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7月9日 State of the Blog – A Little Update on Where We Are TodayBrandon Leblanc of the Windows Team Blog, gives us an update about the state of the Windows Blog and the recent additions over the past few months:
Read the rest here The Windows Blog has been a great place to get the latest in news and information about the platform in its many facets. Whether its tutorials and experiences from Brandon at the Windows Experience blog, resources from the Windows Business blog, information for developers about harnessing the benefits of Windows 7 in your applications. The Windows blog is an exceptional resource for anyone who is a Windows user.
Technorati tags: Windows Mobile, RSS feeds, RSS, Twitter, Windows, Community, Blogging, Windows 7, Blog, The Windows Blog, Social Media, State of the Blog, Resource, Brandon Leblanc Microsoft Silverlight 3 is now available!Microsoft just announced the availability of Silverlight 3, its web browser plugin that enables features such as animation, vector graphics and audio-video playback. Silverlight 3 was first announced at the IBC 2008 show in Amsterdam on September 12, 2008. It was unveiled at MIX09 in Las Vegas on March 18, 2009. Silverlight 3 supports Out-of-Browser experiences, i.e., Silverlight applications can be installed to the system for offline access (provided the application manifest is designed to allow local installation) where they run outside the browser. They are launched using the Start Menu or desktop shortcuts, and run without the browser window. Applications can check whether they are running inside a browser or not. When running out of browser, HTML interop is disabled. In addition, access to the Function Keys is enabled. Locally installed Silverlight applications still run in a sandbox. Installed Silverlight 3 applications automatically check for updates asynchronously on every launch and updates are automatically installed. Running instances of the applications are informed when updates are available. You can install Silverlight here Resources Windows Live Tags: Silverlight, Silverlight 3, Browser Plugins, Internet Explorer, Channel9, Online Video, Web, Microsoft, Compatibility, Scott Guthrie, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Internet Explorer 8 5月8日 ActiveWin.com is now on TwitterPopular Windows Community ActiveWin.com where I write reviews and post news articles is now on popular Micro-blogging site Twitter, you can find us by going to http://twitter.com/ActiveWin. So be sure to follow us! 3月30日 Say goodbye to Microsoft EncartaArstechnica reports about Microsoft’s decision to discontinue the popular electronic encyclopaedia which I have been a loyal user for many years.
Read the entire article here First Microsoft Picture It!, then Microsoft Money, then Windows Live OneCare, now Encarta, Microsoft’s commercial consumer products are slowly dwindling. I can't say it wasn't inevitable, since there was no 2009 release. But Wikipedia has indeed contributed to this decision I believe. I personally use it more than ever. Its just that it lacks the multimedia aspect of Encarta which combines it well written articles. The Internet has changed a lot how we access and consume information, the instantaneous and wealth of resources vastly out numbers 1 DVD on which Encarta includes a thousands of articles by billions. Also, relevancy and constant updates make the Internet a superior choice. Although Wikipedia will now and then be vandalized, the accuracy of information written has been top notch and is a number one reference point for me. Internet Explorer 8’s features a new tabbed Search on the fly option which allows you to quickly change Search engines based on your query. I use Wikipedia a lot, it’s very cumbersome having to type in the query through Google, search for it then open Wikipedia. With this feature, you are taken immediately to the source, which is sure to be a hit with those who want a more detailed browsing experience with better results. new tabbed search feature makes referencing information from Wikipedia and other sources a great asset. Technorati Tags: Microsoft,Encarta,Encyclopedia,Britannica,Wikipedia,Internet,MSN Encarta,Arstechnica,Emil Protalinski 3月19日 UPDATE: Announcing the availability of Windows Internet Explorer 8 RTMInternet Explorer 8 RTM is now available for download: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/worldwide-sites.aspx Its been a long journey to Internet Explorer 8, and now its here:
Learn more here Previously 3月4日 PCWorld: 5 Great Microsoft Web Services You Probably Don't UseFrom PCWorld Brandon Leblanc linked a great article by PCWorld editor Preston Galla that discusses 5 cool Windows Live services that are free and easy to use:
Read the entire article here Resources: Windows Live Essentials – Integration with Microsoft Office 2007
Windows Live Tags: Windows Live , Clubhouse , Microsoft , Software plus Services , Services , Windows Live Essentials , Preston Galla , PCWorld 2月20日 Checking out Outlook Live – ZDNET iGenerationZack Whittaker over at ZDNET takes a look at the next generation of Microsoft Exchange web mail service Outlook Live (formerly Outlook Web Access). Currently in testing, the service is available to students at college campuses around the world, faculties can sign up through the Live@Edu Program. What's great about Outlook Live is, you get the full richness of Outlook Live across different web browsers, 10 GBs of storage, built in collaboration (Instant Messaging, Threaded view for emails) and the option to keep your account after graduating. The Microsoft Exchange Team is focused on making the Exchange ‘14’ release more service oriented while still providing the traditional on premise capabilities and experience. The ability to manage millions of inboxes is also a major focus of this release. Check out Zacks review here Learn more here about Microsoft Outlook Live
Microsoft Outlook Live
Microsoft Outlook Web Access, part of Exchange Server 2007 (click to enlarge) Recently I setup an Exchange Server 2007 installation for testing purposes and was really impressed with the rich functionality of the improved Outlook Web Access. Its basically Office Outlook in the browser. I hope to have a tutorial posted soon, so stay tuned for that. Its great to see how Microsoft is continuing to innovate and make collaboration more open with the next generation of Exchange and it looks really cool too. 11月28日 Man I would love to win one of these 50 Magical HP GiveawaysHey everyone, want to make your Christmas special? Enter the HP Magic Giveaway Contest on Gearlive.com and get the chance to win 4 computers and accessories you can share with family and friends or give to a charity you have in mind. :)
Some persons Christmas will be very special this year! Here is a list of the prizes:
NeoWin.net has a link to a Google Calendar with the starting dates for each contest. A few websites have already started their contest:
Contest Updates:
Its quite overwhelming when you think about what HP, Microsoft and so many sites are giving away. HP has exemplified something here, the gift of giving, so why not do the same? If I were to win all this hardware, I definitely could not keep it all. My brother would absolutely love an upgrade from his XP machine to the HP HDX 18 and my other brother would be excited about the HP Mini 1000. Why I would love to win this contest is specifically for the HP Touch Smart and media smart. The all in one printer and laptop I most likely would give away as a Christmas gift to a lucky member at the up coming Church harvest. A lot of folks are in rough economic times (world-wide)right now, giving somebody a laptop might not necessarily make ones life completely better, but its a nice gesture that will make their holidays a very special and memorable one in addition to starting off the New Year with a bang. This collection of devices is screaming, show the good in you, so why not make the 'smart' choice of sharing the magic too. Learn more about the contest and all 50 participating websites: http://www.hp.com/united-states/campaigns/blogger-magic/
del.icio.us Tags: HP,Magic Giveaway,GearLive.com,Windows-Connected,Bleeping-Computer,Contest,Christmas,Charity,Computers,TouchSmart 10月25日 Today is Windows XP's Birthday - if anybody rememberedVista is Microsoft's current flagship version of Windows, but that doesn't mean XP has been put out to pasture just yet. The operating system that brought new experiences in reliability and stability for consumers is 7 years old today. That's a long time in the software world. Thinking back to when the product RTMed in August 2001, I had just finished high school, the terrible tragedy of September 11, 2001 had occurred and then the Anthrax scare started happening, a whole lot was going on at the time. Windows XP over the years has grown into a beloved product and regardless of the bumps along the way such as Code Red, Nimda and Welchia that occurred in 2003, the product garnered a massive user