Is ur C:,D:, etc showing Autorun option during right click...
Does t shows error message" cannot find ***.exe" while opening it..

I have a simple but powerful solution..

Open a notepad file and Enter

[autorun]
icon=asdasdas.ico

and sane this file as autorun.inf at some other place instead of any coloun..e.g. My documents

copy that file and paste it inside C: or D: whereever u want.. it asks for replacing the already exsisting file in that place... Click Yes to replace it.. Now delete the pasted file from there..

Then restart ur PC... thats all u go..

But in this method u wont delete the virus exe from there.. to do that u follow the instructions


Open notepad and go to File-> open
then browse to What coloun u want
type autorun.inf and hit enter to open the hidden file.. s
See the name of exe file in it
create a exe of that same name using notepad by simply saving it with extension .exe
save at my document
copy and paste and then replace the virus with ur empty exe
after replacing it.. delete the pasted file.. thats all u finished.. hooray

Axiotron and Other World Computing have teamed up to offer the first Mac tablet computer—which they’ve dubbed the ModBook. This pen-sensitive Mac comes without a keyboard or mouse; instead, special hardware and software allow you to control the tablet via a stylus. The ModBook won’t ship until April, but I got my hands on an early engineering sample, and, after using the tablet for a few days, I can share what I’ve learned.

My observations are based on a pre-production model—many electronic, software, and cosmetic changes can and will be made before the ModBook’s April release. However, the specs listed below are as they’ll be in the shipping version.
What it is

Simply put, the ModBook is a stock Apple MacBook that’s been given a radical makeover by Axiotron (and sold exclusively by OWC). As such, the guts of the system are basically the same as the MacBook. Each ModBook is built to order, so you’re buying a complete system. In other words, you won’t be able to buy a kit to make over your own MacBook into a tablet, and OWC won’t modify your current laptop into ModBook form.

For $2,279, you get a 1.83GHz Core 2 Duo processor, GMA 950 graphics, 512MB of 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM, a 60GB 5400-rpm hard drive, a Combo Drive, Apple Remote, and AirPort and Bluetooth. A ModBook with a 2GHZ processor, 1GB of RAM, an 80GB hard drive, a DVD-burning SuperDrive, and built-in WAAS-enabled GPS receiver bumps the price to $2,579. And $2,849 gets you the same 2GHz system, but with 2GB of RAM and a 160GB hard drive. (There’s also an introductory special for those who pre-reserve by February 1, 2007.) All systems include a one-year OWC warranty; you can purchase two additional years for $349 for the base model, and for the same $249 price as AppleCare for the other configurations. And you’ll be able to customize your ModBook just as you would when ordering a MacBook from Apple.

Considering that MacBooks equipped with 1.83GHz and 2GHz processors sell or $1,099 and $1,299 respectively, what does that extra grand or so get you? A completely remodeled computer that goes from this....

Axiotron removes the top of the MacBook—including the display—and replaces it with a bezel made of an aircraft-grade magnesium alloy (it has a silver, MacBook Pro look to it). In place of the MacBook’s LCD screen goes a new display with the same 13.3-inch size and 1,280-by-800 pixel resolution as the original. But there are several key differences between the displays. The Axiotron ForceGlass covering the ModBook’s display is chemically strengthened and etched to improve longevity, scratch resistance, writing sensation, and reflection problems. The new screen has a 500-to-1 contrast ratio versus 400-to-1 on the MacBook, and it features a wider viewing angle than the MacBook.

Even with this rejiggering, the ModBook weighs in at 5.2 pounds—the same as the MacBook. The tablet is about .08 inches thicker than its laptop counterpart. Since the bottom half of the ModBook is a MacBook, the ports are the same. The ModBook has a MagSafe power port, Gigabit Ethernet port, Mini-DVI output connector, one FireWire 400 port, two USB 2.0 ports, combined optical digital audio input/audio line in, combined optical digital audio output/headphone out, built-in speakers, and a security slot.

Even though there’s no cover for the screen, it seems sturdy and strong, but you’ll probably want to get a sleeve for it. On the preproduction model I used, I couldn’t rotate the image on the ModBook’s display from landscape to portrait mode—Apple’s built-in hardware supports screen rotation for external displays, but not internal ones. But Axiotron is working on a software patch that should remedy the situation by the time the ModBook ships.
What lies beneath

As notable as the revamped display may be, the magic happens underneath where Axiotron has mounted a Wacom Penabled Technology sensor. The sensor has a resolution 20 times that of the display with positioning updated 133 times per second; it features 256 levels of pressure sensitivity. (In contrast, Wacom’s high-end Cintiq tablets have 1,024 levels of sensitivity and up to 1,600-by-1,200 pixels of resolution in a 21-inch display). It’s this sensor that really makes the ModBook a tablet Mac.

