Windows

  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    The Windows Blog

  • Yet another DirectX 11 Graphics Card from AMD!

    Brandon LeBlanc
    9 Feb 2010 | 1:52 am
    Hot on the heels of the ATI Radeon HD 5450, AMD today has announced the ATI Radeon HD 5570. The Radeon HD 5570 is designed for small form-factor PCs and it too supports DirectX 11 in Windows 7. You can find the specs for this graphics card here on AMD’s product page. For this card, they were able to jam the same multimedia capabilities as what AMD calls the “enthusiast-class” ATI Radeon HD 5870 graphics card into this power efficient, lower priced graphics card. AMD’s press release doesn’t include a price other than “affordable price”. Of course both the ATI Radeon HD 5570 and…

  • January TechNet webcast now available

    Jodi Kogan
    8 Feb 2010 | 11:06 am
    Missed our TechNet webcast on January 22nd? Not to worry, we’ve made the recording available through LiveMeeting. View “Deploying Windows with Volume Activation” now. Thanks! - Jodi

  • How Do I Love Thee, Windows Home Server?

    Moira Whidby
    8 Feb 2010 | 8:57 am
    What better way to prepare for Valentine’s Day with our extended Windows Home Server community than to help us help you show the love for WHS! We’ve got a fun Valentine’s Day promo to announce to kick off the celebrating – thru everyone’s favorite…some Windows Home Server Stickers! 2009 has been a great year and we’re sure 2010 will be even better with the incredible combination of Windows Home Server and Windows 7 protecting, connecting and organizing everything in your digital life. Show off your love for Windows Home Server by letting us send you some of our favorite Home…

  • Bloomberg: “Microsoft Outpaces Apple in Customer Satisfaction”

    Brandon LeBlanc
    5 Feb 2010 | 10:56 pm
    It is great to see the excitement for Windows 7 translating into customer satisfaction with Microsoft overall. Earlier this week, Bloomberg posted an article headlined “Microsoft Outpaces Apple in Customer Satisfaction” that examined data gathered by YouGov Plc showing that Windows 7 has contributed more than twice as much to Microsoft’s customer satisfaction than Snow Leopard has to Apple’s. The data shows that customer satisfaction for Microsoft was at 64% the day before Windows 7 launched on Oct. 22nd, rose to 67% in the following week, and grew to 73% by the end of 2009 for a…

  • AMD Announces Low-cost DirectX 11 Graphics Card

    Brandon LeBlanc
    5 Feb 2010 | 1:00 am
    Earlier today, AMD announced the ATI Radeon HD 5450 graphics card – the latest addition to the ATI Radeon HD 5000 Series of graphics cards. The ATI Radeon HD 5450 will cost less than $60 (USD) for a 512MB memory configuration and supporting DirectX 11 making it one sweet deal if you’re looking for a DirectX 11 graphics card for your Windows 7 PC. The Radeon HD 5450 offers entry level performance and ultra-low power consumption and also supports AMD’s multi-monitor technology called ATI Eyefinity and their ATI Stream technology. There will be variations of this card depending on partner…
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Reviews Tom's Hardware US

  • ATI Radeon HD 5570: Reasonable Gaming Performance For $80?

    8 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pm
    AMD rounds out its DirectX 11-capable lineup with an entry-level gaming card sporting all of the Radeon HD 5000-series' value-adds. Does the Radeon HD 5570 represent the perfect combination of low-price, gaming performance, and features? DirectX - Radeon - ATI Technologies - Advanced Micro Devices - Zune HD

  • Q&A: Tom's Hardware And Kingston On SSD Technology

    7 Feb 2010 | 11:00 pm
    Now waist-deep in the SSD game, Kingston has a lot of know-how and industry insight on all things memory-related. We sat down with two of the company's insiders for a different perspective on some of today’s biggest SSD questions. Kingston - Solid-state drive - London - England - Hardware

  • In Pictures: Tom's Hardware's AMD/Eyefinity Event

    5 Feb 2010 | 10:00 pm
    Five Tom's Hardware readers were chosen in a recent contest to come and visit our new office in Culver City, California to go hands-on with Eyefinity. Thanks to AMD and EA, they were able to try out a handful of games on a trio of 23" displays. Advanced Micro Devices - Tom's Hardware - Culver City California - Hardware - California

  • Presented By: BlackBerry Developer Resource Fridays

    5 Feb 2010 | 10:00 pm
      Welcome to BlackBerry Developer Resource Fridays, a reoccurring event here on the BlackBerry Developer's Blog. We'll keep you up to date on helpful articles that have been added to the Developer Knowledge Base and other new additions to the BlackBerry Developer Zone. Learn more about this edition's pearl of wisdom: What Is - Supported versions of BlackBerry Device Software for the BlackBerry App World storefront. BlackBerry Developer's Blog >> Read more Ads by Pheedo

  • In Pictures: The Most Promising Tech Of 2010

    5 Feb 2010 | 10:00 pm
    The economy is on a slippery slope and there's much unrest in the world. But not to worry—2010 promises to be awesome for tech! Here are some of the products and technologies that we're anticipating over the course of the next 12 months. United States - Gay Lesbian and Bisexual - Education - Texas - Google
 
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows

  • Of Microsoft and Innovation

    8 Feb 2010 | 7:55 am
    Is Microsoft no longer the company that brings us the future? A former Microsoft executive blames internecine warfare for the company's failures. But Maybe Microsoft is simply too big not to fail.

  • Mailbag: February 7, 2010

    7 Feb 2010 | 9:50 am
    In this week's mailbag: Microsoft, Apple, and brand loyalty, copying information from an old hard drive, accessing SkyDrive from Windows Explorer, disk defragmenters and Windows 7, a Microsoft Sidewinder X5 mouse mini-review, and a question about Windows 7 Anytime Upgrade.

  • Windows Weekly 142: Snake In The Brass

    6 Feb 2010 | 1:51 pm
    In the latest episode of the Windows Weekly podcast, Leo and I are joined by ZD blogger Mary Jo Foley fears of a post-Microsoft world. Also on tap: new Windows Home Server "Vail" details, (supposed) Windows 7 battery life issues, Microsoft's efforts to ensure Bing succeeds, the Windows 7 RC expiration, and more...

  • Windows 7 Tip of the Week: Run Windows Live Messenger from the Notification Area

    6 Feb 2010 | 8:21 am
    Windows Live Messenger doesn't work the same way in Windows 7 as it did in previous versions of Windows. And many, myself included, don't like that it spews unnecessary buttons on the taskbar. Fortunately, there is a way to make Messenger work like it did before. Here's how.

  • Windows 7 Feature Focus: HomeGroup

    4 Feb 2010 | 3:36 pm
    Windows 7 consolidates the most common sharing tasks--sharing documents, digital media files, and printers--into a single interface called HomeGroup.
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Bink.nu

  • February 2010 Security Bulletin Release

    Steven Bink
    9 Feb 2010 | 11:43 am
      Today Microsoft released 13 bulletins addressing 26 vulnerabilities. 11 bulletins affect Windows and 2 affect older versions of Microsoft Office.   ID Bulletin Title and Executive Summary Maximum Severity Rating and Vulnerability Impact Restart Requirement Affected Software MS10-006 Vulnerabilities in SMB Client Could Allow Remote Code Execution (978251) This security update resolves two privately reported vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows. The vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution if an attacker sent a specially crafted SMB response to a client-initiated SMB…

  • Microsoft Keeps Fans Connected to the 2010 Winter Olympic Games

    Steven Bink
    8 Feb 2010 | 11:27 pm
    With opening ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games scheduled for Friday, Microsoft Silverlight, MSN and Bing teams have worked with NBCOlympics.com to deliver 2010 Winter Games to the online audience. Silverlight, a cross-browser, cross-platform Web plug-in, and Internet Information Services Smooth Streaming technology, will power the interactive online player on NBCOlympics.com. Features include: HD quality video of consistent quality, as well as DVR-style controls that enhance navigation and allow fans to pause and rewind the 400 hours of live and 1,000 of on-demand Olympic footage.

  • IbarraReal font download for Windows Users

    Steven Bink
    6 Feb 2010 | 1:51 pm
    IbarraReal is a public-domain font of Ibero-American character, created in 2005 as a revival of the types cast by Jerónimo Gil for the Royal Spanish Academy's edition of Don Quixote, printed in Madrid by Joaquín Ibarra in 1780. Its elegant design mixes tradition and modernity and is a genuine badge of Spanish culture.   Download details IbarraReal font download Send via e-mail | Submit to Digg | Add to Live Favorites

  • Windows Azure may host virtual machines starting March

    Steven Bink
    5 Feb 2010 | 3:49 am
    At the beginning of January Microsoft launched its Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) cloud computing offering: Windows Azure. Despite the company’s Chief Architect Ray Ozzie said that Azure will be able to compete with Amazon EC2 and similar Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) clouds, this component is not yet accessible, or at least we couldn’t find it, and Microsoft didn’t even officially confirm it exists. A couple of months ago virtualization.info suggested that the IaaS component of Azure may appear in March, because Microsoft is going to release a cloud toolkit that month.  It…

  • Microsoft Small Basic 0.8

    Steven Bink
    5 Feb 2010 | 2:18 am
    Microsoft Small Basic is a project that is aimed at making computer programming accessible to beginners. The project comprises a simple programming language that gathers inspiration from the original BASIC programming language; a modern and attractive programming environment; and rich, extensible libraries. Together they make programming fun for kids and adults alike.   Download details Small Basic Send via e-mail | Submit to Digg | Add to Live Favorites
 
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Mary Jo Foley

  • Microsoft on Google Buzz: Been there, done that

    Mary Jo Foley
    9 Feb 2010 | 12:41 pm
    Google Buzz, which sounds like the slightly less confusing successor to Google's "future of e-mail" Wave product, is coming in both consumer and enterprise flavors, according to Google. Are the Softies quaking in their boots? Not exactly.

  • Microsoft's weakest cloud link: The Windows Azure Console?

    Mary Jo Foley
    9 Feb 2010 | 12:11 pm
    It's just one early user's opinion, but it sounds like Microsoft needs to beef up the integrated console component of Windows Azure to keep its cloud-computing customers happy.

  • Microsoft's Windows 7 chief: It's not us; it's your batteries

    Mary Jo Foley
    8 Feb 2010 | 1:34 pm
    Windows President Steven Sinofsky posted to the Engineering Windows 7 blog about the growing number of alleged battery-notification issues reported by some customers over the past week. If you want to know all about battery performance, telemetry data, and more, read his full February 8 post. If you don't have time, here's the synopsis: It's not us; it's your batteries.

  • A leaner, meaner Visual Studio 2010 Release Candidate expected later this week

    Mary Jo Foley
    8 Feb 2010 | 12:58 pm
    Microsoft is poised to release the near-final Release Candidate (RC) test build of Visual Studio 2010 later this week, according to a mention on February 8 on a Microsoft development blog. The Softies are promising a leaner, meaner development suite, with the RC -- the last test build before VS2010 launches in April.

  • Is Windows 7 reliability fix making PCs less reliable?

    Mary Jo Foley
    8 Feb 2010 | 10:55 am
    There are reports in a TechNet forum that claim a recently released reliability and stability patch for Windows 7 may end up making some PCs less reliable and stable. The Ars Technica site discovered the thread about the fix, KB977074, late last week. Microsoft officials said they are aware of the issue but say that, so far, it's not a major one.
 
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Win Beta

  • Windows 7 eclipses Vista on Steam, 64-bit dominating 32-bit

    We already know that Windows 7 is growing faster than Vista was when it was released, but how fast are gamers adopting it? Pretty darn quickly, according to January 2010 data from Steam, the leader of the digital distribution market. Last month, the percentage of users on Windows 7 eclipsed the number of users on Windows Vista. Windows XP is still leading the pack, but it is under the 50 percent mark... View Full Article: Ars Technica

  • Is Windows 7 reliability fix making PCs less reliable?

    There are reports in a TechNet forum that claim a recently released reliability and stability patch for Windows 7 may end up making some PCs less reliable and stable. The Ars Technica site discovered the thread about the fix, KB977074, late last week. KB977074, one of a number of Windows 7 updates Microsoft made available for download at the end of January, was designed to “resolve some reliability issues in Windows 7.” View Full Article: Mary Jo Foley's Blog

  • Microsoft aims for smooth streaming in Vancouver

    Microsoft is aiming to make Web viewing of the Winter Olympics a lot more like watching the events on TV. While Beijing brought the first widespread use of the Internet to deliver live video of the Games, the Vancouver Olympics--which starts February 12--will offer a range of new options, including TiVo-like features like pausing, rewinding, and replaying during a live broadcast. In addition, broadcaster NBC is using the adaptive streaming capability of Silverlight (Microsoft's rival to Adobe's Flash) to allow those with a good connection to get the Games in up to 720p high-definition…

  • Microsoft loses Facebook display ads, but expands search deal

    Good news and bad news for Microsoft this morning in its Facebook relationship. The Redmond company, which has a minority stake in the booming social networking site, said in a blog post that the companies are deepening their relationship in Internet search, working on new features and expanding into markets outside the United States. At the same time, the company says it will no longer be responsible for display ads on Facebook. Microsoft calls it a "mutual decision." View Full Article: Todd Bishop's Microsoft Blog

  • Windows veteran Mike Nash leaving Microsoft

    Corporate Vice President Mike Nash, who headed Microsoft's security efforts before spending the past several years in product management and strategy roles in the Windows unit, is leaving Microsoft. His Windows roots run deep, though, with Nash having been the first product manager on the original Windows NT marketing team. In his long tenure, he also oversaw development of Microsoft.com and led the launch of Windows 2000, before shifting to head the security team... View Full Article: CNET News
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Computerworld Blogs

  • Users scoff at Windows 7 battery problem denials

    IT Blogwatch
    9 Feb 2010 | 3:08 am
    Microsoft has concluded that last week's story about batteries failing due to a Windows 7 bug is bunkum. Sadly, it doesn't seem to have satisfied the users, who are complaining louder than ever. In IT Blogwatch, bloggers try to figure out why. Not to mention GNILLEY: gaming by yelling... (MSFT) read more

  • Ex Microsoft VP: Why Microsoft can't innovate

    Preston Gralla
    4 Feb 2010 | 8:32 am
    There are those who claim that Microsoft has been too slow to bring innovative products to market --- and now an ex-VP joins the chorus, delivering a devastating critique. It makes for eye-opening reading. read more

  • Nasty new IE bug exposes your files (please panic now!)

