Why There's Nothing Good to Stream on Amazon Prime or Netflix
Yesterday Amazon added Instant Videos to its Amazon Prime service, giving members the ability to stream over 5,000 movie and TV show titles. Hot on the heels of that story, today Netflix worked out a deal to stream a big portion of the CBS library of TV shows on its service. Looking at what the two developments involve, you'll notice a similar pattern: in both cases, the vast majority of the content is very old.
The news about video coming to Amazon Prime was initially exciting since the service (which most people had probably dismissed because it really only offered getting your Amazon junk delivered a day or two sooner) costs less per month than Netflix, and even Hulu Plus. Now people have a reason to give Amazon Prime a second look.
If you do, though, you'll wonder why you bothered. As exciting as it may be to have another video-streaming service to subscribe to, Amazon Prime Instant Videos suffer from the same problem as other subscription-based video services: selection, or rather the lack thereof.
First of all, the offerings on Prime Instant Videos are a mere subset of what's on tap from Amazon. If you own one of the over 200 devices (TVs, Blu-ray players, and set-top boxes) that can access the Amazon video widget, you probably already know that you can watch movies and even recent episodes from many TV series—in HD—from the service (for an a la carte fee, of course). In total, Amazon offers 90,000 titles for streaming, according to a rep, which makes the 5,000 Prime videos feel not-so-prime.
Then there's the issue of what Amazon considers a "title." It turns out every single episode of a TV series counts as a title. So looking at, say, "24," which had eight seasons with 24 episodes each, that counts as 192 titles. When you start racking up whole TV seasons, you hit the 5,000 mark pretty quickly.
Finally, which titles are actually on offer? A cursory look shows movies like Risky Business, Best in Show, The Mask, Starman, Roger & Me, and Enter the Dragon. And those are just the recognizable ones—mining even further there are plenty of unknown straight-to-video flicks there, too. For TV, Amazon features "Doctor Who" Season 4, "Farscape" Season 1 (nice to know they're nerds, too), and "Nova." Titles from the past two years (movie or TV) are few. It seems Amazon equates Prime members with people who wandered aimlessly into a video store on a whim. A market, surely, but hardly a "prime" one.
I'm sort of singling out Amazon a little too much here. Even putting the CBS deal aside, if you browse the titles that Netflix offers for streaming, you'll find that many of the movies and TV shows from the last couple of years—the ones you probably really want to watch—are available only on disc.
All of this serves to underscore the weakness of the video-streaming model. While technology has improved greatly in the last few years—an HD episode of "24" that I streamed recently from Amazon looked good and crisp and didn't have any buffering problems—the selection of media you get via subscription hasn't. Hulu is kind of the exception that proves the rule, but its offerings have been curtailed since its launch in 2008—savagely, if you look at what's available on devices outside of PCs.
Will we ever see a video subscription service that actually serves up recent, top-quality titles? Maybe, though studios would want you to pay for the privilege, and my guess would be the bill would end up somewhere in the neighborhood of what your monthly cable bill costs (just for TV, not you voice or Internet). To make room for such premium content, I could see services like Amazon offering a different "tier" for the better selection of titles ("Prime" and "Really Prime"?).
And there lies the problem. Once a monthly subscription rate goes above about $15 a month, it just starts to look too damn high, no matter what's on offer. Presumably the bean counters in Hollywood have done that math, too, and have concluded that they the a la carte model makes them more money.
But we could both be wrong. Maybe the volume of customers would make the model sustainable at somewhere close to $15. My advice to any intrepid studios mulling a subscription model that includes recent titles: don't knock it till you try it.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Friday, February 25, 2011
Presenting a Viable and Cost-Effective Database Solution
MS Access development has become really popular especially with organizations having limited manpower. MS Access as the name suggest is a product of software giant Microsoft and is used by maximum number of people worldwide. Like any other product of Microsoft, Access is reliable, secure, and robust. And the best part is that, this desktop database system is really economical. MS Access is available as a part of Microsoft Office Professional suite of business products and as such, you need buy this product additionally.
This also means you save a lot of time and money on development of Access database solutions and their implementation and running. The cost-effectiveness of MS Access can be gauged by the fact that implementing and running it require 50 percent lesser investment than implementing and running larger database systems such as SQL Server Oracle.
Apart from being an economical and viable solution, MS Access has other advantageous features. First of all, this database system is scalable and also has the ability to be ported to a larger backend database. As a matter of fact, Access database has the ability to comfortably support fifty users simultaneously. This number although depends on such as amount of data stored, the design of the database solution and the complexity of tasks being ran.
If the users are running simple tasks such as data entry or retrieval, the number of simultaneous user it can support can be higher. Nevertheless, multiple Access databases can be linked to support greater number of users. Also, if required you can port Access database to a larger and more powerful backend database, SQL server for example. Apart from being used by individuals, MS Access is suitable for use by workgroups within organizations.
Several companies specialize in the development of MS Access software solutions including database driven web applications. These companies also cater to customized database applications development. This means the solution can be tailor-made to suit your requirements. As such, a Microsoft Access database solution can be designed to support simple functions or run complex tasks. And talking about database solutions development, you can always rely on Alpha Software.
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This also means you save a lot of time and money on development of Access database solutions and their implementation and running. The cost-effectiveness of MS Access can be gauged by the fact that implementing and running it require 50 percent lesser investment than implementing and running larger database systems such as SQL Server Oracle.
Apart from being an economical and viable solution, MS Access has other advantageous features. First of all, this database system is scalable and also has the ability to be ported to a larger backend database. As a matter of fact, Access database has the ability to comfortably support fifty users simultaneously. This number although depends on such as amount of data stored, the design of the database solution and the complexity of tasks being ran.
If the users are running simple tasks such as data entry or retrieval, the number of simultaneous user it can support can be higher. Nevertheless, multiple Access databases can be linked to support greater number of users. Also, if required you can port Access database to a larger and more powerful backend database, SQL server for example. Apart from being used by individuals, MS Access is suitable for use by workgroups within organizations.
Several companies specialize in the development of MS Access software solutions including database driven web applications. These companies also cater to customized database applications development. This means the solution can be tailor-made to suit your requirements. As such, a Microsoft Access database solution can be designed to support simple functions or run complex tasks. And talking about database solutions development, you can always rely on Alpha Software.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
How to Import XML into Microsoft Access Software
Sharing access database is usual in any business environment. If you have a thorough knowledge of your Microsoft access database and updating it various applications, it will be a lot easier for you. Such occasions where you need to exchange information with programs whose data is differently formatted can be pain sometimes if you don't have a thorough knowledge of your database management system. It is not very easy process and is usually tiring and bulky. There is a lot of room for errors in such transfers. But you have a good knowledge of access databases conversion techniques, you will easily be able to eliminate these problems and enable you to handle such situations in the most rightful manner.
Once you collect the data from various file formats, like XML, it can be an important database management task as XML is considered as one of the most widely used file formats for storing of data. XML is one of the most important and widely prevalent file formats which are used for many documentation purposes. Here are some steps that will guide you to import XML data and schema into an access database.
