Introducing Ulteo: your virtual Linux desktop

It has been two years since Linux Format magazine last reported on Ulteo.

Back then, we all thought it was going to be a standard new Linux distribution created by Gaël Duval, the founder of Mandrake Linux.

If you take a look at Ulteo.com today, you won't find any mention of Linux on the home page. Not only that, but everything about the Ulteo site is slightly confusing. It's very difficult to understand what Ulteo is and what it might do, thanks to some rather vague statements and the use of some very stylised 'lifestyle' illustrations. But Ulteo is actually four distinct technologies.

You'll see a reference to the 'Ulteo Online Desktop' and the 'Ulteo Application System' on the main page, and behind the scenes you can also download two further tools called the 'Ulteo Virtual Desktop' and the 'Windows Document Synchroniser'. Each of these use Linux to a greater or lesser extent, but not in the way you might imagine.

So what is it?

Rather than offering a simple email service, or even an office suite of applications, the Online Desktop is more ambitious. As its name implies, it's a desktop that can be accessed through a web browser. Your session is stored on the Ulteo servers, and you can access your desktop from anywhere with an internet connection as well as share the session with other people.

It's thin client computing without the corporate shell, and Ulteo.com markets the whole package as a 'My Digital Life Made Simple'. After the online desktop comes the Ulteo Application System. This is designed to complement the Online Desktop by offering a local installation. Your first thought might be 'Aha! Here's the long-awaited Ulteo Linux Distribution', but things aren't quite as they first seem.

It's very difficult to find any information about the Application System without installing it, and when you do, you quickly realise that this is an offline version of the Online Desktop rather than being a standalone distribution. It's tied to your online Ulteo account, for example, so if you happen to travel a lot, or commonly use more than one machine, this could be a real boon. But we're getting ahead of ourselves.

The Ulteo Online Desktop

Without the Online Desktop sitting at the centre of the Ulteo vision, none of the other elements would make any sense. Firefox and Internet Explorer are officially supported, and you also need Java runtime 1.5+ installed (there are some reported problems with Ubuntu's 8.04 Java package).

Ideally, you also need a broadband internet connection, but the quality of the desktop adapts to changing network conditions, much like VNC, and dial-up speeds are supported. After you've created an account on Ulteo.com, you then need to click on the 'Start Now' button. This takes to you a further page that lists the four core Ulteo technologies.

The first two offer virtual desktops, while the second offer the offline desktops. Clicking on the Online Desktop option takes you to a further page where you can fine tune your language and connection settings, and it's from here you can finally launch the Java application that will contain your desktop session.

A few moments later, depending on the speed of your connection, you'll see your first view of the Ulteo desktop. This is a complete and isolated Linux session that's piped to your session window from somewhere in the internet, and it's possible to configure a web proxy if your machine is running behind a restrictive firewall.


If you've ever used VNC for desktop sharing over a network, it will feel very familiar. There's the same kind of JPEG artefacts that hang on to the edges of the graphics, blurring the definition sightly, and the screen will update in blocks of graphics, rather than a more intelligent window frame approach as used by NX, for instance. But unlike NX, there's no sound support, although that is promised in a future update. If you're using a 1- or 2MB broadband connection, the desktop is reasonably responsive.

This is in contrast to the typical VNC session, which is often hampered by the upload speed of your internet connection, which is typically many multiples smaller than the download speed. Ulteo's servers obviously don't have the same restriction, which is just as well, and upload speeds on the Ulteo servers aren't a bottleneck.

Ulteo is built on top of an older version of Kubuntu, and like the original Mandrake, it's KDE-centric, using version 3.5.2. This means there's a lot of graphical information to transfer across the network, and there has been very minimal curtailing of animation effects to help reduce the bandwidth.

The custom KDE menu, for example, scrolls and slides as you navigate through the list of installed applications, which can make the session feel a little awkward when you first connect.

KDE menu

The menu is the biggest visual difference between a default KDE installation and Ulteo, and that's because it's actually a KDE project called KBFX. This is something of a sprawling monster of an application in the best tradition of KDE development. It has embedded file and HTML browsing alongside the scrolling application lists, and it takes a bit of getting used to.

The theme styles and graphics have been updated to reflect the Ulteo livery, both in the menu and on the desktop, and there's very little left to give away its Ubuntu heritage. The KDE installation has been locked down, and it's basically running in kiosk mode. This means there are no system configuration tools and no package installer, but most importantly, it means there's no command line console either. This is understandable for security and stability, but many Linux users are going to miss the convenience of typing commands directly.

Fortunately, almost everything you're likely to need is already installed. There's a complete OpenOffice.org 3 installation, Firefox for browsing and Thunderbird for email, along with Kopete for instant messaging and DigiKam for photos.

Strangely, several multimedia applications are also included. But as there's no sound output with the Online client, there's little point in using them. You also have limited access rights to the filesystem, with your home directory being the only place you can store files. You can use your home directory just as you would the local equivalent, and Ulteo provides up to 1GB of online storage with its free accounts, and up to 10GB if you're prepared to pay.

The Ulteo distribution

The next most important project on Ulteo.com is called the Ulteo Application System. It's a 650MB ISO image, which needs to be burned and booted from just as you would any other Linux distribution. That's because this is essentially the Live CD version of Kubuntu, though this isn't immediately obvious, thanks to the spooky artwork that reminds us of Antony Gormley's Another Place sculpture off the shore of Crosby Beach near Liverpool in the UK.
As with Kubuntu, you can use the desktop just as you would a standard installation, and everything looks almost identical to its online counterpart – only this time, the distribution is running on your hardware, so you can do what you like with it.

You can also access the Ulteo online services, but that doesn't make much sense from a Live CD. For this to work, you need a network connection. And if you've got a network connection, you might as well use the Online Desktop and save yourself the trouble of booting a CD.

Permanent installation is through an icon placed on the backdrop, and takes around 20 minutes, hardware permitting. One reboot later, and you're dropped into Gaël Duval's sequel to Mandrake. Unlike the online version, this is a fully fledged Linux installation, and it's stuffed full of the same applications you'll find in an average Kubuntu installation.

Unsurprisingly, it looks much like the online version, including the heavily populated menu and desktop background. And this alludes to one feature that Ulteo does have over Linux installations. It can synchronise a specific local folder with a sync folder on your your Ulteo Online account. Every 30 minutes, the contents of both directories are checked for any changes, and any differences either uploaded or downloaded so that the contents match.

There's a 10MB limit in the file size, and with the free version, you get up to 1GB of online storage. You can increase this to 10GB by spending some money. And the folder synchronisation feature isn't just restricted to the Application System and the Online Desktop, it can also help users of Microsoft Windows.

The third major technology in Ulteo is the Virtual Desktop, and this is where things get interesting: "Enjoy the power of your Linux applications on Windows without any need to reboot the system!" is what it says on the UIteo website, and accordingly, the 510MB download will only work on Microsoft Windows. But that doesn't mean it isn't Linux.

The Virtual Desktop is based on something called CoLinux, a term short for Cooperative Linux. CoLinux is a set of modifications made to the Linux kernel that let it coexist, running at the same time, with the kernel of another operating system. In the case of Ulteo, this means that both Windows and Ulteo Linux can run at the same time.

You might think you can do this already with virtual machines, but there are a couple of advantage to using CoLinux. The first is that the user doesn't need to know or even care about what a virtual machine is. As easy as apps like VirtualBox and VMware are to use, they still add an extra layer of complexity. Secondly, CoLinux integrates the Linux applications directly into the host OS, rather than the isolated container of a virtual machine.[techradar.com]

11 ways to create a successful Linux distro

What can you do to stand out from the hundreds of other Linux distros that already exist?

There are a number of angles you can explore for this – choose one, two or all of them if you want!

1. Be cutting edge

At its height, Mandriva was famed for including the very latest software, but the management decided to focus less on features and more on stability, which meant that older, "tested" software became the norm, and many users left to find their cutting-edge fix elsewhere.

Similarly, Ubuntu launched as an up-to-date version of Debian, but has also fallen prey to the same problem – Ubuntu 8.10 won't include Mono 2.0, for example, despite it being released a month before the distro ships.

We're well aware of feature freezes and other stability-enhancing techniques, but if you want to capture the market for cutting-edge software then you need to forgo such niceties and focus on getting the software into your distro as fast you can. Your users will thank you for it!

2. Be super-stable

The opposite of being on the cutting-edge is being super stable, which means choosing your selection of apps from the sturdiest, the most tested and the most reliable options available to you.

Yes, this does mean shipping OpenOffice.org 2.x rather than 3.x, but it also means you should have fewer bug reports because the software you provided has already been through years of testing and fixing.

The downside to this plan is that stable distros require years of support – Ubuntu LTS comes with five years of support on the desktop, and Red Hat Enterprise Linux comes with seven. If you're aiming to compete in this market, you need to be ready to provide lots of backports of security updates and the like.

3. Be super-light

One of the most impressive features of open source software is its apparent ability to outpace Intel's attempts to ramp up the performance of our computers. By that we mean that some of the most popular free software applications have a reputation for being slow, RAM-hungry or otherwise resource intensive, which is why there is such a market for thin-and-light distros.

The idea here is simple: rather than choosing Application A for your distro, which uses 100MB of RAM, choose Application B, which uses 10MB of RAM. Repeat that for just about everything in your distro (excluding any apps you honestly feel you can't live without), and suddenly even a Pentium II is starting to look quick.

Again, there's a lot of competition in this space, but all too often you either get a fully functional and fat desktop, or you get a slim-and-light desktop with a look and feel on a par with Windows 3.1. Perhaps there's room for you to innovate somewhere in between?

4. Focus on a group of users

If you want to build a loyal group of users, give them some love: make a distro focused on the needs of a specific kind of user, and you'll find that they stick with you through thick and thin. So, rather than create yet another do-everything distro that covers all bases, why not create a distro focused on developers? Or artists? Or gamers?

This allows you to slim down your choice of packages to the essentials for your target market, then lets you pre-set all the options they most want to see. For example, here at LXF Towers we're big fans of programming with Mono. Why not create a distro with all the Mono libraries and documentation preinstalled, along with all the best Mono-based apps for inspiration?


5. Look good

In Shuttleworth's words, "pretty is a feature". If average users were to choose between two distros that were identical apart from their look and feel, of course they would choose the one that looks the best. That said, "best" is clearly highly subjective – we're not particular fans of Sabayon's inky black interface, and yet many other people think it looks smart and sophisticated.

Similarly, Ubuntu's brown can look warm and human or dull and 1970s depending on your background. So, when it comes to your own distro, please give some thought to the look and feel – don't just expect people to customise the design to suit their tastes, because if your initial design looks bad then people will just give up.

There are two options for you here: create your own theme for your desktop, or go for the defaults. It's easy to create a theme, and you can borrow the pieces from other places if Gimp isn't your forte. But there's a lot of value in going for the default look and theme for your desktop, because so many distros insist on branding things with their logo. So rather than having a K button for KDE you get a gecko, or you get an Ubuntu logo rather than the Gnome foot in the menu bar.

6. Aim for ease of use

This one is becoming a bit tired these days – Mandriva was the first distro to really make it work, but now multiple distros compete for the title of being most easy to use. And the downsides don't end there: being easy to use invariably means having to create your own graphical tools for basic system admin, and you should expect lots of flak from some of the more aggressive community members for "dumbing down" Linux.