    IT Blogwatch
    4 Feb 2010 | 3:03 am
    Microsoft has confirmed a thoroughly revolting vulnerability in all versions of Internet Explorer. It means that bad guys can read your files remotely. In IT Blogwatch, bloggers panic and pray for patches. Not to mention embracing life... (MSFT) read more

  • Linux upgrades the easy way

    Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols
    3 Feb 2010 | 2:36 pm
    When you upgrade Windows, you have to jump through endless hoops. With Linux, you just download and go. read more

  • Google's biggest enemy: Europe, not China

    Preston Gralla
    3 Feb 2010 | 10:45 am
    Much has been made of the ongoing battle between Google and the Chinese government, but Google faces a far bigger governmental challenge with more serious revenue and business implications: The ongoing fights over privacy and search engine monopoly throughout Europe. Google's ultimate success may be decided in cities such as Brussels, Rome, and Berlin, not Beijing. read more
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Todd Bishop

  • Google Buzz faces off with Facebook

    9 Feb 2010 | 11:08 am
    The Associated Press reports: Google is making it easier to socialize on its e-mail service. It's unveiling a new "Google Buzz" feature that sets up a face-off with Facebook.

  • Microsoft Bing searches jumped by half in 2009, comScore says

    9 Feb 2010 | 10:17 am
    A growing but obviously still trailing Microsoft Bing (formerly Live Search) fielded nearly half as many more U.S. searches last year than it did in 2008, analysis firm comScore said Tuesday, outpacing Google's growth rate and the industry average.

  • Microsofties' new idea: Dual-purpose Pakistani school

    8 Feb 2010 | 8:00 pm
    Microsoft employees Umaimah Mendhro and Mona Akmal chit-chat away, talking less to their interviewer than to each other. Once you get them on a roll about their charity, Dreamfly, you can barely stop them.

  • Windows Mobile still on 18% of U.S. smartphones

    8 Feb 2010 | 2:52 pm
    Microsoft's Windows Mobile operating system was running on 18 percent of U.S. smartphones by the end of December, according to comScore. That's down one point from WinMo's market share in September.

  • Windows 7 battery issue not an issue, Microsoft says

    8 Feb 2010 | 1:34 pm
    A reported issue with Microsoft Windows 7 – that it warns users they need to change their laptop batteries when they don't – does not actually seem to be an issue, Microsoft said Monday.
 
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Ed Bott's Windows Expertise

  • Can you stump Microsoft’s Windows experts?

    Ed Bott
    25 Jan 2010 | 2:03 pm
    Microsoft’s Channel 9 at MSDN is airing a pilot episode of a new show called Help Desk this week. It’s a live show with a call-in format. The host is Chris Pirillo, and he’s backed up by a "brain trust" of support superstars from Microsoft–two Senior Windows 7 Test Engineers and a Senior App Compat Engineer. The panel’s challenge is to troubleshoot viewers’ problems and solve them live, on the air. Questions can come in via Twitter (@ch9live), or you can e-mail them to ch9live [at] microsoft [dot] com. Put it on your calendar: Address:…

  • Use this fix-it tool to preview PDF files on 64-bit Windows

    Ed Bott
    25 Jan 2010 | 1:09 pm
    I guess today’s my day to write about Adobe. Over at ZDNet, I’ve posted detailed instructions on how to completely remove and reinstall Adobe’s Flash Player to stop crashes and fix slow performance in IE8. Here, I want to circle back to a topic I bring up every few months, and that’s Adobe’s broken PDF Preview add-in for Windows Explorer Outlook. If you run 64-bit Windows 7, Adobe’s default installer configures itself incorrectly, which means you get an error message if you try to preview a PDF file in the Preview pane of Windows Explorer or in the Reading…

  • Microsoft releases Important security update for Internet Explorer

    Ed Bott
    21 Jan 2010 | 11:10 am
    Because of a recent widely publicized exploit, Microsoft has broken with its normal update schedule to release a cumulative update to Internet Explorer for all Windows versions. It’s being delivered through Windows Update and through Windows Software Update Services (the managed corporate version of Windows Update). For details, read Microsoft Security Bulletin MS10-002. If you check Windows Update manually you’ll find it categorized as Important, with details specific to your Internet Explorer and Windows versions. If you do nothing, the update will be delivered automatically,…

  • It’s time to stop using IE6

    Ed Bott
    16 Jan 2010 | 9:08 am
    Over at ZDNet, I’ve got a new post on the details behind the recent successful cyber-attack on Google, Adobe, and dozens of other large corporations. After looking at the evidence, I’ve concluded that the risks of using IE6 outweigh the costs of switching: Any IT professional who is still allowing IE6 to be used in a corporate setting is guilty of malpractice. Think that judgment is too harsh? Ask the security experts at Google, Adobe, and dozens of other large corporations that are cleaning up the mess from a wave of targeted attacks that allowed source code and confidential data…

  • What’s your screen resolution?

    Ed Bott
    14 Jan 2010 | 9:21 am
    I just took a look at some analytics for the last couple of months on this site and was surprised by one slice of that data. Here’s the first page of the aggregate stats for the default screen resolution used by the most recent 250,000 visitors: I drilled into the data for a few more pages and found that approximately 59% of all visitors are using widescreen monitors, with aspect ratios between 16:9 and 16:10. Presumably that includes nearly everyone using a notebook, plus a smattering of LCD monitors attached to desktop PCs. I was surprised, though, to see that 41% of visitors are…
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    greg hughes - dot net

  • A complicated tale of the not-even-yet-released iPad: Lack of openness is very iBad

    29 Jan 2010 | 11:38 am
    You could argue that one shouldn’t complain about a product before it lands in your hot little hands, but a common theme over the past few days among the pundits on the web has been the newly-announced iPad and it’s apparent lack of openness. as Alex Payne comments, “Apple has decided that openness is not a quality that’s necessary in a personal computer. That’s disturbing.” While I think the iPad is a cool device, and that it will be useful, and that I will likely buy one… I have to agree with Alex. He’s right. That’s an interesting and complicated place to be: I want to…

  • Why the Apple iPad Tablet will find a home in my airplane cockpit (and in my life)

    27 Jan 2010 | 11:46 am
    Apple is taking the covers off a new “tablet” style device today – called the iPad (link to Apple’s new product site, with video) - in a much-hyped announcement. I rely on my iPhone in so many different ways nowadays that I have a hard time thinking what work and life would be like without it. I could manage just fine, but things would change substantially. One of the things I do a lot with my iPhone is pilot-related. I have a number of apps on the iPhone that I use to help me look at aviation weather, airport information and diagrams, radar images, current wind and weather…

  • Google Voice Accounts - Want an Invitation?

    5 Dec 2009 | 10:55 am
    I have had (SORRY - ALL GONE!) two Google Voice account invitations for anyone who wants one. First come, first served. If you want to know what Google Voice is, check out their videos that do a good job of describing what it does and how it works here. For now it's available by invitation only, so you can either get one from someone who has extras, or you can sign up for an invitation from Google at this link. I'll update this post when t The invites have all been taken. I'll post again if and when I have any more available. greghughes.net weblog - copyright 2009 - licensed under a Creative…

  • Thanksgiving, loss, and finding ourselves again...

    26 Nov 2009 | 9:47 am
    I spent the afternoon and the better part of the evening with my friend Dave the other day. We're close friends of ten years, both pilots and generally good buddies. We spent the day keeping each other company and - although we only briefly spoke about it - supporting each other through the anniversary of a difficult, life-changing day. It's so hard to believe it's actually been ten years - Both an eternity and a blink of the eye, all rolled into one. So much has changed in that time, yet so much seems the same. Life can make remembering the good stuff difficult, if we let it. My son died…

  • Flying around Mt. Hood

    26 Nov 2009 | 9:40 am
    The other day I went flying in the plane with my friend Dave. We went a few places, including the avionics shop at Aurora and an early dinner at the Mulino Hangar cafe. Then we flew around Mt. Hood as the sun was going down. It was a calm, clear and beautiful day, much improved over the recent rains. You could see all the mountains clearly, from Sisters and Jefferson to the south, to Adams and St. Helens to the north, and even all the way up to Mt. Rainier, clear as a bell. We climbed up to about 10,000 feet and I steered the aircraft while Dave took a few pictures. greghughes.net weblog -…
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    IEBlog

  • W3C SVG Working Group Update for January 2010

    ieblog
    1 Feb 2010 | 5:08 pm
    In this post, I want to share some examples of the progress going on in the SVG Working Group. Microsoft recently joined the SVG Working Group, and other members (Mozilla, Apple and Opera among others) welcomed us warmly. I'm hopeful about the ways that SVG (both its current direction and future potential) could make the web better. We want the spec to be clear, consistent, and predictable for developers. We’re working out ambiguities such as “Pointer events and clip-paths”, “CSS Selectors <use> and as well as inconsistencies with stroked-dasharray” and “<use> and its…

  • IE Cumulative Security Update Now Available

    ieblog
    21 Jan 2010 | 10:52 am
    Today we released a Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer.  We’ve released this Cumulative Security Update earlier than originally scheduled based on malicious activities reported on the web. The update is available via Windows Update and Microsoft Update. Most users configure their machines to update automatically; you can find more information on that here. This update actually includes 236 separate packages for all the different languages and versions of Windows and IE that customers run and Microsoft supports worldwide. We release these packages simultaneously for all…

  • Add-on Guidelines in Action – Crawler Toolbar

    ieblog
    14 Jan 2010 | 1:52 pm
    A new version of the Crawler Toolbar has recently been released and comes with many improvements to the user experience similar to the changes we described in a previous post about the AVG Security Toolbar. It’s another great example of the Guidelines for add-on developers in action. Here are some high-level examples of the changes they’ve made: The close button is visible so that users can manage it like other toolbars. Additionally, the toolbar is positioned in a supported location which improves stability and performance. It no longer modifies the new tab page to maintain a predictable…

  • Microsoft Joins W3C SVG Working Group

    ieblog
    5 Jan 2010 | 2:10 pm
    As a part of Microsoft’s continued commitment to interoperability and standards support, yesterday we submitted our request to join the Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) Working Group of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). We’re excited to take part in ensuring future versions of the SVG spec will meet the needs of developers and end users. As stated on its Web site, “the mission of the SVG Working Group is to continue the evolution of Scalable Vector Graphics as a format and a platform, and enhance the adoption and usability of SVG in combination with other technologies.” We recognize…

  • Welcome 2010!

    ieblog
    1 Jan 2010 | 10:35 am
    Happy Nw Year!
 
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    istartedsomething

  • Location-based operating system concept: “Locus OS”

    Long Zheng
    7 Feb 2010 | 6:56 pm
    Just as I’m about to leave for Mobile World Congress, an interesting video caught my attention that seems to be more timely than ever considering Microsoft’s upcoming announcements about its future mobile strategy. The video by Barton Smith, a designer from Australia of all places, appears to be a prototype UI for a conceptual “Locus OS” which is described as a “location-based operating system”. What makes it special is that it appears to be Microsoft branded, however without any background information I can’t say for certain if this was commissioned…

  • Microsoft Press Conference @ Mobile World Congress 2010 group liveblog: mark your calendars

    Long Zheng
    6 Feb 2010 | 4:34 pm
    Without a doubt, Microsoft has set its eyes on the consumer mobile space this year. Unless you’ve been hiding under an iPhone, you might have noticed excitement has been building around the mobile event of the year, Mobile World Congress 2010 where Microsoft is expected to reveal the much anticipated Windows Mobile 7 platform, among other things. Join Tom Warren from Neowin.net and I as we will attempt to capture the live Ballmer and co. experience for all of you using the magic of capturing light and the English language in a group liveblog of the scheduled Microsoft Press Conference…

  • Make Adobe Reader shine like it should under 64-bit Windows 7/Vista

    Long Zheng
    4 Feb 2010 | 8:54 am
    When faced with a buggy piece of software, most users probably work-around the problems in silence, others might voice the issue at the developers, but there’s also a growing minority who whip out their development tools and attempt to fix it themselves. In the case of the broken Adobe Reader 9.0 PDF preview and thumbnail handler on 64-bits versions of Windows 7 and Windows Vista, Leo Davidson did just that. For the past two years, Adobe has neglected a simple issue with Adobe Reader that broke the default and extremely useful file thumbnail and file preview features in Vista and 7…

  • There will be so much Windows Mobile, Microsoft can’t fit it in one event in February

    Long Zheng
    27 Jan 2010 | 9:10 pm
    Something big must be brewing in Windows Mobile land because apparently it will be such a revelation Microsoft can’t even explain it all in one day, let alone one event. Moments ago, Microsoft sent out a press release detailing the February schedule for upcoming events for the financial analysts and investors community. Whilst usually I couldn’t care less, what poked my interest was that Microsoft is scheduling not one but two Windows Mobile-related events in a matter of just seven (7) days – one immediately after their press conference at Mobile World Congress and another a…

  • Updated Zune software drivers hints at Zune “Phone”

    Long Zheng
    26 Jan 2010 | 5:31 am
    Coinciding with the scheduled Zune.net maintenance today, a new Zune software update was also released (version 4.2.202.0 for those playing along at home). What might appear as just a regular software update is actually hiding a very big secret. The elusive “Zune Phone” is pretty much confirmed. As some of you might know, an .INF file is essential component of a driver package responsible for identifying the driver and associating it with compatible USB hardware IDs, and in this case, the Zune.inf file is responsible for associating devices with the Zune driver. New to this…
 
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Within Windows

  • Nab Windows 7 Secrets, and a door stop, for nearly half off

    Rafael
    9 Feb 2010 | 6:52 am
    Just received this via email, now’s your chance to grab a copy of Windows 7 Secrets for nearly half off. But wait, there’s more! Buy now, and you’ll also receive a stylish door stop! As someone who has purchased Windows books from Amazon.com, you might be interested in savings of up to 47% on Windows 7 Secrets and other featured Windows 7 guides. In addition, browse the book pages for bonus content, chapter excerpts, and videos. Product Description Tips, tricks, treats, and secrets revealed on the latest operating system from Microsoft Windows 7 You already know the ups and downs of…

  • A look at Windows Home Server "Vail" (Build 7360)

    Rafael
    2 Feb 2010 | 5:26 pm
    Back in July of 2007, Microsoft released its first iteration of Windows Home Server (WHS). Over the three years that followed, Microsoft has updated the product with three Power Packs, each of which has provided significant functional improvements. And of course, some WHS partners, most notably HP, have also contributed to making WHS more usable and functional via a series of machine-specific enhancements and other add-ons. Windows Home Server "Vail", the next major version of this product, will be based on the current generation Windows Server platform (Windows Server 2008 R2) and…

  • Sapphire’s RedLine breaks on 64-bit due to compile error

    Rafael
    30 Jan 2010 | 11:33 pm
    Every several years or so, I undergo a complete system overhaul to keep up with the increasing demands of PC games. One of the components I try not to cut corners on is the GPU. While I was on the NVIDIA track for some time, I decided to pick up an ATI Radeon HD 5970 at Sapphire’s premium price and then some more, due to eBay sharks. (NVIDIA’s Fermi chip is going to be a complete and utter failure, jump ship now.) Of course, I’m not here to write about the hardware. After installing the card, I registered at Sapphire for their “gold club” membership; in other words, I registered my…

  • Demystifying Windows 7 Local Packs and the MCT folders

    Rafael
    24 Jan 2010 | 5:38 pm
    Since Windows 7 went gold, the Internet has been abuzz with little tips and tricks to improve the end-user experience. One of these tips, originating from back when Windows 7 was still in beta, outlined how to access Super Secret Hidden Wallpapers in the %windir%\Globalization\MCT folder. Sadly, nobody seemed to really understand what these folders are for – and worse, never challenged the steps to gain access the wallpaper. (It’s super easy, keep reading.) Before we go forward, we need to define some acronyms, clear up some fancytalk, and tie everything together with a simple picture:…

  • Microsoft Feeds aggregates Windows, Exchange chat for all

    Rafael
    10 Jan 2010 | 7:35 pm
    I received a nudge from the folks behind a nifty aggregator called Microsoft Feeds. (Glad they emailed, because I completely forgot about it.) For those that haven’t seen this by now, Feeds sucks in data from various sources, including Twitter, displaying Microsoft-related jabber from around the world in an easy-to-use timeline view. While old news isn’t very appealing to me, I do find it extremely useful in determining what the hot topic of the day is. You know, like that ridiculous “God Mode” shortcut. Adding your own content is simple, too. Simply litter your content – blog post,…
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Microsoft Security Bulletins

  • MS10-009 - Critical: Vulnerabilities in Windows TCP/IP Could Allow Remote Code Execution (974145)

    9 Feb 2010 | 12:00 am
    Bulletin Severity Rating:Critical - This security update resolves four privately reported vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows. The most severe of these vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution if specially crafted packets are sent to a computer with IPv6 enabled. An attacker could try to exploit the vulnerability by creating specially crafted ICMPv6 packets and sending the packets to a system with IPv6 enabled. This vulnerability may only be exploited if the attacker is on-link.