* You need to open the XML or XSD file in notepad that you wish to import and then verify the data that is to be imported
* You need to open the desired database and on the external data tab and in the import group, you are supposed to click XML
* You need to click browse on the get external data* XML file dialogue box, in order to locate the XML or XSD file
* Hen you need to navigate the folder containing XML or XSD file in the filr open dialogue box, then select the file and open it
* Then click OK in the get external data - XML dialogue box
* Import the XML dialogue box, select the desired option in the import option selection and then click OK
* If the file type is XSD, then click OK
* Click OK in the get external data - XML file dialogue box
* You can open the imported table and verify the structure if the need be
You can import XML into your Microsoft Access software in this way.
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Once you collect the data from various file formats, like XML, it can be an important database management task as XML is considered as one of the most widely used file formats for storing of data. XML is one of the most important and widely prevalent file formats which are used for many documentation purposes. Here are some steps that will guide you to import XML data and schema into an access database.
* You need to open the XML or XSD file in notepad that you wish to import and then verify the data that is to be imported
* You need to open the desired database and on the external data tab and in the import group, you are supposed to click XML
* You need to click browse on the get external data* XML file dialogue box, in order to locate the XML or XSD file
* Hen you need to navigate the folder containing XML or XSD file in the filr open dialogue box, then select the file and open it
* Then click OK in the get external data - XML dialogue box
* Import the XML dialogue box, select the desired option in the import option selection and then click OK
* If the file type is XSD, then click OK
* Click OK in the get external data - XML file dialogue box
* You can open the imported table and verify the structure if the need be
You can import XML into your Microsoft Access software in this way.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Nokia, Microsoft Detail Windows Phone Partnership
Nokia's CEO Stephen Elop and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer outlined their new partnership in an analysts' meeting in London today, painting a picture of Nokia as Microsoft's premiere Windows Phone partner and of Windows Phone as Nokia's core smartphone platform.
"Nokia will adopt Windows Phone as our primary smartphone strategy," Elop said. "We will help drive the future of the platform, and we will bring Windows Phone to extended price points, market segments and geographies."
Nokia will bring "leading mobile devices," along with mapping, advertising, and global online store capabilities to the partnership, Elop said. Microsoft will bring Windows Phone 7, with its Bing, Office and XBox capabilities.
Nokia had three options, Elop explained. Symbian seems to have been written off from the start. Nokia didn't feel it could reach a board enough range of price points quickly with MeeGo, and didn't feel it could differentiate enough if it became an Android house, Elop said. That left Windows Phone as Nokia's path forwards.
There's still a lot that's unclear about Nokia and Microsoft's relationship. For instance: Microsoft has a very defined "chassis" spec for Windows Phones so far, which prevents phone makers from differentiating very much. Microsoft also hasn't offered super-high-end or low-tier Windows Phone options. But that may change: Ballmer said a "lower-end chassis" is coming, and Elop said Nokia would help Microsoft "move aggressively down the price continuum."
"We have very clear plans that allow us to differentiate within the Windows Phone ecosystem," Elop said. "It's a unique relationship."
We've reached out to Microsoft partners Samsung, LG and HTC to see what they think, and we'll update this story when we hear back from them.
One casualty of the agreement will be Qt, Nokia's cross-platform development framework.
"To introduce Qt to Windows Phone would fragment that environment, which would be repeating our mistakes of the past. With that in mind, for Windows Phones we will use Microsoft's developer frameworks," Nokia spokeswoman Laurie Armstrong said.
Elop went into a little bit of detail as to what will happen to Symbian, the smartphone OS that Nokia re-absorbed recently, and to Meego, Nokia's OS project with Intel.
"We expect as we transition through to Windows Phone we'll ship 150 million or more Symbian devices in the months and indeed years to go, but it's a transition program ... We'll ask [the MeeGo] team to change their focus into an exploration of future platforms, future devces and future user experiences."
But MeeGo could still surface as an OS for future Nokia tablets, Elop hinted.
"The third pillar of our strategic investment is in future disruptions," he said. "We reserve the right to introduce tablets with future platforms."
The partnership may finally result in Nokia's return to the US smartphone market, where it's been largely absent for years.
"This gives us faster access to the US market with a contemporary offering," Elop said.
We're sure to hear more at the Mobile World Congress trade show, starting Sunday in Barcelona, where both Ballmer and Elop are speaking.
"Nokia will adopt Windows Phone as our primary smartphone strategy," Elop said. "We will help drive the future of the platform, and we will bring Windows Phone to extended price points, market segments and geographies."
Nokia will bring "leading mobile devices," along with mapping, advertising, and global online store capabilities to the partnership, Elop said. Microsoft will bring Windows Phone 7, with its Bing, Office and XBox capabilities.
Nokia had three options, Elop explained. Symbian seems to have been written off from the start. Nokia didn't feel it could reach a board enough range of price points quickly with MeeGo, and didn't feel it could differentiate enough if it became an Android house, Elop said. That left Windows Phone as Nokia's path forwards.
There's still a lot that's unclear about Nokia and Microsoft's relationship. For instance: Microsoft has a very defined "chassis" spec for Windows Phones so far, which prevents phone makers from differentiating very much. Microsoft also hasn't offered super-high-end or low-tier Windows Phone options. But that may change: Ballmer said a "lower-end chassis" is coming, and Elop said Nokia would help Microsoft "move aggressively down the price continuum."
"We have very clear plans that allow us to differentiate within the Windows Phone ecosystem," Elop said. "It's a unique relationship."
We've reached out to Microsoft partners Samsung, LG and HTC to see what they think, and we'll update this story when we hear back from them.
One casualty of the agreement will be Qt, Nokia's cross-platform development framework.
"To introduce Qt to Windows Phone would fragment that environment, which would be repeating our mistakes of the past. With that in mind, for Windows Phones we will use Microsoft's developer frameworks," Nokia spokeswoman Laurie Armstrong said.
Elop went into a little bit of detail as to what will happen to Symbian, the smartphone OS that Nokia re-absorbed recently, and to Meego, Nokia's OS project with Intel.
"We expect as we transition through to Windows Phone we'll ship 150 million or more Symbian devices in the months and indeed years to go, but it's a transition program ... We'll ask [the MeeGo] team to change their focus into an exploration of future platforms, future devces and future user experiences."
But MeeGo could still surface as an OS for future Nokia tablets, Elop hinted.
"The third pillar of our strategic investment is in future disruptions," he said. "We reserve the right to introduce tablets with future platforms."
The partnership may finally result in Nokia's return to the US smartphone market, where it's been largely absent for years.
"This gives us faster access to the US market with a contemporary offering," Elop said.
We're sure to hear more at the Mobile World Congress trade show, starting Sunday in Barcelona, where both Ballmer and Elop are speaking.
Microsoft Phone 7 Stays Alive
Microsoft got a huge boost by the deal it did with Nokia. This will ensure the platform has legs and will probably ensure the slow death of HP/Palm WebOS which announced three new products this week.
