Edwin Perello discovered that Bing, the Microsoft search engine, could find addresses in his rural Indiana town when Google could not. Laura Michelson, an administrative assistant in San Francisco, was lured by Bing’s flight fare tracker. Paul Callan, a photography buff in Chicago, fell for Bing’s vivid background images.

Like most Americans, they still use Google as their main search tool. But more often, they find themselves navigating to Microsoft’s year-old Bing for certain tasks, and sometimes they stay a while.

“I was a Google user before, but the more I used Bing the more I liked it,” Mr. Callan said. “It’s more like muscle memory takes me to Google.”

Bing still handles a small slice of Web searches in the United States, 12.7 percent in June, compared with Google’s 62.6 percent, as measured by comScore, the Web analytics firm. But Bing’s share has been growing, as has Yahoo’s, while Google’s has been shrinking.

And while no one argues that Google’s dominance is in immediate jeopardy, Google is watching Microsoft closely, mimicking some of Bing’s innovations — like its travel search engine, its ability to tie more tools to social networking sites and its image search — or buying start-ups to help it do so in the future.

Google has even taken on some of Bing’s distinctive look, like giving people the option of a Bing-like colorful background, and the placement of navigation tools on the left-hand side of the page.

When Microsoft introduced it last year, Bing made a splash with its vivid background images.
In June, Google presented searchers the option of a colorful background rather than the stark, white page.

The result is a renaissance in search, resulting in more sophisticated tools for consumers who want richer answers to complex questions than the standard litany of blue links.

The competition is a remarkable and surprising twist: Microsoft, knocked around for so long as a bumbling laggard, has given the innovative upstart Google a kick in the pants. As the search engines introduce feature after competing feature, some analysts say they have set off an arms race, with the companies poised to spend whatever it takes to win the second phase of Web search.

“There is a cold war going on,” said Sandeep Aggarwal, senior Internet and software analyst at Caris & Company, who watches both companies. “Clearly, you can see how Bing’s competition is forcing Google to try and catch up in some places.”

Google officials agree there is more competition, but say they are not simply reacting to the younger search engine.

Google’s new features have not been in response to Bing, said Marissa Mayer, the company’s vice president for search products and user experience. “A lot of these things have been in the works for a long time,” she said. “Left-hand navigation we worked on for almost two years. We wanted to make sure we had it exactly right.”

Microsoft’s gains are far from staggering. Its share of searches has grown to 12.7 percent, from 8 percent, since Bing was introduced in May 2009, and Yahoo, which has a search deal with Microsoft, still handles a larger share of searches than Bing. And in the newest search frontier, mobile devices, Google has even more market share than on the Web at large.

Still, Bing’s gains have impressed analysts, who have watched Google fend off repeated assaults on its lucrative search and ad business, which accounts for some 95 percent of its revenue.

Building a more comprehensive, faster and more accurate search engine than Google is a daunting challenge, and a long list of big companies and start-ups have failed in their attempts. Microsoft endured plenty of ribbing as it spent years building and then scrapping search systems meant to help it compete against Google. But it kept experimenting until it found a way.

Microsoft has spent billions of dollars building the computing centers needed to power search and advertising systems and acquiring start-ups with niche expertise. In addition, it has thrown money at consumers, through cash-back programs on purchases, and at partners willing to promote Bing ahead of Google. Over the last year, Microsoft’s online services division lost $2.36 billion on revenue of $2.2 billion.

With Bing, Microsoft has tried to attract people like Mr. Callan by excelling at answering frequently asked questions, like those related to travel, health, shopping, entertainment and local businesses. For example, Bing has flight search and prediction tools that reveal price fluctuations for certain routes, and advises customers whether to buy or wait. Bing Health uses data from sources like the Mayo Clinic and Healthwise.

The hope is that “somebody would come back just for that and then, down the line, they would do other types of searches, too,” said Danny Sullivan, a longtime industry analyst and editor in chief of the blog Search Engine Land.

People do not always want to click on links and dig through pages to hunt out information, so when Bing started in May 2009, it pulled relevant information and stuck it on the top and left-hand side of the results pages. Search “Angelina Jolie,” for instance, and see a slide show and a list of her movies on top and related links on the side.

“We said, ‘Let’s change the entire way we lay out pages,’ ” said Yusuf Mehdi, a senior vice president for Microsoft’s online audiences business. “We will not be shackled by blue links.”

Google, meanwhile, has quietly introduced its own new features that have in several instances looked a lot like Bing’s.

For example, in May, it too added the left-hand navigation tools — though Ms. Mayer of Google pointed out that many of the tools had already been available, just not easily visible from the search page.

“Certainly there’s been increased competition in the space,” Ms. Mayer said of Bing. “When there’s more competition, everyone’s search gets better, that serves the users a lot better.”

Bing’s travel tool uses technology from Farecast, which Microsoft bought in early 2008. In July, Google announced plans to acquire ITA Software for $700 million; ITA makes the same comparison shopping software for flights that Bing’s Farecast uses.

Then there is the look of the main search pages for each site. Microsoft has argued that the vivid images ever-present behind the Bing search box have helped its appeal; young people and women have shown a particular fondness for Bing. In June, Google offered people the option to have a colorful background image like the Golden Gate Bridge on its main search page rather than the stark, white page that helped make Google famous.

Google has also played catch-up to Microsoft in offering ways to search for and digest more images in one go, and has trailed in adding some tie-ins to social networking sites.

“Google’s new innovations have come at a slower pace,” Mr. Aggarwal said. “There was no one challenging Google until Microsoft decided it was a business they would not give up.”

Still, Mr. Sullivan and other analysts also say Google has been making many significant but subtle behind-the-scenes changes that make it better at responding to obscure and complex queries. Google made 500 tweaks to its secret search algorithm last year and introduced personalized search, which customizes results based on what users frequently click on.

Google executives often chide Microsoft that it overengineers software like Office and bombards people with needless features. But now Google has swapped its clean, simple approach to search in favor of a feature war with Microsoft.

“Google seems to do things because Bing has done something,” Mr. Sullivan said. “It’s a kind of knee-jerk thing — we have to do this product now because we don’t want people to think we’re weak.”

Source: http://www.nytimes.com

Yahoo Inc. engineers began testing keywords in Microsoft Corp.'s search advertising system for the first time last week, a key step toward implementing a comprehensive search agreement the two companies hope will reshape the industry.

The so-called "shadow tests" replicate how keywords will perform when Yahoo's advertisers are plugged into Microsoft's adCenter system, which will soon power the paid search businesses of both companies. The test results will help determine whether Yahoo and Microsoft can flip the switch on their unusual partnership this fall, as they hope.

"The next couple of weeks are going to be critical," said David Karnstedt, who runs search engine marketer Efficient Frontier.

The tests, which come almost one year after the alliance was announced, are part of a meticulously planned blueprint that Yahoo and Microsoft hope will position them as an effective counterweight to industry leader Google Inc.

Though the partners will have less than a third of the $12.4 billion U.S. search market, they want to achieve enough scale to generate better returns for advertising clients, more revenue for themselves and greater profits for investors.

Microsoft hopes the 10-year revenue-sharing pact will help turn its ailing online services division into a profitable business. Yahoo says the agreement will enable it to cut costs, focus on display advertising and deliver search results in more innovative ways.

Microsoft's Bing search engine will power searches on Yahoo Web sites. The two companies' small and midsize advertisers will use Microsoft's adCenter paid search platform to buy keywords and put ads on Web pages. Yahoo's sales staff will handle the largest advertising accounts for both companies.

While Yahoo is free to choose any partner for mobile search and search advertising, the company said it will rely on Microsoft in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and France. Yahoo said the shift in each market is expected to coincide with the desktop migration schedule and it may soon add other markets.

For the past two months, Yahoo and Microsoft have been shadow-testing the algorithmic search technologies that generate the non-paid search results on their Web pages, according to Mark Morrissey, who runs Yahoo's integration team.

The project remains on schedule as engineers eliminate bugs in the system, he said. They aim to gradually increase the volume of Yahoo traffic that passes through Bing, eventually fabricating imaginary queries so they can stress-test the system beyond full capacity.

"The most challenging time is when we get to 100%-130% (of full capacity) because it tests not only the functionality, but the limits of the infrastructure," Mr. Morrissey said.

Shifting Yahoo's advertisers to Microsoft's adCenter will be far more complicated. Microsoft must beef up adCenter to process four times the traffic it currently handles. Engineers also have been adding features from Yahoo's Panama search advertising system that weren't in adCenter, such as giving advertisers more control over where their ads appear.

Key questions remain. The most critical is whether the alliance will generate better returns for advertisers, as well as more revenue per search for the companies.

Second-quarter data from Efficient Frontier shows Microsoft's advertisers get an average return on investment that is 21% higher than Google--the industry standard--while Yahoo returns 25% less than Google. Advertisers focus on ROI because it enables them to measure the performance of search ads against the overall cost of such campaigns.

Chris Lien, who runs search marketer Marin Software Inc., said Yahoo's relatively low ROI might simply cancel out Microsoft's, reducing the combined platform's appeal to advertisers.

Still, Yahoo and Microsoft aim to make the transition in the U.S. and Canada by Oct. 15, giving advertisers, ad agencies and search-engine marketers enough time to switch over before the crucial holiday shopping season. Mr. Morrissey said the two companies have hit every major milestone on schedule. But they won't flip the switch until they are comfortable the combined market place can deliver adequate ROI for advertisers.

Source: http://online.wsj.com

Now that Microsoft has announced the availability of the public beta of Windows Home Server Codename Vail, I wanted to share an overview to benefit both those of you that will be installing the Beta as well as those that don’t plan to install the Beta but are curious about what Vail delivers.

Remember that this is a beta product with no announced final release date, so what we are seeing today may not be what the final product looks like. Also remember that if you choose to run the Vail beta, you should only do so on a test system and definitely do not store your production data on it.

Initial Thoughts
At first glance, Vail has a very similar feature set to Windows Home Server v1. The Home Server will back up your client PCs, you can easily add and remove hard drives to expand your storage, you can remotely access your files and computers from outside the home, and you can install Add-Ins to increase the functionality of your Home Server. While the basic features look and even feel similar to it’s predecessor, Vail has been polished, refined and improved in many ways, and delivers a few key new features that should provide a better experience for Windows Home Server users.

If you like the way Windows Home Server currently functions, I think you’ll be mostly pleased with the changes in Vail. However if you were hoping to see significant new features such as Media Center integration or the ability for Windows Home Server to be the only box that is always running on your home network, you’ll likely be disappointed. There are also a few key changes to Windows Home Server Vail that I think may be show-stopping issues for some of you. Please read on for all the details.

As a further reminder that this is a Beta release, Microsoft has an extensive list of Known Issues that I recommend you review before installing Vail.

Supported Client Operating Systems

The following home computer operating systems are supported by Windows Home Server Vail.

The Windows 7 Operating System

• Windows 7 Home Basic (x86 and x64)
• Windows 7 Home Premium (x86 and x64)
• Windows 7 Professional (x86 and x64)
• Windows 7 Ultimate (x86 and x64)
• Windows 7 Enterprise (x86 and x64)
• Windows 7 Starter (x86)

The Windows Vista Operating System

• Windows Vista Home Basic with Service Pack 2 (SP2) (x86 and x64)
• Windows Vista Home Premium with SP2 (x86 and x64)
• Windows Vista Business with SP2 (x86 and x64)
• Windows Vista Ultimate with SP2 (x86 and x64)
• Windows Vista Enterprise with SP2 (x86 and x64)
• Windows Vista Starter with SP2 (x86)

The Windows XP Operating System

• Windows XP Home with Service Pack 3 (SP3)
• Windows XP Professional with SP3
• Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 with SP3

New and Improved Features
There are number of new and improved features in Windows Home Server Vail that I believe will make a large number of you happy. Here’s a summary of some of these changes, I talk about some of them more later in the article, you can read more in the Getting Started guide, and of course explore Vail after you’ve installed it.

First, the client PC backup feature has been made more robust and so we should see less errors and erratic failures that we are used to in Windows Home Server v1. They have also added a computer backup archive feature, so that you can save off the backup of a PC that you wish to retire and not have it count as one of the 10 connected PCs. Vail also borrows a cue from the popularity of my BDBB Add-In and has a “Backup the Backups” feature, just like you can back up the shared folders. This is a welcome change, but means I’ll have to find a new Add-In to work on for Vail.

The shared folder backups can now be scheduled, and also include the ability to back up and restore the entire Vail operating system, which was one of the most requested features.

Drive Extender has been extensively worked on and claims to have increased robustness and control. One of the issues we saw with v1 was that failed or failing hard drives could cause significant issues with Windows Home Server, often leaving the user with no idea of how to repair their server. Here are the listed changes from the Getting Started guide, I believe they are important enough to call out specifically here.

• Allows you to remove the system drive from the storage pool to help increase the speed of the OS
• Automatically detects and corrects many silent hard drive data errors
• Allows you to remove a drive without server down time
• Offers improved drive health monitoring and alerting
• Makes data for duplicated folders available when a drive is missing without requiring you to remove the missing drive first
• Supports 60GB hard drives or larger, and up to 10 drives can be a part of the server storage pool

I imagine that last bullet point has several of you with your jaws hanging open. This is the first I’ve heard of a 10 drive limit in Vail, and if it is true I believe this is a bad idea and will be feeding that back to Microsoft.

One other concern point I have is that while drives can be viewed and added to other Vail servers, due to the technical changes in Drive Extender there is currently no way to access your data on your server hard drives should you need to. The drives are no longer formatted with NTFS and so your data is “hidden” behind the abstraction of Drive Extender. I’m hopeful that Microsoft will be able to create a utility or driver that provides access to your files for when you need access without building a new server.

Another positive Drive Extender feature is that Previous Versions can be enabled in Vail, which is a nice improvement over v1. This allows you to keep historical versions of changed files on the server, in case of accidental or unintended changes. You will need to manually turn this feature on to use it, however, as it is disabled out of the box.

Finally, DLNA Streaming and “PlayTo” are now supported by Windows Home Server Vail which delivers an improved media streaming experience to the Xbox 360 and other media streaming devices in the home. Vail also provides HomeGroup support which is included in Windows 7 and simplifies the process of sharing files and printers on a home network.

Now we’ll take a look at what the new user interface looks like, and examine the Remote Access and streaming features of Windows Home Server Vail.

Client Installation and Setup
We have full guides on how to either manually or automatically install Vail onto your MediaSmart Server as well as your own server so be sure to check those articles to see what the installation process looks like.

After the installation completes you are ready to join your client PCs to your Vail server. This process is now completely web based instead of requiring a Client Install CD, which means you perform the installation and configuration simply by pointing your browser to http://servername/connect. This will download a small file to run on your computer that joins your PC with your Vail server.

In my case, I still had the Connector software from my Windows Home Server v1 installed on my client PC, which Vail detected and required me to uninstall. After uninstalling v1 I restarted the client install and proceeded through the steps.

Having the ability the add a description for your PC is a nice touch for identifying each PC that you join with your Home Server. As you can see I’ve stressed the importance of this particular PC.

The rest of the installation should be familiar to current Windows Home Server users. You can choose to wake the computer for backups, participate in the Microsoft feedback program, and then the actual join with the Home Server occurs.

At the end you are left with three shortcuts on your desktop and a system tray application giving you access to the Launchpad, Dashboard, and server notifications.

Client Launchpad
In addition to the system tray icon and Shared Folders desktop shortcut that was included in v1, Vail now includes a client Launchpad application. The Launchpad gives you access to the Home Server features running on the client PC, such as the ability to see Recent Backup status, Backup Now, and the Server Health Notifications. An interesting new item is the “Remote Access” item that launches a browser to your servers Remote Access URL, and will be handy running on your laptop when away from home.

Add-In developers are also able to add their own items to the Launchpad to extend the functionality of Windows Home Server.

Server Dashboard
The Server Console has been renamed in Vail to the Server Dashboard but should be familiar in layout to users of Windows Home Server v1. The Home tab has basic instructional information.

The Users tab allows you to add, edit, and view the users configured with your Vail server. The Add User feature allows for a little more fine-grained control of user permissions.

