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Microsoft announces expansions to Zune and confirms Zune HD

Posted by :thechristianwriter On : June 5, 2009
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Category: Creative Commercials, Graphical Designing, Graphical Imaging, Tech News

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Microsoft announced last May 26 that Zune, their music and entertainment brand known to provide the ultimate digital entertainment experience, will be expanding their entertainment and music service to new markets and to a completely new platform.
Beginning this fall, Zune will be extending their video service to Xbox LIVE internationally. Simply by tying up with Xbox, the Zune brand is suddenly able to reach more than 17 million Xbox LIVE subscribers across the globe.

Asides from the collaboration between Zune and Xbox, Microsoft also announced that their launching of Zune HD to the United States this fall, the next generation of their popular portable music player.

According to Microsoft, Zune HD will be the first portable media player to have touchscreen, an HD radio receiver, HD Video out, Wi-Fi, and an Internet browser all in one gadget.
Zune HD, which Microsoft describes as “portable perfection”, is the next member of the Zune family, and aims to bring a person’s listening and viewing experience to an entirely different level.

Zune HD’s screen will be 3.3 inches and have a 16:9 OLED display, which will result in a brilliant 480×272 resolution in a widescreen format, giving Zune HD users the premium viewing experience, anywhere and at anytime.

The media player’s HD radio allows users to listen to their favorite radio stations with extremely clear reception. The HD Radio Receiver also enables users to tune into a number of HD Radio stations, at no extra cost.

Zune HD’s Video Out features will support 720p HD videos, television shows, and movies, allowing you to stock up on your favorite videos and take them with you.
This portable media player also allows users to connect to the Internet easily from Wi-Fi hot spots with Zune HD’s browser. The Internet browser allows you to visit your favorite websites using tap-to-zoom technology, as well as a touchscreen QWERTY keyboard.

Microsoft releases its latest gadget: the Zune HD

Posted by :thechristianwriter On : June 1, 2009
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Category: Tech News

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Microsoft and Apple have been duking it out for years. Microsoft holds the title for pioneering the operating system through its MS-DOS, but Apple quickly developed the Mac and with it, the MAC OS X operating system. Whatever Microsoft had, Apple seemed to imitate with brilliant results. Apple matched iTunes with the Windows Media Player. They also developed Safari, a web browser much like the Internet Explorer. Apple continued to innovate products that put Microsoft to shame, and when Apple released its iPod on 2001, it seemed that Microsoft has been reduced to its operating system and its Office.

Microsoft regained its footing when they developed the Zune 30, a portable media player that had Wi-Fi and a 30GB capacity, a far cry from the first iPod, a simple contraption with a 5GB capacity. But Apple unveiled its masterpiece – the iPhone, Time Magazine’s Invention of the Year in 2007. They also released the iTouch, a touch-screen media player that looked like the iPhone, which even shared some of its fantastic features.

But now, Microsoft will release its newest product that will topple all of Apple’s gadgets. The Zune HD, Microsoft’s answer to the iTouch will be released on September 5, 2009. Like the iTouch, the player will be touch-screen, but better. It’s HD. You can watch videos in dazzling detail which you can stream to HDTVs. Its FM radio is even HD, meaning you can listen to the radio in crystal-clear reception for free. The radio gets better: you can tag songs for future reference.

With its 3.3-inch screen and vivid 16:9 OLED display (480×272 resolution), it is expected to cause a stir at Apple headquarters. Microsoft definitely paid attention – the model is slim, sleek, and sophisticated. Its capacity has yet to be confirmed, but rumors range from 16 to 32GB.

Like its previous Zune models, the Zune HD has access to Internet Explorer Mobile 6 through its Wi-Fi connectivity. Browsing has never been easier with tap-to-zoom technology, built in accelerometer, and touch-screen QWERTY keyboard. The user can browse the net or download music through the Zune Marketplace. Another unique feature is The Social, an online community that connects Zune users.

Microsoft is slowly catching up with the Apple empire with its Zune products. Although the company has said they have no plans of making a ZunePhone, Microsoft said that they want to offer its services to phones.

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The Most Annoying Vista Problems and How to Solve Them

Posted by :thechristianwriter On : May 17, 2009
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Category: Creative Commercials, Tech News

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Windows Vista by all means is a great operating system. Every operating system has its quirks though. Microsoft Updates has smoothened most of these quirks. Nonetheless, a few wrinkles still exist which irritate most Vista users. Thankfully, these problems usually just need a little tweak to remove. Here’s a compilation of the most annoying Vista problems and how to solve them:

The UAC (User Account Control) security prompt pops up for the most basic changes. The frequency of UAC (not to mention needlessness) popping up can get pretty irritating. UAC can easily be disabled but think this through if less experienced computer users are messing with your computer. UAC can be turned off by opening the Control Panel, clicking User Accounts and Family Safety. Disable Use user Account Control and click OK.

