Microsoft updates Office Live Workspace

Microsoft made few enhancements in his new online docs competiter which was released in December 2007 as a beta.

Office Live Workspace is just a complement to Microsoft Office which runs on a web. Office Live Workspace can be used with any of the browsers without installating Microsoft Office.

The update contains 4 major features:

1. Activity pane: It allows logging and email notification on any kind of updates by people regarding your workspaces.


2. Multiple documents: You can easily add multiple documents by just drag and drop to your workspaces.


3. Permalinks: Access your workspace and documents directly with the help of hyperlinks which you can also share with others.


4. Share workspace: An interface to invite friends/family to your workspace and you can add them from Live a and contact book.

Beside these, other fixes and improvements have been made and the Office Live add-in has also been updated.

Source: Office Live Workspace Community

Microsoft launches Enterprise Products

Microsoft announced three new enterprise products which would help its customers to efficiently manage their needs and make their organizations' environment better and produce better business outcome by moving themselves to the new era of web.

Theme of the event was "Heroes Happen Here". It has described that how IT professionals have been developing applications and creating solutions to fulfill their requirements.

According to the researchers, Windows Server 2008 will grab the market because of reduced costs and it will benefit all the IT operations because of its more reliability, security and management.

Number of IT professionals and developers, who have been using the testing versions of Windows Server 2008, Visual Studio 2008 and SQL Server 2008. GoDaddy- one of the biggest shared web hosting and domain providers is also using Windows Server 2008 and it has found this server better than ever.

“We are excited to offer this technology to our customers,” said Bob Parsons, CEO and founder of Go Daddy.

Combination of these three products have boost up 3 million customers who were a part of early feedback and beta testing program.

Alot of comparisons were done, when the products were launched in Los Angeles with respect to performance, scalibility and throughput. Now, Microsoft partners also observe a great opportunity in the market after launching of these enterprise sofware.

Windows Server 2008, including a beta version of the Hyper-V virtualization technology, and Visual Studio 2008 are ready to use. SQL Server 2008 will be available in the third quarter of 2008 with family of Windows Essential Server Solutions.

Atlast! I have been registered as a Heroes Community Leader too. =)

For more info regarding the launch, please visit: http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/events/HHHlaunch/default.mspx

Source: Microsoft PressPass

Adobe Air on the go!

As pioneers of a sofware industry has started to build AIR applications by which the transition between the on and offline worlds become seamless.

Last year Google Launched its application Gears while Microsoft in 2006, unveiled its SilverLight technology and now, Adobe is willing to create such applications. It normally allows computer users to use online applications offline.

It will be available to all of the platforms that are booming around. A free download will allow users to run any Air applications.

"If I'm on the road with my laptop maybe I want to use the desktop version of my application. If I pop into an internet cafe I can still access it through the browser" - Andrew Shorten, platform evangelist at Adobe told BBC News.

Adobe is also looking into provide the Air versions of many of its popular programs such as Photoshop which is a always a better sign.

"Our advice would be to only install applications from sources that you trust," said Mr Shorten.

Covered by: BBC

Microsoft to Release IE 8 Beta 1

Microsoft plans to release the first beta of the next version of Internet Explorer in the first half of 2008.

"We have identified you as a qualified beta tester and we would like to offer an opportunity to join our limited technical beta program for Windows Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1." said Internet Explorer Team.

If youre enrolled in this program of Technical Beta, you will be able to evaluate a common release of IE 8 and submit the feedback, bug reports etc.

If you want to be a part of Windows Internet Explorer 8 Technical Beta program then just become a member of this platform then just click here. If the link doesnt work then visit the Contact Us page at the bottom of every page and submit your query.

Microsoft posted a video about the browser passing the test on its Channel 9 Web site. Check it out!

YouTube banned in Pakistan

YouTube is no more accessible to most of the Pakistani users as report by ARY OneWorld. Its not happening for the very first time. Earlier the blogspot.com was the main victim on some religious issues and this time the YouTube faces the same reason.

As per Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), youtube is banned because of an abusive movie about Islam and Quran made by dutch politician Geert Wilders. He is the same person who constantly demands banning Quran from Netherland.

