Entries tagged with first look - Channel 10

First Look: Microsoft Tafiti

Larry — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 17:00:00 GMT

About a week back I got an internal email asking us to kick the tires on a new Silverlight/search demo called Tafiti. Tafiti is a mashup that uses the resources of Windows Live Search driven by a Silverlight top layer. The result is a search experience unlike anything you've seen before.

Tafiti (which is the Swahili word for "do research") uses a desktop metaphor to search across media types and even filter your data result set multiple times. So try it out, see what you think, and let the Tafiti crew know if you'd like to see an open source version of Tafiti to play around with.

First Look: Microsoft Surface Computer!

Larry — Wed, 30 May 2007 04:00:00 GMT

About a year ago I gave a presentation to a group of journalists about gadgets of the future and showed a video about a theoretical multi-touch computing system. When asked when we would see something like that in the wild, I optimistically ballparked 5-7 years. You can imagine my surprise when I walked into a room at Microsoft and found a fully functioning Microsoft Surface Computer (more than one, actually.)

I played with it long after the shoot was over. It's incredible. And I know many of you have the same question I did; when am I going to have one of these in my house? Surface computers will start with Microsoft partners getting first shot at various public applications, you'll most likely see them in action in Las Vegas first. Eventually prices will come down and production will go up and I expect we'll all be waving through our playlists on our coffee table before we know it. You'll also see in this video that wifi on the Zune can be used for more than just bursting a song or picture to a stranger.

First look: Microsoft Popfly

Larry — Fri, 18 May 2007 21:02:00 GMT

Popfly is out of the gate and it's very cool. Popfly is a way for all of us non-programmers to get in to making mash-up pages, like combining FlickR photos on a Virtual Earth globe. The interface is drag and drop easy and has a community for sharing these mash-ups with other users.

These mash-ups can be inserted in your web site, your MySpace, or used in your Vista Sidebar. Of course hard core developers can still get in and code new "blocks" to extend the functionality and freedom of Popfly.

Check out Rory Blyth's first look at Popfly here, then check out Popfly.ms for an overview.

Sprung: First (official) look at the Xbox 360 Spring Dashboard Update!

Tina — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 23:03:00 GMT

You might have heard some buzz ;) about a little thing called the spring dashboard update for Xbox 360! You know I had to run right over to see what we'll be getting the week of May 7th. We show you how Windows Live integration lets you IM your gamer buddies from games, from your cellphone, or from work (poor you), and we give you an up-close look at the new Xbox 360 keypad.

Beyond Windows Live Messenger, the Spring Update for Xbox 360 includes hundreds of new features and enhancements including:

A richer Achievement notification pop-up will showcase the name of the unlocked Achievement and the gamerscore value without needing to leave the game to check the Achievements list.
Enhanced family settings features for Xbox Live communications enable different defaults for video chat and voice chat.
A new Xbox Live Marketplace blade lets Xbox Live members access the content they seek—whether it is game content or TV shows and movies (available in the United States)—from one place on Xbox Live.
Updates to Xbox Live Arcade allow owners to quickly see which Xbox Live Arcade games their friends are playing and join in the fun. Xbox Live members can also compare progress of leaderboard scores and Achievements directly with all friends on their friends list. Expanded "Tell a Friend" capabilities make it easier than ever to boast about Achievements and high scores.
Expanded "Tell a Friend" capabilities make it easier than ever to boast about Achievements and high scores.
A new option in Auto Downloads provides faster access to the entire collection of free, trial-version Xbox Live Arcade games.
New progressive download controls provide easy access to optimal viewing options by letting people fast-forward, rewind, pause and resume as their video is downloaded from Xbox Live Marketplace.
Extension of the background download functionality will allow owners to set their Xbox 360 console to turn off automatically after downloads are complete.

First Look: New mobile web browser – Deepfish!

Larry — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 01:18:00 GMT

Sorry to quash the irrational exuberance of suspected Zune and Halo 3 announcements, but this one is still big and you're getting it early. There’s a new web browser in town for Windows Mobile fans that goes by the name Deepfish. It runs technology borrowed from Sea Dragon, the imaging engine behind Photosynth.

It’s free and you won’t have to wait for an update to be pushed out through your cellular carrier to get it, you can download it now.

A bit about me and my phone: I’m a former diehard Sidekick user. I see a lot of people speculating about this phone and that phone, whether it will have map integration, GPS, games, MP3/video player, still/video camera, a nice graphics frontend, a good web browsing experience, and an open development platform. While they dream and speculate, I’m enjoying all of that right now.

I’ve got an HTC 8525 (w/ 2GB memory). Seamlessly syncing with my desktop Outlook, it’s the last thing I look at before going to bed (to see my schedule the next day), and the first thing I look at in the morning (as an alarm and to check email.) I can use a Bluetooth GPS to find my way around, and I have a similar Virtual Earth experience that I enjoy on my computer. I even see dynamic overlays of traffic, which is important if you live in a big city. I have a great interface when I turn it on, and now with Deepfish I have a great web experience with it too.

Because Windows Mobile is an open platform, I have Voice Control, VoIP, RSS reader, fullscreen touch keyboard, FTP client, my choice of instant messengers, and I can choose from thousands of other applications to fit any need I might have (or you could write your own, but that's for those Channel 9 guys.) I can stream all my videos, music and pictures from my home computer to my phone on the road. There are more games than I’ll ever have a chance to try, including a great MahJong game and a pixel perfect port of my favorite game of all time – X-Com. Soon, you'll even be able to use Windows Sidebar Gadgets on your phone.

One little switch opens the battery compartment. I have 3 spares (including a monster wart battery for long flights) and a charger at my desk to rotate them through so I can go days without even thinking about power. In a pinch, I can just plug in a standard old USB cable to charge my phone from any powered USB port.

But this is the best; when I’m on the road I can plug this cellphone up to my laptop to get mobile broadband.

So yes, I'm a Windows Mobile (and Deepfish) fan.

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO! First look at the Xbox 360 Elite

Tina — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 04:38:00 GMT

While everyone else is talking about it and showing grainy camera phone pictures from undisclosed bunkers, we thought we’d go right to the source and get you an exclusive video. You think you need it, you know you want it, and we have it – the Xbox 360 Elite. I sat down with Albert Penello to get some of your questions answered. Yes, it has HDMI & 120GB hard drive. No, it doesn’t have an HD-DVD player. Yes you can still pull audio separate from the HDMI. No, it isn’t going to be a limited edition. Yes, it’s awesome! Watch the video for more, including what comes in the L337 box.