Reduce the size of Vista's WinSxS Folder
Submitted by andrew on Thu, 10/30/2008 - 09:23
I've been looking for this for a long time. On Windows Vista, there is a folder called "WinSxS", which stands for "Windows Side by Side". It's a part of the move to a "component" based architecture, where the WinSxS folder contains multiple versions of a component such as Windows Media Player or IIS, and the appropriate versions are hard-linked into the system. Unfortunately, Windows is stupid (surprise!), and provides no easy way to remove old versions.
Missing Sync: iPAQ Syncing Done Right
Submitted by andrew on Sun, 10/19/2008 - 21:30
One of the things I was quite interested in was syncing a Windows Mobile device with a Mac. While it would be pretty simple for device OEM's to make an iSync plugin for their devices, or for Microsoft to provide one like they do for Windows, none of them do. On the one hand, this makes sense. Most Windows Mobile devices are sold to corporations, and their sales to individuals are weak at best. Most enterprise environments want the complete Exchange + Outlook + Outlook Mobile stack, so support for OS X or Linux isn't needed.
Related Links:
The Missing Sync for Windows Mobile Mobile IE: A supported, up to date browser worse than Internet Explorer 6?
Submitted by andrew on Tue, 10/07/2008 - 09:32
I was going to write up an article about the significant issues browsing in IE on Windows Mobile 5. Before I could write it though, Ars Technica beat me to it. The article is completely correct; Pocket Internet Explorer is pretty much worthless. I've only found one good feature: when you download a program's setup CAB file, it offers to open it to install automatically.
Related Links:
Microsoft casting about for viable mobile browser strategy Windows Mobile: Wireless and Bluetooth Configuration
Submitted by andrew on Wed, 10/01/2008 - 16:19
Back when wifi was first becoming standard on Windows laptops, it seemed that every laptop had it's own user interface for connecting to a network. On many machines, it usually went like this:
- There was the configuration provided by the manufacturer of the wireless card.
- Often, the OEM of the laptop included their own configuration tool as well.
- Finally, once Windows XP SP2 came out, there was the wireless configuration built into the operating system.
Reading PDF's on a Windows Mobile Device
Submitted by andrew on Tue, 09/30/2008 - 13:18
Today I thought I'd try setting up the iPAQ to read PDF files. After using Linux and OS X so much, I'd forgotten that Windows-based OS's don't include a PDF reader. It's inexcusable given that Adobe has released the specification under very liberal license terms.
Related Links:
Download Acrobat Reader for Pocket PC 