I finally got around to upgrading my partner's Windows Vista laptop at the weekend, and it turned out to be quite a drawn-out process and much more involved than I had anticipated. If Vista throws up this many problems with an in-place upgrade, it's no wonder that Microsoft decided that an upgrade path from XP wasn't worth contemplating.

The upgrade accounted for pretty much all of Sunday afternoon and evening, taking in the region of eight hours from start to finish. With hindsight, a clean install would have been a better option, but the laptop had a number of applications such as Microsoft Office that have been personalised with various settings and options, and it seemed that an in-place upgrade was the way to proceed.

The first thing I did was to backup all documents and files to a network share, as The Boss would not have been impressed if anything had gone wrong and resulted in the loss of any of her work.

Secondly, I downloaded and ran the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor from Microsoft's website to get some idea of any problems that might be lurking.

This turned out to be a useful tool, so I fully recommend it to anyone planning a similar upgrade. As well as confirming that the laptop (a HP Compaq Presario F500 series) met the minimum requirements for Windows 7, it identified one or two drivers that were not compatible with Windows 7 (see screenshot).

It also recommended removing several applications before the upgrade, including an old version of iTunes, Windows Live Messenger and the Windows Mobile Device Center.

Unfortunately, uninstalling one of the applications caused the laptop's DVD drive to stop working, which put a brake on the upgrade until I could fix it.

The problem was that the application had hooked into the DVD driver, and its uninstall routine had not removed the link. A quick web search provided me with a fix, which involved editing the Registry to remove any reference to the application from the DVD's entry.

With the DVD drive re-instated, I popped in the Windows 7 install disk and kicked off the setup. However, this performed its own compatibility check, which after an extended scan of the computer, threw up a new list of applications and drivers to remove.

One of the applications it identified was Skype, which wasn't actually installed on the laptop, and so caused some head scratching. It turned out the compatibility check had found a bundled Skype installer that HP must have pre-loaded onto the hard drive when the laptop was built.

After removing the new problems and a quick reboot, I re-started the install and waited...and waited...and waited. After copying and expanding the files needed for Windows 7, the installer than scanned for existing applications and files, and this is what really took up a lot of the time, as it eventually reached a grand total of 342,814 items!

Of course, the upgrade was only half complete, as after rebooting into Windows 7, the installer then had to import all the applications and files it had previously identified.

Just as I was about to retire to bed and leave the upgrade running overnight, the installation finished and Windows Vista was finally replaced with shiny new Windows 7, with no loss of data and all vital applications intact.

So far, The Boss is pleased with the upgrade, although she complains that it is still a little slow for her liking, but an improvement on Vista's interminable startup and shutdown times.

The upgrade was thus a success, but not without its share of hitches, and it makes me wonder how less tech-savvy users would cope with a similar scenario. And this was with a Vista laptop bought as new just a couple of years ago, not an ancient XP machine.

Posted by Daniel Robinson on October 28, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (7)

The new V3.co.uk download store is live and accessible now here or via the Shop navigation links across the main V3 site. The store lets you browse through popular software titles, make an online payment and receive an immediate download and serial code. You can have your software on your computer within minutes.

In addition to an improved look and feel, the new site offers a much wider range of software from leading vendors including Uniblue, Kaspersky, AVG, Paragon Software and Avira plus many more. Other key brands will follow shortly, so keep referring back to the store. The store also supports multiple currencies so international users can order products in their local currency, unlike many other software stores.

To support the launch of the new store we have several promotional offers including discounts on Laplink PCmover Windows 7 Upgrade Assistant, AVG AntiVirus 9, Kaspersky Internet Security 2010, as well as free full software applications from Ashampoo and Acebit.

To take advantage of additional weekly promotion codes to get even better discounts on software, sign up to the Software Downloads Weekly newsletter on V3.co.uk or via the newsletter link on the download store.

Posted by Madeline Bennett on October 27, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0)

RIM's recently announced BlackBerry Bold 2 updates (but does not replace) last year's Bold model, incorporating changes based on customer feedback regarding size and other aspects of the original device.

I was given a brief demo of the new Bold 2 - otherwise known as the Bold 9700 - which is slightly smaller and lighter than its predecessor and swaps the pearl trackball for a touchpad. It also features version 5.0 of the BlackBerry OS (recently introduced on the new Storm2 handset), and a slightly higher resolution 480 x 360 pixel display.

My first impression was that the Bold 2 seems noticeably smaller than the Bold, even though RIM has only shaved off a few millimetres all round, and it feels about the same size as one of the older Blackberry Curve models.

