Windows 7 to let users create a Desktop Slideshow from files, feeds
Curious as to what else was under Microsofts elaborate lock, key, and duct-tape protection scheme mentioned earlier, I had my friend Chris Holmes run a scan of his 7 system, as Im still babying my laptops SSD drive.
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10.11.2008 Windows 7 Pre-Beta Build 6801 Wallpapers Desktop Slideshow
The Desktop Slideshow is one of the features that Microsoft has tucked away in Windows 7, hidden even from testers (at this point in time) including the participants at the Professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles at the end of the past month.
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5.11.2008 Windows Vista SP1 RTM Optimized Desktop
With the advent of Windows Vista at the end of 2006/the beginning of 2007, Microsoft has started pouring a consistent amount of efforts into enabling optimized desktops.
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30.4.2008 Windows Vista SP1 at the Basis of the Optimized Desktop
Windows Vista Service Pack 1 is at the basis of Microsoft's vision for the Optimized Desktop. Of course that the Redmond company is building a comprehensive strategy that involves additional resources and solutions on top of its Windows client.
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4.9.2008 Download Windows 7 Remote Desktop Connection 7.0 for XP SP3 and Vista SP1 and SP2
While Windows 7 technologies are, as a general rule, available exclusively with the latest iteration of the Windows client from Microsoft, there also are exceptions.
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4.11.2009 Microsoft: Take Advantage of the Vista SP1 Desktop Optimization Pack
The Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack is designed to help customers get the most out of their Windows Vista clients, according to Microsoft's official description of the solution.
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16.7.2008 Vista SP1 Desktop Optimization Pack 2008 R2 RTM
Since the introduction of the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack, the Redmond company has sold in excess of 10 million units of the package of solutions, and on September 15, the R2 version of MDOP 2008 was released to manufacturing.
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16.9.2008 Ashampoo Slideshow Studio HD
In past we have covered promo offers related to Ashampoo products one was for Ashampoo Burning Studio 2009 and another one was for Ashampoo Firewall today we are here with one more promo offer for Ashampoo Slideshow Studio HD.
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1.10.2009 Leaked Windows 7 Details: Theme Files, Gallery, Packs and Wallpaper Slideshow
While Windows 7 is still a taboo subject as far as Microsoft is concerned, with the company offering just crumbs from the feast that is Windows Vista's successor, details do manage to slip through, and the Redmond company has nobody to blame for it but itself.
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6.8.2008 The Windows 7 Desktop
Microsoft is laboring to deliver a new level of personalization, choice and control with the Windows 7 desktop, according to Senior Vice President, Windows and Windows Live Engineering Group, Steven Sinofsky.
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3.11.2008 Windows Desktop Search 3.0 Beta 2
The search engine in WDS 3.0 is a Microsoft Windows service that is also used by programs such as Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 and Microsoft Office OneNote 2007.
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23.8.2006 Windows Desktop Search 3.01
Windows Desktop Search (WDS) 3.01 is a minor update to Windows Desktop Search 3.0 that adds: support for indexing UNC files, additional support for enterprise deployment, and stability improvements.
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20.2.2007 Windows Vista 3D Desktop
Microsoft indicated early that Vista will feature a three-dimensional interface with transparency, moving objects, anti-aliasing and other effects. Thanks to portos for this download.
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10.7.2007 Windows Optimized Desktop Scenarios
Via Microsoft Connect, the company is accepting participation requests in a new Beta program for Windows Optimized Desktop Scenarios. The software giant aims to streamline the way in which users interact with the desktop in an enterprise environment.
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27.11.2008 Turn on Remote Desktop in Windows Vista
Remote Desktop is disabled by default in Windows Vista, but its easy enough to turn it back on. If you need to access your Vista PC from another box, its an essential thing to turn on.
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26.1.2007 The Future of Windows Live Mail Desktop
There hasn't been much news on Windows Live Mail desktop since 2006, with a minor update being released in February.
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13.3.2007 The Death of the Windows Desktop Operating System
The death of the Windows desktop operating system is not necessarily related to the non-Windows platform Midori developed in Redmond, or with a Rich Internet Application platform hosted in the cloud. entrustIT, a Microsoft Gold partner in the UK offered a glimpse at where the evolution of IT will inherently take the Windows client.
