Saturday, December 30, 2006

Vista Transformation Pack 6 for Windows XP/2003 Released…Wow!

http://img1.imagetitan.com/img1/1/40/vistatransformationpack6.jpg

What a Christmas present this was! Vista Transformation Pack 6 was just released yesterday with all kinds of new goodies including 3rd-party applications for providing features like Taskbar thumbnail previews and a remarkable sidebar just like Vista’s. In case you are unfamiliar with this application I will forewarn you that there is a tendency for it not to uninstall all the way in case you decide that you don’t like it. I think most of the time the problem lies within replacing the icons with the old Windows XP ones, but I have personally never had issues.

With that being said I want to give credit to “Windows X” for making this release better than all previous versions. After installing the Vista Transformation Pack you’ll notice that all of the following have been changed to appear more like Vista:

  • Boot screen
  • Welcome Screen / Logon Screen
  • New msstyles files (visual styles)
  • New desktop and file icons
  • New toolbar icons
  • Progress Dialogs
  • Sounds scheme
  • System Tray icons
  • New Wallpapers
  • Windows Media Player Skins

Besides for bug fixes, here is a list of what’s new in version 6:

  • Additional Vista related applications:
    • Sidebar
    • VisualTooltip (Taskbar thumbnail view and also have docking mode)
    • Styler with Kaye Irene’s Vista Perfection X4 Styler Toolbar
    • Start Orb (fix cutting edge start orb in msstyles)
    • Vista Live Messenger RC skin
  • Applying Vista setup screen transformation in setup integration
  • Browsable System files source for uninstallation so user can restore original system files from setup CD during uninstallation
  • Display configuration for the best view of machine’s display
  • Fixing file’s PE checksum after resource patching to keep files more secure
  • Launch & Maintenance Center in transformation destination in case user already have transformed the system
  • Partially x64 support for Vista visual stuff but not for system files (experimental)
  • Option to reserved updated system files after uninstallation or not
  • Skipping system file verification patch on setup integration
  • Vista RTM system applications transformation:
    • Photo printing wizard
    • Remote Desktop Connection
    • Volume Control
    • Windows Task Manager
    • System Restore
    • Connection Manager
    • Windows Update Client
    • Media Center

Those of you attempting to upgrade from a previous version of Vista Transformation Pack shouldn’t have a problem, but if you do please mention it in the comments so others know what to expect. This application is so close to Vista that I bet you could trick 99% of the population that don’t have hands-on experience with Vista. So if you are looking to give your XP machine a fresh new look you should check out the new Vista Transformation Pack 6!

View Larger Screenshots

Download FAST from FileHo (I setup this mirror because their mirrors were going slow)
Download from SendSpace, SaveFile, or SoftVisia.

Friday, December 29, 2006

Microsoft Patents RSS Technology?

Despite patent filings, Microsoft Corp. isn’t trying to claim all rights to the Really Simple Syndication technology for notifying users of new entries on their favorite news sites and Web journals, a lead product manager says.

The patent applications, still pending before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, prompted speculation by a chief RSS developer, Dave Winer, that ‘’presumably they’re eventually going to charge us to use it.'’

That’s far from the case, said Sean Lyndersay, RSS program manager lead at Microsoft.

He wrote on a company Web journal that Microsoft is seeking patents only for ‘’specific ways to improve the RSS end-user and developer experience'’ — not the technology as a whole. And applying for a patent, he said, is a common industry practice that doesn’t necessarily mean Microsoft will ultimately seek license fees.

Many companies apply for a slew of patents for defensive purposes — to prevent others from later charging royalties on their own inventions and to trade with rivals who might also have their own arsenal of patents.

But critics have complained that patents have become too easy to get — regardless of motive. The Supreme Court is reviewing the current legal standard for granting patents.

In October, Microsoft joined rival browser manufacturers in supporting RSS technology by including a reader in its newest version of Internet Explorer. Readers such as those in browsers, standalone applications and online services allow visitors to instantly track updates on a range of topics of interest.

Source: Associated Press

Windows Live Mail Plus to offer 4GB storage

As more Windows Live services launch out of beta in the next few months, one of the unanswered questions still remains around premium subscribers. Some good news for Hotmail Plus users comes in the form of Windows Live Mail Plus, which is currently only marketed in Holland.

