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Apple's latest version of iTunes is like a cruel joke foisted on Windows users. It features some minor UI changes and a new and largely empty social networking service called Ping.
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SuperSite: I appeared on this week's episode of the What The Tech podcast with Tom Davis and Andrew Zarian, and discussed Windows Phone 7, Media Streaming in the home, Apple Event perspectives, thoughts on the upcoming Phone Marketplace interface, Legacy architecture, and why Microsoft is still the most powerful force in the IT world.
SuperSite: I appeared on this week's episode of the Home Theater Geeks podcast with Scott Wilkinson to discuss the changing face of TV and movie delivery.
SuperSite: The October 2010 edition of my print magazine column looks at a Windows Small Business Server "Aurora" update, a Windows Home Server "Vail" update, the great Windows Phone 7 debate, Windows 7 sales and deployment stats, the Slate PC, Internet Explorer on the rebound, and PDC 2010.
WinInfo News: An often irreverent look at some of this week's other news, including an IE 6 usage drop is an IE 8 gain, Microsoft's Fix It tool for the DLL vulnerability, Toshiba's new Tablet PC is no Tablet PC, HP's $2.3 billion purchase of a company no one's heard of, Microsoft patents OS shut downs, Paul Allen vs. the world, and some upcoming browser updates.
WinInfo News: Microsoft on Wednesday announced that its Windows Phone 7 OS has been released to manufacturing (RTM) and delivered to its partners for inclusion on new smart phones that will be provided to consumers in the months ahead. The company declined to announce a launch date for the platform, but Windows Phone 7 is widely expected to ship in October or November.
SuperSite: Well, the day has finally arrived. The Windows Phone 7 OS has been finalized and sent to Microsoft's hardware and carrier partners so that they can integrate their own software and services solutions and ship new devices to customers later in the year. No word yet on the launch, but I don't believe the October/November plans have changed.
WinInfo News: Confirming news I had exclusively revealed in early July, Microsoft this week announced that the popular but limited-time Windows 7 Family Pack offering would be coming back for this holiday season. But this time around, there are some changes, key among them that the Family Pack will now be available in all of the markets in which Microsoft sells Windows 7.
WinInfo News: This week, Apple held its annual music event, announcing new iPod, Apple TV, and iTunes products as expected. There were no surprises, and while the rumor mills furiously pumped out exciting possibilities before the show, none were realized.
Blog: Apple held it's annual music event this week, introducing as expected evolutionary new versions of its iPods, Apple TV, and iTunes. Nothing dramatic, nothing unexpected, and quite a bit less than the rumor mills suggested, as always.
Blog: If you're among the majority of Apple's customers--that is, you own a Windows-based PC and at least one of the company's iOS-based devices or iPods--you're out of luck if you want to see today's Apple music event live.
Blog: As I had previously and exclusively revealed, Microsoft is bringing back the Windows 7 Family Pack for this holiday season, starting in October. It will ship in the US on October 3, in Canada on October 5, and all other markets on or after October 22.
SuperSite: While many are foolishly writing off Windows Phone 7 already, the truth is, Microsoft has created an amazing and compelling platform, not just for users, but also for that most critical of markets: Developers.
Blog: This week Microsoft announced a new Xbox 360 controller, featuring a "transforming" directional pad (d-pad), which is much less dramatic than it sounds. The Xbox team is out of touch. And it's the only thing consistent about them. It's getting old.
WinInfo News: It was all touched off by a classic bit of know-nothing blogosphere silliness: A prominent Silicon Valley blogger claimed that Microsoft's mobile business was "fatally flawed" because, get this, the software giant actually charges handset makers a small per-unit fee for its Windows Phone software.
WinInfo News: When it comes to multiplayer gaming on a console, there's Xbox Live and then there's everything else. But starting this November, Microsoft is going to really test the loyalty of its best customers, when it raises the price of the Gold version of that service from $50 a year to $60 a year.
