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Ask OnSoftware: What is the Windows Logo test?

Elena Santos — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 10:26:51 +0000

After reviewing the improved snapshot management functionality in the latest version of VirtualBox, OnSoftware reader Mark contacted us with an interesting question:

I’ve become an avid reader of your weekly newsletter and look forward each week to explore your recommendations. I was interested in VirtualBox after reading about it on your site. I’m running Windows XP. I tried downloading the file “VirtualBox 3.0.6 for Windows hosts x86/amd64″ from www.virtualbox.org but during the installation a warning came up suggesting that I should not continue as the software is not recognized as being approved with “Windows Logo” and went on to say that completing the download could corrupt my system. Should I be concerned?

The Windows Logo testing error message Mark refers to is not something that just happens in VirtualBox. It may appear when installing other applications as well, but as long as you trust the software developers and the application you’re about to install, you don’t have anything to worry about.

This error means that some components – usually drivers - inside the program you’re installing couldn’t be properly tested by Windows during installation. It doesn’t mean that the program is dangerous, or that it’s going to crash your system, erase your hard drive or any of those horrible things you may have thought about… well, not necessarily. It’s just that Windows wasn’t able to complete the test on those particular items. Our advice for Mark then, in this particular case of VirtualBox, is to ignore that message and go on with the installation. I did, and my Windows XP is perfectly fine!

Once again, this message should be ignored only in those cases when you’re installing a trustworthy application, coming from a reputable developer. In case of doubt, do some ask@onsoftware.com so that we can provide handy solutions for you and the rest of our readers!

Ask OnSoftware: Uninstall Windows Live Messenger

Elena Santos — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 18:21:47 +0000

There are few things as annoying as a program that’s easy to install, but almost impossible to remove from your computer. One of them is Windows Live Messenger, which comes preinstalled with Windows Vista and can get a bit stubborn when trying to get rid of it. One of our readers, Jean, had this problem and decided to ask OnSoftware for help:

I already have enough stuff registered in this lousy, abominable pop-up computer. How do I get rid of that WINDOWS LIVE MESSENGER window that pops on my screen??!!

If you’re in the same situation as Jean, you’ll be glad to know it’s easier to solve that it seems. All you have to do is download WLMUninstaller, a handy application that locates Windows Live Messenger on your hard drive and removes it in a couple of minutes.

WLMUninstaller is dead easy to use: run the program – no installation required – and click Uninstall to remove Windows Live Messenger from your computer. That’s all! WLMUninstaller does leave some traces behind (a couple of folders and files inside the Windows Live directory) but the actual IM client will be gone forever.

Do you know any other trick to effectively uninstall Windows Live Messenger? Feel free to share it in comments! Also, keep on sending all your problems, questions and doubts to ask@onsoftware.com so that we can provide handy solutions for you and the rest of our readers.

Need a little extra help with math or spelling?

Niamh Lynch — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 16:01:02 +0000

Here at OnSoftware we get lots of emails asking about software. Most of the time they are complicated questions, like how to partition your disc while dual booting on an external drive… or something along those lines. Sometimes, however, we get questions with more human interest.

A while ago a reader emailed asking for help with her math skills. She wanted to know if there were any programs or applications that could help her become more comfortable with numbers and less embarrassed by her lack of math skills. The good news is that there are – lots of them! Even better news is that our reader is not alone, and there are many people who have similar problems. Lucky that our reader was brave enough to ask, right?

That got us thinking here at the office – always a dangerous thing – but this time, we’ve come up with a great idea! We’re going to produce a short series of posts with advice and software tips for people who have problems with numeracy, reading, spelling or money skills. They’ll be of use to lots of people, and best of all, you’ll be able to brush up on your skills without even leaving the house. Whatever your level, you’ll find something useful, so stay tuned and don’t forget to spread the word. You never know who might need the extra help…

Ask OnSoftware: What are Augmented Reality apps?

Tom Clarke — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 14:28:40 +0000

An interesting query from one of our (anonymous) readers on a topic which has even cropped up in our editorial meetings:

Hi! I’ve been thinking about buying a smartphone, and one of the features I’ve heard people talking about on mobile blogs is “Augmented Reality”. What is that, and why is it useful? Should it affect my choice of phone?

