My information Resource (blog.mir.net)

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Microsoft Reveals New Windows® Phones With Marketplace and My Phone Services

Microsoft mobile partners fly the Windows flag: HTC, LG and Orange preview first Windows® phones.

Steve Ballmer, Andy Lees and Prithvi Raj: Mobile World Congress 2009 – Feb. 16, 2009

BARCELONA, Spain — Feb. 16, 2009 — Today at Mobile World Congress 2009, Microsoft Corp. CEO Steve Ballmer along with key mobile partners, HTC, LG and Orange, unveiled new Windows® phones featuring new user-friendly software and services. The next generation of Windows® phones will be based on Windows Mobile 6.5 and feature a new user interface and a richer browsing experience. In addition, Windows® phones will feature two new services: My Phone, to sync text messages, photos, video, contacts and more to the Web; and Windows® Marketplace for Mobile, a new marketplace that will provide direct-to-phone mobile applications and can be accessed from both the phone and the Web.

Contacts are backed up with My Phone so users don’t have to worry about losing contacts.

Click for larger version.

“Windows® phones bring together the best of the Web, the PC and the phone so you can connect instantly to the experiences you care about, no matter where you are,” Ballmer said. “We’re working with partners across the industry to deliver a new generation of Windows® phones that break down the barriers between people, information and applications and provide great end-to-end experiences that span your entire life, at work and at home.”

Windows Mobile 6.5 Delivers New User Experience

The new Windows Mobile 6.5 home screen keeps people up-to-date on important information by providing a dashboard-like experience to items such as new e-mails, texts, missed calls and calendar appointments. It also includes an improved touch-screen interface, making it easy to take action with a finger, and an updated version of the latest Internet Explorer Mobile browser, which in a third-party research study sponsored by Microsoft supported execution of up to 48 percent more assigned tasks than the other browsers and phones studied.

My Phone allow users to view and manage photos on their phone on the Web.

Click for larger version.

My Phone Service Connects the Phone to the Web

The free My Phone service will enable people to access, manage and back up their personal information on their device to a password-protected Web-based service, making it easier to upgrade phones without the worry of losing important information. With automatic syncing and backup, users can count on their contacts, appointments, text messages and other information being kept up to date and easily restored should they lose or upgrade their phone. Consumers also will be able to automatically upload photos and video from their Windows® phone directly to the My Phone service, making it simple to preserve content that, in the past, would have lived and died on the phone. The My Phone service is currently available in a limited invitation-only beta.

Rich and Integrated Marketplace Service Will Offer Easy Access to Mobile Applications

The new operating system features Windows® Marketplace for Mobile, a rich and integrated marketplace for searching, browsing and purchasing mobile applications from Windows® phones or from a PC by simply using a Windows Live ID. The new marketplace will be included with all Windows phones based on Windows Mobile 6.5, which will help consumers to easily find, install and experience those applications that fit their needs and make the phone truly personal. Developers, who have already built over 20,000 applications for Windows® phones, will be able to offer applications to customers through the marketplace via a simple security and compatibility check from Microsoft.

Partners Showcase New Windows® Phones

Microsoft chief executive officer Steve Ballmer speaks at a press conference during the 2009 Mobile World Congress, Barcelona, Feb. 16, 2009.

Click for high-res version.

Leading mobile partners from around the world revealed some of the first Windows® phones showcasing the new operating system. In particular, mobile operator Orange will update its portfolio to offer new Windows phones with enhanced browsing, diverse personalization options and new user experiences. Similarly, two of the world’s top phone manufacturers displayed their Windows® phones.

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The LG-GM7300 is a stylish, user-friendly phone with features such as one-click e-mail set up to help people stay connected to the information they care about most. Available first on Windows Mobile 6.1, LG will add a Windows Mobile 6.5 version to the family, complementing an expanded alliance to dramatically increase the number of LG phones running Windows.

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HTC’s Touch Diamond 2 and Touch Pro 2, announced today, will be upgradeable to Windows Mobile 6.5. New enhanced contact integration combined with new Internet capabilities deliver a people-centric approach to mobile communication. HTC’s Touch Diamond 2 features TouchFLO 3D, a sleek and compact design with a large 3.2-inch high-resolution wide-screen display, while HTC Touch Pro 2 introduces one of the best-ever mobile productivity experiences on a phone highlighted by HTC’s new Straight Talk technology, an integrated e-mail, voice and speakerphone experience.

