With all of the talk of Windows 8 we sometimes forget that the current Microsoft operating system, Windows 7, is still the one everybody is buying.  Since MWE didn’t exist when Windows 7 debuted we never talked about ways to make it work best, but since Windows XP users are still switching to Windows 7 there is still a large amount of people looking for information.  One of the simplest tools comes directly from Microsoft – the Windows 7 Compatibility Center.

The Windows 7 Compatibility Center is a Microsoft web site that allows users to view and download the software that the Redmond company thinks will work best with your system.  This isn’t just a popularity contest, it’s determined by extensive testing that Microsoft has done with all of the software that they have given there stamp of approval to.  There’s almost every category of application that the average user may be looking for including games, photos, videos, music, utilities, and even developer tools.

The Windows 7 Compatibility Center isn’t just for software either.  Microsoft has also compiled an extensive database of hardware to let users know what devices will work best with their system.  They have tested cameras, printers, MP3 players, webcams, monitors, and a lot more.

You can use the Compatibility Center to find software or hardware or use it to check for the rating of something you were considering buying or downloading.  It’s very simple to find what you are looking for or browse for a particular piece of hardware or software.

Windows 7 Compatibility Center

Alan

Alan is the owner and editor of Making Windows Easy. In addition to writing about technology he is also an avid distance runner and hiker. Read More

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Not long ago Microsoft released RSS-driven Windows 7 Themes and now they are beginning to build up a library of them.  An RSS theme brings a whole new dimension to the Windows 7 theme concept, with pictures constantly being added via RSS, which is a syndication feed normally associated with media files like podcasts.  This allows new pictures to be added dynamically to a theme.

Microsoft have been continuously adding new themes to their Windows 7 library with a constant stream of new, and timely, themes based on current events like recently released movies and games, as well as seasons and holidays.  With the addition of RSS the themes from Bing can now instantly update newly added pictures that will show up on your desktop.  In this case, the new RSS theme is aerial photos of Europe.  Microsoft describes the new theme like this:

“Enjoy a fresh perspective with these breathtaking aerial images of the landscapes of Europe, including Belgium, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, the UK, and more. This free Windows 7 desktop theme exhibits the very best of Bing Maps aerial photography.”

The new theme will contain an ever grown number of pictures, all of which are aerial shots of locations in Europe.  All Windows 7 themes are free to download and use.  They are compatible with Windows 7 Home Premium, Professional, Enterprise, or Ultimate editions.

Alan

Alan is the owner and editor of Making Windows Easy. In addition to writing about technology he is also an avid distance runner and hiker. Read More

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We used to refer to them as Box.net, but now that they also own box.com they prefer to just be known as Box – they even redirect the box.net address to box.com.  I looked at Box a long time ago, but I have ended up using both SkyDrive and Dropbox for my cloud needs.  However Box restructured themselves and added a lot of new functionality to become one of the fastest growing cloud apps on the internet in the past year.

Box has become a viable Storage service for both home and business users.  Their user count at the end of 2011 was up to 1.9 million, which was nine times higher than 2010.  One of the biggest driving forces behind the success of Box is their mobile push, which has added many of their new users because of the great cloud deals they are offering to those users.  The new mobile push resulted in 1.2 million downloads from iOS users and more than 460,00 Android users.  Clearly the cloud is becoming very important to mobile users.  According to TechCrunch:

“But when Box tracks its enterprise sales, it tracks the reason for buying, and this past year, the company found there was a 30x increase in the number of enterprise deployments that were mobile-driven.”

That’s due to the number of users who need the ability to have their files synced to the cloud constantly so they can have access to the latest version when they are offline.  With all of this new functionality I plan to take another look at Box on both our home computers and mobile devices, so expect some more in-depth looks at Box to be coming soon.

Alan

Alan is the owner and editor of Making Windows Easy. In addition to writing about technology he is also an avid distance runner and hiker. Read More

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Today Microsoft held a webinbar to release news and new features of their Prive Cloud.  The broadcast, titled Transforming IT with Microsoft Private Cloud, showed off how various existing and new features can help corporations and IT pros deploy the new the Microsoft Private Cloud.  The webinar was conducted by Satya Nadella, Microsoft Server & Tools Business president and Brad Anderson, corporate vice president of the Management and Security Division.