While the WebOS looks like road kill, let's not forget the Nokia-Intel joint venture: the MeeGo OS, a Linux-based initiative that seems stillborn. Nokia mentioned that it will continue to experiment with MeeGo, but the Nokia CEO, Stephen Elop, did not seem too inspired by any sort of possibility that it will go anywhere. He was just being nice.
In fact, you have to wonder what Intel needs to do to get some respect in the mobile arena. When you think of mobile chipmakers, the last name to come to mind is Intel.
Whatever the case, Microsoft pulled a rabbit out of a hat with the Nokia deal, and over the next few months, this will be over-analyzed until we're sick of it.
I personally have written about Nokia strategies and think this decision is the most risky one it could make. Windows Phone 7 isn't going anywhere. It has no buzz, and Microsoft seems jinxed on some level. After all, Microsoft essentially invented the smartphone over a decade ago, long before the iPhone. Where did it get them?
Microsoft was single-handedly responsible for perception that the smartphone was a dog of an idea. The smartphone languished under Microsoft tutelage. Then the iPhone came along, and Microsoft was dumbfounded and slow to react. Years had to go by before a kind of iPhone-like Windows Phone 7 appeared too little and too late.
The irony, of course, is that Windows Phone 7 is not a bad OS and modern. In fact, a lot of what Microsoft has done on the mobile platforms has been quite good. Which brings us back to the notion that the company is "jinxed." Years of bragging, bad marketing. and lazy PR has resulted in major perception problems that Microsoft seems unaware of.
This was all epitomized by the Vista fiasco.
I was amused by the Nokia roll-out of its partnership with Microsoft where CEO Elop kept telling the media how the company will now change modes and get things done faster. Faster? With Microsoft? How would that work?
Nokia said it will continue with MeeGo in the background. None of the media at the press event managed to ask if Nokia is completely ruling out Android. My guess is no. And my guess is no only because the sluggish pace it will find coming from Microsoft.
In the mobile segment, things are flying. I see no evidence that Microsoft can keep up the torrid pace of real innovation. The company has gum on its feet.
I actually recall talking to Steve Ballmer during the roll-out of Windows 98 and asked him if the company was thinking of bringing out a complete and new upgrade to the OS every year like car companies do with their vehicle models. There was Windows 95 and then 98. It seemed headed that way.
He said they were considering it.
Well, since the two year gap between 98 and 2000, the gap has widened as the company cannot keep up a faster pace. You can get away with slowing down progress with a desktop computer and a game console, but not with these phones. Hopefully, Nokia has a plan B when the Windows Phone platform falls behind the rest of the pack.
While the WebOS looks like road kill, let's not forget the Nokia-Intel joint venture: the MeeGo OS, a Linux-based initiative that seems stillborn. Nokia mentioned that it will continue to experiment with MeeGo, but the Nokia CEO, Stephen Elop, did not seem too inspired by any sort of possibility that it will go anywhere. He was just being nice.
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In fact, you have to wonder what Intel needs to do to get some respect in the mobile arena. When you think of mobile chipmakers, the last name to come to mind is Intel.
Whatever the case, Microsoft pulled a rabbit out of a hat with the Nokia deal, and over the next few months, this will be over-analyzed until we're sick of it.
I personally have written about Nokia strategies and think this decision is the most risky one it could make. Windows Phone 7 isn't going anywhere. It has no buzz, and Microsoft seems jinxed on some level. After all, Microsoft essentially invented the smartphone over a decade ago, long before the iPhone. Where did it get them?
Microsoft was single-handedly responsible for perception that the smartphone was a dog of an idea. The smartphone languished under Microsoft tutelage. Then the iPhone came along, and Microsoft was dumbfounded and slow to react. Years had to go by before a kind of iPhone-like Windows Phone 7 appeared too little and too late.
The irony, of course, is that Windows Phone 7 is not a bad OS and modern. In fact, a lot of what Microsoft has done on the mobile platforms has been quite good. Which brings us back to the notion that the company is "jinxed." Years of bragging, bad marketing. and lazy PR has resulted in major perception problems that Microsoft seems unaware of.
This was all epitomized by the Vista fiasco.
I was amused by the Nokia roll-out of its partnership with Microsoft where CEO Elop kept telling the media how the company will now change modes and get things done faster. Faster? With Microsoft? How would that work?
Nokia said it will continue with MeeGo in the background. None of the media at the press event managed to ask if Nokia is completely ruling out Android. My guess is no. And my guess is no only because the sluggish pace it will find coming from Microsoft.
In the mobile segment, things are flying. I see no evidence that Microsoft can keep up the torrid pace of real innovation. The company has gum on its feet.
I actually recall talking to Steve Ballmer during the roll-out of Windows 98 and asked him if the company was thinking of bringing out a complete and new upgrade to the OS every year like car companies do with their vehicle models. There was Windows 95 and then 98. It seemed headed that way.
He said they were considering it.
Well, since the two year gap between 98 and 2000, the gap has widened as the company cannot keep up a faster pace. You can get away with slowing down progress with a desktop computer and a game console, but not with these phones. Hopefully, Nokia has a plan B when the Windows Phone platform falls behind the rest of the pack.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
MB7-848 Dumps
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Friday, February 18, 2011
Microsoft Names New Server and Tools President
Microsoft has appointed its online services veteran, Satya Nadella, to head its US$15 billion server and tools business, the company announced Wednesday.
Nadella will assume the role of president for that business, a post that Bob Muglia announced in January that he would be vacating.
In announcing the appointment, Microsoft highlighted Nadella's expertise in cloud computing, a skill the company sees as essential in finding its place in the emerging market for cloud computing services and tools. Nadella's "deep experience" in Microsoft's server business and online services will "help accelerate our momentum while setting the course" for its future cloud offerings, CEO Steve Ballmer said in a statement.
Nadella formerly led engineering efforts in the company's online services division. He led the technical efforts to launch Microsoft's Bing search engine, as well as updates to the Microsoft MSN consumer portal and the integration of the ad services between Yahoo and Bing.
Nadella, 43, had been with the online services division since 2007. Before that, he led Microsoft business solutions, which offers the company's Dynamics line of enterprise resource planning and customer relationship management products. He has been with Microsoft for 19 years.
The server and tools business division oversees the Windows Server operating system, along with related development and administration tools. The division will also oversee the company's cloud computing offerings, including the Windows Azure group. In his new role, Nadella will have to develop a technology road map and overall strategic vision for both the server tools software and enterprise cloud offerings, according to the company.
Muglia plans to leave Microsoft by mid-2011, after he helps Nadella get acquainted with the new job.
Nadella will assume the role of president for that business, a post that Bob Muglia announced in January that he would be vacating.
In announcing the appointment, Microsoft highlighted Nadella's expertise in cloud computing, a skill the company sees as essential in finding its place in the emerging market for cloud computing services and tools. Nadella's "deep experience" in Microsoft's server business and online services will "help accelerate our momentum while setting the course" for its future cloud offerings, CEO Steve Ballmer said in a statement.
Nadella formerly led engineering efforts in the company's online services division. He led the technical efforts to launch Microsoft's Bing search engine, as well as updates to the Microsoft MSN consumer portal and the integration of the ad services between Yahoo and Bing.
