What Will Be In Zune 5.0?
This fall, probably in conjunction with the release on Windows Phone 7, we will probably see a refresh to the Zune software. It could possibly be called Zune 4.7, but I would think the update will be more comprehensive and be known as Zune 5.0. What will it contain?
That is pure speculation at this point. Microsoft has said nothing, as far as I have been able to tell. We can make a few educated guesses based on what has been learned of Windows Phone 7 so far. The new phone syncs via Zune and right now Zune software will update music, podcasts, pictures, videos and games.
That’s not everything the phone will need to sync though. What about apps, to-do lists, contacts, calendars….?
I haven’t found out yet, and Microsoft didn’t send me the the review phone. But, I think if you use Windows Live then it will sync up automatically and wirelessly. But if you are in the Google-verse I am not sure how well, if at all, the sync will work. They need to add that though, because many of us use Google and Yahoo for these things. The current Windows Mobile does recognize Gmail and downloads push email from it, but for everything else you need to install the Google App – it’s not native.
So, will Zune include Calendar, To-do, etc.?
What about the App Store? Microsoft has one for Windows Mobile 6+. But it should really be integrated into Zune.
So, now we are putting together a wish-list for the next version of Zune and here it is:
- The ability to rearrange the menu
- The App sore fully integrated
- A menu item for Audio Books
- Sync with calendar and contact from multiple sources including Google and Yahoo
- Tabbed browser
And those are just the highlights. I would think that at least some of this will be included. Hopefully all of it.
The New Google Analytics
Yesterday I received an interesting email from Google regarding their Analytics program, which I use on all of my sites. If you don’t use it then let me recommend it now. It’s free and it it gives you great information about exactly how people are finding your site and what they are doing when they are there.
But, the email I received announced a lot more that can be done with it. Here’s the short list:
- Get customized email for your domain (i.e. name@yourdomain.com) with Gmail for Business
- Share and manage online schedules with Google Calendar
- Create team websites as easily as drafting documents with Google Sites
- Collaborate real-time on documents, presentations, and spreadsheets with Google Docs
- Analyze traffic data for your docs and sites by integrating Google Analytics
So, today I tried it out. I set up an account under one of my domain names and assigned an email address (example@domainname.com) and I can add others too. That’s cool, but I can do that through my hosting provider. So, really it’s the other items listed above that really mean the most. It will make collaboration much simpler for a team of people.
For $50 US per year per user you can add a lot more flexibility as well. But, the free version makes a great starting point and I don’t think I will need to move to the paid edition, at least for now.
Outlook Social Connector
On July 13, 2010 Microsoft released Outlook Social Connector. This brings support for Facebook and Windows Live Messenger directly into Outlook, allowing you to keep with you social network activities right in with you Email and calendar. This move makes perfect sense and probably should have happened before this, but better late than never.
This is compatible with Office 2003 and 2007 via a download. And, it’s available in Office 2010 through Microsoft Update. You will also need to download the Microsoft Outlook Social Connector Provider for Facebook. And, you will also need to download Microsoft Outlook Social Connector Provider for Windows Live Messenger.
Yes, I know, it’s a lot of downloads. Was there no better way?
You can follow along to see when new services are added by going to the Outlook Social Connector Partner Listing. You can also follow the Outlook Blog.
As of now, LinkedIn and MySpace are also available…if anyone out there still uses them (yes send your emails, I know I’ll get them). Twitter is not listed, but I have to think it’s coming soon.
Windows 7 Family Pack to Make a Comeback
A reliable source inside Microsoft has confirmed that the Windows 7 Family Pack (3 licenses) will be making a comeback this holiday season. The price will be $149.99, but I have no dates as of yet.
This is a GREAT deal for most every family, since most today have at least a desktop and a laptop. And the regular upgrade price for one license of Home Premium is $119.99.
More information, including dates, should come in the near future.
Tuner-Free TV in Media Center
Media Center is one of the most underrated technologies Microsoft has ever introduced. It allows you to enjoy live and recorded TV, video, movies, music and pictures with an interface suitable for the living room and compatible with a remote control.
Despite this, not many users of Media Center actually use it for it’s main purpose – recording and watching TV. Why? Well, it does not have the easiest setup. Installing a tuner card in the PC and setting up everything isn’t hard for a geek, but it’s also not a mom and dad operation.
However, what few have realized is that you don’t need to install a tuner card, hook up your cable box and go through the setup process to watch TV on your PC. Not only can you set up Amazon video-on-demand inside of Media Center and watch the built-in Netflix, but there’s a great selection of internet TV available as well.
Just scroll down to the TV listing in Media Center and you will find the, recently added, Internet TV. The internet TV “channels” are also available if you click on the Guide option. You can also add a desktop gadget that links to the available internet TV shows.
You will find both new and old full-length TV shows, as well as clips.
Now, if only we could get Hulu built into Media Center so we don’t have to use the “hack“.
Windows 7 Quick Tip – Check Ink Levels
Just a quick tip here that many of you may already know. But, for those who are always surprised and caught off guard when the low ink light starts blinking on the printer, here’s how to give yourself some warning. And, there’s no need to install a third-party utility. It’s built right into Windows.
