Ad Blocker
Tackles even the most annoying ads, including pop-ups, banners, and the distracting fly-in and slide-in types.

Ad Annihilator
Blocks many pop-up ads, cookies, and other distractions, but it’s a geeky tool and you’ll need spare time to configure it perfectly.

Whack A Mole Or Block A Pop Up?
Which Popup Blocker Should I Use?
Firewalls & Ad Blockers That Work
Spam Blocker Magic - Choose & Tame Your Spam Blocker
Does IE7 Banish Google and Yahoo! Search? Vista Testers Lose Toolbars

Mozilla Thunderbird 0.2 Release Candidate
Email Marketing with RSS Autoresponders
How to Subscribe to RSS web feeds in Microsoft Internet Explorer 7!
What Do You Hate Most About Websites?
Sportball Challenge v1.0