The ModBook includes a pen (stylus) that is powered by the tablet’s digitizer board—it doesn’t require a battery of its own, and only “activates” when you bring it within an inch or so of the display. The pen has two programmable side buttons and an “eraser” on the back, and the bottom left of the ModBook has a slot for holding the pen when not in use. Placing the pen in the slot turns the digitizer board off to prolong battery life (although it doesn’t put the ModBook to sleep). Other Wacom pens should work with the ModBook, provided they’re using the same technology as the ModBook stylus. (Not all Wacom pens do.)

Also under the hood and out of sight is the ModBook Controller Board, which is like the motherboard for the ModBook section of the computer. It uses USB 2.0 as its internal system bus and as its interface with the MacBook itself. It controls power management and ties together the ModBook’s components with the functions of the underlying MacBook.
Front and center

During the mod process, Axiotron doesn’t discard the MacBook’s built-in iSight camera when removing the top of the MacBook. Instead, the company integrates it into the design by installing it in the same center-mounted location as Apple does. The front of the ModBook features two buttons at the far left—the ModKey, which will reset the ModBook Controller Board without the need to restart the computer, and the power key, which works like the power button on the MacBook.

Next to those buttons, you’ll find three color status indicator lights: a green light on top for the digitizer board brightens when it detects the pen; the middle (blue now, though it may be yellow on the final version) shows that the ModBook Controller Board is working; and the bottom red light shows the status of the GPS module.

That’s right—some ModBooks models will include an internal Global Positioning System (GPS) module. A menu item displays longitude and latitude. Because the ModBook’s internal module uses standard protocols, it will also work with software such as RouteBuddy ($100) and MacGPSPro ($50). And Axiotron told me it should also work with any Windows GPS software running on ModBooks that use Apple’s Boot Camp to install Windows. Because of the GPS module, and the fact that the ModBook’s metal case blocks wireless signals, the top of the case has two areas in matching MacBook plastic, underneath which Axiotron places an array of antennae for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and—on models that include the module—GPS.

Hey guys if u r in deep search of downloading Soccer/Football videos, i.e; full matches, specific player video compilations, wallpapers or goals of any match from any league ( English premier league, Spanish premiera( la liga), Italian Seria, MLS, Brazilian league or any league .. i got some sites for ur needs.. 

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro and Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite are named, respectively, after actor-turned-President Ronald Reagan, and the baby babble of a younger brother who couldn't pronounce the word 'Ricardo'. From these beginnings come the two most famous names in world football: Ronaldo and Kaka. 

The pair are also the subject of one of the most polemical arguments currently being debated in pubs and bars around the planet. One of the two gets the vote of FIFA, UEFA, Pele, and the majority of Europe’s army of football journalists. The other can count on the support of Sir Alex Ferguson, the late George Best, and his mum. So, who is the better player, Kaka or Ronaldo? 

Based on this season’s form, it is difficult to argue against Ronaldo. 

In Serie A Kaka has been stumbling a little, looking slightly jaded, not quite managing to pick up the rhythm that has previously marked him out as the most outstanding attacking talent of his generation. By his standards, it’s been a "nearly, but not quite" kind of season so far. 

Ronaldo, on the other hand, has been almost supersonic in the Premier League. Swapping his annoying diving antics and some of his unnecessary trickery for a more straight-running, direct approach, the Portuguese midfielder has frightened the living daylights out of just about every defender and goalkeeper in the league. 

His blistering pace, remarkable athleticism, unstoppable free-kicks and clinical eye for goal have seen him overtake his goalscoring tally of last season already and taken him to the top of the netting charts. He has hit 27 goals in as many games for Man United - not bad for a player who’s supposed to play in midfield. His willingness to attack is relentless. 

But when comparing these two stellar talents, it is important to remember the old adage: ’form is temporary and class is permanent.’ 

Michel Platini, who spoke about Ronaldo this week, is correct in saying that the Portuguese has yet to prove himself on the biggest of stages. 

"It's difficult to compare players in competitions and teams. Is it more difficult to play right wing in Manchester than it is in Italy, where it doesn't exist?” Platini argued this week. 

What the UEFA president is saying is that, for all it’s thrills and spills, the Premier League is not as defensively sophisticated as the equivalent competitions in Spain and Italy. 

"If Ronaldo is the best player in the world or Europe he will have to prove it in the Euros, because that will be the only way we can judge him, when all the best players will have had the chance to be recognised," declared Platini.

In the Champions League last season, when it mattered most, Ronaldo went missing. While Kaka was busy winning the competition and becoming its top scorer, Ronaldo turned in a few cameo performances and scored a couple of goals. In his side’s vital away leg against Milan in the San Siro, he first made a fool of himself, then appeared to have gone home for the rest of the evening. 

But lets not dwell too long on Ronaldo’s flaws. He is, after all, still only 22. No-one is suggesting that he won't go on to become a great player.

This, in turn, should not distract from the fact that Kaka is, quite simply, a more complete footballer than Ronaldo. 

His balance is better, his technique is easier, he is much more elegant in possession, a far better team player, a more incisive passer and a more intelligent reader of the game. The Brazilian has never attempted a step-over in his life because he doesn’t have to. Such circus trickery is beneath him. 