Nadella, 43, had been with the online services division since 2007. Before that, he led Microsoft business solutions, which offers the company's Dynamics line of enterprise resource planning and customer relationship management products. He has been with Microsoft for 19 years.
The server and tools business division oversees the Windows Server operating system, along with related development and administration tools. The division will also oversee the company's cloud computing offerings, including the Windows Azure group. In his new role, Nadella will have to develop a technology road map and overall strategic vision for both the server tools software and enterprise cloud offerings, according to the company.
Muglia plans to leave Microsoft by mid-2011, after he helps Nadella get acquainted with the new job.
Microsoft Releases Web-Based Suite of Apps, Windows Live Essentials 2011
Microsoft's Windows Live Essentials 2011, is ready for prime time. Microsoft announced Thursday it's consumer focused suite of free applications, has moved from testing mode (beta) to the final release. The productivity suite is Microsoft's flagship bundle of Web-based productivity apps for managing and sharing images online, editing video, and sharing documents and files between PCs.
Click to ZoomIn addition, the company announced that Live Essentials will be bundled with Dell Computers sold during the holiday season. "Windows Live Essentials 2011 was designed and built to connect your PC to the services you use every day," Windows Live Engineering Vice President Chris Jones wrote today at the Inside Windows Live blog.
System requirements for the free suite of applications include a PC running either Windows 7 or Vista operating system with a 1.6GHz processor or higher. The applications in Windows Live Essentials 2011 include:
Windows Live Photo Gallery - share photos with your friends on SkyDrive, Flickr, SmugMug, and Facebook.
Windows Live Writer - update your blog on Wordpress.com, Blogger, and TypePad.
Windows Live Movie Maker - edit videos and publish them to YouTube.
Windows Live Messenger - allows you to connect with Facebook, LinkedIn, and MySpace.
Windows Live Mesh - allows you to sync your files and folders across your PCs and connect back to your PC from virtually anywhere.
Windows Live Family Safety - manage permissions on your PC to keep kids safe.
Windows Live Mail - manage e-mail from Hotmail, Gmail, and Yahoo.
Click to ZoomMicrosoft Plays Nice with Others
One of the interesting characteristics of Windows Live Essentials 2011 is that this suite is surprisingly open in the way it works with and connects to third-party services such as Flickr and YouTube. Typically Microsoft has chosen to give the cold shoulder to so-called "frienemies" and keep Microsoft customers using Microsoft services. This update to the Essentials suite expands its reach beyond the Microsoft universe.
In addition to its outward looking orientation, the suite's apps have some interesting new features. For instance, both the video editing and photo programs are hardware accelerated for better performance than the typical web-based app. Photo Gallery also has a face recognition feature that allows it to combine the best faces in an assortment of group photos and create an ersatz group photo with the results.
If you're a Windows XP user, though, you won't be able to take advantage of the new suite of Live apps. They're for Vista and Win 7 users only.
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Click to ZoomIn addition, the company announced that Live Essentials will be bundled with Dell Computers sold during the holiday season. "Windows Live Essentials 2011 was designed and built to connect your PC to the services you use every day," Windows Live Engineering Vice President Chris Jones wrote today at the Inside Windows Live blog.
System requirements for the free suite of applications include a PC running either Windows 7 or Vista operating system with a 1.6GHz processor or higher. The applications in Windows Live Essentials 2011 include:
Windows Live Photo Gallery - share photos with your friends on SkyDrive, Flickr, SmugMug, and Facebook.
Windows Live Writer - update your blog on Wordpress.com, Blogger, and TypePad.
Windows Live Movie Maker - edit videos and publish them to YouTube.
Windows Live Messenger - allows you to connect with Facebook, LinkedIn, and MySpace.
Windows Live Mesh - allows you to sync your files and folders across your PCs and connect back to your PC from virtually anywhere.
Windows Live Family Safety - manage permissions on your PC to keep kids safe.
Windows Live Mail - manage e-mail from Hotmail, Gmail, and Yahoo.
Click to ZoomMicrosoft Plays Nice with Others
One of the interesting characteristics of Windows Live Essentials 2011 is that this suite is surprisingly open in the way it works with and connects to third-party services such as Flickr and YouTube. Typically Microsoft has chosen to give the cold shoulder to so-called "frienemies" and keep Microsoft customers using Microsoft services. This update to the Essentials suite expands its reach beyond the Microsoft universe.
In addition to its outward looking orientation, the suite's apps have some interesting new features. For instance, both the video editing and photo programs are hardware accelerated for better performance than the typical web-based app. Photo Gallery also has a face recognition feature that allows it to combine the best faces in an assortment of group photos and create an ersatz group photo with the results.
If you're a Windows XP user, though, you won't be able to take advantage of the new suite of Live apps. They're for Vista and Win 7 users only.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Microsoft 70-668 Certification Exam
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Sunday, February 13, 2011
70-662 Certification Exam
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Saturday, February 12, 2011
CES 2011: The biggest winners and losers
The Consumer Electronics Show is the Super Bowl of the technology industry. As much as industry analysts and the tech press whine about CES being too big and being a relic of a bygone era, there’s no better place for tech companies to make a big splash that will be remembered throughout the year, and in some cases for years to come.
It’s also the place where tech companies can jockey for a better position in the market by generating more attention for their product line than a competitor’s. Conversely, companies that don’t make a good showing at CES can risk creating an impression that they are falling behind and risk having their products get lost in the crowd.
As such, every CES has its winners and losers. Here is this year’s scoreboard.
WINNERS
Motorola Mobility
Motorola Mobility the new Motorola spinoff that went live as a separate entity on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday of CES week. This new company focuses entirely on consumer devices and their first CES couldn’t have been scripted any better. In partnership with Google and Verizon they officially announced the new flagship Android tablet, the Motorola Xoom. They announced one of the first high-powered smartphones running on Verizon’s LTE 4G network, the Droid Bionic. And, to top it all off, they unveiled the breakthrough product of CES 2011, the Motorola Atrix, a smartphone that doubles as a legitimate PC replacement with both desktop and laptop docks.
Verizon Wireless
In the past, Verizon Wireless has saved most of its big product announcements for some of the telcom-specific trade shows or its own private announcements. This year, the company came to CES with both guns blazing. On the heels of the successful US launch last month of its 4G LTE network — which is, arguably, now the world’s most advanced 4G Internet experience — Verizon had LTE live in Las Vegas and ready to show off the world’s largest annual crowd of technology enthusiasts. The network performed like a champ. And, on the official opening day of CES, Verizon held press conference announcing 10 LTE devices — smartphones, tablets, and hotspots — that will launch during the first half of the year. It was an impressive roster of devices from leading vendors such as Samsung, Motorola, HTC, and LG. The Motorola Xoom tablet and the HTC Thunderbolt were especially impressive. I spent 25 minutes using the Thunderbolt and was blown away by the speeds generated by the combination of its high-end hardware paired with Verizon LTE.
