Google Talk Labs Edition

Google Talk Labs Edition

Download Google Talk Labs Edition and get:

• Features of the Google Talk Gadget on your desktop (emoticons, group chat, and more!)
• New! Desktop notifications from the following services:
  

  	Gmail
  	Calendar (with a new snooze option!)
  	Orkut

Download Google Talk
Labs Edition Requires: Windows XP/ Vista

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Live Search gets a cool Home Page with Hotspots

Today Live Search has been updated with a new Home Page which shows a background image. This was on trial since last month and many were already getting this. The new design shows a background image which will be changed regularly and also we get ‘hotspots’ which gleams when the page loads. These interactive areas highlight parts of the image and help you explore search results related to the highlighted area. If you have missed to notice these hotspots while loading, just move your mouse cursor over the image to discover them. Its indeed a nice place to start a search as it keeps you engaging.

Hotspots gleam and again appear when mouse cursor is moved over them

At present the new Home page available only in U.S. but more markets to follow soon. And if you can not wait, then just change the location at top of Homepage to U.S. to get it or just use this link to search with U.S. market. And the image page loads fast, if one has a slow connection one can notice the basic page loads first and he can start the search immediately and then image hotspots loads. So there’s no delay as such. The experience is good and one will come to know more as he discovers through the image. I hope the image chosen will be with worldwide theme to cover images from world over. Also some special images can be put on some special occasions.

And I had already changed my default search engine to Live Search from Google some times back because of the image and video search of Live Search. If you haven’t seen them, check it out. It beats Google.

The new HomePage will bring a sense of discovery, surprise and joy when the user finds the Hotspot and gets information about it. So one can say “What you have discovered today……?” like one of the earlier MS taglines. And as the Live Search team says, there are many more interesting things to come.

(Source:New home page helps you explore more on the Web)

Creating Organizational Charts on Microsoft Office Visio 2007

1. Start Microsoft Office Visio.

2. From the Business template section, click Organization Chart.

3. Click Import Organization Data from the Organization Chart menu.

4. Select your data sources. Click Information that's already stored in a file or database, and then click A Microsoft Exchange Server directory.

5. From the list of available fields on the left, select the information that you want to appear on your chart, and then click Add.

6. Click Next. Anything you add on the next page will be added as shape data (that is, not displayed in the diagram, but forming the properties of each of the shapes that do appear).

7. Choose your organization layout. To have Visio automatically display your organization as pages, select the I want the wizard to automatically break my organization chart across pages check box.

8. Select Browse in the drop-down list.

9. From the address book, select the person you want to appear at the top of your organization chart, and then click Finish

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Publish Your Calendar to Microsoft Office Online

Sharing your calendar information is even easier through the new publishing capabilities that Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 provides. Through this free Microsoft Office Online service, you can create dynamic Web calendars that your coworkers, friends, or family can subscribe to and that remain up to date.

1. Click the calendar.

2. Right-click the name of the calendar that you want to publish.

3. From the list, select Publish to Internet, and then click Publish to Office Online.

4. Follow the steps in the wizard to register for the service by using your Windows Live ID credentials.

5. When you’ve registered for the service, you can simply choose the calendar, time frame, and other settings. Outlook creates a sharing invitation that you can use to invite people to subscribe to your calendar.

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Microsoft Research releases free software for academics

At the ninth annual Microsoft Research Faculty Summit, Tony Hey, corporate vice president of Microsoft's External Research Division, unveiled free software to help researchers seamlessly publish, preserve, and share data. Microsoft has released the following tools to collaborate with academics on research projects:

• Article Authoring Add-in for Word 2007: captures metadata at the authoring stage to preserve document structure and semantic information throughout the publishing process (makes search, discovery, and analysis easier later on).
• Creative Commons Add-in for Office 2007: allows authors to embed Creative Commons licenses directly into Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents.
• Microsoft e-Journal Service: provides a hosted solution that facilitates self-publishing of online-only journals.
• Research Output Repository Platform: helps capture and leverage semantic relationships among academic objects to facilitate access to these items in new ways.
• Research Information Centre: in close partnership with the British Library, this collaborative workspace will allow researchers to collaborate throughout the entire research project workflow by seeking research funding, searching and collecting information, and managing data, papers, and other research objects.

