Brian Johnson

Media Center University Part 3

Brian Johnson — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 19:15:00 GMT

They've posted part 3 of the Media Center University series at the CE Installer Blog. If you're at all into home entertainment systems, you need to check this out.

Media Center University: Optimizing for Entertainment & Networking – Part 3

In the final segment of Optimizing Media Center for Entertainment & Networking, Mike Seamons walks through Extender set up, network tuning, Windows Home Server and some different deployment topologies. WMC can be installed as a HTPC, centrally in the rack or as a headless Extender server and Mike speaks the benefits and considerations of each configuration including advanced topics like integration into a whole home audio system.

JD, Nic, and Brian Podcast - Episode 8

Brian Johnson — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 12:08:00 GMT

This week in the JD, Nic, and Brian Podcast, we talk about Shutter Speed, Nic's new photogaphy show on Channel 10, we discuss talking with bloggers about WorldWide Telescope, and finally JD hints at plans to build a car computer.

Links:
ShutterSpeed Episode 01
ShutterSpeed Episode 02
Blogger Back Channel Event: World Wide Telescope - AM Session
Blogger Back Channel Event: World Wide Telescope
Hands on with the Rio iBar Microsoft Surface units
Microsoft Surface at the Rio in Las Vegas; Your Virtual Wingman
WorldWide Telescope Home
Office Live Meeting

Media Center University – Part 2

Brian Johnson — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 11:44:00 GMT

Check out the CE Installer Blog, where Mike Seamons continues his presentation of Optimizing Media Center for Entertainment. In this installment, Mike discusses the steps he takes to optimize Windows Media Center. He discusses removing all unnecessary software, installing Windows Updates and other configuration. Additionally, he discusses how to integrate Zune with WMC.

Topics covered include:

Removing all Unnecessary Files

Network and Sharing Tips

Cleaning the Desktop

Setting the Resolution, sounds, and screen saver

Setting Up Windows Media Player

Syncing everything with Zune

Default Content Removal

Media Center University at the CE Installer Blog

Brian Johnson — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 14:24:00 GMT

We shot some talks given by professional consumer electronics installers for a series called Media Center University at the Electronic House Expo (EHX) this spring in Orlando. These talks are now being made available online at the CE Installer Blog. The speakers in this series are some of the top home entertainment system installers in the US. This is great information if you're interested in using Windows Media Center as the basis (or even just a part) of your home entertainment system.

Consumer Electronics Installer Blog : Media Center University: Optimizing for Entertainment & Networking – Part 1
In the first installment of Optimizing for Entertainment and Networking at EHX Spring's Media Center University, Mike Seamons provides guidance on choosing one technology over another. In his presentation, he covers the difference between analog and digital formats, component cables and HDMI, Cat 5 and Cat 6 Ethernet wiring, several TV tuner options, and how to deal with protected content.

Future episodes in the series will include topics such as Whole House Integration, Media Management, Tips and Tweaks, and Plug-ins.

JD, Nic, and Brian Podcast - Episode 7

Brian Johnson — Tue, 13 May 2008 13:44:00 GMT

This week, G. Andrew Duthie joins us to talk about Maker Faire, the Zune 2.5 update, and much, much more...

Links from today's show:

Maker Faire
Big Dog
Big Dog Parody
Ray Kurzweil on the singularity
Zune 2.5 on Channel 10
Zune.net
Zune.net Social
Games for Zune
Alien Agressors
Teched Tweener

New Jersey Autonomous Vehicle

Brian Johnson — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 22:05:00 GMT

This weekend I visited The College of New Jersey where Dr. Orlando Hernandez and Dr. Jennifer Wang introduced me to some of their students who are working on the the New Jersey Autonomous Vehicle project. I was able to shoot some video and talk to some of the team members who built the robot.

JD, Nic, and Brian Podcast - Episode 6

Brian Johnson — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 17:57:00 GMT

In another exciting episode of the podcast named for JD Lewin, JD, Nic, and Brian talk about Windows Vista, Live Mesh, stuff we saw on the Web, JD's sleeping habits, and the popular Asus EEE PC.

Links from today's show:

JD and Brian Podcast - Episode 5

Brian Johnson — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 19:03:00 GMT

This week on the podcast, JD and I welcome guests Nic Fillingham and Andrew Duthie for a lively discussion of Windows Vista Service Pack 1, cool stuff we saw on Channel 10, and we ask the question, "How do you handle all the different social networks?"

Links:

JD and Brian Podcast - Episode 4

Brian Johnson — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 18:03:00 GMT

This week on the podcast, JD and I talk about MIX08, South by Southwest, Microsoft Techfest, and the Electronic House Expo.

Links:

JD and Brian Podcast - Episode 3

Brian Johnson — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 19:46:00 GMT

This week on the podcast, JD and I talk to G. Andrew Duthie, Microsoft Developer Evangelist, about Microsoft's announcements around interoperability and about XNA game development on the Zune.

Links for the show:

JD and Brian Podcast - Episode 2

Brian Johnson — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 15:14:00 GMT

JD is traveling, but I talk to Rob Morris, founder of windowsmoviemakers.net about his hugely popular community site. We discuss communities, Windows Movie Maker, getting started in video editing, and hosting your videos on the Web.