The Computers and Backup tab gives you access to the joined client PCs as well as the exciting new Server Backup features that allow you to backup up the Operating System of the server to protect against system drive failure, schedule automated server backups, and even backup the Client PC Backups (I guess they took a hint from the popularity of my WHS BDBB Add-In ). In the below screenshots I’ve attached a 1.5TB USB drive and designated it as a Server Backup drive, and am now configuring the server to back itself up.

The Storage tab allows you to add and remove drives as either Storage or Backup, as well as configure the shared folders. One noteworthy item is that the individual Users shares are no longer created by default. If these were valuable to you then you’ll have to manually create them yourself. In the first two shots you can see that Duplication is unavailable because I only have a single drive in the server.

A nice feature is the ability to name or add a label to your drive when you install it. You’ll likely want to use a more descriptive name than I did.

Another nice feature is that Vail now automatically enables duplication on your shared folders after additional drives are added.

The Add-Ins tab will give you access to any installed Add-Ins. We’ll see how long it takes for the community add-ins to begin showing up.

The Settings tab is simplified and my understanding is that Add-In developers will no longer be able to add their own settings tab. One area I’d like to see improved is the configuration for Media Streaming. Currently in Vail, streaming provides access to all media types in each share. This means that my music album art appears in the Photos stream, which is incredibly annoying. I mention this more in the Remote Access section later.

The Remote Access configuration has been improved so that you can choose to manually configure your Remote Access. This is useful if your router doesn’t support UPnP, or if you prefer to manually forward ports. You can also add your own custom images and links to the Remote Access pages.

Finally, the Alerts tab allows you to view the health status of your home server.

Remote Access Features
The Remote Access features have been significantly updated in Vail, and Microsoft has now built-in many of the features that differentiated the HP MediaSmart Server from other Home Server offerings. Your Media is now completely accessible from anywhere on the internet, thanks to the new Remote Media Streaming features.

The initial login is familiar with Windows Home Server v1, and provides access to the Server Console as well as Remote Desktop sessions to any PC that supports RDP and has it enabled. Unfortunately the ActiveX control that provides RDP access was out of date and required me to download a new version (and then reboot my PC) before I could utilize this feature. There is also access to upload and download files from the shared folders.

The music streaming is one of my favorite features, as I like to listen to music on my headphones while at work. The interface is very attractive, and usable even with relatively large libraries. I have over 7,000 tracks in more than 500 albums, and the browser was able to load the album art fairly quickly. Music streams started within a couple of seconds and there is little to no delay between track changes.

The user interface is very similar to the Windows 7 Media Center experience, with scrolling album covers in the background.

The Music Streaming experience is more attractive than the current offering from HP, however the “beta” state of Vail has shown itself and I am experiencing issues with playback where tracks randomly stop playing and skip to the next. I’ve not yet determined if specific files cause this or if it is a more common issue.

Video streaming is also included and features on-the-fly transcoding of files on the server. This means that when you start to stream a video over the web interface, your server will automatically convert it to a resolution and format that streams well. This does require some decent horsepower from your server’s CPU so if you plan on using this feature you may want to take that into consideration when deciding what hardware to use.

Streaming videos from my home has never been very important to me, I just don’t seem to have the interest or need to watch the videos stored on my home server while away from home. I did perform some testing, and unfortunately this feature also has some issues. My Recorded TV shows wouldn’t play (apparently unsupported file formats but they appear in the Remote Media display) and more importantly my home video 720p AVCHD files in MP4 container from my digital video camera wouldn’t play their normal widescreen aspect ratio and are instead squished which ruins the experience of watching the video. Interestingly enough the thumbnail image that is generated shows the correct widescreen aspect ratio. I also found that my test .mts files, which are another common digital video camera format, weren’t able to be played by the streamer even though the Getting Started guide claims to support them. The mkv files that are so popular for storing ripped movies are also not supported. Of course WMV files all worked great, including a sample 1080p version of Terminator 2 that have for testing.

In all cases the playback began quickly and the transcoding seems to work well. I did experience many lockups of Internet Explorer during my testing, while Chrome and Firefox seemed more robust.

One of the biggest frustrations for me is that all my media is mixed up (combined) when displayed by the Vail media streamer, meaning that my Album Art from my Music share is showing up in the Pictures stream. I find this to be quite annoying and it makes the Photo streaming feature pretty much useless. I’ll be advocating very strongly for more configuration options for media management in the shipping version of Vail.

The photo slideshow feature is pretty much what you’d expect and worked fine in my light testing. I’m not sure how useful this will be given that a Remote Access user account is required to access the photos.

Summary
There is a lot of excitement about what Windows Home Server Vail will deliver as a second generation operating system. Even though Windows Home Server v1 had it’s warts and issues, it is a popular product that serves us very well at protecting our data and making it accessible wherever we are. Vail improves on these features in many ways, however I have some significant concerns that I’m hoping our feedback as beta testers will convince Microsoft to make some changes.

Here is what I want to see changed in Vail as it exists today:

• Don’t restrict us to 10 hard drives. There’s no good reason to do this, especially on a “Premium” labeled SKU and when v1 supported 32 drives.
• Make Vail storage disks readable on non-Vail computers, just like they are in v1. This has been a much needed feature in the current version, people’s systems do fail and they need to feel confident that their data is safe
• Make the Media Streaming more configurable, I really hate having my album art mixed in with my photos.
• Keep improving the Remote Streaming experience. It’s fairly buggy right now, and I’d like to see improved media support for Recorded TV and other video containers such as the extremely popular MKV. There is also the need for real widescreen aspect ratio support as currently that doesn’t seem to work well for many files.

Finally, be sure to submit bugs on Connect, and make sure Microsoft hears what you think of Vail and how it is working for you. Post in the comments or the forums to share what you think about the new and changed features in Vail, as well as your experience when you run the Beta.

[via www.mediasmartserver.net]

Its nearly hear. Microsoft has officially announced that next Tuesday on the 24th of November Power Pack 3 will be available via Windows Update.

The release will be available in Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, and Spanish and users must have Windows Home Server with Power Pack 2 already installed on their home server to receive the update.

Power Pack 3 (PP3) improves the Windows Home Server experience with both Windows 7 and Windows Media Center by providing backup and restore of computers running Windows 7, Windows 7 Libraries integration, enhancements for Windows Media Center, and better support for notebook computers.

That’s new in PP3:

• Windows 7 Libraries integration
  When you install the Windows Home Server Connector and log on a computer running Windows 7, you can access the Windows Home Server shared folders from the Windows 7 libraries.
• Windows 7 Action Center backup warning suppression
  After you install the Windows Home Server Connector to enable the home server backup for your computer running Windows 7, you can suppress the Action Center warning reminding you that Windows Backup has not been set up.
• Windows 7 power settings
  You can configure your computer running Windows 7 to wake up at a scheduled backup time and then go back to sleep after the backup finishes.
• Console support for Windows 7
  Windows 7 is properly displayed as the operating system shown in the Computers & Backup tab.
• Windows Search
  Windows Search 4 is included to improve query search times, indexing times, and reliability. Extended Remote Discovery increases the efficiency of searching across all your libraries running Windows Search 4.  Files encrypted with EFS are now supported.
• TV archive
  Windows Home Server can automatically archive recorded TV by moving your recordings from a Windows Media Center computer to your home server in the format of your choice.  This enables playback in the correct format for your home computers and/or portable devices.
• Console view
  You can view information about your home server’s storage space, hard drives, backup status, and more from Windows Media Center.

Can’t wait till Tuesday, can you?

Microsoft announced a broad range of new functionality for Bing, its search engine, on Nov. 11. In addition to incorporating results from Wolfram Alpha, a "computational engine" that provides a definitive numerical answer to a search query, the revamped Bing offers a more robust video page—with feeds from MSN Video, Hulu, and ABC—and more intensive search in categories such as local events and cities.

In a sign of the increased importance of social networking to corporations such as Microsoft and Google, Bing has also incorporated Facebook and Twitter into its search features.

Zune HD is the latest player in the Zune device family, available in 16GB and 32GB capacities and is the first touch screen Zune with HD functionality and powerful technology to give consumers a different way to experience music and video on-the-go.

• HD Radio –Zune HD comes with a built-in FM HD Radio receiver enabling users to tune to more free stations with even better clarity and sound quality.
• HD Video Out – Connect your Zune HD to the optional Zune Premium A/V docking station and watch HD videos, TV shows and movies in your large screen TV in 720p high definition
• Internet Browser and Wi-Fi - Zune HD includes a full-screen Internet browser optimized for multi-touch and Wi-Fi connectivity

Zune Software

• QuickPlay – A whole new user interface that offers one-click access to your favorites, and recent activity on both the PC and your Zune HD
• Smart DJ -  With one click, Zune becomes your personal DJ, creating and serving you an endless playlist based on the genre, style and influences of the song or artist you choose

Zune Services (Zune Marketplace and Zune.net)

• For the first time, Zune Marketplace is offering full-length movies in HD and SD format for download and rental; download HD TV shows and movies and watch them on your Zune or PC.  Or with the optional A/V docking station, watch them in high definition on your HDTV
• Zune.net Streaming - With a Zune Pass, stream music directly from Zune.net from any internet-connected computer.  No client software download needed
• Zune Pass - Access nearly 6 million songs for only $14.99 a month and keep 10 free MP3 downloads each month 
• Zune Pass + SmartDJ - If you have a Zune Pass you can use SmartDJ to stream an endless playlist from the nearly 6 million song Zune catalog from any internet connected PC via Zune.net, no download required

Expansion into Xbox

• Later this fall, Microsoft will bring the Zune video service to the nearly 20 million Xbox Live users as Zune becomes the video store for Xbox Live
• “Buy Once, Play Anywhere” - Consumers will be able to buy a movie once and watch it on multiple devices:  Xbox 360, Zune device and PC

Pricing

• Zune HD 16GB for $219.99 on Amazon (as of 9/17/09)
• Zune HD 32GB for $289.99 on Amazon (as of 9/17/09)

Zune HD is available in the retail channel on Sept 15, but for the time being the Zune HD device will remain US only.

Learn more: http://www.zune.net/en-us/products/zunehd/default.htm

In less than a week since Windows 7 was released to manufacturing, the first crack for the Ultimate edition of the latest iteration of the Windows client is already available in the wild. The Windows 7 Build 6.1.7600.16385 Ultimate crack is capable of activating the high-end SKU of the operating system indefinitely. The product key comes from the only source possible, an OEM, as original equipment manufacturers are the first and for the time being the last group to receive the gold bits of the operating system from Microsoft. Together with the RTM development milestone of Windows 7, the Redmond company has also supplied OEM partners with activation product keys, one of which was extracted from a leaked OEM image of the platform.

Reports from various forums and websites (which I will not link to because they offer the proof-of-concept of the Windows 7 RTM Ultimate crack, along with the activation product key, which is illegal) indicate that the cracked client can bypass Windows genuine Advantage validation with no problems whatsoever. A Windows 7 Ultimate OEM DVD ISO from Lenovo has reportedly made the hack possible. Leaked on a Chinese forum, complete with the download links, the ISO allowed for hackers to grab the OEM-SLP (System-Locked Preinstallation) product key as well as the OEM certificate for Windows 7 RTM Ultimate via boot.wim.

The bypass designed for Windows 7 RTM involves abusing OEM activation 2.1, and in this regard the circumventing process is nothing more than an OEM hack. Via OEM activation 2.1, namely SLP 2.1, Microsoft allows OEMs to pre-activate Windows 7 for distribution preinstalled on new computers. In this context, the activation bypass process leading to the hacked Windows 7 RTM needs to be based on a BIOS (SLIC) hack first of all.

The procedure is by no means new. Hackers have managed to crack Windows Vista much in the same manner. In fact, the Windows 7 RTM Ultimate activation crack also relies on an OEM certificate from Windows Vista in order to function. At the time of this article hackers have made available in the wild SLIC 2.1 BIN harvested from computers on the market, as well as the genuine OEM certificate digitally signed by Microsoft, which automatically brings to the table the Private Key and the OEM Public Key as well as the OEMID (from SLIC in BIOS). Together with the leaked OEM SLP master product key Windows 7 can be hacked and the activation process bypassed. The result is a cracked copy of Windows 7 RTM Ultimate permanently activated.

It also seems that the crack is not limited to Lenovo machines. The activation process can also be circumvented on HP, Dell, and MSI computers according to reports. Because of the OEM product key, the crack is limited to the Ultimate edition of Windows 7 (useless for all other SKUs, Home Basic, Home Premium, Professional), but can be used on both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of the operating system.

Source: http://news.softpedia.com/

SUNNYVALE, CA and REDMOND, WA — 29 July, 2009 — Yahoo! and Microsoft announced an agreement that will improve the Web search experience for users and advertisers, and deliver sustained innovation to the industry. In simple terms, Microsoft will now power Yahoo! search while Yahoo! will become the exclusive worldwide relationship sales force for both companies' premium search advertisers.

For Web users and advertisers, this deal will accelerate the pace and breadth of innovation by combining both companies' complementary strengths and search platforms into a market competitor with the scale to fuel sustained development in search and search advertising. Users will find what they care about faster and with more personal relevance. Microsoft's competitive search platforms will lead to more value for advertisers, better results for web publishers, and increased innovation and efficiency across the Internet.

Under this agreement, Yahoo! will focus on its core business of providing consumers with great experiences with the world's favorite online destinations and Web products.

"This agreement comes with boatloads of value for Yahoo!, our users, and the industry. And I believe it establishes the foundation for a new era of Internet innovation and development," said Yahoo! CEO Carol Bartz. "Users will continue to experience search as a vital part of their Yahoo! experiences and will enjoy increased innovation thanks to the scale and resources this deal provides. Advertisers will also benefit from scale and enjoy greater ease of use and efficiencies working with a single platform and sales team for premium advertisers. Finally, this deal will help us increase our investments in priority areas in winning audience properties, display advertising capabilities, and mobile experiences."

Providing a viable alternative to advertisers, this deal will combine Yahoo! and Microsoft search marketplaces so that advertisers no longer have to rely on one company that dominates more than 70 percent of all search. With the addition of Yahoo!'s search volume, Microsoft will achieve the size and scale required to unleash competition and innovation in the market, for consumers as well as advertisers.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said the agreement will provide Microsoft's search engine, Bing, the scale necessary to more effectively compete, attracting more users and advertisers, which in turn will lead to more relevant ads and search results.

"Through this agreement with Yahoo!, we will create more innovation in search, better value for advertisers, and real consumer choice in a market currently dominated by a single company," said Ballmer. "Success in search requires both innovation and scale. With our new Bing search platform, we've created breakthrough innovation and features. This agreement with Yahoo! will provide the scale we need to deliver even more rapid advances in relevancy and usefulness. Microsoft and Yahoo! know there's so much more that search could be. This agreement gives us the scale and resources to create the future of search."

"This deal fits the long-term strategic direction of Yahoo! to remain the world's leading online media company and Carol Bartz has the full and unanimous support of the Yahoo! Board behind this deal," said Roy Bostock, chairman, Yahoo! Inc. "This is a significant opportunity for us. Microsoft is an industry innovator in search, and it is a great opportunity for us to focus our investments in other areas critical to our future."

The key terms of the agreement are as follows:

• The term of the agreement is 10 years;

• Microsoft will acquire an exclusive 10 year license to Yahoo!'s core search technologies, and Microsoft will have the ability to integrate Yahoo! search technologies into its existing web search platforms;

• Microsoft's Bing will be the exclusive algorithmic search and paid search platform for Yahoo! sites. Yahoo! will continue to use its technology and data in other areas of its business such as enhancing display advertising technology.

• Yahoo! will become the exclusive worldwide relationship sales force for both companies' premium search advertisers. Self-serve advertising for both companies will be fulfilled by Microsoft's AdCenter platform, and prices for all search ads will continue to be set by AdCenter's automated auction process.

• Each company will maintain its own separate display advertising business and sales force.

• Yahoo! will innovate and "own" the user experience on Yahoo! properties, including the user experience for search, even though it will be powered by Microsoft technology.

• Microsoft will compensate Yahoo! through a revenue sharing agreement on traffic generated on Yahoo!'s network of both owned and operated (O&O) and affiliate sites.

  • Microsoft will pay traffic acquisition costs (TAC) to Yahoo! at an initial rate of 88% of search revenue generated on Yahoo!'s O&O sites during the first 5 years of the agreement.

  • Yahoo! will continue to syndicate its existing search affiliate partnerships.

• Microsoft will guarantee Yahoo!'s O&O revenue per search (RPS) in each country for the first 18 months following initial implementation in that country.

• At full implementation (expected to occur within 24 months following regulatory approval), Yahoo! estimates, based on current levels of revenue and current operating expenses, that this agreement will provide a benefit to annual GAAP operating income of approximately $500 million and capital expenditure savings of approximately $200 million. Yahoo! also estimates that this agreement will provide a benefit to annual operating cash flow of approximately $275 million.

• The agreement protects consumer privacy by limiting the data shared between the companies to the minimum necessary to operate and improve the combined search platform, and restricts the use of search data shared between the companies. The agreement maintains the industry-leading privacy practices that each company follows today.

The agreement does not cover each company's web properties and products, email, instant messaging, display advertising, or any other aspect of the companies' businesses. In those areas, the companies will continue to compete vigorously.

The transaction will be subject to regulatory review. The agreement entered into today anticipates that the parties will enter into more detailed definitive agreements prior to closing. Microsoft and Yahoo! expect the agreement to be closely reviewed by the industry and government regulators, and welcome questions. The companies are hopeful that closing can occur in early 2010.

The companies have established a website at http://www.choicevalueinnovation.com to provide consumers, advertisers and publishers with additional information about the benefits of the agreement.

Conference Call – 5:30 a.m. PDT, Wednesday, July 29

Yahoo! and Microsoft will host a conference call with Yahoo! CEO Carol Bartz and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to discuss the agreement at 5:30 a.m. Pacific/8:30 a.m. Eastern Time today. To listen to the call, please dial 1-866-515-2908 in the U.S. and Canada; +1-617-399-5122 international, reservation number: 47968026. A live webcast of the call can be accessed through Yahoo!’s Investor Relations website at http://yhoo.client.shareholder.com/results.cfm. The companies have also established a website at http://www.choicevalueinnovation.com to provide consumers, advertisers and publishers with additional information about the benefits of the agreement. In addition, an archive of the webcast will be available through the same link. An audio replay of the call will be available for two weeks following the conference call by calling 1-888-286-8010 in the U.S. and Canada; +1-617-801-6888 international, reservation number: 91217610.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This release refers to operating cash flow (operating income before depreciation, amortization of intangible assets, and stock-based compensation expense, or OCF), which is a non-GAAP financial measure. The most comparable GAAP measure is income from operations. The estimated annual OCF benefit of $275 million included in this press release is the estimated annual benefit in income from operations of $500 million less approximately $225 million of estimated annual savings in depreciation, amortization and stock-based compensation expense.

Source: http://www.choicevalueinnovation.com

BOSTON, June 10 (Reuters) Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) is getting ready to unveil a long-anticipated free anti-virus service for personal computers that will compete with products sold by Symantec Corp (SYMC.O) and McAfee Inc (MFE.N).

A Microsoft spokesman said on Wednesday that the world's biggest software maker is testing an early version of the product with its own employees. Microsoft would "soon" make a trial version, or product beta, available via its website, he added, but declined to provide a specific date.

Symantec shares fell 0.5 percent on Nasdaq and McAfee fell 1.3 percent on the New York Stock Exchange, while Microsoft was up 2.1 percent. The Nasdaq composite index .IXIC was down 0.47 percent.

Investors are closely monitoring the free service, code-named Morro after Brazil's Morro de Sao Paolo beach, amid concern it could hurt sales of products from Symantec and McAfee, which generate billions of dollars of revenue a year protecting Windows PCs from attacks by hackers.

"It's a long-term competitive threat," said Daniel Ives, an analyst with FBR Capital Markets, though he added that the near-term impact was minimal.

Microsoft has said that Morro will offer basic features for fighting a wide range of viruses, which would likely make it comparable to low-end consumer products from Symantec and McAfee that cost about $40 per year.

Their top-selling products are security suites that come with features including encryption, firewalls, password protection, parental controls and data backup.

Three years ago, Microsoft entered that market with Live OneCare, which turned out to be a commercial flop. It announced plans in November to kill that product suite, saying it would launch the free Morro service by the end of 2009.

Analysts said they are looking forward to Morro's beta to see exactly how its features compare to those in products from competitors.

Microsoft has said it will provide protection from several types of malicious software including viruses, spyware, rootkits and trojans.

Officials with Symantec and McAfee have said they do not see Morro as a threat. 

"Microsoft's free product is basically a stripped down version of the OneCare product Microsoft pulled from the shelves," said Symantec Consumer division president Janice Chaffin. "A full Internet security suite is what consumers require today to stay fully protected."

Joris Evers, a spokesman for No. 2 security software maker McAfee, said his company is already enjoying strong growth despite competition from free anti-virus products that are on the market.

"On a level playing field, we are confident in our ability to compete with anyone who might enter the marketplace," he said.

A spokeswoman for Trend Micro Inc (4704.T), the No. 3 player, declined to comment. (Reporting by Jim Finkle; Editing by Steve Orlofsky, Brian Moss, Richard Chang)

Source: http://www.reuters.com

The near-final version of Microsoft's next operating system, Windows 7, became available late Monday to the general public.

Microsoft will collect feedback on the Windows 7 release candidate over the next few months, fixing small issues. The company allowed developers and other testers to begin downloading the release candidate last week.

[ Microsoft will let users run Windows 7 RC for more than a year . | Get the analysis and insights that only Randall C. Kennedy can provide on Windows tech in InfoWorld's Enterprise Desktop blog and Technology: Windows newsletter. And download our free Windows performance-monitoring tool. ]

Windows 7 comes nearly three years after Windows Vista, which took five years for Microsoft to engineer but was regarded by some as underwhelming. Microsoft hasn't said when the final Windows 7 version will be released, although it's rumored to be out before year's end.

Microsoft warned it is not offering technical support for the Windows 7 release candidate, so those who install it are on their own. Users should be familiar with installing an operating system from scratch, formatting a hard drive and backing up data, among other skills, Microsoft advised.

In the Windows 7 release notes, Microsoft warns of several problems that haven't been resolved, including issues with its latest Web browser, Internet Explorer 8 (IE8).

Debugging JavaScript with the developer tools in IE8 could throw up a warning that a Web site is not responding, but that warning can be ignored. Also, some Web pages may have misaligned text or missing images. Microsoft recommends clicking on the "compatibility view" button on the address bar as a fix.

Microsoft released the Windows 7 beta in Arabic and Hindi, but those languages have been replaced with French and Spanish in the release candidate. English is available for both versions.

"We needed to ensure certain features were tested for worldwide functionality, and Hindi and Arabic help us test a number of language-related features," Microsoft said.

Source: http://www.infoworld.com

As promised, on Thursday, April 30, 2009, Microsoft made the Windows 7 Release Candidate (RC, see my review) available to MSDN and TechNet subscribers. But it also made an updated (but not yet rebranded) version of XP Mode for Windows 7 and Windows Virtual PC available via the same distribution points. Since Rafael and I gained access to the first external build of XP Mode (then as in this beta called Virtual Windows XP, or VXP), we've been eager to see a more updated version. So what do we see here?

First, Microsoft is formally describing this technology as Windows Virtual PC, "a new optional component for the Windows 7 operating system that you can use to evaluate and migrate to Windows 7 while maintaining compatibility with applications that run on older versions of Windows." Windows Virtual PC includes a number of new features, one of which, of course, is XP Mode.

Windows Virtual PC is available in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions, so you'll need to version that is correct for your OS. However, you can only run 32-bit virtual machines inside of Windows Virtual PC, as was the case with the previous version of this product, Virtual PC 2007.

Windows Virtual PC will be delivered to Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate customers via a web download that includes two executables. The first, Windows6.1-KB958559-x86.msu (32-bit) or Windows6.1-KB958559-x64.msu (64-bit), depending on your platform, updates Windows 7 and actually provides the expected Start Menu entry points. And then you reboot.

When that's done you must also run a second EXE, VirtualWindowsXP_64_en-US (or VirtualWindowsXP_32_en-US) to install XP Mode and its Windows XP with SP3 virtual machine (VM). Once you've done that, you'll be prompted to run Virtual XP (XP Mode).

Now, you're prompted to configure a password for the default user (creatively named User and not changeable during Setup), and configure Automatic Updates. Then, Setup configures the virtual machine. This phase takes a long time and involves setting up the VM for first use, initializing the VM, starting the OS, and enabling integration features. What it's really doing, of course, is running through the XP Setup process in silent mode.

Eventually you'll hear the familiar strains of the XP startup sound and Windows XP springs to life in a window. Voila! It's time to do some XP configuration, install AV and any third party apps, and then shut down the VM and access those apps from the Windows 7 Start Menu.

Of course, Rafael and I have already thoroughly documented all this. So if you've been reading along since we first revealed this feature, you know by now that nothing has changed. That's both reassuring and alarming, since the build we originally got is well over a month old by now. Presumably, between now and Windows 7 RTM, Microsoft will rebrand these components as needed.

Of more interest here is what's going on under the hood? How does Windows Virtual PC differ from its predecessor?

First, the integration components now support XP with SP3, Vista with SP1, and Windows 7, so you're free to install these other OSes in VMs if you'd like. As per previous Virtual PC versions, you get seamless mouse movement between the host and VMs, can access a combined host/VM clipboard, access physical drives and printers on the host from within VMs, and, in a new twist, some USB devices. (This was a notable missing feature in Virtual PC.) Microsoft says that USB-based printers, storage devices and smart card readers are now automatically shared with virtual machines. You can also redirect other USB devices to VMs via the new USB menu in the VM window; each attached USB device on the host is listed.

And don't forget Rafael's secret about getting built-in Windows XP applications to appear in the Windows 7 Start Menu. Just drag and drop them into the All Users Start Menu and they will appear. Voila!

Source: http://www.winsupersite.com

Microsoft will begin offering its first hosted security service under the Forefront brand on Thursday, dubbed Forefront Online Security for Exchange and designed to help keep malware and spam out of e-mail in-boxes.

The hosted service, which will cost $20 per user per year or less based on volume licensing, targets enterprise Exchange customers and includes a Web-based console for setting up policies for virus and spam protection, said Doug Leland, general manager of Microsoft's Identity and Security Business Group.

The releases will follow the timeline of Exchange 2010, which entered public beta this week. More hosted security services will be coming but Leland declined to elaborate.

Microsoft also will finally release on Thursday a new, public beta version of its Stirling security suite, which is the next generation of the Forefront software.

The initial beta version of Stirling was released a year ago and was supposed to be refreshed by the end of 2008. It will include client, server, and application security technology and offer a single management console.

Stirling components will come in staggered releases starting later this year with Forefront Security for Exchange and Threat Management and continuing through the first half of 2010, Leland said. The company also is changing the name of its Identity Lifecycle Manager product to Forefront Identity Manager and plans to offer a new set of technologies, code-named Geneva, for helping corporations improve the security of software and services, Microsoft said.

In addition, Microsoft said it is investing $75 million in a partner ecosystem, including making a strategic partnership with RSA. Other companies integrating with Stirling include Kaspersky, Brocade, Juniper Networks, Guardium, Imperva, Sourcefire, StillSecure, Q1 Labs, and Tipping Point.

The moves are part of the company's strategy to provide "Business Ready Security."

The moves are part of Microsoft's effort to broaden the scope of its security offerings to incorporate data protection, access and management, all built around the concept of identity, Leland said.

Microsoft wants to offer the ability for corporations to set "fine-grained security policies and have a deeper understanding about who in the organization is triyng to access data and what they are trying to do with it," he said.

Source: http://news.cnet.com

[Update]: Forefront Online Security for Exchange is not only limited to Exchange Server, it can be used by all other mail server.

As part of Scott Guthrie's keynote March 18th at Mix 2009, Microsoft announced the final release of ASP.NET Model View Controller (MVC). If you haven't had a chance to look at it yet, now is your chance as it's officially out of beta and into full production.

ASP.NET MVC—Why All the Hype?

In case you haven't heard, Microsoft has made it abundantly clear that ASP.NET MVC isn't designed to replace ASP.NET Webforms development. Instead, it's another option that Microsoft is making available to developers. This is similar to Microsoft's decision to allow developers to code in both Visual Basic and C# - the idea being that developers chose what best meets their needs and particular styles.

Personally, I'll never go back to WebForms, because I'm sold on the way MVC solutions give me complete control over my markup, facilitate testing, and allow greater control over URL routing while making my code much more modular (which in turn, makes it easier to manage and extend). So, while MVC development might not be for everyone, it's definitely for me, and I'm completely sold on it.

ASP. NET MVC as a Testament to Innovation at Microsoft

But what I really love the most about ASP.NET MVC (in addition to all of the time it saves me as a developer), is that it's a perfect example of some very new, and innovative, approaches that Microsoft has taken in regards to addressing business and the web in general. Once upon a time, Microsoft's approach to the web and competing products and platforms basically consisted of doing nothing more than pretending that those offerings didn't exist. You can see some examples of this mindset by visiting some parts of the Microsoft corporate site, where many pages and applications simply don't work correctly with browers other than Internet Explorer. Likewise, this mindset was also at the heart (in my opinion) of much of the complaints leveled at Microsoft for being nonconformant with industry accepted standards.

But the MVC is part of a vanguard of new products and services delivered by Microsoft  where the company seems to take an entirely different approach. Rather than simply pretending that other offerings don't exist, this approach focuses on accepting the strengths of other platforms, analyzing those strengths, rolling them into Microsoft products where applicable, and then building supporting and competing Microsoft products that developers, and IT professionals, just can't do without.

IIS 7, for example, no longer pretends that PHP doesn't exist. Instead, it fully embraces it, and is striving to provide such a powerful hosting platform for it that businesses will choose to run PHP on IIS7 given the ease of management, extensibility, and flexibility that they'll enjoy from hosting PHP on a Windows Server. And if Microsoft is able to deliver? Then businesses will be buying Windows Server licenses for their web workloads, instead of using Apache licenses. It's a bold business approach to be sure, but I much prefer this approach to meeting the competition head-on, rather than watching Microsoft merely burying its head in the sand.

What's better though, is that it appears that as Microsoft continues to take this head-on business approach, we're finally starting to see some really innovative things coming out of Redmond. And in my mind, a prime example of that innovation has been the effort and energy devoted to the creation of ASP.NET MVC functionality. As an ASPInsider, I've been able to see just how innovative the ASP.NET team working on this project has been - and how careful they've been in creating this platform in order to ensure that it really, and truly, met real-world business needs.

A further example of how this innovation and its associated paradigm shift is taking root at Microsoft is the BizSpark program, which takes a very aggressive approach at preventing start-ups from courting the LAMP stack as a cheaper alternative to the Microsoft Stack by giving them three years to use Microsoft products and licenses for free.

And, if you think that I've possibly gone off the deep-end, or imbibed a bit too much of the Microsoft Kool-Aid, make sure to check out Bill Buxton and Scott Guthrie's Keynote from Mix '09. Here’s the link: http://live.visitmix.com/. You’ll need to mouse over the player, select the Other Videos option, and select the Day1 Keynote.

Unless there's something seriously wrong with you, this keynote will get you excited about development again, and it will totally make you rethink your relationship with Microsoft. You'll also see some great examples of real-life innovation.

Getting Started with ASP.NET MVC

As for ASP.NET MVC itself, if you've been waiting for it to mature a bit before playing with it (or just haven't had the time yet), now is a great time to pull it down and try it out. It now has a brand new portal page on the www.asp.net web site itself, and there are also a number of great videos that will help you get quickly spun up on how it works, and what it does. In fact, if you'd like a very quick overview of how MVC applications work, make sure to check out Stephen Walther's new video that shows a start-to-finish MVC app.

Likewise, one of the great things about MVC development is that it's insanely extensible and lends itself very well to customizations and tweaks. I've leveraged these capabilities extensively in my own projects, and a huge resource that's helped me in doing so has been access to the actual source code for ASP.NET MVC itself - which you can peruse (or even download) from the codeplex site.

Another resource that you'll want to pay attention to if you're interested in MVC development is MVCContrib, which is an extensive suite of open-source extensions and augmentations that can be used to improve MVC development. I've also found that Phil Haack’s and Rob Conery's blogs are great resources; they document some MVC features and functionality. But more importantly, these blogs are great resources in terms of explaining why certain features are implemented as they are. The resulting transparency from those blogs helps (in my mind) play a big part in much of the innovative spirit that makes MVC and other recent releases from Microsoft so exciting and refreshing.

