tudy .ro – Tudor Damian
I plan to live forever. So far, so good.
The “Mojave Experiment”
Jul 29th
…an experiment to see what people think of Windows Vista when they don’t know it’s Windows Vista. Funny one. 
From the Mojave Experiment website:
We disguised Windows Vista as codename ‘Mojave,’ the ‘next Microsoft OS,’ so regular people who’ve never used Windows Vista could see what it can do – and decide for themselves.
Via CristiV.
Speed up Vista boot time
Jun 30th
When you have a computer with a recent model CPU, chances are it’s a dual-core (or quad-core) CPU. Both Intel & AMD have been producing dual core CPU’s for a few years now. By default, Windows Vista will only use a single core during boot-up. And you can easily change how many cores are used on boot from the System Configuration utility:
1. In Vista’s Start Search type msconfig & hit the [Enter] key on your keyboard
2. Once System Configuration has started, select the Boot tab
3. Select the No GUI option (this removes the loading screen – it will just give you a static screen instead)
4. Now click on the Advanced Options dialog, check the “Number of processors” check box, and choose 2 (or 4 if you have quad-core) for the number of processors
5. Click OK twice
Now try and check if you notice any differences. Although, in my case, I think the real “speed-up” only comes from the NO-GUI option, which in itself is designed to be less of a performance hog than it might seem.
Two Microsoft events in Cluj
Apr 7th
Yup, a fun couple of Fridays coming up!… 
First, April 11th, 2 pm:
Microsoft | Academic Tour, UBB Cluj – where I’ll be speaking about Windows Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008.
Next, April 18th, 2 pm:
ITBoard Meeting, Cluj-Napoca – I’m in charge of organizing this community event, dedicated to IT Professionals in general, and the ITBoard community in particular. I’ll most likely speak about Windows Server 2008 here as well.
The links take you to the registration pages for the events. See you there! 
Microsoft cuts retail Vista prices
Feb 29th
Microsoft announced yesterday that it plans to slash prices for retail copies of Windows Vista up to almost 50% for certain editions in poorer countries, in order to boost sales that one analyst said have failed to meet expectations. But many customers, especially those in wealthier countries such as the U.S. or Europe, may only see additional discounts as small as 3 percent (or none at all) depending on which of Vista’s four consumer versions they are interested in.
Another excerpt from the article on computerworld.com:
Swenson says one reason retail Vista sales are weaker than XP’s is because of the many years — five — between its release and XP’s. By contrast, XP was released only one year after Windows 2000 and ME. That meant that consumers who bought a new PC with 2000 or ME would have been more likely to upgrade it with XP. Not so for consumers who bought a new XP PC three or four years ago; machines of such comparatively advanced age are unlikely to have been upgraded to Vista’s requirements.
Five Windows Vista adoption “Gotchas”
Jan 24th
…and how to get beyond them.
Operating system migration is one of those things that most of us try to avoid as long as possible. Unlike a new application, the OS touches every aspect of the PC ecosystem, and frankly can be an arduous, time-consuming process. Because the entire PC environment is impacted, it’s critical that every element is tested, that planning is thorough, and that communication is pervasive. It’s no wonder that even the most experienced IT professionals would prefer to let others forge ahead and learn the hard lessons.
Repair and Reset Vista Winsock Catalog
Jan 6th
Finally! I’ve had this annoying problem the past few days, where my Windows Vista machine would just misbehave when it came to my internet connection – and since I found the solution, I decided to share it. The thing is, all of a sudden, I would start getting “Page not found” errors in my browser, even though the connection was up and all the hosts responded to ping. I started digging for answers, and I found out that this issue was related to the TCP/IP stack Winsock settings, which may get corrupted, causing errors and problems with Internet connectivity.
Corrupt Winsock or Windows sockets configuration can be due to a lot of reasons (such as installation of a networking software, or due to virus, trojan or malware infection, or sometime even due to disinfection of spyware by security software). I did install quite a few networking tools lately, while trying out some security audit solutions – so that might have been it.
Anyhow, when Winsock corrupts, the networking errors that you may face include unable to surf the Internet with “Page cannot be displayed” error message in the browser, even though the DSL/ADSL/cable Internet connection is connected. Apparently sometimes, Windows Firewall/Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) service is terminated as well.
To repair and reset the Windows Vista Winsock Catalog:
- Click on Start button.
- Type Cmd in the Start Search text box.
- Press Ctrl-Shift-Enter keyboard shortcut to run Command Prompt as Administrator. Allow elevation request.
- Type netsh winsock reset in the Command Prompt shell, and then press the Enter key.
- Restart the computer.
What netsh winsock reset command does are it resets Winsock Catalog to a clean state or default configuration. It removes all Winsock LSP (Layered Service Providers) previously installed, including the potential malfunctioned LSP that causes loss of network packets transmission failure. So all previously-installed LSPs must be reinstalled. This command does not affect Winsock Name Space Provider entries.
Note: To check which LSPs installed on your Vista system, you can use netsh winsock show catalog command (in an elevated command prompt).
The preparation of 70-270 and 220-601 is actually far more difficult than the actual tests. For 646-204 and 642-901 on the other hand, experts always advise preparatory tests.
Windows SteadyState 2.5 Beta
Nov 24th
The Windows SteadyState 2.5 Beta supporting Windows Vista is now available for testing. Whether you manage computers in a school computer lab or an Internet cafe, a library, or even in your home, Windows SteadyState helps make it easy for you to keep your computers running the way you want them to.
Along with the Beta, be sure to download the updated Windows SteadyState Handbook.
Features Included with Windows SteadyState
Windows SteadyState includes the following features to help you manage your shared computers:
- Getting Started – Provides the initial steps to help you during your first time use of Windows SteadyState.
- Windows Disk Protection – Help protect the Windows partition, which contains the Windows operating system and other programs, from being modified without administrator approval. Windows SteadyState allows you to set Windows Disk protection to remove all changes at a certain date and time or to not remove changes at all. If you choose to use Windows Disk Protection to remove changes, any changes made by shared users when they are logged on to the computer are removed when the computer is restarted.
- User Restrictions and Settings – The user restrictions and settings can help to enhance and simplify the user experience. Restrict user access to programs, settings, Start menu items, and options in Windows. You can also lock shared user accounts to prevent changes from being retained from one session to the next.
- User Account Manager – Create and delete user accounts. You can use Windows SteadyState to create user accounts on alternative drives that will retain user data and settings even when Windows Disk Protection is turned on. You can also import and export user settings from one computer to another—saving valuable time and resources.
- Computer Restrictions – Control security settings, privacy settings, and more, such as preventing users from creating and storing folders in drive C and from opening Microsoft Office documents from Internet Explorer.
- Schedule Software Updates – Update the shared computer with the latest software and security updates when it is convenient for you and the shared users.
