Thursday, May 31, 2007

Windows Live Mail, Live Writer & Messenger 8.5 Beta

Microsoft has announced the availability of 3 Windows Live products today, all of which are beta.

Windows Live Mail is the free consumer client Microsoft will invest in moving forward. It is a superset of existing free clients and will replace Outlook Express, Windows Mail and Windows Live Mail desktop beta. While it used to be a paid feature, Hotmail customers can now access their account for free in Outlook 2003 and Windows Live Mail.

Windows Live Writer is a blogging tool that has been available in the US since August of last year. The tool was very well received by US bloggers at launch since it provides increased product functionality for Windows Live Spaces users and it also allows publishing to many of the largest blogging products in the world.

Windows Live Messenger 8.5 will also go out with a largely back-end update, but includes feature updates such as new look and feel in sign-in and conversation window, new emoticons, and integration with Windows Live OneCare Family Safety.

For full information and download just visit the Microsoft Latest Releases section of the Tech Today or just click here

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Windows Mobile Device Center 6.1 - coming soon

In the next few weeks, the Windows Mobile Device Center team will be launching an update to Windows Mobile Device Center 6.0. Aside from bug fixes and improvements over WMDC 6.0, the update (version 6.1) will include feature support for Windows Mobile 6 devices; this includes support for file synchronization on both touchscreen and non-touchscreen Windows Mobile 6 devices. We'll make a formal announcement here on the blog once the update is officially released.

Source- windows Vista blog

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Windows Live FolderShare Beta - there is still hope

Looks like there is a ray of hope for those FolderShare users who've been out in the cold since Microsoft's acquisiton of ByteTaxi back at the end of the 2005. Apart from a a partial rebrand to Windows Live, there hasn't been much to get exicted about, but that may be about to change.

A new FolderShare page on feedback.live.com and a public foldershare newsgroup with some activity shows that FolderShare is getting some attention internally, suggesting that it may be a questions of when, not if, there is a new beta build.

To recap:

"FolderShare is a Windows Live Service that allows people to share their files with their friends, family & co-workers, and synchronize files across multiple devices. People can also access their files from anywhere on the web."

So how does this compare to Microsoft's other known storage products?
- Windows Live FolderShare provides remote access to files via a web browser and also synching capabilities similar to that of Messenger's Shared Folders.
- Windows Live Folders is a cloud storage service, allowing you to store your files at a Microsoft datacenter thereby providing access to your files even if your home PC is turned off.
- Windows Home Server provides remote access to files via a web browser and mapped drive access if you are on the same network

You can try out FolderShare at www.foldershare.com.

source- liveside

Monday, May 28, 2007

Signup for windows live betas

Want to be a Windows Live beta tester than here U get the chance to be one among them just complete the survey and U can become a Windows Live tester.Here is what the guy at liveside posted-
A new beta program for "Messenger, Mail, and Writer" was just added to Microsoft Connect suggesting that these three programs will be releasing into beta soon. While some information s already available, those who want to contribute something to the development of Windows Live products are encouraged to sign up.

Windows Live beta signup

Sunday, May 27, 2007

OneCare Activation Explained

Our customers have a lot of questions about OneCare activation and want to know exactly what it is all about. We commonly hear feedback from customers who say that activation is only for the purposes of adding a second PC, but it is much more than that.

So why do customers need to activate in the first place? You may have noticed that OneCare is not a traditional software package, it is a subscription based service. One way to think about it is to compare it to your cell phone service, where you pay a fee for a period, receive updates to your service during that period and have a phone number associated with your service. Similarly, it is necessary for OneCare customers to have a Windows Live ID account so that we can provide them with the proper level of service. Getting a Windows Live ID means you have one simple way to interact with your OneCare account whether that means Activating a 2nd PC or getting support.

source: Windows Live OneCare Blog

Thursday, May 24, 2007

Windows® Defender

This is the most current release of Windows Defender. If Windows Defender informed you that an update is available, you are running an older version. We encourage you to upgrade to this version. You can check your version of Windows Defender by clicking the down arrow next to the help icon and choosing ‘About Windows Defender’.

