Redmond Pie » Windows 7 Center

Microsoft Demonstrates Single Game On Windows Phone 7, Windows and Xbox 360

Skipper Eye — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 12:28:32 +0000

Today in a major breakthrough, Microsoft’s Eric Rudder, while speaking at Tech-Ed Middle East, gave a fantastic demonstration of a game developed in the new Visual Studio 2010 as a singular project, that runs on multiple platforms. It can be played on Windows 7 based PC with a keyboard, on a Windows Phone 7 Series prototype device with accelerometer and touch controls, and on the Xbox 360 with gamepad. Amazing, isn’t it? One same game, running on three different screens, on three different platforms. There is also no reason why Zune wont chip-in to these sometime in near future.

The game in question was “Indiana Jones” which has been developed with 90% shared code across the said three devices. You can start playing it on your Xbox 360, save it, and then later resume it on your phone or a Windows 7 PC from exact location where you left it on your Xbox 360. Now that really is impressive stuff!

Here is the video of the demonstration:

This is probably what the original “Live Anywhere” was all about which Bill Gates envisaged back in 2006. And we can now finally see Microsoft bringing this all together to their benefit. We all knew Microsoft had to do something remarkable to come back in this game, and they have done something which their competitors (iPhone, Android, Symbian) doesn’t have. Game on I say! [via Engadget]

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Discovery Channel LIFE Theme for Windows 7

Taimur Asad — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 17:15:47 +0000

Microsoft today has released a fresh a new theme for Windows 7 – LIFE by Discovery Channel. The said theme packs 5 amazing high-resolution wallpapers from nature to decorate your desktop with a resolution of up to 1920 × 1200.

Celebrate nature with stunning imagery from Discovery Channel’s LIFE, a new series about the bizarre and beautiful ways living things adapt and thrive

Discovery Channel LIFE theme is available on the official Windows 7 Personalization Gallery and can be downloaded by following the link here.

This theme will only work on Windows 7. For more wallpapers and themes, make sure you visit our Windows 7 Wallpapers and Windows 7 Themes Gallery. [thanks to Long Zheng for the hat tip via twitter]

HP Mini 210 vs Dell Mini 10v – Head to Head

Skipper Eye — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 18:28:00 +0000

Netbooks since the year 2009 have stormed the world of PC market. PC hardware manufacturers are working on bringing new and improved models of this tiny form factor every other day. To help you choose which one is right for you, we have formulated a quick specs-wise comparison between the HP and Dell netbooks – HP Mini 210-1080NR vs Dell Mini 10v.

HP Mini 210-1080NR
Highly portable Mini 210-1080NR has a flush-glass display and comes in four color choices: HP Imprint in matte Silver, Pacific Blue, Sonoma Red, Black Crystal. It features Windows 7 Starter edition plus quick Web access for instant surfing, synch-up and video streaming applications from HP.

Key Features of HP MIni 210 are as follows:

- Quickly get around and get things done with Genuine Windows 7 Starter
- Work productively with the 1.66GHz Intel Atom Processor N450
- Enjoy the view on the 10.1" (diagonal) flush-glass WSVGA LED Brightview display (1024 x 600)
- Type comfortably with the nearly full-size keyboard (92% of standard size; much more comfortable than the thumb keys on most smart phones and PDAs)
- Start surfing in seconds with HP Quick Web
- Stay in sync with your primary PC using the HP QuickSync app
- Stream videos from other PCs easily and fast with HP MediaStream
- Store data on the 250GB (7200 rpm) hard drive
- Extend your running time with the 6-cell battery
- Express your style with the unique Pacific Blue design
- Easily go online in more locations with the integrated 802.11b/g/n WLAN
- Keep in touch through e-mail, instant messaging, video chats, and social networking, whether you’re at home, around town, or across the country
- Chat face-to-face with friends and family via the built-in webcam and preinstalled Skype application
- Travel light with the thin design (less than 2.7 lb.)

Dell Inspiron Mini 10v
Dell Inspiron Mini 10v has everything that you can wish to have in your netbook. It is highly portable with sharp design, complete with excellent wireless connectivity and entertainment features which makes the Mini 10v exactly what you were looking for in your next device. With 7 color options, you can have the netbook in the color of your choice! Apart from all this, the Dell Mini 10v is probably the only netbook available today that can run OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.x (Hackintosh) with complete hardware support. If you are looking for a cheap Mac alternative, the Dell Mini 10v is without a doubt the way to go!

