Microsoft today unleashed the Microsoft Answers Windows 7 Forums where users of Windows 7 can get help with a number topics related to the new operating system, whether its Installation, troubleshooting, configuration, networking, security and many others, you name it. You can find a helpful bunch of folks from Microsoft, Microsoft MVP's and Windows Enthusiast sharing their experiences ready and willing to help you:

• Desktop and Personalization
• Gaming
• Hardware and Drivers
• Performance and maintenance
• Install, upgrade and activate
• Programs
• Music and Sound
• Pictures and Video
• Security, privacy and user accounts
• Networking, e-mail and getting online
• Files, folders and search
• System repair and recovery
• Internet Explorer
• Windows Update

In conjunction with the Windows Live Forums, users can get the most out of their technology investments and computing experiences. Not to forget, the Microsoft Clubhouse is also a great resource for users to even get more insight into using Windows Live and Windows 7 together in real world scenarios.

Back in the 90's, I could count on one hand how many people I knew had a computer, or just had access to one. With the fast pace of changes such as Moore's Law and affordability of computers and hardware over the past 10 years, everybody I know has a PC or are upgrading one, buying their second or third computer. With current buying trends comes certain responsibilities. We need to be thinking about how our purchasing decisions are affecting the environment around us in addition to persons living in other countries. If you want to start making a contribution to saving your environment, you can start by changing your buying habits.

The above logos can help guide you in your future buying decisions. Green Computing is a hot topic these days and many consumers are consciously looking into how they can help improve the environment by buying products that are Green certified.

What is Green Computing?

Green computing involves reducing the electricity and environmental waste while using a computer. Computers use and often waste resources such as electricity and paper. The industry has become aware of this problem and is implementing important measures to combat it. Personal computers, displays, and printers should comply with guidelines of the Energy STAR program, which was developed by the United States Department of Energy (DOE) and United States Environment Protection Agency (EPA).

This program encourages manufacturers to create energy efficient devices that require little power when they are not in use. For example, many devices switch to standby or power save mode after a specified number of inactive minutes or hours. Computers and devices that meet ENERGY STAR guidelines display an ENERGY STAR label.

What can we do with old computers?

You might have an old computer, printer or some other device you are not using anymore. Either its obsolete or just doesn't meet your needs anymore. You can start by not storing obsolete computers and devices in your basement, storage room, attic, warehouse or any other location. Computers, monitors, and other equipment contain toxic materials and potentially dangerous elements including lead, mercury and flame retardants. In a landfill, these material are released into the environment. There are some options available such as refurbishing or recycling the equipment. Just yesterday, I was listening to a call in radio program, a student who just started a Data Operations course at an institution was pleading for some assistance because she doesn't have a computer and wouldn't mind getting a second hand PC just to practice Word Processing, Spreadsheet and Database Management. So, even if that old computer is not useful to you anymore, there might be a student or school who might just need it for basic task.

Local governments are working on methods to make it easy for consumers to recycle their old equipment, but you can also help by altering some habits now, here is a list of ways you can contribute to a healthy, more energy efficient environment:

• Use computers and devices that comply with ENERGY STAR program or recognized Green Computing initiatives. You will often recognize this by a logo featuring a green leaf or similar branding.
• Do not leave the computer and devices running overnight. I admit, this is a bad habit of mine, but I am cutting it out these days.
• Turn off your monitor, printer, and other devices when not in use. In fact, I haven't used my printer at home in months, so you know I did I plugged it out.
• Use paperless methods to communicate - Windows Live services from Microsoft are helping to make this initiative a reality, free electronic email services and programs such as Windows Live Hotmail/Mail, Skydrive, Photos make it easy and convenient to share files with colleagues and memories with family and friends. Check out Clubhouse member Ali's story about how Skydrive saved the day here
• If you must use paper, ensure that old papers are recycled and ensure that the paper you buy is recycled.
• Recycle toner cartridges.
• Recycle old computers and printers.
• Shop online - there are so many online stores and services these days, cut out the unnecessary travel.
• Telecommunication is also a great way to help protect the environment. Windows 7 includes tools such as Remote Desktop that allow you to access files and other resources at the office.
• Download instead of going for the boxed copy. Do you really need to have a physical box or DVD copy? Thick manuals are even more useless, since they become obsolete the moment you pull the box. Online resources and help forums are all the manuals you will need and they always have the latest information "a live person". Especially with today's enormous external hard disk on the cheap, just buy one and store your digital downloads on them for backup purposes. Millions of packaging world wide are simply thrown away each year, don't add anymore to if you can.

