Microsoft has released the new SkyDrive. Designed with HTML5, it looks pretty cool and works well in modern browsers (IE9, Chrome, Firefox 4). So far I have only tried it in Google Chrome and I was able to create and edit a word document. You can also share files with people and edit collaboratively. Check out the demo video below:
Read more here.
I’m sure will be hearing more soon.
Engadget reports that Google is buying SageTV. This is huge news! If I didn’t have Windows Media Center I’d be looking seriously at SageTV. Sage already has set-top box hardware for extending content from PC to the TV. Google could use that or leverage that into what they are already offering in their Google TV products.
I don’t think many of us who follow this space saw this coming. Michael Welter, over on Missing Remote, posted the email that users received.
Will I switch? Well, that remains to be seen. Really curious where Google will take this. Also still curious where Microsoft will go with Media Center in Windows 8. No matter what, it is an exciting space to watch!
If you don’t know about Sage, here is a video:
The video below introduces a few of the basic elements of the new user interface. Microsoft announced they will have more to reveal at their developer event, BUILD (Sept. 13 – 16 in Anaheim, Calif.). Interesting progress so far.
This evening at the CEDIA (Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association) trade show, Microsoft’s big announce was support for CableCARD in non-OEM Windows 7 systems. This is big news for enthusiasts as the only way to get it before was through a new purchase or a hack that wasn’t quite on the up and up.
Microsoft now supports Switched Digital Video (SDV) in Windows Media Center for Windows 7. In conjunction with a device known as a tuning adapter, supplied by a customer’s cable provider, Windows Media Center and a digital cable tuner with CableCARD will be able to tune to SDV channels. Customers can enjoy SDV broadcasts on PCs running Windows Media Center in Windows 7 and a digital cable tuner with CableCARD.
A new tool will be provided by Microsoft that assesses the a Windows 7 PC’s ability to support CableCARD. This tool will analyze the PC and enable digital cable support if the PC meets requirements, opening digital cable options to Windows Media Center customers across the country.
The other interesting thing announced was a technology preview of the new Multi-Channel Cable TV Card from Ceton Corp., which enables PCs with Windows Media Center to play or record multiple live channels of premium HDTV at once, and stream live HD channels or recordings to multiple TV sets throughout the home, all with a single CableCARD. One card recording up to 6 HD channels simultaneously. Seems like huge news to me!
Still on the hunt for extender news but none announced.
IGN has some pre-E3 news from Microsoft confirming the expected Zune HD. It looks pretty sweet based on photos on IGN’s site.
According to today’s announcement, the Zune HD, which will launch this fall, will feature an operating system based on Windows CE infrastructure, an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) touch screen display, high-definition video support and output via external dock, and a digital radio tuner.
On10.net has a video showing off the new features in Windows 7 Media Center. Seriously cool stuff!
Earlier this month my family and I went to Disneyland, California. One of the highlights in recent years is Innoventions in Tomorrowland. Located right next to Autopia (old timers will remember it as the America Sings building) Innoventions showcases technologies that HP and Microsoft are building for the homes of the future.
I’ve read about Microsoft Surface in recent months. Surface is essentially a coffee table with a big multi-touch enabled screen. You interact with digital things just like you would the physical. My favorite part of tech like this is how fast kids just ‘get it.’ No asking how or what, kids just start using it naturally.
In this short video we put together a video puzzle with fun results:
Have you heard about ‘Fiji’? Also now known as the Vista Media Center TV Pack. Not too much is out about it yet and Microsoft is being very mysterious and has clamped some tight NDAs on those usually in the know. So far it appears that it will only be available via OEM channels. This is, of course, raising the ire of VMC enthusiasts that want to have the ‘latest and greatest’ bits to work with. All signs point to the general public learning more at Cedia Expo in September.
EngadgetHD has an overview and screenshots of the code that they acquired some how.
I’ll let you read through what EngadgetHD has to say about the features they have uncovered. There is also some good information over on TheGreenButton.
The 2 things that stuck out for me as I’ve read the details released so far:
TV is saved in a new file format called .wtv. Like the current dvr-ms, this is a wrapper for MPG2 (as near as I can tell). The immediate problem I see here is that 3rd party tools aren’t out yet that can handle this format. Of course there is a chance that they are awaiting the Cedia announcement but I sure hope the developers can get the info they need to modify their current tools quickly.
Second, and ignored for the most part from things I have read, is that TV Pack is designed to work with PlayReady. What? PlayReady is a new style of Digital Rights Management (DRM) from our pals at Microsoft. Now I’m not a big fan of DRM but we’ll have to see how this is implemented. If I am right this is MS really trying to sync together VMC, Extenders and Zune (maybe other players too if licensed). Done right, honest citizens won’t be forced to become pirates merely to carry an HBO show or a movie they got through a down load on their portable player or even stream it to the extender attached to their TV.
From the PlayReady site:
Microsoft PlayReady supports a wide range of business models for digital content providers, including:
Subscription: Provides access to an entire catalog of content in exchange for a recurring fee.
Purchase: Offers content for purchase and download.
Pay Per View: Provides pay-per-view choices for all content types.
Rental: Enables rental scenarios with time-based licenses.
And, its already starting. Nokia is already working with MS to put PlayReady on their mobile devices.
I don’t think we’ll see everything we want in TV Pack. Not yet. More content providers need to get on board with PlayReady. We’ll all have our eyes and ears focused on Denver for the Cedia Expo starting September 3rd.
Via Ian Dixon’s Blog
Yesterday I had a problem where I needed to save an Excel file to wk4 format. We use Lotus Notes at work and sometimes when you need to import something is is best to save it in this format. When I tried to complete the save I received an error message that said “You are attempting to save a file that is blocked by your registry policy setting.”
Thankfully, one of my colleagues discovered Microsoft knowledge base article KB938810 that describes the changes that Microsoft made with Office 2003 Service Pack 3 and provides a process to let me save the documents as needed. There are some file types that are blocked from opening and some from saving.
By default, these file types are blocked because the parsing code that Office 2003 uses to open and save the file types is less secure. Therefore, opening and saving these file types may pose a risk to you.
So fixing the problem could pose a security risk. It is up to you to figure out how high of a risk that is for you or your company. For me, I only modified how Excel behaves and left the other security in place. To be really safe you could run the registry patch to let you save a file type then run the undo patch to set your security right back where it was. Be sure the read all of KP 938810 to understand what you changes you are making.
Here is a video preview of the new Live Mesh: