I came across a strange problem at work, a person could not open any Excel documents from email, short-cuts on his desktop and so forth but he could open up Excel and open the file that way. My first course of action was to go into add/remove and repair the office install, this never fixed the problem. Going to the windows update, I made sure it had all the updates, still the problem was there. I did some searching around and found the answer, this I would like to share with you.

What is the issue?

, go into This is the error you get upon trying to open a link on your desktop, no clue at all from Microsoft in why it has happened. What you need to do is click the Office Button Top left and choose Excel options. On the let had side Advanced and scroll down the list.

The option you are looking for is in the general section and is marked as Ignore other applications that use Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE). Make sure this is Not Ticked, if it is, this is the issue. Now you can open spreadsheets as normal.

I had a further chance to test out the Microsoft Lifecam Studio HD webcam in a setting outside of the office and into a bedroom lit environment. The first of my problems was with Wirecast, I was going to use the switching ability of Wirecast to swap between both webcam’s and microphones on the fly to give a balanced view of the webcam. Wirecast failed to show this webcam, they suspected I have too many USB webcams plugged in but I tired on a fresh system with only this webcam and still nothing – so I gave up on that idea. At least I now know that if you were thinking of buying it and use Wirecast – then you will be out of luck.

I used the software that came with each camera to record a short clip, the purpose here show the quality of each webcam and how the in-built microphone would sound. The goal of course is to aid the people who might have seen this webcam on offer in a store, been lured by the word HD and parting cash with it. read on after the break on how it looks and how I found it.

How did it look?

As you can see from the video I made, there is a difference – while the Microsoft webcam made the whole room very bight indeed, I felt it was too bright and while the Logitech was darker, it had more definition.

Some points to think about

I already mentioned the Microsoft one does not work in wirecast, this to me is a big problem. Next up is the CPU useage of the Lifecam, why it needs to eat the CPU when trying to operate at 720p make me wonder, the Logitech does not do this. The microphone as expected on both models seem be both “roomy” in that it sounds like your in a tunnel and background noise is an issue. The last point is that the body of the webcam after using it for one hour got very hot indeed, not sure if this had to do with the Monitor heating it up or it was working in overdrive.

I personally never had much joy with any single webcam made by Microsoft and this model (the top end if you like) does not change anything but as you have the video evidence in a couple different environments to look at and compare against, you can make your own mind up.

Of the many Webcam’s out there, Microsoft feel they can offer a true HD experience with there Microsoft LifeCam Studio. While the initial price was closer to £80, it has dropped all the way down to £50 which means its is either very good value or it was not quite as good as first thought and is not selling. I had the chance to try one out for a brief period and everything recorded was using the supplied software and office style lighting. The question on your lips when you stand in the store will be “Is this worth the money and should I buy it”. I hope the video and pictures presented can in some way help you make that choice.

The Webcam itself

The webcam comes with a built in mount that can either mould to a screen, stand on its own or be screwed to a standard tripod mount. While it looks well made, it does feel a bit on the cheaper side but given the now much cheaper price, this is not a major concern. The web-cam part swivels 180 degrees in either directions which is handy for showing behind the monitor and such. It comes with a Lens Can which I almost threw out – I imagine this is not something you want to use but it is there if you want it.

Pictures

Using the software that comes with it – I took pictures at HD resolution – given the good and consistent lighting as afforded to by most offices, this is were the camera will look the best.

Video

I recorded a Short clip – again this is through the software and at HD (1280×720).

HD Recording

While it says on the Box it does HD, the highest option to record at in the software is 1280×720 which is not 1080p but if you use ‘other’ software such as virtual dub – you can record at the full 1080p resolution. The Logitech C910 on the other hand can record in full 1080p using the software supplied (or so it says).

Thoughts

In the choice between the Microsoft Lifecam and the Logitech C910, it comes down to price and low light features. The Logitech C910 is still £60 on-line while in many shops I have seen the price as high as £90. The Microsoft Lifecam by comparison be bought as I mentioned for £50 on-line, Remember though that the pictures and video above was taken in a well lit office, your mileage might vary in a normal bedroom with one light source.