  • MS10-005 - Moderate: Vulnerability in Microsoft Paint Could Allow Remote Code Execution (978706)

    9 Feb 2010 | 12:00 am
    Bulletin Severity Rating:Moderate - This security update resolves a privately reported vulnerability in Microsoft Paint. The vulnerability could allow remote code execution if a user viewed a specially crafted JPEG image file using Microsoft Paint. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights.

  • MS10-014 - Important: Vulnerability in Kerberos Could Allow Denial of Service (977290)

    9 Feb 2010 | 12:00 am
    Bulletin Severity Rating:Important - This security update resolves a privately reported vulnerability in Microsoft Windows. The vulnerability could allow denial of service if a specially crafted ticket renewal request is sent to the Windows Kerberos domain from an authenticated user on a trusted non-Windows Kerberos realm. The denial of service could persist until the domain controller is restarted.

  • MS10-007 - Critical: Vulnerability in Windows Shell Handler Could Allow Remote Code Execution (975713)

    9 Feb 2010 | 12:00 am
    Bulletin Severity Rating:Critical - This security update resolves a privately reported vulnerability in Microsoft Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003. Other versions of Windows are not impacted by this security update. The vulnerability could allow remote code execution if an application, such as a Web browser, passes specially crafted data to the ShellExecute API function through the Windows Shell Handler.

  • MS10-013 - Critical: Vulnerability in Microsoft DirectShow Could Allow Remote Code Execution (977935)

    9 Feb 2010 | 12:00 am
    Bulletin Severity Rating:Critical - This security update resolves a privately reported vulnerability in Microsoft DirectShow. The vulnerability could allow remote code execution if a user opened a specially crafted AVI file. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could take complete control of an affected system. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user…
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    MSDN Blogs

  • Visual Studio 2010 RC Feedback Channel for Web Tools

    WebDevTools
    9 Feb 2010 | 12:19 pm
    As you probably heard the Visual Studio 2010 RC is currently available for MSDN subscribers! You can download it from here http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/vstudio/dd582936.aspx. General public release is slated for Wed. The Web Development Tools Team has setup a DL that we would like you to use to send us direct feedback on anything web development related for this RC. The DL is: vsweb@microsoft.com Once you have had a chance to use the product please send us feedback on your overall experience with our product. The more details you can provide the better. Also, feel free to shoot us a mail…

  • Maintaining a Consistent Application State with TPL

    Zlatko Michailov
    9 Feb 2010 | 12:14 pm
    The aim of this post is to help developers writing applications in which operations may need to be performed and then later undone due to a subsequent failure. It shows a pattern for how to maintain such a consistent application state by utilizing functionality from the Task Parallel Library (TPL) in the .NET Framework 4. For the purposes of this blog post, a program/routine is a state machine where each state is equally valid and important and should be handled correctly regardless of whether it belongs to a happy path or not. Specifically, a step that rolls back an incomplete state…

  • Visual Studio 2010 Release Candidate Available

    gdavi
    9 Feb 2010 | 12:12 pm
    Visual Studio 2010, Team Foundation Server 2010 and .NET 4.0 Release Candidates are all available for download if you have an MSDN subscription. To summarise some useful posts: Jason Zander’s blog explains what the RC addresses, and includes a video discussion of what’s in it. In addition, your feedback on the RC is encouraged. Brian Harry has confirmed that the RC is also a supported “go live” release. Bryan Krieger has put together a document on upgrading from TFS 2010 Beta 2 to RC. I’m in the process of downloading the RC and will be upgrading over the next few days, I’ll let…

  • Hello, World!

    Dan Cromer
    9 Feb 2010 | 12:11 pm
    Content goes here.

  • Monitoring Unresponsiveness with WPA

    Matt Eason
    9 Feb 2010 | 12:04 pm
    Windows Performance Analyzer (WPA) is a set of tools that can be used to view a variety of statistics for a live Windows operating system.  With regard to UI responsiveness, one of the more interesting WPA statistics introduced in Windows 7 was MsgCheckDelay.  This statistic measures the amount of time a window on the system was unresponsive. It is only generated when a window (HWND) has not been serviced within 200 milliseconds (by default).  By contrast, window ghosting happens after a period of 5000 milliseconds of unresponsiveness.  This smaller timeframe for…
 
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Within Windows

  • Nab Windows 7 Secrets, and a door stop, for nearly half off

    Rafael
    9 Feb 2010 | 6:52 am
    Just received this via email, now’s your chance to grab a copy of Windows 7 Secrets for nearly half off. But wait, there’s more! Buy now, and you’ll also receive a stylish door stop! As someone who has purchased Windows books from Amazon.com, you might be interested in savings of up to 47% on Windows 7 Secrets and other featured Windows 7 guides. In addition, browse the book pages for bonus content, chapter excerpts, and videos. Product Description Tips, tricks, treats, and secrets revealed on the latest operating system from Microsoft Windows 7 You already know the ups and downs of…

  • A look at Windows Home Server "Vail" (Build 7360)

    Rafael
    2 Feb 2010 | 5:26 pm
    Back in July of 2007, Microsoft released its first iteration of Windows Home Server (WHS). Over the three years that followed, Microsoft has updated the product with three Power Packs, each of which has provided significant functional improvements. And of course, some WHS partners, most notably HP, have also contributed to making WHS more usable and functional via a series of machine-specific enhancements and other add-ons. Windows Home Server "Vail", the next major version of this product, will be based on the current generation Windows Server platform (Windows Server 2008 R2) and…

  • Sapphire’s RedLine breaks on 64-bit due to compile error

    Rafael
    30 Jan 2010 | 11:33 pm
    Every several years or so, I undergo a complete system overhaul to keep up with the increasing demands of PC games. One of the components I try not to cut corners on is the GPU. While I was on the NVIDIA track for some time, I decided to pick up an ATI Radeon HD 5970 at Sapphire’s premium price and then some more, due to eBay sharks. (NVIDIA’s Fermi chip is going to be a complete and utter failure, jump ship now.) Of course, I’m not here to write about the hardware. After installing the card, I registered at Sapphire for their “gold club” membership; in other words, I registered my…

  • Demystifying Windows 7 Local Packs and the MCT folders

    Rafael
    24 Jan 2010 | 5:38 pm
    Since Windows 7 went gold, the Internet has been abuzz with little tips and tricks to improve the end-user experience. One of these tips, originating from back when Windows 7 was still in beta, outlined how to access Super Secret Hidden Wallpapers in the %windir%\Globalization\MCT folder. Sadly, nobody seemed to really understand what these folders are for – and worse, never challenged the steps to gain access the wallpaper. (It’s super easy, keep reading.) Before we go forward, we need to define some acronyms, clear up some fancytalk, and tie everything together with a simple picture:…

  • Microsoft Feeds aggregates Windows, Exchange chat for all

    Rafael
    10 Jan 2010 | 7:35 pm
    I received a nudge from the folks behind a nifty aggregator called Microsoft Feeds. (Glad they emailed, because I completely forgot about it.) For those that haven’t seen this by now, Feeds sucks in data from various sources, including Twitter, displaying Microsoft-related jabber from around the world in an easy-to-use timeline view. While old news isn’t very appealing to me, I do find it extremely useful in determining what the hot topic of the day is. You know, like that ridiculous “God Mode” shortcut. Adding your own content is simple, too. Simply litter your content – blog post,…
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    TechNet Blogs

  • Data Protection Manager 2010 hits Release Candidate – Download Available!

    mattmcspirit
    9 Feb 2010 | 12:37 pm
    If you’ve been following my coverage of DPM 2010 over the last few months (here, and here), you’ll be pleased to learn that the Release Candidate build has been declared, and released to the web, on the Microsoft Connect website. If you’re interested in downloading and evaluating this release (which I’d strongly recommend!), you can grab all the bits here.

  • Join the Beta and test the Configuration Manager 2007 Dashboard

    SLD
    9 Feb 2010 | 12:10 pm
    Can you help us test the newest Solution Accelerator? The Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Dashboard lets customers track application and operating system deployments, security updates, the health status of computers, and IT compliance with key regulations—with an easy to use, customizable Web interface.  Because the Dashboard is built on Windows® SharePoint® Services, IT staff can access information without using the Configuration Manager console. The Dashboard is a free Solution Accelerator, and fully supported by Microsoft. Key features of the Dashboard…

  • NIC devices that require a special driver for WinPE may cause a ConfigMgr Task Sequence to fail if a Vista or newer OS is being deployed via an Operating System Install Package

    jchornbe
    9 Feb 2010 | 11:57 am
    If separate NIC drivers are offered by an OEM manufacturer for use in Windows PE vs. the full Windows OS, the Task Sequence may fail if the Windows OS being deployed is Windows Vista or newer (Vista, Windows 7, 2008, 2008 R2) and if it is being deployed from an "Operating System Install Packages" (Windows installation source files). Usually the OEM manufacturer offers separate NIC drivers for use in WinPE vs. the full Windows OS because of special characteristics of the NIC, such as it being a multi-tiered device. WinPE does not support multi-tiered devices, so the OEM manufacturer…

  • "Client for NFS" service cannot be started after stopping it from services console

    abhisek
    9 Feb 2010 | 11:55 am
    On Windows 7 the “Client for NFS” service behaves some way differently than its earlier versions on SFU 3.5 and on Windows 2003 R2. The difference is once “Client for NFS” service is stopped using services console; you cannot start it using Services console; using net start command or using “Services for Network File System (NFS)” management console. Starting from Windows 7; some architectural change forces two different services to be stopped while stopping “Client for NFS” service. Services console (or net start command) cannot handle it; only nfsadmin command and…

  • Microsoft Security Bulletin Summary for February 2010

    mitchirs
    9 Feb 2010 | 11:43 am
    With the release of the bulletins for February 2010 , this bulletin summary replaces the bulletin advance notification originally issued February 4, 2010. For information about how to receive automatic notifications whenever Microsoft security bulletins are issued, visit Microsoft Technical Security Notifications . Microsoft is hosting a webcast to address customer questions on these bulletins on February 10, 2010, at 11:00 AM Pacific Time (US & Canada). Register now for the February Security...(read more)
 
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    LiveSide

  • Silverlight, MSN, Bing, and the Winter Olympics

    Kip Kniskern
    8 Feb 2010 | 7:27 pm
    The Winter Olympics, this year held in Vancouver, B.C., are just a few days away, and promise to be the most internet friendly Olympics, so far (especially if you’re in the US, we’re checking on the non-US story).  NBC Universal will again carry Silverlight-driven live coverage of many of the events, although the restrictions on what you can watch will be based on your cable or satellite package.  Brier Dudley of the Seattle Times explains the restrictions: In some ways, online broadcasts of the Vancouver Olympics preview what's coming from media companies, as they explore ways…

  • Mobile rumor mill heats up; Tom and Long to Liveblog

    Kip Kniskern
    6 Feb 2010 | 6:23 pm
    PPC Geeks published the latest in a slew of rumors on what to expect at Mobile World Congress (MWC), now just more than a week away.  In their post, the PPC Geeks expect to see at least the user interface, but not in depth functionality for Windows Mobile 7, which they call “Very Clean”, “Soulful” and “Alive”.  In addition, PPC Geeks says that according to their sources: the UI, code named Metro, will be very similar to the Zune UI No Flash, not enough time (umm, how long do they need?) App installation through Marketplace only No multi-tasking, but apps can be paused…

  • Well, we’re still blogging, anyway

    Kip Kniskern
    6 Feb 2010 | 9:56 am
    Kind of a sad note on the “Your mail is here, come and get it” blog, the official blog of Hotmail, as they are shutting down the blog and concentrating their efforts on Inside Windows Live.  We don’t necessarily disagree with the concept, but the Mail blog and LiveSide go way back, so it’s kind of like saying goodbye to an old friend. February 05 This blog is no longer active For a deeper exploration of the engineering behind Windows Live check out Inside Windows Live. And, for help with Windows Live try the Windows Live Solution Center. We said this back in 2007, just as Windows…

  • Bing to Enhance search on Facebook; end advertising partnership

    Kip Kniskern
    5 Feb 2010 | 7:55 am
    Just announced today on the Bing blog is news that Microsoft’s Bing will deepen its relationship with Facebook on search, and “will soon provide Facebook users with a more complete search experience by providing full access to great Bing features beyond a set of links, including richer answers combined with tools that help customers make faster, smarter decisions”. Bing will also extend its cooperation with Facebook outside of the US, “bringing the Bing-Facebook search integration to the more than 400 million people using Facebook around the world”. At the same time, Microsoft’s…

  • Bing: “built out to be a much larger player”, will be profitable, says Yusuf Mehdi

    Kip Kniskern
    2 Feb 2010 | 5:32 pm
    In an interview posted today at Reuters, Yusuf Mehdi, Senior Vice President, Online Audience Business, talked about the Yahoo! search deal, profitability, MSN, AOL, and more.  Mehdi expects closing the Yahoo! search deal to be a milestone moment, saying that “for advertisers, we are a credible No. 2”, once the deal closes.  Mehdi talked about profitability: The biggest part of moving into profit "is just getting the scale," said Mehdi. "We're built out to be a much larger player. We've spent the money and built out in such a way that we can be a player at scale.
 
