Remove driver leftovers with Driver Sweeper!
A long time ago I had DriverCleaner, a tool to remove certain driver leftovers! Lately I've had to battle with some odd issues about my graphic card driver leftovers. They just won't delete. I wanted a clean de-installation because some games started to act up.
So I set out to look for a modern and up-to-date (and possibly free!) alternative to DriverCleaner and I came across Guru 3D's Driver Sweeper. I recommend this application! It's up-to-date (latest 23.07.2009) and deletes everything (as far as I can see, it resolved my issues at least).
Drive Sweeper deletes ATI (Display), NVIDIA (Display and Chipset), Ageia (PhysX), Creative (Sound), MMouse (whatever that is) and Realtek (Sound) drivers. I wanted it to delete my ATI driver leftovers.
According to Guru3D it also runs on any modern Windows system including Win7:
System requirements:
The Guru3D - Driver Sweeper is fully tested on Windows 2000, XP, Vista and Windows & 7 RC. Both 32-bit and 64-bit versions are supported.
The absolutely best and sure way to delete anything is first to uninstall it via its official Uninstaller, then reboot your system into Safe Mode and fire up Driver Sweeper. Skiping Safe Mode also works but some files might not get deleted in the process.
Using Firefox 3.x? Speed it up by vacuuming its SQLite database!
Recently I stumbled onto some tips how to speed up ones Firefox. Firefox, since the version 3, uses a SQLite database for various tasks such as storing bookmarks, histories, site specific preferences and backups.
Over time it's get filled up with unnecessary and old info if you want, and there's a simple method to ditch those useless info and speed up your Firefox considerably, or like most of the guides say to "vacuum" it.
Use it once in a while, I've seen an improvement on my Firefox since I used it.
- Go to "Tools" -> "Error Console"
- Paste this in the "Code" text box:
Components.classes["@mozilla.org/browser/nav-history-service;1"].getService(Components.interfaces.nsPIPlacesDatabase).DBConnection.executeSimpleSQL("VACUUM"); - Press enter or click "evaluate"
- Your Firefox will freeze for a short time, just wait
- Enjoy your speed up Firefox!
Differences in Windows 7 versions & CPU list supporting Win XP Mode!
I've been looking and looking and looking until I finally found a neat, compact table showing the differences between each Windows 7 version. I think I'll go for Ultimate.
Voilá!
Reading the beta testers reviews and various blogs, Windows 7 seems to be THE true sequel to Windows XP. Vista was a disaster (I'm not going into detail with this one), to be honest. Thank god my friend had the Ultimate and I could borrow and test it before wasting my money. It was absolutely horrible to have Vista running.
The biggest plus for Windows 7 is the so called XP Emulation. Win XP Applications which normally wouldn't run under Vista because they ain't programmed for it, WILL run on Windows 7 even if they are not programmed for Windows 7 because Win 7 will emulate a Win XP Mode. This way you can run you beloved Apps without fear.
The downside is the feature is CPU depended. Meaning old CPU's who don't support it won't be able to run the Win XP Mode. According to Tom's Hardware, those Intel CPUs will be able to run the Win XP Mode. Another downside is its huge resources demand. For the Win XP Virtual Mode 2GB are the minimum.
According to AMD, those CPUs will be able to handle Win XP Mode:
"With the exceptions of Sempron-branded processors and pre-Rev F Athlon branded processors, all of the desktop processors shipped by AMD include AMD-V and therefore support Windows 7 in XP mode."
"Also, all AMD Opteron processors shipped by AMD from Rev F forward include AMD-V."
If you are still not sure and don't believe me, check your CPU by yourself.
Edit: Found another tool, Microsoft® Hardware-Assisted Virtualization Detection Tool.
Champions Online Beta Screenshots [and a small review]!
Today is the day Champions Online goes to Open Beta. With this happening the NDA also goes down.
I was in the closed beta, and I made a lot of screenshots during that time.
Ladies, Geeks, Nerds and Gentlemen, I present you
Champions Online Beta Screenshots
This was my main superhero, a Soviet Union Dr.Who, from 1 to 40, I'm gonna miss him (closed beta to open beta transition included complete character wipe).
In Soviet Millennium City, Dr.Who salutes you!