Still, if you succeed in making Linux easy to use, then you're targeting the most important market: people who are Windows/Mac users and want to jump ship to Linux.

The alternative is to play the Slackware card, which means creating absolutely no ease-of-use tools and letting users get on with it. That might sound bad on paper, but lots of more advanced users really dislike the way that some distros overwrite their customised settings by trying to be "easy", which means that something like Slackware has a lot of appeal.

7. Focus on a language or country

This is the easiest option, both for creating a distro and for attracting an instant user base. The downside, rather predictably, is that it rather requires you to come from/live in a country with weak free software support, but you'd be surprised at just how successful you can be if you try.

Remember, if your language is in the minority in your country (think Scottish Gaelic in Scotland), you may be able to scrounge up some government funding for helping promote its survival and propagation.

8. Solve a problem

This option sounds easy, but it really isn't: find a problem that lots of people have with their computer or with Linux, then solve it.

It sounds easy because everyone has problems with their computer, but it's not easy because the mass-market computing industry has been striving for improvement for the last 20 years now and those problems still exist despite the best efforts of the world's largest software companies.

The smart money is on tackling a small problem, or at least breaking a larger one up into small chunks, so that you can make progress easily.

9. Build a community

Some distros, most notably PCLinuxOS, owe a large amount of their popularity to their friendly and open community, and it's not hard to replicate their success.
The key to getting a large community is to help users help themselves and each other as early as possible. That is, if the only people who can answer questions about your distro are experts, then only a few people will be able to help build the community.

But if your distro is designed in such a way that even people with only a few days of learning can already start answering forum questions, then you'll find people join in much faster and the whole community springs up at lightning speeds.

10. Target some hardware

This is a tempting but tricky option: tempting because if you can get a good Linux port on to a specific device then you'll find it easy to gain users and may even gain support or funding from the manufacturer; tricky because you need to do an awful lot of the legwork yourself – if the term "cross-compiling" means nothing to you, then this is definitely something to leave alone.

11. And finally: copy, copy, copy!

The whole point of free software is that we're sharing ideas, sharing code and sharing innovations among ourselves to benefit all computer users. So go and try some of the top distributions. Try PCLinuxOS. Try Linux Mint. Try Sabayon.

Write down a list of three things from each one that you like, then steal them for your own distro. Not-Invented-Here syndrome doesn't exist on Linux, so use that to your advantage and copy stuff! [techradar.com]

10 million digital music tracks left unsold

The arrival of downloading music online has meant that more and more tracks have been available to the general public than ever before.

The problem with this is consumers haven't been able to see the wood for the trees and have decidedly stuck to what they know when downloading music.

Recent figures suggest that out of the 13 million tracks available for download, just 52,000 songs made up 80 per cent of music purchased online.

When it comes to albums, a staggering 1.23 million albums were made available with just 173,000 bought – which equates to 85 per cent of bands and singers who released an album this year did not sell one single copy.

New schools meet old rules

These online music statistics were compiled by Will Page, chief economist of the MCPS-PRS Alliance, and Andrew Bud, the head of mobile software company mBlox.

Speaking to the Times about their findings, Bud said: "There is an eerie similarity between a digital and high-street retailer in terms of what constitutes an efficient inventory and the shape of their respective demand curves.

"I think there's something more going on there: a case of new schools meets old rules."
By Marc Chacksfield [techradar.com]

Sony's PlayStation Home hacked

Sony's PS3 virtual world, Home, has already been hacked, with developers having discovered ways to exploit vulnerabilities within the software's code.

According to reports in the Telegraph this week, the hack allowed the developers "to customise their PlayStation Home experience beyond the options provided by Sony."

The report continues: "One hack uses a combination of the Apache web server and DNS re-direction to allow users of PlayStation Home to watch their own movies on display screens within the game, and change text and music to whatever they choose.

"A second hack enables players to download any file they want from PlayStation Home's servers, such as a fellow user's profile or avatar, the cartoon-like representation of themselves they create to appear in the virtual world."

Worrying security loophole

Most worryingly, the report adds that the developers found a "security loophole" that allows them to upload or delete any file to or from the Home server, which means that it is potentially an option for hackers to spread viruses through Home.

"There's speculation that Sony may legitimately open the Home platform to third-party developers to build and create additional features for the online universe," adds the report.
By Adam Hartley [techradar.com]

Google Apps: Still Second Banana to Microsoft Office

Critics, including me, have berated Microsoft for being slow to move Office to the Web. But the truth is, Google Apps is so far behind Microsoft Office that when Microsoft launches a Web-based version of Office later this year, Google Apps still won't be a blip on the radar.

As Computerworld notes in "Google Apps still trying to win over corporate users," Google has made hardly any money on its Google Apps Premium Edition (GAPE) since its launch, while Microsoft has continued to rake in billions. Here's what the article says:

Since launching GAPE in February 2007, Google has earned $4 million compared with $12.2 billion for Microsoft's Office, according to Gartner. Google won't clarify its number of paid users other than to say it has "hundreds of thousands."

In fact, Google Apps isn't even as popular as the free OpenOffice.org. In "Study: OpenOffice five times more popular than Google Docs," Eric Lai cites a study last month from market research firm ClickStream Technologies PLC which found that 51% of U.S. Internet users over age 18 use Microsoft Office, while 5% use OpenOffice.org, and only 1% use Google Docs.

The upshot? Google has a long way to go to catch Microsoft Office. Given that Office will be available on the Web in the coming year, I'm betting Google will never even come close.[blogs.computerworld.com]

Why Linux is like Lotus 1-2-3

Old-timers may remember when Lotus 1-2-3 ruled computing --- it was the world's premier spreadsheet, and by itself was responsible for many PCs being snuck into enterprises for the first time. But Lotus 1-2-3 has practically vanished from sight, and the reason why may disturb many fans of Linux.

Lotus 1-2-3 was released in early 1983, and quickly became dominant, far outselling the previous spreadsheet market leader VisiCalc. It ran, like virtually every other piece of software in those days, on DOS.

Microsoft at the time also sold a spreadsheet, called Multiplan. Rumor has it that a few people actually bought a copy. I never met anyone who did, though --- or at least admitted to it.

If you told anyone at the time that Microsoft would one day own the world's best-selling spreadsheet, and Lotus 1-2-3 be used by fewer people than live in Wasilla, Alaska, they would have most likely asked whether you had forgotten to take your medication that day.

So what happened? How did Excel become completely dominant, while Lotus 1-2-3 lost its entire market?

First, Windows happened. People forget Windows 2, but Microsoft released Excel for Windows 2.05, not long after it released a version for the Mac. Lotus ignored Windows and didn't bother to create a Windows-based version. And when it did create one, 1-2-3 didn't take advantage of the Windows GUI. Windows 3.0 came along, Excel began outselling 1-2-3, and Microsoft delivered the coup de grace when Excel was folded into Microsoft Office.

Lotus hasn't been the only victim of Microsoft coming to a market late, then ultimately monopolizing it. WordPerfect was once the dominant word processor. Harvard Graphics was once the dominant presentation program. And once upon a time, Netscape was the browser that everyone used.

As all that makes clear, Microsoft may not be the world's greatest innovator but it is brilliant at targeting existing or rising markets, and ultimately dominating them. And that's what I believe it will ultimately do with netbooks.

As I've written previously, Microsoft is worried about Linux's approximately 30 percent market share of netbook sales for two reasons. First is that the netbook market is growing dramatically. Second is that if people get used to Linux on netbooks, they may consider buying Linux-based desktops.

Because of that, it designed Windows 7 to be a Linux-killer. It's lightweight enough to run on netbooks, and will have touchscreen capabilities, which is ideal for netbooks because their keyboards are so small. ASUS has already announced Windows 7 versions, including one with a touchscreen.

That's just the beginning. When Windows 7 hits, Microsoft will spend enormous amounts of money promoting Windows 7 netbooks, and probably ensure that Windows 7 netbooks have capabilities that Linux ones don't.

Because no company owns Linux, there will be no competing marketing for Linux netbooks. The inevitable will happen as it did with 1-2-3, WordPerfect, and all the others --- over time, Linux netbook sales will decline, and Windows 7 netbook sales will soar.

I don't expect Linux netbook sales to disappear. There will always be a niche for Linux netbooks. But within a year of the launch of Windows 7, their sales will have fallen significantly. Between now and the launch of Windows 7 will be the high point for Linux netbook sales. After that will come the slow but inevitable decline. [blogs.computerworld.com]

Windows 7 Pre-Beta Early Reactions

I was on vacation last week and finally got a chance to install Microsoft's Windows 7 pre-beta and play with it a bit. Like Preston Gralla, my first reactions were positive.

Installation went off without a hitch. I cloned the drive of a Dell Core Duo notebook circa 2006 and then allowed the Windows installation process to do a clean install on the drive. The installation process was very fast -- much faster than Windows Vista. It also did its job with a minimum of fuss and questions. On first start, Windows 7 did an online update and installed multiple items. The screen resolution, which wasn't correct righted itself to the native resolution on its own when I restarted.

The first thing I noticed about Windows 7 is that it's fast. I would caution that I had the same reaction to some of the earlier beta versions of Vista, too. Vista definitely slowed down at the end of its development cycle. The same thing could happen to Windows 7. But there's an effortlessness about the Windows 7 UI performance that is pleasant and very welcome.

There's not a lot new in this build of Windows 7. It's not feature complete. But I love the new smarter window-sizing features. Pushing windows around and dragging their edges is one of the most tiresome aspects of working on your computer. Microsoft's smart idea works this way: If your browser, for example, isn't maximized, you can drag the top edge of the browser window to the top edge of the screen. Not only with the top of the browser now reach the top of the screen, but Windows 7 automatically pops the bottom of the browser to the bottom edge of the screen too. Similarly, you can grab the title bar and drag the whole window to the top edge of the screen and Windows 7 automatically maximizes the application.

The feature also works on the side of the screen. I frequently set up two applications side by side on higher-resolution monitors. Windows 7 makes this a breeze. Drag any window by its title bar off the screen to one side or another (you have to drag it until the mouse pointer itself is to the edge of the screen). Windows 7 will then open the program window so that it takes up exactly half of the available screen to the side you dragged it. Open another program window and do the same thing on the other side, and the result is two programs opened up side by side, perfectly positioned in only a few seconds. It's a very useful, even ingenious feature that power users are going to love.

My reaction to the changes in the networking area -- a weak point of Vista -- are much less positive. I'm still frustrated by Microsoft's attempt to wizardize everything. They've dumbed things down so far that I ran into three networking problems in 15 minutes. The first was that my Windows 7 machine somehow got the IP address of another device. This happens a lot with Windows machines on simple networks. I don't know why that's the case. In this instance, the IP address the Win 7 machine glommed onto is a permanently assigned address for a printer on my network. Windows 7's network UI doesn't offer a way to release and renew the IP address. While, yes, I can do that from the command line -- the UI should offer this feature, as it did in Windows XP. What are they thinking?

While I was looking for a way to release and renew the IP, I realized that the Network and Sharing Center was showing that I wasn't connected to the Internet -- even though I was having no problems getting out to the Internet. After about an hour of operation and a couple of restarts, Windows 7 eventually realized that it was connected to the Internet and righted itself. But what's up with that?

