The Cure

The Cure is a successful English rock band, widely seen as one of the leading pioneers of the British alternative rock scene of the 1980s. A combination of lead singer Robert Smith’s iconic wild hair, pale complexion, smudged lipstick, and the frequently gloomy and introspective lyrics have led to the band being primarily classified as gothic rock, although the band rejects this, a rejection supported by the variety of their material, which includes some very exuberant and optimistic pop, such as the singles “The Lovecats,” “Why Can’t I Be You,” and “High.” The Cure have sold close to 50 million albums worldwide.

Studio albums

* 1979 – Three Imaginary Boys
* 1980 – Seventeen Seconds
* 1981 – Faith
* 1982 – Pornography
* 1984 – The Top
* 1985 – The Head on the Door
* 1987 – Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me
* 1989 – Disintegration
* 1992 – Wish
* 1996 – Wild Mood Swings
* 2000 – Bloodflowers
* 2004 – The Cure

How to Remove Windows Genuine Advantage Notifications

Windows genuine advantage notifications occur when your computer hasn’t passed the validation test. The validation test can be failed due to being sold a pirated (non-genuine) copy of XP, or because you have changed your XP product key to a software-generated key. The failed validation installs three types of notifications on your computer: one on the log in screen, one log in timer, and one balloon. It also stops updates from Microsoft and disables your ability to install IE7 and Windows Media Player 11. This solution can get rid of all three notifications, even though you will still not be able to update. Unfortunately, you can only update if you buy a valid Microsoft product key again.
Steps

1.Open System32 by either A or B of the following methods:
A)Click “Start”, “Run”, then type-in “System32″. Click “Okay”.
B)Find System32 manually by clicking “Start” > “My Computer” > “(X:)” (Replacing “X” with the drive letter of the host of Windows) > “Windows” > “System32″.

2.In “System32″, go to “Tools” > “Folder options” > click on the tab, “View” > Uncheck “Hide extensions for known file types”. Now you can begin…
3.Check to make sure the window that comes up has a full screen of various files. The files are in alphabetical order, which makes it easier to locate the specific file.
4.Find “WgaLogon.dll” and rename it “WgaLogon.dll.bak”.
5.Create an empty copy of WgaLogon.dll:
*Right click on a blank space in System32 and select “New” > “Text Document”.
* Leave the text document empty and label it “WgaLogon.dll”. Press Enter (on your keyboard).
*You may get a warning from the above step that says, “If you change a file name extension, the file may become unusable. Are you sure you want to change it?”. Click “Yes” on this warning.

6.Be ready to complete the next two steps very quickly! Find “WgaTray.exe” in “System32″ and delete it. You will then have 5 seconds to find “WgaTray.exe” in the Task Manager (the next step).
7.Immediately open Task Manager. You can do this by holding down Ctrl and Alt and pressing Delete or right clicking the Taskbar and selecting “Task Manager”. Click on the process tab and end “WgaTray.exe”.
8.Restart your computer once you have finished. All the notification messages should be gone.

Tips

* This process will only get rid of the notifications, and will not validate your copy of XP. It will remove the timer at the beginning of your XP log on, the white notice on the log on screen, and the annoying yellow star that appears in the bottom right corner of the screen.
* This is easier to do if you have someone reading the steps to you while you do it.
* You may need to Find Hidden Files and Folders in Windows to get to System32 manually.
* If task manager programs are moving, click the title of the “user name” row to freeze them.
* If you are having problems after this, disable the updates before rebooting.
* There is a program called RemoveWGA which does all of this for you. Just run the program, click yes, and you’re done. (See External Links, below.)

Warnings

* Do not edit anything but this in System32, or it could cause system start up failure.
* If you are new to computers, do not attempt this because if you hit the wrong file you may crash your computer.

HDR-FX7 HDV Camcorder unveiled by Sony

Sony has launched HDR-FX7, a new high-definition camcorder to its HDR line, which is relatively smaller and lighter than the previous models.

The new HDR-FX7 1080i HDV camcorder comprises of the three-chip ClearVID CMOS Sensor technology for clear high-definition video. The camcorder has a compact body, weighing about 3 pounds, and is practically 40 percent smaller and 25 percent lighter than the FX1, Sony s first HDV camcorder. Like previous models, the HDR-FX7 can record and playback both 1080i HDV and SDV on standard miniDV tapes.

According to Sony, the new camcorder’s three-chip configuration blended with Sony’s Enhanced Imaging Processor results in higher video resolution, greater light sensitivity, and more accurate color reproduction than previous camcorder models.Linda Vuolo, marketing director – camcorder products, Sony, said, “Advanced camcorder users will be impressed with the richer, more natural-looking video shot with the HDR-FX7 camcorder, especially when shooting outdoors.”

The latest camcorder has a smooth slow record function, and with its three sensors, can capture a six-second burst of video as well as play it back in 24 seconds as slow motion video. The dual record function allows users to capture 1.2-megapixel still images and shoot video simultaneously, with the press of a button.

