You can check out the service, Windows Live FrameIt, over at http://frameit.com which has just launched into beta.
As we mentioned earlier this week, FrameIt allows users to customise the content delivered via RSS, to enhance the functionality of RSS-enabled devices. In particular, if you have a photo frame that supports feeds, then this is for you!
After logging into FrameIt for the first time, you’ll be presented with a first-run page, explaining what the service is about and asking how you want to continue. The choices are either using a sample collection setup for you, or starting from nothing. The default collections are their team blog photos and the weather for Seattle, basic but effective pointers showing what you can produce. Given this is the first release its no surprise that the UI is not completely user-friendly, so you may have to muddle your way through the various options.
Source- Liveside
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Not too long ago the TechNet Plus subscriber download area was revamped. I wasn’t terribly fond of the navigation methods used on that revamp so of course I sent some email on various occasions asking for a change. Apparently a lot of you did the same thing.
Tada! Ask and we shall receive!
The revamped download area has been revamped again and it’s a much flatter navigational view of the files that are available to you, the TechNet Plus subscriber.
The following list summarizes the features and improvements in the new UI in this release:
Source- Technet Blog
We have released a new update for Office Communicator 2007 Phone Edition powered devices - http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=952693. The image version is now 1.0.522.101.
Source- MSDN Blog
VMWare offically released their PowerShell cmdlets in a ship vehicle called the VMWare Infrastructure (VI) Toolkit. What could be better than that? Yup - you guessed it - it’s FREE!! Check out the details HERE.
Download the free toolkit HERE.
Free! What could be better than that? Well they could pay you to use it. 
Well … actually, it’s almost that good. VMWare is holding a Scripting Contest for the best scripts using the VI toolkit. The winner will receive an all-expense paid trip to VMWorld 2008 Las Vegas or $5,000! This is a great opportunity to show off your PowerShell skills and profit thereby. Is this a wonderful world or what! Check out the details HERE.
Vegas … hmmmm. All expense paid trip to Vegas …. hmmmm. I wonder if that would include the divorce lawyer. I’m not sure they though that one out. ha ha!
Congratulations on the great job VMWare!
Jeffrey Snover [MSFT]
Windows Management Partner Architect
Visit the Windows PowerShell Team blog at: http://blogs.msdn.com/PowerShell
Visit the Windows PowerShell ScriptCenter at: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/scriptcenter/hubs/msh.mspx
Source- Powershell Team Blog
For World of Warcraft developers looking to build AddOns, a BETA version of AddOn Studio is now available! Here’s an interview and demo with Attila Kisko and Gabor Ratky on AddOn Studio.
There are some bugs and some content that still isn’t available, but we’re working on it
All of it is made possible of course by the power of the Visual Studio Shell
Source- MSDN Blog
The Peps over in Boston Released the OpsMgr Management Pack for testing RC up on connect!
To simplify Application Virtualization Server management, the App-V team is excited to make available a RC version of our App-V 4.5 System Center Operations Manager 2007 Management Pack (OpsMgr 2007 MP). It has just been posted over on the Microsoft Connect site (http://connect.microsoft.com). This OpsMgr 2007 MP only supports version 4.5 servers; it does not support previous SoftGrid server versions and MOM 2005.
The Management Pack is designed to maximize Application Virtualization Server availability for handling Application Virtualization Client requests. The Application Virtualization Server health status is color-coded:
· No color indicates that the server is running without non-recoverable errors.
· Yellow indicates that one of the components is not functioning correctly. The overall functionality of the server is degraded but the server is still available.
· Red indicates that the server is not available and it cannot provide key services or it cannot communicate with external service dependencies.
Health Status change is triggered when an Application Virtualization Server logs a tracked error or warning to the local System Event Log under the Application Virtualization heading. Over 60 unique errors are tracked and these errors are mapped to information about how to fix or further troubleshoot the issue.
Source- Technet Blog
Microsoft Corp. and ESRI today announced that ESRI ArcGIS users will have access to the robust mapping and imagery content provided by the Microsoft Virtual Earth platform inside ArcGIS Desktop and ArcGIS Server. With Virtual Earth seamlessly integrated into ArcGIS 9.3 Desktop, ArcGIS users are now able to easily add base maps, which feature rich aerial and hybrid views, to perform data creation, editing, analysis, authoring and map publishing with one-click access.
“Microsoft and ESRI have a long-standing history of delivering complete geographic information systems solutions,” said Erik Jorgenson, corporate vice president at Microsoft Corp. “The integration of Virtual Earth and ArcGIS 9.3 at both desktop application and platform levels enables customers to better view, analyze, understand, interpret and visualize geographic data. This new offering further extends the software-plus-services choices available to our mutual customers.”
“With the new ArcGIS Online Virtual Earth map services, ArcGIS Desktop and ArcGIS Explorer users will have nearly instant access to some of the world’s finest base map layers,” said S.J. Camarata, Director of Corporate Strategies at ESRI. “Through this collaboration with Microsoft, street maps, vertical imagery and hybrid maps will be available on an affordable, annual subscription fee basis.”
Together, Virtual Earth and ArcGIS Online services will enable customers to access resources that add comprehensive depth to their projects. The seamless integration of Virtual Earth throughout the entire ArcGIS system makes it easier for ArcGIS customers to offer their end users better insight into their services, which can inspire deeper involvement and participation with their valuable GIS data.
Source- Microsoft Press Release
Thanx to myitforum for pointing this out.According to them the Background of Windows Live Search is going to change Just take a look at the actual image before the change-
and this is the image just after the change-
Seems interesting isn’t it
