Microsoft made the official announcement that Kinect for Windows is ready to go and will be released on February 1st. It will be available in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, UK, and of course the US.

The additional features Microsoft is pushing as part of the kit include support for Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows Embedded systems. There’s also a new dongle included in the kit to ensure Kinect works alongside other USB peripherals you may have attached to your machine.

If you are among those who are experiencing difficulties in installing Office 2010 Service Pack 1 and are getting one of these two errors; you should fix this by installing the hotfix released by Microsoft.

• Code 78F Windows Update encountered an unknown error

• The installation of this packaged failed

• Error 1935. An error occurred during the installation of assembly component <component GUID> . HRESULT: 0×80131047.

These errors arise due to Officesuitewwsp1-x-none_msplog.log. It is evident by the error message which says “Error 1935. An error occurred during the installation of assembly component. HRESULT: 0×80131047?. This problem is due to reference to a non available drive or removable media device. The fix is simple.

Download and install this update – (64-Bit Package/32-bit Update Package) and then install Office 2010 Service Pack 1.

Office 2010 SP1 includes some improvements too. These include the ‘Open from web’ option in OneNote, which enables you to open notebooks from Windows Live SkyDrive, newly added Office 365 support in Outlook, a new enhancement to Access that integrates community content in the Application Parts gallery, and so on.

In addition to fixes and enhancements, Office 2010 also brings in some improvements in stability, performance, and security. Office 2010 SP 1 comes exactly a year after the release of the productivity suite.

You can get Office 2010 SP1 on your PC either via Windows Update or by manually downloading and installing the service pack yourself.

You can also download and install Office 2010 SP1 from the below links.

Download 64-bit version / 32-bit version of Office 2010 SP 1.

Tag is an implementation of Microsoft HCCB using four colors in a 5 x 10 grid. Microsoft Tag Reader is open source application that is designed to render the tag and allows you to convert Microsoft tags in various formats, including PNG, JPG, BMP, JPEG and SVG SR. Just drag and drop the file tag to the main interface Microsoft Microsoft Tag Reader and select the image format and width, to save it.

The app works on Windows Phone 7, Windows Mobile, iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, Symbian, and J2ME phones.

Download Microsoft Tag Reader.

Microsoft Fixit is a one-click solution that lets users fix most common Windows problems, which are usually requires editing registry and tweaking inner parts of the OS. 

User simply needs to download the FixIt Solution and run it to fix the issue.

Microsoft released a new Fixit solution, which automatically diagnose and fix poor performance of a PC and speeding up slow computer.

It look into issues such as power saver setting, multiple anti-virus programs running, programs that are running at start up, too many users logged on, etc and fix the issue with a click.

This new Fixit Solution can fix:

Power plan is set to power saver
More than one user is logged on to this computer
Multiple anti-virus programs are running
Several programs are running when Windows starts

If you find any performance issues for your PC, just download and try this tool from Microsoft.

Microsoft Arc Touch is a premium PC accessory with an unique design and aimed at users who travel often. Arc Touch Mouse succeeds it’s predecessor, the Arc Mouse and is Microsoft’s answer to Apple’s hugely popular Magic Mouse.The Microsoft Arc Touch mouse has taken the word “compact” into the next level, thanks to the flexible design and the magic scroll pad.

What’s in the Box:

Arc Touch Mouse
USB Receiver
AAA Batteries
Manuals and Warranty

Design & Installation

The curvature on the Arc Touch Mouse is designed in such a way that the mouse is more comfortable to hold for longer periods of time.

Arch Touch Mouse is made of a flexible rubbery material with a wonderful grippy finish. When you open the package, you would find the mouse which resembles a slab of plastic and nothing like a typical mouse you know of. At the back, you would find a nano-transceiver which is magnetically attached to the mouse. You would need to take out the nano-transceiver and attach it to your preferred USB port. Once you have done this, just snap back the flattened mouse to it’s curvy shape and that would power it on.