Finally, Windows 7 introduces the new "homegroup" feature, which is supposed to simplify the process of setting up file sharing and device sharing in home environments. But this is really nothing more than yet another wizard that wants to assign its own passwords (you can't change them!) and take over for you. And there's no transparency about what it's doing. But the colossally arrogant aspect of this tool is that it appears to be only designed to work with other Windows machines. It's not even clear from the UI that it works with non-Windows 7 machines, although I'm sure you can make it work with them.

I've saved the best of my reactions for last. One of my top three criticisms of Windows Vista was that UAC (User Account Control) was way too over zealous. To the point, I felt, that it effectively disabled its security by literally numbing the user to its warnings. Even worse, as far as I was concerned, was that UAC was annoying as hell. It made Vista very hard to warm up to.

User Account Control has changed in Windows 7. For one thing, it has four behavior settings which range from Windows Vista drive-you-crazy mode down to "never notify." And the default setting is "Only notify me when programs try to makes changes to my computer." During the first hour of use I opened almost every Control Panel item and was never confronted with a UAC prompt. At some point, I'm going to make a concerted effort to see a UAC prompt with the default setting, but I can call this now: Microsoft has solved my problem with UAC. This may not offer supreme protection, but I believe that the balance will offer better overall security. If I see a UAC prompt in Windows 7, you can bet I'm going to take it seriously.

It's great to see the Windows Sidebar gone and the ability to place Gadgets (Windows' widgets) directly on the desktop. This is the way it should work. Apple: Take notice.

All in all, the Windows 7 pre-beta is a surprisingly good start to the next version of Windows. I will continue to work with this build and report anything I find of note. I look forward to testing the later pre-releases of Windows 7 too.

For more information and coverage of Windows 7, please take a look at Computerworld's Windows 7 special report.[blogs.computerworld.com]

Real life Linux: The ASUS Eee PC 1000

For years, the mom-in-law had resisted getting a computer of her own. She just doesn't like technology. Everyone knows the old joke about people who are so slow when it comes to using technology that they never managed to set their VCR's clocks. She can't use a DVD player.

Yes, I'm serious. Oh, I know she could do it, but she really doesn't want to in the same way that I really don't want to take class in calligraphy. Anyone who's ever seen the illegible scribble I use in place of handwriting will understand where I'm coming from.

But, despite that, the combination of the allure of solitaire and the Web finally got to her, and she wanted a computer to call her own. So, what do you get someone to whom even turning on a computer is a challenge? You get them a Linux-powered mini-laptop. Specifically, I got her an ASUS Eee PC 1000 running a variant of Xandros Linux. I picked Linux, not just because I like it, but because its combination of ease of use, low-cost, and no maintenance requirements makes it ideal for a new PC user.

Mac OS X probably is the easiest of all operating systems for a new user to pick up. But, Asus' customized Xandros Linux distribution, like Linpus Linux and gOS 3, are giving Macs a run for their money when it comes to ease of use. On the Asus, for example, you're given a choice of: Favorites, Internet, Work, Learn, Play and Settings. It's pretty darn straightforward. Underneath Internet, you'll find Web Mail; Firefox Web Browser; Skype; Internet Radio; Google Maps Video Search; Wikipedia; and Pidgin IM.

Get the idea? This PC is already set up for you. I, of course, had to go in and set up her e-mail, IM, and the like, but most people, even if they've never seen a Linux system in their life, can sit down and start using it.

As for the price, you can buy an ASUS Eee PC 1000 for less than $500. For that cash, you get a solid, hard-working little laptop with a 1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 Processor, a GB RAM, a 40GB SSD (Solid State Drive), and a 6 cell-battery with a mom-in-law tested 4+ hours of battery life. The 10" display with its 1,024x600 resolution is powered by the Intel 915GM graphics chipset and it's very readable. Since my mother-in-law is quickly approaching 80 that was a real concern. She finds it very readable.

To connect with the Internet, the system uses 802,11g Wi-Fi. The EEE PC 1000 doesn't have an optical drive, but it does include three USB 2.0 ports and an SD card slot.

I could, of course, have gotten her a new MacBook, but the bottom-line MacBook is $999. For less than half that price, you can get an Eee 1000 PC for under $500; she has a laptop that does everything she wants and much more besides.

The no-maintenance part was also important. Unlike any Windows machine, which requires monthly -- or even more frequent security updates -- to even pretend to be safe, not to mention added-cost and trouble anti-virus and anti-malware software, Linux has security baked-in.

Linux security isn't perfect by any means. It just doesn't require the constant updating and fiddling that'srequired to keep Windows marginally secure. For a user like my mom-in-law who's no more likely to keep up on security updates than I am to start turning out perfect copperplate script when I put pen to paper, this was an important consideration.

The ASUS Eee PC 1000 isn't a perfect laptop. While we both found the keyboard to be more usable than most mini-laptop keyboards, the touchpad buttons proved difficult to click easily. We added a mouse to her kit and she was fine. Personally, I hate all touchpads and I use either a mouse or a ThinkPad-style Pointing Stick whenever possible. If you like touchpads and you're particular about them, you'll want to try the ASUS touchpad for yourself before buying one.

That aside, this ASUS model is great for a new computer user of any age and for experienced users who need an inexpensive lightweight, laptop for on-the-go computing.

HP laptops get new battery that charges quicker, lasts longer

HP plans to offer as an optional upgrade for some consumer notebooks a new kind of lithium ion battery that charges faster than regular batteries and lasts three times longer.

The battery is made by Boston-Power, which announced iut as the Sonata battery. HP will re-brand the battery as the HP Enviro battery, and start offering them early next year.

Conventional batteries offer roughly 300 charge cycles before becoming useless. The Sonata, or Enviro, promises 1,000. HP will sell the Enviro with a three-year warranty.

The new battery should allow an 80-percent charge in thirty minutes, which is better performance compared with conventional lithium ion batteries.
HP has not announced pricing. [blogs.computerworld.com]

As Intel ships 160GB SSD, pricing nags buyers

Intel is now shipping 160GB solid-state drives as it vies with Samsung and Toshiba to deliver high-capacity SSDs that rival hard-disk drives in capacity. Price, however, remains a big obstacle for many consumers.

Intel said Monday that it will add 160GB versions of its X25-M and X18-M Serial ATA (SATA) solid-state drive. To date, Intel has limited shipments to its 80GB versions. Laptop-size 2.5-inch versions of the 160GB drive are shipping now; 1.8-inch models for ultraportable laptops will ship next month, Intel said.

Larger-capacity drives from other SSD suppliers are also on the way. In November, Samsung said it had begun mass production of 256GB SSDs. And Toshiba recently said it would show a 512GB drive at the Consumer Electronics Show in January that would ship in the second quarter of 2009.

Solid-state drives are generally faster at getting data than hard-disk drives (and in some cases, much faster) but pricing is a big hurdle for consumers. Toshiba indicated last week that sample quantities of its new solid-state will range in price from $220 for the 64GB drive to $1,652 for the 512GB drive.

That kind of pricing--even if it's for pricey sample drives--is hard to swallow when a laptop-class 500GB hard-disk drive sells for well under $200.

"Introductory" pricing for the Intel 160GB solid-state drives is $945 for less than 1,000 units, Intel said.

Currently, adding an Intel 80GB solid-state drive option to an HP EliteBook 2530p ultraportable laptop adds $659 over the cost of a 5400RPM 1.8-inch 120GB hard disk drive.
Adding a 128GB solid-state drive to an Apple MacBook Air ups the price by about $500. [news.cnet.com]

Beta Beat: BlackBerry Media Sync for OS X

Back in September, we started hearing rumblings that RIM was developing native OS X utilities for Mac BlackBerry users. Today, RIM has released a preview version of its BlackBerry Media Sync utility for OS X. It's no Desktop Manager, but at least it is a start.

BlackBerry Media Sync is designed to let you easily sync iTunes playlists (minus any DRM files) with your BlackBerry device. In August, PocketMac added a similar feature to its software, which is available for free from RIM's web site for all BlackBerry owners.

Basically, BlackBerry Media Sync will let you use your BlackBerry as an iPod shuffle (again, with the caveat that any iTunes DRM songs will not transfer to your BlackBerry). You can sync specific playlists or just have the free space automatically filled by your music collection.

There are some things you need to be aware of:

* If you have another BlackBerry syncing utility, like PocketMac or The Missing Sync installed, it will stop working after installing BlackBerry Media Sync. You will need to uninstall BlackBerry Media Sync and probably reinstall your other software to regain functionality.
* It is slow. At least in my tests, syncing using the BlackBerry Media Sync app was slower than just dragging an album/playlist over to the BlackBerry's Music folder in Finder.
* When you sync, it seems to re-transfer playlists all over again, even if they haven't changed.

Still, we finally have a native RIM utility for OS X. Hopefully a full-fledged Desktop Manager is in the future.[tuaw.com]

Does it matter if Google's search results are fixed?

The fools, usually, are us.

We, the people, switch off our critical faculties and happily barter our trust for the joy of convenience.
So will we ever make the effort to even raise an eyebrow when we read "Google this week admitted that its staff pick and choose what appears in its search results"?
These words, from The Register's Andrew Orlovski, ought surely to give one or two people pause for a small grunt of concern.

As Orlovski points out, Google News expressly declares that the "selection and placement of stories on this page were determined automatically by a computer program." Except that, it appears, maybe they weren't.
He quotes Michael Arrington of TechCrunch, who suggested that Google will "make obvious changes - An example is if "thousands of people" were to knock a search result off a search page, they'd be likely to make a change..."

"Now what, you may be thinking, is an 'obvious change'?" writes Orlovski. "Is it one that is frivolous? (Thereby introducing a Google Frivolitimeter? [Beta]). Or is it one that goes against the grain of the consensus? If so, then who decides what the consensus must be?"

Orlovski concludes by questioning Google's "unique democracy" in the way search results are presented. He cites Google's current explanation of Page Rank:

"PageRank also considers the importance of each page that casts a vote, as votes from some pages are considered to have greater value, thus giving the linked page greater value. We have always taken a pragmatic approach to help improve search quality and create useful products, and our technology uses the collective intelligence of the Web to determine a page's importance."
The important words here, surely, aren't "value" or "useful" or "collective" or "intelligence." They are "pragmatic" and "approach."

Many who reside in Inner Accolyteville cling fondly to the belief that the Web, with Google as its artificial heart, symbolizes a new democracy, a new honesty, a new pulsating, life-affirming form of justice.
But Google's is surely a "pragmatic approach." It's an advertising agency. It makes its money out of advertising. Mundane classified advertising at that. There is nothing idealistic about it.

Indeed, the idealism of Web 2.0 as a whole is, these days, rushing down the Turbulent River to be replaced by an endearing rush toward pragmatic approaches.
Google wants its search results to become more pragmatic, not for any political, social or even intellectual reason. The company simply thinks it's better for business. Advertising business.

Most of us won't notice or care and will continue to depend on Google because it's so dominant, so fast, so very much our rolling dictionary of the world.
This leave Google to approach its business in as pragmatic a way as it chooses. It will makes changes, and we will continue to believe in them.
The folks at Google are no fools. As for us, well, the slapping of our foreheads always comes a little too late.

Nvidia updates CUDA, adds Tesla support for Windows Vista

Santa Clara (CA) – Nvidia has released a new version of its CUDA platform that exploits the GPGPU capabilities of its graphics processors. There are no new features, but the SDK now supports added support for Windows Vista, Red Hat Linux as well as VisualStudio 2008 on Windows XP. And we wonder what may have happened to the x86 version of the software that was promised twice year, but has not surfaced yet.