In my opinion, they should not tolerate anything bad regarding Religion but the ban should not be on whole site. It should be imposed only on those files that have been uploaded by some pagans.

If you still want to use YouTube then you may go through some proxy sites. Few of them are:

• aTunnel.com
• bTunnel.com
• vTunnel.com
• unblockyoutube.org

YouTube can also be accessed by your mobiles as that url has not been blocked yet.

I have uploaded the PTA's letter of blocking the website. Please have a look at it.

SkyDrive - 5GB of free online storage

More space with portability (where-ever you are) is one of the modern issues as Desktop Applications are substituted by online alternates.

Windows Live SkyDrive is one of them which originally came out with the name of Windows Live Folders but later on, Microsoft changed its name for some good reasons.

Before yesterday, this drive was in the Beta testing mode with 1GB of storage but now it offers the space five times more - that’s 5GB of free online storage for your favorite documents, pictures, and other files.

SkyDrive is also available now in 38 countries/regions. All the bugs in previous release was fixed and due to that it has become more faster, reliable and secured. I hope you'd enjoy it!

Domain name for Asia up for grabs

The landrush for the latest domain name suffix - .asia - has begun now. Its an enchantment for all of the asians.

Over 30,000 applications have been filed for .asia domain names since October, compared with around 330,000 at the same point in the launch of the .eu domain name in April 2006. Those companies who haven't registered their domain, can grab them now. As its opened for everyone so one can get few cool domain names for resell purposes as well.

"It is open season on the .asia domain name for cyber-squatters, online speculators and competitors" Jonathan Robinson Chief operating officer, NetNames.

The .Asia domain name covers around 70 countries because 60% of the world population lives within asia and there are almost 400 Million internet users. Leona Chen, spokeswoman for the DotAsia Organisation, anticipated plenty of interest and hoped the suffix could have as significant an impact in Asia as .com has globally.

Any domain names with more than one application will be auctioned off to the highest bidder before .asia goes live on 26 March.

Xbox 360: First Console to Create and Distribute Community Games

Microsoft launched a distribution service for games by the community and soon playable by its millions of Xbox Live members. It will also help the amateaurs to create and build their own games.

“The time has come for the games industry to open its doors to all game creators, enabling anyone to share their creations with the world,” said John Schappert, corporate vice president of LIVE, Software and Services for the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft. “Our goal is to drive a creative and social revolution in games with the same transformative power that we’ve seen in digital music and video sharing.”

Microsoft offers the distribution of tools for free with XNA Game Studio Software by which several games can be built for Xbox 360 and Windows. Amateur gamers would be able to download few games created using XNA Game Studio from Xbox Live Marketplace.

The tools have been downloaded 800,000 times and more than 400 universities worldwide are using the XNA package but games could not be shared yet.

"There are tens of thousands of developers out there chomping at the bit; we need to unlock that potential," said John Schappert.

iPod Shuffle 1GB and 2GB available for $49 and $69

Apple has reduced the price for 1GB iPOD to $49 and by the end of this month, new 2GB iPOD Shuffle will also be launched for a price of $69.

iPod Shuffle is one of the most successful and handy iPod product range ever introduced by Apple. iPod shuffle is just half a cubic inch in volume, weighs just half an ounce, features an aluminum design with a built-in clip and comes in five colors. It is easy to use and very light and handy to carry around.

"At just $49, the iPod shuffle is the most affordable iPod ever,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide iPod Product Marketing. “The new 2GB model lets music lovers bring even more songs everywhere they go in the impossibly small iPod shuffle.”

iPod Shuffle Features:

• Powerful and easy to use controls
• Built-in Clip that can attach itself to anything
• Shuffle switch lets you mix your playlists
• Battery indicator alerts your about your usage
• Headphone Jack does double-duty as a dock connector

This gadget of Apple is more preferrable because of its small size and portability. Now everybody expects a price-drop in iPhone and iPOD touch as well.

via : Apple Press Relese

Microsoft to launch WorldWide Telescope

A source close to Microsoft says the company will launch new desktop software called WorldWide Telescope on February 27 at the TED Conference in Monterey, California. Our guess is that this is what Robert Scoble was talking about last week when he said he saw a new Microsoft project that brought him to tears.

