Windows 7 RC Self-Destructs
Just in case any of you are still using the free release candidate (RC) version of the operating system, you will start noticing strange goings-in. The trial period has now ended and it begins with warning pop-ups, and unannounced twice-hourly shutdowns; anything you are working on will not be saved. This will continue until June 1st when it goes into ‘non-genuine’ mode, at which point a permanent warning notice appears on the screen, the wallpaper disappears and it will no longer be possible to download updates. Be warned, there are a number of fixes on the Internet that claim to be able to fix Windows 7 Release Candidate’s suicidal tendency but as far as I’m aware none of them work properly and some of them contain viruses or malware.
Lookin Good
LooKInMyPC won’t fix your PC the next time it throws a wobbly, but it might make it easier for you, or someone who knows their way around computers, to track down the fault. When called into action it produces a detailed system profile and diagnostic report about all of the hardware, running services, drivers, updates, startup programs, networks, Internet connections, event logs and a zillion other things about your PC that could prove useful. Save the report when the PC is behaving itself and if things do go awry and help isn’t at hand you can email the report to a knowledgeable friend or tech. You don’t even have to install it on your PC after you’ve downloaded the program you get the option to install it on your hard drive, or on a removable drive or UDB memory stick. Hopefully you’ll never need it (some hope…) but if you do, it’s ready to help.
Bing Translator Evolves with 7 New Languages
The addition of Haitian Creole in the second half of January 2010 was only the precursor for the introduction of no less than seven new languages between the 20+ already supported by Microsoft’s machine translation technology. While the addition of Haitian Creole was done out of critical necessity, as the Redmond company was laboring to support the international relief efforts in Haiti, the new seven languages for which support has been added as of today, March 1st, 2010, are part of the natural evolution of Microsoft Translator/Bing Translator.
“I am happy to announce the addition of seven new languages to our translation service. As always, they will be immediately available for your use through the APIs and all the products that consume the service. Here is the list of languages that have been added in the latest release. In addition there have been several updates to the Haitian Creole language since [January 2010],” explained Vikram Dendi, senior product manager, Microsoft Translator. Read more
Windows 7 RTM ‘Year of the Tiger’ Theme Pack
What better way to celebrate the year of the tiger, than with a theme pack from Microsoft? Users running the Redmond company’s latest iteration of the Windows client can now download a new theme via the Windows Personalization Gallery. A Windows 7 ‘Year of the Tiger’ theme pack is available from the software giant free of charge, and can be integrated seamlessly into the operating system.
The six new background images feature tigers, no big surprise in this regard, obviously, given the leitmotif chosen for the theme.
The year of the tiger draws its origins from the Chinese zodiac involving a total of 12 animals. It is a Chinese tradition to associate years with animal archetypes, in cycles of 12. The tiger is third in row in the enumeration which is repeated once every dozen of years. In addition to the tiger, the Chinese zodiac also contains the following animal symbols: rat, ox, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. Read more
New Free Microsoft Security Essentials Release
A new release of Microsoft’s free security solution for Windows is now available for download. The Redmond company has made available for download extremely quietly the new version of Microsoft Security Essentials 1.0 on February 17th, 2010. The latest release of MSE, formerly codenamed Morro, is currently up for grabs from the Microsoft Download Center, with no details available from the software giant as to what, if anything was changed with the antivirus.
“Microsoft Security Essentials is a free download from Microsoft that is simple to install, easy to use, and always kept up to date so you can be assured your PC is protected by the latest technology. It’s easy to tell if your PC is secure — when you’re green, you’re good. It’s that simple. Microsoft Security Essentials runs quietly and efficiently in the background so you’re free to use your Windows-based PC the way you want—without interruptions or long computer wait times,” Microsoft noted. Read more
Microsoft Plus Yahoo vs. Google, So It Begins
The Microsoft and Yahoo marriage has been blessed by antitrust regulators both in Europe and over the pond, giving the two companies green light to implement their anti-Google search alliance. On the morning of February 18th, 2010, the U.S. Department of Justice and the European Antitrust Commission have wrapped up their reviews of the Microsoft-Yahoo search agreement. With the alliance between the two giants cleared without restrictions, the duo will now move to implement the deal.
“Although we are just at the beginning of this process, we have reached an exciting milestone,” said Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer. “I believe that together, Microsoft and Yahoo! will promote more choice, better value and greater innovation to our customers as well as to advertisers and publishers.”
