Se7en Tech

Windows 10 Technical Preview2 Build 10074 can be downloaded right now from the official links

noreply@blogger.com (Heri Gunawan) — Thu, 30 Apr 2015 21:13:00 -0700

Microsoft has finally released the Windows 10 Technical Preview 2 Build 10074 and it can be downloaded right now from the official links.

The Windows 10 Technical Preview 2 Build 10074 part of the Windows Insider Program which will let you get latest updates right after they are launched. You will be signed up automatically for the Windows Insider Program once you start the Windows Technical Preview download.
The Windows 10 Technical Preview 2 Build 10074 can now be downloaded officially from the links below.

Windows 10 Insider Preview (x86) - Build 10074 : Download Windows 10 Technical Preview x86 EN-US (2.77 GB)

Windows 10 Insider Preview (x64) - Build 10074 : Download Windows 10 Technical Preview x64 EN-US (3.78 GB)

You will need the following installation key to install all Windows Technical Preview2 Build 10074 versions:
Product key: 6P99N-YF42M-TPGBG-9VMJP-YKHCF

Important :

Remember, trying out an early build like this can be risky. That's why we recommend that you don't install the preview on your primary home or business PC. Unexpected PC crashes could damage or even delete your files, so you should back up everything.
If you want to stop using Windows Technical Preview and return to your previous version of Windows, you'll need to reinstall your previous version from the recovery or installation media that came with your PC—typically a DVD. If you don't have recovery media, you might be able to create a USB recovery drive.
After you install Windows Technical Preview, you won’t be able to use the recovery partition on your PC to go back to your previous version of Windows.

Windows 10 Technical Preview Build 10041 now available

noreply@blogger.com (Heri Gunawan) — Wed, 18 Mar 2015 12:27:00 -0700

Hi everyone,

I’m happy to announce we’re rolling out Build 10041 for PCs to the Fast ring. Like all of the previous preview builds this one comes with a collection of new functionality and bug fixes. The build will only be available through Windows Update for systems already running a previous Windows 10 build. We still intend to release ISOs for builds that go to the Slow ring, but Fast ring builds will be direct downloads only.

We’re working hard to bring you a new build of Windows 10 for phones as well but we need a bit more time for that one, and we still expect to support additional phones when we release it.

We are continuing to learn and evolve the Windows Insider program as we go, and your feedback is helping us to shape the program as well as Windows 10 itself. Over the past couple of weeks we heard feedback from you that some wanted less frequent but more stable builds, while others preferred faster builds even if they had more bugs. Last week, I published a blog post that explained in more detail our approach to flighting new builds to Windows Insiders, and since then we’ve been doing work internally to be able to push builds to the Fast ring more frequently. This might sound easy, but we actually had to change many tools and processes to make it happen. 10041 was built on Friday, and you’re getting it less than 48hrs after the majority of our engineers in the Operating Systems Group receive it.

For those of you in the Fast ring we do expect to deliver builds with newer features and fixes more often, but you’ll also see more bugs with fewer workarounds. I also don’t want to set expectations that you’ll see new builds daily or weekly. We will still have regular periods where we’re integrating new code that needs to spend time stabilizing, so we’ll have some weeks where we expect builds to flow out (we call them “flighting windows”) and some where we’ll hold back.

If you’re in the Fast ring today and want to switch back to the Slow ring on your PC – go to Settings > Update & recovery > Advanced options:

If you choose to go to the Slow ring, you will still receive new builds, but they will arrive less frequently and will typically have fewer bugs, more workarounds, and will have spent some time being used by Insiders in the Fast ring to find issues.

Here is what’s new for PC

Improving the Start experience: In 9926 we introduced the XAML based Start experience, and we’ve continued to make improvements since then. Start now has transparency, and we’ve addressed issues with the All Apps list like making the All Apps button easier to use with touch. Dragging and dropping apps from All Apps or your most used apps list to pin them to Start was a top request, and this has been added.

Improvements to Virtual Desktops: We’ve addressed your #1 feature request for Virtual Desktops from Insiders – you can now drag a window to a Virtual Desktop! Previously, you had to right-click and use a context menu. You can also drag a window to the “+” icon to both create a Virtual Desktop and move the window to it in single step. We also now support a filtered taskbar. This means that only the running windows in a particular Virtual Desktop will show in the taskbar. This allows you to better organize what you are working on. We are doing some A/B testing for this where there will be different defaults for different users to help us decide what default to use based on feedback from Insiders. We also added a filtered Alt+Tab so you only see the windows on the given Virtual Desktop.

Cortana is expanding into new markets on the desktop: Cortana now also works on the desktop in China, the UK, France, Italy, Germany, and Spain – in addition to the U.S. For you in these new markets, look for her to help you find the things you need and proactively bring you information that you care about. Currently, Cortana will help you search for apps, settings, and files as well as search the web. Cortana learns your preferences and provides smarter recommendations over time. Cortana is still fairly new to the desktop but we are continuing to fix bugs and add new capabilities all the time.

New network fly-out from the taskbar: We’ve heard a lot of feedback on this and have introduced a network fly-out from the taskbar when you click on the network icon for quick access to your network settings. You’ll be able to easily connect to wireless networks from this fly-out. We have more work to do here as the UX isn’t complete just yet.

Enhancements to the Photos app: The updated Live Tile for the Photos app will now include your photos on OneDrive in the recent photo rotation where previously you would only see local photos. We’ve made lots of performance and reliability improvements across the entire app. You will see added support for RAW format files, which should be up to date with new major cameras. If you find a RAW file that doesn’t show up correctly in the Photos app, let us know what camera model it’s from using the Feedback app. We’ve also implemented our first set of keyboard shortcuts for the Photos app – try using the tab, arrow keys and page up/down with the Photos app open. In coming weeks we’ll be adding keyboard shortcuts for popular actions/workflows. If you have one you really count on – let us know via the Feedback app.

New Text Input Canvas: We’ve introduced an updated experience for handwriting panel recognition optimized for short text entry. Auto displayed on tap in edit control with pen, positioned near the edit control, provides recognition candidates, suggestions and next word predictions.

Experimenting with the Lock screen: We often hear feedback around the learning curve when it comes to a big new release. To make things easier, we’re experimenting with the Lock screen as a place to share some “did you knows” as well as tips and tricks to help people learn Windows 10. Some of you may have noticed the Lock screen lighting up with beautiful imagery and a “Welcome to the Windows Insider Program” message with the previous build we released back in January (9926). Between now and our final release, we’ll be rolling out more of these – first in the U.S. and France. In other countries, for now you will continue to see rotations of beautiful imagery. Your Lock screen may look different than your fellow Windows Insider’s lock screen, as we rotate through a variety of different content. Send us feedback through the Windows Feedback app and let us know what you think about this. And of course you can still change your Lock screen background to any photo of your choice.

Improvements to the Windows Insider Program

We’ve made some improvements to the Windows Feedback app and Insider Hub app based on feedback from Windows Insiders.

The Windows Feedback app now has the ability to filter your feedback as well as suggestions versus problems. “Me too” functionality shows up in search results so you can quickly add your “Me too” to items from directly from the search results view. We’ve also made performance improvements around launching the app, category download, search results, and submitting feedback.

For the Insider Hub, we’ve updated the “Your Progress” page to track how many missions you’ve completed, how often you’ve responded to requests for feedback, how much feedback you’ve submitted, and the number of up-votes your feedback has received. We’ll be continuing to deliver news, new missions, alerts, and other content (including opportunities to win prizes!) through the Insider Hub that won’t necessarily be blog posts or tweets from me, so keep checking there for new information.

Some top issues fixed in this build

In 9926 there were several issues which prevented Start from launching, these should all be fixed.
Search box now works if you have taskbar on the top/side of your screen.
After installing the last build (9926), you saw a boot selection menu when you rebooted your PC. We’ve fixed this and you should no longer see the boot selection menu – unless you’re intentionally dual-booting.
We received feedback that people were seeing persistent grey thumbnails in the Collection view in the Photos app on Build 9926. We think we’ve worked through all these issues, so definitely let us know if you find a case where one still crops up.

Here are some known issues for this build

Some people might hit an issue where the username and password boxes do not appear or don’t accept input when logging in, which will prevent them from logging in. Possible workarounds include clicking the “Switch User” button, using Ctrl+Alt+Del, or pressing the power button on your PC to sleep/resume and try again.
It is possible to manually lock your PC during the initial out-of-box experience. If you do this, you will have to hard reboot your PC and restart the OOBE experience. (So don’t lock your PC during OOBE
There are several accessibility issues in this build, which may make it difficult to use with Narrator or 3^rd party screen readers. Additionally there is an issue where using a Lens after enabling Magnifier may cause the screen to be unusable.
Some apps in the Store Beta will fail to install or update due to a licensing issue.
In this build, the Mail, Calendar, and People apps may be broken due to a licensing issue with the Store Beta. To get these apps working again, you need to follow these steps:
- Open powershell as administrator
- Run the command Get-appxprovisionedpackage –online | where-object {$_.packagename –like “*windowscommunicationsapps*”} | remove-appxprovisionedpackage –online
- Re-install Mail, People and Calendar from the Store (green tile)
You might notice a chess knight icon on your Lock screen to the right of the screen. This was added by the Lock screen team so they could tell via screenshots if someone was using the new Lock screen or the old one, and will eventually be removed in a future build.
Font sizes on the Lock screen on devices with high DPI can be really large.
We currently have the Tablet Mode notification turned off by default to address some of the issues we’ve been seeing. The notifications can be turned back on via Settings.
The touch keyboard doesn’t show up on login screen which prevents you from unlocking your PC when Narrator is on.
Some people might see frequent prompts to restart to install updates, even though no updates need a restart. This prompt can be ignored safely.

