Windows SideShow

Wouldn't it be great if you could read an e-mail message, confirm a meeting location, or check a flight reservation without turning on your computer? What if you could check the program guide in Windows Media Center by using a display that's built into your remote control? Windows SideShow puts this information literally at your fingertips on a wide variety of devices that can retrieve information from your mobile PC or desktop computer.

Windows SideShow is a new technology that delivers information from your PC to a secondary display on two kinds of devices: those that are integrated into a computer, such as a small color display in a laptop lid; and those that are separate from a computer, such as a remote control or mobile phone. With this additional display you can view important information whether your laptop is on, off, or in sleep mode. Windows SideShow is available in Windows Vista Home Premium, Windows Vista Business, Windows Vista Enterprise, and Windows Vista Ultimate.

Windows SideShow uses gadgets, convenient mini programs, to extend information from your computer to other devices. Gadgets can run on a Windows SideShow–compatible device and update that device with information from your computer. Using a gadget, you can view information from your computer regardless of whether your mobile PC is on, off, or in the sleep power state—which can save you both time and battery life.

Choose gadgets and customize settings in Control Panel

Windows Vista contains a central location in Control Panel called Windows SideShow where you can turn gadgets on or off for each of your devices.

From Control Panel, you can also set your computer to wake periodically (such as every hour) so that all gadgets that are turned on can update your devices with the latest information.

Windows SideShow–compatible devices can take many forms. Hardware manufacturers are already including secondary displays in their designs for mobile PCs and devices such as keyboards, mobile phones, and remote controls. The following are a few examples:

Integrated devices on computers. If your mobile PC has an integrated Windows SideShow–compatible device, you can view your Windows Mail inbox without so much as opening the lid or turning on the computer so you can quickly access your recent e-mail messages virtually whenever and wherever you want.

Mobile phones. With Windows SideShow, you can configure a compatible mobile phone to show you your contacts and calendar, the latest updates from your favorite websites, your favorite pictures, and other information.
Download the Windows SideShow for Windows Mobile developer preview and use your Windows Mobile device as a Bluetooth SideShow device. (Available for Windows Mobile 5 and 6 PocketPCs and Smartphones.)

Media remote control. While you watch TV with your family on Windows Media Center, you can find out what programs are showing next or schedule a recording for the next day. You can also browse through your Windows Media Center music collection from the display on the remote control without turning on the TV.

Bing - a new search engine from Microsoft

Microsoft has recently released a new search engine Bing, which has very nice features exactly like Google. Looks like Microsoft has the plans to overtake Google.

With Bing™, you don't have to leave what you're doing and open another browser window. Your search experience just got better, whether you're searching from MSN®, Windows® Internet Explorer® 8, Messenger, Windows Live™ Hotmail®, or many of your other favorite places online. It's a new search experience that lets you find what you're looking for right from where you are.

www.bing.com

Microsoft windows live essentials

Hello... Microsoft has released Windows live essentials to enrich the user experience and provide a better option to share documents. Essentials include below softwares

1. Messenger
2. Mail
3. Writer
4. Photo Gallery
5. Movie Maker beta
6. Family Safety
7. Toolbar
8. Microsoft Office Outlook® Connector
9. Office Live Add-in
10.Microsoft Silverlight

1. Messenger
Windows Live Messenger makes it easier than ever to stay connected to the people you care about.
Favorites and groups - Put the people you chat with most at the top of your contacts, so you easily see when they’re online. Want to chat with several people in one window? Just set up a group.
Customize - Show off your personal style with custom scenes, animated display pictures, and signature sounds.
Share photos - Look at photos together, right in the conversation window. And Messenger tells you when people you know post new photos on Windows Live.

2. Mail
Everything in one place - Get multiple e-mail accounts in one program – Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo!* and more. And now Windows Live Mail has a calendar, too. Mail combines the ease of use of Outlook Express, with the speed of Windows Live.

