Surface! A new computing experience on Windows 7.
Touch is quickly becoming a common way of directly interacting with software and devices. Touch-enabled surfaces are popping up everywhere including laptop touch pads, cell phones, remote controls, GPS devices, and more.
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Source: Windows Vista Team blog
Tags: Multi-touch, Windows 7, Surface, Microsoft

Video: Multi-Touch in Windows 7

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DiscountASP.NET Named Best Hosting Service by asp.netPRO Readers for Fourth Consecutive Year
ASP.NET hosting and SQL hosting leader, DiscountASP.NET announces receiving the “Best Hosting Service” award in asp.netPRO Magazine’s 2008 Readers’ Choice poll, making it the fourth consecutive year to win this prestigious title.
Pasadena, CA (PRWEB) April 30, 2008 — ASP.NET hosting and SQL hosting [...]

03/05/2008 SQL Server Data Services designed to give users storage, query capabilities without having to build infrastructure
Microsoft Wednesday added SQL Server Data Services to its freshly introduced lineup of online infrastructure services for corporate users and said it is registering users now for the beta.
Ray Ozzie, Microsoft’s chief software architect, disclosed the new service [...]

The release of Service Pack 3 for Windows XP is just a week away. XP users will get access to the SP3 on April 29, via Microsoft Update, Windows Update and the Download Center Web site. By June 10, Microsoft will force the update on all XP users through Windows’ Automatic Update.
Windows XP SP3 [...]

[InfoWorld]
In the latest death knell for Outlook Express, Microsoft announced Thursday that it will turn off access to its Web-based Hotmail service from the desktop e-mail software at the end of June.
Outlook Express users who want to continue to access their Hotmail accounts offline after June 30 are being encouraged by Microsoft to download its [...]

DENVER (Billboard) - Microsoft’s introduction of three new Zune media players, combined with an updated version of the Zune digital music service, suggests that the relatively lackluster response to the initial Zune offering has not fazed the computing giant from advancing its digital music agenda.
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Source: Reuters
Tags: Zune, Microsoft, Zune media player, digital [...]

Windows XP SP3
Following our coverage of the Windows XP SP3 beta leak almost a month ago in August, here’s some more info on the official beta, which just had its first authorized distributable released earlier today. Say hello to Windows XP SP3, build 3205!
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Source: The NeoSmart Files
Tags: XP SP3, Microsoft, Windows, OS, XP

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SEATTLE (Reuters) - Seeking to narrow the gap with Google, Microsoft Corp unveiled a retooled Web search service that aims to deliver more relevant results and combines text, video and other information onto a single page.
Microsoft, the world’s largest software maker, said Windows Live search is now on an even technology footing with offerings [...]

“Effortlessly move web widgets, games and videos out of your browser and onto your desktop.”
Mesa Dynamics has announced the release of Amnesty Hypercube, a desktop platform for web widgets.
Amnesty Hypercube allows users to collect, manage, share and publish “web widgets”. Amnesty Hypercube is available for both Windows (XP/Vista) and Mac.
Tags: web widgets, share widgets

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XP and Vista installs marked as counterfeit - UPDATED
UPDATE, 2:10pm PST: Looks like MSFT has fixed the immediate problem with WGA, for now: Link. But the product is still, as they say, defective by design. (Thanks, Marius)
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BB reader David McBride says,
DRM bites again: the Microsoft [...]

What are PowerToys?
PowerToys add fun and functionality to the Windows experience. What are they? PowerToys are additional programs that developers work on after a product has been released.
Note: We take great care to ensure that PowerToys work as they should, but they are not part of Windows and are not supported by Microsoft. For [...]

Todd Bishop’s Microsoft Blog
Microsoft’s August security patches, released today, provide a new chance to assess the company’s promise of higher security in Windows Vista. The company released six critical security bulletins, and Windows Vista is among the versions affected by three of them.
Two of the critical bulletins involve earlier Windows versions, but not Windows Vista, [...]