It has been really fun and exciting for us at Microsoft to work with you and hear your feedback as part of the Windows Insider Program so far. We will continue to listen to your feedback about the program and evolve over time, and we sincerely hope that it’s something for which you’ll feel proud to participate.

As always, THANK YOU for all of your effort and great feedback so far.

Best Regards,
g

By Gabe Aul

From : http://blogs.windows.com/

Windows 10 Launching This Summer in 190 Countries and 111 Languages

noreply@blogger.com (Heri Gunawan) — Wed, 18 Mar 2015 12:09:00 -0700

Today at the renewed Windows Hardware Engineering Community (WinHEC) summit in Shenzhen, China, I had the honor of speaking about Windows 10 and the innovation and opportunity it offers our valued partners. China is a global epicenter for innovation and we’re excited to be working with the area’s leading hardware and software companies to develop ground-breaking devices and consumer experiences that will help shape the future of Windows 10.

We continue to make great development progress and shared today that Windows 10 will be available this summer in 190 countries and 111 languages. Windows has always been global with more than 1.5 billion users around the world and here in China hundreds of millions of PCs operate Windows today. That’s why it was particularly fun to show our latest global innovation, Windows Hello, on stage for the first time, and to feature a number of Windows 10 customizations for the China market, such as Cortana in Mandarin.

Upgrading Millions of Customers with Lenovo, Tencent and Qihu 360

On January 21, I shared our commitment to offer a free upgrade to Windows 10 for hundreds of millions of customers running Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8.1 for the first year after it is released.

A key way we will make the upgrade experience to Windows 10 easy is through strong partnerships with technology leaders. Today, we shared new partnerships with several world-leading companies to deliver a seamless Windows 10 upgrade experience to our customers in China. Strategic partnerships with Lenovo, Tencent and Qihu 360 will help Windows 10 reach hundreds of millions of customers in China and spur adoption of Windows 10 worldwide.

Lenovo, one of the world’s leading PC manufacturers, announced they will offer Windows 10 upgrade services at 2,500 service centers and select retail stores in China when the Windows 10 upgrade is available. This will help customers quickly and easily upgrade their new or existing Windows devices to Windows 10. Lenovo also announced their commitment to build Windows phones, to be available in mid-year 2015 via China Mobile.
Tencent, the leading social networking and gaming services company in China, announced it will offer Windows 10 as a free upgrade to its customers on Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 in China, and include QQ, Tencent Video and Tencent PC Manager in the Windows 10 free upgrade pack. Tencent will create a Windows 10 universal app for their flagship QQ app, which has over 800 million customers in China, and bring their most popular PC games, such as “League of Legends,” “Cross Fire” and “Dungeon & Fighter” to Windows 10 and the new Windows store.

Qihu 360, a leading internet security company in China, announced it will bring Windows 10 for free to their customers in China through seamless upgrades. Qihu 360, with over 500 million customers on Windows PCs, will enable the Windows 10 upgrade with just a few clicks with accelerated download speeds.
Through a new program with Xiaomi, one of the top smartphone distributors in the world, a select group of Xiaomi Mi 4 power users will be invited to help test Windows 10 and contribute to its future release later this year. These power users will have the opportunity to download the Windows 10 Technical Preview – installing it and providing their feedback to Microsoft.

Hardware Innovations Enabled by Windows 10

One of the predominant goals of WinHEC is to showcase opportunities Windows 10 presents to hardware and device manufacturers. Windows Hello is one of the new innovations that I was excited to show onstage for the first time.

Windows Hello* will make Windows 10 more personal by providing instant access to your devices through biometric authentication – using your face, iris or fingerprint to unlock your devices – with technology that is significantly safer than traditional passwords. We’re working closely with our hardware partners to deliver Windows Hello-capable devices that will ship with Windows 10. We are thrilled that all OEM systems incorporating the Intel RealSense F200 sensor will fully support Windows Hello, including automatic sign-in to Windows. You can read more about Windows Hello here.

Today, we also shared how Windows 10 will support today’s maker boards, enabling makers to do amazing things with Windows in the fast-growing Internet of Things space.

For the first time, a new version of Windows for small footprint IoT devices will be available – for free – when Windows 10 launches. Windows 10 will offer versions of Windows for a diverse set of IoT devices, ranging from powerful devices like ATMs and ultrasound machines, to resource constrained devices like gateways. Through key partnerships with the Raspberry Pi Foundation, Intel, Qualcomm and others, we will provide great options for commercial devices builders, hobbyists and students.

We also introduced the Qualcomm DragonBoard 410C to the Windows 10 device family. The Qualcomm DragonBoard 410C is the first Windows 10 developer board with integrated Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS, and a smartphone-class Snapdragon 410 chipset.

Windows 10 is the only platform that supports innovation across such a broad family of hardware and we are committed to investing in the success of our partners and supporting their development activities.

I can’t wait to see how amazing companies around the world will continue to innovate with devices running Windows 10. Working together I know we can create some incredible experiences with Windows 10 that will truly delight our customers.

* Windows Hello requires specialized hardware, including fingerprint reader, illuminated IR sensor or other biometric sensors.

By Terry Myerson

From : http://blogs.windows.com

Making Windows 10 More Personal and More Secure with Windows Hello

noreply@blogger.com (Heri Gunawan) — Tue, 17 Mar 2015 09:31:00 -0700

When we started building Windows 10, the team spent a lot of time and energy thinking about how to make computing more personal. We want your devices to recognize you, to understand what you’re saying… we want the experience to go wherever you do and we want you to feel a great sense of TRUST as you go. We talked a bunch about these ideas on January 21, and today we’ve got another cool new “personal computing” feature to announce for Windows 10.

I’d like to introduce you to Windows Hello – biometric authentication which can provide instant access to your Windows 10 devices.* With Windows Hello, you’ll be able to just show your face, or touch your finger, to new devices running Windows 10 and be immediately recognized. And not only is Windows Hello more convenient than typing a password—it’s more secure! Our system enables you to authenticate applications, enterprise content, and even certain online experiences without a password being stored on your device or in a network server at all.

So how does it all work?

Windows Hello introduces system support for biometric authentication – using your face, iris, or fingerprint to unlock your devices – with technology that is much safer than traditional passwords. You– uniquely you– plus your device are the keys to your Windows experience, apps, data and even websites and services – not a random assortment of letters and numbers that are easily forgotten, hacked, or written down and pinned to a bulletin board. Modern sensors recognize your unique personal characteristics to sign-you-in on a supporting Windows 10 device.

Which devices, you ask? Well, there will be plenty of exciting new Windows 10 devices to choose from which will support Windows Hello. And, if your device already has a fingerprint reader, you’ll be able to use Windows Hello to unlock that device. For facial or iris detection, Windows Hello uses a combination of special hardware and software to accurately verify it is you – not a picture of you or someone trying to impersonate you. The cameras use infrared technology to identify your face or iris and can recognize you in a variety of lighting conditions.

Of course, convenience and simplicity should never sacrifice security and privacy. Windows Hello offers enterprise-grade security that will meet the requirements of organizations with some of the strictest requirements and regulations. It’s a solution that government, defense, financial, health care and other related organizations will use to enhance their overall security, with a simple experience designed to delight.

Making Windows 10 More Personal and More Secure with Windows Hello

Authenticating Applications, Enterprise Content and Online Experiences – Without Passwords

Today, passwords are the primary method most of us use to protect our personal information, but they are inconvenient and insecure. They are easily hackable and even when complex they are not effective, but most of us want something easy to remember, so we either choose a simple password or end up noting it down somewhere making it less secure. And, to be truly secure, you need to remember dozens of passwords to login to your many devices and services.

You may have seen recent press coverage about a single group collecting 1.2 billion user names and passwords from websites they hacked. This creates lousy odds in the hacker roulette for all of us – there are only about 2 billion people online today!

“Passport” is a code name for a programming system that IT managers, software developers and website authors can use to provide a more secure way of letting you sign-in to their sites or apps. Instead of using a shared or shareable secret like a password, Windows 10 helps to securely authenticate to applications, websites and networks on your behalf—without sending up a password. Thus, there is no shared password stored on their servers for a hacker to potentially compromise.