SuperSite: Amazon's latest Kindle is the best eBook reader on the market, with a superior screen, a smaller, lighter, and more attractive form factor, and crazy-good battery life. And it now comes in two new affordable models, both of which are backed by the deepest eBook market anywhere.
SuperSite: In this week's mailbag, Facebook and Windows Phone integration, the future of Games for Windows - LIVE, home swapping and computer security, eBook lending libraries, whether Windows Phone will have a common connector, and whether you should wait for the next version of Windows Home Server.
Blog: Microsoft announced today that it will be raising the annual fee of Xbox Live Gold starting November 1, going from $49.99 a year to $59.99. But, if you renew before November 1, you can save big: The temporary cost right now is just $39.99.
WinInfo News: Microsoft late last week announced that it was dramatically altering its course on PC-to-PC sync and reversing an earlier branding decision. Now, the PC sync technology in Windows Live Essentials will be named Windows Live Mesh, not Windows Live Sync, and it will take on some of the dropped features from the previous version of Live Mesh.
SuperSite: In the latest episode of the Windows Weekly podcast, Leo and I discuss Paul's completion of Windows Phone 7 Secrets, Windows Phone Marketplace and developer tools news, an SBS "Aurora" and WHS "Vail" update, Hotmail support for Exchange ActiveSync (EAS), Yahoo Search transitioning to Bing, Internet Explorer 9's UI revealed, a promising first update to Office Web Apps, Halo: Reach pirated and a look at Paul's upcoming Xbox 360 games purchases, a second look at Intel/McAfee, and whether Microsoft really is late to the tablet game.
SuperSite: While Windows has long had Internet connection sharing functionality, a hidden low-level feature in Windows 7 now lets you share an Internet connection with other PCs and devices using a single adapter. Called Wireless Host Networking, it's particularly useful for wireless network sharing.
SuperSite: Windows 7 includes integrated parental controls functionality for limiting when your children can use the computer and which applications they can run, but if you want the full meal deal--with web filtering, activity monitoring, contacts management, and more--you'll need Windows Live Family Safety as well.
Blog: Microsoft is once again rejiggering its plans for Live Mesh and Windows Live Sync. Now, what is currently the new Windows Live Sync will be renamed to Windows Live Mesh. And there are some important changes afoot, though we won't see them until the final version of Windows Live Essentials 2011 ships in a few months.
WinInfo News: An often irreverent look at some of this week's other news, including Microsoft's supposedly exorbitant cost of launching Windows Phone, Hotmail EAS support coming on Monday, Microsoft's supposed plans to connect Windows Phone and Xbox 360 with cross-platform gaming capabilities, the real key to the success of the new Xbox 360 console, the evil plan to push H.264, and Apple's upcoming music event.
WinInfo News: Microsoft on Wednesday announced the immediate availability of the first service pack for Exchange Server 2010, adding a slew of new features in addition to the expected bug and security fixes and previously-released roll-ups.
WinInfo News: Yahoo this week completed the transition of its search engine to the Bing back-end in both the US and Canada. The move comes almost 14 months after the two companies first announced their sweeping agreement to align in the search space to take on market leader Google.
SuperSite: Hotmail will soon support Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) for over-the-air, push access to your Hotmail-based email, contacts, and calendar on supported mobile devices like the iPhone and Windows Phone!
Blog: Mary Jo Foley has revealed what is almost certainly the eagerly-awaited Internet Explorer 9 user interface, which Microsoft plans to deliver as part of the Beta 1 release next month. Here it is: There will be a new, simplified navigation bar with IE 9...
Blog: Microsoft sends word that Service Pack 1 (SP1) for Exchange Server 2010 is now available. Since the release of Exchange 2010 SP1 beta in June, over 500,000 TAP customers have downloaded it and provided valuable feedback. Exchange 2010 SP1 includes many...
