Product Boxshots: Windows Vista and 2007 Office

Just found these exciting pacakaging screenshots of Windows Vista and Office 2007 at Microsoft PressPass image gallery.

http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/default.mspx

Stay away from Office if you don't have a genuine copy

If you want to enjoy the extra features of Office then your Office copy must be a genuine one otherwise good bye.Office Online templates would require the validation, and the ability to download updates would also require verification beginning in January.
http://www.betanews.com/article/MS_Office_Validation_Now_Mandatory/1161976219

Latest Vista-ready ATI Radeon graphic processors.

ATI Radeon X1950 XTX, X1950 PRO, and X1650 XT will deliver the best performance, and the most stable Vista experience.

AMD Intros ATI Vista Ready Chips

Internet Explorer 7 Quick Reference Sheet

IE 7 is the latest browser.And here is an excellent Quick Reference Sheet of it.Here you will find all the General shortcuts,Tab shortcuts and Common tasks.
http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/attachment/715071.ashx

Windows Vista™ Tips & Tricks

Check out these great downloadable guides that give you easy access to helpful tips & tricks for Windows Vista.
Windows Vista Tip Sheet
Windows Vista Top 10 Tips & Tricks

http://www.windowsvistatnt.com/

Microsoft Webcast: Be One of the First to See Tips and Tricks for Windows Vista

Event Overview
In this webcast, we explore the powerful new features in the Windows Vista operating system, including security enhancements, the new user interface, search, and organizational tools. We also provide useful tips on using Windows Internet Explorer 7 and illustrate practical desktop techniques that help you to be more productive right away. Join us for this informative session to see how Windows Vista represents a breakthrough in user experience.Presenter: Andy Reed, Senior Training Specialist, Total Project ManagementSince joining Microsoft as a systems engineer in 1988, Andy Reed has trained customers worldwide to understand and implement Microsoft strategies, technologies, and products. In his roles as a marketing manager, trainer, and training program manager, Andy has developed and delivered training classes for Microsoft staff and partners on varied topics. As a consultant and senior training specialist, Andy approaches Microsoft products from a customer's point of view.

Duration: 60 Minutes Start Date:
Monday, October 30, 2006 1:00 PM Pacific Time (US & Canada)

Be One of the First to See Tips & Tricks for Windows Vista

Vista Screensavers for Windows XP

If you are using Windows XP and still want to enjoy Vista Screensavers then you can download it from here:-
http://www.softpedia.com//progDownload/Vista-Screensaver-Ported-to-XP-Download-44716.html

Brand New Browser-Fresh tension

Two things happened.First one is a great news that it's now available for Windows XP.One can easily download and intall from Microsoft's site-Internet Explorer 7: Home
Now the second one-it doesn't sound well,because-it has already failed a security test.

Windows Vista build 5808

There are confirmed reports that Windows Vista build 5808 has been released to TAP (Technology Adoption Program) customers, it has also been suggested that testers will not get this build on Connect and it's unclear if this is a pre-RTM build shipped as such. Interesting to note is that 57xx was designated the RTM branch, there is no further information on a 5744 to 58xx jump, or what it implies.Jim Allchin cleared up conflicting reports to eWeek by saying that Windows Vista would not make RTM this week, adding that there was still work to do "We won't RTM (release to manufacturing) in a week," Allchin told MJ Foley on October 18. "We are in pretty good shape. And there are still months before (the January 2007) launch."

Neowin.net

Windows Automated Installation Kit (WAIK) User's Guide for Windows Vista

The Windows Automated Installation Kit (Windows AIK) is designed to help Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), system builders, and corporate IT professionals deploy Windows onto new hardware. The Windows AIK is a new set of deployment tools supporting the latest release of Windows. This guide describes the current methods, tools, and requirements for deploying Windows.Supported Operating Systems: Longhorn (Windows Code Name) ; Windows Vista; Windows Vista Business; Windows Vista Business 64-bit edition; Windows Vista Business N; Windows Vista Enterprise; Windows Vista Enterprise 64-bit edition; Windows Vista Home Basic; Windows Vista Home Basic 64-bit edition; Windows Vista Home Basic N; Windows Vista Home Premium; Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit edition; Windows Vista Starter; Windows Vista Starter N; Windows Vista Ultimate; Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit edition, Windows XP.

Download: Windows Automated Installation Kit (WAIK) User's Guide for Windows Vista

XP Service Pack 3 Delayed

SP3 for Windows XP is currently planned for 1H CY2008.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/lifecycle/servicepacks.mspx

Virtual PC 2007 Beta now available!

You can sign up for it here: https://connect.microsoft.com/programdetails.aspx?ProgramDetailsID=874.