Windows 10 will ask you to verify that you have possession of your device before it authenticates on your behalf, with a PIN or Windows Hello on devices with biometric sensors. Once authenticated with “Passport”, you will be able to instantly access a growing set of websites and services across a range of industries – favorite commerce sites, email and social networking services, financial institutions, business networks and more.

“Passport” also will work with thousands of enterprise Azure Active Directory services at launch, and Microsoft has joined the FIDO alliance to support replacing passwords with a growing set of financial, consumer, and other security services over time. Windows 10 will also have industry-leading security and identity protection for enterprises, so they can deploy new Windows 10 devices with hardware necessary to use Windows Hello, enabling enterprise-grade protection of the device and more secure password-free authentication to enterprise line of business applications.

Using Windows Hello and “Passport” is your choice and you control whether to opt-in to use it. We understand how critical it is to protect your biometric data from theft, and for this reason your ‘biometric signature’ is secured locally on the device and shared with no one but you. It is only used to unlock your device and “Passport”, it is never used to authenticate you over the network.

We’re working closely with our hardware partners to deliver Windows Hello capable devices that will ship with Windows 10 and we are excited to announce that all OEM systems incorporating the Intel® RealSense™ 3D Camera (F200) will support the facial and iris unlock features of Windows Hello, including automatic sign-in to Windows, and support to unlock “Passport” without the need for a PIN.

We’re really excited about taking another step with Windows 10 to make computing more personal, and more secure, with Windows Hello and “Passport”.

*Windows Hello requires specialized hardware, including fingerprint reader, illuminated IR sensor or other biometric sensors.

By Joe Belfiore

from : http://blogs.windows.com

Memex: A search engine more powerful than Google

noreply@blogger.com (Heri Gunawan) — Thu, 19 Feb 2015 22:57:00 -0800

A tool called Memex, developed by the US military’s research and development arm, is a search engine on steroids. PHOTO: DEFENSE ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS AGENCY

In the run-up to Super Bowl XLIX, a team of social workers in Glendale, Arizona spent two weeks combing through local classified ads sites. They were looking for listings posted by sex traffickers.

Criminal networks that exploit women often advertise on local sites around events that draw large numbers of transient visitors. “It’s like a flood,” said Dominique Roe-Sepowitz, who headed the Glendale effort.

Dr Roe-Sepowitz is director of the Office of Sex Trafficking Intervention Research at Arizona State University. She has worked for five years with authorities in Houston, Las Vegas and Phoenix to find and hunt down traffickers.

More from Elizabeth Dwoskin - The Wall Street Journal

In the past, she painstakingly copied and pasted suspicious URLs into a document and looked for patterns that suggested a trafficking ring. This year, she analysed criminal networks using visual displays from a powerful data-mining tool, one whose capabilities hint at the future of investigations into online criminal networks.

The program, a tool called Memex developed by the US military’s research and development arm, is a search engine on steroids. Rather than endless pages of web links, it returns sophisticated infographics that represent the relationships between web pages, including many that a Google search would miss.

For instance, searching the name and phone number that appear in a suspicious ad would result in a diagram that showed separate constellations of dots, representing links to ads that contain the name, the phone number, or both. Such results could suggest a ring in which the same phone number was associated with different women. Clicking on a dot can reveal the physical location of the device that posted the ad and the time it was posted. Another click, and it shows a map of the locations from which the ads were posted. Capabilities like this make it possible to identify criminal networks and understand their operations in powerful new ways.

No place to hide

Unlike a Google search, Memex can search not only for text but also for images and latitude/longitude coordinates encoded in photos. It can decipher numbers that are part of an image, including handwritten numbers in a photo, a technique traffickers often use to mask their contact information. It also recognises photo backgrounds independently of their subjects, so it can identify pictures of different women that share the same backdrop, such as a hotel room—a tell-tale sign of sex trafficking, experts say.

Also unlike Google, it can look into, and spot relationships among, not only run-of-the-mill web pages but online databases such as those offered by government agencies and within online forums (the so-called deep web) and networks like Tor, whose server addresses are obscured (the so-called dark web).

Since its release a year ago, Memex has had notable successes in sex-trafficking investigations. New York County District Attorney Cyrus Vance said Memex has generated leads in 20 investigations and has been used in eight trials prosecuted by the county’s sex-trafficking division. In a case last June, Mr Vance said, Memex’s ability to search the posting times of ads that had been taken down helped in a case that resulted in the sentencing of a trafficker to 50 years to life in prison.

The DARPA connection

The creator of Memex is Christopher White, a Harvard-trained electrical engineer who runs big-data projects for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or Darpa. The Defense Department’s center of forward-looking research and development, Darpa put between $US10 million and $US20 million into building Memex. (The precise amount isn’t disclosed.) Although the tool can be used in any web-based investigation, Dr. White started with the sex trade because the Defense Department believed its proceeds finance other illegal activities.

Memex is part of a wave of software tools that visualize and organize the rising tide of online information. Unlike many other tools, though, it is free of charge for those who want to download, distribute and modify. Dr White said he wanted Memex to be free “because taxpayers are paying for it.” Federal agencies have more money to spend, but local law-enforcement agencies often can’t afford the most sophisticated tools, even as more criminal activity moves online.

Among tools used by law-enforcement agencies, Memex would compete with software from Giant Oak, Decision Lens and Centrifuge Systems. The leader in the field is Palantir Technologies, whose software costs $UAS10 million to $US100 million per installation and draws from the user’s proprietary databases rather than from the Web. Palantir didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.

Advertisements posted by sex traffickers amount to between $US90,000 and $US500,000 daily in total revenue to a variety of outlets, according to Darpa.

Dr White recently hired several economists to perform a large-scale study of the sex market and its finances, using Memex data along with other industry research.

Mine first, ask privacy questions later?

Memex and similar tools raise serious questions about privacy. Marc Rotenberg, president and executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center in Washington, D.C., said, that when law-enforcement authorities start using powerful data-mining software, “the question that moves in the background is how much of this is actually lawful.” Data-visualisation tools like Memex enable enforcers to combine vast amounts of public and private information, but the implications haven’t been fully examined, he said.

Dr White said he drew a “bright line” around online privacy, designing Memex to index only publicly available information. In anonymous networks like Tor, which hosts many sex ads, Memex finds only the public pages. But since the tool isn't technically controlled by Darpa, independent developers could add capabilities that would make it more invasive, he acknowledged.

Another big question is whether sex traffickers and other malefactors will thwart Memex by changing their tactics. For example, they might blur out photo backgrounds if they knew law enforcement officials were searching for them. For this reason, law-enforcement users will withhold some of the proprietary data they developed while using Memex. “We want it to be free,” said Dr White. “But there’s always this tension between knowing what people are doing…and alerting them to that fact so they change their behaviour.”

Dr White is starting to test other uses for Memex with law enforcement and government partners, he said, including recognizing connections between shell companies, following the chains of recruitment for foreign fighters drawn to the terrorist group ISIS, mapping the spread of epidemics, and following ads for labour and goods to understand supply chains involved in money laundering.

By Elizabeth Dwoskin - The Wall Street Journal

Windows 10 Technical Preview can be downloaded right now from the official links

noreply@blogger.com (Heri Gunawan) — Wed, 1 Oct 2014 13:11:00 -0700

Microsoft has finally released the Windows 10 Technical Preview and it can be downloaded right now from the official links.

The Windows 10 Technical Preview part of the Windows Insider Program which will let you get latest updates right after they are launched. You will be signed up automatically for the Windows Insider Program once you start the Windows Technical Preview download.

The Windows 10 Technical Preview can now be downloaded officially from the links below.

Download Windows 10 Technical Preview x86 EN-US (3.18GB)
Download Windows 10 Technical Preview x64 EN-US (4.10GB)

You will need the following installation key to install all Windows Technical Preview versions:
NKJFK-GPHP7-G8C3J-P6JXR-HQRJR

Important :

Remember, trying out an early build like this can be risky. That's why we recommend that you don't install the preview on your primary home or business PC. Unexpected PC crashes could damage or even delete your files, so you should back up everything.
If you want to stop using Windows Technical Preview and return to your previous version of Windows, you'll need to reinstall your previous version from the recovery or installation media that came with your PC—typically a DVD. If you don't have recovery media, you might be able to create a USB recovery drive.
After you install Windows Technical Preview, you won’t be able to use the recovery partition on your PC to go back to your previous version of Windows.

Steve Ballmer email to employees on new CEO

noreply@blogger.com (Heri Gunawan) — Tue, 4 Feb 2014 07:11:00 -0800

From: Steve Ballmer
To: All Employees
Date: Feb. 4, 2014
Subject: Satya Nadella - Microsoft’s New CEO

Today is an incredibly exciting day as we announce Satya Nadella as the new CEO of Microsoft. Satya will be a great CEO, and I am pumped for the future of Microsoft. You can read the full announcement here.

Satya is a proven leader. He’s got strong technical skills and great business insights. He has a remarkable ability to see what's going on in the market, to sense opportunity, and to really understand how we come together at Microsoft to execute against those opportunities in a collaborative way. I have worked closely with Satya for many years and I have seen these skills many times. He is not alone, though. Our Senior Leadership Team has never been stronger, and together this group will drive us forward.

