Take Server 2008 R2 64bit on a Joyride on windows XP 32bit

Hey Again,

After much wait (Tried using MSFT new download manager..) I finally obtained a Server 2008 R2 64bit image for evaluation from Microsoft Here

The evaluation as is the commercial product is in 64 bit only there’s no 32bit version for Server 2008 R2,

Luckily I’m using Sun’s (or should i say Oracle’s) VirtualBox which supports running x64 guests on x32 hosts like

my windows XP professional 32 bit, all you need to do is make sure you have the following:

- 64 bit processor support

- Intel’s Hardware Virtualization (VT-x) support

I have an Intel core 2 duo E6550 on Intel’s G33 motherboard

there’s also an easy way to check if you have these features using a little utility called “Securable” from the great security focused website GRC.com (Intructions,if needed, are over at GRC.com’s page)

VirtualBox is available for download Here

Just in-case you wonder why VirtualBox and not Microsoft’s own Virtual PC/Server or VMware’s Products

it’s because Microsoft’s product doesn’t runing 64bit on 32bit hosts.. and VMware’s is sloooow compared to VirtualBox,

Anyways I’m so glad I will be able to checkout Server 2008 R2 Remote Desktop Services soon,

Wondering if it manages to scale up against Citrix’s XenApp..

Promise to keep you updated on this

Remote Desktop with Clear Type on Windows XP

Hi to all the RDP users out there,

Anyone who uses remote desktop from XP to XP knows how difficult it’s for the eyes when the fonts display all pixelized and if your like me you probably hate it,

Well this trick will make life a whole lot easier and the fonts much much prettier,

1st, a bit of background, back in 2002 when XP was released the team who was in charge of  RDP must have thought that having Clear Type enabled while in RDP session will slow the session down,

Now tho LAN networking is much faster and has more throughput so it’s more convenient to have it enabled,

But wait, there’s a catch, where do you enable this? well you can’t. not in the preferences of Remote Desktop.

…

With  a little modification to XP’s registry (Only works if you have XP with Service Pack 3)  you could enjoy Full Clear Type (Font Smoothing) in your remote desktop session,

For starter get your REGEDIT up and running from Start > Run…

2. add the following lines to the registry:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server\WinStations]
“AllowFontAntiAlias”=dword:00000001

AND

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server\WinStations\RDP-Tcp]
“AllowFontAntiAlias”=dword:00000001

As the user s4e8 explained over at Dan Farino’s page on CodeProject

“If a session initialed by console, and switch to remote afterward, it use the first one. If it’s initiated by RDP it then uses the second”

Thanks s4e8!

After adding these registry values simply restart the remote computer to enjoy Clear Type Galore!

Know any neat tips and tricks for windows xp? tell us all about it in the comments

A List of Must-Have Firefox add-ons

Hey,

I made a collection of my Firefox add-ons, some of them you may have heard of

You can find them all here

Especially useful is the InstaClick add-on for people from a laptop or netbook,

Enjoy,

Make Your own Custom-Made Free application packages with NINITE

Anyone who has ever installed a computer knows how annoying it is to install the must have software, such as a Browser, IM, Media Player etc.

Many people carry around there software on a thumbdrive,

But how is it possible to keep the program on a thumb drive up to date?

Well luckily there’s a website with intention of solving this issue,

At Ninite.com you are presented with a list of applications all up-to-date

from various categories such as Media, Security, Office etc. to choose from,

After making the selection you are offered to download single .EXE file to download and install all of the applications automatically at one go,

Ninite (formerly called Volery) explains:

“All we do is install apps with default settings and
say “no” to browser toolbars and other junk…”

And most important it’s completely FREE! for personal use!