In the coming weeks, the team at Microsoft will update the Windows Azure Service names that appear in the usage records we download. These are only name changes and our prices for Windows Azure are not impacted.

This table below summarizes the changes:

They also recently updated the Privacy Statement to provide additional information on topics important to many of our customers. The new version includes the same commitments we previously made to maintain the privacy of your personal information, while adding more detailed information. They have also created a new Windows Azure Trust Center that provides additional information about Microsoft’s security, privacy, and compliance practices.

Source: Azure emailers

Barnes & Noble Inc. and Microsoft today announced the formation of a strategic partnership in a new Barnes & Noble subsidiary, which will build upon the history of strong innovation in digital reading technologies from both companies. The partnership will accelerate the transition to e-reading, which is revolutionizing the way people consume, create, share and enjoy digital content.

The new subsidiary, referred to in this release as Newco, will bring together the digital and College businesses of Barnes & Noble. Microsoft will make a $300 million investment in Newco at a post-money valuation of $1.7 billion in exchange for an approximately 17.6% equity stake. Barnes & Noble will own approximately 82.4% of the new subsidiary, which will have an ongoing relationship with the company’s retail stores. Barnes & Noble has not yet decided on the name of Newco.

One of the first benefits for customers will be a NOOK application for Windows 8, which will extend the reach of Barnes & Noble’s digital bookstore by providing one of the world’s largest digital catalogues of e-Books, magazines and newspapers to hundreds of millions of Windows customers in the U.S. and internationally.

The inclusion of Barnes & Noble’s College business is an important component of Newco’s strategic vision. Through the newly formed Newco, Barnes & Noble’s industry leading NOOK Study software will provide students and educators the preeminent technology platform for the distribution and management of digital education materials in the market.

“The formation of Newco and our relationship with Microsoft are important parts of our strategy to capitalize on the rapid growth of the NOOK business, and to solidify our position as a leader in the exploding market for digital content in the consumer and education segments,” said William Lynch, CEO of Barnes & Noble. “Microsoft’s investment in Newco, and our exciting collaboration to bring world-class digital reading technologies and content to the Windows platform and its hundreds of millions of users, will allow us to significantly expand the business.” 

“The shift to digital is putting the world’s libraries and newsstands in the palm of every person’s hand, and is the beginning of a journey that will impact how people read, interact with, and enjoy new forms of content,” said Andy Lees, President at Microsoft. “Our complementary assets will accelerate e-reading innovation across a broad range of Windows devices, enabling people to not just read stories, but to be part of them. We’re at the cusp of a revolution in reading.”

Barnes & Noble and Microsoft have settled their patent litigation, and moving forward, Barnes & Noble and Newco will have a royalty-bearing license under Microsoft’s patents for its NOOK eReader and Tablet products. This paves the way for both companies to collaborate and reach a broader set of customers.

Source: Microsoft Press Notifications

Google’s latest doodle, a giant zipper running down the centre of the search engine’s homepage, marks the birthday of Gideon Sundback, the Swedish-American electrical engineer most commonly associated with the development of the fastening device that revolutionised the clothing industry – Zipper!!

Before Sundback’s intervention, the idea for a fastener based on interlocking teeth had circulated among engineers for more than 20 years but no one had perfected it. His innovation was to place a dimple on the underside of each tooth and a nib on the top that would sit securely within the dimple of the tooth above it. As a result, the join between two rows of teeth was then strong because no single tooth has enough room to move up or down and come apart. He also created the manufacturing machine for the new zipper.

You can have a look at the Picture (drawing of 1914 patent filling) explaining the Patent here

The name zipper was created in 1923 by B.F. Goodrich, who used the device on their new boots. Initially, boots and tobacco pouches were the primary use for zippers; it took another twenty years before they caught on in the fashion industry. About the time of World War II the zipper achieved wide acceptance for the flies of trousers and the plackets of skirts and dresses. (Source – WikiPedia)

More Doodles from Google here

For PCs and tablets powered by x86 processors (both 32 and 64 bit), we will have two editions of Windows  to choose from, Windows 8 and Windows 8 Pro. For many consumers, Windows 8 will be the right choice. It will include all the features above plus an updated Windows Explorer, Task Manager, better multi-monitor support and the ability to switch languages on the fly (more details on this feature can be found in this blog post),which was previously only available in Enterprise/Ultimate editions of Windows. For China and a small set of select emerging markets, Microsoft will offer a local language-only edition of Windows 8.

