His demonstration showed it running the Kindle book-reading software under Windows 7, taking advantage of its touch-screen technology (or “touch-screen experience” as he put it).

Reaction to this product, and similar devices by Archos and Pegatron, was luke-warm.  Nobody was seeing anything new.  It didn’t appear to be much more than the XP-based Tablet PC that Microsoft attempted to introduce way back in 2002.

Personally, I have a Hewlett Packard hx4700 PDA running Pocket PC 2003.  This device was released as long ago as 2004.  I use it with Adobe Reader to read books that I have created from text files downloaded from Project Gutenberg.  Ok, the screen on my PDA is nowhere near the size of the Slate PC, but it is touch-sensitive and I use it to scroll the page while reading.  How does that differ from what Steve Ballmer was demonstrating?

Of course, the new device, running Windows 7 is much more powerful than my PDA, and can run a whole range of Windows software.   With all the glitz and hype surrounding the Windows 7 launch, why wasn’t the demonstration a bit more exciting?

I suspect that this device, being a prototype, doesn’t reliably run much else.  The other Slate PCs by Archos and Pegatron were shown displaying a video and what looked like a web browser.  perhaps they weren’t capable of running much else, either.

There are rumours about a similar device from Apple – dubbed the iSlate.  With the huge popularity of the iPhone and iPod products, people are likely to wait for the release of an iSlate before getting excited about a Windows 7 based device.  After all, Apple seem to be setting the standards for mobile devices and their user interfaces.

Additionally, when the user wants to remove the software from their computer, an uninstall feature must be provided in the Add or Remove Programs section of the Windows Control panel.

If, as a programmer, you use Microsoft’s Visual Studio you have the option to create an MSI installation program for your software.   If you’ve never created an installer before, this can be a little tricky to get to grips with – there’s nothing to guide you through the process, or even to tell you what is required of an installer and what it does.

Users of Professional versions of Borland/CodeGear products such as Delphi and C++Builder had the relative luxury of a free copy of InstallShield Express.  This is a special, cut-down version of a wizard-driven setup program creator, which takes you through each stage of the process.  Unfortunately, since these development tools were sold off to Embarcadero, you don’t get InstallShield Express supplied.  Furthermore, if you work with the lower-cost versions of Delphi/C++ Builder, you didn’t get it anyway.

One option is to purchase products such as InstallShield, but some of these commercial products can be quite costly – especially if you’re writing software as hobby or as a means of generating additional income.

There is, however, the free alternative.  The phrase “you get what you pay for” often proves itself to be true when it comes to free software, but I am happy to report that I have found an excellent installation program creator that is not only free, but is easy to use and just works!

The software is Jordan Russell’s Inno Setup, which you can find and download for free at jrsoftware.org.

Inno Setup runs as a “wizard”, prompting you for various aspects and options that should be available within the Setup program.  Simply run the program and answer the questions.  In many cases, you can keep the defaults that the program supplies.  Once you have finished, you can compile the program and your Setup is ready for distribution.  I’ve used InstallShield Express before, which I thought was incredibly easy to use, but Inno Setup is even easier.

Inno Setup is completely free and it’s the fully working version.  It doesn’t insert advertisements in your installer or play any tricks – it’s just a decent piece of software that does exactly what you want of it.

If you visit http://news.google.com/ you can see a selection of news items aggregated from a selection of news sources. When news items from any of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation sites appear in these pages, he believes that Google should be paying him.

It seems that Mr Murdoch isn’t seeing the big picture. All you see on the Google News pages are headlines a a single sentence from the editorial. To read the entire story, you have to click on the link which takes you to the originating site. So anyone wanting to read a story related to headlines taken from a News Corporation site will actually be taken to that site.

Google are, in fact, driving traffic to those news sites. Personally, I never choose to visit any of Rupert Murdoch’s sites, but I do look at Google News. If I’m interested in a story, I’ll click the link and may end up at one of his sites. Therefore he gained a visitor who wouldn’t choose to visit. Heck! Shouldn’t Rupert Murdoch be paying Google for that service?

Any website owner can prevent Google from indexing their site by adding the two lines of code:
User-agent: Googlebot
Disallow: /
to their “robots.txt” file. It’s unlikely that the News Corporation webmasters are unaware of this, which suggests to me that they are simply trying it on by suggesting that Google should pay.

