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• Why Vista Maximized Windows Are Black

  Posted by Robert McLaws to Robert McLaws: Windows Vista Edition on Oct 02 2008, 01:28 AM

  Filed under: Windows Vista

  Raymond Chen has the answer. This is a performance optimization. For a not much longer version, read his post .
  

  554 Views

• A Simple Find & Replace Exercise

  Posted by Robert McLaws to Robert McLaws: Windows Vista Edition on Sep 30 2008, 09:16 AM

  Read this article once for good measure. Then, replace every instance of the phrase “hive mind” with “Borg Collective”. Then replace every instance of the word “Google” with the word “Microsoft”. Then see if the general concept of the article seems familiar
  

  330 Views

• HP MediaSmart Updates

  Posted by Robert McLaws to Robert McLaws: Windows Vista Edition on Sep 26 2008, 03:00 PM

  Filed under: Windows Home Server, Media Center Extenders, HP

  Two newsworthy items in the world of HP MediaSmart Products. First, Ed Bott reports that upgrading your RAM on the HP MediaSmart Server is no longer a crime of warranty. What should be a crime is the fact that they packed the chassis tighter than my jeans
  

  398 Views

• Installing Windows Live Wave 3 Betas on Windows Server

  Posted by Robert McLaws to Robert McLaws: Windows Vista Edition on Sep 17 2008, 09:54 PM

  Filed under: Windows Live, Betas

  You know, sometimes I really don’t understand Microsoft’s decision-making process, especially on the Windows Live side of the house. The new Windows Live Wave 3 betas are out, and I went to install them today on my main laptop, which is running Windows
  

  1,623 Views

• Post-CEDIA, Deafening Silence on WMC TV Pack Speaks Volumes

  Posted by Robert McLaws to Robert McLaws: Windows Vista Edition on Sep 08 2008, 09:17 PM

  Filed under: Compatibility, Community, Digital Cable Tuners, Windows Media Center, Windows Vista SP1, WMC TV Pack 2008

  CEDIA has come and gone, and while Microsoft has put out a press release talking about all of the new Windows Media Center HTPCs coming out , I have not heard Word One about the WMC TV Pack . Not a feature list, nothing. But, since the last communication
  

  1,133 Views

• Zune Marketplace Coming To Xbox 360?

  Posted by Robert McLaws to Robert McLaws: Windows Vista Edition on Sep 08 2008, 06:32 PM

  Filed under: Zune, Xbox Live, Xbox 360, Zune Marketplace, New Xbox 360 Experience

  Rumor has it that Microsoft has bought 5 hours of airtime on G4TV on September 25th. According to Kombo , Microsoft will be announcing: Free DLC for Halo 3, and paid DLC for Mass Effect and GTAIV Six free Xbox Originals for download A partnership with
  

  857 Views

• Zune Finally Out-iPods the iPod

  Posted by Robert McLaws to Robert McLaws: Windows Vista Edition on Sep 08 2008, 03:48 PM

  Filed under: Zune, Zune Marketplace

  In a move that is unlikely to silence those who ignore Microsoft products until their third revision, the software giant will launch their third-generation Zune on Tuesday, Sept 16th. This release, available through new Zune models from 120GB down to
  

  781 Views

• NBC Dumps Silverlight for NFL Streaming? Hardly

  Posted by Robert McLaws to Robert McLaws: Windows Vista Edition on Sep 06 2008, 07:37 PM

  Filed under: Silverlight

  Today, Valleywag tried to string two separate events and some made-up facts together to spin the yarn that NBC was not happy with the performance of Silverlight on NBCOlympics.com, and dumped the technology for Flash for their new NFL streaming site.
  

  1,685 Views

• New Windows Ads: WTG or WTF?

  Posted by Robert McLaws to Robert McLaws: Windows Vista Edition on Sep 05 2008, 10:49 PM

  Filed under: Advertising, Windows Live, Windows Mobile, Windows

  So last night, Microsoft aired the first in a series of ads in that $300M campaign that you’ve heard so much about. Most of the web pundits out there are lambasting the ad, saying that it wasn’t going to sell Vista, or whatever. I had a lot to say about
  

  888 Views

• Windows Mobile to Get Application Marketplace

  Posted by Robert McLaws to Robert McLaws: Windows Vista Edition on Aug 31 2008, 05:28 PM

  Filed under: Windows Mobile

  The amazing Long Zheng has dug up yet another Microsoft Job offering that once again reveals much about Microsoft’s future direction . This time two job openings reveal that Microsoft will be releasing a sentralized application marketplace, a la Windows
  

  720 Views

• Sinofsky Breaks Silence With “Engineering Windows 7” Blog

  Posted by Robert McLaws to Robert McLaws: Windows Vista Edition on Aug 14 2008, 01:49 PM

  Much to my surprise, I woke up this morning with a personal e-mail from the Windows man himself, Steven Sinofsky , informing me about the “ Engineering Windows 7 ” blog that just launched. With PDC 2008 just a few months away, I’m excited to see the wheels
  

  1,346 Views

• New Releases: SQL 2008, .NET Framework 3.5 SP1, VS2008 SP1, and more!