Further reading:

• Microsoft: Press Release.

Windows Small/Essential Business Server RC1s arrive

Back in February, Microsoft announced two new Windows Essential Server Solutions (all-in-one IT solutions designed for small and midsize businesses) built on Windows Server 2008: Windows Small Business Server 2008 (for up to 75 PCs) and Windows Essential Business Server 2008 (for up to 300 PCs). Details on pricing, as well as preview versions, arrived in May.

Now, Microsoft has put up Release Candidate 1 downloads of both on the Microsoft Download Center: Windows SBS 2008 RC1 (19.9GB) and Windows EBS 2008 RC1 (11.1GB). Registration is still required to test the preview versions of both operating systems.

Source : here

Live CTP July 2008 adds Virtual Earth Control

New Virtual Earth ASP.NET Control Released

The July 2008 CTP includes various bug fixes and a new ASP.NET Virtual Earth Map Control (detailed information at source), which brings the total number of ASP.NET controls to six: Contacts Control, IDLogin Control, IDLoginView Control, MessengerChat Control, and SilverlightStreamingMedia Control. Each control is easy to drag and drop into an ASP.NET web application.

View download details : here

(GPS) Global Positioning System

The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based navigation system made up of a network of 24 satellites placed into orbit by the U.S. Department of Defense. GPS was originally intended for military applications, but in the 1980s, the government made the system available for civilian use. GPS works in any weather conditions, anywhere in the world, 24 hours a day. There are no subscription fees or setup charges to use GPS.

U can download this reference book from :  Here.



(Source :

http://www.garmin.com

http://www.helium.com/items/798584-advantages-of-gps-technology

http://www.kowoma.de/en/gps/history.htm

Thanks to these authors.)

 

Microsoft System Center Mobile Device Manager 2008

Bringing IT professionals a new level of security management and improved control over Windows Mobile 6.1 devices for their business and employees.

Download : here

WindowBlinds 6.2

WindowBlinds is an application that lets users easily change their Windows interface by applying a new skin. These "visual styles" can be applied across the entire user interface (title bars, push buttons, start menu, taskbar, etc.) of the operating system. As a result, users gain complete control over the way Windows looks.

What's new in version 6.2:

• Improved compression on start menu animations
• Animated wait screens during Apply
• Enhanced layer support (accompanied by skin author support in SkinStudio 6.2)
• Bug Fixes

WindowBlinds is available in both a free version and a an enhanced version which adds many additional features like the ability to change color/hue/brightness on the fly, change toolbar icons of IE and Explorer, and much more. WindowBlinds is available as part of Object Desktop.

Download: WindowBlinds 6.2 (free trial, $19.95)
Link: WindowBlinds
Screenshot: Layering demo
Screenshot: WindowBlinds in action

Source- Neowin

17 Free iPhone Apps You Need Right Now

Everybody who knows about the new iPhone applications knows about Super Monkey Ball and MLB At Bat. But after dropping all kinds of dough on a new iPhone and a 3G service plan, you can save some cash and get these great free programs ASAP.

Note: We tested all of these apps on a first-generation iPhone with the 2.0 software installed, so data uploaded and downloaded at EDGE speeds. You'll also notice that this list is short on location-based apps such as Loopt and Whrrl. That doesn't mean they're bad--it's just that the reviewer values privacy and finds them a little creepy.

If you're comfortable with having everyone know where you are at all times, go ahead and try those apps out, too. Here, though, are my first favorites.

Also be sure to see our complete collection of stories, videos, and blogs about the Apple iPhone 3G.

1. AirMe and Exposure

2. AOL Instant Messenger (AIM)
3. AOL Radio
4. Baseball
5. Eventful
6. Evernote
7. Facebook
8. Google Mobile App
9. iPint
10. Etc.....
    