The standardization of OpenCL may have changed the GPGPU accelerated computing landscape, but Nvidia has no intention of giving up on its CUDA platform that still relies on a proprietary approach to tap into the processing potential of Nvidia graphics processors.


The company now offers version 2.1 beta as a free download, adding Windows Vista support for Tesla products and 32-bit debugger support for CUDA on RedHat Enterprise Linux 5.x, which is a separate download. Also supported is VisualStudio 2008 support on Windows XP and Vista and Just-In-Time (JIT) compilation for applications that dynamically generate CUDA kernels.

According to Nvidia, new interoperability APIs for Direct3D 9 and Direct3D 10 have been included to accelerate the communication with DirectX applications. There is also “a series of improvements to OpenGL interoperability” as well as “support for recent releases of Linux including Fedora9, OpenSuse 11 and Ubuntu 8.04.”

Nvidia, like AMD, recently announced that developers can use its SDK to create cross-platform OpenCL-based GPGPU applications. Proprietary developer solutions like CUDA have remained one of the main roadblocks in mainstream GPGPU software development. Earlier this year, Nvidia had planned to release a version of CUDA for x86 multi-core processors and later mentioned that the software was delayed to Q4 2008. Now our sources tell us that x86 CUDA may not be released at all, which raises questions how future-proof CUDA really is.

At least at this time it seems that the most conclusive development solution may be OpenCL, as the language is supported not only by Nvidia and AMD, but by Intel’s upcoming Larrabee graphics card as well.[tgdaily.com]

Pemuda Argentina Temukan Islam Melalui Lirik Lagu Arab

Mariano Ricardo Calle namanya. Dia berasal dari Buenos Aires, Argentina. Sebelum masuk Islam, Mariano menganut agama Katolik Roma. Sejak kecil sudah dibaptis dan tinggal dalam suasana agama Kristen yang taat.

“Di masa remaja, aku sempat kena pengaruh narkotika. Itulah saat-saat dimana aku mulai mencari identitas diri dalam hidup,” kata dia mengenang. Kenal dengan Islam awalnya dari lirik lagu berbahasa Arab. Dia makin tertarik dan secara rutin mempelajari bahasa Arab dan juga Alquran. Akhirnya, Mariano mendapat hidayah dan pada Juli 2007 memeluk Islam. Berikut kisah lengkapnya. Inilah penuturannya:

“Aku tinggal dalam keluarga yang menganut paham Katolik Roma. Ajaran Kristen kuterima melalui perantaraan ibu dan nenek. Aku sudah belajar Bibel sejak usia tujuh tahun. Waktu itu aku belajar Bibel khusus untuk anak-anak dalam bahasa Spanyol. Pahlawan favoritku kala itu adalah Nabi Daud dan Nabi Nuh.

Ketika masuk usia sebelas tahun, aku biasa berdoa di malam hari bagi kebahagiaan hidupku. Kadangkala aku menangis tatkala bermunajah dengan Tuhan. Tapi di masa remaja, aku sempat jatuh ke lembah hitam. Kena pengaruh narkotika. Saat itu aku sudah masuk usia 21. Itulah saat-saat aku memulai pencarian identitas diri dalam hidup ini.

Memasuki usia ke-24 aku coba berdoa lebih sungguh lagi. Bahkan aku mengerjakannya sepanjang hari, 24 jam! Masing-masing untuk Tuhan Bapa dan Bunda Maria. Ini kulakukan selama setahun penuh. Tapi ternyata hal itu tidak banyak membantu. Hatiku masih resah.”

Tertarik lirik lagu Arab

“Satu ketika aku sedang mempelajari naskah kuno tentang piramid yang ditulis dalam bahasa Arab. Muncul keinginan belajar bahasa Arab. Satu ketika kudapati lirik-lirik lagu dalam bahasa Arab. Aku terkesan sekali dengan bahasa Arab dalam lirik lagu itu.

Akhirnya kucoba belajar secara mandiri lewat sebuah buku yang kuperoleh dari internet. Buku itu sangat membantu. Kesungguhan itu berbuah manis. Dalam dua pekan aku sudah dapat mengucap satu dua patah kata Arab. Alhasil, ketika kucoba ikutan tes di kampus aku langsung ditempatkan di level dua. Wah, hatiku sungguh sangat gembira..

Pernah pada saat ada pameran buku di kota kami, mama memberiku hadiah dua buah buku tentang Islam. Aku suka sekali dan membacanya hingga tuntas. Buku itu sangat menyentuh hatiku. terutama penjelasan-penjelasan tentang sains di dalam Al-Quran. Benar-benar menarik. Yang lebih menarik lagi ketika membaca profil Nabi Muhammad. Benar-benar pribadi idolaku.”

Tinggalkan minum alkohol

“Aku secara perlahan mulai meninggalkan rokok dan minum alkohol. Pokoknya semua yang berhubungan dengan alkohol kuenyahkan dari kehidupanku. Keputusan itu murni kubuat secara sadar. Bukan karena paksaan agama Islam yang sedang kupelajari. Kala itu, jujur saja, aku tak pernah berniat sama sekali untuk jadi seorang muslim.

Waktu terus berjalan. Aku ingin cepat bisa bahasa Arab. Kuputuskan untuk membeli Al-Quran. Tapi guruku memberitahukan di mesjid Palermo, dekat Buenos Aires ada dibagikan Quran secara gratis.

Tanpa menunggu lama, hari itu juga aku bergegas ke mesjid untuk meminta hadiah sebuah Al-Quran. O ya, aku sendiri belum tahu seperti apa mesjid itu. Pasti sebuah gedung yang menarik dan megah. Ternyata tidak begitu. Begitupun, menurutku, meski Argentina bukan negara Islam, mesjid itu merupakan gedung terindah di Amerika Latin.”

Belajar Alquran

“Di masjid aku berjumpa dengan seorang pria yang kemudian jadi karib terbaikku dalam Islam. Ibrahim namanya. Dia juga memberiku sebuah link di internet hingga aku bisa mendowload Al-quran dan belajar Islam melalui link itu.

Aku belajar membaca Al-Quran hasil download via internet tersebut. Aku print per halaman dan kupelajari. Untungnya lagi, ada terjemahannya yang ditulis dalam bahasa Spanyol.

Sejak masa kanak-kanak aku sudah menamatkan seluruh isi Bibel sebanyak dua kali. Lalu kitab Gita dari India juga dua kali. Dan, sekarang Al-Quran harus bisa lebih baik lagi. Bahkan targetku harus bisa dalam bahasa Arab. Begitulah, awalnya aku hanya mau belajar bahasa Arab, tapi hatiku makin tertarik dan tersentuh untuk mempelajari Al-Quran setelah membacanya.

Alhamdulillah, aku bisa memperoleh sesuatu yang lain dalam Alquran. Ada bagian-bagian dari isi Alquran yang tidak disebutkan dalam Bibel. Hmm Alquran makin dibaca makin menarik saja. Kebenaran yang tertera di dalam Quran sangat sempurna. Inilah yang kucari-cari. Keinginanku untuk mencari siapa Tuhan telah membawaku ke jalur ini. Terima kasih Allah atas karunia ini!”

Bersyahadah

“Sejak saat itu aku mulai sering ke masjid. Dan, hanya dalam waktu dua pekan aku pun mengucapkan dua kalimah syahadah. Persis tanggal 14 Juli 2007. Imam mesjid, Syeikh Nasir asal Arab Saudi adalah salah satu saksinya.

Tak ada Tuhan selain Allah dan Nabi Muhammad utusan-Nya. Air mataku meleleh membasahi pipi. Aku mulai membaca apa saja tentang Islam guna menambah keyakinanku. Juga belajar bahasa Arab secara intensif di mesjid. Aku belajar aqidah, tauhid, dan berusaha menamatkan bacaan Al-quran. Aku ingin belajar secepat mungkin yang kubisa.

Saat berada di mesjid aku merasakan rasa damai yang tiada tara. Oya aku dulu pernah ikutan shalat ketika belum bersyahadah. Hanya kepingin tahu saja seperti apa sih rasanya shalat itu. Bagaimana rasanya berdiri di hadapan Tuhan. Begitulah, aku pun belajar tatacara shalat dan Alhamdulillah dalam waktu dua minggu sudah dapat mengerjakannya. Di mesjid pula aku jadi banyak dapat kenalan baru.”

Tak mau pacaran lagi

“Aku cinta bahasa Arab dan berdoa kepada Allah agar diberikan kemampuan untuk bisa memahaminya dengan cepat. Selama bulan suci Ramadan aku sangat menikmatinya. Inilah pengalaman pertama yang sangat indah. Kurasa 2007 adalah tahun terbaik dalam hidupku. Oya sejak bersyahadah hingga saat ini aku tak pernah tinggal shalat sekalipun.

Nah hal yang sangat sulit bagiku adalah memutus hubungan dengan pacarku. Ya aku memang punya seorang pacar. Tapi aku benar-benar ingin menjalankan perintah Islam dan tak mau pacaran lagi. Akhirnya kutinggalkan dia secara baik-baik. Aku bermohon kepada Allah agar memberiku istri yang baik. Itulah kali pertama aku memohon sesuatu yang khusus kepada Allah.

Aku menceritakan pada kedua orangtua bahwa aku sudah masuk Islam. Ibu sedikit terkejut, namun aku tetap menjaga hubungan dengan keduanya. Aku tetap berkomunikasi dengan baik. Abang tak berkata apa-apa. Dia hanya melontarkan joke-joke lucu. Tapi itu tak masalah bagiku. Kutanggapi dengan joke juga.

Aku kemudian bekerja di sebuah perusahaan. Hari pertama kerja aku langsung menanyakan adakah tempat atau ruangan kecil untuk mengerjakan shalat. Alhamdulillah tak masalah aku diberikan keleluasaan untuk shalat. Hidupku makin hari makin berubah. Sangat indah rasanya, serasa damai. Kujalani hidup dengan senyum. Aku berinteraksi dan bersikap terbuka dengan setiap orang.

Oya reaksi rekan-rekanku macam-macam selepas aku memeluk Islam. Teman-teman karibku semuanya masih beragama Katolik. Kami masih bersahabat hingga kini. Mereka banyak bertanya tentang Islam. Kami sering terlibat diskusi lama dan aku menjawab semampunya. Makin hari pertanyaan mereka makin banyak. Ada seorang karibku yang kelihatannya sangat serius dengan Islam. Ia dan istrinya yang asal Brazil menganut paham Kristen Advent. Semoga mereka dapat petunjuk-Nya. Aku senantiasa berdoa kepada Allah agar dijadikan sebagai instrumen atau penyebab turunnya hidayah bagi orang lain. Terutama bagi kedua orang tuaku.”

Ibuku tak masak babi lagi

“Perkembangan lain, ibuku kini tak lagi memasak babi. Ibuku rupanya senang dengan perubahan sifatku yang tak lagi minum-minum dan mengkonsumsi narkoba. Hanya saja adikku masih berprasangka buruk padaku. Dia masih mencelaku karena masuk Islam. Semoga mereka segera mendapat hidayah. Amin.

Aku cinta Allah. Kecintaan itu melebihi cintaku pada keluargaku. Aku cinta Nabi Muhammad. Aku mencintainya melebihi cintaku pada semua orang. Dan, aku sangat mencintai agama Islam ini.