base that is still strong. Windows XP has seen numerous updates in its life in particular the security heavy Service Pack 2 that some would describe as a brand new release of the in itself. Looking back at its development history, Windows XP formerly code name Whistler was targeted as a major release building on the fundamentals of Windows 2000, not introducing incompatibilities and bringing the investments that consumers and businesses made in Windows 9x and Windows NT into the new millennium. Today's Internet at the time was in its infancy the plethora of blogs dedicated to Windows today was quite small although there were still major enthusiast web sites like ActiveWin.com, NeoWin.com and WinSupersite around at the time giving us the latest details on what to expect. Today, the information overload of Windows has reached a height of disbelief sometimes. Examples include the recent fiasco over Windows 7's kernel version which was not even an issue for Windows XP which is NT 5.1. People cared about the fundamentals of Windows back then and a lot do today, but we have seen a shift in how Windows is perceived over the past couple years since Vista was released. Yet, still, Windows XP remains in the news with good commendation while its future successors try to communicate there amazing benefits in security, ease of use, features and reliability and advanced technologies like 64-bit computing and Multi-touch. Windows XP is still available to OEMs through Media until January 2009 and the OS will continue to be supported on the new notebook form factors called Netbooks until 2010. Happy B-day XP! Previously: Resources:
Technorati tags: Windows XP, Anniversary, 7 years, Whistler, XP Professional, Home Edition, Version 5.1, Build 2600, Microsoft, Operating Systems 10月13日 Update: Microsoft Silverlight 2 – Available todayFrom CNET News Microsoft on Monday announced, as expected, that it is ready with a final version of its Silverlight 2 media player. Silverlight 2 will be available for download starting Tuesday, Microsoft said. Among the new features are support for digital rights management technology, improved cross-platform support and deep zoom technology. Microsoft also announced a range of new partners including AOL, Blockbuster, CBS College Sports, Toyota, and Yahoo Japan. Microsoft also disclosed some numbers for the Olympics work it did with NBC. Over a 17-day period, Microsoft said NBCOlympics.com had more than 50 million unique visitors, resulting in 1.3 billion page views, 70 million video streams, and 600 million minutes of video watched. Overall, Microsoft said the Olympics helped boost Silverlight's U.S. penetration by 30 percent, the software maker said. Read the rest here No word if this new version will be pushed through Windows Update like version 1. Also, I am not aware if support for Internet Explorer 7 64 bit is available in this release. Update: Mary Jo Foley: All About Microsoft shares some more info about Silverlight 2 availability today: Microsoft officials said Silverlight 2 will be available for download from the company’s Silverlight site starting on October 14. They also said that anyone using a beta version of Silverlight 2 or Silverlight 1 will be “automatically upgraded” via its various patching systems (like Windows Update, WSUS, etc.) to Silverlight 2 in the coming months. (Users will be able to block the Silverlight 2 download if they decide to do so.) Read the entire article here Microsoft Silverlight: Light Up the WebTeching It Easy: Silverlight still does not support 64-bit IE ? 10月8日 Windows StrataSpeculation is growing over Microsoft’s ‘Windows Cloud’ based operating system which Company CEO Steve Ballmer touted last week. Microsoft is expected to officially reveal the final name for the service later this month at Company’s Professional Developers Conference 2008. But it seems a few eagle eyes might have made an early discovery. Personally I was hoping it would Windows Live Server, since the Company would like to expose the platform more to developers and give it a serious background. The focus of a Windows Cloud would be to bring more of Microsoft’s traditional desktop solutions to the Internet, especially for developer tools like Visual Studio and Microsoft Office. The Company still wants to make desktop software relevant by wrapping together Services plus Software to create a solution that both consumers and businesses can be more comfortable and willing to make their data move to remote servers. I see the strategy, but