Checkout and download all applications

Free book : Zombie PCs Are Attacking Your LAN

Zombie PCs Are Attacking Your LAN
A recent study showed that malware-infected zombie PCs are now a bigger threat to ISPs and Web infrastructure than DoS attacks. As this brand new IT Strategy Guide explains, an increased use of peer-to-peer techniques by the attackers has made it harder to fight back. Download now, compliments of Verio:

» Click here to download now

mIRC 6.33

mIRC is a full featured Internet Relay Chat client for Windows that can be used to communicate, share, play or work with others on IRC networks around the world, either in multi-user group conferences or in one-to-one private discussions. It has a clean, practical interface that is highly configurable and supports features such as buddy lists, file transfers, multi-server connections, SSL encryption, proxy support, UTF-8 display, customizable sounds, spoken messages, tray notifications, and message logging.

Version 6.33 includes a number of improvements, changes and fixes to the interface, scripting language, and several other features.

Download here

2nd preview of Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio 2008 out

The latest version of Microsoft's robotics programming platform is version 2008, but it isn't finished yet. The first Community Technical Preview (CTP) was released in April for Windows CE, Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2, Windows Vista, and Windows XP. The final version is scheduled for release later this year, and the next milestone to getting there is the July CTP, available for download as web (92.2MB) and full (333.2MB) installers from the Microsoft Download Center. The new version includes the following new features and improvements:

• New samples and tutorials for: DSS Node Discovery using UPnP, Transport Extensibility, LINQ, Silverlight, Embedded Simulation Environment, Simulated Pursuit Camera, and Simulated 4x4-drive
• Global Assembly Cache: Core CCR and DSS assemblies are put into the Global Assembly Cache which means that they are a shared resource for all installations on a single machine.
• Simulation on 64-bit machines: Simulation now runs on 64-bit systems using the Microsoft Windows-32-on-Windows-64 (WOW64) subsystem (make sure to use dsshost32.exe which forces the WOW64 mode).
• Visual Studio Project Wizards: The Visual Studio Project Wizards have been rewritten to make it much simpler to create new service projects directly from Visual Studio 2005 and 2008. Project wizards are provided for VB.Net and C# targeting .NET Framework.
• Much Faster DSS Proxy Generation: The DssProxy tool has been completely rewritten to simplify the generation of service proxy assemblies and to make it much faster to compile services. In addition, the tool chain for writing services for .NET Compact Framework has been simplified to no longer need a companion service project targeting the desktop version of .NET Framework.
• DSS Log Analyzer: The DSS Log Analyzer is a preview of a powerful new debugging and monitoring tool that can visualize and analyze message exchanges between services sent within a DSS node or across nodes. In addition to showing the actual messages that have been sent it also provides message correlations, time lines, and illustrates how multiple message interactions are causally linked over time.
• Embedded Visual Simulation Environment: In addition to having a stand-alone UI, the Visual Simulation Environment can now be embedded in other applications.

The full changelog can be seen in the What's new document on MSDN. As usual, Microsoft is asking for comments, suggestions, and bug reports via the Microsoft Robotics forums.

View revirew source : here

ATI Catalyst™ Suite Version 8.7

The Catalyst™ software suite 8.7 contains the following:

• Radeon™ display driver 8.512
• Multimedia Center™ 9.16 (Windows XP only)
• HydraVision™ for both Windows XP and Vista
• HydraVision™ Basic Edition (Windows XP only)
• Remote Wonder 3.04 (Windows XP only)
• WDM Driver Install Bundle
• Southbridge/IXP Driver
• Catalyst™ Control Center Version 8.7

View relese notes

Download from Here (XP pro/MCE/X64 & Vista x64/x86)

Windows Live Messenger For BlackBerry

Windows Live Messenger For BlackBerry

Messenger Stuff discovered Windows Live Messenger is now also available for the BlackBerry:

Now Windows Live Messenger is compatible with the current leader in smartphones, the BlackBerry.

…The client in simple and lightweight, but like the BlackBerry's user base, is designed for productive users. All in all this is a simple application, but if you're a Blackberry user, who natively uses Windows Live ID, it is a must.

