GUI in Windows Technology

INTRODUCTION:

                      GUI is abbreviated as Graphical User Interface which allows the user to interact with electronic device. Implementation of GUI in windows makes windows user friendly. First GUI in windows technology was introduced in windows 1.0. Later on many enhanced features such as pointer, pointing device, multiple windows were implemented in windows to enhance its technology.

WHAT IS GUI?

                                GUI – Graphical user interface   is a type of user interface which allows people to interact with electronic devices such as computers; hand-held devices such as MP3 Players, Portable Media Players or Gaming devices; household appliances and office equipment with images rather than text commands.

A GUI is a type of human-computer interface that uses windows, icons, pull-down menus and a pointer and that can be manipulated by a mouse (and usually to some extent by a keyboard as well).

It offers graphical icons and visual indicators, as opposed to text-based interfaces, typed command labels or text navigation to fully represent the information and actions available to a user.

The actions are usually performed through direct manipulation of the graphical elements.

The GUI represents a major advance over the (CLI) of the console, which displays only text (i.e., no images) and is accessed only by a keyboard.

It has made computers much easier to learn and work with, and it has also led to the development of major new applications for them, including desktop publishing and CAD

GUI IN WINDOWS:

 Windows was the first commercially available GUI Operating System from Microsoft founded by Bill Gates. Microsoft announced that it was developing a GUI personal computer in November, 1983. The initial version, dubbed Microsoft Windows 1.0 and released in November 1985, made use of windows, although they were not overlapping and there were no icons. The much-improved Windows 2.0, which was released two years later, incorporated icons and had windows that could overlap. Today windows are used by most computer operating systems.

FEATURES OF GUI

A major advantage of GUIs is that they make computer operation more easier to learn and use. For example, it is much easier for a new user to move a file from one directory to another by dragging its icon with the mouse than by having to remember and type seemingly arcane commands to accomplish the same task.

It provide users with immediate, visual feedback about the effect of each action. For example, when a user deletes an icon representing a file, the icon immediately disappears, confirming that the file has been deleted (or at least sent to the trash can). This contrasts with the situation for a CLI, in which the user types a delete command (inclusive of the name of the file to be deleted) but receives no automatic feedback indicating that the file has actually been removed.

 GUI in Microsoft windows contains the following features,

POINTER -A symbol that appears on the display screen and that you move to select objects and commands. Usually, the pointer appears as a small angled arrow. POINTING DEVICE – A device such as a mouse or trackball that enables you to select objects on the display screen. ICONS – Small pictures that represent commands, files or windows. By moving the pointer to the icon and pressing a mouse button you can execute a command or convert the icon into window .You can also move the icons around the display screen as if they were real objects on your desk. DESKTOP – The area on the display screen where icons are grouped is often referred to as the desktop because the icons are intended to represent real objects on a real desktop. WINDOWS – You can divide the screen into different areas. In each window, you can run a different program or display a different file. You can move windows around the display screen, and change their shape and size at will. MENUS – Most graphical user interfaces let you execute commands by selecting a choice from a menu.

 FLEXIBLITY OF WINDOWS

   A major feature of windows is the ability to be manipulated easily and intuitively(i.e., with little or no instruction) even by inexperienced users. The ways in which they can be manipulated usually include

Opening (such as by clicking on an icon and starting an application program) and closing. Moving to any area of the screen by dragging (i.e., moving by placing the pointer over the window and moving the mouse with a button held down). Repositioning so that they appear to be behind or in front of other windows or objects on the screen.  Adjusting size (i.e., horizontal and/or vertical dimensions). Scrolling to any section of the window contents (by using scroll bars along the bottom and right edges, the mouse wheel or keyboard commands). 

The size of most windows can be adjusted over a wide range including full screen, a fraction of the screen and more than the full screen. In the latter case, the desired section of the window can be viewed by moving the window to expose it. Windows can also be minimized, which results in their being replaced by an icon and/or their name, usually in a strip along the bottom of the screen, without actually closing the underlying application program.

 MULTIPLE WINDOWS

    Another major feature of windows is the ability for multiple windows to be open simultaneously. This is particularly valuable in a multitasking environment. Each window can display a different application, or it can display different files that have been opened or created with a single application (e.g., text, image or spreadsheet files).

 Moreover, there is a great deal of flexibility with regard to how multiple open windows can be arranged with respect to each other. They can be arranged so that they are contiguous and do not overlap (tiled windows) or so they do overlap (overlaid windows).

 Overlaid windows resemble a stack of documents lying on top of one another (part of the desktop metaphor that characterizes most GUIs at present), and only the upper-most window is displayed in full.

Any window can be moved to the top of the stack and made the active window by positioning the pointer in any portion of it that is visible and clicking a mouse button.When most GUI programs are launched, they open in a single window.

 SPECIALIZED WINDOWS

   There are various type of windows, and their functions and appearances can vary substantially. For example, a browser is a specialized type of window that has additional functionality, including the ability for the user to move forward or backward through a sequence of documents (i.e., web pages). The more advanced browsers (e.g., Mozilla and Opera) have also incorporated the tabbed concept that had earlier been developed for windows for other applications.

 Child windows are windows that are opened either automatically or as a result of some user activity when using a parent window. They can range in functionality from the very simple to the full complement of controls.

 Message windows, also referred to as dialog boxes or pop-up messages are a type of child window. A dialog box is usually a small and very basic window that is opened by a program or by the operating system to provide information to the user and/or obtain information (or at least a response) from the user, including setting options or issuing commands. They usually lack most of the functionality of the more general types of windows (e.g., the ability to scroll) and in some cases have buttons that must be pushed before other computer functions or programs can be resumed.

 GUI IN WINDOWS DEVELOPMENT

 WINDOWS 1.0 (RELEASED IN 1985)

The first version of Windows provided a new software environment for developing and running applications that use bitmap displays and mouse pointing devices. Before Windows, PC users relied on the MS-DOS method of typing commands at the C prompt (C:\). With Windows, users moved a mouse to point and click their way through tasks, such as starting applications.

In addition, Windows users could switch among several concurrently running applications. The product included a set of desktop applications, including the MS-DOS file management program, a calendar, card file, notepad, calculator, clock, and telecommunications programs, which helped users manage day-to-day activities.

 WINDOWS 2.0 (RELEASED IN 1987)

Windows 2.0 was a 16 bit Microsoft GUI based operating environment that superseded windows 1.0Windows 2.0 also introduced more sophisticated keyboard-shortcuts and the terminology of “Minimize” and “Maximize”, as opposed to “Iconize” and “Zoom” in Windows 1.0.

In this version, the actual management of the windows had significantly improved. The windows could be overlapped, resized, maximized and minimized.

WINDOWS 3.0 (RELEASED IN 1990)

By this version, Microsoft had realized the real potential in GUI’s and started to significantly improve them. The operating system itself supported standard and 386 enhanced modes, which made use of higher memory capacity

Velib obsession

A few nice Windows 8 release days images I found:

Velib obsession


Image by austinevan
velibobsession.blogspot.com

Paris Vélib Service (Vélib is short for “Velo Liberte” or “Bike Freedom”) is a city-wide bike rental service. With plans for 20,600 bicycles available on 1,451 stations, it is the largest bicycle rental project in the world.

