AdventuresInVista
Hints, Tips & Tricks for Microsoft Windows Vista

IE8 - The Buglist
12 October 2008 in Internet Explorer 8 | Comments (3)

OK, as lovely as IE8 is.. it’s still in Beta. That always means there are bugs and things that maybe aren’t quite finished. Fair enough, it’s the risk we take.

However, I’ve decided to document the problems I find as I go along, just in case anyone else is thinking of switching to IE8b2 and wants to know if their favourite websites will work. I will update this page as I find new problems.

Note I’m still using IE8b2 for most of my browsing, despite these ‘issues’, and with some of the items below I haven’t tested compatibility mode.

Continue reading…

The Browser Wars Are Back! (IE8 Beta 2 Released)
9 October 2008 in Browser Wars & Internet Explorer 8 | Comments (2)

The latest Beta of Microsoft’s new super-standards-friendly browser, Internet Explorer 8, has been released.

This latest version offers many enhancements and new features, including…

• Completely CSS 2.1 compliant
• New features including Accelerators and Web Slices
• Compatiblility mode (basically IE7 mode)
• InPrivate browsing - a new way to browse without leaving any traces. Your history, cookies, etc are not stored
• New Safety features including SmartScreen filter
• And much, much more

Of course, this is still only Beta 2. The final version is due to be released before Christmas, but this release seems very stable - in fact, this post is being written on IE8!

I can’t help feel though that we’re in for a new round of browser wars. Safari is getting better, we have Google Chrome (built on Safari), a new version of IE on the horizon, and of course Firefox. Let’s hope this time web developers aren’t caught in the middle!

Find out more and download at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/beta/

UPDATE Click here for my regularly updated IE8 Beta 2 Buglist

Google Chrome - Should you bother?
11 September 2008 in Browser Wars | Comments (1)

Google recently released the first beta version of Chrome, their open-source web browser project. Currently, it’s available for Windows XP and Vista only, with MacOS / Linux versions in the works.

Naturally I’ve installed it on a couple of my boxes to see what all the fuss is about. Here’s a screenshot…

So, what’s the verdict?

Well, first I have to say its REALLY fast. Like, ridiculously so. When you compare it to IE or even Firefox, the difference in speed is incredible.

Apart from that though, it’s not all that great. Nice interface, nice idea, but honestly Google, did you really think it was ready to be used by the world at large?!

Many sites I’ve tried aren’t working properly - even the ones which Google has designed Chrome for (the new web applications - web 2.0 if you like).

What’s more interesting though is the talk of why Google has decided to branch out into software, and particularly web browsers. Do they think they can compete against IE? Firefox can’t, so why should Google be any different? Or are they, like many commentators are indicating, worried that their whole revenue stream relies on advertising, which Microsoft could block in IE if it wished?

Personally, I think the latter is unlikely… can you imagine the anti-trust problems that would create?! Microsoft certainly don’t want to go there again.

So, why have they done it!? Why not share your thoughts (and your opinions on Chrome itself) in the comments?

You can find out more and download Google Chrome from www.google.com/chrome.

Test Post
18 July 2008 in AIV News | Comments (0)

Just a quick test post… apparently email subscribers are receiving blank emails from Feedburner. I’d like to take this opportunity to apologise to those loyal followers, and let you know I’m working on this as we speak…

Free Vista Ultimate Helpful Hints PDF from Microsoft
17 July 2008 in Help & Tips & vista ultimate | Comments (0)

Microsoft recently released a Windows Vista Ultimate Helpful Hints PDF, free of charge! According to the cover, it’s…

Your guide to mastering the Windows Vista Ultimate operating system

Personally, it feels more akin to the sort of flimsy manual you might have got with Windows 95, giving you vague information on lots of things you’ll probably end up not using.

Still, worth a read if you’re new to Vista Ultimate. You can download it free of charge here.

Tuesday Tweak - Vista Battery Saver
15 July 2008 in Maintenance & Tuesday Tweaks | Comments (0)

So, you’ve downloaded the Vista Battery Tracker, and now you’re thinking “I wonder if I can get any more juice out of my battery?”. Well, thanks to this tip from my friend Dave, I have a peice of software which could save up to 70% of your battery usage.

The Vista Battery Saver (download here) claims it can do this by “disabling those nice but greedy Vista features” - things like the Aero interface, for example.

Here it is in action…

You could probably achieve the same performance enhancements manually, but this small download gives you a quick and easy interface to tweak your battery usage.

UPDATE Thanks to Dave Webb, who mentioned this in a comment on yesterday’s post, ‘Vista Battery Checker‘. Coincidence, eh?

Download Vista Battery Saver now!

Vista Battery Tracker
14 July 2008 in General | Comments (2)

Thanks to Milo over at Windows Vista Weblog for mentioning this great little battery checker utility for Windows Vista…

If you need detailed battery information (such as manufacturer, model, and even your battery quality) then this handy peice of software should be top of your list.

Download the Vista Battery Tracker here or Save up to 70% of your battery life

Sidebar Sunday - Downloading Sidebar Gadgets
13 July 2008 in Help & Tips & Sidebar Sunday | Comments (0)

In response to some email conversations regarding the Windows Vista Sidebar and it’s possible uses, I’ve decided to launch a new regular feature here on AdventuresInVista called “Sidebar Sunday”.

The idea is simple - to give you a heads up on some of the latest and most useful gadgets for your Vista Sidebar, available across the web.

This week, I thought I’d give a brief introduction to downloading and installing Sidebar gadgets from the Windows Live Gallery. Continue reading…

Download FF3 and help set a Guiness World Record!
17 June 2008 in Browser Wars & General | Comments (0)

If you prefer the Firefox browser to IE (I don’t, but there you go), you might be interested to know that the Mozilla Foundation has today released the final build of Firefox 3 for Windows, MacOS X and Linux.

Apparently, they are trying to break the Guiness World Record for the number of downloads in a 24hr period, so you may want to go download it and contribute to the record attempt.

There’s also an official FF3 launch party in New York, which you may wish to attend. More details courtesy of A VC.

What are you waiting for? Download Firefox 3 now! Better still, why not Download Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1?

Renewed sense of Vista-ness!
16 June 2008 in AIV News | Comments (0)

Hey everyone,

Well I haven’t been very good at keeping you up to date with all things Vista recently have I? Shame on me!

Please accept my apologies, and be aware that I have great plans for AdventuresInVista over the coming months, including many tweaks to the blog and design, and loads and loads of great articles to show you how to get the most from Microsoft’s flagship operating system.

Hope you stick along for the journey!