Zumobi, the mobile startup spun off from Microsoft Research, has launched its first beta. The Zumobi lets you access, enjoy, and share web-based content on your mobile phone in an innovative, new way. The Zumobi software presents a unique way to access content, with a grid of sixteen tiles that you can zoom in and out of, and the tiles acting as widgets that display web-based content.
Currently, mobile browsing goes something like this…

1. 1. Either you navigate through a list of web sites pre-loaded on your phone, navigate through static bookmarks, or maybe even attempt to type in a long URL with your thumbs. Ugh.

   2. Now that you’ve chosen your content, wait while it loads. And wait. And wait.

   3. Ok, site loaded. Read a few lines and scroll down. Scroll down. Scroll down, deeper into the abyss searching for what you wanted buried somewhere in all that content. Tedious. Often frustrating.

   4. Rinse, repeat.

Ultimately, it’s an underwhelming experience.

Enter Zumobi. Beta Launch Video On YouTube

They are also recruiting Beta Users, To participate in the Zumobi Beta you’ll need the following:
Zumobi Tiles create a solution through which advertising and marketing communications are highly contextual and personalized.

• A U.S.A. mobile phone number
• A data plan with your mobile phone service provider (we strongly recommend this be an unlimited data plan)
• A mobile phone running Windows Mobile 5 or 6

While Zumobi is compatible with most phones running Windows Mobile 5 or 6, we have certified and recommend the following devices for optimal performance:

• Motorola Q
• Samsung Blackjack 1.0
• HTC Dash
• HTC Touch

Of course, you are also welcome to download and test Zumobi on other Windows Mobile 5 or 6 phones, but we have not fully certified these phones yet and cannot guarantee an optimal experience. Additional certified phones will be added frequently, so please check our website for the most current list of devices.

Today, Microsoft Live Labs is announcing the Volta technology preview, a developer toolset for building multi-tier web applications using existing and familiar tools, techniques and patterns. Volta’s declarative tier-splitting enables developers to postpone architectural decisions about distribution until the last possible responsible moment. Also, thanks to a shared programming model across multiple-tiers, Volta enables new end-to-end profiling and testing for higher levels of application performance, robustness, and reliability. Using the declarative tier-splitting, developers can refine architectural decisions based on this profiling data. This saves time and costs associated with manual refactoring. In effect, Volta extends the .NET platform to further enable the development of software+services applications, using existing and familiar tools and techniques.

You architect and build your application as a .NET client application, assigning the portions of the application that run on the server tier and client tier late in the development process. You can target either web browsers or the CLR as clients and Volta handles the complexities of tier-splitting. The compiler creates cross-browser JavaScript for the client tier, web services for the server tier, and all communication, serialization, synchronization, security, and other boilerplate code to tie the tiers together. In effect, Volta offers a best-effort experience in multiple environments without requiring tailoring of the application.

I’ve been in Redmond (Washington) for a year now - I actually arrived here May 12th, 2006.  It’s been a long ride but given the opportunity, I wouldn’t change anything. Today marks the MED (Maximum End Date) of my contract at Microsoft. 

For those of you not familiar with contracting at Microsoft, essentially it means I have to take a 100 day break in service.  If it were up to me, or anyone on our team - believe me I wouldn’t be going anywhere It’s been a bittersweet day - I had lunch with many of my friends I’ve made from this and other teams - I’ve been holding off tears all day long - not of sadness, but rather happy of all I’ve accomplished, and upset from having to leave what I’ve grown to love.

To our beta customers, testers, MVPs and partners - you guys have been an awesome group to work with — your contribution to Windows and to the team I have worked with is tremendous - and you should be very proud.

I’m looking around for Full-Time opportunities with Microsoft, but one way or another I’ll be back here just like old times - full of new ideas and a smile because I know I’ll have all of you guys to work with again.Until then, please continue to help out the beta effort — the team members I leave behind are top-notch, and I hope you’ll grow to work with them just as many of you have worked closely with me.

