We received a stack of responses from viewers about 32-bit Vista SP1 allowing users to see the full 4GB of System RAM instead of the truncated 2.8GB/3.25GB normally shown. Here are some of emails we received.
• Fabio wrote: "With SP1, Windows Vista will report the amount of system memory installed rather than report the amount of system memory available to the OS. Therefore 32-bit systems equipped with 4GB of RAM will report all 4BG in many places throughout the OS, such as the System Control Panel. However, this behavior is dependent on having a compatible BIOS, so not all users may notice this change."
• Sam added: "It was stated in the latest show that upgrading to Windows Vista 32bit SP1 would allow a machine with 4GB of memory to address its full capacity. However, although the OS may now display the full 4GB it is still only capable of addressing approximately 3.2GB."
• Larry commented: "Roger, you are right to question the new 4 GIG reporting in Vista SP1. It only reports the amount of RAM in the computer, not the amount of RAM available to the operating system. This update is apparently for people who are not advanced users. No more questions from them since the operating system reports 4 GIG now even though the operating system still has apx. 3 GIG available for use."
• Thanks to all of you who wrote in about this topic.
• KVM or Keyboard, Video, and Mouse Switches are great ways to run multiple machines without the hassle or expense of extra monitors, video, or mice. We showed off a couple of examples including Belkin's Flip and IOGEAR's GCS1764.
• Alex Lindsay from Pixel Corps is back with a helpful tip on how to make use of the "depth of field" when shooting digital cameras.
• Darren Gladstone from GFW is back with a last look at the top games for 2007.
• Finally we had a question about why Firefox is better than Internet Explorer. The explanation is 2 fold. First IE has much larger installed base making it a more attractive target for most hackers. Second, IE's development pace has been a bit more glacial than its competitiors. Web browser functions like tab browsing and pop-up blocking, have been slow in coming to the IE platform. This is not to say IE isn't a perfectly usable browser (it is), however, many people prefer Firefox's open source model where security issues and bugs are made public allowing them to be patched sooner.
• And Robert wanted to send a special congratulations out to Team DL.TV for reaching 13th place (!) in the worldwide rankings for the Folding@home (FAH) distributed computing project. 2007 was an amazing year for the FAH project and our team's continuing commitment is what enabled us to move up the ranks from relative obscurity into the rarified "teens". If you haven't already, please check out our multi-part interview with the Director of the FAH project Prof. Vijay Pande. Prof. Pande's blog also mentions a recent FAH update for the PlayStation3 game console that adds some cool new features including the ability to play background music while it grinds though the protein folding calculations. Again, a sincere thank you to everyone who has joined Team DL.TV (FAH team #57391) and we look forward to cracking the FAH top 10 in 2008!
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