The mouse has all the standard buttons including left and right click buttons and a unique touch based scrolling operation. The touch-sensitive scroll tab has vibration feedback and accelerated scrolling features. The curved portion on the top has a rubberized grip which makes it easy to use.

On turning on the mouse, you will see a green light on top which indicates the battery level (it turns amber when the battery is low). You will also see the BlueTrack light at the bottom. The BlueTrack technology ensures that you can use the arc touch mouse virtually on any kind of surface.

The Mouse has all the standard buttons as you would expect including the left and right click buttons. In addition to these, it comes with a unique strip which handles your scrolling operations. The touch-sensitive strip has vibration feedback and accelerated scrolling features, which will surely appeal to most of the users

Microsoft claims that the Microsoft Arc Touch Mouse can last more than 6 months before you have to replace the batteries. There is a small green LED indicator if the battery level is high and will turn into red when it’s time to replace the batteries

Pros:

Unique flexible design
Great for frequent travelers
Ergonomically designed
BlueTrack technology ensures slick usage on any surface
Touch based scrip for scrolling
Can be flattened for easy storage
Nano transceiver, small in size
Long battery life

Cons:

Pricey – costs around $55 (or Rs 3425)
Takes time to get used to
Dependency on USB transceiver
Dirt Magnet
Not comfortable to be used for hours
 

It allows users to download latest definitions and make a bootable CD, DVD, or Usb Stick which when booted from loads the Windows Preintall Environment (Windows PE) to run the scan and clean infections.

Malware infections can sometimes block anti-malware utilities or even make the computer unbootable, This is the reason why Microsoft has now came up with a free “Standalone System Sweeper” utility enabling users to get rid of those nasty infections allowing them to perform offline scans to remove viruses, trojans and rootkits effectively.

Microsoft Standalone System Sweeper Tool

This new tool is NOT a new antivirus or malware detector, but a tool to use once the problem is a fact. So naturally I would advice you to download it now, and keep it on a flash drive, or a CD. The only problem I foresee is to remember where that CD was put or on which usb pen you stored it at least 250 MB of space.

In addition to help solve boot problems, Microsoft also promise that this new tool can be used to solve problems regarding your current anti-virus program whether it cannot be installed or that windows cannot detect it.

What it does

The Microsoft Standalone System Sweeper Tool first scans your boot sector for any corrupted files or settings. It then scans your system for any known malware or infections.

64 bit and 32 bit

Microsoft Standalone System Sweeper Tool comes in both flavours (32 and 64 bit) and supports XP (SP3), Vista and 7.

An Internet connection is required to download the latest virus and spyware definitions for Standalone System Sweeper. Supported web browsers are Internet Explorer 6 or higher, or Mozilla Firefox 2 or higher.

Microsoft Standalone System Sweeper Beta is not a replacement for a full antivirus solution providing ongoing protection.

Some time ago at the 2011 annual in Atlanta, at the conference on technical developers. Microsoft announced upcomings WindowsPhone 7.5 operating system was named “mango”, Microsoft also revealed more details of the mango mobile phone.

Steve Ballmer let a few details fly in a speech at the Japanese 2011 Microsoft Developer Forum, saying that the update will include 500 new features.

We learned that Windows Phone 7.5 will also get Bing integration and Windows Live Messenger Support, as well as Facebook and AIM chat, visual voicemail, and support for SkyDrive, Microsoft’s cloud storage service.

If you want to see the live webcast of Windows Phone 7.5 “Mango” release, go here.

Mainly includes few characteristics update and upgrade.

1. electronic mail folder setting

You can phone the main interface set up a separate e-mail shortcut, and can be directed to a particular project team member or a particular group set E-mail folders alone, or according to the contact list in Outlook mailboxes to set.

2. conversational to check E-mail

The E-mail inbox mango phones will be arranged according to the conversational manner, represent the sending and receiving, the same as the Q & A, Facilitate users to read e-mail messages, it is easy to grasp the content and purpose of the session.

