Join the interactive Bing Webcast

Everybody is very eager to have a look at bing – Microsoft’s new decision engine. You can surely do by joining for a webcast  where all the cool features of Bing will be demoed. And you can sit quietly and watch or engage by asking the questions.

Webcast details: 10AM Pacific Daylight Time, Monday, June 1  (10:30PM India time, June 1st)

http://ms.istreamplanet.com/search

(Join before 10AM just to make sure you’ve got what you need to watch the stream)

(Source:Join us June 1st @ 10am PT for the Bing Webcast)

Test Drive Bing - Microsoft’s new Decision Engine with Stefan Weitz

I have been exploring Bing for 2 days now as I received its preview code from Live Search Team. And its truly impressive. Its amazingly refreshing, so helpful in providing the required results. So its not just a Search engine but aptly being called as Decision Engine. Much loved Stefan Weitz, Director of Bing takes on a tour of Bing and demos many of its cool features and also talks of why the name ‘Bing’. This video is from channel9.

Bing: Test Drive Microsofts new search engine

Just enjoy the tour as I explore Bing.

Public deployment of Bing starts Jun1, and worldwide by Jun3 at http://www.bing.com

Bing: Test Drive Microsofts new search engine

Bi-hourly Shutdowns for the Windows 7 Beta – Date Clarification

There was lot of confusion on when the Bi-hourly shutdown of Windows 7 Beta will begin. As it was announced earlier that it will begin on July 1st, 2009 and Windows 7 beta will Expire on August 1st, 2009. But recently many received an e-mail from Microsoft which reminded users of Windows 7 Beta to move to a “non-expired” copy of Windows such as the Windows 7 RC or Vista as bi-hourly shutdowns will begin June 1st, 2009 for Windows 7 Beta.

So, this bi-hourly shutdown date started all the confusion, whether its June 09 or July 09?

Now Microsoft has clarified this: Bi-hourly shutdowns for the Windows 7 Beta will begin July 1st, 2009

“We apologize for the confusion and inconvenience this may have caused.”

So the date in the mail sent was wrong. No confusions now, Bi-hourly shutdowns for the Windows 7 Beta will begin July 1st, 2009 . So if you are still on Windows 7 Beta , get Windows 7 RC now from here.

Also this Bi-hourly shutdown date is only for beta , not applicable to RC. To be more clear: “Beta expires on August 1, 2009, and bi-hourly shutdowns will begin July 1, 2009. The RC will expire June 1, 2010, and the bi-hourly shutdowns will begin on March 1, 2010”

(Source:Windows Blog)

Watch IPL matches LIVE- powered by Silverlight

Its crunch time at IPL T20 cricket matches, semifinals and finals time. Yesterday was the 1st semifinal, which we all enjoyed the electric innings of Adam Gilchrist.

At the start of the IPL matches , I had twittered and posted about watching all the action  LIVE  at www.iplt20.com 

Now www.iplt20.com  has all the Highlight clips, the best Bollywood Moments, Fan Shots, Interviews, Festivities, Wickets, Bowled, Catches, Run Outs, Stumped, LBW, Sixes, Fours, 3rd Umpire Decisions, Highlights Cricket Videos... and lots more apart from streaming LIVE action powered by Microsoft Silverlight.

Also don't forget to check out image galleries available exclusively in high-definition Deep Zoom! Sign-up and Enjoy !

Laptop Hunters- Lauren and Sue

In the latest of Laptop Hunters series of ads, Lauren with $1700 to spend, wants a laptop with speed, portability and long battery life. They end up with a Dell for $971.99 not before checking out Mac.

Lauren: “This Mac is $2000 and that’s before adding anything.”

Sue: “Why would you pay twice the price?”

