Blog This in Windows Live Writer : Firefox Add-ons
Adds a button to Firefox which starts a new Windows Live Writer blog post prepopulated with content and title from the current web page. Blog the whole page, or just selected snippets. Interacts with other registered plugins to parse and structure web content where appropriate. Blog quickly when you find something of interest on the web.
It is still in the ‘experimental’ category which means you will have to log into addons.mozilla.org to download the add-on.
Blog This in Windows Live Writer :: Firefox Add-ons
Support for this add-on is provided by the developer at http://social.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/writergeneral/
Source- MSDN Blog
IE8 at Add-On Con in Mountain View
A few of the startups building browser Add-Ons have organized the first ever Add-On Con, to take place in Mountain View on Dec 11, 2008. We thought it was such a cool idea that we decided to co-sponsor the event (Mozilla is the other sponsor). We will be giving some sessions about extending Internet Explorer, and Mozilla and Google will be presenting about their respective web browsers. Many companies with successful Add-Ons will be sharing their stories and experiences, so it’s a great education and networking event.
Matt Crowley, Program Manager for Extensibility, will cover all of the extensibility options available in IE8. I will be discussing the lessons learned porting Firefox extensions to IE.
Source- IE Blog
Continuing the Hotmail updates
We’ve been reading our mail and all the comments you’ve made on the recent Windows Live Hotmail updates. While the new Hotmail works well for most of our customers, we’ve also been hearing from many of you here on the blog and through Windows Live Support who’ve had trouble. We’re in the process of addressing all the feedback and wanted to give you an update on the changes we’re making.
Over the last few weeks we’ve rolled out fixes that resolve many of the issues you’ve reported. These include problems when using a larger text size in the browser, viewing your favorite contacts, accessing Hotmail from Firefox on Linux, and problems opening some messages. These fixes have now gone out to everyone, so you shouldn’t continue to see these problems.
Our next update, in mid-December, will address how scrolling works. We’re making the new Hotmail work more like the Classic version for those of you with the reading pane turned off. When we moved to the new version we optimized for screen resolutions that were 1024×768 and above. In smaller resolutions like 800×600, we’ve seen cases where the browser scroll bars overlap the message scroll bars, making it hard
Source- Windows Live Wire blog
Download Office Live Update 1.3
The Office Live Update 1.3 installs (1) performance updates to make using Office Live Workspace with Microsoft Office programs faster, (2) the latest Office Live Add-in for Microsoft Office that enables you to access your workspaces directly from Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, (3) the Firefox add-in to allow users of the Firefox browser to use Office Live Workspace with Microsoft Office.
The Office Live Update 1.3 auto-detects and installs these necessary updates to ensure optimum performance:
- MSRC 9×0 Cumulative Security Update
- Update for Office 2007 (KB951944)
- Update for Windows Vista (KB 933860)
- Update for Windows Vista (KB 945145)
- Update for Windows Vista (KB 945435)
- Update for Windows Vista (KB 947864)
- Update for Windows Vista (KB 948531)
- Windows Live Sign-in Assistant
The Office Live Add-in adds new menu options in the 2007 Microsoft Office Suite and a toolbar in Microsoft Office XP and Office 2003. You will be able to open documents located in Office Live Workspace directly from Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. You will also be able to save files directly from Word, Excel, and PowerPoint to Office Live Workspace.
If you use the Mozilla Firefox browser, the Microsoft Office Live Workspace Plug-In for Firefox lets you open, edit, and save Microsoft Office documents in Office Live Workspace directly from the browser using Office Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Firefox is a registered trademark of the Mozilla Foundation.
The Next Excel Services Announced at PDC
During today’s Professional Development Conference keynote, Ray Ozzie made an exciting announcement about a new way to view, edit, and collaborate with Excel. If you weren’t able to watch the keynote, feel free to check out the following links: PDC Keynote Video, Official MS Press Release, and Channel 9 Video.
In case you’re in a hurry, here’s the bottom line:
- We are taking Excel Services, which many of you are already familiar with, and extending it beyond just viewing spreadsheets to authoring, editing and real-time collaboration in the browser!
- You will be able to do light-weight editing including formula authoring, formatting and additional Excel features from within any browser: IE, FireFox, and Safari (it is just HTML and AJAX!)
- The Excel web application will be available in two channels: as a consumer service offered via Office Live and as a business offering via either hosted subscription or volume licensing.
- Any spreadsheets you author or edit online will be compatible with the Excel desktop client.
I know, I know: “Thanks for the teaser; where’s the app?”
