Entries for Tina Wood

PDC 2008 is coming...and I can't wait!

Tina — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 17:06:00 GMT

Microsoft’s Professional Developers Conference 2008 is hitting the Los Angeles scene late October (27-30) and we got our best ad-agency guys and gals together to figure out how best to get the word out.

Why? Well, PDC is the place where Developers and Architects can network with their peers, get their questions answered by the Microsofties who are writing the code during Ask-The-Experts and take home all the bits on a 160 GB hard drive-including pre-Beta Windows 7!

Yeah, that’s PDC.

This is an inside look at one of our early brainstorming sessions… let’s just say things got a little out of hand.

But hey, make sure you don’t let it pass you by, register for PDC… NOW, oh did I mention the student discount?!

And don’t forget to be friends with 4 Softies and a Pizza Guy… or be a fan!

Askthebrain.net Creator's Exclusive Interview

Tina — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 18:42:00 GMT

Get the nitty-gritty details from the genius behind askthebrain.net as to why so bitter and what will be done to resolve the bitterness next month in L.A.

Dayline’s Exclusive Interview with the Brain in the Jar

Tina — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 14:54:00 GMT

Learn where the Brain has been since the last PDC. I discover what the brain likes to do when not developing software; why a jar and if it is a mascot?

Microsoft's Holiday Preview - Zune

Tina — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 11:52:00 GMT

Happy Holiday's Zune Lovers! Zune is a favorite portable device for many and Katy Asher drops by to talk all things Zune and what we have to look forward to this Holiday Season. There's a new Blue Zune, 16 G Zune, 120 G Zune and Zune Originals allows you to personalize your device. And we chat new features. You can download music directly to your Zune device. FM radio is a fan favorite and now you can buy music directly from the FM radio broadcast you're listening to.

Microsoft's Holiday Preview - Platinum Gifts and Hot Gifts Under $100

Tina — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 12:01:00 GMT

Happy Holidays! I take you into the future with a plethora of products that Microsoft will be releasing this Holiday Season. These are considered our Platinum gifts like the Xbox 360 Elite, The 120 G Zune Player, SONY VAIO TZ, HTC Touch Diamond, HTC Touch Dual, Samsung HDTV with MediaLive Digital Media Adapter. We also have Hot Gifts Under $100 which includes Lego Batman, Lips and Much more...

Microsoft's Holiday Preview - The Overview!

Tina — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 13:17:00 GMT

Happy Holidays and welcome to the Microsoft Holiday Preview. We have games, music, phones and computers. To get even deeper we show off products like the SONY VAIO TZ Notebook, Dell XPS One, Samsung HDTV with MediaLive Digital Media Adapter, Explorer Mouse with Blue Track Technology, Lego Batman, Samsung Blackjack II, HTC Touch Dual, HTC Touch Diamond, New Blue Zune, 120 GB Zune, New Zune Features, Xbox Experience, Lips, You're in the Movies and More...

Other Holiday Previews:
Xbox 360
Windows Mobile
Windows Vista Powered PC's and Accessories

Microsoft's Holiday Preview - Xbox 360

Tina — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 13:56:00 GMT

Happy Holiday's Gamers! Yes, don't let the 80 degrees and sunny skies throw you off. Jen Puzio and I talk about what you can look forward to this holiday season from the Xbox team. Including the Xbox Experience with Avatars, downloading movies from NetFlix, Lips and You're in the movies. And check back tomorrow where Microsoft's Holiday Preview gives you a sneak peek into what you can expect from Window's Mobile!

Bob Muglia: Shows us His Tech

Tina — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 10:56:00 GMT

Bob Muglia is Senior Vice President of the Server and Tools Business (STB) at Microsoft. He joined Microsoft in 1988 and has been a leader in shaping the company’s business and technology strategy. He’s a believer in hands-on experiences, and he recently opened up his home to Channel 10 to chat with us about “all things tech” and to give us a look inside his own personal server room, which I promise, will not disappoint!

Office Labs: Chart Advisor

Tina — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 14:43:00 GMT

Chart Advisor is a prototype that provides an alternate approach for creating charts in Excel 2007. This add-in uses an advanced rules engine to scan your data and, based on predefined rules, displays charts according to score. Top scoring charts are available for you to preview, tweak, and insert into your Excel worksheet.

Office Labs: Email Prioritizer

Tina — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 16:30:00 GMT

Email Prioritizer is a plug-in for Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 (running on Exchange Server) that helps you manage email overload. This concept test provides a “do not disturb” button that temporarily pauses new email arrival, and prioritizes email with a 0-3 star rating system. We hope this prototype helps you focus on the emails that are most important to you.

Office Labs: Speed Launch

Tina — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 18:45:00 GMT

This is the first community prototype from Office Labs. Community prototypes are projects Microsoft employees work on in their spare time. Speed Launch's goal is to let you get to the stuff you use faster and with less frustration.