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5.8.2008 The Windows 7 Desktop and UI Customization and Flexibility
The Windows 7 desktop and graphical user interface are right on track to delivering an evolution compared to Windows Vista, and in this context, provide a high degree of customization and flexibility, superior to what is available with the successor of Windows XP.
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6.10.2008 Windows 7 RTM Desktop Optimization Pack Available
The latest version of the Desktop Optimization Pack offered by Microsoft is tailored to the companys most recent iteration of the Windows operating system.
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21.10.2009 Windows Live Mail Desktop Beta Released
Microsoft confirmed Wednesday that it has released the Windows Live Mail Desktop Beta to select beta testers and partners.
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30.3.2006 New Windows Live Mail Desktop Feature Revealed
Using their usual "More Than Mail" blog, the Windows Live Mail Desktop Beta team revealed yet another feature of it, along with a screenshot of a recent build.
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3.6.2006 New Build of Windows Live Mail Desktop Released
In this new build youll see some major improvements! Right off the bat,
the most noticeable change will likely be the updates weve made to our User
Interface.
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18.8.2006 Windows Live Mail Desktop Build 1172
The Windows Live Mail Desktop team has just announced yet another refresh of the increasingly popular mail reading application. This is the first refresh in over a month, and brings an outstanding number of improvements.
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17.11.2006 Disable Windows Vista Evaluation Watermark from Desktop
If an user install Windows Vista in trial or demo or evaluation mode, by skipping and not keying in any Windows product registration key when asked during installation of Windows Vista.
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24.11.2006 Windows Vista Desktop Optimization Pack Updated
Microsoft has announced that it wrapped up its Desktop Optimization Pack for Windows Vista and that an updated and complete version of the offering will be made available for download on July 1 2007.
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5.6.2007 How to Pin Show Desktop Option to Windows 7 Taskbar
Windows 7 has got revamped taskbar also known as superbar. Windows 7 taskbar has number of excellent features like Jumplist, Thumbnail preview, Aero peak, etc.
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7.10.2009 Open Beta Invitation for Windows Live Mail Desktop
Weve finally done it! Our little project to bring you the next generation consumer mail application is going massively public. As of today (actually we slipped it out quietly last week or so) we are instituting a hassle-free sign up for the Mail Desktop beta.
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27.7.2006 How to Enable Concurrent Sessions for Remote Desktop in Windows 7 RTM
In past we had posted hack to enable Multiple users access (Concurrent sessions) for Remote desktop on Windows 7 Beta.
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31.8.2009 Registry Tweaks to Enhance Your Windows XPerience - Part V: Desktop Icons
Once again, it's time to enhance your Windows XP operating system exactly the way you want and without paying a cent on expensive programs that do something so simple that even a kid could handle it.
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26.11.2008 Fix Windows 7 Build 7057 Desktop.ini Opening on Every Reboot
Windows 7 Build 7057 x86 is leaked & available for download on popular torrent websites and I suppose many of you have already downloaded & Installed Windows 7 build 7057. If you havent downloaded then check out screenshots of windows 7 build 7057 here.
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16.3.2009More Windows 7 6801 Goodies: Desktop Slideshow
Rafael and
Chris123NT are at
it again, this time with an unannounced feature discovered: a desktop slideshow.
This feature allows you to select multiple wallpapers
which will then loop as your desktop background at a set interval. You can even select to have it load images directly from an RSS feed.
No "unlock" has been released yet, but it will be soon. Keep your eyes peeled!
Screenshots and more finite details are at the
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04.11.2008Windows 7 Build 6801 Desktop Slideshow
Chris Holmes: Well folks, were at it again. Last night I was having a discussion with
Rafael Rivera and we got to wondering if there was something more that Microsoft was hiding away from us, using the same method
as they did to tuck away the superbar. With that said, I started crawling my system with some tools to find references, as Rafaels laptop was acting
up and my machine could accomplish the task much quicker. Completely to my suprise, the system pulled some results across many other files in the
system. Upon examination, Rafael discovered that this all ties into a new feature that we assume will be called Desktop Slideshow. Think of this
as a dreamscene-esque type feature but without the hassle and the chugging of your CPU if you try to play a video with any decent resolution.