Source: http://www.devproconnections.com/

The new OS is winning over notoriously skeptical tech bloggers and benchmarking sites. We put together a roundup of some of the results that show why Windows 7 could be faster than Vista.

The boot time and readiness of the OS has been getting the biggest plaudits from bloggers and benchmarkers, especially with its capacity to bring the computer to a functional state very quickly and to operate on less memory than Vista (the latter is largely thanks to the fact that Windows 7 doesn’t allocate video memory for non-visible Windows).

Other benchmark results are mixed, with Windows 7 beating its predecessors in some tests and lagging them in others (of course, it's still in beta, where XP and Vista are both production versions).

Here’s a sampling of some of the best results:

• The Firing Squad has a comprehensive test of the gaming and USB performance of Windows 7 vs XP and Vista. It’s hard to draw conclusions from its test result since they’re all over the place: Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 each had their ups and downs, and there was no clear winner overall.
• PC Games Hardware tests fewer games, but gives Windows 7 a slight edge in Far Cry 2 and Left 4 Dead. Its other tests were again a mixed bag, with some showing Windows 7 improving on Vista, and others showing it worse.
• Infoworld has a fascinating look at multi-core database performance. The short version is that Windows 7 and Windows Vista take better advantage of multi-core systems, but Windows XP actually performs better than they do on fewer cores.
• It’s not big on the details, but tests run by a ZDNet blogger give some major props to Windows 7. These tests cover mostly common tasks, like file copying and application starts.
• Hot Hardware has benchmarks that give Windows 7 a significant performance advantage over Windows Vista. The gaming performance of the two was roughly equal, but the Futuremark PCMark Vantage overall result for Windows 7 was 20% higher than Windows Vista.

In a sense, it seems to gel with the ZDNet tests – that Windows 7 does well at “mundane” tasks, but doesn’t thrash the competition in gaming.

Of course, if you’re tired of looking at benchmarks and want to try Windows 7 for yourself, you can download it from here until Feb 10.

The good news is that it’s very stable – I’m running it and have yet to have a crash. It’s not that different from Vista overall, and if you’d like to know more about it without having to install it, you can also check out Atomic’s visual Windows 7 Beta Walkthrough.

Source: http://www.pcauthority.com.au/

[QUOTE]
After a nearly five month search, Microsoft Corp. on Thursday said it has found a new executive to lead its charge against Google Inc. in the online search and advertising business: Qi Lu, a technologist who was previously a top executive at Yahoo Inc.

The move represents a switching of teams for Dr. Lu, whose former employer was the target of a $47.5 billion acquisition offer that Microsoft abandoned earlier this year. When he begins work as president of the online services group at the Redmond, Wash., company on Jan. 5, Dr. Lu, 47 years old, will face the formidable task of improving Microsoft from a distant third place position in Internet search, behind Google and Yahoo. His familiarity with Yahoo could make that easier if Microsoft is able to strike a deal to acquire Yahoo's search business, as Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has said he's keen to do.

In the first joint interview together, Mr. Ballmer and Dr. Lu on Friday morning discussed their plan for making Microsoft more competitive on the Internet. Mr. Ballmer also reiterated his interest in acquiring in Yahoo's search business and how it would be better for both companies if they can do a deal "sooner than later."

Excerpts of the telephone interview with both men follow:

WALL STREET JOURNAL: Steve, was this a difficult or particularly long search to find the right person to run your online business?

STEVE BALLMER: I'll say, no, actually to both. Somebody might have a different point of view. I think people would have wished, hey, just fill the job quickly. But "difficult" would imply it was tough to find the right guy. I think it was important for me to take the time to get to know many people in the online industry, which was great.

 
Steve Ballmer

And yet, it was not a difficult choice, I think, for what we need to accomplish, you know, sort of four key things. There's general management, and I've got great confidence in Qi [pronounced "Chee"] as a leader and manager. There's technology, certainly Qi has an unparalleled background. There's product as opposed to technology, and really what it takes to build a winning product. And if you want to build a winning product in search, again, there's no better guy on the planet than Qi, so I felt very good about that.

WSJ: His predecessor running Microsoft's Online Business had more of a sales and marketing background. Did you decide that deep technical skills first and foremost were the most important thing for improving your position in search?

Mr. Ballmer: There's a difference between technical skills and product skills. Both were important. There are a lot of people in our industry who understand the technology, but don't actually understand really what it takes to build a winning product. So perhaps the most important thing was the product skills, and really the understanding of what people want, and what they're trying to accomplish and get done. Then it's also great to have the skills to map that back into the technology itself.

We did restructure the job some, which made it easier to focus in on product, and general management as opposed to other things. We did take our sales force and move it so that we could manage it under our chief Operating Officer Kevin Turner, and that made it more pure to focus in on this issue. Also, because we moved the Windows Live pieces into the Windows group, which I think is appropriate, it created clear focus on search, portal and advertising as the product.

WSJ: Qi, what are your first priorities for helping Microsoft improve its competitive position on the Internet?

QI LU: I haven't started yet, but looking from outside, at the fundamental level, product quality, user experience is the key to being competitive in this space that we're in. Focusing on fundamental areas such as talent, core infrastructures, basic processes of doing things will be very important areas for me to focus. The way I do things I usually always prefer to have a very clear strategy and be very focused. At the same time to be very rock solid, and crisp in execution.

Qi Lu

WSJ: At Yahoo you were obviously in a competitive position against the dominant player in this business, Google. Do you feel like at Microsoft you will have better resources to more effectively compete against Google?

Mr. Lu: In my interaction with Steve the one thing that impressed and won me over is the level of commitment they are investing. They're investing resources, they're investing in our ability to distribute a product, investing in things that we can do to ensure we have at the highest quality of user experience, and that's very, very important.

WSJ: Do you feel at Yahoo that level of investment wasn't as high as it needed to be?

Mr. Lu: Yahoo was operating in a slightly different situation. The company has a different profile, type of business, and the operating margin structures it needs to operate with. So it's different.

WSJ: Steve, should a Yahoo search deal come to pass with Microsoft, would Qi's hiring make it easier for Microsoft to integrate whatever assets it acquired from Yahoo?

Mr. Ballmer: I think a search deal makes great sense for Microsoft, and Yahoo, and I think I've been very open about that. That's as true with Qi joining us as it was before Qi joined us. Obviously the logistics of any such integration…can only be simpler by having somebody who will know both sides. But, that was not a factor in hiring Qi.

Our focus on portal and search is super-strong, and even if we never do a Yahoo deal or anything else, I wanted to have Qi come on board. It is kind of a bonus that if something happened with Yahoo I'm sure it's somewhat simpler.

WSJ: In your last comments on this, you said that there are no talks going on with Yahoo. Has that changed? Are there any kind of talks about a search deal between Microsoft and Yahoo at the moment?

Mr. Ballmer: The answer is no, but I wouldn't tell you if there were. But in this case it's easy.

WSJ: Do you feel like you're in a situation where you can go slow with regards to Yahoo and any conversations, or do you need to move quickly?

Mr. Ballmer: We're fully prepared to compete without any partnership with Yahoo. We don't need to act. Would it be advantageous for both of us to make a deal? Look, the fundamental basis for doing the search deal with Yahoo has to do with critical mass in the advertising marketplace. It doesn't have to do with technology, or any of these other things, it really is a market phenomenon. Together we would have more advertisers….which means we'd have more relevant ads on our page. We'd have higher monetization levels possible in front of us because there would be more people bidding on more key words. Most importantly, Google would have perhaps a real credible competitor sooner.

I think good ideas are usually better done quickly than slowly, so it would probably be better for both us, and certainly for Yahoo, if we were to do it sooner than later. But at the end of the day, that would have be something Yahoo would be as interested in as I have expressed our interest.

WSJ: Do you think that that's unlikely before Yahoo finds a new CEO?

Mr. Ballmer: It's not my place to speculate there, I'm afraid.

WSJ: Qi, let me turn this around. You were at Yahoo when Microsoft made its acquisition bid. I'm curious what it was like being on the other side, and how you, as a Yahoo person, viewed Microsoft and how others inside the company viewed Microsoft?

Mr. Lu: For me, Microsoft has been one of the most, if not the most, successful technology companies. And the one thing you can say about Microsoft is about their competitiveness. They may not get it right in the first version of the product, but they're coming at and they'll keep coming at it and improving the product. And so we always respected that, and viewed Microsoft as you can never count them out as very worthy competitors.

With regards to the acquisition, certainly the management team and the board of directors made their decisions, and we all know about that now. Sometimes the employees, different people have different views. That's perhaps all I have to say.

WSJ: Do you think if the scenario that we talked about should come to pass, some kind of collaboration between Microsoft and Yahoo on search, that top talent would remain, and that there would be a relatively smooth integration of their assets with Microsoft?

Mr. Lu: Based on what I know of, I think certainly a case can be made that a lot of employees will remain, and they will be able to put together a smooth transition. Just to add to what Steve said earlier, the key value of consolidating the two search assets is by combining the supply and demand in the ad marketplace so that you have more advertiser base, and given that you will have ads that are more relevant, serve the user better, and create more [return on investment] for the advertisers, and certainly provide more yield, economic value for all parties involved.

WSJ: Should we look at an improvement in Microsoft's market share position in search, or are there other measurements by which you'll judge that the Internet business is headed in the right direction at Microsoft?

Mr. Lu: To me, ultimately in the search case, it's market share. Beside search share, there's a different set of metrics that can tell us how competitive our products are. There's a lot about measuring the quality of the search experience, and there's also a lot of measurements you can use that will tell us how effective our ad marketplace is at being able to provide yield.

Mr. Ballmer: The only thing I would add is, on the portal side of the business -- that's where we actually have our biggest revenue stream today -- we have a lot we think we can do to continue to drive page views.

WSJ: Can you set some expectations for how much you think you can improve your market share in the absence of a deal with Yahoo?

Mr. Ballmer: I don't choose to make forecasts on that kind of stuff ever. It's a function of a lot of things – how rapidly the product improves, how quickly we can sort of capture user imagination on the kinds of improvements we're making, how effective we are in getting our search product distributed. I said to our shareholders that we are prepared to invest significant amounts of money in our online business, 5 to 10 percent of operating income if we had to, for the next five years.

WSJ: Steve, are you concerned that with the departure of Brian McAndrews, the former senior vice president of Microsoft's advertiser and publisher solutions group, and before him Steve Berkowitz, that Microsoft may seem like a inhospitable place to outside executives who come in to run your online business?

Mr. Ballmer: No. You probably should ask Qi. He's an outside exec who is coming in to run our online business.

WSJ: But he doesn't start until January.

Mr. Ballmer: Yes, that's right. So if you want to scare him away, this is the call, I guess. I'm teasing.

No, I don't think so. I mean, Brian, we acquired his company [aQuantive]. And Brian is a CEO, he's been a CEO for a long-time, and you've got to make a judgment. It's different than acquiring a small startup, and when Brian came in he said, hey, look, I'll help you with the transition and I'll see what I think. And he had a chance to do that, this is sort of the right time for him to make a transition. We don't say he's retiring because I suspect he'll be a public company CEO again someplace in the not too distant future, but he's been a great facilitator of the integration of aQuantive, for which I'm very thankful. He's a good friend. Our sons play on the same basketball team.

In general, I would say we have a very good track record in terms of executives coming in from the outside, but a very good record is never 100%. I was talking to the CEO of a Fortune 10 -- the head of HR for a Fortune 10 company – and I said what's your track record? He said we keep about 50%. I said, well, we do a lot better than that we keep about 70-75%. So I think we do pretty well.

WSJ: It was pretty widely known that Brian McAndrews was interested in this job, running the online business. Did you make any effort to try and keep him in some other role?

Mr. Ballmer: I love Brian. It would have been great to have him stay at Microsoft, but I respect the decision he made for his career goals and ambitions.

WSJ: Microsoft I think has hired another Yahoo, former Yahoo technologist, Sean Suchter. Are you specifically attempting to hire talent away from Yahoo?

Mr. Ballmer: I should take that, because Qi has had absolutely nothing to do with any recruiting we've been doing as a company to date, because he hasn't started. We have an A team in search. We have a great competitor, but we have an A team. Sean, who I had a chance to talk with during the process, is another great talent. I'm sure there's other people we've hired from Yahoo. I've been reading there's people they've hired from us. It's a small industry, so some of the talent will flow that direction.

WSJ: Steve, does the souring economy affect your ability to improve your position in search, either on the upside or the downside?

Mr. Ballmer: I don't think it makes a material difference.

WSJ: I'm curious if any pull back in spending on advertising will negatively affect your goals here.

Mr. Ballmer: You asked about market position, which to me implies share. Will online advertising suffer with the economy? The answer to that is sure, of course it will. It makes the P&L tougher. There's no question about that.

On the other hand, relative to building share and position in search and portal, and share of advertising, I don't think the economy is really a factor for us. I don't know if you know the old story about the two guys out in the woods who see a bear, and one guy says, boy, we'd better really run fast, or that bear is going to get us. We've got to run faster than the bear does. And the other guy says, no, I've just got to run faster than you do. In this economy, maybe that's the right way to think about it.
[/QUOTE]

Source: online.wsj.com

[QUOTE]
Half the things" Microsoft wanted to put into the New Xbox Experience were cut out, Europe's Xbox Live boss has told CVG.

Speaking in a recent interview Microsoft's Jerry Johnson said that the redesigned Xbox 360 dash isn't finished yet and detailed plans to bolster the backend with new applications and content.

"There's still a lot of stuff we want to do," Johnson told CVG in an interview. "Half the things we wanted to do [in NXE] we cut out of the service.

"One of the nice things we did was this architectural change to make things more published and driven from the service. All of a sudden we opened up the platform to say 'I don't have to wait until once or twice a year to release something onto the dashboard'.

"There's a Photo Party app that will be part of the platform," the XBL man added. "The way it will be distributed is all of a sudden you'll see a slot on the dashboard and if you don't have it you click on it and it's going to download from the service onto your application part of the dashboard. Those are the type of things we're going to start doing. Johnson also confirmed that Xbox Live Primetime, which offers server based 'game show' style online games, will be launched in spring 2009.

"I think we're going to see more social, more content-type apps. I also think from a platform perspective we can continue to do a lot of new things," he said.
[/QUOTE]

Source: http://www.computerandvideogames.com

[QUOTE]

Microsoft claims that the New Xbox Experience — that big dashboard upgrade being pushed to all 360 owners on November 19 — will allow your favorite Xbox 360 games to load more quickly. To enjoy that benefit, a gamer will have to install their disc-based games onto their 360’s hard drive.

People keep asking me if doing the installation is worth the trouble. Are loading times that much better?

I tested Microsoft’s claim on four games, using my NXE-enabled 360. Above, you can watch the initial loading for “Grand Theft Auto IV,” DVD vs Hard Drive. After the jump, check out loading comparisons for “Fable II” and “Gears of War.”

(Videos not viewable by users logging in from Canada or the U.K.)

In all cases, I spammed the A button of my controller as soon as the game started loading, so you’re seeing my fastest attempts to get from the new dashboard to the new games.

Each of the games took about 11 minutes to install and required between 6.6 and 6.8GB. It shaved off about nine to 15 seconds off the initial load times.Think it’s worth it?

[/QUOTE]

Source: http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com

[QUOTE]
Just months after his Microsoft farewell, Bill Gates is quietly creating a new company -- complete with high-tech office space, a cryptic name and even its own trademark.

Public documents describe the new Gates entity -- bgC3 LLC -- as a “think tank.” It’s housed within a Kirkland office that the Microsoft co-founder established on his own after leaving his day-to-day executive role at the company this summer.

Is this Bill Gates’ next big business? A Gates insider gives an emphatic no  -- saying it’s not a commercial venture but rather a vehicle to coordinate the software mogul’s work on his business and philanthropic endeavors.

However, bgC3 will also oversee Gates’ personal pursuit of breakthrough ideas in science and technology. The insider said the goal isn’t necessarily to create new companies, although ideas could be passed along to Microsoft, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation -- or others – as it makes sense.

Whatever the ultimate role of the company, the circumstances surrounding its creation provide a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the new era of Gates’ life.

