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Next Wave of Windows Live Introduced with New Betas

Want to check out what's next for Windows Live? Chris Jones, Corporate Vice President for Windows Live Experience Program Management, has announced today the availability of new Betas for the Windows Live client applications on the Windows Live Wire blog. These Betas showcase significant updates to the client applications in the Windows Live suite introducing the next wave of Windows Live products and services. Chris does a fantastic job explaining the term "wave" and how it's used to describe Windows Live releases.  Definitely give his post a read as it discusses some background for Windows Live as it's progressed from 2006 to 2007 to today. Expect regular posts on the Windows Live Wire blog from members of the Windows Live Engineering Team discussing in greater detail specifics on the new stuff coming up for Windows Live.

To download the new Windows Live Betas - just head on over to download.live.com later today and install the betas.

When we talk about the Windows Live suite - we are talking about the following desktop client applications that sit on the user's PC that tap in to the Windows Live services in the "cloud" (the web). These applications are only part

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Written by Brandon LeBlanc on September 17th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Windows Live Betas and Windows Live Messenger and Windows Live Writer and Windows Live Wire and Windows Live Movie Maker and otherSoftware and Chris Jones and Windows Live and Betas and Windows Live Photo Gallery and Windows Live Mail and Featured News.

Zune 3.0 Has Arrived, Blue Zune 8 Unboxed!

As was announced last week - the Zune Team rolled out their Zune 3.0 release today consisting of updated Software and Firmware which is now available for all to enjoy at the updated Zune.net website. Click here to go directly to the Zune 3.0 software download page. Once you download and install the Zune 3.0 software, your Zune device once it's connected will be offered new firmware. You can now enjoy new features such as Channels, Personal Picks, Mix View, Buy from FM and more. Oh and the new Now Playing screen is pretty slick too! Also hitting store shelves as we speak are 2 new Zune devices: the Zune 16 and Zune 120. And the Zune 8 is now available in shiny blue-on-silver. As readers of the blog are aware, I've expressed keen interest in picking up a Blue Zune 8. And I did! To celebrate today's Zune 3.0 release I figured I'd post some unboxing shots of the new blue Zune 8.

The Box

Blue Zune 8 Box

Opening the Zune 8 Box

Click to continue reading "Zune 3.0 Has Arrived, Blue Zune 8 Unboxed!"

Written by Brandon LeBlanc on September 16th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on otherSoftware and blue and Zune 3.0 and Zune 8 and release and Digital Media and Zune and music and Featured News.

Partners Take Advantage of IE8 Beta 2, New Languages Available

With the release of Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2 a few weeks ago, users were introduced to new features, such as Web Slices and Accelerators, as well as enhanced Search capabilities that make browsing the Web much easier. Users can now be exposed to specific bits of information they want quick access to - from the latest news to the latest weather to search for a new blue 8GB Zune. I'd like to take a moment to highlight just a few examples of partners who have taken advantage of IE8's capabilities in Beta 2.

Search:

New York Times Instant Search - By adding The New York Times as a Search Provider in IE8, users can search the latest headlines from The New York Times directly from IE8's inline search.

Web Slices:

Digg's Main Page Top 10 - Find the latest popular stories that have been "dug" on Digg with this Web Slice. 

freenetMail - Let's subscribers check their freenetMail, or view meetings, tasks and birthdays.

And Me.dium offers several Search Providers, Web Slices, Accelerators and Add-ons for IE8 that users can enjoy - mixing browsing

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Written by Brandon LeBlanc on September 16th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Web Slice and IE Gallery and Accelerators and IE8 Beta 2 and Partners and Instant Search and otherSoftware and Beta and Internet Explorer and internet explorer 8 and IE8 and Featured News.

Bad iTunes 8 Driver May Cause Issues

Earlier this week, Apple released iTunes 8 which included some headaches for Windows Vista users (including myself) in the way of blue screens of death. My good friend Ed Bott dug into the situation and discovered what might be causing the issue - it appears to be a problem with a driver that is installed when users also install iTunes 8. Unfortunately iTunes is known for pushing out components that Windows users don't necessarily want.

Fortunately, not all is lost. Due to the uproar from unsatisfied customers, Apple issued an updated version of iTunes 8 that fixes the problem (sort of).  You'll need to uninstall the broken version of ITunes 8 and Apple Mobile Devices support, and then use your Apple Software Updater to reinstall iTunes 8 and get it working the right way. 

Anyways you might be asking why I even installed iTunes in the first place and it's because I am a software fiend and love playing with new software regardless of who it's by. But just so you know - I'm a diehard Zune user myself ;-)

Written by Brandon LeBlanc on September 12th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Ed Bott and iTunes 8 and otherSoftware and problem and Featured News and Apple and Windows Vista.

What’s up with those ads?

As I did previously, I'm posting this on behalf of my colleague David Webster.

Since my last post here as a guest blogger a few weeks back was to give you some context on the Mojave Experiment, I figured I should do the same for the other little campaign we're running on TV right now. Even if you're not a TV watcher, you probably know the one I'm talking about. It involves Churros, Pleather, Big Top Points and the Conquistador. Oh yeah, there's a Windows logo in there at the end too.

I thought I got a lot of mail when the Mojave spots came out, but I was wrong. Even in an election year (or maybe because we're in an election year), people sure do seem to enjoy debating our marketing.

Between the enthusiastic notes from enthusiasts,  the predictable notes from friends and family, and the even more predictable notes from haters and fanboys, two common questions emerged:

  1. Do you really think these ads will make people want to buy Windows Vista?
  2. Are you getting the reaction you expected/wanted?

Fortunately these are both really easy to answer.  Since I've seen tons of speculation out there (some very literate and interesting, others not so much), I figured

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Written by Chris Flores on September 11th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Jerry Seinfeld and Marketing and TV ads and Brand and Windows Brand and Windows Consumer Campaign and Windows and bill gates and otherSoftware and Featured News.

Sneak-Peak at the Upcoming Zune 3.0 Release

Yesterday, the Zune Team announced their Zune 3.0 release was hitting next week on September 16th. As a Zune user myself, I am pretty stoked for the Zune 3.0 release. The Zune 3.0 release consists of updates across the entire Zune ecosystem including new firmware updates for all Zune devices, new Zune software update, and updates to the Zune Social. The Zune 3.0 release focuses on music discovery and taking it to the next level.

Instead of me talking about the new features in Zune 3.0 that help users discover new music - I figure I'd just show you these videos from members of the Zune Team instead that show off the new features themselves (I love that new Zune animation they use at the beginning and end of the videos!).

Terry Farrell, Product Manager on Zune Marketing Team, discusses the new Channels feature. Channels are like "regularly updated playlists" as Cesar Menendez explains in his blog post on the Zune Insider talking about the Zune 3.0 release. One of the Channels users can be able to subscribe to is the Billboard Top 100. Check out Terry's demo for the low-down:

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Click to continue reading "Sneak-Peak at the Upcoming Zune 3.0 Release"

Written by Brandon LeBlanc on September 10th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on otherSoftware and Zune 3.0 and music and Zune and Announcement and Featured News.

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