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Microsoft Windows News

  • 2010: Finally the year of the Mac?

    9 Feb 2010 | 9:45 am
    It's almost a pathetic assertion: This year, the Mac will break out of its ghetto and become a mainstream computer for individuals and businesses alike.

  • LifeBook T4410: Good Touch Features, But A Little Too Heavy

    9 Feb 2010 | 4:23 am
    Fujitsu's LifeBook line has produced some impressive contenders among tablet PCs, and the Fujitsu LifeBook T4410 rates as a solid and versatile performer for business users.

  • Lenovo's Top-Notch T410

    8 Feb 2010 | 10:20 pm
    Last year, millions of consumers flocked to netbooks, the stripped-down machines viewed as low-priced alternatives to laptop computers.

  • Clipstart 1.3

    8 Feb 2010 | 5:54 pm
    Our latest reader reports include a discussion of modem options for people who need dial-up capability, plus more discussion of the iPad and related topics , such as screen sharing, video, backup, Flash, aviation and standalone issues.

  • Toyota, Microsoft a " Screwing Up On A Worldwide Scale

    8 Feb 2010 | 9:49 am
    Saturday, February 6th, 2010 by the oracle at 2:12pm No Responses Doing things that make a company successful brings lots of money and fame, but the other edge of that sword is that, when failures happen, they are brought to the fore, and everyone knows that.
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Neil Hutson

  • Visual Studio 2010 - Release Candidate (RC) Ships Today

    neilhut
    8 Feb 2010 | 4:25 pm
    Today we announced a Release Candidate (RC) for Visual Studio 2010. The RC is available to MSDN subscribers today and will be available to the public on February 10. We are encouraging developers to download the RC at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=151797 and provide feedback. On the feedback side, we received a lot of positive customer feedback on the new capabilities of Visual Studio 2010 and .NET Framework 4, but we also received feedback around performance issues which we needed to address.  Our engineering team has been working to improve performance since Beta 2 and the RC…

  • Mobile Developer Sessions Published for Mix 2010 and Joe Belfiore announced as keynote speaker

    neilhut
    5 Feb 2010 | 1:29 pm
    Yesterday the MIX 2010 team announced a couple of interesting new developments on their MIX10 site. The first is that Joe Belfiore will keynote at the event. He is the CVP of Windows Mobile Program Management at Microsoft and is responsible for the overall design and product definition of the software that powers Windows Phones.  Prior to this he led the design and development of some of Microsoft’s more consumer-friendly products, including Zune, Windows Media Center, and the user experience for Windows itself.  The second it that they have announced eleven new Windows Phone…

  • Everything that you wanted to know about Claims Based Identity and that you were afraid to ask!!

    neilhut
    6 Jan 2010 | 12:56 pm
    The Patterns and Practices team have just completed a great reference about Claims based Identity. This coincides with the release of a number of technologies which make  claims-based identity generally available to applications on the Windows platform. With the Windows Identity Framework (WIF), Active Directory Federation Services v2 (ADFS), the identity landscape has expanded, and the goal of the reference guide is to show how you can benefit by understanding these concepts and using certain tools. The reference covers three around. These are WebSSO ( Web Single Sign on, Federation…

  • Download the “Tailspin Travel Application” from Codeplex

    neilhut
    17 Nov 2009 | 1:48 pm
    In Bob Muglia’s keynote at the PDC2009, Cameron Skinner presented a demo focused on some of the exciting new features coming in Visual Studio 2010, .NET Framework 4, and the server platform. The demo was built to show of  ASP.NET MVC 2, Windows Identity Foundation,  and the beta of the new Windows Server AppFabric. For people who are interested in this demo app, you can now download the Tailspin Travel application from Codeplex (download here). In addition to the feature use cases that were presented in the demo, the released version of Tailspin contains many additional scenarios…

  • Microsoft Announce RTM of Windows Identity Foundation at PDC09

    neilhut
    17 Nov 2009 | 1:05 pm
    At the keynote today at PDC09, we announced the RTM of Windows Identity Foundation which is a .NET Framework component which provides an open platform to enable simplified identity access to both on-premise and cloud applications. You can go to the following location to download the Windows Identity Foundation. To add to this announcement, Vittorio on the team has just launch a Windows Identity Training Course on channel9 in the learn section. Please go out and check the latest details
 
 
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    SuperSite Blog : Vista

  • Apple Finally Adds Windows 7 Support to Boot Camp

    pthurrott
    19 Jan 2010 | 5:01 pm
    Almost three weeks later than originally promised, Apple has finally added support for Windows 7 to its Boot Camp technologies in Mac OS X, which let Mac computers dual boot between the two OSes. The support comes via Boot Camp 3.1 (where Snow Leopard shipped with version 3.0), which comes in both 32-bit and 64-bit variants. There's also a third update for those users who have already installed Windows Vista under Boot Camp and would like to perform an in-place upgrade to Windows 7. Boot Camp Software Update 3.1 for Windows 32-bit This update adds support for Microsoft Windows 7 (Home…

  • Tinker Now Available on Games for Windows Games On Demand

    pthurrott
    18 Dec 2009 | 11:56 am
    Not sure when this went live, but Microsoft has made the free version of Tinker available for all Windows XP, Vista, and 7 users. (You may recall that this game was previously exclusive to Windows Ultimate Extras in Windows Vista.) He's little, he's metal, and he's lost. Being a small robot isn’t always easy. Being a small robot marooned in a surreal world of clockwork, inventive mechanisms and challenging puzzles, even less so. In Tinker, a free puzzle game that pushes the boundaries of robot deduction, you’ll guide your robot through switches, contraptions to reach the exit.

  • Panda Cloud Antivirus 1.0 Now Available

    pthurrott
    17 Dec 2009 | 7:10 am
    From Panda: After 7 months in beta testing, Panda Cloud Antivirus 1.0 FREE Edition is finally available. You can download it from http://www.cloudantivirus.com. In version 1.0 we have improved most of the issues submitted during the testing period. Some of the improvements it incorporates are: - Supports Windows Vista and Windows 7 64bits. - Ability to restore any neutralized file. - Improved detection & protection against rootkits. - Free Technical Support forums. Remember that Panda Cloud Antivirus 1.0 is 100% FREE for home users and non-profit organizations and schools. In adition, you…

  • Microsoft Responds to Windows BitLocker Claims

    pthurrott
    9 Dec 2009 | 6:40 am
    In a posting at the Windows Security Blog, Microsoft's Paul Cooke addresses recent claims by Fraunhofer SIT about the supposed ineffectiveness of BitLocker, the full disk encryption technology that's available in Windows Vista, 7, and Server 2008. According to the software giant, the Fraunhofer SIT report is incorrect: BitLocker can not be "broken" or "bypassed" when used as directed. Here's the word: Windows 7 is seeing success in the marketplace which I am very happy about from a security perspective. The Microsoft Security Intelligence Report has shown us…

  • Researchers Break into BitLocker

    pthurrott
    7 Dec 2009 | 4:22 pm
    ZDNet UK has an interesting post about security researchers from Fraunhofer SIT that have managed to bypass the BitLocker disk encryption technology in Windows 7, Vista, and Server 2008. According to the firm, there's nothing wrong with BitLocker per se; it's just that the encryption it uses isn't foolproof, even when a hardware-based TPM (Trusted Platform Module) is present on the PC. The attack is intended to counter the widely held belief that a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) device is a foolproof way of protecting sensitive data, Fraunhofer SIT researchers said on Thursday.
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Windows Experience Blog

  • Yet another DirectX 11 Graphics Card from AMD!

    Brandon LeBlanc
    9 Feb 2010 | 1:52 am
    Hot on the heels of the ATI Radeon HD 5450, AMD today has announced the ATI Radeon HD 5570. The Radeon HD 5570 is designed for small form-factor PCs and it too supports DirectX 11 in Windows 7. You can find the specs for this graphics card here on AMD’s product page. For this card, they were able to jam the same multimedia capabilities as what AMD calls the “enthusiast-class” ATI Radeon HD 5870 graphics card into this power efficient, lower priced graphics card. AMD’s press release doesn’t include a price other than “affordable price”. Of course both the ATI Radeon HD 5570 and…

  • AMD Announces Low-cost DirectX 11 Graphics Card

    Brandon LeBlanc
    5 Feb 2010 | 1:00 am
    Earlier today, AMD announced the ATI Radeon HD 5450 graphics card – the latest addition to the ATI Radeon HD 5000 Series of graphics cards. The ATI Radeon HD 5450 will cost less than $60 (USD) for a 512MB memory configuration and supporting DirectX 11 making it one sweet deal if you’re looking for a DirectX 11 graphics card for your Windows 7 PC. The Radeon HD 5450 offers entry level performance and ultra-low power consumption and also supports AMD’s multi-monitor technology called ATI Eyefinity and their ATI Stream technology. There will be variations of this card depending on partner…

  • Internet Explorer 8 Officially Becomes World’s Most-Used Browser

    Brandon LeBlanc
    2 Feb 2010 | 11:03 am
    This week, Net Applications released their January browser market share report. Their report shows that Internet Explorer 8 is not only the most popular browser on Windows with 27.9% usage share, but that it now has 25.6% of market share across all OS’s on a worldwide-weighted usage share basis (data provided by Net Applications). We launched just less than a year ago, so it’s both humbling and thrilling to see so many people choose our product so quickly – making it the most popular browser of choice worldwide. There are many reasons people choose which browser to use. Most people want…

  • Dell Launches Alienware M11x 11” Gaming Laptop

    Brandon LeBlanc
    2 Feb 2010 | 10:45 am
    Unveiled at CES in early January, Dell today is launching the highly anticipated extremely portable gaming laptop: the Alienware M11x. At CES, the M11x won both CNET's Award for the Best Gaming Product at CES 2010 and IGN’s Award for Best Computer. The M11x is one of the smallest gaming laptops hitting the market with an 11” design. Dell literally went and packed in the power of a 15” laptop in an 11” design with this PC. And it weighs in at less than 4.5 pounds. Dell recently did a blog post called A Brief History of the Alienware M11x which gives some more perspective and back story…

  • Jordan Brand taps into key Microsoft technologies to help celebrate its 25th Anniversary

    Brandon LeBlanc
    1 Feb 2010 | 11:32 am
    Jordan Brand will be celebrating its 25th year anniversary at this year’s NBA All-Star Weekend. During this celebration, one way that Jordan Brand would like to engage with consumers is through rich experiences enabled by new and emergent technology. The Jordan Brand has partnered with Microsoft and Wirestone to help them do so with Silverlight, Windows Azure, Microsoft Surface and Windows 7.   The first exciting experience Jordan Brand has unveiled is a social mosaic, called Mosaic 23/25. Using Silverlight 3 and Deep Zoom, Jordan Brand enthusiasts can upload photos of their Air Jordan…
 
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Windows - RSS Feeds

  • Microsoft Says Windows 7 Battery Issues Are Batteries' Fault

    8 Feb 2010 | 8:18 pm
    Microsoft claims its engineers have been exploring complaints of poor battery life for some laptops running Windows 7, and that in every case the operating system is not at fault. Instead, Windows 7 had correctly evaluated via a new feature that those users batteries were failing, Microsoft said in a Feb. 8 blog posting. However, posts on Microsoft Watch, TechNet and other discussion forums seem to suggest that at least a percentage of users experiencing these issues also had batteries that were either new or nearly new, which in turn is raising further questions. - Microsoft's engineers have…

  • Application Whitelisting Isn't Too Bad

    8 Feb 2010 | 12:27 pm
    AppLocker is Microsofts take on application whitelisting, a process by which a user can only run applications or processes that are expressly permitted by policy. - Six months ago, when I started using Windows 7 full time on my primary system, I wanted to take better advantage of the new operating systems baked-in security features. I had already been running as a limited-rights user that needed a separate administrator password to affect system changes thr...

  • Microsoft Focused on Azure, Zune Smartphone Rumors This Week

    7 Feb 2010 | 8:54 am
    Microsoft experienced a cloud-centric week with Windows Azure, which is now generally available in 21 countries and no longer available for free. Microsoft hopes that the cloud-based platform and its application-building tools for developers will allow it to gain market share in the cloud computing arena, where it faces strong competition from the likes of Google and Amazon. In addition to Azure, Microsoft received some good news on the Windows 7 front, with a new report from Net Applications showing a rising rate of adoption for the new operating system. However, Microsoft continues to face…

  • Microsoft, NSF Offering Free Cloud Computing to Researchers

    4 Feb 2010 | 7:52 pm
    Microsoft and the National Science Foundation (NSF) announced a collaboration to provide NSF-supported researchers with free access to the Windows Azure cloud platform and its development tools for three years. The evident hope is that those researchers will leverage the cloud-computing capabilities of the platform to analyze massive amounts of data inherent in large projects. Microsoft made the Windows Azure platform generally available on Feb. 1 in 21 countries, requiring users to pay for the service. - An agreement between Microsoft and the National Science Foundation will see the software…

  • Microsoft Suffers from Creative Difficulties, Says Former Exec

    4 Feb 2010 | 1:33 pm
    Microsoft's new product R D suffers from an internal culture of infighting and refusal to evolve, according to an op-ed piece by former Vice President Dick Brass published in The New York Times. As a result, Brass asserts, the Windows maker is failing even as it reports record profits. Furthermore, he says, Microsoft's attempts to develop a tablet PC nearly a decade ago were at least partially doomed by a refusal to modify popular Office applications to interface properly with such a device. - Despite announcing strong revenues for the second fiscal quarter of 2010, Microsoft is quot;failing…
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Windows Networking Admin Blog

  • SQL Server 2008 R2 gets an official date

    Windows Networking Admin
    21 Jan 2010 | 5:01 am
    Today, SQL Server 2008 R2 received an official release date. It will be listed on Microsoft's May price list, and will be available by May 2010. SQL Server 2008 R2 showcases Microsoft's continued commitment to business intelligence and mission-critical workloads. Since we made this release available as a Community Technology Preview (CTP) in August 2009, it has been well-received by the community with more than 150,000 downloads. more...

  • Windows privilege escalation bug in DOS VM

    Windows Networking Admin
    20 Jan 2010 | 8:09 am
    In case you are not aware of this bug please read the full advisory here: http://archives.neohapsis.com/archives/fulldisclosure/2010-01/0346.html The bug was reported to MS long time ago. Unfortunately there is still no patch available. Therefore it is advised to use the workaround available in the article. . more...