Renting a Velib bike

UPDATE (25 October 2007): The system now accepts American Express and JCB cards that do not have the EU smart chips! Good news for visitors that do not have an EU bank card.

UPDATE (28 October 2007): Be VERY careful out there… I’m sad to write that the the first fatility involving a Velib bicycle occurred on 19 October in the 13th arrondissement at the corner of boulevard Morland and Bastille. This is first fatility since the service started July 15 2007. The 60 year old woman was struck by a truck while riding in the shared bike/bus lanes that are still commonly found in Paris. While the majority of Paris bike lanes are dedicated to bikes, there remains many that are shared between bikes, taxis, and buses. Riding in these shared lanes is tricky and I’ve found myself having to compete for space with very large vehicles that do not always see the bike riders well if at all. Bike helmets are not required nor used in Paris and perhaps they may catch on as there have been many fatalities involving bicyclists each year. www.liberation.fr/actualite/societe/285982.FR.php

UPDATE: With the transit strike over, bikes are now being repaired more quickly…

The French transit strike increased ridership but conversely resulted in many bikes not getting repaired. Twice while going to rent a Velib I found many bikes in the stands that were broken. The strike made transporting the bikes to the repair depots difficult resulting in many broken bikes being left in the stands.

So, WATCH OUT for flat tires, broken chains, bent wheels, etc.

The interface is a bit confusing… but it works (eventually) and you can rent a nice bike very cheaply.

Paris Vélib Service (Vélib is short for “Velo Liberte” or “Bike Freedom”) is a city-wide bike rental service. With plans for 20,600 bicycles available on 1,451 stations, it is the largest bicycle rental project in the world.

THE BIKES

The sturdy grey bikes come with a metal basket on the handlebars and are heavier than standard bicycles, built to withstand heavy use. In line with the program’s green image, Vélib‘ maintenance staff get around town on 130 electrically assisted bicycles. A barge with 12 stops along the Seine will pick up bikes in need of major repairs. Cleaning staff drive electric vehicles and use rain collected on the roofs of JCDecaux offices

Shimano (brake systems)
Prowheel (core hardware)
Nexus (gear shifts, cables, etc)

The bikes are 3 speed “roadster”-type bikes.

I had some luck as when I arrived at the Jaures station as there was a ratp truck unloading new bikes. I spoke to the RATP employees and found out there are currently about 13,000 bikes in place right now with plans to have 20,600 by the end of the summer in 1,451 stations. The bikes just arrived a few days ago (on the 15th of July – right after bastille).

I walked down to the Jaures Vélib station and rented one! It’s a pretty cool bike; a bit particular looking but no one seems to mind riding them. I road it about 30 minutes and it did well. It’s not meant for comfort so watch out for bumps in the road and cobblestones. It has 3 speeds so is fairly flexible. It also has lots of illumination so seems fairly safe at night (I’ll try it tonight and see how it goes).

You have to buy a Vélib pass first:

Daily card is 1 euro
Weekly card is 7 euros
1 YEAR is 29 euros

To get the 1 year card you have to go online and sign up and get an “abonnement”. Most people visiting Paris will probably want to just get a bike for 7 days then check it in/out as needed over the 7 days. You can also obtain the 1 year card by filling out a form at the Mairie (the various city halls in each arrondissement), any metro ticket station, or many pastry shops as well!

UPDATE: I’ve found that I can get the Velib yearlong form online and link it to my metro pass by mailing in the form (along with a check for 29 euros and an authorization for 150 euros) to the Velib HQ outside Paris. Once this is done I can much more easily get a bike by just passing my navigo card over the sensor!

The three choices do involve a 150 Euro “deposit”. That is, if you don’t return the bike within a certain amount of time you will be charged 150 euros.

There is a 13 point legal summary that you must accept to obtain a Vélib pass (one of the annoying features is having to read through the entire legal acceptance form on a small screen) NOTE: I have since found that you can "skip" the entire text. Another issue is that when you pay with a bank card you have to switch to a different interface screen. The Main interface (a color plasma screen) for the details of the bike pass then the smaller LCD screen for the details of your bank card. But, it’s very similar to the RATP and SNCF machines used to get metro and train tickets (at least in the complexity of the user interface).

To get the 1 year card you have to go online and sign up and get an “abonnement”. Most people visiting Paris will probably want to just get a bike for 7 days then check it in/out as needed over the 7 days.

Either of the three choices do involve a 150 Euro “deposit”. That is, if you don’t return the bike within a certain amount of time you will be charged 150 euros.

The first two options can be done right at the Vélib station. There’s not a person there so you have to use the interface.

Payment:

You can use French bank card and it looks like most ATM cards will work as well. I tried using my navigo and it worked great! I also used my Bank Card and it worked also. You can also use your navigo card (your metro pass which you can obtain free from www.navigo.fr/ – you’ll need to upload a photo and provide a French address – use the address you will be staying at even if it’s a hotel; the navigo card will arrive in a few days so do this before you leave)

UPDATE: The Velib system now accepts American Express and JCB cards that do not have smart chips! Good news for foreign visitors who don’t have an EU smart card…

Language:

The interface says it’s in French, German, English but these languages don’t work yet (I guess they have not translated the interface so these buttons don’t do anything). So, you’ll need to read French but it’s not that hard and there are always people around willing to help. The RATP employees say there are plans to include other languages (up to but right now there are only 3 (and only French is actually working right now!).

UPDATE: During the 2nd week the interface was updated and is now working in English, Spanish, and French.

Once you receive an abonnement card you will have to select a PIN (code secret) that will allow you to use your card in other stations.

Once you process a payment, you select the stall number, then go push the button on the stall corresponding to the bike you selected. Then you just go ride off into the sunset! Then return the bike at any other station.

Once you have the pass and bike you are charged based on how long you ride it – simple. If you check out a bike and ride it for less than an hour and a half it’s free! But if you ride it longer you have to pay – A supplement of 1 euro will be charged for an additional half-hour, 2 euros for another 30-minutes and 4 euros for every addition half-hour after that.

Don’t forget to push the button on the stall to get your bike! I don’t know how many people I’ve seen try to “swipe” the paper bike ticket on the navigo interface!

SECURITY

The bikes come with a cable lock. This is passed around a pole or other object then connects into the frame of the bike. There is a small key that will release once the cable lock is snapped into place. I’ve had a little bit of trouble at first then realized that after clicking one end of the cable in place, to unlock it, you must also push it in a bit further to get the key to release. It’s not the thickest.

RETURN

To return the bike just put it into one of the stalls. Make sure the slot is engaged. It will "click" into the slot, the light will go "yellow" then to "green" about 5 seconds later when the RFID system recognizes your bike as being returned.

If there are problems you can call Vélib’s emergency number: 01 30 79 79 30. This number is also printed on the bike’s handle-bar.