Thank you again for all you have done for me, for your fellow beta sites, and for Windows -

-Patrick

VB Team is trying to get the word out about a Live From Redmond webcast series the VB team has put together aimed at Orcas and VB 9. The series will start April 18^th and will continue into June.  

http://blogs.msdn.com/vbteam/archive/2007/04/09/live-from-redmond-webcast-series-beth-massi.aspx

Some people have questioned me over the last week or so asking, “are you leaving Microsoft” and all this. Let’s get something straight first… I was never Microsoft’s b***h and never will be. I’ve worked with the Windows Live guys now for little less than a year starting off on Messenger and Spaces and moving on to web safety. Web safety (or rather as it’s now known as family safety as it’s more appropriate) means an awful lot to me. I’ve got a young goddaughter and a much older sister who uses the Internet and to be fair, there are all kinds of weirdo’s out there who would love to bury their faces into a young’un and it makes me sick to the core. Being a younger gentleman, I have added advantages of being young and having that special perspective which a lot of other people have. I started really young – most people could never say they’ve worked with some of the amazing people I have by the age of 15, and now I’m 18 and have met even more influential people, it makes me glad I started testing in the first place.

The Windows Live division, more specifically the family safety section is undergoing a major restructuring backend with people being shifted around from place to place, even if they’ve been doing that job for a good length of time. Family safety is really important to Microsoft but from my perspective, it’s being put off more and more because people are being shifted around. Someone I’ve done work for, Jo who worked on the family safety products for some time, isn’t working on it anymore; that really saddens me as I know she loved doing it. From what I understand, a big head of citizenship (of which the family safety comes under the hood of) has been replaced which will mean it’ll take months to find someone else let alone the time to bring them up to speed with what’s going on.
There aren’t the resources available, nor is there enough money to really push forward with some of these great ideas which have been bounced around internally.

Because of this, people have already reported that the Windows Live OneCare Family Safety product won’t be around until the summertime. The product is pretty much nearly done and I suspect one of the reasons why it’s not moving forward is because of the lack of resources and people. There are some interdependencies here and there however, like needing to interact with other products and ensuring that other teams are on track so that the Family Safety product can move forward. We’re talking about Microsoft, one of the biggest and most wealthy organisations in the world, and there isn’t the money to do these things, to protect the kids online from the things they should never have to experience. I’ve had a whole wave of ideas which could seriously improve the family safety side of things within products and existing solutions, but because of the lack of money and people being busy with hiring new leads of citizenship, these ideas are all pending for a good 6 months.

Now maybe it’s because I’m young and stupid and naïve, but can the kids of this world wait another 6 months? These threats are getting more intense every day and its Microsoft’s products which are central to these because they’re so popular with the users. It’s not Microsoft’s fault that these services are being exploited; it’s their fault for being so popular, which is hardly a bad thing. This is why I focused on Microsoft for the web safety – because they have the products and the services which are being used and that could be improved and secured for the younger generation.
One thing I can be super proud of – is that I’ve greatly contributed to improving the Windows Live OneCare Family Safety filter with the help of Jo, and that’s something which I’m proud of. Some of the people I’ve worked with – my God, just brilliant.

I’ve had a “mentor” being Philippa, and without doubt the best “boss” I’ve ever had. Cristiano, Dev, Andy, Jo, to name a few – it’s been a good stretch. But for the time being, I’ve only really got to say this as I wrap it up. I’m not leaving Microsoft as I was never really part of it in terms of a paid full time position. For the time being, I’m stepping back for some time, letting things mull over, I’ll still do the odd bit here and there no doubt but it’s time to focus on me and me only. I need to get past these next few months and finish my further education, and head on to higher education at university starting this September/October. Who knows what’ll happen next… I guess I’ll just have to take things in my stride and let things happen as and when they do.

Well being GMT+13 at the moment (@ 11.04pm) Windows Vista releases to the people of New Zealand in 1 hour. There is no flashy launch party here (as far as I know) however that launch right here in New Zealand means that the main event in New York is literally only hours away.

So what of the launch party in NYC? Well none of the “full time” staff of MSBLOG (so-to-speak) is going however we do have our very own reporter on the scene (a foreign correspondent if you will) associating himself with MSBLOG.
Mr Cullen D will be writing from the launch event that is nearly upon us. Cullen is a keen Vista/Longhorn tester so the articles he will bring us will give us poor people who can’t attend a great insight into what the launch celebration for THE greatest Operating System is like.

