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December 08
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Windows Live Local is Live!!
yay! I mentioned a few days ago that launch was right around the corner. We turned that corner and now the beta release of Windows Live Local is in primetime. Try out this 'sightseeing' permalink to get started. So far feedback from users has been really great. I think the biggest criticism I have seen so far is that our new name is a little confusing :-) As a Program Manager for Windows Live Local, if that's the biggest gripe I feel pretty good!
Remember that in Birds eye mode you can ROTATE your view optically to really check out an area. You do this by clicking the rotation arrows in the navigation panel. Almost all of the places where we have birds eye imagery will have rotated views available. if a particular orientation isn't available, it will be grayed out. Often the best view of an area isn't the default North view (check out Niagara falls in the link above while facing east!) so be sure to try various rotations when exploring.
Have fun with WLL, and check back here later today for a more detailed review of the new and unique features in WLL. Our online help system has a great 'What's new' section that should get you started in the meanwhile. (just hit the 'Help' link in the upper right of the header)
Wow what a great view
JDProud November 23
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AFA - American Family Association - Target Getting the Message - Stock Drops 7%
"There is an anti-Christian bias in this country, and it is more on display at Christmas season than any other time." – Bill O'Reilly, The O'Reilly Factor, Fox News Channel – (Speaking about the decision of Target and other stores to ban the use of "Merry Christmas" in their stores and advertising.)AFA is asking individuals to boycott Target during the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend—the busiest shopping weekend of the year.An edited version of this petition will also be sent to Costco, BJ's, Sears/K-Mart, Wal-Mart, Kohl's and other stores banning "Merry Christmas." Petition text to Target Chairman Robert J. Ulrich:I am concerned that you continue to ban Salvation Army kettles from the front of your stores and continue to ban "Merry Christmas" in your in-store promotions and public advertising.To express my concern, I will not be shopping at Target during the Thanksgiving weekend.
Replaced "Merry Christmas" BAH HUMBUG
JDProud November 17
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FREE Microsoft Support
As a Microsoft consultant I’m pleased that practically every resource is available freely on Microsoft’s website. They provide many useful downloads & fun “goodies”, as well as their support information.
Locating the proper Microsoft Support information however isn’t always so easy; and with the additional pressure of finding information DURING troubleshooting – you’ll have to agree it can sometimes be quite frustrating! I’ve gathered all of Microsoft's disparate support resources here all in one location.
SUPPORT CENTER: For general troubleshooting
November 04
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PC Pro: News: UPDATED: Sony DRM company declares rootkit issue 'old news' and offers fix
UPDATED: Sony DRM company declares rootkit issue 'old news' and offers fix 10:42AM The company behind the technology used in Sony's controversial DRM technology has spoken out following the revelations around 'rootkit' code installed with Sony music CDs. Mathew Gilliat-Smith, CEO of first4internet told us 'For us this is old news, things have moved on ... These CDs have been out on the market for eight months now, and I think we first should establish that this is not malware, nor was it created with the intention of malware, [the rootkit component] is really just a methodology for hiding files.'
It has been out for a while? Does everyone know to go to the Sony site and cliclk on the help page. Is it time for a warning label for the legal users.
JDProud October 20
Microsoft is expanding their pool of beta participants for the Customer Experience Validation Program and the MSN Beta Program. If you are already a MSN Butterfly there is no need to sign up for CEV or the MSN Beta Program since you are already enrolled.
What is a Customer Experience Validation program?
A CEV program is a group of key customers who have agreed to test a new, unreleased version of a product in their home country. Through testing, these customers provide valuable feedback that we utilize to make MSN products and services more robust and tailored to each locale in order to better meet your communication needs. The CEV program is your chance to make a difference in MSN products!
What is the MSN beta program?
The MSN beta program offers you the exclusive opportunity to test a new version of a product before it is released to the general public. Membership lets select individuals like you share your ideas and play a key role in the development process of our products and services. You can make a difference with MSN!
This membership program has been created to build a trusted community of beta participants that will receive exclusive attention from the MSN Beta Team. You are the voice of our customers and we are offering you a direct channel of communication with our product teams.
What is beta testing?
In a beta program, a group of key customers agrees to test a new version of a product before it is released to the general public. Your participation allows you to share your ideas and have a positive impact on the development of Microsoft products.
The beta testing process is very important because it helps ensure that we release the best possible product. We have selected you from a large pool of applicants because we believe you will provide us with the feedback necessary to accomplish this goal.
What are the benefits of joining the MSN beta program?