JCDecaux

JCDecaux sponsors the project in exchange for advertising rights in Paris. JCDecaux is Europe’s largest outdoor advertising company. Like a similar scheme in Lyon, where 10 percent of the city’s population has a subscription to the local sharing scheme, Vélib is operated by outdoor advertising giant JCDecaux, which is footing the bill in exchange for exclusive rights to 1,628 Paris billboards.

UPDATE: I’ve been renting one 2 or 3 times a week and it seems to work well so far. Theft has not been a huge problem so far but it does happen. The bikes come with a lock but it is not a substantial one and is easily cut. When I stop to eat somewhere I lock it up but keep it in sight. Right now they program is regarded with some pride by parisians so it seems including the appropriate marketing and presentation has some benefits. For example, the program was marketed outside of normal medial channels (outside of France). The support infrastructure is also highly visible with specialized electric vehicles, boats, and even uniforms for the maintenance personnel. This makes sense though given that the company financing it is JCDecaux (Europe’s largest outdoor advertising firm).

The UI terminals: These are two-sided. One side is the main UI for renting a bike, the other is a map and a smaller interface for obtaining the balance on your bike by entering the ticket number.

There have been glitches:

1. Terminal’s are sometimes offline so no way to get a bike
2. There are bikes available but the terminal doesn’t know this (RFID system goes down sometimes) so it sends you to an interface to find another Velib station.
3. Sometimes the terminals will be rebooted remotely and will be unavailable for about 5 minutes while it reboots.

The UI is based on windows VB script and runs on the Windows XP embedded OS. The BIOS is Phoenix 1.14. The hardware is a 1.3Ghz Pentium III with 500MB memory.

Velib station


Image by austinevan
Paris Vélib Service (Vélib is short for “Velo Liberte” or “Bike Freedom”) is a city-wide bike rental service. With plans for 20,600 bicycles available on 1,451 stations, it is the largest bicycle rental project in the world.

See more info at www.en.velib.paris.fr/

I place my notes, tips, tricks on Velib on my Veliblog: velibobsession.blogspot.com

Renting a Velib bike

These bikes are fun to rent and ride but, depending on how long you are in Paris, you may just want to buy a bike and lock it up outside where you are staying. I love the Velib system but it is more appropriate for short-term point-to-point transportation. If you’re in Paris for more than a few weeks it may be more useful to buy a 100 euro bike at Decathalon (along with a good lock). Buying a bike is also better if you plan to ride more than just 30 minutes each time. Having said that I still like this system and use it often to get from place to place more quickly.

UPDATE (25 October 2007): The system now accepts American Express and JCB cards that do not have the EU smart chips! Good news for visitors that do not have an EU bank card.

UPDATE (28 October 2007): Be VERY careful out there… I’m sad to write that the the first fatility involving a Velib bicycle occurred on 18 October in the 13th arrondissement. This is first fatility since the service started July 15 2007. Marthe Coppel-Batsch, 59, a prominent Psychologist and Psychoanalyst, was struck by a truck near the corner of Boulevard de la Bastille and quai de la Rapée. The accident was caused when the driver of the truck could not see the bicyclist due to the "blind spot".

While the majority of Paris bike lanes are dedicated to bikes, there remains many that are shared between bikes, taxis, and buses. Riding in these shared lanes is tricky and I’ve found myself having to compete for space with very large vehicles that do not always see the bike riders well if at all. Bike helmets are not required nor used in Paris and perhaps they may catch on as there have 4 fatalities now involving bicyclists each year. www.liberation.fr/actualite/societe/285982.FR.php

UPDATE: With the transit strike over, bikes are now being repaired more quickly…

The French transit strike increased ridership but conversely resulted in many bikes not getting repaired. Twice while going to rent a Velib I found many bikes in the stands that were broken. The strike made transporting the bikes to the repair depots difficult resulting in many broken bikes being left in the stands.

So, WATCH OUT for flat tires, broken chains, bent wheels, etc.

The interface is a bit confusing… but it works (eventually) and you can rent a nice bike very cheaply.

Paris Vélib Service (Vélib is short for “Velo Liberte” or “Bike Freedom”) is a city-wide bike rental service. With plans for 20,600 bicycles available on 1,451 stations, it is the largest bicycle rental project in the world.

THE BIKES

The sturdy grey bikes come with a metal basket on the handlebars and are heavier than standard bicycles, built to withstand heavy use. In line with the program’s green image, Vélib‘ maintenance staff get around town on 130 electrically assisted bicycles. A barge with 12 stops along the Seine will pick up bikes in need of major repairs. Cleaning staff drive electric vehicles and use rain collected on the roofs of JCDecaux offices

Shimano (brake systems)
Prowheel (core hardware)
Nexus (gear shifts, cables, etc)

The bikes are 3 speed “roadster”-type bikes.

I had some luck as when I arrived at the Jaures station as there was a ratp truck unloading new bikes. I spoke to the RATP employees and found out there are currently about 13,000 bikes in place right now with plans to have 20,600 by the end of the summer in 1,451 stations. The bikes just arrived a few days ago (on the 15th of July – right after bastille).

I walked down to the Jaures Vélib station and rented one! It’s a pretty cool bike; a bit particular looking but no one seems to mind riding them. I road it about 30 minutes and it did well. It’s not meant for comfort so watch out for bumps in the road and cobblestones. It has 3 speeds so is fairly flexible. It also has lots of illumination so seems fairly safe at night (I’ll try it tonight and see how it goes).

You have to buy a Vélib pass first:

Daily card is 1 euro
Weekly card is 7 euros
1 YEAR is 29 euros

To get the 1 year card you have to go online and sign up and get an “abonnement”. Most people visiting Paris will probably want to just get a bike for 7 days then check it in/out as needed over the 7 days.

UPDATE: I’ve found that I can get the Velib yearlong form online and link it to my metro pass by mailing in the form (along with a check for 29 euros and an authorization for 150 euros) to the Velib HQ outside Paris. Once this is done I can much more easily get a bike by just passing my navigo card over the sensor! The process to get the Navigo metro card linked to the Velib system is lengthy and requires several forms to be filled out (very very French).

The three choices do involve a 150 Euro “deposit”. That is, if you don’t return the bike within a certain amount of time you will be charged 150 euros.

There is a 13 point legal summary that you must accept to obtain a Vélib pass (one of the annoying features is having to read through the entire legal acceptance form on a small screen) NOTE: I have since found that you can "skip" the entire text. Another issue is that when you pay with a bank card you have to switch to a different interface screen. The Main interface (a color plasma screen) for the details of the bike pass then the smaller LCD screen for the details of your bank card. But, it’s very similar to the RATP and SNCF machines used to get metro and train tickets (at least in the complexity of the user interface).

To get the 1 year card you have to go online and sign up and get an “abonnement”. Most people visiting Paris will probably want to just get a bike for 7 days then check it in/out as needed over the 7 days.

Either of the three choices do involve a 150 Euro “deposit”. That is, if you don’t return the bike within a certain amount of time you will be charged 150 euros.

The first two options can be done right at the Vélib station. There’s not a person there so you have to use the interface.