State records show that the company, originally called Carillon Holdings, was established in March 2008. It formally changed its name to bgC3 in early July, 10 days after Gates left his full-time job at the company he built into an industry giant. He remains Microsoft’s chairman and continues to work part-time on projects.

The records describe bgC3 as a “holding company” headquartered in Kirkland –a relatively short, picturesque drive from Gates’ home on Lake Washington.

Federal trademark filings provide more clues – describing bgC3 as a think tank, under a generic trademark classification that corresponds broadly to areas including "scientific and technological services," "industrial analysis and research," and "design and development of computer hardware and software."

But what does bgC3 mean? The logical assumption might be “Bill Gates Company Three” – his third enterprise after Microsoft and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. But that’s only partially right, according to the Gates insider.
The “bg” is Bill Gates, the insider says, but the “C” stands for “catalyst.” The idea is that Gates will play that role as he brings together new people and ideas. The “three” reflects the notion of a third place, apart from Microsoft and the foundation.

Before beginning his transition this summer, Gates told reporters that he would focus full-time on the foundation, and part-time on selected Microsoft assignments.
He acknowledged plans for his own office in Kirkland, apart from Microsoft and the foundation, but didn't discuss specifically any plans to organize that office under a new company. At the same time, he said he would be open to personally supporting breakthrough ideas where he sees a chance to advance the state of mankind.

It's not clear exactly where those interests will lead, or precisely what role bgC3 will play in the long run. But Gates, who turns 53 next week, has increasingly expanded his focus beyond Microsoft to problems of technology, science and society.

Much of that broader focus has come through the Gates Foundation, which deals in issues of education and global health. People associated with Gates say he is still expected to focus primarily on the foundation in this new era of his life.

But particularly at a time of economic turmoil, Gates' status and wealth could put him in a position to bring in top scientists and other notable people to work with bgC3. Gates has historically surrounded himself with smart people, and he’s famously thirsty for knowledge. His interests go well beyond computer science into fields as disparate as energy, biotechnology, and global economics.

The concept of a technological think tank wouldn’t be new to Gates. He has taken part in high-powered brainstorming sessions organized by his friend, Nathan Myhrvold, Microsoft's former chief technology officer, who now heads a company called Intellectual Ventures LLC, based in Bellevue. Projects that Gates is backing through Myhrvold include an effort to create an alternative nuclear reactor that produces clean power without waste or proliferation.
Whatever its aims, the new Gates organization doesn't appear to have ambitions of becoming another behemoth. In a letter last year to a Kirkland city official, a Gates representative wrote that total occupancy would be limited to between 40 and 60 people, including employees and visitors, in the space that bgC3 now occupies.

At the same time, it’s no ordinary office space. Visitors say it’s fully stocked with Microsoft technologies, including a Surface tabletop computer with a virtual guestbook application.

Some of bgC3’s activity has been recent. According to the U.S. Patent and Trademark database, the company filed Sept. 29 for federal trademarks on "BGC3" and the "C3" logo. The latter (pictured above) is an intertwined "C" and "3" in block letters.

The Microsoft chairman has established companies before to serve specific purposes, primarily behind the scenes. Watermark Estate Management Services LLC oversees many of Gates’ personal and family matters, and Cascade Investments LLC oversees his stock and other financial holdings.

Several of Gates’ associates are named in the documents tied to bgC3, although Gates himself isn't identified by name in public records associated with the company – a main reason its existence hasn't received media attention until now.
[/QUOTE]

Source: http://www.techflash.com

[QUOTE]
That's right! You can download it now! We'll be asking your help to put this baby through her paces as we lead up to the official release later this year. It is your input that makes us stronger, faster and better.

Download XNA Game Studio 3.0 Beta at Launch Center

If you do find any bugs or just have a suggestion on ways we can make XNA Game Studio 3.0 more awesome head over to Microsoft Connect to submit them to us.

Here is a list of the changes:

Zune

• Compatibility with the upcoming Zune 3.0 Firmware release. Please note that the XNA Game Studio 3.0 CTP will no longer work once you have upgraded your Zune device to the 3.0 firmware.
• Improved deployment stability.
• Support for Zune deployment on Windows Vista x64 Systems!
• You can now use the Remote Performance Monitor for Zune games.

Xbox 360

• Xbox 360 project templates (You will not be able to develop on the Xbox 360 until our final release. We felt this was important to include so that you could get projects converted over and look at the system, even if you are not able to run the games, yet).
• Support for the Big Button Pad.

Framework & Visual Studio Features

• Enumerate and play back media on your Windows computer or Xbox 360.
• Simple sound effect support on Windows computers and Xbox 360.
• Support for Rich Presence (lets friends know what’s going on in your game).
• Support for Invites (ask your friends to join you in a multiplayer game) and Join Session In Progress (after you see what your friends are doing, you can join their current session with just a couple of button presses, even if that’s a different game to the one you are currently playing)
• Compress your content and save space with the new content compression features!
• ClickOnce packaging support for distributing your XNA Framework games on Windows.
• Upgrade your project from XNA Game Studio 2.0 using the Project Upgrade Wizard!
• Take screen captures of your game running on Zune through the XNA Game Studio Device Center.
• Support for .NET language features like Linq
• Create multiple content projects and leverage cross project synchronization in Visual Studio.
• FBX importer improvements: read materials containing multiple textures, and export custom shader materials directly out of Max or Maya.

[/QUOTE]

Source: blogs.msdn.com

[QUOTE]
1. Connect your Xbox 360 to two screens at once

If you've got one of the component/composite dual video cables – the one that comes in the box with most 360s – you can have your console display its gamey goodness on two TVs simultaneously. The trick is to flick the cable's switch to Standard Definition but hook up the composite (yellow) cable to one screen and the component (the red, green, blue) cables to another. It won't be high-def, but it could be handy if you're staging a mini LAN party and want to set up a display for bored spectators to point their eyes at.

2. Play your own music in original Xbox games

That you can fire up your own MP3s during a 360 game is common knowledge (and re-soundtracking moody horror games with the Benny Hill theme tune never stops being funny), but it doesn't work if you're playing a title from the original Xbox. There's a way around it – start playing your album or playlist before you load the game, and it'll keep on playing once you do fire the title up. The game's own music won't be muted, however, so if you can't do that in its settings you'll go mad from the weird cacophony.

3. It can write its own blog

Ah, the internet – founded upon crazy men making crazy things for free. Such as a blog supposedly written by your 360, based on what you've been using it for. It monitors your Live account and automatically generates entries about what it's been up to that day (or what it hasn't been up to – expect many posts about neglect if you don't turn it on for a while). The tone is very much American geek, but it's a fun record of your own gaming habits, and of keeping an eye on what your chums are up to. Get set up atwww.360voice.com.

4. Play Xbox 360 games online for free – without a Live account

That you have to pay a subscription for online gaming, something that's free on other consoles and on the PC, is perhaps the 360's greatest bugbear. Stage your own form of peaceful process by playing online without paying a penny. You'll need XLink Kai, a free app you run from a PC on the same network as the console that tricks the 360 into thinking the internet is a LAN.

So it'll treat remote opponents as though they're in the same room as you – and you don't have to pay for local multiplayer. Clever! One snag – Microsoft has set the 360 to boot out anyone with a ping higher than 30ms, so you'll have to be selective about who you play with. Local chums are best, not your Chinese penpal.

5. Interact with your Xbox 360 music

Hit X whilst playing a music CD or file (whether from the 360's hard drive, an MP3 player you've plugged in, or streamed from a PC) and you'll enter Psychedelic Wonderland. Well, some artful visualisations, anyway. Grab a controller or two (or up to four, as it happens) and start moving thumbpads and pressing buttons to interact with the crazed shifting colours. There are actually some fairly elaborate controls – read the full manual athttp://www.llamasoft.co.uk/x360manual.php. Good at parties, this.

6. Connect your Xbox 360 to a wireless network without an official adaptor

The good news is you don't have to drop £50 on Microsoft's offensively overpriced Wi-Fi adaptor. The bad news is you'll need a laptop with W-Fi to do it. Head to Control Panel – Network Connections (In Windows XP) or Network & Sharing Center – Manage Network Connections (in Vista). Select the Local Area Connection and the Wireless Network Connection at once, then right-click and hit 'bridge connections'.

Disconnect then reconnect to your wireless network, run a network cable from the laptop's Ethernet port to the 360's, and you should be good to go. Unfortunately, you may have to remove the bridge (repeat the above process and you'll see the option) whenever you want to browse the net with the laptop.

7. Play music from your iPod

Not a secret as such, but Microsoft doesn't exactly shout about the fact it plays nice with a device made by uber-rival Apple. Hidden in the depths of the Marketplace, you'll find a teeny download called 'optional iPod support'. Once you've grabbed that, plug in your iPod (iPhones aren't supported yet, sadly) and head to the Media Blade. You'll see your pod appear there, and can now browse its music by album, artist, genre or whatever. It'll also charge via the USB port, usefully.

8. Reset your Xbox 360 video settings

Remember this one if you're in the habit of carrying your console to chum's houses and hooking it up to different displays. It can end up trying to output the wrong signal, so you can't see anything or get a flickering screen. Fortunately, there's a fairly simple fix if this happens. Remove any discs from the tray and turn the thing off. Then turn it on using a gamepad. As it boots, hold down the Y button, then hit and hold the right trigger. The video settings will reset to default, and you'll stop your sobbing.

9. Play any media file, plus online videos on your Xbox 360

Free app Tversity neatly sidesteps the pointless video/audio restrictions Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo alike slap on their consoles, making them able to play any format. Again, you'll need a PC on the same network, but it's a simple matter of installing the program and having it scan the folders you keep your media in. It'll replace the standard network file-sharing system Windows uses, but behaves pretty much the same way at the 360's end. As well as that, it'll convert unsupported files on the fly – though you'll need a pretty beefy PC to do this with large video files, otherwise you'll be waiting ages. You can also add online video URLs on the PC's end – including Youtube – and then access those from the console.

10. Use any HDMI cable and still get digital surround sound

Though the newer 360s have an HDMI output for optimal video quality, they've built the ports in such a way that you can't have the standard component/composite video cable, with its crucial optical audio output, plugged in at the same time as HDMI. Instead, you're supposed to drop a frightening amount of money on the official HDMI cable with audio adapter. Balls to that. See the big plastic box at the end of the standard video cable that connects to the console? Wedge a knife or screwdriver into the join and twist to pop it off. The result looks messy, but is small enough to plug in alongside a standard, cheapo HDMI cable.
[/QUOTE]

Source: www.techradar.com

[QUOTE]
Here's a video of the Google Tech Talks titled "The Xbox 360 Security System and its Weaknesses" by Michael Steil (mist) and Felix Domke (tmbinc): "After the disaster of the original Xbox, Microsoft put a lot of effort in designing what is probably the most sophisticated consumer hardware security system... "

[/QUOTE]

Source:xbox-linux.org via www.xbox-scene.com

[QUOTE]
Electric Tuner over at the xbox-underground.net forums posted what seems to be the first picture of the Xbox360 'Opus' Motherboard.

The 'Opus' is a 'Falcon' generation motherboard designed to fit in a Xenon case. So that means a 90nm GPU, a 65nm CPU and no HDMI port. Microsoft will probably mostly use these boards to return to people suffering from the RRoD on Xenon boards. That seems to match the with the picture below ... it has no HDMI port and while we cannot see the CPU/GPU chips it uses the new CPU heatsink and has less inductors next to the CPU which indicates it uses the 65nm chip. Also notice how this Opus board has the HANA scaler/video chip (like the zephyr/falcon boards) ... so it's maybe not impossible to hack your own native HDMI port to these motherboards.

Picture News-Source: xbox-underground.net
[/QUOTE]

Source: www.xbox-scene.com

[QUOTE]
General Manager of XBox Live has spoken of even more new features he expects to come to the Xbox Live dashboard - including the ability to control your console over the internet, and ultimately a hardware-free future. He also confirmed that hard drive installs will work with all current and future Xbox games.

Speaking to OXM at E3, Marc Whitten said that the new update is "only the beginning" of the social networking features that Microsoft want to deploy.
He also said that we can expect future updates to include the ability to switch on your Xbox from any PC and download content to it remotely - "at some point in the future you'll hear more from us about that."

Asked if we'd ever be able to copy DVDs to the hard drive like the newly-added game install process, he said that was an "evil world" and he didn't fancy talking to the lawyers about making it happen.
[/QUOTE]

Source & full interview: OXM.co.uk

[QUOTE]
One of the not-so-cosmetic changes in the fall update will be the ability to let you play your games directly from the hard disk. The new feature will let users install all of the game content directly onto the hard drive to improve game load times. Microsoft reports that it has seen a 30 percent improvement in load times in internal testing. As an interesting data point, Microsoft went out of its way to tell a group of reporters that the full Devil May Cry 4 hard disk installation took roughly 10 minutes on the Xbox 360. The installation took twice as long when we conducted our own installation tests on the PlayStation 3. Another side benefit of having games installed on the hard disk is reduced noise, since the optical disc no longer needs to spin up. However, you will still need to have the game disc in your optical drive while you're playing it, presumably as a piracy check.
[/QUOTE]

Source: gamespot.com via xbox-scene.com

[QUOTE]
One of the questions we've been hearing here at E3 is how existing themes you've bought from Xbox LIVE Marketplace will work with the new Xbox experience. The design team sent over this mock up to give you an idea of how it's going to work.

We've also been asked about the Game Detail Pages. Here are mock ups for a couple of them.

[/QUOTE]

Update:
In case you missed it on Inside Xbox, Marc Whitten gave an overview of the New Xbox Experience, including a peek at the Guide design. You will be able to access every part of what exists in the "blades" today, by calling up the Guide. A quick way to get to something specific, all without leaving the game you're in. Nice.

Source: gamerscoreblog.com via www.xbox-scene.com

[QUOTE]
Microsoft is giving consumers more gigabytes for their buck. The company today announced an Xbox 360® console with triple the storage space of the original console, but for the same price of $349 (U.S.) estimated retail price.

Available in retail stores in the U.S. and Canada starting in early August, the upgraded Xbox 360 will include a 60GB hard drive for storing the growing wealth of digital entertainment available for the console, including music, movies, television shows, and game content. In addition, Microsoft today dropped the price of its 20GB Xbox 360 console in the U.S. and Canada to just $299 (U.S.) (ERP) while supplies last, a savings of $50.

"We know consumers need more and more space to store the amazing digital content Xbox 360 offers, and we're giving it to them at no extra charge," said Albert Penello, Xbox director of product management at Microsoft. "No one device offers the depth and breadth of entertainment that Xbox 360 can deliver, and now you'll have three times the storage to manage all that great content."
Xbox 360 is just one of three Xbox 360 gaming and entertainment systems Microsoft offers. Microsoft's Xbox 360 Arcade, which comes with a 256MB memory unit and five Xbox LIVE Arcade games, is a value for the whole family for $279 (U.S.) (ERP), and the premium Xbox 360 Elite console is available with a 120GB hard drive for $449 (U.S.) (ERP).

Out of the box, the Xbox 360 console is ready to provide an incredible gaming and entertainment experience:

• Xbox 360 console: The console is equipped with a cool white finish and three powerful core processors capable of producing the best in high definition (HD) entertainment (up to 1080p for gaming), 16:9 cinematic aspect ratio, anti-aliasing for smooth textures, full surround sound, and high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) output.
• 60GB Hard Drive: The 60GB detachable hard drive allows you to save your games and store television shows, movies, music, pictures, trailers, levels, demos, and other content available from Xbox LIVE Marketplace, the premier one-stop digital download center for entertainment.
• Upscaling DVD Player: With an HDMI cable (sold separately), watch your favorite DVDs in near high-definition using the upscaling capabilities of Xbox 360.
• Xbox 360 Wireless Controller: This award-winning, high-performance wireless controller features the Xbox Guide Button for quick, in-game access to friends and music. It has a range of up to 30 feet and a battery life of up to 30 hours on two AA batteries.
• Xbox 360 Headset: The headset lets friends and family around the world chat while playing games, watching movies, or sending voice messages on Xbox LIVE.
• Xbox LIVE Silver Membership: For no additional cost, Xbox 360 owners can chat with friends online, collect Achievements to improve their Gamerscores, send and receive voice and text messages, and access Xbox LIVE Marketplace content such as game demos, and purchase or rent HD movies and TV shows, as well as the best in downloadable games from Xbox LIVE Arcade. (Broadband Internet access required.)
• One-month subscription to Xbox LIVE Gold: An Xbox LIVE Gold Membership provides a complete online entertainment experience. Those who subscribe to this premium service can engage in competitive online multiplayer matches, tailor their matchmaking via feedback and accomplishments, and chat with an entire group of friends at a time.