Microsoft is one of the great companies in the world. I love this company. I love the bigness and boldness of what we do. I love the way we partner with other companies to come together to change the world. I love the breadth and the diversity of all of the customers we empower, from students in the classroom to consumers to small businesses to governments to the largest enterprises.

Above all, I love the spirit of this place, the passion, and the perseverance, which has been the cornerstone of our culture from the very beginning.

Stay focused and keep moving forward. I am excited about what we will do. Satya’s appointment confirms that.

Thanks for making Microsoft the most amazing place to work on the planet, and thanks for the chance to lead.

Steve

Satya Nadella email to employees on first day as CEO

noreply@blogger.com (Heri Gunawan) — Tue, 4 Feb 2014 06:57:00 -0800

From: Satya Nadella
To: All Employees
Date: Feb. 4, 2014
Subject: RE: Satya Nadella – Microsoft’s New CEO

Today is a very humbling day for me. It reminds me of my very first day at Microsoft, 22 years ago. Like you, I had a choice about where to come to work. I came here because I believed Microsoft was the best company in the world. I saw then how clearly we empower people to do magical things with our creations and ultimately make the world a better place. I knew there was no better company to join if I wanted to make a difference. This is the very same inspiration that continues to drive me today.

It is an incredible honor for me to lead and serve this great company of ours. Steve and Bill have taken it from an idea to one of the greatest and most universally admired companies in the world. I’ve been fortunate to work closely with both Bill and Steve in my different roles at Microsoft, and as I step in as CEO, I’ve asked Bill to devote additional time to the company, focused on technology and products. I’m also looking forward to working with John Thompson as our new Chairman of the Board.

While we have seen great success, we are hungry to do more. Our industry does not respect tradition — it only respects innovation. This is a critical time for the industry and for Microsoft. Make no mistake, we are headed for greater places — as technology evolves and we evolve with and ahead of it. Our job is to ensure that Microsoft thrives in a mobile and cloud-first world.

As we start a new phase of our journey together, I wanted to share some background on myself and what inspires and motivates me.

Who am I?

I am 46. I’ve been married for 22 years and we have 3 kids. And like anyone else, a lot of what I do and how I think has been shaped by my family and my overall life experiences. Many who know me say I am also defined by my curiosity and thirst for learning. I buy more books than I can finish. I sign up for more online courses than I can complete. I fundamentally believe that if you are not learning new things, you stop doing great and useful things. So family, curiosity and hunger for knowledge all define me.

Why am I here?

I am here for the same reason I think most people join Microsoft — to change the world through technology that empowers people to do amazing things. I know it can sound hyperbolic — and yet it’s true. We have done it, we’re doing it today, and we are the team that will do it again.

I believe over the next decade computing will become even more ubiquitous and intelligence will become ambient. The coevolution of software and new hardware form factors will intermediate and digitize — many of the things we do and experience in business, life and our world. This will be made possible by an ever-growing network of connected devices, incredible computing capacity from the cloud, insights from big data, and intelligence from machine learning.

This is a software-powered world.

It will better connect us to our friends and families and help us see, express, and share our world in ways never before possible. It will enable businesses to engage customers in more meaningful ways.

I am here because we have unparalleled capability to make an impact.

Why are we here?

In our early history, our mission was about the PC on every desk and home, a goal we have mostly achieved in the developed world. Today we’re focused on a broader range of devices. While the deal is not yet complete, we will welcome to our family Nokia devices and services and the new mobile capabilities they bring us.

As we look forward, we must zero in on what Microsoft can uniquely contribute to the world. The opportunity ahead will require us to reimagine a lot of what we have done in the past for a mobile and cloud-first world, and do new things.

We are the only ones who can harness the power of software and deliver it through devices and services that truly empower every individual and every organization. We are the only company with history and continued focus in building platforms and ecosystems that create broad opportunity.

Qi Lu captured it well in a recent meeting when he said that Microsoft uniquely empowers people to "do more." This doesn’t mean that we need to do more things, but that the work we do empowers the world to do more of what they care about — get stuff done, have fun, communicate and accomplish great things. This is the core of who we are, and driving this core value in all that we do — be it the cloud or device experiences — is why we are here.

What do we do next?

To paraphrase a quote from Oscar Wilde — we need to believe in the impossible and remove the improbable.

This starts with clarity of purpose and sense of mission that will lead us to imagine the impossible and deliver it. We need to prioritize innovation that is centered on our core value of empowering users and organizations to “do more.” We have picked a set of high-value activities as part of our One Microsoft strategy. And with every service and device launch going forward we need to bring more innovation to bear around these scenarios.

Next, every one of us needs to do our best work, lead and help drive cultural change. We sometimes underestimate what we each can do to make things happen and overestimate what others need to do to move us forward. We must change this.

Finally, I truly believe that each of us must find meaning in our work. The best work happens when you know that it's not just work, but something that will improve other people's lives. This is the opportunity that drives each of us at this company.

Many companies aspire to change the world. But very few have all the elements required: talent, resources, and perseverance. Microsoft has proven that it has all three in abundance. And as the new CEO, I can’t ask for a better foundation.

Let’s build on this foundation together.

Satya

It's Time for Microsoft to Make the Right CEO Choice

noreply@blogger.com (Heri Gunawan) — Mon, 3 Feb 2014 08:54:00 -0800

Satya Nadella should be selected as Microsoft's third CEO

If Microsoft does announce as expected that it has selected Satya Nadella as its next CEO after a six month search, the decision will trigger delight and despair in different circles. But the presumed ascension of Mr. Nadella has less to do with him being an internal candidate than it does with him being able to effectively navigate the complex internal structure and politics of a company that, frankly, was already transforming itself when Steve Ballmer announced his intention to step down.

Last week, Bloomberg, Reuters, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal all independently cited sources close to Microsoft's decision making process in reporting that Mr. Nadella was close to being named as the firm's next CEO. Not unexpectedly, this news set off some emotional responses.

To Microsoft insiders, Nadella is an excellent choice. A 22-year veteran of the software giant, Mr. Nadella has weathered decades of political infighting and has risen to the top of his field. He now runs the firm's Cloud and Enterprise group, which emerged from the Microsoft reorg as an obvious successor to the Server and Tools business that he previously led. This matters because roughly two-thirds of Microsoft's revenues come from the business customers that are now transitioning, with Microsoft, from traditional software solutions to cloud-based services.

Detractors, however, were hoping for a transformational outsider, someone like Ford CEO Alan Mulally who would independently evaluate Microsoft's various strategies and cut and cull where needed. And to them, Mr. Nadella, while qualified on many levels, is simply the safe choice, a way for Microsoft to continue on its current strategy unimpeded.

While I do believe that Microsoft would benefit from a thorough and independent vetting of its various businesses, Mr. Nadella is most certainly the best internal candidate for the CEO position and one of only a handful of individuals anywhere who have both the experience and qualifications to run a company that is as complex as Microsoft. His appointment as CEO would also allow for a quicker and more seamless "devices and services" transition, especially for those parts of Microsoft that are currently in a strange holding pattern, awaiting the outcome of this search.

As important, news that Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates might step down from his chairman position at the firm and take a more hands-on role working alongside Mr. Nadella on product strategy should please virtually any Microsoft follower. To an outsider pick, a Gates-led board of directors would be seen as a hindrance, since Gates would presumably have a meddling effect on any attempt to change the strategy. But with Gates working more explicitly with Mr. Nadella, he can proactively impact Microsoft's strategy rather than work from behind the scenes to scuttle plans with which he does not agree.

Ultimately, the decision to hire from within may be the only way to ensure that Microsoft's next CEO—whoever is picked—sticks with the highly-scrutinized role for a reasonable amount of time. Microsoft doesn't have a good track record of bringing in high profile outsiders, and while there are obviously some exceptions, the flameouts outnumber the successes by a wide margin. After decades of stability under Gates and Ballmer, it's important that the next CEO not come and go quickly, since such a turnaround could be perceived as evidence of the firm's continued fall from prominence.

Satya Nadella is a well-spoken and brilliant engineer who has already navigated the transition from software to services in one of Microsoft's biggest and most important businesses. He will provide Microsoft with the leadership it needs at this important moment in its history, and will help the firm finish its transition from its software past to its devices and services future. Mr. Nadella is the right choice for Microsoft's next CEO.

By Paul Thurrott

http://windowsitpro.com

"Threshold" to be Called Windows 9, Ship in April 2015

noreply@blogger.com (Heri Gunawan) — Mon, 13 Jan 2014 06:11:00 -0800

Microsoft tries to put Windows 8 in the rear-view mirror

At the BUILD developer conference in April 2014, Microsoft will discuss its vision for the future of Windows, including a year-off release codenamed "Threshold" that will most likely be called Windows 9. Here's what I know about the next major release of Windows.