Alhamdulillah aku telah mendapat kebahagiaan hidup yang selama ini kucari-cari. Bahkan kini aku sedang menyiapkan pernikahan dengan seorang gadis yang dipilihkan oleh Alllah untukku. Thank Allah.”(sumber:hidayatullah)

Pelempar Sepatu ke Bush Dihadiahi Gadis

KAIRO, KAMIS — Seorang pria Mesir, Rabu (17/12), mengatakan, ia menawarkan putrinya yang berusia 20 tahun untuk menikah dengan wartawan Irak, Muntazer al-Zaidi, yang melempar sepatunya ke Presiden AS George W Bush.

Putri pria Mesir itu, Amal Saad Gumaa, mengatakan, ia setuju dengan gagasan tersebut. "Ini adalah sesuatu yang akan membuat saya terhormat. Saya ingin tinggal di Irak, terutama seandainya saya terikat dengan pahlawan ini," kata Amal melalui telepon kepada Reuters.

Ayahnya, Saad Gumaa, mengatakan, ia telah menghubungi Dergham, saudara Muntazer al-Zaidi, untuk memberi tahu dia mengenai tawaran itu. "Saya tak menemukan sesuatu yang lebih berharga daripada menawarkan putri saya kepada dia dan saya siap menyediakan apa saja yang diperlukan putri saya untuk pernikahan," katanya.

Tindakan Muntazer al-Zaidi telah mengundang pujian di dunia Arab, tempat Presiden Bush dipandang rendah oleh banyak orang karena menyerbu Irak pada 2003 dan karena dukungannya buat Israel.

Amal adalah mahasiswi di Fakultas Media Mina University di Mesir tengah. Belum ada penjelasan mengenai jawaban Muntazer al-Zaidi atas "hadiah" itu.
(sumber:kompas)

Masyarakat Jepang Protes Google Earth

TOKYO, SABTU - Kelompok pengacara dan profesor di Jepang, Jumat (19/12), meminta Google Inc menghentikan program Google Earth yang memberikan gambar rinci jalan dan rumah dari kota-kota di Jepang.

Penyajian secara rinci lokasi di internet itu, menurut mereka, merupakan sebuah pelanggaran hak-hak privat. Google menyajikan peta dengan sudut hingga 360 derajat dari 12 kota di Jepang. Juga disajikan peta rinci dari 50 kota di Amerika Serikat serta sejumlah kawasan tertentu di Eropa.

Para pengguna situs bisa merinci hingga nama jalan, lokasi rinci, bahkan aktivitas seseorang di luar rumahnya. ”Kami curiga apa yang dilakukan Google ini sebagai sebuah pelanggaran yang sangat atas hak dasar manusia,” ujar Yasuhiko Tajima, profesor hukum konstitusi dari Universitas Sophia, Tokyo.

Gambar dari Google ini bisa merinci seseorang yang sedang berjemur matahari di halaman rumahnya. Makanya mereka protes.(sumber:kompas)

Kisah Jenderal Adolf Roberto

Suatu sore, ditahun 1525. Penjara tempat tahanan orang-orang di situ terasa hening mencengkam. Jendral Adolf Roberto, pemimpin penjara yang terkenal bengis, tengah memeriksa setiap kamar tahanan. Setiap sipir penjara membungkukkan badannya rendah-rendah ketika ‘algojo penjara‘ itu berlalu di hadapan mereka. Karena kalau tidak, sepatu ‘jenggel‘ milik tuan Roberto yang fanatik Kristen itu akan mendarat di wajah mereka.

Roberto marah besar ketika dari sebuah kamar tahanan terdengar seseorang mengumandangkan suara-suara yang amat ia benci.

“Hai…hentikan suara jelekmu! Hentikan…! ” Teriak Roberto sekeras-kerasnya sembari membelalakan mata.

Namun apa yang terjadi? 
Laki-laki di kamar tahanan tadi tetap saja bersenandung dengan khusyu’nya. Roberto bertambah berang. Algojo penjara itu menghampiri kamar tahanan yang luasnya tak lebih sekadar cukup untuk satu orang.
Dengan congak ia menyemburkan ludahnya ke wajah renta sang tahanan yang keriput hanya tinggal tulang. Tak puas sampai di situ, ia lalu menyulut wajah dan seluruh badan orang tua renta itu dengan rokoknya yang menyala.

Sungguh ajaib… Tak terdengar secuil pun keluh kesakitan. Bibir yang pucat kering milik sang tahanan amat gengsi untuk meneriakkan kata Rabbi, wa ana’abduka.. . Tahanan lain yang menyaksikan kebiadaban itu serentak bertakbir sambil berkata, “Bersabarlah wahai ustadz…Insya Allah tempatmu di Syurga.”
Melihat kegigihan orang tua yang dipanggil ustadz oleh sesama tahanan, ‘algojo penjara‘ itu bertambah memuncak amarahnya. Ia perintahkan pegawai penjara untuk membuka sel, dan ditariknya tubuh orang tua itu keras-keras hingga terjerembab di lantai.

“Hai orang tua busuk! Bukankah engkau tahu,aku tidak suka bahasa jelekmu itu?! Aku tidak suka apa-apa yang berhubung dengan agamamu!
Ketahuilah orang tua dungu, bumi Spanyol ini kini telah berada dalam kekuasaan bapak kami, Tuhan Yesus.
Anda telah membuat aku benci dan geram dengan ’suara-suara’ yang seharusnya tak pernah terdengar lagi di sini.
Sebagai balasannya engkau akan kubunuh. Kecuali, kalau engkau mau minta maaf dan masuk agama kami. ”

Mendengar “khutbah” itu orang tua itu mendongakkan kepala, menatap Roberto dengan tatapan tajam dan dingin.
Ia lalu berucap, “Sungguh…aku sangat merindukan kematian, agar aku segera dapat menjumpai kekasihku yang amat kucintai, Allah.
Bila kini aku berada di puncak kebahagiaan karena akan segera menemuiNya, patutkah aku berlutut kepadamu, hai manusia busuk?
Jika aku turuti kemauanmu, tentu aku termasuk manusia yang amat bodoh.”

Baru saja kata-kata itu terhenti, sepatu lars Roberto sudah mendarat diwajahnya.
Laki-laki itu terhuyung. Kemudian jatuh terkapar di lantai penjara dengan wajah bersimbah darah. Ketika itulah dari saku baju penjaranya yang telah lusuh,
meluncur sebuah ‘buku kecil‘. Adolf Roberto bermaksud memungutnya.

 Namun tangan sang Ustadz telah terlebih dahulu mengambil dan menggenggamnya erat-erat.
“Berikan buku itu, hai laki-laki dungu!” bentak Roberto.
”Haram bagi tanganmu yang kafir dan berlumuran dosa untuk menyentuh barang suci ini!“ucap sang ustadz
dengan tatapan menghina pada Roberto. Tak ada jalan lain, akhirnya Roberto mengambil jalan paksa untuk mendapatkan buku itu.

Sepatu lars berbobot dua kilogram itu ia gunakan untuk menginjak jari-jari tangan sang ustadz yang telah lemah. Suara gemeretak tulang yang patah terdengar menggetarkan hati. Namun tidak demikian bagi Roberto. Laki-laki bengis itu malah merasa bangga mendengar gemeretak tulang yang terputus. Bahkan ‘algojo penjara‘ itu merasa lebih puas lagi ketika melihat tetesan darah mengalir dari jari-jari musuhnya yang telah hancur.

Setelah tangan renta itu tak berdaya, Roberto memungut buku kecil yang membuatnya penasaran. Perlahan Roberto membuka sampul buku yang telah lusuh.
Mendadak algojo itu termenung. “Ah…sepertinya aku pernah mengenal buku ini. Tapi kapan? Ya, aku pernah mengenal buku ini.” suara hati Roberto bertanya-tanya.

Perlahan Roberto membuka lembaran pertama itu…
Pemuda berumur tiga puluh tahun itu bertambah terkejut tatkala melihat tulisan-tulisan “aneh” dalam buku itu.

Rasanya ia pernah mengenal tulisan seperti itu dahulu. Namun, sekarang tak pernah dilihatnya di bumi Spanyol.

Akhirnya Roberto duduk disamping sang ustadz yang telah melepas nafas-nafas terakhirnya. Wajah bengis sang algojo kini diliputi tanda tanya yang dalam.
Mata Roberto rapat terpejam. Ia berusaha keras mengingat peristiwa yang dialaminya sewaktu masih kanak-kanak.

Perlahan, sketsa masa lalu itu tergambar kembali dalam ingatan Roberto. Pemuda itu teringat ketika suatu sore di masa kanak-kanaknya terjadi kericuhan besar di negeri tempat kelahirannya ini.

Sore itu ia melihat peristiwa yang mengerikan di lapangan Inkuisisi (lapangan tempat pembantaian kaum muslimin di Andalusia). Di tempat itu tengah berlangsung pesta darah dan nyawa. Beribu-ribu jiwa tak berdosa berjatuhan di bumi Andalusia.

Di hujung kiri lapangan, beberapa puluh wanita berhijab (jilbab) digantung pada tiang-tiang besi yang terpancang tinggi.
 Tubuh mereka bergelantungan tertiup angin sore yang kencang, membuat pakaian muslimah yang dikenakan berkibar-kibar di udara.

Sementara, di tengah lapangan ratusan pemuda Islam dibakar hidup-hidup pada tiang-tiang salib, hanya karena tidak mau memasuki agama yang dibawa oleh para rahib.

Seorang bocah laki-laki mungil tampan, berumur tujuh tahunan, malam itu masih berdiri tegak di lapangan Inkuisisi yang telah senyap. Korban-korban kebiadaban itu telah syahid semua. Bocah mungil itu mencucurkan air matanya menatap sang ibu yang terkulai lemah di tiang gantungan.

Perlahan-lahan bocah itu mendekati tubuh sang ummi yang sudah tak bernyawa, sembari menggayuti abayanya.

Sang bocah berkata dengan suara parau, “Ummi, ummi, mari kita pulang.
Hari telah malam. Bukankah ummi telah berjanji malam ini akan mengajariku lagi tentang alif, ba, ta, tsa….? Ummi, cepat pulang ke rumah ummi…”

Bocah kecil itu akhirnya menangis keras, ketika sang ummi tak jua menjawab ucapannya.
Ia semakin bingung dan takut, tak tahu harus berbuat apa. Untuk pulang ke rumah pun ia tak tahu arah. Akhirnya bocah itu berteriak memanggil bapaknya “Abi…Abi.. .Abi…“. Namun ia segera terhenti berteriak memanggil sang bapak ketika teringat kemarin sore bapaknya diseret dari rumah oleh beberapa orang berseragam.

“Hai…siapa kamu?!” teriak segerombolan orang yang tiba-tiba mendekati sang bocah.

“Saya Ahmad Izzah, sedang menunggu Ummi…” jawab sang bocah memohon belas kasih.

“Hah…siapa namamu bocah, coba ulangi!” bentak salah seorang dari mereka.

“Saya Ahmad Izzah…” sang bocah kembali menjawab dengan agak grogi.