Lauren: “I wouldn’t”

Lauren: “I’m a PC and I got what I exactly wanted”

tech.ed India- Catch all the excitement LIVE

From today, tech.ed India 2009 is going to start at Hyderabad, India. (May 13-15 , 2009) . In fact, in a short while from now there will be  keynote by Steve Ballmer . (9:45AM IST) (+5:30GMT)

Apart from that there will be 28 Technical Tracks, 100 demo stations, 24 HOLs & 12 Technology Tents spread over from 13-15 the May. For those who are not able to attend , catch all the excitement LIVE, here are some of the links to look for:

 

tech.ed India 2009 Home page : http://www.msteched.in/ 

Official TechEd India 2009 Twitter:
http://twitter.com/techedindia2009

The twitter chatter from community:
http://twitter.com/#search?q=techedin
[If you want your tweet featured, include the hashtag  #techedin in your tweet]

Pictures from TechEd India 2009:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/techedin/

Join Steve Ballmer Live on Stage:
http://virtualtechdays.com/joinsession.aspx

MVP Blogs from TechEd India:
http://teched.indiamvp.net

TechEd MashUp:
http://baxiabhishek.info/teched/

Microsoft Office 2010 Technical Preview registration

TechEd USA attendees will get the first chance to participate in limited Technical Preview program of Microsoft Office 2010 that will begin in July.

“The Microsoft Office 2010 Technical Preview is a limited, invitation only program which will provide you with the opportunity to experience early, pre-release versions of Office 2010 which will include the following applications:  Word 2010, Excel 2010, Outlook 2010, PowerPoint 2010, OneNote 2010, Communicator 2010, Access 2010, InfoPath 2010 and Publisher 2010.”

If you are interested and want to make your request to be waitlisted for the Technical Preview, check out www.office2010themovie.com 

For more detail on Office 2010, start following - The Microsoft Office 2010 IT BLOG   (The official blog of the Microsoft Office product group)

UPDATE: “Office 2010 will include Twitter, Facebook, and other social networks integrated right into Word. That's just a hint of what's to come!”

This is according to http://twitter.com/officethemovie the official  twitter account of Office2010theMovie.

UPDATE 2: (11:55PM , 12th May ‘09) Today the www.office2010themovie.com  is providing http://twitter.com/office2010movie as the official twitter account. Also ReedShaff from MSFT at Office 2010 forum confirms this as he says “The official one is Office2010Movie for now.”

So unfollow the fake twitter account @officethemovie and follow the official @office2010movie

It was a big mixup as the www.office2010themovie.com accidentally provided this fake twitter account link yesterday and is now corrected.

How to log into Multiple Hotmail accounts at the same time?

Many a times you wanted to have your 2 Hotmail accounts window opened at the same time in your browser but you can’t as it would not allow you to do so. You had to logout of one and again sign-in to other. But now with Internet Explorer 8, its possible.

After signing into one Hotmail account, Just click the New Session option on the File menu, and a new browser window will open, and this will not share cookies with the original browser window. So now you can sign-in to other Hotmail (and most other Web applications such as Twitter etc.)  as a different user. This is applicable not only to Hotmail but any Webmail.

If you don’t see your Menu bar in IE8, you can right click on empty space near the tab and tick Menu Bar. Else you can use the keyboard shortcut, Alt+F, I, Enter to invoke a new session.

Here you can see, I have signed into my 2 different Webmail accounts at the same time.

For more Technical details regarding this option in IE8 check IEBlog. If you have not installed IE8 yet, get it from here.

21 Windows 7 Tips and Tricks from Microsoft Partner Program

Check out this compilation of Windows 7 Tips & Tricks from Microsoft Partner Program. It illustrates some of the enhancements that are new in Windows 7.

Download this 3 parts documents in pdf format. Each part contains 7 Tips. The complete Download is a 5,964.0 KB zip file, which can be downloaded from here.

These tips includes -

1. Shuffling Through Program Windows
2. Managing Your Windows
3. Project Your Display With Ease
4. Multi-Monitor Window Management
5. Aero Peek Your Desktop
6. Live Clutter-Free
7. Help the Help Desk Help You

1. Put a “Pin Up” of the Folders You Use Most
2. Double-Up Your Windows
3. Clear, Crisp Display—It’s In Your Control
4. Order and Reason for Your Taskbar
5. Taskbar Traversing
6. BitLocker To Go Protection
7. Your Own Personal Help Desk: Windows Troubleshooting Platform

1. Change the Scenery
2. Crunch The Numbers
3. Smart Printing 
4. Shake It Up 
5. Clean Your Desktop! And Order It Too 
6. Right-Click Mania
7. Unveil Your Hidden Drives

Windows 7 FAQs

Check out the Windows 7 RC FAQs which has answers to all of your questions you wanted to know, questions such as:

What is Windows 7 Release Candidate?

