I used the Microsoft.Windows.Vista.x64.SP1.OEM.DVD-BIE torrent as the OS for this computer. Downloaded fine, installed fine. Fixed a lot of issues. The computer is faster and has less errors and hardware issues. Software issues is a different story. Shareaza doesn’t work at all. Even using the daily builds yields recurring debug errors. So I had to ditch it. Been using it since day one and not happy about that but I gotta do what I gotta do, ya know? So now I needed a new torrent and p2p app. Haven’t found a new p2p app yet but as for torrents, I’m using uTorrent now (I don’t know what the fuck that symbol is they use for that first letter or how to pronounce the shit, so I’ll just use a u).

It’s a tiny little executable, only 214kb, and it works great. No crashes, lags, or any of that bullshit. Downloads torrents pretty fast too if you got the right connection and configure the settings correctly. Not a resource or space hog or any of that shit either. I love it so far.

I used the Vista Codec Package to get started with playing my media files but made a mistake and installed the x64 components first which is a no no. Corrected my mistake and wmp11 played everything fine. But wmp11 is limited in what it can do. So I decided on getting the VLC media player since it professes to practically play any type of file and thus far it does. Even takes snapshots which is a feature I liked in PowerDVD Ultra. So that was one less media player I had to install. But even VLC has its limitations. Player controls are pretty limited in my opinion and although it’s highly configurable, for what I like to do, like take screens and get the actual dimensions for a resized window and other shit, it doesn’t completely cut the mustard. So I know I’m gonna test some other players out. Might even have to have multiple players again. Already had to install QuickTime just to get Adobe Flash CS3 Pro to install and work (I mainly use the video converter). And finding a Pro version serial for QT was easy as cake.

Speaking of, it’s really not much different from the previous version. Only has a few more settings but nothing of significance. With this computer though, it sure as shit converts files a lot faster. I can do all kinds of shit at the same time now without loss of performance. I like that! One pain in the asshole is that FLEXnet Licensing Service pops up from time to time even though I have it disabled. And I have yet to install Adobe Acrobat Pro but that’s coming soon.

As for system cleanup and protection, I settled on TuneUp Utilities 2008 and Kaspersky Internet Security 7. TuneUp installs fine and works perfectly fine with no errors. I have a cracked version. At first, I used a patch but then I upgraded to a newer version and it didn’t work anymore as the patch was version specific. So I got a keygen and it works great. Can connect to the net without being locked out. It also has lots of simple settings for ease of use and it does the job. On the other hand, Kaspersky does work like it says it does but it might work to damn good. Depending on your settings, it can be very aggressive or tame. I prefer something in-between.

I used a blacklisted key at first. It was working fine then the program locked me out. Found a good key and now it connects for updates perfectly fine. No errors of any kind with the software either. I’d recommend playing with it to get your settings the way you want them to be as it can block certain websites that you might visit on the reg. Just when you think you’ve logged in fine, the loaded page will stop with a ‘gif image, 1x1 pixels’ error in the window header. For example, I had a prob logging into Statcounter and had to make some changes in order to be able to login without probs. BlackPlanet is another site I had probs logging into cuz of Kaspersky. The solution is to open Kaspersky>Firewall>Anti-Banner>Publicity banners blocking>Settings. I have anti-banner enabled. But to access certain sites it may be blocking, you can either uncheck it from the checklist if it’s there or you can simply white list it and you’ll be able to login and surf that site with no probs.

There are other Kaspersky related issues. One huge one is if you try to use Windows Update, you get the error ‘Windows could not search for new updates. Error(s) found: Code 80072F8F.’ Another is trying to update the program guide in Windows Media Center. It simply won’t connect to download program data. Microsoft’s solution to both is to make sure your system clock is synchronized and has the correct date and time. That just may well be a solution for some but it wasn’t working for me. After some playing around, I found out that it was Kaspersky blocking the connections. So I had to ‘pause protection’ and Windows was able to update and I was able to download program data. In the future, I’ll just go in and make the proper configurations for everything so I don’t have to do that.

Let’s see…Firefox works perfectly fine along with Internet Explorer, although the x64 version of IE doesn’t support the playback of flash media embedded in web pages. I have no idea why that is, but that’s the way it is. Office 2007 installed great (I only use Word and Outlook) but there is a prob with Outlook. It crashes quite a bit and Microsoft thus far doesn’t have a solution. Imagine that. They have compatibility issues with their own software. Now that’s just fucked up. Certificates is another issue. I’ve yet to find out how to disable having to approve or disapprove of site certificates when visiting pages. Permanently accepting is one thing. But when visiting new sites, those little window notices always come up and they keep coming up as you navigate a fucking site. Guess I got some research to do on that.