The Microsoft Private Cloud solution consists of such components as Windows Server and Microsoft System Center, as well as, although not explicitly a part of System Center, SkyDrive, Azure, Office 365, and Office Web Apps.  Included in today’s announcements was the following information:

• The availability of a release candidate of System Center 2012, which customers can begin using today to build and operate private clouds for the delivery of applications across both private and public cloud platforms.
• System Center 2012 integrates eight previous products into one solution to simplify purchase, creation and deployment of private clouds with the best economics.
• T. Rowe Price says System Center 2012 is a “game changer.” The company sees the Microsoft private cloud as its answer to corralling its server infrastructure nto a single entity they can use to more rapidly deliver services that really matter to their business.
• Unilever is looking to the MS private cloud to help meet its goal of doubling business without increasing its environmental footprint.
• Lufthansa Systems is using Microsoft’s integrated cloud approach to chart a clear path to public cloud on Windows Azure in the future.
• Egged, the #1 public transporation company in Israel, is relying on the Microsoft private colud today.

Alan

Alan is the owner and editor of Making Windows Easy. In addition to writing about technology he is also an avid distance runner and hiker. Read More

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Not long ago we saw a clear prototype of the Microsoft Arc Touch Mouse but now, for the 30th anniversary of the Microsoft mouse, the company wanted to mark the occasion with something special.  They decided on two limited-edition new colors for their popular Arc Touch Mouse – red and gray.  The mouse is perhaps the piece of hardware that has changed the least since it came about in the 1980′s.  There  have been minor updates like the scroll wheel, the laser that replaced the old ball, and of course we have gone from PS2 to USB to wireless, but mostly the mouse has remained largely the same.

The Arc Touch Mouse from Microsoft is one model that has strayed a bit further, both in it’s shape and in the way it is used.  Unlike a normal mouse, the Arc Touch Mouse has a different shape – it’s an arch that can be bent flat to turn it off and save battery life.  It does have standard left and right buttons and a scroll wheel, but they look a bit different than is traditional.  Microsoft also made the micro-sized USB connector attach easily to the bottom for travel and the laser guide will work on almost any surface, including carpet.

The two new colors of the Arc Touch Mouse from Microsoft are available right now from the Microsoft Store online, and presumably from the physical stores as well, if you happen to live nearby one.  It’s selling for $59.95 for either the Sangria Red Diamond or Cement Gray colors.  You can visit the Microsoft Store to purchase or find out more about it.  A video review of the original Arc Touch Mouse is posted below.

Source: Microsoft Hardware Blog

Alan

Alan is the owner and editor of Making Windows Easy. In addition to writing about technology he is also an avid distance runner and hiker. Read More

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The Gmail Offline app for Chrome, the Google operating system / browser just got a brand dew update yesterday.  Google announced back in August that they were migrating their Gmail Offline to HTML5, and the new updates reflect the next step in that move.  “The first update – and a personal favorite of the team- is the addition of a settings page”.  The Settings page for Gmail Offline allows users to choose if they want to synchronize one, two, or four weeks of worth of Gmail.  The changes don’t stop there.  Google has updated a number of Gmail features.

• Improved attachments: All attachments are now downloaded and available for offline use
• Keyboard shortcuts support: If you have keyboard shortcuts enabled in Gmail, your setting will transfer over to the Gmail offline app. If you’re not sure what you can do with keyboard shortcuts, try pressing ‘?’ next time you’re using Gmail or Gmail offline.
• Numerous performance enhancements: Messages and attachments now download at a faster rate and some bugs have been fixed.

The new Gmail Offline app from Google is available for free from the Chrome Web Store.  Per the Google annpuncement, “If you’re already using Gmail offline, you’ll see these improvements the next time you open the app.”

While Chrome is Google’s web browser, it’s also probably the fastest web browser on the market and the browser required if you decide to buy a Chromebook, which uses Google Chrome as it’s operating system.

Alan

Alan is the owner and editor of Making Windows Easy. In addition to writing about technology he is also an avid distance runner and hiker. Read More

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Despite their last tablet being somewhat less than a success, Dell has announced plans for another tablet, coming in late 2012.  The Dell Streak failed to capture market share in 2011, although Dell has made a game effort to keep it alive with updates.  The new tablet will also be consumer-based, but all of the details are still unclear.  Reuters reported that Dell themselves aren’t yet sure about the exact specs for the new device, even the operating system is still unknown.

While Dell has acknowledged that both Google’s Android and Microsoft’s Windows 8 are viable operating systems, chief commercial officer Steve Felice seems to favor Windows 8, at least for now.  It may be due to the timing, since the new Microsoft operating system is due around the time the tablet is expected.  That would give Dell a front row start in this new tablet race.

