| Andre 的个人资料Teching It Easy: Windows...照片日志列表 |  工具  帮助 |
|
8月31日 Windows Media Player 11 BETA 2 - Released!From Microsoft Downloads via Velveren
OverviewWindows Media Player 11 for Windows XP offers you unmatched choice and flexibility for your digital media. Easily manage your libraries of digital music, photos, and videos on your computer, and then sync with a variety of portable devices so you can enjoy it all wherever you want. Windows Media Player 11 is designed to work with all versions of Windows XP with Service Pack 2, including Windows XP Home Edition N and Windows XP Professional N.
PLEASE NOTE: If you use Windows Media Player to access a favorite online store, some are not available for this beta release. The following stores are available in the Windows Media Player 11 beta release: Audible, eMusic, f.y.e., Live365, Movielink, MSN Music, MusicGiants,Napster, Passalong, Puretracks, URGE, VidZone, Wal-Mart and XM Radio. For more information, see the Readme. Download here
Thanks Volkan for the link!  8月30日 My Pre-Release Candidate 1 Preview of Windows Vista now on ActiveWinFrom ActiveWin.com Quote: " For me, installing the operating system has been a varied experience depending on the hardware; I tried different machines, all which successfully installed a combination of x86 and x64 platforms. The BETA 2 build released in May installed in approximately 35 to 40 minutes on both 32 and 64 bit hardware. Microsoft has since released updated builds (5456, 5472) otherwise known as interim releases. I recently installed 5472 (x86); the install time on my desktop and laptop were 59 minutes and 54 minutes respectively. A significant drop in performance there compared to build (5384 – BETA 2). Although we should take into consideration 5472 x64 is an interim release and does not reflect the same quality, as a milestone build such as BETA 2 or RC1 will be. Hopefully I will see changes to this area as development progresses, but fluctuation in performance has been a number one problem since BETA 1." Read the rest here 8月28日 Windows Mail - A Better Out of Inbox Experience please?“Two years from now, spam will be solved,” he told a select group of World Economic Forum participants at this Alpine ski resort. “And a lot of progress this year,” he added at the event late Friday, hosted by U.S. talk show host Charlie Rose. Excerpt from Gates: Spam To Be Canned By 2006, CBS News
Now for a look at the progress report:
 Wow, what great progress we have made, thanks Microsoft!
To be fear though, we still have until December 31st 2006, so maybe there are some more surprises left to come. Build 5536 - A Clean Device Manager...is such a thing of beauty. I am so confident in the RC1 build of Vista right now after seeing Device Manager. Things are running very smooth in this build. As everyone notes, performance has improved based on general use of the OS, I would not apply this to the installation since it took a long time to install. But the overall system feels stable. I installed the latest nVidia drivers for my antiquated Geforce FX 5200 128 MB AGP, but it made the system both unstable and unbootable, but I was able to recover by booting in safe mode and do a driver roll back, now I am back in business. Creative needs to release some better drivers, I was playing a song and artiste voice sounded like a chip munk, hopefully post RTM will give us some quality device drivers from the IHV's.
 Device Manager in Windows Vista Build 5536 on my Dell Dimension 8300. My Preview of Internet Explorer RC1 - now on Windows ConnectedFrom Windows Connected
Read the entire preview here 8月26日 Microsoft, You Promised!Microsoft, you said this is suppose to be a thing of the past starting with Office XP. So why am I seeing it here in Office 2007? Come on????
Reboot? Get a life! 8月24日 LiveSide.net - Sign Up for the Windows Live Messenger 8.1 BetaFrom LiveSide.net
Just saw this:
Quote
"A sign up link for the Windows Live Messenger 8.1 Beta has just appeared on Microsoft Connect. To sign up, go to Connect, click on Available Connections, then find Windows Live Messenger 8.1 and click Apply. To go straight to the survey, just click this link."
Go to Microsoft Connect here to apply for the WLM 8.1 BETA and other BETA software from Microsoft.
Check out LiveSide.net here
This is needed right now, the performance on the 8.0 release has been disappointing. Log in times are very long and launching Live Mail from the Messenger takes forever, which means the integration and speed with other Live Services is still below quality. Internet Explorer 7 Release Candidate 1 XP SP2, Server 2003 SP1, x64 Editions Now Available!From Windows Connected
Quote:
Internet Explorer 7 (IE7) Release Candidate 1 (RC1) has been designed to make everyday tasks easier, provide dynamic security protection and improve the development platform and manageability. End user improvements include a streamlined interface, tabbed browsing, printing advances, improved search functionality, instant feeds (RSS), dynamic security protection, and more. Internet Explorer 7 Release Candidate 1 build number 7.0.5700.6 Click here to download Internet Explorer 7 RC1 8月23日 How Vista screws dual-booting nirvanaQuote: "Every Linux distribution detects the presence of another OS and configures the system accordingly, even being nice enough to add Windows to your boot loader automatically (should you choose to keep it). Why can’t Vista simply include a decent boot loader, thus removing the onus from the user, or the installer, to determine what boot loader is installed and configure it accordingly? Interestingly, if your boot loader is a Microsoft only one, and the installer detects that it is a newer version than the one it is installing, it leaves it intact. Which pretty much makes all of the arguments in that post complete dross." Read the rest here
Windows Vista Build 5700 & New Office 2007 Splash ScreenI just saw two interesting screenshots on two Flickr Photostreams, one showing the build tag for Windows Vista Build 5700 and the other showing and updated Office OneNote 2007 Splash screenshots.