Windows 8 Pro is designed to help tech enthusiasts and business/technical professionals obtain a broader set of Windows 8 technologies. It includes all the features in Windows 8 plus features for encryption, virtualization, PC management and domain connectivity. Windows Media Center will be available as an economical “media pack” add-on to Windows 8 Pro. If you are an enthusiast or you want to use your PC in a business environment, you will want Windows 8 Pro.

Windows RT is the newest member of the Windows family – also known as Windows on ARM or WOA. 

Do not confuse Windows RT with Windows Run Time.

This single edition will only be available pre-installed on PCs and tablets powered by ARM processors and will help enable new thin and lightweight form factors with impressive battery life. Windows RT will include touch-optimized desktop versions of the new Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote. For new apps, the focus for Windows RT is development on the new Windows runtime, or WinRT and forms the foundation of a new generation of cloud-enabled, touch-enabled, web-connected apps of all kinds.  For more details on WOA, this blog post shares more detail on how Windows 8 was built to run on the ARM architecture.

Source: Windows Blog Notifications

If you are still having plans on using Windows 7 and not sure on what version to use, read this article to understand the difference between Windows 7 Ultimate and Enterprise and other SKUs

Amazon CloudSearch is a fully-managed search service in the cloud that allows customers to easily integrate fast and highly scalable search functionality into their applications. With a few clicks in the AWS Management Console, developers simply create a search domain, upload the data they want to make searchable to Amazon CloudSearch, and the service then automatically provisions the technology resources required and deploys a highly tuned search index.

Amazon CloudSearch seamlessly scales as the amount of searchable data increases or as the query rate changes, and developers can change search parameters, fine tune search relevance, and apply new settings at any time without having to upload the data again.

For an overview of the Amazon CloudSearch, have a look at this below video:

Amazon CloudSearch enables customers to offload the administrative burden of operating and scaling a search platform. Customers don’t have to worry about hardware provisioning, data partitioning, or software patches. Amazon CloudSearch offers low, pay-as-you-go pricing with no up-front expenses or long-term commitments.

For Pricing details, refer to this page: http://aws.amazon.com/cloudsearch/#pricing

To read more Cloud Articles on Technology Simplified weblog, check this page

The popularity of virtualization is increasing rapidly, and organizations of all sizes are utilizing various forms of virtualization to maximize hardware investments, reduce energy costs and increase configuration flexibility. Still, the options and application of virtualization are varied. There are many ways the technology can be implemented, and IT professionals are often unsure of where to begin, if they’re on the right virtualization plan, or what tools to use to complement their virtual environment.

If you are an IT administrator looking to improve or setup your virtual infrastructure and want to make sure that you’re on the right path, then join Dell KACE and VMware experts for this live hour long program and demonstration, where you’ll learn how to:

• Create and execute a virtualization strategy
• Implement virtualization in a sequence and pace that’s consistent with organizational needs
• Determine what tools will best complement your virtual infrastructure

Make sure that your virtual infrastructure plan doesn’t go off track with poor setup or tools that don’t function as needed. Dell KACE and VMware work seamlessly together, allowing IT admins to streamline their virtual infrastructures and get up and running quickly.

Join them on Thursday, April 19 at 10 a.m. PT, 12 p.m. CT, to learn more click here.

Source: Dell KACE Notifiers

For more information on Virtualization, read these articles.

If you are using Microsoft Office on Mac, this message is for you! Microsoft has released an update for Microsoft Office for Mac 2011. As always, this update provides the latest fixes to Office for Mac 2011. Additionally, it also contains stability and reliability improvements..!

Before you install the Office for Mac 2011 14.2 update, make sure that the computer is running Mac OS X v10.5.8 or a later version of the Mac OS X operating system.