Tiba-tiba “plak! sebuah tamparan mendarat di pipi sang bocah. “Hai bocah…! Wajahmu bagus tapi namamu jelek. Aku benci namamu.
Sekarang kuganti namamu dengan nama yang bagus. Namamu sekarang ‘Adolf Roberto’ ..Awas! Jangan kau sebut lagi namamu yang jelek itu.
Kalau kau sebut lagi nama lamamu itu, nanti akan kubunuh!” ancam laki-laki itu. Sang bocah meringis ketakutan, sembari tetap meneteskan air mata.Anak laki-laki mungil itu hanya menurut ketika gerombolan itu membawanya keluar lapangan Inkuisisi. Akhirnya bocah tampan itu hidup bersama mereka.

Roberto sadar dari renungannya yang panjang. Pemuda itu melompat ke arah sang tahanan. Secepat kilat dirobeknya baju penjara yang melekat pada tubuh sang ustadz.
Ia mencari-cari sesuatu di pusar laki-laki itu. Ketika ia menemukan sebuah ‘tanda hitam‘ ia berteriak histeris,
”Abi…Abi.. .Abi…“
. Ia pun menangis keras, tak ubahnya seperti Ahmad Izzah dulu.

Fikirannya terus bergelut dengan masa lalunya. Ia masih ingat betul, bahwa buku kecil yang ada di dalam genggamannya adalah Kitab Suci milik bapanya, yang dulu sering dibawa dan dibaca ayahnya ketika hendak menidurkannya.
 Ia jua ingat betul ayahnya mempunyai ‘tanda hitam‘ pada bagian pusar. Pemuda beringas itu terus meraung dan memeluk erat tubuh renta nan lemah. Tampak sekali ada penyesalan yang amat dalam atas ulahnya selama ini.
 Lidahnya yang sudah berpuluh-puluh tahun alpa akan Islam, saat itu dengan spontan menyebut, “Abi… aku masih ingat alif, ba, ta, tsa…”

Hanya sebatas kata itu yang masih terekam dalam benaknya.
 Sang ustadz segera membuka mata ketika merasakan ada tetesan hangat yang membasahi wajahnya.
Dengan tatapan samar dia masih dapat melihat seseorang yang tadi menyiksanya habis-habisan kini tengah memeluknya.

“Tunjuki aku pada jalan yang telah engkau tempuh Abi, tunjukkan aku pada jalan itu…” Terdengar suara Roberto memelas.

Sang ustadz tengah mengatur nafas untuk berkata-kata, ia lalu memejamkan matanya.
 Air matanya pun turut berlinang. Betapa tidak, jika sekian puluh tahun kemudian, ternyata ia masih sempat berjumpa dengan buah hatinya, ditempat ini.

Sungguh tak masuk akal. Ini semata-mata bukti kebesaran Alloh.
 Sang Abi dengan susah payah masih bisa berucap. “Anakku, pergilah engkau ke Mesir.
Di sana banyak saudaramu. Katakan saja bahwa engkau kenal dengan Syaikh Abdulloh Fattah Ismail Al-Andalusy.
Belajarlah engkau di negeri itu,“
 Setelah selesai berpesan sang ustadz menghembuskan nafas terakhir dengan berbekal kalimah indah “Asyahadu alla Illaaha ilAlloh, wa asyahadu anna Muhammad ar-Rasullulloh. ..“.

Beliau pergi dengan menemui Rabbi-nya dengan tersenyum, setelah sekian lama berjuang dibumi yang fana ini.

Kini Ahmad Izzah telah menjadi seorang ‘alim di Mesir. Seluruh hidupnya dibaktikan untuk agamanya, Islam, sebagai ganti kekafiran yang di masa muda sempat disandangnya. Banyak pemuda Islam dari berbagai penjuru berguru dengannya…

Al-Ustadz Ahmad Izzah Al-Andalusy.

Benarlah firman Allah…
”Maka hadapkanlah wajahmu dengan lurus kepada agama Allah, tetaplah atas fitrah Allah yang telah menciptakan manusia menurut fitrahnya itu. Tidak ada perubahan atas fitrah Allah. Itulah agama yang lurus, tetapi kebanyakan manusia tidak mengetahui.” (QS 30:30)

Sumber: Majalah Sabili tahun 1988

Menguji Prosesor Rp16 Juta

TEKNOLOGI HT pada Core i7 Extreme Edition bermanfaat ketika prosesor itu digunakan menjalankan aplikasi yang mendukung HT.

Pada masa krisis seperti ini, sebagian besar konsumen di Indonesia tentu berpikir dua kali untuk membeli PC (personal computer). Bahkan mungkin ketika hendak membeli notebook mini (netbook) yang berharga sekitar USD500 (sekitar Rp6 juta).

Namun, baru-baru ini produsen prosesor terbesar dunia Intel Corp merilis prosesor yang diklaim sebagai prosesor tercepat di bumi. Namanya Core i7 Extreme Edition. Di Indonesia, prosesor tersebut sudah dipasarkan. Harganya berkisar USD1.300 (sekitar Rp16 juta) per keping.

Konsumen biasa tentu terkaget-kaget apabila ditawari prosesor itu. Betapa tidak? Sebab, harga Core i7 Extreme Edition setara dengan harga sebuah notebook kelas menengah. Tetapi, Intel memang hanya membidikkan Core i7 Extreme Edition kepada konsumen yang menggilai kinerja.

Untuk membuktikan keunggulan kinerja Core i7 Extreme Edition, Intel Indonesia Corp baru-baru ini melakukan sebuah demonstrasi. Di kantor Intel Indonesia di Jakarta, Core i7 Extreme Edition diadu dengan prosesor tercepat Intel generasi sebelumnya, yaitu Core 2 Extreme.

Bagaimana hasilnya? Dalam beberapa kasus, Core i7 Extreme Edition mampu mengungguli Core 2 Extreme. Namun, dalam kasus yang lain, Core i7 Extreme Edition ternyata kalah dari Core 2 Extreme. Keunggulan, sekaligus kelemahan pada Core i7 Extreme Edition adalah teknologi Hyper-Threading (HT) yang ditanam Intel ke dalam prosesor itu. Pada Core 2 Extreme, teknologi HT tidak tersedia.

Channel Platform Manager Intel Indonesia Corp David Tjahjadi mengungkapkan, diperlukan dana paling sedikit USD4.000 (sekitar Rp49 juta) untuk membangun PC yang mampu mengoptimalkan seluruh kemampuan Core i7 Extreme Edition. Perlu diingat, biaya USD4.000 tersebut belum termasuk dana untuk membeli monitor. PC seperti itu pun sudah ada di Indonesia.

Paling tidak di kantor Intel Indonesia ada satu unit. PC itu memiliki prosesor Core i7 Extreme Edition empat inti komputasi (quadcore) berkecepatan 3,2 GB, RAM 16 GB,VGA 2 GB, dan HDD 250 GB. Kembali ke pengujian.

"Adu domba" antara Core i7 Extreme Edition dan Core 2 Extreme dilakukan langsung oleh David. Tugas pertama adalah rendering (pengeditan) video. Ada sebuah file video berekstensi MTS sebesar 119 MB yang hendak diberi efek. Aplikasi yang digunakan adalah PowerDirector 7 produksi CyberLink Corp.

Hasilnya, Core i7 Extreme Edition mampu menyelesaikan tugas dalam waktu tujuh menit. Ada pun Core 2 Extreme baru mampu menyelesaikan tugas itu dalam waktu 16 menit. Di sini jelas Core i7 Extreme Edition jauh lebih cepat karena prosesor itu didukung teknologi HT dan PowerDirector 7 sudah mendukung HT.

Tugas kedua adalah membuat grafis tiga dimensi dengan aplikasi POV-Ray produksi Persistence of Vision Raytracer Pty Ltd. Cukup mengejutkan, kecepatan Core i7 Extreme Edition dalam menyelesaikan tugas ini ternyata kalah tipis dari Core 2 Extreme. Penyebabnya mungkin POV-Ray belum mendukung teknologi HT pada Core i7 Extreme Edition.

Tanding ulang pun dilakukan. Kali ini teknologi HT pada Core i7 Extreme Edition dimatikan. Hasilnya, Core i7 Extreme Edition ternyata mampu menghasilkan kinerja lebih baik dalam menjalankan POV-Ray.

Akibatnya, rekor kecepatan yang semula dipegang Core 2 Extreme berpindah ke Core i7 Extreme Edition. Perlu dicatat, dalam uji coba itu fitur Turbo Boost pada Core i7 Extreme Edition dimatikan. Fitur Turbo Boost memungkinkan Core i7 Extreme Edition otomatis menyesuaikan clock speed dengan beban kerja. Ketika beban kerja sedang besar, maka Turbo Boost menaikkan clock speed Core i7 Extreme Edition agar tugas selesai lebih cepat.

Dalam uji coba ini, fitur Turbo Boost Core i7 Extreme Edition dimatikan agar prosesor itu bekerja pada clock speed yang sama dengan Core 2 Extreme yang ditantangnya. Pada saat yang sama, Core 2 Extreme menjalani overclock (peningkatan clock speed) dengan harapan kecepatannya mampu menyamai Core i7 Extreme Edition.

Pengujian ketiga dilakukan menggunakan game. Core i7 Extreme Edition digunakan untuk menjalankan game laga-petualangan "Far Cry 2" produksi penerbit game Prancis Ubisoft Entertainment SA.

Sebelum permainan berlangsung, detail grafis "Far Cry 2" lebih dulu di-setting pada parameter ekstrem. Yaitu "Very High." Hasilnya, Core i7 Extreme Edition ternyata mampu menjalankan sempurna game tersebut tanpa ada gejala putus-putus. Grafis pun tampil sempurna. Debu mobil, asap ledakan, bahkan api kebakaran tampil halus dan kontras seperti nyata. Dengan prosesor lain, grafis dengan detail setinggi itu mungkin tidak akan muncul.

Atau jikalau pun muncul tentu gambar tampil putus-putus karena prosesor kehabisan sumber daya komputasi. Dengan Core i7 Extreme Edition, pengguna terbebas dari pilihan sulit antara mengutamakan kecepatan dan kualitas grafis.

Itulah sekelumit kemewahan yang ditawarkan Core i7 Extreme Edition. Siapkan dana paling sedikit Rp50 juta (termasuk untuk membeli monitor) jika ingin menikmatinya. Bahkan ketika nilai tukar rupiah terhadap dolar AS sudah turun, tidak akan ada banyak orang sanggup menikmati kemewahan itu. (sindo//jri)

Intel Buatkan Laptop Touch Screen Untuk Pelajar

NEW YORK - Tren penggunaan touchscreen atau layar sentuh pada sejumlah gadget, nampaknya menular juga ke Intel. Pada Januari mendatang, Intel akan meluncurkan laptop generasi baru dengan layar sentuh di dalamnya.

Laptop layar sentuh yang menjadikan pelajar sekolah sebagai target utamanya, akan diperkenalkan pada pameran Internasional Consumer Electronics Show (CES) di Las Vegas pada 8 dan 11 Januari 2009.

Selain teknologi touchscreen, Intel juga akan melengkapinya dengan software interaktif, dimaksudkan agar menarik minat anak-anak untuk menggunakannya. Namun, secara keseluruhan, usia lain juga menjadi sasaran yang relevan.

Laptop anyar ini akan didesain dengan layar 8,9 inchi. Dan tambahan built-in accelerometer yang memungkin posisi layar laptop dapat ditampilkan vertikal atau horisontal.

"Selain itu, perangkat di dalamnya akan dipersenjatai dengan prosesor Intel atom, yang memungkin laptop dapat diinstall sistem operasi Windows ataupun Linux," ujar juru bicara Intel, seperti yang diberitakan The Guardian, Kamis (18/12/2008).