While we will have a limited technical preview later this year, we won’t have a broadly public release for awhile. As soon as I can share a date, and, more importantly, a way to sign up for the public release, I will post it here.
Source- Microsoft Excel Blog
Microsoft Silverlight 2 to be released on Oct 14,2008
Microsoft Corp. today announced the availability of Silverlight 2, one of the industry’s most comprehensive and powerful solutions for the creation and delivery of applications and media experiences through a Web browser. Silverlight 2 delivers a wide range of new features and tools that enable designers and developers to better collaborate while creating more accessible, more discoverable and more secure user experiences.
Delivering Features for Next-Generation Web Experiences
Highlights of new Silverlight 2 features include the following:
•.NET Framework support with a rich base class library. This is a compatible subset of the full .NET Framework.
•Powerful built-in controls. These include DataGrid, ListBox, Slider, ScrollViewer, Calendar controls and more.
•Advanced skinning and templating support. This makes it easy to customize the look and feel of an application.
•Deep zoom. This enables unparalleled interactivity and navigation of ultrahigh resolution imagery.
•Comprehensive networking support. Out-of-the-box support allows calling REST, WS*/SOAP, POX, RSS and standard HTTP services, enabling users to create applications that easily integrate with existing back-end systems.
•Expanded .NET Framework language support. Unlike other runtimes, Silverlight 2 supports a variety of programming languages, including Visual Basic, C#, JavaScript, IronPython and IronRuby, making it easier for developers already familiar with one of these languages to repurpose their existing skill sets.
•Advanced content protection. This now includes Silverlight DRM, powered by PlayReady, offering robust content protection for connected Silverlight experiences.
•Improved server scalability and expanded advertiser support. This includes new streaming and progressive download capabilities, superior search engine optimization techniques, and next-generation in-stream advertising support.
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Vibrant partner ecosystem. Visual Studio Industry Partners such as ComponentOne LLC, Infragistics Inc. and Telerik Inc. are providing products that further enhance developer capabilities when creating Silverlight applications using Visual Studio.
•Crossplatform and cross-browser support. This includes support for Mac, Windows and Linux in Firefox, Safari and Windows Internet Explorer.
More information and details about Silverlight 2 are available by reading the Silverlight 2 fact sheet at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/presskits/silverlight/default.mspx.
Get Silverlight 2: Silverlight 2 will be available for download on Tuesday, Oct. 14, at http://www.microsoft.com/silverlight. Customers already using a previous version of Silverlight will be automatically upgraded to Silverlight 2.
Source- Microsoft Press Release
One Million Strong Collaborating Online With Microsoft Office Live Workspace Beta
Microsoft Corp. today announced that only six months after public availability, the beta release of Microsoft Office Live Workspace has reached the 1-million-customer sign-up milestone.
Office Live Workspace beta (http://workspace.officelive.com) is the free, Web-based extension of Microsoft Office that lets people access their documents online and share their work with others. The Workspace beta was among the first entries in the new wave of online services that embody Microsoft’s software-plus-services vision previewed last fall. In just six months, it has achieved significant interest from consumers, schools and universities globally, and has added 11 languages and 20 new features such as multi-file upload, activity panels and improved Firefox support.
“The pace at which people are signing up for the beta tells us that they are looking for ways to resolve the complexities of their work, school and home projects through a range of choices,” said Kirk Gregersen, director of consumer and small-business product management for Microsoft Office. “It takes companies years to attract a strong customer base such as this. We’re excited about Office Live Workspace growth and innovation yet to come.”
Source- Microsoft Press Release
Microsoft hints at “private browsing” feature in IE
One of the most interesting feature that didn’t quite make it into the final release of Firefox 3 is “Private Browsing”, a.k.a. porn mode. The only other browser with this feature built-in today is Safari (another reason to try it in case you haven’t), however, Microsoft may also be building a similar feature into Internet Explorer 8 if two trademark filings are any indications.
Although “private browsing” can be easily associated with viewing particular genres of media content, the Mozilla foundation argues “while viewing pornography may be a popular use case due to the nature of content on the Web, assuming that this is the only reason that users need private browsing trivializes the overall feature. For instance, users may wish to begin a private browsing session to research a medical condition, or plan a surprise vacation or birthday party for a loved one.”
If indeed Microsoft is rolling out such a feature in Internet Explorer 8, I can imagine it becoming very popular with surprise birthday planners across the world. Oh those birthday people are in for a treat.
Source- istartedsomething.com