The “shut down” icon doesn’t shut down Vista. The shut down icon that most users are accustomed to in other systems doesn’t mean shut down in the Vista start menu. Instead, this icon puts the PC to sleep. The icon’s function can be changed though. Open up the command prompt and open the advanced power settings. A Power button lid will appear. Click “+” and change Sleep into Shut Down.

Vista keeps waking up even in sleep mode. Windows Vista’s Sleep function is a big energy-saver. Sometimes, Vista suddenly wakes up unnecessarily and on other occasions, doesn’t wake up even when prompted. To fix the latter problem, open Device Manager and open the properties of the device that Sleep mode is unresponsive to. Under “Power Management”, allow the selected to device to wake up the computer.

Vista’s clicking sounds can get too loud. Clicking links in Explorer creates a clicking sound. When the volume is turned up, this clicking sound can get irritating. The clicking sound can easily be taken care of. Select sounds after right-clicking the speaker icon in the Taskbar. Scroll down the list displayed until you see Start Navigation. Drop-down the Sounds Menu, and click None.

Vista tells you to restart your PC after it installs updates. When busy at work, this notification can get pretty bothersome as it reminds you every five minutes. To totally eliminate the notification, just type “cmd” into Start Search and hold Ctrl + Shift Down then press enter. Type net stop “windows update” and disable the notification altogether.

Office 2010 Sneak Peek

Posted by :thechristianwriter On : May 16, 2009
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Microsoft Office 2010’s official demo is still due to come out this July but users were given a sneak peek when Microsoft showed some Office Apps in an effort to showboat Windows 7. Here’s a review on Microsoft Office 2010 based on what viewers saw so far.

Office 2010 looks far different from Office 2010. The Office 2007 ribbon is still there but this time styled the Windows 7 way. The circular Office icon that replaced the “File” menu in older versions has been replaced by buttons that differ in each app (blue buttons for Word, green buttons for Excel, red buttons for Powerpoint and so on). These buttons are much easier to spot and more user-friendly. Window menus which disappeared in Office 2007 are back. Office 2010’s interface has returned to a more standard Windows user interface.

Microsoft Outlook experienced the most changes. Outlook is now equipped with its own custom jumplist. Its taskbar function is also now much more versatile. Just right-click on the Outlook icon on the taskbar and you find shortcuts to create a new email, appointment, task, contact, or open the inbox, tasks window or calendar. Outlook can also alert you if you’ve received new messages even if you haven’t placed Outlook in the notification area. A drag-and-drop function also makes attachments much easier.

The new QuickSteps function in Outlook also makes using the application much easier. The common tasks are all a click away in this toolbar. An option also exists where you can customize QuickSteps with the tasks you find most useful.

OutLook Web Access will also now have all features integrated in Firefox and Safari (for Mac Users). In Office 2007, only a “lite version” which had limited features was available.

The other apps received minimal changes. Some new icons have been added in Microsoft Word. Excel now has an icon for text orientation and that’s pretty much it.

Of course, Microsoft still has a couple of months to add changes to the other applications.

Optimizing Windows 7

Posted by :thechristianwriter On : May 15, 2009
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Category: Tech News

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Windows 7 is perhaps the most powerful and feature-loaded operating system to date. However, default settings aren’t always the best settings. A few tweaks here and there are needed to get Windows 7 running to the best of its abilities. Here are a few optimization tips:
The world’s a dangerous place for a Windows 7 user to be living in. Stay protected by getting quality anti-virus on your system. The best free anti-virus software would probably be AVG Anti-Virus but F-Secure Internet Security and McAfee Total Protection are other virus protection software worth a try.
Change Windows 7 taskbar settings. The Windows 7 taskbar can be confusing especially if you’re new to it. Settings can be reverted to the more classical look. Right-click the taskbar, choose Properties and from the “Taskbar buttons list,” select “Combine when taskbar is full.” Opting to “use small icons” can save screen space.
Customize Explorer. Explorer’s default settings are rather questionable. The default navigation lists only a few folders and drives which results in faster loading, but slower navigation. Select a folder option that’s comfortable for you to work with. If the Vista navigation is what you want, select “Automatically expand to current folder” and “Show all folders.” It’s also handy to show file extensions and hidden files since Explorer doesn’t in default.
Increase power plan settings. Windows 7’s default power plan is set to “balanced” which sacrifices performances to save energy. When you’re using a desktop or your laptop’s plugged, trying to save energy may seem pretty pointless. Head to the Control Panel and choose Hardware and Sound. Power Options will be displayed and pick “High Performance.” Plan settings can also be customized to meet your needs.
Use old software. Windows 7 is pretty compatible with old software but occasional problems do arise. Install Microsoft XP Mode, a virtual version of XP for a Windows 7 desktop that allows you to run older problematic software smoothly. Your hardware specs need to be up-to-date to run this though.
Ready yourself for disaster. Windows 7 may seem like a huge improvement from Vista, but it’s too early to tell if there may be serious errors in the system. Play safe and create a system repair disc to backup your files. The system repair disc boots for you when you’re encountering problems booting.