Entries for JD Lewin

Silverlight Showing Up on Nokia Handsets Soon [Silverlight Showing Up on Nokia Handsets Soon]

Jesse — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 16:55:00 GMT

In one of the first of many newsbombs coming out of everyone's favorite desert oasis this week, the Silverlight team will announcing the porting of Silverlight to Nokia Series 60 mobile devices. Given that the Finnish juggernaut represents a majority of the smartphone market, support for Silverlight on Nokias (in addition to the previously-announced WinMo device support) will help bring the next web to the pockets of the masses.

(Mary Jo Foley for ZDNet)

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Microsoft Issues New Product Principles: The Ozzie Effect [Microsoft Issues New Product Principles: The Ozzie Effect]

Jesse — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 13:28:00 GMT

Microsoft this morning announced four guiding principles for it's major products, including Vista, Office, and SQL Server. Ensuring open connections, data portability, enhanced support for industry standards, and open engagement with the industry have all been listed as prioritied for current and future versions of the company's products.

As what a few of us here at C10 view as the first major impact of Ray Ozzie taking the helm, we will begin to see increased industry and community engagement from Microsoft; more APIs and documentation will be made available without licensing fees. There is also an Open Source Interoperability Initiative created as part of today's announcement, which is designed to further the conversations between Microsoft and the open source community.

(...to Expand Interoperability - MS PressPass)

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Skyfire browser for Windows Mobile supports Flash et al [Skyfire browser for Windows Mobile supports Flash et al]

Jesse — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 16:30:00 GMT

The race to enable embedded web content on mobile devices is a serious one, as clearly none of us enthusiasts will be happy until Youtube videos and Myspace music players are available at all times. Enter Skyfire and their browser for just about any WM5/6 device, which uses some server-side voodoo to enable wicked browsing speed and no lack of code support. While it's currently in private beta, if you ask really nicely you may get the hook-up.

(via Engadget)

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UPDATED: Windows Live Photo Gallery beta not public [UPDATED: Windows Live Photo Gallery beta not public]

Jesse — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 18:22:00 GMT

The new beta of Windows Live Photo Gallery ~~is now available~~ and it’s an important update for any photo enthusiast using Vista. The new version includes connectivity with Windows Live Spaces most importantly, allowing the user to easily upload photos to their Spaces account. Kip reports on LiveSide a quick rundown of the beta’s features. Also online are a few screenshots of Windows Live Folders, which will provide a place online for Live users to store and share their large files. Keep an eye on the Windows Live betas site for more as the summer marches on.

UPDATE: The WL Photo Gallery beta has only been seeded internally, and a public beta won't be available until later this year. We'd like to see integration with more photo services than Spaces by the time this gets released, so hopefully it's been designed to allow an intrepid user to write a plug-in.

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Office 12 docx files are zips in disguise [Office 12 docx files are zips in disguise]

Jesse — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 20:46:00 GMT

Take any document created in an Office 12 app, rename said document with a .zip extension, and browse that file’s contents from Windows Explorer. Welcome to the magic of Office’s XML implementation, where every document is simply a bundle of XML data. This little hack will provide you hours of needless content-editing fun for those who have Office 12 installed, as well as a sneaky way to replace the images in your coworker’s trip report with photos of our favorite popular music star.

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Microsoft Research demos multi-touch laptop prototype [Microsoft Research demos multi-touch laptop prototype]

Jesse — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 20:05:00 GMT

Hot on the heels of the Microsoft Surface computer comes the Cambridge kids from Microsoft Research with their latest creation. Steve Hodges’ Dell laptop now sports multi-touch input, courtesy of a small collection of infrared sensors attached to the rear of the display. The video in Long Zheng’s post shows the usual pinching and sliding, along with some input from a traditional remote control.

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Adobe renames Apollo web technology as AIR [Adobe renames Apollo web technology as AIR]

Jesse — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 07:01:00 GMT

Today the public beta of AIR (Adobe Integrated Runtime) goes live, ending the alpha chapter of its life as Apollo. As has been previously mentioned, the technology allows web developers to use their existing kung-fu to create applications with all the behavior and most of the abilities of traditional desktop apps. Adobe has a gallery of sample AIR applications online, of which the Yahoo-powered MapCache we’re playing with is particularly entertaining. Hopefully in the coming months we’ll see this ecosystem grow, if for no other reason than to update our Facebook profiles from the airplane.