At level 25 you had the possibility to create your own arch-nemesis. The arch-nemesis was another way to introduce content. You'll get to fight your arch-nemesis and foil his or her evil master plans. Dr. Who's arch-nemesis was Prof. Koninchewisz, a female half-cyborg mad scientist:
[Addendum]
I've been asked via email what my opinion is about Champions Online. Well, CO has potential, but in it's current state (I left when it went Open Beta) it is not worth my money. Here's why:
Power Unbalance:
There are powers that pretty much dominate everything, and powers that have been "nerfed" into oblivion because they were to powerful, i.e. useless powers.
Bear in mind it might have changed since Open Beta, but it was frustrating to see drain life being completely useless after it was way too powerful. Same goes for Concussion Beam. Lately I've heard the took the "nerf bat" to the travel powers. I can't figure out how this has affected PVE, but I surely can understand it from the PvP perspective.
Cryptic is doing it the wrong way, in my opinion. Seeing that a power is too good in PvP it has to be toned down, which in turn can become totally useless in PvE. They need to look at both perspectives, not only one. But that's just me.
Lack of End-content:
People will tell you about Unity and Omega. Well, about Unity. You get to do 5 (6?) daily missions, which are solo-able, after you turn them in you get a daily group mission to do. Keyword "DAILY", once a day.
Omega is supposed to be raiding, which I couldn't experience in my closed beta time due lack of people who were equally interested. So I can't talk about Omega.
But that pretty much is. There's not a whole lot to do, yet. Cryptic of course will deliver content continually in the future, let's hope it'll be good. Still I can't figure out what to do once you hit 40, did ALL your low-level and remaining quests, and your daily Unity. Omega? That's it? Start another character? Yet another character?
Micro-transactions:
I loathe micro-transactions. I can't stand them. Although they will be "optional" and "mostly" "asthetic" it's been said, that IF and WHEN people can buy "game changing" stuff via micro-transactions this stuff WILL be available to everybody. Meaning you don't have to buy it, you can earn it in-game (investing a whole lot more time I'd guess).
This is usually a deal breaker for me because this WILL encourage a mentality like this "Why the heck would I grind, and grind, and grind for days, if I can just ditch out 10 buck?" among other things.
Just to clear it up: Champions Online will cost you a monthly fee on top of that you can optionally buy stuff via micro-transactions.
That being said, this game has a potential to be THE superheroes MMO. I hope it flourishes! I love superheroes games. I'll take a look at Champions Online at a much later time again.
Remember, remember the fifth of November!
I just finished watching "V for Vendetta" (again) in 720p HD , still an amazing movie. I can only recommend it. There are two things which I pretty much liked more than the whole movie. The first was the the scene before the first explosion in which V was reciting the following:
Remember, remember the Fifth of November,
The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,
I know of no reason
Why the Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.
Now this was the short version, the full version reads like this
Remember, remember the Fifth of November,
The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,
I know of no reason
Why the Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, t'was his intent
To blow up the King and Parli'ment.
Three-score barrels of powder below
To prove old England's overthrow;
By God's providence he was catch'd
With a dark lantern and burning match.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, let the bells ring.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, God save the King!
The poem is about the famous failed Gunpowder Plot in 1605, in which Catholics tried to blown up the Parliament with King James I of England and VI of Scotland, his family and most of the Protestant aristocracy inside it.
I love poems recited in movies when and if they are fitting the moment. Which is also why I love the one scene with Captain James T. Kirk where he recites Hamlet to Q ("What a piece of work is man..").
The other scene I loved is where V introduced himself to Evey:
Voilà!
In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of fate.
This visage, no mere veneer of vanity is a vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished.
However, this valorous visitation of a bygone vexation stands vivified and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin vanguarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition.
The only verdict is vengeance, a vendetta held as a votive not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous.
Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose.
So let me simply add that it's my very good honor to meet you and you may call me V.
In a nutshell "V for Vendetta" is about a totalitarian governed Great Britain by the right-wing fascist Norsefire party. V, the movie protagonist, is an anarchist whose only goal is the total abolishment of the totalitarian government and and the death of former detention camp employees by any means necessary.
Improve your search results with Google’s new Caffeine Sandbox!
A few days ago, Google released a new search engine infrastructure. Although you'll see nothing on the surface, because according to Google it operates "under the hood".
Yet deep down it DOES work differently and it most certainly delivers the promised improved search speed and better search results.
What does better mean? Well that's up to everybodys point of view, for me at least the newly structured search results are in fact way better structured than the old ones.
So without further ado, go on and test the new infrastructure: http://www2.sandbox.google.com
PS: Since it's in beta testing stage expect the new search engine to be down occasionally!
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