Key Features of Dell Mini 10v are as follows:

- Widescreen viewing: the most disturbing thing on website is left-right scrolling. Its bright 10.1″, widescreen display surface with a 16:9 aspect ratio is designed to present websites without hassle of left-right scrolling, as well as with a smoother line of sight.
- Social Connection: The Inspiron Mini 10v makes it even easier to stay connected to your world wherever you go. The new internal 802.11b/g WiFi connection brings you wireless technology as well as optional Bluetooth® 2.1 to stay connected all over. Dell Inspiron Mini 10v is small, virtually weightless design that lets you travel light while keeping up with your blog, video chat, instant messenger and email so that you are never disconnected from your family and friends.
- Storage: Besides 160GB hard drive option and 1GB of RAM, you can also keep your files online! Store, access, collaborate and share any type of file through a secure, simple and intuitive web browser experience. Plus, you can purchase larger accounts to store more files.
- Keyboard: The Mini 10v’s keyboard is user friendly and extremely easy to use. The keyboard is 92% of the size of a traditional laptop keyboard and you may not even feel that difference on your fingers.
- Long battery life: The Mini 10v provides an extended battery life while keeping the weight of the systems remains under 1.2kg. So no need to sacrifice light weight advantage for battery life.
- Dell DataSafeTM Online: Dell’s online backup service offers data protection by enabling customers to backup data to a safe, remote storage site using a broadband connection. Dell DataSafe Online is easy, flexible and secure. Set up and forget it for backup of data and help protecting against software, hardware and catastrophic failure.
- Dell Support Center: Dell’s centrally located, easy-to-use application provides personalized support resources. Conveniently located on your PC’s desktop with quick links to service, support and system resources. Helps keep your system up-to-date and running efficiently through automated fixes for common configuration issues.
- Operating System: Windows 7 or Mac OS X Snow Leopard (Hackintosh)

Collecting data for laptop comparison from various sources, here is a quick head-to-head between the two said netbooks.

click here to see the above image in full resolution.

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Windows 7 Netbook with Intel Core i7 Processor

Skipper Eye — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 21:38:49 +0000

Panasonic has announced a new line-up of “Let’s Go” notebooks and amongst them is a netbook “Let’s Note”, sporting the new Intel Core i7 processor. The netbook in question boasts of a 1.20GHz Intel Core i7-650UM vPro processor with a 10.4-inch (1024 x 768) display. Intel’s Atom chip is the standard stuff that is showing around all over as the driving CPU of the 10.1 inches netbooks these days like the Dell Mini and HP Mini, so to have a netbook with Core i7 is surely an amazing thing for this form factor.

The base model of the netbook packs Intel Core i7-620UM vPro processor running at 1.06GHz but you can configure it to get the top of the line version – the Core i7-650UM at 1.20GHz. This processor benefits from Intel’s Turbo boost technology that allows the speed to flex up to 2.13GHz depending on usage. It manages to include this in a chassis weighing just 0.93kg, whilst also bundling a 3100mAh battery rated to last for 7.5 hours. It also features 2GB RAM by default which is again configurable up to 4GB, 250GB HDD and Windows 7 Professional 32-bit. It also has integrated graphics, a choice between a 500GB hard drive or a 128GB SSD, along with 802.11 a/b/g/n WiFi, VGA output and Bluetooth. The “Let’s Note” also includes a PC Card slot, an SD / SDHC reader, two USB 2.0 ports and VGA output. WiMax is also an option.

What’s most surprising about this netbook is the battery expectancy: Panasonic claims a 7.5 hour battery life from the standard three cell 3,100mAh battery. This definitely must have something to do with the Core i7 mobile processor which is giving this netbook a very impressive battery life.