3. Writer
Blog your heart out - Writer makes it easy to share your photos and videos on almost any blog service—Windows Live, Wordpress, Blogger, LiveJournal, TypePad, and many more.

4. Photo gallery
From your camera to the web - With Photo Gallery, it's a snap to get your photos and videos from your camera to your PC. Find your favorite photos and share them with friends and family. Make your great photos look even better, and create impressive panoramic photos too.

5. Movie maker
Ready, set, action! - Create movies from your pictures and video clips, and share them with your friends and family.

6. Family safety
Help keep your kids safer online - With Family Safety, you decide how your kids experience the Internet. You can limit searches, block or allow websites, decide who your kids can communicate with when they’re using Windows Live Messenger, Hotmail, or Spaces and monitor what websites they're visiting.

7. Toolbar
Stay connected to Windows Live - With Windows Live Toolbar, you always have quick access to Windows Live and Live Search, no matter where you are on the web.

8. Microsoft Office Outlook® Connector
Manage all your email accounts with ease - Outlook Connector provides a free solution for managing your Windows Live Hotmail e-mail and contacts from within Outlook. With the new release of the Outlook Connector, you can connect your Windows Live Hotmail account in Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 or Outlook 2003 free of charge.

9. Office Live Add-in - Store and Share Documents Online Free
Use your Workspace to:
* Access and share files from anywhere
* Save thousands of Microsoft Office documents in one online place
* Open and save files from familiar programs like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint

10. Microsoft Silverlight
Silverlight powers rich application experiences wherever the Web works.

Download the essentials from Microsoft @ http://download.live.com/messenger

Windows Vista service pack 2 released

Service pack: A service pack is a Windows update that combines new security and performance updates with previously released updates. Installing a service pack helps make sure you've got all the updates your PC needs to help make it more reliable, run more smoothly, and even more enjoyable to use. Think of it as a free all-in-one tune up for your PC.

There are two service packs for Windows Vista. Service Pack 1 (SP1) was released in April 2008, and might already be installed on your PC (to find out, click on the Start button and enter "winver" in the search box). Service Pack 2 (SP2), available in May 2009, contains all the updates Microsoft have released since SP1 plus support for new types of hardware and emerging hardware standards. You should install both Service Packs, and you need to install SP1 before SP2.

An experimental new operating system Windows 7

A brand new operating system, named Windows 7, from Microsoft came out. An official candidate release is available and ready to download from Microsoft web.

I've downloaded and installed on my laptop. It is pretty cool. Amazing new feature are included as part of Windows 7.

Features:

• Improved taskbar and full-screen previews
  

  The taskbar at the bottom of your screen is what you use to launch programs and switch between them when they're open. In Windows 7 you can pin any program to the taskbar so it’s always just a click away, and you can rearrange the icons on the taskbar just by clicking and dragging. We’ve made the icons considerably bigger, too, so they’re easier to use. Hover over the icons and you’ll see thumbnails of every file or window that open in that program, and if you hover over the thumbnail, you’ll see a full-screen preview of that window. Move the cursor off the thumbnail and the full-screen preview disappears.



• Jump Lists

  With Windows 7, we focused on keeping the things you use most right in front of you. One example: The new Jump List feature. It's a handy way to quickly reach the files you've been working with. To see the files you've used recently, just right click on the icon on your taskbar. So right-clicking on the Word icon will show your most recent Word documents. Plus, if there are other files you want to keep handy, you can just pin them to the Jump List so they’ll always appear. That way, the documents you’re likely to want are just a couple clicks away.
  
  Some programs, such as Windows Media Player, can pre-populate their Jump Lists with common tasks. For example, on the Jump List for Windows Media Player, you’ll see options to Play All Music or resume your last playlist. On the Jump List for Internet Explorer, you’ll see frequently and recently viewed websites. With some programs, you’ll even have quick access to tasks that, in the past, were only available from within the program, such as composing a new e-mail message.

  
  


• Desktop enhancements

  Windows 7 simplifies how you work with the windows on your desktop. You'll have more intuitive ways to open, close, resize, and arrange them.
  