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04.11.2008Windows 7 to add slideshow wallpapers and more!
Don't worry Windows 95 Plus! enthusiasts, Microsoft hasn't forgotten about you and your themes. A recently updated MSDN Library document shows that
Microsoft hasn't just brushed themes under the carpet, but instead dusted it off, added some new polish and is even putting it under the spotlight.
The document "
Creating and Installing Theme
Files" (now edited) has been updated with several "additions to the .theme file format were made for Windows 7". They include: (Click Read
More)
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10.08.2008PDC 2008: Cleaning up the desktop in Windows 7
After another long, lofty, and philosophy-laden introduction from Microsoft's Ray Ozzie this morning, the #1 new feature being discussed in the
"cleaned up" Windows 7 is improved file and application access.
Photos:
View screenshots of Windows 7 in action..
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28.10.2008Why installing Vista SP1 might fail via Windows Update
When you try to install Windows Vista SP1 via Windows Update you can get error: Windows Vista Service Pack 1 is not available for installation from
Windows Update and is not offered by Automatic Updates.
To help ensure a positive update experience, Windows Update will temporarily not
offer Windows Vista SP1 to systems that have the following device drivers. In some cases, these device drivers are problematic on Windows Vista-based
computers when you update to Windows Vista SP1. By installing updated device drivers, you will resolve the issue and enable Windows Update to offer
Windows Vista SP1.
Click read more to view a list of drivers that don't work well with Vista SP1:
Read full story.....
neowin.net -
20.03.2008Windows XP SP3 Yields Performance Gains Over Vista SP1
After a disappointing showing by Windows Vista SP1 (see previous post), we were pleasantly surprised to discover that Windows XP Service Pack 3
(v.3244) delivers a measurable performance boost to this aging desktop OS. Testing with OfficeBench showed an 10% performance boost vs. the same
configuration running under Windows XP w/Service Pack 2.
Since SP3 was supposed to be mostly a bug-fix/patch consolidation release - unlike
w/Vista SP1, Microsoft made no promises of improved performance for XP - the unexpected speed boost comes as a nice bonus. In fact, XP SP3 is
shaping-up to be a "must have" update for the majority of users who are still running Redmond's not-so-latest and greatest desktop
OS.
Of course, none of this bodes well for Vista, which is now more than 2x slower than the most current builds of its older sibling.
Suffice to say that performance-minded users will likely choose to stick with the now even speedier Windows XP - at least until more "Windows
7" information becomes publicly available.
Read full story.....
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24.11.2007Deployed: Windows Vista SP1 RC on ALL of my PCs
Brandon LeBlanc: Today Nick announced the availability of the release candidate for Windows Vista SP1. I had a chance to get the RC build of Windows
Vista SP1 installed a few days ago. I decided to roll the RC out on all of my PCs which showcase a variety of device types and scenarios:
- My Main Desktop PC running Windows Vista Ultimate x64 - check.
- My Test/Work PC running Windows Vista Business - check.
- My Dell Vostro 1500 Laptop running Windows Vista Ultimate - check.
- My Samsung Q1 UMPC running Windows Vista Home Premium - check.
- My Digital CableCard PC running Windows Vista Home Premium - check.
In installing the RC on my PCs, I did a combination of
using the standalone installer and Windows Update. Before proceeding to install the SP1 RC bits, I first needed to uninstall the SP1 beta bits first.
Users looking to install the Windows Vista SP1 RC will need to uninstall any previous version of SP1 prior to the installation of the RC from either
Windows Update or the standalone installer.
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06.12.2007Power efficiency enhancements in Vista SP1
Long Zheng: Most if not all the attention surrounding Windows Vista Service Pack 1 has been around performance, reliability and compatibility, but you
probably didnt know SP1 also makes short strides in terms of
Vistas power efficiency. And by short, I really do mean short because were talking about improvements in the magnitude of only a
couple percents. That in the context of 5 hours battery life is a mere additional 6 minutes. Having said that, some is better than none.
The first of two improvements is in the display subsystem. As you are probably aware of, the Desktop Window Manager (DWM) in Vista utilities
the 3D rendering capabilities of your graphics card to draw the desktop and windows.