Are there risks to installing the RC?

When Will  RC Expire? 

Can I upgrade directly from the Windows 7 Beta to the RC?

Can I upgrade directly from Windows Vista to the RC?

Can I upgrade directly from Windows XP to the RC?

Why isn't there a Hindi or Arabic version of the RC? 

What happened to the "Send Feedback" feature?

……………….And many many more:

Check out the FAQ at :  Windows 7 Release Candidate: FAQ

Windows 7 RC – Minimum system requirements

Now that Windows 7 RC is available for all to download, check this what you need :

• Internet access (to download Windows 7 RC and get updates)

• A PC with these system requirements:

  • 1 GHz or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor

  • 1 GB RAM (32-bit) / 2 GB RAM (64-bit)

  • 16 GB available disk space (32-bit) / 20 GB (64-bit)

  • DirectX 9 graphics processor with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver

  Please note these specifications could change. And, some product features of Windows 7, such as the ability to watch and record live TV or navigation through the use of "touch," may require advanced or additional hardware.

Source: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/download.aspx

As I have been using it since its beta and also running the RC since few days now, I can tell you Windows 7 RC runs smoothly even with  512MB RAM  (32-bit), and it can also be installed on a 8GB HD. As after installation it occupies nearly 6.5GB (32-bit). So once installed, for running and installing other Apps, it will require more space. So even if you have a lesser System, you can give it a try. Of course, if you meet the specified System requirements, then you can enjoy all the cool features of Windows 7.

Windows 7 RC released for all

So the wait is finally over, as said earlier Windows 7 RC is released today- May 5th for all to download and experience it. You can get it from -

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/download.aspx

Or

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/dd353205.aspx?ITPID=mscomsc

Here’s what you should know about RC- straight from the Official site:

This is pre-release software, so please read the following to get an idea of the risks and key things you need to know before you try the RC.

• You don't need to rush to get the RC. The RC will be available at least through July 2009 and we're not limiting the number of product keys, so you have plenty of time.

• Watch the calendar. The RC will expire on June 1, 2010. Starting on March 1, 2010, your PC will begin shutting down every two hours. Windows will notify you two weeks before the bi-hourly shutdowns start. To avoid interruption, you’ll need to install a non-expired version of Windows before March 1, 2010. You’ll also need to install the programs and data that you want to use. (Learn more about installing Windows.)

• Protect your PC and data. Be sure to back up your data and please don't test the RC on your primary home or business PC.

• Tech details/updates: Before installing the RC, please read the Release Notes and Things to Know for important information about the release.

• Keep up with the news. You can keep up with general technical information and news by following the team blog. And, you can get non-technical news, tips, and offers by subscribing to the monthly Exploring Windows newsletter.

• Keep your PC updated: Be sure to turn on automatic updates in Windows Update in case we publish updates for the RC.

• Installation: You can install the Windows 7 RC on a PC running Windows Vista without backing up the PC—but we encourage you to make a backup for safe keeping. If you’re running Windows XP or the Windows 7 Beta, you’ll need to backup your data, then do a clean installation of the RC, then reinstall your applications and restore your data. If you need to do a backup, please see How to back up your PC for more details and a suggestion for how to backup a PC running Windows 7 Beta or Windows Vista.

• To install and use the RC, you'll need to know how to:

  • Troubleshoot problems. You're pretty much flying solo, so you'll need to handle your own tech support, and rely on other RC testers for their know-how

  • Burn an ISO file to make an installation DVD

  • Install Windows

  • Backup and restore your PC

  • Set up a network

  • Create and use a system recovery disk

So go the site and get it - http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/download.aspx

Thanks EdBott for the heads-up.

Tip: After you download the Windows 7 RC ISO, follow this-  Windows 7 ISO image tips

Windows 7 Learning Portal - Be the Expert on Windows 7

As many of you know Windows 7 RC will be available to general public from tomorrow May 5th for download and all of you are very eager to get your hands on Windows 7 RC.

So why not get the Skills and Knowledge you need to be the Expert on Windows 7.

“Become the Windows 7 expert in your company. Discover the wide variety of Microsoft training, books, and certifications that are available to help you gain the skills and knowledge you need to succeed.”