the scattered technologies that are Windows Live will need to work in more synergistic fashion. The storage part of it needs to be more centralized and accessible for the web based applications in addition to services like Windows Mail, Spaces and Live Mesh in addition to the Windows Desktop. My understanding based on a post I read at LiveSide.net is that SkyDrive will be used as repository for storing the content created from all these services. Resources http://geekswithblogs.net/kit/archive/2008/10/08/125702.aspx 5月30日 HP HDX 31 Days of the Dragon Contest by Geek CentralIf you are into technology and browse a lot of Windows Enthusiast websites and have not heard about the HP HDX 31 Days of the Dragon giveaway then you probably have been living under a rock throughout May. Not to worry, there are still a few contest left to go and Geek News Central started theirs just a few days ago, you should go check it out. The contest itself sponsored by Hewlett Packard and coordinated by BuzzCorps is giving away super impressive All One System that is sure to please anyone interested in computers, whether you are a gamer, student, business or just like really powerful computers. I have participated in about 19 of the contest so far, but it seems luck has not shined upon me 'yet'. Below are a list of sites that are still running contest:
5月28日 New Dock Like Taskbar Coming in Windows 7?Some personse have noted a difference in the appearance of the Windows Taskbar in yesterdays demo of Windows 7 by Julie Larson-Green at the D6 | All Things Digital event. But I am not sure if its anything new except for a resizing of the present Windows Vista style Taskbar. Thom Holwerda over at OS News thinks otherwise: Quote: "The final interesting part was the rather odd-looking taskbar - assuming it even was a taskbar. The bar was twice as high as an ordinary taskbar, and lacked text, using what looked like icons or thumbnails instead. It reminded me of the RISC OS icon bar, mostly. Apparently, Larson-Green was not at liberty to discuss it, because when Mossberg asked her about it, she replied: "It's something we're working on for Windows 7 and I'm not supposed to talk about right now, today..." Read the entire article here Well, it certainly looks different with more transparency and bigger button icons when an active application is selected on the Taskbar. Then again, its very early in Windows 7's development, what we might have seen was just a temporary ui inconsistency that will be fixed in later builds. Even in an official video on Microsoft's Windows Vista blog, the Windows 7 demo uses the traditional slim Windows Taskbar. Then again, for users with stuby fingers, the usability of the Windows UI might need to be improved for a Touch experience which gives reason to the enlarged Taskbar. You can achieve a similar look now in Windows Vista. Right click your Taskbar > click the 'Lock the Taskbar' option on the contextual menu (if its checked), now right click an area within the Quick Launch buttons, (try not to right click a button itself) > you will then see a another contextual menu with different options > select 'View' and click 'Large' icons, there you have a 'Dock' like Taskbar. Its definitely a given that there will be months of speculation to come on Windows 7's UI and Microsoft over time will continue to change and apply different looks and feels as the development of the operating system progresses. If you went through the Longhorn up's and down's you should definitely remember all the different UI's the OS tried out, Plex, Slate, build 5048 released at WinHEC 2005 used a different UI before beta 1 which was different and changed again to the now familar look first introduced in Windows Vista build 5270.
Technorati tags: Windows Vista, Windows 7, BETA Software, Gestures, Multi-Touch, Apple, iPhone, Taskbar, D6, Julie Larson-Green Joe Wilcox the misunderstanding Microsoft and Windows as usualJoe Wilcox over at Microsoft Watch is on the rampage again about Windows Vista being a failure and the lack in transparency from the Steve Sinofsky interview at CNET. Here's at what he had to say:
Quote:
"Steven Sinofsky's motto should be, in the spirit of Memorial Day: "Loose lips sink ships." Office development proceeded with scant disclosure under his tenure. Little has changed since he assumed the role as Microsoft's senior veep for the Windows and Windows Live Engineering group. Open disclosure and dialogue punctuated past Windows development—not that the process did much for Vista.