3. search mail server

Mango of cell phone users can search other by email server or switch to another mail server to see not stored in the machine in those mail, don’t put all mail in cellphones, reduce space take up, while convenient customers to check all E-mail.

4. Lync service

Based on the Windows Phone system Lync Mobile application can free download from Windows Phone application market, can provide business instant messaging function, when the user out anytime and anywhere, to colleagues keep smooth and fast contact, and get Lync service provider of technical support.

5. complex password

Mango mobile change before mobile password by digital constitute only simple forms, provide the combination of letters and Numbers, So as to improve the complexity and security password.

6. information rights management

By setting a personal identification number,can effectively limit E-mail and Office document access right, avoid information accident leakage.

7. hidden SSID support

Mango mobile phones can through search hidden company Wi – Fi wireless networks, and provide connection support. manwhile, the consumer can continue the game, while receiving text messages.

8. Office 365 integration.

Mango will include deep integration with Office 365, which provides low-cost, hosted versions of Exchange, SharePoint, and Lync to individuals and customers of all sizes. This will include an Office 365 account type and Office 365 quick setup link in the Office hub.

The slogan of this newly launched website by this software giant is being described as “Moving the world off Internet Explorer 6”.

According to Microsoft:

“10 years ago a browser was born.

Its name was Internet Explorer 6. Now that we’re in 2011, in an era of modern web standards, it’s time to say goodbye.

Internet Explorer 6 was released on August 27, 2001, shortly after the completion of Windows XP. On April 14, 2009, Microsoft retired Mainstream Support for XP, and with it, support for IE6. That said, Microsoft is not planning to retire Extended Support for the operating system until April 8, 2014. If the company ends up releasing XP SP4, it will retire support for SP3 (released in April 2008) two years later, or in April 2014, whichever comes first. In short, IE6 will continue to be officially supported by Microsoft for at least three more years. Despite the support options, Redmond still wants it to die.

There are many benefits of upgrading to a newer version of Internet Explorer – improved speed, tabbed browsing, and better privacy settings to name a few.

Top 5 Reasons why Internet Explorer 6 Sucks

1. Slow as a Tortoise – Modern browsers function at lightening speed and Internet Explorer is still crawling along with it’s slow rendering engine.

2. Plain interface – The buttons for IE6 look so bland, un-interesting and huge, a far cry from what Firefox, Safari, and IE8 have.

3. Poor Security – It as got lots of security flaws and easy to attack.It opens door for spyware, malware, and viruses to get into your system.

4. IE6 Sucks – When you ask What you thing about IE6 to Web developers and “nerds” ? They the surely reply IE6 sucks.

5. Crappy page rendering – All moderb web pages looks like a mess when viewed in IE6.
Microsoft recently created a website called The Internet Explorer 6 Countdown, which is dedicated to watching Internet Explorer 6 usage drop to less than 1% worldwide, so more websites can choose to drop support for Internet Explorer 6, saving hours of work for web developers.

“There are many benefits of upgrading to a newer version of Internet Explorer – improved speed, tabbed browsing, and better privacy settings to name a few.”

“The web has changed significantly over the past 10 years. The browser has evolved to adapt to new web technologies, and the latest versions of Internet Explorer help protect you from new attacks and threats.” Microsoft said.

ie6death

theie6countdown

Over at the MIX 11 conference, Microsoft has used three sides of a cubicle structure to showcase the developers’ hard wrok. Spotted by Long Zheng, the app wall displays thousands of icons from the apps in the Marketplace, and creates a place for developers to spot their own applications. While this is undoubtedly based off of Apple’s interactive App Wall from WWDC 2009, it makes for a great decoration and should provide some joy to the developers who find their apps.