Make a difference. By joining the MSN beta program you become an active member of our development team. Your participation will directly assist in improving the quality of MSN products that meet your need.
Be the first to try new products. You'll be able to use MSN software before anyone else.
The program also gives you and your company the opportunity to use and become familiar with upcoming technology, allowing you to prepare for the new version. This will give you a head start on making a smooth transition and lessen the impact on your productivity.
Participation in the program will give you the opportunity to prepare training for fellow designers and engineers before the new version is released.
Stability of the beta product
Before you continue, it is important to understand that the beta release of any product will not display the stability of a shipped Microsoft product. We have tested our beta products extensively within Microsoft and do not expect major problems; however, use of any pre-release product carries the possibility that you may encounter problems which could potentially result in a loss or destruction of data. Therefore, we suggest that you back up your existing data before you install and run this software.
When will my membership take effect?
When we have a beta ready for testing we will contact you and ask you to complete a survey. Beta members are selected on a number of criteria including your existing knowledge of the product, your availability to use the software during the period of the project, your computer configuration, and which features you use.
We want your experience as a MSN beta member to be positive and productive for both parties.
What are the MSN beta team responsibilities?
1. We will grant you access to the MSN beta program and guide you through the installation process. The website will give you additional information such as how to submit a bug, access the newsgroups, answers to frequently asked questions, and a known issue list.
2. We will provide you with a support email address to be used for all communications with the beta team. This address will be available only to those members participating in the beta and it will be discontinued when the project is completed.
3. We take your feedback very seriously and keep you informed of any work around and progress to resolve these issues.
What do we require from our beta members?
1. Sign a Non Disclosure Agreement prior to starting. Understand that our beta members are part of an exclusive MSN community and by signing our Non Disclosure agreement, you agree to not disclose any information related to our beta outside of the MSN beta program community. Violation to the non disclosure agreement will lead to immediate removal from our program.
2. Use the software in both your normal day's business and spend some time experimenting with the software actively testing for faults. If we provide testing scenarios, just follow the directions and report any issue.
3. Immediately submit a bug on our Connect website and gives us as much details as possible. We will also provide you with a bug guide with information on how to attach a screenshot, connection log or crash report to your bug submission.
4. Ensure you have sufficient backups of any live data that you use with the Beta software to safe guard against the possibility of data corruption.
If you are selected as a participant, you will be sent a "Welcome" e-mail. That e-mail will contain information on how to download the software from the Microsoft Connect site.
Due to the high volume of responses, we will only be able to contact those customers who have been chosen for the program.
Thank you for taking the time to review this information. We greatly appreciate your participation in the MSN Customer Experience Validation Program and your help to make a difference in MSN products.
Now that you read the requirements for participating, follow the directions below for joining our MSN Beta Program and the CEV Program:
1. Go to http://connect.microsoft.com
2. Enter you .Net Passport and password
3. Enter the nomination ID for your country of residence (we will ship CDs to your home address and you will not be able to participate or receive awards if you are enlisted with an incorrect physical address). If your country is not listed below, we are not recruiting for your country at this time. Stay tuned!
Austria AU-B86F-P6HH
Belgium BE-BFFD-FMV7
Canada CA-8VPP-8W8V
China CH-4PYP-H4D4
France FR-XJGB-JV79
Germany GER-JJBM-9VFY
Italy IT-3FCK-D8XM
Japan JA-DT6D-9YCY
Korea KO-9BV2-T2BP
Netherlands NE-3G4X-4M84
Spain SP-RKFT-CV2X
United Kingdom UK-HQ69-6JBQ
United States US-64JX-J2HJ
4. Complete the nomination survey
5. We will contact you as soon as we have a beta program opening for your country of residence.
Get aboard for the ride of your life. I have been a Beta Butterfly for a few years and it is a experience that is hard to find anywhere else.
JDProud
September 13
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MSN Search Toolbar with Windows Desktop Search Add-ins
The Games Add-in allows quick, convenient access to the most popular free and downloadable games online. Get it and answer the daily MSN Search and Win Sweepstakes trivia question for your chance to be one of five $100 daily winners or the $25,000 grand prize winner. Sweepstakes entry is subject to eligibility and runs from August 31 - October 31, 2005.
So let the games begin,
JDProud September 06
I was rolling up my extra change to go out and buy some gas. After spending some time and a lot of coin rolls I started to think about how wasteful a penny is. Now everybody know or heard this "A Penny Saved is a Penny Earned," But if Benjamin Franklin was around today and had to carry 15 dollars of pennies to buy lawnmower gas then he may have second thoughts about nickels.