NVIDIA
The company that was seemingly everywhere at CES 2011 was NVIDIA. Specifically, the dual core NVIDIA Tegra2 was the processor du jour, showing up in many of the new smartphones, tablets, and even car-tech announcements. At CES, NVIDIA announced that it is partnering with ARM to launch its own high-performance CPU cores the size of a dime. This is the long-rumored “Project Denver” that NVIDIA has been working on and it will likely position the company as a leading powerhouse in the next generation computing, since ARM processors power nearly all of the smartphones and tablets coming to market and are now scaling up to run PCs and servers as well. NVIDIA looks like it could become the Intel of the next great wave of computing.
HONORABLE MENTION: Samsung
LOSERS
Microsoft
This is beginning to sound like a broken record, but I’m still waiting to hear any hint of Microsoft’s vision of where it sees the computing world headed in the decade ahead and how Microsoft plans to take us there. We didn’t get it at CES 2011 even though Microsoft once again had the biggest stage — the opening keynote the night before the official opening of CES. Microsoft squandered its opportunity to set the agenda of the tech industry. Instead, it simply trotted out its standard stump speech on “Windows everywhere” and replayed many of the same demos from its 2010 product launches. Then, once the show opened, many of Microsoft’s traditional PC partners spent CES spotlighting their tablets instead of new netbooks or laptops running Windows 7. Microsoft’s newly-launched Windows Phone 7 devices got completely overshadowed as partners HTC, Samsung, and LG put their new Android smartphones front-and-center. And, at a show dominated by the launch of new tablets, we heard nothing from Microsoft about its tablet plans. Even Microsoft’s long-time partner Intel criticized Microsoft’s missing tablet strategy.
Sony
Sony’s CES story is not unlike Microsoft’s. Where’s the leadership? Where’s the vision? Sony has traditionally been the biggest name in the consumer electronics industry. It should dominate CES. But, when’s the last time you heard about a breakthrough product from Sony? When’s the last time you heard about a market-leading product from Sony? Its competitors have been running circles around it, and it was no different at CES 2011. Sony put on some glitzy presentations, but lacked the product leadership. Much of that was due to the fact that Sony focused most of its energy on the wrong thing — 3D TV. While Sony had perhaps the most impressive 3D television at CES, that’s a dubious distinction akin to having the nicest house in a neighborhood scheduled for demolition. Contrast that to what Samsung did at CES. It delivered thin, high-quality, reasonably priced (non-3D) TVs — the ones people actually want to buy. But, TVs weren’t Samsung’s only story. They unveiled exciting new smartphones, tablets, and PCs, including one of the most innovative new products at CES, the Sliding PC 7, a hybrid laptop/tablet.
Intel
One of the major trends at CES 2011 was the acceleration of the world to mobile computing. With the unveiling of dual core smartphones, over 80 new tablets, smartphones that also serve as PCs (the Motorola Atrix), and an emerging new category of hybrid tablet/laptops, it’s clear that technology companies are rising to meet the demands of users, who are spending more and more of their computing time using mobile devices instead of traditional PCs. If you look closely at this army of new devices — which were the headliners of CES — almost none of them are running Intel processors. Practically the whole fleet of these devices are running ARM processors in general and the dual core NVIDIA Tegra2 specifically. Intel has known that this trend was coming. I remember Intel presenting a slide at the 2008 Intel Developer Conference showing how sales of mobile devices were going to rapidly overtake traditional PCs in the years ahead. Intel attempted to meet this trend with its Menlow and Moorestown processors for “Mobile Internet Devices” (MIDs), a category that it tried to create with its hardware and software partners. However, Intel’s chips couldn’t match the low-power efficiency of ARM chips and rise of smartphones crowded MIDs out of the market. Instead of going back to the drawing board and making a more power-efficient class of mobile chips, Intel continues to fall behind. While NVIDIA chips were powering nearly all of the tablets and high-end smartphones at CES, Intel played up its “Sandy Bridge” chips for multimedia PCs. This focus on high-end chips feels like a tacit admission that Intel has no answer in mobile.
It’s also the place where tech companies can jockey for a better position in the market by generating more attention for their product line than a competitor’s. Conversely, companies that don’t make a good showing at CES can risk creating an impression that they are falling behind and risk having their products get lost in the crowd.
As such, every CES has its winners and losers. Here is this year’s scoreboard.
WINNERS
Motorola Mobility
Motorola Mobility the new Motorola spinoff that went live as a separate entity on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday of CES week. This new company focuses entirely on consumer devices and their first CES couldn’t have been scripted any better. In partnership with Google and Verizon they officially announced the new flagship Android tablet, the Motorola Xoom. They announced one of the first high-powered smartphones running on Verizon’s LTE 4G network, the Droid Bionic. And, to top it all off, they unveiled the breakthrough product of CES 2011, the Motorola Atrix, a smartphone that doubles as a legitimate PC replacement with both desktop and laptop docks.
Verizon Wireless
In the past, Verizon Wireless has saved most of its big product announcements for some of the telcom-specific trade shows or its own private announcements. This year, the company came to CES with both guns blazing. On the heels of the successful US launch last month of its 4G LTE network — which is, arguably, now the world’s most advanced 4G Internet experience — Verizon had LTE live in Las Vegas and ready to show off the world’s largest annual crowd of technology enthusiasts. The network performed like a champ. And, on the official opening day of CES, Verizon held press conference announcing 10 LTE devices — smartphones, tablets, and hotspots — that will launch during the first half of the year. It was an impressive roster of devices from leading vendors such as Samsung, Motorola, HTC, and LG. The Motorola Xoom tablet and the HTC Thunderbolt were especially impressive. I spent 25 minutes using the Thunderbolt and was blown away by the speeds generated by the combination of its high-end hardware paired with Verizon LTE.
NVIDIA
The company that was seemingly everywhere at CES 2011 was NVIDIA. Specifically, the dual core NVIDIA Tegra2 was the processor du jour, showing up in many of the new smartphones, tablets, and even car-tech announcements. At CES, NVIDIA announced that it is partnering with ARM to launch its own high-performance CPU cores the size of a dime. This is the long-rumored “Project Denver” that NVIDIA has been working on and it will likely position the company as a leading powerhouse in the next generation computing, since ARM processors power nearly all of the smartphones and tablets coming to market and are now scaling up to run PCs and servers as well. NVIDIA looks like it could become the Intel of the next great wave of computing.
HONORABLE MENTION: Samsung
LOSERS
Microsoft
This is beginning to sound like a broken record, but I’m still waiting to hear any hint of Microsoft’s vision of where it sees the computing world headed in the decade ahead and how Microsoft plans to take us there. We didn’t get it at CES 2011 even though Microsoft once again had the biggest stage — the opening keynote the night before the official opening of CES. Microsoft squandered its opportunity to set the agenda of the tech industry. Instead, it simply trotted out its standard stump speech on “Windows everywhere” and replayed many of the same demos from its 2010 product launches. Then, once the show opened, many of Microsoft’s traditional PC partners spent CES spotlighting their tablets instead of new netbooks or laptops running Windows 7. Microsoft’s newly-launched Windows Phone 7 devices got completely overshadowed as partners HTC, Samsung, and LG put their new Android smartphones front-and-center. And, at a show dominated by the launch of new tablets, we heard nothing from Microsoft about its tablet plans. Even Microsoft’s long-time partner Intel criticized Microsoft’s missing tablet strategy.