As a kind of recap, we know that Microsoft will update Windows 8.1 in 2014, first with a service pack/feature pack-type update called Update 1 (or GDR1 internally). I wrote a bit about this update recently in Windows 8.1 Update 1 (Very Early) Preview but the expectation is that it will ship in April 2014 alongside Windows Phone 8.1, the development of which Microsoft will soon complete.

Also in April, of course, is BUILD 2014. That show will hit just weeks after Microsoft completes its corporate reorganization and will surprisingly be very much focused on Windows Phone and Xbox, according to my sources. But I think Windows watchers will agree that the biggest news from the show will be an announcement about Microsoft's plans for the next major Windows version, codenamed "Threshold."

I previously wrote about Threshold in Microsoft to Take Windows to the "Threshold", Further Changes Coming in Windows "Threshold" and Big Changes Are Coming to Windows. This is the release my sources previously pegged as being the one that will see the return of the Start menu and the ability to run Metro-style apps on the desktop alongside desktop applications.

But Threshold is more important than any specific updates. Windows 8 is tanking harder than Microsoft is comfortable discussing in public, and the latest release, Windows 8.1, which is a substantial and free upgrade with major improvements over the original release, is in use on less than 25 million PCs at the moment. That's a disaster, and Threshold needs to strike a better balance between meeting the needs of over a billion traditional PC users while enticing users to adopt this new Windows on new types of personal computing devices. In short, it needs to be everything that Windows 8 is not.

Here's what I've learned about Threshold.

Windows 9. To distance itself from the Windows 8 debacle, Microsoft is currently planning to drop the Windows 8 name and brand this next release as Windows 9. That could change, but that's the current thinking.

BUILD vision announcement. In case it's not obvious that the Sinofsky era is over, Microsoft will use BUILD to provide its first major "vision" announcement for Windows since, yes, Longhorn in 2003. Don't expect anything that grandiose, but the Windows team believes it needs to hit a happy middle ground between the KGB-style secrecy of the Sinofsky camp and the freewheeling "we can do it all" days that preceded that. As important, the firm understands that customers need something to be excited about.

No bits at BUILD. Microsoft will not be providing developers with an early alpha release of "Threshold" at BUILD, and for a good reason: The product won't even begin development until later that month. Right now, Microsoft is firming up which features it intends to deliver in this release.

Metro 2.0. Maturing and fixing the "Metro" design language used by Windows will be a major focus area of Threshold. It's not clear what changes are coming, but it's safe to assume that a windowed mode that works on the desktop is part of that.

Three milestones. Microsoft expects to deliver three milestone releases of "Threshold" before its final release. It's unclear what these releases will be called (Beta, Release Candidate, etc.) or which if any will be provided to the public.

April 2015 release. Microsoft is currently targeting April 2015 for the release of Windows 9 "Threshold."

In some ways, the most interesting thing about Threshold is how it recasts Windows 8 as the next Vista. It's an acknowledgment that what came before didn't work, and didn't resonate with customers. And though Microsoft will always be able to claim that Windows 9 wouldn't have been possible without the important foundational work they had done first with Windows 8—just as was the case with Windows 7 and Windows Vista—there's no way to sugarcoat this. Windows 8 has set back Microsoft, and Windows, by years, and possibly for good.

These things don't happen in isolation—the big and slow Vista arrived inauspiciously just as netbooks were taking off and Windows 8 arrived just as media tablets changed everything—and it's fair to say that the technology world of today barely resembles that of 2006, creating new challenges for Windows. Threshold will target this new world. It could very well be a make or break release.

I'll let you know when I've learned more.

By Paul Thurrott

http://winsupersite.com

What makes a computer fast?

noreply@blogger.com (Heri Gunawan) — Wed, 11 Dec 2013 23:37:00 -0800

What is it that you mean by a fast computer? Does it mean fast Internet? Fast games? Fast email? Fast graphics? Fast calculations? Fast windows? Fast downloads? Fast installs? Fast boot-up? Fast shutdown? Each of these things can have a speed of their own? I'll try to answer generally in order to cover my bases.

There are many things that contribute to the speed of a computer. Hardware is the main ingredient for a fast machine. Next comes the Operating System. Software is next in line for contributing to speed. Finally, your internet connection plays a significant role. But this doesn't really answer the question.

The hardware that makes a computer fast is tied to a few main components. First is the processor speed. You might hear about such chips as the Duron, Dual Core, Quad Core, Centrino, Pentium, Athalon64, with such things as 1.8Ghz, 3.5Ghz, 700Mhz. These are all types of chips and various speeds and power at which they operate. Next we have the FSB or Front Side Bus, which determines how fast the data gets to the processor. The faster the data gets to the processor; the faster the processor can begin processing.

If that wasn't enough to spin your head around, there is the speed of the memory. We're talking about actual RAM not virtual memory. Memory is a chip that stores information for the processor, but only while the computer is turned on. When you turn off your computer the memory chip is erased! The faster the memory the more often information can be retrieved and manipulated by the processor.

Then there is the Hard Drive, the place where you put your documents, the operating system, pictures, and everything else that is stored on your computer. When this is slow, the other components have to wait for the information to be retrieved before they'll do anything with it. (Oh, and Don't confuse Hard Drive space with Computer Memory. They are completely different things.)

Here is where the software comes in to the speed of your system. The operating system (i.e., Windows) uses up resources (hardware) on the computer to bring you the Internet, e-mail, movies, entertainment, and photos. Some operating systems use more resources than others, but the bottom line is the newer the operating system the more resources it uses up.

Generally, the more software that gets installed onto a computer the slower the computer will operate. This is not true of all software, but most of the popular ones load a little bit of themselves every time the computer is started. This slows down the computer. Having one or two of these little programs will not slow down your system to any noticeable degree, but when you have a dozen or more, then performance lags.

To counter all these little programs eating up resources, it is best to have as much memory as possible in your computer. Memory should not be confused with what is called Virtual Memory, which is not memory at all. It is actually a file on your Hard Drive that pretends to be memory. If you don't have enough memory, your computer will start using Virtual Memory, and it will slow your computer down. Virtual memory has its uses, but it should be used rarely.

Some of the pitfalls of a slow computer: Most windows computers need some sort of virus protection. Mac, Linux, and BeOS have very few worries in the virus department. Virus protection, at least the popular ones, require more and more resources to protect windows from attacks. Then there's spyware, rootkits, spam, and pop-ups that are a constant bane to windows. A slow computer will be slow to catch and remove these sorts of malware (bad-software). To get better performance, use protection that requires less resources. Symantec, Trend, McAfee are examples of protection that require more resources than is absolutely necessary. There are smaller reliable and free alternatives on the internet, like AVG.

This leads us right to the Internet and how it affects the speed of your computer. Dial-up connections, even on a fast computer, are slow. Too much information needs to pass between your computer and the internet to really be of any use to you. Virus protection updates are almost impossible at dial-up speeds. Dial-up inhibits your access to many webpages, causes delays in email, and limits the quality feedback response required for learning to use your computer and the Internet.

Having a fast Internet connection does not mean you'll have a fast computer. If your computer is slow, a fast Internet connection will not make any real difference in your computers performance.

Slow Computer + Fast Internet = Slow Computer on the Internet.
Fast Computer + Slow Internet = Computer Slowed by the Internet.
Faster computer + Faster Internet = Quality experience on the Internet.

By http://www.pyattconsulting.com

Perennial Problems with Website Passwords

noreply@blogger.com (Heri Gunawan) — Mon, 9 Dec 2013 09:52:00 -0800

Another week, another breech reported, and another round of changing password on a number of website across the internet.

Even though people intuitively understand that they shouldn’t use the same password with their email address on each site, they do so anyway because the complexity of keeping track of all those different website passwords is more of an immediate problem than having to change a password across a number of sites because one of them has become compromised.

What makes it even harder is when you can’t remember which sites you might have signed up to using the password.

Best practice would be to have separate password for each site. Such a strategy would involve having some sort of secure password locker software that allowed you to retrieve the passwords as it became necessary. Of course the reality is that best practice requires a lot of effort. A lot of times when people sign up to a website, it is a one-off and they probably won’t ever return to that site. While it may be best practice to use a unique password for every site, that’s a lot of effort to go to if you are using the site only once.

When thinking about website passwords, think about the importance of the website. Have unique passwords for very important sites. If possible turn on two factor authentication. Your email and social media passwords should be unique.

One off accounts that you’re unlikely to use again don’t necessarily need to be unique – you just need to make sure that they aren’t the same as any of your important accounts.

Generally if an attacker compromises an unimportant account password, they are going to see if it is the same password that you use with an important account. For example, if they manage to compromise the database of the Chewbacca Rollerblading Forum you once posted to and figure out your password, they probably aren’t going to see if the same password works for the Lego Windmill Makers forum that you also once posted a few times at. Instead they’ll see if they can use those credentials to compromise gmail/Hotmail/facebook/twitter.

If your credentials for your important accounts are unique, this isn’t going to be a problem.

The key to website password security is keeping those important accounts with unique strong passwords. If they are unique and strong, you don’t have to worry so much when the account database of another site that you visit inevitably gets compromised.

