Consumed Consumer . org

Though due to receive updates until April 2014 and still in use by many people, Windows XP did not receive patches for the latest bugs, even though Vista, Server 2003 and 2008 have received them.

Continuing my SSD saga with windows installation. For what is worth, I have original Windows licenses with COA for all the new computers and laptops I purchased plus I even purchased and additional Windows license from DigitalRiver, as a student, for about $39. Unfortunately, that license was supposed to be for Windows Professional, as I ordered and was instead for Windows Home, which although at the same price point, lacked important functionality. I tried to contact the reseller to get the problem rectified but that was not possible (no response). Needless to say, I’m not as happy as one could be.

After installing Windows, I started playing with it extensively. These are the voyages of the Windows 10 Technical Evaluation, its continuing mission to explore strange new apps and computing paradigms, to seek out better GUIs, to boldly go where no stylus pen has gone before. In this article we will look at partitioning for dual boot with Linux and the very first impressions.

After our salute dedicated to Microsoft Windows 7 milestone, it is only natural to repeat our welcome to Windows 8 RTM and answer the burning question “where can I get the ISO?” .

We recently needed an older computer and discovered we had forgotten a login password. Our development server for designing and testing a website will most likely reside on an older laptop running in dual boot with Windows XP SP 3 and Backtrack Linux 5.

One of the most annoying "features" in Windows is the "Compressed Folders" feature, where Zip files are displayed as folders. While this may be nice for some, most users accumulate a large number of zip files in a folder, making it unviewable in Windows Explorer. We look at how to get rid of it.

I am quite happy with Windows 7 Home Premium. However, I sometimes have to leave the computer on and unattended and would not want it to restart, especially if it's rendering a movie.

I recently got another used laptop off eBay. It came without an OS so I was going to install Linux, but seeing that Windows 10 has just become available for download, I decided to give it a try and install Linux alongside, in dual boot. First, let us look at downloading the ISO, comparing the 3 possibilities: NetSession, Direct and BitTorrent. This article represents my pre-install research – the install experience and tips coming up soon.

I recently went to the trouble of installing Metasploit Framework (MSF) on a few devices (Android smartphone, Windows laptop, Kali on multiboot), with various degrees of success. My experiences may be helpful for others attempting the same, as well as for me, so that I can finish it later.

One of the most annoying "features" of windows is undoubtedly the zip folder feature - for those of us who prefer to use a full featured archiver program.

One of the features designed to help beginners that ends up annoying the hell out of anyone else is the Windows Update "Restart your computer now?" nag. We look at a few ways to stop it.

There are many ways to recover mistakenly deleted files. Most OSs provide some kind of trash function or "Recycle Bin", which allows you to very easily undelete files. There are, however, situations when that is not possible.

Over the years, I tried many hardware solutions to bring “convergence” to the PC desktop, but I found most implementations to be flawed one way or another. The new contender from Silicon Dust seems to be the perfect solution.

I purchased my gaming laptop ( .ca ) in a hurry, at a time when many others were buying theirs, and was unable to get all that I wanted. Compromises had to be made. But this past December, I took the plunge and upgraded the memory and the hard drive (which was already quite fast, but a little too small).

I have Windows 10 Enterprise Tech Preview on a "slow release" schedule. However, after each upgrade, I am forced to go through the same activation error: 0x8007007B. Here's how it went last time I fixed it.

We’ve recently learned about Codeweavers’ amazing giveaway. The make a program that allows you to use 99% of all Windows applications without installing Windows. That includes Microsoft Office applications, but also games. And they’ve combined the giveaway with a political message :)

I was hit - for the nth time - with the now familiar face of MSN Messenger in my tray at a system start-up. I've decided to document my uninstall efforts this time, to reduce the chances of the nightmare reoccurring.

Finding myself stuck with some outdated Linux distributions on an older Toshiba tablet hybrid (without DVD or CD-ROM drive), I decided to upgrade it to a more modern and useful distribution.

I recently found myself needing to record the sound coming from a program such as a VOIP or SIP client. Unlike Windows, which has specialized apps to record any and all sound output, in linux you have to work a bit harder.

I recently bit the bullet and tried to set up my PAP with a VOIP service with my Cisco / Linksys PAP2T. Here's how it went.