[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE]
I just got off the phone with Adam Sessler over at G4 (check here to see if G4 is available in your area.) who filled me in on G4’s plans for E3 next week. If you’re not headed to LA but you still want to get in on all the gaming action, don’t worry…it sounds like they have you covered.  They’ve posted a schedule of coverage on their site, and the great news is that they’ll be carrying the complete Microsoft Press Briefing on Monday (They’ll also be carrying the Sony and Nintendo events as well) without commercial interruptions. I guess the learned their lesson from last year. According to that schedule, it looks like they’ll have a stream available on G4tv.com as well. So set your DVR’s and get ready for some gaming news.

P.S. I’ll also be recording our show and live blogging it from backstage, but more on that later this week.
[/QUOTE]

Source: http://majornelson.com

[QUOTE]
In the 1970s, no one could have foreseen that a small start-up created by Bill Gates and a team of fellow computer nerds in New Mexico would become the Washington state-based tech behemoth it has become today.

Microsoft chairman Bill Gates, right, watches as musician Slash plays a Gibson Les Paul electric
guitar during the opening keynote address at the 2008 International Consumer Electronics Show
More Photos

Microsoft -- for better or worse, depending on your perspective -- set the standard for operating systems in PCs with Windows, bequeathed gamers with the Xbox 360 and the shoot-'em-up trilogy Halo and, in the opinion of some analysts, brought desktop computing to the larger world.

As the company prepares for Gates' departure this Friday, a host of analysts and tech experts waxed practical and philosophical about the future of Microsoft and the legacy of the man behind the curtain.

"I think Bill Gates leaving is on the same level as Steve Jobs leaving [Apple]. He is Microsoft," said Mary Jo Foley, author of the book "Microsoft 2.0: How Microsoft Plans to Stay Relevant in the Post-Gates Era." "He has been the face of Microsoft for 33 years."

Since its start in 1975, Gates has run Microsoft, building it from the ground up and contributing everything from software development to business acumen. Microsoft went public in 1986, with Gates as the CEO and chairman. In 2000, Gates stepped back as CEO, allowing Steve Ballmer to step into that roll. In 2006, the company announced that Gates would transition out of his day-to-day responsibilities as chairman and work more closely with the charitable foundation he started with his wife, Melinda, eight years ago.

With Balmer at the helm and Ray Ozzie as the company's chief software architect, many believe that Microsoft will handle the transition seamlessly.

"Microsoft has had the good fortune of having been run by a founder for a very long time. I don't think they're going to miss Bill," said Silicon Valley-based technology forecaster Paul Saffo. "The big cheese [Ballmer] in charge of the company has been with Bill and Microsoft since the beginning."

Michael Gartenberg, an analyst at Jupiter Research, agreed.

"Microsoft is less dependent over the years on Bill's persona than it was in previous years. Seeds were set since Ballmer took over as CEO. … Microsoft will continue without him, and I think that's ultimately what he was aiming for," Gartenberg said. "This is Bill's company. Bill built and redefined an entire industry. He was challenged by a number of competitors throughout the years and successfully fought off all the challengers, even when naysayers predicted Microsoft's loss of relevance."

Despite any criticism about Vista or the company's strategies, the Microsoft founder is still something of a rock star among computer programmers — one of their own who made it big, became a millionaire and got the girl.

"Gates is to the IT industry what Henry Ford was to the auto industry," said Nik Cubrilovic, co-editor of Silicon Valley blog Tech Crunch and a longtime software developer. "No single person has even come close to reaching the level of influence that he has achieved. Even if you look at the next generation of companies — even Google will never achieve the level of influence that Gates has because he was there at the beginning of the PC industry."

That influence, according to Dan Evans, a senior editor at PC Mag, is an operating system standard that made it easier for developers to bring programs to the masses.

"What he's leaving in his wake is more of a unified software industry. It used to be before Microsoft, there were different OS's. It was hard to write a software that would be on all these different [platforms]," Evans said. "This evolved from Basic to DOS from Windows to dot.net to cloud computing, but it all started with a software industry with a platform that anyone can write to."

But, like many others, Evans thinks that Gates' next move — the management of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which has a $37.3 billion endowment — could outweigh any of his achievements in the tech world.
[/QUOTE]

Source: http://abcnews.go.com/

[QUOTE]
When Microsoft Corp. announced a mammoth global recall of its Xbox 360 a year ago, the software giant never disclosed the exact source of the game console's heat problem that led to the fiasco.

Now, in an unlikely venue at Design Automation Conference here, Bryan Lewis, research vice president and chief analyst at Gartner, disclosed that the problem started in a graphic chip. Lewis offered this offhand revelation while discussing the changing ASIC and ASSP landscape for his DAC audience.

The Xbox 360 recall a year ago happened because "Microsoft wanted to avoid an ASIC vendor," said Lewis. Microsoft designed the graphic chip on its own, cut a traditional ASIC vendor out of the process and went straight to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd., he explained.

But in the end, by going cheap--hoping to save tens of millions of dollars in ASIC design costs, Microsoft ended up paying more than $1 billion for its Xbox 360 recall.

To fix the problem, Microsoft went back to an unnamed ASIC vendor based in the United States and redesigned the chip, Lewis added. (Based on a previous report, the ASIC vendor is most likely the former ATI Technologies, now part of AMD.)

Asked the moral of the story, Lewis said: "Had Microsoft left the graphics processor design to an ASIC vendor in the first place, would they have been able to avoid this problem?

"Probably. The ASIC vendor could have been able to design a graphics processor that dissipates much less power."

During Microsoft's conference call with analysts in July 2007, Robbie Bach, head of Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices division, withheld details of the Xbox 360 problem, other than calling it a "design issue." When pressed by an analyst if it was caused by Xbox production or assembly, Microsoft's Bach said at that time, "No."

He added: "Our partners are doing good work." Rather, "the challenge" was created by "Microsoft-initiated design,"Bach said.

Although some system companies have been experimenting with direct links to foundries by cutting out the ASIC design houses, the death of ASICs may have been greatly exaggerated. More accurately, "many ASSP companies are designing ASICs for high volume customers," Gartner's Lewis said. The "ASIC market is far from dead, but it trails the ASSP market," he said.

Lewis cited Nokia, the world's largest handset vendor, which has stopped designing its own ASICs. It recently opened up its IC sourcing to various chip vendors beyond usual suspects such as Texas Instruments and STMicroelectronics.

"System OEMs have no business designing ASICs any longer," said Lewis. The reality is that system companies are finding it hard to do enough ASIC designs to keep in-house design teams employed.

When it was pointed out that Microsoft still has its own semiconductor technology group that is still designing various chips, Lewis responded, "How many ASICs per year does Microsoft design? Not many" compared to experienced ASIC/ASSIP vendors.

Microsoft did not respond to requests to comment on this story.
[/QUOTE]

Source: http://www.eetimes.com/

>> From an interview with Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft's entertainment and devices division, on sfgate.com:
[QUOTE]

• Q: It sounds like you are also seeing advertising opportunities with the Xbox. How do you do that without alienating or aggravating your users?
• A: Whether it's a phone or the Xbox or the PC, the ideal goal is to make the ad relevant in a part of the experience, as opposed to something that intrudes on the space. In the game space, one of the things we have found is making ads part of the game. If you're in the car racing game and you're driving around the city, product placement works. There are ads in a city. There are billboards in a city. We can place those and we can actually dynamically rotate ads to those locations.
  We've done some very successful campaigns with big, national brands like Nike, Doritos and Toyota that want to get their brand in front of a very desirable target audience. They want to do it in a way that's relevant. People are sponsoring game development contests. They are sponsoring tournaments. Toyota has done that. Toyota has actually launched products in our games where the car will appear in a game. People can race the car and it's a special car that you get for achieving a certain level in the game. There are really creative ways to get people exposure to these things.
• Q: In January, Warner Bros. announced that it was going to support Blu-ray, the high-definition DVD format. Since then, the rival HD DVD format has gone away. Microsoft supported HD DVD with an Xbox HD DVD attachment. What is your plan there?
• A: Our plan continues to focus on high-definition experiences. Xbox 360 has a great ability to deliver those through the Xbox Live (online download) service. It's a great way to get the high-definition concept because it's right there. There's no additional media. There is nothing you need to purchase.
  If you look at the Blu-ray player market, you haven't seen the acceleration everybody expected (since the demise of HD DVD). It's not as much about whether all the content is in a Blu-ray format or a HD DVD format. You have to look at how fundamentally compelling the difference is between a progressive scan DVD player and the picture that it can produce and what you get on a high-definition player. The reality is there is some difference, but most people look at it and say, "I am not going to pay extra for that."
• Q: So no plans for Blu-ray in the next generation Xbox?
• A: No. There is nothing to even talk about right now with regard to the next generation. That is so far out that there isn't anything to talk about.
• Q: Just the same, we are coming up on a few years now with the Xbox 360. Is there some point when you start to say that we need to start looking at its replacement?
• A: There is no real projection on that. The last generation for the Xbox was a little short because we entered the market a little bit later in the cycle. I suspect this time the cycle will be a little bit longer for us.
  In terms of our actual thinking about that, we started thinking about the next generation before we finished creating the last one. It's a continuous process. We're always thinking about new ideas and new things. We don't have anything specific to talk about. There are so many things going on in the current generation that will keep us more than occupied for the foreseeable future.

[/QUOTE]

Source:sfgate.com via xbox-scene.com

[QUTOE]
Today we released the final version of Windows Search 4.0 to Microsoft Download Center. Windows Search 4.0 updates search in Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008 and Windows Home Server. This release comes after a public Windows Search 4.0 Preview, which was a success thanks to great community participation - with around 300,000 downloads.   Since the Preview was released, a number of quality improvements have been made to the product based on feedback provided by the community.

Download: Windows Search 4.0 for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 (x86)

Download: Windows Search 4.0 for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 (x64)

More download packages are available on http://support.microsoft.com/kb/940157.

So, what's new in this release?

First and foremost: we've introduced some performance and reliability improvements. Queries are faster, as is indexing - how much faster depends on your machine and your data. Improved reliability means that system failures won't get in the way of the indexer and all of your data will be scanned and available for searches.

We've also extended remote index discovery, also known as PC-to-PC searches, which allows data to be searched quickly and efficiently across machines running Windows Search 4.0. This means that Windows Vista-to-Windows XP or Windows Vista-to-Windows Server 2008 queries are now possible.

Additionally, Windows Search 4.0 offers manageability improvements that IT Pros should take note of.

For starters, we have extended Group Policy to control more aspects of search functionality and made this control more granular with per-user policies. You can use Group Policy Objects to control how desktop search accesses remote resources - such as Microsoft Exchange Server resources or file shares - to manage network utilization.

Speaking of accessing Microsoft Exchange Server - if your organization selects not to use Microsoft Office Outlook in cached mode, you can set a Group Policy to index Exchange in online mode.  Windows Search 4.0 will then index with minimal impact to the server. Our internal testing of this configuration shows significant decrease in the load on the server and the network as compared to Windows Desktop Search 3.01.

IT Pros can deploy a new link that will be added to the Instant Search UI of Windows Vista (or Windows Search UI on Windows XP) on client PCs and allow the query entered in the search box to access your company's search server, by opening the search UI of the server in your browser and executing the query in it. With this functionality, users get a single launch pad for all of their searches. For more information on how to add customized links into the instant Search UI, click here.

Based on a large amount of customer feedback, we have added support for indexing files encrypted with EFS. Users in an organization can now encrypt files and still be able to search their contents. When running on Windows Vista, they also can get an additional level of data protection by using BitLocker and storing their index on the protected drive.

Today, Windows Search 4.0 can be downloaded for installation (download links from Microsoft Download Center listed above). If you need Windows Search 4.0 deployed in a large organization, you can use System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) or other infrastructure solutions.

In the future, we will make Windows Search 4.0 available on Windows Update as well. At that time you will be able to install Windows Search 4.0 off the update site directly or deploy it in your organization using WSUS.

Once Windows Search 4.0 becomes available on Windows Update various Windows users will experience the following:

• Windows XP users will see it as an "optional" update, which requires users to select the update for installation.
• Users running Windows Vista will see the update as "recommended." By default, recommended updates are installed automatically; however, users can prevent automatic installation of Windows Search 4.0. We will publicly post specific instructions prior to publishing Windows Search 4.0 on Windows Update.
• On Windows Server 2008, the update will be applicable only if the File Server Role is enabled.

More on the improvements in Windows Search 4.0 can be found here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/940157.
[/QUOTE]

Source: http://windowsvistablog.com/

[QUOTE]

According to WWB, new features in Windows 7 include: "redesigned Windows Explorer with 2-panel option, FTP/SFTP locations, a common folder with keyboard shortcuts, screen and animation capture, and an automated website / blog designer."

[/QUOTE]

Source: WWB via www.techeblog.com

[QUOTE]
Dear Members of the Board:

It has now been more than two months since we made our proposal to acquire Yahoo! at a 62% premium to its closing price on January 31, 2008, the day prior to our announcement. Our goal in making such a generous offer was to create the basis for a speedy and ultimately friendly transaction. Despite this, the pace of the last two months has been anything but speedy.

While there has been some limited interaction between management of our two companies, there has been no meaningful negotiation to conclude an agreement. We understand that you have been meeting to consider and assess your alternatives, including alternative transactions with others in the industry, but we've seen no indication that you have authorized Yahoo! management to negotiate with Microsoft. This is despite the fact that our proposal is the only alternative put forward that offers your shareholders full and fair value for their shares, gives every shareholder a vote on the future of the company, and enhances choice for content creators, advertisers, and consumers.

During these two months of inactivity, the Internet has continued to march on, while the public equity markets and overall economic conditions have weakened considerably, both in general and for other Internet-focused companies in particular. At the same time, public indicators suggest that Yahoo!'s search and page view shares have declined. Finally, you have adopted new plans at the company that have made any change of control more costly.

By any fair measure, the large premium we offered in January is even more significant today. We believe that the majority of your shareholders share this assessment, even after reviewing your public disclosures relating to your future prospects.

Given these developments, we believe now is the time for our respective companies to authorize teams to sit down and negotiate a definitive agreement on a combination of our companies that will deliver superior value to our respective shareholders, creating a more efficient and competitive company that will provide greater value and service to our customers. If we have not concluded an agreement within the next three weeks, we will be compelled to take our case directly to your shareholders, including the initiation of a proxy contest to elect an alternative slate of directors for the Yahoo! board. The substantial premium reflected in our initial proposal anticipated a friendly transaction with you. If we are forced to take an offer directly to your shareholders, that action will have an undesirable impact on the value of your company from our perspective which will be reflected in the terms of our proposal.

It is unfortunate that by choosing not to enter into substantive negotiations with us, you have failed to give due consideration to a transaction that has tremendous benefits for Yahoo!'s shareholders and employees. We think it is critically important not to let this window of opportunity pass.
[/QUOTE]

Source: microsoft.com

[QUOTE]
Microsoft stepped up to deliver iHD (later renamed HDi), which was a trademarked implementation of HD DVD's XML markup language. Toshiba liked it. They made HDi functionality a standard for HD DVD players, and eventually partnered with Microsoft to expand HDi's reach by founding the Advanced Interactivity Consortium. The primary goal of this group was forging industry relationships to further promote HDi in emerging outlets like downloadable and streaming media.

The deal gave HD DVD its competitive next-gen features, but here's the rub: Microsoft didn't need physical media to implement HDi. All of HDi's interactive bells and whistles could theoretically be applied to downloadable video content, as long as a runtime environment was available. Even as the disc format war raged on, elements of HDi's runtime environment showed up in Microsoft products like the Xbox 360 and Vista.