Microsoft claims that the search agreement was announced in late July 2009, but the company has been flirting publicly with Yahoo for a total of over two years, but there’s no way of telling just how much time had Ballmer actually spent on this deal ahead of the start of 2008. The debut of February 2008, brought with it an unsolicited offer of $44.6 billion from Microsoft, which at the time was trying to acquire Yahoo. Making sure that the deal fell through was Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang, then occupying the position of CEO. Read more
Windows 7 Winter Sports Theme
As the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver get kicked off today, users of the Windows 7 operating system can download a free theme pack from Microsoft to help mark the event. The Winter Sports theme for Windows 7 is available as a free download via the Windows Personalization Gallery and is designed to integrate exclusively with the latest iteration of the Windows client. As users will notice immediately, the content is provided by Samsung, which is a mobile-phone partner of the US Olympic team.
Samsung is the latest company to take advantage of a pilot program run by Microsoft Advertising and designed to let customers take advantage of the Windows Personalization Gallery and Windows 7 for brand advertising. Windows 7 users are also able to download themes featuring content from CocaCola, Pepsi, Ducati, Ferrari, Infinity, Porsche, etc. One thing that users need to be aware of the Samsung Winter Sports theme is the fact that the wallpapers contained are tailored to wide-screens. Read more
Windows 7 RTM Lacy Hearts Theme
With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, Microsoft is helping Windows 7 customers celebrate love right on their desktops. In this regard, the Redmond company has made available for download a new desktop theme designed to integrate seamlessly into the desktop of their Windows 7-power computers. The Lacy Hearts is, as the software giant has put it, “A dreamy theme for Valentine’s.” The theme pack is available as a free download via the Windows Personalization gallery website, along with the vast majority of themes that Microsoft has made available for the successor of Windows Vista.
Themes are personalization items unique to Windows 7, and not available for previous releases of Windows operating systems. Essentially, the packs feature multiple wallpapers, which can be scheduled to swap one another at specific intervals, but also color and sound schemes for the platform. This is the case of Lacy Hearts. Read more
Free PowerShell 2.0 Management Library for Hyper-V R2
PowerShell Management Library for Hyper-V is a rather self-explanatory label for any project, and to little surprise, it delivers just what it promises, namely a PowerShell management library for Microsoft’s hypervisor role in Windows Server. Put together by Microsoft Evangelist James O’Neill, the new PowerShell cmdlets for Hyper-V are designed to allow administrators to implement the resource as a module for PowerShell version 2. PowerShell Management Library for Hyper-V is available free of charge via Microsoft CodePlex, distributed under the company’s Public License (Ms-PL), which is an open source license. The latest version of the library represents an important update from the Release Candidate version.
“This update from the RC version contains more changes than would be normal , hence it is designated as “Gold” rather than “release”. I expect there to be corrections to the on-line help text,” O’Neill stated. “This release was produced to exploit PowerShell V2 and as a PowerShell module it will not run on v1 If you are running an R2 server OS, or are doing remote management from Windows 7 then you have PowerShell V2. If you are running on “Classic” 2008, you will need to upgrade the supplied PowerShell V1 to V2 or stick to V1 of the library.” Read more
Windows Experience Pack
Undoubtedly, one of the aspects of Windows 7 that has generated a lot of user enthusiasm, and for good reason, is related to customization. The latest iteration of the Windows client comes with a range of personalization options, with the new Theme feature, and the actual themes released by Microsoft, being extremely well received. Still, the Redmond-based company is taking it one step forward with the release of a free Windows 7 Theme tool dubbed the Windows Experience Pack. And to top it all off, the Windows Experience Pack is not only designed to allow users of Windows 7 to customize their desktops, but also the software giant’s free instant messaging client: Windows Live Messenger.
“While we can’t send all of you on vacation, we can give you something special to help you daydream and customize your PC and online experience,” revealed Brandon LeBlanc, Windows Communications Manager on the Windows Client Communications Team. “With the Windows Experience Pack, you are able create an alter-ego of yourself in a specific destination – a beach, mountain, safari, or city. When you create your alter-ego, you create a fully customized avatar for that destination that becomes a part of a Windows Live Messenger and Windows 7 theme for your PC. You’ll also be able to download a .jpg image of your avatar to share, print, or use as your icon on social networks.” Read more