While the focus from Dell is on consumer devices, The Verge reports that the new device will be “more compatible with the business world despite the consumer focus”.  According to Reuters, Felice also stated that, “When we introduce the products, they will be consumer products, but we are going to make sure that they are very compatible with the business marketplace, which we don’t think Apple has addressed”.

Alan

Alan is the owner and editor of Making Windows Easy. In addition to writing about technology he is also an avid distance runner and hiker. Read More

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One of the most popular franchises in video gaming history is the Final Fantasy dynasty.  Final Fantasy XIII was released in 2010 and hit sales figures in the six million range, making it one of the top video games on the market.  Now Xbox Live have announced a demo of the next version, titled Final Fantasy XIII-2.  The Demo was announced today by Microsoft Xbox Live manager Major Nelson.

“The unfolding drama of FINAL FANTASY XIII, released in 2010 and selling six million copies worldwide, continues in FINAL FANTASY XIII-2. Explore a richly developed world featuring both new and familiar faces, and an exciting and highly developed strategic battle system. In this ongoing saga, the future is about to change…”

The Final Fantasy XIII-2 demo is available free for Xbox Live and Xbox 360 customers.  There are currently no scheduled dates for the free demo to run, but something along the lines of thirty days seems about right.

Microsoft have been using the Xbox Live games for sometime now with versions for Windows Phone and Windows computers.  Final Fantasy XIII-2 will likely be one of the most popular games to appear on Xbox Live this year, so you may want to grab the demo while it’s still available.

Alan

Alan is the owner and editor of Making Windows Easy. In addition to writing about technology he is also an avid distance runner and hiker. Read More

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Windows 8 won’t be out until the third quarter of 2012, but Microsoft has been slowly rolling things out for those who want test it.  There was the Windows 8 Developer Preview which came out a couple of months ago and next week the first Beta will be on display at CES.  The Windows 8 Beta will be released to the public next month and anyone who wants to try it will just need to download and install it.  But the users who install Developer Previews and Betas are in the minority of computer users.  The vast majority of users will have no idea what they are getting when Windows 8 hits the market.

For those users the folks over at The Tech Labs have put together a helpful infographic.  The picture lists the top 9 brand new features that Microsoft have packed into their future operating system.  They don’t just list the features, but also explain each one.  There’s a lot be found in Windows 8 that users have not seen and some things that Microsoft has just improved.

The Developer Preview is available in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions for those who want an early look.  In the future Windows 8 will be the first to come with support for ARM processors.  If you are waiting for the final release then you can check out the infographic below to see what you can expect.

Windows 8

Alan

Alan is the owner and editor of Making Windows Easy. In addition to writing about technology he is also an avid distance runner and hiker. Read More

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This may not be news, but it was news to us here at MWE.  Amazon, who run the coolest music store online (no Apple, we’re not iTunes fans), and also make one of the best cloud storage services available, are offering a deal for a combination of the two services.  Amazon MP3 is constantly putting out hard-to-beat deals and free music and their cloud storage is second to none in terms of up-time and reliability.   Last  year they announced their Cloud Player service, which beat Google to the punch, although Google’s free 20,000 song limit, when announced, did trump the Amazon offering.

Now Amazon is trying to one-up Google with, not just 20,000 songs, but flat out unlimited music storage and 20 GB of regular cloud storage, but like many offers there is a catch.  It’s $20 for one year.  That’s still an incredible price given what you receive in return.  We’re not sure when this was announced or when it will end, but it does state that it’s a “limited time offer”.  Amazon Cloud Player will store both MP3 and AAC music formats.

Amazon Cloud Drive
• All paid Amazon Cloud Drive plans now include unlimited space for eligible music.
• All Amazon MP3 purchases saved to or uploaded to your Cloud Drive will not count towards your storage limit.

Amazon Cloud Player
• Web – Purchase, stream, download and upload your music on your PC or Mac.
• Amazon MP3 app – Purchase, stream, and download your music on your Kindle Fire or Android device.
• iPad – Purchase and stream your music on your iPad.

As I said, there’s no end date listed on the Amazon page, but it clearly won’t be going on forever, so if you are interested then head over there sooner rather than later to get signed up.  You can find out more and sign up at the Amazon Cloud Player site.

Alan

Alan is the owner and editor of Making Windows Easy. In addition to writing about technology he is also an avid distance runner and hiker. Read More

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