This also comes with access to Windows Live Hotmail and was promised in May.:

SEATTLE, Wash., and WATERLOO, Ontario — May 12, 2008 — Microsoft Corp. and Research In Motion (RIM) today announced an agreement to provide Microsoft Windows Live services on BlackBerry^® smartphones. As a result of this collaboration, BlackBerry smartphone customers will enjoy easy mobile access to Windows Live Messenger and an enhanced level of integration between Windows Live Hotmail and the BlackBerry platform.

The integration of Windows Live services into the BlackBerry platform will allow customers who use Windows Live Hotmail and Windows Live Messenger on their BlackBerry smartphone to benefit from the BlackBerry platform architecture with the ability to communicate in real time using push technology, and an exceptional mobile communications experience. Customers will also be able to seamlessly access their Windows Live Hotmail and Windows Live Messenger account from their BlackBerry smartphone by simply entering their Windows Live e-mail address and password once.

Windows Live Messenger for BlackBerry will allow customers to do the following:
• Send instant messages and join group chats
• Set status and see the presence of friends and colleagues within Windows Live Messenger or their contact cards
• Customize status messages
• Save conversations
• Showcase their Display Picture (Avatar)
• Send and receive pictures and files
• Use more than 60 emoticons

Source : Here

Download Windows Live Messenger for the BlackBerry

"You're in the Movies"

Microsoft has introduced a new party game named, "You're in the Movies" for Xbox 360, which is meant for the hardcore family entertainment.

It's an Eye Toy like game where the players need to move their body in front of the Xbox Live Vision camera, as directed, to complete some minigames. At the end of four round of minigames, the game will compile the recorded bits of your performance and remix the bits into a fake movie trailer. You can also switch to director's mode to create your own movie trailer by editing, changing your voice over and adding music.

Microsoft is also planning to launch a new service called Xbox Live service, under which the customers who have their Xbox 360 console attached to their TVs, can download NetFlix movies at no additional cost. All they need is a subscription to Microsoft's Xbox Live Gold service and Netflix account. The service will feature 10,000 movies and TV shows available for immediate viewing.

Microsoft recently introduced a 60 GB storage version of the Xbox 360 video game console, which is priced at $349. It will hit the stores in US and Canada in early August.

The sales of Xbox 360 consoles have already surpassed 19 million in the recent quarter and the release of game titles, such as Halo 3 and Grand Theft Auto IV has further pushed the sales.

Microsoft is anticipating more Xbox 360 sales after the release of Rock Band 2, which will be launched in September.

Source : here

ASUS R300 (GPS devices)

REVIEW DATE: 06.27.08

By Craig Ellison

When you think about navigation devices, the brands names that likely immediately come to mind are Garmin, Magellan, TomTom, and maybe Mio. But motherboard stalwart ASUS is out to change that perception by introducing two new GPS devices. Our review unit, the stylish yet very affordable R300, is targeted at the teen driver, since it's marketed as a multimedia device first and a GPS second, though it is a solid navigator. Available in gold, pink, silver, or white, the entry-level R300 is aggressively priced at $169, but it's loaded with features that put it in a league with much more expensive devices.

Read the ASUS R300 full review

AsusTek Computer Inc.

http://www.asus.com

• Type: Portable
• Turn-by-turn: Yes
• 3D View: Yes
• Display Type: Touch
• Dimensions: 4.0 x 3.2 x 0.54 inches
• Hard Drive: No
• Flash Memory Type: SD/MMC
• Preloaded maps: Yes
• Waterproof: No
• Speakers Included: Yes
• Power: Adapter, Battery
• Supports MP3: Yes
• Multi Segment Routing: Yes

View price and Review

Win a Flip Video Ultra Camcorder

We love to give away fun things at ITworld!

Current giveaway: Flip Video Ultra Camcorder-- the little camera you'll love in ITworld orange.

It's the simplest camcorder in the world, plus it fits into your pocket.

Register today and enter for a chance to win.

The specs: Built-in flash memory holds up to 60 minutes of high-quality video, and the flip-out USB arm plugs directly into your computer for easy sharing and archiving.