Kaka glides past players as if they aren‘t there; he's as subtle as he is lighting quick. And when Kaka sings, Ronaldo often stutters. The latter's jittery, jinking, dribbling is easier to deal with as a defender. Not easy, by any means, but easier. 

To put it another way, marking Ronaldo is about as difficult as dodging bullets. Marking Kaka is like marking the breeze. 

The Portuguese, however, is better in the air and probably a better free-kick taker. Probably? We haven't really had an opportunity to see how good Kaka is at set pieces because Pirlo, the best in the world, takes them for Milan and Ronaldinho usually takes them for Brazil. As for Ronaldo's higher ratio of goals per game, as Platini intimated, he is doing it in a league where it is easier to score goals. As for his 20 strikes in 53 games at international level, almost all of them have come against teams such as Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Estonia.

Pele, who is usually a terrible judge of talent, to be quite honest, has actually got it right this time. 

“Kaka is the best player in the world, without a doubt,” the Brazilian legend told Gazzetta Dello Sport recently. 

Most of the talk of Ronaldo being the best player in the world has come from England, where there is a tendency to claim global supremacy too easily and too quickly. 

Take Ronaldo’s stunning free-kick against Portsmouth. As soon as his strike hit the top right hand corner of the net, pundits and fans were proclaiming it as the greatest free-kick of all time. It wasn’t. Its not even the best free-kick of the season. Andrea Pirlo’s pearler in the Milan derby was much closer to the edge of the box and more difficult to lift up over the wall and down again into the top corner.  

Okay, all these claims about one player being better than another are probably unproductive, anyway. Football is, lest we forget, a team game. Are Kaka and Ronaldo really better players than the likes of Sergio Ramos, Gianluigi Buffon, Francesco Totti, Esteban Cambiasso, Andrea Pirlo, Fernando Torres, Cesc Fabregas or Zlatan Ibrahimovic? It is, of course, virtually impossible to compare players who perform completely different roles and functions on the pitch. 

The best we can conclude in the debate about Kaka and Ronaldo is that Kaka is the finished article and Ronaldo still has a little way to go. But then again, if he is a finished praduct, should he not be producing the results in Serie A? And the debate goes on...

One thing is certain: it is a privilege to watch both of them play. 

1978 - 1981

In 1978, Apple Corps, the Beatles-founded holding company and owner of their record label, Apple Records, filed suit against Apple Computer for trademark infringement. The suit settled in 1981 with an undisclosed amount being paid to Apple Corps. This amount had been estimated to be $50–$200 million, but was later revealed to be $80,000.^[1] As a condition of the settlement, Apple Computer agreed not to enter the music business, and Apple Corps agreed not to enter the computer business.

1986 - 1989

In 1986, Apple Computer added MIDI and audio-recording capabilities to its computers, including the advanced 5503 sound chip from famous synthesizer maker Ensoniq into the Apple IIGS line. In 1989 this led Apple Corps to sue again, claiming violation of the 1981 settlement agreement^[2]. The outcome of this litigation effectively spelled the end of any further development of the highly profitable Apple II line, all forays at the time by Apple Computer into the multimedia field in parallel with theAmiga, and any future advanced built-in musical hardware in the Macintosh line.

[edit]1991

In 1991, another settlement involving payment of around $26.5 million to Apple Corps was reached.^[4] This time, an Apple employee named Jim Reekes had included a sampled system sound called Chimes to the Macintosh operating system, but Apple's legal department objected citing the agreement with Apple Corps. Reekes renamed the sound to sosumi, which he asserted was Japanese and meant nothing musical, but in fact can be read phonetically as "so sue me". Outlined in the settlement was each company's respective trademark rights to the term "Apple". Apple Corps held the right to use Apple on any "creative works whose principal content is music", while Apple Computer held the right to use Apple on "goods or services...used to reproduce, run, play or otherwise deliver such content", but not on content distributed on physical media.^[5] In other words, Apple Computer agreed that it would not package, sell or distribute physical music materials.

[edit]2003 - 2006

In September 2003, Apple Corps sued Apple Computer again, this time for breach of contract, in using the Apple logo in the creation and operation of Apple Computer's iTunes Music Store, which Apple Corps contended was a violation of the previous agreement. Some observers believed the wording of the previous settlement favored Apple Computer in this case.^[1] Other observers speculated that if Apple Corps was successful, Apple Computer would be forced to offer a much larger settlement, perhaps resulting in Apple Corps becoming a major shareholder in Apple Computer, or perhaps in Apple Computer splitting the iPod and related business into a separate entity.^[6]

The trial opened on March 29, 2006 in England,^[7] before a single judge of the High Court. In opening arguments, a lawyer for Apple Corps stated that in 2003, shortly before the launch of Apple Computer's on-line music store, Apple Corps rejected a $1 million offer from Apple Computer to use the Apple name on the iTunes store.