If I owned Google, I would simply drop the News Corporation sites from the search database. After all, I’m sure there are plenty of other news services out there who are only too happy to have links to their stories featured in Google.
I would be delighted if Google featured stories from one of my blogs!

You do this by building cottages to attract people to the town and then generating more resources to expand further.  For example, you might:

• establish a farm to supply food
• open a quarry for stone
• build a saw-mill to turn trees into lumber for building

There are numerous other buildings you can construct, including Town Hall, Academy, Inn, Barracks, Rally Point etc. Each building has its own specific use, and the construction of some building depend upon the existence of others.

For example, each type of building may be upgraded through different levels.  It is not possible to upgrade the Town Hall beyond a certain level until you have built a wall around the city.  There are numerous dependencies such as this, which kind of makes the game follow a pre-defined path in some respects.

After playing Civony for some time, it was closed and replaced by Evony. Evony is the final version of the game.  I joined Evony to continue where I left off, but found that I had to start right back at the beginning.  Ok, no problem.  I knew what I had to do and got stuck in.

After about a week, the lustre of this game rapidly dwindled until it finally disappeared.  I had been happily constructing cottages for people to live in, set up a farm, quarry and saw-mill and was generating enough resources to continue playing without having to wait until I had enough wood to build a cottage etc.  But as the game progressed, it took longer and longer to build or upgrade something.  Anything that took under 5 minutes to complete could be speeded up, but anything that took longer, I had to wait. And the more advanced my buildings became, the more time it took to upgrade them.

Now that might not seem so bad, but when I discovered that it would take 4 hours to upgrade my Town Hall to the next level, my heart sank.  So I would log on, start the upgrade process and log off again.  Not a particularly thrilling game in that respect, and it was probably taking more time to log on than I actually spent doing anything.  
You can pay money (real money, that is) for speedups, but 1) I don’t want to spend money on a game that hasn’t been especially exciting yet, and 2) It kind of goes against the title in the browser window – “Evony – Free Forever”.

What makes it worse is that you can build or upgrade only 1 building at a time.  So once I’d started off my 4-hour upgrade of my Town Hall, I could do nothing else but wait for it to complete.  At the time, my town had a population of over 13,000 people.  13,000 idle people and I can construct only one building at a time?  Give me a break!

Maybe I’m missing something, but a game that doesn’t let you do anything until 4 hours have elapsed isn’t a game unless you’re one of those people who enjoys chess by mail.

The final nail in the coffin as far as I am concerned is that the Chat system is limited. You can send messages to other people playing the game, but once you have run out of “Speaker” credits, that’s it. You have to pay real money to get more.

So a game labelled as “Free Forever” is free to play, but if you want to do anything except plod along at an excruciatingly boring rate, you need to pay.

My rating? For me it doesn’t even merit one star.

This printer brings professional print quality to the industrial, high-volume user. Utilizing the very latest in Hewlett-Packard inkjet technology, the EnduraJet delivers an impressive 4800dpi print resolution and superior print speeds. Four individual, large-capacity ink cartridges afford users the ability to print high volumes of professional quality discs at the lowest possible cost per print.

Professional Print Quality

The EnduraJet delivers incredible photo-realistic graphics and a superb quality finish that makes it stand out from other printers. Featuring HP’s PhotoREt III enhanced color-layering technology, up to 4800 x 1200 optimized dpi color resolution can be achieved and by using HP inks, the EnduraJet delivers vivid, life-like color and crisp black text time after time. Easy to use label design software is also included.

Faster and Efficient

The EnduraJet prints up to 25% faster than other inkjet disc printers. Extra large printheads mean that more ink can be placed on the disc’s surface at any one time, which results in faster printing times.

Low Cost Per Print

Due to the EnduraJet’s individual ink tank calibration, printing discs has become more economical. Users can change the individual CMYK inks based on usage, which means zero wastage. The increase-capacity cartridges also offer users a low cost per print (approx. $0.09) making the EnduraJet more affordable and cost effective to run than other disc printers.

SpeedJet Pro Inkjet Printer

This printer brings professional print quality to the in-house production of CDs and DVDs, delivering outstanding photo-quality images directly onto the surface of discs enabling customers to choose colorful backgrounds and images that reflect their company.

