Category Archives: Software

Vista 5342 Digital Audio Support Completely Broken

Posted on by NeoSmart Technologies
3

We’ve been asking around, and we have been downloading driver after driver and swapping sound cards all day long to no avail. Vista’s digital audio support is completely broken in this latest build. To be fair, it is not a CTP, but on the other hand, besides the lack of digital audio support on Microsoft Windows Vista Build 5342, it seems that the audio stack is exactly the same as that of 5308.

These comments are not made on whim nor are they fallacies in induction, NeoSmart Technologies carried out the most extensive review and troubleshooting guide for both digital and analog audio on 5308 (February CTP) which can be seen here.

Continue reading →

Forcing Firefox Extensions to Work on Newer Versions

Posted on by NeoSmart Technologies
20

One of the biggest issues people have with Mozilla/Firefox extensions (besides security vulnerabilities) is the required version field that indicates which versions of Mozilla/Firefox that particular extension will run on. While that may at first seem a nifty feature, anyone familiar with Firefox’s release of development builds, ranging from a build every hour to a build every night, will immediately realize the problem: the extensions aren’t configured to work with the new builds! And extension writers don’t always have time to update their works with new whitelists of permitted FF builds; and so they don’t work! But fret not, there is a solution, and if you are addicted to to the bleeding edge and set your download manager to download and run the builds on the hour (like some I know…) then this is for you!

  1. Access the Firefox “registry” by directing FF to “about:config,” without the quotes or comma obviously.
  2. Right-click anywhere on that page, and select New -> String.
  3. In the message box that pops up, enter “app.extensions.version” for the name (no quotation marks….) and press enter;
  4. And when another box appears prompting you for the value, enter the version number of the FF build you want it to impersonate when installing a plugin. I recommend 1.5, but you can use 1.0 as well.
  5. That’s it, you’re done.. Close the tab and surf our archives, install your plugins, and enjoy your new-found liberty!

Continue reading →

10 Reasons Why Linux is Easier to Use than Windows or Mac

Posted on by NeoSmart Technologies
5

Everyone says Linux is harder to use than Windows. I’m not disputing that, Windows and Mac are most certainly simpler operating systems and easier to get used to for the computer illiterate, but just read on for ten important reasons why Linux is easier…

10) Easier to Get: It’s Free!
If you have a cable or DSL modem (and a subscription..) you’re all set! No need to stop by Best Buy and pay a visit to the “Geek” Squad or work extra hours to save up for Macintosh and its required hardware.. Even if you are still on dial-up there is hope for you: most popular distros have year-long or special occasion releases of free CDs.. and I really do mean free CD, free shipping and handling, free support, its all there!

9) Regular “Full” Releases
Not all of us know how to 7) download the latest kernel and compile, or how to update to that new shiny version of KDE (the one with the blue bars.. come on!) or how to upgrade OOo.. If you use a good distro, chances are a new version will be out with all these and more from 6 to 12 months after the last release!

Continue reading →

CRN Dead Wrong About Macintel Exploits

Posted on by NeoSmart Technologies
Reply

CRN’s security analyst Kevin Finisterre seems to believe that Mac is "more hackable" on Intel… for the wrong reasons. 

Apple’s switch from PowerPC to Intel-based Macs could lead to more attacks and cross-platform exploits, according to some researchers and solution providers.OS X includes features that make it a target for malware, and the Intel-based Macs may be even more vulnerable than their PowerPC predecessors, according to security researcher Kevin Finisterre, who created the three recent versions of InqTana, a proof-of-concept worm that spreads through a vulnerability in the Bluetooth feature of OS X."I honestly think that the general "script kiddie" crowd is more familiar and comfortable on an Intel processor versus a PowerPC," said Finisterre. Simply moving from the 4-byte instructions that PowerPCs use to the 1-byte instructions Intel processors use lowers the bar for exploits, he added.

It’s been a while since I last had to cut and paste articles for debunking, but this one is an interesting article, comes from a well established source, and has a lot more to it than meets the eye.

Starting off with the most obvious fallacies in his statement, hackers write exploits, "script kiddies" download and run them. People don’t hack Mac because its not worth it, not because PPC makes it impossible to do. If you can write code for x86, you can write code for PPC. PPC is not bulletproof, and 4 bytes is not an impregnable armor… else the rest of the world would have used it too.

