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Aliens, astronauts and Pope partition PC World

Shareholders welcome their new overlords

Microsoft has unveiled World-Wide Telescope, a program that lets you surf the sky and maybe find those aliens the astronauts were babbling about. Or it does if you can get it to work, anyway. We had a little trouble on that front.

In fairness if it did work, it would be breathtakingly unoriginal.

Geoff Mackenzie


And they wonder why people don't find Windows easy to use.

I sometimes wonder why 'older members of my family' can't get to grips with basic computer stuff, and then I see how straightforward it is to install a Microsoft designed app on a Microsoft designed Operating System.

" * Review the System Requirements to ensure that WWT can run on your computer.

* Click Download.

If you don't have Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0, or later, installed on your computer, a message box

displays prompting you to install it. Click Yes to go to the .NET Framework 2.0 SDKs, Redistributables

& Service Packs page.

o On the .NET Framework 2.0 SDKs, Redistributables & Service Packs page, scroll down the page to the .NET Framework Version 2.0 Redistributable Package section, and then click the link for your computer's architecture and operating system.

Note Most computers currently use a 32-bit architecture and operating system and should click the

Download x86 version.

o On the Microsoft .Net Framework Version 2.0 Redistributable Package page, read the system requirements to ensure that your computer has all the necessary software installed, and then click Download.

o In the File Download – Security Warning message box, click Run.

o In the Internet Explorer – Security Warning message box, click Run.

o Follow the software installation instructions.

o After the software has been installed, click the Windows Update link to make sure that you have all the latest service packs and security updates. Click Express to review all recommended software and follow the software installation instructions.

* In the File Download – Security Warning message box, click Run.

* In the Internet Explorer – Security Warning message box, click Run.

* Follow the instructions in the WorldWide Telescope Setup Wizard.

* After WWT installs, double-click the WWT icon on your desktop to open WWT."

...Or in a nutshell: "Click here to install and hope for the best"

eddiewrenn


I should have read the comments first!! Read the story - downloaded the "software". This machine runs as a restricted user, so I switched into Admin mode to install - no problem. Finished install - went to fire up as a restricted user, and it wanted the .msi file to install something else!! Of course the wonderful M$ install had erased the .msi file that had been extracted from the download. Next step - fire up AppWiz.cpl in Admin mode and remove!

Simon Fowler


Microsoft did the global satelite image project, Terraserver, in the mid 1990s, which predates the Keyhole (Google Earth) software by many years. Keyhole is much nicer, but Microsoft didn't copy the idea from anyone, they were the first.

Same with WWT. Database researcher, Jim Gray, had been working on this sky project for years before Google Sky came out.

Don Mitchell


Well I got lost in space for a whole afternoon in the deep field with Hubble, found the black hole in the middle of Saggitarius and got lost on the earth too. I went to the US, Africa and the south of France. The guided tour of the earth at night is just superb.

Not being a great believer in marketing, I didn't bother reading the sysreqs and it runs sweetly on my

3.20 gigahertz Intel Pentium 4 HT

NVIDIA GeForce 6200 TurboCache

Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 3

1024 Megabytes Installed Memory

And I had outlook, visio pro, word and three lots of security running at the same time.

This app rocks. Despite Office 2007 and Vista (I get to be 1st line support for gf's machine ugh), I might start to like Micro$oft.

Leon


A small telescope (or pair of binoculas) will show the real wonders out there. It may take time to find your way about, but there is a huge amout of data up there! As with PCs there are some issues...

Warning: Only works at night.

Warning: Will not work if cloudy.

Chris Cartledge

Or if you leave the lens cap on. ®

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