Download the Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 Service Pack 2 (14.2.0) here

Key Improvements from this Update –  

• Enables users to view and access documents that are located in the root level of a SkyDrive folder.
• Adds a drag-and-drop feature for files in Document Connection in Mac OS X 10.7.
• Fixes an issue in which you receive the following error message when you upload a file to a SharePoint site  - Upload Failed You must sign in to save your changes to the server.
• Fixes an issue in which the Italian grammar checker does not check a complete document.
• Fixes an issue in which the German grammar checker does not check a complete document when the document contains certain German sentences.
• Includes fixes that increase the robustness of the database and that improve the effectiveness of the rebuild utility. Outlook for Mac uses the Office database to store personal information, such as messages and contacts. This update fixes issues that cause database corruptions, instability, and crashes. This update also improves database transactions and the ability to recover from certain errors. If there is a problem within the database, Outlook for Mac starts the Database Utility, which tries to rebuild the database. After you install this update, the Database Utility recovers additional account information, such as shared resources and categories, and recovers from corruption scenarios. This update also adds the ability to cancel a database rebuild in Outlook for Mac.
• Once you install this update, Outlook for Mac updates new messages in IMAP folders regularly. Additionally, Outlook for Mac users who use Gmail accounts can map folders, such as Drafts, Deleted Items, Sent Items, and Junk E-Mail, automatically.
• This update introduces a new sync model for Exchange. The new model enables Outlook for Mac to download an email message in parts. For example, Outlook for Mac first downloads and displays message text and then downloads large images and attachments. Downloading messages in parts reduces the load on the Exchange server and improves performance for the user.
• This update improves support for calendar scheduling resources and for free/busy comparison functionality in the Scheduling Assistant.
• This update enables you to expand distribution lists into individual members when you add a distribution list in the To field or rest the mouse pointer on a distribution list.
• This update introduces functionality that enables you to paste special hyperlinks in PowerPoint.
• This update supports Full Screen View in PowerPoint. Additionally, when you close slide show mode in PowerPoint, edit mode opens.

For the complete list of fixes that are included in the Office for Mac 14.2 update, download this .xls file.

Nokia India has launched an aggressive viral campaign ‘Blown Away by Lumia’ comparing the Lumia with other rivals such as Samsung Galaxy, Blackberry, iPhones, BADA phones etc. to revive in the Indian smartphone market which is currently dominated by phones running on Google Android platform. The Nokia Lumia line of devices run on Windows Phone Operating System.

This YouTube campaign shows short clips of Lumia experts challenging consumers with rival smartphones in terms of internet and social networking quickness and experience. When Lumia wins, the other consumer holds high a banner saying, ‘My phone just got blown away by the Nokia Lumia’ and when the consumer wins, he walks with a Rs.1000 note.

I was a part of this campaign, when it happened in Mantri Mall, Bangalore. I was the Lumia expert and I had over 30 challengers who wanted to take part. It was a fun and a wonderful Experience.

Nokia India has released these 2 videos so far on its official YouTube channel. Hoping for more in days to come!

Check out the other videos here on the Nokia India YouTube Channel.

An exe is an executable file which runs as a separate process and is managed by the OS. It sometimes contains a complete program. Like a Dll, an exe cannot be shared between applications. When windows loads an exe, the exe’s initialization code is responsible for creating what is called as “message pump”, nothing but a program loop which runs as long as the application is running. The message pump request messages from the operating system. Windows keep track of the application as a separate task. It allocates separate memory for both the exe and the application using that exe. The memory area in which each exe runs is called “Process Space”. In an exe, there is an entry point (There is only one single main entry). An exe is visible to the system as a regular Win32 executable. Its entry point refers to the small loader which initializes the .Net run-time and tells it to load and execute the assembly contained in the exe. When the system launches a new exe, a new process is created. The entry thread is called in the context of the main thread of that process. An exe cannot be reused. It is self executable. They can run individually.