HP Technology

The SpeedJet Pro features HPs’ UNIQUE PhotoREt IV color-layering technology, which is able to deliver vivid, true-to-life photos. HP PhotoREt IV controls the placement of the 6-inks more precisely than ever before. Each dot is capable of receiving 32 minuscule drops of color, each one precisely positioned to achieve smoother graduations in tone and to virtually eliminate any grain in the printed image. PhotoREt IV can deliver 289 levels of shade for each color (compared with 17 levels in previous generations) and offers a complete palette in excess of 1.2 million colors. The outstanding print quality is also achieved through the clever design of the drawer mechanism, which holds the discs in place to such a high degree of accuracy, that the finest inkjet printing can take place. The drawer mechanism’s superior in/out tray also allows for fast printing speeds.

In addition to 120mm CDs and DVDs, 80mm mini discs and CD business cards can also be printed with the use of optional adapters and unlike most disc printers, the SpeedJet Pro uses standard HP color, photo and black ink cartridges for the most cost effective printing possible.

User Friendly

The SpeedJet Pro boasts a unique interface making it the easiest to use and most accurate CD/DVD printer by far. The Disc Mask ensures precision printing of designs time after time and the quick and simple calibration process ensures perfect layout.

THE VERDICT

The EnduraJet seems like the way to go as a complete package.  However, I must cover one topic that gets a bit confusing: cost per print.  The EnduraJet has four proprietary ink cartridges that can put out roughly 1,500 prints per set of four (a 69ml black cartridge and 28ml each CMY cartridges), while the SpeedJet Pro’s combination of black and tri-color cartridges (19ml each) can only put out 200 prints per set.  You must use HP genuine cartridges for the EnduraJet but you can find non-genuine cartridges for the SpeedJet Pro, since they are non-proprietary.  This drastically reduces your cost per print, however, because they are not HP genuine, one might discover the colors to be “off” and not match.  It comes down to a cost-benefit analysis based around the desired quality of the prints.

About the Author

Christian Czentye is a recent graduate from UCLA with a major in Business Economics and a minor in Accounting. He is now putting his knowledge and experience to work as a sales and marketing associate for All Pro Solutions, a leading manufacturer and innovator of CD/DVD/BD Duplicators and Publishing Systems.  In the near future, he plans on pursuing his MBA with a concentration in finance.
From low-end, entry-level duplicators to highly advanced and network-based, mission critical Blu-Ray systems, Christian Czentye invites you to familiarize yourself and learn more about All Pro Solutions’ wonderful duplication systems offered at <a href=”http://www.all-pro-sol.com”>www.all-pro-sol.com</A>.  To inquire about additional information, please fill out the following <a href=”http://www.all-pro-sol.com/cd-dvd-duplicators-publishers-contact-us/index.html”>form</A>

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Chrome will be based on the Linux kernel, just as Mac Os is, but it’s not going to give you the same functionality as Mac OS or any of the popular versions of Linux.  Chrome OS is really very little more than a dedicated browser, so it is targeted at people who do little more than work online.  Of course, it will do the usual online tasks such as web surfing, emailing, social networking, Twittering etc., but what else will it do?

The first thing to realise is that all applications that you run must be capable of running within a web browser.  This can be fairly limiting, although the number of web-based applications available is increasing all the time.  However, performance of web-based applications is usually much lower than their native counterparts.

Serious gaming is not going to be an option.   You’re not going to be able to run those super-high-resolution, fast, shoot-’em up action games.  Browser applications just haven’t reached that level of capability yet.

And the big killer – Chrome OS is unlikely to be able to run any of the Windows or Mac OS applications you’ve already invested so much money in.

I’m not writing off Chrome OS before it’s released – I’m just making you aware that it will not be a replacement for Windows or Mac OS.

There are plenty of advantages to using Chrome OS though.  It will be small and fast.  When you switch on your PC, it will take just seconds to boot up, and assuming you have an Internet connection available,  you’ll be online as soon as it has finished booting.  It will be ideal for wi-fi enabled, sub-notebook computers, especially for use by people on the move.

Another good thing about this announcement is that it will probably spawn a whole new interest in developing good quality, browser-based applications; something that really could do with a shot in the arm.

The best feature of all though, is the price.  Just like all the various versions of Linux, Chrome OS will be free to download and install.

But I’ll bet dollars to donuts that Google will still make a lot of money off the back of it.  After all, Chrome OS steeers you straight into the web.  Where Google lives and thrives.

Is it a Windows slayer?  No.  Not by a long way.  Will it take off?  Probably.  Especially if Google can cut a deal to pre-load it on some sub-notebook, ultra-portable PCs.  They definitely have the financial clout to do that, and they control one of the most popular online advertising networks, so getting it out there is not going to be a difficult task for them.

