Hey everyone, want to make your Christmas special? Enter the HP Magic Giveaway Contest on Gearlive.com and get the chance to win 4 computers and accessories you can share with family and friends or give to a charity you have in mind. :)

Some persons Christmas will be very special this year!

Here is a list of the prizes:

• HP TouchSmart IQ816 – Windows 7, Windows 7, Windows 7!
• HP HDX18 Premium Notebook PC
• HP Pavilion dv4 Entertainment Notebook PC
• HP Mini 1000 (Windows XP)
• HP MediaSmart Connect
• HP Photosmart C6380 Wireless All-in-One printer
• HP 564 Photo Value Pack
• Microsoft Office Home and Student Edition 2007 with 3 licenses
• Microsoft WIndows Live
• Corel VideoStudio X
• Kung-Fu Panda on Blu-ray disc, and two DVDs

A few websites have already started their contest:

• GearLive
• Windows-Connected
• Bleeping-Computer

Contest Updates:

•  Jake Ludington’s HP Magic Giveaway

NeoWin.net has a link to a Google Calendar with the starting dates for each contest.

Its quite overwhelming when you think about what HP, Microsoft and so many sites are giving away. HP has exemplified something here, the gift of

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Vista is Microsoft's current flagship version of Windows, but that doesn't mean XP has been put out to pasture just yet. The operating system that brought new experiences in reliability and stability for consumers is 7 years old today. That's a long time in the software world. Thinking back to when the product RTMed in August 2001, I had just finished high school, the terrible tragedy of September 11, 2001 had occurred and then the Anthrax scare started happening, a whole lot was going on at the time. Windows XP over the years has grown into a beloved product and regardless of the bumps along the way such as Code Red, Nimda and Welchia that occurred in 2003, the product garnered a massive user base that is still strong.

Windows XP has seen numerous updates in its life in particular the security heavy Service Pack 2 that some would describe as a brand new release of the in itself. Looking back at its development history, Windows XP formerly code name Whistler was targeted as a major release building on the fundamentals of Windows 2000, not introducing incompatibilities and bringing the investments that consumers and businesses made in Windows 9x

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From CNET News

Microsoft on Monday announced, as expected, that it is ready with a final version of its Silverlight 2 media player.

Silverlight 2 will be available for download starting Tuesday, Microsoft said. Among the new features are support for digital rights management technology, improved cross-platform support and deep zoom technology. Microsoft also announced a range of new partners including AOL, Blockbuster, CBS College Sports, Toyota, and Yahoo Japan.

Microsoft also disclosed some numbers for the Olympics work it did with NBC. Over a 17-day period, Microsoft said NBCOlympics.com had more than 50 million unique visitors, resulting in 1.3 billion page views, 70 million video streams, and 600 million minutes of video watched.

Overall, Microsoft said the Olympics helped boost Silverlight's U.S. penetration by 30 percent, the software maker said.

Read the rest here

No word if this new version will be pushed through Windows Update like version 1. Also, I am not aware if support for Internet Explorer 7 64 bit is available in this release.

Update: Mary Jo Foley: All About Microsoft shares some more info about Silverlight 2 availability today:

Microsoft officials said Silverlight 2

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Speculation is growing over Microsoft’s ‘Windows Cloud’ based operating system which Company CEO Steve Ballmer touted last week. Microsoft is expected to officially reveal the final name for the service later this month at Company’s Professional Developers Conference 2008. But it seems a few eagle eyes might have made an early discovery.

Personally I was hoping it would Windows Live Server, since the Company would like to expose the platform more to developers and give it a serious background. The focus of a Windows Cloud would be to bring more of Microsoft’s traditional desktop solutions to the Internet, especially for developer tools like Visual Studio and Microsoft Office. The Company still wants to make desktop software relevant by wrapping together Services plus Software to create a solution that both consumers and businesses can be more comfortable and willing to make their data move to remote servers.

I see the strategy, but the scattered technologies that are Windows Live will need to work in more synergistic fashion. The storage part of it needs to be more centralized and accessible for the web based applications in addition to services like Windows Mail, Spaces and Live Mesh in addition

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If you are into technology and browse a lot of Windows Enthusiast websites and have not heard about the HP HDX 31 Days of the Dragon giveaway then you probably have been living under a rock throughout May. Not to worry, there are still a few contest left to go and Geek News Central started theirs just a few days ago, you should go check it out.

The contest itself sponsored by Hewlett Packard and coordinated by BuzzCorps is giving away super impressive All One System that is sure to please anyone interested in computers, whether you are a gamer, student, business or just like really powerful computers. I have participated in about 19 of the contest so far, but it seems luck has not shined upon me 'yet'. Below are a list of sites that are still running contest:

• 24 May - 31 May www.thegreenbutton.com
• 25 May - 01 Jun www.istartedsomething.com
• 26 May - 02 Jun www.bleepingcomputer.com
• 27 May - 03 Jun www.hardwaregeeks.com
• 28 May - 04 Jun www.geeknewscentral.com
• 29 May - 05 Jun www.geekzone.co.nz
• 30 May - 06 Jun www.thetabletpc.net
• 31 May - 07 Jun www.gearlive.com
• 01 Jun - 08 Jun www.gottabemobile.com

You...