Archive for December, 2009
BLACKMAGICCOMPUTERS.COM: Microsoft: our Windows 7 call center isn’t so busy
by admin on Dec.29, 2009, under Articles
Microsoft has noticed a significant reduction in the volume of phone calls from Windows 7 users; in fact, the number is half of what the software giant predicted it would be. “Overall we are finding our call center volume is down significantly more than we expected,” Barbara Gordon, vice president of customer support for Microsoft, told CNET. The drop in the number of calls doesn’t necessarily mean, however, that Windows 7 has fewer problems than Windows Vista. Microsoft added two online resources leading up to the operating system’s release that may have made the difference. “What we have found is we are seeing far more take-up of self-service…forums and Twitter to get responses.”
A week prior to the launch of the operating system, Microsoft launched a new Twitter account,@MicrosoftHelps, specifically for providing real-time Windows 7 information and support to customers around the world, but only in English. The account responds to direct tweets, but it also monitors tweets in the wild that describe Windows 7 problems and tries to suggest helpful resources. Still, at the time of writing, the account had only made just under 600 tweets, so we’re not so sure it can make up for a significant reduction in support calls.
In December 2008, Redmond launched Microsoft Answers, a tech support website in the Q&A format. It was initially exclusively for Windows Vista issues and problems, but the company expanded it to include Windows 7, Windows XP, and Windows Live at the end of September 2009 (it also covers Microsoft Security Essentials now), less than a month before Vista’s successor launched. The Microsoft Answers forums allow users to submit questions to which experienced community members offer answers, and then Microsoft employees later make sure they are correct. So far, Microsoft has validated some 60,000 solutions, though as already noted, that number doesn’t just encompass Windows 7.
Microsoft did not disclose the exact number of support calls it gets for Windows 7, but the fact that the volume is smaller is more good news for the company. It is already working on Windows 7 Service Pack 1, which should further help users experiencing issues with the operating system. Rumors abound that Windows 7 SP1 will get a summer 2010 release.
If you are in need of computer repair please visit our website.
BLACKMAGICCOMPUTERS.COM: Microsoft barred from selling Word, has plan for workaround
by admin on Dec.29, 2009, under Articles
The US Court of Appeals has ordered Microsoft to drop support for editing Custom XML in Word, essentially stopping the company from selling current versions of one of its flagship products and affirming a $290 million patent infringement judgment against the software giant. The injunction, which goes into effect on January 11, 2010, not only bars the sale of Word 2007, but also affects all editions of Microsoft Office 2007, since Word comes bundled with all of them.
It’s not as bad as it seems, however. “This injunction applies only to copies of Microsoft Word 2007 and Microsoft Office 2007 sold in the US on or after the injunction date of January 11, 2010,” a Microsoft spokesperson told Ars, meaning all copies of these products sold before this date (including Word 2003 and Word 2007) are not affected. “With respect to Microsoft Word 2007 and Microsoft Office 2007, we have been preparing for this possibility since the District Court issued its injunction in August 2009 and have put the wheels in motion to remove this little-used feature from these products. Therefore, we expect to have copies of Microsoft Word 2007 and Office 2007, with this feature removed, available for US sale and distribution by the injunction date.”
The injunction does not require changes to Word 2010, slated for release in June 2010. This is because “the beta versions of Microsoft Word 2010 and Microsoft Office 2010, which are available now for downloading, do not contain the technology covered by the injunction,” the Microsoft spokesperson confirmed.
A federal judge in Texas issued an injunction that gave Microsoft 60 days to stop shipping any recent version of Word, based on a patent that was found to cover the XML formatting used by the software. A week later, Microsoft asked for a stay by filing an emergency motion. Canadian-based i4i, the company that owns the patent that Microsoft has been found to be infringing, claimed in the lawsuit that its business shrank significantly when Microsoft added custom-XML support to Word. Word 2003 and Word 2007 were both found to be infringing on i4i’s patent by using XML for encoding and customizing XML in a specific way (US Patent No. 5,787,449). The stay was granted in September 2009, but it has now been lifted and Microsoft is being asked to stop selling Word as well as pay $290 million in penalties.