A dll is a dynamic link library which can be used in exe files and other dlls. It is referenced or linked to exe at run-time. It is located at runtime using PATH environment variable. This enables many different programs to use this library and perform their tasks making it easier on the programmers so that they do not have to keep reinventing the wheel each time they write software. A .DLL file will contain logic that other programs will use and hence it can be shared between applications. A Dll contains compiled versions of functions that can be linked into a program. The “linking” is taken care of automatically when you compile your program. There are many entry points in a dll. The system loads the dll into the context of an existing thread. Dlls can have multiple versions and be re-used. It doesn’t have a main function and not self executable.

Source: Community discussions

You would also be interested to read -

• Ten Best Practices / Troubleshooting Tips with Process Explorer Tool
• How To Enable System Boot Time Logging using Process Monitor Tool
• ZoomIt – An Awesome tool to use while making Presentations
• How to Remove Security Warning Message using Streams

For more related reading, have a look at these articles.

The capabilities introduced in the upcoming Windows Server “8″ go well beyond virtualization to deliver a dynamic, multi-tenant infrastructure and provide users with flexible access to data and applications while simplifying management and maintaining security, control, and compliance. Check out all the Windows Server 8 resources on this page, including download links for the beta, evaluation resources, what’s new and related resources such as:

• Windows Server “8″ Beta TechCenter
• Windows Server “8″ Beta Technical Library
• Windows Server Blog
• Windows Server “8” Beta General Forum
• Windows Server “8” Beta Setup Forum

A new Microsoft-funded IDC study (.pdf file) shows businesses that move to the cloud are freeing up time and money to invest in innovation and job creation. Among the study’s findings:

• Cloud computing will create nearly 14 million new jobs between 2011 and 2015.
• By 2015, business revenues from IT innovation enabled by the cloud could reach US$1.1 trillion a year.
• Cloud-related jobs will accrue evenly to businesses with 500 or fewer employees and those with more than 500 employees.
• More than one-third of cloud-enabled jobs will occur in the communications and media, banking, and discrete manufacturing industries.

For more information, see also the following related resources:

• Press Release: Cloud Computing to Create Millions of Jobs
• Blog Posts: The Cloud’s Role in Creating US Jobs , The Impact of Cloud Computing in Vertical Industries
• Data model: IDC Data: Worldwide Cloud-Related Jobs

For more related reading, have a look at these articles.

Application management can be a huge hurdle in starting the desktop transformation journey. Join App-DNA to learn how to develop a clear direction, a map, and perhaps a shortcut to reach your desktop virtualization destination more quickly – and with fewer detours. App-DNA walks through a desktop virtualization project, from scoping the time, cost and risk to the organization all the way to automatically virtualizing applications.

In this webinar, you will Learn where to start assessing the application portfolio, how to start assessing which applications may be a best fit for virtual deployment, mapping project time, cost and risk, options for remediating troublesome applications and automatically creating virtual packages for Citrix XenApp and Microsoft App-V, plus MSI.

Thursday, November 10, 2011 9:30 AM – 10:30 AM CST

Register for the Webinar here - https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/644018106

At the recent Mobile Developer Summit which took place on November 2, 2011 at Bangalore Microsoft announced the details of the developer programme for Windows Mobile in India with ‘I unlock Joy’, a unique Application Development and Submission Program, where technology professionals and students get an opportunity to develop applications and showcase creativity.

‘I unlock Joy’ programme for developers has started from November 1, 2011 and will continue till June 30, 2012 whereas the program for students will begin on December 18, 2011 and conclude on March 30 next year. 

Developer competitive categories:

• ·         “SUBMIT & WIN” CATEGORY: A registered participant submits THREE qualified Windows Phone Application in the Marketplace and gets a chance to win a Windows Phone. In this category, the Applications must be distinct and of non-trivial utility value for the Application User. A “Spam” or close replicas of existing Windows Phone Applications are disqualified.

• ·         “PORT 2 APPS & WIN” CATEGORY: A registered participant submitting TWO qualified Windows Phone Applications in the Marketplace which are ported from existing Android or iPhone Applications get to win a Windows Phone.