Features:

  • 4GB inboxes from Spring 2007 *New*
  • Attachments upto 20MB
  • No advertisements (across several Windows Live services, including Mail, Mail desktop and Spaces)
  • Microsoft Outlook access
  • No disabling of your account due to inactivity
  • Yearly cost remains at €19.99, expected £14.99 and $19.99 when launched in other regions

While the addition of 4GB storage may seem like overkill for email, Gmail is currently on ~2.8GB, it makes more sense if you can share it between services. While Live Drive is not yet released, this would seem like an appropriate place for it to integrate with Windows Live.

Thursday, December 28, 2006

Free Technet Plus direct Trial Subscription

From the thehotfix.net-
"A few days ago i got a Technet Flash mail from Microsoft saying that I was able to register for a free 2-month Technet Plus Direct Trial. They gave me this link : http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=5898197&lcid=1033
I registered and a week later I received an email telling me my subscription was ready.
So now i can get a legit Windows Vista ,a legit Office 2007 and more......."

Source-thehotfix.net

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

TuneUp Utilities 2007 v.6.0.1255


Expand the possibilities of your operating system. All important aspects of system configuration, security, cleanup and maintenance can be accessed through a modern graphical interface. The new TuneUp Utilities 2007 will make Windows even faster, more comfortable and more secure than ever. Configuring the system, making backups and performing maintenance can be easily carried out using the intuitive user interface - all easily done in one program at a single glance.

New Features in TuneUp Utilities 2007

In creating TuneUp Utilities 2007, we have made a large number of changes and additions to the previous version, TuneUp Utilities 2006, and have integrated many customer requests and suggestions. The following is an overview of the most important changes. Click any item to view more detailed information.

General

This version of TuneUp Utilities entitles you to a free online update of TuneUp Utilities 2007 for Windows Vista™.

The new TuneUp Disk Doctor module performs a thorough analysis of your disk drives and their file systems. If errors are found during analysis, they can be automatically repaired to prevent data loss. You can find out more information in the documentation for this module.

The new TuneUp Disk Space Explorer module reveals which files are taking up the most disk space on your system. You can find out more information in the documentation for this module.

TuneUp SystemControl

The following new options are available for the newest version of Internet Explorer: Configure Search bar, Customize home pages, Customize menu bar. You can find out more information in the documentation for TuneUp SystemControl.

The following options have been added for the latest version of Mozilla Firefox: Configure "close" button in tabs, minimum tab width, highlight active tab, hide "Go to address" button.

The Windows Media Player privacy settings can now also be adjusted in the latest version.

The Office Outlook settings can now also be adjusted for the latest version of Microsoft Office.


TuneUp RegistryCleaner

TuneUp System Optimizer

TuneUp Shredder

Thursday, December 14, 2006

Windows Live Messenger 8.1.0168.00

Using Windows Live Messenger you can chat online via text, voice or even video conversation - in real time - with your friends, family or colleagues.

It's faster than e-mail, a great choice for conversations and the perfons and the perfect alternative w there in person.

Features of
MSN Messenger 8:

· Video Call
· Windows Live Call with Verizon Web Calling service
· Integration with Windows Live Messenger phones
· Integration with Microsoft LifeCams
· Shared Folders
· Offline Instant Messaging
· Windows Live Contacts
· Integration with other Windows Live Services

What's New
:
· Redesigned, smarter contact cards give you more data about and easier access to your friends
· Your display name, status and personalization roam with you to any computer
· Try PC-to-phone calling with two free calls to virtually any phone in the world*
· Better server performance
· Improvements to automatic updates
· Improved sign-in performance.

Friday, December 8, 2006

Windows Live Custom Domains gets update

Today microsoft released the newest version of Custom Domains for you to try out. Visit the site at https://domains.live.com. We have added some new features and incorporated comments from you in this release. We hope you'll agree that this is the best release to date.

Here are the major highlights of this release:

* We now support all TLD's and ccTLD's.
* You can register subdomains (a domain that is part of a larger domain) with our service. As an example, you could host mail in your primary domain promotehumanity.com as well as your subdomain mail.promotehumanity.com, or both.
* We've improved the Open Membership experience. You can interactively create html code and preview it before you add this to your web site.
* We now offer integration of domains for sale, which includes automatically configuring the service. This feature will initially be available in the US English market with other countries and languages added as partners are onboarded.
* We've improved our error messages and added better Help content. We'll be adding online communities to our Help very soon.
* Many other improvements based on your feedback, including immediate recycle of acounts and on-the-spot e-mail upgrades to Windows Live Mail Beta after logging into your Hotmail account (available in select markets).