Payment:

You can use French bank card and it looks like most ATM cards will work as well. I tried using my navigo and it worked great! I also used my Bank Card and it worked also. You can also use your navigo card (your metro pass which you can obtain free from www.navigo.fr/ – you’ll need to upload a photo and provide a French address – use the address you will be staying at even if it’s a hotel; the navigo card will arrive in a few days so do this before you leave)

UPDATE: The Velib system now accepts American Express and JCB cards that do not have smart chips! Good news for foreign visitors who don’t have an EU smart card…

Language:

The interface says it’s in French, German, English but these languages don’t work yet (I guess they have not translated the interface so these buttons don’t do anything). So, you’ll need to read French but it’s not that hard and there are always people around willing to help. The RATP employees say there are plans to include other languages (up to but right now there are only 3 (and only French is actually working right now!).

UPDATE: During the 2nd week the interface was updated and is now working in English, Spanish, and French.

Once you receive an abonnement card you will have to select a PIN (code secret) that will allow you to use your card in other stations.

Once you process a payment, you select the stall number, then go push the button on the stall corresponding to the bike you selected. Then you just go ride off into the sunset! Then return the bike at any other station.

Once you have the pass and bike you are charged based on how long you ride it – simple. If you check out a bike and ride it for less than an hour and a half it’s free! But if you ride it longer you have to pay – A supplement of 1 euro will be charged for an additional half-hour, 2 euros for another 30-minutes and 4 euros for every addition half-hour after that.

Don’t forget to push the button on the stall to get your bike! I don’t know how many people I’ve seen try to “swipe” the paper bike ticket on the navigo interface!

SECURITY

The bikes come with a cable lock. This is passed around a pole or other object then connects into the frame of the bike. There is a small key that will release once the cable lock is snapped into place. I’ve had a little bit of trouble at first then realized that after clicking one end of the cable in place, to unlock it, you must also push the cable connector in a bit further to get the key to release. It’s not the thickest cable and so I prefer to keep the bike in sight when locked (if possible). Theft is not yet a serious problem for the program but it does happen. If you happen to lose the key, call the emergency number listed on the bike (01 30 79 79 30) and someone will come unlock the bike for you.

RETURN

To return the bike just put it into one of the stalls. Make sure the slot is engaged. It will "click" into the slot, the light will go "yellow" then to "green" about 5 seconds later when the RFID system recognizes your bike as being returned.

If there are problems you can call Vélib’s emergency number: 01 30 79 79 30. This number is also printed on the bike’s handle-bar.

JCDecaux

JCDecaux sponsors the project in exchange for advertising rights in Paris. JCDecaux is Europe’s largest outdoor advertising company. Like a similar scheme in Lyon, where 10 percent of the city’s population has a subscription to the local sharing scheme, Vélib is operated by outdoor advertising giant JCDecaux, which is footing the bill in exchange for exclusive rights to 1,628 Paris billboards.

UPDATE: I’ve been renting one 2 or 3 times a week and it seems to work well so far. Theft has not been a huge problem so far but it does happen. The bikes come with a lock but it is not a substantial one and is easily cut. When I stop to eat somewhere I lock it up but keep it in sight. Right now they program is regarded with some pride by parisians so it seems including the appropriate marketing and presentation has some benefits. For example, the program was marketed outside of normal medial channels (outside of France). The support infrastructure is also highly visible with specialized electric vehicles, boats, and even uniforms for the maintenance personnel. This makes sense though given that the company financing it is JCDecaux (Europe’s largest outdoor advertising firm).

The UI terminals: These are two-sided. One side is the main UI for renting a bike, the other is a map and a smaller interface for obtaining the balance on your bike by entering the ticket number.

There have been glitches:

1. Terminal’s are sometimes offline so no way to get a bike
2. There are bikes available but the terminal doesn’t know this (RFID system goes down sometimes) so it sends you to an interface to find another Velib station.
3. Sometimes the terminals will be rebooted remotely and will be unavailable for about 5 minutes while it reboots.

The UI is based on windows VB script and runs on the Windows XP embedded OS. The BIOS is Phoenix 1.14. The hardware is a 1.3Ghz Pentium III with 500MB memory.

Banksy in Boston: Portrait from the F̶O̶L̶L̶O̶W̶ ̶Y̶O̶U̶R̶ ̶D̶R̶E̶A̶M̶S̶ CANCELLED piece on Essex St, Chinatown, Boston


Image by Chris Devers
Interestingly, both of the Boston area Banksy pieces are on Essex St:

• F̶O̶L̶L̶O̶W̶ ̶Y̶O̶U̶R̶ ̶D̶R̶E̶A̶M̶S̶ CANCELLED (aka chimney sweep) in Chinatown, Boston
• NO LOITRIN in Central Square, Cambridge.

Does that mean anything? It looks like he favors Essex named streets & roads when he can. In 2008, he did another notable Essex work in London, for example, and posters on the Banksy Forums picked up & discussed on the Essex link as well.

Is there an Essex Street in any of the other nearby towns? It looks like there are several: Brookline, Charlestown, Chelsea, Gloucester, Haverhill, Lawrence, Lynn, Medford, Melrose, Quincy, Revere, Salem, Saugus, Somerville, Swampscott, and Waltham. Most of these seem improbable to me, other than maybe Brookline, or maybe Somerville or Charlestown. But they start getting pretty suburban after that.

But, again, why "Essex"? In a comment on this photo, Birbeck helps clarify:

I can only surmise that he’s having a ‘dig’ at Essex UK, especially with the misspelling of ‘Loitering’. Here, the general view of the urban districts in Essex: working class but with right wing views; that they’re not the most intellectual bunch; rather obsessed with fashion (well, their idea of it); their place of worship is the shopping mall; enjoy rowdy nights out; girls are thought of as being dumb, fake blonde hair/tans and promiscuous; and guys are good at the ‘chit chat’, and swagger around showing off their dosh (money).

It was also the region that once had Europe’s largest Ford motor factory. In its heyday, 1 in 3 British cars were made in Dagenham, Essex. Pay was good for such unskilled labour, generations worked mind-numbing routines on assembly lines for 80 years. In 2002 the recession ended the dream.

• • • • •

This photo appeared on Grafitti – A arte das ruas on Yahoo Meme. Yes, Yahoo has a Tumblr/Posterous-esque "Meme" service now — I was as surprised as you are.

• • • • •

Banksy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Banksy
• Birth name
Unknown

• Born
1974 or 1975 (1974 or 1975), Bristol, UK[1]

• Nationality
British

• Field
Graffiti
Street Art
Bristol underground scene
Sculpture

• Movement
Anti-Totalitarianism
Anti-capitalism
Pacifism
Anti-War
Anarchism
Atheism
Anti-Fascism

• Works
Naked Man Image
One Nation Under CCTV
Anarchist Rat
Ozone’s Angel
Pulp Fiction

Banksy is a pseudonymous[2][3][4] British graffiti artist. He is believed to be a native of Yate, South Gloucestershire, near Bristol[2] and to have been born in 1974,[5] but his identity is unknown.[6] According to Tristan Manco[who?], Banksy "was born in 1974 and raised in Bristol, England. The son of a photocopier technician, he trained as a butcher but became involved in graffiti during the great Bristol aerosol boom of the late 1980s."[7] His artworks are often satirical pieces of art on topics such as politics, culture, and ethics. His street art, which combines graffiti writing with a distinctive stencilling technique, is similar to Blek le Rat, who began to work with stencils in 1981 in Paris and members of the anarcho-punk band Crass who maintained a graffiti stencil campaign on the London Tube System in the late 1970s and early 1980s. His art has appeared in cities around the world.[8] Banksy’s work was born out of the Bristol underground scene which involved collaborations between artists and musicians.

