Spy Journal 3.0 Filtering the web for you

The following is a list of applications I installed on Vista business 64 bit in the last 2 days (my must install list). These were all successful (after in some cases downloading the latest version).

• Office 2007
• Dreamweaver MX
• CuteFTP
• Firefox
• Windows Live - messenger, writer, live photo gallery
• Adobe Photoshop v7
• Adobe Reader
• Adobe Air
• MS Sync Toy 2
• Twhirl
• Yahoo Messenger
• Skype
• Winamp
• Streamripper for winamp
• DoPDF
• Azureus
• Batch Renamer
• Daemon tools
• DVD Fab HD Decryptor
• Java
• Irfanview
• Klite Codecs
• Lansafe (UPS monitoring software)
• Office live
• Picasa2
• Quickbooks
• Rescue Time
• VLC
• Winrar
• Nokia PC Suite

The following software would not install or doesn't work properly on Vista 64 bit.

• Power ISO 3
• Adobe pdf previewer in Outlook 2007
• Send to One Note doesn't work in Vista 64 (known issue)
• Clone CD

I did a really dumb thing.

Yesterday my backup failed, because of a device I/O error. I assumed (really badly) that the error was on the backup drive, and so proceeded to reformat it - losing all my backups in the process. My logic was that after I had reformated it I would try and run a fresh backup and if it failed again I would replace the disk.
It failed again, but this time I realised it was not the backup drive that was at fault, but one of the drives it was trying to backup.
I realised this because it was the drive that had all our music on it, and I was having trouble playing music, followed by even more trouble browsing the drive.
I should have been a bit smarter. This was the last of three disks that I bought all in one go from one shipment, same size and model, all 500GB Western Digital drives (I know, I know - WD are crap). The other two had failed within the last 3 months and been replaced. I just hadn't gotten around to transferring the data off this disk.

I now have two quad core machines. The details are below, but first the reasoning behind the addition.

Research stage

I use PC's extensively for work and my main workstation has to be able to keep up with what I am doing. I have been frustrated with the Vista 32bit low RAM limits, maximum RAM being only between 2.75 and 3.5GB RAM. As I use virtual machines to do development work in, as well running a lot of applications simultaneously RAM is very important to me. As mentioned in my Why I need a quad core PC post recently my RAM usage is often over 80-90%.

So it seemed to me that 64 bit Vista was the only way I was going to improve my machine's performance and allow me to access the full 4GB or RAM or more.

I had been reading with interest Nick Hodges General Melchett Project, where he set out to build a machine with a Vista Performance index of 5.9, the highest available. Full story on the Channel 10 website. I had also been filing various bits of information about Vista 64 and limitations, things it would not do etc.