Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

Belkin has announced the Easy Transfer cable which will allow users to quickly transfer files, data, user settings and more from a Windows XP based machine to a Windows Vista based machine.
To transfer data, a user connects the included 8 ft. Easy Transfer cable to both machines’ USB ports and then selects items to be moved using the Windows Easy Transfer Wizard. The data is then transferred at USB 2.0 speeds of up to 480 Mbps. You can also schedule transfers with the provided PCSync software from LapLink.

Based on the description, the Easy Transfer cable seems like a regular USB 2.0 cable with built-in software to automatically run that Easy Transfer Wizard, so for advanced users who, in all likelihood, will start everything else from scratch and just want data transferred, a simple USB 2.0 cable will likely suffice; but for the average user who wants to painlessly transfer his files, settings and user accounts to his new Vista based machines, this Belkin Easy Transfer cable will be very useful. It’ll be available in late January for $39.99.

Read [Engadget] - Product Page [Belkin]

Sick and tired of looking at those poor quality thumbnails in Windows?  Who says you can’t enhance them?  Follow the tutorial in the video above and you’ll be on your way to better quality thumbnails.  All it takes is adding a few DWORD values to your registry.  NOTE: If you’re not confident with screwing with your registry, or don’t know what a registry is, then you probably shouldn’t be doing this.

Via [TechEBlog]

A video just popped up on digg showing the Wiimote being used to control the mouse pointer on a Windows laptop.  There is no chance this will EVER be in Nintendo’s plans for the device, but what’s a console without some homebrew goodness?

Via [digg]

It has been quite a long wait for Microsoft’s next-gen operating system.  It started with Windows Longhorn back in 2001, and slowly...and I mean s-l-o-w-l-y made its way into 2006 where it became known as Vista.  Delay after delay...after delay.  But now its go-time for Microsoft, so I’ll stop ranting about the business and focus on the product. 

The most obvious change in the OS from Windows XP is the GUI (or look-and-feel).  Many have accused them of copying several things off of Apple’s OSX, such as the glass effect around windows, but you know what?  I think that’s a bunch of bologna.  It is clear as day that both companies have “copied” a significant amount of features from each other, but that’s how business works.  If Steve Jobs was worried about stealing from other companies, then he never would’ve dumpster dove in Xerox’s parking lot back in the hippie days.

Remember… this is just Vista Business so it hasn’t yet been released to general consumers. For that, we have to wait until the end of January.  It’s been a long journey for us with Vista - but the real journey of security risks and exploits are just getting started - so don’t think our coverage will stop just yet.

For our past coverage of Windows Vista, click here.

Product: TabletKiosk eo v7110
Price: $899
Rating: 7.65/10.0 (Good)
Pros: Affordable, Comfortable to hold, Supports up to 1024 x 600 resolution, Makes using Windows XP on such a small device seem natural
Cons: Software keyboard is not usable for extended periods of time, would be nice if batteries lasted longer
Overall: Strong device for business travelors, students, or even hospitals looking for a portable XP solution

I had a chance to get some hands on time with the Tablet Kiosk eo - which by no means is a new device.  I really hadn’t had much time with any of the Origami / UMPC devices, so I wanted to get started!  Read on for my full review of the Tablet Kiosk es.

Design - 7.5/10.0 - The TabletKiosk eo was the first UMPC to officially hit the market.  With that in mind, the device had done a great job of introducing the new platform to consumers.  The sleak casing has no sharp corners and the buttons are placed in logical locations throughout the device.  The eo comes with a stylus that is inserted into the body just like any PDA or touchscreen smartphone.

Features - 8.0/10.0 - Sporting Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005, the eo is very feature-packed all in a small package.  The v7110 model comes standard with a 1.0GHz VIA C7-M ULV Processor, 512MB or 1GB of RAM, a 7-inch TFT-LCD display, 802.11B/G WiFi and Bluetooth 2.0.