Continue reading →

Build 5342 Released!

Posted on by NeoSmart Technologies
4

Well, its official, its out.

We’ll have screenshots soon as we download the build… Till then! 

Update!:
Here in the middle of nowhere and in the land of no internet the download has just finshed! Should have some stuff up soon! =) 

[Support Forums] [Feature List] 

Back in Business :-)

Posted on by NeoSmart Technologies
Reply

Ramblings of a Computer Guru, and more importantly, NeoSmart Technologies is back on stage.
Before I say anything else, a word of advice, if you are looking for a host, and are expecting any form of traffic, don’t go with ZestHost unless you are willing to pay 2500 a year for slow servers, crappy support, and outdated technology.

That said, NeoSmart Technologies has been offline for a week, but we are back up and running as of today. As they say, every cloud has a silver lining.. We are taking this opportunist to write a custom download center script for our main site, redo the design there, on the forums, here on the blog, and on our brand new wiki… Oh yes, the wiki.
We decided that no site as rich in resources and talented members as this is complete without an ideal way of sharing that content in an easy to use and easy too update manner.. and a wiki fit the bill!
We will be using mediawiki (who isn’t??) and hope to get guides, comparisons, walkthroughs, and reviews in it.. we are open to any and all suggestions at this time, feel free to leave a reply here, post in the forums (up soon!), or send us an email…

Sincerely,
Computer Guru
Founding CEO

“Vista Rewrite is Hogwash!” so says Scoble….

Posted on by NeoSmart Technologies
Reply

Finally. It has been 3 days of nonsense, starting off with a no-name site trying to get some traffic: smarthouse.com.

I didn’t believe it, but this blog was down, and I had no other place to throw my rants.. But now from the depths of Microsoft, we have the word of Robert Scoble that this is nonsense. Shame on the big names in the industry that were so quick to grab this and post it as front page news. There is no XBox team working on Windows, there is no code rewrite, there is no failure.. not yet.

The sad thing is, the minute it appeared on The Inquirer there was no one left that didn’t quote it.. What The Inquirer needs i- a law suit.. something big to stop them from spreading rumors, libel, and lies…. something to put an end to all this. /rant

Thank you Robert….. :) 

Vista Build 5342 Today!

Posted on by NeoSmart Technologies
30

As lame as this may sound, we knew about it first. To days ago to be exact.. But our host had given us the boot, and we couldn’t tell you that we would be getting a midnight build come Friday….  But that is OK, because NeoSmart Technologies has more than a mere build number and date. We have what’s coming in this build, what’s new, what’s fixed, what’s removed, and what’s buggy.

Not everything below will be in 5342, but most will. Items marked with a "*" will in all likelihood be released later on down the line.

NeoSmart Technologies also brings you an exclusive with some of the more annoying bugs that have been fixed in this build, as well as some bugs that have made a comeback.. It will be updated as new info comes in up until the release of 5342

[Support Forums]

Continue reading →

Firefox Cut & Paste: 1 Bug, 4 Years, No Solution!

Posted on by NeoSmart Technologies
125

I love competition in the market just as much as the other guy. I’m comfortable with IE7, Opera, FF, and if the need be, Safari.
For the most part, I use Firefox nightly for general web browsing, and IE7 for forums and blogs. However, invariably, without fail, every single time a I install Firefox, within a month I am forced to either format or use IE7/Opera instead. This has been going on ever since I started using "Firefox" 3 years ago.

The Bug? No longer being able to cut and paste. AFAIK (from my programming experience), cut and paste is a simple API, you tell it what to copy and the PC does the rest. So imagine my frustration whet every single install of Firefox goes senile on me, and starts to forget to copy every now and then. It continues to get worse.

Continue reading →

BBC a Little Confused

Posted on by NeoSmart Technologies
2

It would seem from this article that BBC has not received its weekly briefing on "bleeding edge" technology. The article talks in depth how the recent "upsurge" in wireless communication signifies a new era… But what is that? Windows 2k? Does Windows 2000 even have wireless support? And unless I am very much mistaken, that is a low-end $99 Palm.. The color screen barely made that model; wireless? I don’t think so!