Channel 10

Sarah Lane - Raw and Uncut

Tina — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 21:14:00 GMT

Or Raw and slightly edited. I took a trip to SF recently to spend some time with my pal Sarah Lane from Revision 3. Sarah and I used to work together back in LA at G4techtv and now she hosts her own show called Pop Siren. But beyond Pop Siren she is one of the most popular tech personalities around and to check out what Sarah is up to today hit her web-site at sarahlane.com

Mount SkyDrive As A Virtual Drive In Windows

sarahintampa — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 17:01:00 GMT

Love the 5GB (soon to be 25GB) of free online storage provided by SkyDrive, but wish you could access it browser-free? That’s the promise of a new application called Gladinet, a desktop software program that delivers web applications and online files to your desktop. With Gladinet installed, online storage sites like SkyDrive and others become available through Windows Explorer, where they exist as a virtual drive.

To use Gladinet, you only need provide your username and password to the program once, then the credentials are stored in a "Safe Card," which can be managed separately from the application itself. When connecting to remote drives, some reports note that Gladinet may take a minute or two to connect to the resource.

In many ways, this program functions as a desktop app for services that don’t provide desktop access. However, with the upcoming Windows Live Photos service (which stores images on SkyDrive), the Windows Live Photo Gallery desktop app integrates seamlessly with the online service, making the need for another desktop app somewhat redundant if you only use SkyDrive for images. But for those who manage all sorts of files on SkyDrive, Gladinet could be a useful tool.

Pandora Sidebar Gadget

sarahintampa — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 06:45:00 GMT

For fans of Pandora’s personalized music service, there’s something that you have to try: the Pandora sidebar gadget. With this gadget installed on your Windows PC, you can play Pandora radio directly from your Vista desktop. When the gadget is docked in the sidebar, you can see the currently playing song and give it the thumbs up or thumbs down. When it’s undocked and floating on your desktop, it expands out to display a larger interface from which you can log into Pandora, edit your radio stations, and create new ones.

The gadget unfortunately doesn’t work on Windows 7 or Vista 64-bit installations (although there is a workaround for that). To try it out, the installation file is here.

(Thanks, LifeHacker)

MSN To Host Launch Of (RED)Wire

sarahintampa — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 04:21:00 GMT

On December 1st, MSN will host the launch of a new digital music service, (RED)Wire, which will help raise money for HIV/AIDS in Africa. The site, hosted at http://red.msn.com will include world premieres from Coldplay, Death Cab for Cutie, Dixie Chicks, Jay-Z, John Legend, U2, and others. Subscribers will get exclusive songs and artwork from these and other top artists each week for only $5 per month. A portion of the proceeds from the subscriptions will go to Global Fund, an organization which funds programs to fight AIDS. This won't be the first time Microsoft teamed up with (RED) - there's also a line of Dell (RED) edition Vista Ultimate computers whose sales also help fund the (RED) efforts in Africa. $0

Netbooks With Style

sarahintampa — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 04:21:00 GMT

Thinking about getting a netbook but don’t like their aesthetic appeal? Sure, you might be able to find a netbook in blue or red, but you’ll never find any that look like this. This new line of netbooks from Dell – the Inspiron Minis - are true works of art. Like their big brothers, the Studio 15 and 17 laptops, these netbooks are customized with different patterns that are etched and painted right into the laptop cover itself. The Inspiron Minis feature five different patterns from Tristan Eaton which will cost you an extra $50 on top of the price of the netbook itself ($349 for the Mini 9 and $549 for the Mini 12).

Evernote’s New Windows Mobile App

sarahintampa — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 04:20:00 GMT

Evernote, the popular cross-platform note-taking service, recently updated their Windows Mobile application to include several new improvements. The most notable of these is speed – uploading text notes, photos, and audio is much faster than before. The new version also includes a new, simplified interface which lets you write a text note, record audio, upload a picture, and more.

The new app also features two soft keys – Notes and Menu – which let you both view and search your saved notes as well as adjust your settings. With the new version, you can also access your saved search results. too. (via, image credit - CNET)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Laura — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 14:18:00 GMT

Thanksgiving is ALWAYS my favorite time of year! Friends, family and food! Oh- and football :) It's a time to reflect on what you are thankful for...obviously there are so many things to be thankful for. Here's mine.