Though it seems like something of a current buzzword, Augmented Reality as a term was actually coined in the 1980’s. In simple terms, Augmented Reality – also called AR – means the enhancement of what you have around you by adding a layer of data to it. In other words, you can use AR to make your surroundings ’smarter’ – pointing out places of interest, for example.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkPHDMVxKn0

On my HTC Magic Android phone (AKA the myTouch 3G), I’ve tried out a few of the more popular AR apps and I can honestly say that while I don’t use them 24/7, knowing that I have them to hand is a great feeling. Wikitude AR is the first Augmented Reality app I tried and its results were impressive. Simply point your phone’s camera at anything you like and Wikitude combines GPS location, your phone’s internal compass and a variety of data streams (most notably Wikipedia) to provide you with a wealth of information about what you’re looking at. A newer competitor, Layar, performs similarly but with the advantage of being free and open – meaning that anyone can add their own data layer to it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EA8xlicmT8

Another application, Sky Map, may not be considered to be a classic use of AR but in my opinion it’s a great example of what Augmented Reality can do. Using it to locate and name celestial objects is actually really fun and enhances a fun hobby.

Ask OnSoftware: How to use a webcam with Messenger for Mac

Nicholas Mead — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 14:59:54 +0000

If there’s one thing that’s still poorly supported on Macs by Instant Messenger clients, it’s the iSight camera. You’d think by now, IM clients would have advanced enough to allow users to make video calls but even major ones such as Adium still don’t. Biggest culprit of them all however is Microsoft Messenger for Mac which left one OnSoftware reader ruing the day he’d bought a Mac:

Hi, I am hoping that you can give me some assistance in how to get the webcam feature to work on MSN Messenger for Macs. I was assured that before I bought my Mac that MSN Messenger works as it does on my old PC. It mentions about being a corporate user and the webcam function working. How do I become a corporate user? If you could get back to me as soon as you can with a solution it would be much appreciated.

I really feel for this user because converting to Mac can be a frustrating experience at first and stupid things like this can really make you wonder whether it was worth all the bother. It’s ridiculously unfair of Microsoft when PC users can use webcams and audio with MSN Live Messenger but Mac users can’t.

Microsoft have obviously decided that, if you’ve got enough money to buy a Mac, then you should have enough to give them some too because as the user suspects, only Messenger for Mac corporate users can use a webcam. If you’re in the same position you have two options. One is to pay hundreds (if not thousands depending on the license) of dollars and upgrade to the corporate edition which also requires Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007. The second, is to use pay nothing and use aMSN instead. Hmm, tough one.

aMSN is an open source MSN Messenger clone so its interface will feel familiar to Messenger for Mac users. The important thing however is that it’s absolutely free and it supports webcams. Starting a webcam conversation is easy.

1. Open a chat dialog with the person you want to chat to:

2. Click on the webcam symbol:

That’s it you’re done! I was using an integrated iSight camera but it should work with any external webcam. Although you can’t do audio conversations with aMSN, you can record and send sound bytes to other users. There are other advantages to aMSN over Messenger for Mac too including the possibility to sign-in to more than one account at once and conduct video conferences for free.

Follow us on Twitter!

Jon Riggall — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 10:32:54 +0000

In case you don’t know, OnSoftware is on Twitter: so if you want to keep up with what’s going on here, follow us! Find us here at twitter/softonic_en.

If you don’t use Twitter, why not give it a go? It’s a surprisingly good way to stay up to date with whatever you’re interested in! And if you follow us, we’ll follow you back – meaning you can send us suggestions, tips and software questions that we’ll answer here on the blog.

Ask OnSoftware: Customize your browser home page

Elena Santos — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 10:03:34 +0000

<p>The web browser has slowly evolved from being just one more program on our hard drive to becoming almost the only tool you’ll ever need, thanks to the popularity of web apps. This is why it’s important to keep it perfectly updated, and tailor it according to your needs and tastes. One of these small customization details is the browser home page, that is, the first web page that loads when launching the browser; something our reader David seemed to have some problems with:

I want to delete the website in the ‘Home Page‘ text field.

Besides this basic functionality, there are other tricks you can use to spice up your browser home page. One of them is opening several webpages at the same when you launch the browser. All you have to do is entering the addresses of all the web pages you want to use as home pages in the same field described before, separating them with vertical bars.

An easier way to configure multiple home pages without having to type that much is opening all the web pages you want to use, then go to Tools > Options and click the ‘Use Current Pages‘ button.