Archives For Windows Vista

HowTo: Add Hulu Desktop to Windows Media Center

June 4, 2009

Mike Garcen of MissingRemote has a good article about integrating the new Hulu Desktop application with Windows Media Center.  Thanks to support for appropriate WMC keymappings and a little XML ingenuity, you can directly launch and navigate the Hulu app from within Windows Media Center.  I’ve confirmed this works (mostly) with Windows 7 as well, though getting the tile to work appropriately is still a bit of a challenge.

The other challenge is returning to WMC when you’re done with Hulu Desktop.  Pressing the “Green Button” will return you to WMC, but Hulu will continue to run in the background.  This is pretty annoying when you accidentally hit the button during playback in a Pavlovian action to pull up the main menu.  Hopefully the good folks at Hulu will see it fit to improve integration.

Tip: Read Mike’s article to the end for Yaggs simplified steps.

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Dell’s Adamo Thirteen is revealed

March 17, 2009

pearl_hero_shotAnnounced via email, carrier pigeon, tweet, SXSW messenger,  and the interweb, Dell’s new luxury brand for PCs has launched with their new Adamo laptop. Featuring an etched unibody aluminum case or black (onyx), the new laptop sports:

  • A 1.4/1.2 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor
  • Up to 4GB  of 800Mhz DDR3 dual-channel memory
  • 13.4in 16:9 display with edge to edge glass
  • 128 GB SSD standard
  • Wireless N & Bluetooth 2.1
  • One RJ45 port (what, no mention of Gigabit Ethernet?)
  • Optional  Mobile broadband
  • More than 5 hours of battery life on a single charge
  • Full Size backlit keyboard

The unit is only .65in thick and starts at $1999.  Fully tricked out, the “Jet-setter package” starts at $3,088 and includes an Ecru Tumi sleeve, mobile internet via a copy of Microsoft Office Home and Student and an external DVD-RW.

I’m not sure why they chose this economy or the unlucky-in-some-states number “Thirteen” as the moniker for the unit, but it definitely has drool factor. I’m looking forward to hearing how it performs.  The most valuable feature in my opinion is- at that price, does it come devoid of the bloatware that ships on most new PCs and a free update to Windows 7?

Learn more at the ultraswank www.adamobydell.com

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Microsoft Store Launches Online in US, others to follow

November 14, 2008

image Last night, Microsoft unveiled the official Microsoft Store online in the US, offering direct purchase of Microsoft products online, including the largest library of Microsoft digital downloads.  Additional countries will be coming soon including UK, Germany, Korea, Japan, France, Spain, and the Netherlands.

If you’re looking for an Xbox 360 or accessories for the holidays, Microsoft published games like Gears of War 2, Lips, or Zune devices and accessories, this is a great place to start.   With Xbox 360 bundles starting at $199, there are some good deals to be found.

Tip of the hat to Brandon LeBlanc at the Windows Experience

In Media Center, Windows Vista, Xbox, Zune , , , ,
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Roundup: Watching the Olympics Online (and in HD!)

August 8, 2008

Ahh yes, Olympics frenzy is upon us.  The time when countries cheer on their athletes in games of sport and goodwill.  It’s also a time when companies cheer on their contributions to the Olympic efforts and services available to keep tabs on the event which is lining up to be the largest streamed event in history.  Since we’re Addicted to Digital Media around here, it wouldn’t be the Olympics without a roundup of the ways you can keep tabs and this year it’s much cooler – with thousands of hours of content available in HD streaming on the Web for Windows and Mac users, perhaps for just a few weeks we’ll see some peace and harmony.  Unfortunately for my friends outside the US, these services are specific to the USA so apologies. 

