Hi there, Mike Nash here.
For me, one of the most exciting times in the release of a new product is right before we show it to the world for the first time. And that time is right now.
In a few weeks we are going to be talking about the details of this release at the PDC and at WinHEC. We will be sharing a pre-beta "developer only release" with attendees of both shows and giving them the first broad in-depth look at what we've been up to. I can't wait for them to see it.
And, as you probably know, since we began development of the next version of the Windows client operating system we have been referring to it by a codename, "Windows 7." But now is a good time to announce that we've decided to officially call the next version of Windows, "Windows 7."
While I know there have been a few cases at Microsoft when the codename of a product was used for the final release, I am pretty sure that this is a first for Windows. You might wonder about the decision.
The decision to use the name Windows 7 is about simplicity. Over the years, we have taken different approaches to naming Windows. We've used version numbers like Windows 3.11, or dates like Windows 98, or "aspirational" monikers like Windows XP or Windows Vista. And since we do not ship new versions of Windows every year, using a date did not make sense. Likewise, coming up with an all-new "aspirational" name does not do justice to what we are trying to achieve, which is to stay firmly rooted in our aspirations for Windows Vista, while evolving and refining the substantial investments in platform technology in Windows Vista into the next generation of Windows.
Simply put, this is the seventh release of Windows, so therefore "Windows 7" just makes sense.
We are very excited about the opportunity to tell you more about Windows 7 in the coming weeks, and show you how we have continued to build on investments begun in Windows Vista to deliver on the next release of the Windows operating system.
I look forward to sharing more with you in the coming weeks and months.
--Mike
Source:windowsvistablog
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Introducing Windows 7
How To:Take Screen Capture
You might know the importance of screen capture. One of the regular tasks we do as a Blogger is taking the photos of screens to explain our reader very clearly. Providing a relevant picture in your article catches the eye of readers. For taking this you don’t need to buy or download any special software. Just a couple keys in your keyboard will do this for you. Here is how to for different Operating Systems:
Windows System: If you are using Windows just hit your Print Screen key. This copies the screen and places it in your clipboard. Now open any image editor (Run->Mspaint) and click Edit - Paste. Save this new image in any format you want.
In order to capture only the active window (the window that has the focus), hit ALT + Print Screen.
You can use any image editor like Mspaint, Adobe PhotoShop, Paint Shop Pro, Fireworks.
Macintosh System: On a Mac hit Apple + Shift + 3.
Linux System:Linux systems usually come with a free screen capture utility. For example, you can find one under the KDE desktop.
Source:TechZoomIn
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Take Backup of your Feeds
I came across this problem today. Unfortunately I lost all the feeds from IE7 and now I didn’t remember all those useful sites. So I thought its worth to share with all the blogging people to avoid them to face the same issue.
Make sure to take Backup once in month at least. Here is the process how
- Click on the Add button (the star and plus button next to the Favorites Center button — Alt-Z is the keyboard shortcut).
- Click on Import and Export in the menu.
- In the wizard, select Export Feeds from the list of options and click next.
- Select where you’d like the file to be put (by default, it’s called feeds.opml, in your Documents folder)
- Finish up the wizard.
Enjoy Blogging!
Source:TechZoomInDon't miss single article:Get it by E-mail
Microsoft may buy Yahoo and AOL if the latter two merge
Microsoft is quietly readying a plan to make a purchase of the combined Yahoo-AOL, should Yahoo pull off its plans to acquire the struggling America Online unit, according to sources close to AOL — via the menage-a-trois with AOL.
Microsoft was rebuffed earlier this year when it tried on multiple occasions to buy Yahoo. However, the odds are growing that a chain of events could lead to the Microsoft-Yahoo marriage after all.
Spokespeople at Microsoft and Yahoo declined to comment. A spokeswoman at AOL did not return a phone call and email.
But here’s why it makes sense. Increasingly, word is that Google is going to have trouble upholding its advertising deal with Yahoo, because anti-trust regulators are concerned about the market dominance the deal gives to Google and there’s a very strong chance they’ll reject it. A decision could be made by the Justice Department next week. If that happens, Yahoo’s stock will take a massive hit: One reason Yahoo’s stock is as high as $19 is because of the extra revenues it says it’s getting from the Google deal. Yahoo’s stock could plunge to say, $15, if the Google deal gets rejected. That’s because investors will turn even more bearish on a company that seems strategically adrift.
That would make Yahoo even more desperate to do a deal with another company. While Yahoo’s founder and CEO Jerry Yang has made it clear he does not want to merge with Microsoft, it’s obvious a deal with AOL is more palatable. Indeed, Yahoo’s new board of directors has initiated more talks with Time Warner over a possible merger with its America Online unit, something we confirmed last night. And investor Carl Icahn, now on Yahoo’s board, has been very vocal about Yahoo needing to do a deal. Moreover, AOL appears more desperate than ever to do a deal. Its business has continued to deteriorate. Time Warner said AOL’s ad revenues declined 16 percent to $1.1 billion in the most recent quarter, compared to the same quarter in 2007. So the odds of a Yahoo-AOL deal going through have gone up significantly over the past couple of weeks.
