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Today we watched opening ceremony in HD on our big screen. A day late, but I prefer to watch things on my own schedule, even sporting events! The ceremony was Inspiring, especially in all the High Definition glory on the wall.

You will need specific setup, to bring the best quality available Olympic coverage to your Big Screen TV. First thing you’ll need is Windows Vista Home Premium or Ultimate edition. Next, you will need an XBox 360 connected to home network, or you can skip this in case your Windows Vista PC is already hooked up directly to TV (it happens!).

Now, simply install TVTonic add-on on your Windows Vista MediaCenter PC, and start it. You can use it on your Windows Vista PC or naturally view it via XBox 360, using the Media Center extender functionality.

Actually, TVTonic brings a whole world of Internet TV to your local computer. It is actually similar to Miro and others, in that it simply pulls RSS feeds of Podcast style broadcast shows. It comes with pretty impressive guide with all kinds of Internet shows, including Dilbert, and GameTrailers in HD, both of which me and the kids enjoy tremendously!

Of course, you can always simply visit NBC Olympics site and watch highlights or even full events, steaming and online.

I am very pleased with this progress! The TVTonic client is completely free and brings home very high quality video, for convenient viewing on the Big-Screen TV. We have configured it to download specific sports, like soccer and fencing, automatically as they become available!

If you have Vista 64 Bit edition (very rare still), they are promising to make it available soon (via EngadgetHD).

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I am continuing to encounter strange Adobe Flash problems in Internet Explorer 7. We have a bunch of PCs here at home, and after upgrade to IE7 several had broken Flash. I had to search all other the web and try many different things before fixing it.

Few days ago I noticed that Adobe Flash stopped working on my main Windows Vista PC also, probably after Zune software installation, since that’s the only thing I installed recently. Though, there were also several Vista patches on Tuesday, that may have played a part in this.

I was able to fix it and here are the tips for you to try, organized from simple to hard:

• Go directly to Adobe installation site for Flash, Pay Attention and Uncheck Google Toolbar (seriously, it’s like Spyware installer!). Follow installation steps and make sure to reboot your PC after installation.
• Still doesn’t work? Try downloading Flash Installer package from Adobe. Follow directions and download the Installer package at the end of step 3. HOWEVER, on Vista, do an extra step and Shut Down Internet Explorer + Find IEUSER.EXE in Task Manager and End Process on it. Then proceed to install Flash as downloaded above
• Still broken? You are in serious fix… You will need to install Microsoft software and fix some registry keys. Then try again the step above. Reboot and Voila.

Of course, if you still can’t fix it, just use Firefox browser, it seems to work just fine even while IE keeps insisting that "Flash not installed".

Now that you have your Flash fixed, you have some options. First, educate yourself on our planetary crisis by watching the trailer below. Next, proceed to enjoy more Flash capabilities and features, courtesy of Adobe. Of course if they would get their act together, and talk in over with Microsoft or whoever, you wouldn’t have to mess with all that Adobe Flash installation mess to begin with. Enjoy!

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It is becoming increasingly clear to me that Cyber Terrorism has won. It has all of us running scared, increasingly not trusting our own PCs, we are afraid to visit even secure bank web sites, and overall don’t trust the Internet.

Today I was trying to get ToonTown going on an old laptop. Actually, it was the second PC where I had to struggle with the same fiasco. Internet Explorer 7 upgrade made ActiveX controls, even approved and signed ones, unusable! I knew enough to move toontown.com domain to trusted status, but that did not suffice! Apparently, even in Trusted domain, signed ActiveX controls aren’t simply ‘allowed’ any longer. I had to manually reconfigure IE security settings for trusted site to make ToonTown work.

How would your average joe user, trying to setup ToonTown for his impatient child, supposed to figure this out?!? The usual end result would be very annoyed parent, and traumatized child, left without a game and with agitated screaming/cursing parent.