Saturday, December 2, 2006

Microsoft Releases Office 2007 Trials

That’s right, after weeks of waiting, Microsoft just made the next version of its Office 2007 productivity suite available in limited trial versions, along with trials of all additional products available alongside the suite, such as OneNote, Groove, Publisher, Project, Accounting and Visio.

A website had previously been discovered over the web and announced a release date for those trials, and although it was then tagged as fake, it appears that the page retained the exact same looks, and its FAQ’s mentioned release date turned out to be completely accurate.

The trial works for a 60 days period and will then switch onto a “Reduced functionality” mode once the period ends.

Download: Microsoft Office Trials Download Page

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Windows Desktop Search 2.6.6 (KB926356)

Windows Desktop Search (WDS) helps you find virtually anything on your PC or your networked drives including e-mail messages, calendar appointments, documents, and more. Searching your computer is now as fast and easy as searching the Web. WDS 2.6.6 extends the value of desktop search by providing improvements in stability and in performance.

Note WDS 2.6.6 can be installed as a New Install or as an Upgrade from 02.06.xxxx. On an upgrade from 02.06.5000.5401, your index will not need to be rebuilt.

This download package includes the Update.exe, ADM File and Admin Guide. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer.


download- http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=64660b3b-5e0d-4c66-accd-9bea8d6760cb&DisplayLang=en

Saturday, November 18, 2006

Windows Live OneCare (v1.5) and Windows Vista set to Launch Same Day (Plus Special Deal)

Windows Live OneCare Team Blog: Windows Live OneCare (v1.5) and Windows Vista set to Launch Same Day

As you may have heard, Microsoft announced some big news today – the Windows Vista has now been released to manufacturing and the general availability date is set for January 30, 2007! So what does this mean for Windows Live OneCare? Quite a bit. The next generation of Windows Live OneCare (v1.5) will launch globally the same day Windows Vista rolls out to the general public.

Because the new version of OneCare was designed with Windows Vista in mind, we think every homeowner and small business owner that purchases Windows Vista for their PC will like OneCare equally as much for its unified antivirus and antispyware filtering capabilities, and more backup options, not to mention the ongoing PC maintenance it provides.

Vista 32-bit and 64-bit RTM (all flavors) now up on MSDN and Connect!

As expected, all flavors of the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Vista RTM are now up on MSDN and Connect. Anyone with MSDN accounts or Connect Beta Testers should be able to get legitimate install keys for Vista starting today as well. Enjoy!

As a side note, the build number is still 6.0.6000.16386 (vista_rtm.061101-2205). I personally checked it myself.

Friday, November 17, 2006

Windows Live Mail desktop Updated

Build 1172 of Windows Live Mail desktop just went live on Ideas.Live.com. This is the first publically available update for WLMd in about a month and a half, so needless to say there have been a lot of improvements since the last build. Alright, let's just jump right into it.

New in this build
- Migration from Windows Mail in Vista (Bug fixes and more support.)
- Minimize to the System Tray (Apparently they have made some sort of update to this based on user feedback. Still not sure what was changed.)
- Windows Desktop Search 3.0 Integration (Pretty much self explanatory.)
- Improved Sorting
- Synchronization Improvements (Thank you!)
- Performance Updates (Obviously crucial to WLMd's success, although the last build was pretty tight as far as performance goes)
- Hundreds of bug fixes since the last build.

Go and grab the new build here.

Also:
Windows Live Mail desktop Team Blog post

Microsoft Windows Vista is now on MSDN & Connect

Initial reports are that this is different from the leaked version that has been available for about a week on all sorts of torrent sites, the hash is different:

en_windows_vista_x86_dvd_X12-34293.iso = b71e04564ca22e4d9928e59298eff87cf62b382b
LRMCFRE_EN_DVD.iso (BillGates) = b82590481755ba3420e7314bf82b8916a90963b5

This single download includes the following Windows Vista editions:
  • Windows Vista Business
  • Windows Vista Business N
  • Windows Vista Home Basic
  • Windows Vista Home Basic N
  • Windows Vista Home Premium
  • Windows Vista Starter
  • Windows Vista Ultimate
The product key used to install Windows Vista will determine which edition will be installed. The product keys used to install Windows Vista Business N, Windows Vista Home Basic N, and Windows Vista Starter are not currently available.