On May 8, 2006 the court ruled in favor of Apple Computer,^[8] with Justice Mann holding that "I find no breach of the trademark agreement has been demonstrated^[9]."^[10]

The Judge focused on section 4.3 of that agreement:

4.3 The parties acknowledge that certain goods and services within the Apple Computer Field of Use are capable of delivering content within the Apple Corps Field of Use. In such case, even though Apple Corps shall have the exclusive right to use or authorize others to use the Apple Corps Marks on or in connection with content within subsection 1.3(i) or (ii) [the Apple Corps catalog and any future music], Apple Computers shall have the exclusive right to use or authorize others to use the Apple Computer Marks on or in connection with goods or services within subsection 1.2 [Apple Computer Field of Use] (such as software, hardware or broadcasting services) used to reproduce, run, play or otherwise deliver such content provided it shall not use or authorize others to use the Apple Computer Marks on or in connection with physical media delivering pre-recorded content within subsection 1.3(i) or (ii) (such as a compact disc of the Rolling Stones music)^[9].

The Judge held Apple Computer's use was covered under this clause.

In response, Neil Aspinall, manager of Apple Corps, indicated that the company did not accept the decision: "With great respect to the trial judge, we consider he has reached the wrong conclusion," and announced that it would "be filing an appeal and putting the case again to the Court of Appeal." The judgment orders Apple Corps to pay Apple Computer's legal costs at an estimated £2m, but pending the appeal the judge declined Apple Computer's request for an interim payment of £1.5m.^[11]

Despite the decision, plans have been announced by Neil Aspinall to completely remaster and release the entire Beatles catalogue on unspecified online music services, as well as to release some previously unheard work by the band. No firm date has been set for this as yet.^[12]

[edit]2007

Wikinews has related news:

Apple Inc., Apple Corps resolve trademark dispute

There was a hint that relations between the companies were improving at the January 2007 Macworld conference, whenApple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs featured Beatles content heavily in his keynote presentation and demonstration of theiPhone. Speculation abounds that the much anticipated music of the Beatles will finally be coming to the iTunes Store.

On February 5, 2007, Apple Inc. and Apple Corps announced a settlement of their trademark dispute under which Apple Inc. will own all of the trademarks related to “Apple” and will license certain of those trademarks back to Apple Corps for their continued use. The settlement ends the ongoing trademark lawsuit between the companies, with each party bearing its own legal costs, and Apple Inc. will continue using its name and logos on iTunes. The settlement includes terms that are confidential. ^[13]

Commenting on the settlement, Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO said, “We love the Beatles, and it has been painful being at odds with them over these trademarks. It feels great to resolve this in a positive manner, and in a way that should remove the potential of further disagreements in the future.”

Commenting on the settlement on behalf of the shareholders of Apple Corps, Neil Aspinall, manager of Apple Corps said, “It is great to put this dispute behind us and move on. The years ahead are going to be very exciting times for us. We wish Apple Inc. every success and look forward to many years of peaceful co-operation with them.”

An announcement in April 2007 that Apple Corps had settled another long-running dispute with EMI (and that Neil Aspinall had retired and been replaced by Jeff Jones) further fueled media speculation that The Beatles' catalogue would appear on iTunes.^[14]

In early September 2007, an Apple press release for the new iPod touch, related iPod updates and iPhone price cut was entitled "The Beat Goes On," the title of the Beatles' last press release before splitting up. Although Beatles content is still unavailable from the iTunes store, each Beatle's solo work can now be accessed and downloaded on this service. Paul McCartney revealed in Rolling Stone Magazine that their catalog would be released in Q1 2008

Hi apple lovers... its time for us to get your lovable mac products from the brand new "iStore" which is going to be started in India by Apple.inc... this was done with a collaboration with Reliance.. they r going to set iStores in 10 different places in India.. 

The basic idea is pretty simple -- when you place your finger or a stylus on the screen, it changes the state that the device is monitoring. In screens that rely on sound or light waves, your finger physically blocks or reflects some of the waves. Capacitive touch-screens use a layer of capacitive material to hold an electrical charge; touching the screen changes the amount of charge at a specific point of contact. In resistive screens, the pressure from your finger causes conductive and resistive layers of circuitry to touch each other, changing the circuits' resistance.

Most of the time, these systems are good at detecting the location of exactly one touch. If you try to touch the screen in several places at once, the results can be erratic. Some screens simply disregard all touches after the first one. Others can detect simultaneous touches, but their software can't calculate the location of each one accurately. There are several reasons for this, including:

• Many systems detect changes along an axis or in a specific direction instead of at each point on the screen.
• Some screens rely on system-wide averages to determine touch locations.
• Some systems take measurements by first establishing a baseline. When you touch the screen, you create a new baseline. Adding another touch causes the system to take a measurement using the wrong baseline as a starting point.

The Apple iPhone is different -- many of the elements of its multi-touch user interface require you to touch multiple points on the screen simultaneously. For example, you can zoom in to Web pages or pictures by placing your thumb and finger on the screen and spreading them apart. To zoom back out, you can pinch your thumb and finger together. The iPhone's touch screen is able to respond to both touch points and their movements simultaneously. We'll look at exactly how the iPhone does this in the next section.