The HDR-FX7 is highly power-efficient as it is fueled by the Sony InfoLithium L Series battery with STAMINA technology, and users can expect up to eight hours of continuous recording time with the largest optional capacity battery.

HDR-FX7 carries a high-resolution viewfinder to accurately check composition, focus, and image color. It also features a high-resolution, 3.5-inch Swivel Screen LCD screen with Clear Photo Plus LCD technology for sharp contrast and accurate color reproduction. The camcorder has a Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T lens that gives a 20x optical zoom range in a 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio.

Other features include:

 

Manual controls for zoom

Focus

Shutter speed

White balance

Iris

Gain

Editing footage is made simple with an HDMI interface and non-linear editing software.

Specifications:

The HDR-FX7 will most probably hit the stores in October 2006 at a price tag of approximately $3,500.

Microsoft Office Accounting 2007 Released

Microsoft has announced that they are rechristening Microsoft Office Small Business Accounting as Microsoft office Accounting.

Along with this, the software giant has also released a public beta of the latest version of this service called Microsoft Office Accounting 2007.

According to Microsoft, this product adds “online marketplace integration and online invoicing” as they aim to help companies do more.

The application also supports incorporation with the popular online store eBay. It would help the companies and businesses sell their products on this store.

Interested users can checkout the public beta from Microsoft’s website.

Wikipedia’s list of open-source games

September 9, 2006

By Mike Yamamoto
Wikipedia is so rich with esoterica that we could probably just post one of the online encyclopedia’s entries each day in this space and never run short of supply. But we resist that temptation, for then we’d never find all the good unindexed stuff floating around the Web.

Today, however, is an exception–mostly because we find it funny that it’s an open-source project documenting other open-source projects. (Yes, we’re easily amused.) So without further jabber, we offer Wikipedia’s list of open-source games.

New Service From Amazon Offers Downloadable Films

 

 

By SAUL HANSELL

Published: September 8, 2006

Amazon.com, the leading purveyor of goods online, has started selling digital products, offering movies and television programs that can be downloaded and watched on a computer or portable video player.

The move, which was expected, is the first major effort by Amazon, the Web’s largest retailer, to sell downloadable entertainment. Amazon has at times moved toward offering music downloads but never introduced a music service. It does, however, offer some free promotional music files.

Amazon’s new video service will compete with the iTunes Music Store of Apple and a growing array of other video retailers including Google, AOL, Movielink and CinemaNow.

Apple has been selling television programs and music videos and is expected to announce next week that it will also sell movies.

Amazon’s service, which is called AmazonUnbox, will sell most movies for $7.99 to $14.99 and most television programs for $1.99 (the same price as Apple). Users can also rent movies for a 24-hour period for $3.99.

Amazon will sell current and back titles of all major movie studios except Disney and has programs from several dozen television networks as well. Indeed, Amazon is the first video service to license the original “Star Trek” series.

For many new movies, Amazon’s $14.99 maximum price is lower than other download services, like Movielink, which sells most new releases for $19.99. The studios have largely set the wholesale price of downloads above $14.99 hoping to keep the retail price at $20 or above. They do not want to alienate Wal-Mart, by far the largest movie distributor, which uses discount DVD’s to attract shoppers.

Amazon is pricing some current movies higher than its $14.99 cap. For example, “Silent Hill” from Sony is $16.87 and “Rumor Has It” from Warner Brothers is $19.62.

Bill Carr, Amazon’s vice president for digital media, declined to discuss the company’s pricing strategy or arrangements with studios.

The chief executive of CinemaNow, Curt Marvis, said the high price of movies was one reason movie download services had not been popular.

“We have learned that online customers expect prices to be low. Period,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if they are buying a car or a diamond earring or a movie.”

Another problem, Mr. Marvis added, is that it is difficult to watch downloaded movies on home televisions. Most downloads, so far, are meant to be played back on a personal computer. While some computers can be wired to television sets, few are.

CinemaNow has started selling some older movies in a form that allows them to be burned to DVD’s on computers and then played through regular DVD players. Mr. Marvis said for those titles, five times as many people burn DVD’s as watch movies on their computers.

Mr. Carr declined to say why Amazon was not allowing users to create DVD’s.

Amazon says its movie service improves on others because the video quality is higher. That quality comes at a price: longer download times. For example, “Inside Man,’’ which is 129 minutes long, is downloaded as a 2.2-gigabyte file on Amazon instead of a 1.5-gigabyte file on Movielink. Amazon says the typical movie will take two to seven hours to download, depending on the connection speed of the user.

“We know our customers well and the one thing they tell us is they want high quality,” Mr. Carr said.

To help consumers cope with the long download times, Amazon has introduced software that allows users to buy a movie while at work and have it automatically downloaded to their home computers.

Amazon will also give customers that buy movies a second, smaller file that is meant to be loaded onto portable video players that use Microsoft software.