Links from todays show:

windowsmoviemakers.net

Tutorials

PapaJohn's Home Page

Windows Movie Maker on Microsoft.com

JD and Brian Podcast - Episode 1

Brian Johnson — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 15:53:00 GMT

JD and I have decided to start our own little podcast to discuss things that are happening in the world of technology. For convenience, I've set this up to be hosted at http://jdandbrian.podshow.com, but it will still have an RSS feed from my Channel 10 blog page.

In this first episode, we introduce ourselves and talk about what we're going to talk about on the show. We're planning to record these on Thursday, and I'll try to have them posted by Friday morning.

Links from today's show:

Microsoft Press Pass Site

TechMeme Discussion of the Microsoft/Yahoo offer

Lance Ulanoff column

New York Amateur Computer Club

JD's Blog

Brian's Blog

I'll set up the subscription links for Zune and iTunes when I get a chance. Please leave a note and let us know what you think and what you might want to hear about.

Paint.NET - Free Software for Digital Photo Editing

Brian Johnson — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 23:08:54 GMT

If you're anything like me, you do a lot digital photo shooting and very little editing. For the most part, the tools built into Windows Live Photo Gallery serve me well enough. I can crop a photo, I can fix the red-eye, and I can even stitch a nice panorama together. Sometimes though, you need a little more.

Paint.NET isn't just a little more, it's a powerhouse of bitmap editing tools that includes support for layers, plug-ins, color adjustments, masks, and much, much more. Paint.NET was named one of PC World's Top 20 Products of 2007. So if you've got a new camera and you're looking for a tool that will let you do some pretty high end things with your pictures, take a look at Paint.NET. The price is right and the download size is amazingly small.

Paint.NET - Free Software for Digital Photo Editing

Technorati Tags: Photography,Windows,Paint.NET

Microsoft employees try out new technology at home

Brian Johnson — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 22:18:43 GMT

Excellent article today in the Seattle PI about Microsoft employees using their homes as labs for Microsoft products. I can relate to that. :)

Microsoft employees try out new technology at home

Whenever Hakan Olsson gets tired of watching the 108-inch screen in his home theater, he can press pause on a hand-held device -- the one that combines the functions of eight different remotes -- and head upstairs to view the show on any of four other televisions around his Kirkland home.

His Windows Media Center PC, equipped with dual high-definition tuners, sends the video over his home network and remembers where he stopped, letting him easily resume watching in another room.

This scene of digital nirvana is, in some ways, a realization of the technological vision that Bill Gates outlines each year at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The Microsoft Corp. chairman is due to give his final CES keynote address as a full-time executive this weekend.

Technorati Tags: Media Center,Vista,Microsoft,Gadgets

PC World - The 25 Most Innovative Products of the Year

Brian Johnson — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 17:37:22 GMT

Hey, Popfly made PC World's Top 25 list. Check it out here:

PC World - The 25 Most Innovative Products of the Year

21. Microsoft Popfly

Innovation: Lets you use Microsoft's Silverlight platform to create Web mashups.

Benefit: Though Popfly is still in early beta, its operation is clearer and its display is more attractive than that of the similar Yahoo Pipes tool.

If you ever played with Legos as a kid, then you should be able to assemble a Web mashup in Microsoft's Popfly. No coding know-how needed--using Popfly is as simple as choosing content sources (such as pictures, video, or news feeds from various online sources) and connecting them to a display model (such as a video player, a dynamic box for text, or a game of whack-a-mole that pops up pictures, for instance). Voilà, you have your mashup. You can embed the resulting creation in a blog entry or Web page, or just share its URL so others can admire your work.

The Popfly Team Site has more information, as well as a list of some new features, here.

Technorati Tags: Popfly,Microsoft,Developer,Mashup,Silverlight

Microsoft Automotive Business Unit wins Frost & Sullivan Award

Brian Johnson — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 15:50:03 GMT

I keep telling friends that I talk to that the Microsoft Auto products on the market change the way you think about communication and the way you access your music and entertainment data in the car. Of course, I'm not the only one who's noticed. The Microsoft Automotive Business Unit has won a Frost & Sullivan award for the work they've done with European manufacturers:

Frost & Sullivan Award Underlines Microsoft’s Outstanding Innovations in Customer Service in the Automotive Sector

The 2007 Frost & Sullivan Customer Service Innovation Award in the European automotive software market is presented to Microsoft Automotive Business Unit in recognition of its exceptional customer service and value-added offerings, based on its Microsoft Auto platform.

“Through the Microsoft Auto platform, Microsoft provides the most advanced, innovative and simple to use in-vehicle infotainment and multimedia solutions,” said Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Niveditha Srinivasan. “Through this platform, partners can quickly react to consumer requirements and develop offerings to deliver improved customer relationships coupled with enhanced understanding and effective fulfillment of customer needs.”

Saving files as PDF

Brian Johnson — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 15:23:00 GMT

I caught a great article from Codswallop on PDF writers via Digg today. PDF can be useful for sharing documents with users who don't have Office installed, for archiving, or for when you want to print out something and you suddenly realize that your printer is out of ink.

