Want to see posts from the Windows 8 team ? Follow their new blog, Building Windows 8, aka "B8", starting today.. http://t.co/FlEh2yk This from Steven… "For the Windows team, this blog is an important part of developing Windows 8, as was our blog for Windows 7. Blogging allows us to have...

There is life before (and, I'm sure I'll find one day, after) Microsoft. It's important to remember that and appreciate the little things from our time before MSFT that made an impact. This is one of my favourites. How appropriate I should note this in my 6,000th update (aka "tweet") on Twitter . ...

This week John C. Maxwell   offered this famous QOTD : Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up. – Thomas Edison To end the work week, Dominic Carr offers his own suggestions for weekend reading on the Microsoft Blog It’s Friday afternoon...

CES is off to a great start with plenty of new product news… and we haven't even had the keynote kickoff! As I noted last month (all of a week or so ago) I decided to get on the ebook reader bandwagon and finally ordered a new Amazon Kindle. I was torn on the size: the 6" appeared best for my needs...

For all of those who are still braving the crowds to finish their holiday shopping, you're in good company, as you'll note at right. I'm off this week but working on a couple of belated posts. In the mean time, here are a few to hold you through the holiday weekend, including my favourite Apologies for...

If there is data on your PC that you need to protect, BitLocker encryption can help to protect your files with encryption. (As noted on the Windows 7 site, BitLocker "helps keep everything from documents to passwords safer by encrypting the entire drive that Windows and your data reside on. Once...

It's Thanksgiving, and again I am fortunate enough to spend my holiday with my friends and family. In a past post, I noted my posts on being thankful , in particular this one on being thankful , where I noted the Seattle P-I newspaper's slide show on " Words of Thanks ." "What are you most thankful...

Jenn asks today… "What do people read the most on your blog? I found your article on how to choose a new computer and found lots more stuff." Good question, Jenn. I didn't really know until I looked today. Here are the top recent posts from my blog in the last couple of weeks. Seems that the...

Brandon over in Windows (interesting to write it like that, having recently moved from building 26 ) posted here about how we really designed the look-and-feel of Windows 7 , in contrast to a quote in a short interview from a Microsoft employee not involved in designing Windows 7. "I hate to say...

Did you have a Windows 7 Launch Party? Gizmodo offers a gallery of photos from several different Windows 7 launch parties although most/all are uncredited with original owners/URLs. This one is certainly my favourite (is it yours?): Note to self: need to post more details of our own launch event. Tags...

As I noted on Twitter today, writer Mitchell Ashley says that he didn't realize he'd ruffle so many Mac user feathers with his article 5 Reasons Macs Can't Claim They're Better than Windows 7 (also available via http://bit.ly/BeSTp )… I regularly use both Windows and Mac PCs, so any comments that I've...

As I noted on Twitter , a quick nod of the head to Ed Bott for his post on the Windows 7 upgrade chart published in Walt Mossberg's blog this week. Ed took a few moments and updated the Windows 7 Upgrade chart with a more simplified look and feel... I like his suggestion on upgrading from Windows...

New on the Springboard Series Blog , highlights from the latest Virtual Roundtable on Application Compatibility for Windows 7. I'm looking forward to having the full programme posted online.           Video: VRT Promo Missed it? Well, here is a promo video...

Of interest, a new post on the Microsoft On The Issues blog from Dave Heiner, on Working to Fulfill our Legal Obligations in Europe for Windows 7 ... "Earlier today CNET reported that Microsoft had sent a memo to computer manufacturers and retailers about our plans for Windows 7 in Europe. We’re...

As I noted the other day in my post Thinking about downloading SP2 for Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008? Please download it from a trusted source , I'd seen several third party sites offering downloads to Service Pack 2 (SP2) for Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista. As I wrote here , you should...

Lots of news today (as noted in the news today ) on the availability of the Windows 7 Release Candidate (RC) . Remember, only download the Windows 7 RC from a trusted source – via Microsoft – to save yourself the security risk . As noted on MSDN and TechNet, the RC is an opportunity for enthusiasts,...

This weekend was a busy one for us at home, otherwise I would have found a way to travel to Austin with several of my friends to attend South by Southwest 2009 Conference in Austin, Texas. For those of you who don't know, a good summary is offered here on SXSW from the local paper: "South by Southwest...

Today I saw in John Dvorak's Second Opinion column, John says Microsoft's business model is done and that "the age of expensive office software may be near its end". (Also the story is available via http://tinyurl.com/cm8fzn .) "Until now, the average computer user has been ignoring this...

If you weren't at the TED conference this week, you might've missed Bill Gates' mosquito stunt as noted in TechFlash by Todd Bishop (February 4, 2009)… "Yes, they were real. No, they didn't carry malaria. And they definitely didn't qualify as a swarm. But they sure did get a lot of attention. "That...

Over lunch today and before I head off to my afternoon meetings, I read a good post today, Visualization is Child's Play , from Joshua Allen in Microsoft DPE (whom I had the pleasure of meeting in person this past weekend) on the http://visitmix.com/ site… "A recurring topic of conversation among...

Are you participating in an office pool, wondering when Windows 7 will be released?  Sorry, keep wondering. This from Steven Sinofsky last night on Our Next Engineering Milestone , after offering a summary of the various product release points… "The obvious question is that we know the Pre...

Thanks to Stephen Rose for his reminder to take a look at these short screencasts of the new and updated features in Windows 7 from the Windows Client Video Library on TechNet. You can also subscribe to the Windows Client Videos for IT Pros RSS feed to be automatically updated as new walkthroughs are...

It's been a long week by any measure, and I was happy to offer some assistance today to a few associates impacted by the job eliminations.  Having experienced this in SiValley myself, I hope that I'm able to make an impact and help where possible. One person who is making a difference (in his own...

Well, it's been a busy week at home and at the office already, and it's only Wednesday.  Microsoft will report second quarter earnings tomorrow afternoon so don't ask me anything 'til Friday please.  At the office early, home late.  But a word on a quick exchange I had tonight with Long...

A step away from the highlights of the day, a collection of articles and posts from my reading pile that you may find of interest.  OK, if you must, here's one story that just may provide you with more insider comments from Obama’s inauguration that you'll get on CNN or Access Hollywood: Senator...