Qashqarian

With so many broadband choices available today, it can be overwhelming when selecting the best choice for you. Satellite internet is a great broadband choice, but it's not the best option for everyone. How do you know if Satellite's right for you? Here are a few questions that will help you decide:


Do you have access to a telephone line or a cable TV line? For those that aren't plugged into these networks, satellite internet is the way to go. Satellite internet delivers internet access through over-the-air satellite waves, and therefore aren't limited by the physical infrastructure the same way DSL, Cable, and even Fiber Optics broadband services are. That means, for those in remote parts of the world, or those that are in a mobile set-up (e.g. mobile home), satellite internet makes plenty of sense.

Do you have space for a satellite dish? Sounds obvious, but it's necessary to have space to install an outdoor dish with a clear line-of-sight to the southern sky. If unsure, it might be worth it to consult with a provider's technician on whether your set-up is optimal for satellite service before signing any agreement, especially for multi-story apartment or condominium units.

Do you live somewhere with inclement weather? On the flipside, the fact that satellite internet is not tied to a physical infrastructure means its subject to connectivity problems with moisture and precipitation in the atmosphere. Heavy storms may even cause prolonged periods of signal outages. It's, therefore, important to take into consideration the normal weather patterns in and around your area.

Is speed a priority? Satellite internet, while considerably faster than traditional dial-up internet, ranges slower in download/upload speeds relative to other broadband solutions. Consumers can typically get 5mbps at the high-end for satellite service. Compare that to 15+mbps for cable, DSL, and fiber optics services. For casual internet users that require internet to email, browse the web, and chat with friends, satellite internet should be sufficient. But for heavier users, online gamers, those that download lots of media or stream video frequently, and business professionals that require VPN or VoIP connections, it might make sense to look elsewhere. Particularly for hard-core gamers, transmission latency in satellite internet might make for a frustrating experience.

How much are you willing to spend? With satellite internet access, you get mobility and freedom from physical infrastructures. However, on average, the monthly rate of satellite service per mbps is the most expensive out of all the broadband solutions.

Adobe Photoshop is a legend of a program. Unfortunately, it is also legendarily complicated and expensive, which makes things difficult for the average user. Even if you get past the intimidating price tag, Photoshop’s maze of layers, masks and magic tools can make even the bravest prospective user doubt their ability. Surely there’s an easier alternative?!

Luckily for us, there is. Most people don’t actually need a photo editing program of such epic proportions, which is why developers have created a raft of alternatives that area easier on your wallet AND your blood pressure.

Photoscape - Photoscape has to be number one on any list of free and easy alternatives. Full of features, simple to use and, best of all, completely free, this program is pretty much freeware’s image editing poster child. Come on, with over three MILLION downloads in the last two years on Softonic alone, it has to be doing something right!

GIMP - In second place comes GIMP. Somewhat of a giant, despite the odd name (it’s actually an acronym of GNU Image Manipulation Program), GIMP scores slightly below Photoscape because its installation process can be a little scary. Since we’re looking for stress-free alternatives, this means it loses a few points, but once you get GIMP safely installed on your computer, you’ll find it’s full of features and has an impressive range of cool plug-ins that are almost sure to meet your editing needs.

Photofiltre - Photofiltre scores high in terms of price - it’s free - but a little lower on ease of use. Like Photoshop, its interface is a bit overwhelming at first glace, but the learning curve isn’t half as steep and it is an ideal starting point for budding graphic designers who might well move on to Photoshop in years to come.

PhotoImpression - ArcSoft PhotoImpression come in at number 4 because its major pro is counterbalanced by a major con. This Photoshop-like program is full of features, but way, way easier to use than the original. It’ll give you good practice for the ‘real thing’, helping you to learn the basic concepts of more advanced image editing. The major con? Well, it’s not actually free, but you can try it out and get used to the basics. When you have them down, you can move onto the more complicated tools.

Before looking at the last program in our run-down, ask yourself a question. Do you really need a tool like Photoshop? Although you might want to crop a few photos, tweak color balance or create a fancy slideshow, you probably don’t need to go as far as seamlessly adding an image of Bigfoot into the pictures of your family’s last camping trip in the woods. Photoshop is for professional level photo editing, and most people really don’t need such power.