Initially this will be good news to the European Commission – it looks as if Microsoft are removing their browser to give people the choice of downloading and installing an alternative, such as Opera or Firefox.

But did they really think this through?  When the European Commission take delivery of their shiny new Windows 7 PCs, they will have no browser with which to download their favourite browser.  Of course there’s nothing to stop them from downloading it using another PC, but by complying with the EC’s wishes, Microsoft have cleverly introduced an annoyance that is bound to cause an uproar.

Anyone who upgrades their PC from a previous version of Windows will, of course, have their favourite browser already installed.  But new Windows 7 PCs will not have one.

And there’s another twist to this.  I just installed Windows XP SP2 on a new hard disk.  I fired up Opera to go and download SP3, and it wouldn’t let me.  It insisted that I use Internet Explorer to obtain the Service Pack.

I doubt whether that’s going to change with Windows 7.

“Alex [Jordache] and I are very excited about the release of the latest version of PDF Power Brand, viral marketing and list building software”, said Blackburn. “Alex had been working for me as a freelance coder for several years before we teamed up on this project in late 2008. He is an excellent php coder and project development manager”.

“The truth is, I was really struggling before I teamed up with Alex. Unfortunately, the app did not work well on low ram Vista systems and with more and more people wanting to use the application on Vista operating systems every day, it was becoming a serious problem. I had lost touch with the original software engineer and every engineer I hired could not fix the problems. Maybe it’s because Vista got better, or maybe it is because Alex is a genius. All I know is, we now have fully tested and working software again and I am confident that as a team we will be able to handle any future issues”.

“The app was a mess!” said Jordache, “Rather than trying to work around all the inherent bugs, I decided to start again from scratch, the original code was C++ we started again in Delphi. Actually, most of the credit for coding the software has to go to my very capable friend Acruc. I have known Acruc for 7 years now and I knew he would be the right man for the job. Hiring Acruc gave me more time to work on all the features for members that Dan wanted to implement.

Blackburn interjects, “Alex is an incredible php coder – I’ve always know that. Everything I asked him to make happen, he was able to do. As well as redeveloping the software in a more up to date programming language, Alex coded some highly effective viral marketing benefits into the PDF Power Brand web site and made all my ideas become real. I think the one most important aspect of bringing a software application to market is good communication between the developers and the marketers. I handle the marketing side and Alex handles the techie stuff. We make a great team!”

When asked to go into details about some of the benefits, Blackburn explained that he simply could not do so without talking to me for longer than the time we had available, and suggests that anyone who is interested in knowing more should subscribe to the PDF Power Brand blog or call him at the number given below.

For more details, call:
UK: 020 8144 2865
US: (630) 687-1378
International, +44 20 8144 2865

Get your FREE copy of PDF Power Brand here

Or visit the PDF Power Brand Blog

The Rise

Over the years, the images improved immensly, to the point where I can identify my car parked outside my house and even the kids’ toys in the garden.

Other places that I regularly visit on Google Earth  are Ekaterinburg in Russia, where my wife comes from.  Again, the images of our apartment there have become clearer and more detailed over time.  The small, rural village where my wife’s family live still remains a blur of random splodges of colour.  We await better images, but we’re not holding our breath.  We suspect it’s a very low-priority area to be photographed.

The Decline

Many places I regularly visit on Google Earth have been updated within the last few months, and to be honest, there seems to be a distinct degradation in the quality.

The images of my home, and of several previous addresses, have decreased in clarity.  It seems they have taken a step backwards.  Is this some sort of privacy ruling, or are they simply purchasing lower-quality images to save money?

What really disappoints me though, is that the new images of Ekaterinburg have evidently been taken during the winter months because the very long shadows cast by the many tower blocks because the sun is so low in the sky, all but obliterate the details of whatever lies behind them.  The shadows fall almost due north, meaning the sun was directly in the south.  Therefore the images were taken around mid-day.  In fact, the sun is so low in the sky that the shadows occupy more land area than the buildings that are casting them.

In addition to this poor choice of time to update the images, the pictures themselves are again, less clear than before.

Google has done wonders with the performance of the software, and the addition of Sky and Ocean, but the quality of the images is definitely dropping.  I understand that Google doesn’t want to have too many images that are out-of-date, but I’d rather see out-of-date images that are clear than the fuzzy offerings they seem to be making of late.