  With Windows 7, it’s easier to do things you do all of the time. For example, before, when you wanted to compare two open windows, you had to manually resize your open windows to show them side by side. With Snaps, you can simply grab a window and pull it to either side edge of the screen to fill half the screen. Snap windows to both sides, and it’s easier than ever to compare those windows.
  
  Another thing you may want to do is quickly see your gadgets or grab a file from your desktop. To see your desktop just move your mouse to the lower right corner of your desktop. That'll make all the open Windows transparent—so your desktop is immediately visible. Want to get all but one window out of your way? Grab the top of that window, shake it and all the other open windows will minimize to the taskbar. Shake the window again, and they’ll all come back.

  
  


• Windows Search

  Looking for something on your PC? What’s your first instinct? If you use the web a lot, you probably start by looking around for a search box. Now, you can find things on your computer the same way. Introduced with Windows Vista, Windows Search helps you find virtually anything on your PC quickly and easily. Windows 7 also makes search results more relevant and easier to understand.
  
  Looking for a file, e-mail, or application? While you can easily look through folders and menus, there’s an even faster way. Just click on the Start button and you’ll see a search box at the bottom of the Start menu. Just enter a word or few letters in the name or file you want, and you’ll get an organized list of results.
  
  Windows 7 uses libraries to show all content of a particular type in one spot. Say you’ve got photos in several locations on your PC. A lot will be in your Photos folder. But you might have some in documents folders too. Your photos library makes it easy for you to browse and use all your photos, no matter where they are on your PC.
  
  By collecting things into a single view, libraries make it simpler to find what you’re looking for. They’re even more powerful with Windows Search. You can search your Libraries using filters to customize your search. For example, when you’re looking for music you can search by album. Or search for photos by the date they were taken. You can go to your Documents Library, click on authors, and see all the documents on your computer sorted by author name.



• Internet Explorer 8
  

  Available now, Internet Explorer 8 helps you do what you want online, faster. With innovations to the address bar, search, tabs, and the Favorites bar, Internet Explorer 8 brings you more information, with less effort.
  
  Instant Search
  To start, as you type a search request you'll immediately start seeing relevant suggestions from your chosen search provider, complete with images when available. The twist: search will also use your browsing history to narrow the suggestions. If you see what you're looking for, you can go right to the list without finishing the request.



• Better device management

  
  One of the great things about PCs is how they let us use such a wide array of devices. In the past, you had to use several different screens to manage different types of devices. But With Windows 7, you'll use a single Devices and Printers screen to connect, manage, and use whatever printers, phones, and other devices you have on-hand.



• HomeGroup

  Today, you may have a network in your home that you use to share an internet connection. But it can be hard to share other things, like files and printers. Do you have one or more computers in your home but only one printer? If you’re like most people, when you need to print a file that’s on your laptop in your bedroom on the printer in your den, you probably e-mail the file from one PC to another or transfer it on a USB drive. And if you need to find a file but don’t know which computer it’s stored on, chances are you’re in for a long night as you traipse from PC to PC and search each one.
  
  HomeGroup, a new feature in Windows 7, makes connecting the computers in your home a painless process. HomeGroup is set up automatically when you add the first PC running Windows 7 to your home network. Adding more PCs running Windows 7 to the HomeGroup is an easy process. You can specify exactly what you want to share from each PC with all the PCs in the HomeGroup. Then, sharing files across the various PCs in your home—and many other devices—is as easy as if all your data were on a single hard drive. So you can store digital photos on a computer in your den and easily access them from a laptop anywhere in your home. Similarly, once in a HomeGroup, the printer in your den is shared automatically with all of the PCs in your home.
  



• View Available Network (VAN)

  Windows 7 makes viewing and connecting to all of your networks simple and consistent. You'll always have one-click access to available networks, regardless of whether those networks are based on Wi-Fi, mobile broadband, dial-up, or your corporate VPN.