Customize Your Desktop With Rainmeter

If you want to customize your Windows desktop, Friendly Computers would like to share this article with you.

I don’t know how I haven’t stumbled across this before, but now that I have I feel I must share it with you. Rainmeter is unlike anything I’ve come across before. It’s a desktop customization platform which allows you to enhance your Windows PC with handy, compact applets which float freely on your desktop, much like Windows Sidebar gadgets, or dashboard widgets for the Mac.

There is a whole array of various different skins and themes available to download and install to customize Rainmeter to your liking.

You can download Rainmeter here and it’s available for 32bit and 64bit machines for Windows XP, Vista and 7.

Then once you downloaded the installer, go ahead and install it and it should run automatically when your finished. The default theme is Enigma which is shown above and has several widgets, taskbars and various other components. It also displays many system resource widgets, such as RAM and CPU usage, so you know what’s going on with your computer all the time. All of these are easily customizable and there is virtually no code involved.

The great thing about Rainmeter is that you enter all your settings via the GUI interface which can be accessed by double clicking on the sidebar and then going to configuration, then once you entered them all, they’re saved for any theme you apply. This means you don’t have to go re-entering your settings each time you change theme.

Speaking of themes, there is a whole rake of them available that you can use with Rainmeter to customize it to your liking. You can find them easily on Google and their easy enough to install. Once their installed you can switch between them easily enough by just entering the GUI by double clicking on the sidebar once again.

So that’s a quick look at Rainmeter, why not install it and play around with it for a bit and see if it’s to your liking and try out different themes and stuff. It really livens up your desktop

Download Rainmeter Here

Source: http://windows7news.com/2010/03/28/customize-your-desktop-with-rainmeter/

Closing Open Windows’ Applications the Easy Way!

Want to save time and close all your application with one click? Friendly Computers would like to share this article with you.

Now here’s a useful little tool I found on the Internet. It is simple to use and closes all running windows with a simple click.

It is available from this website http:www.ntwind.com

To get this useful application you need to download it using this hyperlink:

Download – CloseAll.zip (36 KB)

CloseAll is not a “memory hungry” program. It only sends a “close” message to any open applications telling them to shut down. When it achieves this, it shuts down itself waiting in the wings for you to set it to work again.

Installing Close All

The beauty of this application is that it doesn’t require installation. There are no settings stored neither in Windows Registry nor in the file system.

Follow the steps to set it up on your computer.

As you’ll see I’m downloading CloseAll.zip into my Downloads folder. I prefer to do this initially as I can them keep track on downloaded files easier. Later I move them to named folders within the Downloads folder.

1. Right-click on this hyperlink: Download – CloseAll.zip (36 KB).
2. Select Open Hyperlink.

   

   Opening the Hyperlink

3. When the File download dialog box appears, select Save.

   

   Downloaded file available

4. The Save As dialog box opens.

   

   Saving to the Downloads Folder

5. Click the Save button.
6. The Download complete dialog box opens, informing you that the download is complete.

   

   Download complete

7. Click Open Folder.
8. The Downloads folder opens. In it you’ll see the zip files, CloseAll.zip.

   

   Zip file ready to go!

9. Right-click on CloseAll.zip and, in the side menu, select Extract All.

   

   Ready to extract files

10. In the Extract Compressed (Zipped) Folders dialog box, click the Extract button.

    

    Extraction begins

11. Windows 7 extracts the files creating a new folder in the Downloads folder calledCloseAll.

    

    The Extracted files now available

Where can I add CloseAll’s Icon for quick access?

There are several places you can place this handy program’s icon. The first, and perhaps the best, is on Windows 7’s Taskbar. If you don’t have Windows 7, you’re out of luck with this option!

This leaves you with three other locations.

You can add CloseAll’s icon:

• To the Start menu
• As a Desktop Shortcut
• On Quick Launch toolbar

The Start Menu (Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7)

Pinning CloseAll icon to Start Menu

Desktop Shortcut (Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7)

Creating a Desktop shortcut for CloseAll

Note: Don’t forget you can rename this shortcut calling it CloseAll.

