We all love the 80’s but is there anything better than a Back to the Future hover board.  No.  So here one is.  Working.  With laser guidance.

Dornob has the skinny: The Future is Back: Real-Life, High-Tech Hoverboard Design

I love my Sony camera and I’m intrigued that Sony made the only kit up to this job.  Just like Microsoft Made the only software up to the job.  Above is a still taken from the unbelievably deeeeep and immersive panoramic photo from Budapest that broke all records.  It’s amazing, go look.  Also it’s hosted on Azure and delivered in Silverlight.

70 Billion Pixels Budapest – The largest photo on Earth – created by 360world.eu

Or plaster for us British folk.  Simple solution, fun.  Not compatible with Windows Phone 7 (or any other phone on the market)

[via: Apple Bumper | The Office Stylist and available to buy from Antenn-aid on Etsy]

VHDs are a file based format as opposed to the traditional sector based format.  This is very cool because it allows “offline servicing” for the OS, which means that you can service the VHD without it being booted.  This is cool because say you have a demo environment and you want to update a driver all you do is mount the VHD and use DISM like this:

DISM /Image:V:\ /Add-Driver /Driver:M:\Drivers /recurse

to add the driver, then on next boot it’s done.  Simples.

More complicated is what’s going on under the hood, but essentially a VHD will consume less disk space than the same disk in a sector based format as each unique file is only stored once in the VHD format.

Throw your brilliant VHD tips our way in the comments…

How would you like a phone made of wood?  How about a PC?  How about anything, like this helmet?  Technaro a German company that makes plastics from a wood has a product called ARBOFORM that is made from  100% renewable materials and works just like a plastic.  So even wooden components like printed circuit boards are possible.

[via: Dornob]

When I first started out one of the things that I did to get real world understanding (as opposed to at an Academic institution which is invaluable too but very different) was to get stuck into getting Microsoft Certified.  Back then MCSE was my goal and I did it entirely through self study, reading and doing.  That was on NT4 and I upgraded everything to 2000 through a single (and really hard!) exam.  Since then I’ve been doing BETA exams, 254 questions in one sitting was a bit much though, and kept things current.  Things have changed a bit now but getting certified is really valuable. 

The videos we’ve produced and put up on landthegig.com are very extreme but I’m pretty sure I’ve interviewed a couple of these guys….

Microsoft Certification Can Open Doors

How do you view certs?  Nice to have, essential or something entirely different…

As usual this is my weekly wrap up of all the stuff I’ve posted to my blogs over the past week, a week where I was at a massive internal conference that was super awesome (you won’t believe what this picture is)  All the following were pre-posted, so nothing overly topical but some fun stuff, like mad-as-a-bag-of-frogs coffee and some really good pointers to great office resources.

• Tools to help you deploy Office 2010
• Have you ever seen a cooler watch?
• Why all Exchange ActiveSync experiences aren’t the same…
• Confused about deploying Windows 7? Try this…
• Ten principles for good design
• Office 2010 Compatibility
• How to Take Full Advantage of Your Solid-State Drive
• Maple Bacon Coffee
• Windows Azure Platform Appliance great vid

What’s on the cards for this week….InTune (hopefully), more on Windows 7 deployment and a little BPOS and probably some random stuff as well as some Atlantan thoughts and the usual helping of off topic fun.

• You don’t know what addins are out there…there’s a tool for that. 
• Don’t know if you VBA code is compatible it 2010…there’s a tool for that. 
• Want it in your standard image…there’s a tool for that. 
• Want to customise what lands on a client…there’s a tool for that. 
• Want help planning deployment…there’s a tool for that. 
• Want someone to get your coffee whilst you deploy Office 2010…you might have to do that yourself!

Microsoft Office 2010 Deployment Tools

I’m pretty sure this is the coolest watch ever created….more so than the TAG Monaco…

Horological Machine No4 Thunderbolt on Cool Hunting

Why all Exchange ActiveSync experiences aren’t the same… and how to know what you’re getting

Lots of people are looking at how they should go about deploying Windows 7 in their organisation, a few I’ve seen first hand are struggling to understand how to migrate.  One of the major steps in planning your deployment is probably to build a proof of concept to see just how easy it is and just what the pitfalls are in your organisation.  Have you thought about your application compatibility, are you making the most of things by deploying Office at the same time?

Our Springboard Series resources around Building a Proof of Concept came up in meeting the other day and there really is some great stuff in there.

I’ll be back looking at some of the fun around various aspects of a deployment soon, but if you want a specific question answered then post a comment and I’ll try – or if you want to keep your identity secret because you work for a criminal mastermind in his secret-but-very-expensive volcanic layer filled with retro furniture then drop me an email using the form.

Dieter Rams’ 10 principles of good design.  Five is important.

1. Good design is innovative.
2. Good design makes a product useful.
3. Good design is aesthetic.
4. Good design makes a product understandable.
5. Good design is unobtrusive.
6. Good design is honest.
7. Good design is long-lasting.
8. Good design is thorough down to the last detail.
9. Good design is environmentally friendly.
10. Good design is as little design as possible.

Ten principles for good design via David Airey, graphic designer

[image from Arch Tonic]

You’ve never heard of the thing before and you don’t know who the vendor is and you don’t have the time to do a full background check to make sure it works.  Then you do your deployment and that supery dupery add-in tanks.  Finally you have to roll that persons install back and they stick as a thorn in your side for years and you can’t explain away not having hit your target for 100% deployment.  Familiar?

Well we’ve got you an answer… 

Take a look at the Microsoft Office 2010 – Compatibility Resource Center we’ve got tools for inspecting VBA code and a tool that helps you to findout what Add-ins are actually running in your business.  Cool stuff… oh yeah and a list of Add-ins that have been tested.  Nice stuff.