Multi-touch Systems

To allow people to use touch commands that require multiple fingers, the iPhone uses a new arrangement of existing technology. Its touch-sensitive screen includes a layer of capacitive material, just like many other touch-screens. However, the iPhone's capacitors are arranged according to a coordinate system. Its circuitry can sense changes at each point along the grid. In other words, every point on the grid generates its own signal when touched and relays that signal to the iPhone's processor. This allows the phone to determine the location and movement of simultaneous touches in multiple locations. Because of its reliance on this capacitive material, the iPhone works only if you touch it with your fingertip -- it won't work if you use a stylus or wear non-conductive gloves.

A mutual capacitance touch-screen contains a grid of sensing lines and driving lines to determine where the user is touching.

A self capacitance screen contains sensing circuits  and electrodes to determine where a user is touching.

The iPhone's screen detects touch through one of two methods: Mutual capacitance or self capacitance. In mutual capacitance, the capacitive circuitry requires two distinct layers of material. One houses driving lines, which carry current, and other houses sensing lines, which detect the current at nodes. Self capacitance uses one layer of individual electrodes connected with capacitance-sensing circuitry.

Interpreting Touch-location Data

The iPhone's processor and software are central to correctly interpreting input from the touch-screen. The capacitive material sends raw touch-location data to the iPhone's processor. The processor uses software located in the iPhone's memory to interpret the raw data as commands andgestures. Here's what happens:

1. Signals travel from the touch screen to the processor as electrical impulses.
2. The processor uses software to analyze the data and determine the features of each touch. This includes size, shape and location of the affected area on the screen. If necessary, the processor arranges touches with similar features into groups. If you move your finger, the processor calculates the difference between the starting point and ending point of your touch.

3. The processor uses its gesture-interpretation software to determine which gesture you made. It combines your physical movement with information about which application you were using and what the application was doing when you touched the screen.
4. The processor relays your instructions to the program in use. If necessary, it also sends commands to the iPhone's screen and other hardware. If the raw data doesn't match any applicable gestures or commands, the iPhone disregards it as an extraneous touch.

All these steps happen in an instant -- you see changes in the screen based on your input almost instantly. This process allows you to access and use all of the iPhone's applications with your fingers. We'll look at these programs and the iPhone's other features in more detail in the next section, as well as how the iPhone's cost measures up to its abilities.Both of these possible setups send touch data as electrical impulses.

Liverpool vs Inter milan

UEFA Champions League 2007/2008

:: Goals ::

Dirk Kuyt 1-0

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Steven Gerrard 2-0

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Real madrid vs Roma

0-1 Raul
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1-1 Pizarro
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The first version of Microsoft Windows hit the market in 1983. But unlike today's versions of Windows, Windows 1.0 was not an operating system (OS). It was a graphical user interface that worked with an existing OS called MS-DOS. Version 1.0 didn't look much like newer versions, either -- not even Windows 3.0, which many people think of as the first real version of Windows. Its graphics were simpler and used fewer colors than today's user interfaces, and its windows could not overlap.

Photo courtesy © 2006 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Microsoft's newest version of its operating system is Windows Vista. For many users, upgrading to Vista won't seem as dramatic as the upgrade from 3.1 to Windows 95. But Windows Vista has a number of new features, both in the parts that you can see and the parts that you can't.

At its core, Windows Vista is still an operating system. It has two primary behind-the-scenes jobs:

• Managing hardware and software resources, including the processor, memory, storage and additional devices
• Allowing programs to work with the computer's hardware
• If all goes well, this work is usually invisible to the user, but it's essential to the computer's operation. You can learn about these tasks in more detail in How Operating Systems Work.

  But when many people think of operating systems, they think of the portion they can see -- the graphical user interface (GUI). The GUI is what people use to interact with the hardware and software on the computer. In Windows systems, features like the Start menu, the recycle bin and the visual representations of files and folders are all part of the GUI.

  Windows Vista's GUI is a 3-D interface called Windows Aero. Of the four editions of Windows Vista, three -- Home Premium, Business and Ultimate -- support Windows Aero. Home Basic, the most scaled-down edition of the OS, uses a less graphics-intensive GUI instead of Aero. The other editions can also use this basic GUI, so people with older computers that can't support lots of 3-D graphics can still upgrade to Vista.

  We'll take a closer look at the Aero GUI and other Vista features next.

• Windows Vista: Aero

  In some ways, Windows Aero is similar to recent versions of the Windows GUI, like the one used in Windows XP. Aero organizes information in on-screen windows and uses icons to represent files, folders and applications. But Aero also has several features that you can think of as upgrades to the Windows XP GUI. Its windows are three-dimensional objects that you can move and adjust in any direction. Aero Glass makes the borders of each window translucent so you can see the desktop or other windows behind it. Microsoft asserts that the clear border lets you focus on your work instead of on your interface [Source: Microsoft].

  Photo courtesy © 2006 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Aero Glass

  Vista also replaces the simple, static icons that represent many files in older Windows GUIs with more elaborate Live Icons. Live Icons give you up-to-date thumbnail previews of each file. When you look at a document's Live Icon, you see what the document actually looks like rather than seeing an icon for the program that created it. You can also look at the contents of files before opening them by using the Explorer preview pane.

