Microsoft plans to roll out its "Office Live" service in mid-November. Office Live, which doesn't include any online Office programs, is a set of online business services such as e-mail and web hosting. Over 100,000 people have enrolled in the beta which was unveiled earlier this year. Office Live Basics (free) will include 500MB's of storage, and 25 e-mails accounts with 2GB of storage available. There are also several other paid plans which include extra services such as a business conta...
Today, Microsoftreleased Windows Media Player 11. This final release includesupdates and fixes to the previous public betas in which many havepreviously downloaded. Microsoft has addedcompatibility with the Microsoft Zune, and more musicplayers. They have also updated content and integration tothe URGE online store.
A couple of months ago I posted a story about a researcher at the "Black Hat" convention who showed how to bypass some security measures in the upcoming Windows Vista. Joanna Rutkowska, a Polish researcher, tried her exploit on the recently released Vista RC2 and discovered it no longer worked. However, she apparantly feels there could be some problems with Microsoft's "fix". Rutkowska said on her blog, "This is good news, but it might hold some problems. Microsoft appears to have thwa...
Google plans to build a solar-powered electricity system at it's Silicon Valley headquarters. When finished it will be the largest U.S. corporate complex powered by solar energy. The rooftop system will reportedly supply 1.6 megawatts of electricity to nearly a third of it's 1 million square foot complex. Read more at the article below.
Since Vista will obviously not be released for this upcoming holiday season, they have come up with a coupon plan to ease the minds of new computer buyers. Microsoft reportedly plans to offer coupons with new PC purchases valid for either a free upgrade to Vista, or a discounted upgrade. The upgrade program will begin on October 26, and will run until March 15. Only PC's cabable of running Vista will be eligible for the upgrade coupons. So if you plan on buying a new PC for the upcomin...
Halloween Skins Halloweenisapproaching and I wanted to put a list together of some great Halloweeninspired skins. Please feel free add any you think are"scary"enough. Bootskins HalloweenHades Halloween CursorXP HalloweenPumpkins MyHalloween HalloweenCursors Creepers DesktopX CreepersDesktop HalloweenLights AeroHalloween 2004 ...
Microsoft has recently started sending out reminders to Vista beta users that on June 1st, Vista will expire. Users are either going to have to upgrade to a full version of Vista, or "downgrade" back to Windows XP. Now you might be asking what will happen to your PC when the Vista beta does expire? Well Microsoft says your computer will reboot every 2 hours until you upgrade or downgrade your OS, and even that will be on a limited time basis. From the Microsoft website: "On May 31, 200...
Microsoft announced that the Spring update for the Xbox 360 will begin next month. One of the biggest changes will be the addition of Live Messenger on Xbox Live. This will allow Xbox 360 users to chat with their PC friends, and even see if those contacts have Xbox Live Gamertags. To make it easier to chat with your friends, Microsoft is also set to release a keyboard controller attachment in case you grow tired of using the on-screen keyboard. Other improvements include upd...
A few days ago a U.S. District Court judge ordered the internet "phone company" Vonage to stop accepting new customers while it "infringes" on patents held by Verizon. A federal appeals granted Vonage a temporary reprieve from the injunction while arguements were made about the the patent violation allegations. "The judge's order follows a federal jury finding on March 8 that Vonagehad infringed three Verizon patents. The New Jersey-based Internetphone provider was ordered to pay $58...
The "official" Windows Vista Resource Kit is now available and covers topics such as administering group policy, files and folders, programs, and deployment and configuration among many other useful topics. "The official Windows Vista Resource Kit walks corporate users through the deployment, configuration andmanagement of the operating system. The book dedicates more than 1,500pages to in-depth technical guidance on automating deployment,implementing security enhancements, and troublesho...
Yahoo! announced that in celebration of their 10th anniversary of Yahoo! Mail, that they will offer unlimited storage starting in May of this year. When Yahoo! Mail launched they offered an amazing amount of storage......4mb to be exact. Think about that for a minute. How many times do you send or recieve an attachment that size? Pretty often for me. "We’re psyched to be breaking new ground in the digital storage frontierby giving our users the freedom to never worry ...
Microsoft announced news from its initial sales figures that over 20 million licenses for Windows Vista were sold in the first month of general availability. This is more than double than what Windows XP did in its release. These numbers include sales to PC manufacturers, retail stores, and upgrades. "We are encouraged to see such a positive consumer response to WindowsVista right out of the gate," said Bill Veghte, corporate vicepresident of the Windows Business Group at Microso...
Microsoft is beginning a trial program in which it will offer large businesses "rewards" if their employees use the Live search service. These "rewards" will include customer service or training credits that will be based on how much employees use the Live service. The move is aimed at moving users from rival search engines such as Google, and a deal was just made to make the Live search the default on computers made by Lenovo. Read more at the article below.
This week Microsoft announced that it's PC version of "Live" will be released on May 8th. Like Xbox Live, gamers on their PC's will be able to earn achievements, tally a "gamerscore", and be able to connect with friends through text and voice messages. If you already have an Xbox Live account don't worry, Microsoft says you will get a Games for Windows Live account at no additional cost. For the rest of you the service will be the same price as Xbox Live, a Silver account wil...
Google has announced in their blog an upcoming change to their privacy policy in the coming months after apparently "talking" with privacy advocates in the U.S. and Europe. Google will soon anonymize their server logs after 18-24 months unless "legally" obligated not to. When you search on Google, we collect information about your search,such as the query itself, IP addresses and cookie details. Previously,we kept this data for as long as it was useful. Today we're pleased torep...