I don't save files to PDF that often, but when I need to, I've got a couple of specific tools that I use that makes the process really simple.

Microsoft Save as PDF or XPS

This utility lets you save files as PDF from within Office applications. This Office 2007 add-in lets you optimize your saved files for print or online use.

CutePDF

CutePDF comes in both freeware and a commercial versions. The freeware version is free for both personal and commercial use. The commercial version offers a list of great features and is currently priced at around $50.00 US.

If you use PDF a lot, you should also check out Sarah's post: Outlook 2007 Tip: Preview PDFs Automatically.

Getting Podcasts on the Zune

Brian Johnson — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 16:46:00 GMT

A couple of weeks ago, I was asked about getting podcasts on the Zune and so I thought I would put together a little video that describes the process.

The Zune desktop software is free, and it runs on Windows Vista and Windows XP. You don't even need a Zune to use it. You can get it at http://zune.net.

I can do another of these with more detailed steps in the future if anyone is interested, but it's fairly straightforward once you get the Zune desktop software installed.

Sean's Idea Kitchen : I, Master Chief

Brian Johnson — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 14:31:32 GMT

I've always wondered what the Master Chief looked like under that helmet...

Sean's Idea Kitchen : I, Master Chief

Stay At Home Servers

Brian Johnson — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 05:41:49 GMT

So what do you think of this?

Stay At Home Servers

Send the e-mail from the page. I love the quote, "It's a HUGE controversy." HUGE I tell you!

I think they're pretty funny. :)

Show Us Your Home: Steve Lindsay Edition

Brian Johnson — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 18:20:00 GMT

Steve Lindsay has an amazing Windows Media Center system that includes support for remote access, Windows Home Server, Xbox 360, and even his home phone.

I went up to Long Island to talk to Steve about his setup, which consists of mostly standard PC gear: a Windows Vista Media Center PC, a Windows Home Server, and a few Xbox 360s used to show the Media Center content on the televisions around the house. Of course, Steve takes these components to a whole new level with the addition of multiple high-definition television tuners, gigabit Ethernet, home telephone integration, and a massive raid array of hard disk storage.

One of the coolest parts of this story is the way that Steve uses WebGuide to access his Media Center remotely, allowing him to get to his television content from the office, on the road, and even through his Windows Mobile smartphone.

Here are some links to the technology Steve uses in his house.

Windows Media Center - included with Windows Vista Ultimate and Vista Home Premium
Windows Home Server - for massive storage and reliable data backup
WebGuide - for remote access (This is now a free product.)
TapiRex - for home phone integration
Windows Mobile - for smartphone access

Now here's the best part. When we saw this setup, we knew that On10 viewers and enthusiasts would love to get more information about setting up similar home entertainment systems. So we asked Steve if he would like to be a contributor to On10.net - and he agreed. You can find Steve's first post here, and you can visit Steve's blog directly from this link.

Welcome Steve, and thanks for sharing your system with us!

Upgrade your Windows Live Services

Brian Johnson — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 19:12:46 GMT

Last week, Windows Live Services software was released and upgraded. If you had betas installed, or just earlier versions of the products, you can upgrade them to the latest and greatest in a few simple clicks. Check out the Windows Live Services page here for the link:

Windows Live Services

When you run the installer against the earlier versions of the products, it will look something like this:

This is the easiest way to get updated versions of Live Writer, Mail, Messenger and Photo Gallery.

Halloween: Create scary crafts with Office

Brian Johnson — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 16:29:55 GMT

I caught this via the Microsoft.com home page. I know at our house we're always scrambling for Halloween art and craft materials right around this time every year. The Microsoft Office site has a number of articles and a ton of free clip art that you can use for your Halloween events.

Halloween: Create scary crafts with Office - Help and How-to - Microsoft Office Online
Halloween is an opportunity for freaky fun no matter your age. Let Microsoft Office help you design and plan a perfectly creepy Halloween.

Technorati Tags: Halloween , Art , Office , Microsoft , On10

CrunchGear: Hands-on with the AT&T Tilt

Brian Johnson — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 13:46:47 GMT

Too cool. Matt Hickey at CrunchGear does a hands-on with the HTC AT&T Tilt. Check it out:

Hands-on with the AT&T Tilt

This is the AT&T Tilt you’ve been hearing about. It’s one of the most high-end phones you can buy in America right now, features wise. It’s lacking nothing. Bluetooth? Check. Wi-Fi? Yup. GPS? Affirmative. Super-bright touchscreen with innovative tilt design, revealing a nice-to-the-touch QWERTY keypad? You bet. And it lands October 5th for $299. That’s right, $299 for the most feature-packed phone in North America. What is it that makes this handset so amazing?

Technorati Tags: Windows Mobile, Smartphone, AT&T, Phone, GPS

Screencast: DreamScene

Brian Johnson — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 21:35:00 GMT

A commenter on Sara's post from the other day mentioned that DreamScene went final recently, so I decided to do a quick demo that shows how to access that feature in Windows Vista Ultimate.

Video: Screencast: DreamScene