Yahoo Messenger 8 gave me a prob when trying to install the calendar plugin. It says either ‘an error has occurred’ or that it failed to install correctly or some shit like that. All the other fucking plugins work except that one. And for me, it’s the most important one since I use Yahoo to do my tv schedule every week and that calendar lets me know what to record and when. The solution to the prob is simple. Install Yahoo Messenger 9 beta. Sure, it’s beta but I have yet to have a single prob with it plus the calendar plugin loads up just fine with all the others that I use. I did try Messenger for Vista but that thing is just a big piece of shit in my opinion. All it is is an im client. Doesn’t have any other real functionality like regular Messenger. It has all that slick skin and interface but if you don’t use it primarily and solely for im’ing, don’t bother.

That hardware issue I had is resolved and I’ll be able to update regularly again. Basically, I needed a new battery for my Sierra Wireless AirCard 595u. The old one practically mushroomed for some reason. I have Sprint and they don’t have replacement batteries. Sierra direct charges 40 fucking bucks for shipping for a tiny ass battery not even as big as one of my balls. Fuck that bullshit. Verizon actually had it available but not in store. A clerk ordered it for me online and I got it in a couple days. Total cost: 43 bucks. Base price of $39.99 plus tax. Free shipping. I still don’t get why that aircard doesn’t just run via usb power. Don’t make sense to me. But nothin’ I can do about it. It is what it is and I gotta live with it. Besides, I get high speeds and unlimited downloads/uploads so I ain’t complaining too much.

So my experience with Vista Ultimate x64 sp1 is overall a good one. It’s fast, safe so far, and only has very few compatibility probs. Nothing to make me wanna turn tail like so many Vista haters out there that don’t know shit about computers and just plainly and simply don’t know what the fuck they’re talking about. My vacay is next week. Hitting up Megacon this weekend, Sea World the next. But the weekdays next week are open and free. I’m gonna try and stay here to update the site some more.

One other issue I forgot to mention: my tv tuner. I have the VisionTek TV Wonder 650 PCIe. I installed the latest ATI Catalyst software but the program is nowhere to be found. I’m assuming that Media Center takes over for that, as it has, and the ATI software acts as a driver to get the hardware to work. So far, I’ve been recording fine once I got that guide to update. Only surprise was finding the recorded shows on my computer. After a little digging, I found out that they reside in the Desktop>Public>Recorded TV folder if you use explorer to find it rather than creating a shortcut, which I guess I’ll do shortly now that I mention it. Also, don’t bother downloading the latest drivers from VisionTek’s site as they have older versions. Use ATI’s site direct for the up to date versions.

You can record in 4 settings from best to fair. Fair was very pixilated during fast motions so tonight I’m trying out the others till I decide which is best visually. File size is pretty big so it helps to have a spacious hard drive. A 2 hour show recorded with fair quality runs you close to 2 and a half gigs of space. I have over 400 gigs to spare so I ain’t worried about shit. The tv wonder has a remote and a usb infrared sensor that’s pretty sensitive and that’s a good thing. You don’t have to aim the remote directly at it to get it to do what you want. The packaging doesn’t include a manual for the remote which is kinda stupid to me. Haven’t went online to find it yet but I will. Do NOT press that big red button at the top of the remote. That’ll automatically cause your computer to shut down! I learned that the hard way. Shows are recorded in the .dvr-ms format. Basically mpeg-2. Haven’t yet tried to edit anything but I’ll let you know how that goes if I ever go that route.

Over-the-air high def signals haven’t come in for me since this tuner card requires an amplified antenna to receive signals and I fucked up and bought a regular set of rabbit ears. I’ll take care of that next week.

Guess I do got some other issues after all. A pixel went out on my brand new Acer AL2016WBbd monitor. I thought it was a stain or speck or some shit. Tried to rub it away and it didn’t budge. It’s barely noticeable though. But I can still see it. The average person wouldn’t. It’s under warranty anyway. If that shit keeps up and another pops up, it’s goin’ back for sure. Other than that, it works great. Before, I had my computer distant from my tv. Now, it’s right next to it along with my sound system. So now I have a decent home theater system with everything hooked up to everything else. But the monitor is so big, I haven’t really watched any content on my tv, like downloaded movies and tv shows and shit. But the capability is there. That’s what counts.

One prob with that is since I still have an analog tv, once I switch the source, the display reverts back to 1068x720 resolution to accommodate the tv screen. Only prob I got with that is my desktop icons get squeezed into a corner and when I switch back to native resolution, they stay squeezed in that corner rather than go back to their original positions. I’m gonna play with the display settings to see if I can create different profiles and make sure they stick.