If you are going to donate a used machine, don't just leave it on the doorstep somewhere. A little planning will ensure that the machine goes to a good cause. Before you give it away, make sure you've removed your personal data - letters, financial information etc. onto your new computer using migration tools such as LapLink or Windows Easy Transfer or backup your data to DVDs/external hard disk.

If you plan to keep the software you were using before, you should remove it from the computer you are giving away. When you are ready to give the computer away, call the school, church or organization first. Some will be unable to use the model you're offering even if it works well. Some groups, however, welcome computers of any age and in almost any condition, but you should still call them before donating. Here are list of organizations you can donate your computer to and give it new life and purpose.

California

Donate a Computer to Computer Recycling Center
CompuMentor Home Page

Connecticut

National Cristina Foundation

Additional resources:

Computer disposal, donation, and recycle information
HP Environment: Product recycling
eCycling | Common Wastes & Materials | US EPA
- Where Can I Donate or Recycle My Old Computer and Other Electronic

Computer recycling - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Home : ENERGY STAR
The Electronics Recycling Superguide

Windows 7 helps too

Windows 7 extends battery life for your mobile PC, helping you be productive longer while still getting great performance. Power-saving enhancements include increasing the idle time for the processor, automatically dimming the display, and more power-efficient playback for DVDs. With Windows 7, you’re also kept better-informed about battery status.

Get Idle and Stay Idle Longer. An idle processor reduces battery life. Windows 7 reduces background activities and supports the trigger-starting of system services, so your computer’s processor can be in an idle state more often.

Adaptive Display Brightness. The display on a typical mobile PC consumes more battery power than any other part of the computer. Windows 7 automatically reduces display brightness after a period of inactivity, much like cell phones do today. And Windows 7 intelligently adapts to your activity. For example, if the screen dims after 30 seconds and you immediately move the mouse to brighten
the display, Windows 7 will wait 60 seconds before dimming the display again.

Power-saving DVD Playback. Your PC will use less power when playing a DVD. Windows 7 requires less processing power than previous versions of Windows and is more efficient when it spins the disc, so you’re more likely to get through a full movie with a single battery charge.

Wake on Wireless LAN. Having your computer go into Sleep state when idle is a good way to conserve power, and Wake on LAN provides a way to “wake up” a computer that’s in Sleep state over the network when you need to access it remotely. However, in Windows Vista, waking up a computer that’s in Sleep state could only be done over a wired network connection. Wake on Wireless LAN in Windows 7 provides the same capabilities over a wireless network connection.

For example, if you have a PC in your kitchen that’s wirelessly connected to your home network and want to view a photo on that system from your laptop in the bedroom, the computer in the kitchen can be in Sleep state and wake-up to allow you to see the photo. Similarly, in an enterprise environment, IT administrators can wake up wirelessly connected computers to apply software updates or perform other maintenance. In this way, IT administrators can minimize power costs for wirelessly connected systems.

Smart Network Power. Today, your mobile PC sends energy to parts of your computer when they’re not being used—such as sending power to the network adapter when you don’t have an Ethernet cable plugged-in. Windows 7 automatically turns off power to the network adapter (subject to adapters and drivers supporting this feature) when the cable is disconnected and restores power when the cable is connected. IT professionals can take advantage of this feature to reduce power costs.