Very handy little guide form Lifehacker here on how to get the best out of an SSD.  I’ve just ordered one for my “demo beast” laptop and it should help my VMs fly…interesting ideas around hibernation in this guide…not something I’d thought of but very useful.  Should be quite nippy on an SSD.

How to Take Full Advantage of Your Solid-State Drive

[image from flickr.com and kawanet]

I like maple syrup.  I like bacon.  I like coffee.  Not so sure about the 3 together…

Maple Bacon Coffee on Uncrate

The Azure appliance we announced a WPC is generating quite a few questions and a fair bit of interest.  It’s a really interesting bit of kit but it’s a very niche offering right now but you guys want know it’s all about right?  In this Channel 9 video Steve Marx give a nice explanation, head to 7:30 for a little info on where Hyper-V fits in…

Introducing the Windows Azure Platform Appliance

Very nice retro digital watches…Cool hunting has the deets

Raised by Wolves x Furni Digital Watch on Cool Hunting

One thing that’s helped me get to know people here is the Outlook Social Connector: Get your social updates in Outlook

PDC10 is happening in Seattle this year, getting attendees closer to the dudes who make the cool stuff

What ever you do WAIK me up before you go go if you’re looking into deployment its the starting point…sorry for the puns awsome as @marcholmes described them!

Azure in a box is some info and thoughts on why containers are cool

What am I doing here… still not too sure, but it’s fun!

Brilliant video from top race drivers on why your really need a top team behind you Lewis & Jenson, one car, no team

Walk the tube because it’s healthier and you get less black snot!

I finally have a blue badge… enough said there I think

Water Walking Ball because all evangelists must learn to walk on water and this seems like a great hack.

The man’s done it again, how does James find this awesome stuff….

Bat(man) On Fire | Tenniswood Blog

Take a look at the Outlook blog for more info.  Remember though protect your identity online and make smart choices.  Also check out this video all about it.

Microsoft PDC10 | October 28 — 29

This time I’m going to give you some tips for using the step-by-step deployment guide to get you started. The guide is simple stuff, I’m not going to go through it line by line, but it gets you from install to deployment in a couple of hours. It’s almost all you need if you’ve only got a couple of handfuls of clients to deploy.

I love a virtual environment, so I created 3 VMs to use with the step-by-step (ooh baby) guide:

• Technician
• Reference
• Target

…and on the first, Technician, I installed the WAIK. You could always use physical boxes but where’s the fun? Then I came to the fun - trying to do this in a virtual environment. One of the key steps in this zero to hero guide is that you need to get the answer file you create (the WAIK shows you what to do) onto a removable drive. Why a removable drive? Well Windows 7 setup looks at any removable drives for an answer file to guide it through install.

Removable storage…oo er… that’s a bit tricky in a Virtual PC world. No you can’t even use USB device pass through and use a physical UFD (USB flash drive) since the option to connect a device isn’t available on a VM with no OS, which is what you’ll be using as your Reference PC for a start.

So how do we get that answer file onto removable media in a VM? The answer comes in the form of VFD (virtual floppy disks) and scripts which Ben Armstrong has documented on his blog. One thing is that you’ll also need a .vfd file for your disk…the way I created this was to use Hyper-V manager on a Windows 2008 R2 server (Action > New > Virtual Floppy Disk…) but there are lots of other ways.

All you need to do is:

• Download Ben’s scripts (I used the VB script)
• Open a Command prompt on the machine running Virtual PC
• Use cscript to run the VB script like this
  •  Cscript /vm:”my vm’s name” /action:vfd /floppy:”e:\blank.vfd”
• In your VM you need to format the vfd
• Copy your autounattend.xml to the floppy
• Back in your command prompt
• Disconnect the VFD from the technician VM with
  • Cscript /vm:”my vm’s name” /action:disconnect
• Use the first cscript sample above again, but change to the reference VM
• Make sure you have an ISO for the Windows 7 DVD connected
• Start your reference VM
• Marvel as Windows 7 installs without you having to do anything

If you’re new to deployment you might be thinking something like “I’ve created an answer file now so haven’t I got an automated deployment?” I guess the answer is yeah… but no.

What you’ve got at this stage is an easily repeatable deployment. From now on every time you want to build a Windows 7 machine it will end up with the same stuff on it sure. It won’t have ALL your stuff on it and it’s still really labour intensive. At this point to do your deployment you’d still need a DVD and a USB key, feet (or a good wheely chair) to get between PCs and lots of time. You could stop here if you only needed to hit say 10 or so machines but more than that and you’ll get bored.

TIP: If you’re in the UK, there’s a couple of gotchas with answer files…The code used for UK layouts isn’t en-UK as you might first guess, it’s en-GB (cy-GB for Welsh). If you use en-UK you’re fine automated install will get stuck on the first screen. There’s a second part to this gotcha too, you’ll need to leave Components\WindowsPE\Microsoft-Windows-International-Core-WinPE\UILanguage set to en-US , but don’t worry everything will work out and you’ll have a UK locale everywere.

The rest of step 2 is pretty easy to follow…and so to step 3…

There’s a minor problem in the step-by-step guide here, that you need to fix, or it won’t work…oops! (you get a 0xc000000f error when booting the WinPE disk). Easy to fix though. Work through to the end of step 3 bullet 3 and then go to c:\winpe_x86 or whatever name you used, and copy winpe.wim to the ISO\sources folder and rename it to boot.wim. That’s it, all fixed!

The 5^th bullet in step 4 says to burn the WinPE ISO you create to a CD, kinda obviously you don’t need to do that, you just need to get the ISO file off the VM. A simple way I like to do this (if I don’t have networking available) is to have a USB key inserted into my host PC and just attach it to the technician VM (USB > USB Mass Storage Device) copy the file to the key, then release it and copy it to the host.