So don’t fret-MSBLOG will bring you the goods once again,
Stay tuned,
Look forward to it,
It should be GREAT!!!

As you may or may not be aware, there has been some controversy regarding Google’s tips on some search phrases.

Some see this as a good thing (it’s helping users), some as a bad thing (they’re using their position as a monopoly), and some really just don’t care (it’s their webpage, people see it’s not a search result, what’s the big deal?).

Personally, I think this is a bad thing - but one which I’ve seen coming for a long time. It’s not the tip per se. After all, most companies would do this anyway. It’s the fact that Google says they’re not like most companies.

Remember the lawsuit against Microsoft regarding IE7? They said Microsoft was using their monopolist position to increase usage of Windows Live Search - the default search engine in Internet Explorer 7. They said they “don’t think it’s right for Microsoft to just set the default to MSN on install”, that “users should choose” and that “companies should compete for users based on the quality of their search services” - this despite the fact that it’s very easy to change the default IE search engine. (link)

Fast forward to this week, and we see that Google has done something as “bad” as what they said Microsoft did - if not worse. They are using the trust people have in them to advertise their own products. Unlike IE7, where competitors could easily add a link for users to change their default browser, here there is no way for Google’s competitors to create an ad like Google’s. A “tip” with a picture is very different from a link which is clearly marked as being “sponsored”.

As I said, I’d expect this from most companies. But not from a company whose PR department doesn’t get tired of saying “We’re not like most companies”. I see this not as a “meaningless tip”, but as a sign of what’s to come - Google betraying the trust people have in them.

And what do you think of this? Feel free to comment!

If you’re buying a new computer for the family or for a child this Christmas, watch this thought provoking film first. Be patient, may take a minute or so to load.

Find the Video HERE

Releated downloads
Report Abuse Desktop Client
Windows Live OneCare Family Safety
Windows Live Messenger 8.1 (with Report Abuse features)

Related links
Child Exploitation and Online Protection Center
Virtual Global Taskforce

Here is compiled a full list of software which must be downloaded. Yep, every one of them. All of these are brilliant in every way, shape and form and are just plain brilliance. OK you don’t have to download them, but all of these are free except where stated, and are just great. Download ahoy!

 = Download the software
 = Show information regarding the software

  1. Windows Live Messenger
Talk to your online friends, view your Live Space and join the biggest instant messenger network in the UK! Formerly MSN Messenger, you can video chat, transfer files and even talk using your mobile device.

  2. Adobe Reader (formerly Acrobat Reader)
“The reader of e-books” - allowing you to view the popular PDF format. Use it to view small tiny files which can contain rich content and images.

  3. Audacity
One of the best sound and audio editors on the market, and it’s 100% free. It’s open source so you can play with the program to your hearts content. Hosts many features and simple to use.

  4. Daemon Tools
Emulate ISO and other type of images as if it’s another disc drive in your computer. It’s fast, reliable and works brilliantly restoring files from images you’ve created previously, and ideal for installing Vista!

  5. Microsoft Virtual PC 2004
Virtually run an entire operating system from a small, compact and simple to use stable and reliable environment which has no impact on your actual system other than using memory and CPU. Brilliant!

  6. Microsoft Visual Express 2005 Editions
Free software for developing web pages, C++ applications, J# and the ever so popular C# programming language. Write visually rich applications and the code behind it aint so difficult to get either!

  7. Mozilla Firefox 2
This web browser being open source is free, simple to use and secure. You can search from any web page, and reads pages directly from the code behind it.

  8. Visual Task Tips
An XP program designed for emulating the “Live Thumbnails” feature in Vista. Any program in the taskbar will show up in it’s own preview window above the taskbar item to show you what it’s doing.

  9. Winamp
A small, compact and very handy media player. It just sits in the corner of your screen playing music, playing video and even streamed music over the web.

  10.Windows Internet Explorer 7 for Windows XP Service Pack 2
The next Internet browser following on from the world’s most used browser. Simple, secure, has some brilliant safety features and works on all Windows machines.

  11. Windows Live Maps (and Virtual Earth 3D Beta)
Online maps are fair enough, but this is the Google Earth equivilent and runs directly from your web browser. You can see the contours of the landscape, advertisements on billboards and 3D-buildings.