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HTC Touch skips the buttons and brings the cool [HTC Touch skips the buttons and brings the cool]

Jesse — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 21:56:00 GMT

Without a doubt the hottest Windows Mobile handset for the next couple months will be the HTC Touch. A 2.8 inch touch screen takes center stage, allowing you to navigate the device’s media features with your oldest and most favorite input device; your finger. The standard set of Bluetooth 2.0 with AD2P support, 802.11b/g, 2.0 megapixel camera, and microSD expansion slot are all powered by WinMo 6 professional. We’re certainly curious about how useful a device without some sort of dedicated text input will become, and when we’ve had some time with one you’ll hear our verdict.

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Windows Home Server add-ins grow your backup powers [Windows Home Server add-ins grow your backup powers]

Jesse — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 19:40:00 GMT

Terry Walsh has started We Got Served as a place to gather up all the how-to’s and add-in’s for Windows Home Server. Considering WHS is still working through its beta phase, imagine our surprise at the handful of excellent pieces that have already been built! If you’re a big photo nut, Photosync will keep your Flickr and WHS Photos folder in sync. For the constant travelers, Wake on LAN will power up (or down) any of the machines connected to your WHS. And for the extra secure solution, KeepVault will backup the contents of your WHS online, for yet another layer of redundancy. Keep an eye of the WHS team blog as they march closer towards release.

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Vote for Silverlight in the Webware 100 awards [Vote for Silverlight in the Webware 100 awards]

Jesse — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 21:59:00 GMT

CNET's Webware 100 is a simple enough contest to determine the most appreciated services in the Web 2.0 universe. There are areas to choose your favorite bit of media, commerce, networking, and plenty of others. This year the Publishing category includes Microsoft Silverlight, a technology close to our hearts, amongst some steep competition. Get out the vote and let the world know what are the best pieces of the web landscape. If you need some encouragement be sure to check out the Silverlight Showcase of incredible web apps from MIX07.

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Bill Gates and Steve Jobs together at D [Bill Gates and Steve Jobs together at D]

Jesse — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 17:34:00 GMT

Did you feel the depression in space and time on Wednesday night? At around 10pm Pacific Bill Gates and Steve Jobs sat down together for their first public joint interview at the D: All Things Digital conference. In one of the most exciting moments for anyone following the personal computing industry, these two titans carried on together in a way no one expected; as friends and equals. Their conversation was earnest and pleasant, and an incredibly satisfying history lesson. Engadget’s transcript is a great in-the-moment read, and the entire conversation video is online at the D website.

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New versions of Live Writer, Messenger, and Mail [New versions of Live Writer, Messenger, and Mail]

Jesse — Thu, 31 May 2007 20:34:00 GMT

The Windows Live journey continues today with new versions of three sweet little apps. Windows Live Writer gets a great UI refresh and increased support for Spaces, Wordpress, and Typepad using the Provider Customization API. The most complete walkthrough of Windows Live Writer upgrades comes from Scott at Liveside. The Windows Live Messenger upgrade brings it in line with the new Live UI, and the full expose of updates comes from Nicole on the Messenger team Space. Last but not least, Windows Live Mail wraps up the Live desktop upgrade. POP and IMAP accounts are now supported as well as a cleaner summary view for contacts. The full rundown of enhancements is brought to us by Tanja on the Live Mail team Space.

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Xbox 360 architect Nick Baker interviewed on Channel 9 [Xbox 360 architect Nick Baker interviewed on Channel 9]

Jesse — Fri, 25 May 2007 18:57:00 GMT

The silicon guts of your favorite game console (and ours) had to be designed by someone right? Charles from Channel 9 interviewed Nick Baker, the managing architect for Xbox 360 hardware. Their candid discussion covers the interesting motivations behind putting PowerPC technology at the core of the console. Though it shouldn’t be a big surprise, the architecture was constrained by schedule and final cost, which drove most of the decisions on Nick’s team. Nick and Charles also talk through the issues around compatibility, operating system design, and plenty of other nitty gritty details about that gorgeous white box.

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Ricavision Fridge Magnet with SideShow built in [Ricavision Fridge Magnet with SideShow built in]

Jesse — Mon, 21 May 2007 23:06:00 GMT

Last week we pointed to the WinHEC 2007 keynote, but as always not every great announcement make it to the stage. Ricavision showed off a portable electronic touch screen with Windows SideShow functionality, which doesn’t sound like much until you imagine it on your refrigerator. The MK 140 FM Magnet/Scribbler features a 3.5 inch LCD display and 16 hours of battery life. We’ve seen some great Media Center Remotes from Ricavision in the past, but the kitchen doesn’t often get the geek treatment. We could easily see ourselves enjoying life more, changing the music in the house while making brownies.

