Features of Windows Phone 7 Series

Windows Phone 7 Series was introduced at Barcelona, Spain during the Mobile World Congress held last February 15-18. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer introduced the next generation of Windows Phones, Windows Phone 7 Series.

Windows Phone 7 Series is a fresh approach to mobileOS. The screen layout is very fundamental, a minimalist design that has deep Web and applications functionality. Its "Live Tiles" on the homescreen get dynamic updates where the users directly get their contents in real-time. It went away with static icons of the mobile phones that we use to know. Just by glancing at the start you will see on every "live tile" updates and latest contents.

Windows Phone 7 also developed "Hub" for their latest mobileOS. It integrates experiences related content from the Web, applications, and services into a single view which simplifies common tasks. Phone hubs are the following:

•People. This hub delivers an engaging social experience by bringing together relevant content based on the person, including his or her live feeds from social networks and photos. It also provides a central place from which to post updates to Facebook and Windows Live in one step.


•Pictures. This hub makes it easy to share pictures and video to a social network in one step. Windows Phone 7 Series also brings together a user’s photos by integrating with the Web and PC, making the phone the ideal place to view a person’s entire picture and video collection.

•Games. This hub delivers the first and only official Xbox LIVE experience on a phone, including Xbox LIVE games, Spotlight feed and the ability to see a gamer’s avatar, Achievements and gamer profile. With more than 23 million active members around the world, Xbox LIVE unlocks a world of friends, games and entertainment on Xbox 360, and now also on Windows Phone 7 Series.

•Music + Video. This hub creates an incredible media experience that brings the best of Zune, including content from a user’s PC, online music services and even a built-in FM radio into one simple place that is all about music and video. Users can turn their media experience into a social one with Zune Social on a PC and share their media recommendations with like-minded music lovers. The playback experience is rich and easy to navigate, and immerses the listener in the content.

•Marketplace. This hub allows the user to easily discover and load the phone with certified applications and games.

•Office. This hub brings the familiar experience of the world’s leading productivity software to the Windows Phone. With access to Office, OneNote and SharePoint Workspace all in one place, users can easily read, edit and share documents. With the additional power of Outlook Mobile, users stay productive and up to date while on the go.

Glitch, a Massive Multi-Player Game to Watch Out

Glitch on your browsers is underway!

images from glitch.com

By fall of 2010, Glitch, a massive multiplayer online game will hit the Web and social media. Glitch claims that is not something what we have seen before. 'Glitch is a neverending feast of imagination, a celebration of creativity, a labor of love, and a monument to play.'

Glitch online game is set in a far-distant and a not so perfect big world. The world starts to fall apart that there occurs what is called the "Glitch". Generally speaking, the game involves very little war, moats, spaceships, wizards, mafiosos, or tapestries. There is only a very little war involved and that thing that you can really kill while playing the game is your time! As the concept of massive multiplayer online games, Glitch is a world turned round by the actions of the players instead of a single player playing 'god'.
Glitch is built using Java and Javascript enabling it to run and be flexible across different platforms. Glitch is developed by the co-founder of Flickr.

Unboxing of Nexus One in Stop-Motion Video

Below is a creative stop-motion video created by Patrick Boivin. This 90-seconder upload is the unboxing of Google Phone Nexus One. For those who have not bought theirs yet, enjoy this good find from Youtube!

What is your Nexus One unboxing story?

Google Latitude in Nexus One

Latitude is a new feature in Google Maps. It allows you to see your family and friends on a map and share information like status messages, emails, and directions on how to get to their location, and make calls too. Latitude can be used in Google phone the Nexus One.

Privacy will not be an issue because your location is not automatically shared and made visible to all. Even after accepting an invite you can still control the information you want to share.

How to find friends in Google Latitude:

1. You have to join Latitude first. You can join Latitude while viewing a map.
2. Add friends on Latitude by browsing from your Contacts List or add them via Email address, you can add multiple by separating address by a comma.
   
3. Touch Add Friends at the bottom of the screen. You friends will receive an invitation after.

• When you open Maps your friends location are shown. You will see a picture of them with an arrow pointing their location on the Map. Touch on your friends photo and you will see more details about them.
• When you open Latitude, you will see a list of your friends with a summary of their locations, latest status update, and more.

How to Respond to Latitude Invitations:

1. Accept and share back - you and your friend can see each other's locations.
2. Accept, but hide my location - you can see your friend's location, but they can't see yours.
3. Don't accept - no location information is shared between you and your friend.
   

Google Latitude can also be used on iPhone, Blackberry, and Nokia and Android powered phones.

Lenovo IdeaCentre A600 - All-in-One Desktop PC

IdeaCenter A600 is the latest all in one desktop PC from Lenovo, following suit the all in one desktop computers such as HP TouchSmart 600, MSI WindTop AE 2220, Dell Studio One among others.

Lenovo IdeaCenter A600 is the desktop what you would want to flaunt. This all in one computer has a striking design that looks so much like a TV. IdeaCenter A600 AIO is the worlds slimmest computer in it's category, an inch thin at its slimmest point. With wireless remote, keyboard, and mouse and just a single power cable powers up the machines giving you a clutter free set-up, no more tangled cords and ugly wires.

Lenovo's latest all in one computer has a multi-core processing and high performance graphics and a Dolby Home Theater with 2.1 speaker systen with bass sub woofer plus its BluRay Diskdrive ideal to enjoy your video, music, and photos. You can configure your A600 to include the optional TV Tuner too. This makes your computer an HD television plus the ability to digitally record your favorite TV programs.