Sony
Sony’s CES story is not unlike Microsoft’s. Where’s the leadership? Where’s the vision? Sony has traditionally been the biggest name in the consumer electronics industry. It should dominate CES. But, when’s the last time you heard about a breakthrough product from Sony? When’s the last time you heard about a market-leading product from Sony? Its competitors have been running circles around it, and it was no different at CES 2011. Sony put on some glitzy presentations, but lacked the product leadership. Much of that was due to the fact that Sony focused most of its energy on the wrong thing — 3D TV. While Sony had perhaps the most impressive 3D television at CES, that’s a dubious distinction akin to having the nicest house in a neighborhood scheduled for demolition. Contrast that to what Samsung did at CES. It delivered thin, high-quality, reasonably priced (non-3D) TVs — the ones people actually want to buy. But, TVs weren’t Samsung’s only story. They unveiled exciting new smartphones, tablets, and PCs, including one of the most innovative new products at CES, the Sliding PC 7, a hybrid laptop/tablet.
Intel
One of the major trends at CES 2011 was the acceleration of the world to mobile computing. With the unveiling of dual core smartphones, over 80 new tablets, smartphones that also serve as PCs (the Motorola Atrix), and an emerging new category of hybrid tablet/laptops, it’s clear that technology companies are rising to meet the demands of users, who are spending more and more of their computing time using mobile devices instead of traditional PCs. If you look closely at this army of new devices — which were the headliners of CES — almost none of them are running Intel processors. Practically the whole fleet of these devices are running ARM processors in general and the dual core NVIDIA Tegra2 specifically. Intel has known that this trend was coming. I remember Intel presenting a slide at the 2008 Intel Developer Conference showing how sales of mobile devices were going to rapidly overtake traditional PCs in the years ahead. Intel attempted to meet this trend with its Menlow and Moorestown processors for “Mobile Internet Devices” (MIDs), a category that it tried to create with its hardware and software partners. However, Intel’s chips couldn’t match the low-power efficiency of ARM chips and rise of smartphones crowded MIDs out of the market. Instead of going back to the drawing board and making a more power-efficient class of mobile chips, Intel continues to fall behind. While NVIDIA chips were powering nearly all of the tablets and high-end smartphones at CES, Intel played up its “Sandy Bridge” chips for multimedia PCs. This focus on high-end chips feels like a tacit admission that Intel has no answer in mobile.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Has ASUS discovered the strategy to take down the iPad?
On Tuesday, ASUS unloaded the first round of ammo at the Apple iPad, which promises to be the favorite target of the big tech vendors at CES 2011. As the first major company to host a CES press conference, ASUS dedicated nearly the entire hour to announcing its line of four tablets — three Android and one Windows — aimed squarely at stealing market share away from the iPad in 2011.
The biggest takeaway of the event was that ASUS has a different strategy than most of the PC and device makers trotting out tablets at CES. It’s not just about launching cheap iPad clones that can detach users from the draconian Apple ecosystem. ASUS is betting that it can pull more users into the tablet market by providing a choice of four tablets aimed at users with different proclivities and by turning tablets into productivity devices that can also create content (perhaps the iPad’s biggest weakness).
Whether the ASUS strategy succeeds or not will depend heavily on whether Microsoft Windows 7 and Google Android can successfully adapt their software for multi-touch tablets in the months ahead. Android still has big questions to answer and Windows 7 may simply be too heavy and battery hungry for tablets. Nevertheless, I like that ASUS isn’t just playing “me, too” in the tablet market and actually has a viable strategy that targets some of the iPad’s genuine weak spots.
ASUS Chairman Jonney Shih shows off one of the four new ASUS tablets at the company’s CES 2011 press conference. Photo credit: Jason Hiner | TechRepublic
Why ASUS?
The fact that the rising computer maker spent 75% of its biggest press conference of the year talking about iPad competitors speaks volumes. Four years ago at CES 2008, the newly-launched ASUS Eee PC — a 7-inch netbook — was one of the buzz products of the show and its surprising sales essentially launched the netbook phenomenon.
The Eee PC launched ASUS into mainstream consciousness and the company has since expanded nicely into laptops and desktops of all sizes and shown that it is one of the few PC makers that really cares about product design. In the ecosystem of Windows PCs, I’d rank ASUS with Sony as the two companies that consistently produce the most attractive designs, and ASUS does it without the big price premium that you pay for with Sony and Apple.
ASUS clearly watches a lot of what Apple does — Apple’s name came up at least half a dozen times in its press conference — and has decided that the iPad is a serious threat to its laptop business, otherwise it would not have dedicated so much of its resources and marketing to its new tablets.
Here is a quick summary of the four ASUS tablets:
Eee Pad MeMo
The MeMo is a 7-inch Android 3.0 tablet that will compete with the Samsung Galaxy Tab and the plethora of other 7-inch Android tablets about to hit the market, as well as the BlackBerry PlayBook. This is definitely aimed at media consumption with a Micro HDMI port and 1080p video playback. It has a capacitive touch-screen and includes a stylus for note-taking, so it also has the productivity element in mind.
Eee Slate EP121
The EP121 is the one Windows tablet in the ASUS lineup. This is a 12-inch tablet running the same Intel Core i5 processor that runs a lot of powerful desktops and laptops. It offers 1280×800 screen resolution, two USB ports, a 32GB or 64GB SSD hard drive, 4GB of RAM, and a 2 megapixel camera. It has both multi-touch and pen input. In the demo, ASUS was watching a full 1080p video while editing a picture in Photoshop and this thing didn’t flinch. Battery life could be an issue though.
Eee Pad Transformer
Here’s a slim 10-inch tablet that will compete more directly with the iPad. It features the dual core NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor and will run Android 3.0. It has a 5 megapixel camera on the back and a 1.2 megapixel camera on the front. The Transformer also offers an optional keyboard dock (see below) that essentially turns it into a laptop. The dock has has added battery capacity that can extend the battery life of this tablet up to 16 hours. I consider this the most interesting of the ASUS tablets and the one with the greatest potential, if Google gets the Android tablet software right.
Eee Pad Slider
The Slider is very similar to the Transformer. It is a 10-inch Android 3.0 tablet running on an NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor and has the same 5.0 and 1.2 megapixel cameras as the Transformer. Instead of a keyboard dock, the slider features a slide-out qwerty keyboard. Again, ASUS is betting on turning the 10-inch tablet into a productivity device so that people don’t need to carry both a tablet and laptop, but can do all of their content creation on this device. It will be very interesting to see if Android can cut it as a light laptop OS.
The biggest takeaway of the event was that ASUS has a different strategy than most of the PC and device makers trotting out tablets at CES. It’s not just about launching cheap iPad clones that can detach users from the draconian Apple ecosystem. ASUS is betting that it can pull more users into the tablet market by providing a choice of four tablets aimed at users with different proclivities and by turning tablets into productivity devices that can also create content (perhaps the iPad’s biggest weakness).
