NaughtySpawn

This is just one example of the many problems I’ve been facing with Windows 7 and why it infuriates me. Things that used to work under XP without incident, don’t work under the "new and improved" OS.

I recently bought a Dell Inspiron 630 to replace an older Dell Dimension 5150. The Inspiron is an AMD Athlon II X4 chipset since I didn’t want to go with Intel this time around. Instead of using the onboard video I installed an Nvidia 8500GT PCIe video card and an Nvidia 6200 PCI card. I have two monitors plugged into the 8500GT card and one into the 6200 card for a total of three monitors across two video cards.

The funny thing, the system and Windows both recognize the cards. The drivers are installed and updated. And, when Windows initially starts it can see both cards and puts a display across all three. On the surface everything looks fine.

Until I start arranging windows. Within a minute or two of trying to use this configuration all three screen will lockup and it looks like the entire machine is hung. However, most of the time I can press Ctrl-Alt-Delete, lock the machine, log back in, and the video will respond again (at least on the main monitor, the video on the other two is completely locked and unusable). This usually gives me enough time to get to Control Panel and disable the 6200 video card. Once that card is disabled, everything works fine. I can drag and drop across monitors without issue and it doesn’t lock up. As soon as I enable the card, the problem comes right back.

As I mentioned, the drivers are updated and they use the same driver download. Windows doesn’t show any conflicts or errors in Device Manager. And since it can power that card and monitor it appears everything is fine. But alas, it simply can’t use it correctly.

Under Windows XP these same cards in this same configuration worked correctly. It just baffles me that Windows has a handle on the card to begin with then fumbles all over itself.

Is this a problem with Windows and dual video cards or is this some hate between an AMD mother/chipset combination and Nvidia? I’ve noticed hundreds of articles about problems with Windows 7 and multiple video cards and no one seems to have a solution. Since multiple monitors is extremely common, and multiple video cards is just as common I can’t see why Windows 7 can’t make this work. I’ve seen all sorts of comments about buying two identical cards, but Win7 isn’t worth $100 bucks to me, it’s certainly not worth me spending a few hundred more on video cards just to get it to do something an older version could handle.

Anyone else running into something like that? For the time being, I guess I’m just SOL and this is another problem with the latest and greatest Microsoft has to offer.

To put it bluntly, I can’t stand Windows 7. Since the day I installed it I’ve spend everyday fighting against the quirks, odd behavior, bad design and just one problem after another. At first it seemed like such a good idea, but I can’t find one single feature I like. I’ve run into problems with the machine crashing when it goes to sleep, losing the network when it wakes up, problems with 32-bit apps, fights with the UAC, troubles with multiple video cards, strange slowness issues and more damn updates than you can shake a stick at. I just can’t do it anymore. This relationship is too trying and too taxing on me. And through it all I can’t say I’ve gained a single feature from my days of working with XP.

And the funny thing is, I can’t go back to Windows XP because I don’t have the 64-bit version and even if I did, that OS is such a horrid piece of junk I would be facing just as many compatibility issues since nothing runs correctly on XP64. Talk about red headed stepchild.

It’s pretty ironic that Microsoft started off the decade with the launch of Windows Me, the completely unnecessary and instantly forgettable sequel to Windows 98. When it comes to OS duds, I’m pretty sure most people would agree that Windows Me is at the top of the list.

As the decade came to a close Microsoft comes out with Windows 7, the hurried yet completely necessary upgrade to the second worst OS they ever put out, Windows Vista. Vista was a dog with fleas from the day it hit the shelves, but the part that puzzles me is that Windows 7 looks and acts just like Vista that I can’t understand why people say Win 7 is so much better. The UAC is the same, the dialogs are the same, Control Panel is the same; the only thing that looks different is the Taskbar. If anything, Windows 7 should have been called Vista Service Pack 3, but MS was desperate to put Vista behind them so they had to make a new name for it.

I’ve tried to like Windows 7, really I have. I use it both at home and at work and I just can’t deal with it anymore. The constant updates are one thing, I’d rather MS fix the bugs as they find them rather than waiting six months, but come on, do we really have to have an update every other day? It’s a bit much and makes me wonder about the stability and security of this wreck.