Microsoft could not resist from bringing out a Wall with all the Windows Phone 7 Apps displayed, but instead of going for a Live Wall run on large screens Microsoft opted for the energy efficient way of just going static.

thewindowsphoneappswall:- The Best Place to Promote Your Windows Phone Applications

Apple Matrix Live Wall : Now here are the pictures of the Apple’s Awesome Live Apps Wall which was shown at their events. On those screen you find 30 Mac Pro Towers with Mac OS X Snow Leopard along with apps synchronized on 24? LED Cinema Displays. The visualization shows the activity of around 50,000 popular apps from the Apple App Store.

There is a lot of focus on Windows Phone 7 development. So far the developer interest in the platform has been growing. To commemorate the enthusiasm Microsoft has put up a wall filled with icons of the Windows Phone 7 apps. The wall while good doesn’t compete with the one Apple had at their developer conference.
 

Last year, Skype had revenue of $860 million on which it posted an operating profit of $264 million. However, it overall made a small loss, of $7 million, and had long-term debt of $686 million. It was the second time Skype has been bought out; after being started in 2003, it was purchasd by eBay in 2005 for $3.1 billion. eBay then sold the majority of its stake in 2009 to a private investment group for $1.2 billion less than it paid.

Microsoft’s own software already has considerable overlap with Skype. Windows Live Messenger offers free instant messaging, and voice and video chat. It currently boasts around 330 million active users each month, typically with around 40 million online at any one moment. Microsoft has an equivalent corporate-oriented system, Lync 2010 (formerly Office Communication Server) that allows companies to create private networks that combine the communications capabilities of Live Messenger with corporate manageability. The underlying technology of both platforms is common, allowing interoperability between Live Messenger and Lync. The company also plans to integrate Kinect into Lync to create more natural virtual presences.

Perhaps more adventurous, integrating Skype-like functionality into Windows Phone would be something of a game-changer. Integrated multinational VoIP support would potentially be enormously disruptive to the cellphone market. However, as good as this might be to end-users, it would probably serve only to kill Windows Phone stone dead for carriers.

Malware is already an issue for Skype and of course it’s a well known part of the Microsoft landscape. Maybe I’m just being a silly Apple user to raise this concern but it certainly comes to mind. Of course, the most recent security vulnerability reported for Skype was a (largely harmless) issue with its Mac client.

The takeover may help Ballmer lure Skype users to Microsoft’s phones and software and narrow Google Inc. (GOOG)’s lead in Internet advertising. Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft will connect Skype to its Outlook e-mail, Xbox game console, Windows mobile phones and corporate-phone software. The acquisition, Microsoft’s largest, is also the biggest Internet takeover in more than a decade.

Facebook and Google were serious buyers. Google, with its Google Voice offering, doesn’t really need Skype. In essence, I feel Microsoft was bidding against itself. Even then, I personally think this is a bet worth taking, especially for a company that has been left out in the cold for so long.

• Skype gives Microsoft a  boost in the enterprise collaboration market, thanks to Skype’s voice, video and sharing capabilities, especially when competing with Cisco and Google.

• It gives Microsoft a working relationship with carriers, many of them looking to partner with Skype as they start to transition to LTE-based networks.

• It would give them a must-have application/service that can help with the adoption of the future versions of Windows Mobile operating system.

• However, the biggest reason for Microsoft to buy Skype is Windows Phone 7 (Mobile OS) and Nokia. The software giant needs a competitive offering to Google Voice and Apple’s emerging communication platform, Facetime.

Why Did Skype Want To Sell?

Skype had filed for an IPO, was going to do about a billion dollars in revenues, and was on its way to becoming profitable. So why sell? Silver Lake and eBay were both getting impatient and wanted to lock in their profits. Some sources also believe Skype’s revenues had stalled.

The company had bet heavily on is video sharing service. The premium version of video calling and sharing was a way for Skype to increase its average revenue per user and move into the enterprise market. However, given Skype’s DNA is that of a consumer Internet company, the challenges aren’t a surprise.