Month: August 2014

Check out this gaming PC system!

On many Linux distros, “xkill” is a common command that is VERY handy. Now, you can use a Windows version of “xKill.”

Windows xKill

“Ok, for those of you that have ever used Linux, then there may be the chance that you might have had to use xkill. But, for those that have never used Linux, then here is a good summary for you.

An App that your using Freezes, and your first thought it to CTRL+ALT+DEL to bring up Task manager, then you have to wade thought the processes to find said frozen app, then kill it… Or you use xKill.

Using a system wide hook in xKill, when it is running, just Press Control+Alt+Backspace, and you will see a Skull and Crossbones follow behind your cursor. When you click on the next item (say, the frozen application), it will kill it. simple.

And just because i know that people will try this out with out having an app to kill, when the skull and crossbones is up, if you choose NOT to kill any thing, press Escape, and you will exit out of xKill mode.

Added by Dr. Bill: “If you ‘right-click’ on the tray icon, you can enter ‘Kill Mode’ and then float over the app that you want to ‘kill.'”

No external references, this app is Portable, you will know when it is running doe to the color changing Skull and Crossbones in your system tray. you can Right click on the glowing icon to either go in to xKill mode, so that you don’t have to do Control + Alt + Backspace, or you can exit out of xKill.”

Cross-posted from VirtZine: They are going to have to get this fixed before their “Cloud OS” version of Windows comes out. Can you imagine if you couldn’t use your PC for five hours!

Microsoft’s cloud-computing service has five-hour outage

Bloomberg News – By: Jack Clark – “Microsoft’s Azure cloud-computing service, a critical part of Chief Executive Satya Nadella’s plan to remake the software company, experienced a major global outage Monday that lasted for around five hours.

Azure, which lets businesses access computing resources and run programs via the Internet, was restored after a disruption that affected at least six major components in multiple data centers, the world’s biggest software maker said on its website.

Microsoft’s cloud-computing service, which competes against rival businesses from Google and Amazon.com, also experienced some outages in August. It’s unusual for cloud-service suspensions to affect more than one data center at once, and this is Microsoft’s most severe Azure interruption since some storage tools went offline in February 2013.

Azure is a key part of the ‘cloud OS,’ a term Nadella uses to describe the different technologies Redmond, Washington- based Microsoft can bring together to give customers a consistent experience across different devices. The cloud division, which contains Azure, has an implied annual revenue of about $4.4 billion, Amy Hood, Microsoft’s chief financial officer, told Bloomberg in July.

Nadella, who built up Microsoft’s cloud-computing business before he was promoted to CEO in February, seldom misses an opportunity to promote Azure, which is part of his “Mobile First, Cloud First” strategy. Nadella’s latest plug for Azure was earlier this month, when he participated in the Ice Bucket Challenge and doused himself with ice-cold water to raise awareness for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. He challenged the CEOs of Amazon and Google to do the same.

‘Oh man, oh my God, that is cold!,’ Nadella said after being drenched with water. ‘Now let me challenge Jeff Bezos and Larry Page. From personal experience, I can say it’s better to have your head in the clouds than in a bucket of ice.’

Azure has enabled Microsoft to partner with other companies. Last year, Microsoft and Oracle said businesses would be able to buy middleware and database products from Oracle on the Azure cloud. In May, Microsoft announced a similar agreement with Salesforce.com Inc.”

Why does everyone want a watch? What’s up with that? Or, maybe they really don’t. If that is the case, how embarrassing!

Samsung’s Gear S is the first third-party smartwatch to get Nike+

GigaOm – By: Kif Leswing – “The Samsung Gear S was only announced earlier this week and it’s already compiling a nice library of apps. Samsung announced on Friday that a Nike+ Running app will be preloaded on the Samsung Gear S when it goes on sale this October.

The Gear S comes with a curved 2-inch screen that will be used by the Nike+ app for giving feedback while running or displaying NikeFuel stats. An audio player will also be built in, so you can set your run to music with Bluetooth headphones — perhaps Samsung’s Gear Circle wireless headphones, which were announced at the same time as the Gear S.

The main claim to fame for the Tizen-based Gear S is that it comes with a 3G connection, so it doesn’t need to be paired to a smartphone at all times, unlike Android Wear. The fact that the Gear S will come with a robust running app pre-installed is bad news for the Timex Ironman GPS One, an expensive running-focused smartwatch based on Qualcomm technology that also comes with a cellular connection but lacks Samsung’s ecosystem clout.

Because it’s a pain to carry around a big phone when you go out for a quick run, run tracking could end up being one of the best ways to use a smartwatch with 3G connectivity. It’s an example of a user experience that’s well suited for the wrist, not a phone.

Nike laid off most of the wearable hardware team responsible for the Fuelband earlier this year, saying that it instead planned to focus on Nike+ software for multiple platforms. It’s kept that promise, releasing a Nike+ app for Android earlier this summer, although there is no Android Wear support yet. Still, I would expect to see Nike+ integration featured when Apple announces its wearable wristband as early as September 9.

Samsung’s Tizen-based smartwatches were among the first to market, but they face an uphill battle competing with Google and eventually Apple for people’s hearts and wrists. If Samsung wanted to keep its Tizen smartwatches competitive, this is exactly the way to do it: Quality apps that Android Wear doesn’t have yet.”

So… not that I necessary WANT an iWatch, but hey! It is news!

Look Daddy! Santa Gave Me an iWatch Raincheck.

Recode.net – By: John Paczkowski – “So that new wearable device Apple is introducing on September 9? It’s going to be a while before anyone is actually wearing it. Sources in position to know tell me it won’t arrive at market for a few months. ‘It’s not shipping anytime soon,’ said one. So when does Apple plan to ship its eagerly anticipated wearable? That’s not clear, but my understanding is that we’re unlikely to see it at retail until after the holiday season — think early 2015. Disappointing news for anyone hoping to put the device in a stocking come Christmas, but not unprecedented. Remember, Apple didn’t ship the first iPhone until six months after its January unveiling. Which is not to say that the gap between announcement and ship date will be that long, just that it would be unwise to expect preorders for the device to begin on the Friday following its unveiling. Apple declined to comment.”