November 2006 - Posts

  • Jim Allchin Responds to the Bloggers

    Posted by Dena to A Windows Mobile Life For Me on Nov 10 2006, 04:07 PM

    Jim has just posted a response to all those bloggers and "media" who have posted that Jim said that people didn't need anti-virus software.  May this be a lesson to all:  get your facts straight before posting!

     Go here to read his post.

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  • The Sounds of Windows Vista

    Posted by Dena to A Windows Mobile Life For Me on Nov 09 2006, 07:19 PM

    Jim Allchin has just written up a wonderful blog post about the new sounds in the RTM of Windows Vista.  What I thought was important to note was that the Aero user interface is actually an acronym for "Authentic, Energetic, Reflective and Open".  Jim goes on to say this:

    “It was our goal for the sounds to be just noticeable enough that if they weren’t there you would miss them, but they’re subtle enough that they don’t get in your way.  Just like the visual cues of the new Start button, the audio cues of the new sounds are "rounded" and "translucent."  The default sound scheme in Windows Vista is intentionally much gentler and softer than in previous versions.”

    P.S. -- here are a few interesting facts about the new Windows Vista Start-up sound.

    The Windows Vista Startup sound:

    • is made of dual ascending 'glassy' melodies played on top of a gentle fading Fripp 'AERO' Soundscape
    • has two parallel melodies played in an intentional "Win-dows Vis-ta" rhythm
    • consists of 4 chords, one for each color in the Windows flag
    • is  ~4 seconds long, end-to-end
    • is a collaboration between contributors Robert Fripp (primary melody + Soundscape), Tucker Martine (rhythm) and Steve Ball (harmony and final orchestration)
    • would never have been possible without the great work of Microsoft's Steve Ball and his team.  There’s an interview with Steve airing tomorrow morning (November 10, 2006) on NPR radio (we’ll post a link when it's available), if you’d like to hear more about these new sounds and the process of generating them.

    Read the entire blog post by Jim Allchin here.

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    3,213 Views

  • Windows Starter Edition

    Posted by Dena to A Windows Mobile Life For Me on Nov 09 2006, 03:39 PM

    Not alot of people seem to care about Windows Starter Edition, mainly because it doens't effect their market.  But for the millions of PC users who live in underdeveloped countries around the globe, Starter is the perfect example of the manufactorers making the person's needs met.  Don't be fooled by the people who have reviewed it and determined it is worthless; these people are high power users who arent' what Starter is targeted for at all.  To date, Starter is available in 25 languages and sold with new PC's in 139 countries. 

    With Vista RTM just a day behind us, I thought I'd give this often looked-over product a space on this blog.  Here's to many more lives being touched by still having the vision of a PC in every home.

    Windows Starter in Argentina

    Windows Starter in Brazil

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    5,520 Views

  • November 30th - Business Launch Day in New York!

    Posted by Dena to A Windows Mobile Life For Me on Nov 01 2006, 03:35 PM

    While not quite as exciting as the mass availability launch for Windows Vista, the business launch day is set for Novemeber 30th in New York City.  The event will be the launch for both Vista and Office 2007.

    Continue at Source

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