Battery Life Notification. Windows 7 provides more prominent, timely, and accurate battery life notifications, helping you remain aware of power consumption and remaining battery life.

Power Efficiency Diagnostics. In Windows 7, the PowerCfg utility is updated to detect problems across devices, policies, firmware, system settings, applications, and other common areas where settings can reduce power efficiency. The information is provided in an easy to understand report. Although this feature is designed primarily for developers and system integrators, it can also be useful to tech-savvy users.

Performance improvements start under-the-hood. Windows 7 is designed to reduce background activity
and adds support for trigger-starting of system services, starting them only when they’re needed instead of ahead of-time. For example, the Windows Bluetooth service is only started when a Bluetooth device is connected. This means that Windows 7 runs fewer services by default than Windows Vista while offering increased functionality.

A couple key areas where you’ll notice improved performance in Windows 7 include the following:

• Startup and Shutdown. Windows 7 is ready when  you are. It’s designed to start, hibernate, and shut down faster than Windows Vista, although individual user experiences will vary based on specific hardware and software configurations.

• Resume from Standby. When resuming from Standby, Windows 7 is designed to reconnect to your wireless network faster than Windows Vista, so your PC will be ready to use in seconds. You’ll spend even less time waiting for your computer to be ready if you use the Sleep mode.

All of these improvements from Windows 7, to the types of computers and components we purchase can affect our environment for the better, cleaner air, cleaner water and a better life!

Resources
I’m a PC, running Windows 7 & I’m Green!
Sorry Kermit, But It Can Be Easy Being Green
Configuring Windows Home Server For Energy Savings
Sharing jokes and funny pictures is a lot more Earth-Friendly than it used to be.

 

This October Microsoft will release Windows 7 world-wide, the successor to Windows Vista and Windows XP (again), a major upgrade that promises to further improve the user experience on different PC form factors such as the popular Netbook. For the past couple of weeks I along with members of the ActiveWin.com Team spent some time testing the Windows 7 (RTM) Release to Manufacturing build, which is the final build that will be available in stores and new PC’s around the world (that goes for Intel Macs too).

Because the review is 26 pages long, I won't be able to post everything here, but I want to give you a snippet. Here is the final comments from the review:

This review was just the tip of the ice berg, Windows 7 is a major release that innovates and performs. As noted throughout this review, Microsoft went back to the basics of what made Windows great in the first place; the operating systems focus on performance has paid off. End users will appreciate significant improvements in areas such as boot time, resume from sleep/hibernation and faster connection to networks. Windows 7 also focuses deeply on mobility, products like the Netbook form factor, which has become highly popular with consumers over the past couple of years. Windows 7 users can appreciate improvements in battery life while also being able to experience the web in a more seamless way through Windows 7’s out of box support for technologies such as 3G and simplified access and setup of Networks.

 

Should you upgrade? Most certainly, there is no on the fence, if’s or buts about it. This is a major upgrade both Windows XP and Vista users will certainly see benefits from. Vista was of course a hard sell because of the major architectural changes it introduced, Windows 7 reaps the benefits. The investments both businesses and consumers have made in it over the past three years has come forward. In my final comments of ActiveWin’s Windows Vista review, I recommended potential customers move to Windows Vista on new PC’s. Of course with Windows 7 it’s also a great way to upgrade, but existing systems can definitely benefit from Windows 7 with just an upgrade. Running the OS on an AMD Sempron 1.6 GHz machine, 512 MBs the performance is just exceptional, I see Windows 7 breathing new life into many old systems as far back as 2003 (with a few upgrades of course). Windows 7 has the edge here; this is something I can’t see Apple’s Mac OS X Snow Leopard doing because of the architectural changes.

