Redmond Pie

I was searching for DreamScenes over at DeviantART Gallery and found this Aurora wallpaper from OS X Leopard converted into a pretty neat DreamScene for Windows Vista.

Microsoft Update Product Team Blog has a new post announcing the roll out of an infrastructure update to Windows Update agent ( client code ), which will make it possible to install more than 80 updates at the same time.
Over the next couple of months we’ll be rolling out another infrastructure update to the Windows [...]

Most of you must know by now, that Windows 7 is going to be called Windows 7 finally. We at Redmond Pie are happy with the name. Seriously, what’s wrong with it? It’s the next version after Vista SP 1, which is version 6.1. Makes sense to me.

Admit it or not, the UAC does tend to get on our nerves after some time. The rude blacking out to the prompt isn’t a pleasant view.

Before you read further, see the ‘People’ Tile in the Sidebar in the above picture. It shows an AIM contact as well. Although this sort of practical Sidebar Tile or Gadget didn’t make it into Vista, Microsoft still has patented it.This Patent awarded to Microsoft on 7th October is all about the functionality of this [...]

Not many people remember the problems Windows XP had before Service Pack 2. The Blaster and Sasser worms had almost ruined the security record of the OS. On top of that Internet Explorer 6 had security patches almost every week. What’s amazing is that, this is the same OS that people love now. They prefer XP over Vista! XP is hailed to have been the perfect OS. I can only imagine, how people would think like this about Vista too after some time.

Windows has a built-in DOS-based utility called systeminfo.exe that shows complete information of the system including the exact date and time when was Windows installed.

Most of us have read by now that Microsoft is going to replace some of the most essential applications in Windows by their Windows Live alternatives. I, for one, do not welcome this change at all. Can you imagine an operating system, which after install you can’t view your images with? Or one, in which there is no email application? Do we really want to rely on an operating system that is so barebones that it requires us to first download a 100 + Mb setup to achieve all these functionalities?

The third ad installment from Microsoft’s enormous $300 million advertisement campaign have started to air and surprisingly they have stopped experimenting with Bill Gates and Seinfeld pair for good. This is the first time that Microsoft has responded to Apple’s popular “I’m a PC, I’m a Mac” campaign which was believed to have played a big part in tarnishing Vista’s image.

All of you must know by now that Windows 7 will not be featuring a sidebar, as the gadgets will be integrated in the desktop. But, this feature shouldn’t come as a surprise, since this functionality is achievable in Vista as well. Yes, not many know this, or might not have noticed this, but it’s [...]

Windows Home Server is one of the most under rated product of Microsoft which has got great potential for homes with multiple-connected computers. Based on Windows Server 2003 codebase, Windows Home Server is intended to be a solution for homes with multiple connected PCs which offers file sharing, automated backups, and remote access.

The second Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld Microsoft Ad is here. This video is an uncut version of the 2 part ad of which part 1 was aired on 11th September and part 2 will be aired on September 12.

While Vista hasn’t been welcomed very warmly by gamers, due to its performance not being much better than it’s predecessor, it certainly seems as if it’s ready to make amends. Microsoft has made a Windows Gaming Experience (WGX) Group to deliver great games to the largest gamer base ( bigger than console user bases ), that is the Windows Operating System.

If you think that only iTunes can provide you with three-dimensional interface to visually browse through your digital movies library then you are wrong. Comes in Movie Browser that does a Cover Flow right into your Windows Media Center environment. Its an open source project and is still in its infancy stage but provides by far the most visually stunning interface for any app in Windows Media Center.

Microsoft Update Catalog. Made for corporate environments, this service lets you download updates that can distributed over corporate networks and so on. These updates include software updates, drivers and hotfixes ( no Ultimate Extras though! ). The setup files of any individual selected update is downloaded which can then be installed manually.

I came across a higher quality version of this very same at the Microsoft Windows website. Based on Silverlight, with the elegant curves, it makes me want to watch Bill Gates buy those shoes (and hear Seinfeld’s not-so-funny dialogues again) just one more time.

Microsoft might be introducing application specific glass renderings. The color of the glass frame around a window can be changed in Vista, but the change is global to the system. The color of any particular window glass frame can not be set by choice. But, how about being able to change the color/opacity level of a the glass frame of any application through defined events or commands?

Not many of you would know that you could actually create or map a drive directly to your FTP site from within Windows Vista without having to install any third party software. This trick comes in handy when you run or manage a website,and are required to upload or download files frequently using your site’s [...]

Mike has this very useful guide on how to share Recorded TV with other Media Center based networked computers in your house. However it only applies for those computers which are running Windows Vista Ultimate which means that it does not apply to Media Centers which are recording tv shows using Windows Vista Home Premium. [...]

Last month we ran a small contest in which we asked our readers to design a bootscreen for the next version of Windows. The contest ran for a month in which we received 44 designs from 7 different readers.
We promised to reward a free copy of Windows Vista Ultimate to the user who best [...]