By Orin Thomas http://windowsitpro.com

Image Credit : www.techspot.com ©

Microsoft CEO Search Reportedly Narrowed to Two

noreply@blogger.com (Heri Gunawan) — Mon, 2 Dec 2013 08:12:00 -0800

Will it be Alan Mulally or Satya Nadella?

And then there were two, if recent reports are to be believed. Ford CEO Alan Mulally and Microsoft executive vice president Satya Nadella are apparently the top two candidates for the CEO job at Microsoft, with two wild cards, Tony Bates and Stephen Elop remaining as only distant possibilities for the post.

The report of the narrowed CEO search decision comes from Bloomberg, which has been reliable and credible in the past. The report cites unnamed Microsoft insiders as stating that Mr. Nadella, who currently oversees the firm's cloud and enterprises business, and turnaround guru Mulally have risen to the top after months of search efforts.

There's just one problem. They couldn't be more different.

A former Boeing executive, Mr. Mulally was famously asked to run Ford when William Clay Ford, Jr. determined he was unable to lead the car maker into its next growth phase. At the time, the decision was criticized because Mr. Mulally had no auto industry background, but Ford's subsequent dramatic turnaround—it was the only US automaker that didn't need federal assistance during the automotive industry crisis of 2008—and Mulally's decisive moves end any criticism.

Mr. Nadella, meanwhile, is in many ways the ultimate Microsoft insider. With the firm since 1992, he led Microsoft's $19 billion Server and Tools business, architecting its seamless transition from on premises server solutions to cloud computing.

The attraction to Mr. Mulally is obvious: Though he is a tech industry outsider, he previously turned around a business in which he was initially an outsider. But he's also likely to be a short-timer: At the age of 68, he'd been planning to retire from Ford in 2014. And Ford resolutely claims he's unavailable. "Alan remains completely focused on executing our One Ford plan," a Ford statement notes. "We do not engage in speculation."

Nadella is well-respected within Microsoft and of course the business he led could serve as a model for the rest of Microsoft. But there is a growing worry that Microsoft needs real change, and that that change cannot come from someone who endured the endless internal politics of the past 20 years at the firm.

Of course, Microsoft's CEO role is complex and finding a single candidate who can understand and speak fluently about the company's many divergent product lines is a difficult task. Microsoft's board of directors met two weeks ago to discuss its progress in finding a new CEO and while they originally hoped to be able to announce its decision this year, the board is now expected to push that back to early 2014.

The next CEO must have an "extensive track record in managing complex, global organizations within a fast-paced and highly competitive market sector [and a] track record of delivering top and bottom line results," internal documents obtained by Bloomberg note. "[They must have the] proven ability to lead a multi-billion dollar organization and large employee base."

As for Tony Bates and Stephen Elop, the two erstwhile Microsoft executives—Bates came to Microsoft with Skype and Elop is set to return to the firm when it concludes its purchase of Nokia's devices and services businesses—they remain long shots.

But Mr. Bates is apparently a favorite of Microsoft's employees, according to a report in All Things D. He's seen as the right combination of insider and outsider, and because of his extensive Silicon Valley experience, his rise to CEO could signal a new era of cooperation between Microsoft and its competitors and partners. That view ignores the very hard reality that Microsoft's integration of Skype technology into its other products has been downright disastrous. Indeed, though ostensibly a part of Microsoft, Skype appears to be run as an independent business that appears clueless to the needs of customers served by other parts of the company.

By Paul Thurrott http://windowsitpro.com

Image Credit : http://windowsitpro.com ©

5 of the Worst Things You Can Do on Twitter

noreply@blogger.com (Heri Gunawan) — Mon, 25 Nov 2013 08:09:00 -0800

Business owners love Twitter more and more with each passing day, but one of the consequences of so many new users is seeing the same mistakes over and over! Every day I notice one business doing this, that or the other to majorly anger their customer/fan base. To help them and you out, here are five things you should absolutely avoid doing on your business Twitter account.

1. #Hashtag #Everything

Yes, Mr. New User, using hashtags works…in moderation. For example, if you want to spread buzz about your new coffee shop and you see #localcoffee is trending, be sure to include that to get into the conversation. No doubt some will notice and engage your account.

Do not, on the other hand, turn the whole post #into #a #hashtag #party! Not only is it obnoxious, the posts become impossible to read, which is kind of the point of Twitter. Only include tags you believe will gain you traction and/or new customers!

2. Crazy Long Links

You’ve got the right idea, business owner who is starting to understand social media. Sharing links you find interesting is a great way to engage your readers and show them you’re interested in what they like. They may even retweet your post giving you more love around the web.

But you forgot one thing: shorten that crazy long link! Nobody wants to see “Check out this story on ant farms! http://www.antfarmsarecool.co.uk/post/f89suaf9u3289jfiofi32oif32j9/index.html” and it may even get deleted. Use a link shortener like bitly or Google Shortener if your Twitter client doesn’t auto-shorten.

3. Arguing with Doofuses

Did you know not everyone on the web is going to like you? It may seem impossible, but it’s true. In fact, you’ll often get trolls coming at you trying to drive you crazy and make you fly off the handle. Unfortunately, when you do, they win, and the exchange could land you in hot water. So before you respond to the tweet, “You guys are stinky faces!” ask yourself if they have a real gripe or are they just being a doofus.

4. Check out my site! Check out my site! Checkoutmysitepleasedoit

The end result of tweeting isn’t to send everybody to your website to buy as much as you can. You’d like that to happen, of course, as that means you get to stay in business. But if you treat the platform simply as a way to get people to buy stuff from you, you’ll end up tweeting stuff like the title of this section.

The key to understanding Twitter is to imagine it as just another way to interact with your customers. Anything they want to talk about, or you think they want to see, you should post. Hint: that doesn’t include constant reminders that you have products for sale!

5. Not Linking to Your Business

Remember everything I just said in #4? Well, forget it for a second. Why? Because you probably don’t have a link anywhere on your profile for people to click on. Over 80% of business Twitter profiles actually don’t have any link anywhere to their website or store, which completely halts any progress you make on your profile. Even though you don’t want to spam, you are still running a business, so don’t actively prevent paying customers from handing over their money by not telling them how to do business with you!

Share From : http://www.ereleases.com

Image Credit : www.edudemic.com ©

Windows 8.1 now available!

noreply@blogger.com (Heri Gunawan) — Thu, 17 Oct 2013 09:58:00 -0700

You'll love Windows 8.1

Windows 8.1 gives you the familiar desktop with its taskbar and Start button, plus a beautiful new Start screen that you can customize with your favorite apps, people, and sites so that everything you love is just a tap or click away.

You also get built-in cloud storage for anytime, anywhere access to your photos and files, beautiful full-screen browsing with Internet Explorer 11, plus an exclusive collection of built-in apps like Photos and Mail, with many more apps available from the Windows Store.

System requirements

To install the free update to Windows 8.1 or Windows 8.1 Pro through the Windows Store, your PC must be running Windows 8 or Windows 8 Pro.
For more information, read the full terms and conditions.

1 GHz processor or faster with support for PAE, NX, and SSE2
1-2 GB RAM / 16-20 GB available hard disk space
1024 × 768 screen resolution
DirectX 9 graphics processor with WDDM driver
To use touch, you need a PC that supports multitouch

Internet access (fees may apply)
Microsoft account required for some features
Watching DVDs requires separate playback software
Windows Media Center license sold separately
See the full system requirements

Get the free update

Update to Windows 8.1 today—you'll be able to easily transfer your files, apps, and settings.

If you are a consumer with a Windows 8 device, you can now download the free update to Windows 8.1 online through the Windows Store*. Please visit Windows.com for everything you need to know including how to get the update for your Windows 8 device. If you are a consumer on a device running Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, or the Windows 8.1 Preview – this page on Windows.com will detect your OS and provide you with all the information you need in order to get Windows 8.1 on your device. I also highly recommend reading our FAQ which answers many of the most common questions about getting Windows 8.1.

www.microsoft.com

Image Credits : www.microsoft.com ©

Windows Phone 8 Update 3: App Shutdown

noreply@blogger.com (Heri Gunawan) — Mon, 14 Oct 2013 21:56:00 -0700

Finally, a way to shut down apps. You know, like we did in Windows Mobile

In Windows Phone 8 Update 3, Microsoft has finally addressed one of its users' key complaints, and you can now very easily shut down any app. This functionality occurs as it does on other mobile platforms, in what Microsoft calls the App Switcher experience.

In the original version of Windows Phone 8, some users would repeatedly tap the Back button in order to remove running apps from the "back stack," and, they hoped, shut them down completely as well. But this action didn't actually shut down any apps. Instead, the Windows Phone OS would automatically manage memory and tombstone and then shutdown apps only when needed.

But with Update 3 installed, you can now use the App Switcher UI to shut down apps for good.

You access App Switcher as you did before: Simply press and hold on the hardware Back button. When you do, each running app appears as a tile in the center of the screen, and you can swipe left or right to navigate between the available apps.