Finally mount the ISO from your host onto your reference VM and boot it. Immediately hit SHIFT + ESC then on the black screen, hit DEL, then in the BIOS change the boot order to boot from CD first.  That’s an extra little tip, if you need to boot from a CD or ISO in Virtual PC when you see the progress bar showing the VM loading do the above and you can access it’s BIOS.

That’s it for now, my longest post so far, and more to come.

I see this doing something very special in cloud terms, and I see it as a redefinition of private cloud (has anyone actually got the definition right yet?…we have!).

There are tons of ways this solution could be used, I particularly like the “data control” aspect, having the container on your own soil removes any confusion around geo-location and gives you a nice warm fluffy feeling of safety.  You could use it for performance testing too (of specific aspects, not all).  The solutions intended for the really big boys, like the first customer, Ebay, who need to scale to hundreds or thousands of servers.

You can find out more about Windows Azure Appliance in this Chanel 9 vid and I’ll be getting into some of the topic of how you manage Azure with the rest of your enterprise soon.  How do IT Pros out there feel about Windows Azure Appliance – personally I think its a tidy solution.

[Image from roblisameehan on Flickr – NOTE: none of these as an actual Windows Azure Appliance, it’s just to remind you what containers look like]

We (eek I can say we!) have a group of fantastic tools that help with deployment on Windows and if you’ve not really looked at Windows deployment since Windows XP you’ll be needing the same kind of refresher that I’m doing. Even if you’ve deployed Vista you need to take a look at the latest tools.

Note: Important note here, I’m skipping bit. I’m skipping out the bit where you’ll have planned the ass off of your deployment – I’ll come back to it – but for now I’m skipping the Application Compatibility stuff, I’m skipping the bit where you make sure you know what you’ve got in your company.

So let’s take a look at the tools, what do you have to play with. WAIK up!

The Windows Automated Installation Kit (WAIK) is a really good place to start and can be downloaded from here. There’s a whole bunch of features packed into the WAIK and it’s an essential first step in terms of tools. I’m not going to go through a list of each tool, that’s kind of boring at this stage, but the documentation is the rocket to moon in terms of getting started with deployment.

This is where we have a step by step guide to doing your first deployment (install through imaging to deployment) – more on this in the next post, including the tricks to do it using Virtual PC so you can play in your own sandbox without annoying the other kids. There’s also the full documentation for every entry possible in the unattended answer file which is now a single XML as opposed to the old multiple text file stuff we used in the deployments of yore.

Ok, that’s it for now…go download the WAIK, next time I’ll impart some tips for playing with the step by step guide in a VM environment.

This is a superb video of just why it’s critically important to have a great team behind you.  Be brilliant at what you do, rely on and be appreciative of the value those around you add.  Reminds me of most IT Pros.

Via James: Tenniswood Blog

Sometimes all I seem to do is reblog James’ finds… oh well, very nice.

Walk the tube | Tenniswood Blog

Hi, I’m Simon May, I’m a new part of the IT Pro team in the UK – I’m an IT Pro Evangelist – to give me my full title. It’s our job to help UK IT Pros understand Microsoft’s plethora of technology and make the most of it. So what does that mean for you? Well it means that we’re here to help by introducing you to new tools and techniques and to get you testing, deploying, managing Microsoft technologies and getting the types of results you need.

Previously I’ve worked in banking, healthcare and energy, written about Windows, helped seed and inspire communities and I hope fixed hundreds of peoples PCs and worked with a few people who are reading this – drop me a line please. I’ve fixed virus outbreaks, rewired data centers, made it possible for people to shop quickly (sorry can’t tell you how) and helped doctors and nurses get the latest info on their patients before caring for them. Mostly I’ve had fun.

Okay, Okay, let’s talk about the job title, Evangelist. Lots of people have asked me about it and all I can say is it’s the coolest title and job in the world (to me). Basically it means I explain the world Microsoft to IT Pros.

I’ll be here and there, mainly here, sometimes there introducing new stuff and explaining current stuff and helping you get off the old stuff…cough…IE6…cough…XP…. But it’s not all about work.

Almost as much as I love being an IT Pro community I love our (I can say OUR now) consumer focused technology so I’ll be talking about that too probably, although I only get to see what everyone else gets to see, there’s no inside track here.

Follow me on twitter and say hi and you might as well subscribe to my main RSS feed (it’s not just tech stuff).

One for @Deepfat, he’d love this…Water Walking Ball, via Uncrate

The end of manned space missions feels like another step back but photo’s like this are a nice side effect.  Unemployed Astronauts from Gizmodo, via James Tenniswood (king of design cool)

The guys over at Download Squad just blogged this and the name says it all.  It’s the ultimate task scheduler and get stuff done app for geeks.

This is some super cool packaging, superb typography and very fine humour.  Wish it were real…

No Weight Gain Chocolate | David Airey, graphic designer

I just can’t believe the size of this HD display 6800+ ft.  Massive.  More here:

http://3rings.designerpages.com/2010/06/30/daktronics-hd-video-board-lights-up-the-n-f-l/#axzz0sQyLVQLX

OK, I don’t actually believe I’m going to change the world, I’m not six.  I am however going to join a company who’s products I like a lot and who’s people have inspired me.  Things here might change, I have a plan or two up my sleeve.

The above image is courtesy of the magnificent @gapingvoid aka Hugh MacLeod, genius business card cartoonist.  I hope he won’t mind me using it, his work can be found here my favourite product is his wine.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYjFoCIfyAU&feature=player_embedded

swissmiss | Andy Murray Tennis Street Magic.

What I remember most about LEGOs – The Oatmeal.

I really want this stamp!