Moonlight Roadmap Update

sarahintampa — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 15:02:00 GMT

Moonlight is an open source implementation of the Silverlight plugin designed primarily for Linux and other Unix/X11 based operating systems. Starting in September of 2007, Microsoft and Novell announced a technical collaboration which included access to Microsoft’s test suites for Silverlight and the distribution of a Media Pack for Linux users that contained licensed media codecs for audio and video.

This month, Moonlight will begin offering support for the Microsoft Media Pack 1.0., according to this post on the ISV Developer Community site. Here’s a look at what else can be expected in that November release:

Support for Microsoft's Media Pack 1.0 for playing back video and audio.
Silverlight 1.0 compatible engine.
Scriptable with the browser JavaScript.
C/C++ based, no managed code.
Distribution: Linux/x86 and Linux/x86-64.
Source code releases for any other operating systems

In March 2009, the Moonlight 2.0 Alpha release will include:

Silverlight 2.0 compatible engine.

Deep Zoom

Control framework

Layout framework.

Microsoft Media Pack 2.0 for playing video and audio.

Includes Mono for executing code (C# and DLR-based languages).

Runs the Silverlight 2.0 MS-PL controls and 2.0 based applications

Windows Live Writer Sidebar Gadget

sarahintampa — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 15:02:00 GMT

I can’t believe I didn’t know this existed! As I blogger, I live in Windows Live Writer almost as much - if not more - than I live in email. So how did I not know that there’s a Windows Sidebar gadget just for Live Writer? Awesome. This is my new must-have for all my Windows machines.

The Windows Live Writer Gadget provides shortcuts to routine tasks performed in Windows Live Writer. With the gadget, you can create a new blog entry, open a previous blog entry, or even open the Windows Live Writer options right from your Vista Sidebar. You can even drag and drop items right onto the gadget, too, including images, and URLs, image URLs. Each time you drag and drop an item, the gadget will open up a new blog entry in Live Writer with the relevant details already inserted.

The latest version of the gadget offers two different sizes which are configurable in the gadget’s settings and the gadget also now works on Windows Vista x64 systems. Try it out for yourself from here.

P.S. Works on Windows 7, too!

Common Craft Explains Windows Live

sarahintampa — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 15:01:00 GMT

Most people are familiar with Common Craft, even if they don’t realize it. The company is known for making videos that explain things, often technical things, “in plain English.” That is, they explain concepts that some people have trouble understanding, like wikis for example, without using all the technical jargon that can confuse. Not only that, but they also paint a pretty good picture about why you would want to use the technology, too, by imagining realistic scenarios of how your life could be positively impacted by whatever new-fangled thing they’re showing you. Most people discovered Common Craft when they encountered either either the RSS in Plain Engligh video (a great attempt at explaining Really Simple Syndication), or the uber-popular Twitter in Plain English video, which was a bonafide viral hit. Recently, the Common Craft team was hired by Microsoft to help explain the changes at the new Live.com. I think they did a pretty good job, don’t you? Click though to see the video.

A New Live Mesh App: Flickr2Mesh

sarahintampa — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 05:41:00 GMT

Whoa! This is cool. Developer Sondre Bjellås has just released a Live Mesh-enabled application called Flickr2Mesh which automatically downloads your Flickr photos to your Windows Mobile Phone at whatever desired resolution you specify. Before you can use this application, you have to already be running Live Mesh, obviously, on both your desktop (www.mesh.com) and mobile phone (m.mesh.com).

Note: Live Mesh for mobile is currently only open to US and UK customers.

When Live Mesh installs on your phone, it will automatically create a folder called “Mobile Pictures.” In this folder, all the photos you can with your phone’s camera are synced with your PC. Sondre suggests creating a sub-folder within this folder called “Flickr” for the downloads from Flickr's online photo-sharing service.

Now you’re ready to download and install the Flickr2Mesh application. When you first launch the app, you’ll need to specify which folder is to be synchronized (ex: C:\Users\Username\Desktop\Mobile Pictures\Flickr). You’ll then need to authorize the app in Flickr by clicking the “Authorize” button provided.