The service will be accessed through a downloadable application - Windows only for now is what we hear. Users will be able to pan around the nighttime sky and zoom as far in to any one area as the data will allow. Microsoft is said to be tapping the Hubble telescope as well as ten or so earth bound telescopes around the world for data. When you find an area you like, you can switch to a number of different views, such as infrared and non-visible light.

Dan Farber posted his own educated guess that the project might be WorldWide Telescope, based on the fact that Curtis Wong and Jonathan Fay were involved, and he’s right. Last year Fay gave a presentation called “”The WorldWide Telescope, bringing the Universe to a PC near you.” In 1993, Wong started a project called “John Dobson’s Universe,” a virtual sky tour on a CD-ROM, narrated by John Dobson. The two began working together at Microsoft in 2005.

From what we hear, WorldWide Telescope will be significantly better than Google Sky, which launched last August as part of Google Earth, and the open source Stellarium (which is hugely better than Google Sky already). The key is the user interface, which is seamless as you move around the sky and zoom in and out. Much of the Photosynth technology is said to have been used for the project. And the sheer amount of data Microsoft is accessing, said to be measured in the terabits, gives that great user interface something to show off.

via : techcrunch

Microsoft gives student access to technical software at no charge

For the improved future of high school and college students, Bill Gates unveiled a software program that would provide the access to the latest tools for the development and designing at no charge with the help of Microsoft DreamSpark student program (http://channel8.msdn.com). This program is now available in Belgium, China, Finland, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the U.K. and the U.S. Broad global coverage, along with the hope of increasing the trend upto 1 billion students worldwide by next year.

The tools provided are:

• Visual Studio 2005 Professional Edition
• Visual Studio 2008 Professional Edition
• XNA Game Studio 2.0
• 12-month free Academic membership in the XNA Creators Club
• Microsoft designer tools. This ultra-versatile suite of tools will enable students to vividly bring their creative visions to life in vibrant new Web site designs and more effective digital content, including animation, imagery and photography.
• Expression Studio, including
• Expression Web
• Expression Blend
• Expression Design
• Expression Media
• Microsoft platform resources. The foundation for development and design platforms, these products deliver a security-enhanced, reliable and manageable environment for students to more quickly turn ideas into reality.
• SQL Server 2005 Developer Edition
• Windows Server, Standard Edition

“We want to do everything we can to equip a new generation of technology leaders with the knowledge and tools they need to harness the magic of software to improve lives, solve problems and catalyze economic growth,” Gates said. “Microsoft DreamSpark provides professional-level tools that we hope will inspire students to explore the power of software and encourage them to forge the next wave of software-driven breakthroughs.”

In the next six months, the offer of Microsoft DreamSpark will expand to the students in Australia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Japan, Lithuania, Latvia, Slovakia and many more countries in the Americas, Asia and Europe, Students should check http://channel8.msdn.com for updates.

Launch 2008 issue of MSDN Magazine now online

The Launch 2008 issue of MSDN Magazine is now available online at http://msdn.microsoft.com/msdnmag/issues/08/LA/.

As you can probably guess from the name, this issue highlights the launch of Visual Studio 2008 and the .NET Framework 3.5.

In the leading article (Mobile WCF: Write an IM App with the .NET Compact Framework), Andrew Arnott builds a mobile IM app using the subset of WCF functionality provided by the .NET Compact Framework 3.5.

Mike Volodarsky introduces you to the IIS 7.0 extensibility model by walking through the shared source Response Modification project (IIS 7.0: Build Web Server Solutions with End-To-End Extensibility).

Continue at source

GPS/GIS Map of Pakistan

Do you want to find any address or place? Afraid of getting lost or wasting fuel? Want to search restaurants within a radius of an area? Want to select an optimized path? Naqsha.net provides you digital road map portal of Pakistan overlaid on Google Maps satellite images.