Whether the ASUS strategy succeeds or not will depend heavily on whether Microsoft Windows 7 and Google Android can successfully adapt their software for multi-touch tablets in the months ahead. Android still has big questions to answer and Windows 7 may simply be too heavy and battery hungry for tablets. Nevertheless, I like that ASUS isn’t just playing “me, too” in the tablet market and actually has a viable strategy that targets some of the iPad’s genuine weak spots.
ASUS Chairman Jonney Shih shows off one of the four new ASUS tablets at the company’s CES 2011 press conference. Photo credit: Jason Hiner | TechRepublic
Why ASUS?
The fact that the rising computer maker spent 75% of its biggest press conference of the year talking about iPad competitors speaks volumes. Four years ago at CES 2008, the newly-launched ASUS Eee PC — a 7-inch netbook — was one of the buzz products of the show and its surprising sales essentially launched the netbook phenomenon.
The Eee PC launched ASUS into mainstream consciousness and the company has since expanded nicely into laptops and desktops of all sizes and shown that it is one of the few PC makers that really cares about product design. In the ecosystem of Windows PCs, I’d rank ASUS with Sony as the two companies that consistently produce the most attractive designs, and ASUS does it without the big price premium that you pay for with Sony and Apple.
ASUS clearly watches a lot of what Apple does — Apple’s name came up at least half a dozen times in its press conference — and has decided that the iPad is a serious threat to its laptop business, otherwise it would not have dedicated so much of its resources and marketing to its new tablets.
Here is a quick summary of the four ASUS tablets:
Eee Pad MeMo
The MeMo is a 7-inch Android 3.0 tablet that will compete with the Samsung Galaxy Tab and the plethora of other 7-inch Android tablets about to hit the market, as well as the BlackBerry PlayBook. This is definitely aimed at media consumption with a Micro HDMI port and 1080p video playback. It has a capacitive touch-screen and includes a stylus for note-taking, so it also has the productivity element in mind.
Eee Slate EP121
The EP121 is the one Windows tablet in the ASUS lineup. This is a 12-inch tablet running the same Intel Core i5 processor that runs a lot of powerful desktops and laptops. It offers 1280×800 screen resolution, two USB ports, a 32GB or 64GB SSD hard drive, 4GB of RAM, and a 2 megapixel camera. It has both multi-touch and pen input. In the demo, ASUS was watching a full 1080p video while editing a picture in Photoshop and this thing didn’t flinch. Battery life could be an issue though.
Eee Pad Transformer
Here’s a slim 10-inch tablet that will compete more directly with the iPad. It features the dual core NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor and will run Android 3.0. It has a 5 megapixel camera on the back and a 1.2 megapixel camera on the front. The Transformer also offers an optional keyboard dock (see below) that essentially turns it into a laptop. The dock has has added battery capacity that can extend the battery life of this tablet up to 16 hours. I consider this the most interesting of the ASUS tablets and the one with the greatest potential, if Google gets the Android tablet software right.
Eee Pad Slider
The Slider is very similar to the Transformer. It is a 10-inch Android 3.0 tablet running on an NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor and has the same 5.0 and 1.2 megapixel cameras as the Transformer. Instead of a keyboard dock, the slider features a slide-out qwerty keyboard. Again, ASUS is betting on turning the 10-inch tablet into a productivity device so that people don’t need to carry both a tablet and laptop, but can do all of their content creation on this device. It will be very interesting to see if Android can cut it as a light laptop OS.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
The 10 most useful Windows 7 keyboard shortcuts
Along with Windows 7’s new features comes a set of new keyboard shortcuts. This little cheat sheet will help you work more efficiently with the latest version of Windows.
Note: This list is part of Greg Shultz’s comprehensive collection of Windows keyboard shortcuts, available as a PDF download.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 and 70-662 Exam Training in One Package
A few months ago the newest Microsoft 70-662 dumps Exchange server 2010 has released and companies are upgrading largely from older version towards newer one. In email communication solutions Microsoft holds two third of market share but the cornerstone and flagship product of Microsoft is Microsoft Exchange Server 2010.
The new version of 2010 has breaking features like Power Shell utilization as its basic engine, transport protection rules, role based access Control, full unified communication support like text to speech, voice mail, instant messaging etc and many other advanced software communication qualities which make this product as one of the most powerful company tools.
If anybody wants to get involvement in administration and maintenance of Microsoft Exchange 2010 then that requires a proper training because IT professionals are responsible for server administration and looking that the server is ready to manage thousands of users and their mailboxes, the databases, the server security, operating system etc. If anyone wants to survive in such a demanding task he must have to acquire proper Exchange 2010 package.
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The new version of 2010 has breaking features like Power Shell utilization as its basic engine, transport protection rules, role based access Control, full unified communication support like text to speech, voice mail, instant messaging etc and many other advanced software communication qualities which make this product as one of the most powerful company tools.
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If anybody wants to get involvement in administration and maintenance of Microsoft Exchange 2010 then that requires a proper training because IT professionals are responsible for server administration and looking that the server is ready to manage thousands of users and their mailboxes, the databases, the server security, operating system etc. If anyone wants to survive in such a demanding task he must have to acquire proper Exchange 2010 package.
Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 Configuration exam i-e 70-662 dumps is an important step towards Microsoft certification. Passing 70-662 dumps exam results into higher salary, better career, and also towards strong IT position within the company.
When you come for training there come two things in the training package:
1. Extensive in depth training includes knowledge about installation, configuration, maintenance, and trouble shoot the server under the certified instructor.
2. Full coverage of 70 662 dumps exam with practice test.
So certify yourself with 70-662 dumps exam under Certkingdom 70-662 dumps exams preparation tools.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
How to Run Mac OS X in Virtual Box on Windows
first install Virtualbox. Open up Virtualbox and click on New at the top left.
At the Create New Virtual Machine window, click Next.
How to Run Mac OS X in VirtualBox on Windows
At this window type OSX as the name and it will automatically change the system and version. The next window will let you choose your RAM amount:
How to Run Mac OS X in VirtualBox on Windows
If you can spare it, crank it up as far as you can go, but 1024MB should be sufficient.
How to Run Mac OS X in VirtualBox on Windows
This is where you'll make your hard disk. 20GB should be enough so what it comes down to is dynamic or static. Dynamic will expand on use and Static will be a fixed 20GB no matter how much data is actually in it. Dynamic is better for not taking up your hard drive but static should give you better performance. I normally use dynamic. Click next unless you want to change it from dynamic or if you want to increase the disk size or file location.
How to Run Mac OS X in VirtualBox on Windows
It will show a summary of your settings. Click Finish, then click Settings at the top. At this window click on System in the left pane and uncheck Enable EFI.
How to Run Mac OS X in VirtualBox on Windows
Now click on the Storage button on the left. From there click on Empty under the OSX.vdi, then click the folder with the green arrow on the right (next to "CD/DVD Device").
How to Run Mac OS X in VirtualBox on Windows
At this window click the Add button at the top. Then find and add the OSX86 ISO you downloaded earlier. Then highlight it and click Select at the bottom. Then click OK, and hit the Start button on the left side of the main VirtualBox window.