Two things have changed in Update 3. There is a small icon next to each app name, which can help you remember which app is which, since many users visually identify the app with its Start screen tile or Apps view icon. And second, and more important, there is a now a large "X" close button in the top right corner of the middle app. You can tap this button to shut down the app.

When you do, the app tile visually animates and appears to move to the bottom of the screen and then off-screen.

I'll be looking at more new Windows Phone 8 Update 3 features in the days ahead.

By Paul Thurrott

http://windowsitpro.com

Image Credits : www.windowsitpro.com ©

Download Popular Software 2013 (Freeware)

noreply@blogger.com (Heri Gunawan) — Sat, 12 Oct 2013 11:38:00 -0700

7-Zip 9.22 Beta (32-bit) Download Now
7-Zip is a file archiver with a high compression ratio.
K-Lite Codec Pack 10.05 (Full) Download Now
The K-Lite Codec Pack is a collection of DirectShow filters, VFW/ACM codecs, and tools.
Winamp 5.70 Full Download Now
Winamp is a skinnable, multi-format media player.
VLC Media Player 2.1.0 (32-bit) Download Now
VLC media player is a highly portable multimedia player for various audio and video formats as well as DVDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols without external codec or program.
Foxit Reader 6.0.6.0722 Download Now
Foxit Reader is a free PDF document viewer, with incredible small size, breezing-fast launch speed and rich feature set. Its core function is compatible with PDF Standard 1.7.
WinRAR 5.00 (32-bit) Download Now
WinRAR is an archiving utility that completely supports RAR and ZIP archives and is able to unpack CAB, ARJ, LZH, TAR, GZ, ACE, UUE, BZ2, JAR, ISO, 7Z, Z archives. It consistently makes smaller archives than the competition, saving disk space and transmission costs.
CCleaner 4.06.4324 Download Now
CCleaner is a freeware system optimization, privacy and cleaning tool.
Skype 6.7.0.102 Download Now
Skype is software for calling other people on their computers or phones. Download Skype and start calling for free all over the world.
Adobe Reader 11.0.04 Download Now
Adobe Reader software is the global standard for electronic document sharing. It is the only PDF file viewer that can open and interact with all PDF.
Notepad++ 6.5 Download Now
Notepad++ is a free source code editor and Notepad replacement that supports several languages. Running in the MS Windows environment, its use is governed by GPL Licence.
Internet Download Manager 6.18 build 2       Download Now 1

                                                                            Download Now 2

Internet Download Manager (IDM) is a tool to increase download speeds by up to 5 times, resume and schedule downloads.
OneDrive Build 17.0.4029.0217 Download Now
OneDrive is Microsoft’s cloud storage solution in response to Dropbox and other similar online services.
Safari 5.1.7 Download Now
At one time, web browsers simply got you to the Internet. But from the day it was released, Safari set the bar higher for web browsers.
Sandra Lite 2014 SP1a (20.21) Download Now
SiSoftware Sandra (the System ANalyser, Diagnostic and Reporting Assistant) is an information & diagnostic utility.

Image Credit : www.pcmag.com ©

Download Microsoft Security Essentials

noreply@blogger.com (Heri Gunawan) — Mon, 30 Sep 2013 11:12:00 -0700

For a PC running an older version of Windows, you can download Microsoft Security Essentials.

Windows Defender for Windows 8 and Windows RT provides built-in protection against malware. You can't use Microsoft Security Essentials with Windows 8, but you don't need to — Windows Defender is already included and ready to go. But if you’re looking to protect a PC with an older version of Windows, you can use Microsoft Security Essentials to help guard against viruses, spyware, and other malicious software.

Microsoft Security Essentials is available in many locales and languages. If it is not available in your preferred language, you can install it in any of the other languages listed here, and it will still work to help protect your PC. To download Microsoft Security Essentials, choose your preferred locale or language from the list that follows. Next, choose your operating system to begin the download process.

Microsoft Security Essentials System requirements

If you need help finding which version of Windows you're running, see Is my PC running the 32-bit or 64-bit version of Windows?

* Internet access fees may apply while downloading. Your PC must run genuine Windows to install Microsoft Security Essentials. | Microsoft Security Essentials Privacy Statement | Microsoft Security Essentials License Agreement

--------------

www.microsoft.com

Top 10 New Features in Windows 8.1

noreply@blogger.com (Heri Gunawan) — Fri, 19 Jul 2013 22:52:00 -0700

Learn about the best new features in the forthcoming OS update

By now, it should come as no surprise that Windows 8 has failed to take businesses by storm. According to NetMarketShare, Windows 8 now has just a bit more market share than the much-reviled Windows Vista release. Microsoft hopes to turn around those negative perceptions with the latest release of Windows 8.1 (formerly code-named Blue). Windows 8.1 addresses several of the major complaints that customers have had about Windows 8. The Windows 8.1 release is currently in preview, but at the Worldwide Partner Conference in Houston, Microsoft announced that Windows 8.1 will be available in August 2013. The Windows 8.1 release will be a free download from the Windows Store. Here are the top 10 new features in Windows 8.1

1. New Start button—Answering the primary criticism of Windows 8, Microsoft is returning the Start button to Windows 8.1. The new Start button is in the lower-left corner but unfortunately it doesn't work the way the Start button works in Windows 7 and earlier. Instead of showing your installed programs, the new Start button simply switches you over to the Metro Start screen. Right-clicking it or clicking and holding it displays a context menu where you can open Program and Features, Power Options, Event Viewer, System Device Manager, Network Connections, Task Manger, and a number of other handy options.

2. Boot to desktop—Providing the ability to boot directly to the desktop addresses the other longstanding complaint about Windows 8 and the new Start screen. With Windows 8.1, you can open the Taskbar and Navigation properties, then click Navigation and select the setting Go to the desktop instead of Start when I sign in. The next time Windows 8.1 starts, you’ll boot directly into the desktop, allowing you to avoid the new Start screen altogether.

3. Different tile sizes—As with Windows Phone 8, the new Windows 8.1 Start screen offers a variety of tile sizes, including a new large and small tile layout. Using the different-sized tiles helps you optimize your Windows 8.1 Start screen, and the new large tile size enables the tiles to display a lot more information.

4. New Apps display—Another handy change in Windows 8.1 is the new Apps display, which you can access by swiping up on the Start screen or by clicking the down arrow. The Apps screen shows all of the installed applications and lets you sort the new Apps display in a number of ways, including by name, date installed, or most used.

5. Work Folders—Another handy new feature in Windows 8.1 is the new Work Folders capability. Work Folders allows a user to sync data to his or her device from a folder located on a Windows Server 2012 R2 server using the File and Storage Services role. Work Folders let you keep local copies of your files on your devices, and the Work Folders feature will automatically synchronization your data to the central server.

6. Workplace Join—Workplace Join is a new networking capability that allows administrators to grant access to some corporate resources for devices that aren’t members of a Windows domain. If a user registers his or her device, IT can grant the device limited access to corporate resources and enable some management policies for the device. This feature requires Server 2012 R.

7. Deeper SkyDrive integration—You get 7GB of free SkyDrive usage, and Windows 8.1 is able to use that as the default document storage location as well as to back up Windows 8.1 to SkyDrive. There are also options to sync your device settings, including the Start screen and the position of tiles and other desktop personalization settings. In addition, Microsoft will provide a new Windows RT SkyDrive app.

8. Side-by-side Apps—Another annoying limitation of Windows 8 is the inability to display more than two apps at a time. Although Windows 8.1 still doesn’t allow you to run apps in windows the way StarDock’s ModernMix does, Windows 8.1’s new Snap View features allows you to run up to eight apps side-by-side if you have two 2560x1600 monitors. Smaller 1280x780 displays are limited to running two apps side-by-side.

9. Auto-triggered VPN—The VPN support in Windows 8.1 has been enhanced with improved support for a broader range of VPN clients. In addition, Microsoft is adding a new auto-trigger VPN capability to Windows 8.1 apps that enables apps that need to access the organization’s resource through a VPN to automatically launch the VPN when the app starts.

10 New Windows Store—The Windows Store has been redesigned to be more like Google Play or Apple’s App Store. There is a new Spotlight section to feature different apps, and there are lists of top free apps right on the home page. A new description page provides more information about each of the apps. Windows 8.1 apps will also now update automatically.

By : Michael Otey

http://windowsitpro.com

Windows 8.1 Heads for August RTM

noreply@blogger.com (Heri Gunawan) — Mon, 8 Jul 2013 19:24:00 -0700

Microsoft today confirmed reports that it plans to complete the development of Windows 8.1, a major update for both Windows 8 and Windows RT, in August. New devices preloaded with the update will be available in time for the holidays.

Microsoft has originally planned to finalize Windows 8.1 on August 1 (8/1), according to my sources, a milestone still known as RTM (“release to manufacturing”). But I had learned a few weeks ago that this schedule had been pushed back a few weeks. Microsoft on Monday confirmed this news, with Windows CMO and CFO Tami Reller stating that PC makers would receive the final version of Windows 8.1 integrated with Windows 8 and RT in late August.