It looks like it would fit better in your pocket than the original Bold, and at 122 grams, is also less heavy to carry.

The other noticeable difference is the touchpad, which enables you to use some of the same gestures that are possible on the Storm2's touch screen, such as swipe, zoom and double-tap.

In practice, this means you can swipe your thumb across the touchpad to move from one open window to another. The touchpad also makes it easier to scroll quickly up and down through your messages much faster than was possible with the pearl trackball, which will please those business users who make heavy use of their BlackBerry for emails.

However, the Bold 2 has a very similar keyboard design to the Bold, with the oddly sculpted keys that some people (myself included) find more difficult to use than those of the BlackBerry Curve models.

Rob Orr, director of product management for RIM in EMEA, countered that users have a choice and can pick the keyboard that suits them. The original Bold will continue to be sold alongside the Bold 2, he added, because some users said they prefer a larger device.

Because it shares the updated OS 5.0 with the Storm2, the Bold 2 has the same enhanced web browser, which seemed pretty good for accessing standard web sites in the brief time I had available to try it out.

For corporate users, OS 5.0 also opens up access to the enhanced features of RIM's latest BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) 5.0 release, such as the ability to flag emails for follow up and access to Windows network file shares.

Like the Bold, the new model has Wi-Fi and GPS, but has double the Flash memory at 256MB.

Other notable features include a microSD card slot that can easily be accessed just by sliding the back cover down by a centimetre or so.

RIM also said that owners of existing BlackBerry devices will be able to get an upgrade to OS 5.0 sometime early next year.

Posted by Daniel Robinson on October 26, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Asus today held an event to showcase the various laptops, netbooks, desktops and all-in-one systems that are set to ship with Microsoft's new Windows 7 platform, once this is available later this week.

The UL series laptops feature a brushed aluminium cover and are claimed to have a battery life of up to 12 hours thanks to the latest Intel CULV processors.

Shown here is the Asus UnLimited (UL) series UL50AG with a 15.6in high-definition (1366x768) screen, which is set to ship with 64bit Windows 7 Home Premium and 4GB memory for £699.

The next photo shows the Eee Box EB1501, a compact mini desktop designed for home entertainment with Nvidia Ion graphics driving a high definition HDMI video output, 5.1 Surround sound speaker support, slot-loading DVD drive and dual-core Intel processor. It costs from £339.

Next is the Eee PC T91, a tiny netbook-style system with an 8.9in display, but which features a touch screen that can swivel around Tablet PC style to convert the system into a slate-mode system. This costs £409 for a system with 1GB memory and hybrid storage consisting of 16GB Flash SSD plus 16GB SD Card and a 30GB hard disk drive. The demo system was also running XP Home edition.

The Eee Top ET2002 and ET2203 are all-in-one multimedia touchscreen PCs with a 20in or 21.6in display respectively.

The ET2002 is based on a dual-core Atom 330 processor with DVD drive and 2GB memory for £559, while the ET2203 has a Core 2 Duo processor, Blu-ray and 4GB memory for £819. Both have surround sound.

Next, the Asus K70 is a no-frills laptop designed to provide multimedia performance and computing versatility without any extra fuss or additional cost, according to Asus. It has a 17.3in display and up to 4GB memory.

Finally, the Disney netbook is aimed at children and is very much the successor to earlier Asus Eee PC models with its 8.9in screen, Atom processor and XP Home. It comes in a choice of pink or blue designs for £299.

Posted by Daniel Robinson on October 20, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0)

The much-rumoured successor to the BlackBerry Storm will be available in the UK later this month from Vodafone, but I was given the chance of a quick demo today by RIM.

The Storm2 looks very similar to the original model, but its styling has been tweaked a little with contouring to make it more comfortable to hold, and the four keys (call, hangup, go back and BlackBerry key) have been moved onto the glass instead of being separate buttons below the screen.

But the biggest change is the display. The updated SurePress technology uses an electromechanical system to give tactile feedback, instead of the screen actually moving, as was the case on the original Storm. This should, hopefully, make the device more robust.

With the power off, the screen is obviously solid and unmoving. But when the Storm2 is active, pressing on the screen generates the sensation that it gives slightly then springs back.

When you press the screen, any control that your finger touches lights up, but is not activated until you press. Anyone used to other touch-screen phones might find this a little strange at first.

RIM maintains that the new system makes it easier and faster to type on the touch screen, but I found I kept hitting the wrong keys when thumb typing, so it possibly takes a bit of practice.

Fortunately, the new Storm2 is also the first Qwerty BlackBerry to come with auto correction, and users are encouraged to just bash away and "trust" the Storm2 to work out what they are typing, according to RIM.

