Microsoft Talk

"One of the coolest looking things in the new Windows Phone 7 "Mango" release (see all the coverage you can handle at WPCentral) is Microsoft's Bing Vision.  It's essentially a Google Goggles clone (great artists copy/borrow/steal and all that), but the UI is really cool.  Your search categories are visible while the camera is running, looking fancy and nice as a semi-transparent overlay while you're capturing the content you want to scan.  Of course, WP7's Metro UI and its typographic look is in full force here as well." - LANjackal

"After years of research, Microsoft hopes to provide a system that lets data communications weave through TV frequencies." - LANjackal

"Right-clicking on a file or folder brings up a context-sensitive menu, but sometimes that menu doesn't show all your options. Hold down the Shift key when you right-click to find hidden but useful commands like copying a file path or expanding the Send To options. We briefly mentioned the Shift + Right-click shortcut in our previous master list of Windows 7 shortcuts, but here's a closer look at all the neat tricks the Shift key turns up when combined with right-clicking in Windows Explorer or the Desktop." - LANjackal

"Microsoft Corp. struck a deal with San Francisco officials to provide an online e-mail system for the city's workforce, beating out competing products from Google Inc. and IBM Corp." - LANjackal

Google losing in its own backyard? LOL - LANjackal

Reference accounts often get sweet deals that aren't profitable for companies with real revenue producing customers to beat on price. At $43 per customer a year that's absurdly low for a hosted service. I'd be curious if there's money in other contracts, like the migration, support, upgrades, etc. - Todd Hoff

"The question now is whether or not you think social search really is the all-important future and holy grail of accurate search results. If it is, then Bing could have a leg up on Google in the form of around 600 million avidly "liking" and constantly connecting users - something Google isn't likely to see any time soon. After all, Microsoft just isn't angering the masses like it used to. It doesn't seem like that much of a stretch for Microsoft to bring in Twitter data. And besides, remember, Twitter is NOT a social network. Which network would you want in your attempts to provide social search - the not very social Twitter or Facebook, the site with its "like" button on more than 2.5 million websites worldwide? We'd put our money on Facebook." - LANjackal

"Microsoft researchers have developed a handheld device that gives physical-therapy patients a virtual view beneath the skin to see what an injury looks like inside. The hope is that this will make them a little more eager to keep doing their therapies." - LANjackal

"Microsoft will begin adding Facebook data to its Bing search results on Tuesday, including the ubiquitous "like," in another bid to differentiate from arch-rival Google." - LANjackal

"the biggest reason for Microsoft to buy Skype is Windows Phone 7 (Mobile OS) and Nokia. The software giant needs a competitive offering to Google Voice and Apple’s emerging communication platform, Facetime." - LANjackal

Um Skype works because of the good will of the user community that provides resources. Remember all the super node problems? Will people have that same good will for MS? What happens when MS makes changes they don't like? This is a bit inside baseball, but it would concern me unless I was willing to replaces all the computer power with my own, which they may do. - Todd Hoff

"Skype will support Microsoft devices like Xbox and Kinect, Windows Phone and a wide array of Windows devices, and Microsoft will connect Skype users with Lync, Outlook, Xbox Live and other communities. Microsoft will continue to invest in and support Skype clients on non-Microsoft platforms." - Jemm

http://twitter.com/ceoStep... :) - piikummitus

:) - Jemm

"The comparisons feature Samsung, HP, ASUS, Sony, Dell, Acer and Toshiba machines. Most of the machine comparisons feature the same or better configurations to their Mac counterparts. “Surf the web or surf Hawaii,” says Microsoft. “The choice is yours. When you a buy a PC this summer, you’ll have tons of cash left over to spend on other things.”" - LANjackal

"We developed an Accelerated Instant Replay (AIR) Conferencing system for videoconferencing that enables users to catch up on missed content while the meeting is ongoing" - LANjackal

"This time around we have Windows 8 features unlocker for you called Windows 8 BluePoison. It was developed to unlock hidden Windows Explorer and Task Manager improvements along with two Windows 8 native tools PDF reader and Webcam." - LANjackal

"Why is this such a big deal? Because mobile search and mapping are blowing up, and not just in terms of popularity. A recent Google survey showed that 77% of mobile users search and 95% hunt for local information. On top of that, 79% percent use their smartphone as a shopping companion, comparing prices and checking reviews. 82% of mobile users notice ads, and as many as 1 in 5 make a purchase as a result." - LANjackal