Banksy does not sell photos of street graffiti.[9] Art auctioneers have been known to attempt to sell his street art on location and leave the problem of its removal in the hands of the winning bidder.[10]

Banksy’s first film, Exit Through The Gift Shop, billed as "the world’s first street art disaster movie", made its debut at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.[11] The film was released in the UK on March 5.[12]

Contents

• 1 Career
•• 1.1 2000
•• 1.2 2002
•• 1.3 2003
•• 1.4 2004
•• 1.5 2005
•• 1.6 2006
•• 1.7 2007
•• 1.8 2008
•• 1.9 2009
•• 1.10 2010
• 2 Notable art pieces
• 3 Technique
• 4 Identity
• 5 Controversy
• 6 Bibliography
• 7 References
• 8 External links

Career

Banksy started as a freehand graffiti artist 1992–1994[14] as one of Bristol’s DryBreadZ Crew (DBZ), with Kato and Tes.[15] He was inspired by local artists and his work was part of the larger Bristol underground scene. From the start he used stencils as elements of his freehand pieces, too.[14] By 2000 he had turned to the art of stencilling after realising how much less time it took to complete a piece. He claims he changed to stencilling whilst he was hiding from the police under a train carriage, when he noticed the stencilled serial number[16] and by employing this technique, he soon became more widely noticed for his art around Bristol and London.[16]

Stencil on the waterline of The Thekla, an entertainment boat in central Bristol – (wider view). The image of Death is based on a 19th century etching illustrating the pestilence of The Great Stink.[17]

Banksy’s stencils feature striking and humorous images occasionally combined with slogans. The message is usually anti-war, anti-capitalist or anti-establishment. Subjects often include rats, monkeys, policemen, soldiers, children, and the elderly.

In late 2001, on a trip to Sydney and Melbourne, Australia, he met up with the Gen-X pastellist, visual activist, and recluse James DeWeaver in Byron Bay[clarification needed], where he stencilled a parachuting rat with a clothes peg on its nose above a toilet at the Arts Factory Lodge. This stencil can no longer be located. He also makes stickers (the Neighbourhood Watch subvert) and sculpture (the murdered phone-box), and was responsible for the cover art of Blur’s 2003 album Think Tank.

2000

The album cover for Monk & Canatella‘s Do Community Service was conceived and illustrated by Banksy, based on his contribution to the "Walls on fire" event in Bristol 1998.[18][citation needed]

2002

On 19 July 2002, Banksy’s first Los Angeles exhibition debuted at 33 1/3 Gallery, a small Silverlake venue owned by Frank Sosa. The exhibition, entitled Existencilism, was curated by 33 1/3 Gallery, Malathion, Funk Lazy Promotions, and B+.[19]

2003

In 2003 in an exhibition called Turf War, held in a warehouse, Banksy painted on animals. Although the RSPCA declared the conditions suitable, an animal rights activist chained herself to the railings in protest.[20] He later moved on to producing subverted paintings; one example is Monet‘s Water Lily Pond, adapted to include urban detritus such as litter and a shopping trolley floating in its reflective waters; another is Edward Hopper‘s Nighthawks, redrawn to show that the characters are looking at a British football hooligan, dressed only in his Union Flag underpants, who has just thrown an object through the glass window of the cafe. These oil paintings were shown at a twelve-day exhibition in Westbourne Grove, London in 2005.[21]

2004

In August 2004, Banksy produced a quantity of spoof British £10 notes substituting the picture of the Queen’s head with Princess Diana‘s head and changing the text "Bank of England" to "Banksy of England." Someone threw a large wad of these into a crowd at Notting Hill Carnival that year, which some recipients then tried to spend in local shops. These notes were also given with invitations to a Santa’s Ghetto exhibition by Pictures on Walls. The individual notes have since been selling on eBay for about £200 each. A wad of the notes were also thrown over a fence and into the crowd near the NME signing tent at The Reading Festival. A limited run of 50 signed posters containing ten uncut notes were also produced and sold by Pictures on Walls for £100 each to commemorate the death of Princess Diana. One of these sold in October 2007 at Bonhams auction house in London for £24,000.

2005

In August 2005, Banksy, on a trip to the Palestinian territories, created nine images on Israel’s highly controversial West Bank barrier. He reportedly said "The Israeli government is building a wall surrounding the occupied Palestinian territories. It stands three times the height of the Berlin Wall and will eventually run for over 700km—the distance from London to Zurich. "[22]

2006

• Banksy held an exhibition called Barely Legal, billed as a "three day vandalised warehouse extravaganza" in Los Angeles, on the weekend of 16 September. The exhibition featured a live "elephant in a room", painted in a pink and gold floral wallpaper pattern.[23]
• After Christina Aguilera bought an original of Queen Victoria as a lesbian and two prints for £25,000,[24] on 19 October 2006 a set of Kate Moss paintings sold in Sotheby’s London for £50,400, setting an auction record for Banksy’s work. The six silk-screen prints, featuring the model painted in the style of Andy Warhol‘s Marilyn Monroe pictures, sold for five times their estimated value. His stencil of a green Mona Lisa with real paint dripping from her eyes sold for £57,600 at the same auction.[25]
• In December, journalist Max Foster coined the phrase, "the Banksy Effect", to illustrate how interest in other street artists was growing on the back of Banksy’s success.[26]

2007

• On 21 February 2007, Sotheby’s auction house in London auctioned three works, reaching the highest ever price for a Banksy work at auction: over £102,000 for his Bombing Middle England. Two of his other graffiti works, Balloon Girl and Bomb Hugger, sold for £37,200 and £31,200 respectively, which were well above their estimated prices.[27] The following day’s auction saw a further three Banksy works reach soaring prices: Ballerina With Action Man Parts reached £96,000; Glory sold for £72,000; Untitled (2004) sold for £33,600; all significantly above estimated values.[28] To coincide with the second day of auctions, Banksy updated his website with a new image of an auction house scene showing people bidding on a picture that said, "I Can’t Believe You Morons Actually Buy This Shit."[6]
• In February 2007, the owners of a house with a Banksy mural on the side in Bristol decided to sell the house through Red Propeller art gallery after offers fell through because the prospective buyers wanted to remove the mural. It is listed as a mural which comes with a house attached.[29]
• In April 2007, Transport for London painted over Banksy’s iconic image of a scene from Quentin Tarantino‘s Pulp Fiction, with Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta clutching bananas instead of guns. Although the image was very popular, Transport for London claimed that the "graffiti" created "a general atmosphere of neglect and social decay which in turn encourages crime" and their staff are "professional cleaners not professional art critics".[30] Banksy tagged the same site again (pictured at right). This time the actors were portrayed as holding real guns instead of bananas, but they were adorned with banana costumes. Banksy made a tribute art piece over this second Pulp Fiction piece. The tribute was for 19-year-old British graffiti artist Ozone, who was hit by an underground train in Barking, East London, along with fellow artist Wants, on 12 January 2007.[31] The piece was of an angel wearing a bullet-proof vest, holding a skull. He also wrote a note on his website, saying:

The last time I hit this spot I painted a crap picture of two men in banana costumes waving hand guns. A few weeks later a writer called Ozone completely dogged it and then wrote ‘If it’s better next time I’ll leave it’ in the bottom corner. When we lost Ozone we lost a fearless graffiti writer and as it turns out a pretty perceptive art critic. Ozone – rest in peace.[citation needed]

Ozone’s Angel

• On 27 April 2007, a new record high for the sale of Banksy’s work was set with the auction of the work Space Girl & Bird fetching £288,000 (US6,000), around 20 times the estimate at Bonhams of London.[32]
• On 21 May 2007 Banksy gained the award for Art’s Greatest living Briton. Banksy, as expected, did not turn up to collect his award, and continued with his notoriously anonymous status.
• On 4 June 2007, it was reported that Banksy’s The Drinker had been stolen.[33][34]
• In October 2007, most of his works offered for sale at Bonhams auction house in London sold for more than twice their reserve price.[35]

• Banksy has published a "manifesto" on his website.[36] The text of the manifesto is credited as the diary entry of one Lieutenant Colonel Mervin Willett Gonin, DSO, which is exhibited in the Imperial War Museum. It describes how a shipment of lipstick to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp immediately after its liberation at the end of World War II helped the internees regain their humanity. However, as of 18 January 2008, Banksy’s Manifesto has been substituted with Graffiti Heroes #03 that describes Peter Chappell’s graffiti quest of the 1970s that worked to free George Davis of his imprisonment.[37] By 12 August 2009 he was relying on Emo Phillips’ "When I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bicycle. Then I realised God doesn’t work that way, so I stole one and prayed for forgiveness."
• A small number of Banksy’s works can be seen in the movie Children of Men, including a stenciled image of two policemen kissing and another stencil of a child looking down a shop.
• In the 2007 film Shoot ‘Em Up starring Clive Owen, Banksy’s tag can be seen on a dumpster in the film’s credits.
• Banksy, who deals mostly with Lazarides Gallery in London, claims that the exhibition at Vanina Holasek Gallery in New York (his first major exhibition in that city) is unauthorised. The exhibition featured 62 of his paintings and prints.[38]

2008

• In March, a stencilled graffiti work appeared on Thames Water tower in the middle of the Holland Park roundabout, and it was widely attributed to Banksy. It was of a child painting the tag "Take this Society" in bright orange. London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham spokesman, Councillor Greg Smith branded the art as vandalism, and ordered its immediate removal, which was carried out by H&F council workmen within three days.[39]
• Over the weekend 3–5 May in London, Banksy hosted an exhibition called The Cans Festival. It was situated on Leake Street, a road tunnel formerly used by Eurostar underneath London Waterloo station. Graffiti artists with stencils were invited to join in and paint their own artwork, as long as it didn’t cover anyone else’s.[40] Artists included Blek le Rat, Broken Crow, C215, Cartrain, Dolk, Dotmasters, J.Glover, Eine, Eelus, Hero, Pure evil, Jef Aérosol, Mr Brainwash, Tom Civil and Roadsworth.[citation needed]
• In late August 2008, marking the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and the associated levee failure disaster, Banksy produced a series of works in New Orleans, Louisiana, mostly on buildings derelict since the disaster.[41]
• A stencil painting attributed to Banksy appeared at a vacant petrol station in the Ensley neighbourhood of Birmingham, Alabama on 29 August as Hurricane Gustav approached the New Orleans area. The painting depicting a hooded member of the Ku Klux Klan hanging from a noose was quickly covered with black spray paint and later removed altogether.[42]
• His first official exhibition in New York, the "Village Pet Store And Charcoal Grill," opened 5 October 2008. The animatronic pets in the store window include a mother hen watching over her baby Chicken McNuggets as they peck at a barbecue sauce packet, and a rabbit putting makeup on in a mirror.[43]
• The Westminster City Council stated in October 2008 that the work "One Nation Under CCTV", painted in April 2008 will be painted over as it is graffiti. The council says it will remove any graffiti, regardless of the reputation of its creator, and specifically stated that Banksy "has no more right to paint graffiti than a child". Robert Davis, the chairman of the council planning committee told The Times newspaper: "If we condone this then we might as well say that any kid with a spray can is producing art". [44] The work was painted over in April 2009.
• In December 2008, The Little Diver, a Banksy image of a diver in a duffle coat in Melbourne Australia was vandalised. The image was protected by a sheet of clear perspex, however silver paint was poured behind the protective sheet and later tagged with the words "Banksy woz ere". The image was almost completely destroyed.[45].

2009

• May 2009, parts company with agent Steve Lazarides. Announces Pest Control [46] the handling service who act on his behalf will be the only point of sale for new works.
• On 13 June 2009, the Banksy UK Summer show opened at Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery, featuring more than 100 works of art, including animatronics and installations; it is his largest exhibition yet, featuring 78 new works.[47][48] Reaction to the show was positive, with over 8,500 visitors to the show on the first weekend.[49] Over the course of the twelve weeks, the exhibition has been visited over 300,000 times.[50]
• In September 2009, a Banksy work parodying the Royal Family was partially destroyed by Hackney Council after they served an enforcement notice for graffiti removal to the former address of the property owner. The mural had been commissioned for the 2003 Blur single "Crazy Beat" and the property owner, who had allowed the piece to be painted, was reported to have been in tears when she saw it was being painted over.[51]
• In December 2009, Banksy marked the end of the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference by painting four murals on global warming. One included "I don’t believe in global warming" which was submerged in water.[52]

2010

• The world premiere of the film Exit Through the Gift Shop occurred at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, on 24 January. He created 10 street pieces around Park City and Salt Lake City to tie in with the screening.[53]
• In February, The Whitehouse public house in Liverpool, England, is sold for £114,000 at auction.[54] The side of the building has an image of a giant rat by Banksy.[55]
• In April 2010, Melbourne City Council in Australia reported that they had inadvertently ordered private contractors to paint over the last remaining Banksy art in the city. The image was of a rat descending in a parachute adorning the wall of an old council building behind the Forum Theatre. In 2008 Vandals had poured paint over a stencil of an old-fashioned diver wearing a trenchcoat. A council spokeswoman has said they would now rush through retrospective permits to protect other “famous or significant artworks” in the city.[56]
• In April 2010 to coincide with the premier of Exit through the Gift Shop in San Francisco, 5 of his pieces appeared in various parts of the city.[57] Banksy reportedly paid a Chinatown building owner for the use of their wall for one of his stencils.[58]
• In May 2010 to coincide with the release of "Exit Through the Gift Shop" in Chicago, one piece appeared in the city.

