Entries for Stephen

Windows Home Server - Now a reality [Windows Home Server - Now a reality]

Stephen — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 03:19:30 GMT

Whilst scribbling up a blog entry about CES 2007 whilst watching the Bill Gates Keynote live now, I wanted to link to the CES coverage over at on10.net and a new video has just been posted.

http://on10.net/Blogs/tina/windows-home-server-will-live-in-your-closet-simplify-your-life/

"As a small, headless box that lives on your network and in your closet, a Windows Home Server can quickly grow the pool of storage from which all of your shared files for each of your users lives. The backup engine in Windows Home Server also silently backs up the entirety of each machine connected to it every night. And because the data is always online, using the built-in remote access abilities, you’ll also be able to access your data from any machine on the planet."

in reply to Windows Home Server - Now a reality

Jim Allchin's open letter to developers [Jim Allchin's open letter to developers]

Stephen — Sat, 16 Sep 2006 19:59:48 GMT

http://msdn.microsoft.com/windowsvista/letter/default.aspx

Windows Vista: Now is the Time!

Are you ready for Windows Vista? We know the world is! Barring any unforeseen quality issues such as bugs around data corruption, resiliency, or security, we remain on track for business availability of Windows Vista later this year, with our consumer launch in January. Those of you who have started using RC1 can see how stable the product already is. We are very close to being done.

Windows Vista is going to give you, developers, new opportunities on a scale you haven't seen since Windows 95. Industry analysts predict that some 200 million people will be using Windows Vista within the first 24 months of launch. We're rapidly approaching launch, and then millions of people will be looking for applications. People will flock to software that is new, compelling, and "cool." You have GOT to be ready for this opportunity. We have invested heavily in both the .NET Framework 3.0 and traditional Win32 APIs in Windows Vista. With Visual Studio you can create applications that are visually stunning, connected, workflow-enabled, and secure. You can get a preview of some of the great features in the upcoming next release of Visual Studio that will make development for Windows Vista even more powerful. And the new line of Microsoft Expression products will make it much easier for developers and designers to collaborate on creating great experiences for Windows.

More than 1,000 companies are engaged in our early adopter programs, and some of the initial work I've seen has simply blown me away. People will just love these applications - from new DX10 games to cool Sidebar gadgets to new rich visual enterprise applications. Some of these apps are mind-bogglingly cool. And, some of the best work is being done by small companies that many of you probably haven't heard of, so the opportunities for changing the world are clear. We've created a showcase so you can see what some of your peers are doing.

What do you need to do to be ready? First of all, make sure your application is compatible. We have made tremendous investments in Windows Vista to ensure backwards compatibility, but some of the system enhancements, such as User Access Control, changes to the networking stack, and the new graphics model, may require code changes on your part. You should work hard to run as standard user.

We've got tools to help you:
The Application Compatibility Cookbook will give you in-depth information on the new capabilities in Windows Vista and how they may affect existing applications.

The Windows Vista site on MSDN includes the latest technical material and gives you pointers to our upcoming worldwide launch events.

Visit the Innovate on Windows Vista portal to get access to tools, resources, and Windows Vista logo program information. I strongly encourage you to apply for the Certified for Windows Vista Logo.

If you have questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact your Microsoft representative, post to MSDN Forums, or send us feedback directly.

As I said, the opportunity will be tremendous. If you want to ride the wave we're creating with Windows Vista, the best way is to have your application ready by the time we ship! And that is very soon.

thanks,
jim

Jim Allchin
Co-President, Platforms & Services
Microsoft Corporation

in reply to Jim Allchin's open letter to developers

Microsoft Max - Upgrade in a few hours! [Microsoft Max - Upgrade in a few hours!]

Stephen — Fri, 08 Sep 2006 03:49:10 GMT

MS Max Blog wrote:
We're upgrading Max!

Over the next few hours, we’ll be upgrading our servers to prepare for our next release. You may experience connectivity issues during this time.

We’re excited to show you what we’ve been working on. Stay tuned!
http://blogs.msdn.com/max/archive/2006/09/07/744915.aspx

in reply to Microsoft Max - Upgrade in a few hours!

Awaking Vista from sleep! [Awaking Vista from sleep!]

Stephen — Mon, 29 May 2006 03:50:15 GMT

I have only been using a wireless keyboard and mouse (MS Wireless Desktop 6000) for a couple of months and with Vista(5384) I have found that my PC will actualy go into stand-by over night.

Now this morning my Keyboard has 'disconnected' from the USB wireless receiver and will not reconnect due to the PC being in stand-by mode. I have changed batteries in the mouse and keyboard and I have tried inserting a CD, A USB Key, A second keyboard (PS2) a USB Mouse all to no end.