Renaming CloseAll's shortcut icon

Add to Quick Launch Toolbar (Windows XP)

Adding CloseAll icon to Quick Launch (Windows XP)

My favourite place for shortcut icons is on Windows 7’s Taskbar.

Now, it’s time to add the CloseAll button to the Taskbar.

1. Right-click on CloseAll.exe.
2. In the pop-up menu, select Pin to the Taskbar.

   

   Pinning to Taskbar

3. CloseAll’s icon appears on the Taskbar.

   

   CloseAll icon on Taskbar

Now, when you have several applications open, you can quickly close them by clicking the CloseAll button.

Note: As a safeguard, CloseAll doesn’t shut the open applications you’ve been working on before allowing the applications the opportunity to ask whether you want to save your work or not. Once you make this decision, CloseAll completely closes the application.

CloseAll icon

Source: http://windows7news.com/2010/03/18/closing-open-windows-applications-the-easy-way/

Use Transparent Shortcuts to Separate and Organize Your Windows 7 Taskbar Icons

Friendly Computers would like to share this article with you.

If you'd like to have empty space in between some of the icon sets on your Windows 7 taskbar to keep things organized and separated, this simple hack will get the job done.

Lifehacker reader Virgilstar shared this excellent tip here. We tweaked it a little and made a custom icon for you those of you within the software to make icons yourself.

The magic behind the trick is assigning a transparent icon to a short cut and then pinning that shortcut to the taskbar as a spacer in between to sets of icons you want to keep separate. The steps below detail how to do so.

First, make a folder in an out of the way spot—you don't want your files to accidentally get deleted or moved later—and in that folder right click and create a new text document. Rename that text document to spacer1.exe. You're just using the empty text documents to create dummy executable files to trick Windows. Repeat this step for as many spacers as you need. We created two for this tutorial.

Once you have created the number spacers, right click on each dummy exe and create a new shortcut. You don't need to rename the shortcut from the default spacer1.exe - Shortcut, the name won't be visible.

After you have the number of dummy executable files and shortcuts in accordance with the number of spacers you want, it's time to swap the icons. You don't want to space icons out with little generic Windows executable icons after all, you want to space them out with nice transparent open space.

We've created a 256x256 transparent icon for you. You can download it by right clicking onthis link and saving the .ICO file to your computer—saving it right into the folder where you're stashing your dummy executables might not be a bad idea.

When you have the icon on your computer, right click on one of the shortcuts you created in the earlier step and select Properties. In the Properties menu click the "Change Icon..." button. Browse to the location you saved the transparent .ICO file and select that as the new icon.

Repeat this until you've replaced all the shortcuts' icons with the transparent icon. When you're done the folder you're working in should look something like this:

Now all you have to do is drag and drop the new short cuts you created to the taskbar and position them where you want to divide the space up. In the screenshot at the top of this article we used two spacers to separate the start button and Windows Explorer icon from our two web browser icons and then again to separate the browsers from the other executables.

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5497344/use-transparent-shortcuts-to-separate-and-organize-your-windows-7-taskbar-icons

Try out Windows Phone 7 on your PC today

Excited about new Windows Mobile OS? You can test Windows Phone 7 on your PC today with Friendly Computers.

Anticipation has been building for the new Windows Phone 7 Series ever since Microsoft unveiled it at the Mobile World Congress in February.  Now, thanks to free developer tools, you can get a first-hand experience of the basic Windows Phone 7 Series devices on your PC.

Windows Phone 7 Series represents a huge change in the mobile field for Microsoft, bringing the acclaimed Zune HD UI to an innovative phone platform.  Windows Mobile has often been criticized for being behind other Smartphone platforms, but Microsoft seeks to regain the lead with this new upcoming release.  A platform must have developers behind it to be useful, so they have released a full set of free development tools so anyone can make apps for it today.  Or, if you simply want to play with Windows Phone 7, you can use the included emulator to try out the new Metro UI.  Here’s how to do this today on your Vista or 7 computer.

Please note: These tools are a Customer Technology Preview release, so only install them if you’re comfortable using pre-release software.