  • 3CX’s popular free business soft phone gets intuitive new interface

    Windows Networking Admin
    13 Jan 2010 | 5:42 am
    London 12 January, 2010 – 3CX today announced a new version of its popular free VoIP softphone for Windows, 3CXPhone 4.0. 3CXPhone 4.0 sports an all new interface that should be familiar to millions of users the world over. Similar in look and feel to popular smart-phones, users will be able to make and receive calls without requiring any training. "3CXPhone is a great VoIP phone for businesses. It's easy to deploy and manage for network administrators. more...

  • Microsoft Unveils New Dynamics ERP Retail Offering

    Windows Networking Admin
    11 Jan 2010 | 8:42 am
    NEW YORK — Jan. 11, 2010 — Microsoft Corp. today introduced Microsoft Dynamics AX for Retail, a new end-to-end offering designed for midsize specialty retailers, at this week's National Retail Federation (NRF) Annual Convention & Expo. more...

  • Windows 7 articles

    Windows Networking Admin
    22 Oct 2009 | 2:06 pm
    Windows 7 is officially out. Well, WindowsNetworking.com team is ready. Make sure you check out Windows 7 section in our "Articles and Tutorials": http://windowsnetworking.com/articles_tutorials/Windows_7/ Also try our sister sites WindowSecurity.com and VirtualizationAdmin.com for content on security and virtualization subjects.. more...
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Windows Server Division WebLog

  • Power Management in Windows Server 2008 R2 – Improving your “gas mileage”

    WindowsServer
    5 Feb 2010 | 11:19 am
    Everybody pays the power bill.  Well... except maybe the power company.  But who wouldn’t want to reduce that bill?  Not to mention their environmental impact? The biggest power savings many organizations will probably experience with Windows Server 2008 R2 is through server consolidation with Hyper-V, the built-in Hypervisor.  But we also had several other goals in mind to help people manage power and control costs while we were developing R2. One of our goals was to improve power efficiency, out-of-the-box, with no manual configuration required on the part of…

  • Windows 2000 Server Approaching End of Life

    WindowsServer
    14 Jan 2010 | 11:17 am
    Danger, Will Robinson! If you’ve got machines still running Windows 2000 Server in your enterprise, your robot will be blaring this warning ever more urgently the closer we get to July 13, 2010. That’s the end-of-support date for the Windows 2000 Server platform. Folks still running Windows 2000 after this date will be doing so without security hotfixes, patches or service packs. Keeping your corporate infrastructure, data and especially customer or partner data safe is a key requirement to stay within regulatory compliance requirements. But it also means: Staying competitive: Move to the…

  • Microsoft & HP Announce Landmark Expansion of Technology Alliance

    WindowsServer
    13 Jan 2010 | 5:15 pm
    This is fantastic news for customers. Microsoft and HP have had a long-standing technology partnership that's spanned over 25 years. But today, we've announced an expansion of that agreement that likely makes this the deepest and most far-reaching alliance of its kind in the industry. Today, both companies have agreed to invest $250 million over the next three years aimed at simplifying IT technology environments and driving innovation for the next generation of computing. The idea is to provide a series of new end-to-end solutions tightly integrated from the hardware layer up through…

  • Symantec solution available for “Network Path Not Found” and other errors.

    WindowsServer
    11 Dec 2009 | 3:05 pm
    Many folks have been encountering network connectivity issues and other errors when running older versions of Symantec Endpoint Protection and Symantec Antivirus. So I’m writing to let you know that a solution has been available for the past year and is highly encouraged as an upgrade. Context When a Windows Server is running older versions of Symantec Endpoint Protection 11 or Symantec Antivirus 10.2, they may experience performance issues for network shares, or intermittent loss of connectivity to SMB shares.  We’re hoping we can help you avoid a costly and time consuming support…

  • Forget a Wreath, Deck Your Halls with the Windows Server 2008 R2 Poster

    WindowsServer
    11 Dec 2009 | 10:57 am
    If you want to add a little geek to your holiday decorating, check out this free download of the Windows Server 2008 R2 Feature Components poster. This is a free 2.5MB PDF download that diagrams all eight of Windows Server 2008 R2’s key new feature areas: BranchCache, DirectAccess, Remote Desktop Services as well as the new enhancements to Active Directory, File Services, Hyper-V, IIS and Management. The poster has already generated some good responses here and here. Plus, you can see a zoomable preview on Live Lab’s super-cool Seadragon as well as a video with the poster’s…
 
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Windows Virtualization Team Blog

  • RT: Happy Data Privacy Day from System Center

    porourke
    28 Jan 2010 | 10:45 am
    As many of you are using Hyper-V to host Exchange, SQL and Sharepoint, I'm sure many of you think about backup and recovery of those workloads. If you do, then you'll be interested to read Jason's blog post in honor of Data Privacy Day, which is today if you didn't already have parties planned ;-). Jason's post asks the question "how private is your backup?" and the ways System Center Data Protection Manager 2010 can help. Here's an excerpt: Is your data protected on Tape?   Are the tapes encrypted?   It seems like a simple question, and the process is…

  • SQL Server is a Great Workload to Consolidate on Microsoft Virtualization

    SystemCenterTeam
    26 Jan 2010 | 5:51 am
    Yesterday, Vipul Shah, a Senior Product Manager with the Virtualization Team, guest posted on Virtualization Planet about how Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V and System Center is a great platform for running SQL Server consolidated workloads. He pointed to a newly released video by Ted Kummert, Senior Vice President, Microsoft Business Platform Division that outlines how virtualization enables consolidation. This is exciting as we ran some performance tests against a complex stock trading application using a machine with Second Level Address Translation (SLAT) and saw good…

  • Hyper-V Network Command Line Tool NVSPBIND Now Available Externally

    porourke
    25 Jan 2010 | 4:51 pm
    Hello all,   I’m Paul Despe and I work as a program manager on the Microsoft Hyper-V team.   Until now, Hyper-V administrators using Server Core installs of Windows Server 2008 or Microsoft Hyper-V Server were unable to enable and disable protocol bindings from the parent partition due to the lack of a graphical network control panel only available in full installs of Windows Server.   I'm pleased to announce one of our developers on the Hyper-V team, Keith Mange, recently addressed this gap with the release of his (previously Microsoft internal-only) networking tool…

  • Guest post: "Setting the Record Straight - 9 Reasons Why Hyper-V is a Great Choice for Enterprises"

    porourke
    18 Jan 2010 | 1:21 pm
    Hi, my name is Chris Steffen, architect with Kroll Factual Data. You may have read one of my prior guest posts.   Recently, I came across an InformationWeek Analytics Weblog that asserted a bunch of half truths and misinformation about Microsoft’s Hyper-V virtualization solution. Usually, I can just let it go (everyone’s entitled to their own opinion, right?), but in this case, the article was so skewed and so misleading that I felt that I needed to respond.Full disclosure – I am a Microsoft MVP for virtualization and a very happy Microsoft Hyper-V customer.

  • Big news: Microsoft and HP team up to move IT forward

    porourke
    13 Jan 2010 | 8:11 am
    This morning Microsoft and HP announced a three-year, $250 million agreement to jointly deliver a new infrastructure-to-application model, advance cloud computing and generally reduce the costs and complexities of IT.      The press release, executive videos and other information about the agreement are available here   This is a big commitment on the part of both companies, representing the industry’s most comprehensive technology stack integration to date.  There are three main components to the agreement:   …
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    The Windows Blog

  • Yet another DirectX 11 Graphics Card from AMD!

    Brandon LeBlanc
    9 Feb 2010 | 1:52 am
    Hot on the heels of the ATI Radeon HD 5450, AMD today has announced the ATI Radeon HD 5570. The Radeon HD 5570 is designed for small form-factor PCs and it too supports DirectX 11 in Windows 7. You can find the specs for this graphics card here on AMD’s product page. For this card, they were able to jam the same multimedia capabilities as what AMD calls the “enthusiast-class” ATI Radeon HD 5870 graphics card into this power efficient, lower priced graphics card. AMD’s press release doesn’t include a price other than “affordable price”. Of course both the ATI Radeon HD 5570 and…

  • January TechNet webcast now available

    Jodi Kogan
    8 Feb 2010 | 11:06 am
    Missed our TechNet webcast on January 22nd? Not to worry, we’ve made the recording available through LiveMeeting. View “Deploying Windows with Volume Activation” now. Thanks! - Jodi

  • How Do I Love Thee, Windows Home Server?

    Moira Whidby
    8 Feb 2010 | 8:57 am
    What better way to prepare for Valentine’s Day with our extended Windows Home Server community than to help us help you show the love for WHS! We’ve got a fun Valentine’s Day promo to announce to kick off the celebrating – thru everyone’s favorite…some Windows Home Server Stickers! 2009 has been a great year and we’re sure 2010 will be even better with the incredible combination of Windows Home Server and Windows 7 protecting, connecting and organizing everything in your digital life. Show off your love for Windows Home Server by letting us send you some of our favorite Home…

  • Bloomberg: “Microsoft Outpaces Apple in Customer Satisfaction”

    Brandon LeBlanc
    5 Feb 2010 | 10:56 pm
    It is great to see the excitement for Windows 7 translating into customer satisfaction with Microsoft overall. Earlier this week, Bloomberg posted an article headlined “Microsoft Outpaces Apple in Customer Satisfaction” that examined data gathered by YouGov Plc showing that Windows 7 has contributed more than twice as much to Microsoft’s customer satisfaction than Snow Leopard has to Apple’s. The data shows that customer satisfaction for Microsoft was at 64% the day before Windows 7 launched on Oct. 22nd, rose to 67% in the following week, and grew to 73% by the end of 2009 for a…

  • AMD Announces Low-cost DirectX 11 Graphics Card

    Brandon LeBlanc
    5 Feb 2010 | 1:00 am
    Earlier today, AMD announced the ATI Radeon HD 5450 graphics card – the latest addition to the ATI Radeon HD 5000 Series of graphics cards. The ATI Radeon HD 5450 will cost less than $60 (USD) for a 512MB memory configuration and supporting DirectX 11 making it one sweet deal if you’re looking for a DirectX 11 graphics card for your Windows 7 PC. The Radeon HD 5450 offers entry level performance and ultra-low power consumption and also supports AMD’s multi-monitor technology called ATI Eyefinity and their ATI Stream technology. There will be variations of this card depending on partner…
 
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    WinInsider.com

  • Microsoft aims for smooth streaming in Vancouver

    8 Feb 2010 | 10:47 am
    Microsoft is aiming to make Web viewing of the Winter Olympics a lot more like watching the events on TV. While Beijing brought the first widespread use of the Internet to deliver live video of the Games, the Vancouver Olympics--which starts February 12--will offer a range of new options, including TiVo-like features like pausing, rewinding, and replaying during a live broadcast.

  • Microsoft readies Office 2010 upgrade program

    4 Feb 2010 | 1:29 pm
    It is not uncommon for Microsoft to launch a technology guarantee program ahead of a new version of Office or Windows, offering buyers of a product late in one cycle an upgrade to the new version once it comes out. So it's not a shocker that Microsoft has one planned for Office 2010.

  • Microsoft offers free use of Azure to NSF

    4 Feb 2010 | 1:27 pm
    Researchers often find themselves in the unfortunate position of going begging for resources to do their work, sometimes to the detriment of the work itself. While there are plenty of grants out there and lots of supercomputers available to do work, it's still not enough for some.

  • Windows executive Mike Nash to leave Microsoft

    3 Feb 2010 | 1:01 pm
    Microsoft executive Mike Nash, currently the corporate vice president for Windows Platform Strategy, is apparently preparing to leave the company. A widely circulated statement from a Microsoft spokesperson said Nash will depart in a couple weeks.Nash spent 19 years at Microsoft, where he held a number of positions related to Windows and security.

  • Microsoft tries to reinvent the bar code

    2 Feb 2010 | 1:06 pm
    Remember the CueCat--the quirky bar code reader that was going to connect magazine readers with digital material?Well, apparently Microsoft does too. And while the CueCat meowed into obscurity, the software maker thinks that the idea made sense--that is, using a digital scanner to link printed materials with online content.
 
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Neowin.net

  • Adobe to improve Flash support for OS X

    9 Feb 2010 | 12:31 pm
    Adobe has recently come in for criticism regarding its implementation of Flash support for OS X. Steve Jobs himself has been vocally critical of Adobe's browser plugins for Safari, blaming Flash as the number one cause of crashes on the Mac platform. Speaking last week at a "Town Hall" meeting,...

  • Google reduces early termination fees for Nexus One

    9 Feb 2010 | 10:37 am
    Nexus One owners who decide to terminate their contracts early are in for a bit of luck, as Google has lowered certain fees associated with doing so, according to a report from the Associated Press. Previously, customers who purchased the phone for $179 with a new 2-year wireless contract would be...

  • Google announces Google Buzz

    9 Feb 2010 | 10:36 am
    Today in a live press event, Google announced Google Buzz. They're calling it "a new way to share." It is launching today and will continue rolling out over the next few days. Google notes that this is not a finished product. They are continuoulsy pushing it to integrate...

  • Microsoft partners with MediaTek for smartphones in emerging markets

    9 Feb 2010 | 9:24 am
    Microsoft said on Tuesday that it is partnering with Taiwanese chipset vendor MediaTek to drive growth in smartphone sales for emerging markets over the next 12 months. The partnership will provide a multimedia-rich smart phone solution aimed at emerging markets the two companies said. As a result of this deal, consumers...

  • AMD Fusion aims to rule laptops; samples coming soon

    9 Feb 2010 | 8:49 am
    It seemed like a dream of the distant future, but it looks like AMD is finally gearing up to release their highly anticipated AMD Fusion processor line. AnandTech has posted slides from AMD regarding their upcoming laptop APU (Advanced Processing Unit), codenamed Llano. The shift from the conventional CPU title...
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Active Win

  • Windows 8 to be completely different from earlier versions

    In one of the posts on the MSDN Blogs ,the product manager working along with the Windows Update team discussed about what’s coming in the next version of Windows.The post was quickly removed by Microsoft, though we were able to get the catched file of the page. He stated that the next version of Windows,would be completely different from the previous operating system released by Microsoft.

  • Microsoft's weakest cloud link: The Windows Azure Console?

    It’s just one early user’s opinion, but it sounds like Microsoft needs to beef up the integrated console component of Windows Azure to keep its cloud-computing customers happy. <br><br> Microsoft began charging users for Azure compute and storage as of February 2, 2010. One of the showcase customers the company has trotted out as an early adopter is Lokad, a forecasting software/services vendor.