The updates I can handle, it’s the constant crashes and fights to get the OS to do what I want. I’m tired of being told I don’t have permissions to files or don’t have permissions to run executables. I’m tired of all the compatibility issues with 32 bit apps running. Where are my 64 bit apps? Out of all the apps I have only 1 is 64 bit and that’s Photoshop Lightroom. Oh wait, I lied, I have a 64 bit disc defragger, color me impressed! It’s not that every other OS has 64 bit apps and Windows doesn’t, but let’s be real here. 64 bit processors have been around for more than 5 years and we still don’t have anything that truly takes advantage of them. We get four cores and can barely tap their potential.

As it stands now, my plan is to get rid of Windows 7. I’ll hold out until the first Service Pack comes along (remember, never buy a new OS until the first Service Pack hits the street) but unless things drastically change, and I doubt they will, I’m going to reformat this machine. I know I can’t get rid of Windows completely, I have far too much money invested in software, and quite frankly some apps just don’t exist on other platforms. Switching to Ubuntu would be my first choice, but what are my choices when it comes to Banking and Photo Editing apps? Ubuntu is a fantastic OS and serves my needs extremely well, but there’s a few places that still need work. But I have a plan. I plan to use Ubuntu as my main OS, I think after 10.04 comes out in April, then I will run Windows XP SP3 under Virtualbox. I think XP is infinitely more usable than Windows 7 and since nothing is truly 64 bit anyway, what am I losing? If I give the Virtual Machine 4GB of RAM I’ll still be in the same boat I am today. And then, within another year or so, I truly believe I will buy a Mac and use that for all my other software needs – banking, photo editing.

There is no advantage to Windows 7 so why should I keep using it? Worst case, I could just put the 32-bit version of Win 7 in a VM and use it that way. At least I wouldn’t have the compatibility issues, the network problems or shutdown hassles. The 32-bit apps wouldn’t know the difference would they?

Anybody else try a crazy idea like this? Even if I don’t do it at home, it’s what I’ll be doing at work. I have no need for photo editing and money management there. Everything we do is web based and that’s been working a lot better under Ubuntu than Win 7.

The clock is ticking, the days of Windows 7 are numbered.

GUNDEAD DEFENSE – Wild West Zombie Tower Defense

The ONLY MULTIPLAYER Tower Defense Game for the iPhone and iPod touch.

1885. A zombie outbreak is ravaging the Western Frontier. Death is everywhere, but there’s plenty of money to steal if you can get to it alive.

Take charge of a gang of outlaws looking to pull a legendary heist in the middle of zombie country.

A NEW TYPE OF TOWER DEFENSE GAMEPLAY
Not only DEFEND your stronghold, but for the first time ever order your henchmen to ATTACK the zombie base!

PLAN YOUR ATTACK!
- Order henchmen into battle, ranging from speedy scouts to slow burly brawlers.
- Time the waves of your attacks to exploit weaknesses in the zombie defenses.
- Strategically spend funds to boost your men’s Speed, Health, and Resistance for the perfect assault.

DEFEND YOUR STRONGHOLD!
- Command a posse armed with Six Shooters, Shotguns, Molotov Cocktails, and Gatling Guns to make a stand against those brain-thirsty zombies!
- Upgrade your weapons to inflict even more damage with devastating special attacks.

MULTIPLAYER
- Two modes to square off against you friends:
- Head to Head: Play against your friends wirelessly
- Hotseat: Pass and play on a single iPhone or iPod touch

CLASSIC FEATURES [FREE]
- Quickplay Mode throws you right in the middle of the action!
- Campaign Mode takes you along on a bank heist to hell and back!
- Multiplayer immediately available.
- 7 different maps.
- An edgy art style that soaks the Classic Western in the gore of Zombie Horror.
- Original soundtrack written & performed by the band Tomcat Combat.

ZOMBIE IN-GAME EXPANSION [$0.99]
- Play as the Zombies! New powers! New strategies!
- 7 additional maps!
- Lead a zombie hoard of Biters, Screamers, Hurlers, and Swarmers to MORE BRAINS!
- Campaign Mode features a storyline from the Zombie perspective!
- Zombie faction unlocked in Multiplayer.