Getting Started

First, download the Windows Phone Developer Tools CTP (link below), and run the installer.  This will install the Customer Technology Preview (CTP) versions of Visual Studio 2010 Express for Windows Phone, Windows Phone Emulator, Silverlight for Windows Phone, and XNA 4.0 Game Studio on your computer, all of which are required and cannot be installed individually.

Accept the license agreement when prompted.

Click “Install Now” to install the tools you need.  The only setup customization option is where to save the files, so choose Customize if you need to do so.

Setup will now automatically download and install the components you need, and will additionally download either 32 or 64 bit programs depending on your operating system.

About halfway thorough the installation, you’ll be prompted to reboot your system.

Once your computer is rebooted, setup will automatically resume without further input.

When setup is finished, click “Run the Product Now” to get started.

Running Windows Phone 7 on your PC

Now that you’ve got the Windows Phone Developer tools installed, it’s time to get the Windows Phone emulator running.  If you clicked “Run the Product Now” when the setup finished, Visual Studio 2010 Express for Windows Phone should have already started.

If not, simply enter “visual studio” in your start menu search and select “Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Express for Windows Phone”.

Now, to run the Windows Phone 7 emulator, we have to test an application.  So, even if you don’t know how to program, we can open a phone application template, and then test it to run the emulator.  First, click New Project on the left hand side of the front page.

Any of the application templates would work for this, but here let’s select “Windows Phone Application”, and then click Ok.

Here’s your new application template, which already contains the basic phone application framework.  This is where you’d start if you want to develop a Windows Phone app, but for now we just want to see Windows Phone 7 in action.

So, to run the emulator, click Debug in the menu and then select Start Debugging.

Your new application will launch inside the Windows Phone 7 Series emulator.  The default template doesn’t give us much, but it does show an example application running in Windows Phone 7.

Exploring Windows Phone 7

Click the Windows button on the emulator to go to the home screen.  Notice the Zune HD-like transition animation.  The emulator only includes Internet Explorer, your test application, and a few settings.

Click the arrow on the right to see the available applications in a list.

Settings lets you change the theme, regional settings, and the date and time in your emulator.  It also has an applications settings pane, but this currently isn’t populated.

The Time settings shows a unique Windows Phone UI.

You can return to the home screen by pressing the Windows button.  Here’s the Internet Explorer app running, with the virtual keyboard open to enter an address.  Please note that this emulator can also accept input from your keyboard, so you can enter addresses without clicking on the virtual keyboard.

And here’s Google running in Internet Explorer on Windows Phone 7.

Windows Phone 7 supports accelerometers, and you can simulate this in the emulator.  Click one of the rotate buttons to rotate the screen in that direction.

 

All this, running right inside your Windows 7 desktop…

Developer tools for Windows Phone 7

Although it may be fun to play with the Windows Phone 7 emulator, developers will be more excited to actually be able to create new and exciting apps for it.  The Windows Phone Developer Tools download includes Visual Studio Express and XNA Game Studio 4.0 which lets you create enticing games and apps for Windows Phones.  All development for Windows Phones will be in C#, Silverlight, and the XNA game framework.  Visual Studio Express for Windows Phone includes templates for these, and additionally has code samples to help you get started with development.

Conclusion

Many features are still not functional in this preview version, such as the search button and most of the included applications.  However, this still gives you a great way to experience firsthand the future of the Windows Phone platform.  And, for developers, this is your chance to set your mark on the Windows Phone 7 Series even before it is released to the public.  Happy playing and developing!

Links

Download Windows Phone Developer Tools CTP

Windows Phone Developer Site

Source: http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/13030/try-out-windows-phone-7-on-your-pc-today/

Microsoft removes hardware virtualization barrier to running XP Mode

Friendly Computers found this article interesting and would like to share it with you.

Microsoft is making a slew of virtualization-related announcements on March 18 — including one that will be welcome by customers who’ve been stymied by the chip-level virtualization requirements for running Windows 7 in XP Mode.

Effective immediately, Windows XP Mode no longer requires hardware virtualization technology, Microsoft officials said today. XP Mode is a feature of Windows 7 Professional or higher that allows companies to run XP applications that are incompatible with Windows 7 in a virtual environment.