You can now download your images from Flickr into your Mesh. There’s an option that allows you to pick what size you want your images to be when downloading. From the drop-down box provided, you can select Small, Medium, Large, or Original. Of course, since you’re downloading your images to your phone, you’ll most likely want to select “Small."

Finally, just click “Download.” Next thing you know, all your Flickr photos will have been added to your Mesh, in the right size for viewing on your mobile device. Now you'll be able to view your photos on the go, without having to browse to the Flickr.com web site itself.

You can download and install the Flickr2Mesh application from Sondre’s SkyDrive here (zip file). For more information or access to the source code, visit the blog post here.

AOL Sync And Windows Mobile

sarahintampa — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 05:34:00 GMT

AOL has just launched AOL Sync, a new tool that keeps your contacts and calendar (calendar coming soon) in sync between Windows Mobile, Outlook/Outlook Express, and AOL. The service works over-the-air so you only need to set it once in order for it to work.

With AOL Sync, you can synchronize your AOL Address Book and AOL Calendar data with your desktop apps, PDA, and mobile devices, including both Blackberry and Windows Mobile. This service is made possible thanks to AOL’s new partnership with Plaxo, a company that provides address book synchronization tools. At the moment, only the address book sync portion of AOL Sync is live, but the Calendar support is being worked on for the future.

You can try the new service here. (via jkontherun.com)

Register now for the MSDN Developer Conference!

Laura — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 17:34:00 GMT

Did you miss the PDC? Can't get enough of the big brain in the jar? Or perhaps you simply want to re-live good times? Well, now you can! The MSDN Developer Conference is kicking off an 11 city tour- We’re bringing the PDC to you! For just $99 you’ll get the best of the PDC in your own backyard and hear all of the exciting announcements around the Azure Services Platform and Windows 7. Other sessions include the latest developments in .NET, Silverlight, Surface, Parallel Programming, Live Mesh, and more. So don't miss out- REGISTER NOW!

What’s New With Robotics Developer Studio 2008

sarahintampa — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 15:20:00 GMT

At the RoboDevelopment Conference and Expo in Santa Clara, California, Microsoft released the new version of Microsoft Developer Studio 2008 (Microsoft RDS), the latest version of the robotics programming platform and the third major release in two years. The toolkit allows developers, whether professional or hobbyists, to create software applications that run on robots.

RDS 2008

In the new version RDS 2008, there are now several new features, including:

• Increased runtime performance. Performance is improved 1.5 to three times faster in message throughput between services, and services now load two times faster. Developers can now also define more specific message communication between services, reducing network utilization and optimizing the processing of data.

• Improvements to the Visual Programming Language (VPL) tool. The simple drag-and-drop-based visual programming tool now includes a simple method for defining and configuring distributed applications, making it easier to create applications that can run across networked devices.

• Improvements to the Visual Simulation Environment (VSE) tool. VSE now includes the ability to record and play back simulations, which allows for easier review of simulation experiences. VSE also adds a new floor-plan editor to simplify the definition of interior structures, and three new sample simulation environments (apartment, outdoor and urban) that enable developers to better test their robot applications. Another new feature is support for importing content from DS SolidWorks^®3-D computer-aided design (CAD) software and Microsoft trueSpace 3-D modeling software.

• Greater development flexibility. This new release provides support for both Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 and Visual Studio 2008, which makes it accessible to a broad audience of developers. Improved support for running VPL and VSE on 64-bit Windows platforms provides more flexible installation options.

Along with the new release, ABB, a supplier of industrial robots and robotics software, is offering a connectivity package known as ABB Connect to Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio 2008 (ACM). ACM lets robotics students work in a virtual environment in order to design and implement virtual robotics. The package contains all the services needed to build a complete virtual robot controller.

Challenges for Robotics Devs

So now that you have the software, what can you do with it? Visit RoboChamps, of course! At Robochamps, there are a series of challenges for developers which are based in simulation, thus removing the barriers to entry that normally exist when writing code for robots…things like cost and deep hardware knowledge, for example. RoboChamps is built on top of the simulation functionality provided in Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio 2008, which means that participants can program their robots using the .NET languages they are already familiar with.