Microsoft produce the Zune Hardware player (an alternative to the iPod) and they also make the software which you can run on your windows PC, called Zune Player which ties in with the Windows Live system and the market place. I wanted to see what else there was out there instead of iTunes for example. I am not 100% happy with the way the software works and although a lot of people hate iTunes on Windows, I am not that bothered by it and prefer at the moment iTunes.

Starting off

The screen starts you off by inviting you to sign in (using Windows Live account) and to add the various places were it can find your music, pictures and movie collection. in my case it was all held on a NAS mapped via windows drive letter. It took a LONG time (as does iTunes) to add my 39523 collection of tunes and even longer to add the pictures and movies. It invites you to type three artists which it then puts these as Pins on the front screen.

The Quickplay Screen

On this screen we have the Pins, new stuff it recently added and History, underneath this we have Smart playlists which will play music from the chosen artist and similar artists.

After it had added my tunes, I selected some artists as you can see from the screen shot and for example even though I had quite a few albums of Daft Punk, it told me it could not find anything for this title. After a reboot and more indexing, it did produce smart playlists for everything I tried. Pins allow you quick access to an artist, just right click on one in the collection screen and now it will appear on the front screen.

The Collections screen

This screen is more what you expect from a music player such as grouped by Artists, Date added and songs on the right. I found it handy in this instance where if I click on AC/DC – it shows all the albums / songs I own by this artist and I can play them all without much effort. At this stage I am not sure how you play random tracks (aka iTunes DJ) bt I am sure there is a way.

The play screen

When you play something, the screen changes to the above, various album art, what’s in the queue and so forth. If you now go into say the pictures section and start a slideshow, it now plays your music and your pictures at the same time which is pretty neat.

Conclusion

While the player has some nice features, I have read for example that if I edit the track info, it changes it on the player but not on the file itself. At the moment I am playing my collection ordered by Artist in iTunes and the reason for this is to find out mistyped artists / song names as I go along (with the help of Last.FM). I cannot see this been my player of choice as it also does not put my tracks played on Last.FM, I did try some Beta software but this failed to work.

You may have seen the various programs out there promising you the cure-all easy running registry fix and if your computer is running slow and not quite right, then you might be tempted into running one of these many programs out there in the hope it will make everything well once again. I have recently used Windows Live One care to scan and fix all the problems on my machine – did it do the trick or in fact did it make it 10x worse?

Windows Live One Care

Microsoft provide this tool to run on both Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 machines and it combines a Virus check with a full defrag, cleaning out the junk files and finally a registry scan. My Machine was running fine before this by the way, I already use Smart Defrag and generally keep my machine cleared of junk.

The end result

It told me there was various errors in the registry and would fix them (woot) and after some backing up of the existing registry and a swift reboot – everything worked (phew). It was not till later when using the machine that I started to notice small things that were broke, one that springs to mind was iTunes told me it could not record to CD now and needs to be re-installed (which I have done).

Did it work?

I am sure it cleared out some junk but on the flip side, it also managed to break some programs along the way. My view of registry cleaners (tried a lot of them in my time) is that they cause more problems then they cure and you should keep away from them in my view.

Patch Tuesday normally has some updates here and there but Microsoft are planning to roll-out out 14 security updates this coming week. The list will address thirty-four vulnerabilities in Windows, Internet Explorer, Office and Silverlight. Eight bulletins are rated as Critical while the other six have a listing as Important. Every version of Windows has at least one critical vulnerability that will be addressed in next week’s mega-patch.

“For those who keep track of such things, this will be the most bulletins we have ever released in a month; we have released 13 bulletins on a couple of occasions,” said Angela Gunn, Microsoft’s Security Response Communications Manager. “However, in total CVE count, this release ties with June 2010, so there’s no new record there.”

Gunn added that Adrian Stone and Jerry Bryant will speak during a public webcast on Wednesday, August 11, and will go into detail about all the bulletins and answer questions live on the air. Interested consumers can register for the webcast by heading here.

Out of the fourteen bulletins, twelve are for the Windows platform. Two are slated for Office, and Internet Explorer and Silverlight will each receive one update. “This is big, not only because of the numbers, but also because they’ll affect everybody,” said Wolfgang Kandek, CTO of security risk and compliance provider Qualys.

The oldest software affected by Patch Tuesday will be Windows XP Professional x64 Edition Service Pack 2. Other versions of Windows XP Service Pack 2 and Windows 2000 are no longer supported.

It is a well worn subject of the Mac vs. The PC (They mean windows right), we have Xbox360 vs. PS3, iPhone vs. Android and the list goes on. While there is a need to think what you have or what choice you make on buying something matters, the reality is the people who are making the stuff are lining there pockets with the money the Fan boys spend on this gear they think is so wonderful. I aim to discuss what I think the reason this all comes about and to dispel some myth’s along the way if I can.

XBOX360 vs. PS3

I shall attack this one first as I own neither and can only go on what I have heard. I asked a guy at work which is better and without any hesitation he said Xbox 360. He went on to say that he is now on his 5th XBOX360 due to them having the Red Ring of Death or just plain breaking – why would someone having been through 5 of these things sit there and tell me I should buy an XBOX? There was a few reasons I could think of why he went with XBOX rather then PS3:

• He had spent a chunk of money on the console already
• He had built up a collection of games (they cost a lot of money)
• Live service already paid for – so he could play on-line.
• He was blinded into think the XBOX360 was the better system.

iPhone vs. Android

I am afraid I do not own an iPhone, I have seen them, played around with them and know a lot of people who own them but the simple answer here is that once you lock yourself into a 18 / 24 month deal, no matter how good the ‘other’ phone is – you are going to sing the praises of what you have. I find it very funny that people will ignore and not talk about the things they cannot do and suddenly one day they update the software and fix the thing that did not work and they treat it like the second coming – very odd indeed.

I like comparing devices on what you can do and the question is “Can the other device do something outstanding compared to it’s rival” – normally the answer is no. The Android can:

• Play Music (easier to put music on too)
• Call People
• Save a lot of contact information (Pictures, address, emails, various phone numbers and much much more)
• Display Maps
• Be Used as a SatNav
• Browse the Web
• Cope with office emails
• Download Apps
• Has Multi Touch

The list goes on and on – sounds like an iPhone right? If I had bought an iPhone, I would sit here and tell you it was the best thing since sliced bread but I saved my money and went for Android – was I wrong, was I been cheap or was I been sensible and not blinded by “must be iPhone” brigade?

Mac vs. Windows vs. Linux

I have owned them all, I have used them all and what makes any computer more then just a fancy door stop is software. I can take this Dell with it’s Intel Core i7, 9 GIG Ram and so forth and make it run OSX with ease. But it is not about just running the software right? What about the bragging rights to saying “I Own a Mac Pro”. I want to be honest here, ANY Operating system of late can do most of the basic tasks out there such as writing a letter, checking email, browsing the web. they can also edit videos, make music and plan projects. What about the argument of “It Just works” – a valid one right? What if My Machines running Windows 7 “Just work” ??

Bottom line

When people go on and on about Apple and sing it praises no matter how much is not there, missing and so forth – then I tend to switch off. If I state I do not need or have no need for an iPad then no matter how much they shove the facts into my face, I am not going to buy one – it’s that simple. They can tell me the iPhone can print money, as long as I’m locked into a contract with my Android – then I live and work with that.

If you splash $$$$$$ on a PS3 and buy 20 games – you are not going to sit there and say it is crap, same goes for Apple good and whatever else. I always see this type of thing as “Preaching to the converted” – Can we have an AMEN !!

After speaking to various people and the various hardware i have bought in the past plus stuff I already own, my question is “Can Microsoft actually make good hardware”? There is a very good reason for asking this very question and we go on to discuss future Microsoft hardware, should you trust this Software giant to make hardware that works on there very own operating system?