Speed Launch - Frequently Asked Questions and Answers

Why do I need Speed Launch?
What is Speed Launch?
Is there a shorcut key to open the launcher?
Is there a limit to how many items a single Speed Launch shortcut can open?
How do I use Speed Launch to open multiple things?
I notice that Speed Launch comes with some shortcuts that allow me to search websites. How do I use them?
How do I create my own functions?
How do I delete shortcuts?
How can I hide the floating bull's-eye?
Can I choose which shortcuts are displayed on the Speed Launch window?
Sometimes Speed Launch is slow to respond. Can I fix that?
How can users provide feedback on Speed Launch?
Who developed Speed Launch?
What type of assistance did Speed Launch receive from Office Labs?
Is this going to be included in the next version of Windows?

Why do I need Speed Launch?
Work faster and with less frustration. Speed Launch gives you lightning quick access to all the documents, files, and websites you use often. In the past when you used something a lot you might have created a desktop shortcut, added it to your IE favorites, or placed it on your quick launch bar. Speed Launch allows you to create centralized shortcuts to all the stuff you need and allows you to access them effortlessly.

What is Speed Launch?
Speed Launch is an application launcher that extends the functionality and usability of Microsoft Windows. With Speed Launch, users can select their own words to open frequently used websites, documents, and applications. The most compelling feature of Speed launch is the use of a drag and drop interaction model to make this advanced functionality more intuitive to novice computer users.

How is it used? How does it work with Windows?
Speed Launch is a downloadable program available at www.officelabs.com. After you've download Speed Launch, simply drag the file, document, or website url onto the Speed Launch bull's-eye to create a Speed Launch shortcut. From then on, any time you need to access that file, document, or website, just hit "Windows+C", type the shortcut name, and what you need will immediately appear.

Is there a shortcut key to open the launcher?
Yes. Use "Windows+C".

How do I use Speed Launch to open multiple things?
Drag the first item on to the bull's-eye and give it a name. Next, drag the second item on to the bull's-eye and give it the same name. When you do this, Speed Launch will give you the option to replace or merge the two items, choose merge. Now, hit "Windows+C" and type the name. Speed Launch will open both items.

Is there a limit to how many items a single Speed Launch shortcut can open?
Not that we know of :)

I notice that Speed Launch comes with some shortcuts that allow me to search websites. How do I use them?
Speed Launch comes preloaded with a few useful fucntions. For example, to search Wikipedia just type “Wikipedia Search” and hit enter. Next, type what you want to search for in the new window and hit enter. Speed Launch will open the related Wikipedia page.

Cool! Can I create my own "functions"?
Yes... but it's a little tricky. You can watch the video below for a walk through (and some good music). In short, go to the results page (e.g., search for the information you are looking for) and, if the search term appears in the URL, you can drag it on to the bullseye to create a function. Name it with a period (e.g., "MySearch.") which tells Speed Launch you want a function, and follow the prompts. We will make this easier in the future, but our current focus is in making the basics as easy as possible.

Watch the Olympics Live now at NBCOlympics.com

Tina — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 00:50:00 GMT

Who needs DVR when you can watch the 2008 Summer Olympics Live at NBCOlympics.com. With over 2200 hours of live Olympic footage and more feature and profile pieces than you know what to do with...it's the place to be this summer. Using Silverlight 2.0 you can watch up to four live events at one time. I recruited Ex-BMX racer Eric Schmidt to give us a walk-thru of this superb user experience.

Deep Zooming with HardRock.com

Tina — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 16:10:00 GMT

Adam Kinney stops by the Channel 10 Studios and takes us through the HardRock.com memorabilia site. It's built with Silverlight and we've seem glimpses before but now we're bringing you the whole tour. Check out the finger prints of your favorite musicians, the tires on Bono's motorcycle and a letter from Madonna. Cool stuff people.

RoboChamps Sumo Challenge

Tina — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 23:28:00 GMT

Welcome to Robochamps...where you have an opportunity to wage war in a simulated robotics competition that will cost you nothing. Robots aren't just for rich people anymore. Using Visual Studio, Robotics Developer Studio 2008, and some unique open world environments you get to program your bot to kick some virtual butt. $0 $0 Now it's time for the new challenge...THE SUMO CHALLENGE! $0 $0 $0

LineRider.com....so much fun

Tina — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 09:31:00 GMT

Boy grabs sled. Boy rides sled. A simple concept yields endless fun and the latest Internet Phenomenon is born! In Line Rider the player draws their own landscape with a simple pencil tool creating as many ramps, hills, and jumps as they can imagine. Then they send a virtual sledder careening down the course until he wipes out. The possibilities in Line Rider are only limited by the player's imagination.