The procedure for finding any address is quite simple if you are familiar with Google Earth.

Cities include:

• Karachi
• Islamabad
• Peshawar
• Lahore
• Quetta
• Rawalpindi
• Multan
• Faisalabad
• Hyderabad etc.

You can also use Naqsha Mobile on few mobile devices by Nokia and Sony Ericsson. In addition to that get the same maps on Facebook by just adding an application via: http://apps.facebook.com/pakmaps/.

Amazon S3 cloud faces trouble

Amazon's Simple Storage Service (S3), which has been used by thousands of companies went down on yesterday's morning and was proclaiming high error rates according to different news sources.

Over 330,000 developers have registered to use Amazon Web Services and the technical problem has affected The New York Times to store and deliver articles from its archives.

“For one of our services, the Amazon Simple Storage Service, one of our three geographic locations was unreachable for approximately two hours and was back to operating at over 99% of normal performance before 7 a.m. pacific standard time. We’ve been operating this service for two years and we’re proud of our uptime track record. Any amount of downtime is unacceptable and we won’t be satisfied until it’s perfect. We’ve been communicating with our customers all morning via our support forums and will be providing additional information as soon as we have it.” said, Amazon's spokesman.

Have this hurt Amazon? It is the first problem for S3 and in my opinion they have fixed the problem in time and still, trying to communicate with their customers. I believe it won't get down again but if it proves to be a continuing problem then Amazon will be in trouble.

To Bot or not to Bot (IM Translation)

Did you know that MSN messenger recently became the number one instant messenger in the world? Last summer, thanks to the efforts of Helvecio on our team, the MTBot prototype project quietly launched – to provide a glimpse to the community of 28.6 million unique messenger users what might be possible when you combine machine translation technology with instant messaging.

The MTBot prototype project was released in May 2007 with the main goal to try to understand how useful machine translation would be in IM conversations. The bot acts as a human translator, participating in conferences and translating messages as they are sent by all parties.

A typical usage scenario would be something like this: let's assume you have a friend in Japan that does not speak English... Well, you would add MTBot-en_us@hotmail.com to your Live messenger buddy list, wait until the bot accepts your request (by switching status to Online) and then you would start your conversation by sending the "Hello" message... The Bot is going to wake up, and display a list of languages - enter "ja" for Japanese. Once it gets a valid connection the Bot will tell you to invite your friend to join the conversation. That's it... From this point on, everything you type will be translated from English to Japanese, and everything your friend types will be translated from Japanese to English.

Another typical use is as portable translator: using Messenger from any Smartphone a user can translate simple sentences when traveling to other countries.

As with any prototype effort, do keep in mind that this is experimental and there is a possibility the bot might be offline from time to time. The usual caveats about the quality of machine translation also apply.

via : msdn blogs (MSR-MT Team)

FireFox 3 Beta 3 is released

In this growing era of open source. FireFox is supposed to be one of the best applications. Its popularity and user share continues quite slowly, but I believe it will demolish all the onopolized browsers of the present.

This new Beta 3 released has brought some new features like Micro Formats that will help in breaking the thick line between an online application and an offline one. Most of the changes were made to the functionality instead of overall interface of the program.

Some of the features are easier to use and one of them is the improved Bookmarks management. It has made bookmarking easier than ever. Download manager is the another thing that has seen improved which can resume downloads with more reliability. Password manager is another better option, one can save his/her password without being troubled by the popup (as it was in FireFox 2). Whenever you try to close the browser with many tabs open, you will be asked whether to save the tabs or not for next opening of the browser (personally like it).

FireFox has some bug-issues as it is in Beta stage but I haven't noticed any of them yet. I recommend you to downlaod and try this version from Mozilla's site.

HowTo: Disable the USB Port

For enormous IT managers USB port can still model a threat to organization's security. So, a quick registry edit can disable the USB port of any system (using Microsoft OS). This is a registry edit so be sure to backup your registry first and know how to restore it in case something terrible happens.