Now Steven is talking Windows 7 to CNET News.com. But he's not saying much. There's even a Microsoft "Communicating Windows 7" blog post, credited to Chris Flores, defending the say-no-more interview. Microsoft seemingly has plenty of reasons to keep mum about Seven, starting with freezing Vista sales. The company claims 140 million Vista licenses shipped. But that number is deceptive. Based on interviews with analysts and enterprise IT managers, the majority of licenses are on new PCs where Vista is never deployed. Most businesses are stripping off Vista and using downgrade rights to install Windows XP." Read the rest here Joe, sometimes I think there is a bottle of whiskey sitting beside your monitor. Because you utter so much garbage its unbelievable. You speak with such lack of understanding it shows throughout your entire writing when it comes to talking technology. First of all, Windows Vista is not a failure, 140 million licenses sold (recently bumped to 150 million) is not a failure its actually astounding. Next, how do you know that the majority of those licenses have not actually been deployed? Did you check every business in America and around the world to come to that foolish conclusion? Building Windows 7 on the solid foundation of Windows Server 2008 SP1 means reassurance to customers who have invested heavily in Windows Vista can have the confidence to deploy their existing infrastructure on Windows 7 when its released. This means existing hardware and applications will work on Windows 7 without any alteration. Windows 7 will use the same driver framework as Windows Vista. How in heavens name is this wrong or risky???? Building a new kernel from scratch is the stupidest idea I have ever heard from you? What solution will this offer Windows developers and customers? Re-engineer applications for a new platform that will take years, incompatibility with existing investments in hardware and software? Just because you think the idea of a modular Windows client is better? Windows is already modular in a significant way, the different Windows Vista SKU's offer customers the choice they need and the features they want. How is Windows Server 2008's roles based approach going to be relevant to a client OS? Come on, think before you speak. You say that Windows Vista is causing certain customers to downgrade to Windows XP? What is the catalyst for this? The only one I can think of is compatibility, yet you say that they need a brand new kernel to fix Windows. You talk ridiculous crap without reading it, it seems. As Steve clearly noted in the interview, Windows 7 will bring compatibility forward. The evolution of Windows 7's kernel will insure that. Quote: The silence on Windows 7 is important, its the right approach and other company's are doing it, look at Adobe with the next release of Creative Suite, they are releasing information in a timely relevant manner. Other reasons to consider, over discuss Windows 7 now what does this say about Vista, that Microsoft has lost faith in the product and admitted defeat? Also, Windows Vista was just released world wide a year and a half, Windows 7 won’t be here until at least early 2010. Why would they want to jump the gun so early and start shooting themselves in the foot like they did with transparency of the Longhorn project? Joe, this is the most disturbing, disappointing, pointless, hotheaded, sensationalist article I have read from you. Looking into Windows 7's Prediction PoolMary Jo Foley over at All About Microsoft is reinspecting the possibility of when Windows 7 will hit the market. Here's a snippet of what she had to say:
Quote:
"It sounds like Microsoft is aiming to get Windows 7 out earlier than it promised — at least if you believe the company’s CEO. During his fireside chat with Chairman Bill Gates at the D6 conference on May 27, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer acknowledged that Microsoft was aiming to deliver Windows 7 in late 2009." Read the entire article here My Thoughts: I am sticking to my prediction of February 2010. Microsoft will certainly give a Developer Preview of Windows 7 to attendees at the 2008 PDC for them to start getting ready with their applications as soon as possible. Microsoft has really straightened out their priorities when it comes to releasing Windows. As Steven Sinofsky mentioned, Windows Vista's unpredictability in addition to the reset kind of made IHV's and ISV's hesitate to start messing with Windows Vista, when they should have been getting their code ready from build 5048 released at WinHEC 2005, they actually waited until Vista RTMed in January 2007. Speaking of IHVs, WinHEC 2008 will be a week later, which means possibly the same build of Windows 7 released to Microsoft's various hardware partners to start working on those device drivers or improve on existing ones to have a smooth release for Windows 7 RTM. One partner already is doing so (nVidia) by looking for a QA manager to ensure device driver quality. Details at Long Zhengs blog. The next question is when is the beta going to start? Looking at a familiar pattern to past Windows releases, the most similar is actually Windows XP which was first previewed in July of 2000 and then went into beta 4 months later (October 2000), Vista might follow a similar part with a beta as early as February 