Tsui's Blog

So you may be wondering, from the glance at the title, that it is impossible for Windows Media Player to play MKV and M4A. It’s true… alone, Windows Media Player cannot play MKV and M4A. MKV, or the Matroska Multimedia Container, and the M4A, or the MPEG-4 Part 14 audio file that can be opened primarily by Quicktime or iTunes, cannot be played on Windows Media Player because the codec isn’t included with Windows. However, anything is possible in the world of today. That means yes, MKV and M4A, as well as many other formats, can be played on Windows Media Player. In this method, Windows Media Player is not modified in any way (because if it were modified, it would be a breach of the license agreement that users agree to.) It just simply gets Windows Media Player to “call its friends for help.”

The Community-Combined Codec Pack, abbreviated CCCP, combines the tools required to play many audio and video formats. The software has nothing of a nag and it doesn’t harm anyone’s machine. With its components, such as FFMPEG and .SRT-reading software for subtitles, many media files that don’t work for Windows Media Player already may work (yes, FLV’s too!) Installations of CCCP come pre-packed with the optional Media Player Classic HomeCinema, which is a stripped down neutral version of Windows Media Player (perfect for those who would rather use a small, stable audio/video player!) It’s hassle-free to install and no other software can top what CCCP can do.

There are many things CCCP is good for! Let’s see, you want to watch a video podcast, but you do not want to open up iTunes or Quicktime Player. That’s understandable. When CCCP is installed, a user can use Windows Media Player to open up the .M4V, .MP4, or .MOV file. Even if Windows Media Player states that it doesn’t work, chances are, it will work if the data within the file is valid. Let’s say you downloaded a video, but it is in an alien format, like a .MKV or .MTS (.MTS is standard for HD Camcorders.) Yes, CCCP can do that and Windows Media Player will run it! Some software, such as Windows DVD Maker, will utilize CCCP’s services for the input-to-output processes (so now, .MKVs can become video DVD’s if the software will read it!)

There are certain downfalls to installing CCCP that users should understand and will notice for the lifetime that the user has the pack. For example, games that rely on MP3, WAV, and movie files that CCCP covers may have a short delay (depending on the machine) because the CCCP processes for FFMPEG may need to start up. Notable games include Grand Theft Auto (when using custom tracks on PC) and Audition Online (due to OGG format extraction). The good thing, however, is that some software (like Quicktime and iTunes) won’t have this issue. It’s too bad that you can’t play all the files CCCP can do for Windows Media Player on Quicktime or iTunes, but otherwise, CCCP is a great utility for your media player needs!

Copyright Information:
Image Content: 電車男 (Densha Otoko) © 2005 株式会社フジテレビジョン (Fuji Television)
Image Content: 生徒会の一存 (Seitokai no Ichizon) © 2009 株式会社スタジオディーン (Studio Deen Co., Ltd.)

As most Facebook users know, every time the layout changes on Facebook, there’s bound to be a whole lot of issues. Because of change, lots of users will tend to dislike it (where’s that dislike button now?)  There are plenty of noticeable changes that are instantly seen right on the front page. The “friends online” is now also shown on the left panel of the home page. Everything is categorized on the left panel on the main page as well. The live feed has become simply “Most Recent”, but Top News is always shown first. The right panel is no different. The bottom bar is no more.

Oh hey, check this out! Application & Facebook games lovers will dislike this change. Applications are shown on the left panel… of the home page only. See these comments to the left? Those are users who use a lot of apps, based on my view of their profile posts from apps.  As like the previous change, this change is no different. Many can see this update to add more confusion to the usage of Facebook. Plus, many are beginning to complain that “Facebook hasn’t really been listening to their suggestions.” (Especially about the dislike button.)

For the past year or so, Facebook has been concentrating on privacy control for its users. Noticeable changes included the little lock button under posts. From that, users can control who can view a particular post or content.

Of course, all Facebook users will have to decide for themselves whether or not this update is its best… or another failure. Either way, let’s hope Facebook listens to every little suggestion given to them.