  Similar thumbnails also replace the icons you see when you use the "alt" and "tab" keys to move through open windows. Aero's more basic version of "alt + tab," called Flip, lets you choose from 2-D thumbnail previews on a menu bar. Another feature, Flip 3D, lets you choose from three-dimensional, moving thumbnails rather than 2-D images. In addition, if you hover your mouse over items on your taskbar, you'll see 2-D thumbnails of each window instead of text listing the applications and filenames.

  Photo courtesy © 2006 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Flip 3D

  Many elements of the Aero GUI, including the Start menu and the windows themselves, incorporate new search capabilities. While a computer is running, Vista scans the disc drive for changes and maintains a running index of its files. You can search this index from multiple locations within the GUI. For example, rather than moving your mouse through a series of cascading windows in the Start menu, you can simply type in the program or file you're looking for. You can also create search folders -- saved searches that you can return to when you need to find particular files or folders. Adding metadata, or tags, to your files can make these searches more efficient. When you search for a file, the computer examines filenames, tags and document contents to find relevant results.

  
  Photo courtesy © 2006 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
  The Start search menu
• In addition to the GUI, Vista comes with several new applications. Different versions include different features, but here's a sample of what's new:
• Sidebar allows you to access mini-applications called Gadgets. Sidebar is similar to Konfabulator or Macintosh OS X's Dashboard, which call their mini-applications Widgets.
• Meeting Space is a teleconferencing program for small groups of Vista users.
• Speech Recognition lets users control their computers and create documents using their voices. Vista has a speech-activated user interface as well as a general voice dictation application.
• Windows Mail replaces Outlook Express for home users and includes anti-phishing tools.
• Windows Calendar, also for home users, is an interactive calendar application. In addition to allowing users to keep track of appointments, it can be used to send e-mail invitations to events.

Photo courtesy © 2006 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Sidebar

Vista also has a few new tools intended to improve performance:

• SuperFetch pre-loads frequently-used applications into the memory so they can start up faster.
• ReadyBoost lets people add RAM to their system with a USB thumb drive.
• Sleep lets you quickly resume working by storing files that are currently in use. On desktop computers, these files are saved in the computer's RAM and on the hard drive. On laptop computers, the files are saved to the hard drive only when the battery power wanes.

Because of its new features, particularly its 3-D GUI, Vista has different hardware requirements than previous versions of the OS. We'll look at these requirements and explore how Vista creates the 3-D desktop next.

Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard is Apple's first major operating system upgrade since Tiger more than two years ago. The changes include more than 300 new features, which, while not earth-shattering, further streamline the experience of using a Mac

Should you pay for Leopard? If you're happy with the way Tiger works, then maybe not. If you need Bootcamp, however, then you must have Leopard. And if you're considering the purchase of a new computer, Leopard makes Macs more enticing than Tiger did. Plus, Leopard makes it far easier to find documents and applications than Windows Vista. Leopard's interface niceties made the daily mechanics of using the computer more pleasurable. Mundane chores, such as finding files and backing up data, become a visual treat (See our photo gallery of screenshots.)

Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard costs $129 out of the box, or $199 for up to five users. Those who bought Macs after October 1 must pay $9.95 to have Leopard shipped to them.

Setup and installation
It took us about 40 minutes to install Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard on an Intel-based MacBook. That's a bit longer than it took to install than Windows Vista, but not by much. However, installation didn't run so smoothly on some systems. Leopard took a painfully long hour or so to install on an iBook G4, the 933 Mhz processor just grazing the minimum requirements.

You should proceed carefully when migrating the files and applications you'll need. Apple steps you through the process, but take your time to avoid overwriting valuable data. Leopard changed the personal desktop image during one migration from Tiger, while leaving the desktop photo alone in other cases. After installing Leopard on MacBook Pro 2.33 Core 2 Duo with 2GB of RAM, there were problems with various applications, including Parallels and GroupCal.

Leopard ran bug-free on a 2Ghz Core 2 Duo Macbook. Some users, however, reported the fabled "blue screen of death" historically associated with Microsoft Windows; Apple addressed the issue.

To run Leopard, you'll need an Intel or PowerPC G5 Mac. A PowerPC-based G4 Mac with an 867MHz or better processor will work, as well. Apple suggests having 512MB of RAM. Additionally, you'll need a USB or FireWire external backup drive (or a file-sharing volume on a network) to use Time Machine. Features on iChat require a Webcam.

Interface
The new look and feel of Leopard is different without demanding that you relearn the layout. The Dock organizing applications and files becomes a bit more transparent. Bump it over to one side, and the Dock looks a bit flatter. A drop shadow now highlights the active window, and all windows share a unified visual design.

Click on an icon on the Dock and related items fan out in the order you last accessed them. New Stacks help to unclutter your desktop by showing icons of items in the order they were last accessed. This is especially helpful for keeping downloads in one place, although you can't resize the icons. If the Stack is packed with items, you can display them as a grid.