Picasa - If you need a simple and effective photo editor, but not exactly an alternative to Photoshop, give Picasa a try. The newest version of the Google tool is better than ever, and provides some really slick features for ordinary photo editing. It has none of the headache-inducing options of the more advanced editors, but will still give you fantastic results.

Without having to have Microsoft Office or Word installed on your computer. If you can do it, anyone can and so here’s 3 ways that you can do the same:

Microsoft yesterday blamed user confusion for the problems many have encountered trying to move from Vista to Windows 7 after buying a discounted upgrade offered to college students.

"Digital River and Microsoft are aware that some customers from the Windows 7 Academic Store had difficulties completing the download or installation of the product," said a Microsoft support engineer identified as "Michael" in a message posted Sunday to the company's support forum.

Minneapolis, Minn.-based Digital River fulfills download orders for Microsoft's $29.99 Windows 7 upgrade offer to students. Several hundred users have said that they were unable to upgrade from Windows Vista to the new operating system after purchasing, then downloading, a Windows 7 upgrade, from Digital River.

"We are aware that consumers are encountering difficulties installing Windows 7 where the customer is currently running a 32-bit version of Windows such as Windows Vista, but purchased the 64-bit version of Windows 7," Michael said.

Last week, users reported that an error message prevented them from unpacking files downloaded from Digital River. The message read: "We are unable to create or save new files in the folder in which this application was downloaded."

"This error occurs when you are in the unloading phase of the 64-bit Windows 7 download process and are running a 32-bit version of Windows such as Windows XP or Windows Vista 32-bit," Michael added. "This is by design, as you cannot launch setup for the 64-bit version of Widows 7 while running a 32-bit operating system."

According to Microsoft, users can conduct "in-place" upgrades -- those that retain all data, settings and applications -- only from Vista 32-bit to Windows 7 32-bit, or from Vista 64-bit to Windows 7 64-bit. The company had spelled out the in-place upgrade paths last summer, before it released Windows 7.

"If you want to move from Windows Vista 32-bit to Windows 7 64-bit, or if you are running Windows XP, you have to do a "Custom" or clean installation that must be started by booting off the Windows 7 64-bit DVD," Michael stressed.

A Windows 7 custom upgrade, called a "clean" install by some, requires users to back up data and settings from Windows XP or Vista, install Windows 7, then restore the data and settings before finally reinstalling all applications.

Students who mistakenly downloaded the 64-bit edition of Windows 7 from Digital River should request a refund, Microsoft's Michael continued, then pay for and download the 32-bit version instead. He pointed customers to a page on Digital River's site where they could request a refund. "In the Web form, select the Order question option in the drop-down menu and include 'Refund and Request 32-bit' in the first line of the problem description," Michael recommended.

His advice runs counter to the policy listed on the Digital River support site, which says that there are no refunds for the student discount Windows 7 upgrade.

Michael claimed that Digital River has identified and contacted customers who have been affected by the download error. "Digital River has been making every effort to make it right for these customers," he said. The Microsoft engineer also said Microsoft would not handle support questions about Windows 7 unless customers were able to reach the initial installation screen; all issues prior to that step were to be directed to Digital River.

On Saturday, users blamed both companies for their problems, and were irked that neither had stepped up to accept responsibility or provide answers. "This problem is not being resolved by anyone," complained a user tagged as "tatguy6" on the same support thread Saturday. "Someone is to blame. I guess we are just gonna have to wait for someone to pull their heads out of their butts and do something for us to resolve this."

"I [have] had enough," added "arkavat."

Tatguy6, arkavat and several others said that they were, or had, filed complaints against Digital River with the Better Business Bureau.

Digital River has yet not responded to a request for comment made last Friday.

Performing a New Installation of Windows 7
The three basic types of clean installation procedures are as follows:

Install on a brand new disk or computer system
Erase the disk, format it, and install
Install into a new directory for dual-booting (see the multiboot discussion later)
If you intend to use either of the first two methods, be sure your computer can boot from a DVD (most newer computers support booting from a DVD drive). Doing so might require changing the drive boot order in the BIOS or CMOS, but try it first as-is. With no floppy disk inserted and a clean hard disk, try the DVD drive next. The Windows 7 DVD is bootable and should run the Setup program automatically.

Installation takes 15 to 30 minutes, depending on the speed of your machine. Refer to the following sections if you have questions about any steps in this process.