Notable art pieces

In addition to his artwork, Banksy has claimed responsibility for a number of high profile art pieces, including the following:

• At London Zoo, he climbed into the penguin enclosure and painted "We’re bored of fish" in seven foot high letters.[59]
• At Bristol Zoo, he left the message ‘I want out. This place is too cold. Keeper smells. Boring, boring, boring.’ in the elephant enclosure.[60]
• In March 2005, he placed subverted artworks in the Museum of Modern Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum, and the American Museum of Natural History in New York.[61]
• He put up a subverted painting in London’s Tate Britain gallery.
• In May 2005 Banksy’s version of a primitive cave painting depicting a human figure hunting wildlife whilst pushing a shopping trolley was hung in gallery 49 of the British Museum, London. Upon discovery, they added it to their permanent collection.[62]

Near Bethlehem – 2005

• Banksy has sprayed "This is not a photo opportunity" on certain photograph spots.
• In August 2005, Banksy painted nine images on the Israeli West Bank barrier, including an image of a ladder going up and over the wall and an image of children digging a hole through the wall.[22][63][64][65]

See also: Other Banksy works on the Israeli West Bank barrier

• In April 2006, Banksy created a sculpture based on a crumpled red phone box with a pickaxe in its side, apparently bleeding, and placed it in a street in Soho, London. It was later removed by Westminster Council. BT released a press release, which said: "This is a stunning visual comment on BT’s transformation from an old-fashioned telecommunications company into a modern communications services provider."[66]
• In June 2006, Banksy created an image of a naked man hanging out of a bedroom window on a wall visible from Park Street in central Bristol. The image sparked some controversy, with the Bristol City Council leaving it up to the public to decide whether it should stay or go.[67] After an internet discussion in which 97% (all but 6 people) supported the stencil, the city council decided it would be left on the building.[67] The mural was later defaced with paint.[67]
• In August/September 2006, Banksy replaced up to 500 copies of Paris Hilton‘s debut CD, Paris, in 48 different UK record stores with his own cover art and remixes by Danger Mouse. Music tracks were given titles such as "Why am I Famous?", "What Have I Done?" and "What Am I For?". Several copies of the CD were purchased by the public before stores were able to remove them, some going on to be sold for as much as £750 on online auction websites such as eBay. The cover art depicted Paris Hilton digitally altered to appear topless. Other pictures feature her with a dog’s head replacing her own, and one of her stepping out of a luxury car, edited to include a group of homeless people, which included the caption "90% of success is just showing up".[68][69][70]
• In September 2006, Banksy dressed an inflatable doll in the manner of a Guantanamo Bay detainment camp prisoner (orange jumpsuit, black hood, and handcuffs) and then placed the figure within the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad ride at the Disneyland theme park in Anaheim, California.[71][72]

Technique

Asked about his technique, Banksy said:

“I use whatever it takes. Sometimes that just means drawing a moustache on a girl’s face on some billboard, sometimes that means sweating for days over an intricate drawing. Efficiency is the key.[73]”

Stencils are traditionally hand drawn or printed onto sheets of acetate or card, before being cut out by hand. Because of the secretive nature of Banksy’s work and identity, it is uncertain what techniques he uses to generate the images in his stencils, though it is assumed he uses computers for some images due to the photocopy nature of much of his work.

He mentions in his book, Wall and Piece, that as he was starting to do graffiti, he was always too slow and was either caught or could never finish the art in the one sitting. So he devised a series of intricate stencils to minimise time and overlapping of the colour.

Identity

Banksy’s real name has been widely reported to be Robert or Robin Banks.[74][75][76] His year of birth has been given as 1974.[62]

Simon Hattenstone from Guardian Unlimited is one of the very few people to have interviewed him face-to-face. Hattenstone describes him as "a cross of Jimmy Nail and British rapper Mike Skinner" and "a 28 year old male who showed up wearing jeans and a t-shirt with a silver tooth, silver chain, and one silver earring".[77] In the same interview, Banksy revealed that his parents think their son is a painter and decorator.[77]

In May 2007, an extensive article written by Lauren Collins of the New Yorker re-opened the Banksy-identity controversy citing a 2004 photograph of the artist that was taken in Jamaica during the Two-Culture Clash project and later published in the Evening Standard in 2004.[6]

In October 2007, a story on the BBC website featured a photo allegedly taken by a passer-by in Bethnal Green, London, purporting to show Banksy at work with an assistant, scaffolding and a truck. The story confirms that Tower Hamlets Council in London has decided to treat all Banksy works as vandalism and remove them.[78]

In July 2008, it was claimed by The Mail on Sunday that Banksy’s real name is Robin Gunningham.[3][79] His agent has refused to confirm or deny these reports.

In May 2009, the Mail on Sunday once again speculated about Gunningham being Banksy after a "self-portrait" of a rat holding a sign with the word "Gunningham" shot on it was photographed in East London.[80] This "new Banksy rat" story was also picked up by The Times[81] and the Evening Standard.

Banksy, himself, states on his website:

“I am unable to comment on who may or may not be Banksy, but anyone described as being ‘good at drawing’ doesn’t sound like Banksy to me.[82]”

Controversy

In 2004, Banksy walked into the Louvre in Paris and hung on a wall a picture he had painted resembling the Mona Lisa but with a yellow smiley face. Though the painting was hurriedly removed by the museum staff, it and its counterpart, temporarily on unknown display at the Tate Britain, were described by Banksy as "shortcuts". He is quoted as saying:

“To actually [have to] go through the process of having a painting selected must be quite boring. It’s a lot more fun to go and put your own one up.[83]”

Peter Gibson, a spokesperson for Keep Britain Tidy, asserts that Banksy’s work is simple vandalism,[84] and Diane Shakespeare, an official for the same organization, was quoted as saying: "We are concerned that Banksy’s street art glorifies what is essentially vandalism".[6]

In June 2007 Banksy created a circle of plastic portable toilets, said to resemble Stonehenge at the Glastonbury Festival. As this was in the same field as the "sacred circle" it was felt by many to be inappropriate and his installation was itself vandalized before the festival even opened. However, the intention had always been for people to climb on and interact with it.[citation needed] The installation was nicknamed "Portaloo Sunset" and "Bog Henge" by Festival goers. Michael Eavis admitted he wasn’t fond of it, and the portaloos were removed before the 2008 festival.