Like the original Storm, you can use the device upright and get a SureType-style on-screen keyboard, or you can rotate it sideways, whereupon the display automatically changes to match, while the keyboard switches to a full Qwerty to make better use of the screen area.

One good thing about the new display is that it is multi-touch; you can hold down the shift key and press another one to access an upper case letter, just as you would on a physical keyboard.

Also new in the Storm2, all of the on-screen controls are active, so you can (for example) touch the Wi-Fi symbol to turn this function on, instead of having to hunt through the menus.

Other features I saw in the demo include markers that can be positioned by fingertip to mark the start and end of text to be copied and pasted, and a touch-activated search in the email window.

Here, touching the name on an email returns a list of all messages associated with the same name, while touching the subject shows just those messages in a particular email thread. The resulting messages are opened automatically, and you can jump from one to the next with a quick sideways flick on the screen.

Overall, the Storm2 looks like an improvement over the original, but from the brief hands-on, I would still prefer a BlackBerry with a real keyboard for heavy messaging work.

Posted by Daniel Robinson on October 15, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0)

What do home workers do for internet access when their fixed line broadband connection has been terminated prior or subsequent to a house move? Having been plunged into this situation several times over the past year or so, I decided to find out what the options are.

If a BT line is not already installed in the property, as was the case with me, it could take in excess of a month to get broadband fully up and running, and with many broadband providers - not just BT - requiring the line before they can supply a service, it's a not insignificant problem.

It also emerged recently that Virgin have had their own problems coping with the mountain of requests from disaffected BT users. Late shipment of wireless routers and a general inability to cope with demand on their part mean you could be in for a wait to be connected whatever option you decide to go with.

So, here's the long and short of it: unless you want to risk jumping on an unsecured network nearby you'll need to invest in a 3G dongle. Anecdotally I've heard the quality of these has improved significantly since they first burst onto the market, with all the major mobile network operators selling an extensive array of dongles, depending on how much data you're planning to transfer.

Now this is by no means an exhaustive test, merely my own experience, so yours may be a lot different. I tried one from Vodafone and one from O2. First up was Vodafone.

Extremely simple to set up, the stylish white and red dongle glows when in use, and provides a simple read out to check coverage. It's also got a control panel allowing detailed management of the device. Sadly, this was all a moot point because there was no coverage in my flat in central-ish London. I didn't imagine second floor flat of three in a residential street in SE1 would have coverage problems but there you go.

O2 fared better; easy to set up, manage and get running, with coverage adequate. Trying to remove and uninstall the O2 connection manager client once I'd done this little test, however, was another matter. It took a lot of head scratching and tinkering to achieve, but nice that O2 was so keen to stay on my laptop - marks for enthusiasm. The speed however was inconsistent, ranging from good to not much better than dial-up , and this was just sitting in my flat with 'excellent' or 'very good' signal strength

I'd say that mobile broadband is still something to use in tandem with fixed broadband, not as a replacement. Interestingly, as I was writing this up a new report from Broadband-expert.co.uk revealed download speeds are only 24 per cent of those advertised - 1.1Mbit/s compared with a pledged maximum of 4.5Mbit/s.

It's not great, but I'm sure it will get better. In the meantime, take a deep breath, and prepare to wait.

Posted by Phil Muncaster on October 10, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (2)

Google has extended its Search Options feature to mobile devices.

In a blog post the firm announced that it had added the ability to filter and refine search results on a handset in much the same way that users do when browsing the fixed web.

Google only announced the fixed web version of Search Options recently, rolling out the ability to drill down into search results within a certain time period or just in forum posts or reviews. All of these features are now offered in the mobile version of its search pages, on Android/iPhone/Palm WebOS devices.

Reza Ziaei, software engineer at the Google Mobile Team, said "Finding the exact information you need sometimes requires filtering and refining your search results... Today, we are making Search Options available on Android/iPhone/Palm WebOS devices so that you can slice and dice your mobile search results as well."

So far the service is only available in the US, but given the nature of the internet we would expect to see it over here some day soon...ish.

Posted by Madeline Bennett on October 8, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Much like ergonomic keyboards, trackballs tend to fall into a love or hate divide in the PC peripheral market.

Similarly, trackballs take some getting used to, especially when it comes to the finer levels on control, but most avid fans will tell you that once you're used to them they are a lot more accurate than a mouse, especially for drawing programs and the like.

At first glance the unit looks like quite a chunky device with a fairly large base and a big ball dropped into the centre, hardly living up to its name, but because it doesn't move around it still takes up less of your overall desk space than a mouse and mat.