Do I have to hit the 'reset' switch to awaken Vista or am I missing something obvious?

in reply to Awaking Vista from sleep!

What can I publicly write about Vista? [What can I publicly write about Vista?]

Stephen — Sat, 27 May 2006 16:55:01 GMT

I have been asked if I can write a few articles about Vista by a local journalist...

Such as how do I find it?
Is it worth upgrading?
What are the benefits of upgrading?
What are the killer features?
What is the security like?
What is like to be a beta tester and the experience?
Would you recommend customers to upgrade when released?

In regards to the NDA's that I have signed with MS for this how much and what can I write about?

Or I suppose more to the point what can't I write about?
(I know I can't write about bugs and vendor driver issues)

BTW: My overall opinion is extremely positive (A few UI issues that I can't quite get my head around)

in reply to What can I publicly write about Vista?

Vista Build 5365 now available [Vista Build 5365 now available]

Stephen — Sat, 22 Apr 2006 07:08:37 GMT

Vista Build 5365 is now available on Connect

in reply to Vista Build 5365 now available

C9 Wiki Search = Broken [C9 Wiki Search = Broken]

Stephen — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 22:11:03 GMT

Is it just me or is the C9 Wiki Search broken?

10.........25

'Port 25 is open. The people, insights, and analysis from the Microsoft Open Source Software Lab. Send us your feedback and ideas. We want to hear from you.'

in reply to ..9...10.............25

01:02:03 04/05/06 - Where will you be? [01:02:03 04/05/06 - Where will you be?]

Stephen — Tue, 04 Apr 2006 14:07:39 GMT

Where will you be?

01:02:03 04/05/06 - two minutes and three seconds past one in the morning on the fifth of April in the year two thousand and six...

For USA readers this is only a few hours away, for us Aussies it won't happen until the forth of May as our Time and Date format has the 'correct' logic with dates displayed in the format day/month/year rather than the US format of month/day/year.

(We Aussie's haven't forked the english language and embrace the metric system) :P

in reply to 01:02:03 04/05/06 - Where will you be?

FYI- Microsoft joins in with April Fools [FYI- Microsoft joins in with April Fools]

Stephen — Sat, 01 Apr 2006 07:48:48 GMT

The Microsoft Live.com team have joined in on the April Fool's jokes.

Opening http://www.live.com in Firefox and I watched the search input field go from its normal location top center to glide across the screen down and to the left on me, Then a pop-up alert box said 'Happy April's Fool'

No screenshots as I cannot replicate it in IE FF or Opera....(I hit F5 before screencap)

It is the old 'trust me' it really did happen and you can choose your own personal amount of time to waste here as I know I have wasted enough of my time just to try and show someone who may actually care...

Note: Completly useless thread with no benefit to advancement of society as we know it.

in reply to FYI- Microsoft joins in with April Fools

Is 'Microsoft Connect' going to become user friendly? [Is 'Microsoft Connect' going to become user friendly?]

Stephen — Wed, 29 Mar 2006 10:47:00 GMT

As per the title of here.

Today I received an e-mail from MS offering me to particpate in the 'IIS7 Preview Program' with an invite code. I jumped over to Connect and plugged it in and now I have a dual particpation in the Vista/Longhorn Beta. ( A month ago I would have given a limb to get this)

As you can see I now have dual enrollment in Vista, Dual Expression Web Designer and the MS Update SP1 Beta program has finished and the Update has been rolled out to production.

Why can't I manage this page and the 'Available Program' pages and delete or hide 'stuff' I no longer want or need?

For now I won't rant much about how bad it is to find a bug, feedback or suggestion that relates to a specific build version of a beta. Part of the basic rules for submission of bugs or feedback should be to include the build version and it does not. Thus you have no idea if the bug relates to the build you are using or the previous builds. There are a few testers who submit 'good' items and include a build number on the submission but these are definatly in the minority.

Can anyone actually answer some questions regarding the future plans for this site. I would gladly run 1,000 miles away from if it were not for the k3wl software available for me to play in the sandpit with. For the life of me I cannot find the 'Connect Blog' to find out info for myself.

Oh search function really SUX, I think Win 3.1x had better searching built in.

in reply to Is 'Microsoft Connect' going to become user friendly?