We “Like” You! | The Office Stylist.

Cool Wall Mirrors: Aviator Style | The Office Stylist.

Never the less, this is a superb option and very simple:

Set Up a Foolproof and Fireproof Automatic Backup Plan.

You’ll be seeing photos from me here and from others here on TDL and their own blogs, Ian’s already posted.  We videoed most of the sessions too and Garry will be posting them sometime soon, there’s about 5 hours of footage to edit to something watchable so it may take some time.  Ian got some superb material for the podcast too and he’ll be releasing that in an upcoming podcast, although probably best to check out his post for details.

Thanks to everyone who made it, you made the day superb and just like Pete Brown said it’s the community that makes Media Center what it is.

I had some great conversations and got to see some really cool stuff.  We had Amulet devices there with their awesome voice control remote for Media Center – seriously folks this is amazing – it’s the best thing I’ve seen for Media Center since TunerFree MCE and it was just so impressive.  Passive showed off their super high end Evolve units which just look stunning and have B&O amps built in - they gave us a glimpse at building really robust Media Center PCs and a vaguest hint at some of their clientele.  I wish I could count myself among that select group.

Andrew Edney gave us a look at WHS Vail and Andrew Cherry gave us a great intro to building apps for Media Center and Garry showcased how simple it is to build Windows Phone 7 apps with the Windows Phone 7 SDK and other free tools.  I’ve got no excuse, I need to build a remote IP camera app for both…must get to that.  Pete Brown gave us a superb insight into what it’s like running a community like TGB, basically I think we all felt the love…not least because everyone left with at least a USB stick and one guy left very happy with a SONOS S5 and another with a ZuneHD and 10 more peeps left with Xtreamers courtesy of Tranquil and another 12 people got DVBLogic licenses!!

Pete gave away some great Zune originals art work too, which I’d personally have loved for my office, but that’s one of the downsides to not being in the audience.  We also got free Pizza courtesy of the NxtGenUg.

Ok without further ado, here are some of the best pictures I took of the day (yep there are lots), they’re uploaded to Windows Live SkyDrive with Windows Live Photo Gallery – if you can’t see them then join the Digitiallifestyle.com Windows Live Group although everyone should be able to see them.

More next year.  Looking forward to reading the other guys thoughts, if you attended let us know about it in the comments…we’ll be getting out a survey soon too…

Backyard Theatre via Lifehacker

Kinect is the new name for project Natal.  I just can’t wait.

One feature that I love, in these days of privacy worries, is how simple to manage sharing is.  A slider from lots of sharing to none.  Simple.  Yet I can also share with individuals, perfect for sharing that killer presentation (or that photo of the BBQ in the comedy apron that you only want attendees to have).

Just noticed something else neat.  When a folder or file is shared with individuals by email it gets a different icon…this is private, everyone and specific people respectively.

Adidas Cantina 2010 « Whitezine | inspire Create and Share.

I really love the Multitouch Support that they say is going to be added to Photo Gallery – I think it’s the best application in a tool set ALL of which are essential!  I also really like the facial recognition feature that should make tagging up photo’s a whole lot easier.

Wave 4: What’s New in Windows Live Essentials – LiveSide.net.

There are other features, but Sarah does a great job of explaining them On10 here: One-time Passwords, SSL and More: New Hotmail Focuses on Security | Sarah In Tampa | Channel 10.

This has got me thinking, I’d be really interested to see what people have got installed in their bathrooms in the way of tech.  I’ve seen at least one very cool Media Center install in the past, but I’d really like to know what people are doing.  I’ve got a bathroom to remodel in 3 months!  So throw some links to your installs in the comments.

Via Dornob.

Home Opener: Huge Garage Door Hides Whole Plane Hangar | Designs & Ideas on Dornob.

I thought the black version was good, but now I’m all about the white version.  I’ll be getting me one these, it;s stunning and will look super in our all white office!

The Arc Keyboard: White | The Office Stylist.

All I need now is a nice WiFi photo frame with HD res…

I’ve been a sucker for wanting some super cool looking touch screen job for a while now, but the price has made me hold off.  I now have a new excuse and it’s one that I’d never really considered.  Simplicity.

We had a load of guests staying during the wedding and a major problem was that I kept getting asked to turn on the TV, change the channel or something else.  What the ! it’s easy right? … Wrong, no one could work the remote, it was scaring them.  It’s just a Logitech Harmony 520 which I’ve been really happy with and I though was pretty simple.  Apparently people weren’t used to holding the screen and they didn’t want to break it.  I know I was shocked too.

This lead me to thinking, what do I really want in a remote?  I’ve narrowed it down to:

• Easy to use
• Controls everything

That’s it, I’ve taken “looks cool” off the list.  I went in search of something that fits the bill and the Harmony 300i, a super simple remote looks to be the best fit and I’m a bit shocked about that, no touch screen nothing cool looking.  I’m getting a review unit in soon, so look out for a review.  It also got me thinking, what' else is new…does anyone have anything cool?

I really like the Amulet device and I can’t wait to get one of those in my hand too…I’m thinking given the above experience it might be too complex though but I’ll have to wait and see.

So what’s your remote, why do you like it and would you recommend it?

More coming soon.  By the way, I’ve done some playing with the iPad and it’s a great device and I think it’s a great forerunner for the tablet / slate space.

It’s nice to be listened to, it’s mega customer service and a great example of how to engage in this space.  Well done guys.

Mr Rogers, thank you.

I going to place my Logitech Harmony 1100 order now.

*ok I admit it I was kind of over the top.

.

The image on the left is a one box media center (notice the small m & c) that incorporates everything you need (one obvious exception) to enjoy your entertainment experience.  The one box incorporates the speaker, the TV, the media player – BluRay and all the wires and fuss.  That’s superb design.