So, here’s the roundup:

1.  Olympics Tracker in the new MSN Toolbarimage

What: This isn’t your old MSN Toolbar.  Generally I cringe at installing any toolbar app into my browser, but this new version is both functional and visually slick in part thanks to being built with Microsoft Silverlight.  You’ll find an Olympics button that presents the latest medal count, photos, video and sport-specific news right from the comfort of your web browser. The button even glows when updates happen to notify you in a polite way.  Alternately, Live Search is optimizing search results to include latest stats, news, and medal counts.  Details available here.

How to get it: Visit www.newmsntoolbar.com and download the free toolbar.

 

2.  Live and HD On-demand Events on NBCOlympics.comimage

What: So you forgot to set your DVR to record that amazing football game, or want to watch live coverage but it’s not being broadcast on the myriad of NBC/Universal TV stations?  Have no fear – NBC and Microsoft Silverlight are bringing over 1000 hours of live and on-demand Olympics coverage to your PC or Mac.  On-demand coverage will use a brand-new adaptive streaming technology capable of true HD-quality video over the Web – no stopping and buffering either, the technology automatically adjusts video quality to available bandwidth.  Live events are presented using the Emmy-award winning Windows Media technologies.  Be sure to check out the enhanced player – in the Control room you can stream up to four events – at the same time! 

How to get it: Visit www.nbcolympics.com/video and check out the new player.  Note: Silverlight is a required installation for the experience.

 

3.  Windows Media Center on Windows Vista Premium & Ultimate

image What: If you have a Windows Vista Premium or Ultimate PC, you can watch NBC Olympics On the Go in Windows Media Center, an Internet-delivered catch-up TV service from NBC Universal powered by Wavexpress’ TVTonic platform, no TV-tuner required. This free download-and-play service differentiates Windows Media Center as the platform with the highest-quality Internet-delivered Olympics experience in the USA. No word yet on whether this works via Extender – I will have to try it later.

With NBC Olympics On the Go in Windows Media Center, you will get:

  • NBC Sports’ complete on-air HDTV coverage of the Beijing Olympics on the NBC, USA and Universal networks – even when you don’t have a TV tuner for your Windows Vista Home Premium or Ultimate PC
  • 225 hrs of long-form Olympics video over 17 days
  • 24 sports, full opening ceremony, and a closing ceremony montage
  • Up to HD quality, with the vast majority of the video delivered in 840×480 progressive scan resolution at 1.5 Mbps bit rate, plus several events per day delivered in 1080i resolution

How to get it: Click here for details or here for the TVTonic app  Note: for 64-bit Windows users, hang tight- there’s an update going through certification that should provide support before the games actually begin. 

There are a host of other ways to get the Olympic experience as well. Google has a summer games page and mobile page and I’m sure to have missed some others.  Tell us what you think- how will you be watching the Olympics?

In Media Center, Mobile, Windows Media Player, Windows Vista, Zune , , , , , ,
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Vista "Mojave Experiment" Site is Now Live

July 29, 2008

imageOne of the hits of the Financial Analyst Meeting was a series of focus group study videos of XP users who had never seen or used Windows Vista.  They were told they were going to be evaluating a future OS code-named, "Mojave".  When I first saw the video during a FAM run through I cringed at the beginning but was pleasantly surprised by the end.  Check it out for yourself at www.mojaveexperiment.com.  My only complaint about the site is that the audio in the focus groups wasn’t the best in the world and some of the clips could use some audio re-mastering, particularly the "You can’t please everyone" clip. I’d also like to see them show the complete demo presented to the attendees. A few interesting data points:

  • 84% of participants were XP users, 22% Apple, 14% pre-XP Windows, 1% Linux
  • Of the 140 respondents polled, on a scale of 1:10 (10 highest), the average pre-rating of Vista was 4.4. After the demo it rated an average of 8.5.  Many respondents would have voted higher but wanted more time to play with it.
  • 89% of Vista users are satisfied with it, 8 out of 10 would recommend it to a friend.
  • Vista users are 60% less likely to be infected with malware

Note all these data points are available on the site.  I would also like to see a clearly labeled clip with the demo of what was shown – that would be a nice follow up touch.

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