Sorry to keep blabbering about our remote control product, but we released another beta today. This Release Candidate has added VNC support. This means we now have a fully functional 32 Bit - 64 bit - Vista - and 2008 compatible VNC Server. (Update: We have released the full version…see download link at the bottom)

It has a cool new setup wizard, and agent settings application. Here are a few screen shots:

Settings Form:

Setup Wizard:

More screenshots can be found Here

Download it from here

Remote Control 4.1 - A Vista, Windows 7, 2008, 2003, and XP compatible VNC server and client. It works with the 64 bit versions of those Operating systems too. Unlike other VNC solutions, it was designed with Vista and Windows 7 in mind. When you get those pesky prompts, our Remote Control will stay connected and move smoothly between sessions.

Download it from here

One of the most notable features in this version is the fantastic computer search. With this new feature you can quickly find a computer by username, host name, operating system, or service pack level - Or even your own custom description.

We have tested it with up to 10,000 computers and it still comes back with a result in less than a second!




Take it for a spin and download our 15 day trial:

Ed Bott continues the debate over Microsoft’s SKU strategy with Windows today. Adrian Kingsley-Hughes yesterday made mention of reducing the complexity in Windows 7 to two or just one. Ed disagrees and  believes the current strategy is working but is flawed in its marketing.

Quote:

“Currently, Microsoft has a tiered pricing system for Windows. For OEM copies sold with a new PC (and remember, that’s how 9 out of 10 copies are sold), that price is buried in the cost of the system and isn’t broken out. But for the sake of argument, here are my best estimates of how much each Windows Vista edition adds to the cost of a new PC:

• Home Basic $20
• Home Premium $60
• Business $130
• Ultimate $190

Microsoft brings in a steady stream of revenue from this current mix, revenue that is the biggest part of its bottom line. If you were to replace those four editions with a single edition for a single price, my back-of-the-envelope calculation says the new price would have to be in the neighborhood of $90. That would add $70 to the cost of entry-level PCs, many of which are currently being sold to budget -conscious businesses with Vista Home Basic. For a $400 bare-bones PC, that’s a 17.5% price increase. Yikes!”

Read the entire article here

There was never a problem when there was just two SKUs (XP), now it is? In fact it worked so well, Microsoft is having hard time getting rid of XP, with the two stand out SKU’s still number one on desktops – XP Home and Professional. A lot of what Ed Bott says seems to be defending Microsoft's huge bottom line, not consumers sanity or small businesses focus on delivering value. I have had my frustrations with this new matrix, I realize Microsoft wants to make it easy for end users to obtain the OS they want with the features they really need. But when you have a features like 'Complete PC Backup' that is not standard across all SKU's, it shows Microsoft is only doing this SKU thing for up sell 'Anytime Upgrade' anyone?

Still waiting for that Exclusive Experience

Lets not forget Vista Ultimate and its Ultimate Extras. You might say anyone investing in Ultimate just for Extras deserve what they got. But I remember this feature being touted as exclusive only to 'licensed' Ultimate customers. The premise was to deliver value beyond box. Cutting-edge programs, innovative services, unique publications. I don't consider a bunch of animated wallpapers, a few games and encryption utility to be real value beyond the box. You can read my suggested solution to this issue here

I’m glad at least one charity is thinking outside the box - beyond depressing stories and pictures - to get people to take action. World Vision Australia has put together a competition with some interesting and albeit geeky prizes for bloggers to write about poverty as part of its Blog Action Day 2008 campaign.

The first prize includes playing with the only Microsoft Surface in Australia, chatting with the gurus at creative agency Amensia who owns the Surface, learning from experts at Yahoo and hanging out with the Googlers in Sydney - travel and accommodation included. On the other hand if you don’t care much about the big table, there’s also two iPhones for runner-up prizes. So either way, you win something multi-touch enabled. Everyone else gets a warm and fuzzy feeling.

Unfortunately for many of you, and fortunately for the few of you, this is an Australian only competition so your chances are pretty good. Competition ends October 29. Check out their site for more details. Get writing.

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes over at ZDNET gives us a tour of a new utility in beta from Symantec that aims to improve upon Microsoft’s much derided Account Privilege security implementation – User Account Control.

Norton User Account Control (ZDNET)

Quote:

“Norton UAC Tool (which, I will warn you right from the start is currently in beta) is a replacement to the UAC prompts that you normally see. It has two usability-related features to offer:

It offers a “Don’t ask me again” feature so that the next time you carry out a certain action there’s no UAC prompt displayed”

Read the rest here

Yesterday, I noted that I personally want an option to check off areas of the system I deem to be safe so I don't see the prompt anymore. The need to wait for or upgrade to Windows 7 is looking more dim for Windows Vista users. Microsoft just yesterday announced their intention to improve the user experience for UAC in Windows 7. But with third party company's such as Symantec aiming to fix UAC now, a lot of what Microsoft is promising as an upgrade is looking less interesting. I am sure 7 will present new improvements, but do I really need to invest in a brand new version of Windows to get all of them? I don't think so too.

Resources:

UAC under Windows 7 – Expect Improvements

ActiveWin.com Windows Vista Review

For the computer geeks that are looking for powerful PCs, look no further. CyberPower has unveiled its latest gaming desktop PC called Gamer Extreme XI to adhere towards the growing demand of higher computer specifications for games that are being sold in the market. Just check out these specs and drool with envy:

Powered by 4.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9770 quad-core processor, the system ensures its ability to play the most graphically intense computer games and high-end multimedia applications that includes HD video encoding or photo editing, retouching, and publishing

Source

Now along with higher specs comes with higher prices. The Gamer Extreme XI has been priced at a hefty $4,939 and carries a three year warranty. To the avid gamer, it may be too much but idealistically, if you want something with promise these days, you have to really spend.

Some would turn to upgrading by part, but if you sum it all up in the end, you will be surprised at the total price which may even go over the suggested retail price of gaming PCs sold in bundles.

So why go through the trouble if you can get it all in one package. The gaming world is growing and so are the requirements. If you really want to enjoy trouble free gaming, look no further. The Gaming Extreme XI is there for you to own.