This release includes enhanced features that reflect ongoing input from customers, as well as Microsoft’s growing understanding of the malicious software landscape.

To download the x64 version of Windows Defender, click here.

Specific features of Windows Defender include:

  • A redesigned and simplified user interface – Incorporating feedback from our customers, the Windows Defender UI has been redesigned to make common tasks easier to accomplish with a warning system that adapts alert levels according to the severity of a threat so that it is less intrusive overall, but still ensures the user does not miss the most urgent alerts.

  • Improved detection and removal – Based on a new engine, Windows Defender is able to detect and remove more threats posed by spyware and other potentially unwanted software. Real Time Protection has also been enhanced to better monitor key points in the operating system for changes.

  • Protection for all users – Windows Defender can be run by all users on a computer with or without administrative privileges. This ensures that all users on a computer are protected by Windows Defender.

  • Support for 64-bit platforms and accessibility - Windows Defender supports accessibility and 64-bit platforms. Please be sure to use WindowsDefenderX64.msi for 64-bit platforms.

  • Delta definition updates - Windows Defender now downloads smaller delta definition updates when possible which reduces the time required to download and install definition updates. Customers can expect shorter download times when updating their definition updates.

  • Free Limited Support - As a part of our commitment to the security of our customers, Microsoft is offering two free support incidents relating to Windows Defender on Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. Examples of valid support scenarios are installation, configuration, definition update, detection and removal errors. Please refer to the Windows Defender support policy for more information.

  • WGA enforcement - There are significant risks to running non-genuine Windows. Only genuine Windows customers can receive product downloads, Windows updates and special offers. Windows Defender will validate that your copy of Windows is genuine before installation. Furthermore, Windows Defender will only remove Severe threats for machines that are not genuine. Low, Medium and High threats will be detected, but not removed unless your copy of Windows is genuine. For more information, please visit The Windows Genuine Advantage.
link- http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=435bfce7-da2b-4a6a-afa4-f7f14e605a0d&DisplayLang=en

Windows XP SP3 Coming this Year

According to one of the press releases of Microsoft,the Windows XP SP3 is under development and will be released later this year so really a good news Windows XP users.
Here is what the press release reads-

The Juniper Networks Infranet Controller, the policy management server at the heart of the Juniper UAC solution, will be able to leverage the built-in security assessment capabilities and the SOH protocol provided by the NAP agent built into the Windows Vista and Microsoft Windows XP operating systems. Microsoft Network Policy Server (NPS) brings a rich ecosystem of NAP health agents and will be able to interoperate with the Juniper Networks UAC solution in heterogeneous network environments.

Microsoft NPS can either act as a policy server or be leveraged by the Juniper Infranet Controller for rich endpoint information. Microsoft is announcing that Windows Vista supports this protocol today and Windows Server 2008 and Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) will support it as well later this year.

News source:http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2007/may07/05-21MSJuniperPR.mspx

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Windows Desktop Search 3.01

Windows Desktop Search (WDS) 3.01 is a minor update to Windows Desktop Search 3.0 that adds: support for indexing UNC files, additional support for enterprise deployment, and stability improvements. WDS 3.01 installs on Windows XP and Window Server 2003, but is not needed for Windows Vista since the WDS component is already included in Vista. Windows Desktop Search 3.01 helps you to find, preview, and use your documents, e-mail, music, photos, and other items. The search engine in Windows Desktop Search 3.01 is a Windows service that is also used by applications such as Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 and OneNote 2007 to index application content and deliver instant results when searching within that application.

Note: WDS 3.01 can be installed as a new install or as an upgrade from 02.05.xxxx, 02.06.xxxx or 03.00.0000. On an upgrade from 03.00.0000, you will not need to rebuild your index.

Download for: XP x86 | Server 2003 x86 | x64
Link: Home Page