How to Run Mac OS X in VirtualBox on Windows
As it starts up, click inside the window and hit F8. Then at the boot: prompt type –v so you can see what exactly went wrong if something does go wrong. All the services will run and eventually you should come to the language screen. Choose your language then click next. If you are unable to move your mouse around then hit Right-Ctrl + I. Click Continue and Agree. Next, start up Disk Utility by going to Utilities in the menu bar.
How to Run Mac OS X in VirtualBox on Windows
At this screen highlight 20GB VBOX HARDDISK. Then click the Erase tab, name it what you want in the name box and click the Erase button on the bottom right of the window. It shouldn't take long. Then click Disk Utility in your menu bar and quit it. Now you're back at the installer. Highlight the drive that is now showing up and click Continue.
How to Run Mac OS X in VirtualBox on Windows
The next window is important. Click the Customize button on the bottom left.
AMD Users check:
Any Updates included at the top.
Drop down Kernels and choose Legacy kernel.
AMD option below System support.
Intel Users check:
Any Updates included at the top.
Drop down bootloaders and check the newest Chameleon.
Drop down Kernels and choose Legacy kernel.
Then click Done and hit the Install button. To speed up the process you can click Skip when the disc check pops up.
How to Run Mac OS X in VirtualBox on Windows
As soon as it says "installation finished" and starts counting down to restart, press the right Ctrl key. Click on Devices at the top of the VirtualBox window, hit CD/DVD Devices and click Unmount CD/DVD Device. Then go to Machine > Reset and click Reset at the prompt. Next you'll see the Chameleon loader and then OS X will begin to boot.
How to Run Mac OS X in VirtualBox on Windows
After it boots you will see the setup screens for OS X! You're good to go. The only hiccup I've found is that it can only be virtualized with one core. It could be the OSX disc I was using or it might not be. And I have yet to find the right kext that will allow audio to work and the resolution is limited also. But other than that you'll have a fully functioning OSX virtualized!
Update: I'd like to post some answers to the resolution and audio. I should have looked around before posting this but I just didn't have the time. So anyways heres what you can do:
To fix the resolution issue, open Finder and go to the OS X drive on the left. Open the folder called Extras. Right Click on the file com.Apple.Boot.plist and open it with TextEdit. Under the first insert this:
Graphics Mode
1280x1024x32
or another compatible resolution. Select "Save As" at the top and save it to the desktop, unchecking the check under Unicode and then save it as com.apple.boot.plist. After that drag and drop it into the extras folder and overwrite the original file, entering your password when prompted.
Instructions for the sound issue can be found here.
Don't install system updates. If you want updates you'll have to install another iso distribution with the updates on it. If you install the updates directly from apple it messes with the custom kexts and chameleon. Just a forewarning.
And for those of you getting boot issues try choosing a different version of Chameleon or a different kernel. Sometimes that seems to help. And If your getting one of the USB errors then try disabling USB in the VirtualBox settings and see if that helps.
How to Run Mac OS X in VirtualBox on Windows
At this window type OSX as the name and it will automatically change the system and version. The next window will let you choose your RAM amount:
How to Run Mac OS X in VirtualBox on Windows
If you can spare it, crank it up as far as you can go, but 1024MB should be sufficient.
How to Run Mac OS X in VirtualBox on Windows
This is where you'll make your hard disk. 20GB should be enough so what it comes down to is dynamic or static. Dynamic will expand on use and Static will be a fixed 20GB no matter how much data is actually in it. Dynamic is better for not taking up your hard drive but static should give you better performance. I normally use dynamic. Click next unless you want to change it from dynamic or if you want to increase the disk size or file location.
How to Run Mac OS X in VirtualBox on Windows
It will show a summary of your settings. Click Finish, then click Settings at the top. At this window click on System in the left pane and uncheck Enable EFI.
How to Run Mac OS X in VirtualBox on Windows
Now click on the Storage button on the left. From there click on Empty under the OSX.vdi, then click the folder with the green arrow on the right (next to "CD/DVD Device").
How to Run Mac OS X in VirtualBox on Windows
At this window click the Add button at the top. Then find and add the OSX86 ISO you downloaded earlier. Then highlight it and click Select at the bottom. Then click OK, and hit the Start button on the left side of the main VirtualBox window.
How to Run Mac OS X in VirtualBox on Windows
As it starts up, click inside the window and hit F8. Then at the boot: prompt type –v so you can see what exactly went wrong if something does go wrong. All the services will run and eventually you should come to the language screen. Choose your language then click next. If you are unable to move your mouse around then hit Right-Ctrl + I. Click Continue and Agree. Next, start up Disk Utility by going to Utilities in the menu bar.
How to Run Mac OS X in VirtualBox on Windows
At this screen highlight 20GB VBOX HARDDISK. Then click the Erase tab, name it what you want in the name box and click the Erase button on the bottom right of the window. It shouldn't take long. Then click Disk Utility in your menu bar and quit it. Now you're back at the installer. Highlight the drive that is now showing up and click Continue.
How to Run Mac OS X in VirtualBox on Windows
The next window is important. Click the Customize button on the bottom left.
AMD Users check:
Any Updates included at the top.
Drop down Kernels and choose Legacy kernel.
AMD option below System support.
Intel Users check:
Any Updates included at the top.
Drop down bootloaders and check the newest Chameleon.
Drop down Kernels and choose Legacy kernel.
Then click Done and hit the Install button. To speed up the process you can click Skip when the disc check pops up.
How to Run Mac OS X in VirtualBox on Windows
As soon as it says "installation finished" and starts counting down to restart, press the right Ctrl key. Click on Devices at the top of the VirtualBox window, hit CD/DVD Devices and click Unmount CD/DVD Device. Then go to Machine > Reset and click Reset at the prompt. Next you'll see the Chameleon loader and then OS X will begin to boot.
How to Run Mac OS X in VirtualBox on Windows
After it boots you will see the setup screens for OS X! You're good to go. The only hiccup I've found is that it can only be virtualized with one core. It could be the OSX disc I was using or it might not be. And I have yet to find the right kext that will allow audio to work and the resolution is limited also. But other than that you'll have a fully functioning OSX virtualized!
Update: I'd like to post some answers to the resolution and audio. I should have looked around before posting this but I just didn't have the time. So anyways heres what you can do:
To fix the resolution issue, open Finder and go to the OS X drive on the left. Open the folder called Extras. Right Click on the file com.Apple.Boot.plist and open it with TextEdit. Under the first insert this:
Graphics Mode
1280x1024x32
or another compatible resolution. Select "Save As" at the top and save it to the desktop, unchecking the check under Unicode and then save it as com.apple.boot.plist. After that drag and drop it into the extras folder and overwrite the original file, entering your password when prompted.
Instructions for the sound issue can be found here.
Don't install system updates. If you want updates you'll have to install another iso distribution with the updates on it. If you install the updates directly from apple it messes with the custom kexts and chameleon. Just a forewarning.
And for those of you getting boot issues try choosing a different version of Chameleon or a different kernel. Sometimes that seems to help. And If your getting one of the USB errors then try disabling USB in the VirtualBox settings and see if that helps.
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