For an example of one of the challenges you could compete in, check out The Mars Rover Challenge, where you get to navigate Mars collecting data.

Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio 2008 Standard Edition ($499.95 U.S.) is available at http://www.microsoft.com/robotics. Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio 2008 Express Edition will be available for no charge and downloadable from http://www.microsoft.com/robotics.

Details On Silverlight 3

sarahintampa — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 15:20:00 GMT

Silverlight 2 has made its way onto 100 million consumer PCs and it has also been recently published to Microsoft Update for deployment across enterprises, reveals Scott Guthrie in a recent blog post. That means that 1 in 4 machines on the internet now have some version of Silverlight installed, he says. So far, Silverlight 2 has been used on some major web properties, including the NBC Olympics site, the DNC’s live streaming coverage, CBS College Sports, the new AOL Mail, Blockbuster’s MovieLink application, and Netflix’s new streaming service. In addition, Microsoft is using the plugin to deliver the Windows Live Team's new photo application (photos.live.com) and video communications application (videomessages.live.com) as well as the new MSN Toolbar.

So what’s next for this plugin? According to Scott, Silverlight 3 is going to be shipped next year and will include several additional features, only some of which he could reveal now. With the new version of Silverlight, there will be major media enhancements, (including support for H.264/AAC video), major graphics enhancements (including 3D support and GPU hardware acceleration), and major application development enhancements (including richer data-binding support and additional controls). Also next year, Visual Studio and Visual Web Developer Express will support a fully editable and interactive designer for Silverlight and will add tool support for data-binding:

With the additional video support in place, the online video market is going to be a major proving ground for the Silverlight plugin. One of the key selling points of Silverlight, at least to content owners, is its inclusion of DRM technology. Silverlight will provide digital rights management support built on Microsoft’s PlayReady content access technology on both Windows and Mac. Although DRM isn’t well-loved by content consumers, it often is a deciding factor for content owners in choosing which technology to implement. It should be interesting to watch as this space heats up over the coming months.

Find And Replace For Windows Live Writer

sarahintampa — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 15:19:00 GMT

I sometimes wonder how I even managed to blog before the invention of Windows Live Writer. It is absolutely one of the best blogging software programs out there. No, scratch that. It is the best. One of the greatest things about this software, though, is its extendibility through the use of plugins. We’ve highlighted several of our favorites before, but we’ve neglected to mention one of the best: Search and Replace. This plugin is very much like what you see in Microsoft Word as it allows for advanced options like matching the case and supports regular expressions.

Another developer also recently created a similar, but much simpler, Autoreplace plugin which will replace any words you enter into the editor. To install this one, click here and save the file into your plugins folder. For the Search and Replace plugin, this is the download here (.msi file).

Sync Your Live Writer Drafts With Mesh

sarahintampa — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 15:35:00 GMT

If you’re a blogger, then you’re probably familiar with the Windows Live Writer program, arguably one of the best blogging tools out there. However, because this program is a desktop software application, the drafts you saved on one computer aren’t available on all your machines…that is, unless you have Live Mesh. With Live Mesh installed, you can sync your Live Writer drafts between all the devices in your Mesh. For me, this was a no-brainer. I sync all my documents, so the drafts folder just came with the rest of them.

Those of you with a work computer, though, might be a little more picky about what files and folders are being synced from work to home. In that case, you’ll want to just mesh up the Drafts folder itself. The location of the Windows Live Drafts folder is C:\Users\<USERNAME>\Documents\My Weblog Posts\Drafts. At work, just add that folder to your Mesh and when you return home, sync up that folder with the same one on your PC.

(Thanks for the tip, Rakki!)

Meet the Windows Gurus!

Laura — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 14:44:00 GMT

The Windows Guru program was designed to improve the customer experience at retail stores by giving consumers a trusted advisor to help them evaluate their options when shopping for a computer. They are highly trained experts who are there to answer your questions and teach you a little about some of the capabilites of Windows that you might not have known. Who couldn't use a little expert knowledge when making such an investment? I'll tell you...I wish car dealerships had Gurus!