Oh yeah and it turns into the picture below, and it can even store your CDs and DVDs in original format.

The only thing that would make this better is if it actually held a Media Center.

It’s from a collection by Boxetti that includes beds, offices and kitchens all collapsible to boxes.  Perfect if your a serious minimalist or live in a very small house or even a container.

The price tag is only Euro 5520 or about $7550 or £4989

So, has anyone developed something similar themselves?

[via Doornob]

In the case of the TV we've got both strategies. We actually have a TV implementation in some senses built into Windows. It works really well for small screen TVs that you might call a PC, but for that big screen device here's a piece of hardware that we build, there's no diversity. You get exactly the Xboxes that we build for you. We may have more form factors in the future that are designed for various price points and options, but we think it's going to important.

Now to say something about this.  It doesn’t matter folks.  He was addressing a question about strategy and placing things in boxes that most people understand and he’d just show off SkyTV on the Xbox.  Steve was demonstrating how far ahead of the pack they are with their TV strategy and with Media Center being a poster boy (yes the above quote does that) it’s not going anywhere any time soon.  It might change a bit, I dunno.

What I do know is that we have the best TV experience anywhere and I love Media Center.

(controversially I also think Steve B is doing a great job leading Microsoft’s leaders – this is the best Microsoft yet)

This folks is a good thing, for everyone, even developers and here’s why:

Developing for mobile is about developing for the use experience

If you think you’re developing something for another reason (other than money and for that see below) then you need your eyes tested!  The user experience for Windows Phone 7 is wildly different from Windows Mobile and different from other platforms.  No one is gonna want that cruddy app that you need a stylus for, no one wants to look at a UI developed in the 90’s that’s evolved like a snail. 

From experience, developing an application for mobile is about getting the user experience right, everything else is limited by what you can do with your finger and a small screen.  Of course it’s not at all limited because there’s such a rich sensor environment going on, but that requires some innovation and that requires stepping back and looking at the big picture.  In Windows Mobile there was a need to build things to a minimum spec and that spec was basically set back in the 90’s.

We have a new spec, a new UI and a new experience and

Customers want a congruent experience

Doesn’t it feel nice when stuff just works together?  We love it when stuff looks like Media Center when we launch it from there, when it behaves in the same, predictable way.  We get cool stuff that pushes us forward like Media Browser but at it’s core it’s still “on message” with the user experience of Media Center.  It’s the same with iPhone, buttons look similar between apps and everything looks nice.  Hey it’s the same with books, they look slightly different – that’s down the editor and designer and writer – but they have the same basic way of working.

Windows Mobile lost it.  Sense UI on a HD2 is lovely, really cool, until you drop back to Windows Mobile.  Then it feels disjointed.  This cannot be allowed with Windows Phone 7 Series or it’s bye bye.

Microsoft wants tons of developers

And it’s not doing anything to push them away, other than say, “go do it better” and that’s what customers want.  Microsoft has the best developer community on the planet!  They offer a true, multi-dimensional platform that covers everything you need using a set of core principles that transcends the tools, the language and by extension most barriers to entry into the platform.

Tons of developers = tons of ideas = tons of innovation = cool stuff!

Customers and Microsoft want innovation

I left Windows Mobile because the developers did – at least the ones that matter did.  All the cool stuff went to iPhone…it’s now beginning to go to Android.  They were new platforms.  The cool dev’s will be back because those other areas now have millions of apps and

Developers want to make money

Or they want fame, they want kudos, recognition something – I wanted eyeballs.  By operating in saturated markets (iPhone, Android soon) new developers don’t really get a look in…you need to start with a business plan and then an idea to make money there now.  Don’t get me wrong, people do still make it, but it’s hard.  For a while Windows Phone 7 Series apps will be easy pickings. 

Yes that will deliver some dross – wobbly boobies apps probably – but hey at least it’s using the accelerometer and who’s to say that the student who develops it won’t take it into an app at that makes your driving safer (idea there if someone wants to run with it).  The real question though is one that’s been bugging me for a while.

Who do you trust?

There have been cases of phishing apps in the Android market place.  Their open model isn’t working there.  Apple actually have this right, and it annoys developers massively.  They test everything, on an Apple device you can be 90% sure that the app will work and won’t do something naughty like steal your info.  On Windows Mobile right now you can’t.

I could, I won’t and I’ve not, right now write an application that would steal your stuff.  Do I need to access every nook and cranny on your phone to do it?  No.

Windows Phone 7 Series is all about the cloud, like Steve B said yesterday.  As a result your identity is in the cloud, all I need is to write an application that asks for your Facebook username and password, or your Twitter username and password, or something and then sends it back to me.  Simples.  On Windows Mobile anyone could just get it and install the CAB file.  They’d have to trust where they got it from, and frankly some are good and some are bad sources.

Trust is absent, it needs to come back.

Epilogue

So do you still think not being able to use TwitterMyFlicker on your Windows Phone 7 Series phone is a bad thing?  I don’t.  Giving developers a fresh start, a new competitive field where they can innovate and be damned is critical here.  Giving customers the best experience is critical to the developer experience and I’m gonna embrace this new challenge…when I find the time.

Big posts will be slow for a while, smaller ones and items should keep up, as will Twitter.

Frankly I want to try one now….

How to pair an Apple Wireless Keyboard with Windows 7

Firstly let me say, I’m usually a giant fan Logitech’s products they have superb build quality and excellent performance, I love my Harmony Remote and Squeezebox and the webcams are really well designed.  Second I never really post negative opinions but if I’m not writing about it there’s probably a reason.

This post is about something that goes against both of the above.