 Build 5700.winmain.060810-19xx
 New Office 2007 banners coming!
The pictures were taken at a recent Tech ED 2006 Conference.
Check out more pictures at the following links:
8月18日 Friday Fights: Google vs. MicrosoftRE: Where Should Vendors Stick Their Web Services? From eWeek Google-Watch Quote: Will Google sue to get Windows Live Messenger removed from Vista? It's certainly a possibility, given their previous complaints about MS embedding search into Internet Explorer. And given Google's failure to get anybody to use Google Talk, maybe they're willing to pick a fight over embedded instant messaging." Read the rest here
Its pretty much the same with Live Search being the default engine in IE 7, I still change it to Google because I consider Google to be way better. The competitors in this industry still don't understand that, its not about forcing something on us, its all about having independence and choice and Microsoft gives you that with Vista which in turn makes the desktop vulnerable. Also, since they removed Windows Messenger, they had to replace it with something, especially for a person who might be coming from XP and wonder where the built in messaging went. Resources: 8月17日 Windows Vista News Batch - August 17th 2006.From ActiveWin An issue has been identified that may cause you to lose access to protected media music, videos, and recorded TV after upgrading to Windows Vista RC1. You can help prevent this scenario by installing this update from Microsoft. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer. Also available:
DirectX10: The Next Generation in Gaming DirectX10 is not just another version of DirectX. This version has been re-built from the ground up to change the way applications think about material management and load balancing between the CPU and GPU. D3D10, as also DirectX10 is called, takes advantage of the improved communication between the CPU and GPU and efficiently manages the data transfer between them. Read the rest here From Microsoft-Watch Microsoft Embeds Windows Live Links in New Vista Builds Microsoft is set to deliver a new Windows Vista build – possibly Build No. 5506 -- to testers some time in the next few days, according to Vista testers who asked not to be named. The forthcoming build will embed links to a number of Microsoft's Windows Live services. Microsoft is gunning to release the new build some time the week of August 14, testers said. That build may be 5506 or a slightly later build, they said. Read the rest here
8月15日 Windows Vista News Batch - August 15th 2006.From Paul Thurrott's WinInformant Exclusive: Microsoft Plan's to Still Release Windows Vista in October According to sources at Microsoft, the company plans to ship Windows Vista Release Candidate 1 (RC1) in early September. More important, perhaps, is that Microsoft still plans to release Vista to manufacturing by the end of October as previously planned, defying rumors that the company would delay Vista yet again. Read the rest here From eWeek Flash, Storage Vendors Eye Windows Vista Reporter's Notebook: Performance was the key topic at the recent Flash Memory Summit, as memory makers heard details of speedups for Windows Vista. To little surprise given the audience, the hard drive is the villain and flash is the hero. SAN JOSE, Calif.—Flash memory looks to give Windows Vista performance a helping hand next year. In presentations by Intel and Microsoft at the Flash Memory Summit conference here, the details of how that flash-enabled speed boost will be accomplished grew a bit more clear. Read the rest here From WinFuture.de WinFuture.de Showing Screenshots of Windows Vista BUILD 5505 WinFuture, a German Windows Enthusiast site, showcases some new screenshots of the latest leaked Windows Vista Build 5505. Improvements
Check out the screenshots here
8月14日 Logitech Key's Into VistaFrom News.com Quote: The Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 3200 Laser is a wireless keyboard/mouse combo that will be available for $99.99 in the U.S. in October, and in Europe in December. The keyboard includes a communications panel and a media panel. There is a button dedicated to activate Internet calls and another one programmable to activate a specific search engine. A touch-sensitive slider for zooming has an adjacent button that returns the window to 100 percent. Another button lists current open applications and windows, and lets people switch between them. That button is compatible with the Flip3D feature in Microsoft's upcoming Vista operating system, according to Logitech. The keyboard also has a digital display that lists the time, the date and the keyboard's battery life. Read the rest here
Microsoft's blogging software available in BETAMicrosoft has released a beta version of Windows Live Writer, a new blogging software designed for users with no HTML skills. Most blog-authoring services--including Blogger, LiveJournal and WordPress--assume a bit of HTML knowledge on the part of their users. But now that it seems as if everyone has a blog or two these days, the market has opened up for software that allows Web users who are less tech-savvy. That's the niche that Microsoft's Windows Live service hopes to fill with Windows Live Writer, now available for a free beta download to Windows users who have installed XP's Service Pack 2. Read the rest here
Resources: Exclusive: Interview with J.J. Allaire, Architect for Windows Live Writer Interesting Windows Live Mail SurveyI got an MSN Research e-mail this morning asking if I would like to take a survey, here is the letter in its entirety:
    Here are some picture screenshots of demos during the survery, featuring a unique IE window. (Click to enlarge)
"Dear Windows Live Mail User,
Thank you for being one of the first users of the Windows Live Mail Beta programme. We are constantly working to improve the service and love to get your feedback.