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13.02.2008Slideshow in the Windows Live Photo Gallery
We didnt do much to the Slideshow feature in the Windows Live Photo Gallery, but there have been several questions coming in about this feature, so we
thought that it was worth a brief rundown of whats changed.
In a nutshell, heres how the slideshow feature works in this
release:
- XP users: Basic slideshow only (equivalent to the Classic theme on Vista). No transitions, and no support for videos. The rich
themes are very dependent on the Vista graphics model, so it will take a fair amount of work to get the rich themes working on XP (more than we could
bite off for this release).
- Vista users (basic graphics hardware): The experience should be unchanged from Vista. You may see a limited
set of themes available, and may or may not see transport controls depending on the capabilities of your graphics card.
- Vista users
(premium graphics hardware): The experience should be unchanged from Vista.
We
blogged about the Vista Slideshow experience previously. Most
of this still applies (with the exception of the above notes). One exception is that although the rich themes were only available on certain Vista
SKUs, all themes are available in all Vista SKUs (again, depending on your graphics hardware).
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20.09.2007FAQ: Vista's SP1 semisecrets
Microsoft Corp. has been lowering expectations about Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) since before it even confirmed there would be one. Numerous times,
company executives and managers have told users and the press that Vista SP1 would not be like Windows XP SP2, the last desktop operating system
service pack the company released.
"This is not about adding new features," David Zipkin, a senior product manager for Windows
Vista, told Computerworld last August, comparing SP1 to XP's SP2, which was as much a new operating system as an update.
Really?
Could have fooled us.
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07.02.2008Securing the Local Administrators Group on Every Desktop
If your company is like most companies, you have users running as local administrators on their desktop. There are solutions to eliminate this need,
which is a direction every company should make. When users run as local administrators, the IT staff has no control over that user or their desktop.
In order for you to secure the local Administrators group on every desktop, you need to have some powerful tools to get the job done. There are
typically three different tasks that you need to perform to secure this group, which we will cover in this article. Windows Server 2008 and Windows
Vista SP1 (with the RSAT installed) provide amazing new controls that make these configurations a breeze!
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02.07.2008Language Packs and Windows Vista SP1
Nick White: We have some information we'd like to share in regards to Windows Vista SP1 and folks running Language Packs. Some of you may have
noticed that after installing Windows Vista SP1 on Windows Vista Ultimate - the Language Packs fail to appear on Windows Update (
KB947875).
We will be releasing Windows Vista SP1 in two
"waves". The first wave will only provide Windows Vista SP1 to Windows Vista Ultimate PCs running the following 5 Languages: English, French,
German, Japanese and Spanish. The second wave will follow shortly after - supporting all 36 languages.
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04.03.2008Windows Vista SP1 Application Non-Compatibility List
Service Pack 1 for Windows Vista is an important update for Windows Vista. Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) contains many security, reliability, and
feature updates for Windows Vista. A program may experience a loss of functionality after you install Windows Vista SP1. However, most programs will
continue to work as expected after you install Windows Vista SP1.
This article lists programs that have been reported to
experience a loss of functionality when they are installed on a Windows Vista SP1-based computer.
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19.02.2008Default interactive desktop heap size increased on 32-bit Vista SP1
Microsoft Critical Problem Resolution Team: This is going to be a short blog post, but considering the amount of feedback weve received on the our two
previous desktop heap posts, I think this is worth
blogging about. 32-bit Vista SP1 and 32-bit Windows Server 2008 both have a new value for the default size of interactive desktop heaps. Previously,
this heap size was 3 MB by default, but on Vista SP1 and Server 2008 the default interactive heap size is 12 MB. Weve heard
your comments about the problems associated with the heap size, and this new default size
should go a long way towards avoiding interactive desktop heap depletion.
winbeta.org -
20.03.2008Vista SP1 to be just 45MB over Windows Update?
Mary Jo Foley got a chance to
see a note sent to certain
testers of Vista SP1 earlier
this month and quite a few
interesting factoids have
turned up in it:
Q: How big is SP1?
A: Windows Vista
SP1 is approximately 45 MB
when delivered over Windows
Update and is designed to not
significantly change the UI or
regress application
compatibility.