There are about 150 billion US pennies in circulation today. "Did you know that a pound of pennies is $1.64?" The price of copper had risen to $1.33 per pound in 1980, so pennies could not be minted for less than their monetary value. Copper-plated coins postponed the crisis (in 2000, it cost 0.0081¢ to mint a penny). Yet according to the mint annual report this has gone up 0.0093 in 2004. This is down from the 0.0098 of 2003. Yet with Copper, the metal has averaged $3,430.60 a ton so far in 2005, up 24 percent from a year earlier.
Overall average mileage with city/highway is 12-13 mpg with a combined weight of over 6,000 pounds for armor vehicles. Are pennies weights worth the cost that can cause the wear and tear on the engine, suspension and tires? How much saving in fuel mileage would there be? Do you think that we would fear an increase of gas by a nickel instead of pennies? This would get rid of the imperceptible .1 of a gallon on the end of gas price. How many times have you seen another fraction other than .9? Have you ever gone up to a gas pump and seen 199.5 a gallon?
Are they making Penny candy anymore? If they are then candy will be five for a nickel. The Kids will love that idea. We can have nickels sales no more pennies sale. How much saving would there be in back injury from picking up all these pennies. Some people will drop them and leave them for other to suffer for. The trouble is everything would have to be a nickel. Yet on the average the figure would work out to the better. Less cost of producing, less weight, less figuring and most of all gas would go down a nickel. So let’s save gas, jobs and get rid of the penny.
A nickel for your thought
JDProud
September 02
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Finding People that were in Katrina's Path
I have put a link database together of several of the different ways you can try to contact people. I hope this helps. If you have a link that should be added, please leave a comment.
I am also looking to find word on Billy Henry of Metairie and Janice Walters of Biloxi.
Here is a great list put together by Seena.
Thankyou
JDProud August 20
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Virtual Earth is one week old!
I posted a recap of our first week worth of feedback over on the MSN Search blog. Of course the comment about removing our competitors from our maps is just a joke. :-) Here is a permalink showing the headquarters of our competitors in the online mapping biz. Google and AOL look particularly sharp.
Well, it's been a great first week and we're really thankful for all of the feeback we've been receiving. YES, we do read all of it, and more importantly we use it to prioritize features and fixes for future releases of Virtual Earth. so keep it coming.
So Cool, The Earth has just gotten smaller.
JDProud August 10
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How did you do that?
Tweak UI Power Toy:
The Tweak UI Power Toy is designed to allow you to customize the look of your Space. Once you add the Tweak UI Power Toy to your Space you can use it to control colors, module borders and transparency, and the background image’s placement and presence. Granular control combined with existing Spaces layout and module configuration allows for almost endless customizability and personalization.
Please note that this PowerToy, like the others, is available in English ONLY for now and is UNSUPPORTED.
Follow these steps to add this Power Toy to your Space:
- Log into Passport and Edit your Space.
- In the Address bar of your web browser add the text “&powertoy=tweakomatic” to the end of the displayed URL.
- Click the Go button next to your web browser address bar.
- Once the page has finished reloading, click on the Customize tab in your Space.
- In the Modules drop down menu in the Customize tab there should be a listing for PowerToy: Tweak UI. Click the word Add next to it and then click the Save button.
June 13 Quote Sweepstakes
Enter the Snap-on Father's Day Sweepstakes!Register now for a chance to win one of these prizes: 1). A Roll Cab Tool Box, 2). One of two Spotlights, 3). One of four Mini-Tip Screwdriver Sets or 4). One of four Snap-on $100 Gift Cards. One entry per person. Sweepstakes runs May 10th, 2005 - June 20th, 2005. Thanks for playing! Cab tool box would me nice. I don't know how far $100 Gift Card will go. Maybe a Cap and a shirt if you are lucky. JDProud May 27 Quote Xbox.com :: Xbox 360 Giveaway—Every 10 Minutes for 9 Weeks!