Check the Windows 7 Learning Portal where you will find

• Books from Microsoft Press,
• Microsoft E-Learning
• short, easy-to-understand, Learning Snacks,
• Learning Plans,
• First-look courses and hands-on labs
• classroom training,
• free online clinics which will help you understand how to perform various tasks with Windows 7

and many more things related to Windows 7.

Also check out these Windows 7 resources put together by TechNet Edge :

- Win7 What’s New

- Win7 Feature Walkthrough

- Inside Win7

- Engineering Windows 7 Blog

- Win7 Networking Overview

- Win7 Networking Enhancements for Enterprises

- Branch Cache Demo Video

- Direct Access Demo Video

- Migrating from XP to Win7 with MS Deployment Toolkit 2010

- Be ready for Win7: Application Compatibility

- Win7 Manageability Overview

- Win7 Questions & Answers

- Win7 Beta Installation Instructions

- Installing the Win7 Beta with Virtual PC 2007 SP1

- Installing Win7 in a USB stick

- Boot from VHD in Win7

- BitLocker To Go

- AppLocker

- Resource Monitor (resmon)

You can also check  What’s new in Windows 7 RC – video about which I had posted earlier.

Now get ready as from tomorrow Windows 7 RC will be made available for downloaded, Look for the Official Windows 7 Site for the Download Link and for getting the Product Key : http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/default.aspx

I have already installed Windows 7 RC as its made available to MSDN, TechNet Subscribers and on Microsoft Connect and I can just say Its fabulous. Works so smoothly. So you also can get your hands from tomorrow.

Windows 7 ISO image tips

Windows 7 RC will be available for download for General Public on 5th May. And is already available now for MSDN, TechNet Subscribers and on Microsoft Connect for Testers. Many are eagerly waiting for downloading the Windows 7 Image. So after the download you will just rush to burn the downloaded ISO image. My small tip will be handy while doing the same. First of all after downloading just check the MD5 or CRC32 checksum whichever is provided to make sure that the image you have downloaded is not corrupted during the download process.

So after that while burning , make sure you burn it at slow speeds. And sometimes even after burning them at slow speeds, you will get some Error at the beginning of install process or while installing, mainly during the ‘Expanding Windows Files…’  step.

So to avoid such error, make sure while burning to check the option of ‘verify data on disc after burning’ in the burning software. It will take a couple of minutes more to verify but its worth. As I had faced problem during Win7 beta ISO burning. I had burnt it at slow speed and I got the message, Burning has been successfully completed, but still during the Install process I got the error. So make sure you verify data on disc after burning.

So just keep these points in mind while burning any big images.

I have already downloaded and Installed Windows 7 RC from Microsoft Connect and my experience till now with RC is Superb. Thanks, Windows 7 Team !

Laptop Hunters – Sheila

In the series of Laptop Hunters ads, this is a new ad. Sheila, a filmmaker wanted a laptop under $2000. And she finds her perfect laptop – a widescreen HP HDX 16t with enough power to handle moviemaking, before rejecting the best Apple under her budget which had just 2GB RAM. Check this video:

<br/><a href="http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?vid=0e239347-7b84-4bde-9d81-ba34dbd40db5" target="_new" title="Laptop Hunters $2000 &#8211; Sheila gets an HP HDX">Video: Laptop Hunters $2000 &#8211; Sheila gets an HP HDX</a>

What’s new in Windows 7 RC - video

Windows 7 Release Candidate (RC) is made available to Subscribers of MSDN and TechNet and also to Testers on Microsoft Connect, one should know what are the changes made to RC from its Beta. So here’s a screencast from Springboard series which walks you through some of the new and updated features in the Windows 7. 

You can download this video from here.

If one wants in detail What’s new in Windows 7 in general , then one can get this document ‘Windows 7 What’s New Guide’ 

Also one can follow the Windows 7 official blog ‘Engineering Windows 7 Blog’ which has covered in detail of the changes from Beta to RC.

For the general public, Windows 7 RC will be available for download on May 5th. So get ready. Do not download Windows 7 RC from Unofficial sources as apart from it being illegal, there are reports of it being infected.

I have already installed it, getting it from Microsoft Connect being a Tester and I will say its awesome.