• ·         “WOMEN SPECIAL” CATEGORY: A first of its kind in the developer space. The first 100 registered Woman Developers who submit ONE (1) qualified Windows Phone Application each in the Marketplace qualify to win a Windows Phone each. The applications can be based on Entertainment, Fashion, Leisure, Sports, Recreation or Travel themes.

Student competitive categories: 

• ·         “STUDENT” CATEGORY: Calling on the community to be a part of the initiative, the “I unlock Joy” programme is customized to unfold their innovative and creative best and become among the select first few proud owners of the Windows Phone.

The contestants need to build one or more applications using Dev Tools and submit on AppHub. If their apps get certified and published on the Windows Phone Marketplace during the contest period which ends November 18, they can claim goodies like a brand new Windows Phone, certificate of acknowledgment from Microsoft and Windows Phone T-Shirts as well as USB flash drives.

You would also be interested to read -

• Windows Phone 7 – Application Submission and Certification Process
• Documentation and Softwares – Developing for Windows Phone 7 Series

Since 2008, the Virtual TechDays has been the epicenter of Microsoft’s interaction with the Indian IT community. Thousands of leading-edge Developers, Infrastructure Professionals, Architects and Designers attend this quarterly online event to hear about the next generation of Microsoft technologies. Virtual TechDays is not only about the deep-dive technical sessions – it’s an opportunity for you to talk with and have your questions answered by the people who build and work on the technologies, and who can help you plan the features and architecture to support your business goals.

This 12th edition of Virtual TechDays – being held on 28-30 September, 2011 – offers you an opportunity to get trained in some of the key technology domains that you work on as part of your day-to-day work … ones that will shape the future of the industry.

As a part of this event, I will be doing a session on 28th of September, at 15.00 IST – “Solve Application Compatibility using Microsoft Application Virtualization (APP-V)”; APP-V helps solves application compatibility by virtualizing the application streamed real time to the client machines. In this talk, I will demonstrate the Microsoft Application Virtualization (APP-V) to virtualize the applications in an environment and also look at how to plan  the virtualized deployment for some of the heavy applications like Office 2010 on the client desktop. Check out the detailed Agenda here - http://www.virtualtechdays.com/agendaday1.aspx

What influences business decisions when planning a Windows 7 migration? A good place to start is with how long the migration project will take. It’s also important to know the business impact of each application going to the enterprise.

App-DNA provides an easier way to make migration decisions. Seeing the “DNA” of an application helps make better decisions about deployment, migration and management. App-DNA application testing, remediation, compatibility saves time, cost and risk in managing application compatibility for Windows 7 migrations, plus Internet Explorer, Microsoft App-V, Citrix XenDesktop and VDI projects.

With the countdown to the end of life for Microsoft Windows XP extended support well under the 1000 day threshold, Windows 7 migration plans are now more important than ever. App-DNA has provided a checklist packed with tips and resources to help make migrations faster, easier and less disruptive.

Download the App-DNA Windows 7 Application Migration Checklist (pdf document)

The Outlook Social Connector (OSC) is a set of new features that help you keep track of friends and colleagues while enabling you to grow your professional network. The OSC brings social views of your networks right to your inbox in a region known as the People Pane. As you read your email, you can view information in the People Pane such as the picture, name, and title of the sender along with a rich aggregated collection of status updates and activities related to the sender.

Because the OSC utilizes an open provider model, you can build providers that work with the OSC to display social network data. In addition to public social network sites, you can also use the OSC provider extensibility to build providers for line-of-business applications or internal corporate web sites and to integrate their services into Outlook.

In this Hands-On Lab, you will gain experience by learning about the basics of OSC provider development.

Click here for the OSC Provider Development Hands on Lab.

Courtesy: Microsoft

The Windows Azure platform is a group of cloud technologies providing a specific set of services to application developers. There is Windows Azure, which provides an environment for running applications and storing data in the cloud, SQL Azure for providing relational data services in the cloud based on SQL Server, and the Windows Azure AppFabric that provides services for connecting applications running in the cloud or on premises. The hands-on lab for this module provides you with a foundation for developing Office solutions that integrate with Windows Azure.

