If you have ever felt in need to install QuickTime from Apple to play streaming video or to view offline videos in your computer with its player, you don’t need to install it at all. There are better alternatives.

QuickTime Alternative has been around for a long time freeing many people from installing Apple Quicktime player which is a real example of what not to do when developing players. The resource usage is huge, it adds endless entries in your registry, tries to start when you computer boots up, needs an internet connection to look for updates, and the list goes on…

QuickTime Alternative has two versions. The difference is that the Lite version doesn’t include Media Player Classic (MPC) which a terrific video player for all of your needs. I strongly recommend to get the normal version of QuickTime Alternative and to try MPC to view videos with it. You won’t be disappointed. If you only need to view QuickTime videos in streaming site, download the Lite version.

iTunes users:

Shark007 from MSFN Forums has an iTunes installer that doesn’t install the official QuickTime Player and works if you have QuickTime Alternative installed. He keeps it updated to the current version of iTunes. You can read more about it here. I really dislike iTunes but that’s a different story.

Normal | Lite

A new version has been released. I always get them to keep my audio updated with the latest version available.

If you experience problems with drivers, use Guru 3D Driver Sweeper after you have uninstalled your current drivers to clean the system before installing the new ones. You can do this right in you windows session or in Safe Mode.

Unattended usage:
setup.exe -s -f2<path\LogFile> -z[-rp<path\LogFile>]
example:
setup.exe -s -f2C:\mylog.log -z[-rpC:\RHDSetup.log]

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Some days ago there were reports of a flaw in the Macrovision SafeDisc component in Windows XP and Windows 2003. For those of you who didn’t know SafeDisc is embedded in Windows as a part of the Microsoft DRM security scheme. The vulnerability is not critical as it may seem because it requires a local system account to exploit it.

The component responsible for the flaw is the SafeDisc driver SECDRV.SYS.

Microsoft has said that it will provide an update in the next Patch Tuesday on November 13th. If you want to resolve the issue right away, Macrovision has released an updated driver.

Windows Vista users are not affected by this flaw.

More than a year ago, there was an error in their beta testing program and some guy posted a way to register an account during that phase. I was able to do it and since then i have my @live.com email account.

Microsoft has just made public the registration for everyone for people to register and get their email accounts to match their Windows Live brand and services.

The only think im not sure if that i don’t know if current users of @msn or @hotmail can migrate their accounts to @live.com but if you want you account you can register here.

Here comes another update for Nvidia drivers. This version is final and has WHQL (Windows Hardware Quality Labs) certification which means that this drivers are signed and are approved by Microsoft.

However, the latest Beta version 169.04 is still recommended for Crysis Single-Player Demo and for TimeShift. If you have this games, use the latest Beta.

You can read the release notes for each driver version to see the list of fixed issues and remaining issues that have to be fixed in a later release.

XP | Vista

Quote from Nvidia:

NVIDIA® nTune is the ultimate utility for accessing, monitoring, and adjusting your system components, including temperature and voltages with clear, user-friendly control panels. Overclock your system for highest performance or underclock it for near silent operation. All changes are performed within the Microsoft® Windows® interface – enabling full functionality without the need to make changes in the BIOS and reboot your system.

The Nvidia nTune page doesn’t show this new version yet, but you can get it from several locations.

Note: The downloaded file name says it is for XP but it works with Windows Vista.

Download from Nvidia Download from MajorGeeks

New version. It corrects a bug in Internet Explorer Autocomplete cleaning code.

Remember that the standard installer comes bundled with a toolbar. If you want to download it without the toolbar get the Slim build. If you want it portable, grab the Portable build instead.

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For those who are wondering, ESA stands for Enthusiast System Architecture.

This new platform will provide enthusiasts (me included ) with a common or standard way of controlling/monitoring hardware the way it should be implemented by now but for many reasons this couldn’t be done until now.

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