Register now!

Free copies of 'Networking with Microsoft Windows Vista'

We're giving away 10 copies of 'Networking with Microsoft Windows Vista' by Paul McFedries (a $39.99 value).

Enter now for a chance to win. The drawing ends July 31.

Your Guide to Easy and Secure Windows Vista Networking is a complete beginner’s guide to creating, configuring, administering, and using a small network using Windows Vista computers. Inside you’ll find comprehensive coverage of networking hardware, including Ethernet (wired) hardware (from NICs to cables to switches to routers) and wireless Hardware--from wireless NICs to access points to range extenders.

Register for free & get a free copy

Links you'll like:

• About the book
• Download a sample chapter
• More by Paul McFedries
• Official rules

Be Live !! toolbar v 01

Stay connected to us - and get so much more - with the Be Live Community Toolbar!

The Best of Our Site Get our freshest content delivered directly to your browser, no matter where you are on the Web.

Hand-picked Links Check out all of our favorite places on the Web.

Google-Powered Search Box Search the Web, our site, and other useful engines.

Alerts to Your Desktop Receive our most important news and announcements instantly.

Visit "www.Conduit.com " to create ur own toolbar

Download it from Here

	Firefox installation instructions Includes Uninstaller System Requirements Windows, Mac, Linux Other versions: Internet Explorer 5.0+ (Windows Vista/XP/2000) Privacy

Microsoft’s Annual Revenue Reaches $60 Billion

Fastest annual revenue growth since 1999 fuels 32% increase in earnings per share.

REDMOND, Wash. — July 17, 2008 — Microsoft Corp. today announced revenue of $15.84 billion for the fiscal fourth quarter ended June 30, 2008, an 18% increase over the same period of the prior year. Operating income and diluted earnings per share for the quarter were $5.68 billion and $0.46, representing growth of 42% and 48%, respectively, over the same period of the prior year.

For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2008, Microsoft announced revenue of $60.42 billion, an 18% increase over the prior year. Operating income and diluted earnings per share for the year were $22.49 billion and $1.87, representing yearly growth of 21% and 32%, respectively.

The growth rates for operating income and diluted earnings per share were impacted by a $1.1 billion charge in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2007 related to the expansion of the company’s Xbox 360 warranty coverage.

View full story...

Power-generating dance floor hits UK club

Believe it or not, this actually isn't the first power-generating dance floor to harness some of the pent up energy of club-goers, but it is apparently the first one to hit the UK, and hopefully a sign of more to come. As you can see above, the dance floor makes use of a piezoelectric system that produces electricity as the dancers jump up and down, which charges some batteries that are used to power parts of the club. While that's certainly a practical application for the technology, we're guessing it's only a matter of time before some enterprising club owner combines one of these with an LED dance floor to create a dance floor that powers itself, and thumbs its nose at other do-gooder clubs.

View full review....

Microsoft Operations Framework (MOF) 4.0

Microsoft Operations Framework 4.0 has been designed to help overburdened IT professionals quickly access useful, relevant content. It contains practical guidance—not just theory—and its streamlined approach makes it possible to use either the entire framework or one process from a particular service management function (SMF).

MOF guidance is contained in 23 documents:

• The MOF 4.0 Overview describes all of the MOF content and its goals. It is the ideal starting place for someone new to the framework or an executive looking for the big picture.
• Four MOF phase overviews have been written primarily for IT managers and directors seeking a better grasp of IT service strategy. The overviews provide an introduction for the phase, describe the service management functions contained within, and detail the management reviews performed during the phase.
• Sixteen SMFs contain specific activities and workflows designed primarily for the IT professionals who will be implementing the activities.
• A glossary gives definitions of terms used frequently in MOF.
• A spreadsheet maps earlier versions of MOF to version 4.0.

View full review : here

TK8 Backup Standard

If you’re looking for a program that makes it easy to back up to a local hard drive, network location, or CD/DVD, TK8 Backup is as good as it gets. I particularly liked this program because its GUI is a creation after my own heart. To heck with the bitmaps and pretty pictures. Give the info I need, the features I want, and put them where I can easily reach them. That’s TK8 Backup in a nutshell. Not that the program isn't attractive; it is. It’s just in a no-nonsense kind of way.