Keyboard’s and Mice

I bought the BIG (as in size) Microsoft Laser 6000 desktop set which I am assuming is called V1, it has a USB Device which sits on your desk showing you the Caps Lock etc and then we have the keyboard and mouse itself and to say it is big is an understatement.

Were do the problems lie?

It stands to reason that as it has media keys, you would expect it to control the chosen program of choice, be it WMP, iTunes or even WinAmp. Now I use iTunes myself and pressing the Media button does bring this up to a degree but move away from the application and press the back/forward buttons and NOTHING happens – you have to highlight the program! I assumed iTunes was the issue, so I tried the same trick with WMP and the same happened, so basically to change track you have to be in the Application itself – which defeats the objective.

Webcam’s

In my time I have bought (and took back) a whole range of webcams made by Microsoft and I need to say that unless you have studio lighting then expect the camera to pixelate so badly that you may be forgiven in thinking this thing is a 2MP webcam and the image you are looking at is 640×480. Basically when Light is low, a webcam can do one of two things, it can try and bring in as much light as possible which in turn lowers the FPS or in the case of Microsoft, keep the FPS but lower the quality. In the case of Low FPS, you can alter the settings of the camera to balance between light and FPS.

The above picture was taken in a normal lit room at 640×480, it looks green and grainy – so you want an comparison with maybe another 2MP webcam? sure thing:

Same room, Same light but this is from a Logitech 9000 Pro. Maybe you may say though that it’s just the NX-6000? Well I have tried the VX-6000 (Desktop Model), 5000, 1000 and various others and I can put my hand on my heart and say that every single Microsoft Webcam in non-perfect lighting will be as bad as the top picture.

Further testing

What happens when you want to point the Webcam out of the window in daylight for example or a night with just a few street lamps to light up the scene? Once again the Microsoft models will show you a pure white light (as if the sun had fallen and landed in your back yard) or pure blackness.

What annoys me the most is go to any store, pick up a box from ANY webcam and most will have this amazing write up and equally amazing picture showing you how it looks, which happens to be some photograph shot with a 10MP camera I think in perfect studio lighting.

You want more?

I bought this Microsoft Sidewinder Dual Strike joystick a long time back, the concept looked cool and who would have thought I might have trouble running this thing on a Microsoft operating system – even future versions such as Vista and Windows 7? Microsoft gave up on this almost straight away and although the OS might pick up the basic buttons – the advanced software that it used to come with no longer works – way to go Microsoft.

Conclusion

As a software company, I am more then happy with what they bring out but the hardware leaves a lot to be desired. I do not care if they bring out a 20MP webcam – I refuse to buy anything Microsoft ever again, I am defiantly a Logitech Fan now for hardware.

As Windows 7 Looms Closer to been released – 22nd October 2009 to be exact, is it a big jump from Vista before it or is it just more of the same? Read on for my very own view on a brand new machine.

New Machine – Pre Installed OS

Having just took receipt of a brand new Dell XPS 435MT which features a Core i7 2.66Ghz CPU, 3 GIG DDR3 Ram (I’m getting more later) and a X58 Motherboard – we power it up and then set about updating it from hence it came to make sure it was right up to date.

The first thing that I noticed was the LONG Boot time, it sat there as if waiting for something and around this we had a Laptop of much less power going from power off to desktop and ready to rock and STILL the desktop was loading. Was I missing something here? was the new Quad Core 2.66 Core i7 not fast enough, was the DDR3 Ram holding out on me or had Dell stuffed so much crap on there it was a 486 in disguise?

Installed Sofware

Dell has included Vista Premium 64Bit along with Norton Security, Microsoft Works 9 and Roxio DVD writing software. I first removed all signs of Norton (horrible thing) and then got rid of half the Dell crap and finally – set about updating it.