On the left is a survey screen that appeared on my PC today, I’ve just installed some Logitech software for video conferencing – which I won’t be talking about.  On the left is a very deceptive survey screen; I’ve highlighted why.

You see that red outline, it’s around a button that’s “active” i.e. you can click it but Logitech have taken the step of making the text gray to convince you to click “Take Survey”.  This is underhand it’s bad UI design and, Mr Glenn Rodgers, Director Customer Experience, I feel ashamed FOR YOU that you’re name is on this.

This is a bad customer experience.  It’s poor, unprincipled UI design designed to deceive the user, no designed to deceive your customer into giving you information.

[updated so that you can read the darn thing!]

http://simon-may.com/windows-7/windows-7-rc-has-15-days-left/

I’ve already got my RTM key ready to go, but don’t have time for a rebuild before the end of the month so you can follow here to see what happens….

-- Simon May

Essentially the tool allows you to reboot and then set the PC to go into hibernate immediately or go to sleep immediately after the reboot.  The result, a fast start up when you next come to your PC.  The best of both worlds.

It’s TV hell either, the lineup includes:

• The current series of 24 (and previous series)
• 30 Rock
• CSI (xyz)
• Chuck
• V

In fact there are lots and lots and lots of available shows, and the quality is pretty good.  The site requires flash, no shock there, an seems quite snappy.  I can’t find anything on the site that indicates that it’s not got agreements in place with content providers, but I do wonder if this will get geotarded soon.

[via Download Squad (who rock)]

It’s a very detailed solution and as you can see from the left it’s quite simple…no really it is quite simple.

I’d be interested if anyone’s doing this or has repurposed any other home wiring for the same kind of solution.

What does this mean for you, if you are running the RC.  Basically you need to backup and rebuild your PC running the RTM version.  There is no direct upgrade route, essentially this is the same process as if you are on XP moving to Windows 7.

[EDIT: a few people have contact me now about what's specifically going to happen, this article explains all...

But the skinny is:

Effective February 15, 2010, the expiration notification process begins:

• Windows 7 RC users receive an expiration notification in the task bar one time per day.
• Windows 7 RC users are presented with the Notification Wizard one time every four hours and then one time every hour.

Effective March 1, 2010, Windows 7 RC enters the next phase of expiration:

• Expiration notifications in the task bar continue.
• Computers that are running Windows 7 RC restart every two hours.

  Important When the computer restarts, your work will not be saved.

Effective June 1, 2010, Windows 7 RC expires:

• Windows starts to a black desktop.
• Windows 7 RC users are presented with a Windows Activation screen. The screen states that the Windows that you are running is not genuine.

]

So basically, it’s really annoying!

Use the Windows Easy Transfer to transfer all your stuff and make the process as pain free as you possibly can.  Just hit start and type “transfer” into the search box.  Back everything up to a USB key or hard disk and then on your shiny Windows 7 RTM install do the same, but select restore.

15 days and counting, almost 14 and a half now…

Computers that are running Windows 7 RC restart every two hours.

Yep, a world first, and in the UK the first ever 3D sports on TV and it’ll be between Arsenal and Manchester United in the Premier League this Sunday.  It’ll be available to anyone with a 3D TV (so no one then) and a bunch of pubs have been given some TVs to use for the show.  There’s one in Manchester for Ian to go to.

To support this landmark broadcast, the nine pubs – located in London, Manchester,  Cardiff, Edinburgh and Dublin – have been kitted out specially with some of the first ‘3D Ready’ TV sets to reach the UK and Ireland.   As 3D TVs become more widely available, Sky will roll out its 3D channel to hundreds of pubs from April, allowing football fans across the country the opportunity to experience a live Premier League match in 3D each week. 

And also interesting to read how they do it:

To make the 3D preview a reality, Sky Sports will produce two edits of its live coverage of Sunday’s game at the Emirates Stadium, one for its HD channel feed and another dedicated to 3D.  Eight specially engineered 3D camera rigs will house sixteen of Sky’s high definition cameras, to provide comprehensive stereoscopic coverage from all angles.  The 3D broadcast will be supported by Sky’s dedicated 3D production team and purpose built 3D outside broadcast truck, which will enable live mixing between camera positions, slow motion replays and the use of innovative 3D graphics. There will also be a dedicated commentary team to support the 3D edit.

This is gonna be very cool stuff folks this 3D lark.  Sky’s full consumer service launches in April, best get them 3DTVs on the market folks…

Full details in the press release

Yep, a world first, and in the UK the first ever 3D sports on TV and it’ll be between Arsenal and Manchester United in the Premier League this Sunday.  It’ll be available to anyone with a 3D TV (so no one then) and a bunch of pubs have been given some TVs to use for the show.  There’s one in Manchester for Ian to go to.

To support this landmark broadcast, the nine pubs – located in London, Manchester,  Cardiff, Edinburgh and Dublin - have been kitted out specially with some of the first ‘3D Ready’ TV sets to reach the UK and Ireland.   As 3D TVs become more widely available, Sky will roll out its 3D channel to hundreds of pubs from April, allowing football fans across the country the opportunity to experience a live Premier League match in 3D each week. 

And also interesting to read how they do it:

To make the 3D preview a reality, Sky Sports will produce two edits of its live coverage of Sunday’s game at the Emirates Stadium, one for its HD channel feed and another dedicated to 3D.  Eight specially engineered 3D camera rigs will house sixteen of Sky’s high definition cameras, to provide comprehensive stereoscopic coverage from all angles.  The 3D broadcast will be supported by Sky’s dedicated 3D production team and purpose built 3D outside broadcast truck, which will enable live mixing between camera positions, slow motion replays and the use of innovative 3D graphics. There will also be a dedicated commentary team to support the 3D edit.

