Microsoft Small Basic
November 18, 2008
Tim Smith, Computeract!ve, Tuesday 18 November 2008 at 16:21:00
A simple programming language for beginners
Learning how to program is an exciting project but one that can be hard to get in to. Even the free Express Editions of the Visual Studio family are somewhat complicated.
Small Basic is different. It has been created to be easy to learn and the programming interface is clean yet helpful with code completion offerings.
As the name suggests, Small Basic is an attempt to recreate the days of Dos with computers such as the ZX Spectrum. It was easy to learn and gave results quickly. Small Basic is limited to just 15 keywords to reduce the amount of learning required.
We were very impressed with the code editor. It uses the Ribbon interface and looks very attractive. It also offers code completion, as you start typing a command various possibles are suggested underneath along with a quick description. You might have heard of this under the name Intellisense in more advanced editors like Visual Studio. The text of the code is also colour-coded to make it easier to read.
Just in case the capabilities of Small Basic become limiting, it is possible to add extra bits of program to it, known as libraries.
As a beginners tool, Small Basic is hard to fault. There were one or two gaps in the getting started guide but anyone considering learning how to program should give this a go.
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First Look : Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008
November 18, 2008
Dave Bailey, vnunet.com, Tuesday 18 November 2008 at 11:00:00
Virtualisation infrastructure management package improves, but is up against tough competition
Released to manufacturing in October, Microsoft’s System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM) 2008, gives IT managers the capacity to manage their virtual infrastructures centrally.
Using SCVMM 2008, users can manage Hyper-V installed virtual machines, as well as VMs created with Virtual Server 2005 R2 and also VMware VMs running on its ESX infrastructure.
Although currently Hyper-V has no support for moving live VMs across virtual hosts, it can use VMware’s Virtual Infrastructure 3 (VI3) system to do this. Microsoft has addressed this problem in the next release of its flagship server, the R2 version of Windows Server 2008 (WS 2008), however users will have to wait until 2010 for this feature.
We installed SCVMM 2008 on a Dell PowerEdge R900 Server running the 64-bit edition of Windows Server 2008 Enterprise Edition. Firstly the VMM Server was installed and then the local administrator console. It didn’t take long for the install to complete, the most time-consuming part being the install of a SQL Server database which stores the VM configurations. Users can attach to an already installed database or create a new one.
It was easy to pick up virtual machines we had installed earlier, and also point to another host system, running Virtual Server 2005 R2 under Windows Server 2003 and manage those VMs.
SCVMM 2008 also provides integration for WS 2008’s new clustering support, and can be used to set up fault-tolerant VMs, as well as VMs which will preferentially attach to hosts which are part of a cluster. SCVMM 2008 can also now manage a set of clustered VMs together as a single unit.
Apart from the expanded feature set, the GUI has been slightly enhanced, but still looks pretty similar to SCVMM 2007. Because Microsoft has written the 2008 version around its PowerShell (PS) command shell and scripting language, scripts and command files containing scripts can be executed to speed up tasks like migrating a VMware VM using VMotion.
We could use PS scripting to shortcut a lot of tasks, although one problem was how SCVMM 2008 would deal with VMs that needed patching. Currently the only method is to fire up the VM, patch and then restart. It would be nice to see Microsoft introduce a feature where VMs could be patched offline.
One of the key additions in SCVMM 2008 is an integrated performance and resource optimisation (PRO) tool allowing alerts to be configured warning of specific VM hardware problems which could cause failure of that VM. SCVMM 2008 can be configured to react in real-time to the alert and, for example, increase system memory or disk space allocated to the problem VM automatically.
Other minor improvements include the ability to create ‘delegated administrators’, who can work on a subset of the VMs in the virtual infrastructure with full administrator rights to those particular VMs. Updated network permissions have also been introduced allowing SCVMM 2008 to manage virtual infrastructure not part of firms’ trusted domain.
Overall SCVMM 2008 significantly cuts down time spent by system administrators managing VMs, but the package won’t be the ‘full deal’ until Microsoft’s own Live Migration feature appears courtesy of WS 2008 R2 sometime in 2010.
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Floola 4
November 18, 2008
Lee Collins, vnunet.com, Tuesday 18 November 2008 at 15:06:00
Alternative & popular iPod manager
This is the software publishers description.
A freeware application designed to efficiently manage your iPod or your Motorola mobile phone (any model supporting iTunes).
Floola is a standalone application that can be run directly from your iPod and needs no installation that supports all commonly used iPod features including artwork, podcasts and smart playlists.
It’s also able to convert audio or video incompatible with the iPod so that you can copy almost any file to it. It even allows you to add Youtube and Myspace videos by simply entering the page URL.
Note there are Linux and Mac OS versions available.
This version (3.x) now supports the facility to synchronise your photos with your iPod, using Floola rather than iTunes.
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Soundbase 2008.11.17
November 18, 2008
Chris Wiles, vnunet.com, Tuesday 18 November 2008 at 10:20:00
Dedicated MP3 audio player & organiser
This is the software publisher’s description.