  • 26 Windows, Office holes patched in 13 bulletins

    Microsoft fixed 26 vulnerabilities in 13 security bulletins as part of its Patch Tuesday, including critical ones for Windows that could be exploited to take control of a computer and one that has resided in the 32-bit Windows kernel since its release 17 years ago. The top priorities for deployment are bulletins plugging holes in the SMB (Server Message Block) Protocol, Windows Shell Handler, ActiveX via Internet Explorer, DirectShow, and the 32-bit version of Windows, Jerry Bryant, a lead senior security communications manager at Microsoft, wrote in a blog post.

  • Windows 7 Battery Notification Messages

    Over the past week we have seen a little bit of blogosphere activity regarding Windows 7 and batteries, specifically the new Windows 7 message “Considering replacing your battery”. Since this is related to the engineering of Windows 7 we’re going to use this blog to provide an update to people. As we have talk about many times, we have a relentless focus on the quality of Windows 7 and we take seriously any reports we receive that indicate a potential problem that could result in a significant failure of the OS. In a previous post we talked about the steps we take when we receive a bug…
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Digital Inspiration Technology Blog

  • Linking Analytics with another AdSense Account

    Amit
    6 Feb 2010 | 7:04 am
    It is important that you integrate Google AdSense with your Google Analytics account as you will then be able track the ad performance (CTR, CPM, revenue, etc.) of individual pages of your site without having to create AdSense channels. Linking AdSense with Analytics is fairly easy (see video) but consider a slightly different scenario: You are maintaining two separate Google Accounts – your first Google Account (say adsense@gmail.com) is configured with AdSense while the other account (say analytics@gmail.com) is associated with Google Analytics. How do you then link these two accounts so…

  • TechCrunch Removes Reader Comments From All Older Blog Posts

    Amit
    5 Feb 2010 | 10:50 pm
    It is not uncommon to find hundreds of reader comments on any TechCrunch story – some of these comments are genuine, some are trolls while some comments are made just for the purpose of getting eyeballs. If you are a frequent commenter on TechCrunch blog, here’s a slightly disheartening news for you – TechCrunch has stopped displaying user comments on all stories that are older than 10 days. Your comments have not been deleted from the actual WordPress database but they aren’t putting them on the site anymore. For instance, this TechCrunch post on Nexus One by MG Seigler has…

  • The Problem with Google Image Search

    Amit
    4 Feb 2010 | 5:12 am
    Google keeps talking about the real-time web and that how quickly it can respond to “real-time” events. The moment Google algorithms discover breaking news (like the earthquake in Haiti or the Toyota brakes issue), it triggers real-time search and starts pulling tweets, news stories and even blog posts into the main search results. This works nicely but there’s one area where Google is still lacking – image search. Steve Jobs introduced the much-awaited Apple iPad to the world on January 27, 2010. The news was covered by almost every blog and news website, millions of…

  • ‘Memorize Now’ Can Help You Memorize Long Pieces of Text Quickly

    Amit
    4 Feb 2010 | 3:56 am
    Whether you are preparing to deliver a lengthy presentation in your company or need to memorize a long speech for an elocution contest in school, meet a useful web app that can possibly help you memorize long passages of text quickly. The app, aptly named as Memorize Now, works something like this. You copy-paste the text passages that you want to remember in the space provided and then hit the “memorize” button. The app will then replace certain words from the passage with blank spaces and you are required to recall the hidden words. You can always hover your mouse over a black…

  • Troubleshoot your Nokia Phone Problems with Nokia Diagnostics

    Amit
    4 Feb 2010 | 2:27 am
    Nokia Diagnostics is a free utility that can help you troubleshoot and resolve common problems with your Nokia phones. For instance, when you need to configure your Nokia device on a different Internet Connection (like moving from one Wi-Fi network to another), Nokia Diagnostics can automatically identify the right Internet settings for you. The utility can also help you test the phone’s battery charger, the loudspeaker and even the earpiece. Nokia Diagnostics works with all S60 5th edition devices (like the N-series, Nokia 5800, etc.) while support for 3rd edition devices is expected…
 
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Channel 9

  • C9 Conversations: Yuri Gurevich - Abstraction, Algorithms and Mathematical Logic

    Charles
    9 Feb 2010 | 12:10 pm
    Welcome to the latest installment of C9 Conversations. For this episode, we were very fortunate to get a chance to converse openly with one of the world’s preeminent mathematical logicians, the great Yuri Gurevich. Dr. Gurevich is Professor Emeritus of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Michigan. He is currently a principle research scientist in Wolfram Schulte’s RiSE team (Research in Software Engineering group at Microsoft Research). Originally, Dr. Gurevich started his career as an algebraist. Later he became a logician. Then he moved to computer science,…

  • PhizzPop Develop & Design Challenge

    Laura Foy
    9 Feb 2010 | 9:48 am
    The unique nature of The Phizzpop Design Challenge is that it pits agency Davids and Goliaths against one another to show the most innovative integration of Microsoft technologies to achieve the website redesign goals of BGCA. Don’t miss your opportunity to show off your skills to an elite panel of judges, advance BGCA's mission, and land $50k in the process. Download the brief and get started today!

  • Jason Zander: Visual Studio 2010 Release Candidate Released

    Charles
    8 Feb 2010 | 5:06 pm
    The Visual Studio 2010 Release Candidate is here! Your Beta 2 feedback has been incredibly helpful to the engineering team. A big Thank You from Visual Studio! Here, Visual Studio General Manager Jason Zander sits down with us to discuss how the Visual Studio engineering team addressed your Beta 2 feedback and made some helpful updates to the Visual Studio 2010 Release Candidate. Jason even demos some of the improvements made in the VS 2010 RC — and on quite a modest PC. Jason and his team went to great lengths to improve the overall experience of writing applications inside VS 2010.

  • Help Desk Episode 1 with Chris Pirillo (Pilot) - Show Notes

    Nic Fillingham
    8 Feb 2010 | 4:46 pm
    Show Notes & Links from Help Desk Episode 1 (Pilot) 1. Bas (from the Channel 9 forums) [8:33] How do I change the program associated with an extension when you choose 'edit' from a file's context menu? Answer: Gov says that this must be edited manually in Windows 7 A Bing search finds this 3rd party app for Windows Vista and Windows 7 that claims to be able to edit file associations (including “Edit”): http://defaultprogramseditor.com/ 2. @r*er (via Twitter) [9:37] @ch9live What is the easiest way to have a window maximized across multiple screens? Answer: Chris suggests:…

  • Ping 47: Avatar, FourSquare, Bing & Twitter, Farmville

    Laura Foy
    8 Feb 2010 | 12:56 pm
    Paul decided to take a little vacation so our good friend Adam stepped in to bring us the hottest stories on Microsoft Campus. Some are.... James Camerons Avatar & Microsoft Office for Mac loves you! FourSquare coming to Windows Mobile Bing Twitter Maps Farmville & MSN Games
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Channel 10

  • 5 Bing Map Apps for the Winter Olympics

    Sarah Perez
    9 Feb 2010 | 7:14 am
    The Microsoft Canada Development Centre recently ran a contest that challenged developers to create Bing Map applications for the upcoming 2010 Winter Olympics, taking place in Vancouver, Canada. The resulting apps are designed for use by Vancouver citizens and visitors during the Olympics and use the open data from the City of Vancouver, the MS Open Government Data Initiative (OGDI) and Windows Azure. After the contest is over, the source code for all the apps will be uploaded to Codeplex. Here’s what the developers created: MapWay - a way to find City of Vancouver facilities and Olympic…

  • Bing and the Winter Olympics

    Sarah Perez
    8 Feb 2010 | 2:04 pm
    Microsoft is again partnering with NBC Universal to deliver live Olympics coverage. On the NBCOlympics.com website, over 400 hours of live competition will be made available for all 15 of the Winter Olympics sports. In addition, you’ll have access to 1000 hours of full-event replays, recaps, montages, commentator analysis, and athlete-specific clips. As with the previous Olympics games, the video will be streamed in HD via Microsoft Silverlight technology and will feature DVR-like controls for pausing and rewinding the live coverage. Other new features include Silverlight Enhanced HD photo…

  • Use Your Zune Remote to Control Windows Media Center

    Sarah Perez
    8 Feb 2010 | 2:04 pm
    Did you know you can Zune wireless remote to control your Windows Media Center PC? Although not designed for this purpose, a simple registry hack is all the stands in the way of turning your Zune remote into one that controls Media Center, too. Recently posted to LifeHacker, this tip is worth sharing: Open the registry. Scroll down toComputer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\HidIr\Remotes\745a17a0-74d3-11d0-b6fe-00a0c90f57da Find the REG_DWORD named CodeSetNum0 and change the value to Zero. Reboot the PC and enjoy. By default, Windows listens to channel 1 and the Zune…

  • The History of Microsoft - 1981

    Tina Wood
    8 Feb 2010 | 1:01 pm
    For Microsoft, 1981 means an entrance into the Operating Systems Business, we organize into a privately help organization and revenue jumps to over 17 million bucks. Previous Episodes: The History of Microsoft - 1975 The History of Microsoft - 1976 The History of Microsoft - 1977 The History of Microsoft - 1978 The History of Microsoft - 1979 The History of Microsoft - 1980 April 9, 1981 First semi-annual company meeting is held in the newly built Bellevue Athletic Club. June 25, 1981 Microsoft reorganizes into a privately held corporation with Bill Gates as president and chairman of the…

  • The History of Microsoft - 1980

    Tina Wood
    5 Feb 2010 | 7:52 pm
    For Microsoft, 1980 means a new decade and new technology. Microsoft introduces the Z-80 SoftCard, Steve Ballmer joins the company and we announce XENIX OS, a portable, UNIX-based operating system for 16-bit microprocessors. Previous Episodes: The History of Microsoft - 1975 The History of Microsoft - 1976 The History of Microsoft - 1977 The History of Microsoft - 1978 The History of Microsoft - 1979 January 1, 1980 Microsoft Consumer Products announces its first consumer-oriented application software, Typing Tutor. April 2, 1980 Microsoft introduces the Z-80 SoftCard, a circuit board that…
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Hardware 2.0

  • The Windows 7 honeymoon is over

    Adrian Kingsley-Hughes
    9 Feb 2010 | 9:39 am
    Thanks to the power of hindsight, it's now quite apparent that Windows Vista was hated by a large proportion of the people who came into contact with the beleaguered OS. In contrast, Windows 7 has been receiving almost endless praise (even before anyone outside of Microsoft was even running the OS). But lately I've noticed the tide turning, and the shine is beginning to tarnish on Windows 7's previously immaculate halo?

  • A Special Offer From Our Sponsor

    9 Feb 2010 | 9:39 am

  • Field Report: Reported Windows 7 reliability fix problems

    Adrian Kingsley-Hughes
    9 Feb 2010 | 2:56 am
    I noticed that my ZDNet blogging colleague Mary-Jo Foley has covered the reports that Microsoft's new reliability patch for Windows 7 might be causing some users to experience problems. I just want to add some field notes to this issue.

  • YouGov: Microsoft outpaces Apple in customer satisfaction

    Adrian Kingsley-Hughes
    8 Feb 2010 | 5:29 pm
    It seems that Windows 7 gave Microsoft a much needed customer satisfaction boost.

  • Microsoft: Windows 7 isn't trashing your battery

    Adrian Kingsley-Hughes
    8 Feb 2010 | 2:44 pm
    Last week I posted on how there's was a growing believe that a flaw in Windows 7 was causing Windows 7 to permanently trash notebook batteries. Today, Microsoft's president of Windows and Windows Live division Steven Sinofsky responds.
 
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Ed Bott's Microsoft Report

  • Touchscreens in the tropics: an unexpected Windows story

    Ed Bott
    8 Feb 2010 | 8:38 pm
    I've been on vacation for the past week or so, on a beach in Hawaii, mostly disconnected from the tech world. So it was a pleasant surprise today to encounter a relevant tech story in Paradise, one that demonstrates both the strengths and weaknesses of the Windows platform.

  • Will your new Windows 7 PC support XP Mode?

    Ed Bott
    3 Feb 2010 | 11:07 am
    Last year, when I looked at Intel CPUs, I identified a potential sticking point for Windows 7 upgraders: many then-current CPU models didn't support hardware-assisted virtualization. A year later, has the situation improved? Yes, but with one noteworthy exception you'll have a hard time getting information from big PC makers.

  • Can Microsoft close the app gap with Apple's iPad?

    Ed Bott
    1 Feb 2010 | 10:50 am
    Microsoft and its partners have been shipping Tablet PCs for nearly a decade. And yet when the Apple iPad ships in a few months it will do a much better job of implementing those features than any of Microsoft's partners have done so far. Why? Because Apple understands something that Microsoft has yet to figure out: Apps matter. Here's what Microsoft has to do to catch up.

  • Unlock thumbnail previews for Firefox 3.6 on Windows 7

    Ed Bott
    26 Jan 2010 | 8:54 am
    Firefox users, if you're running the most recent release on Windows 7 you need to make a tiny tweak to your browser's configuration. It defeats the purpose of Aero's cool taskbar thumbnails feature if you have to open a window before you can scan which browser tabs you have open. IE8 shows all open tabs in thumbnail previews when you point to its icon. So how do you add the same feature to Firefox 3.6? I explain.