While Redmond is moving quickly to comply with the injunction, it isn’t giving in completely. “We are also considering our legal options, which could include a request for a rehearing by the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals en banc or a request for a writ of certiorari from the US Supreme Court,” the Microsoft spokesperson told Ars.
If you are in need of computer repair please visit our website.
BLACKMAGICCOMPUTERS.COM: Partnering with Malwarebytes!
by admin on Dec.29, 2009, under Articles
Blackmagic Computers will be selling Malwarebytes! Recently spoke with a representive of the company and we will be selling their products. For more information visit our website Blackmagiccomputers.com
BLACKMAGICCOMPUTERS.COM: New Customer Chat Client!
by admin on Dec.29, 2009, under Updated Website Information
We have installed a new customer chat client on our website. Just go to Blackmagiccomputers.com there you will be able to chat with a live technician!
If you are in need of computer repair please visit our website.
BLACKMAGICCOMPUTERS.COM: Traverse City Computer Repair Service!
by admin on Dec.29, 2009, under Updated Website Information
We have added even more wireless products on our website! Please let us know what you think.
If you are in need of computer repair please visit our website.
BLACKMAGICCOMPUTERS.COM: Microsoft Windows 7 Review
by admin on Dec.28, 2009, under Articles
Deserved or not, Microsoft had dug itself a cool, deep, dark hole with Windows Vista. Users demanding that Redmond extend the life of Windows XP wasn’t exactly something they could be proud of, either. Bombarded by complaints and negative press even after the first service pack was released, the bar had been set high for Vista’s successor: Windows 7. This review is based on an official copy of the Windows 7 RTM that Microsoft provided to CNET on July 30, 2009.
Luckily for Microsoft, Windows 7 is more than just spin. It’s stable, smooth, and highly polished, introducing new graphical features, a new taskbar that can compete handily with the Mac OS X dock, and device management and security enhancements that make it both easier to use and safer. Importantly, it won’t require the hardware upgrades that Vista demanded, partially because the hardware has caught up, and partially because Microsoft has gone to great lengths to make Windows 7 accessible to as many people as possible.
It’s important to note that the public testing process for Windows 7 involved one limited-availability beta and one release candidate, and constituted what some have called the largest shareware trial period ever. As buggy and irritating as Vista was, Windows 7 isn’t. Instead, it’s the successor to Windows XP that Microsoft wishes Vista had been, and finally places it on competitive footing with other major operating systems like OS X and Linux.
Microsoft is offering six versions of Windows 7: Starter, Home Premium, Professional, Ultimate, OEM, and Enterprise. The three versions that Redmond will be promoting most heavily are Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate, although Starter will also be available to consumers.
Windows 7 will support both 32-bit and 64-bit systems. The bare minimum requirements for the 32-bit include a 1GHz processor, 1GB RAM, 16GB available hard-disk space, and a DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver. 64-bit systems will require at least a 1 GHz processor, 2GB RAM, 20GB of free space on your hard drive, and a DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver. A touch-screen monitor is required to take advantage of the native touch features. Do note that some users have claimed to have limited success running the Windows 7 beta with less than 1GB of RAM, but that’s not recommended.
Installation
Microsoft is offering several paths to install Windows 7. People can buy a new computer with the operating system already installed, upgrade from Windows XP or Vista, or do a clean install on a computer the user already owns. The clean installation took us about 30 minutes, but that will vary depending on your computer.