Melbourne Australia 2006 Commonwelth Games [Melbourne Australia 2006 Commonwelth Games]

Stephen — Wed, 15 Mar 2006 08:41:06 GMT

http://www.commonwealthgames.com.au Games Home Page

http://podcast.melbourne2006.com.au Games Podcasts

http://m2006.bigpond.com Games Video

http://www.abc.net.au/commonwealthgames/2006/default.htm abc.net.au Coverage

http://technorati.com/tag/melbourne2006 Technorati Tags

http://flickr.com/photos/tags/melbourne2006/interesting/ Flickr Tags

http://www.gearthblog.com/blog/archives/2006/03/melbourne_commo.html Google Earth Games Map

http://maps.google.com/?ll=-37.819277,144.982109&spn=0.006,0.009978&t=k Melbourne MCG

http://www.microsoft.com/australia/about/m2006/default.mspx Microsoft Technology Partner

in reply to Melbourne Australia 2006 Commonwelth Games

Blog vs Website [Blog vs Website]

Stephen — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 14:22:31 GMT

I have come across this 'so' many times and I would love to know why?

Content source via Liveside (Liveside have a preview image also)
Note: The site is NOT LIVE yet

The content is only meant as an example no matter your opinion of it.

The Blog Case wrote:
This website is cool http://preview.local.live.com

The Website Case wrote:

In yet another Windows Live update coming this week, the Live Local team (formerly VirtualEarth) will release a technical preview at http://preview.local.live.com that demonstrates the new StreetSide feature for two cities: Seattle and San Francisco.

This new feature provides a vivid flythrough experience for the user, especially in the downtown areas that the technical preview focuses on. The user appears seated at ground level, as if they were driving around the map themselves. The preview version aims to provide the team with feedback on the new feature and imagery, which supports the existing road, aerial and birds-eye views that the Live Local service already offers. The small rollout is mainly due to the vast number of images that are needed, reportedly over 10million for Seattle alone.

Although the service is not live yet, we have a split view screenshot of what you can expect to see once StreetSide rolls out later this week. Its a pretty large file so I've included a small preview below.

Many bloggers will write a small article as I put above, websites on the other hand will tend to write an in-depth article. I have exaggerated my point here in a ‘quality of content’ sense. With CNet, ZDNet and many other sites that have an article that is written by a user of that site. A newspaper has a journalist is a single writer, writing a 'post' for the newspaper. I see all over the place badly written blogs, badly written web sites and I see excellent blog posts and excellent web site articles.

Layout and format can also be extremely different in both good and bad. C9’s own Jamie has a site that looks like no ordinary blog and is his own ‘manual’ blog, though it looks like a professional website. Jamie’s manual blog I am presuming has no commenting, pingbacks or trackbacks, this can also be achieved on a ‘traditional’ blog including the ‘Usual Suspects’ (MSNSpaces, Blogger, Movable Type, Wordpress) by simply turning these features off.

Now with this diversity of design, technical features and quality of the content that you can have in any combination you may choose

Is it the design of the sites you don't like?
Is it the quality of the content?
Is it the technical features of the site?

No doubt there are many examples of each and every combination available, so I ask this simple question:

"What is the difference in something that someone wrote and put it on the internet for others to see?"

in reply to Blog vs Website

Thanks for Vista Beta [Thanks for Vista Beta]

Stephen — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 02:46:34 GMT

To whom it may concern,

Thanks for the invitation to particpate in the Vista Beta program. I have been a loyal....

WooHoo...

Bugger Formality...

A big thanks to whoever nominated me. :D

in reply to Thanks for Vista Beta

Officially Announced: Windows Vista Product Line-up [Officially Announced: Windows Vista Product Line-up]

Stephen — Mon, 27 Feb 2006 06:01:48 GMT

via: Longhorn Blogs and MS Presspass

Windows Vista Business
- Aero Capabiity.
- Tablet PC capability.
Windows Vista Enterprise
- Aero Capability.
- Includes Windows BitLocker, Virtual PC Express, and Sub-system for Unix Applications.
- Only Available under the Software Assurance Program or Enterprise Agreement.
Windows Vista Home Basic
Windows Vista Home Premium
- Aero Capability.
- Windows Media Center capability.
- DVD burning and creation.
- Tablet PC capability
Windows Vista Ultimate
- Pretty much comes with everything.
Windows Vista Starter
- Very Basic features.

in reply to Officially Announced: Windows Vista Product Line-up

Desktop Search PHLAT Out [Desktop Search PHLAT Out]

Stephen — Tue, 21 Feb 2006 23:36:16 GMT

"PHLAT is a new interface for Windows Desktop Search (enabling search through a user's own email, files, and viewed web pages). PHLAT lets you easily specify queries and filters, attempting to integrate search and browse in one intuitive interface. In addition, Phlat supports a unified tagging (labeling) scheme for organizing personal content across storage systems (files, email, etc.)."

Click here to read more about PHLAT and get started using it!