  • A fast fix for IE8 crashes, slowdowns

    Ed Bott
    25 Jan 2010 | 5:30 am
    Is Internet Explorer 8 acting sluggish or crashing regularly? The problem might be a corrupted add-in. And one of the most likely candidates is the widely used Adobe Flash Player. In this post, I'll explain how you can troubleshoot IE8 issues by completely removing the Flash Player.
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Microsoft Watch

  • Zune HD Price Cuts Could Signify Smartphone with Zune Software

    8 Feb 2010 | 10:38 am
    Zune HD 32GB and Zune HD 16GB are both $20 off at the online Microsoft Store, while the devices are also experiencing steep discounts on retailer sites such as Amazon.com. A fairly complete list of the price cuts can be found here.A few other bloggers have commented on this already, but I figured the sale was worth mentioning within the context of the Mobile World Congress rumors about a "Zune Phone," or smartphone with Zune software, making its debut at some undefined future point. Price cuts sometimes come simply because a manufacturer wants an uptick in sales of a particular product, but…

  • Microsoft Failing in Innovation, Former Executive Asserts

    5 Feb 2010 | 1:17 pm
    On Feb. 3, a former Microsoft executive named Dick Brass published an op-ed piece in The New York Times that suggested his ex-company was "failing" due to a combination of infighting and an inability to innovate. Those issues, Brass said, had led to Microsoft losing the lead on a number of technological developments, including e-reader technology, that if carried out successfully could have potentially led it to greater market share in various areas.For example, Brass suggests that work on a tablet PC was effectively hamstrung in 2001 when "the vice president in charge of Office at the time…

  • Microsoft Says Windows 7 Battery Life Investigation Under Way

    4 Feb 2010 | 2:26 pm
    Microsoft has been investigating user complaints related to the battery life of laptops running Windows 7, a problem that's apparently been drifting around since the widespread beta version was released into the wild. While there don't seem to be exact figures for the number of users affected, the issue does seem to occur for those users upgrading their laptops to Windows 7 from either Windows Vista or Windows XP. I queried Microsoft about the battery issue Feb. 3, and a spokesperson responded with: "Microsoft has been made aware that some computers running Windows 7 receive a warning that…

  • Windows Executive Mike Nash to Leave Microsoft

    3 Feb 2010 | 2:09 pm
    Microsoft executive Mike Nash, currently the corporate vice president for Windows Platform Strategy, is apparently preparing to leave the company. A widely circulated statement from a Microsoft spokesperson said Nash will depart "in a couple weeks." Nash spent 19 years at Microsoft, where he held a number of positions related to Windows and security. During a 2008 class action lawsuit filed against Microsoft over whether "Vista Capable" PCs could truly run that operating system, the plaintiffs' attorneys highlighted an internal e-mail from Nash that supposedly read: "I personally got burnt…

  • Sony Ericsson Phone Offers Tweaked Windows Mobile 6.5.3

    2 Feb 2010 | 2:20 pm
    The new Sony Ericsson Aspen smartphone made its debut on Feb. 2, which is of note because it's running the Windows Mobile 6.5.3 operating system. According to a Microsoft spokesperson, Windows Mobile 6.5.3 includes the following tweaks:User InterfaceCapacitive touch-screen supportPlatform to enable multitouchTouch controls throughout system (no need for stylus)Consistent navigationHorizontal scroll bar replaces tabs (think settings>system>about screen)Magnifier brings touch support to legacy applicationsSimplified out-of-box experience with fewer stepsDrag-and-drop icons on Start…
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Computing Tech

  • iPhone users are happier to micropay

    9 Feb 2010 | 10:52 am
    Apple may have found the Holy Grail of computing – persuading web users to make micropayments to consume content – if a new survey’s findings are correct. The bad news for newspapers is that it could be harder to persuade customers to pay for news. According to the Olswang Convergence Survey, published by UK law firm Olswang, iPhone users are ‘amongst the heaviest users of digital content’ and are ‘also more willing than any other consumer to pay for a wide range of types of content’. The survey was conducted by Olswang and YouGov, which carried out an online poll of 1013 UK…

  • Schiller defends App Store approval policy

    8 Feb 2010 | 10:20 am
    ‘Schiller claimed 90%of rejectionswere for technical reasons such as bugs or functions that didn’twork as intended’Faced with the exodus of some high-profile developers of iPhone apps, Apple senior vice-president for worldwide product marketing Phil Schiller granted a rare interview to explain the company’s App Store approval process, which has been variously condemned as confusing, arbitrary and controlling. Schiller spoke to BusinessWeek days after Joe Hewitt, who created the Facebook iPhone app, announced he would no longer develop for the iPhone. Hewitt, who also helped develop…

  • Opera 10

    7 Feb 2010 | 10:53 am
    www.opera.com/browser0pera has long been the most innovative of the big web browsers. The latest release introduces yet more new features and the software's rendering engine has been optimized to make it much faster at loading JavaScript-heavy sites such as Google Mail and Facebook. It's also had a stylish makeover from British designer Jon Hicks (creator of the Firefox logo). There are two versions of Opera available: the standard one and a Labs release which contains Unite, an add-on designed to transform Opera into a web server. This experimental edition is available to download from…

  • Three Simple Annoyance Busters for Your Windows PC

    6 Feb 2010 | 11:08 am
    Install updates without rebooting, constrain Windows Media Center’s drive space to a limit you prefer, and force apps to run full-screen.THIS MAY COME as a shock to you, but Windows doesn’t always behave as it should. Fortunately, I know a few tricks that can rehabilitate your PC. This month, I’ll outline how to avoid automatic reboots after Windows Update runs. I’ll also describe how to limit the amount of disk space Windows Media Center can use. And I’ll share a trick for automatically opening apps in full-screen mode.Stop Reboots After Automatic UpdatesYou step away from your…

  • How do I transfer my old Outlook Express inbox to a new PC?

    5 Feb 2010 | 10:49 am
    HOW YOU MOVE your inbox depends on the version of Windows it’s moving to. I’ll focus on moving from XP to Vista; for details on how to go from one XP system to another or from XP to Windows 7, see find.pcworld.com/63937. First, you must copy your old PC messages. In Outlook Express, select Tools¨Options. Click the Maintenance tab, and then the Store Folder button. The resulting Store Location dialog box has a fi eld containing a folder path (probably starting with ‘C:\Documents and Settings...’). Select this entire path by clicking inside it, pressing , and then pressing -. With the…
 
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    SolSie.com

  • Add SD Card Reader to Your iPhone

    SolSie
    9 Feb 2010 | 6:58 am
    As you know, all media contents on your iPhone are controlled by iTunes, if somebody hands you an SD card on the go, you are out of luck to view photos, to play music (non-DRM) from that SD card. The new zoomIt SD card adapter for iPhone and iPod Touch fills a gaping hole [...]

  • SolSie Store Deals of the Day Feb-9

    SolSie
    9 Feb 2010 | 6:44 am
    SolSie store has the below deals that are only available today. Enjoy the deals and support SolSie.com! USB Modem (WM) . The sale price is $9.97, that is 50% off retail price of $19.95!  AirDrop. The sale price is $0.74, that is 50% off retail price of $1.49! Aces Texas Hold’em – No Limit The [...]

  • Gmail with Status Stream Update Coming Soon…

    SolSie
    8 Feb 2010 | 1:33 pm
    The Wall Street Journal reports Google will launch shortly the status update feature within Gmail. Status here, should read Twitter-like, not status as available, busy,.. which has been available for sometime. The prompt reads, "let people know what you’re up to, or share links to photos, videos, and Web pages."  and  the new feature will [...]

  • Easy to Move Video Onto Mobile Phones, iPods,… with RealPlayer SP for Mac

    SolSie
    8 Feb 2010 | 9:54 am
    Followed to the popular RealPlayer SP for PC, which has already been used to download over 100 million videos since its beta launch last year. RealPlayer SP beta for the Mac available for free beginning today. Real just released RealPlayer® SP Beta for Mac today at www.real.com, a free software download that lets people easily [...]

  • T-Mobile myTouch 3G Fender LE (3.5mm Audio Jack)

    SolSie
    8 Feb 2010 | 7:44 am
    For music and in particular electric guitar fans, T-Mobile partners with the legendary Guitar maker Fender to announce the  myTouch 3G Fender™ Limited Edition. The look and feels reminiscing of the shiny wooden guitar body. The phone has been touted by both companies as “connecting people to their passions and great music wherever they go”. The [...]
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Softpedia News - Microsoft

  • Windows 8 Will Be Completely Different

    Softpedia News (Marius Oiaga)
    9 Feb 2010 | 7:50 am
    Even before the advent of Windows 7, Microsoft was hard at work planning the next iterations of the Windows client and server platforms. But even though the successor of Windows 7, commonly referred to, even by Microsoft’s own employees, under the codename Windows 8, was in planning, the Redmond company is not sharing any details on the release with ... (read more)

  • Download Firefox 3.7 Alpha 1 Candidate

    Softpedia News (Marius Oiaga)
    9 Feb 2010 | 7:25 am
    With Firefox 3.6 Final made available for download in the second half of January 2010, Mozilla has moved onward and is offering a taste of the evolution of its open source browser. And ‘a taste’ is just the way to describe the pre-Alpha version of Firefox 3.7 that is currently up for grabs for early adopters via the company’s FTP servers.... (read more)

  • Custom IE8 Available from Microsoft and CEOP

    Softpedia News (Marius Oiaga)
    9 Feb 2010 | 6:44 am
    Microsoft is permitting a high degree of flexibility when it comes down to building custom Internet Explorer 8 browser packages. By leveraging the Internet Explorer Administration Kit 8, the latest version of IE can be personalized in accordance with specific preferences, the resource offering various options, including change default accelerators, b... (read more)

  • Windows 7’s ‘Consider Replacing Your Battery’ Warnings Are Valid

    Softpedia News (Marius Oiaga)
    9 Feb 2010 | 6:04 am
    Windows 7 customers that get the “Consider replacing your battery” message from the operating system, should in fact replace the battery, revealed Steven Sinofsky, president, Windows and Windows Live Division. Microsoft has been investigating reports of issues associated with the latest iteration of Windows reporting pot... (read more)

  • Silverlight, MSN, Bing in the 'Online Event' the Winter Olympics 2010

    Softpedia News (Marius Oiaga)
    9 Feb 2010 | 5:08 am
    Just three days are left until the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver are kicked off, but NBC Universal and Microsoft have already set in place the online Olympic hub designed to brings fans around the world winter games coverage. NBCOlympics.com on MSN is the result of a collaboration between NBC Un... (read more)
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    The Digital Lifestyle

  • TDL Mobile Show #25 - Nokia N900 Roundtable

    J. Ortiz
    9 Feb 2010 | 12:09 am
    This week we have a special show dedicated to the Nokia N900. Joining me in this roundtable discussion are two great guests: Kevin Tofel from jkOnTheRun and Lisa Gade from Mobile Tech Review. We have a great in depth discussion about the N900's design, usability, market position, Maemo 5, and Nokia's future. If you like what you hear, you should read Lisa's full review of the N900 and Kevin's first impressions of Firefox on the N900. You can find links to these articles below. Don't forget to comment and subscribe!  Lisa Gade's Nokia N900 Review - MobileTechReview.com A First Look at…

  • Home Plugs post update

    chrisoldroyd
    8 Feb 2010 | 2:32 pm
    So an update on my story of a couple of weeks back examining home plugs real world performance which lead me to the conclusion that they were just short of being up to the job of streaming HD content around the home, a shame for sure as they are a highly convenient way of setting up a wired network without needing the wires, and for some people encoding your videos in a lower bitrate would solve most of the issues but i didn't want to compromise at all so a wired gigabit network gets the green light. Before I installed the gigabit network I did a simple test to check the before and after…

  • Big Screen EPG now natively supported by Remote Potato

    Ian Dixon
    8 Feb 2010 | 2:15 am
    If you want to be able to remotely schedule recordings with Windows Media Center then there is Remote Potato and if you haven’t got access to good EPG data then there is Big Screen EPG and now Remote Potato natively supports Big Screen EPG Niall Ginsbourg has explained the configuration on his blog: I'm pleased to announce that the latest beta of Remote Potato now has native support for Big Screen EPG (for Windows 7 Media Center). This means getting Remote Potato working with a Big Screen EPG injected Windows 7 Media Center System is now really, really easy - (almost) no configuration or…

  • Use a Zune Remote Control with Windows Media Center

    Ian Dixon
    7 Feb 2010 | 1:15 pm
      One thing I do like about the Apple TV is the tiny little remote control, what it lacks in buttons it makes up for in elegance. The remote that comes with the Zune AV Dock is equally as elegant and could make a simple alternative to the clunky Media Center remotes  Lifehacker have a great tip for using a Zune Remote Control with Windows Media center. It turns out that all that is needed to get to work is a registry change By default Windows is listening on channel 1; the Zune remote is channel 8. This is also the same channel for the Xbox 360 multimedia remote. You can set the…

  • Entertainment 2.0-Episode 63: HD or Nothin...maybe

    Athursby
    7 Feb 2010 | 7:30 am
    The big show returns this week with discussions on whether or not SD content is even worth it!  I personally can’t imagine it but some people out there will skip content just because it’s not HD.  Josh and I take time to clear out our opinions on the subject. We also go right through the news of the week.  It was a bigger news week than we’ve had lately.  S1 Digital has released a 100 disk Blu-ray changer that integrates with either Windows Media Center PCs or Windows Home Servers.  While the ability to rip disks isn’t there yet, they’re…
 
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    TechNet Edge

  • February 2010 Security Bulletin Overview

    Trustworthy Computing
    9 Feb 2010 | 10:24 am
    Jerry Bryant and Adrian Stone cover the 5 most important bulletins customers should deploy, out of the 13 released this month. For bulletin details, please visit: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security or http://www.microsoft.com/security You can also get more details on the MSRC blog at: http://blogs.technet.com/msrc

  • TechNet Radio: Visio 2010: Visio Services

    Chris Caldwell
    9 Feb 2010 | 12:01 am
    Visio 2010 is our topic today and Dave Edson – Microsoft Visio MVP and CTO for Vizibility.biz - walks us through the new array of Visio Publishing technologies available in this latest release. In this episode, we discuss: [ 1:40 ] Publishing Visio diagrams as HTML [ 3:15 ] Publishing Visio diagrams to the new Visio Services SharePoint Format [ 7:36 ] The Visio SharePoint Workflow Designer Interaction [ 12:30 ] The Visio Process Repository Total Duration: 0:15:50 Looking for great Visio "how-to" instructional videos geared toward IT Pros?  Check out these free resources: Using Visio to…

  • How Microsoft IT Simplified the Windows 7 Installation Experience with OSD

    Microsoft IT Showcase
    5 Feb 2010 | 8:55 am
    Microsoft IT will talk about how they simplified the Windows 7 installation experience by developing a self-service wizard. The wizard can be launched from network boot or run advertised programs in the control panel. It uses preflight checks, and gives the user the ability to select applications to install. Find out how Microsoft IT will enhance this offering in the future. Length: 19:55

  • Windows 7 BranchCache™ User Experience

    yung
    4 Feb 2010 | 10:00 am
    This is a follow-up posting of Windows 7 BranchCache™ Explained. BranchCache, an exciting feature introduced in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, enables content from file and Web servers on a wide area network (WAN) to be cached on computers at a local branch office. Once BranchCache is configured, a copy of data accessed from intranet Web and file servers is cached locally within the branch office. Cached content can either be distributed across peer client computers (Distributed Cache mode) or centrally hosted on a server (Hosted Cache mode). When another client on the same network…

  • Thrive Live! Interviewing Skills (Part 2 of 2): Interview Formats and Approaches (Level 100)

    Evren Toktas
    4 Feb 2010 | 12:01 am
    Your job interview objectives remain the same regardless of the interview format, but you should at least be aware of what you might be up against. In this webcast, we provide you with the information you need to prepare and perform well at any type of job interview you experience. Duration: 43 min [2:10] Interviewing Tips [20:25] "STAR" Answering Technique [24:33] Handling Difficult Questions   Visit Microsoft Thrive site - http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9709885
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Computer Techno

  • Windows 7 - XPS Print Output

    Computer Techno
    9 Feb 2010 | 10:45 am
    Windows 7 includes support for a newer document file type called XPS, which stands for XML Paper Specification. This is a file format that represents printed output electronically. The idea is that you can view an XPS file on any computer that has an XPS viewer program, without having to have a copy of the application that created the document. For example, you can view the XPS version of a Microsoft Word document without having to have a copy of Word. If this sounds suspiciously like Adobe’s PDF file format, you’re right. XPS is Microsoft’s attempt to create a universal electronic…

