Windows 7 RTM Eats Desktop Shortcuts

Windows 7 RTM can eat up some of the desktop shortcuts created by end users, Microsoft explained.
Customers running the latest iteration of the Windows client have reported that in certain scenarios shortcuts that they placed on the desktop disappeared altogether. According to the Redmond company, this is expected, by design, behavior in Windows 7. At fault is the System Maintenance troubleshooter that will delete all shortcuts from the desktop as long as they are considered broken.

“The System Maintenance troubleshooter performs a weekly maintenance of the operating system. The System Maintenance troubleshooter either fixes problems automatically or reports problems through Action Center. When there are more than four broken shortcuts on the desktop, the System Maintenance troubleshooter automatically removes all broken shortcuts from the desktop,” Microsoft stated.

According to the software giant, the System Maintenance troubleshooter has a certain limit that triggers it to delete broken shortcuts. Microsoft informs that keeping the number of broken shortcuts on the desktop to no more than four ensures that they won’t be touched. But place five broken shortcuts on the Windows 7 desktop and they will be deleted.

“If you must have more than four broken shortcuts on your desktop, you can disable the System Maintenance troubleshooter. If you disable the System Maintenance troubleshooter, all the maintenance tasks that it performs are disabled. To disable the System Maintenance troubleshooter, follow these steps: click Start, and then click Control Panel. Under System and Security, click Find and fix problems. On the left navigation pane, click Change settings. Set Computer Maintenance to Off,” Microsoft added.

The Redmond company explained that users could frequently create Windows 7 desktop shortcuts that were broken. “For example, a desktop shortcut for a USB device may be regarded as broken if the USB device is not connected when the System Maintenance troubleshooter performs its maintenance,” the software giant explained. This behavior is by design, as already mentioned, so users should not expect a fix.

Dual Screen Netbook PC with Windows 7

Check this netbook out. A dual screen netbook has emerged onto the scene from a Japanese manufacturer company called Kohjinsha, and it has been named as Kohjinsha DZ series. This netbook features dual 10.1 inches widescreen displays with each having 1024×600 resolution, and 2048×600 resolution when combined. These two screens slide out left and right, resulting in an extra long centered display.



This dual screen netbook runs on a 1.6GHz AMD Athlon Neo MV-40 processor with S780MN chipset and ATI Radeon HD 3200 integrated graphics card. And, Yes it is powered by Windows 7, the latest OS sensation from Microsoft. Detailed specifications of this netbook are listed as follows.

Kohjinsha DZ Series Specifications

The dual screen notebook, also known as DZ6KHE16E has the following specs.

* Dual 10.1 inch LCD screen
* 1.3 megapixel camera
* 1.6 Ghz AMD Athlon Neoprocessor
* 1 GB RAM (with maximum support for 4 GB RAM)
* ATI Radeon HD 3200
* 160 GB harddisk
* WiFi
* Bluetooth 2.1
* Ethernet
* Battery life:4.5 hour
* Weight: 1.84 kg
* OS: Linux or Windows 7

Windows 7 DirectX 11 Direct3D, Direct2D and DirectWrite

Although word of DirectX 11 has been around for over a year, with Microsoft sharing actual details with developers and partners, Windows 7’s graphics technology will only from now come into play.

With the latest iteration of the Windows client available for purchase for a little over a month, customers worldwide can start taking advantage of the successor of DirectX 10, by leveraging Windows 7 computers in concert with DirectX 11 graphics cards. At this years’ Professional Developers Conference, the Redmond company share additional details related to DX11 in no less than two sessions.

Less fortunate devs that were unable to attend PDC 2009 can still access conference content from Microsoft, with video available on both DX11 sessions. Developers interested in Direct3D, Direct2D, and DirectWrite can watch “Modern 3D Graphics Using Windows 7 and Direct3D 11 Hardware” and “Advanced Graphics Functionality Using DirectX.”

“With the onset of new Direct3D 11 hardware, gain practical knowledge to help you push graphics to the limit. Learn about the new tessellation stage in Direct3D 11, which enables an unprecedented level of rendering quality by dynamically generating geometry on the GPU. In addition, see how the multi-core improvements in the Direct3D 11 runtime can help you scale your application to take full advantage of all of the cores on a machine. Finally, learn about Direct3D 10 Level 9, which enables Direct3D 10 applications to run on pretty much every computer in the market today, and WARP, our new software rasterizer that lets your application use high-quality graphics even when there’s no graphics card available,” reads the synopsis for the D3D talk.

The “Modern 3D Graphics Using Windows 7 and Direct3D 11 Hardware” is embedded below, but it is also available for download and offline viewing as an MP4 Video, PPT, Windows Media Video, Windows Media Video (High). For some reason, Microsoft is not allowing the embedding (I’m sorry about this, it was confusion on my part, this video is now also embedded) of “Advanced Graphics Functionality Using DirectX” so those interested can either view it at the source or download it via the following links: MP4 Video, PPT, Windows Media Video, Windows Media Video (High).

“The number of PC configurations is exploding. With the onset of netbooks as well as high-end desktop systems using the latest in graphics hardware, creating an application that can target all of these systems is getting harder every year. Join us as we explore the many options available in Windows 7 to facilitate graphics development across all different hardware configurations, from low-end integrated to top of the line discrete GPUs. Learn advanced performance and rendering techniques for Direct2D and DirectWrite, and the interoperability of Windows 7 technologies for making slick, high-quality graphics for your applications of the future,” reads the description of the talk for D2D and DirectWrite.

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Windows 7 RTM Free Ultimate Extras Games Soon

The Ultimate Extras live to see another day. In all fairness, it will not be the whole of Ultimate Extras that will survive, but just two components, both being games which will be delivered as standalone downloads. And this time around, Microsoft will not limit the availability of how little survives from the Windows Vista’s Ultimate Extras. Instead the Redmond company will make available Tinker and Hold 'Em for free. “Tinker and Hold 'Em are coming to Games for Windows,” Microsoft revealed. “Need a break? If you like classic platform puzzles, or just want to play a quick hand of cards, we have a couple of great new games coming soon to Games for Windows! (…) Here's the best part...both of these games will be absolutely FREE!!”

As much as some end users expressed strong discontent over how Microsoft dealt with the Ultimate Extras, and, of course, because of the inconsistencies across the offerings, the perspective of having them discontinued sparked even more criticism. In addition, while DreamScene will not be resurrected apparently, the Multilingual User Interface packs (MUI) have made it into Windows 7 Ultimate, and so till Tinker and Hold 'Em.

At this point in time, Microsoft did not reveal the actual delivery deadline for inker and Hold 'Em, noting only that customers should expect them sooner rather than later. At the same time, the company is expected to provide the two games for both Windows 7 and Windows XP users, as they will be offered as free downloads via Games for Windows.

“Tinker - Even robots get lost, sometimes! Help this one get home by solving puzzles that untangle a surreal and misleading world...but be careful! Tinker only has a limited amount of energy, so you'll have to use it wisely or he'll be lost forever! A classic mental challenge for the entire family, Tinker features an original score, compelling visuals, and 60 levels of classic puzzling fun,” Microsoft revealed. “Hold 'Em - Pit yourself against the computer for a high-stakes experience that won't empty your pocket! Play with up to five computer opponents, and customize the look of the card deck and playing table. Have fun and bet what you want — the computer can't make you pay up!”