Yang jelas, peluncuran ini dilakukan untuk 'menyaingi' produk XO laptop, sebuah produk buatan yayasan nonprofit One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) yang diprakarsai oleh petinggi Intel Nicolas Negroponte. (srn) (sumber:okezone)

Mito 228, Ponsel Berfitur 'Alat Bantu Dengar'

JAKARTA - Suara bising di tengah keramaian tentunya sangat mengganggu jika sedang menelepon lawan bicara. Akibatnya, banyak orang enggan untuk menerima telepon di lokasi seperti tempat hiburan malam beralunan musik keras, pinggir jalan yang bising dengan suara kendaraan di sekitar, atau di tengah massa penonton sepakbola di stadion.

Namun, masalah tersebut kini dapat teratasi dengan hadirnya ponsel terbaru besutan Mito Mobile, Mito 228 yang memiliki fitur 'Alat Bantu Dengar'. Ponsel yang dibanderol seharga Rp2 juta itu bahkan mampu membantu pengguna yang mengalami sedikit gangguan pendengaran.

Alat Bantu dengar tersebut dapat diaktifkan melalui profil 'Nerve Conduction Mode' yang terdapat di ponsel Mito 228. Memang ketika mode itu aktif, suara yang dipancarkan tidak terlalu bagus karena suara yang dihasilkan ke speaker telah diubah ke dalam bentuk gelombang digital yang dirambatkan melalui sensor pendengaran khusus.

Gelombang digital tersebut baru dapat menghasilkan suara berkualitas ketika dipancarkan melalui getaran. Getaran yang dihasilkan sensor Mito dirambatkan melalui benda padat ketika terletak di atas media penghantarnya, seperti benda padat yang memiliki ketipisan dan sifat elastis seperti kaca.

Bagi para pengguna yang mengalami sedikit gangguan pendengaran, gelombang digital dirambatkan melalui tulang tengkorak kepala manusia yang bersifat padat, sehingga dapat menghasilkan suara yang jelas dan jernih. Cukup dengan mendekatkan sensor Mito 228 di wilayah sekitar tulang kepala maka pengguna dapat mendengarkan suara telepon dengan jelas.

Mito menyatakan, penggunaan tulang kepala sebagai media penghantar tidak menyebabkan efek berbahaya pada si pengguna, sehingga teknologi itu aman bagi kesehatan pengguna.

Dari sisi desain, Mito 228 tak jauh berbeda dengan generasi pendahulunya yang di dominasi warna hitam pada body ponsel berdimensi 114 x 56,7 x 18,6 mm. Namun, balutan warna silver yang mengitari seluruh body membuat Mito 228 terlihat lebih elegan.

Tak hanya desain yang elegan, Mito juga dipersenjatai dengan layar sentuh berukuran 2,6 inchi dan LCD berjenis TFT. Sebab itu, tampilan yang dipertontonkan Mito 228 terasa lebih tajam karena memiliki resolusi 240 x 320 piksel.

Sementara untuk urusan baterai, Mito 228 menggunakan baterei Li-Ion dengan kapasitas 1300 mAh. Hal itu membuat Mito 228 mampu bertahan hingga 220 jam untuk waktu standby dan 300 menit untuk waktu bicara.

Fasilitas lain yang ditawarkan Mito 228 antara lain ruang penyimpanan yang besar dan kemampuan transfer data berkecepatan tinggi. Mito memberikan ruang penyimpanan kapasitas 502 KB memori internal yang dapat ditambahkan dengan memori eksternal hingga 2 GB.� Mito juga menyediakan sarana koneksi yang mumpuni dengan fasilitas USB 1,2. (srn)(sumber:okezone>

Tingkatkan Kinerja, Depkominfo Luncurkan Situs dan Layanan Terbaru

JAKARTA, RABU - Menteri Komunikasi dan Informatika (Menkominfo) Mohammad Nuh meresmikan situs serta layanan online baru yang memudahkan masyarakat mengurus berbagai perizinan yang dikeluarkan Depkominfo..

"Situs ini memberi keefektivitasan mulai dari waktu, biaya, tingkat kecepatan yang lebih baik. Tidak hanya masyarakat, tetapi juga lingkungan Depkominfo," kata Mohammad Nuh di Jakarta, Rabu (17/12).

Ada lima jenis layanan yang bisa dimanfaatkan masyarakat, antara lain perizinan frekuensi bagi perusahaan telepon, perizinan penyiaran bagi perusahaan media, izin lisensi dan standarisasi, izin pos dan telekomunikasi khususnya dalam penyelenggaraan perusahaan. Terakhir, registrasi domain.

"Pemohon tidak perlu lagi datang ke Depkominfo, tapi cukup melalui komputer yang memiliki jaringan internet. Pemohon juga bisa mengetahui berkasnya sudah mencapai tahap mana. Pastinya efektivitas penyelesaian izin lebih cepat," lanjutnya.

Selain itu, terdapat juga program - program yang dapat diunduh secara gratis oleh siapa saja. Salah satunya program filter asusila yang berfungsi menyaring situs-situs yang tidak bermanfaat termasuk situs asusila.

"Harapannya, program yang ada di situs ini dimanfaatkan tidak hanya oleh masyarakat tapi juga departemen lain hingga pemerintah kabupaten," tandas Nuh.

Hapus Jejak Ber-internet

Windows Vista punya fitur yang otomatis melengkapi alamat situs web yang sedang kita ketikkan. Informasi alamat situs web ini didapat dari file bernama index.bat yang berisi alamat-alamat situs web yang pernah kita kunjungi.

Bagi orang yang sensitif terhadap masalah privasi, fitur ini bisa menjadi masalah. Dari daftar ini, orang lain bisa mengetahui situs-situs web yang pernah Anda kunjungi. Untuk mengatasinya, Anda bisa menghapus file index.dat.

Cuma, menghapus file index.dat tidak semudah menghapus file lain. Sebab, file ini digunakan sepanjang sesi sistem dan file yang sedang dipakai tidak bisa dihapus.

Jika Anda ingin index.dat dienyahkan dari sistem Anda, lakukan langkah-langkah ini.
1. Restart komputer Anda dan tekan tombol [F8] di keyboard beberapa kali di awal-awal boot untuk menampilkan menu menuju Safe mode.

2. Pilih [Safe Mode with Command Prompt], lalu tekan [Enter]. Windows akan melanjutkan loading Windows.

3. Saat muncul jendela login, masukkan nama pengguna berikut sandinya. Akun yang digunakan ini harus administrator, yah.

4. Setelah jendela Command Prompt aktif, Anda berada di folder C:-Users-user name Anda. Masuklah ke C:-Users-User name Anda-AppData-Roaming-Microsoft-Windows-Cookies dengan mengetikkan perintah “cd AppData-Roaming-Microsoft-Windows-Cookies” diikuti dengan menekan [Enter].

5. Ketikkan perintah “del index.dat” pada Command Prompt. Tekan [Enter].

6. Restart Windows.

7. Sekembalinya ke Windows, Anda akan kembali melihat file index.dat. Namun file itu kosong—Windows yang membuat file itu.

Sumber: PCplus

Mengoptimalkan Windows Vista

Windows Vista datang dengan segudang fitur. Beberapa fitur membuat tampilan Vista sangat menarik, beberapa fitur bisa membantu orang kantoran, beberapa fitur harus berjalan agar Vista berfungsi.

Sayang, sekian dari beberapa fitur itu bisa membikin kerja komputer menurun. Fitur yang mempercantik tampilan Vista ternyata menjadi beban bagi kerja kartu grafis. Fitur buat orang kantoran yang tidak dipakai orang rumahan membebani memori. Fitur-fitur yang kurang terpakai itu baiknya dimatikan saja agar kerja komputer lebih cepat.

Tepatnya, fitur apa saja yang harus dimatikan? Apa semua fitur yang PCplus beritahu di artikel ini? Tidak ada jawaban yang pasti, tergantung pada bagaimana komputer digunakan dan selera sang empunya komputer. Pada laptop milik PCplus, hanya sebagian fitur yang dimatikan.

Sebelum mengutak-atik fitur Vista, sebaiknya bikin dulu “restore point”. Jadi, kalau ada apa-apa setelah sebuah fitur dimatikan, tinggal kembali lagi ke “restore point” itu.

Sidebar
Sidebar berisi aplikasi-aplikasi kecil, seperti jam, slide show foto, serta RSS. Pengguna PC harus membayar dengan menurunnya kerja komputer untuk hal-hal kecil itu. Kalau dimatikan, kerja PC bisa lebih cepat. Cepatnya itu terasa saat Windows dinyalakan (boot).

Cara mematikannya seperti ini.
1. Klik kanan di Sidebar (di area mana pun), lalu klik [Close Sidebar].
2. Hilangkan tanda centang pada [Uncheck Start Sidebar when Windows starts].
3. Klik [OK].

Aero
Vista punya Aero yang merupakan suatu paket yang mempercantik tampilan Vista. Kalau diaktifkan, Vista akan punya berbagai efek yang harus diakui memang cukup mengagumkan.

Salah satu efek yang dibanggakan Microsoft adalah Flip 3D. Fungsinya untuk berpindah aplikasi, tetapi dengan efek 3D. Flip 3D mempercantik fungsi pindah aplikasi yang diakses dengan tombol [Alt] + [Tab]. Flip 3D sendiri diakses dengan tombol [Windows] + [Tab].
Sayangnya, pada komputer yang spesifikasi perangkat kerasnya pas-pasan, Aero menjadi beban. Begitu juga pada komputer yang isinya sudah kelewat banyak.

Berikut cara mematikan Aero.
1. Klik kanan pada desktop, lalu klik [Personalize].
2. Klik [Windows Color and Appearance].
3. Pada kotak yang muncul, klik [Open classic appearances properties for more color options]. Enggak menemukan opsi itu? Berarti, Aero memang sudah tidak aktif. Ketika spesifikasi perangkat keras tidak memenuhi syarat, Aero memang otomatis mati.
4. Pilih [Windows Vista Basic].
5. Klik [OK].

Tidak semua efek yang cantik berasal dari Aero. Ada beberapa efek yang memang sudah ada di Windows, misalnya efek bergeser dari jendela yang di-minimize atau efek munculnya petunjuk (tooltip).

Efek-efek itu bisa juga dimatikan. Caranya begini.
1. Klik [Start], klik kanan pada [Computer] lalu klik [Properties].
2. Klik [Advanced System Properties].
3. Pada kotak yang muncul, klik tab [Advanced].
4. Klik [Settings] yang ada di kotak “Performance”.
5. Lihatlah pilihan-pilihan efek yang muncul. Gampangnya, matikan saja semua. Tapi, bisa saja sebagian yang dimatikan. Hilangkan tanda centang pada efek yang hendak dimatikan.

Internet Printing Client
Ada loh layanan cetak online. Orang bisa mengirim foto ke penyedia layanan, foto dicetak, lalu dikirim ke suatu alamat. Kalau layanan seperti ini tidak pernah digunakan, matikan saja fitur “Internet Printing Client”.

Caranya:
1. Buka Control Panel, lalu klik [Programs and Features].
2. Klik [Turn Windows features on or off] yang ada di sebelah kiri.
3. Di kotak “Windows Features”, klik [Print Services].
4. Hilangkan tanda centang pada [Internet Printing Client].
5. Klik [OK].
6. Restart komputer setelah diminta.