To disable the access to USB port, in windows 2000/XP/Vista:

1. Click Start, and then click Run.


2. In the Open box, type regedit, and then click OK.


3. Locate, and then click the following registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\UsbStor


4. In the right pane, double-click Start.


5. In the Value data box, type 4, click Hexadecimal (if it is not already selected), and then click OK.


6. Quit Registry Editor.

To re-enable a disabled port:

1. Click Start, and then click Run.


2. In the Open box, type regedit, and then click OK.


3. Locate, and then click the following registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\UsbStor


4. In the right pane, double-click Start.


5. In the Value data box, type 3, click Hexadecimal (if it is not already selected), and then click OK.


6. Quit Registry Editor.

First Windows Mobile Phone with Sony Ericsson

Yesterday at Mobile World Congress 2008, Sony Ericsson announced a new premium brand of phones today, saying that it will run Microsoft’s Windows Mobile perating system. The first phone called Xperia X1 will launch for an undisclosed price in the second half of this year and be sold worldwide. It marks the first time Sony Ericsson is using Microsoft Windows Mobile in a departure from its collaboration with Symbian, an open operating system that is partly owned by Sony Ericsson.

Sony Ericsson executive Steve Walker said Microsoft Mobile was the "ideal" platform for the X1.

The XPERIA X1 features include the following:

• Unique arc slider with wide-pitch, easy-to-use QWERTY keyboard, 3-inch clear wide VGA display and high-quality high-finish metal body


• Windows Mobile, HSDPA/HSUPA and Wi-Fi™ support so customers can enjoy their favorite entertainment and work efficiently on the move


• 3.2MP camera and XPERIA™ panels to navigate Web, multimedia and other (nine) applications with the tip of a finger

"With Sony Ericsson we are now working with the top five handset makers around the world," Microsoft product manager John Starkweather said.

Samsung, Motorola etc. have been developing Windows Mobile Phones, while Nokia Corp. also incorporates some Microsoft technology, including Windows Media Player.

Microsoft's hopes are high and it expects to ship 20 million new phones till June 30.

Check out Xperia X1's site.

Nokia N96 Specifications Leaked at Nokia Germany

Though releasing a new phone every week is a normal thing for people at Nokia but whenever we hear about a new Nokia N-Series phone coming out, there is a lot of buzz around the Internet and blogosphere. One such buzz is about the Leaked Specifications of Nokia N96 about which I have come to know over at Tecfre.

Back in late December last year, some leaked pictures and tech specs of Nokia N96 phone were shared here on Sizlopedia. There was no source to confirm how authentic the pictures and the specifications really were but just recently the site for Nokia Germany has accidentally leaked out some specifications for Nokia N96 which confirm the authenticity of the pictures and the existence of this phone.

The link to leaked specifications detail on Nokia Germany site is now dead as they would have cleverly noticed the loop hole and have removed the page but I have managed to get hold of the leaked specifications and features list and here is how it goes:

Continue at source

Y! Live (Yahoo Live Broadcasting Service)

Yahoo launches an experimental live video streaming service named Yahoo! Live.

Y! Live was dreamed up as a way to make it possible for anyone to create their own live video experience and it is totally free-to-use. You can broadcast anything you want, like a concert youre at or your own DJ set.

Its just like a live television, where you're watching the same thing as others. Live performances are always different than the pre-recorded format thus there is an excitement of moving live.

Y! Live developers are eager to watch you've build with the help of their API and embedded components, as well as a sample application and a tutorial. They are always waiting for the feedback so that they could have a better release of version 1.0 of API in coming months.

So play around with it and let them know.

Google, IBM, Microsoft, Yahoo! and VeriSign join OpenID Foundation Board

The OpenID Foundation today claimed that Google, IBM, Microsoft Corp., Verisign and Yahoo! have joined as its first corporate board members.

It is said that with these companies' deep expertise in Internet and Security Technology, OpenID Foundation strengthens the global effort to eliminate the need for multiple usernames across different websites, simplifying users' online experience with the help of a single username across different Internet sites.

This foundation came into being 18 months ago and it is not for only huge corporations. Basically, anyone can join.

I believe that support from these five heavyweights means that pretty much every site with a login will support OpenID in a year or two.

