Monday, January 29th, 2007
Microsoft is launching Windows Vista tomorrow. It remains to be seen how the new operating system impacts on everyday computing. I know that it’s easy to find a cheap laptop right now, as long as you’re prepared for it to come with Windows XP. My present leased Dell is due to be replaced in a year’s time so I’ll have the benefit of everyone else’s experience by the time I sign up.
Windows Vista is not the inevitable choice though, as Paul Walton points out on his new blog, Getting There. Paul’s posted a cartoon from The Joy of Tech, revealing his true loyalty in this time of uncertainty…
Click on the picture for the full cartoon.
[eminimall products="Windows Vista"]
Tags: Apple, Microsoft, Technology
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Wednesday, May 17th, 2006
Microsoft Australia is nominating typical Aussie words to be included in Office 2007. They’ve chosen 20 words and phrases to be voted on in an online poll. We get the chance to have our say, along with Adam Spencer (Radio Host), Peter FitzSimons (Sports Writer) Dr Ruth Wajnryb (Linguist, Researcher and Writer), David Blair (a founding member of the Editorial Committee of the Macquarie Dictionary) and Microsoft Australia’s Director for Information Worker - Tony Wilkinson.
We’ve been given the chance to choose five of the phrases, selecting from the following:
Jackaroo, Uluru, Ugg, Dag, Dinky-di, Bogan, Sheila, G’day, Ute, Sanga, Wuss, Cooee, Phar Lap, Bradman, Ridgy-didge, Sickie, Dob, Galah, Woomera, Ironman, Waratah, Bonza, Rogaine, Motza, Cockie, Trackies.
I’ve had my vote. But something doesn’t seem right here. Five choices? And what about other words that should be on the list, that haven’t been conisdered by Microsoft Australia? What would you like to see added to the list?
Tags: Australia, Culture, Microsoft
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, January 10th, 2006
I received an invitation from a friend yesterday to sign up with Microsoft’s new Messenger software: Windows Live Messenger. It’s version 8, designed to replace MSN Messenger 7.5. So of course I signed up, curious to see what Microsoft’s up to.
What’s different?
1. New Colour Scheme. There’s a bright orange bar at the top though apparently I can change the colour. The icons for online people are green. Offline people are white. Away people are light green.
2. Contacts. All the email addresses in my Hotmail database are listed in Messenger. There’s an internal search engine for finding people so that’s OK. I now have the capacity to rename my contacts, which is very handy in some cases. I can also edit my contacts’ information. The capacity to add tags to contacts gives more flexibility in arrangement.
3. Nine MSN videos are previewed at the bottom. The shortcuts to integrated services are still down the side, but in a slightly less cute rendition. Alerts, Emoticons, Teen Stuff, Ebay, Music Downloads, Lavalife Personals, Meegos Dynamic Display Pictures, Shopping, Travel, Mobile Central, Games, Movies, National Nine News, and Seek.com.
4. Offline Instant Messaging.
5. As before there’s the capacity for real-time text, video and voice conversation. The icon for ‘Call Computer’ and ‘Start Video Conversation’ are more accessible.
6. A free virus scanner designed for Messenger.
7. This is no longer part of the MSN branding. No more butterfly.
Sign Up
At this point Live Messenger is only being offered through personal invitation - a bit like the Google Mail rollout. I get the impression they’ve learnt from Google’s experience and are only giving invitation capacity to people who’ve been signed up for a while. One thing to watch though. If one member of the family signs up with Messenger 8, the rest of the family won’t be able to use the software until they’ve also been invited. And in the meantime Messenger 7.5 will have disappeared. You’ll have to resort to using Windows Messenger.
Live Messenger is part of the Windows Live, a new integrated platform being developed by Microsoft. It’s written up at available is Windows Live Ideas. Microsoft is also offering a beta version of Windows Live Mail, an upgrade of Hotmail. To get more of an idea about Windows Live Messenger see Messenger Says - Windows Live Messenger Blog, featuring 6 of the staff who developed the software.
Tags: Internet, Microsoft
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