CodeRewind Technology Blog

So far I have a mixed feeling for Vista Upgrade. I think microsoft went with the release of Vista a little too early. So I would call this release as a post-beta release. There is word of advice for users who are planning to upgrade to Vista from Wndows XP. Dont expect every application to work flawless in Vista. If you are prepared to experiment only then go for Vista Upgrade. Up until now, Vista doesn’t support a significant number of applications, including some that are critical to business operation. Many hardware manufacturers also haven’t yet released drivers that support Vista. And up until now enterprises are waiting for the release of a more stable Vista release (SP1) next year or in 2009 before implementing Vista. The resolution of application compatibility and driver issues in Vista may come too late. While application compatibility and driver issues should not be a big concern in one or two years from now, Vista deployment by that time may be less beneficial, especially if the enterprise has found no compelling reason to move over to Vista, especially if Windows 7 is on the horizon. But on the other hand individual users can still go ahead with the upgrade is they want to reap some enhancements in security and the overall Graphical User Interface changes Microsoft incorporated in Vista.

In my personal experience XP still holds an edge over Vista in terms of stability and compatibility. I have heard from people that they dont prefer Vista due to its huge memroy consumption specially with its indexing feature. Even on a machine with 2GB RAM it hogs up memory very fast. Iam desperately waiting for the release of SP1 and hope that these issues will be resolved.

I heard so many rumors about Windows Vista, so I thought about giving it a try. I started testing Vista during the beta testing but lost the flow due to other endeavors. During the testing phase I realized that it did not comply with all the third party products, especially the device drivers. I bought my new HP Pavilion dv6000t Notebook preloaded with Windows XP professional in sep 2005. I was unlucky in getting a free upgrade copy of Vista from HP as they only offered it to people who bought the machine after sep 2005. Recently I got lucky as one of my good friend sent me free copy of Windows Vista Ultimate version (The most wanted..).

Installation Experience:

The Vista Upgrade Advisor did bring out issues with some of the softwares and device drivers on my laptop. After I backed up my data I went ahead with a clean install and the process went fine. The only issue I faced during the install process was setting up my webcam drivers. I had to dig into the WebCam manufacturers site for assistance. Finally I got it resolved with the help of Microsoft Vista Tech Support. Before that I was bounced by HP Tech Support because I had an unsupported OS on my machine.

 Vista User Experience:

I was amazed by the graphical enhancement they made in Vista. Even though I have worked on MacOS I did find microsoft’s improvement in the OS really interesting. Im not sure what’s in store for future from microsoft. I have been a microsoft fan since 1994. Lately I have been trying out some open source OS’s, which in my view have really come a long way. They offer almost all the features but the only thing which bring Microsoft’s OS is their support.

I would shed more light on my Vista experience in my coming blogs. Stay tuned……

Along the web development, email has made a huge contribution in wide spread of internet. E-mail is widely used and has a well-defined and universally implemented protocol and, it is a hot cake for hackers. It is easily done. Attacks on e-mail focus on two areas: the delivery and execution of malicious code (malcode) and the disclosure of sensitive information. E-mail has great latent risk due to the very sensitive nature of the data or information that is transmitted. E-mail can disclose a huge amount of company and personally sensitive data. The security risks linked with e-mail are often perplexed with the risks associated with collaboration tools that also serve as e-mail clients. Microsoft Outlook is one such tool.

The following are two issues to consider when comparing e-mail and collaboration tools:

• The acquisition and propagation of malcode
• The loss of privacy data.

E-mail, as defined by the Network Working Group’s RFCs, is implemented in simple

ASCII text. ASCII text cannot be executed directly. This can be a serious mutilation for malcode, which needs to be executed, promulgate, or do damage. Therefore, e-mail at its very basic core is safe because it does not transmit directly executable (binary) code.

When an e-mail client starts adding features to be more of a collaboration tool, such as Outlook, the malcode has many avenues of being decoded and launched. The goal of these tools is to make life easy and suitable for the users. This ease and expediency leads to the tools providing features for the user that the malcode can use to its advantage.

The basic protocols used in e-mail may not be inherently susceptible to malicious code such as worms and viruses, but the same cannot be said for protecting personal and sensitive data. For many years, the popular e-mail protocol, Post Office

Protocol (POP), was used in the clear (not encrypted). Even in today’s security-conscious society, most e-mail is still transmitted in the clear.