The souped-up Finder introduces a sidebar that allows you to rearrange items in the Places section, while Search For submenus can locate files based on type and when you last worked on them. Click on Today, for instance, and you'll see everything you've touched lately in chronological order. If you work on a network, checking out another person's desktop starts with the simple Share Screen option.

Spotlight scours through files in shared folders on a network, as well as within Safari's Web History (which you should regularly dump to fend off snoops). It gets smarter, reading "Not" and "Or," dates and phrases, and even serving as a calculator for trig equations.

Many new design elements reflect what you've already seen in iTunes and iPhone. Cover Flow, for instance, shuffles through folders as you hold down an arrow key. This makes perfect sense for browsing files. Plus, you can peek at most documents instantly. Quick Look provides previews that can pop up files from iWork, iLife, Microsoft Office, PDFs, as well as popular image and video formats. In each instance appear relevant options, such as Full Screen view or Add to iPhoto. Select several files, double-click them, and you've got a custom slide show.

In addition to making it easier to find your work, interface additions are intended to make multitasking less stressful. Virtual desktops, called Spaces, cluster open windows into categories or boxes. This can cut the number of windows you may otherwise stack around your desktop, especially helpful for tiny monitors. For example, you could move everything you need to edit a vacation video into one space, and in another Space place the files and apps needed to write a dissertation. Spaces were a cinch to set up (such as drawing a chart in a word processor), but a tad awkward for us to master until we learned the keyboard shortcuts. You can also use the mouse to drag items between Spaces, and to drag the Spaces themselves around.

Features
If you rarely back up your work because the process is too boring or confusing, Time Machine is likely to change that. The spaced-out interface is about as sexy as backup can get, displaying a dynamic timeline alongside snapshots of selected folders and files throughout their history. To restore a file you lost, just go to an earlier time, click the Restore button, and you'll zoom back to your present Desktop. For a current period of 24 hours, Time Machine backs up automatically every hour. It backs up each day for the past month and each week for content updated earlier than that.

Time Machine immediately detected our external hard drive via two USB ports and we started backing up within a few minutes. You cannot back up to your Mac's hard drive. You can check out the drives of fellow Leopard users with Time Machine, too. However, Apple doesn't offer password-protection and encryption options upfront showing you how to lock that drive from curious outsiders. Only longtime Mac users are likely to know to explore such options within Leopard's Security settings.

iChat lets you and Leopard-using buddies share files and control each others' desktops, expanding the tool's potential professional use. And you can record iChat sessions as AAC audio or MPEG video files ready for an iPod, which is a great feature for podcasters.

iChat Theater's silly effects can distort your face like you're looking in a fun-house mirror. Green-screen backgrounds within iChat Theater let your talking head appear in a video conference in front of, say, included images of the moon or your own pictures. (We still wish the "Star Wars R2D2" theme were included.) Other chat buddies can see these, whether they're using an older iteration of OS X or they're using AIM on a Windows PC. iChat enables you to share files as you gab via video, so you and a friend can watch the same movie clip or flip through the same PowerPoint presentation. Photo Booth integrates with iChat, letting you record videos and show off full-screen slide shows.

Mac's new Mail application integrates rich note-taking into e-mail. These notes can serve as scrapbooks containing images. Some 32 e-mail templates enable you to drop in pictures and resize them with a built-in photo browser. Mail's RSS feeds tie into those in Safari. The e-mail application also detects addresses for mapping via Google, as well as contacts for a quick save. Natural language capabilities, similar to those within Gmail, recognize phrases such as "next Saturday" for scheduling. Changes are synchronized between Mail and iCal. Setting up Mail is less complicated than Outlook, and it works with accounts from 27 services, including Yahoo, AOL, and Gmail.

However, we wish we could access RSS feeds from Mail without signing into our e-mail account. We encountered delays with several different Gmail accounts. In one case, the most current Gmail message that loaded in Mail--15 minutes after we had logged in--was from December 2006. We kept leaning on the Get Mail button for an unsatisfactory, slow and incomplete refresh.

Finally, the Safari browser default is tabbed without making you turn on the feature. Safari's cool new Web Clips tool lets you turn any snippet from a Web page into a widget for your Dashboard. Potential plug-ins from third parties that would be nice to have already include the Web Clips feature for the popular Mozilla Firefox browser.

Leopard offers many tie-ins to Web-based content (see the Webware video). Among them is Wikipedia as a new companion to the Dictionary. Although you can access the open-source encyclopedia from the Desktop, no entries are saved locally.

Geotagging is a cool addition to Leopard, enabling you to tie photos to latitude and longitude through built-in GPS on digital cameras so you can put picture galleries on a map.

Leopard offers 17 new features. There's support for Braille output devices as well as contracted and non-contracted Braille. It's the first operating system that can use a Braille display during installation. VoiceOver makes it easier to jump to sections on a Web page, and its preferences can be transported to other Macs. However, for people with repetitive stress injuries, Leopard supports voice-activated commands only--not dictation.