Q: What are some examples
of support for emerging
technologies and
standards?
A:
With SP1, Windows Vista can
boot via EFI (Extensible
Firmware Interface) on an x64
machine. SP1 supports ExFAT, a
new file format that will be
used in flash memory storage
and consumer devices Support
for SD Advanced DMA Support to
improve transfer performance
and decrease CPU utilization
is part of SP1
winbeta.org -
30.07.2007Windows 7 SP1 details begin to surface
With Windows 7 out the door we already know Microsoft immediately starts work on the servicing of Windows 7. Engineers are now hard at work at
creating hot fixes for application compatibility and ironing out any bug reports they receive. The same process occurs for every version of Windows
once it has been classed released to manufacturing (RTM). Notorious for leaking Windows 7 builds during the beta phase, Wzor has provided some early
information on the Windows 7 SP1 beta. According to Wzor a beta of Windows 7 SP1 will be released in January 2010 and the schedule is two beta
releases and two release candidate releases.
Read full story.....
neowin.net -
02.11.2009XP Pro to receive WGA similar to Vista SP1
Remember how everyone was excited about how Vista SP1 received a WGA update to not block you from your computer?
Well, the same is coming
to Windows XP. (Professional only, though. Who would want to pirate XP Home?)
From the WGA Blog:
With this update to
WGA Notifications in Windows XP, we've implemented a couple of related features that draw on the notifications experience we designed for Windows
Vista SP1. After installing this version of WGA Notifications on a copy of Windows XP that fails the validation, most users will discover on their
next logon that their desktop has changed to a plain black background from whatever was there previously (see below).
The desktop
background can be reset to anything else in the usual ways, but every 60 minutes it will change back to the plain black background. This will continue
to happen until that copy of Windows is genuine.
Also, the user will see the addition of what we call the "persistent desktop
notification." This notification is similar to a watermark but works a bit differently. The image (see below) appears over the system tray and is
non-interactive in the sense that you can't click on it or do anything to it.
As with previous releases, if a copy of Windows fails
validation, notifications will appear above the system tray regularly - and we will continue to have the pre-logon message, the logon interrupt
message and the messages that appear from the system tray. jcxp.net -
27.08.2008Photos: Installing Vista SP1 beta
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes: Earlier today I downloaded the standalone installer for Windows Vista SP1 build 6001.16659 and installed it on a few systems
to see what it was like -- and I thought you might like to take a look at it.
Don't expect huge UI changes after installing SP1
-- the changes are small and subtle. In fact, if you're not familiar with Windows Vista, you might miss the SP1 changes. I've put together an image
gallery showing some of the most significant changes.
winbeta.org -
28.09.2007Windows 7 to add slideshow wallpapers, theme gallery and theme packs
Dont worry Windows 95 Plus! enthusiasts, Microsoft hasnt forgotten about you and your themes. A recently updated MSDN Library document shows that
Microsoft hasnt just brushed themes under the carpet, but instead dusted it off, added some new polish and is even putting it under the spotlight.
winbeta.org -
06.08.2008Microsoft details Vista SP1 search changes
Microsoft released documents on Wednesday that detail changes it will make to its desktop search and indexing feature in Windows Vista that will be
included as part of the Vista SP1 (Service Pack 1) update. The changes are a response to charges from rival Google that Microsoft built the feature in
such a way that it slowed down competitive offerings from rivals. Microsoft agreed to make the changes as part of its ongoing antitrust proceedings
with U.S. and state officials, and they were detailed as part of a status report filed in the case in June. To provide more information to the general
public, the company posted documents online Wednesday that detail how third parties can help modify desktop search applications to work with the
changes being made in SP1. Microsoft has said it will release SP1, a roll-up of updates to the Vista OS, in the first quarter of 2008.
Microsoft said it made the changes so that a customer who uses a third-party desktop search product instead of Vista's built-in feature can have
"easy and direct access" to those offerings through the Windows user interface. "That means that in addition to the numerous ways a user could
access a third-party search solution in Windows Vista, they can now get to their preferred search results from additional entry points in the Start
Menu and Explorer Windows in Windows Vista SP1," the company said.
neowin.net -
13.09.2007