Is this a technology issue? I don’t believe so, same technology worked just fine when I first installed ToonTown for my kids a year or so ago. And this isn’t just Microsoft and IE crazy security. The most popular Linux distribution today, Ubuntu, also uses similar UAC features.

And you think it’s just the Internet that has us running for hills? Endless productive corporate hours are lost waiting for PC to respond while it’s too busy trying to scan for "viruses", and "trojans" and other such pests. The Antivirus that is probably installed on your computer as you read this, isn’t keeping you safe as much as it’s there to kill the speed of your computer, in half, and sometimes more!!

Are there any good news?

I say we stop running and take charge. It is clear that security software is a necessity in these turbulent times, but lets be smart about it! As companies, don’t release Antivirus software to all your desktops that endlessly scans all file accesses. Scan once a week, or only overnight, and NEVER in real-time!

As home users, lets be smart about web sites we visit, software we and our kids download and what antivirus programs we use on our PCs. Turn off your real-time protection, most often it’s just there to kill your whole PC experience. If you are going to click on that urgent email from "PayPal" and give out your username/password to a phishing site, No Amount Of Real-Time Protection can help you!!! Configure your antivirus software Not to run all the time, and only scan on schedule, overnight or once a week is usually plenty! Really, the only thing you need in real-time is that built-in Windows Firewall, just make sure to REVIEW any prompts asking you to open it ;-).

To summarize, I want to pimp Windows Vista a little. Even with it’s quirks, it is a more secure alternative to XP today. Furthermore, if you insist on running that Antivirus, Windows Vista introduces background priority scheduling for disk access. This feature should make your computer much more responsive, even as Antivirus is chopping away at it’s resources trying to "protect" you in real-time.

Let us prepare for round 2 of the cyber-wars, and let’s make sure we, the good guys Win this time!

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Granted, this post is a bit early, I’ve only been using Vista on the my new PC for about a week and a half, but I just had to blog about it!

So far it’s been fantastic! I want to start off with a short list of pointers that may help you with your Vista experience, and end with solid scientific explanation as to why Vista is the Wow! that was promised!

• Search box is your friend! The biggest feature in Vista is the little Search box and you can find it Everywhere! Start with the Start Menu, which makes it easy to launch program or document by just typing a keyword or two. Proceed to use it in Control Panel, which is redesigned, but it doesn’t matter since it has a search box which makes it easy to find what you need if you know it’s name. If you don’t know what it’s called, the newly improved categories are great!
• Create Restore points often! See tip above to easily find this feature in Control Panel. I didn’t need to use any of my Restore Points yet, but it’s nice to know they are there!
• As annoying as User Access Control is, it’s worth it! This is the famous "You clicked on this Button, are you sure you clicked on it?" style prompt. When setting up the computer in the beginning, it will drive you crazy. But, keep at it, because the amount of prompts declines drastically once you "settle in", and the added security is very important!
• Do NOT Upgrade to Vista on an old PC, that is not the intention. Vista by no means "lean", it’s a fully featured OS with high hardware requirements. So, your best bet to get Vista is only with a new PC. If you are worried about Software Compatibility issues, and considering Windows XP downgrade on a new PC, DON’T DO IT! Use Microsoft’s free Virtual PC within Vista should supply full compatibility with the trickiest of software. Plus, most companies should come out with new Vista version of their software soon, if they haven’t already.

For me, the Wow! in Vista is the amazing performance, stability and the security, and of course the new fancy 3D Aero effects (tip: Press Windows-Tab key and scroll mouse wheel).

The WoW in Vista is World of Warcraft, which runs like never before, even with all graphical settings maxed out. Just kidding, of course

Here’s the real Wow! and it is something I haven’t seen covered in almost any press coverage for Vista. It’s the quality feedback agent, which is now built into Operating System Kernel and most Vista applications and components.