This is gonna be very cool stuff folks this 3D lark.  Sky’s full consumer service launches in April, best get them 3DTVs on the market folks…

Full details in the press release

Above left is my Zune folder now.  Above right is the Previous version from 24th of Jan before I applied the update.  Does this hint at a European launch, with localised language folders (yes they include UI localisation files too!)

Anyone else doing that?

Head over to istartedsomething to watch the vid

Anyone else doing that?

Head over to istartedsomething to watch the vid

If you have Windows Update turned on the you’ll get it automatically.  If you don’t download it below and read all about it.

Microsoft Security Bulletin MS10-002 – Critical: Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer 978207.

Take my advice, turn on Windows Update.  Get Anti-Virus, Anti-Malware and Anti-Phising protections and LEARN enough about security and identity theft to be able to explain why it’s needed.  Just like you can explain why you need a lock on your house.  Also if you have an alternative browser installed then make sure that too is set to get automatic updates.

Just like Media Center it’s works brilliantly with the Media Center remote and it’s fully touch enabled.  Super cool.  Developer folks, this is what you can do.

Seesmic Look is designed to be far more consumer friendly than any other Twitter client.  I looks stunning and it focuses on getting Twitter content in front of your eyes.  You can get it here

–Simon May

Just like Media Center it’s works brilliantly with the Media Center remote and it’s fully touch enabled.  Super cool.  Developer folks, this is what you can do.

Seesmic Look is designed to be far more consumer friendly than any other Twitter client.  I looks stunning and it focuses on getting Twitter content in front of your eyes.  You can get it here

--Simon May

I wonder if we could see a Microsoft, cloud based Media Player or store?

As Brandon just reminded me, there is the Zune store which already is cloud based, yet another thing that Zune has over the iPod / iPhone…unless of course you don’t live in the US or Canada.  I’d love to see a Zune store API too though, I like APIs.

Anyway, a little off topic but lots of us need to use iTunes for those iPods and iPhones…Do you buy from iTunes, would you if it was easier? (I don’t unless I’m mobile and stuck for something to listen to)

--Simon May

• Hulu
• PlayOn
• Boxee
• SecondRunTV
• TunerFree
• TubeCore
• ZeeVee
• SkyPlayer

Wow, it’s impressive there are so many options…

Simon May

• Hulu
• PlayOn
• Boxee
• SecondRunTV
• TunerFree
• TubeCore
• ZeeVee
• SkyPlayer

Wow, it’s impressive there are so many options…

Simon May

Most of the time the vendor, Apple in the case of iPhone and iPod, run those stores but on some platforms like Windows Mobile you don’t have to go through the app store to install apps.  The same goes for “jail broken” iPhones.  There are also independent app stores, often more websites really that offer a wide range of free and paid for apps.  There are also open libraries that allow developers to just add their stuff.  Google’s Android platform, which powers the Nexus one, is a kind of cross between open library and App store.

Are any of these a better or worse model than any other.  I don’t think so, not until you bring trust into the scenario.

So who do you trust to give you great apps and what are you trusting them to do?

I guess most people want explicitly:

• Applications that work on their device

There’s probably something implicit though in the offering of any application by the devices manufacturer.  That it’ll be safe.  That the application you just installed won’t try to steal your data, your identity.

There’s long since been a battle with Apple and developers for not allowing in some applications for some very out there reasons.  I wonder how many times it was because the App was trying to steal your identity?  I wonder if any got through?  One did into the Android marketplace and that was a problem, it was an application that purported to be a banking app but it stole your bank details.  Bad.  Very bad.

Did people install it because it was in the app store and so they believed there was “implicit trust”.  I suspect so.

What can you do about it

At the moment the best thing to do is to crowd source that trust.  Reviews on sites build trust, use that to your advantage and only install applications with lots of positive reviews.

Alternatively do your homework.  Get educated.  Learn about the developer and determine for yourself if they seem like they are worthy of your trust.

Will this be sorted out?

Sure if you start telling people that trust is important.  Finally, it feels like there’s a business opportunity in there to me…

There are downsides, the OS isn’t something Media Center capable, it’s running Windows CE 6.0.  It’s hit me again though.  Custom installers.  This is a very viable home controller with the right app and the price for this could be right.

Head over to Liliputing.com for the video and more specs.

By Simon May

SkyDrive from Microsoft offers everyone 25gb of cloud storage for free, it’s the same space that’s used by Live Photo Gallery to create online photos and it’s exceptionally useful.

If you’re using the Office 2010 beta you’ll find that it’s super simple to publish directly to your SkyDrive and from there you can share with other people or just use it for your own storage.

Those without Office 2010 can also make use of the storage by “mapping a drive” to it, basically assigning a drive letter, just like a USB drive in cloud to it.  First off you’ll need to register if you’ve not then you can download software like Gladinet or SkyDrive explorer.

There’s a new kid on the block today though, Mike Plate has discovered how to connect to SkyDrive directly from Windows 7, no extra software required.  I’ve just tried it and it works a treat!

How to connect to SkyDrive with WebDAV – and my Office 2010 awakening – Mike Plate.

Also interesting is the positioning of interactive TV shows:

In November, Nielsen started to track “1 vs. 100” play and ad views. The pilot program “is the tip of the iceberg,” said Gerardo Guzman, a director for Nielsen Games; eventually, he hopes to generate TV-style ratings.

All in all, interesting stuff.

Just like IE there are security flaws in other browsers, spending less than 2 minutes Googleing (actually I Binged it) I found the graph from a 2006 article by Ars Technica, proving this is no new thing, to the left that shows a comparison of vulnerabilities, interesting hey?