Around and Around

I was rebuilding my other machine with Windows 7, this been a Core 2 Duo and I had finished not only putting on the OS but a good handful of applications by the time the Vista machine had grabbed the first round of updates and rebooted – which took forever I may add. I finally got Service Pack 2 and all the Applications I think I might need on there and did a very quick compare – which was basically switch both machines on at the same time, this been the Core 2 Duo with Win 7 64bit and the new Dell with a Core i7 and Vita 64Bit. The C2D Machine was not only on and loaded but I was working on it and STILL the Vista machine was loading the desktop – how crazy is that?

Time to rebuild.

I had enough of this Vista thing and wiped the machine this morning – I installed Windows 7 64Bit RTM version, installed all the Application I need and what a difference. From switch off to fully working desktop, very fast indeed – now it started to feel like I had actually upgraded the processor. My advice is that if you are indeed still running Vista on your machine and you have the ability to get hold of Windows 7 – I suggest backing up your data and formatting that machine + Install Windows 7, you will not regret it.

Microsoft VX-6000 Webcam – a 1.3MegaPixel, Wide Angle desktop webcam which seems to be very cheap from its RRP and looks like a bargain. The numbers and stats on the side of the box look amazing, its made by a named brand (Microsoft) and claims to work well in low-light – what can possible go wrong?

Low Light and webcams

It seems that while both the human race and proper camcorders can see perfectly well in a normal lit room which is lit with a lightbuld (60Watt) – webcams on the other hand struggle so badly with this low light situation that they either do one of two things it seems:

• Lower the Frames per second to 5 as it has to increase power to get more light in.
• Keep the Frames per second high but make the image very grainy.

Microsoft Webcams seems to favour the 2nd one on that list, in a well lit office, outside or shot during the day with a lot of daylight coming into the room and the image is in fact great but the second it starts even to get remotely dark, the quality goes out of the window and there is nothing you can do short of buying spot lights to make your room brighter then the sun.

With low light and low FPS – you can sort this out by turning off the auto expose (which is then dark image) and changing the numbers until it is both semi-fluid and semi-light. With a grainy image, there is nothing you can do except get better lighting.

Price

I feel this is the most important factor in buying any device and how this purchase came along was I seen the Webcam in one store on “Sale” from the RRP of £79 ($129) to a new low of £49 ($80). I then spotted in while doing food shopping in Tesco on offer for £29 ($47) but still never crossed my mind to buy it. Finally while looking in a store which deals more in Magazines (WH Smiths) I seen it for £19 ($31) and I felt this was a bargain considering the original price of the thing.

Look & Feel

As you can see from the picture it can be used as Free-Standing or the base folds out to allow you to clip it to a TFT, I tried it on most of my collection of various shapes and sized and it sat there quite happily. It can be moved up and down as well as rotate around o get the correct picture. The base feels like rubber in fact and it is quite light but not too light so that it will fall over.

Features

As claimed, it has a 1.3MP Lens and I noticed the front can be turned which is in fact the focus ring, now I would have thought it would do this itself – this is both a blessing and a curse at the same time. A Blessing because it means you can focus the webcam on the distance you want and it will not change but a curse as it means you have to fiddle to get the right focus of the picture and of course moving the lens means you are putting your hand over it thus making it that much harder to focus.

Picture Quality

I have tested this first when I got back from the store, it was raining so slightly dark outside and the quality of the picture was grainy. Later that night with the Blinds closed and the light on – it was even worse I would say unless I pointed it so the light souce was under me. I tested this through the day and the picture as expected was much better though I had to say still some grainy looks to the picture, it only got 100% when I pointed it outside in the daylight.

Is it worth the money?

The question here is – am I happy with the end product even though I paid £19 for the thing? The answer is actually no, I have seen many cheaper webcams produce a much better picture (even if it means low FPS). This is now the 2nd Microsoft Webcam I own and the 2nd one that does very grainy pictures – my advice is to steer clear of anything made by Microsoft then if this is the best they can do. I will probably be doing some more testing and if no better by Monday then it is going back, I would rather have that money in my back pocket then a grainy webcam I would probably not use.