A Leslie Wong Blog

I installed Windows 7 (64 bit) on my Macbook that uses the Mobile Intel 945GM Express Chipset. One of the apps that I use is ClearView, an RC flight simulator for radio controlled planes and helicopters, so I can learn how to fly my Heli-Max Axe CP. On the first run, ClearView said that OpenGL wasn’t installed. The Windows 7 Beta display driver (Pre-release WDDM 1.0) didn’t have OpenGL.

I installed the Intel Vista 64 bit drivers 7.14.10.1504 for the 945GM Chipset from downloadcenter.intel.com, which installed OpenGL 1.4. ClearView seems to work OK.

July 22, 2009: Windows Update notified me that there was a updated Intel display driver for the 945 Express Chipset for Windows 7 RC. I installed it, version 8.15.10.1825, and it runs OpenGL on my flight sim program. It also works with these Intel chipset families:

Intel® 3 Series Chipsets
Intel® 82945G Express Chipset
Intel® 82946GZ Graphics Controller
Intel® 82G965 Graphics and Memory Controller Hub (GMCH)
Intel® 82Q963 Graphics and Memory Controller Hub (GMCH)
Intel® 82Q965 Graphics and Memory Controller Hub (GMCH)
Intel® 945 Express Chipset Family
Intel® 946 Express Chipset Family
Intel® 965 Express Chipset Family
Intel® G31 Express Chipset
Intel® G33 Express Chipset
Intel® G35 Express Chipset
Intel® Q33 Express Chipset
Intel® Q35 Express Chipset
Mobile Intel® 945 Express Chipset Family
Mobile Intel® 945GM Express Chipset Family
Mobile Intel® 965 Express Chipset Family

Update, January 19, 2010 (backgrounder): Why you should use OpenGL and not DirectX

In the past couple of months, my headphones have failed. The ear pads on my fifteen year-old Sony MDR-V2 headphones began to deteriorate. The wiring connections at the jack and drivers became intermittent. I soldered on a new jack, but it was difficult to get the insulation off the fine gauge wire. I got tired of fixing them and figured I got my money’s worth. My earbuds started having an intermittent connection too.

It was time for new headphones. I’ve been in a few recording studios in the past 30 years, and I often saw Sony MDR-V6 headphones. These fit my budget (~$70 USD) and all those recording studios can’t be wrong. There’s even a Wikipedia entry for the MDR-V6. The headphones are circumaural – they go over your ears. The sound reproduction is accurate.

When I ride my bike, I use earbuds, but only in one ear, so I’ll be able to hear the SUV, driven by a woman talking on the phone, nearly hit me.

I chose a lower price point for earbuds, since I’m mostly listening to podcasts and the whizzing wind isn’t really conducive to high fidelity. Most of my music is ripped at 192 kbps VBR anyway.

I narrowed it down to the ~$30 USD Sennheiser CX300 earbuds and the ~$33 USD Sony MDR-EX75. I bought the Sennheisers. Hopefully they’re not counterfeit .

I downloaded the new Windows 7 Beta (64-bit) and did a clean installation on my 3GB MacBook (13-inch Late 2006 with an Intel Core2 Duo Mobile Processor T7200). I used the Apple BootCamp64.msi drivers and all the Apple hardware devices installed correctly.

In November, I tried the 32-bit version of Windows 7 (build 6801) and the Windows 7 Beta (build 7000) doesn’t seem too much different.

When I ran the Windows Experience Index assessment, the base score was 2.0 (build 7000 64-bit) compared to a base score of 3.0 with the 32 bit version of build 6801. The low score was because of the 2.0 subscore of the data transfer rate of the primary hard disk, a 120 GB Toshiba MK1234GSX. But I don’t feel there is any sluggishness while using the computer.

The Processor and Memory (RAM) subscores were 5.0, while the Graphics and Gaming Graphics subscores were 3.1, not unreasonable for the Intel GMA 950 graphics processor. Anyway, I don’t have much ambition to play Crysis on my Macbook.

Thanks to my friend Kenny, I have an Alfetta Sprint Veloce.

Thanks to my friend Steve Fields, purveyor of automobilia, I now have the book, Alfa Romeo Alfetta GT by David Owen. Owen is the author of numerous Alfa Romeo books.

Alfa Romeo Alfetta GT covers some of the history of Alfa Romeo, the Alfetta’s family tree, Alfa Romeo racing and the Alfetta GT through the GTV6.

The Alfetta GT chapter outlines the design ideas and engineering solutions to problems such as weight distribution and rear axle design. The result being a clutch-transmission-final drive unit, DeDion rear axle and in-board disc brakes.

I’ve read that Giorgetto Giugiaro’s original design for the Alfetta GT had retractable headlights, but I’d never seen any images. Owen’s book illustrates that with some of Giugiaro’s original sketches.

For the illiterate crowd, there are eight pages of color photographs plus black and white photographs of Alfettas and its predecessors throughout the book.