Windows Live Hotmail “Quick Add”

sarahintampa — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 03:32:00 GMT

Well that’s handy! Jamie pointed out a feature of the new Windows Live Hotmail (Wave 3) that you may have not have heard about before. The feature is called “Quick Add” and it allows you to easily insert web content in your email message from a bar that appears on the right side of your screen.

In the Quick Add bar, you’ll see the options: Maps, Restaurants, Movie times, Images, Videos, and Business listings. If you’re composing a message where you needed to include one of these types of things – say, for example, directions to a party, the restaurant you’re suggesting for dinner, the photo of the gadget you’ve been lusting after, etc. – you can easily add them directly into your message with ease.

After clicking your choice from the list, you’re presented with a search box which allows you to query the Live.com engine. The results appear right in the sidebar and underneath each one is an option to add the item to your email. Simply click on the word “Insert” and the map, restaurant, photo, etc. will automatically be added to your email.

First I inserted the restaurant info…

Then I inserted the map!

That’s a pretty great feature, if I do say so myself. Thanks for the tip, Jamie!

Zune’s New Subscription Service Lets You OWN Your Music

sarahintampa — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 02:12:00 GMT

The subscription service model is one that appeals to a niche crowd of music aficionados as it allows for all-you-can eat access to huge catalogs of music for one low monthly fee. The only problem with this model is that when it comes to favorite songs, people will often want to “keep” them - that is own them forever and ever. Before today, you couldn’t have it both ways – you both couldn’t own music and rent it; you had to choose one or the other. That dilemma is now no more thanks to the new Zune Pass.

The Zune Pass subscription service has been modified so that you still have the opportunity for the unlimited sampling that a subscription music service provides, but you can now also keep your ten favorite songs, too.

Ten songs – I think that equates to about a CD’s worth of music every month, give or take.

This service is $14.99 per month – a pretty decent offering for ten free songs plus unlimited streaming for up to 3 PCs and 3 Zunes.

Getting together an offer like this was no easy feat. Agreements between Microsoft and the record labels EMI, Song BMG, Universal Music, and Warner Music, had to first be signed and put into place along with agreements with independent distributors of digital music like INgrooves, Independent Online Distribution Alliance and The Orchard.

In addition to this new model, Zune owners have access to unique features not found elsewhere, like buy-from-FM, an option that allows for immediate download of songs heard on the built-in FM tuner. There’s also a Wi-Fi store, a recommendation engine that learns what you like and suggests tracks you might enjoy, themed channels for discovering music by genre, and a dynamic visual mosiac called Mixview which lets you discover music by clicking around a visual display of related albums and artists.

Oh, and did I mention that the majority of the music in the Zune Marketplace is DRM-free?

To learn more about the Zune Pass or to sign up, visit the Zune.net site.

Photokina 2008 - Drew Gardner shows us the 60MP P 65+

Nic — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 16:30:00 GMT

Renowned British photographer Drew Gardner was at Photokina 2008 this year helping demonstrate the 60.5 mega pixel, Phase One P 65+ digital back.
Phase One is a Danish company that specializes in high-end, medium format cameras, digital backs and RAW processing software.
For those of you (like me) unfamiliar with the term digital back, Wikipedia tells us that it is "a device which attaches to the back of a camera in place of a film holder and contains an electronic image sensor. This lets cameras which were designed to use film take digital photographs".
The sensor on the P 65+ is absolutely mammoth, and comes with a price tag to match, but as Drew explains (and shows us) the results are both spectacular and well worth it.

Flickr Search Connectr For Windows 7

sarahintampa — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 18:45:00 GMT

One of my all-time favorite bloggers, Long Zheng of istartedsomething.com, has just introduced a new search connector he programmed himself for integration into the Windows 7 search service. The connector is a combination of the OpenSearch Description File generator (aka the “Search Connector” in Windows 7) and the Flickr web service. This new software takes advantage of one of the less-discussed features in the upcoming OS – federated search.

In case you’re not familiar with that term, it means the simultaneous search of multiple online databases or web resources. Zheng notes that the feature may not have gotten the attention it deserves because it was marketed as a way to search SharePoint sites from within Windows 7. While that is sure to get some I.T. admins to sit up and take notice, consumers won’t care as much unless you do something “cool” – like make a tool that searches Flickr.

