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
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
15 Must Have Free Microsoft Downloads
Microsoft offers a plethora of software that users can download and install without paying a single cent to the company. However, the software giant hasn’t centralized all its free offerings into a single location, a move which would streamline access to the resources it is delivering. That’s why I included below a list with a consistent collection of free software products which can be grabbed free of charge, with the vast majority available through the Microsoft Download Center.
As far as I’m concerned the list needed to start with Windows client and server operating systems. In one way or another, packaged as ISO or VHD images, Microsoft is offering customers the chance to test drive, and even use, feature-complete versions of its platforms, again, completely free. In some cases, Microsoft is making it easier for customers to test drive a Windows release before buying, while in others it is actually offering the OS on top of an existing license.
However, the list doesn’t stop with Microsoft’s operating systems. The Redmond company is also providing free downloads of its “other” cash cow, the Office productivity suite, along with its development platform and tools, security solutions and additional offerings. Users will be able to find on the list both finalized products, as well as software that is still in development. As far as pre-release products are concerned, while the overall quality of the products is extremely high, customers should keep in mind that they might still run into issues. Read more
How to show off your summer photos to the whole family
No doubt as soon as you got back from your holidays you were impatient to import your holiday pics into Windows Photo Gallery. However, once you’ve played around with them, it’s a real shame to leave them just sitting on your PC. Using Windows Vista we’ve found 10 ways you can share your snaps, and make sure those summer memories never die.
1. Account sharing
When you import your photos to Windows Photo Gallery members of your family with different user accounts won’t be able to see them as they’ll be saved on your profile. Let them join in by sharing the folders.
2. Shared folders
To share your snaps with people who don’t use your computer, try Windows Live Messenger. In a conversation look at the toolbar, click Share Files > Open your sharing folder and drag and drop any files or folders you wish. These will transfer to your friend’s PC in seconds.
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How to get the holy grail of Windows Vista and Windows 7
1. ACCURATE SCORE
Make sure you have an accurate WEI score. Follow our advice to optimise your PC, then close down all open applications and run the test again.
2. PERFORMANCE TWEAKS
If your CPU score is over 5 then overclocking, while risky, might help you reach the maximum. Check your BIOS setup program and documentation for advice.
3. FIND A REPLACEMENT
Upgrading your CPU may deliver the best results. Check your motherboard manufacturer’s web site to see which CPUs it supports, then comparison-shop at uk.shopping.com.
4. CHECK SPEEDS
Can this processor really deliver a 5.9? Visit shareyourscore.com/ ComponentScores.aspx to see how it performs on other people’s systems.
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Firefox Erodes IE to New Low
The open-source browser from Mozilla has managed to grab a share of the market representing no less than half of the Microsoft proprietary browser, according to StatCounter data. Essentially, the market measuring firm indicates that Internet Explorer’s share has dropped to under 60% while Firefox has grown continually to its detriment and is up to 30%. The statistics made public are valid for users worldwide. The situation is much worse in the US for IE and Microsoft, StatCounter explains.
In the US alone, IE dropped from 56 .18% in June 2009 to just 54.77% in July. This while Firefox jumped from 31.5% to 32.34% in the same period of time. Safari is the bronze winner in the browser race with 7.59% while Chrome accounts for 3% and Opera for 0.72% in July. But the growth of Safari, Chrome and Opera pales in comparison to that of Firefox. Read more
XNA Game Studio 3.1 for Vista SP1 and XP SP3
Microsoft has released and made available for download the latest iteration of its gaming development solution designed to permit developers to build video games for Windows-based PCs, Xbox 360 consoles, but also Zune digital media player devices. XNA Game Studio 3.1 went live on the Microsoft Download Center on June 11, 2009, and is now up for grabs for free. According to the Redmond company, Windows Vista SP1 and Windows XP SP3 are the supported operating systems for XNA Game Studio 3.1.
“This release is incremental to XNA Game Studio 3.0 and contains many new features, including avatars, Xbox LIVE Party support, and video as well as enhancements to existing features. For the full list of improvements in this release, see the “What’s New in XNA Game Studio 3.1” section of the documentation once you have installed the product,” revealed Rob Cameron, Microsoft industry evangelist. Read more
Windows 7 ATI Catalyst 9.3 Unified Driver
AMD is ready for the RTM release of Windows 7. Or at least this is what the chip-maker claims as it has released ATI Catalyst 9.3 Unified Driver introducing support for Windows 7 Beta Build 7000. The processor manufacturer, which acquired ATI, indicated that the advent of ATI Catalyst 9.3 drivers for Windows 7 represented a guarantee that support would be available with all planned future releases of ATI Catalyst, for the remaining milestones of the next iteration of the Windows client, but especially for the gold (final) version Windows 7.
“AMD’s expertise in visual computing shines through in the combined experience of Windows 7 and ATI Radeon graphics,” revealed Anantha Kancherla, group program manager responsible for Windows graphics, Microsoft. Read more
NVIDIA GeForce 181.71 Graphics Drivers for Windows 7
NVIDIA has made available for download a new set of graphics drivers designed to make GeForce GPU play nice with the latest public development milestone of the next iteration of the Windows client. The new GeForce graphics drivers tailored to Windows 7 Beta Build 7000 went live on March 2, 2009, and are now up for grabs. NVIDIA explained the need to offer graphics drivers for Windows 7 at this early stage due to the high number of GeForce customers that installed the Beta Build 7000 release of the operating system. Read more
Windows Media Player 12 for Vista
Windows Media Player 12, the upcoming Windows media player software that will be released on Windows 7. The interface of Windows Media Player 12 is similar like Windows Media Player 11 which Windows media Player 12 has brighter look and lighter processing than WMP11plus more advance WMP features included.
If you have seen Window Media Player 12 screen shot before, you will definitely run Windows Media Player 12 on your current Windows platform. However, Microsoft is not planning to release Windows Media Player 12 yet. Read more