Major changes include:
Support for hardware virtualization (Intel and AMD)
Support for Windows Vista as a host operating system
Support for Windows Vista as a guest operating system
Note: No support for Aero Glass though - just Aero Basic
Support for 64-bit host operating systems
Note: Virtual machines are 32-bit only
Improved performance.

http://blogs.msdn.com/virtual_pc_guy/archive/2006/10/11/virtual-pc-2007-beta-now-available.aspx

Notepad tips and tricks

Like most people, I use notepad when I need to put together a script. I never actually looked at the help file for notepad (well, why would you?!?) until I hit the F1 key by accident recently. As a result I found quite a few tricks that notepad provides that I never knew existed. They are turning out to be pretty helpful so I thought I'd share them below:

When editing a file, press the F5 key to insert the system date and time
Change or add headers & footers by selecting file page setup
Press ctrl-G and enter a line number to go to (VERY useful when debugging VBScript errors)
Select view status bar to display the line/character number as you navigate the file (another beneficial debugging aid)

Another tip I found was the ability to maintain a log file with timestamps. This is useful when troubleshooting a problem where you need to record what is happening at specific times:

open notepad
set the first line to be (without the quotes and in uppercase) ".LOG"
press enter and save/close the file
every time you open the file, notepad will automatically insert the system date/time at the end of the file and add a new line where you can begin typing

Source: blogs.technet.com

How to play a DVD movie in Windows XP

To play DVDs using the WMP, you must have a DVD-ROM drive and a software or hardware DVD decoder installed on your computer. By default, Windows does not include a DVD decoder.
Check here for Windows XP–compatible DVD decoders:-http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/plugins.aspx

And the following utility will be handy to determine whether any decoder is installed or not;or whether that's one compatible with WMP or not:-
Windows XP Video Decoder Checkup Utility
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=DE1491AC-0AB6-4990-943D-627E6ADE9FCB&displaylang=en

After an unsuccessful attempt to install Nero 7.0 in Vista RC2

I tried to install Nero 7.0 in a compatible mode(xp sp2) but unfortunately it failed to install.I tried again but the result was very much the same.But after this unsucessful attempt I found the unwanted entry of Nero under the Uninstall or Change a program.I tried to remove this annoying entry through the registry:-
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ SOFTWARE\ Microsoft\ Windows\ CurrentVersion\ Uninstall and removed the unwanted Nero key under "Uninstall."
I restarted Vista but it still remained as it was.
Now I tried Windows Installer CleanUp Utility and it successfully removed the annoying entry.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/290301

[Windows Installer CleanUp utility is now availabe for Windows Vista]

Error 0x80072EE4

The Problem:-When you visit windows update site and try to download a update the windows update site stops responding and you get the following error:-

Checking for latest version of Windows Update software. A red X appears next to the update, and you receive a 0x80072EE4 error.

Why does it happen?
It happens if SSL settings are incorrect or Winsock registry got corrupted.

Resolution:-

Start>Run>type in cmd>ok

in the command prompt window type the following command:-
netsh winsock reset now press the Enter key.

Desi Search Engine Launched

India's first local Internet search engine was launched named, guruji.com


www.guruji.com

All Keyboards Are Not Born Equal

Do you like to have a keyboard which is like playing a piano, since there in Das Keyboard there are no keys to look at when typing, your brain will quickly adapt and memorize the key positions. Within a few short weeks users increase their typing accuracy and find themselves typing up to 100% faster.
It's a USB keyboard which works with Windows,Linux and MacOSX.

Learn more about the technical specifications
http://www.daskeyboard.com/

Office 2007 to Go 'Gold' This Month

According to betanews-Microsoft is winding down the beta program for Office 2007 as it prepares for a release to manufacturing before the end of the month. On October 25, Microsoft will close its Office Preview site and stop allowing downloads of the beta.

http://www.betanews.com/article/Office_2007_to_Go_Gold_This_Month/1160155486

Not a good news for Vista Gamers

MICROSOFT is telling its selected gaming industry chaps that gaming under Vista will be ten to fifteen per cent slower than XP. It is because you have to load the 3D desktop all the time. It is ironic, as the same company tells the developers that the same API can do certain things up to four times faster.
http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=34915

IE7 Is Coming This Month...Are you Ready?

The final release of IE7 is fast approaching … and I mean really fast … and will be delivered to customers via Automatic Updates a few weeks after it’s available for download. We want to ensure that you are ready and the information below will help get you there.
IE 7 is "coming later this month."

Vista Build 5744/RC2 is now ready for public download

The latest build of Vista is 5744 it's also the RC2 release.It's now ready for public download.
http://download.windowsvista.com/preview/rc2/en/download.htm

Windows Vista RC2 Coming This Friday

According to Windows IT Pro, the final interim release of Windows Vista before release to manufacturing (RTM) will come this Friday

Intel GPUs that would support WDDM

When a customer buys an intel based PC he/she would check that the graphic card that comes with the intel motherboard is supporting Windows Vista.

The Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 950 on both the Intel® 945G and Mobile Intel® 945GM Express Chipsets will support the Windows Vista Display Driver model (WDDM) drivers.

Intel GPUs that would support WDDM