Note: Windows 7 automatically applies the NTFS format to any disk partition upon which it is installed during a clean installation.

Typical Clean Setup Procedure
If you're installing into an empty partition and you can boot an operating system that is supported for the purpose of Setup (Windows Vista or XP), just boot up, insert the DVD and choose Install Now from the resulting dialog box. Then you can follow the installation step-by-step procedure.

If Windows doesn't detect the DVD automatically upon insertion, you must run the Setup program, setup.exe, from the Start, Run dialog box (after opening the Run dialog box, type D:/setup.exe; on Vista use the Start menu Search box instead [using the corect letter for your DVD drive if it isn't D]). The setup.exe application is located in the Sources directory on the DVD. After the Setup routine starts, you can follow the installation procedure step by step.

If your computer has a blank hard disk or your current OS isn't supported, this process changes. You must launch the installation process from the Windows 7 DVD (this works only if you can boot from the DVD drive). Setup automatically runs if you boot from the DVD.

Yet another setup method involves the network. To initiate a network installation, you must create a network share of the distribution DVD or a copy of the DVD on a hard drive. The destination system must have network access, and the user account must have at least read access to the installation files. Initiate Setup by executing setup.exe from the network share. For example, from the Start, Run command, or the Vista Start menu Search box, type this path: \\\ \sources\Setup. Setup recognizes an over-the-network installation and automatically copies all files from the network share to the local system before the first reboot.

Tip: All versions of Windows 7, 32- or 64-bit, are included on the same DVD. The product key that you enter during setup determines which actual version of Windows 7 you end up with after the installation completes. Keep your Windows 7 DVD and product key in a safe location after you've performed your installation. It's useful for repairs of all kinds.

Microsoft today launched a promotion that discounts Windows 7 upgrades as much as 58% when customers also buy a new Windows 7 PC.

The deal, which was available Thursday from the likes of Amazon.com and Staples, applies when consumers purchase a new computer equipped with Windows 7 Home Premium, Professional or Ultimate.

Staples, for instance, will sell a copy of Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade for $49.99, a 58% savings compared to the $119.99 list price, when buyers also purchase a new Windows 7 PC. Amazon, on the other hand, dropped the price of Home Premium Upgrade to $59.95, a savings of $60, or 50%. Under the promotion, Amazon also cut the price of Professional Upgrade to $115.99, an $85 savings (42% off) and Ultimate Upgrade to $139.99, an $80 savings (36% off) when customers ordered a new Windows 7 notebook or desktop at the same time.

Stephen Baker, an analyst with the NPD Group, which specializes in tracking retail sales, called the promotion "brilliant" in a blog post this morning. "It gives incentive to some of that huge XP installed base to do the right thing and upgrade into a new PC, while offering them a way to cost-effectively upgrade that companion notebook they have bought in the last two and one-half years. which is running Vista," Baker said.

"Windows 7 is even greater the more PCs that you have that run it," Baker said in a follow-up interview. "People aren't likely to go out today and buy multiple new PCs, but this is a great way to drive the value of Windows 7."

Baker called out Home Group, a new feature in Windows 7 that simplifies the task of setting up file-, printer-, photo- and music-sharing between Windows 7-equipped PCs on a home network, as one reason to upgrade as many home computers as possible to the new operating system.

According to Microsoft, one discounted copy of Windows 7 Upgrade can be bought per new PC, with the discount applicable to the same version as that which powers the PC. In other words, buyers of a new PC running Windows 7 Home Premium can purchase an upgrade copy of Home Premium at the discounted price, while consumers who buy a PC with Windows 7 Professional can get an upgrade copy of that edition at the reduced price.

Amazon, however, appears to be offering buyers of any Home Premium-, Professional- or Ultimate-equipped PC the discount for any of the three editions' upgrades. Buyers can order a notebook running Home Premium, for example, but buy an upgrade to Professional.

Some buyers are ineligible for the deal, however. New machines running the entry-level version of Windows 7, dubbed Starter, don't qualify, essentially preventing most purchasers of netbooks -- which are dominated by Windows 7 Starter -- from taking advantage of the promotion.

The discounted upgrade deal expires Jan. 2, 2010, and applies to consumers in the U.S. and U.K, as well as those in Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, New Zealand, Poland and Slovakia. . Microsoft and its retail partners also started selling the $149.99 Windows 7 Family Pack today. The package lets buyers upgrade as many as three PCs from Windows XP or Vista to Windows 7 Home Premium.