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New Photosynth collection: Gyeongbok Palace in South Korea [New Photosynth collection: Gyeongbok Palace in South Korea]

Jesse — Fri, 18 May 2007 18:25:00 GMT

One of the things that makes Photosynth such an exciting Microsoft Live Labs project is its ability to bring the far corners of the world to your desk. This latest Photosynth exploration of Gyeongbok Palace in Seoul represents a 4,000 photos and a month’s worth of submissions. The result is an ancient Asian experience unlike any other on the web. As with previous coverage of Photosynth on Channel 10, the experience of moving through a 3D collection of images is very Blade Runner. Hopefully this also represents progress by the Live Labs team towards empowering all of you to help model your own world.

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Halo 3 to dent GDP starting on 25 September [Halo 3 to dent GDP starting on 25 September]

Jesse — Wed, 16 May 2007 14:20:00 GMT

Cancel your summer vacation and hold onto those sick days, because the end of this fall is when you’re going to need at least a week off from work. The release date for Halo 3, the most anticipated game since lava tag with the cute girl you met while finger-painting, has been proclaimed as 25 September 2007. Before that, you full-blooded fan boys and girls can pre-order the Halo 3 Edition Zune from GameStop. Also if you’ve been wanting for luscious video content, be sure to check out the Halo 3 Betalicious video post by Bungie last week.

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WinHEC 2007: New Windows Home Server hardware [WinHEC 2007: New Windows Home Server hardware]

Jesse — Tue, 15 May 2007 22:03:00 GMT

This morning Steven Leonard announced a significant list of hardware partners that will be building Windows Home Server devices. AMD, HP, LaCie, Gateway, Intel, and Medion International have all announced intentions to build devices. In the past we’ve shown you the abilities of WHS, but today we’ve got a hit list of companies from whom we should expect devices. Of course, if you’d rather roll your own, there will of course be a System Builder SKU for those with the kung-fu to create their own monster storage rig.

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WinHEC 2007 has begun [WinHEC 2007 has begun]

Jesse — Tue, 15 May 2007 16:31:00 GMT

Uncle Bill went on stage 30 minutes ago to begin this year’s Windows Hardware Engineering Conference. For those who aren’t familiar, this is the place to see the some of the coolest new hardware coming to the Windows ecosystem. There are also a series of demos (complete with cumbersome dialog) on the optimum experiences for setting up new hardware. If you must see the news as it happens, then go and grab the hot and tasty WinHEC Keynote stream.

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The Encyclopedia of Life will catalog the planet’s species [The Encyclopedia of Life will catalog the planet’s species]

Jesse — Mon, 14 May 2007 20:11:00 GMT

As E.O. Wilson said in his wish at TED this year, “It will quickly pay for itself in practical applications…It will transform the science of biology in ways of obvious benefit to humanity.” It in this case is the Encyclopedia of Life, a new mission to catalog the countless species of our planet. Such an undertaking will crystallize the science of biology in ways no one has ever imagined, as the EOL’s concept video illustrates. Think of it as a cleaner, more targeted Wikipedia, for the animals (and the children).

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Windows Mobile: A most difficult development story [Windows Mobile: A most difficult development story]

Jesse — Fri, 11 May 2007 21:04:00 GMT

The insight you’ll come away with after reading, “Dogfood Doesn’t Always Taste Good,” by Mike Calligaro for the Windows Mobile Team Blog is nothing short of astounding. The boys and girls in WinMo have one of the most difficult jobs at Microsoft; developing software for devices must fight to get access to while attempting to meet the expectations of both customers and wireless carriers. Mike goes into great depth on the history of development starting with the release of PocketPC 2000 and wrapping up with the just completed Windows Mobile 6.

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Mobile phones can fight poverty [Mobile phones can fight poverty]

Jesse — Tue, 08 May 2007 16:37:00 GMT

Mobile phones are arguably the ultimate gadget, and as a gadget they sometimes get a bad rap as distractions or time wasters. To realign your appreciation for mobiles however, you simply need to spend fifteen minutes with Iqbal Quadir’s TED Talk: The power of the mobile phone to end poverty. Throughout history technological advances have enabled the masses to upgrade their abilities and quality of life, and Iqbal argues that the connectivity that comes from mobiles (like the Motorola MOTOFONE you see here) can help to empower citizens to bring themselves out of poverty. The whole thing makes us wonder; is there a ‘Sponsor a mobile customer’ program out there?