So, let's put everything together. Microsoft has a popular gaming console and an operating system that are HDi compatible. It also has a group of developers working on HDi applications, and a 360-accessible HD video library that could feasibly be outfitted with next-gen interactivity features. All that's left is the dog and pony show needed to convince content providers that HDi-enhanced content and Microsoft's video outlets are key to making HD video downloads a viable revenue stream.
[/QUOTE]

Full Story: thestandard.com

Microsoft released a number of significant changes and additions to Visual Studio and the .NET Framework over the last year or so. So you’re not alone if you find yourself occasionally feeling overwhelmed by all of the new changes. But if you think current projects keep you too busy to look at the latest releases, you need to remember the old adage about taking time out to sharpen your saw. In this article I’ll take some time to show you some great new additions to C# that can sharpen your productivity without a lot of effort.

Additions to C# in.NET Framework 3.5
In my first article about Visual Studio productivity enhancements, Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 Improvements, in the March 6, 2008 WindowsDevPro Update, I looked at improvements that developers can easily use without forcing us to change existing solutions or adopt entirely new coding paradigms. The same thing goes with the Visual Studio 2008/.NET Framework 3.5 Visual C# features that I’ll discuss here. All of these features are made possible through additional compiler support in the form of new syntax. This means that these new changes take only a few minutes to learn, yet they have the potential to provide significant productivity benefits.

The Coalescing Operator
It could be argued that the coalescing operator represents a minor change to C# in .NET Framework 3.5 and that if you’re not playing around with SQL Server LINQ, you might even miss this handy new bit of functionality. But if you’re too busy to check out LINQ, you still need to check out the coalescing operator as it can have a huge impact on your coding efficiency. Take a look at this code sample:

string middleName = txtMiddleName.Text ?? "";
Customer cust = GetCustomer(id) ?? new Customer();

I love it because it’s like having T-SQL’s ISNULL() or COALESCE() functions in C#, except that they’re implemented as an operator in C# which makes it lean, mean, and easy to use just about anywhere. I’ve found that using this operator can help to ensure that code remains sufficiently robust (by ensuring default values where needed) with a modicum of effort.

Object and Collection Initializers
I’m in love with C#’s new initializers; they’re valuable in many contexts because they’re an exceptionally clean way to create new objects or collections. For example, in applications where a business object is being edited or created based on an ID, if the ID is 0, then the action can represent the creation of a new object; otherwise it represents the ID of the object to edit. With object initializers I can easily define that logic in my code in a single line without jeopardizing readability:

User u = uId == 0 ? new User { Id = 0 } : GetUser(uId);
u.FirstName = txtFirstName.Text;
// etc.

I also find collection initializers to be extremely useful for simple logical evaluations like the following:

List<string> northWestStates =
    new List<string> { "Montana", "Idaho", "Washington", "Oregon" };
if(northWestStates.Contains(currentState))
    // state is a NW state

Of course, hard coding your logic like this doesn’t always make sense. But in cases where one-off evaluations are required by business logic, you can’t beat initializers for their ability to let you quickly code up a viable solution with minimal clutter.

Auto-Implemented Properties
I’ve also been using auto-implemented properties for a few months now. Each time I use this new syntax to create properties I’m amazed at how easy properties are to create now.

// 'traditional properties
private string _name;
public string Name
{
    get { return _name; }
    set { _name = value; }
}

// Auto-Implemented
//  exact same functionality, but less code
public string Name { get; set; }

Ironically, the hardest thing to get used to with automatic properties is remembering to use code snippets to create them, because that makes them a lot faster to implement. I frequently find myself creating properties by hand because it’s so easy with this new syntax.

Extension Methods
The thing I love most about C# in NET Framework 3.5 is extension methods. They’re important in making LINQ work, but I find that they’re extremely valuable in just about everything I do now. They’re extremely elegant and have virtually no learning curve, making them the perfect addition to any C# developer’s arsenal. Best of all, they help overcome some of the repetitive logic problems that I’ve been dealing with for so long–without making me link out to helper classes and other hacks.

Here are two extension methods that I’ve become addicted to:

public static bool IsEmpty(this string input)
{
    return string.IsNullOrEmpty(input);
}

public static string TrimTo(this string input, int len)
{
    if (input.IsEmpty())
        return input;

    if (input.Length > len)
        return input.Substring(0, len);

    return input;
}

IsEmpty() may not look like much (it looks like the old Visual Basic function IsEmpty()), but it’s become a life-saver for me. This is because checking strings in C# to see whether they’re null or empty gets a bit tedious. I know the string class offers a static .IsNullOrEmpty() method, which is much better than manually making those checks yourself, but it still ends up looking bulky in code. With IsEmpty() I’m able to abstract that same logic into a much cleaner bit of syntax that improves readability:

// good
if(text == null || text.Length < 1)
    // string is empty// better
if(string.IsNullOrEmpty(text))
    // string is empty// best (for me)
if (text.IsEmpty())
    // string is empty
The .TrimTo() method does more than just please my sense of aesthetics. In fact, it saves me oodles of time. For example, when persisting business objects to a database there’s that annoying impedance mismatch between SQL Server (or any  other database) and .NET: Where strings in .NET are of virtually any length, and strings in databases are typically constrained in size (to say, something like varchar(20)). Things get even worse with data such as Middle Names – which can be empty/null or up to a certain allowed length. Accordingly, a lot of my code accounts for that mismatch (whether I’m using stored procedures or LINQ) and looks like this:
Customer customer = new Customer();
if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(txtMName.Text))
    customer.MiddleName = "";
else
{
    if (txtMName.Text.Length > 30)
        customer.MiddleName = txtMName.Text.Substring(0, 30);
    else
        customer.MiddleName = txtMName.Text;
}

With .TrimTo() and the coalescing operator I’m able to ditch more than seven lines of code for the following single line of code that does the same thing:
customer.MiddleName = txtMName.Text.TrimTo(30) ?? "";
In each of my projects I’m now creating a static class or two to house my extension methods, which I create on a project-by-project basis to address common logical problems and repetitive tasks. And by placing these static classes into my projects without an explicit namespace, I’m able to access my encapsulated solutions wherever they’re needed, which has been a great productivity boost.

All This and a New Compiler Too
C# in .NET Framework 3.5 offers many great new additions; I’ve just scratched the surface here. You can use all of the additions that I’ve mentioned with very little effort or additional learning. And best of all, since these benefits are provided thanks to new compiler functionality, you can easily upgrade existing .NET Framework 3.0 and .NET Framework 2.0 applications to .NET Framework 3.5 without the pain associated with .NET Framework 1.0 to .NET Framework 2.0 conversions.

more on: http://www.windowsdevpro.com

[QUOTE]
Previously, I looked at the Apple TV in isolation, to see how it fits as a digital hub. Apple isn't the only company that wants to have its device at the center of your home entertainment though, nor the only ones who want its storefront to be the one you use to download TV and movies. So in this next installment, I shall compare the Apple TV to what I think will be its closest rival, the Microsoft Xbox 360. Yes, you read that right. I am going to compare a game console with the Apple TV, but the comparison is not as far fetched as you might think. Both have storefronts where you can download TV episodes and movies. Both will rent you content in both HD and SD, and both will let you stream your own media through them to your TV and speakers.

Why the Apple TV is better:

• Cheaper than the Xbox 360
• Cheaper HD rentals
• Less restrictive licensing
• Build quality
• Better integration with the iTunes store
• Silent running
• Small form factor

Why the Xbox 360 is better:

• Lots of features when combined with Vista Windows Media Center
• Better picture quality (at the expense of file size)
• Plays games
• DVD drive (and the option of HD DVD)
• Includes cables

[/QUOTE]

Source: arstechnica.com (2 pages)

[QUOTE]
Microsoft today announced it is lowering the estimated retail price (ERP) for its Xbox 360™ family of consoles in Europe. Now with an entry-level ERP of €199.99/£159.99, Xbox 360 is a mass market entertainment proposition with something to offer for every interest and budget.

From Friday, 14th March, Xbox 360, which includes a 20GB hard drive and one wireless controller, will have an ERP of €269.99/£199.99 - a saving of €80/£50 on the current ERP. The Xbox 360 Elite, which comes with a massive 120GB hard drive enabling consumers to store huge quantities of content downloaded from Xbox LIVE™ Marketplace as well as their own music, will have an ERP of €369.99/£259.99 - a saving of €80/£40. The Xbox 360 Arcade console, perfect for those wishing to make their first foray into the gaming and entertainment world of Xbox, will have an ERP of €199.99/£159.99 - a saving of €80/£20.

Xbox 360 is the number one next-gen console in EMEA, owning 42% of the market in terms of life-to-date revenue. Xbox 360 continues to enjoy the highest software attach rate of any game console in Europe with more than 7.0 games sold per console (PS3: 3.8; Wii 3.5) after 26 months on the market .
The new ERPs are part of Microsoft's ongoing strategy to open up the ultimate in high-definition gaming and entertainment to an even wider audience, with an offering for everyone:

Best Choice for Families:

• Xbox 360 grows as your family does, offering games and entertainment for every member of the family - from movies to games to music videos.
• With over 150 3+ rated games and unparalleled parental controls, parents can feel good about their kids playing Xbox 360
  

Most Diverse Entertainment:

• Xbox 360 offers great choice in high-definition entertainment
• Xbox Live Video Store offers a wide variety of movies to download, both in HD and SD, enabling great entertainment in the living room at the press of a button
• It's easy to view and enjoy video and photos on Xbox 360 as well as connect wirelessly to share content with a Windows Media Center PC
  

The Best Games:

• There will be over 1,000 games available on Xbox 360 by the end of the year, with something for every skill level, interest and taste.
• New community games allow gamers to sample the best of indie games, providing innovative new ways to play and enjoy
• Blockbuster franchises like Grand Theft Auto IV, with exclusive downloadable episodes on Xbox LIVE, and Rock Band make Xbox 360 the place to be this Spring
• Xbox 360 exclusives for 2008 include Fable 2, Gears of War 2 and Too Human, setting new standards for next-generation gaming

"Xbox 360 is now mass market in Europe," said Chris Lewis, Vice President, Microsoft Interactive Entertainment Business Europe. "We have reached and surpassed several key milestones that form part of our long term strategic plan to achieve critical mass in Europe; and our portfolio now offers the kind of mainstream entertainment experiences that secure wider appeal for Xbox 360. These factors allow us to execute on our strategy to widen the market for Xbox 360, as planned.

"We continue to offer intense, immersive gaming experiences for gamers - but now we're priced in a way that will allow new consumers to find out for themselves why Xbox 360 is the ultimate in high-definition entertainment." said Lewis. "History shows that €199/£159 is the price point where a console's audience begins to expand, and with these new ERPs in place we're ready to bring more consumers into the Xbox 360 world."
[/QUOTE]

Source: http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/

[QUOTE]
Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer has admitted that the company is working on ways to support Blu-ray, the next-generation DVD format.

Although he did not talk specifically about the format in relation to gaming, he did concede it was time to move on following the collapse of the HD-DVD format earlier this year.

"We've already been working on, for example, in Windows, device driver support for Blu-ray drives and the like, and I think the world moves on," said Ballmer at the Mix08 conference.

"Toshiba has moved on. We've moved on, and we'll support Blu-ray in ways that make sense," he said.

Many are expecting Microsoft to announce a Blu-ray peripheral for the Xbox 360 in the near future, following the demise of the HD-DVD format and Microsoft's decision to end production of a HD-DVD add-on for its console.

According to a Financial Times report yesterday, Microsoft and Sony are currently in talks to offer a Blu-ray drive for the Xbox 360.
[/QUOTE]

Source: http://www.gamesindustry.biz

[QUOTE]
EU competition regulators dealt a new blow to Microsoft on Wednesday, fining the US software giant a record 899 million euros for defying a landmark 2004 anti-trust ruling.

The fine, equal to 1.4 billion dollars, is the biggest ever levelled against a single company in an EU antitrust case and brings the total penalties against Microsoft to just below 1.7 billion euros.
"Microsoft was the first company in 50 years of EU competition policy that the commission has had to fine for failure to comply with an anti-trust decision," EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said.

In reaction, Microsoft said it was "reviewing the commission's action" and highlighted that the latest EU action targeted "past issues."

"The commission announced in October 2007 that Microsoft was in full compliance with the 2004 decision, so these fines are about the past issues that have been resolved," the company said.
In particular, it accused Microsoft of using its stranglehold on PC operating systems to elbow rivals out of the more competitive markets for media players that play music and videos, and operating systems running back-office servers.
[/QUOTE]

Full Story: AFP

[QUOTE]
Downloading the new XNA Games takes a few extra steps.  You can watch a video (on Inside Xbox, or linked below) featuring Xbox LIVE's Michael Klucher to explain it, or use this handy-dandy crib sheet:

Xbox LIVE Community Games
Find out how to download the new XNA games from Xbox LIVE and play them on your console.  High | Low

1) Download XNA Creators Club Game Launcher (Marketplace/Game Store/All Games/XNA Creators Club).  Ignore the others.
(Note: If you use "XNA Game Launcher" or "XNA Game Studio Connect", you'll be told you need a Creators Club membership linked to your profile.)

2) Browse to My Games (Games/Games Library/My Games) and twist to XNA Creators Club.

3) Press Y to Download Games

4) Choose a game to download like any other game.

Filed Under: XNA, GDC

[/QUOTE]

Source: http://gamerscoreblog.com/team/

Here are the highlights:

• "The Xbox 360 community has unlocked over 1 billion achievements," says Schappert
• Over $250 million has been spent online in the Xbox Live Marketplace.
• How popular is Halo 3's saved films feature? Over 1,000 pieces are uploaded by the Halo 3 community every day -- that's 30% more than Youtube, claims Schappert.
• Over 800,000 downloads of the XNA toolset have occurred. It's been adopted by over 400 universities worldwide.
• DreamBuildPlay hoped to spur on creativity, and the results were "incredible." Over 200 games were submitted to the competition.
• Community games will be distributed through Xbox Live. "Xbox Live Community Games" will give creators a huge audience to share their creativity with. Game distribution will be democritized, allowing the community to control the content. Create, Submit, Peer Review, Play are the four key steps."
• Chris announced that Dishwasher, and 6 other community games will be available for you to try FREE on XBL marketplace later today.
• Also announced XNA games are coming to Zune.
• Tim Sweeney & Michael Capps from Epic are on stage showing off the next gen of Unreal Engine
• Over 1,000 games on Xbox 360 by the end of 2008, promises Schappert. And that excludes Xbox Live Community Games
• April 29th bring GTAIV to Xbox 360, "on day one." Starting Fall 2008, GTA DLC will hit Xbox Live Marketplace.
• A new guest on stage -- Team Ninja's Tomonobu Itagaki! He's here to demonstrate Ninja Gaiden 2. June 2008 is the release date.
• Peter Molyneux to show us Fable 2
• Cliffy B just burst through the set w/ Lancer to announce Gears of War 2 coming this November, exclusively on Xbox 360.
• Press Release: Xbox 360 Becomes First Video Game Console Ever to Invite the World to Create Original Games and Share Online With Millions

>> Microsoft's GDC keynote has been live blogged by joystiq.com and major nelson.

The new trailer for Gears of War 2 is now available on Xbox LIVE (only in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, UK and US for now). If it's not available in your country yet, you can watch it below in low res:

Also added to Xbox LIVE (everywhere except Australia, Hong Kong, India, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan) is the 'XNA Creators Club Game Launcher':

[QUOTE]
Microsoft Corp. is poised to try a hostile takeover of Yahoo Inc. by nominating its own slate of directors if the Sunnyvale Web portal fails to start negotiating its sale, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Microsoft's plan comes a little more than a week after Yahoo formally rebuffed a $44.6 billion acquisition proposal that would combine the two technology industry pioneers. The unsolicited offer substantially undervalued Yahoo and was not in the interest of its shareholders, Yahoo's board said.

Unwilling to take no for an answer, the Redmond, Wash., software behemoth is preparing a hostile bid - a proxy fight - that would ratchet up what is already among Silicon Valley's most high-profile takeover sagas. Such a tactic would open the door to months of campaigning by both companies for the hearts and minds of investors, who would be buffeted by conflicting viewpoints about Yahoo's future.

For Microsoft, trying to install a new board has its obvious advantage, aside from stacking a merger vote in the company's favor. The cost would be around $20 million to $30 million - mostly for legal and adviser fees - compared with spending billions dollars on a sweetened merger offer, according to the source, who is not authorized to speak publicly about the developments.