College students are eligible for a separate offer that prices Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade at $29.99.

Users are most concerned about Windows 7's migration and application compatibility issues, according to a sweeping survey of online forums, Web sites and social networking services, a support firm said today.

iYogi, a New York-based tech support company pushing Windows 7 upgrade services, said that it tracked tens of thousands of online conversations during the past week about Windows 7 to come up with the top 10 user worries about Microsoft's new operating system.

The company monitored 10 major forums, including MSDN, TechNet, Yahoo Answers and Google Groups; 25 sites posting user reviews, such as Amazon.com, CNET and Epinions.com; and social sources including Facebook and the micro-blogging service Twitter.

At the top of the iYogi list was concern about Windows 7's application compatibility and migration from earlier editions to the new OS. One sample question iYogi logged: "Do I need to re-install Microsoft Office when I upgrade to Windows 7?" (Answer: Yes, if upgrading from Windows XP.)

Microsoft has directly addressed compatibility concerns with the Windows 7 Compatibility Center, a site that launched yesterday, which lets users root through a massive database of hardware and software to find which peripherals and programs are up to snuff.

On the upgrade front, Microsoft has posted a several-step tutorial to guide Windows XP users through the process. (For more on upgrading from XP, see Computerworld's "FAQ: How to prep for an XP-to-Windows 7 upgrade.")

Second on iYogi's list were worries about Windows 7's new features -- how different the new OS is from the familiar XP -- while in third place were questions about its performance. "Is Windows 7 faster than XP or Vista?" asked one user, said iYogi. (Computerworld's Windows 7 expect, Preston Gralla, says yes.)

Other concerns ranged from getting ready for Windows 7 (No. 4) and the operating system's user interface (No. 5) to how much time it will take to install Windows 7 (No. 8) and whether its price will ever drop (No. 9).

Not surprisingly, iYogi also touted polls it conducted that claim nearly 70% of Windows users aren't "entirely comfortable" that they would be able to move their favorite applications to Windows 7.

Microsoft has built a Windows 7 help and support site that includes how-to videos, links to company-sponsored user-to-user forums, and answers to what it considers the top user-submitted questions.

Microsoft will host a New York City launch event tomorrow at 11 a.m. ET, when CEO Steve Ballmer will kick off a coming-out party.

Microsoft will put Windows 7 on store shelves and computer makers will have systems ready to sell with Vista's successor on Oct. 22, the company confirmed today.

Microsoft will also offer discounted or free upgrades to Windows 7 to users who buy PCs in the months leading up to the operating system's launch in a program dubbed "Windows Upgrade Option," a company spokeswoman said Tuesday. Although the name is new, the program had been reported as early as January, when a usually-reliable Web site leaked information about the deal, including its July 1 kick-off.

Until today, Microsoft had been coy about naming a release date for Windows 7, although it edged toward a timetable last month. Both Bill Veghte, the senior vice president who runs the Windows Business unit, and Steven Sinofsky, the senior vice president of the Windows engineering group, said then that Windows 7 was on track for the holiday selling season, and would make the final milestone -- called "release to manufacturing," or RTM -- in mid-August. Today, however, other company spokespersons said Microsoft is shooting for RTM by the end of July.

Details on the Windows Upgrade Option were not immediately available, but analysts have assumed that it would resemble Vista Express Upgrade, a program that gave people who purchased Windows XP PCs between Oct. 26, 2006, and March 15, 2007, free or inexpensive upgrades to Vista.

Vendors were allowed to set the price, if any, of the XP-to-Vista upgrades, and it's believed that they will have the same flexibility for Windows 7.

This isn't the first time that October has been named as the likely ship date for Microsoft's new OS. In an interview last month, an Acer executive based in the U.K. said "October 23 is the date that Windows 7 will be available." The executive, Bobby Watkins, the managing director of Acer's U.K. operations, also confirmed that customers who bought a Vista-powered computer from the company in the 30 days leading up to Oct. 23 would receive a free upgrade to Windows 7.

Also last month, Computerworld used Sinofsky's mid-August RTM date to predict that Windows 7 would go on sale sometime between Oct. 11 and Nov. 4, based on the actual timetables of Windows XP and Vista, respectively.