Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

We’ve been talking about an awesome new feature for Windows Vista, called Sideshow, ever since CES 2005 but I assume there are still many of you who have no clue what we are referring to. Saying that there is this secondary external screen on your laptop that is able to call information from your PC when it is off, can be rather confusing to many. The folks over at Shiny decided to offer a video walk through/overview of this kick-ass new feature. If when you’re done you still don’t know what we’re talking about then post a comment and we’ll try and get it sorted out.

In an interview with CNET, Symantec CEO John Thompson said that he’s in no hurry to switch to Microsoft’s Windows Vista.  When Thompson was asked if he has installed vista yet, he made the following statement:

“I see no need for it for what I do online today. The machine that I use is the one provided by our company, and we have not made a commitment to migrate to Vista and therefore there is no reason for me to use Vista.”

Thompson feels that there is no doubt Windows Vista is a more secure operating system as a whole, but for the tasks the average customer performs on their PC, it is not a necessary upgrade.  Judging by the interview, however, it seems that he may be making the claims as a part of his own agenda.  He mentions “people still need the efficacy that comes with the products that Symantec and others in the industry build..” That line truly changes my view of his position.  It appears he’s just fishing for more business in Symantec’s XP solutions since people are already apprehensive to make the switch to Vista.

Read [CNET News.com]

Anthony Cumia of the Opie & Anthony show provides a useful tutorial on installing Microsoft’s latest operating system, Windows Vista. He has summed up thousands of people’s opinion on Windows Vista’s system requirements in this short 2 minute video.

What do you think? Have you upgraded to Vista yet, and if not, why?

via [CrunchGear]

Microsoft has some pretty neat tablet features in store for us in Windows Vista.  Take a look at the demo video above to see how the touch-screen operates and adjusts itself based on whether you’re using a finger, or a pen.  If you’re using a finger, a little two-button mouse will follow your finger around on the screen so you can click.  Also, if you whip your finger, the mouse will react accordingly and rotate where it is positioned in relation to your finger.  Check it out for yourself.

Video [YouTube] Via [TechEBlog]

Microsoft’s Bill Gates is still on his media tour following the launch of Vista.  Next up is his interview with CNN where he *claims* that Windows Vista is innovative, and that nothing was taken from Apple’s OS X.

Video [YouTube] Via [Cult of Mac]

We’ve stumbled upon a neat little feature in Microsoft’s new Windows Vista called BitLocker.  The tool lets you encrypt everything on your hard drive and makes it so you can use a flash drive (AKA thumb drive) as the key to the safe.  So everytime you want to log on to your machine, you must have the flash drive in the USB port, or else you’ll get a screen telling you to insert it.  And unfortunately, we’re not seeing any backdoors yet. 

You can of course add multiple flash drives to the list, but the more you have, the less secure you really are.  If you’re going to load BitLocker, make sure you backup your recovery key *on a different machine or external storage device.* If you leave your key on the same machine, don’t lose your flash drive, or else you’re simply screwed.  We’ll tell you about more Vista features as we dig them up.

Pete and Leander at Wired’s Cult of Mac blog decided to test out Microsoft’s new Windows Vista on their Mac Pro using Bootcamp.  The results were shocking… Vista may have actually run faster on Apple’s own hardware than their own OS X.  Kind of embaressing.  Here’s an excerpt from their experience:

Vista really flies on this beast, and feels like it’s faster than OS X - it boots faster, folders burst open and apps launch instantly...I’m especially delighted with Vista’s “glass” Aero interface, which works in all its glory on this machine...The OS is dark and handsome. It’s really quite exciting...Vista’s icons are big and colorful, and frankly, a lot more logical and easy to read than some of OS X’s, like the intelligible iWeb icon.

They go on to talk about how although everything is more logical than XP, it’s all still a mess…

Of course, in many ways it’s the same old Windows. There are pop-up dialogs galore thanks to the new security features, and the Start menu, though slimmed down, is still a confusing mess. Maybe it’s just me.

Read [Cult of Mac] Via [Gizmodo]

As a part of his Windows Vista launch tour, Bill Gates was on the Today show on NBC, as well as The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.  The interview was filled with Stewart cracking jokes and lite on the content, so don’t expect anything on that front.  Hit the play button above to watch.

Video [YouTube]

Dell has officially introduced Microsoft’s Windows Vista on most of their laptop and desktop systems.  And amazingly, prices don’t seem to be affected by the change!  So if you’re in the market for a new PC, get on over to Dell and get yourself a computer.

Product Page [Dell] Via [Gizmodo]

SideShow was quite the rave at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, and it’s not done yet.  Meet the new Philips Vista Remote (SRM7500), which is a SideShow remote that communicates with your PC...while it’s off! - just like any other SideShow device.  The remote will also control your Windows Vista Media Center PC, and includes an LCD monochrome screen for viewing your mail, calendar, etc. via SideShow.  Philips has also mentioned that the SRM7500 has “the largest database of any universal remote control on the market today.”

The Vista Remote will ship within the first quarter of 2007, so stay tuned.  Pricing has not yet been announced.

Press Release [Philips] Via [EverythingUSB]