A Microsoft spokesman would say only that a hostile bid is one of many options being explored. A Yahoo spokeswoman reiterated that her company is evaluating several alternatives to the Microsoft bid, which, according to people familiar with the matter, include a potential partnership with News Corp., the owner of social-networking company MySpace.

To initiate a proxy fight, Microsoft would have to nominate a slate of Yahoo directors by March 14, the deadline for putting forward candidates. Investors would vote on the board's makeup in June during Yahoo's annual shareholder meeting.

Unlike many companies, Yahoo's board is structured so all 10 board members come up for election at the same time. Rather than having to wait years to get a majority, Microsoft therefore could wrest control in one fell swoop.

Simultaneous with the boardroom fight, Microsoft also plans to appeal directly to Yahoo investors to buy the Microsoft shares in what is known as an exchange offer, the source said. The process would require Microsoft to publish the number of shares it is willing to buy and the price it is willing to pay in its own shares.

Microsoft executives have repeatedly called their offer a full and fair price, although it has dropped in value to around $40 billion since it was originally offered Feb. 1 because it is pegged to Microsoft's share price. Executives have indicated that they won't increase their bid, although analysts say the company is likely to do so.

Carl Tobias, a law professor at University of Richmond who follows proxy fights, said that Microsoft is probably using the threat of a hostile takeover to scare Yahoo's board to the negotiating table. He cautioned that hostile takeovers, even when successful, often make bad business sense because they breed ill will among employees at the acquired company.

"These kinds of takeover bids aren't always successful, and they tend to be nasty," Tobias said. "Even if Microsoft wins, it may lose in terms of merging the corporate cultures."

Separately, Yahoo's board voted to provide employees with a more generous severance package if the company is acquired. Any full-time workers who are laid off without cause or who resign for good reason within two years of a merger will be able to collect their salaries for four months to two years, depending on their position.

With the plan, Yahoo, which is cutting 1,000 jobs, is trying to avoid any mass exodus of workers because of uncertainty surrounding Microsoft's potential takeover while adding extra costs onto the back of any company that takes over.

"It's a way of protecting you and putting your minds at ease so you can all focus on creating value for Yahoo," Jerry Yang, Yahoo's chief executive, said in an e-mail to employees Friday.
[/QUOTE]

Source: sfgate.com

[QUOTE]
Microsoft is giving away development and design software to university and high school students around the world through a program aimed at fostering technology innovation worldwide.

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates is expected to unveil the DreamSpark program Tuesday at Stanford University on the first stop of a U.S. and Canadian college tour. The program is now available to more than 35 million college students in Belgium, China, Finland, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the U.K. and the U.S.

Software available to students through DreamSpark includes Microsoft's development environment, Visual Studio 2005 Professional Edition, and its Web and graphic design toolset, the Expression Studio. Microsoft also is making available XNA Game Studio 2.0, SQL Server Developer Edition, Windows Server Standard Edition and other software and resources through the program.

In the next six months Microsoft expects to extend the program to college students in Australia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Japan, Lithuania, Latvia, Slovakia and other countries. And in the third quarter, the software will be available to high school students as well, Microsoft said.

DreamSpark is part of a company-wide effort to work with local governments, communities and academic institutions worldwide to give potential technology workers a head start in the competitive job market to foster technology innovation and improve citizens' quality of life, especially in developing countries.

Microsoft also is trying to compete worldwide with open-source technologies such as Linux that are freely available to anyone and thus popular with student computer enthusiasts who may not be able to afford to purchase Microsoft products.

One major benefactor of DreamSpark is Aisec, an international exchange student program. Its 28,000 students will get software such as Microsoft's Office productivity suite, said Michelle Galant, vice president of communications.

Aisec, which has 1,100 offices in 100 countries, will also use the company's Exchange e-mail server, Gallant said. "It enables us to run offices and enables us to run our exchange program," she said.[/QUOTE]

More information about DreamSpark can be found on Microsoft's MSDN developer site.

Full Story: pcworld.com

[QUOTE]
With Microsoft’s announcement today to buy cell phone software maker Danger Inc., the deal may not only strengthen the software giant’s position in consumer mobile phones and strengthen defenses against Google’s Android platform, but also mean a new addition for gamers.

The acquisition will provide more applications to Xbox through existing Danger services, Microsoft said. However, the possibility of a portable Xbox arises from Danger’s wide range of software, which can be made capable of playing some Xbox games, with the company’s gadgets used as the foundation for a portable gaming device capable of making phone calls.

“Microsoft is a global leader with our Windows Mobile software and expanding mobile services,” said Robbie Bach, president of the Entertainment and Devices Division at Microsoft. “The addition of Danger serves as a perfect complement to our existing software and services, and also strengthens our dedication to improving mobile experiences centered around individuals and what they like.”

Microsoft intends to combine Danger’s applications, including HTML Web browsing, instant messaging, games, multimedia, social networking, and Web email into Xbox, as well as MSN, Zune, Windows Live, and Windows Mobile.

Danger’s broad software portfolio also provides the opportunity to play lightweight Xbox games in future versions, according to Dan Frommer from Forbes.

“Another plus: Because Danger doesn’t build its own gadgets, Microsoft can pick the manufacturing strategy that makes the most sense,” Frommer said. “For now, it can keep outsourcing devices to partners like Motorola, which also makes Windows Mobile phones. And later, if it wants, Microsoft can merge Danger’s gadgets into its Zune line -- or use it as the basis for a portable Xbox that also makes phone calls.”
[/QUOTE]

Source: gamerush.zoomshare.com

[QUOTE]
Yahoo has formally rejected Microsoft's USD 44.6 billion takeover bid.

In a statement, Yahoo said that its board "unanimously concluded that the proposal is not in the best interests of Yahoo and our stockholders."

Yahoo also said that the offer substantially undervalues the company, failing to take into account its strong brand and global audience. "The board of directors is continually evaluating all of its strategic options in the context of the rapidly evolving industry environment and we remain committed to pursuing initiatives that maximize value for all stockholders," the statement read.
[/QUOTE]

Source: gamesindustry.biz

[QUOTE]

[...]
Q: What do you think about the regular hype about the release of a new version of Microsoft Windows or Apple OS X?

A: An o/s should never have been something that people (in general) really care about: it should be completely invisible and nobody should give a flying f*** about it except the technical people.

It's stupid - when you make a big deal about something like Vista or Leopard a lot of it is about things I don't consider to be the operating system. It's about the visual shell around it. The fact Microsoft tied the two together so much actually caused them problems, not just the legal problems. If you manage a thousand clients, or a hundred thousand

clients which is not at all unheard of, you sure as hell don't want to point and click at them. In many ways Microsoft has had to fix the design mistakes they made when they thought the graphical approach should be a very intimate part of (Windows).

To Microsoft and Apple the o/s is important as a way to control the whole environment, from a marketing and money-making standpoint, to force people to upgrade their applications, and your hardware.

Q. Do you have a favourite between Leopard and Vista?

A: I don't think they're equally flawed. I think Leopard is a much better system. On the other hand, (I've found) OS X in some ways is actually worse than Windows to program for. Their file system is complete and utter crap, which is scary. I think OS X is nicer than Windows in many ways, but neither can hold a candle to my own (Linux). It's a race to second

place!
[...]

[/QUOTE]

Source: http://www.smh.com.au/

[QUOTE]
One of the “big” features discussed in early speculation of Windows Vista SP1 was the kernel upgrade, which was supposed to bring the operating system into line with the Longhorn kernel used in Windows Server 2008. And yet with Vista SP1 going RTM, there hasn't been so much as a peep from Microsoft about the mooted kernel update. Has it happened?

Well the answer is yes it has, and presumably the main reason for Microsoft’s silence on the subject is that as they’re keen to promote the improvements and enhancements to Vista, rather than placing emphasis on a kernel upgrade, which some people might see as a risk of newly-introduced instability.

The whole thing is still quite interesting. You can tell what build of Windows you’re running by a variety of means:

• if you open a Command Window it will immediately tell you what version you have
• or go Start --> Run --> winver
• or check out the properties of C:\Windows\System32\NTOSKRNL
• or open Regedit and navigate to HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\Current Version.

All these methods will give you an idea of what version and build of Windows you’re running, although the last two give more detailed information.

Build info - Vista SP1 RTM

Build info - Server 2008 RTM

The version and build information of Windows Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008 (RTM) are exactly the same as each other. And yes, Vista's kernel has been replaced. Windows Vista pre-SP1 is Windows version 6.0 build 6000 (6.0.6000) whereas Windows Vista SP1 RTM is version 6.0 build 6001 (6.0.6001) – the same as Server 2008.

Don't ask me how I know what's in the RTM versions of Server 2008 and Vista SP1. (Zip it ... I said, don't ask me.)

Interestingly, if you do a winver on Server 2008, you’ll see that the version information is actually version 6.0 build 6001 Service Pack 1. No, it’s not Server 2008 Service Pack 1, but rather Service Pack 1 of the original Longhorn code (Windows 6.0).

So if you look at it one way, the Windows Vista “kernel upgrade” isn’t a fundamental update, but rather, an alignment of the two operating systems. In some ways, both can be said to be running Windows Vista SP1, which is interesting in a seriously geeky sort of way.

Windows Server 2008 WINVER

Still, makes you realise just how long SP1 code has been in the pipeline...
[/QUOTE]

Source: http://apcmag.com/

Related stories:

• LEAKED: Vista SP1 analysed in-depth

• Microsoft announces Vista SP1 RTM

• Don't wait for Vista SP1, pleads Microsoft

• Vista Service Pack 1 is coming

[QUOTE]
Hi, Mike Nash here from the Windows Product Management group at Microsoft.  Today we are excited to announce that we have released Service Pack 1 for Windows Vista to manufacturing (RTM) for our first set of languages (English, French, Spanish, German and Japanese).

Service Pack 1 is a very important milestone because it addresses many of the key issues that our customers have identified with Windows Vista over the last year both, directly and through programs like the Customer Experience Improvement Program.  With Service Pack 1, we have made great progress in performance, reliability and compatibility.  One of the great things about my job is that I get to play with the latest builds of our products -- I've personally been running Windows Vista SP1 pretty exclusively for a few months and I've noticed that my systems run faster and more reliably than they did with the "Gold" release of Windows Vista.

When we first released Windows Vista last year, there were lots of customers who had great experiences, but some had issues finding applications that worked well on Windows Vista; others had problems finding the right device drivers for some of the hardware devices that they used.  The reason for these issues is that in order to improve the reliability and security of Windows Vista, we made some important architectural changes to the system.  While this caused some issues in the short term, in the long term we know that these investments will improve both the reliability and security of the customer experience on Windows.  Check out this blog post about the first year of Windows Vista security to see how some of these changes are paying off.

The good news is that this last year has been a great year of progress for Windows Vista in terms of improving application and device compatibility.  For example, 98 out of the top-selling 100 applications have versions available for Windows Vista.  And through the great work of our hardware partners, we now have 78,000 devices and components supported by Windows Update, up from about 34,000 in November 2006.  As a result, we have licensed over 100 million copies of Windows Vista to date.

Service Pack 1 brings new improvements that are based on feedback we heard from our customers.  It further improves the reliability and performance of Windows Vista.  The information we collect thanks to tools like the Customer Experience Improvement Program, Online Crash Analysis, and Windows Error Reporting help us learn about where and when customers are having issues with Windows Vista and the applications that run on it.  Since these issues have a direct impact on our customers' experiences, we've invested time and energy to make this better.  While Windows Vista Service Pack 1 is an important milestone, we will continue to invest in the continuous improvement process.

SP1 also includes changes focused on improving the performance of Windows Vista in areas that impact the customer experience the most.  For instance, with SP1, copying or moving files around your PC, your home network or your corporate network should now be much faster -- up to 50% faster in some scenarios (according to our internal tests).  In addition, on many kinds of hardware, resuming a Windows Vista-based PC from sleep is faster on Service Pack 1.

The key learning over the last year is that when we change the operating system, it takes time to let the ecosystem make sure that the hardware and software that they build works well with Windows Vista.  So as we release Windows Vista SP1 to manufacturing, we are going to be thoughtful about when and how it gets distributed.

With today's RTM of SP1, a number of processes kick off as we deliver the update to customers.  Our OEM partners will get SP1 and start producing new PCs running Windows Vista with SP1 pre-installed.  We will also start the manufacturing process for retail product of Windows Vista with SP1.  Both will be available in stores for new Windows Vista customers in the coming months.  Today we also start the process to manufacture DVDs for our enterprise customers who get our software via our Volume Licensing program.

As we update our customers to SP1, we want everyone to have a great install experience.  We are going to stage our rollout of SP1 for current Windows Vista users to be approximately concurrent with the availability of Windows Vista SP1 on new PCs and in stores.  There are a couple of reasons for this.  Our beta testing identified an issue with a small set of device drivers.  These drivers do not follow our guidelines for driver installation and as a result, some beta participants who were using Windows Vista and updated to Service Pack 1 reported issues with these devices.  Because the issue was with the way the drivers were installed and not the drivers themselves, the solution was simply to reinstall the drivers.  While this worked fine for our more technical beta testers, we want to deliver a better experience for customers as we make the update broadly available.

While we know that most customers who update from Windows Vista to SP1 will NOT be affected, our approach is to improve the experience for all our customers.  To do this, we will begin making SP1 available through Windows Update in mid-March, giving us time to work with some of our hardware partners to make adjustments to the installation process for the affected drivers.  As SP1 gets delivered through Windows Update, we will only offer it to PCs that we detect don't have any of the affected device drivers installed.  We're taking the next month or so to continue our work of identifying as many of these devices as possible.

Here's the timing for SP1 availability for current Windows Vista users:

• In mid-March, we will release Windows Vista SP1 to Windows Update (in English, French, Spanish, German and Japanese) and to the download center on microsoft.com.  Customers who visit Windows Update can choose to install Service Pack 1.  If Windows Update determines that the system has one of the drivers we know to be problematic, then Windows Update will not offer SP1.  Since we know that some customers may want to update to SP1 anyhow, the download center will allow anyone who wants to install SP1 to do so.
• In mid-April, we will begin delivering Windows Vista SP1 to Windows Vista customers who have chosen to have updates downloaded automatically.  That said, any system that Windows Update determines has a driver known to not update successfully will not get SP1 automatically.  As updates for these drivers become available, they will be installed automatically by Windows Update, which will unblock these systems from getting Service Pack 1.  The result is that more and more systems will automatically get SP1, but only when we are confident they will have a good experience.
• The remaining languages will RTM in April.

New customers should feel great about buying Windows Vista today, knowing that when everything is ready, SP1 will be available to them via Windows Update.  In the meantime, remember that you can take advantage of the benefits of Windows Vista (including many improvements delivered via Windows Update) even without Service Pack 1.

This is an important milestone for our current and future Windows Vista customers around the world.  I want to take a minute to thank our customers for their feedback on Windows Vista and the beta of Service Pack 1.  I also want to thank our hardware and software partners for their continued efforts to deliver the best experiences on Windows Vista.

-Mike
[/QUOTE]

Source: http://windowsvistablog.com/

[QUOTE]
Windows Mobile 6.1 will be unveiled officially in about 2 weeks at Mobile World Congress 2008 (watch our first-hand reports from there!) but already now somebody has managed to play with it!

Here are the highlights:

• Office Mobile now includes also One Note Mobile application - apart from Word Mobile, Excel Mobile and PowerPoint Mobile, one new application is available - it can record voice notes and drawings and textual notes
• Internet Explorer now has function "Zoom Out" what enables page-overview mode and better overall navigation through web pages
• Windows Mobile 6.1 still is based on Windows CE 5.2 so no upgrade to Windows CE 6.0
• SMS chat view mode is available so SMS messages can appear in threaded-way - more comfortable to follow SMS conversations
• instead of "Settings / Memory / Running Programs" now a Task Manager is available with possibility to set settings of executed threads/processes like CPU (indication of dual-core Windows Mobile devices?) and memory
• new menu item "Managed Programs"
• the much expected improvements in usage for finger based navigation - are nowhere to be found! (apparently users will need to wait till 2009 for Windows Mobile 7 to get them)

To learn more visit Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional review (in Portuguese but several screenshots are in English and worth seeing).
[/QUOTE]

Source: http://msmobiles.com/