Exciting news if you have been looking forward to XP Mode for Windows 7. Microsoft has just released the final approved copy of Windows Virtual PC and XP Mode Add-on for Windows 7, bringing this useful ability to the same RTM status as Windows 7’s core operating system.

XP Mode is Windows 7’s new way of integrating a virtualization experience directly into the operating system. In the past, it was cumbersome to set up a virtual computer and required some special knowledge that most users are not bothered to learn. As a result, Vista which broke certain applications that only worked on XP earned the wrath of many a consumer. It might be a case of too little too late, but XP Mode for Win 7 attempts to make using virtual computers a seamless environment for legacy applications.

Virtualization Technology

One caveat to XP Mode is that your processor needs to support Virtualization Technology, and most AMD processors have this support enabled as a default so it will not be a problem for you. Unfortunately for Intel processors, only certain models have VT, and most of them are disabled by default in the computer BIOS. If you are running Intel, it is highly advised that you Google your processor’s compatibility with VT. Intel had a quirky way of working out which class of their processors support VT, and you may find it surprising that some of their high end quad core models DO NOT have VT.

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If you are an avid blogger, most likely you started off on an amateur basis with free services like Blogger and over time acquired a large number of following and have decided that maybe it’s time for you strike off into your own domain and get www.MYSITE.com instead of MYSITE.blogspot.com. Well, that may be a wonderful dream and all, but consider some glaring problems with doing the switch if you didn’t plan ahead.

First off, your old blog will probably be abandoned. At most, you may insert a new link to point visitors to your new blog. But all the search engines that have linked to your old blogs will continue to link to them and not to your updated blog, and that may be a problem because you will need to rebuild all your ‘reputation’ all over again. In particular, all those Google-generated visitor traffic won’t be able to reach your new blog, which means you’re basically starting over from scratch all over again. AdSense revenue will tank as a result.

Secondly, your RSS feed will die, and readers who have been following your feed will most probably just delete the non-responsive feed and move on. Don’t underestimate the amount of people who use RSS as a way to keep track of their favorite web spaces.

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I have recently made the shift to Google Chrome and missed the Ad-Block extension dearly. Chrome currently does not support a streamlined interface for providing plugin support unlike Mozilla Firefox, so I am left wanting for a way to bust the ads that keep appearing in my page.

My attempts at looking for a way around this problem yielded a way of switching on developer mode for Chrome and then using a Userscript to do the same thing.

Unfortunately, the whole process is rather clunky and did not really work. Happily, I stumbled upon something called Privoxy, and it’s an absolute godsend which I will now heartily recommend to anybody who’s on the Internet often. Even if you have adblock software installed on Firefox, you should check out Privoxy all the same because it’s a whole new concept of Internet filtering.

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After many months of waiting, the Zune HD, Microsoft’s answer to Apple’s iPod Touch, has finally landed in the United States and a few other areas around the world. Microsoft were pushing for simultaneous release across the globe, but logistical problems prevented that, so the Zune HD will be launched in stages.

Zune HD marks a significant step forward for portable media players, combining powerful hardware components such as an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) multitouch screen, an NVIDIA Tegra HD processor and HD Radio capabilities with software advancements such as the new Quickplay menu, a well-featured Web browser, and engaging music and video playback features to deliver a new portable listening and viewing experience. The device is also capable of output of 720p high-def content to a HDTV.

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The HP Pavilion 2009f LCD monitor is sleek, shiny and ergonomically designed. With just a flip of the base attached to the bottom of the screen, it can stand alone in an upright position on a table or any flat surface. Alternatively, the base can be removed relatively easily and be mounted on the wall. What I really liked was its stand that had a special swivel thingy attached to it, so it was swivel-able! Try this on a Dell monitor, it won’t even budge…

Purposely put the wide-screen HP LCD side by side with my old Dell LCD monitor, for comparison. I didn’t have a spare display card on the computer and was too lazy to hook up the Dell monitor to my notebook, so it’s off.

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