Feature-wise, TK8 Backup is on par or slightly better than most of its mid-level competition. It has full scheduling, though you can’t alternate weeks or media, and backs up files as plain copies or compresses them to normal or self-extracting zip archives. There’s full and incremental backup, and you can even specify that the program create another full backup after a certain number of incremental backups. The latter is a feature I’ve never seen before, but it’s handy in terms of saving disk space. You can also specify the number of copies of each file copied in plain file mode.

Download now....

MorphVOX Junior

Voice chat is booming in online games (not to mention VOIP), but it can be disconcerting when the beautiful elf maiden next to you sounds more like Gimli than Arwen. MorphVOX Junior is a freeware program which will shift your voice to male, female, or 'tiny folks,' improving game immersion as well as increasing your chances of people giving you free stuff because they think you're as hot as your avatar. Well, sort of.

The vocal distortion is well done, but it's not of the same quality as you might see in movies or TV shows. Even with echo suppression turned on, I always had a slight reverb/overlap effect. The selection of voices is also fairly small--a single male, female, or 'tiny folk' morph are all that's included in this free version. The commercial version offers more options.

Download...

Featured Freeware: Avant Browser

There's a Web browser out there for everybody, and Avant should appeal to those users who like their customization in-house and built on an IE-rendering engine. Avant takes off in a different direction from Internet Explorer, though. It's IE if it were being produced by a small firm instead of Microsoft.

The browser is sufficiently zippy, preloaded with two dozen similar skins as well as tabbed browsing and modular toolbars. The Menu bar, though, is counterintuitively pinned to the upper-right corner, and icons for proprietary functions, such as an in-page search term highlighting toggle, aren't instantly comprehensible.

Avant can save personalized data online, making bookmarks and form content accessible from any machine. Avant includes many features that are available to Firefox users only through plug-ins, such as automatic form fillers. The Full Screen view auto hides all menu bars, a nice touch, but certain plug-ins--notably Flash--don't work on Windows Vista.

Avant is a good browser with some nice built-in features and interface-customization options, but the lack of extensibility and Vista problems don't help. We recommend it to XP users who want a Microsoft-based engine but think that Internet Explorer 7 is a pain.

Source : here

Download

VIEWS: an open source Virtual Earth wrapper for Silverlight

As the intense development of Silverlight has progressed, many have wondered why Microsoft has not created a version of Virtual Earth using the new technology. If you remember, there is Seadragon technology included in Silverlight 2 known as Deep Zoom—given that Virtual Earth is just a collection of images, it makes sense to put the zoom to use in something that aims to seamlessly render different views of the same images as efficiently as possible for a mapping site.

Microsoft has not offered Virtual Earth in Silverlight due to performance issues (Silverlight 2 isn't final yet), as it's trying not to scare users away. While it makes little sense to offer a Silverlight Virtual Earth as the default option, there is an advantage for developers: it would be possible to add mapping to their applications without having to dive deep into JavaScript.

While there are unofficial versions of a Silverlight Virtual Earth out there already, none are particularly smooth or well done. Jared Bienz, an ISV Evangelist with Microsoft, has gone out and changed that with VIEWS, a managed wrapper around the JavaScript control from Virtual Earth. Here's a Channel 9 video for developers interested in the project:

VIEWS started as an internal-only project from Adam Eversole in Microsoft Research. Eversole and Bienz have recently improved the code slightly and posted it for the world to see on CodePlex. Both the binaries and the source are available for download; it is very easy to start creating a custom version of Microsoft's mapping platform. So what are you waiting for? Go ahead and get coding!

Source : here

The "Save XP" petition count update

The "Save XP" petition count update

Join the 212,191 people so far (as of 11p PT on June 30) who have signed our online petition to demand that Microsoft not stop OEM and shrinkwrapped sales of Windows XP as planned on June 30, 2008, but instead keep it available indefinitely.