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Microsoft’s Center for Information Work [Microsoft’s Center for Information Work]

Jesse — Mon, 07 May 2007 18:23:00 GMT

Only at a company this large can you stumble upon extremely cool stuff that would’ve remained entirely off your radar. The Center for Information Work (MSCIW) appears to be a swanky work area concept that includes workspace, hardware, and software concepts for the future of electronic productivity. Killer prototypes around information clusters, mobile workers, and contextual navigation are all drool worthy, though obviously not ready for prime time. Rest assured now that we’ve found out about this little oasis, we won’t rest until we can get a thorough tour of this companies own private Tomorrowland.

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Microsoft could acquire Yahoo: What do you think? [Microsoft could acquire Yahoo: What do you think?]

Jesse — Fri, 04 May 2007 19:41:00 GMT

If you ever wanted to see a perfect storm of hyperlinked news, today’s revelation that Microsoft wants to talk to Yahoo about a merger is it. For those who haven’t already been deafened by twitter exclamations and email flurries, let’s walk through the news thus far. That bastion of responsible news reporting The New York Post, broke the story this morning. Apparently when Google picked up DoubleClick last month, the big heads here in Redmond decided it may be time to ante up in the acquisition game, and reopened a longstanding dialog with Yahoo. The ever-anonymous ‘sources’ were sure to include a $50b price tag, as well as reminding us that combining the search advertising shares of MSFT and YHOO would represent 27 percent against GOOG’s 65 percent.

David Kaplan of paidContent.org chimed in early, echoing the NY Post article, as well as reminding everyone of Jerry Yang’s avoidance of Microsoft products, and how much an acquisition could close the gap between Microsoft and Google. Reuters also covered the story with this choice quote from Peter Lobravico of Wall Street Access: “You can’t find a stronger buyer than Microsoft and while it would spur a lot of political and regulatory noise, everyone knows in the end that the deal would go through.”

Scott Beale picked the right graphic for Laughing Squid’s coverage, and also highlighted the 18 point jump in Yahoo’s stock on news of the negotiations. He also pointed out Eric Schonfeld’s post at The Next Net, which notes that the deal would have an air of desperation, and that, “The culture-clash of two companies could undermine any financial gains a Microsoft-Yahoo merger could produce.” Some astute opinion came from Henry Blodget at Internet Outisder, who recommends the two companies join, and then for Microsoft to spin off a Yahoo-MSN organization.

This questions raised by this morning’s news are far more interesting than the coverage of it, given that very little has actually transpired. So what are the questions then? What are your wildest fantasies about how a Microhoo/Yahsoft would exist, and what sort of combinations could make the new company insanely great?

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Comic Life beta breathes new life into your photos [Comic Life beta breathes new life into your photos]

Jesse — Wed, 02 May 2007 17:20:00 GMT

Last night the Plasq team released a beta of Comic Life for Windows, while some of us from the 10 team were watching the last piece of epic cinema. As you can see from our three minutes of handiwork, any single photo can be quickly turned into a hilarious piece of original art. This normally Mac development house has given the masses access to one of the more entertaining applications to come around in years, particularly if you’ve got a dedicated web-cam connected to your machine. If you install the beta, be sure to give the team as much quality feedback as you can, as that’s how devs know you really care ;)

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MIX07 Silverlight demos show off tomorrow's web [MIX07 Silverlight demos show off tomorrow's web]

Jesse — Tue, 01 May 2007 22:35:00 GMT

The Microsoft MIX conference is in full swing in a little city in Nevada right now, and our sister site Visit MIX07 has been Joshua Allen’s soapbox to bring the show beyond Vegas. The technological marvel of the show has been Silverlight. The CBS Digital Media group has built an application for media consumption that could aptly be described as FutureTV. Moving through user-generated content that includes rich metadata is a seamless viewing experience, even with targeted advertising integrated. The kids here have worked long and hard to provide incredible and futuristic online experiences. The Netflix video-on-demand player was combines your online experience with movie-viewing in a way that is simply amazing. Even Major League Baseball has got into the business in an attempt to provide baseball fans with an aggressive online experience. The way in which MLB.com shows off live games has changed drastically since they started in 2002 thanks to Microsoft. The new Silverlight MLB site player provides the smoothest presentation of baseball’s ocean of statistics and multiple simultaneous sporting events anywhere.

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