Unfortunately there is something too big and too bad to ignore about Microsoft’s latest test release of Vista (Build 5270.9)..

Almost no “big” or “complex” programs that require any sort of low-level interaction install/run… This includes many programs that worked without a hitch on 5231, and according to some, on 5259 as well. It seems that Microsoft has finalized the underlying structure of the Vista OS (according to most, though we can never be too sure); and it seems that as a resuly many programs that integrate themselves into Windows or Internet Explorer are now broken :(

I will be posting shortly a list of such programs and more, but at the moment, it will suffice to say that many of the useful programs of today for which development has stopped may not run on Windows Vista… Even in XP SP2 Compatibility mode.
NB: This is assuming that the compatibility mode feature in Vista is now complete as-is. At the moment it does not support emulation of most DLLs, nor does it support ‘compatibilizing’ non-exes, like?MSIs for example.

-CG

Now I’m really late for University, but this is definitely worth it :P

Windows Update works in this latest build; what’s more, it has an enormous driver database.. Drivers that never showed up in XP are being installed via Windows Update, and some new ones ship with the DVD as well!

It seems that our last challenge was (for one reason or another) difficult, or uninteresting.

So here is an update. It makes it *much* simpler BTW.

• The NSTv2 copy has been moved to the root of the domain! This means that instead of being on domain.com/??? it can now be found at domain.com!! If this does not make it easier, I don’t know what is left for us to do… :S
• A link has been added somewhere in the blog. it has been encrypted, and a redirection has been put in place, so I doubt you’ll find it by looking through the source… PHP and .htaccess work miracles you know :)

Best of luck!

-CG

Well, its official. Our development team has begun working on NSTv2! So here is your chance: find the location of the test server, and you’ll get a free link on our Blog for?a month and some recognition to boot! The hints:

• The test server has been mentioned on forums across the web, but not here :D
• Its a subfolder on a domain.. as in http://domain.com/neosmart_v2 (obviously not the real name!)
• One of the other foums with the NeoSmart Test server mentioned currently has a BIG project going on at the base domain!
• This contest will remain open for a week.
• If it becomes obvious that more help is needed, I’ll post a couple more hints ;)

Enjoy and Anticipate!
-CG

Well, from 7-8 GMT was a Vista Beta Chat on Scenario Voting..

Scenario Voting for those of you who don’t already know is a new feature in the beta program where members of the Microsoft Beta Team ask us to test out something in specific.. and we respond :D

Well, I missed most of the chat due to complications in the chatroom coding.. It turns out its not fully IE7 compliant, does not support Opera, and barely runs in Firefox….. {grumble} but that’s not important because for fifteen minutes I asked my questions, got quite a few answered, and then a fellow tester forwarded me the transcript :)

Here is the transcript for you to enjoy!

http://neosmart.net/ChatTranscript121205.doc

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Why are there two different sides to a coin? I mean, back when cave men decided to replace the barter system with gold and silver, then the gold and silver with coins and bills, did they predict we would use coins for coin tosses and Credit Cards for everything else?

But this blog is not for history buffs, nor is it for the Chicken or the Egg type questions.. It’s for technology.

If you find it hard to fathom why thousands of years ago they made coins double sided, then you should probably stop reading now; because it only gets mysteriouser and mysteriouser…

Now for the million dollar question:

Seeing as data cables support two-way communication between a device and a PC, why are there two different ends to a cable?

Before you answer, think about the following:

• It cannot be for making money off male-to-female converters (and vice-versa), because it would be cheaper to mass-produce cables with matching ends.
• Firewire is an example of a product that tried to set things right.. It had three different types of heads (!!!) and more types of cables than I can count (actually its 3! which equals six cables ;D) but of the six cables, three had matching ends (contact me for the math :P).. These found their biggest audience to be those searching to link identical devices to one another, for example, networking two PCs, transferring video between to Digital Video Cameras, etc. But now Firewire is dead..
• Using head/tail converters (aka extension cables) will significantly lower quality and speed, introduce static/interference, and decrease performance by some of the basic laws of physics.. You are adding resistance, you are adding a conductor that is in many times not 100% sealed, and you are rerouting the electric flow.
• If cheaper production costs, easier usage, and better performance aren’t enough to make you ask why, let me ask: why not?

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