Technical Specifications:

OS: Windows 7 Professional
Processor: Core TM i7-620UM
Intel ® Smart Cache 4MB ※ 3, operating frequency 1.06GHz,
2.13GHz Intel ® Turbo boost use of technology at up to 2.13GHz
Chipset: Mobile Intel ® QM57 Express Chipset
Main memory: Standard 2GB DDR3 SDRAM (slot 1) / Up to 4GB
Video Memory: If you expand the memory up to 763MB 2GB is 1563MB (shared with main memory)
Hard Drive: 250GB (Serial ATA) ※ capacity of about 12GB left the recovery area, about 300MB used as the system area (disabled users)
Display: 10.4-inch TFT color LCD XGA (1024 × 768 dots)
External resolution: 800 × 600,1024 × 768
Wireless: Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6200
WLAN: IEEE802.11a (W52/W53/W56) / b / g / n compliant
LAN: 1000BASE-T / 100BASE-TX / 10BASE-T
Sound: PCM sound (24-bit stereo), Intel ® High Definition Audio compliant
Mono speaker
Card slot: PC Card (TYPEII) × 1 slot (CardBus compatible, current allowable 3.3V: 400Ma, 5V: 400mA)
× 1 SD memory card slot (SDHC Memory Card / support copyright protection technology)
Memory: Dedicated DDR3 204-pin SO-DIMM slot × 1 (1.5V/PC3-6400/DDR3 SDRAM)
I/O: RJ45
Mini D-Dub
Mic
Headphone
Keyboard: 85 compliant OADG key, key pitch of 17mm (horizontal) / 14.3mm (vertical) (except for some keys)
Wheel pad
Battery: Battery life of 7.5 hours
Charging time: 3.5 hours (power OFF), About 5 hours (Power ON)
Dimensions: Width 229mm × depth 187mm × height 29.4mm/42.5mm (front / rear)
Weight: PC unit: about 0.93kg (Included battery pack (about 0.22kg) when mounted)

This netbook is expected to hit retail shelves on February 17th, but unfortunately, it will only be available in Japan at launch. You can check out netbook reviews at TestFreaks regarding detail information and public opinion about this new product once it is launched.

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iPad vs HP Slate – Where Do You Stand in this Mac vs PC War?

Skipper Eye — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 03:43:56 +0000

Steve Jobs yesterday announced the most awaited and hyped Apple product in recent times – the iPad in his keynote address at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. On the other hand, HP Slate was first shown by Steve Ballmer at CES earlier this month. Both type of devices are of same form factor i.e. tablet/slate which many think may decide the future of general purpose computing.

The comparison between these two devices is hence inevitable. Based on all the information that we have gathered about the upcoming Windows 7 powered HP Slate PC, we have placed it against its Mac counterpart – the Apple iPad. Here is how the two Tablet/Slate devices stand against each other.

The HP Slate specs listed above may not match the actual product which is scheduled to launch sometime this year. Apple iPad on the other hand will be available in US in March/April, with more broader availability to be made in summer of this year.

So in this upcoming era of this new Slate/Tablet form factor, which one are you going to go for? Mac? or PC? And who do you think is going to come out on top this time around?

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Silverlight 4 Facebook Client Released for Windows and Mac

Taimur Asad — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 21:14:12 +0000

Microsoft has just released Silverlight 4 based facebook client for both Windows and Mac OS X. Back in April last year, Microsoft showed off a proof of concept facebook client which was made using facebook’s Open Stream API on Silverlight but unfortunately that never saw the light of the day. After a long wait, they have finally released a fully working client for users running Windows and OS X – with full capability to run it out-of-the-browser.

This application brings together the many compelling platform capabilities of Silverlight 4 into a rich out-of-browser application in the familiar context of Facebook. Enjoy the photos, feeds, events, friends’ walls, and inbox mail from your Facebook account in an appealing and user-friendly environment.

Some of the features of the client are as follows:

Out-of-browser support
Hosting HTML content interactively
Local Device access (webcam)
Rich-Text control
Embedding alternative media content (i.e., YouTube)
Desktop notifications
COM integration (with Outlook) on the Windows platform
Right-click
Drag-n-drop
Window control
Animations

To try out this Silverlight 4 based facebook client, head over to the official Silverlight page to download and install Silverlight 4 Beta for your respective platform.

Here is a short video, published by ithinkdifferent blog which shows the touch features of the app in action on a Windows 7 PC.

Silverlight 4 Beta, Visual Studio 2010 Beta and .NET Framework 4.0 were all released back in October last year.