The new Windows^® phones are expected to be available in the second half of 2009. Additional information on companies supporting Windows Mobile 6.5 can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/events/mobileworldcongress/docs/partnerlist.doc.

www.re-mission.net is a site where you can download software for young people with cancer. The game allow and teaches patient how to cope with cancer and learn about adherence to their prescribed treatments, in a fun way.

Imagine that you’re working in a research laboratory during the day. You watch cancer cells multiplying under a microscope. At night, you go home and play video games with your family and friends. Then you get the idea that a video game for young people with cancer might play a positive role in helping them fight their disease. A video game designed especially for kids with cancer might give them a feeling of power over their disease as they blast away at the cancer cells. And you could use top-notch research to test the game and see if it really would help the kids. That’s exactly what Pam Omidyar imagined.  And in 2001, she founded HopeLab to make this idea a reality. 

The result, a game called Re-Mission (featuring Roxxi, the intrepid nanobot), is a challenging, 3D "shooter" with 20 levels that takes the player on a journey through the body of young patients with different kinds of cancer.  Created by leading video game developers and animators in collaboration with scientific and medical consultants and HopeLab staff, this state-of-the-art game is designed to be cool and fun, while helping players to increase their personal knowledge about cancer and improve their confidence in their ability to manage their cancer. 

Teenagers and young adults with cancer participated actively throughout the game development process to ensure that the game was fun, and that it really spoke to the issues that they confront every day in their fight against cancer. 

Please support this great work by visiting www.re-mission.net

Face book has changed their policies and you need to be aware.

Facebook’s terms of service (TOS) has changed !

You hereby grant Facebook an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully paid, worldwide license (with the right to sublicense) to (a) use, copy, publish, stream, store, retain, publicly perform or display, transmit, scan, reformat, modify, edit, frame, translate, excerpt, adapt, create derivative works and distribute (through multiple tiers), any User Content you (i) Post on or in connection with the Facebook Service or the promotion thereof subject only to your privacy settings or (ii) enable a user to Post, including by offering a Share Link on your website and (b) to use your name, likeness and image for any purpose, including commercial or advertising, each of (a) and (b) on or in connection with the Facebook Service or the promotion thereof.

That language is the same as in the old TOS, but there was an important couple of lines at the end of that section that have been removed:

You may remove your User Content from the Site at any time. If you choose to remove your User Content, the license granted above will automatically expire, however you acknowledge that the Company may retain archived copies of your User Content.

Furthermore, the "Termination" section near the end of the TOs states:

The following sections will survive any termination of your use of the Facebook Service: Prohibited Conduct, User Content, Your Privacy Practices, Gift Credits, Ownership; Proprietary Rights, Licenses, Submissions, User Disputes; Complaints, Indemnity, General Disclaimers, Limitation on Liability, Termination and Changes to the Facebook Service, Arbitration, Governing Law; Venue and Jurisdiction and Other.

Make sure you never upload anything you don’t feel comfortable giving away forever, because it’s Facebook’s now.

Several Facebook groups have formed to protest the new TOS:
"People Against the new Terms of Service (TOS)"
"FACEBOOK OWNS YOU: Protest the New Changes to the TOS!"
"Those against Facebook’s new TOS!"

Thanks to the consumerist.com

Microsoft and Gemalto Partner to Bring

Windows Live Messenger to the Mass Market of Mobile Subscribers

Customers can keep in touch with friends and communities on the go through any handset that allows SIM cards.

BARCELONA, Spain — Feb. 16, 2009 — Microsoft Corp. and Gemalto today announced they are collaborating to offer Windows Live Messenger services to the mass market of mobile subscribers through a new Windows Live Messenger client application that comes pre-installed on phone Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards. The Gemalto application, named SIMessenger, is the world’s first Microsoft-certified instant messaging SIM client solution.

Gemalto’s SIMessenger enables users to easily keep in touch with their Windows Live Messenger contacts from their mobile phone. SIMessenger offers an intuitive menu that allows subscribers to access their Windows Live Messenger environment with an experience similar to what they get when accessing it from a PC. SIMessenger also automatically launches when they switch their handset on, so they can start chatting immediately. SIMessenger’s user-friendly interface enables quick and easy navigation, so that users retrieve the messaging service they are familiar with while on the move.