WinInfo News: This week, Microsoft began rolling out the first functionality updates to its online office productivity suites, Office Web Apps (OWA) and Facebook Docs. OWA gets a number of requested new features, including printing (from Word Web App), Excel Web App charting and auto fill, and PowerPoint clip art and themes support.
SuperSite: On the surface, Intel's blockbuster $7.86 billion purchase of security firm McAfee seems crazy. But if you dig a bit deeper, an interesting possibility for the future emerges. Assuming, of course, that Intel doesn't screw it up.
Blog: iTunes U is something I've discussed numerous times on the Windows Weekly podcast, but if you're not familiar, it's a wonderful educational resource, even if you're not into the Apple digital media ecosystem for some reason. Today, Apple announced that users have downloaded over 300 million iTunes U audio and video recordings, which is pretty amazing.
WinInfo News: Microsoft is preparing for the final release of its Windows Phone 7 platform, announcing this week some key milestones leading up to the launch. The final release of the Windows Phone 7 developer tools is slated for September 16, while the Windows Phone Marketplace is set for "early October," Microsoft says.
WinInfo News: Microsoft reacted to reports of rampant new zero-day electronic attacks on numerous third party Windows applications by issuing a tool that prevents DLL hijacking, the underlying technique used in the attacks. The flaw was originally discovered last year by a security software firm that expressed surprise at how easily exploitable it was across a wide range of Windows applications.
WinInfo News: Three weeks before the public release of the most eagerly-awaited Xbox 360 game title of the year, Microsoft is probing how hackers obtained the game from its servers and made it available online. Halo: Reach, the next title in the blockbuster Halo series, can now be downloaded from various file sharing web sites around the world.
Blog: Microsoft is releasing the Beta 1 version of Visual Studio LightSwitch today. This product is a new addition to the Visual Studio family that enables developers of all skill level and organizational size to easily build business applications.
Windows Phone Secrets: Microsoft informed me today that the final release of the Windows Phone 7 developer tools will be made available on September 16, 2010. The Windows Phone Marketplace opens in early October.
WinInfo News: During his Consumer Electronics Show (CES) keynote address back in January, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer infamously held up a prototype HP tablet device and declared, in not so. many words, that Microsoft was back in the Tablet PC game...
SuperSite: My extensive, multi-part review of Windows Live Essentials 2011 has been completely overhauled to cover new features in the near-final beta refresh release.
SuperSite: In the latest episode of the Windows Weekly podcast, Leo and I discuss Xbox Live games on Windows Phone 7, new SBS "Aurora" and WHS "Vail" preview releases, Steve Ballmer the overachiever, and why Microsoft's Arc Touch Mouse is no Tragic Macpad.
SuperSite: Anyone can use Windows 7's libraries feature, but if you want to really master libaries, you need to know how to customize them, use custom library view styles, create your own custom libraries, and, if you've gone too far, how to get back the default library configurations.
SuperSite: In what might be my most exhaustive Feature Focus article yet, I cover one of the most eagerly-awaited features in Windows 7 yet. Ladies and gentlemen, I present Sticky Notes. :)
Blog: Microsoft is offering a free e-Book version of "Introducing Windows Server 2008 R2" in your choice of PDF or XPS formats. There's no real catch, though you must have a Windows Live ID to get the download.
SuperSite: This week, Microsoft unveiled its secret weapon in the war against iPhone and Android: Xbox Live support on Windows Phone 7 with a launch day lineup of over 60 games. Move over boys, there's a new mobile gaming king in town.
WinInfo News: An often irreverent look at some of this week's other news, including Intel's jump-the-shark purchase of McAfee, Steve Ballmer's surprising positive performance given his pay, Xbox 360 hits the half-way mark, Microsoft's supposed plans to link Windows Phone and Kinect, Arc Touch Mouse stupidity, VMWare's taking the ball home again so Hyper-V can't play, Visual Studio LightSwitch Beta 1, and Facebook's latest assault on your children.
SuperSite: We're swapping homes with a family from Germany this month. Here's a quick look at the must-have technology products I can't live without when away from home for an extended time.