If you’ve been keeping yourself up-to-date with Redbana Audition, you would know by now that many long-awaited additions, such as Windowed Mode and new songs, have been added yesterday (and today.) Yesterday was the main release of the patch for clients while today’s update was minor.

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If you visit YouTube every day, you may have noticed by now that YouTube has changed its player design. For some users, they may even get a completely redesigned search and video page. Not to worry, almost everyone is seeing the change (except for the second-mentioned feature.)

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Folks, believe it. Microsoft did something right for once. Microsoft (the one who ruined Windows Vista users’ lives) released Microsoft Security Essentials in the last quarter of 2009. At first, I, personally, did not know whether to get it or not, whereas comparable to their failure of Windows Live OneCare with a premium subscription. Of course, the thought of free virus probably brings up the thoughts of “subscriptions” and “buy this” that is expected to appear a year later. Also, when thinking of free virus protection, it would sound like its effectiveness is as low as AVG, Avast, or some other free Virus Protection software out there. Actually, Microsoft took a different approach.

Testers, including myself, have found many reasons to actually thank Microsoft for bringing up Microsoft Security Essentials. My own test results found that Microsoft Security Essentials was able to catch a Trojan that Avast wasn’t able to catch. This wasn’t caught through memory, where viruses can activate at a variable interval, but this was through a quick scan (read it again, a quick scan.) No, I could not believe it either. Avast took in a full scan with searching through archives enabled. Avast caught on to nothing. The higher detection rate left me speechless.

During the scan, which took no longer than 10 minutes, I did my tasks as I would. I noticed that my use of other applications were not affected or slowed down most of the time. While using the Google Chrome browser, I didn’t experience the expected slowdown from the virus scanning process. At first, I thought MSE was hanging and performing no tasks or was paused. It continued to scan with minimal CPU and memory usage. I opened up a few more applications, such as Word, Windows Media Player, and my other browser (Opera.) Of course, Windows Media Player slowed it down a bit, but in no way that was troubling. No virus scanner should interrupt anyone’s work.

So how protected can a user be using Microsoft Security Essentials? You’d call me a liar to say "rest assured, there will be no issues.”

Source: cnet news

The service updates its anti-malware database constantly and publishes new antivirus signatures to Microsoft Update three times a day, Alan Packer, general manager of Microsoft’s Anti-Malware team, said in an interview on Thursday.

Did you understand that? MSE is updated three times a day. As more information comes in, users can stay confident that protection is on their side. I didn’t believe it until I pushed the update button every day with expectations of an update.

Another option, which I am very proud to see, is this:

Gamers, like me, need this option. This option, used in combination with the low memory usage of MSE in general, is every gamers’ dream!

Of course, some free things have some cost, but at least this one is not about finance:
 
Understand that virus protection software need some memory to run in background to keep people protected, which is why fulfilling the system requirements is a necessity. However, most people won’t find this a problem. Compared to the memory usage of Avast (around 65,000 K,) MSE uses less.

I’ll continue using Microsoft Security Essentials since it has given me the peace-of-mind that my machines are protected. Believe it or not, Microsoft deserves a lot of props for this. Why should people have to pay for Virus Protection?

See, this promotional poster was TOO hard to believe at first sight. Obviously, when something that large, like AT&T Wi-Fi, is announcing free services, it would mostly be free as “20 minutes of FREE WI-FI!”, as like Hong Kong’s McDonalds and their offer of 20 minutes of free Wi-Fi daily (provided by Y5Zone.) However, McDonalds nationwide in America aims to provide Free, UNLIMITED Wi-Fi starting on January 15th!

According to Danny Minick (Via Skype):

“McDonalds had free Wi-Fi already back in the day.”

So this means that they’re simply bringing it back because AT&T probably had zero benefits from regular customers since they started charging for non-iPhone customers when users use AT&T Wi-Fi.

Rant portion of this post begins below:

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Windows Vista/Windows 7 Backup and Restore Center, by far, hasn’t done anything for me or any of my neighbors of who I am friends with that use Windows Vista or Windows 7 every day. When a serious error occurs, forcing one of us to re-install our Operating Systems, we fail to bring back the files because the Windows Vista/Windows 7 backup/restore software, pre-loaded on the operating system, won’t bother restoring it and the outcome of it all would be "no files restored." I’ve performed OS reinstallations almost every 1.5 years to ensure safety, stability, and reliability of my operating system (and to fix up anything I might have messed up during the 1.5 years of use, including system files and settings.) Of course, I, myself, will never sacrifice my files for a smooth reinstallation of my operating system.