  12. The Linux operating system
The free operating system - boasts some brilliant things such as plug-ins and styles.

  13. OpenOffice
If you’re a student or strapped for cash, use the OpenOffice suite - totally free and works with all the Microsoft Office filetypes. Brillant for opening and editing Word documents and it’s simple to use.

  14. Apache Web Server
The world’s most popular web server application. Host your own websites from your computer at home - drag and drop in your web pages and it’ll organise them and traffic easily.

  15. PHP Runtime
Superb backend server side programming language which lets web developers do some amazing things with their code. Highly dynamic and it’s all server side so it’ll work in any browser on any computer.

  16. Free Download Manager
Sick of your downloads failing or stopping for no reason? This free solution lets you start, pause, stop and manage your downloads and even preview them before their even done. Hense the name, 100% free.

  17. Sygate Personal Firewall 5.8
Although taken over by Symantec, this is one of the best free firewalls on the market. Simple to use, and protects your computer from incoming and outgoing traffic which could be malware etc.

  18. Windows Defender
Microsoft’s free anti-spyware tool. It runs in the background and constantly protects your machine from all kinds of nasty malware. It’s very easy to use and even for the most basic user it’s simple to manage.

  19. ClamWin Anti-Virus
The world’s free portable anti-virus. It doesn’t embed itself into your system, and doesn’t realtime scan so it doesn’t use loads of memory. However you can scan your system whenever you feel like it!

  20. LimeWire 4.13 (Beta)
Browse the world of peer-to-peer networking, download files from other machines and even download torrents using this software. Remember, play safe and don’t donwload something which has a copyright!

  21. WinRAR (free trial)
A brilliant software tool which lets you compress and decompress all kinds of files. It uses a popular RAR extension which is used worldwide and decompresses all kinds of file types - ISO, ZIP, TAR and GZIP.

  22. FLV Player (free trial)
A web Flash player which lets you convert any media file into a web standard. Instead of hosting hefty files online, simply embed this into your page and it’s small, efficient and easy for users to use.

  23. Windows Media Player 11
One of the world’s most used media players which comes as an Automatic Update in Windows XP and as a download. Enables you to download from an online store, organise your music, videos and pictures.

  24. Primo PDF
Forget saving everything as a Word or PowerPoint document, not everyone uses the Microsoft Office System. Using this software you can turn any Office file into a PDF so it’s small in size and portable.

  25. Password Safe
Loads of passwords? I know, so put them all into the Password Safe for memory’s sake and use one strong password to open it up again. Keeps all your passwords safe but helps you keep track of them all.

  26. Microsoft Office 2003 File Viewers
If you only want to view certain Microsoft Office 2003 documents, you can just view them with these programs instead of downloading or buying the full version of Office. Download the Word, Visio, PowerPoint, Excel viewers.

  27. Paint.NET
An excellence in image editing. Initially a project from Microsoft interns, this software has become huge. You can do almost anything with almost any image type and it’s amazingly simple to use.

  28. DynDNS Updater
Want to host a website but only get an IP address? Then DynDNS enables you to transfer your websites homepage IP address into an actual website - eg. http://72.14.207.99 = http://www.google.com!

  29. Messenger Plus! Live
The world’s biggest Windows Live Messenger plugin. Forget standard instant messaging, with this you can send each other sounds, you can enhance your IM experience and set custom status messages.

  30. VLC Media Player
This media player will play absolutely anything and everything. It’s light, it’s portable and it works on almost any computer (from the download source anyway).

  31. Windows Vista Product Guide
Want to know more about Windows Vista before it comes out? Download the product guide - it is packed with information, screenshots, images and lets anyone understand the power of Vista.

  32. Microsoft USB Flash Drive Manager (Standard)
Got loads of USB devices? Then this software is for you - you can backup and restore entire drives and even rename them so when you plug them in, it’ll give you a handy description of it so you know which is which!

  33. Windows Live OneCare Family Safety
Protect your family and the kids in the house from those bad websites - this free software enables parents (administrators) to block categories of websites and individual websites out for the kids (clients) so that kids are protected from the online nasties.

  34. Windows Live Mail desktop/center
The replacement for Outlook Express - manage your Windows Live Mail accounts, your POP3 accounts, work email accounts and even your schedule with this free software. Say goodbye to Outlook for good!