 

With fundamental improvements to how you navigate and interact with your devices and applications, Windows 7 provides an experience that’s cohesive and forward thinking. It makes application switching intuitive while also enhancing the general user experience of working with your programs in a more convenient way. The Taskbar has come a long way since the days of ‘it works just like switching channels’. Users expect a rich experience and the compelling aesthetics such as interactive thumbnail previews and enhanced search functionality will bring a major boost to productivity. Subtle changes to Search and customization themselves make Windows 7 a joy to work with on a daily basis. Businesses will appreciate the new experiences when accessing resources and staying connected to corporate networks in more simplified ways. When combined with the free Windows Live Essentials, Windows 7 shines further, and proves that Microsoft is focusing on delivering real innovation and value to consumers.

Users today have an overwhelming amount of information stored on their PCs and various devices to contend with, keeping it all organized and accessible can be a chore. Windows 7 takes the complexity out of such scenarios and I think it’s the gem of this release a lot of users will discover they could never do without.

Read the entire review here

ActiveWin.com:

Microsoft Windows Internet Explorer 8 - Review
Microsoft Windows Live Essentials - Review
ActiveWin: Windows 7 FAQ/Quick Guide
Microsoft Windows 7 RC Build 7100 Preview
Microsoft Windows 7 Beta Build 7000 Preview
Microsoft Windows 7 Pre-beta M3 Build 6801 Preview

Related:

Microsoft Windows Vista RTM - Review
Microsoft Windows XP Professional - Review
Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition - Review
Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional Edition - Review
Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition - Review

Microsoft:

Windows 7 Team Blog
Engineering Windows 7
Microsoft Answers Windows 7 Forums
Windows 7 home
Windows Live Team Blog

 

An interesting blog entry by Chris Hernandez who works in the Windows deployment team, I came across reading Computer World today talks about what users can expect upgrading from Windows Vista SP1 to Windows 7. What's causing a lot of buzz is the mention of some upgrades taking up to 20 hours to complete. Yep, 20 hours! Now, don't be astonished, because you have take into account some variables here such as your data set (personal data: music, pictures, videos, application library) and your system configuration.

One of the main goals with Windows 7 in general has been to be better than Vista. As part of the Windows Upgrade team we have tracked Windows 7 upgrade performance using Vista as our baseline comparison.

The upgrade performance tests used the metric of total upgrade time to gauge how Windows 7 upgrade performed against Vista upgrade. The tests were designed to measure total upgrade time simulating different user profiles (with different data set sizes, number of programs installed and settings) against different hardware profiles.

The goal was to determine whether an upgrade from Vista SP1 -> Windows 7 was within a 5% threshold faster than an upgrade from Vista SP1 -> Vista SP1. The reason we choose to use a Vista SP1 -> Vista SP1 upgrade instead of Windows XP -> Vista as our baseline was for the following:

• Windows XP is a vastly different operating system compared to Vista and an upgrade from Windows XP -> Vista would not be a good comparison with Vista -> Windows 7
• Windows XP did not support 64-bit upgrades and we wanted to track 64-bit upgrade performance as well as 32-bit upgrades for Windows 7
• Vista SP1 -> Vista SP1 is a valid upgrade path that exercises all upgrade code (this upgrade is commonly used by Product Support Services for a repair scenario)

Read the entire article here

My upgrade experience from Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 64 bit to Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit, is in line with some of the results Chris produced. Considering that I have a large library of software installed (108 applications), in addition to a large data set that is around 60 GBs I wasn't surprised by the 4 hours it took to upgrade to Windows 7. What surprised me most was how successful and smooth the procedure was, everything works except for VMWare and iTunes Bonjour (need to upgrade to version 9 to see if it has been fixed), I have also managed to work around some hardware compatibility issues by using Windows Virtual PC with XP Mode:

The Windows Team has made installing Windows a bit more informative, detailing the various steps of what happens during an upgrade. What’s also interesting is the ‘Copying Windows installation files to your computer (27 of 2772 MB copied) indication. Its the first time I am seeing this and I find it a welcome change that actually keeps the user in the know about what is going on. During the upgrade, which took several hours on my system (nearly 4 hours to be exact), you will see a lot of details about Files, Settings and Programs being transferred with numbers ranging in the hundreds of thousands. It might seem like the upgrade will take a very long time, but do not worry, Windows 7 will quickly jump over hundred’s of thousand files at various points during the install.

