I am Microsoftie 4 ever (18+ years) working in Windows Services and Content team in the UK, my blog is mainly focused on the Windows family of products and trying to provide help pointers and resources for customers on our products.
Just wanted to highlight this great book currently available from the UK Microsoft Press shop The Best of Windows 7: The Official Magazine: A Real-Life Guide to Windows and Your PC - Microsoft Press UK now with 40% off.
“Explore the practical, fun, and creative things you can do right now with Windows 7 - with expert guidance from the editors of the only officially endorsed magazine for Windows 7. This guide comes packed with smart-and-simple tips - and vibrantly illustrated how-to's - on everything from navigating the Windows interface to taking advantage of new operating system features to fun projects for home, school, and work. Topics include boosting your productivity with Windows Live and Windows Internet Explorer 8, thwarting hackers, organizing your photo and music collections, making movies, streaming to an Xbox 360, controlling your TV from your PC, using Windows Calendar to get organized, setting up a home network in 10 minutes, and more. “
Well worth it if you are new to Windows 7, or just looking to get more from it.
Rob
If you are an IT Pro and are interested to understand your strengths and gaps in your knowledge around Windows 7 deployment then the Windows 7 Deployment Learning Portal is the place for you, as it will asses your current knowledge and provide you with targeted learning to help you fill in those gaps.
Give if it a go.
I mentioned UK Techdays a while back,well I have now found out that they have an extra day planned now to include Windows Phone 7 Series
“Be amongst the first in the UK to learn how to build applications and games for Windows Phone 7 Series. We'll introduce you to the development platform and show you how to work with the Windows Phone 7 Series development tools. Each session will ramp up your knowledge and help you become skilled in developing games and apps for Windows Phone 7.”
All the detail is at http://www.microsoft.com/uk/techdays/developerdayfriday.aspx
Looks a good day.
Really like the UK bing adverts here is the second one
So if you are seeing errors with HAV (Hardware assisted virtualisation)then this article may be of help.
Why am I receiving errors about hardware-assisted virtualization (HAV) when I try to use Windows XP Mode and Windows Virtual PC?
Which points out the following updates that you should download.
Get the update for supported 64-bit versions of Windows 7 If your computer supports HAV, but HAV is turned off, we recommend that you turn it on in your computer's basic input/output system (BIOS), instead of installing the update. The steps for doing this vary depending on the BIOS manufacturer. For sample instructions on how to do this, go to the Windows XP Mode and Windows Virtual PC support website.”
If your computer supports HAV, but HAV is turned off, we recommend that you turn it on in your computer's basic input/output system (BIOS), instead of installing the update. The steps for doing this vary depending on the BIOS manufacturer. For sample instructions on how to do this, go to the Windows XP Mode and Windows Virtual PC support website.”
Just wanted to highlight these 2 documents available on the Microsoft download center about Windows 7 XP Mode
You can also read more on the Windows Online web site
Install and use Windows XP Mode in Windows 7
Watch a video about using Windows XP Mode
You can get Windows XP Mode and Windows Virtual PC at http://www.microsoft.com/uk/windows/virtual-pc/default.aspx
Great little tip from MVP Paul Smith if you are looking for where your games have gone in Windows 7 professional , and how you can enable them by turning Windows features on and off
“For those people installing Windows 7 Professional you might notice that the Games Explorer and Start Menu look a bit sparse game wise. By default the games aren't installed in the Professional version. You can of course quickly add them back. Press Start -> Control Panel --> Programs ---> Turn Windows features on or off Up the top of the list of components you should see Games. Check that box, or drill into it and specify individual games. And press OK. Within a few moments the games should be installed”
“For those people installing Windows 7 Professional you might notice that the Games Explorer and Start Menu look a bit sparse game wise. By default the games aren't installed in the Professional version.
You can of course quickly add them back.
Press Start -> Control Panel --> Programs ---> Turn Windows features on or off
Up the top of the list of components you should see Games. Check that box, or drill into it and specify individual games. And press OK. Within a few moments the games should be installed”
Great Tip
Just wanted to share with you the 10 most popular* Windows Help articles
* this if for the UK site, in Jan & Feb 2010 and have at least 10 feedback votes from the bottom of the page
2 new Windows help articles for you today
“We recommend that you give each member of your family a separate, standard Windows account. A parent or guardian should keep the passwords for any administrator accounts and not make them available to children. Following this recommendation helps you preserve your personalized settings, but—more importantly—it helps improve your children’s safety and the security of your computer”
“All computers require storage space and memory to run programs and store files. There are different types of memory and storage, and each has its own purpose. Most people use a combination…”
Well actually 10 great articles from UK MVP @Technogranma (aka Sandra) about how to get the most out of Windows Live Writer especially if you are already a Windows Live user.
Sandra’s writing style is very readable and anyone who is new to blogging and looking to understand how to get the most out of Windows Live Writer could do a lot worse than start by reading these articles.
You can get Windows Live Writer at http://download.live.com/writer