Windows Meeting Space
Meeting Space adalah sebuah fitur yang memungkinkan seorang pengguna komputer berbagi file dengan kawannya yang berada dalam 1 jaringan komputer. File itu bukan cuma dibagi, tapi bisa diedit berbarengan. Kalau fitur ini tidak pernah dipakai, dimatikan saja yah.

Ini caranya:
1. Buka Control Panel, lalu klik [Programs and Features].
2. Klik [Turn Windows features on or off] yang ada di sebelah kiri.
3. Hilangkan tanda centang pada “Windows Meeting Space”.
4. Klik [OK].

Fitur-Fitur Tablet PC
Vista dilengkapi dengan fitur untuk Tablet PC. Kalau saja Vista tidak di-install di Tablet PC, buat apa fiturnya diaktifkan. Toh, tidak akan digunakan.

Cara mematikannya:
1. Buka Control Panel, lalu klik [Programs and Features].
2. Klik [Turn Windows features on or off] yang ada di sebelah kiri.
3. Di kotak “Windows Features”, hilangkan tanda centang pada [Tablet PC Optional Components].
4. Klik [Start], ketikan “services” di kotak pencarian. Ketika muncul [Services] di hasil pencarian, klik di situ.
5. Cari [Tablet PC Input Services]. Kalau sudah ketemu, klik ganda di situ.
6. Pada menu drop-down “Startup type”, pilih [Disabled].
7. Klik [OK].

ReadyBoost
ReadyBoost sedianya mempercepat Vista. Tapi, apa peningkatan kecepatannya sangat terasa? Pada beberapa kasus, penggunaan ReadyBoost justru memperlambat komputer.

ReadyBoost bisa dimatikan di bagian Services dengan cara:
1. Klik [Start], ketikan “services” di kotak pencarian. Klik [Services] pada hasil pencarian.
2. Klik ganda pada [ReadyBoost].
3. Pada menu drop-down “Startup type”, pilih [Disabled].
4. Klik [OK].

Laporan Kesalahan
Kalau suatu program mendadak berhenti bekerja—entah program punya Windows, entah program lain—Vista akan menawarkan apakah pengguna ingin melaporkan kesalahan itu ke Microsoft. Idealnya, Microsoft akan mencari tahu apa yang menyebabkan kesalahan itu. Yah, kalau PCplus sih jarang mengirimkan laporan. Jadi, fitur laporan kesalahan itu PCplus matikan.

Begini cara mematikannya.
1. Klik [Start], ketikan “services” di kotak pencarian. Klik [Services] pada hasil pencarian.
2. Klik ganda pada [Windows Error Reporting Service].
3. Pada menu drop-down “Startup type”, pilih [Disabled].
4. Klik [OK].

Indeks Pencarian
PCplus perlu berpikir berulang kali untuk mematikan fitur ini. Soalnya, fitur ini sangat berguna untuk mencari file, program, atau e-mail dengan cepat. Kalau fitur ini dimatikan, pencarian file dan lain-lain yang seharusnya ketemu dalam hitungan detik, bisa baru ketemu setelah beberapa menit pencarian.

Tapi, kalau fitur ini dihidupkan, Vista akan terus menerus membuat indeks selama isi harddisk berubah. Beberapa orang yang spesifikasi komputernya pas-pasan, bolehlah mematikan fitur ini.

Cara mematikannya:
1. Klik [Start], ketikan “services” di kotak pencarian. Klik [Services] pada hasil pencarian.
2. Klik ganda pada [Windows Search].
3. Pilih [Disabled] pada menu drop-down [Startup type].
4. Klik [OK].

Sumber: PCplus

Lupa Password Windows XP?

Adakalanya kita lupa password yang pernah kita pasang di komputer bersistem operasi Windows XP. Padahal tanpa password tersebut, kita tidak bisa melakukan apa-apa di komputer. Password ini memang ibarat kunci masuk pintu di rumah. Jadi apa yang harus dilakukan? Memformat seluruh harddisk? Jangan!

Jika dalam Windows XP Anda terdapat dua account user, lakukan langkah ini:

1. Login sebagai salah satu user yang password-nya Anda ingat.
2. Klik Start, lalu Run.

3. Dalam kotak Open ketik control userpasswords2, lalu klik OK.

4. Klik user account yang kelupaan password-nya, lalu klik Reset Password.

5. Ketikkan password baru Anda di bagian New password dan di baris Confirm new password, lalu klik OK.

Cara di atas akan berhasil kalau di komputer Anda ada dua atau lebih account user. Namun bagaimana jika Anda satu-satunya pengguna PC tersebut, alias hanya ada satu account user di Windows XP? Tetap tidak masalah.

Gunakan saja bantuan freeware Austrumi. Download-lah freeware ini di alamat http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/austrumi/austrumi-0.9.2.iso?download
(pilih salah satu alamat yang tersedia).

Download-lah file image Austrumi sebesar 50MB, lalu bakar (burn) file ISO tersebut ke dalam sebuah CD kosong. Selanjutnya, gunakan CD tersebut untuk booting. Pada saat tampil menu boot, ketik boot: nt_pass lalu tekan Enter. Berikutnya, ikuti petunjuk yang terpampang pada layar. Selamat mencoba!
(sumber: InfoKomputer)

Ubah Tampilan Search Pane Windows XP

Windows XP sering menyelipkan animasi di berbagai fitur. Salah satunya adalah adanya karakter animasi yang muncul ketika kita membuka fitur pencarian Windows XP. Animasi itu bisa dihilangkan dengan mengklik [Change preferences] kemudian memilih [Without an animated screen character]. Kalau mau memunculkan kembali, klik [Change preferences] lalu klik [With an animated screen character].

Tetapi kalau Anda benar-benar tidak suka dengan animasi tersebut dan ingin menghilangkannya, Anda bisa melakukan trik ini.

Buka registry Windows dan masuk ke sub key HKEY_CURRENT_USER-Software-Microsoft-Windows-CurrentVersion-Explorer-CabinetState. Setelah itu buat string value baru dengan nama “Use Search Asst”. Kemudian klik ganda string value yang baru Anda buat dan isikan “no”.

Sekarang kembali buka fitur pencarian dan lihatlah perubahan yang terjadi, Anda tidak hanya akan melihat karakter animasi tersebut menghilang, tetapi tampilan fitur pencarian berubah total menjadi tampilan fitur pencarian ala Windows 2000 yang rasanya lebih simpel. Jadi ketika membuka fitur pencarian, Anda dapat langsung menuju menu pencarian.

Kalau ingin mengembalikan tampilan asli fitur pencarian Windows XP, cukup ganti value data Use Search Asst dari “no” menjadi “yes”. Menghapus string value Use Search Asst juga akan mengembalikan tampilan asli fitur pencarian. Ingat, perubahan tersebut hanya berpengaruh pada akun Anda saja, akun-akun lain tetap pakai fitur pencarian standar Windows XP.

Sumber: PCplus

Baca Isi Ponsel Orang Lain Via Bluetooth

Sejak lima tahun lalu, fitur Bluetooth menghiasi sebagian besar -ponsel baru. Si gigi biru mengambil alih posisi inframerah yang lebih dahulu eksis. Banyak keuggulan yang ditawarkan Bluetooth. Melalui fasilitas ini, Anda dapat bertukar kartu nama digital, chatting, bertukar file, hingga membuat jaringan pribadi. Semuanya dilakukan secara wireless alias tanpa kabel.

Di samping kemudahan bertukar file, Bluetooth punya kelebihan lain dibanding inframerah. Dua di antaranya ialah kecepatan transfer yang lebih tinggi, dan tak perlu saling berhadapannya perangkat pengirim dan penerima selama transmisi data.

Karena kelebihan-kelebihan inilah kemudian berkembang berbagai aplikasi yang mengandalkan koneksi Bluetooth. Salah satunya adalah Super Bluetooth Hack. Sebagian dari Anda tentu bertanya-tanya mengapa ada kata “Hack” di belakang nama aplikasi. Apakah aplikasi ini merusak?

Tenang saja, aplikasi ini tidak berbahaya untuk ponsel Anda. Sang pembuat membubuhkan kata “Hack” karena aplikasi ini dapat digunakan untuk melihat isi ponsel orang lain melalui Bluetooth. Beberapa kelebihan yang ditawarkan aplikasi ini, Anda bisa melihat informasi ponsel, daftar panggilan, phone book, SMS, kalendar, menjalankan aplikasi, musik, menulis teks, mengunci ponsel, mengganti nada dering, volume, alarm, jam, bahasa, mode ponsel, profil, koneksi, sampai menekan tombol ponsel secara jarak jauh dari ponsel Anda.

Sayang, saat Sinyal mencoba aplikasi ini, ternyata tidak semua ponsel berBluetooth bisa “di-hack” Ponsel-ponsel dengan sekuriti tinggi tidak bisa diakses dengan mudah melalui aplikasi ini.

Contohnya ponsel Linux. Ponsel dengan sistem operasi ini default-nya mematikan fitur Bluetooth. Jika Anda mengaktifkannya dan membuat Visibility-nya dalam mode On, Bluetooth hanya akan bisa dicari oleh perangkat lain dalam 10 menit. Setelah itu secara otomatis ponsel tidak bisa dicari lagi di “udara bebas” Kalaupun bisa terhubung, ponsel juga tidak memberikan akses penuh begitu saja. Itu sebabnya mengapa aplikasi ini praktis tidak bisa digunakan untuk mengoprek ponsel-ponsel tertentu.

Gratis, Mudah
Untuk menggunakan aplikasi unik ini, sangatlah mudah. Setelah mengunduh Super Bluetooth Hack v1.07.jar dari http://www.getjar.com/products/13076/SuperBluetoothHack/versions (106KB), Anda bisa memilih menu Connect dari jendela utama aplikasi.

Setelah itu, Anda bisa memilih perangkat yang ingin diakses dari daftar (jika sebelumnya Anda pernah mengakses perangkat tersebut) atau pilih Inquiry devices untuk mencari perangkat di sekitar Anda yang Bluetooth-nya sedang aktif.

Setelah ditemukan, Anda cukup menekan tombol Connect. Tak lama kemudian, koneksi ke ponsel tujuan akan terbentuk. Anda akan melihat menu-menu yang menawarkan akses penuh ke ponsel tersebut. Pilihlah yang Anda suka. Super Bluetooth Hack akan menggunakan akses yang didapatnya untuk mengeksekusi ponsel “target”.

Dalam menggunakan aplikasi ini Anda mungkin menemui ada beberapa fungsi yang tidak bekerja dengan baik di semua tipe ponsel. Dengan mengaktifkan kotak cek Disable Unsuported Functions pada menu Settings, kemungkinan ini akan berkurang. Sebab, beberapa fitur yang tidak dapat bekerja di ponsel tujuan akan dieliminasi dan tidak ditampilkan pada menu.

Jangan lupa, aturlah menu Saving Files to yang juga terdapat pada menu Settings untuk menentukan di mana Anda ingin menyimpan berbagai file yang didapat dari ponsel tujuan.


TIPS: Agar Anda tidak menjadi “korban” aplikasi ini, pastikan Bluetooth Anda dalam kondisi tidak aktif jika tidak digunakan. Selain akan menghemat batere, aplikasi semacam Super Bluetooth Hack tidak akan bisa mengakses ponsel yang Bluetoothnya mati.

Sumber: Sinyal