You can follow me on twitter or join our facebook fanpage to keep yourself updated on all the latest from Microsoft, Google and Apple.

Windows 7 Theme – Nothing But 7up

Anum Lodhi — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 14:51:07 +0000

Microsoft has been introducing beautiful theme packs for Windows 7 users via Personalization Gallery. After the inclusion of Coca Cola and Pepsi themes, ‘Nothing but 7up’ has been added to the official collection of Windows 7 themes. It is a fresh new theme based on 7up, a popular brand of a lemon-lime flavored non-caffeinated soft drink.

This theme features 7 high-definition wallpapers with a resolution of up to 1920 × 1200. Installation process as usual is extremely simple and easy. Simply follow the steps below to download and install this theme.

Step 1: Download 7up_Windows7.themepack file from Personalization Gallery here.

Step 2: Once you have downloaded, double click on ‘7up_Windows7’ file to install the theme.

Step 3: Now simply apply it via Personalization options in Windows 7.

This themes will only work on Windows 7. For more wallpapers and themes, make sure you visit our Windows 7 Wallpapers and Windows 7 Themes Gallery.

Windows 7 SP1 Exclusive Screenshots

Taimur Asad — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 19:31:29 +0000

A Spanish site named Muywindows has grabbed exclusive screenshots from the upcoming Service Pack for Windows 7. The screenshots seems to have been taken from a demo copy of a Pre SP1 Build of Windows 7 which according to them will be handed over to a selected pool of private testers in the coming weeks.

At this point, the Build number of Windows 7 SP1 is said to be between 7600.20500 and 20700, and it contain about 150 critical updates and security patches. A public beta of Windows 7 SP1 can be expected sometime in summer of this year, probably the same time when Office 2010 RTMs, while the final version can be expected in Q4 2010.

Some of the screenshots from Windows 7 SP1 are as follows:

Windows 7 RTM was announced earlier in July 2009. It is publicly available since the official launch, which was held on October 22nd 2009. Check out our Windows 7 Center for the complete coverage on the latest client version of Windows. [via Geeksmack]

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HP Slate PC with Windows 7 Unveiled

Taimur Asad — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 05:48:57 +0000

As reported previously, Steve Ballmer in his keynote today at CES 2010 announced the HP Slate PC which is said to go retail later this year. What is interesting about this Slate PC is that instead of running a stripped down or a customized version of Windows or Windows Mobile, it will be running full fledged version of Windows 7 (Starter most probably). Here is what Ballmer had to say about it.

Image via Gizmodo

They’re more powerful than a phone and almost as powerful as a PC. Perfect for reading, surfing the web and taking entertainment on the go..

HP Slate is fully multitouch capable and can be used as a Kindle like ebook reader, or as an Internet/Web surfing device; oh and it can do light gaming too. Kindle app and Frogger game was demonstrated on it during the keynote. The specs of the device are still not known at the moment but HP has promised to reveal more on it later today. Official teaser video after the jump!

Apple is also set to unveil a Slate/Tablet like device later this month. An official announcement about it is highly expected to be made on January 27, 2010, at Apple’s mega event which is going to be held at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco.

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HP TouchSmart tm2 Hands On with Windows 7

Taimur Asad — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 16:28:18 +0000

HP today has announced TouchSmart tm2, the much awaited follow up to TX2 in their convertible tablet PC lineup. The TouchSmart tm2 is going to be powered by Intel Core 2 Duo processor with monstrous 9 hours of battery life off its standard 6-cell battery. The duo capacitive multitouch touchscreen is compatible to work with both fingers and pen, oh and it will ship with Windows 7 as pre-installed OS. Best of all, like all the new HP notebooks, the TouchSmart tm2 will have aluminum build which is slimmer, lighter and stronger than its predecessor the tx2.

TouchSmart tm2 will feature the new version of HP TouchSmart software which includes touch friendly version of Netflix and an optional 3D desktop for all your touch goodness on Windows 7. You can see it in action in the video embedded below.

HP TouchSmart tm2 was exactly what I was waiting for the last one year or so. Intel processor, aluminum body and hopefully a more responsive multitouch screen than tx2 makes it a must have tablet PC for students and businessmen alike. [via Engadget]

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Redmond Pie » Windows 7 Center

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