Upgrading is a complex and timely process. I do not recommend doing this in the middle of a project or on a week day. The weekend is recommended, you can also leave Windows 7 to handle the upgrade while you go take a walk, watch a movie or some other activity while the upgrade do its thing.

I concluded:

I have heard a lot about upgrading to newer versions of Windows and the potential for problems with persons most times recommending a clean install instead. Windows 7 is an exception in this case and I can see that the Windows Team has done some significant work to ensure that the transition from Windows Vista SP1 is a smooth one. Of course, there will always be potential hiccups, but with careful planning and a small amount of patience, upgrading to Windows 7 can be as smooth as its intended to be. I definitely give Windows 7 a thumbs up in this regard!

Users planning to upgrade from Windows Vista SP1 or later to Windows 7 can have a smooth experience by planning well.

• If you are not sure an application or hardware device you are using now is compatible with Windows 7, check the software or hardware developers website for patches, updated drivers or to simply find out about Windows 7 support for the particular product. If you are unable to find information on the website, try contacting the developer by telephone. If you unable to get any information that way, its best you look into investing in a alternative solution from another vendor.
• Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor - provided by Microsoft, the Upgrade Advisor can help you evaluate your systems configuration to find out what works and what does not if you decide to move to Windows 7. The utility also makes appropriate recommendations where editions of Windows 7 are concerned along with what you might need to upgrade.
• Get Religion: Backup, Backup, Backup!

  I can't say this enough, if it can go wrong, it will. Upgrading is a very complex process and there are often cases of failed upgrades from older versions of Windows. Causes can include, power outage during installation, hardware or application conflict. This is why you should “always back up”, it’s better to be inconvenienced than having to start all over from scratch.

• If you are upgrading/clean install, disable any external or USB based devices you might have attached to the computer. Also, disable any Security software before launching setup and ensure that you meet the minimum system requirements for Windows 7.
  - 1 GHz processor (32-bit or 64-bit)
  - 1 GB of system memory (2 GBs for 64 bit)
  - 16 GBs of disk space – Windows 7 uses approximately 10.5 GBs of disk space.
  - DirectX 9 graphics with 128 MB of memory

Following these basic instructions can have a positive impact on your upgrade experience.

Resources:

Windows 7 Upgrade Performance
UPDATED: Upgrading: Starting the Move to Windows 7 RTM
My Software Library and Windows 7 - Compatibility Experiences
Upgrading to...ur Migrating to Windows 7 from Windows XP
Windows Easy Transfer: Starting the Move to Windows 7 Release Candidate

 

So, there is a new version of Movie Maker that's out on the prowl looking for videos to edit and share. Back in February of this year, we saw the release of Windows Live Movie Maker 1.0 beta, which focused on simplifying video editing with a snazzy new interface and quick approach to sharing videos. Some persons were a bit skeptical with good reasons. Although the focus of the new Movie Maker beta was ease use, there were some missing features along with some getting use to the new look. The Windows Live Movie Maker team continued working on improving the user experience and ended up delivering an exceptional final product I am sure many of you will be pleased with. In this tutorial, I want to take a look at the new features and introduce you to the new interface based on the popular Scenic Ribbon.

The first thing I would like to get out of the way for users of Windows Movie Maker that comes bundled with Windows XP or Vista is, they are distinctively different products. Do not expect to see everything in Movie Maker 2.6 in Windows Live Movie Maker 1.0. As you probably know from the name, Windows Live Movie Maker is now a member of the Windows Live family of free products and services. You can download it from http://download.live.com included with Windows Live Essentials, a powerful suite of solutions for Email, Photo Management, Instant Messaging, Data Synchronization and blogging.

