What Will Be In Zune 5.0?
Last Updated on Monday, 26 July 2010 09:40 Written by Alan Tuesday, 27 July 2010 08:00
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
Last Updated on Wednesday, 21 July 2010 10:27 Written by Alan Thursday, 22 July 2010 08:00
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
Last Updated on Friday, 16 July 2010 06:26 Written by Alan Sunday, 18 July 2010 08:00
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.