Created to fill a gap in the large amount of free and commercial mp3 players. We do not pretend to have the ultimate mp3 or audio solution, but it will most likely fit somewhere into your mp3 playing experience. As a player, as a tag editor or as an organizer. It will always give you a quick way of doing common tasks. Give it a try!
Soundbase uses the Microsoft DirectShow architecture. DirectShow provides high-quality capture and playback of multimedia streams. It supports a wide variety of formats, including MPEG Audio Layer-3 (MP3), OGG Vorbis (OGG), Monkey Audio (APE), and FLAC sound files. It automatically detects and uses audio acceleration hardware when available, but also supports systems without acceleration hardware.
You might need to read the help section on installing more sophisticated formats (ape, flac, ogg) to enable playback for those files. The help section provides you with links to free directshow filters and will give you information on how to best install the different pack.
We also added the option to use BASS Audio audio drivers, they can be installed from inside Soundbase.
Of course there is more, you can skin soundbase, organize your music to different locations, edit tag information, search, filter, create playlists, there is a unique history display and Soundbase doesn’t use any registry entries but stores all in one ini file, it is completelly anonymous, it can run from any location with limited user access rights, and much more. And we of course never stop thinking of better ways and better functionality, so stay tuned for more updates.
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Google SketchUp Free 7
November 18, 2008
Chris Wiles, vnunet.com, Tuesday 18 November 2008 at 00:00:00
Design your own home extension
If the interior magazines are to be believed, many of us are becoming more experimental with our home extensions and improvements.
Recently there has been a trend to attach an ultra-modern glass-fronted extension to the back of Victorian terraced houses. You have more scope for individual flair and design and the back of your property.
However, you need a professional architect or a building surveyor to interpret your ideas. The more time you spend with your architect, the more expensive your final design.
This is where Google SketchUp comes in to play. You can use this 3D modelling tool to design and create a new extension to your house and then give your design to your architect for tweaking.
It’s much better to give them a visual image than try to interpret your requirements through words.
Google SketchUp (Free Edition) is an easy-to-learn 3D modelling program which enables you to create 3D models of houses, sheds, decks, home additions and woodworking projects.
You can add details, textures and glass to your models, design with dimensional accuracy and even share them with others by posting them to the 3D Warehouse, or simply print a hard copy.
This is the new v7 which contains a few new features including collaboration tools so others can work on your diagrams and more.
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SUPER AntiSpyware 4.22
November 18, 2008
Chris Wiles, vnunet.com, Tuesday 18 November 2008 at 00:00:00
Protect your system from spyware
We tend to overly rely on our anti-spyware and security software. For instance, we download the latest commercial security tool and then setup the application to automatically scan for Trojans and spyware that may have installed on our system, at the end of every working day.
This is fantastic and works well if we’re in the office. However, we often forget that we can be out of the office, other people use our computer or we simply finish work early, ending the day before the anti-spyware tool starts its automatic check. Result? Our system is only checked randomly, which means that the Trojan could have used that time to access our system and track our online activity, then reported our personal information.
SUPERAntiSpyware is another anti-spyware tool, but the free version requires you to manually check your system. It will look for and detect the latest worms, Trojans and other problematic applications, but it won’t block these on a ‘real-time’ basis, nor can it schedule to check on an automated basis. You’ll need to perform these tasks manually.
This is the ‘free’ version. The Professional edition will schedule, automatically check for Trojans and will update definitions automatically.
This is the official release of the major new revision. New features include 30-50% speed increase over the previous version, enhanced in-memory detection, improved protection for Vista users and much more
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PC Tools Disk Suite 2009 v1.0.0.57
November 17, 2008
Chris Wiles, vnunet.com, Monday 17 November 2008 at 10:24:00
Complete disk maintenance & optimisation suite
This is the software publisher’s description.
Disk Suite is an all-in-one hard-drive management utility that integrates disk optimization and cleanup, defrag, partitioning and backup in one easy to use package. Disk Suite puts a range of tools at your fingertips to provide optimum system performance and improved stability and security.
With Disk Suite you can safely cleanup and optimize your Windows disks with a few simple mouse clicks. Disks can become bloated with temporary files, log files and other unnecessary data. The cleanup and optimize feature lets you safely remove unnecessary files and bloat from your PC without detailed knowledge of the Windows file system.
It’s a fact that fragmented drives drain critical system resources, compromise the ability to access your files efficiently and slow down Windows start-up. The defrag feature provides you with a powerful defragmentation tool that supports both NTFS and FAT file systems. Different levels of defragmentation are provided in case you just need a quick defrag or you want to schedule a complete optimization of your disk.
The Backup feature allows you to make copies of your data that can be restored in the event that files become lost, damaged or corrupted. Taking regular backup is one of the most important steps you can take to ensure you don’t lose irreplaceable data and files such as photos, documents and other information.
The Partition feature allows you to create, merge, split, resize, delete, copy, and move partitions without losing data. It also lets you manage your partition structure by allowing you to change cluster sizes, convert to different file systems and much more.
The repair feature performs integrity checks to check file system structure, surface scans to check for bad sectors and disk errors as well as repair hard drive problems. In addition the repair feature includes hard disk diagnostics and lets you review the information including the S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology) status of your hard drive (if supported).
Note that this is the final official release of PC Tools Disk Suite.
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