[ How To ] Transform Windows Vista to Windows 7 !

Hello Humanoids . Its been long since i did a post : thanks to my ongoing exams ( i have a four day leave now ) and i shall try to do as many useful posts as possible .

Windows 7 , is the next Windows OS from Microsoft , After the success of Windows XP Microsoft gave us Windows Vista but it is way to buggy , resource hogging and costly , unless you are a pirate , but now Microsoft has come up with the OS that could bring back their lost glory . So why did they bring out Vista ? To make us comfortable with the UI i suppose .

Anyways , There are tons and tons of ways to convert your vista into Windows 7 and i have successfully modified every piece of my vista to make it look like Windows 7 , a friend of mind recently asked me to share the changes and mods i used , so :

Here is how you can Transform Windows Vista to Windows 7 without using any customization pack or resource hogging softwares :

Firstly and most importantly to do any of the following you need Tune Up Utilities , since all the themes are needed to be patched but its not free ( trial ) , but there is a freeware called VistaGlazz which can patch up the themes for you .

Windows 7 Theme for Windows Vista : Deviant Artist called giannisgx89 is famous for making Windows 7 theme for Windows Vista .

The two themes that are nearly perfect are :

Windows 7 PDC Style For Vista :

This is the latest theme from the Deviant Artist and this theme is the best Windows 7 theme around .
The only problem which i faced is the Windows 7 like superbar abnormality , yes the font size is pretty bad but only for people using Enhance My Vista ( will tell you about this , keep reading )

Download The Theme by clicking here  .

Another theme  ( which i am using right now ) from the same Deviant Artist is  :

Windows 7 Vista Style Final :

This theme is my favorite , everything seems perfect here , though if you want better details i wouldn't suggest you this theme , try downloading the theme above.


Download The Theme by clicking here .


You know how to install 3rd party themes on Vista , right  ? If not , refer this link .

Windows 7 Wallpaper for Windows Vista  :

There haven't been many wallpapers in Windows 7 but the Fan Favorite PDC Wallpaper is a must have if you want to make your Vista Look like Windows 7 .

Download the PDC Wallpapers by clicking here .

Another Wallpaper which i would like to share is undoubtedly the greatest fan made wallpaper on Windows 7 ( in my opinion) .  This wallpaper has been made by DJ Corny , yet again , a Deviant Artist .

Click here to Download Windows Seven Aurora Wallpaper.


Windows 7 gadgets (Sidebar)  :  Windows 7  has no sidebar , but you can play with the gadgets on the desktop , so what should i do ?  Just drag the gadgets from your sidebar on to your desktop , DUH.


Windows 7 Boot  Screen For Windows Vista  :

The only thing on internet which is rare , but Deviant Art user Vishal Gupta has made a Boot Screen for Windows Vista  .

Though there is no animation in status bar ( due to limitations in Vista ) the boot screen is the best on the internet  .


Click here to Download Boot Screen for Windows Vista  .

If you are worried about :  How to add Boot Screen in Vista  , refer this link .

I am still suggesting you to use Tune Up Utilities ..

Windows 7 Login Screen for Windows Vista Theme  :

 Another Important part of the customization process is the login screen and this Login Theme is perfect and has been made by Deviant Artist  pugalenthi . 

Click here to Donwload the Windows 7 Login Screen.

To make this Login Screen work , you need to Download and install a software called  Stardock Logon Studio for Vista , yes it free : just google it and download it .



Windows 7 Superbar or Iconised Taskbar for Windows Vista 

There are many ways to get iconised taskbar on Windows Vista , most of them have resize issues , but the software which can do that for free is called  :   Enhance My Vista .

So how do i get iconised taskbar via Enhance My Vista  ?

First download the software ( its free ) . Run the software , you shall see various options .

Follow the steps below [ IMAGES ]

Go to Customization Menu : 

Then Click on Tasbar menu :

 

Tick the option which says Iconised Taskbar  , once you tick it : It shall appear like this  :

 

Finally Go to Menu Icon ( Top Left ) and select Save and Close and you shall have your taskbars ready . 

Windows 7 Aero Shake Feature for Windows Vista  .

Aero Shake is one of the coolest feature on Windows 7 , what it does is it clears all your background apps once you shake the window , if you shake it once again  they shall re-appear !