But while the world anxiously awaits the Windows 8.1 update, sales of the current version of Windows 8/RT has stalled. Reller reiterated Microsoft’s previous announcement about the firm selling 100 million Windows 8 licenses, but that milestone happened back in May. But she said that “new customer activations [of Windows 8] continues at a consistent pace”, which isn’t good: As I noted previously, this suggests that Windows 8 is selling at a rate of less than 14 million licenses per month, far below the 20 million per month average obtained by its predecessor, Windows 7.

Reller also noted that there are 20 million enterprise evaluations and that Windows 8 has logged 60 billion hours of use since its release last October. It’s hard to compare these numbers to anything.

Originally seen as a minor polishing of an OS that no one seems to want, it’s pretty clear now that Windows 8.1 represents a major do-over, or mulligan, for Windows 8 and RT. Indeed, this release, comprised as it is mostly of small fixes, is now incommensurately important to the future of the franchise. Fortunately, Microsoft seems to have struck the right balance with Windows 8.1, and as you can read in my growing series of Hands-On with Windows 8.1 articles and other posts on the SuperSite for Windows, a major comeback is in the making.

By Paul Thurrott

http://windowsitpro.com

Install the latest Microsoft Security Essentials definition updates

noreply@blogger.com (Heri Gunawan) — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 09:19:00 -0800

By default, Microsoft Security Essentials is designed to install and run updates automatically. If you have disabled this feature or if you encounter problems updating automatically, you can manually download and install the latest Microsoft Security Essentials definition updates for your computer.

Install the latest Microsoft Security Essentials definition updates for a 32-bit or 64-bit computer

Download the latest Microsoft Security Essentials updates for your PC:

You can install the definition file immediately, or save it to your PC first.

Click Run to install the definition file immediately.
Click Save to save the file to your PC. Make sure you remember the name of the folder where you save the file.

To install the definition updates from a saved file:

Click Start, click Documents, and then locate the folder where you saved the definition file.
Right-click mpam-fe.exe, click Run as administrator, and click Run. You might be asked for an admin password or to confirm your choice.

Note: If you don't have an administrator account on the PC, ask an admin to sign in and install the definition file for you.

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www.microsoft.com

15 Things that Twitter calls spam

noreply@blogger.com (Heri Gunawan) — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 02:48:00 -0800

Ever wondered what twitter considers spam ? Well here is a list to start with

If you have followed a large amount of users in a short amount of time;
If you have followed and unfollowed people in a short time period, particularly by automated means (aggressive follower churn)
If you repeatedly follow and unfollow people, whether to build followers or to garner more attention for your profile
If you have a small number of followers compared to the amount of people you are following
If your updates consist mainly of links, and not personal updates
If a large number of people are blocking you
The number of spam complaints that have been filed against you
If you post duplicate content over multiple accounts or multiple duplicate updates on one account
If you post multiple unrelated updates to a topic using hashtags
If you post multiple unrelated updates to a trending or popular topic
If you send large numbers of duplicate @replies
If you send large numbers of unsolicited @replies in an attempt to spam a service or link
If you repost other user’s content without attribution.
If you have attempted to “sell” followers, particularly through tactics considered aggressive following or follower churn.
Using or promoting third-party sites that claim to get you more followers (such as follower trains, sites promising “more followers fast,” or any other site that offers to automatically add followers to your account).

By www.shakthisoft.net

6 Facebook, Twitter Mistakes That Can Get You Fired

noreply@blogger.com (Heri Gunawan) — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 10:41:00 -0800

Travis Megale is happily employed. A regular Facebook user, he knows how to use the site appropriately and what NOT to say or post. Unfortunately, many Facebook members do not. Job termination due to behavior on Facebook seems to increasingly be in the headlines. A recent survey from email security firm Proofpoint finds seven percent of organizations have fired an employee because of activity on social media sites. Another 20 percent said employees have been disciplined over social media activity. It's statistics like this that inspired Megale to launch his Facebook group "Fired because of Facebook."

"I'm a high school teacher so I have to be very mindful of what I post and I set up the group as a bit of heads up to my colleagues," said Megale. "People I had worked with in the past had made comments and posted pictures that could have easily resulted in their termination had they been seen by the wrong people. My hope is that the page will save a few people from making a silly, yet costly, Facebook mistake."

In an effort to create awareness , the group invites members who have lost their job because of something they did on Facebook to tell their story. And tales of woe about a Facebook flub that lead to a lost job are revealed regularly. Recent examples posted on the group's Wall just in the past three days include one member who said "Fired for posting "F*** them nuggets" on a friend's page. I was a manager at McDonalds for 3 years. Gone!" Another poster writes: "Fired for not being 'the caliber of person that we like to hire. What you act like in your personal life reflects negatively on us as a company.'" (Related: 10 security reasons to quit Facebook)

While it may not make a fired employee feel much better about losing their job, there are reasons for an organization to monitor employee social media behavior and take action against things they deem problematic. It's often reputation and security concerns that an organization is concerned about when it comes to social networks, some of these include brand image and employee safety. (Also see: Keeping your company image safe on social media)

What are some of the red flag behaviors an employer might look for in their employees' online profiles? Here are ten mistakes users make on sites like Facebook and Twitter that could lead to unemployment.

Posting negative comments about your job or your company:

This might seem obvious - but for many people it's not. Some Facebook members feel the need to vent to friends and family about their job, or their coworkers, and are under the impression their profile is private. But this isn't always the case, especially if a user has failed to make their settings private, points out Tom Eston, host of the web site socialmediasecurity.com. Users need to be more mindful not only about privacy settings, but about keeping work-related rants to themselves.

"Just don't do it," said Eston. "Often someone will post something and then think, days later, maybe I shouldn't have done that. You can't blame the social network for that. People need to take more personal responsibility for what they post."

Even if you have your privacy settings locked down, remember that Facebook redesigns can cause settings to default back to public, making the content available for everyone to see until the user goes in and resets it. This was the case with a teacher from Cohassett, Massachusetts who was fired from her job in August after posting on Facebook that she wasn't looking forward to another year in the district. June Talvitie-Siple, who also had called the students 'germ bags' in another update, did not realize her settings were public after a recent Facebook change. She serves as a good reminder to check your privacy settings regularly.

Then there are those who are just plain forgetful. Like a woman who sounded off on her boss in a post that has now become internet legend. Unfortunately, that boss was also a Facebook friend who could easily view her profile.

The woman updated her status to read: OMG I HATE MY JOB!! My boss is a total pervvy (sic) w**ker, always making me do s**t stuff just to p**s me off!! W**ker!"

The boss responded: "I guess you forgot about adding me on here? " and ended with "Don't bother coming in tomorrow. And yes, I'm serious."

Defending your employer in an online dispute:

Just the opposite of flub number one, this can still be an offense, even if you have your company's best intentions in mind.

That's because even if you think what your saying is OK, you're not a public relations professional, and what you post could either be wrong, or even damaging to the company. Networking giant Cisco Systems specifically spells out in its social media policy that employees should not engage in any online debate about the company without specific permission.

"When an employee sees something negative about the company, they will sometimes want to defend their employer, who they are perfectly happy with," explained Christopher Burgess, senior security advisor for Cisco. "You can't do that in 140 characters in Twitter. What we've told folks is: Let PR do that."

Discussing private and/or security-related company matters:

So your company is about to acquire another and there is speculation about layoffs? Keep it to yourself. Posting this information on Facebook or Twitter is almost as bad as talking to the press about it. Even if you think you're just telling confidantes, there is no way of knowing where that information goes next, said Eston.

"Even if it's just a general context, certain information that might be confidential to a company should never be discussed."

Disguising your identity and pretending to be someone else:

You always want to be honest about who you are. Back to the point about talking about your company: Burgess says Cisco policy also forbids employees from disguising their name or identity in order to engage in debate about the company.

"The policy clearly states that it is unacceptable to use an alias," he said. "Employees should always state their relationship with the company from the outset."

Offering up too much information about your personal life and recreational activities:

Eston, who used to work in security for a large bank remembers a time when TMI on Twitter not only lost a job for someone, it prevented them from being hired at all.

The bank was conducting a background check on a job candidate, and found some less than desirable information.

"She had tweeted about how she hoped she would be able to get by a drug test, and her Twitter profile picture was her smoking a joint."

Posting questionable pictures:

Perhaps the most high-profile example of this is the case involving Patriots cheerleader Caitlyn Davis. Davis was fired from the team after Facebook pictures depicted her brandishing a Sharpie over an apparently unconscious man whose skin was covered in drawings and graffiti, among them two swastikas.

While the pictures and personal information you're posting might not be so egregious, it's probably a good idea to stay away from risqué photos as well as comments about your personal life that could cause an employer to pause and make a negative judgment about you. When using social networks, you want to put your best foot forward. Next time you post something ask yourself if it is something any one can see.

By Joan Goodchild, CSO

Via www.pcworld.com

6 Facebook, Twitter Mistakes That Can Get You Fired

noreply@blogger.com (Heri Gunawan) — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 10:16:00 -0800