editing vista boot menu

if you are installing vista in a multi-boot environment (e.g. with XP or server 2003 on a separate partition or disk)  you might run into the issue that only vista is booting and no other entries are shown in the boot menu.

since vista is not using boot.ini anymore like "older" windows versions did. vista is using the boot configation data (BCD) store for this.
editing this is more complicated than just editing boot.ini in the past.

but i found a nice tool to easily manage (add/remove/edit other operating systems) the BCD store: vista boot pro

vista boot pro screenshot

with this i could easily add my windows server 2003 system on my second partition to the vista boot menu.

finally: drm-free mp3 shop started

today akuma.de started it’s beta phase.

it’s an online music shop that (legally) sells pure mp3’s … no drm "protection" or anything.
the prices are ok as well i think: for example a full album costs between 4 and 12 euros, a single song costs 89 cents.

i like the approach and will for sure test it out… maybe this will be the first online music-shop i’ll really use.

PS3 delayed in europe

it’s not that it would surprise me… but sony now anounced that the playstation 3 will not make it to europe this year.

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has announced that the release date for PlayStation 3 in PAL territories has been pushed back until March 2007.

Source: eurogamer.net

new TV set

today i could pick up my new TV set 🙂
i am now the happy owner of an toshiba WLG66P.

here are some impressions:

on the photos you can see a hdtv trailer of tomb raider 2 streamed via Windows Vista RC1 media center to my xbox360 😀

i am really looking forward to the release of the HD-DVD drive for the xbox 360….

Wiping a harddisk … definitely

i just found this information on jesper’s blog:

cipher /w:<drive letter>

This command, built into Windows XP and higher, does a three-write pass over a drive to wipe all free space.

to be honest: i didn’t know that 🙂

vista rc1 ready…

… should appear on the usual places soon (i expect beginning of next week).

compared to beta2 you experience a huge boost in speed… the UI doesn’t feel slow and "stuttering" anymore.

you can read a more detailed and official statement on the vista team blog.