In 2010, an artistic feud developed between Banksy and his rival King Robbo after Banksy painted over a 24-year old Robbo piece on the banks of London’s Regent Canal. In retaliation several Banksy pieces in London have been painted over by ‘Team Robbo’.[85][86]

Also in 2010, government workers accidentally painted over a Banksy art piece, a famed "parachuting-rat" stencil, in Australia’s Melbourne CBD. [87]

Bibliography

Banksy has self-published several books that contain photographs of his work in various countries as well as some of his canvas work and exhibitions, accompanied by his own writings:

• Banksy, Banging Your Head Against A Brick Wall (2001) ISBN 978-0-95417040-0
• Banksy, Existencilism (2002) ISBN 978-0-95417041-7
• Banksy, Cut it Out (2004) ISBN 978-0-95449600-5
• Banksy, Wall and Piece (2005) ISBN 978-1-84413786-2
• Banksy, Pictures of Walls (2005) ISBN 978-0-95519460-3

Random House published Wall and Piece in 2005. It contains a combination of images from his three previous books, as well as some new material.[16]

Two books authored by others on his work were published in 2006 & 2007:

• Martin Bull, Banksy Locations and Tours: A Collection of Graffiti Locations and Photographs in London (2006 – with new editions in 2007 and 2008) ISBN 978-0-95547120-9.
• Steve Wright, Banksy’s Bristol: Home Sweet Home (2007) ISBN 978-1906477004

External links

• Official website
• Banksy street work photos

Nokia releases Nokia Booklet 3G with Windows 7

Nokia set to roll out its booklet through Best Buy stores along the same time with the release of new Windows 7

The Nokia Booklet 3G is here with a bang. It is all set to debut around the time when Microsoft will be releasing its new operating system, Windows 7. The Nokia Notebook will come loaded with Windows 7 after the Windows 7 release date i.e. October 22, 2009. It comes at a subsidized price, 9 with an added 2 year data plan from telecommunication giants, AT & T. It will be made available at all Best Buy stores across the U.S.. This announcement from the Finnish phone maker comes with a relief for customers. When the product was first disclosed in September, it was priced at an astonishing 0. This was quite an exorbitant sum as Notebooks comes for less than 0 these days.

One can also notice that Nokia has a tie-up with AT&T for a two-year service agreement which gives more feasibility to the subsidized price. There are offers coming from Best Buy as well. It plans to come up with the unique ‘Walk Out Working’ scheme, which will enable the customer to get his product activated and working before he leaves the store. For anyone who purchases the Booklet 3G, sales associates will configure and activate the Notebook. Nokia has kept the screen size at 10.1-inch and its Notebook has almost all the features that are available on Notebooks. It has an Atom processor, a built-in GPS , a 12-hour battery life, an aluminum casing, 3G and Wi-Fi wireless capability and height and weight specifics of 1 inch and 2.5 pounds.

There are added features on the Notebook such as Nokia Music for PC and Nokia’s Ovi Suite 2.0. There is also an aggregator coming from the feeds from social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook etc. with its  Ovi Maps and Social Hub application. Customers can also get the notebook without the option of opting for the two-year service agreement from AT&T. This option, however, comes  for the an unsubsidized price of 9.

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I have just ran a full scan of the new AVG 8 free found over 200 trojans/adaware which i put in virus fault.

Question by Northman: I have just ran a full scan of the new AVG 8 free found over 200 trojans/adaware which i put in virus fault.
The entries are nklm/software/microsoft/internet explorer /activex compatibilitykillAV,zlob,spyaxe etc etc is it best to leave them in the virus fault for a week or two before deleting,Windows Defender,Spybot or AVG 7.5 previous version never detected these so i am a bit concerned as AVG 8 free has only been released a few days ago anyone can help please?
I even done an online scan at Kaspersky website 2 weeks ago and that found nothing.

http://www.kaspersky.com/virusscanner

Best answer:

Answer by toontje02
These days you need a whole lot more than just a virus protection. Only about 15% of all malware is viruses. The rest is worms, trojans, phishing schemes, spyware, etc.

Here’s some ideas to make Internet Security Suite (securitycenter) for free. Free is always the best.

————————————–…

1. For your Anti-Virus……(Always use only 1 A-V…You must NEVER use more than one anti-virus, Even an expired anti-virus can cause a major conflict…(did I mention that you MUST uninstall any old anti-virus products?)

For your anti-virus needs, I would suggest Avira AntiVir® PersonalEdition Classic. It has excellent heuristics, a virus detection rate that is better than many of “paid-for” anti-virus programs and is light on using your computer’s resources. And did I mention that it’s free!

Download here:

http://www.free-av.com/

Avoid an anti-virus called AVG (free version). It is wildly popular but has poor virus detection rates.

———————————-

2. For your Anti-Adware and Anti-Spyware needs……………(use at least 1 anti-spyware, but 2 is OK). Do a scan with it on a regular basis.

SUPERAntiSpyware:

http://www.superantispyware.com/

————————————–…

3. For your Firewall……….(Always use only 1 software firewall)

A decent free firewall is PC Tools Firewall Plus. One can either choose “Normal User Mode” Or “Expert User Mode”‘depending on the detail of alerts and application custom rules desired.

It is one of the few free firewalls that will work (and work well) on Vista as well as XP and 2000.

http://www.pctools.com/firewall/

————————————-

4. And to help protect your computer from ever getting infected with malware in the first place………… (use them both)

SpywareBlaster helps to immunize your computer again certain selected malware.:

http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareb…

SiteAdvisor warns you when visiting a potentionally malicious web-site:

http://www.siteadvisor.com/

———————————–

5. And always keep your Windows and all your installed software 100% updated and patched with all critical and security updates from the vendors THIS IS A MUST! In Internet Explorer just click Tools then Windows Updates.

Here is a little online (no download) security tool called The Secunia Software Inspector, that checks a computer for un-secure, un-updated and un-patched apps that may be installed on your computer.

The Secunia Software Inspector checks for possibly vulnerable programs like Adobe, Winamp, Java, Windows, Internet Explorer etc. and notifies if critical security updates are needed. !

Will work using IE, Opera or Firefox.

Use it once a month.

Pretty cool and free at:

http://secunia.com/software_inspector/

Great luck! Enjoy!

What do you think? Answer below!

Ford Keyless Entry Remote – 3 Button For A 1998 Ford Expedition – With FREE R01FX Self-Programming Print-Out Instruction

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Biggest Patch released by Microsoft, fixes Windows 7

A week before launch, Microsoft releases its biggest patch and includes fixes,which adds background and analyst quote on Windows 7

The day October 13, 2009, will remain as a red-letter day for software giants, Microsoft, as it issued software, big enough, to engulf a record of fixing a range of security issues for its programs on this day. This software support will also be able to fix security issues in it’s yet to be released operating system, Windows 7.

Thirteen security bulletins, or patches, had been sent to all its users in a monthly update, to look into the problems of 34 vulnerabilities which have been earmarked from a score of its products like the Internet Explorer, Silver light, Windows, Office and others. These patches have been classified into categories, keeping in mind their criticality and priority. At least six of them have been classified under high priority, with immediate attention waiting to be rendered towards them. These patches are deployed as a shield to protect consumers from hackers and other corrupt or malicious contents and download which one tends to get from the Internet.

A bulk of these patches will affect Windows 7 which is set to be launched on October 22, 2009. This might spell some worry for Microsoft, since a sign of security issues even before it is released is doing the rounds. The new operating system developed by it was to largely repose the customer’s faith in Microsoft and also to make amends for the failure of its predecessor, Windows Vista. Microsoft officials could not be contacted on this issue. A company, usually, do disclose such complications unless patches are made available.

This was the biggest windows 7 update on a single day by Microsoft over issuing patches. The vulnerabilities in Windows 7 are many and is a matter of concern for its developers, but it is only natural that humans will have vulnerabilities while writing codes and that “to err is human”.