This software has been developed by Gawker coders and it can take time in minimising and max"ing : it depends upon the RAM of your computer , if you have a slow PC , then it may hang your P.C. , but it works great.

Click here to Download Aero Shake For Windows Vista  .

Remmeber to Download Version 1.3


Windows 7 Aero Snap Feature for Windows Vista  


This is also one of the most useful features in Windows 7. Aero Snap is a feature of Windows 7 that allows you to resize, arrange or maximize your desktop windows with just drag ‘n’ drop.

This is how Aero Snap works :




Click here to Download Aero Snap For Windows Vista  . 


Windows 7 Aero Peek Feature for Windows Vista 


Recently released by a dude at WinMatrix, what it does is that it replaces the " Show Desktop Feature of Windows 7 " , "Aero Peek" has replaced the old "Show Desktop" feature in Windows 7. It can be found as a small rectangle present at last in Windows 7 taskbar. When you hover the mouse cursor over it, it allows you to peek behind all open windows by hiding all windows and showing only outlines of all windows.


This is how your Vista Desktop looks like : 

Click here to Download Windows 7 Aero Peek Feature for Windows Vista .


Windows 7 Calculator for Windows Vista  


Windows 7 has one of the most featured and good looking Calculator ever . But unlike Windows 7 the Vista Calculator is plain ugly , so you should get your hands on this Calculator !

 [img link - Lifehacker ]

Before you download , let me tell you that you should backup your Calculator and in case you want to make it your default Calculator just replace it with the address of the previous Calculator .


Click here to Download Windows 7 Calculator for Windows Vista  .


Windows 7 Notepad for Windows Vista

You must have read about the new Ribbon UI for Notepad ( Ribbon UI was first implemented in MS Office ) , Deviant Artist Solo Dev has made a great looking Notepad ( Ribbon UI inspired  ) .

This is said to be the only look - alike , he just added Tabbing to Notepad so stay tuned for more updates from him .

Click here to Download Windows 7 Notepad for Windows Vista 

Last but not the Least  ,


Windows 7 Icons for Windows Vista 


Nothing is complete without brand new set of icons and yes somebody does have the PDC icon packs , you know how to change the icons , right ?

Click here to Download Windows 7 Icon Pack for Windows Vista  .


Random Hacks that can help you in making your Vista look more and more like Windows 7 :

Get Windows 7 Desktop Context Menu in Vista, Add “Display Settings” and “Gadgets” Options

How To Get Windows 7 Explorer Pane In Vista?

 Note - This list shall get updated regularly , so please bookmark or save it , if you found it useful enough . 

So this brings the marathon post to an end , i think such big posts were needed since i didn't blog for so many days .

Subscribe to the RSS Feeds if you enjoyed this post and Stay tuned Some Big Posts are coming up ! 

Take Care  ,

 

The War of Operating Systems ! [ A User Review ]

The War Of The Operating System's 


Posts like Windows vs Mac vs Linux are quite common now a days especially with the launch of Ubuntu 8.10. People prove how one operating system is better than other through benchmarks, but today we will not compare any benchmarks like other. This post will tell you which Operating system is better than the other on pure usability terms.



Installation 


So first lets talk about the Default looks and installation procedure of the 3 OS'es. The OS X Installer looks great and so does that of Vista. Ubuntu's installer is quite dull and not at all pleasing to the eyes. In terms of ease of installation, Vista and OS X are quite close to each other, Ubuntu's installation is also easy but if you select Manual Partitioning then you have to select the “root” and the “swap” partition which the newbie's may not understand. After that installation is fairly quick and simple and Ubuntu even detects your other Windows Partition and imports your documents and files as well.


Ease Of Use 


All operating systems are user friendly to use, all of them has some nice features like the expose feature in OS X, the panel in Ubuntu where you can add some useful quick launch buttons. The Spotlight in OS X is present in Ubuntu as well in the form of Deskbar. Vista has the powerful start menu with Search features which is extremely useful as well. Installing Applications in Mac is quite easy and so is it in Ubuntu thanks to the Add/Remove and Synaptic Package Manager but if you get hold of an app which is not there in the Resporiteries then you have to compile the app so that you can install it which is not so easy. Users are quite happy with the way applications are installed in Windows Vista so no complaints regarding that. Installing apps in OS X is also quite easy, just drag n drop the installation file to the applications directory and the application would be installed but one problem with OS X installation file is that they are quite heavy. For Eg if Opera for Windows weighs 6Mb then Opera for Mac OS X weighs around 14Mb. So people with slow internet connections should keep this in mind.