And with Microsoft desperate to do a deal — it wants to compete with Google in online advertising — there’s nothing stopping it from bidding to take over an even more attractive duo of Yahoo-AOL.
Source Venturebeat
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Xbox 360 beats PS3 in Japan
Microsoft Corp's (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) Xbox 360 beat Sony Corp's (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) PlayStation 3 in Japan weekly sales for the first time two weeks ago, riding robust demand for a recent Xbox 360 title produced by Namco Bandai Holdings (7832.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), a magazine publisher said.
Microsoft sold 28,116 units of the Xbox 360 in the week ended August 10, compared with 10,705 units of the PS3, driven by the August 7 launch in Japan of Namco Bandai's "Tales of Vesperia" role-playing game, Ascii Media Works said.
Microsoft, locked in a three-way game console battle with Sony and Nintendo Co Ltd (7974.OS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), has been struggling to stir up demand for the Xbox 360 in Japan.
During the week, the Microsoft machine still lagged behind Nintendo's Wii, which sold 41,044 units, according to an Ascii Media Works report dated August 14.
The Wii has been leading the global video game console market since its launch in late 2006 thanks to its easy-to-learn motion-sensing controller, low price and innovative software titles such as "Wii Fit" exercise game.
Namco Bandai plans to launch "Tales of Vesperia", an Xbox 360 exclusive, in North America on August 26.
Sponsored By Reuters
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Windows 7 details to be released
A first glimpse at the technology inside the next version of Windows will be given in October.
Microsoft has said that engineering information about Windows 7 will be shared with attendees at two technical conferences it runs.
Windows 7 developers will show off their work at both the Professional Developers Conference and the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference.
Based on Vista, Windows 7 is expected to be released in January 2010.
The announcement about the unveiling was made on a new Windows 7 blog written by engineers putting the software together.
Before now details about Windows 7 have been scant. Writing on the blog the two senior engineers on the project, Jon DeVaan and Steven Sinofsky, said this was because Microsoft did not want to talk up features that never make it to the final product.
It was also wary, it said, of talking about features and technologies in a way that would cause confusion among its partners.
Microsoft has also been reluctant to talk about Windows 7 as it continues to promote Windows Vista as its flagship operating system.
What is known about Windows 7 is that it will use components from Vista at its core and that it will have a touch interface that, with the appropriate screen, can recognise gestures to complete tasks. For instance pinching the screen could be used to close documents or manipulate images.
Industry experts have speculated that Windows 7 will also have more virtualisation technologies onboard as well as tools that make it easier for people to get at their data and programs as they use different machines.
Sponsored By BBC NEWS
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Windows Live Messenger 9.0 M1 screenshots and details leak
and testers were not given much information about what Microsoft was planning to put into version 9.0 (the first beta build showed few changes). August, however, is making things more interesting again.Hot on the heels of the news that Windows Live Messenger 9.0 would getting a new GUI, and one that would include Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) features, come leaked screenshots and details of the Milestone 1 (M1) build. Mess.be managed to grab the build from Microsoft's internal testing program, which recently just happened to have internally released the M2 build. While the M1 build is already old, the screenshots do show a lot of changes:
Read further on arstechnica
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Microsoft launches new search home page; refreshes Live Mesh preview
On July 30, Microsoft began rolling out a new home page for Live Search and is making available another update to the test version of its Live Mesh collaboration/synchronization service.
The new Live Search homepage includes background rotating images with “interactive hotspots” embedded in those images that direct users to vertical search results related to that image.
Microsoft is rolling out the new home page over the next 24 hours in the U.S., with other markets to follow “in the future.
Among the new Live Mesh updates (delivered via Live Mesh software build 0.9.3103.9 and Live Desktop build 0.9.3103.9) are:
- Improved peer-to-peer synchronization performance
- A higher limit on the total number of customers now allowed to be part of the Tech Preview. No more waiting list in the U.S., UK, Australia and New Zealand
- No limit on the number of Live Mesh invitations available to Tech Preview participants in those same countries
Microsoft is close to releasing the Mac client version of the Live Mesh Tech Preview. On July 29, the company accidentally made live the Web page notifying testers of the Mac client’s availability, but subsequently pulled the page down.
When I asked yesterday about the availability of the Live Mesh Mac client, I received this answer from a Microsoft spokeswoman:
Wanted: IE8 Beta Testers
In a July 30 posting on the IE blog, Microsoft solicited additional testers for the upcoming beta, which is going to be targeted at users (as opposed to developers, who were the target of Beta 1 of IE 8, which Microsoft released in March).
We look forward to hearing from you,
Allison Burnett
Microsoft also highlighted in the blog post another forthcoming feature of IE 8 that it is calling “loosely-coupled IE,” which the team describes as “an architectural feature that helps isolate different parts of the browser from each other for smoother browsing performance.”
The IE team has been stepping up its feature disclosure via the IE blog over the past few months, following complaints by developers and customers that Microsoft wasn’t providing enough information and direction on its plans. The IE team also has been cautioning Web site owners regularly to make sure that IE 8, which will be more standards-compliant, won’t wreak havoc on their sites and applications by testing early and often and adding a new tag to head off compatibility potential problems.