Once you have the hang of it, the large ball makes the SlimBlade easy to use without having to spin the ball repeatedly when moving the cursor across the screen and, although users with very small hands may have some issues, someone with an average or large hand should find it very comfortable to use. Also left-handed users won't have any problems with it as it's completely symmetrical.

The SlimBlade packs in four buttons around the large central ball, in the default navigation mode the bottom two buttons serve as the traditional left and right click while the top two enter the media and view modes.

You can use this device as a standard trackball straight away, but in this case only two of the four buttons - namely the left and right click - will work. To use the top two buttons you'll need to install the drivers.

Unlike most mice these days, trackballs don't have scroll wheels, so instead scrolling on the SlimBlade is done by turning the ball clockwise or anti-clockwise, which works remarkably well.

Once the drivers are installed you can enter and exit the aforementioned view or media mode by hitting the appropriate button.

When in view mode the ball rotating the ball zooms in and out, while rolling it pans around and the left and right click reset the page to its standard size and fit-to-width respectively. The view mode is not supported by all applications, but a helpful icon will pop up on the screen to tell you when this feature is not available.

Similarly, multimedia mode only works in Windows Media Player and iTunes and in this mode rotating the ball adjusts the volume, rolling the ball left and right goes back or skips to the next track, the left button pauses or resumes playback and the right button acts as a stop. If neither of these media players is running, one of them will be fired up automatically when you click the multimedia mode button.

Like so many peripherals, how good the SlimBlade is to use is very much down to personal habits, requirements and hand size. Where it does fall short is the almost complete lack of customisation. You can adjust the sensitivity and the 'handedness' but you can't configure the buttons in any other way - so if you don't want to use the navigation or multimedia modes, you can't assign the other two buttons to any other purpose and if - as we found - your pinky finger rests more comfortably on the top right button instead of the bottom right, you'll probably find yourself constantly entering and exiting view mode instead of right clicking.

Fortunately this is an issue that could easily be fixed in a new version of the driver software.

At a retail price of around £100, the SlimBlade isn't cheap, but it's very solidly built and should last years without giving any hassles.

Posted by Ian Williams on October 1, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Microsoft doesn't do a lot of hardware, but the stuff it does offer is usually pretty good, and the new range it had on display at a showcase in London today was no exception.

Because of the limited number of new devices, the event itself was a little pitiful, but what they did have was certainly worth noting.

The company seems have to have developed an affinity for curved keyboards, with the latest two being somewhere between an ergonomic 'split' keyboard and the more traditional rectangular layout.

Both the new Bluetooth Mobile Keyboard 6000 and the Wireless Comfort Desktop 5000 use the 'Ergonomist Approved Comfort Curve' design, which seems to divide opinion as well as the keyboard.

The Bluetooth Mobile Keyboard 6000 is particularly impressive, being very thin and light and includes a separate number pad as well.

For those who like the curved design, the Desktop 5000 was released earlier this month and goes for around £70 while the Mobile Keyboard 6000 is due out early next month and should sell for about £80.

Also on display were two new mice - The Wireless Mobile Mouse 4000 and 6000 - both of which feature Microsoft's BlueTrack technology so that they can work on just about any surface.

Both use a really small USB receiver so you don't have to worry about a bulky dongle sticking precariously out the side of your laptop while using the mouse.

Both the multi-coloured 4000 series and the bigger, glossier 6000 are available now for £35 and £45 respectively.

Last but not least is the Lifecam Cinema webcam, a nifty looking auto-focus webcam that can capture in 720p HD and will look good atop just about any PC or laptop screen. The attractive design and high picture quality do come at a price though with the Lifecam Cinema selling for about £70.

We had a chance for a few minutes with each of the devices and all of them seemed to be very good, the picture quality of the webcam was great, the mice were solid and the keyboards had very nice tactile keys - if only Microsoft could design and make its operating systems as well.

Posted by Ian Williams on September 18, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (2)

The technical preview of Microsoft's Office Web Applications shows that the applications still have a long way to go before being finished - go here for our First Look article.

Word currently only supports viewing of documents, as shown in this screenshot, but the content looks exactly as it would appear if you opened it in the full version of Word.

PowerPoint also shows presentation slides exactly as you would see them in the full PowerPoint client, and you can click to start a slideshow in a new full-screen browser Window. Page transitions are painfully slow unless you have Microsoft's Silverlight runtime installed on your computer.

The most complete of the Office Web Applications is Excel, shown here with an existing spreadsheet open for editing containing a table and an embedded chart. The application has a polished look that make it more closely resemble a full client application than many web-based applications achieve.

Posted by Daniel Robinson on September 18, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0)