2009. In fact, both Windows 7 and XP are minor releases from an architectual standpoint but possibly radical in features and UI. Microsoft of course will probably have a shorter beta cycle compared to Vista which was 15 months, I'm betting on 11 months for Windows 7, with RTM in December and GA as I previously noted in February 2010. The reason why I chose February is THE actual preparation needed to launch it world wide. The gap between Vista RTM and its General Availability was 3 months. I do hope Microsoft pulls a surprise out of the hat and make Windows 7 available in time for the holiday seasons since this will definitely bring a boost to sales. Hey, if they can do it by August 2009, that would be even better for the back to school party. Hello everyone!It’s been a long, long time since I blogged here. But a lack of time because of my studies has prevented me from investing in my Live Space as I would like to. But this blog post is not about closing or anything like that, far from it! I have invested too much as a Windows and Technology Enthusiast to do that. Especially for my readers it would be a disservice and I am sure there are many of you out there who continue to check back from time to time to see if I have updated. Now moving forward and thinking about how I continue to invest enthusiasm and interest in my blog for my readers, I believe personally it’s about starting the conversation around the next release of Windows, currently codenamed “Windows 7”. I have talked about Windows Vista for a long time, since December 2004 and I will continue to do so. But there needs to be change and I am a person who admittedly is wondering about what comes next. Microsoft has been silent on Windows 7 for a number of reasons and rightly so. Windows Vista was released at the end of January 2007 worldwide. The Company considers this its best version of Windows yet and wants to market its advance capabilities now. Discussing Windows 7 would be unproductive, marketing blunder, confusing and of no relevant benefit to anyone outside of Microsoft. Even businesses that depend on a roadmap from Microsoft to see where there technology investment and infrastructure is heading would not need any concrete information on Windows 7. But, the time has come personally for me to really look at where Microsoft is taking the platform. There has been a lot of rearranging since Vista’s release, slip of the tongue and a mention here and there about Windows 7 from cult figures in the Company such as Bill Gates. I believe early admissions are a sign too that the Enthusiast community needs to start building interest in what comes next. There are a few I must mention so far, All About Microsoft, Istartedsomething.com and Paul Thurrott’s ever popular WinSupersite that have ignited the interest. There is also a thriving community building around the next release, if you do a simple search for Windows 7 news you won’t fail to find numerous sites dedicated to it. Coincidentally, Microsoft has begun communicating Windows 7 when I started writing this post on Sunday May 25th, although I just decided to post it today. Below are links from Microsoft’s Steve Sinofsky and Chris Flores discussing Microsoft’s approach to Windows 7. 7月4日 Talking about Windows Live Onecare 2.0Kenny Yeung over at Discovery HK alerted me that the beta for Microsoft's Live OneCare 2.0 Beta is about to start... Quote Windows Live Onecare 2.0 5月19日 Dell Latitude Tablet PC Coming!From Direct2Dell via Neowin Quote: "Jeff Clarke, senior vice president and general manager of Dell Incorporated's business product group, has confirmed that the company will sell a Latitude Tablet PC before the end of year via a short video posted on Direct2Dell’s blog. Clarke mentions that the device is designed specifically for the education, the health care and corporate market place. During the video, he has what we can only assume is a prototype of a very thin Latitude Tablet PC that opens like a notebook but has a screen which can be positioned upwards to work like a traditional tablet. “We have done a lot of engineering that makes it one of the lightest weight, convertible tablets in the market place. We have spent considerable time working on the interface to make it easier to use where it has a leadership technology in its pen and touch interface,” said Clarke." Resource: http://www.neowin.net/index.php?act=view&id=40408#comment554111
What took them so long? I hope they target it at the budget consumer who wants innovative technology but not willing to pay an arm and a leg, but at the same not up for sacrificing basic features and functionality to justify the cost. Dell has been shipping some lousy hardware lately though especially in the notebook department and the recent consumer complaints are enough to make me wait a while before even buying a Tablet from them. What I'm hoping for: Full support for Vista x64 Its time the Tablet come out of the niche market now and I think Dell might just make that happen. This Tablet from Dell looks sexy by the way. :) Additional Pictures:
Dells Latitude Tablet PC
Technorati tags: Dell Tablet PC, Dell Latitude Tablet PC, Windows Vista, Windows Tablet PC, Pen Computing, Hand writing recognition, Stylus, Convertible, Education, Health Care, Laptop, Notebook |
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