Objective:

Provide you with a foundation for developing Office solutions that integrate with Windows Azure. In particular, you will

• Learn how to setup your Azure development environment
• Understand how to access the Azure Table Service for data storage
• Learn how to call methods exposed by WFC Services on Azure

Click here for the Integrating Azure in Office Solutions Hands on Lab.

Here are some key highlights of the all new iOS 5.0.

Notification Center

• Non intrusive Pop-up notifications. New notifications show in a new notification bar which apears everytime getting a notification - SMS, missed phone calls and regualar notifications from every app.
• All notifications concentrated to Notification center – just swipe downwards to open it. Notification center shows as a list of all notifications.
• Notification list on lock screen: Notfication center list shown.

iMessage – Messaging between all iOS devices run iOS 5 (iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPod touch 4G, iPod touch 3G, iPad & iPad 2) through Wi-Fi or 3G.

Newsstand – A new icon on Springboard, which opens to an iBooks-inspired folder which shows all papers and magazines downloaded from app store.

Reminders – Location-aware notifications, triggered when the device approaches a set position. (E.g. remind to get milk when device leaves workplace or approaches a grocery store)

Twitter integration – Tweeting from Native Applications: Photos, Youtube, Maps, iOS Contacts

Camera

• Volume-up key as shutter release button to take photos.
• Shortcut to Camera App from Lockscreen created
• Grid composition aide, pinch to zoom.

Photos – Built-in photo editing: crop, red-eye, auto-enhance, rotate.

Safari

• Safari reader and Reading list
• Tabbed Browsing (iPad only)
• Ability to open pages in background
• Private Browsing(change via settings)
• Ability to create keyboard shortcuts (autotext) to replace custom phrases.
• Preference to open pages in Safari in a new page or in background

PC-free

• iTunes/USB no longer required to activate new devices- ability to start right over with no need to tether it to iTunes added. you can restore all your data on your device through a simple iCloud sign in.
• Sync over Wi-Fi- ability added to sync wirelessly to iTunes.
• OTA softwares updates: You now can update your software version without iTunes straight from device through Wi-Fi or 3G.
• The unlock slider inscription changed from “slide to unlock” to “unlock” + camera shortcut.

iPad & iPad 2 only

• Multitasking Gestures- Pinch with 4 fingers to close app,swipe up to open multitasking bar,swipe left or right to move between open apps to enable.
• Split keyboard-Swipe up to split keyboard in half. then keyboard shows on middle of screen.

iPad 2 only

• AirPlay Mirroring- Ability to connect with Airplay to an Apple TV – then everything shown on iPad is also seen on TV.

Exchange Server specifically, and Unified Communications in general, have become increasingly critical components of organizations’ infrastructure. They’re also carrying increasingly-sensitive information to a growing variety of devices. No longer can we rely on the protection of our intranet to keep these communications safe and private: Our communications now reach well beyond the local network. SSL offers a way to secure the vast majority of our communications, but in modern, multi-server organizations, they can come with a high amount of cost and overhead.

In The Shortcut Guide to Securing Your Exchange Server and Unified Communications Infrastructure Using SSL, author Don Jones will show you how to use Subject Alternative Name (SAN) certificates to provide the security you need, with less cost and overhead. You’ll also learn about other best practices for securing Exchange and Unified Communications platforms, including Microsoft Lync Server, mobile device management, and more.

This complete book includes the following chapters:

• Chapter 1: A SAN Certificate Crash Course
• Chapter 2: Messaging, Unified Communications, Security, and SAN Certificates
• Chapter 3: Best Practices for Securing Your Exchange Server
• Chapter 4: Best Practices for Securing Your Unified Communications Infrastructure

Download the complete 60-page book today!

Note: You will need to create a profile in Realtime Nexus (The Digital Library for IT Pros) when you click the above link.