Adam Kinney stops by the Channel 10 Studios to show off his latest addiction.

A candid chat with the Mobile Search Team

Tina — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 15:30:00 GMT

Okay, let's face it...we are all addicted to our Mobile devices. Whether we're chatting, texting, browsing or searching we can't live without our favorite portable friends. I spent some time chatting with Jay Nanduri and Suresh Velagapudi from the Mobile Search team to talk about the history of Mobile Search and Browsing, the difficulties developing for Mobile Devices and what the future holds. You may be surprised at some of their answers.

High Tech Hiking in South America

Tina — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 12:27:00 GMT

Brian Keller and Mike Iem are avid hikers and just happen to be Microsoft employees. They are heading out on a three week hike to South America in a few weeks and stopped by the Channel 10 Studios to show off the latest gadgets they're taking with them.

SteriPEN
GeoSetter
SPOT
Live Maps
Solar chargers
Ultra-Mobile PC Canon point-and-shoot hacking

Channel 10 Round-up: Halocast

Tina — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 19:44:00 GMT

I thought I would give an update with what's happening in the world of Channel 10 . I make my way through the channel 10 site and talk about specific text posts or videos we have done in the past week or two. I give this update while goofing around in Halo. Here are some links to the videos I refer to:

Life with Bill Gates
Learn to Sky Dive with Laura Foy
Search Share: Facebook Application
Zine: A New Facebook Application
Channel 8: Imagine Cup Videos

Schizoid: Available on Xbox Live Arcade

Tina — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 12:31:00 GMT

With a name like Schizoid how could you not play it. It will cost you 800 Microsoft Points.

Cooperative gameplay is redefined in the fast-paced and unique Schizoid! Control red and blue ships, ramming them into enemies of the same color to destroy them. But be careful, because if you hit the opposite color, you will be destroyed. Quick thinking and quicker reflexes help you seize victory, but sharp teamwork provides the best chance of earning gold medals along the way. Schizoid offers more than 120 levels of challenge, playable in either single-player or co-op mode, plus the brain-melting Uberschizoid hardcore mode, in which one player controls both ships!

Co-op gameplay to the max: No other multiplayer co-op game has such tight cooperative gameplay. The two players (or one player with a computer A.I. partner, or one player controlling both ships in Uberschizoid) must work together closely in order to defeat the hordes on each level.
Uberschizoid mode: For perhaps the most challenging and "brain-melting" challenge yet, try Uberschizoid Mode. Control both red and blue ships, matching them to each enemy color in order to succeed.
Tremendous graphics: The glowing, flashing, megabursting graphics add to the game's inherent chaos.
Xbox LIVE® play: Play co-op over Xbox LIVE and team up with players worldwide to see how far you can advance!

Peggle: From the makers of Bejeweled

Tina — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 12:13:00 GMT

Focus Multimedia and casual games pioneer, PopCap Games today announced a partnership that sees the long-awaited arrival of PopCap’s critically acclaimed masterpiece, Peggle, at retail.

From the makers of Bejeweled, Peggle combines elements of pinball, pachinko and pool to create a completely different kind of casual game. Players fire a silver ball from the top of the screen, relying on the laws of physics to propel the ball downwards while ricocheting off orange and blue ‘pegs’.

Using a mixture of luck and skill the goal is to clear all the orange pegs before running out of balls. A moving “bucket” at the bottom of the screen offers the chance of free balls, while green pegs give the player one of ten amazing power-ups to help them complete the level.

Since its web launch, Peggle has taken the industry by storm - and both casual and hardcore gamers by surprise. A feast of colour and fun - with rainbows and unicorns and an ‘Ode To Joy’ soundtrack - Peggle has proved an unlikely hardcore hero and is causing ‘Extreme Fever’ wherever - and whenever - it pops up.

Key features of Peggle include:
• Four different modes representing hundreds of levels:
1. Adventure Mode takes players through 55 unique hand-painted levels on a quest to become a Peggle Master
2. Duel Mode allows for head-to-head battles against friends or computer opponents
3. Challenge Mode features increasingly difficult goals across 75 levels
4. Quick Play mode lets players choose their favourite level and power-up combinations, or play a random set of levels and/or power-ups.
• Ten “Peggle Masters” – they teach you how to play but later serve as tricky opponents
• Stunning sound FX and themed music
• “Style Points” reward players for shots that display great skill or just incredible luck!

Peggle is available now for a suggested retail price of £9.99 including VAT, from all good retail outlets of PC software and direct from www.focusmm.co.uk.

Search Share: A new facebook application

Tina — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 11:40:00 GMT

Search Share lets you find all kinds of videos, images and other information online and then share it very easily with friends. But Search Share goes beyond typical web search - you see visual previews and select just what you want to share. You can also search multiple topics and share all your selected results together.