"The idea behind this option is to allow users to set an alternative location for Windows installation files. When setting an alternative location you have the ability to specify more than one location if so desired." - LANjackal

"The Windows Store logo is also hiding within the Windows 8 files, though it’s just a 24 by 24 pixel .PNG." - LANjackal

"Microsoft does not want to leave out those with hardware that is not up to spec for the new visual cues.  On this front, Aero Lite will be a new theme for Windows 8 that will encompass the new Meto design language. The image above shows off the new theme in more detail than previous images have shown." - LANjackal

"The renderings detail a stretched two-level structure with flowing curved glass walls and roof, resembling the sides of the Windows logo which also makes a grand appearance towering over the entire store." - LANjackal

"You need a single online ID and its password to log on to your computers that are running Windows 8. When you log on, you’ll get: Personalized settings for Windows Personalized experiences for your programs Automatic sign-in to your websites and programs Easy online password recovery if you forget it" - LANjackal

"Alex Reed, aka Xeraxic, has managed to unlock a feature in Windows 8 build 7955 that allows the user to use their desktop wallpaper as their lockscreen. Combined with the auto-wallpaper in Windows 8, users will hopefully have a unique lockscreen everytime they sit down at their computer." - LANjackal

Nice touch. We prefer stability improvements over this though. - AJ Batac

That was already possible in Windows XP with third-party software. - Morton Fox

"Recent builds of Windows 8 get better drag and drop support in Windows Explorer, which makes it then possible to drag and drop files to the breadcrumb navigation in the Explorer address bar. This way, it is super easy to move or copy files to another folder in the folder structure. All that it takes is to drag and drop the files to the folder name in the breadcrumb navigation." - LANjackal

"The feature, which appears to be only available for “Linked” Windows accounts (presumably to Windows Live), allows for users to “roam” to different computers and devices (*cough* Windows Phone) with their various settings and configurations, automagically applied. The range of settings for roaming include the desktop wallpaper, Aero glass color, accessibility options, language options, applications settings (probably only for AppX packaged apps), Windows settings and WiFi profiles and Windows-managed passwords." - LANjackal

"More evidence of Metro design and a possible Windows 8 Tablet OS version is available from this video uploaded by a Windows enthusiast." - LANjackal

"For all of its mind-blowing success, sales of Apple's computing products are still just a fraction of Microsoft's Windows 7 licenses. As you can see in the chart below, since Microsoft launched Windows 7, Apple has sold ~150 million iPhones, iPads, iPod Touches, and Macs. Microsoft, meanwhile, has sold ~350 million Windows 7 licenses." - LANjackal

Surprise? Uhm...I guess. - Rahsheen

"leaking Microsoft Confidential assets is a risky business. (Don’t be stupid.)" - LANjackal

"No prior version of Windows has supported multiple monitors so well and offered so many options. Read on as we show you how to set things up, use the native and third party tools, and get the kind of eye candy only multiple monitors can support." - LANjackal

"The modern task manager is also updated in this new leaked build. We now get to see nested entries and additional information in the header. We now get to see a more detailed CPU information such as the clock speed and up-time." - LANjackal

"History Vault is a new backup and restoration system that is using the Shadow Copy feature of Windows. It basically allows you to restore files from a specific date and time. The leaked screenshot shows a timeline that can be used to select backups from a specific date. Files or folders can then be selectively restored with the help of the History Vault." - LANjackal

"Windows 8 will for instance use recommended security, network and locale settings unless you select to customize those options. Most users on the other hand will probably go with the default settings which means that they won’t have to do lots of configuring during installation to install Windows 8. If you want, you can keep the default recommendations which would mean that you would only had to enter the Windows 8 product key and a name for the computer to complete the installation." - LANjackal

"Some of the next-gen Windows' next-gen functionality has been rumored to include presence settings whereby a computer will automatically lock the situation down when it notices you walk away from your desk." - LANjackal

"It seems too good to be true, but you can use the Office Web Apps with just about any version of Office, or none at all. And to add to the goodness, the Web Apps don't cost a dime.  Like peanut butter and jelly, though, the Office Web Apps are better with Office, in particular Office 2010, so you'll have a better experience when you combine the two." - LANjackal