  • Windows 7 - Advanced Printer Management

    Computer Techno
    8 Feb 2010 | 10:36 am
    Windows 7 comes with a printer management tool that’s part of the Windows Management Console system. It’s intended primarily for network administrators who sometimes have to manage dozens of printers spread around an office. I won’t go into great detail on this tool here because it’s fairly self-explanatory, but I’ll show you how it works.To run the tool, click Start, Control Panel, System and Security, Administrative Tools. Then, doubleclick Print Management. You might need to confirm the User Account Control prompt or enter an Administrator password, because this tool requires…

  • Windows 7 - Printing from DOS Applications

    Computer Techno
    7 Feb 2010 | 10:57 am
    If you are still using MS-DOS applications, printing is one of the more problematic areas. Many modern inexpensive inkjet and laser printers don’t support output from DOS programs because they don’t have enough built-in smarts to form the character images by themselves. If you need laser or inkjet output from a DOS application, be sure that any new printer you buy uses a page-description language supported by your application, such as PostScript, HP’s PCL, or one of the Epson text formats.Furthermore, most DOS applications can print only to LPT ports. If you want to use a printer that…

  • Windows 7 - Printing Offline

    Computer Techno
    6 Feb 2010 | 10:54 am
    If your printer is disconnected, you can still queue up documents for printing. You might want to do this while traveling, for instance, if you have a laptop and don’t want to drag a 50-pound laser printer along in your carry-on luggage. (It’s hard to get them through security.)If you try this, however, you’ll quickly find that the Print Manager will beep, pop up messages to tell you about the missing printer, and otherwise make your life miserable. To silence it, Open the Devices and Printers window. Right-click the printer icon and select See What’s Printing. Then, in the queue…

  • Windows 7 Printing Troubleshooting

    Computer Techno
    5 Feb 2010 | 10:47 am
    No Output from PrinterIf your print jobs never make it out the other end of the printer, open the Devices and Printers window and work through this checklist:• First, ask yourself whether you printed to the correct printer. Check to see whether your default printer is the one from which you are expecting output. If you’re on a LAN, you can easily switch default printers and then forget that you made the switch.• Right-click the printer icon and see whether the option Use Printer Online appears. If it does, select this item.• Check to see whether the printer you’ve chosen is actually…
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Windows Tools, Help & Guides | Mintywhite.com

  • Control the CD-ROM Autorun Function (Windows NT/2000/XP)

    Scragg1
    9 Feb 2010 | 9:00 am
    Windows 7 - The Pocket Guide | Get FREE books (Password: mintywhiteBooks)This method disables automatically running CD-ROMs. If you want to disable automatically running CD-ROMs depending on the CD-ROM that you insert in the CD-ROM drive, you can press and hold down one of the SHIFT key while you insert the CD-ROM.I have found this very useful many times, as you do not always want to auto run, especially if it’s a data cd. It gives you the opportunity to manually browse the contents of the CD without having to close any autorun window that may open on the insertion of the CD.Control…

  • TorrentFetcher Does Exactly What it Says on the Tin

    RSVR85
    9 Feb 2010 | 6:00 am
    Windows 7 - The Pocket Guide | Get FREE books (Password: mintywhiteBooks)Windows Guides’ RatingUser RatingCompatible with5 out of 5Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it. PROS: This download is freeware, all features of this program are available for all to use freely. Very light on resources.  Good & bad torrents easily distinguishable.  Automatically move downloaded torrents to a specified output directory (good for bittorrent clients that monitor a specific folder, like uTorrent).CONS:No customisable options.  No help…

  • SevenOEMInfoChanger Changes Your Computer Info

    Rich
    8 Feb 2010 | 12:00 pm
    Windows 7 - The Pocket Guide | Get FREE books (Password: mintywhiteBooks)If you’d like to add some custom information to your computer properties screen, SevenOEMInfoChanger is what you need.BeforeAfterDownload SevenOEMInfoChangerDownload SevenOEMInfoChangerRandom PostsTypography: Free Stylish Fonts Collection [Set 2]Windows Installer 4.5 Beta 2 for Vista SP1 and XP SP3Grunge Showcase – 42 Free Desktop WallpapersFree Extended Task Manager [Featured Download]Remove Windows Vista SP2 [How To] © Rich for Windows Tools, Help & Guides, 2010. Rich Robinson | Permalink | Add to…

  • Add Advanced User Account Options to the Control Panel [How To]

    RSVR85
    8 Feb 2010 | 9:00 am
    Windows 7 - The Pocket Guide | Get FREE books (Password: mintywhiteBooks)As the title implies, this guide is going to show you how to add Advanced Users Account options to the Control Panel.The little hack will give you access to options otherwise hidden or awkward to get to.Please see here before going ahead with this guide.Step 1.OK, so lets start by adding the appropriate registry entries.  Now, normally i would provide step by step instructions on how to do this manually.  This time though, there’s quite a few entries to make so for the sake of simplicity and everyone’s sanity…

  • Download Linux, Legal Music, Books, and More with Torrents [How To]

    Rich
    8 Feb 2010 | 6:01 am
    Windows 7 - The Pocket Guide | Get FREE books (Password: mintywhiteBooks)There is a negative stigma with Torrent files; however, this medium of transport is becoming more popular and is used for legitimate reasons. For example: distribution of Windows 7 Beta and RC , the Windows books I’ve written and Linux. Plus, many companies and bands use Torrents to distribute their files.In this guide, you’ll learn how to set up a Torrent download manager and where to get legitimate torrents.Note: This guide is part of the Windows Guides’ Legal File Sharing Series. If you want to find…
 
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Petri IT Knowledgebase

  • Video Training on VMware View, ThinApp, Cisco Nexus 1000V, and PowerCLI

    David Davis, vExpert, VCP, CCIE 9369
    9 Feb 2010 | 10:47 am
    This week, Train Signal launched their latest VMware vSphere video training course, entitled vSphere Pro Vol 1. This course is nearly 11 hours and is a unique series of videos by prominent VMware vExperts - Rick Scherer, Hal Rottenberg, and myself (David Davis). The course covers VMware desktop and application virtualization using VMware View and ThinApp, the Cisco Nexus 1000-V 3rd party vNetwork Distributed Switch, and VMware's PowerCLI command line toolset for vSphere. My part of the course is VMware View and ThinApp. ThinApp is VMware's Application Virtualization product. Application…

  • The Essential Guide to Creating and Cloning Virtual Machine Images

    Daniel Petri
    5 Feb 2010 | 10:55 am
    As you probably know by now, Microsoft-based operating systems use SIDs (Security IDs) that are generated as part of the initial setup of Windows. If you have more than one computer with the same SID, this could cause problems, and cloning a computer (either physical or virtual) without re-generating this SID can cause SID duplication. Please read the following article if you need to learn more about this issue: Do not disk duplicate installed versions of Windows http://support.microsoft.com/kb/162001 Simply Better Data Protection: Backup 2.0 Backup 2.0 solutions provide simply better data…

  • Issues with E-mail Stuck in the Drafts Folder on Exchange 2007/2010

    Daniel Petri
    4 Feb 2010 | 12:53 pm
    This is one of the cases where you get the feeling that things got messed up, and you simply do not know why or how to even begin to fix them. Story goes like this: In preparation for an upcoming Exchange Server 2010 course that I'm scheduled to teach next week, I sat at home with my Dell XPS laptop (running with 8 GB RAM and a 258 GB SSD), installed VMware Workstation, and prepared a few base images of Windows Server 2003 SP2 (to be installed with Exchange Server 2003 in preparation for the migration labs), and Windows Server 2008 R2 (to be installed with Exchange Server 2010). Unified…

  • New Small Business Server 2008 Training Course from Train Signal!

    Petri IT Knowledgebase Team
    1 Feb 2010 | 2:42 pm
    Just released from the team at Train Signal and certified instructor Dave Shackelford is their new Small Business Server 2008 Training.  If you want to develop hands-on experience with Small Business Server 2008, Microsoft’s complete network solution, then this more than 17 hour video training course is for you. You’ll learn how to install, configure, manage and secure your Small Business Server 2008 environment, while at the same time learning everything you need to know to pass the 70-653: Configuring Small Business Server 2008 Exam.  Plus, you’ll receive training on real-world,…

  • VMware vSphere Data Recovery: Overview and Deployment

    Tom Finnis
    20 Jan 2010 | 10:00 am
    Overview One of the new features in vSphere is VMware's Data Recovery, included in the “Essentials Plus” solution bundle or the vSphere Advanced edition. It is provisioned as a virtual machine within your vSphere environment and integrates with the vCenter server to give you fully centralized management of your backups. Simply Better Data Protection: Backup 2.0 Backup 2.0 solutions provide simply better data protection for all environments. They use images to deliver better backup, transmission, and recovery for physical and virtual systems. See what Backup 2.0 can mean to your business…
 
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    My Technology Guide

  • OpenOffice 3.2.0 Final Released

    Mezanul
    9 Feb 2010 | 9:16 am
    OpenOffice 3.2.0 Final has been released. The official download page still shows download link for OpenOffice 3.1.1 as the latest version is now distributed to mirror ftp servers worldwide to make sure a smooth delivery. Once the distribution is completed, release notifications will be added to the project’s homepage. OpenOffice.org developers released five RC and a number of betas before deciding to release the final version of the Office suite.There are lots of changes and improvements over Open Office 3.1.1. Among the improvements, the most noticeable changes are faster startup time for…

  • Google’s Super Bowl Ad – “Parisian Love”

    Mezanul
    8 Feb 2010 | 11:21 am
    Google’s search engine is the world’s favorite search engine, the reason for its popularity is because it returns relevant results faster and with a no-frills, simple user interface. It became popular not by the traditional means of advertising but via recommendation by its users to their friends, relatives and colleagues to use it.Google rarely used any traditional means of advertising to promote its products and services, but this policy started changing, when Google used billboards to promote GOOG-411 service. Google also aggressively promoted it’s Chrome browser using…

  • Rizone Security Restore – Easily Restore your Computer to Default Security Settings

    Mezanul
    7 Feb 2010 | 12:16 pm
    Most of the time, in the event of a virus attack, the virus changes computer security settings to hide itself and do harm. Even though, you may have cleaned the virus by using the various security tools, these changed security settings remains intact in the computer which further causes trouble. You may start getting various “You don’t have permission to…” errors, which is very frustrating. Previously, we have written about tools like Re-Enable, XP Quick Fix Plus and 7 Quick Fix which to some extends help restoring default settings in Windows. We found a new utility…

  • Get Free, Lifetime Valid, Genuine License of WinUtilities Pro worth $49.99

    Mezanul
    6 Feb 2010 | 12:41 pm
    WinUtilities Pro is an award-winning collection of tools to optimize and speed-up your system performance. this suite has utilities to clean registry, temporary files on your disks, erase your application and internet browser history, cache and cookies. it also supports to defragment your disk drives and improve computer performance and stability. built-in StartUp Cleaner allows you to control startup programs that load automatically with windows, find duplicate files, fix broken shortcuts and uninstall unneeded software. other features include secure file deletion, recycle bin shredding,…

  • My Technology Guide Moved to a New Server [Update]

    Mezanul
    5 Feb 2010 | 11:57 am
    My Technology Guide had a rough day today with around 3 hour, 15 min of downtime in total. The main cause of this was the server on which it was hosted. So we took the issue with Dreamhost Support (our host) to see into the matter. They promptly replied with an apology for the situation explaining about why this was happening. In order to save us from further downtime, they moved us to a new server entirely.The move to the new server was almost transparent and caused little to no trouble at all. I don’t had to do any work on the server or configure anything entirely due to this move.
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    AddictiveTips » Windows

  • Update Drivers In Windows With Easy Backup

    Nakodari
    9 Feb 2010 | 5:19 am
    Every laptop comes with a folder that contain drivers. If you have a PC, then must have a bunch of driver installation CDs lying around. When upgrading a system or doing a fresh installation of Windows, installing drivers is usually a headache.In Windows 7 you can use Windows Update to install the basic drivers, but not all of them. DriverEasy is a free app that performs a deep scan of your system to detect the hardware and find their drivers. Using this app has two benefits; finding latest drivers and installing the drivers in case the CDs are lost or the driver folder has been mistakenly…

  • Windows 7 Orb Changer: Change Start Button

    Usman
    9 Feb 2010 | 3:20 am
    Here we have very fascinating freeware to change the start orb of your Windows 7 desktop called Windows 7 Orb Changer. You can now change the look of the orb and beautify it with your own custom made image. Note: Make sure that you have made a backup of Windows Explorer. To create a backup, click ‘Make Backup of Explorer’ button.To Change the Start Orb, click Change Orb and choose from the list of 38 given bitmap images given with the app or you can choose your own custom-made bitmap image. It also supports Jpg, Png, and Gif image formats.Changing the Orb requires Windows Explorer…

  • Windows Network Password Recovery

    Nakodari
    7 Feb 2010 | 9:06 am
    Windows 7 will store all saved passwords in Credential Manager, so does Windows Vista and Windows XP. Saved passwords of Network Authentication, Outlook, Remote Desktop, Windows Live Messenger, Gmail Notifier, etc are all stored inside it. It is a well known fact that once you have asked Windows to store the passwords(checking save password checkbox), anyone can recover them.Network Password Decryptor is a free tool that makes recovering all saved network authentication passwords a click away. It will displays the network name, password type, username, password, and last modified date. All…

  • Fix Office 2010 Install Error 1402 Setup Cannot Open Registry Key

    Nakodari
    7 Feb 2010 | 8:43 am
    Deleting Grooveex.dll was one of the two problems I encountered recently during Office 2010 re-installation in Windows 7. This post will focus on the Install Error 1402 where Office 2010 setup cannot open the registry key named Unknown/Component/[Random Numbers]. Fixing this problem requires a cup of coffee and patience.This error is only shown when registry keys do not have Administrator permission. But you are logged in as Administrator, right? As it happens some setup can mess up the registry permissions and Office 2010 installer is no exception.Entering the following line in Command…

  • Windows 7: How To Delete Grooveex.dll File [SharePoint 2010]

    Nakodari
    7 Feb 2010 | 8:10 am
    If you have SharePoint 2010 installed which comes as part of Office 2010 suite and you want to re-install it, then there is a huge probability that an error will prevent Office 2010 from installing. This is just one of countless examples, you might face such problem while upgrading from Office 2007 as well.The Office 2010 installer will ask you to delete SharePoint 2010 completely before installing a fresh version again. Now how are you supposed to delete SharePoint 2010 completely, didn’t Office 2010 uninstall properly? This question will keep you wondering, but we have a solution for…
Log in