This feature of Windows 7 is easy for developers to code for as it uses open standards OpenSearch and RSS2. Yes, open standards to interact with something implemented natively in the Windows shell. (You can close your mouth now, it’s not that shocking.)

Anyway, as far as what the tool can do, it’s simple: you can search flickr photos right from within the Windows shell. To the end user, it doesn’t appear any different than a search for photos actually saved on the PC itself. Talk about blurring the lines between PC and web!

Other possibilities Zheng suggests for this feature are searching files on your remote Windows Home Server, searching music on Pandora, searching for videos on Soapbox, etc. (Oh, please please build me those too!)

Anyone who’s running one of the pre-beta versions of Windows 7 can go ahead and start playing with this feature now. It’s a free download from here: http://www.istartedsomething.com/flickrsearch.

Gestures…The New Touch?

sarahintampa — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 18:42:00 GMT

Gestures are getting hot, are they not? Lately, I’ve noticed a bunch of apps that let you use mouse gestures to execute predefined commands or actions. But this is hardly a new trend…apps like StrokeIt, the Windows-only global mouse gestures app were getting attention as far back as spring 2007. So why the resurgence now, I wonder?

I’ve recently come across freeware like Mazzrick, a portable mouse gesture utility that lets you create your own custom gestures, and the full-featured gMote which, in addition to being portable, supports over 30 actions.

Given the usability of these freeware/donationware programs, I’m not sure why someone would pay for a mouse gestures app, but mgLaunch ($29.95) is hoping you will. Their app launcher is skinnable, so maybe that’s what makes it worth it? I’m not sure, but it also crossed my radar not too long ago, so it may be worth a look.

Another gesture-based utility is the IE plugin called simply “Mouse Gestures for Internet Explorer.” With this software, you can control various tasks related to your web surfing – like opening and closing windows - just by drawing a simple symbol on the screen. (Works with XP/Vista/64-bit, too).

But with computers getting smaller and more portable, I would think more people are using the touchpad than the mouse. Still, the netbook phenomenon may have people starting to pack a mini mouse to go, too, since those netbook touchpads are crazy small.

Are you a fan of mouse gesture applications? If so, feel free to share which ones you like and recommend in the comments.

New LifeCams Have Arrived!

sarahintampa — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 18:42:00 GMT

Microsoft recently announced two new LifeCams that join the lineup of webcams designed for users of Windows PCs: the LifeCam Show and the LifeCam VX-5500. The LifeCam Show is an ultrathin camera with a 2.0MP sensor and three different attachment options – a laptop clip, a desktop stand, and an attachment disk. This one is the more expensive of the two at $99.95. The LifeCam VX-5500 is only $59.95 and features a VGA sensor with great low-light performance. It also has interchangeable colored faceplates in red, white, and blue (how patriotic!).

By combining these cameras with Windows Live Messenger, you can can engage in live video chats with your friends and family at any time. And if your friends aren’t available online (or if they live on the other side of the globe and you don’t want to wake them!), you can always record a video message using the new Video Messages site at http://videomessages.live.com.

Want to buy one now? Both are available from the new Microsoft Store.

Teaching Kids To Program: Small Basic

sarahintampa — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 18:41:00 GMT

Microsoft recently introducing a new programming language meant to teach kids how to program: Small Basic. The project aims to make programming fun by providing a small and easy-to-learn programming language in an environment that’s customize for kids, or any novice programmers looking to venture into the programming world. Small Basic is derived from the original BASIC programming language and is based on the .NET platform. The reason it’s “small” is because it only uses 15 keywords and minimal concepts so as to not be intimidating to those just starting out. You can check out the project over on DevLabs site and you can also download a Small Basic Introduction PDF.

Silverlight Application tackles the Medical Field

Tina — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 16:32:00 GMT

Adam Kinney stops by the Channel 10 studio to show us a new silverlight application for the medical field. Out with the note-pads and in with the highly technically advanced uber cool not as many mistakes silverlight application.