There are updates to less glamorous elements such as Automator and Dashcode, and Network Preferences has been streamlined. Developers can enjoy full 64-bit support, and get to tinker with fun extras, which we wish were integrated already within iChat Theater. ColorSync reads EXIF sRGB data from cameras, and there's support for connecting more cameras via cable or Wi-Fi, and for other gadgets via Bluetooth.
Security
More firewall controls are among several security enhancements to Leopard. Yet the firewall isn't turned on by default, and we consider it vulnerable to outside threats. To fend off Trojans and spoofing attempts, you'll be grilled more when downloading materials. A mechanism called Sandboxing is supposed to prevent potential external threats from hijacking your applications. Parental controls are now featured more prominently in the System and offer content filters, time limits, and Internet activity loggers to keep tabs on young Web surfers.

Performance
We saw only a 1 percent to 3 percent improvement with Leopard over Tiger on our performance tests. As this falls within our typical margin of error (5 percent), we saw no significant difference with application performance when moving from Tiger to Leopard.

We were unable to complete our Photoshop CS3 test because our automation routine tests, which typically run fine under Tiger, had problems with Leopard. Adobe's Web site indicates that Photoshop CS3 should be compatible with Leopard--other than the automation snafu, Photoshop CS3 appears to operate normally.

This underlies the point that some applications might not be 100 percent compatible yet with Leopard. For instance, Adobe is rolling out updates to various CS3 image, video and audio editing applications within the next four months. FileMaker is warning users of FileMaker Pro 9 that there are some compatibility problems with Leopard. However, FileMaker expects to have an update available by November 19.

Service and support
Support options remain the same as in the Tiger version. You get 90 days of help free by telephone, as with other products from Apple. Phone support thereafter costs $49 per incident. AppleCare support lasts a year after you buy Leopard. For extra peace of mind, you should consider extended warranties.

Apple also tweaked the Help menus within OS X 10.5. These are arranged well, although they didn't always provide an instant answer. Many items are better explained on Apple's Web site via message boards, user forums, and a well-organized knowledge base.



The Time Machine shows selected applications, pictures, documents, and other items as they appeared throughout their history. If you find a lost file, just click the Restore button to return it to your present Desktop. You can even select your in-box in Mail and use Time Machine to show what was in the in-box at various times in the past.

During his Macworld Expo keynote address on Tuesday morning, Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduced the MacBook Air, a computer that the company billed as the world's thinnest notebook -- small enough to fit inside an interoffice mailing envelope. It's priced starting at $1,799 and will be available within two weeks.

Sporting a silvery finish, the MacBook Air features a 13.3-inch LED-backlit widescreen display that has a 1280 x 800 pixel resolution. The backlighting saves power and provides "instant on" response from the moment you turn it on, according to Jobs. The device has a slightly wedge-shaped profile. It weighs about 3 pounds, and sports a thickness of 0.16-0.76 inches. It's 12.8 inches wide and 8.95 inches deep.


The MacBook Air also features a built-in iSight webcam and a full sized MacBook-style black keyboard. The keyboard is backlit, similar to MacBook Pros, and has an ambient light sensor that automatically adjusts brightness. The trackpad is also capable of recognizing multi-touch gestures, similar to using an iPhone or iPod touch. As a result, the MacBook Air's trackpad is disproportionately large, compared to the size of trackpads found on the MacBook or MacBook Pro.

The MacBook Air features a 1.8-inch hard disk drive with 80GB of storage capacity standard. A 64GB solid-state disk (SSD) drive is an option. The hard drive is a Parallel ATA (PATA) model that operates at 4200 RPM.

The laptop is powered by an Intel Core 2 Duo chip running at 1.6GHz, with 1.8GHz available as an option. Jobs noted that Intel was willing to engineer a new version of the Core 2 Duo specifically to Apple's specifications -- it's 60 percent smaller than others. The chip operates with 4MB of on-chip shared L2 cache running at full processor speed, and uses an 800MHz frontside bus. 2GB of 667MH DDR2 SDRAM is also included.

Like the MacBook and the MacBook Pro, the MacBook Air features a slimmed down MagSafe connector for power. It comes with a 45 watt power adapter. A flip-down door on one side reveals USB 2.0, Micro-DVI (to connect an external display) and a headphone jack. The MacBook Air also includes 802.11n-based wireless networking support and Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR.

Apple estimates that with wireless networking turned on, the MacBook Air can get about 5 hours of battery life.

No internal optical drive is included, but Apple will offer a $99 USB 2.0-based add-on SuperDrive for users who need it. For users that opt not to get the optical drive, Apple is offering a new software feature on this machine called Remote Disk; it enables you to "borrow" the optical drive of another Mac or PC on the same network as the MacBook Air, to use for installing software, for example.

Apple's frequently been in the crosshairs of environmental group Greenpeace in recent years. Jobs offered information about the environmental goals behind the MacBook Air -- it has a fully recyclable aluminum case, and is "the first" to have a mercury-free display with arsenic-free glass. All the circuit boards are BFR-free and PVC-free, and the retail packaging uses 56 percent less material than the MacBook packaging.