Please take a moment to complete the following survey on the design of the Windows Live Mail environment and the advertising opportunities within it. This questionnaire should take no more than 10 minutes to fill out and you must be 18 years or older to participate. Click here to go to the survey. If the link does not work, please copy and paste the following URL into your browser. Thank you in advance for your time. And keep your eye out for new features in the Beta based on YOUR feedback! Yours sincerely, The Beta Mail Research Team The survey responses you submit will not be used to contact you for the purpose of promoting any product or service. Any information gathered through this survey will be treated as confidential. All analysis and reporting will only be done on the survey group as a whole. No reporting will be created on an individual customer basis and results will be used solely for market research purposes." The Windows Live Mail preview does look lovely indeed, better than what I am currently using, I am definitely forward to the final release. 8月11日 Windows Licensing: The Price of SuccessFrom Longhorn Blogs
Quote:
"Microsoft has played a huge part in the success of the PC. Not only do many families in the US have one computer, there is a decent percentage that have more than one. Stats on this are hard to find, but according to this In-Stat report, in 2004 there were 89.3 million homes in the US with a computer. According to this vendor, over 20 million of those homes have more than one. That’s 22% of all homes in the US. While this should be regarded as a huge success for the company, when it comes to Windows Licensing, it is Microsoft’s greatest blunder."
If you purchase a new PC from Dell, you should still be able to purchase additional Vista licenses for your household at the same $44.95. That would encourage everyone to at least get off Windows XP (which is extremely insecure compared to Vista).
Read the rest here
Well, I agree that Microsoft needs to make the licensing of Windows much easier on consumers, a subsidized Apple style Family Pack/Office Teacher & Student for Vista definitely would make upgrading to the new OS a lot more encouraging. A lot needs to be take into consideration, most family PC's tend to be budget PC's that don't have enough power to run Vista in a desirable way that would improve the user experience over XP and upgrading hardware is just an extra hassle that most families would rather skip. For instance, at my brothers house, they have two PC's, a Dell laptop purchased recently and a generic desktop PC purchased in 2000. Guess which one qualifies as Vista ready? Also, saying Windows XP is extremely insecure sounds like a sell off to me, yes Windows 98 is extremely insecure, Windows XP RTM & SP1 are extremely insecure, but definitely not XP SP2. Regardless Vista is the latest version of Windows which in some instances designates that its secure out of the box, its still an unproven product until its deployed among the masses, so saying Vista is definitely a secure product now is being a bit too sure of yourself, lets wait 6 months to a year after Vista RTM's to come to that decision. Will Leopard Out-Vista Vista?From eWeek
Quote:
"When Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs the week of Aug. 7 showed features of the forthcoming OS X 10.5, code-named (and most likely also to be trade-named) Leopard, he showed no sign of lowering the strength of the reality distortion field that he's famous for generating around his product and technology announcements.
If anything, Jobs actually turned the knob up to 11 by claiming that next spring's general release of Leopard would steal a march on Microsoft, delivering to Apple users the equivalent of "Vista 2.0." Read the rest here I said it yesterday and I will say it again, "What both Windows and Mac users must realize in terms of feature parity, both platfroms are coming full circle." We are looking too deep into the rip off aspect of things, Apple made it clear, they are going to innovate on top of Microsoft's ideas, that was the aim. Its not about feature rip off, just doing a better job than the other. And regardless some may say Time Machine is gimmicky, so is Flip 3D. Yes, I have been discussing Leopard a lot this week and giving Vista a hard time, but I just feel I need to. 8月10日 White Hat: Vista Gets High Marks For SecurityQuote:
"The Windows operating system always has been notorious for its security flaws. This has been partly because its ubiquity makes it the most widespread target for hackers and thieves, but it's also because Microsoft's security efforts have often been clumsy or incomplete.
But with Vista, the much-ballyhooed (and delayed) version of Windows, the company seems to finally be on the right track. Dan Kaminsky, senior researcher at DoxPara Research, says that after eight months of kicking Vista's security tires, he's convinced that Microsoft has learned from its mistakes." Read the rest here As I a previously noted, Security overshadows Vista a lot. No doubt, the improvements to security in the system are welcome, but users expect that and having it as the only selling point will not come across well. Kudos on the high marks though. WWDC: Opinion, PC users on Leopard versus VistaFrom MacWorld UK
Quote:
"By Harry McCracken, PC World.com
|
|
|