System Requirements:

Operating system: Windows Vista (32-bit or 64-bit editions), Windows 7 (32-bit or 64-bit editions), or Windows Server 2008. Note: Windows Live Movie Maker is not supported on Windows XP

• Processor: 1 GHz or higher for Windows Vista; 800 MHz or higher for Windows XP
• 512 MB for Windows Vista
• Resolution: Minimum 1024 x 768
• Internet connection: Internet functionality requires dial-up or broadband Internet access (provided separately). Local or long-distance charges may apply.
• Graphics or video card: Windows Live Movie Maker requires ATI Radeon 9500 (or higher) or nVidia GeForce FX 5900 (or higher). I have Live Movie Maker working with a nVidia Geforce FX 5200 128 MB AGP.

Additional requirements

The following components are needed for specific Windows Live programs, and may be installed for you if they’re not already on your computer.

• For Writer: Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 or higher*.
• For Photo Gallery: SQL 2005 Compact Edition and Windows Imaging Codecs*.
• For Photo Gallery and Movie Maker: Some components of DirectX9.
• * Not required when installing on Windows Vista.

Compatibility

One of the key improvements Windows Live Movie Maker users will appreciate is the ability to import Windows Movie Maker projects. Although you might be warned that there are features in your existing project that might not work or are not available in this version of Movie Maker. Overall, users can appreciate that most features and functionality from the previous release works just fine.

Interface

In addition to a lighter color scheme, Windows Live Movie Maker works differently through and through. You won't find previous functionality such as a Storyboard, drop down menus, and a time lines. Windows Movie Maker used a Task based approached to creating a movie, WL Movie Maker introduces a clean design with most tools and functionality revealed through the innovative Scenic Ribbon which displays common functionality once buried under drop down menus and wizards in a gallery of easy to identify icons.

 

The Ribbon is very intelligent and only reveals additional functionality when needed through contextual tabs that can be easily identified by their activated colors.

Adding media

Just like the previous version, Live Movie Maker makes it quick and easy to import your media such as Videos or Photos. In Windows Movie Maker this can be done from the Import Task Pane toolbar button or Import Media toolbar button, in Live Movie Maker, you can import media through the Add videos and photos button located under the Home (tab) within the Add gallery. Once you have added your media, you will see it populated within the Bin area.

Editing content

Previously, in Windows Movie Maker, your videos would require that you drag and drop into the Story board and edit in the Time line. Windows Live Movie Maker does the opposite. Task like re-arranging or cropping a video clip are more visual and interactive. In fact, one of the lovely highlights is the actual display of multiple frames in a clip. You can use the video cursor bar to scan through a video clip and see additional sequences within the video itself. The cursor bar itself is a important element of the software and allows you to accomplish many of the common task you would do in the previous Movie Maker time line.

 

To organize your clips, all you need to do is use a drag and drop action in the order you find most desirable. It doesn't get any easier than that.

Cropping a clip

In Windows Movie Maker, this was done through the Time Line, its just as easy in Windows Live Movie Maker. Select your video clip, go to the Edit tab which you will notice is activated in the yellow 'Video Tools' Contextual tab. Within the 'Editing' gallery, click the Trim tool button, now use the Trim Maker knobs on both sides of the clip duration in the video preview pane, drag either knob until you reach the desired point in the video you would like to see played. If you know the point in time you would like the video to  start and end, you can alternatively use the Start and EndPoint markers located in the Trim markers gallery. Once completed, click the 'Save trim' button to keep your edit.

Adding media - music

What is a movie without music? In Movie Maker, you add music to your video from the Tasks > Import (Audio or Music) link. This would extend across the time line, you then had the option of cropping and adding effects such as fade in or out. You can do that too in Windows Live Movie Maker, a bit differently of course. I even like this method, simply go to the Home tab, within the Add gallery, click Add music button. From the pop out list, you have two options, which will add a music track to the entire project or you can add music to just a specific point within a video.

