Microsoft Security Essentials

Microsoft Security Essentials provides real-time protection for your home PC that guards against viruses, spyware, and other malicious software.
Microsoft Security Essentials is a free* download from Microsoft that is simple to install, easy to use, and always kept up to date so you can be assured your PC is protected by the latest technology.

http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/
Jens Meggers, vice president of engineering, Symantec said, "Microsoft has a really bad track record in security. Like OneCare, Security Essentials is a poor product." Microsoft's MSE team might be sharing high-fives on disturbing the competition to mock them.

Read More...

Summary only...

XPS XML Paper Specification

XML Paper Specification(XPS)The XML Paper Specification (XPS) provides users and developers with a robust, open and trustworthy format for electronic paper. The XML Paper Specification describes electronic paper in a way that can be read by hardware, read by software, and read by people. XPS documents print better, can be shared easier, are more secure and can be archived with confidence.
Windows Vista makes it easy to get started with XPS documents. Windows Vista lets you generate XPS documents from any application by simply selecting the Microsoft XPS Document Writer as the printer when printing. In Windows Vista, you can double-click an XPS document to automatically open the document inside an XPS viewer.
Adding XPS-based technologies to your application gives your customers a print quality that was previously found only in high-end graphic arts applications because the Windows Vista print sub-system has been enhanced to recognize and process XPS documents.


http://hewsoft.com/xps.aspx

Read More...

Summary only...

Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF)

The Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) is the new graphical subsystem in Windows Vista that replaces the old GDI graphical subsystem and makes many of the cool UI features possible. In addition, WPF provides the foundation for a new print subsystem that includes, among other things, support for better color management to allow high-fidelity color printing as well as support for printing advanced effects such as gradients and transparencies. And the key ingredient that ties WPF and print subsystem together is XPS.

WPF was initially released as part of .NET Framework 3.0. WPF is built on DirectX, which provides hardware acceleration and enables modern UI features like transparency, gradients and transforms. WPF also offers a new markup language, known as XAML which is an alternative means for defining UI elements and relationships with other UI elements.
WPF is included with Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, and is also available for Windows XP Service Pack 2 or later, and Windows Server 2003.

Microsoft Silverlight is a web-based subset of WPF that enables Flash-like web and mobile applications with the same programming model as .NET applications. 3D features are not supported, but XPS and vector-based drawing are included.

Read More...

Summary only...

Win XP Registry Hack

Menu Speed
Place Windows Kernel into RAM
Alter Prefetch Parameters
Disable 8.3 Name Creation in NTFS

Menu Speed
Go to the Registry key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\MenuShowDelay. The default value is 400. Set it to 0 to remove the delay completely, but if you do that it will be nearly impossible to move the mouse fast enough not to activate All Programs if you mouse over it en route to your final selection. Pick a number that suits your style, make the change, and then test it until you find a good compromise between speed and usability.

Place Windows Kernel into RAM
It’s a given that anything that runs in RAM will be faster than an item that has to access the hard drive and virtual memory. Rather than have the kernel that is the foundation of XP using the slower Paging Executive functions, use this hack to create and set the DisablePagingExecutive DWORD to a value of 1.

Edit the Registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\DisablePagingExecutive to 1 to disable paging and have the kernel run in RAM

Perform this hack only if the system has 256MB or more of installed RAM!

Alter Prefetch Parameters
Prefetching (the reading of system boot files into a cache for faster loading) is a commonly overlooked component that can have a significant impact on system boot time. This tweak allows you to select which components will make use of the prefetch parameters. To see which files are gathered using each setting, clear the prefetch cache located at C:\Windows\Prefetch and then enable one of the settings listed in this hack. Clear the cache and repeat
for each setting.
Set the Registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\PrefetchParameters\EnablePrefetcher to 0 to disable prefetching, 1 to prefetch application launch files, 2 to prefetch boot files, or 3 to prefetch as many files as possible.

Disable 8.3 Name Creation in NTFS
Files that use the 8.3 naming convention can degrade NTFS drive performance.
Unless you have a good reason for keeping the 8.3 naming convention intact (such as if you’re using 16-bit programs), a performance gain can be achieved by disabling it.

Set the Registry DWORD key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\
Control\FileSystem\NtfsDisable8dot3NameCreation to 1. Exit the Registry
and reboot.

Read More...

Summary only...

Google Book Downloader

Google Book Downloader is small utility which allows you to save book as PDF from google to your local filesystem.This project is purely non-commercial and for educational purpose.This project does not promote any illegal conduct of any kind

Features:

• Download any book from Google Books marked as 'Full view'


• Partially download any book from Google Books marked as 'Limited preview'


• Access to any book available only for US citizens (instructions)


• Searching for hidden pages (not indexed by Google Books)

Read More...

Summary only...

Network Tools

Downloads for Managing Your Network

http://www.pcworld.com/article/171235/downloads_for_managing_your_network.html

Read More...

Summary only...

A wireless network can seem like the most frustrating and confounding technology on the planet. When it works well, you have nothing to think about. But if the connection is problematic, you can wind up spending many hours troubleshooting it, with no clue about what to do.

That's where these downloads come in--both are great tools that can help uncover the source of the problem.

InSSIDer

WiFi SiStr

http://www.pcworld.com/article/171235-2/downloads_for_managing_your_network.html

Read More...

Summary only...