Tag Archives: software center

Windows XP’s Repulsive “Hidden ToolTip” Bug… Fixed!

Posted on by NeoSmart Technologies
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(UPDATE: ToolTipFixer 1.0.1 released with fixes for some bugs)

Press Start | Programs; and right-click on “Accessories,” then press “Open.” Close the window that opens up, then go to your taskbar (next to the system clock) and hover over an icon, what do you see?

Ever since Microsoft invented the Windows Shell with explorer.exe back in the days of Windows 95, there’s been a bug that’s gone from one version of Windows to the next; and with each upgrade it became worse and worse – until Vista where it only rears its ugly head every once in a while instead.

Everyone that has used a Windows PC must have seen this bug before – it’s that ubiquitous (not that Microsoft would admit it for 10 long years):

The infamous hidden tooltip bug

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Just How Big is Opera 9.5 (Kestrel) Going to Be?

Posted on by NeoSmart Technologies
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Opera is an awesome company. If you were wondering where most “innovation” in the world of web browsers came from, you need look no further. Many of the features that other browsers like to claim as their own actually originated in Opera; from in-line search to tabbed Windows, Opera had all of these and many more way before Internet Explorer and Mozilla/Firefox ever knew they existed.

Opera 9.20 introduced a really nifty feature that, having tried it, you’ll find impossible to go back. Simply put, the “blank” tab page is a group of 9 screenshots of your top-nine most-visited sites. It renders the concept of “favorites” obsolete – because most people have this-is-a-good-resource-if-i-ever-need-it favorites and i-visit-this-site-every-single-day favorites. It’s a waste of time to go through the favorites menu (even the cool, new IE7 favorites sidebar/widget/utility) to find that site you visit every other time you turn on your browser, and Opera addresses this issue by making those pages just a new tab away.

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Apple’s New Animation Framework

Posted on by NeoSmart Technologies
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Although we try our best to be impartial when it comes down to OS wars, and we have, throughout the years, presented the pros and cons of Windows, Linux, and other operating systems, you’ve probably noticed that NeoSmart Technologies isn’t too big on Apple. Well, color us purple, but this we have to talk about.

Apple [[AAPL]] has a new technology due to ship in Leopard that is pretty damn impressive to hear some of the developers (or at least those at liberty to discuss what they’ve been told) talk about it. According to this Wired News article, this framework will focus on making it easy for developers to add Next (Delicious) Generation graphics to their applications, bringing the concept of UI to a whole new playing field.

While it sounds just plain awesome, we can’t help but look at it with mixed feelings. Since this is Apple and not Microsoft we’re talking about, we’re pretty darn sure everything they say can and will be found in the RTM release of OS X Leopard *cough* WinFS *cough*, but whether or not it will revolutionize the concept of user interfaces everywhere remains to be seen.

Granted, the effects are supposed to be astounding. But that’s not the question, next-gen UIs (hereby dubbed “Desktop 2.0”) are almost always a matter of how and not what. As the Wired article states, these same “amazing” graphical innovations with the UI do already exist in certain programs (like Disco, the CD burning utility for OS X), the only difference is, Apple promises to make it much easier to get the same end results.

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Why Microsoft Won’t ID Patent Violations…

Posted on by NeoSmart Technologies
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Earlier today, Microsoft announced it will begin actively seeking reparations for patent infringement by Linux and the Open Source Community in general. Larry Augustin posted his thoughts on the matter, expressing his opinion that it’s fear of having these IP-infringement claims debunked or challenged that’s keeping Microsoft from publishing these 235 alleged infringements to the public – and instead waiting until the OS community comes to the bargaining table. But let’s be realistic, shall we?

If Microsoft Corporation doesn’t have the biggest and baddest team of lawyers law firms, who does? It’s probably safe to assume that more than half of these patent infringements really are just that. Put aside the legitimacy of software patents in the first place and just look at the facts as they stand. Open source software gets its code from millions of developers and no amount of auditing or quadruple-checking will ensure clean-code. Despite Microsoft’s claims of “openly and knowingly” engaging in patent-violations, that’s most probably not the case.

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EasyBCD 1.6 Released!

Posted on by NeoSmart Technologies
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It’s been a while, though we haven’t really noticed. The EasyBCD 1.5x line has worked loyally and without complaint for the past 7 months, and it’s time to put it to rest. It’s hard to believe it’s been almost 8 months now since EasyBCD 1.5 went gold in October of 2006 – and since then its popularity has just soared beyond all expectations.

Today we’re proud to announce the availability of EasyBCD 1.6 to the general public. It’s been a rough, long road developing the 1.6 line, but we hope you’ll find it worth the wait. With 1 million+ EasyBCD users strong, we’ve learned a thing or two about compatibility and standards – or rather shall we say the lack of them. What worked for 98% of EasyBCD users didn’t work for the remaining two percent, and NeoSmart Technologies doesn’t accept anything less than perfection – that’s why EasyBCD 1.6 goes the extra mile.

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WYSIWYG Linux Blogging Clients?

Posted on by NeoSmart Technologies
12

It’s amazing: Linux, with all its millions of tiny freebie programs, FOSS applications, and even SourceForge and all its glory doesn’t have a single decent WYSIWYG blogging client. Not one!?

That’s what Google says anyway. There’s “xfy Blog Editor” for Mac OS X and Linux – except it’s a 32MB download of a trial version for a paid program that’s bloated, slow, and unintuitive. There’s Bleezer, a free Java-based blogging client (so it’s supposed to work everywhere), but it’s even worse. It’s ugly, refuses to connect to WordPress, out of date, and very buggy. Plus, it’s Java. And of course, everyone’s favorite: ScribeFire (aka Performancing). Except we’re talking Linux, not JavaScript; and we’re looking for more than a pretty face and a couple of options.

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Please Microsoft, Stop Holding .NET Back!

Posted on by NeoSmart Technologies
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As dedicated developers, end-users, and champions of Microsoft’s .NET Framework, we’re making a final plea to Microsoft and the .NET Framework team to save .NET and make it a real multi-platform framework. Please!

Sun could (and did) do it with Java, so why can’t Microsoft just swallow the pill already and provide real support for the .NET Framework on all operating systems? Yes, that includes Linux and Mac too. It’s ironic, because the .NET Framework has so much potential as a platform with its unique multi-language structure, nifty features, excellent libraries, (relatively) well-performing output, and darn-good innovative technologies like LINQ coming-up and XAML already here. Yet Microsoft just doesn’t realize that if they truly want .NET to succeed, they’ll have to bite the bullet and stop pretending that only officially supporting Windows won’t make users leave Linux/Mac/BSD/Whatever and buy licenses for Windows instead.

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Is .NET Taking Over the World?

Posted on by NeoSmart Technologies
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4 short years ago, Microsoft unveiled its new framework/engine for programming and running applications in a virtual environment, and the world was stunned. Microsoft had introduced a run-time environment that was for the first time a true “Write once, run everywhere” implementation, but that was far from being the end. With .NET 3.0 on the loom, NeoSmart Technologies takes a look at how far .NET has come and just how long it can keep going.

Besides being a true virtual machine implementation that really does work everywhere no matter how terrible your code is, .NET is paving the way for a revolution that’ll end with it either dead or the only language worth using.. and from what we see, it sure isn’t the first!

Update: Once you’re done reading, here’s a follow-up that should clear some things up.

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