In terms of resource usage Ubuntu wins! Vista needs 2GB Ram to function properly and Mac needs 1Gb RAM to function properly while Ubuntu can function smoothly on a system which has only 512Mb RAM. Aero effect of Vista is also quite resource hungry and the same effect can be applied in both Ubuntu and Mac quite easily! In terms of installation of themes, Ubuntu and Mac are quite user friendly and you can install themes by “drag n drop” while in Vista you have to patch your system files to install themes and they may very well corrupt your system files thus forcing you to reinstall Windows. Hardware compatibility is something which we cannot ignore. Here some people may say Mac OS X wins because everything works out of the box in OS X but we must keep in mind that Mac runs on selective hardware, unlike Windows and Ubuntu. Windows as well all know has the largest user base, and thus the lack of drivers for all kind of hardware's even in the latest version of Vista is something which we must get used to. We cannot blame Microsoft for not developing drivers for various hardware's, its the fault of the Hardware Company. Microsoft unlike Apple does not make drivers for various hardware's so its senseless to blame Microsoft for it, and there are many work arounds if you cannot find the driver for the latest gadget you got and some of these workarounds end up in giving up the dreaded BSOD. Ubuntu's condition is also the same in terms of hardware compatibility. Consider my PC as an example, Ubuntu 8.04 just refused to run on my PC while Ubuntu 8.10 runs flawlessly and it even detected my 22” LCD!


The Final Word !


Ubuntu, OS X and Vista all have been stable for me, but performance of Vista degrades significantly with time while the performance of Ubuntu and OS X more or less remain the same. To keep Vista running at its peak you have to maintain it regularly by defragmenting your partition and for that we need to use 3^rd party software since the inbuilt Windows Defragmenter is just useless. Also major thing i would like to point out is that i really did not like the Dock of OS X for multitasking, its a big hindrance. It significantly slowed down the speed of my multitasking, other users may not agree with me here especially the Mac Fanboy's but then again thats my own personal view. OS X is good for developers, its not that useful for normal users. I was completely blown away by the softwares available for development in OSX. But one must keep in mind that nearly 99% of the apps available for Mac is paid and thus owning a Mac can be a costly affair. Windows will and always have the largest user base just because people have got used to it and only a revolution can change this. Ubuntu is one of the best kept secret to the public.

One big reason alone why i would say people to shift to Ubuntu is the lack of virus, now a days everyone's PC's get infected with viruses and even the best of the antivirus is unable to remove it and it creates a lot of trouble for the users. 

In the end i would say that there is no clear winner in this war of the Operating System's, and there wont be ever! This war will go on and on, you, your grandchildren and their grandchildren all will witness this never ending war and in the end it will benefit us the users!

 This post has been written by Rajesh Pandey who is a "hardware related category " freak , he loves trying different OSs out the moment they come out ,  A Sony Ericcson Fanboy and a great modder,helps people out in every way possible, a blogger at Life of Rajesh and of course a great friend !

Vista Transformation Pack 9.0 ( Finally ) Released !

Hello Humanoids . This is a quick notification post .

I have been tracking Windows Vista development since its development came into news and i adored every little feature of it but sadly never thought of buying one when i had Windows XP ( I have windows vista ultimate now btw ) so what i did was what most of use did  : Installed Windows X 's Vista transformation Pack : the ultimate conversion tool from Windows Xp to Vista .It's a must have for people who want Windows XP to look like Windows Vista . The Pack used to be great though was resource hogging , but its been long since i used it so can't say much about the new pack ,

Here are the list of new features :

• New 3rd-party applications
• ViSplore - Vista Glass explorer simulator
• Vista Drive Icon - adding free space percentage in your drive icon like Vista explorer
• Vista Rainbar - Lightweight Vista sidebar based on Rainmeter that even consume less resources than real Vista Sidebar
• Improved 3rd-party applications
• ViStart - Files indexing for documents search, improved reliability and compatibilities
• ViOrb - Improved graphic and reliability (C++ re-written)
• TrueTransparency - Improved reliability with improved AeroStyle's glass border
• WinFlip - Improved stability and reliablity
• New functionalities
• Setup personization - Allow customizing Vista experiences upon installation without access to Welcome Center
• Windows XP Service Pack 3 compatibilities - Now you can enjoy Vista themes after installation with Windows XP Service Pack 3
• x64 compatibilities - More secured x64 installation without getting hurt by incompatibilities
• There're also a lot of bug fixes and refinements in the program but let's just keep it simple with these for now. You can experience the rest later by yourself.