  Posted by Robert McLaws to Robert McLaws: Windows Vista Edition on Aug 12 2008, 12:37 PM

  Filed under: Visual Studio, SQL 2008, Team Foundation Server, .NET 3.5 SP1, Developers

  Over the last few days, Microsoft has released a whole slew of new developer-related bits for the world to enjoy: Three months after its official “launch”, SQL Server 2008 is finally soup. You can find out more about it here . .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 has
  

  1,168 Views

• Upgrading a Virtual Machine from Virtual PC/Virtual Server to Hyper-V

  Posted by Robert McLaws to Robert McLaws: Windows Vista Edition on Aug 12 2008, 10:08 AM

  Filed under: Virtual Server, Virtual PC, Hyper-V

  Microsoft’s Eric Charran has a great tutorial for getting Integration Components to install if you get a Code 10 after moving a VM to Hyper-V. I’ve had to do this a few times now, and it’s been a big help. Thanks Eric!
  

  881 Views

• Followup to My Windows Media Center TV Pack Post

  Posted by Robert McLaws to Robert McLaws: Windows Vista Edition on Aug 11 2008, 01:36 PM

  I started working on the rant I posted last night almost two weeks ago, when Microsoft released the bits and made an internal announcement about distribution plans. Since then, lots of things have happened, so just so that I’m 100% clear, that post was
  

  1,570 Views

• WMC TV Pack: The Ultimate Windows Screwjob You Didn’t See Coming

  Posted by Robert McLaws to Robert McLaws: Windows Vista Edition on Aug 10 2008, 10:36 PM

  Filed under: Service Packs, Compatibility, Licensing, Digital Cable Tuners, Windows Media Center, Windows Vista SP1, Media Center Extenders, Ultimate Extras

  Introduction Before I go into this post, I have to explain my intentions. I respect NDAs very much, and I always have. I’ve built my career as a Microsoft commentator on acquiring as much access as possible, through playing by the “rules”
  

  5,915 Views

• Turn Your Home Server Into a Powerhouse

  Posted by Robert McLaws to Robert McLaws: Windows Vista Edition on Aug 06 2008, 02:54 PM

  Filed under: Windows Home Server, HP

  It’s no secret that HP’s MediaSmart Server, while sporting an impressive form factor, is seriously underpowered. Well, when I purchased one to replace my homebuilt WHS box last week, I decided that the stock system was not good enough. Thanks to Donavon
  

  999 Views

• You Can Be the Proud Owner of a Microsoft Surface

  Posted by Robert McLaws to Robert McLaws: Windows Vista Edition on Aug 06 2008, 02:28 PM

  Filed under: Surface Computing

  it appears that the Microsoft Surface train is ready to leave the station. Besides posting new “ Marketing Guidelines ” to the Microsoft Download Center, the Redmond behemoth has also posted the “ Microsoft Surface Order Form ”, and it appears that there
  

  1,073 Views

• Would You Put Your Digital Life in the Hands of a Cable Box?

  Posted by Robert McLaws to Robert McLaws: Windows Vista Edition on Aug 04 2008, 11:29 PM

  Filed under: CES, Digital Cable Tuners, Media Center, Windows Media Center, Windows Home Server, Media Center Extenders

  I came across not one, but two articles on MSNBC today about niche markets that Microsoft currently dominates that are becoming more mainstream. One is a well researched, if not slightly misguided piece on Home Theatre PCs (who needs a Core 2 Quad in
  

  1,078 Views

• Live Mesh: Not Quite Fully Open, Just More Accounts

  Posted by Robert McLaws to Robert McLaws: Windows Vista Edition on Jul 16 2008, 10:54 AM

  Filed under: Live Mesh

  A few Microsoft news outlets are reporting that Live Mesh is now open to everyone. While the original forums post lead people to believe this, it’s not true. Basically, the Live Mesh team doubled the number of maximum users for the Tech Beta, and removed
  

  1,493 Views

• Samsung i760 Finally Gets Windows Mobile 6.1 Update

  Posted by Robert McLaws to Robert McLaws: Windows Vista Edition on Jul 15 2008, 04:53 PM

  Filed under: Windows Mobile

  Yesterday, Samsung released their long-awaited Windows Mobile 6.1 update to the Verizon Wireless i760 smartphone. I had to move heaven and earth to get it installed on my phone, since Samsung, in their infinite wisdom, made the installer 32-bit only…
  

  2,085 Views