Let me explain, this little known secret agent gets activated whenever you encounter any kind of crash/failure and in some similar scenarios. It actually Phones Home to MS HQ and records this trouble, along with supporting "Dump" info, in the central database. And before you start screaming PRIVACY, it can be disabled and it only activates after asking you if you wish to "Help Improve Windows Experience" or some such.

Why is this greatest thing ever? No matter what weird hardware driver, or strange DLL incompatibility, or unintended Windows Update trouble happens, you don’t need to worry. Your computer will literally heal itself! Here’s how it works:

1. You download some patch or new driver, or simply add new hardware that Vista knows about but apparently wasn’t fully tested (or too new).
2. Your system starts misbehaving, things don’t work. You get crashes somewhere, or even the infamous Blue Screen of Death comes to visit you.
3. Vista records this and "phones home" with information developers need to track down why the crash or problem is happening
4. Developers review their giant "troubles" database, notice the new issue which is affecting several people and combine scenarios from multiple PCs and it’s supporting data to figure out what is causing the trouble and fix it
5. Windows Vista downloads a Windows Update Hotfix, or maybe the fix comes as part of Service Pack or updated Drivers from the Manufacturer of your gadget, which Windows Vista also downloads now without you needing to worry

Granted, this is a best case scenario. There are lots of trouble reports daily, and I am sure Microsoft folks using some sort of statistical data mining approach to find most urgent and most mainstream problems, before tackling more obscure ones.

But the bottom line is that this process Will Surely lead to better and more stable OS in the long term, with more features and compatibility.

Show me that in MacOs or Linux, folks? (I know some programs have it, like Firefox, I am talking about Operating System integrated feature)

Wow!

UPDATE: I posted all the "Un-Wow" things on Windows Vista

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I am still struggling with exact instructions on creating not just any old MP4 file, but one that is XBOX 360 compatible. It turns out to be very very hard, for unknown reason. I’ve emailed Major Nelson from XBox at Microsoft, but so far he’s busy, obviously.

I did manage to create MP4 files from my media, which play fine using VLC and QuickTime players, but I wanted them to play inside Vista Media Center. And, it turned out to be not as hard as it sounds, so just follow these simple steps to success (should work just as well for Windows XP Media Center, though I haven’t had a chance to try it there yet):

1. Set Windows Vista Restore Point, in case something goes Awry. Simply Right-Click on your Computer (on Desktop or Start-Menu), and select Properties. Then, choose System Protection under Tasks. Finally click the Create button, at the bottom (just above Ok/Cancel buttons). Name your Restore Point and it should be created in no time.
2. Download and Install Haali Media Splitter (aka Matroska Splitter) download link on the right there.
3. Download and Install latest beta bundle of FFDShow software. Make sure to grab the beta, which is more Vista compatible (unlike latest stable).
4. Almost done! Now, you just need to tell Media Center that it’s ok to include MP4 files. Open RegEdit for this, and find and adjust the following key:
       [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT.mp4]
       “PerceivedType”=”video”

That should be it. You can also make Explorer work with these files, simply right click on one of your MP4 files, select Open With, and point to your Windows Media Player. Make sure to mark ‘Always use selected program to open this file type’.

If something goes wrong, or some program that used to work misbehaves after these steps, you can always go back to System Restore and restore your Backup point created in step 1.

Meanwhile, I am continuing my struggle to find best/easiest/most compatible method of  creating MP4 files. I have expanded beyond Windows (Vista or XP) and into Linux (Ubuntu actually), but thus far still no satisfactory solution found. The image, to the right of here is a small sample of H.264 codec options. Just PART of Single folder, out of 4 total folders!
Easy, right???

If I ever figure it out, I will sure post the explanation here

Meanwhile, make sure to enjoy Shared Links on the right, which are updated daily, often every few hours!

UPDATE:  I installed Haali Media Splitter on the new Windows Vista Basic that we got with new Vostro computer (more on that later) and it cause IE 7 to start to crash on it. Of course I had restore point, but be forewarned.

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