Category: microsoft

Vista Hub on Gizmodo.com.au

Microsoft and Gizmodo.com.au/Lifehacker.com.au have created a collection of smart tips and tricks on Windows Vista.

The local Microsoft team asked me to contribute some articles. Writing with an editor with deadlines is tough! Thanks to Nick Broughall for his patience and assistance.

My articles:

Live Mesh

Nic Fillingham, Aussie in Seattle for on10.net, goes Hands on with Live Mesh

Jon Udell interviews Ray Ozzie.

(more videos on the team blog, here)

This has to be the technology of 2008. Live Mesh.

I’ve installed it on General Melchett (home), Captain Darling (work craptop) and little PrinceEdmund (EEE PC) – and the ability to share files “in the mesh” is just easy.

Right click on a folder, add to the mesh (I’ve done this with my Favourites folder)

Go to second machine, right click and add to the mesh – and Live Mesh recognises the similarities and allows you to synch the two directories.

Yes, Mac OS X client and Windows Mobile client are on their way, too.

Now, LOLZ aside: Working for Microsoft

After this excellent and funny video, many former work mates ask me what its like to work for Microsoft. The chutzpah to take time to make a video like this is in itself a testament to the cultural state of Microsoft. Well, some parts at least.

Rory Blyth, formerly of the Channel 9 team, writes what it’s like working for Jeff Sandquist.

Sadly, I don’t work directly for Jeff, but do contribute to some of his sites. Rory is 100% correct about this particular part of Microsoft. It is worth a read for those managers thinking about approaching this blogging/web 2 world. The stress of becoming more corporately transparent is going to be felt by the management level.

Dunno how Jeff does it.

General Melchett goes Vista Ultimate SP1

sp1_rtm

Whilst General Melchett has been Vista x64 from birth, we Microsoft people were recently given early access to the final Vista Service Pack 1.

Last night, I downloaded the updater. Backed up General Melchett. Double clicked. And watched.

So, firstly a note to all. When the installer says 1. Several Reboots and 2. About an hour – both are highly correct. Please be patient.

After an hour. A restart to the login screen. Service Pack 1 is installed.

Everything is working. Networking, Remote Desktop. It is difficult to quantify any gains quickly: however the formal list of changes is worth a read.