September, 2012

Just spotted these 2 handy guides from our MSIT team

Work Smart: Exploring Windows 8

“This guide provides a high-level overview of the exciting new features in the Windows 8 user interface so you can get up and running quickly with the new operating system. ”

Work Smart: Using Windows Internet Explorer 10

“Internet Explorer 10, included in Windows 8, offers two browser experiences, a touch-optimized, modern-style experience and a classic desktop, web-browsing experience. This guide provides detailed instructions for using the Internet Explorer 10 modern experience, provides useful tips for working across both experiences, and discusses security and privacy.”

Get more information on Windows 8 and Internet Explorer 10

Rob

Following on from Hand Strands Iceland theme is this great one of Polar Bears.

“Exciting, beautiful, and fearsome, this free Windows 7 theme by photographer Hans Strand shows the majestic polar bear in its natural environment. “

Download Polar Bears theme for Windows

Rob

PS Don’t forget all Windows 7 themes work on Windows 8

Spotted this post by Palle on the Microsoft Language Portal Blog

Localizing your Windows 8 app: Multilingual App Toolkit released describing the Multilingual App Toolkit for Visual Studio 2012

“This extension for Visual Studio 2012 helps you localize your Windows app with translation support, translation file management, and editor tools”

It comes in the following 11 languages…

read more at Multilingual App Toolkit for Visual Studio 2012 and also check out this video from Jan Nelson in the Windows and Windows Live International Team

Rob

If you see error 80048820 when you try to sign in to Messenger, try the following steps:

1. Make sure your PC's date and time settings are correct
2. Set Internet Explorer security settings to use SSL
3. Re-register the security.dll files
4. Scan your PC for viruses
5. Check your firewall and router settings to make sure that your firewall isn't blocking port 443
6. Clear the Messenger proxy settings
7. Reset the proxy server settings for Internet Explorer
8. Disconnect or bypass your router to make sure your router settings aren't blocking your connection to Messenger
9. Make sure Internet Explorer isn't set to work offline
10. Check and clear the entries in the Hosts file
11. Clear the DNS cache

read how to do each of these for Windows 7, Widows Vista  and Windows XP Messenger sign-in error 80048820 

Get more help for Messenger

Rob

Recently updated – you can now download the Windows 8 Product Guide for Business

“The Windows 8 Product Guide for Business provides a detailed look at the many new and improved features in Windows 8 that are important to our business customers. This guide can help businesses understand how Windows 8 enables better business tablets, provides new possibilities for mobile productivity, enhances end-to-end security, and delivers manageability and virtualization enhancements”

Windows 8 Product Guide for Business covers  main areas

Handy article on installing and troubleshooting problems during the software update for Windows Phone 7

including information and links such as

1. A step-by-step solution to problems installing updates
2. Guide to try to resolve the problem when your computer doesn't recognize your device on the Zune software
3. What to do with common error codes
4. Resolutions for if you are stuck in download mode or the OEM splash screen
5. Your Windows Phone 7 doesn't work or respond as expected additional options

Failing al that try giving Windows Phone Answers a try which is a forum where you can post questions and get answers from the Windows Phone community.

Rob

Recovering a deleted email message in outlook.com is pretty simple, and the few steps below show you how…

“With Microsoft Outlook, you can recover email that might have been accidently deleted from your inbox. This is also helpful if your account has been hacked, because hackers often delete all the messages in an account. “

You can do this in a few simple steps

1. log in to www.outlook.com and click the deleted folder.
2. click the recover deleted messages link at the bottom of the left pane
3. Now Outlook.com tries to bring back every message it can… Feel free to send the team that it did or didn’t work

Get more help for outlook.com

Rob

Why are some webpages blank or incorrectly displayed in Internet Explorer?

1. Turn on compatibility view
2. Turn off Tracking protection for the page
3. Turn off hardware acceleration
4. Turn off Software rendering (watch the video to see how)

Get more help for Internet Explorer

Rob

Nice update the following 2 pictures where added to the bing dynamic theme for Windows

Surfer riding a wave near Pacific City, Oregon

Svartifoss waterfall flanked by hexagonal basalt columns in Vatnajökull National Park, Iceland

Get new pictures on your desktop everyday with the Bing dynamic theme for Windows

One quick note when you download this theme you will see a message like

make sure you select the Download Attachments option.

Rob

PS don’t forget all Windows 7 themes work on Windows 8 as well

This looks like a really useful insight into getting started to develop Windows 8 apps hands-on labs for Windows 8

“A series of eight hands-on lab modules that guide you through development of Contoso Cookbook, a realistic Windows Store app that incorporates many of the key new features available in Windows 8. You’ll learn to work with Windows 8 controls, view states, contracts, tiles and notifications, the Windows Store APIs, and other Windows 8 features. Choose the version of the lab series for the programming language you prefer: JavaScript and HTML, or C# and Extensible Application Markup Language (XAML). “

download the hands-on labs for Windows 8

Rob