Courtesy: Realtime Nexus

You would also be interested in downloading these e-books:

• Understanding Microsoft Virtualization R2 Solutions from Microsoft Press
• The Shortcut Guide to Centralized SharePoint Administration
• The Definitive Guide to Application Performance Management
• The Shortcut Guide to Data Center Energy Efficiency
• Download Guide to Monitoring Data Center, Virtual Environments & Cloud

SP1 releases for both Office client suites and SharePoint server products will be made available. All language versions of SP1 will release simultaneously. Initially, Service Pack 1 will be offered as a manual download from the Download Center and from Microsoft Update, and no sooner than 90 days after release, will be made available as an Automatic Update.

SP1 will include many interesting changes. Across the client suites and server products, SP1 offers a sprinkling of improvements to make a strong 2010 release wave even stronger. During TechEd and beyond, teams on http://blogs.office.com will update their blogs with more specific details of 2010 Service Pack 1 contents.

There are far too many changes in SP1 to list here, but the list below is a sample of SP1 highlights to get things started. This is a list of things that you can do now that you couldn’t before, or things that are just better than they were with the original release:

• Outlook fixes an issue where “Snooze Time” would not reset between appointments.
• The default behavior for PowerPoint “Use Presenter View” option changed to display the slide show on the secondary monitor.
• Integrated community content in the Access Application Part Gallery.
• Better alignment between Project Server and SharePoint Server browser support.
• Improved backup / restore functionality for SharePoint Server
• The Word Web Application extends printing support to “Edit Mode.”
• Project Professional now synchronizes scheduled tasks with SharePoint task lists.
• Internet Explorer 9 “Native” support for Office Web Applications and SharePoint
• Office Web Applications Support for Chrome
• Inserting Charts into Excel Workbooks using Excel Web Application
• Support for searching PPSX files in Search Server
• Visio Fixes scaling issues and arrowhead rendering errors with SVG export
• Proofing Tools improve spelling suggestions in Canadian English, French, Swedish and European Portuguese.
• Outlook Web Application Attachment Preview (with Exchange Online only)
• Office client suites using “Add Remove Programs” Control Panel, building on our work from Office 2007 SP2

Each product in Office and each Server capability area will have changes in SP1. Specific changes will be detailed on TechNet and in KB Articles. On release day, the MS team will publish all associated KB articles. SP1 will also roll-up our Public Update and Cumulative Update releases to date.

Source: Office Engineering Blog

Interested in office 2010? Read these Tips, which would help you use this tool better:

• How to Insert and Trim Videos in a PowerPoint Presentation using Office 201o
• Remove the Background of an Image using Office 2010
• Adding Artistic Effects to an Image in Office 2010

App-DNA, the global leader in application intelligence, announced today from the Microsoft TechEd Conference the availability of a new “test drive” version of the AppTitude application intelligence software and the continued success of the new AppTitude 5.0 release.

The new cloud-based preview of the award-winning AppTitude software enables enterprise IT teams to have a hands-on view of application testing and application remediation processes, as well as review the powerful business and technical reports that reduce the time, cost and risk of Windows 7 migrations, Microsoft App-V projects and end-user computing initiatives. Best of all, AppTitude integrates with System Center Configuration Manager and Active Directory to combine user, device, region and group information with application information.

Visit App-DNA at TechEd booth 848 and experience the no-cost AppTitude test drive on the App-DNA site. Read the full news on the App-DNA website.

Armadillo is an adaptive bug prevention system that allows .NET developers to prevent bugs as they code. Armadillo prevents bugs from creeping into your code, without any extra work required from you. Armadillo gives you confidence in your code, and shows you where the next bug can be hiding.

As a special offer, you are invited to be one of the first to try out Armadillo and win a FREE license.

Win a free license of Armadillo and start preventing software bugs as you code. To win:

1. Download Armadillo at http://www.armadilloverdrive.com
2. Start preventing software bugs
3. Post a review of Armadillo online (blog, YouTube, article, etc.)
4. Send a link to your review to avi@typemock.com.