To share your chosen items, drag and drop them into the Share Panel and either send to your Feed or email selected friends or save it to your profile.

Zine: A new facebook application

Tina — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 11:43:00 GMT

Zine is your own online magaZINE of articles and videos that you personalize to include the topics you care about. Zine makes it easy to dig deeper into stories that interest you, and to share stories with your Facebook friends. Keep up to date with Zine!

• Zine, powered by MSN, covers a variety of fun topics such as Entertainment, Relationships, Sports, as well as US News and more.

• You can also create specific topics that you want the latest news stories for. Add a topic for your favorite celebrity, your favorite sports team, events, or anything that interest you. Examples are Mariah Carey, Seattle Mariners, Olympics, and US Stock Market.

• If you want to explore a story further, click the search button next to the headline. You’ll get articles, web sites, videos, and images related to your story.

• Easily share any story with your friends or post it to your profile using the Share+ button.

A look back at my life with Bill Gates

Tina — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 15:32:00 GMT

So my boss, Bill Gates is officially gone. Not like, gone, gone. But he won't be in the office everyday anymore. He has taken on another ambitious and important project and has chosen to spend more time on the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Bill and I always got along great. I think he really enjoyed working with me.

Rock Band 2 coming this September

Tina — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 12:28:00 GMT

Harmonix, the world’s premier music video game company in the world, and MTV Games, a part of Viacom’s MTV Networks along with marketing and distribution partner Electronic Arts are taking the groundbreaking music platform that forever changed the face of music video games to the next level this September with the release of Rock Band 2. With the original providing millions of players a new way to interact with the music and artists they love, Rock Band 2 is the next evolution of the franchise that redefined the standard for music games.

Rock Band is the groundbreaking platform that allows music fans and gamers to interact with music like never before - challenging players to put together a band and tour for fame and fortune while learning to master lead/bass guitar, drums and vocals.

Rock Band 2 builds upon its foundation as the first music game to introduce co-operative band gameplay, multiple instruments, a robust online multiplayer experience, an unrivaled offering of downloadable content and raises the bar by delivering an entirely new level of depth, connectivity, authenticity and features including:

Backwards compatibility with Rock Band downloadable music content. All previously purchased tracks will immediately load into your Rock Band 2 song list. No need to re-purchase or re-download.
The biggest and most diverse soundtrack ever featuring some of rock’s most prolific acts, comprised entirely of master recordings.
Major new and dynamic online modes that will connect the entire Rock Band community in more ways than ever before both locally and globally.
More variety of instrument choices than ever before with new and improved drum and guitar peripherals, enhanced functionality and innovative new designs - all fully compatible with the original Rock Band instruments.
And much more.

"As successful as the original Rock Band continues to be, we've now had the benefit of the last eight months to listen to our fans' requests and to build upon that foundation," said Alex Rigopulos, co-founder and CEO of Harmonix. "Rock Band 2 is a second-generation band game that will elevate the music game experience to the next level."

Rock Band 2 will make its debut on Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft this September and have an exclusive launch window in North America. Rock Band 2 will be available for additional platforms later this year.

“We expect Rock Band 2 to continue to drive an amazing social music experience on Xbox 360, said David Hufford, senior director, Xbox Product Management for the Interactive Entertainment Business, Microsoft. “We look forward to supporting Rock Band 2 on Xbox 360 as gamers continue to download hundreds of new music tracks from Xbox LIVE so they and their friends can perform the rock music they love most.

More details regarding features and music for Rock Band 2 will be revealed at the 2008 E3 Media & Business Summit. Rock Band, the first installment in the franchise, garnered more than 40 awards including Game Critics Award: Best of Show E3 2007.

In addition, Harmonix and MTV Games today announced that The Rock Band online music store recently surpassed 15 million paid downloads since the game’s launch in late November 2007. With more than 200 tracks available to date via download purchase (complete list of tracks at http://www.rockband.com/dlc), the massive Rock Band Music Store allows players to preview and purchase downloadable individual music tracks, packs and albums from the vast selection of offerings available as they build their own custom Rock Band library.

Rock Band 2 is rated “T” for Teen (lyrics, mild suggestive themes) by the ESRB.

For more information on Rock Band and Harmonix Music Systems please visit www.rockband.com and www.harmonixmusic.com.

New Saints Row 2 Screenshot

Tina — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 01:29:00 GMT

Okay, let's all admit when the original Saints Row game was released back in 06...it was Hello, GTA Rip-off. Then, most of us played it and we were pleasantly surprised. It was the first open-world sandbox game for the next gen consoles. Well, Saints Row 2 is slated to come to the Xbox 360 later this year and the story lines takes place a few years after the original and of course we're back in Stillwater and we still have some anger issues. And fellas, you can play as a lady in this one. Don't worry, it will be our little secret.