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Windows 8 ditches '80s BIOS boot for streamline UEFI
Every time we reboot our computers, that scrolling code takes us right back to the days of War Games and Tab. Bringing us into the 21st century, Microsoft has decided to ditch the old boot by beautifying the whole experience with a graphical menu. Windows 8 will shift from the standard fugly BIOS system to a Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) -- giving users a high resolution logo and a graphical menu to gaze upon while powering up their PC. Besides just looking better, the menu lets you boot to a different disc, OS or USB drive using pretty pictures and words as prompts. If you're into a little self-inflicted eye torture, you can always pull up the command prompt menu from nightmares past. Check out the throwback video tribute to the computers of yesteryear after the break. Update: Just to clarify, Microsoft isn't actually building flashing mobos, but it's pushing towards UEFI to achieve "significantly richer capabilities" while booting. Update: Microsoft isn't actually building flashing mobos, but it's using its considerable industry weight to push manufacturers towards UEFI to achieve "significantly richer capabilities" while booting.
Found Footage: Apple TV booted from external USB HD
The Apple TV has now been hacked to boot off of an external USB HD. This means, simply, that we're well on the way to seeing full access without cracking the case and thus obviously voiding the warranty. Apparently, this is done by booting into recovery mode using a modified disc image on the external drive. Now this is not a completely worked out hack yet, and there's still much left to do, but this is a significant milestone as it shows that, in principle, the Apple TV is bootable from an external hard drive. Further it shows that the USB port which Apple claimed "is only used for service and diagnostics" and unable to recognize USB devices is, in fact, live and can be used. Thanks Chris!
User installs Windows Vista from USB flash drive
Let's get one thing straight on this right from the start: this methodology makes little sense if you've got exactly one machine to install Vista on, as you'll probably spend more time making your USB flash drive bootable than it'd actually take to get your single machine up and running. So, to those of you who are staring down that daunting line of machines that you're fully responsible for, and can't imagine pulling yet another 18-hour day just to get Vista on every single one, here's a way to cut out early without being reprimanded. Joining the list of other high-profile applications that are better booted from a flash drive than CD / DVD or external hard drive, Windows Vista has now been figured out, and the process looks to be relatively painless; just snag a 4GB (or so) high-speed flash drive, format it, and copy Vista's DVD-ROM content over. Of course, you want to be real sure you get all the command lines right, so if you're seriously pondering doing this yourself, do yourself a favor and hit the read link for the expert's take, and watch each successive installation go from 20-minutes or more to "around 5 to 10" -- and leave it in your machine when you're finished for a bit of that ReadyBoost advantage, cool?[Via EverythingUSB]