Performance - 7.5/10.0 - The eo is perfect if you’re always on the go, or don’t need a full-size PC or laptop to work.  Complimented with a USB keyboard and mouse, you would essentially have a laptop for the road.  They’ve got the software keyboard built into the device, but it is hardly usable for a lot of typing.  The stylus took some getting used to.  The unit that I reviewed seemed that I had to press a lot harder than I should’ve had to in order to move the mouse around. 

My favorite task on the device was surfing the web.  Since it supports up to 1024 x 600 pixel resolution, almost all websites will look perfect on the eo.  In the future, I can picture these UMPC devices popping up in doctors offices and hospitals around the world.  For now though, we’re thinking they’re more for the average consumer.  So if you’re a business travelor or student looking for a device for class, check out the eo V7110 from TabletKiosk, and you will have never felt so mobile.

Editors Note: The categories were weighted in the following manner to reflect the importance of some features over others (in our humble opinion). Design 30%, Features 30%, and Performance 40%.

Need another reason to purchase a PS3 (besides the super cheap Blu-ray player, it essentially costing the same as an Xbox 360, or the other very good reasons)? How about the weekend challenge of loading Windows XP onto your machine? It already has an awesome photo viewer, plays movies, accesses the internet, now you can run your favorite OS as well. The video is pretty long, but what else are you doing today?

Via [TechEBlog]

So you went on a long vacation and have tons of photos to prove it.  CNET’s Derrick Story wrote up a great How To article telling you how to rename a folder’s worth of photos with just a few clicks.  Follow the instructions below and you’ll be able to spend your time unpacking instead of renaming pictures…

• First, open the folder and select View > Thumbnails.


• Click the last picture in the folder you want to rename, hold down the Shift key, and click the first picture; this will select them all.


• Right-click the first photo, and select Rename from the drop-down menu.


• Windows XP will highlight the filename for the first photo, enabling you to give it a descriptive name.


• After you type in the name, click the white space outside of the photo and watch as Windows applies the name with a sequential number to each picture in the folder.

Read [CNET]

Microsoft has made the announcement that they have stopped development of a universal version of VirtualPC for Mac.  According to News.com, a Microsoft spokesperson stated that they have “made the decision not to move forward with a Universal version of Virtual PC at this time.” The big switch that Apple made from PowerPC to Intel chips has meant that the popular virtualization software would essentially have to be rewritten from scratch, and clearly Microsoft isn’t down with that.  With other solutions out there like Parallels, and even Apple’s own BootCamp (dual boot, not virtualization), VirtualPC doesn’t provide enough value to consumers to survive.  Or maybe Microsoft just has it in for Apple after Steve Jobs outed Microsoft for ripping off MacOSX in Vista.

News.com: “The (Macintosh business unit) still recognizes that customers need access to Windows applications from their Intel-based Macs and feels confident that alternative solutions offered by Apple and other vendors, combined with a fully packaged retail copy of Windows will satisfy this need.”

Via [MacRumors]

Windows Media Player 11 may show some code prior to its Vista full release. The software, will be built into Vista but seems to be on track to release a version for Windows XP prior to the Vista January launch. It is designed to offer better synching with portable devices, make it easier to scroll through long libraries of music, and be tightly integrated with Urge.

Microsoft has said the XP version won’t have all the features of its Vista version, but the company won’t say which features will be excluded. The company also has yet to offer a public test version of the software. The Vista version, which has been in public testing for months, offers significant changes from the current version of the media-playing software, particularly when connecting to portable devices.

With the new media player, consumers will be able to “reverse sync,” meaning they can send content from a digital device to a PC. That will allow users to transfer pictures taken with their camera phone, or music purchased on a wireless device. Other sync options include synching a player to multiple PCs and filling a device with random tracks--a la Shuffle in iTunes--according to a Windows Vista product guide that was briefly made available on the Internet last week.

Another change is the ability to alter protected music and video files to change their quality level. With the new software, protected Windows Media files can be converted to smaller file sizes for playback on mobile devices, where there is less need for very-high-quality video files.
Windows Media Player 11

Read [Cnet]