Calling all Windows 7 lovers out there! If you think you know Windows 7 like the back of your hand and have truly mastered the most popular OS, it’s time to put your Windows 7 knowledge to the test with the ‘7 Star Challenge’ on Microsoft India’s official Facebook community page – Windows & Me. The ‘7 Star Challenge’ is a fun-filled and interactive challenge meant for you – a Windows 7 enthusiast. This challenge is hosted on Microsoft India’s official page ‘Windows and Me’, which already has close to 2 lac fans today and is increasing by the hour.

For the ‘7 Star Challenge’ all you have to do is answer 7 tough questions around Windows 7 features in a stipulated time. With each correct answer you will earn a star and once you earn all the 7 stars you win the challenge! The challenge also gives you an option of ‘Just play’, a feature which lets you practice for the ‘big challenge’, and ’enter the contest’ – the actual 7 Star Challenge itself. It is an engaging & interesting way to know about the cool & most loved features of Windows 7 like HomeGroup that lets you access files from your home PC from just about anywhere; Jumplist, which gives easy access to your favorite pictures, songs, websites, and documents & Aero Snap, a quick (and fun!) way to re-size and compare windows on your desktop.

Once you win the challenge and have proved your mettle, you are then eligible to join the prestigious Windows 7 Premier club on the Windows & Me community on Facebook. This premium recognition will be bestowed on the top scorers of the 7 Star Challenges. You can also publish your high scores on your Facebook page and flaunt it to your friends. Guess what, you can even challenge your friends to beat your score of the 7 Star Challenge game.

So, what are you waiting for? Click on this link http://apps.facebook.com/winsevenstar/ to know if you are a Windows 7 Master and quickly grab your place in the club.!

AppTitude 5.0 brings a new era in managing applications in your enterprise IT environment. Now App-DNA helps enterprises test and remediate applications for compatibility, plus illustrates the business value of each application. Uniquely integrating with System Center Configuration Manager and Active Directory, AppTitude 5.0 takes application compatibility automation to the next level with application intelligence.

AppTitude enables enterprise IT to:

• test and remediate applications for compatibility
• integrate user and device information to see who the applications affects – and how
• model delivery options to determine the best forward path
• automate application preparation, including creating MSI and Microsoft App-V ready packages

AppTitude reduces the time, cost and risk of user-centric application delivery and day-to-day application management.

If an application seems difficult to migrate to Windows 7, Internet Explorer 9, Microsoft App-V, Citrix XenApp or XenDesktop, how much impact will that have on the organization? Will it affect 2 people or 2,000 people? Are the 2 people the CFO and the Controller, who need an essential application for reporting earnings? Are there serious migration issues in an application used by a 2,000 person call center? What will that cost the business?

Interested in seeing more?

• Check out the other new features in AppTitude 5.0
• See a practical example of new AppTitude reporting in the App-DNA technical blog
• Contact info@app-dna.com for a more in-depth discussion and your personal demonstration of AppTitude 5.0.

Kinect for Xbox 360, recently recognized by Guinness World Records as the fastest-selling consumer device in 60 days, allows users to enjoy games and entertainment with their whole body and voice — no controller required. Since Kinect launched in November 2010, enthusiasts have been exploring the potential of Kinect in a number of unexpected, nongaming scenarios.

Today at MIX, Microsoft detailed some of the features in the Kinect for Windows Beta SDK from Microsoft Research coming in the spring, including the following:

• Robust Skeletal Tracking for high-performance capabilities that track the skeleton image of one or two persons moving within the Kinect field of view
• Advanced Audio Capabilities, including four-element microphone array with sophisticated acoustic noise and echo cancellation for great audio; beam formation to identify the current sound source and integration with the Windows speech recognition API also included
• XYZ depth camera for standard color camera stream access and depth data that indicates the distance of the object from the Kinect camera

The Kinect for Windows SDK is a programming toolkit that will enable researchers and enthusiasts easy access to the capabilities offered by the Microsoft Kinect device connected to computers running Microsoft Windows 7.

Developers can sign up to be notified of the release at http://research.microsoft.com/kinectsdk

This SDK is intended for non-commercial use to enable experimentation in the world of natural user interface experiences, with new state-of-the-art features planned for future releases that will continue to provide new ways to experiment.