Until today, XP Mode would only work on PCs that included CPUs that supported chip-level virtualization. Gavriella Schuster, Microsoft General Manager of Windows Commercial Product Management admitted during a phone interview this week that users were confused as to which PCs offered this technology. Some PCs that claimed to didn’t support XP Mode. To enable more users to take advantage of XP Mode, Microsoft found a way to eliminate the need to have virtualization turned on at the BIOS level. The company is releasing an updated version of XP Mode today to users and OEMs for download, she said.

Update 1: If you are an existing XP Mode customer, there will be no need to get the new bits, Microsoft officials said. If you are not and will be downloading the new bits, there’s no need to worry about whether your CPU has built-in virtualization support. From a spokesperson:

“Customers already using Windows XP Mode with hardware virtualization should continue using it. Customers not yet using Windows XP Mode can start using the product without having to worry about hardware virtualization. For Windows XP Mode, we expect the performance will be more than acceptable with or without hardware virtualization. For developers using Virtual PC with Windows Vista or Windows 7 virtual machines we recommend HAV as the non-HAV is only tuned for XP Mode.”

Microsoft also is going to be introducing new virtualization technologies as part of Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack (SP) 1, Schuster said. She wouldn’t say when SP 1 (for server or Windows 7 client) is coming, but did say that the new virtualization technologies will be the only new features introduced with SP1. (Everything else in SP1 will be fixes, instead of features.)

These new features include a new graphics acceleration platform, known as RemoteFX, that is based on desktop-remoting technology that Microsoft obtained in 2008 when it acquired Calista Technologies. There also will be a new addition to Hyper-V that will dynamically adjust memory of a guest virtual machine on demand; this feature also will be part of Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, Schuster said.

Among the other virtualization announcements Microsoft is making today:

Licensing model changes for virtual Windows desktops: Beginning July 1, 2010, Windows Client Software Assurance customers will no longer have to buy a separate license to access Windows in a VDI environment. In addition, on the roaming-rights front, as of July 1, 2010, Software Assurance customers and new Virtual Desktop Access customers will have rights to access their virtual Windows desktops and Office applications hosted via VDI on secondary, “non-corporate” network devices, like home PCs and kiosks.

New agreements with Citrix Systems: The two companies are working together to enable the high-definition HDX technology in Citrix XenDesktop to support the new Microsoft RemoteFX platform.  Microsoft also is kicking off a “Rescue for VMware VDI” promotion with Citrix, which the Softies are describing as a “Cash for Clunkers trade-in of VMware View licenses to Microsoft VDI Standard Suite and Citrix XenDesktop VDI Edition licenses at no additional cost. “

To help users wade through the details of today’s virtualization announcements, Microsoft is holding a Webcast at 12 noon ET on March 18.Microsoft also is kicking off a 100-city, worldwide series of events on the variety of desktop and datacenter virtualization offerings from Microsoft and its partners.

Source: http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=5607&tag=col1;post-5607

How To Add Performance Monitor Features to the Win7 TaskBar

Friendly Computers found this article useful for Windows7 users and would like to share it with you.

The standard Performance Monitor that has been around since the NT 4.0 days has been continued through the life of the subsequent operating systems. There are some programs that can be used to make take the performance monitor operation from the Windows7 system. There are two other programs that we will look at that can be placed on the taskbar to do that performance check.

The first one is TaskBar Meter. It is simple to download and when extracted it will present three programs. One is the Disk IO Meter. It is designed to measure IO operations of the hard drive.

The Memory  Meter

CPU Meter

When you execute the program, the icons will be placed on the task bar. The programs are designed to access operations, and display when the hardware device is maxing out.

The next program is SuperBarMonitor. It has five different performance monitors: Battery, CPU, Disk, Memory, and Volume.

 

Battery – Options

 

CPU-Status

 

CPU – Options

 

Disk-Status

 

Disk – Options

 

Memory – Status

 

Memory – Options

 

Volume – Status

 

Volume – Status

 

Like the TaskBarMeters program, when the programs are launched they can be minimized into the taskbar.

Source: http://windows7news.com/2010/03/16/how-to-add-performance-monitor-features-to-the-win7-taskbar/