I just switched to Windows 7 64 bit RC on my main computer. Since Crimson Editor was constantly throwing UAC popups, I decided to try something else as a text editor.
I started by looking at Wikipedia “Source Editor” page. I quickly scanned the list of free text-editors for Windows and decided to go with Notepad++, since it had most of the features I need.
I downloaded the installation package (with some plugins included by default) and it installed just fine. However, there’s a glitch. It doesn’t allow you to type in regional characters easily – they appear as if they were entered with ISO into a CP-1250 text editor. 10 years ago that would not be a big surprise, but hey, we have unicode all around us, such things should not happen, right?
I tweak the settings around a bit, but nothing helped. But, since I’m a geek, I have to resolve it.
I googled a bit, found notes about removing HexEditor plugin (which I don’t have installed) and then something about transparency problems on Windows 7.
Then I tried switching Notepad++ to run in backwards compatibility mode and I found out it’s enough to “downgrade” to Windows Vista SP2 and it starts working properly.
So – if you have the same problem with Notepad++, just set the executable file to run in Vista compatibility mode.
I just installed a fresh copy of Windows 7 RC on my Lenoto T60 laptop and almost everything worked like a charm.
It really is faster than Vista, boots up faster, eats up less memory etc. Most software works just fine, drivers downloaded automatically, but…
But there’s just one small glitch – my Option GT Max has no drivers for it. The 64-bit drivers from Option website also don’t work – I can install them but then modem just replies that it’s currently busy and I cannot make a connection.
Hope it gets solved, I really like my mobile Internet.
One annoying thing in listening to audio / video streams on computer is that almost every stream, application or site has its own loudness. For some music files you might need to turn the volume up, but then your favorite video channel will just scream out loud.
It’s because with the volume setting you set the maximum possible volume for audio output. And not every source uses the full scale – sometimes there are poorly encoded MP3s, sometimes commercials want to be louder than everything else, and sometimes a ballad will be simply played quietly.
For a regular user it means he/she has to turn the volume up and down constantly. Luckily, in Vista, there’s a feature that will put and end to it: Loudness equalization. It will make all sounds sound with a similar volume. It will always run in teh background monitoring everything you play and adjusting itself. Just turn it on, set your desired volume level and Vista will take care of the rest. And since it’s on the OS level, all sources are equal.
How to do it? Go to Control Panel | Sound | Playback | Properties | Enhancements and turn on Loudness Equalization. That’s it.
If you’ve ever asked yourself those questions, Mark Russinovich wrote an article on virtual memory management in Windows.
It’s, as usual, very deep and informative, yet quite easy to understand. I suggest you spend those 15 minutes of your life and give it a read – it’s worth it.
Microsoft has recently made their Live Mesh Beta availble to all countries. I couldn’t help myself, I had to test it.
It seems it’s a fancy and reliable feature. You can store up to 5 gig of files on a virtual file store with desktop-like interface. You can make those files sync between your computers (only on desktop right now, full sync is yet to come).
However, the best thing about Live Mesh is the ability to create a remote desktop session to any of your computers currently connected to the Internet. You don’t have to install any VNC / RDP server, you don’t need to have a public IP address or an open port. You just have to install the client software (available for 32/64 bit Windows XP and Vista or MacOS) and make sure the other computer is powered up – Mesh installs itself as a service so you don’t have to be logged on.
It seems to be secure – you have to login to your Live account, then to your computer with your local account there.
Also, you can transfer files from/to that remote host by simply copying and pasting them between two computers.
What’s even more – a Windows Mobile client is supposed to be released to the whole world soon.
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