This is PHLAT out data searching :P

in reply to Desktop Search PHLAT Out

Is this a hint of Vista Feb. CTP [Is this a hint of Vista Feb. CTP]

Stephen — Mon, 20 Feb 2006 07:00:15 GMT

What does this mean?

in reply to Is this a hint of Vista Feb. CTP

Spammer scores Gold at Olympics [Spammer scores Gold at Olympics]

Stephen — Sun, 19 Feb 2006 08:51:20 GMT

So, I was actually looking for a spam solution earlier, the above headline caught my eye.

I proceeded to read the content. This guy is AUSTRALIAN (via Canada)

Threadwatch wrote:
Threadwatch - Well, some say it's pop-ups and pop-unders, others say pop-up blockers, but plenty of sources have reported he's a spammer.. and he's just scored a Gold Medal in the Olympics at Turin.
Dale Begg-Smith started an "online marketing company" at age 14 with his brother out of Vancouver, which became AdsCPM Network (said to be worth $40 million). Now, a millionaire at age 21, he set aside the business for training and it seems to have paid off. He's the best moguler in the world.

The Age wrote:
The Age - (Australian Newspaper) - "The ski dream funded by a spam fortune"

The Age wrote:
The Age - 'Spam man' wins gold

According to the International Olympic Committee's website, Australia's gold medallist Dale Begg-Smith, runs an internet pop-up advertising company that he describes as the third largest of its type.

But that's about as much detail as you'll get out of the Lamborghini-driving Canadian-turned-Australian moguls skier who is reluctant to talk about his dealings which remain shrouded in secrecy.

Normally including up until an hour ago I was happy us Aussies won another Winter Olympics Gold medal...

Now I am not so happy :(

Edit: Added third link :(

in reply to Spammer scores Gold at Olympics

Wireless/Laser Desktop & 2003 Drivers [Wireless/Laser Desktop & 2003 Drivers]

Stephen — Fri, 17 Feb 2006 10:25:00 GMT

So I have one of these

And I run this

The drivers that come with it do not work with 2003 Server.:(

Oh I originally gave up and gave it to my brother and I went to a MS Event and won another one :s

It would appear that MS really want me to use one if these, does anyone know how, where or a hack to get the driver to work.

The Intellipoint Keyboard and Mouse software is installed sucessfully and operates fine with my exisiting MS wired Keys & Moose.

Ideally both working would be great though I will settle for the mouse as the Laser 6000 Mice are 'Sweet'
.

in reply to Wireless/Laser Desktop & 2003 Drivers

GTalk stole my Win+ESC hotkey [GTalk stole my Win+ESC hotkey]

Stephen — Thu, 16 Feb 2006 04:36:23 GMT

Not that I have the Windows key combination 'win+esc' assigned to anything at all, though when I press win+esc and GTalk opens up I wonder 'What the?'

I went through all the options and you cannot turn it off or change the key assignment.

Google is [6]

in reply to GTalk stole my Win+ESC hotkey

XBox 360 Controller for C9 [XBox 360 Controller for C9]

Stephen — Mon, 13 Feb 2006 19:06:54 GMT

Microsoft have released the XInput API to let you use a XBox 360 controller on Windows XP SP1 and above.

Who is going to whip this up so I can get around C9?

Via: Paul Stubbs with some sample code here.

in reply to XBox 360 Controller for C9

Microsoft and media devices [Microsoft and media devices]

Stephen — Sat, 11 Feb 2006 08:47:59 GMT

Reuters have a short one on with comments from Bill on media devices.

"REDMOND, Washington (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp. and its hardware partners will continue to develop new digital media devices aimed at challenging the dominance of Apple Computer Inc.'s ubiquitous iPod music player, Chairman Bill Gates said on Friday."

Will we see the hardware division of Microsoft release one of these, I might even cancel my pre-order of an X-Box 360 for that one.

in reply to Microsoft and media devices

Microsoft files Lawsuit on Spyware [Microsoft files Lawsuit on Spyware]

Stephen — Wed, 25 Jan 2006 18:09:22 GMT

Microsoft PressPass

Microsoft’s lawsuit alleges that Secure Computer LLC used deceptive pop-up ads to warn users that their computers were at risk and could contain spyware

Will this get removed from MSN now :P as per my original

in reply to Microsoft files Lawsuit on Spyware

MSN Advertising Spyware [MSN Advertising Spyware]

Stephen — Fri, 20 Jan 2006 09:17:55 GMT

I would be curious if someone could let me know something about this deceptive advertising on MSN.

I got a call from my Mum regarding this and RDP'd over to her machine and this is what I saw.

My Mum wrote:
I thought that Microsoft AntiSpyware stopped this stuff?

I see practically no difference between the above and this from Mark Russinovich

in reply to MSN Advertising Spyware