WinInfo News: Microsoft this week released two public previews of upcoming low-end Windows Servers, one aimed at homes and home businesses, and the other at small businesses. For those very small businesses that previously found managed servers to be too complex ...
Blog: You hear the name "Microsoft Arc Touch" and you immediately imagine a pointing device that's designed to compete with Apple's recently-released Tragic Macpad, a multi-touch surface that emulates the trackpads Apple puts on its MacBook notebooks. That's not what it is.
SuperSite: Microsoft is splitting the Small Business Server product line in half, and one of those products, codenamed "Aurora," provides a cross-premise solution that combines the best of on-premise Windows Home Server services with the cloud.
Blog: Microsoft has posted a list of the new features in the recently released Windows Home Server "Vail" preview refresh. If you've not seen this on the Connect site yet, it goes like so...
WinInfo News: With Microsoft announcing a stunning 50+ launch game titles for its upcoming Windows Phone smart phone platform, many gamers are wondering about the company's support of Windows-based PC gaming. And you don't have to dig too deep to realize it's a lot of talk with very little substance.
Blog: Microsoft on Tuesday issued a "beta refresh" of its upcoming Windows Live Essentials 2011 applications suite for Windows Vista and 7. I'll be updating my review with information about new features later today, but here's a quick overview of the new features I've found so far.
Blog: In addition to today's release candidate build of Small Business Server "Aurora," Microsoft also issued a second preview build of "Vail," the next version of Windows Home Server.
WinInfo News: Microsoft on Tuesday announced the first 50 Xbox LIVE game titles that will appear on its upcoming Windows Phone 7 smart phone platform this holiday season. The list includes some serious blockbusters--including the first portable versions of such classics as "Halo" and "Crackdown"--and is far more impressive in scope than I had anticipated.
SuperSite: Windows Phone will only sync with cloud-based data sources like Exchange, Windows Live, and Google/Gmail, so those who are still using Outlook as a hub for their personal information are going to have to move their data to the cloud. This isn't a bad thing. In fact, it's an opportunity to jump into the 21st century and make your data more resilient and accessible.
WinInfo News: Microsoft saw its Xbox 360 video game console take the top market share spot in the US in July, a milestone it has achieved only a handful of times since the dominant Nintendo Wii appeared in late 2006. So what changed last month, and does it signal a new trend, or is it just an anomaly?
SuperSite: In this week's mailbag, how to access US-based web services while in other countries, what happened to Windows Weekly episode 13, whether Microsoft has given up on Windows Gadgets, Windows Phone 7 support for instant messaging and Bluetooth, and spelling and grammar issues on the SuperSite.
SuperSite: In the latest episode of the Windows Weekly podcast, Leo and I discuss news stories that didn't make the cut this week, Windows Phone's cloud sync requirements, the Dell Streak mini-tablet, Mark Hurd's abrupt exit from HP, Google and Verizon vs. the world, and Netflix's $1 billion content deal.
SuperSite: When Windows Update installs certain types of updates, a reboot is required so that certain software components can be updated while they're not running. Unfortunately, this means that many people will leave their PCs running, with open applications and unsaved data, and in many cases, they'll wake up the next day to discover the PC was automatically rebooted by Windows Update. Here's how to stay secure, but prevent the computer from rebooting automatically.
SuperSite: The Windows 7 Start Menu is an enhanced version of the Start Menu that debuted in Windows Vista, and features Jump Lists and an improved Start Menu Search. But the single biggest feature, perhaps, is that the Start Menu is being deemphasized as an application launcher because of the new taskbar.
WinInfo News: An often irreverent look at some of this week's other news, including a looming IE 9 Beta event, Vista's reputation on the mend, Windows 7 being more secure than UNIX, a new Microsoft gaming studio for mobile devices, Xbox 360's first place finish in July, video gaming in China, and Oracle vs. Google in the biggest behemoth smackdown since Godzilla took on Mothra.
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