Ask Lifehacker: Uninstall Internet Explorer 7?

Dear Lifehacker,

I, like many idiots, upgraded to IE7's beta. Now I want to roll back, because it does things like choke on Movable Type and the swank new Yahoo Mail beta doesn't recognize it, telling me I need IE5.5 and up.

Do you know how to do that? Even better would be a way to install both side by side, but that's probably laughably optimistic.

Signed,
One Step Back

Dear One Step,

From the horse's mouth, here's how to uninstall IE7.

1. Click "Start," and then click "Control Panel."
2. Click "Add or Remove Programs."
3. Check "Show Updates" at the top of the dialog box.
4. Scroll down the list to "Windows XP – Software Updates," select "Internet Explorer 7 Beta 2Preview," and then click "Change/Remove."

If "Internet Explorer 7 Beta 2 Preview" does not exist, run %windir%\$NtUninstallie7bet2p$\spuninst\spuninst.exe. You need to have "view hidden folders" enabled. %windir% is your Windows installation directory, which is normally 'C:\Windows' on most systems.

As for running IE6 and IE7 side by side, it looks like Windows guy Jon Galloway has figured out a way to run IE7 standalone, though I haven't tested this personally. If you give it a try, let us know how it goes!

Related: here's how to run IE5, 5.5 & 6 simultaneously and most likely violate every Windows Terms of Service agreement you accepted. Meep.

Love,
Lifehacker

New York State Sues FreeiPods.com Owner

New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer is suing Web site operator Gratis Internet Inc. for allegedly violating consumer confidentiality agreements by selling millions of consumers’ personal information to e-mail marketers.

Gratis, based in Washington, D.C., operates numerous Web sites including FreeiPods.com, FreeCDs.com, FreeDVDs.com and FreeVideoGames.com.

Spitzer’s suit claims these free offers came at a price.

While Gratis informed users of its Web sites that it would not sell their personal information, Gratis owners Peter Martin and Robert Jewell in the past two years sold some seven million consumers’ e-mail addresses and other personal information to e-mail marketers. Those marketers used the information to distribute millions of e-mail solicitations, according to the statement.

Check Out the Featured Blog

It's located on the right-hand side of my blog. Taken from Recommended's blog: "This blog is about the many things I discover online every day. Rantings and personal opinions included. Enjoy your stay and visit again!"

Check it out!

Hackers Get Windows XP on Apple Computers

As expected, hackers have found a way to run Microsoft Corp.'s Windows XP operating system on new Macintosh computers, winning an ad hoc contest and a $13,854 cash prize to boot.

The hack, which is downloadable from the Web site, still takes some tedious labor and technical know-how, but Nederkoorn predicts an easier version for mainstream computer users might be available within a year.

Check it out here!

Pac-Man on your iPod?

Yes it's true. You can hack your iPod to play Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man.

As part of the iPodLinux project, iPodMame is working on a MAME game emulator for the iPod. It's all a bit technical, but the result is fun, eh? As of right now you can run Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man but it seems like there are more games coming soonish.

A Little Surfing Advice

Here's an interesting little plug-in, just released for both Internet Explorer and Firefox browsers, that provides advice on whether the site you're about to visit might have spyware, worms or some other form of nastiness lurking on it. SiteAdvisor is a free download for now, and though nothing substitutes for a certain amount of common sense, the little visual warnings could be a nice addition to your home computer.

Into the West, with FanFic

Attention, Lord of the Rings fans! If you're a fanfic writer, Electronic Arts and TheOneRing.net have a contest running that might appeal to both your creative and your Orc-slaying sides. They've posted three screen shots from the new The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-Earth II. You're to choose one and write a short (<1000 words) story about it. Winner scores an entire Xbox 360 setup, and there are some nice prizes for runners-up. If you feel you've got something to contribute to the myths of the Dunedain and the North Kingdom, go to town. And if you win, swing back through here and tell us!

Google Page Creator

Google's Page Creator puts your site at a yournamehere.googlepages.com URL, offers a maximum of 100MB of space, and only creates simple, static pages without flashy features, interactivity, or structure. So it's best suited for folks with extremely basic needs who want to get something on the Web with a minimum of fuss--but for that, it's worth a look. But it's a bit strange that Page Creator is a cutting-edge, extremely interactive Web service that...lets you create really old-fashioned, passive Web sites. Show us your link!

Dell Discontinues MP3 Players

It looks like the longtime leader in PC sales is ceding the high-end MP3-player market to Apple in order to refocus on smaller, cheaper players with fewer moving parts. Dell spokespeople have confirmed that the inventory of Digital Jukebox players, a family of Creative Nomad/Zen clones equipped with 5 to 30 gigabytes of hard drive space, has completely sold out and will not be replenished.

The company will continue to support the DJ players, and warranties will be honored, but any Dell-branded music players will henceforth be of the Ditty variety, a small (but not ridiculously small) player with an integrated FM tuner and 512 megabytes of flash memory.