A variety of technology companies are involved in this emerging space of digital cinema. Companies such as Qualcomm, Boeing, QuVis, and Avica have all come to the table with various digital cinema products and services. However, after more than two years of market development, only about 60 screens across the U.S. have permanent digital cinema installations.

This small number can be attributed mainly to cost. Similar to the transition from “talkies” to sound films as well as in the case of the emergence of color film, cost is a significant barrier to entry. In an industry where production and distribution costs are off the charts and margins on theatrical exhibition are low, it is a challenge to rationalize funding the conversion to digital cinema.

However, from production applications such as dailies in digital format and digital asset management to promotion devices such as digital media trailers on the Web to (most recently) film distribution and exhibition, filmmakers and other film industry leaders are recognizing the economic value of integrating digital media into their work environments.

Upgrading RAM is the easiest of all the hardware upgrades anyone can make on their machine. Before you step ahead an buy or bid for a RAM. Please check few things to see if that RAM is compatible with your system.

Pins - Check the number of Pins (Pins are the contacts on both sides of RAM)

Clock Speed - Check to make sure the speed of your current RAM matches the new one. For some case it might work with a RAM with lower speed but not with a higher speed. This means that PC133 will work at 133Mhz, 100Mhz and 66MHz, or any clocks in between. It also means that PC3200 RAM will work at PC2700, 2100 or even 1600 speeds. But there is no user putting more money to buy a higher clock RAM and use it with a slower one.

Density issue when mixing RAM –Mixing different densities (getting them in the wrong order) can cause problems. The lowest density should be nearest to the chipset, since it is likely to have the most DRAMs on it, and thus be a heavier load on the bus. This can cause problems associated with either of the two mixing problems above, so eliminate those before assuming this. Swapping slots usually solves a problem caused by this.

Continuity RIMMs (incase of RDRAM)
RDRAM systems don’t have a memory “bus” like SDRAM systems do, where modules are connected in parallel, they have a “port” off which hangs a chain. This chain must be continuous from source to termination, since the clock is used twice, once in each direction, and because proper termination is required to avoid reflection. Therefore the empty slots on a motherboard are populated with CRIMMs. They’re like blank modules, with a few surface mount resistors and capacitors in places. They need to be present in every empty RIMM slot for the system to even pass POST.

“Registered memory” is a means of “Buffering” the memory in SDRAM. This means that the clock signal is boosted across the entire array of memory chips so that the computer sees a clean sharp clock signal instead of a weakening clock signal as it progresses along the length of the memory path. Registered memory must be supported by the system board and cannot be mixed with “Unbuffered” modules. You must have only Registered memory to use Registered memory. This is a further means of eliminating the possibility of errors when reading the data in memory and is used when the data returned from memory is extremely critical, such as in scientific or financial calculations where the integrity of the data is CRITICAL. It also allows a module to be built using more chips, allowing for larger capacity modules to be made.

ECC stands for Error Correction Code. It is similar to Parity, but more advanced. It can detect multiple errors in data returned from memory and actually correct a single error. ECC memory has 8 extra bits to support the ECC. The System board to be used must support ECC, and all of the memory in the system must be ECC for it to be actively supported. Your system board specifications will tell you whether or not you can use ECC.

Buffered memory uses a Buffer chip to boost the clock signal sent across the memory module so that the clock signal is seen as a clean, sharp signal across the entire module. It eliminates chances of memory errors in data sent or retrieved from memory. It is commonly used in larger capacity Fast Page Mode or EDO modules. Buffered modules have a different keyway in the contact edge and can only be used when the board supports Buffered modules. Unlike Registered modules, it is not interchangeable with Unbuffered modules.

Can I mix PC -100 and PC-133 memory in the same system?
If the system supports 100MHz memory, you can normally use 133MHz memory in it as well, and can even mix the two. However, there would be no advantage gained as the 133MHz memory will only run at the bus speed of 100MHz. Using the 133MHz memory will not make the system more stable if it is being Over-clocked. We suggest using only the memory specified by the system manufacturer, and cannot guarantee that memory which is different than the manufacturer specifies will be 100% compatible.

– Finally you can visit this site for more information: http://www.crucial.com/store/listmfgr.asp?cat=RAM