What matters here is that you have a security infrastructure on your PC that works for you to protect you.  You want it to:

• Speak only when spoken to, unless it’s life threatening
• Adapt or at least keep itself up to date
• Protect your identity, i.e. stop you falling foul of phishing scams and the like
• Be light weight on your PC, you don’t want it getting in your way
• Tell you if you’re about to do something unsafe, just before you do it, but not stop you.  It’s your decision

Great software exists, some of it free from the likes of AVG, Microsoft, Norton and tons of others.  So go find some right now.

Here’s the big one though, the thing you need to do, especially if you’re a parent (actually even if your the child you can do this) get educated.  Let me say it again if you missed it.

GET EDUCATED ABOUT ONLINE THREATS

It’s the most adaptive technology out their, your brain.  By learning about online threats you’ll develop a “spider sense” for scams and won’t fall foul of them.  The software will help you too, so much so that it’s the one thing you need to have on every PC.

But get Educated.

Parents, you need to be talking with your kids about what they should and shouldn’t share online, where they should go and who with.

Kid’s, you can do the same with your parents.  You’ll love doing it.  Sit them down and tell them why they shouldn’t store their online banking password in their favourites.

This theme’s available in some parts of the world but if you’re addicted to Fido Dido’s (80’s much?) favorite drink then you might be up for this one. It’s actually a really nice theme presented in lime green.  I have to say the desktop to the left is my fave with the icy 7.

Get it here: Nothing but 7up Theme for Windows 7 | Windows 7 hacker

If you know of an organisation still using it, then make sure they get upgraded.

Even if you aren’t using IE6 as your default browser but it’s still there you need to upgrade it to stay secure.

I’m also moving my random mumblings to items.simon-may.com to keep the main blog focused on exploring technology, as always it’s the single source for all my syndicated content but no longer diluted with randomness.

Occasionally he blogs photo’s taken with his iPhone (the only real technology to explore) but very often he blogs great words of inspiration, such as his 23 point check list.  The reason I’m posting now is because I disagree with point 23:

Do one additional radical thing every month. Month 1: scrap the TV.

I think this should read:

Do one additional radical thing every month. Month 1: scrap the scheduled TV.

Using a DVR or connected TV like Windows Media Center you free yourself from the schedule and only watch the TV you enjoy, rather than blindly watching all the other dross.  I did this last year, and it’s made a difference.

So could this be the best PMP (personal media player) ever.  I think it could.

I can imagine being able to sync a whole bunch of media content to it (Mesh anyone?) and then be able to access everything on the go, or even using Internet Streaming from within Windows Media Player.  What’s more the screen size looks good enough to watch a movie on if you were in the back of the car (ala cheapo DVD player attached to the back of the drivers headrest) or on a plane.

I’m going to be keeping an eye on slate PCs for exactly that reason, rather than being great eBook readers, which the undoubtedly will be, they’ll be great portable media devices.  The key thing is going to be battery life here so we’ll have to see what other vendors put out in this space.

What do you think, do you see a slate becoming a great PMP?  Did anyone love the original Media Center PMPs? 

Here’s the teaser video:

So could this be the best PMP (personal media player) ever.  I think it could.

I can imagine being able to sync a whole bunch of media content to it (Mesh anyone?) and then be able to access everything on the go, or even using Internet Streaming from within Windows Media Player.  What’s more the screen size looks good enough to watch a movie on if you were in the back of the car (ala cheapo DVD player attached to the back of the drivers headrest) or on a plane.

I’m going to be keeping an eye on slate PCs for exactly that reason, rather than being great eBook readers, which the undoubtedly will be, they’ll be great portable media devices.  The key thing is going to be battery life here so we’ll have to see what other vendors put out in this space.

What do you think, do you see a slate becoming a great PMP?  Did anyone love the original Media Center PMPs? 

Here’s the teaser video:

Reg Hardware has the low down.

[via @databasejase]

Searching the Squeezebox forums I came across this thread which talks about a little bit of software called DSBridge.  The download details are in the thread but it’s really simple to install and it’s worked flawlessly for me for a couple of months.  Here’s what you do:

1. Download dsbridge. (it’s in the thread linked above)
2. Extract the dll file into my Spotify folder (c:\program files\spotify)
3. Get lame_enc.dll and also put it in the Spotify folder.
4. Restart Spotify – and start playing a track (I put the volume to zero in Spotify).
5. On my Boombox I connected to http://192.168.0.199:8124 (the IP of my computer) and VOILA – It plays music!

[taken from ted1001’s post]

Now you can open the stream anywhere on your network (or you can forward the port and stream over the internet if you want).  What happens here is DSBridge steals the output from the DirectSound API and streams it over HTTP, so the sound output stops from the machine running Spotify.  It is possible to have more than one output open the HTTP stream though…

It also streams the album art and song details to Squeezebox!

So there you have it, download and try.

Searching the Squeezebox forums I came across this thread which talks about a little bit of software called DSBridge.  The download details are in the thread but it’s really simple to install and it’s worked flawlessly for me for a couple of months.  Here’s what you do:

1. Download dsbridge. (it’s in the thread linked above)
2. Extract the dll file into my Spotify folder (c:\program files\spotify)
3. Get lame_enc.dll and also put it in the Spotify folder.
4. Restart Spotify - and start playing a track (I put the volume to zero in Spotify).
5. On my Boombox I connected to http://192.168.0.199:8124 (the IP of my computer) and VOILA - It plays music!

[taken from ted1001’s post]

Now you can open the stream anywhere on your network (or you can forward the port and stream over the internet if you want).  What happens here is DSBridge steals the output from the DirectSound API and streams it over HTTP, so the sound output stops from the machine running Spotify.  It is possible to have more than one output open the HTTP stream though…

TIP: It also streams the album art and song details to Squeezebox!

TIP: Also it works to do the same thing with iTunes (i.e. stream your library over HTTP)

So there you have it, download and try.