1. Click Start => Devices and Printers
2. Right-click on your default printer and choose Printing preferences.
3. At the bottom of the screen click Get Ink Levels to see the amount of ink remaining in each cartridge.
Rotating Wallpaper in Windows 7
Everyone has their personal wallpaper on their Windows PC. It’s one of the first things most people due to customize a computer. Some people even change it periodically, but I suspect many never do. The idea of Wallpaper (now called Desktop Background by Microsoft) has been around since Windows 95.
However, Windows 7 improves on this often-used, but seldom-trumpeted feature. One of the most important ways it does this is by allowing an automatic rotation of multiple images to be used. It’s a slide show on you desktop that never ends and can be completely chosen and controlled by you.
You can choose from a number of high quality images that are included in Windows, you can download more from Microsoft or elsewhere on the web, or you can use you own digital photos.
With all of that said, lets set up a slide show. We’ll use our digital photos for this example.
1. Start by right-clicking on your desktop and choosing Personalize.
2. At the bottom of the screen click Desktop Background.
3. The Pictures Location Dropdown will let you choose between all locations on your PC (or network). You can choose Windows Desktop Backgrounds (high-quality Microsoft images), Picture Library (you photos and saved images), Solid Colors, and more.
4. As you mouse-over each image a check box will appear at the top left of the picture. To add the image simply check the box.
5. Once you have chosen you images for the slide show you can then choose the interval at which you would like the background to change. Simply choose from the dropdown box at the bottom of screen under Change picture every:
And that’s all there is to it. There are many other Personalization options you can play around with and I will cover more of those in another post.
Autostitch for Windows
If you are a Windows user and have any interest in photography, then you will want to check out Autostitch.
For the non-initiated, autostitch is a program that stitches together a series of photos into one big panorama. It’s free of charge and pretty darn simple to use. Honestly, the hardest part is taking the photos, not stitching them together.
If you want a primer, then let’s run through it.
1. Take the photos. As I said, this is the hard part. Basically you try to stay stationary as you move the camera from left to right (or right to left) taking overlapping photos in a straight line. When finished you may also want raise (or lower) the camera and go back across the same line at this slightly different height.
2. Load the photos on your PC. That’s easy enough!
3. Open Autostitch => click File => click Open and choose the pictures you want to stitch together.
4. Once you have selected all of the photos by Ctrl-Enter or Shift-Enter you can click Open.
5. The panorama will be somewhat messed up along the edges. That’s fine. Now open that file in a photo editing program such as Paint.
6. Now you can simply crop this copy into a beautiful rectangular panorama.
Below is the result of 9 photos I snapped recently along the Appalachian Trail in Shenandoah National Park.
The Cheapest Way to Get Microsoft Software
If you need more than, even, one copy of any particular Microsoft program, then Technet is, by far, the best way to go. Depending on what you need, there are three ways to go – Standard, Professional, and Professional with Media.
Now, let’s be clear, Technet is geared towards IT pros. It was put in place to allow for evaluation and testing of Microsoft software. But, that was when there was just a “pro” version. Now Microsoft has actually created a home version, known as “Standard”.
So what do you get with Standard? Basically, ten licenses for every software item except Enterprise. Microsoft’s chart, below, shows the details.
What software is included with “Standard”? The list is far too long to publish here, but if you want, you can get a list HERE. Just click the “Click here to download the full list of products” under “Software Evaluation” in the left-hand column. Suffice to say, the biggies – Windows 7 and Office 2010 – are on the list.
So, is a subscription worth it? Well, let’s say you have only one computer, and it’s running Vista and Office 2007. If you wanted to upgrade to Windows 7 Home Premium ($109.99 on Amazon) and Office 2010 Home and Office ($217.88 on Amazon) it would cost you $327.87. The Standard subscription to Technet? $199.00. Heck, Office alone is worth more than the subscription!
Now before you panic and think that when your one year subscription runs out all of your software will expire, it WILL NOT. The only thing that happens if you don’t renew is that you can’t download anything else. What you have is yours to keep.
That is what I use here for my PC’s and for my testing and reviews. I thought some of you might benefit as well.
Converting Videos With Any Video Converter
If you have video files that need to be converted to a different format – for instance, if you download a video in .mkv format, but want to play it in Windows Media Center, you’ll need to convert it. Well, you can install codecs, but that can be a future post. For now let’s make things easy and just convert the file.
Let’s make it simple, and best of all, free. I have been using Any Video Converter which comes in a free version and paid “Pro” version. The Pro version does some extra things that you may decide you need later. For instance, it converts to iPod, Zune and PSP formats. And for $29.95 it is a good deal. But if you are looking to convert to/from any of the standard formats then the free version will work just fine.
It converts between MPEG-4, .flv, .swf, .mpg, .avi, .wmv, .mkv, .mp3, .ogg, .wav, .aac, .m4a, and .wma.
Once installed and opened you have a simple interface.
The left pane gives you some pre-populated sources,but most people will need to click File => Add Video Files and locate the file that needs to be converted.
Now, on the right-hand side, next to Profile, click the drop-down menu and choose what format you would like to convert your file to.
Click Convert at the top of the window and you’re off and running.
There are other options you can play around with. You can change video and audio output levels (the defaults work best for me), enter in your You Tube sign-in and password for easy upload, change the output folder, and other things. But these simple steps we have just run through are enough to get done most of what the average user needs done.