Check out the Gundead Defense review on TouchArcade

If you’re using the new Personas feature which comes with FireFox 3.6 and have problems with the transparency of the Roboform toolbar the FoxTab plugin/addon might be the culprit. The Roboform toolbar looks fine right after FireFox starts up, but within a second or two the transparency is lost and the image is now cut with a dark toolbar background.

To correct the problem go to Tools – Add-ons and remove the FoxTab plugin. Restart FireFox and the Roboform toolbar should look normal again. Personas should now have the correct transparency.

Beyond Divinity:

You were a disciple of the Divine, a servant of light on a never-ending crusade to fight evil. But fate has made a terrible turn on you. During an epic battle with a powerful necromancer, dreadful daemon named Samuel tricked you and dragged you to his dimension. There you were trapped and tortured.
But like every typical daemon lord, he had a very twisted, sadistic sense of humour, so he decided to chain your soul to that of a Deathknight.
Thus he cursed you to spend the rest of eternity bound to a creature you were fighting all you life. Now you must work together to escape your prison and find a way to break this curse!

Divine Divinity:

The land of Rivellon ts about to collapse – dark, evil powers stared a war with the people of the Seven Races. But there is still hope – the ancient prophecy about the chosen one may come true with your help, dear player.
Divine Divinity is a role-playing game featuring a gameplay experience somewhere between Sacred and the Ultima series. You can choose from 3 typical character archetypes – Fighter, Mage and Survivor (Rogue-like class). Each one has a unique special skill. The rest of your character development its up to you imagination – you can even learn skills from other classes and make a very unique character build.
The game is long, challenging and very addictive. You will encounter many different enemies and a very big variety of quests and story missions.
When you add great music and not-so-dated graphics you will get a full RPG experience!

Get both games for $7.98, click here:

Zombies, and helicopters, and bombs oh my! A line drawing zombie rescue game. Well now that sounds fun! Actually, this looks pretty damn entertaining!

‘Zombie Escape’ Hands-On Preview with Video

Fans of dual stick shooters, dungeon crawlers, and Gauntlet will be right at home rampaging through the halls of Catacombs. Catacombs comes loaded with 24 dungeon levels, with a level pack that has another 24 forest levels available for an additional 99¢.

App Store Link: Catacombs, 99¢

‘Catacombs’ – Dual Stick Dungeon Crawler Released

Something tells me the actual conversation wasn’t all that different.

JoyOfTech

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Ring, … are you feeling Bingy on your Ringy Dingy?

Yet another glitch for Windows 7. Seems every time the machine tries to come out of sleep mode there is no Network available. And apparently I’m not the only one having this issue. The Internet is riddled with this problem.

I was ready to unleash my venom on Windows 7 for its ridiculous behavior but my buddy Theo talked me down. After giving me a cold towel and a Mountain Dew, I have to agree, I can’t blame Windows 7 for this one, at least not completely. It seems Windows 7 and my RealTek onboard network card aren’t quite getting along or they have quite figured out how to talk to each other correctly. A pretty big blunder since Windows 7 is the predominant OS and RealTek is the predominant onboard network manufacturer. Nothing like a well oiled machine.

But anyway, the fix is simple.

Open Device Manager (Control Panel – Hardware – Device Manager)

Click the Network Adapter, right-click and get Properties

Click the Power Management tab

Uncheck the options for Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power

- All the other items should then grey out.

Update:Yeah too bad this didn’t work for me. When I brought the machine out of sleep mode last night, it still had no network connection. I guess this doesn’t work in all cases. Of course, I decided to be smart and assign a static IP address to that machine. Just caused Windows 7 to lock up on the TCP/IP Properties page. Damn, what a great operating system this is!

Update #2:I ended up fixing this by giving my machine a static IP address. Funny, I thought DNS should serve this function, but I guess when it comes to Windows 7, if you want it done right, or at least without something crashing, you have to do it yourself. At least now I always have an IP address when the computer wakes up.

Came across this cool cartoon of Hot Fuzz.

I dropped it into Paint Shop Pro and resized to 8.5×11, printed it out and stuck it on the wall. Scales nicely and looks cool as hell! Click the image and check it out!