MediaSmart Server Now Only $369

sarahintampa — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 08:45:00 GMT

Looking for a good deal on a Windows Home Server? Ed Bott just found one for you. It looks like HP is selling the EX470 Windows Home Server for $399, a great price. I have to admit, this is a really tempting deal. (Too bad I just spent that same amount on a new netbook!) The MediaSmart is probably the home server I would get for myself if only for the Easter Egg involving the colored lights on its front. With an easy hack, you can unlock seven different light schemes including a multi-colored one called “Holiday Lights,” which is perfect for this time of year, now that I think about it.

[Update: Here is where you can get a EX470 for $369.99. - Thanks Charlie!]

LiveUpload For Facebook

sarahintampa — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 15:30:00 GMT

LiveUpload for Facebook is a new plug-in for the Windows Live Photo Gallery Beta that lets you upload your photos from your PC directly into the social networking site, Facebook. Besides making it extremely easy to get photos off your PC and onto the net, the absolutely coolest thing about this plugin is that it also persists the tags you added in Photo Gallery when the pictures are added to Facebook. This includes any “people tags” that you’ve added using Windows Live Photo Gallery. What that means is that when you tag your friends in Windows Live Photo Gallery, those tags will also appear on Facebook if you’re Facebook friends with those people.

Photos uploaded with this plugin can be added to an existing album on Facebook or they can be added to a new one you create on the fly. You can even use the plugin with multiple Facebook accounts – which is perfect for those families who share one login on the home’s PC.

If you're interested in building your own plug-in, there’s a development resource page on the Windows Live Digital Memories Experience Team. Also, check out the Windows Live Photo Gallery Publishing Plug-in Platform Overview over on MSDN and the Sample Plug-in for Flickr.

The LiveUpload for Facebook plugin also works in the beta version of Windows Live Movie Maker, too. If you want to download the LiveUpload for Facebook plugin, just click here.

LiveUpload For YouTube

sarahintampa — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 15:29:00 GMT

The plugins just keep coming! In addition to the new LiveUpload for Facebook plugin for Windows Live Photo Gallery Beta, there’s also a LiveUpload for YouTube plugin available. As you can imagine, this plugin allows you to upload your videos from Windows Live Photo Gallery (yep, it organizes videos, too!) to YouTube. But what’s great about this plugin is that it also installs into the new Windows Live Movie Maker Beta, too. There, the plugin adds an option to the button on Movie Maker’s ribbon menu called “Publish on Web.” When you click that plugin, you’ll see the option to click “LiveUpload to YouTube.” (If you also installed the “LiveUpload for Facebook” plugin, it’s available here, too).

From the Photo Gallery, you'll find the plugin under Publish > More Services.

When using the plugin, you can configure multiple YouTube accounts and select the one you want at the time of publishing. You can enter in the video Title, Description, and Keywords in the boxes provided and choose both the Category and the Permissions level from the drop-down lists. Click “Publish” and your video is sent directly to YouTube. What could be easier? You can get this plugin from here.

It’s Almost Here! New Xbox Experience Only Hours Away

sarahintampa — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 15:29:00 GMT

According to Major Nelson, if you were one of the people who successfully applied to the preview program (and submitted your console ID), you may have already gotten the New Xbox Experience (go check now!) That post of his went up yesterday, November 17th – two days before the official launch. If you don’t see the prompt to download the update, sorry…you’ll have to wait until Wednesday like everyone else. But meanwhile, you can prepare for the update by prepping yourself on the install process. This video will show you the way. Or if you just want a refresher on what to expect, Sara at the Gamerscore blog has a summary of all the NXE vidoes and posts.

Channel 9 on Mars: A tour of the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab

Nic — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 14:57:00 GMT

Charles and I were lucky enough to get a tour of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasendena, CA last month whilst we were in town for PDC2008.
Dave Lavery, Program Executive for Solar System Exploration (aka coolest job title evar!) granted us permission to film a portion of his awesome tour and spoke with Charles about designing and building robots for use on other planets.

"Tune in and learn about some of the challenges of developing autonomous machines that you will never get to touch again (think about the reduncancy requirements for a robot rover that is deployed 100 million miles away from Earth...)"

Check it out here: http://channel9.msdn.com/posts/Charles/Channel-9-on-Mars-Inside-the-Mars-Exploration-Mission-Past-Present-and-Future/