  35. Windows Desktop Search
With this, you can search any aspect of your computer from documents, emails, pictures, and other types of media with the push of a button.

  36. HealthMonitor
A brilliant free and powerful system performance monitor which monitors CPU usage, memory usage, disk space and the Event Viewer and can inform users via email, popups or even through text message.

  37. Cheetah DVD Burner
The ultimate in burning software - it lets you burn pretty much any kind of media to disk and even sets options for bootable disks, setup disks, and disks which work in DVD players.

  38. Microsoft Research Group Shot
Free image manipulating software which overlays two similar pictures to expand the final image to a bigger and more beautiful image. Take two photographs and overlay them together for a brilliant finish.

  39. HijackThis
Lets you see right into your computer - what’s running and what shouldn’t be running. Kill processes, check your startup items, and browser hijackers. Very simple and powerful software for any user.

  40. Orb 2.0
Free remote access software which lets you stream music, images and video directly from your home computer to any other computer in the world and even over a mobile device.

  41. Skype
VoIP (Voice over IP) software which lets you make free phone calls to potentially anyone in the world. Excellent voice quality, video support and even instant messaging support. Works on desktop computers, mobile phones and mobile devices.

  42. Google Earth
Lets you search for any landmark or location and find it on a 3D map. You can browse through the 7 Wonders of the World and even find landmarks through the online submission forums.

  43. NetStumbler
Wireless software which lets you pick up information about any detected wireless network, and also helps protect the user against rogue access points. Any wireless user should have this software.

  44. Microsoft Sysinternals Suite
A collection of small unique programs and utilities which can help any system administrator or even the advanced user troubleshoot and help secure their systems.

  45. MediaPortal
This software turns your computer into a media center. It’s open source, works with most TV sets and allows you to share, store and record DVD’s and other file formats.

  46. WordPress
Free web-based database software for blogging with! Runs on any web server and is easy to use and install, and even has free plugins and themes for the user to change the style of their blog.

  47. Resource Hacker
A small utility to extract, view, modify, rename, add, delete and extract resources in Windows executables and resource files such as DLL files and other files with media attached.

  48. Azureus
A free, simple Java based torrent downloader which manages your torrents in any number of ways. Limit download speeds, upload speeds, handy icons to see what your torrent is doing - simply ingenious!

  49. IrfanView
One of the most popular image viewers in the world. Convert images to other file types, it’s small, compact, and opens files within micro-seconds.

  50. Zone Alarm
A free, simple to use personal firewall and lets users customise their computers inbound and outbound traffic so that they are significantly safer from online threats.

Two days ago I have bought a new mobile phone. It’s a Qtek 8310 Windows Mobile 5 smartphone. This small „Hello world″ was written on this phone, which was connected via wlan to the internet.

Regards,
Dennis Fraederich

What do you do on a quiet Friday afternoon if you have an extra billion dollars to burn?  Well, why not take a flier on some MSFT.  At the close today, 31 million shares traded driving the stock up 59 cents (1.91%).  It’s hard to imagine why someone would need to get that much stock on their sheets before the weekend, but obviously there must have been a reason.  Whether we’ll ever find out is the question.

This is of course nothing compared to the 59 dollars plus that MSFT were pulling on the Eve of the Y2K scare-perhaps MSFT need another scare to jump share prices again

Just got a private email about Zune Announcement, its devices and service will hit the shelves tomorrow!!! Here is the letter.

We’re excited to share with you that Zune devices and service will hit the shelves tomorrow!
When the team began on this voyage a few months ago their goal was fairly simple:  to create a platform that would enable new experiences and narrow the gap between artists and their audiences.  Digital entertainment stands at a transition point today.  By adding human power to the equation – both the power of the individual and the power communities we are excited to see where we this journey takes us.
 
To make sure they could compete, not only did they design Zune to be the best device and software on the market today, but they also bet on the basic elements to allow the experience to grow with you.  For example, by providing a rich screen and wi-fi in every device they added a layer of future proofing for new innovative scenarios.  And of course, they designed the entire system with the idea of ever expanding on the core principle of Connected Entertainment through software and services.