Second, here’s a question: Why pay for some online backup service per month when you can just get an external hard disk drive and backup all you need with it, using it in combination with Windows Easy Transfer? Actually, there’s a truth to it too. Remember, the Internet is NOT completely secure (the government may be another case, but look on the consumer and business side of this.)

So one day, I thought to myself…

Hey, either way, I’m going to have to re-install my programs and updates, right? Well, why don’t I just go to plan B and use that other method Windows Vista/Windows 7 has here…

Plan B might have been slightly costly, but actually, it’s foolproof! I ended up NOT using Windows Backup and Restore Center and used Windows Easy Transfer. You do not have to be a user who is transferring data to a different machine to use this tool. However, you will need some sort of network storage or external hard drive to fit the data in, depending on the size of your documents and other files you wish to preserve.

I’ve worked with machines using Windows Easy Transfer that didn’t require any more than 6GB of space on a removable media device (their 8GB flash drive was able to handle it, believe it or not.) A flash drive can handle the light computer user (one who just uses the computer to browse the web, works on word/excel documents, view and store pictures, etc.) On the other hand, the normal and intermediate computer users in the family may need an external hard drive. No, nobody will be asking you to go as far as a 500GB external USB hard disk drive (unless you really need that much capacity.) If it’s 50GB or 100GB, that should be the ideal size (and shouldn’t be as costly as one may think before dealing with which retailer to purchase it from.)

Windows Easy Transfer will transfer program settings, windows settings, individual user settings, documents, and much more. However, Windows Easy Transfer will NOT transfer your contacts, downloads, and certain files that are in the AppData folder. There may be some pop-up notifications along the way. If a certain file that you don’t know cannot be copied for any reason, try again. If it doesn’t work, click continue. Those files might not be 100% necessary, but do pay close attention. As for downloads and contacts, just copy it somewhere in the removable storage media and copy it back into the folder.

Also, regardless of whether you use Windows Easy Transfer or some other backup service online or offline, you won’t get your software back installed the way it is. Even if the service lessens your worry by promising that your software will be re-installed and given back to you the way you left it before the backup, I personally guarantee that a file or files, as well as the installation, may be corrupted or damaged (it’s like stopping time: if you stop time, made a building disappear, and started time again, everything would be completely haywire.) Windows Easy Transfer does not transfer files from the Program Files folder. From my discoveries, there’s a way to truly bring your installations back in order. After using Windows Easy Transfer to restore files and settings, your programs will not be re-installed using Windows Easy Transfer (and your desktop/quick launch/start menu shortcuts will be deleted if the system doesn’t have the actual software installed.) However, if you install the software first (remember: you do NOT have to re-install EVERY single software you had before re-installing the operating system) and run the Windows Easy Transfer software, your settings will be as if they were untouched*!

Once again, I can’t guarantee that every single file transferred will make it, but most of the files that don’t make it might not be important. Keep in mind that no backup service will work 100% (at least for a mass of files.) Neither I (nor Microsoft) will be in any way responsible if something is done incorrectly or if a file cannot be backed up or restored for any reason at all. Perform all backups at your own risk over any software or service.

Not everyone may have realized it, but Windows Vista and Windows 7 (Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate editions) include the Snipping Tool. It came to be useful for those who would rather show only a particular window (than to use the Print Screen & Paste-to-Paint method) and make annotations and edits. Some people would be satisfied with what the Snipping Tool can do, but it apparently didn’t satisfy every single user. Windows Vista is the first Operating System to utilize the signature Aero Glass, where the windows become transparent (for the unique looks.)

What did that mean? That called for a good upgrade for innovative features, which updated the way people took excellent screenshots.

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See that? Oh yeah, that’s my backyard.  That’s not all, of course. I’ve got a lot more to show you!

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