Also US testers may find an invitation to download any version of Vista final they choose (a product key is then supplied for the version specified) my source tells me that international users will start to see this appearing on their connect page within the next day or so. It's unclear if every tester will get a full version of their choice. We'll update this when Microsoft gets back to us.

View: MSDN or Connect (OS level subscriber account required for MSDN)

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Microsoft launches PowerShell


This week at Microsoft's TechEd IT forum Microsoft's Bob Mugilia introduced a host of new Microsoft technologies.
One of the major announcements was that of PowerShell 1.0, a new command-line shell and scripting tool which lets IT managers control their Windows systems.

Formerly called "Monad", PowerShell is the first major update to the Windows command line since Windows NT 3.5 back in 1995. PowerShell can do things such as navigate through SQL tables as if they were directories on a computer.

Office Live goes Live

Office Live, which goes live in the US on Nov 15, and simultaneously begins beta testing in the UK, France, Germany, and Japan, provides a powerful set of Web-based services to help you manage your valuable information and resources.

Offered in a three-tiered set of services, beginning with the free Office Live Basics, Office Live provides a single source for a number of website management tools for the very small business.

Office Live Basics is a collection of free services that provide a small business with the core requirements for establishing an online identity.

Services include:

a company domain name
a Web site with 500 MB of storage
advanced site reporting tools
25 company-branded e-mail accounts (each with 2 GB of storage) and instant messaging accounts
calendaring through Microsoft Office Live Mail
Site Designer
and the Microsoft Office Live ad manager Beta.
Office Live Essentials, offered at $19.95 per month, includes all the features of Office Live Basics

Services include:

an additional 1 GB of Web site storage,
50 company-branded e-mail, calendar and instant messaging accounts
Microsoft Office Live Business Contact Manager and
online Workspaces for 10 users with 500 MB of storage.
In addition, e-mail and appointments can be accessed offline with Microsoft Office Outlook® and Windows Mobile-powered phones.

Office Live Premium is $39.95 per month

Services include all the features of Office Live Basics and Office Live Essentials, and:

an additional 2 GB of Web site storage;
increased storage of 2 GB for the 50 company-branded e-mail, calendar and instant messaging accounts
an increased capacity for 20 additional users and 1 GB of storage for the Workspaces.
Office Live Premium also provides a set of Internet-based applications to help small-business owners streamline and automate management of their customers, projects and documents.

Here’s a list of Office Live resources and links:

Office Online
Office Live Home Page
Office Live beta Home Page
Office Live Blog
Chris Beiter’s Work Related Blog
Office Live Developer Guide
Office Live Accounting Express 2007 beta
Office Live Collaboration beta

And don’t forget to listen to our interview with Baris Cetinok of Office Live, recorded Nov. 10, 2006. A good overview of the new features of Office Live!

NEWS SOURCE: LIVESIDE.NET

Microsoft, Google, Yahoo! Unite to Support SiteMaps

Ken Moss, General Manager of Live Search,announced today that Microsoft, Google, and Yahoo! will all support the site maps protocol , a simple, xml based way for web site owners to share information with search engines without having to rely on crawl algorithms. Ken describes the work Microsoft is doing:

We are 100% behind this protocol - this kind of collaboration will help improve the search experience for all of our customers, and we are working hard to release full support in 2007.

Ken points to site maps. org., which has some details on the protocol:

Site maps are an easy way for webmasters to inform search engines about pages on their sites that are available for crawling. In its simplest form, a Site map is an XML file that lists URL for a site along with additional meta data about each URL (when it was last updated, how often it usually changes, and how important it is, relative to other URL in the site) so that search engines can more intelligently crawl the site.

Web crawlers usually discover pages from links within the site and from other sites. Site maps supplement this data to allow crawlers that support Site maps to pick up all URL in the Site map and learn about those URL s using the associated meta data. Using the Site map protocol does not guarantee that web pages are included in search engines, but provides hints for web crawlers to do a better job of crawling your site.