"Google shares the OpenID Foundation’s vision of a Web that’s easy to use and built on open standards available to everyone." said Brad Fitzpatrick, a software engineer at Google.

"The OpenID community is a key constituency in solving the digital identify problems Internet users face, and will benefit from being represented by the OpenID Foundation", said Kim Cameron, chief identity architect, Microsoft.

"OpenID enables consumers to take control of their online identity, which in turn will drive trust, privacy and security on the Internet,” said Nico Popp, vice president of Innovation at VeriSign Inc.

"Yahoo believes that truly an open Web is the key to the next generation of Internet experiences; OpenID furthers this cause by delivering a free, standards-based solution that the entire industry can embrace,” said Ash Patel, executive vice president of platforms and infrastructure at Yahoo!.

The Internet is still missing a much-needed omnipresent identity layer. The good news is that the broad industry collaboration that has emerged around OpenID is a key enabler for building it together!

Further analysis is conducted at VeriSign.

Windows Vista SP1 and Windows XP SP3: Release Dates

Service Packs (means by which product updates are distributed) have been a mystery for all the Microsoft OS' users either they are using the XP 'Professional' or Vista Premium.

French site, named PC Inpact has posted change request forms for Microsoft's operating systems i.e. Windows Vista SP1 and Windows XP SP3.

According to them, the release dates of these services packs will be:
Windows Vista SP1: February 18th or 19th
Windows XP SP3: March 23rd or 24th

You can see the larger view of request forms by clicking on these images.

 


Continue at source

Apple launches 16GB iPhone and 32GB iPod Touch

The still-the-world’s-most-desired-cellphone iPhone has finally received the capacity upgrade that many have been talking about for the past few months. In a somewhat surprising move, the iPod Touch, which already had a quite decent capacity (16gb) received an upgrade to 32gb, leaving it with twice as much capacity as the iPhone, minus the phone and camera, but in a slimmer package. I believe, the unlocking of iPhone this month would allow other developers to create software for their product.

The iPod Touch upgrade was obviously a tactical maneuver to help keep it’s sales going well. Apple doesn’t want it’s products to compete with one another, because if they did, it would hinder the sales. Considering how well they’ve been doing, one can’t argue that they’re doing anything wrong.

The large capacity iPhone and iPod Touch are both priced $499. Overpriced? Perhaps. But in my opinion, these prices leave the 160gb iPod Classic looking even more attractive, with 10, or approximately 5, times more capacity for $150 less.

via Apple Hot News

Google troubled by Microsoft

Google has said it finds Microsoft's $44.6bn (£22.65bn) bid to buy rival Yahoo "troubling" and wants regulators to scrutinise the proposed deal. Microsoft made an unsolicited offer for Yahoo on Friday and Yahoo showed its consideration.

Microsoft laywer Brad Smith and chief executive Steve Ballmer mentioned that the merger would create a healthy competition for Google.

Although Microsoft is the dominant force in personal computer operating software, a tie-up with Yahoo could help it repositioning itself with more applications moving online, analysts say.

"This is clearly Google's opening move in a complex game of chess that will encompass ordinary users, politicians, regulators and businessmen" - Darren Waters, technology editor, BBC News website.

I believe, the Yahoo's search engine would be the main constituent part for Microsoft along with its email, shopping and news portal to compete with google.

"We believe that the interests of Internet users come first - and should come first - as the merits of this proposed acquisition are examined and alternatives explored,' the Google statement said.

Yahoo has yet to accept the offer, but analysts have said it is too good for the struggling internet veteran to refuse and that US regulators are unlikely to find any grounds to stop it.

Sailing on the anchor

Eventually, I have plunged into this ocean after reading much about blogosphere on different walls. The reason of creating this blog is to provide technology updates mainly related to Microsoft as I have been working on its products but by no means do I stop at this. There are also other plenty of vendors, developers and architects etcetera to write about.

I am energized by this opportunity to meet with you here, in the online marketplace of ideas/news/reviews. I look forward to working in collaboration, not competition, with all those who already use blogs as a way to update others.

I hope that you will return often.