Xbox 360 Giveaway—Every 10 Minutes for 9 Weeks!May 17, 2005, Los Angeles, Calif.—Microsoft and Pepsi-Cola North America today announced a U.S. promotion to put Xbox 360™, the next-generation videogame and entertainment system from Microsoft, into the hands of thousands of lucky people before the console hits store shelves. Beginning August 28, 2005, Mountain Dew (Pepsi’s intense citrus soft drink) and Xbox will select a winner of an Xbox 360 console every 10 minutes, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for nine weeks straight. To play, consumers will collect codes found under the caps of Mountain Dew and other participating Pepsi products and enter codes in a personal online account at www.every10minutes.com. Participants will be able to choose which 10-minute drawing to enter and can then spread codes across different drawings or stockpile codes and put them all toward one drawing. In addition, codes entered will YAAHOOOO X-box and Mountain Dew. Got to get a can of Pespi too. JDProud April 28 Quote INSTANTLY WIN a Family Adventure of a Lifetime NOW! Win a Adventure vacation or a 7,000.00 digital camera. Also Anheuser-Busch Adventures Parks are pleased to offer Fujifilm® customers special online savings on admission, dining and more. Experience 17th century Europe at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, trek the plains of Africa at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay or explore the mysteries of the sea at the world's premier marine adventure park, SeaWorld! I maybe your lucky DAy JDProud
April 07 Quote Live Instantly – Get the New MSN Messenger NOW! (MSN)
See instantly with Video Conversation* – the next best thing to being thereExpress yourself instantly with new winks and nudges.Share instantly with MSN Messenger – see it in action MSN 7 is now live better than ever. JDPround April 01 Quote About Gmail
Just Launched!G is for growthStorage is an important part of email, but that doesn't mean you should have to worry about it. To celebrate our one-year birthday, we're giving everyone one more gigabyte. But why stop the party there? Our plan is to continue growing your storage beyond 2GBs by giving you more space as we are able. We know that email will only become more important in people's lives, and we want Gmail to keep up with our users and their needs. From Gmail, you can expect more. Is this a April Fool's Joke? JDProud March 31 Quote MSN Search Spoof
MSN Search celebrates April Fool's Day by introducing Spoof, a tool to let you create funny search results about a friend, family member, or co-worker. When you're done, you can send the page to the target or anyone else you think might get a laugh out of it. Real friends tell you the truth ... then point at you and laugh. This is so Cool Just don't take the first one. Adjust it till i comes out just right. JDProud Quote MSN - Video Downloads: Home
Welcome to the MSN Video Downloads service, your daily source for downloadable video content that you can take with you anywhere. MSN Video Downloads is optimized for high-speed Internet users. Get started today in experiencing more entertainment wherever you go. MSN Video Downloads is the only one-stop source for a variety of high quality news, sports and entertainment videos that work on select Windows Mobile devices. Do we still need TV's JDProud March 25 Quote Crossfader
Well we are out the door with a beta release or as we like to call it a "test pressing".Crossfader is an online community for the global electronic artist. We are building this tool to help you connect with people who share your love for creation, great music, technology and modern culture.We are just getting started and have several cool features in the works as we move through the beta stage.So come on in - register, set up your profile, build your blog, watch some video and start posting in the forums.If you have feedback, comments, etc. OR if you have a cool story to tell and want to be featured on the site – drop us a line at xfader@microsoft.com.Cheers,The Crossfader Team Want to be a DJ or just like know about the lastest techonology. JDProud March 23 Quote Blog basics: Learn how to keep an online journal: Start your own Web blog and share your life online
Blog basics: Learn how to keep an online journalStart your own Web blog and share your life onlinePublished: March 8, 2005By Mara GulensAccording to Merriam Webster OnLine, the number one word its readers sought to define in 2004 was one we've likely all heard but are just beginning to understand: "blog."The online dictionary site defines a blog as a Web site that contains a personal journal with reflections, comments, and often, hyperlinks provided by the writer. Short for Web log, a blog lets you keep information that you want to share with others—words, pictures, and even music—in one easy-to-locate online space, thus eliminating the need to send multiple e-mails to share your world. No where does it talk about MSN Spaces, So is MSN Spaces a Blog? JDProud March 20 Quote Kurt von Behrmann reviews Creature House Expression 3
Review of Creature House Expression 3 2002 by Kurt von Behrmann. All Rights Reserved.www.creaturehouse.com Pricing: Expression 3 for Macintosh boxed $159.00 plus shipping and handling; downloaded $149.00 Expression 3 for Windows boxed $159.00, plus shipping and handling; downloaded $149.00 Expression 3 Mac and Windows $199.00, plus shipping and handling; downloaded $189.00 It is always a welcome surprise to discover that an application you have used, enjoyed and liked is still around. Enhancing that discovery is learning that your long lost application has been updated. As soon as I learned that Expression was available, and not consigned to cyber purgatory, it seems Expression 3 was literally waiting in the wings. Now if this powerfull graphic designer's program was free would you download and try it? Well it is so try it out. Expression 3.3 JDProud
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