To date, three operators have successfully deployed SIMessenger: Oi in Brazil, Personal S.A. in Argentina and Movistar in Peru. Gemalto has already delivered close to 5 million SIM cards embedding the Windows Live instant messaging application.

“Through our alliance with Gemalto, we are able to greatly expand the reach of the Windows Live Messenger experience on mobile to new markets and more consumers,” said Tom Bailey, senior director of product management for Windows Live for Mobile services. “SIMessenger will enable the masses to easily use the popular Windows Live Messenger to communicate with the people they care about while on the go.”

“Worldwide, people who own a mobile phone widely outnumber those who have Internet access,” added Philippe Vallée, executive vice president of the Telecommunications Business Unit at Gemalto. “With more than 320 million active Windows Live Messenger accounts worldwide, combined with 3.6 billion SIM cards currently in use, there is strong growth potential for SIMessenger, and Gemalto is proud to join forces with Microsoft to make messaging available to all.”

 

Here a link on the The Onion, this video is about an new Product, Sometimes I think lot of products are built this way, or at least marketed like this.  This is a Great Spoof about a Sony Product.

Look out Apple there a New Kid in town. It look like Microsoft wants to play head to head with Apple and open its own branded Stores. This is an interesting play, I wonder what the channel will say. Apple basically killed a lot of its channel when it opened stores. This will be tricky for Microsoft but with over 95% of it income coming from the channel this will need to be watched.

What if the Microsoft store are that place to look at new technology, Like surface, Play with Xbox, and Perhaps teach users about the Cloud Solutions. You know their need to be a experts zone.

I wonder could this also be the way that Microsoft Branded devices get announced. Hum….Maybe a Zune combo Device, New version of Home Server, I wonder what else Microsoft has up it sleeve.

REDMOND, Wash. — Feb. 12, 2009 — Microsoft Corp. today announced that David Porter will join the company as corporate vice president of Retail Stores. He will lead Microsoft’s efforts to create a better PC and Microsoft retail purchase experience for consumers worldwide through the development and opening of the company’s own retail stores. Porter will report to Microsoft Chief Operating Officer Kevin Turner. He is joining Microsoft from DreamWorks Animation SKG, where he was head of worldwide product distribution

Porter spent 25 years at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in roles of increasing responsibility and seniority in store operations, merchandising and information technology. In his last role at Wal-Mart, Porter was vice president and general merchandise manager of Entertainment, where he served as a strategic point of influence throughout the Wal-Mart business.

Hum… general merchandise manager of Entertainment. Maybe there going to be a new life in Xbox, PC games, Zune, and fun products at the Microsoft Stores….. Time will tell

I will be presenting a Session on Home Server at the DACS Meeting March 2, 2009

DACS in its present form originated from several local computer organizations: the Danbury Computer Society (DCS), Western Connecticut Micro-computer Users Group formerly the Danbury Osborne Group (DOG); Danbury Area Users Group (DAUG); and the Macintosh Users Group of Greater Danbury (MUGGeD.)

I last talked to there group in April 2007 about Vista, They are a great group of people and you, if in the area should come to their meeting

http://www.dacs.org/ 

Home Server

Windows Home Server was designed for households and home-based businesses that have more than one personal computer. Your life has gone digital – it is time to simplify your life so you can easily access your files, photos, videos and music from any PC or TV in your home, or even while away from home.

• Digital memories and media stored and organized in a central location

• Home computers backed up daily, automatically

• Simple restore of lost files or even entire hard drive contents

• Complete access to files from both inside and outside the home

• A secure and personalized website address for sharing photos and home videos

• Easily add storage space and new software capabilities

• Learn more about Windows Home Server features

You can now create a System Repair Disc.̵in Windows 7

This is bootable CD version of Windows 7 that includes the command prompt, system tools, This disk is a very slim down version of Windows,. Very handy for those who need to repair the operating system or if you need to get to a Vista or XP Hard drive that does not boot to copy off some data, This disk will work as well as a free solution.

To get to this, simply open the Start Menu and type:

system repair disc in the search field.

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