June 08 Issue of CPU: Vista SP1 1, PerfectDisk 2008, and Firefox Beta 8 vs. Internet Explorer 8 alpha

The June issue of Computer Power User is just choc-full of my stuff, most of which was really fun to write.

Once again, one of mine is a "cover article," which always feels good. This time it is a 6-page write-up on Windows SP 1 on Page 56. I'm not a big fan of Vista, but SP1 makes it better by far, and you should definitely download and install it if you are forced to run Vista. I think my best line was "If you love Vista, it improves the OS's Letter Grade from an A to an A+; and if you don't, SP1 turns Vista from a D student into a C student."

Also printed is a review of PerfectDisk 2008 for VMWare, which is a good enough disk defragmenter to give Diskeeper a run for its money, but for less money, and EzMigration, which is a basic disk-cloning tool that's good for beginners, but unfortunately you must buy it before you can try it, which is a necessary business decision for this kind of software, but it always pains me. Both are on Page 79.

Because I wasn't busy enough, I looked at the Pinnacle PCTV HD Pro Stick on Page 34 which was something I saw in a Best Buy and thought would be interesting to review. Becha didn't know I pitch reviews too, didja? Anyway, it is a brilliant piece of hardware hobbled by average to mediocre software, though it is compatible with most of the Tivo-like software packages out there, so you can use it more efficiently. It really does let you watch HD-TV from over-the-air signals on your laptop or desktop with excellent picture quality.

And finally, I cover both the major web browsers in my monthly Beta Software column on Page 72. Firefox 3's beta is much farther along than Internet Explorer 8's beta, and is probably good enough to use regularly by the time you read this. Opera has just released their own beta, which I plan on covering next month.