Read more  here  : Window's X live blog .


Click here to Download VTP 9.0 pack .

Don't forget to test it out and gimme the result !

Stay tuned for more  ,

Take Care,

Time to Update : Yahoo Messenger , Firefox and Windows Vista Ultimate !

Hello Humanoids , this definitely is the longest title ever , but there wasn't option left so , lets take a look at what updates have taken place :

• Yahoo Messenger 9.0

• Firefox 3.0.2

• Windows Vista Extra : 3 Updates !

Lets take a look one by one ,


Yahoo Messenger 9.0 : Finally , thank the lord - Yahoo! messenger has finally risen from all the betas and is now stable. Here are all the features in Yahoo Messenger 9.0 from Ymblog :

• Pingbox : Introducing Yahoo! Messenger Pingbox, a new application that once embedded into your blog, website or social network page, lets visitors IM you anonymously (or they can identify themselves) without needing to download or even sign into Yahoo! Messenger.The good news is you’re anonymous too; visitors to your page never see your Yahoo! ID. Pingbox is great for giving your site/page/profile visitors a quick way to chat with you ,  you can can make your own Pingbox from here !

• New Skins :  There are three new skins - Silver, Ruby Red, Mystic Black ( yay for Mystic Black )

• Return of the (original) emoticons : Woohoo , thankfully the larger emoticons have now been replaced back to original Yahoo  ! Emoticons :)

See more updates here :  Yahoo ! messenger blog


Download the Yahoo Messenger 9.0 by pressing the download button :




Here is my verdict :

Stability :   Never seen before in any YM versions.

Speed : Better than ever .

Features : Very innovative , Hi Five !

Conclusion :  The wait was worthy , its a must download !

Firefox 3.0.2 :   The not so long but very much awaited Firefox 3.0.2 which seems good enough to fix the bugs found in Firefox 3.0.1

• Major security errors and stability errors have been fixed .

• Official releases for Sinhala and Slovene are now available. New languages are in beta : Bengali, Galician, Hindi, Icelandic, Kannada, Marathi, Telugu, and Thai

•  Fixed a number of minor issues with the layout of certain web pages.Fixed several theme issues that affected right-to-left locales

•  Fixed issue that caused some users with customized toolbars to have their Back and Forward buttons go missingAdd new Extended Validation (EV) roots to Firefox 3.0.2.

• Fixed several hangs and crashes that occurred when using screen readers.

• Good news for Mac users :  Mac-specific issues have been fixed ! 

This version of Firefox hasn't been referred to as a perfect update , but yes you should without a doubt update your Firefox to Firefox 3.0.2 :

Download


Download Firefox 3.0.2 by pressing the download button :




Or update this from the browser itself :

Navigate to Menu Bar then go to  Help -> Check for Updates , and then click download and install .




Windows Vista Ultimate :  Most of the Windows Vista users must be knowing about this , while some wouldn't have noticed it but these updates dont come very often.

As you know these updates are called Windows Ultimate Extras , hence its only for people using Windows Vista Ultimate .


Here are the few updates  :

• Microsoft ® Tinker (TM): Microsoft Tinker is a casual game that provides players with short puzzle game play sessions set in a warm, calming environment. This game is not for action freaks , this is  just a plain and a fun puzzle game !
  

• Ultimate Extras Sounds from Microsoft Tinker: Based on the positive feedback we received from the release of additional Windows Sound Schemes in April, we've integrated the unique audio sounds from Microsoft Tinker into a new sound scheme.

• Windows ® DreamScene (TM) Content Pack #4 Windows DreamScene Content Pack #4 which adds three additional nature-setting Windows DreamScenes.

Download These Contents by going to :

Start - > Windows Update -> then click on Check for updates and you shall surely see them on your to be updated list !



So those were the massive updates , feel free to download them from the blog itself as they have been linked from the official server itself , so feel safe !


Thats all for the updates , its time to give me fingers a break and yeah i have been doing too much techno stuff these days , will post something different as soon as possible !


Take care,