And speaking of performing, let’s talk about the music that is launching the device at venues all over the U.S.  Today we have free flash concerts popping up in six cities across the country.  Check out the post-show comments, photographs and video from the concerts available at http://www.zune.net beginning this evening.
 
We’re sure you’ve seen a lot of press coverage since we first announced our Zune plans.  Like anything of this nature a lot of it has been great and of course some of it has been critical.  That’s OK.  One thing for sure is that a LOT of people are talking about it.  Here are some quotes we thought showed an appreciation of how our social story is taking shape.
 
“Most analysts say this sharing feature - which Apple has yet to offer on the iPod - may form the kernel of an advantage that Microsoft will exploit to build a community of digital media consumers. Microsoft could also link Zune’s online customers with those using its Xbox 360, who typically sign up and use Xbox Live, an online, real- time gaming service.” - Kevin O’Brien, International Herald Tribune
 
And from today’s New York Times:
“There is going to be a lot of noise this holiday around the latest attempt to take a bite out of Apple’s market share — Microsoft’s Zune. The combination device and service is backed with a marketing campaign valued in the hundreds of millions, as Microsoft aims to set the Zune apart as a community-based music-sharing experience. … The debate rages over how big a draw this functionality (referencing the send feature) will be, but already Microsoft has succeeded in capturing a great deal of awareness over the product, something Apple is accustomed to having all to itself.”  – Reuters shopping guide appearing in The New York Times today.
 
So now the answer to the question that we know is top of your mind – how and when can we buy a Zune player?  Be sure to tell your friends and family that the Zune players are hitting the shelves in over 30,000 retail outlets tomorrow (the largest retail rollout of any Microsoft product ever).  

Enjoy!
Sheri Sullivan
WinClient Communications Team

Good bye Malaysia, Hello USA! (But just for 2 weeks…)

Guess what…? I will be in Redmond, Seattle from the Oct 24th - Nov 6th, 1 week as a tourist and the other week as a business trip. When I received the email about the invitation to attend the meeting, I was excited about it. The event was finalized and now I’m on my way there.

What are you expecting to see me blog about?
I’ll be in the Redmond/Seattle area. The things you will see me blog about will includes pictures of the interesting things in Redmond/Seattle, things that is related to Windows Vista (ain’t that great? ) and things which is related to me.

FYI, I will be working in Microsoft Redmond for 5 days.

Do you have any special things you would like me to blog about? Drop me a comment!

I’ll be meeting up with Patrick E soon!

Read more over at http://www.msblog.org/jabezs-journey-to-redmond/

One week after it named the creator of a Windows Messenger add-on to its list of Most Valued Professionals (MVPs), Microsoft has revoked the award.  The news spurred criticism from fellow MVPs and the Windows Live Community due to Patchou’s Messenger Plus product being bundled with an optional adware.

Patchou’s popularity grew after he created Messenger Plus, a free program that adds some useful functions to Microsoft’s instant-messaging software (Windows Live Messenger), like the ability to stack several chat windows together and access them via tabs.
He was nominated and then last week, Microsoft named Cyril Paciullo, the creator of Messenger Plus and Messenger Plus Live, to its list of MVPs. The award recognizes people with expertise in Microsoft products who make significant contributions to other users, often in the form of technical advice.

Once the award was handed to Patchou people were up in arms over the issue alciming that his software distributed LOP,  a major source of annoyance and anger for web-users. This however is not true… Patchou switched to a different vendor that installs a small harmless and above all OPTIONAL software package with ads targeted at people from particular countries. These complainers won and the rest is history…

Microsoft released this following statement:
Microsoft today issued the following statement: “Cyril Paciullo was awarded with MVP status this year on the basis of his technical expertise and strong community contribution. However, his active MVP Award status was revoked as soon as the extent of the connection between his application and spyware was made apparent to the MVP Program.“.

While one could easily understand the company’s reaction in this matter, the very fact that Patchou was awarded the MVP award in the first place proves that Microsoft has acknowledged his extraordinary product expertise and significant contribution to the MSN Messenger and Windows Live Messenger, now and in the past. Once again it’s been proven that all the criticism regarding the optional adware doesn’t devalue the quality of the addon in the eyes of its millions of users and those millions of users cant be wrong.

I can see where people are coming from complaining but in my honest opinion it dosen’t really matter.
Source derived from Mess.be