The upgrade procedure is different depending on whether you’re running Windows XP or Windows Vista. Vista users merely need to back up their data before choosing the Upgrade option from the install disc. Both XP Home and XP Pro users will have to back up their data, then choose Custom from the install disc. Custom will have the same effect as a clean install, although it’ll save your old data in a folder called Windows.old. Once you choose Custom, you’ll need to select the partition of your hard drive that contains Windows XP, and then follow the instructions to enter your product key and allow the computer to reboot as needed.
If you’re not sure if your current computer can run Windows 7, you can download and run the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor from Microsoft.
Features: Taskbar and Aero Peek
Although the look of Windows 7 may seem to be nothing more than some polish applied liberally to the Vista Aero theme, make no mistake: This is a full replacement operating system, and more than just “Vista done right.” From driver support to multitouch groundwork for the future, from better battery management to the most easy-to-use interface Microsoft has ever had, Windows 7 is hardly half-baked.
The first thing that should stand out is the new taskbar. This is one of the best improvements Microsoft has made–third-party program dock makers are going to have to do some serious innovation when Windows 7 goes public. Besides incorporating the translucent style of Aero, the new taskbar is arguably even better than the Mac OS X dock. It features pinned programs using large, easy-to-see icons. Mouse over one and all windows associated with that program appear in preview. Mouse over one of those preview panes to reveal an X to close the window. Hover over the preview to show a full-size preview of the program, or click on the window to bring it to the front. Because of the button size, people with touch screens should find it especially easy to use.
Jump lists are another new taskbar improvement that make recently opened documents easier to get to. Right-click or left-click and drag on any program icon pinned to the taskbar to see a list of files that you’ve recently used in that program. In Internet Explorer, this will show recently visited Web sites, although it doesn’t yet seem to work in Firefox.
If you’ve noticed the missing Show Desktop icon, that’s because it’s been baked into the taskbar itself. Mouse over to the right corner. Hovering over the Show Desktop box reveals the desktop, and then hides it when you mouse away. Click on the box to minimize all your programs.
Resizing programs has been simplified and improved by the capability to drag a window’s title bar. Drag a program window to the top of your monitor to expand it to full screen. If you want to work in two windows simultaneously, drag one to the left edge and one to the right edge of your screen, and they’ll automatically resize to half the width of your monitor. Dragging a program away from the top or sides will return it to its original size. This is an entirely new feature in Windows 7, but it should prove easy to adopt because it mimics and expands on the maximize/restore button that people have been resizing windows with since Windows 95.
Theme packages also make it much faster to change the look of Windows 7. From the Control Panel, you can change the theme under Appearance and Personalization. Microsoft has created several theme packages to give people a taste for what the feature can do. Click on one to download it, and it instantly changes the color scheme and background–no need to reboot. Users can create their own themes, as well.
Windows Media Player and Device Stage
One of the biggest new features makes Windows Media Player useful again: you can now stream media files from one Windows 7 computer to another, across the Internet and out of network. Even better, the setup procedure is dead simple.
When you open Windows Media Player, there’s a new Stream option on the toolbar. Click it, and you’re presented with two choices. Both require you to associate your computer with your free Windows Live ID. When you’ve associated a second Windows 7′s WMP with that same ID, you can remotely access the media on the host computer. Windows Media Player’s mini mode looks much slicker, emphasizing the album art–sometimes at the expense of clearly seeing the controls, but it’s a definite improvement.
If you are in need of computer repair please visit our website.
BLACKMAGICCOMPUTERS.COM: We Now Sell Computer Products On Our Website!
by admin on Dec.27, 2009, under Updated Website Information
Because of the demand from customer’s we have decided to start selling computer equipment on our website! Some of the products you will find are: Wireless Routers, Wireless Access Points, Wireless Network Cards and much more! We will be carrying the some of the big brand manufactures such as: Linksys, Netgear & & Dlink!
We also will be adding some other wireless network equipment that will be geared toward the customer that needs wireless in hard to reach places. Long distance wireless, sharing wireless signal with 2 or more houses or businesses!
Check out our website for more details!
If you are in need of computer repair please visit our website.
