Published by nb August 16th, 2007
in Software.
With Outlook Connector, you can use Outlook 2003 or Outlook 2007 to access and manage your Windows Live Hotmail or Office Live Mail accounts, including e-mail messages and contacts for free! Calendar, tasks and notes can also be accessed and managed in Outlook for accounts with a paid subscription.
Outlook Connector enables you to use your Live Hotmail accounts within Outlook:
- Read and send your Office Live Mail/Windows Live Hotmail e-mail messages.
- Manage your Live Mail Contacts.
- Use advanced options for blocking junk e-mail messages.
- Manage multiple e-mail accounts in one place.
With a paid subscription, Outlook Connector enables these additional features:
- Manage, share, and synchronize your Windows Live Calendar in Outlook.
- Access your Tasks and Notes.
Download: Microsoft Office Outlook Connector
Published by nb August 16th, 2007
in Office.
If you were a member of the Microsoft Office Product Evaluation TAP, you should now have access to the Microsoft Office 2007 System Service Pack 1 Technical Preview. Just log into Connect, and check under Microsoft Office. This is going to be a short one preview. Microsoft is only accepting feedback for about 30 days, so start downloading now!
Source: WindowsConnected
Published by nb August 12th, 2007
in Article/Analysis and Windows.
It’s no secret that there’s a leaked beta of Vista SP1 floating around, but no-one yet has really taken the time to analyse it in detail to find out what it really does.
I made it my mission this weekend to trawl through the registry and file changes in SP1 to find out as best I could exactly what SP1 does.
First up, I can say that there is a very noticeable performance increase. It is obvious that since Microsoft released Vista to manufacturing, it has been optimising the code ever since. (I suspect this revelation will fuel the fires of the people who say Vista was released before it was ready for prime-time.) There?s far less hard drive thrashing and in general the system seems much smoother and more responsive.
Amusingly, the build of SP1 we saw (which in this beta comes fully integrated into a 3.2GB Vista install DVD, rather than as a standalone update) still has Microsoft’s internal network shares embedded as the source of the updates. For example:
\\\\winbuilds3\\longhorn_SP1Beta1\\longhorn_SP1Beta1
\\6001.16549.070628-1825\\x86fre\\packages\\ServicePack”
Not that that info is really useful to anyone, but it mildly tickled our curiosity bone (next to the funny bone) to see the file layout of Microsoft’s internal distribution shares.
Continue at Source
Published by nb August 10th, 2007
in Windows.
Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 2c has released to manufacturing and will be available to system builders in September 2007.
Critical Action Item:
System builders who use imaging must create new Windows XP Professional images with Service Pack 2c when shipping Service Pack 2c product keys; otherwise end users will not be able to complete installation.
SP2c to Resolve Shortage of Windows XP Product Keys
Due to the longevity of Windows XP Professional, it has become necessary to produce more product keys for system builders in order to support the continued availability of Windows XP Professional through the scheduled system builder channel end-of-life (EOL) date of January 31, 2009.
Timeline and Versions for SP2c Release
SP2c will be released into the System Builder channel in September to provide system builders with a new, extended range of product keys that will ship with:
- Windows XP Professional (except for Simplified Chinese, Russian and Korean languages)
- Windows XP Professional N
This release does not impact the following versions:
- Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
- Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition
- Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC Edition
- Microsoft Windows XP Professional 64-bit Edition
SP2c Features and Requirements
There are no other features or fixes included in this service pack; it will only allow for the inclusion of additional product keys. When using SP2c product keys, system builders must:
- Use the product keys with SP2c media.
- Create new images from SP2c to accommodate the new product keys. A hotfix will not be provided.
Source: Technet Blog
