Java slows down tab opening in IE8

Working on IE8 in Windows 7 RC, I've suddenly noticed today that when opening new tabs, it took IE8 a few seconds to display the tab. Needless to day, I was annoyed. I remembered I installed Java today for another program, so I've quickly disabled Java in IE8 Tools -> Internet Options -> Programs -> Manage Add-ons, and the problem went away. So if you notice the same issue, try doing the same!

Playing MKV or DivX using FFDShow in Windows 7

One of the main issues that I had with Windows 7, was playing MKV files. I've installed Haali Media Splitter and FFDshow. I've started playing an MKV file and noticed that they playback was choppy a bit. After further investigation I've noticed that the FFDShow video decoder doesn't appear in the tray, so I understood that FFDshow isn't used. I've searched for a solution for a couple of days. I've quickly learned that the problem is that Windows 7 comes with it's own codec for MKV, and even for DivX, and it doesn't let FFDShow take over, but it took me another day to get to the following solution.

A word of warning: The solution is involves renaming files in the Windows\System32 folder. It isn't an ideal solution, and can cause certain things not to work right. I assume that TV recordings using Media Center won't work, and DVD playback also wouldn't work. It may break other things as well, so I take no responsibility for this solution.

The main solution is posted here. However, besides renaming the following files:
MP4SDECD.DLL
MP43DECD.DLL
MPG4DECD.DLL

The ones above are needed to enable DivX to be decoded with FFDShow. I had to rename one more file to get FFDShow to play MKV files, and that's: msmpeg2vdec.dll

That's it, now MKVs play well, with FFDShow. Hope this post saves people some time finding the solution.

Lost Rewatch - Season 1 - Pilot Parts 1 and 2

Now that we are waiting for the last season of Lost, I've decided to re watch the 5 seasons, and not just that, but to do watch it with my wife, who has never seen any episodes. I hope she doesn't give up anytime soon...

 

So, what do I say about the Pilot? It's nothing like the rest of the series. My wife saw it as some kind of a horror story (you know, pilots being snatched from a window, and their bloody body thrown on a tree). It's less character, and more "show", so it makes the characters seem a little bit one-dimensional. It makes sense, as the purpose of the Pilot is to sell the show. The second part was better, and my wife was completely surprised when it was revealed that Kate was the prisoner. She also wondered why Michael knew saw little about his son, though this was revealed later. Basically, she enjoyed the 2nd part better. Hope it only improves over time.

Windows 7 RC

I have been busy at work lately, so had no time to write (or read my RSS feeds, or do other things I like to do), but I did hava a chance to return to Windows 7, and this time I had a separate hard disk, so I avoided the issues I had with the Beta. Overall, I'm very pleased with Windows 7. I did however have a few issues, and still have some other issues, and here they are:

Resolved issues

• Anti virus: At first I installed AVG, but I felt it gave me no real security, so last night I installed Trend Micro. However, it seemed stuck, even after restart, and only showed as "Loading". Today I tried to uninstall it, and it didn't succeed. I had to use a restore point, to remove it. I now have Kaspersky 8 beta for Windows 7.


• Creative Webcam: I have an older version. Windows didn't install a driver for it, and according to the Action Center (which is great BTW), Creative don't have a driver for it, but you can try installing the old driver in Compatibility Mode. I tried it last night, and it worked.


• Playing MKVs: Windows 7 has it's own codec for MKV (H264). It's pretty bad. I had to rename a few DLLs to be able to disable the Windows codec, and use ffdshow instead (more about this, perhaps later).

Unresolved issues

• Rear Microphone input: For some reason, the rear microphone input is not recognized, so my microphone is not recognized. I tried to check for an updated driver for Windows 7 for my Intel motherboard, but they don't have Windows 7 drivers yet.

I think this is it for now...

Safari 4 – my new default

After I wrote my last post in Windows Live Writer and published it, it opened up in Safari 4 Beta. Yep, it is now my default browser, so bye bye FF for now.

Lost 5x07-08 Thoughts

I’ve just watched both episodes back to back. Wow, so many thoughts. And spoilers ahead, so watch out below!

 

 

 

Lock is back on the Island. So are the O5, and so is Ben. But they are in two separate timelines. This is great stuff! Michelle from 24 is also there, as well as new survivors from the plane crash. Oh, and Ben killed Lock. That whole seen was plain awesome. I probably missed some important pieces of information, so I’m going to read about these two episodes soon.

Safari 4 Beta experience

First, an apology to my faithful reader for not writing for so long. I’m under a lot of pressure at work, and have hardly any time for anything fun :-(.

As you may have gathered, I like betas, and I particularly enjoy Apple’s new Safari 4 Beta. As other reviews have stated, it’s a very fast browser (IMHO, faster than FF3), and the Top Pages, and Cover Flow features are pretty cool. So far I haven’t had a single crash (now they will begin probably), so it appears quite stable. As I wrote above, I don’t have much free time, so my experience with it wasn’t very long. I’ll be sure to keep you updated!