Although it is not like the HP TouchSmart PCs, it's Media Center remote acts as an air more which is an on-screen pointer. This doubles as a VOIP handset and to motion drive games.

Logitech Lapdesk N700

Lapdesk N700 is coming to a couch near you. This padded base for your laptop is made by Logitech, maker of wireless mouse, keyboard, and other computer accessories.

This notebook base has an integrated stereo that boosts the meager audio volume of your notebook. You will get a rich, full stereo sound on both sides of your computer while giving you ease of control of the volume.

It also has a fan to keep the cool of the laptops base when used for hours and hours. The fan of Lapdesk N700 provides the airflow so silent it wont obstruct your viewing moments.

Logitech Lapdesk N700 can also be adjusted with its ten-degree angled riser to make your neck and legs more comfortable when you are using it while seated.



You can pre-order Logitech Lapdesk N700 for $79.99.

Facebook Turns 6, reaches 400M Members

Four years ago in a dorm room at Harvard U, Mark Zuckerberg started a little project. Six years later, the little project has become a world wide phenomena. A technology empire that may now be comparable to Google and Microsoft.

The rise of Facebook is best show in the graph below.

Facebook, six years after its inception, has become too big - members has double in less than a year from 200M skyrocketing to 400M today. Facebook also has become too invasive at some point that it constantly deals with security and privacy issues where personal data of a quarter of the web user population is held.

Where is Facebook heading? Has it reached the threshold yet, a crash and burn soon? Or further rise where no other tech companies has been before?

As it turns 6, Facebook did a redesign of it's homepage. Below is something new for it's birthday.

How To Share Files from PC to Samsung LED TV (Part II)

This post is a continuation of my previous post about Sharing files from PC to a Samsung LED TV. Part I, How to Share Files from PC to Samsung LED TV using DLNA, is a guide on DLNA or Digital Living Network Alliance. Part II is a guide on content streaming from PCs which do not have the DLNA feature.

You will need:

• A laptop or desktop PC connected to a home network
• A shared folder in that computer that contains the files that you want to stream, and
• A Samsung Blu-Ray player that is also connected to a home network (I am using Samsung BD 1255)

Steps:

• Press the Menu button, then the Red (A) button on the Anynet+ Remote.
  
• A window will be displayed where you will select Auto or Manual Search Type. In this tutorial, I selected Manual Search Type. Press Enter button.
  

Enter the IP address if the laptop or desktop that contains the shared folder. Press Enter button.

• Type in the name of the shared folder. The trick here is to use shorter folder names. Press Blue (D) button to save.
  
• Type in the username of the account in computer you are using. Press Blue (D) button to save.
  
• Type in the password of the account of computer you are using. Press Blue (D) button to save. It will take several seconds to connect to the computer. You will know it is successful if a window like the following is displayed on the Samsung LED TV screen.
  
• In that window, select Video, Music or Photo using the arrow keys on the Anynet+ Remote. This will list the contents store on the Shared folder.
  

This PC streaming function allows access to up to 4 PC's connected on the same home network. There is no need to copy to USB drives media files from several PCs. Do note however that not all file types can be read by Samsung LED TVs.

Send Discreet Message with BccThis

BccThis allows you to send discreet messages to select recipients in Outlook. This plug-in in Outlook creates a new window where you can type your additional message along with the original email message. Another window displays the list of the recipients where you can select who will receive the additional message. Only those selected will receive it. Messages sent with BccThis can be viewed without installing the plug-in.

Basically, you will now have two part of your e-mail. One is the public content which can be view by all the recipients, and the private content which can be viewed only by those selected in the BccThis window. This plug-in provides an entirely safe and secure way of sending messages.

BccThis is also available in Twitter, and soon in Blackberry devices.

Create Functional E-mail Signatures with WiseStamp

WiseStamp is a Chrome, Firefox, Flock, and Thunderbird add-on. WiseStamp lets you create and manage e-mail signatures. It is a clever way of setting your business or personal e-mail signature by allowing you to add your profiles across the web. You can include links of your profiles in social sites like LinkedIn, Facebook and many more. You can also add IM id’s be it Yahoo! Messenger, Skype, or AIM. Aside from that, you can also add personal RSS on it. This is the best feature for me.

The RSS feed in your signature will be automatically updated. This is a clever way to promote your blog since the title of your latest blog post will be displayed on the signature. If you are seeking to increase your blog traffic, this is one good way to do it. Recipients of your mail will be able to see your latest story, click on the link. It is a legitimate way to drive traffic to your site. Aside from sharing your latest blog post, WiseStamp can also include RSS from your story submissions at Digg, StumbleUpon, Propeller, news sites, quotes, latest tweet, photos, videos, etc. WiseStamp gives you a lot of options of links to insert in your signature.

Solution to Cannot Start Microsoft Office Outlook

Have you encountered 'Cannot Start Microsoft Office Outlook. Cannot Open the Outlook Window'. Don't delete your existing Outlook profiles just yet!

This has happened to three of my users in the last couple of months. This is caused by a Windows Update that modifies the navigation pane of Outlook 2007. So to revert back to your original settings before the issue happened follow below steps:

1. Click Start -> Run.
   
2. Type 'outlook.exe /resetnavpane'
   
3. Open Outlook 2007 again.
   

Viola, 'Cannot Start Microsoft Office Outlook. Cannot Open the Outlook Window' solved!

My other attempts, might be worth your try, are the following:

• Run Outlook in safemode of 'outlook.exe /safe'
  
• Delete Windows Updates relating to Outlook
  
• Delete Registry Key of Outlook Profiles
  

Test first the easiest solution attempt before deleting your Outlook profiles. It is will save you hours of downloading again your mails from your server.