 

If the song is distributed over the project, you can edit this by selecting the song represented by a green bar (you should see the title of the track specified), drag the video cursor, to the point in the video you would like the song to stop playing, right click the cursor and click 'Set end point' from the the contextual menu. Additional options include, you can have the song fade in and out from the 'Audio' gallery options.

 Text Overlays, Transitions and Visual Effects!

The initial beta was limited in this respect, but the final release makes up for it with a respectable set of options. The Text Tools contextual tab allows you to format your text with a range of options. To add a Caption, go to the Home Tab, from within the Add gallery, click Caption, enter your text. To format the text using a desired font and size, click Format Text Tools button and choose from the gallery of options available, one of the nice improvements users will notice, the Font list box allows you to see a preview of a font before applying. If you want to add some effects, you can do so from within the Effects gallery which provides the ability to hover over effects and preview them before applying - very cool! You will also notice any text added your clips are represented by a cream colored bar, to edit your text, simply double click this bar and edit the text within the preview window.

As for Visual Effects, I am happy to tell you that this functionality has improved tremendously in the final product, by benefiting immediately from the Scenic Ribbon. Hovering over available effects gives you a quick on the fly preview, you won't see this in Windows Movie Maker. You can also control the brightness of your videos and photos from within Live Movie Maker too. I hope in a future update, the Windows Live Movie Maker Team adds some robust text effects similar to what you can find in Office 2007/2010.

 

In Windows Movie Maker, transitions are located under the Edit > Transitions link. In Windows Live Movie Maker, the Animation tab stores a collection of transitions that you can use to control how your movie changes from one clip to the next. Again, one of the great things I like about WL Movie Maker, you can simply hover a transition to preview without even applying the effect. You will notice that Pan and Zoom Gallery is grayed out, these effects are activated when you add photos to your movie.

Previewing Transition before Applying

Publishing your work

Out of the box, Windows Live Movie Maker supports a number of distribution points, in today's world of online video most users I am sure would like to get their content out to a wide audience quickly. Windows Live Movie Maker does that with built in support for YouTube, a request  I made during the beta and I am glad to see it happen. If you want to share your media through traditional mediums such as DVD, no problem, just click the DVD icon in the gallery to save your video in an appropriate format suitable for use in Windows DVD Maker. You can also prepare your movie for viewing on different aspect ratios and video formats such as hi and standard definition or save to a portable device, prepare for email or instant messaging.  If you don't find a suitable tool, you can download additional plug ins that will provide you with additional functionality.

A look at the final project

So, you want to see what I did? Take a look

 

 At Home with Family

This is a movie of some random videos of family at home visiting that I decided to put together. You can see a my mom Yvonne, my sis-in-law Marjorie, brothers Troy, Dion, and my little nephew Nathan (the star).

With this update, the Windows Live Movie Maker Team listened to its users based on feedback from the beta and incorporated numerous improvements to make the software much easier to use while also bringing back some functionality from its predecessor Windows Movie Maker 2.6. The tutorial does not look at everything, but you should be able to become more familiar with the software as you discover Windows Live Movie Makers focus on making video editing a fun experience that's quick and easy.

Resources:
Windows Live Essentials the Recap

Related:
- Instant and Social Communication with Windows Live Messenger 9
- Managing and Sharing Digital Memories using Windows Live Photo Gallery 2009
- A Look at Windows Live Mail 2009
- Online Expression – Using Windows Live Writer 2009

Popular Windows Enthusiast Long Zheng of http://istartedsomething.com got a hold of the official Windows 7 hologram disk showing the new art work. The disk is not that different from the Windows Vista disk, but Microsoft has been using a consisting look for most products that utilize the technology for anti-piracy purposes.

Back in July of 2007, Microsoft was able to utilize the anti-piracy technologies of the hologram disk to bust one of the largest underground counterfeit ring in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong. 

 Resources:
Taking a detailed look at Windows Vista DVD hologram
How To Tell site

Related:
Official look at the new Windows 7 Packaging