Windows 7 is generally available since yesterday. Never have the expectations for a new operating system been as high as this time, as we as end users have never been integrated into finding ideas for a new Windows, like we have this time. On top of that, Windows Vista has moved to the storage siding and is called a big flop by some people. Surely expectations climb up then—can Windows 7 embrace them?

Comparing the editions

What should run with Windows Vista is also suitable for the new Windows. That is because the system requirements have not been elevated, like normally. The lights are green for programs as well: Either a software runs directly, or you can convince it to run with the integrated Windows XP. Just in case. That’s called “Virtual XP Mode.”

But not every Windows 7 edition contains this mode. Which versions exist, and what are their differences? The editions important for us are Home Premium, Professional and Ultimate.

Windows 7 Home Premium

The successor of Windows Vista Home Premium will be the version sold most. It is preinstalled on PCs by manufacturers, and includes all features necessary to work and play.

Windows 7 Professional

The professional edition can do everything that Home Premium can, and additionally supports Windows Virtual PC as well as data backup and restore on network places.

Windows 7 Ultimate

The high-end edition has all that and on top of it, the BitLocker encryption. Furthermore, you can install more language packs here and for example use your Windows in German—without any reinstall, just a logoff/reboot is required.

Other versions

Thanks to the European Union, there are the “N” variants, coming without Windows Media Player and more media features. They cost the same as the normal versions, so rather don’t touch them.

Windows 7 Home Basic, Starter and Enterprise remain, where the first 2 are only interesting for developing countries and the last one is only offered to companies that can take advantage of extended network features.

Buy Windows 7

What does Windows 7 cost?

That depends totally on your home country. Sorry… =)

All editions are also available as OEM versions. These are normally only meant for computer manufacturers, but depending on your local laws, they might also be sold independently of hardware. You have no right for support by Microsoft, in exchange, the OEM versions are much cheaper than editions in the colored boxes.

You’re a student? Even better. If you have the corresponding legitimations, you can get Windows 7 for as low as $29.99 USD. More info on this special offer at www.win741.com.

Is my computer ready?

You can find out if your computer is ready to run Windows 7 with Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor. This is a free program that checks your system for known problems. If something is found, you get a notice. This way, you know where problems might arise even before you install Windows.

Some update tips:

• Please take some minutes for backing up your data. If you don’t and something goes wrong, you’re going to have a problem. (We don’t want to hope, but who knows.)
• You are using Windows Vista: Upgrading to Windows 7 is possible.
• You are using Windows XP: You cannot upgrade to Windows 7 directly. The system must be reinstalled.
• You want to take your settings and data with you? Have a look at Windows EasyTransfer (for Windows Vista and Windows XP). Moving is easier with this tool.

Summary

Long awaited, now published—the new Windows sounds solid. That is what the prerelease tests confirm as well. How Windows 7 will work in the wild remains to be seen.

What do you think about Windows 7? Tweet me your opinion!

Improved network hooking mechanism. For some people, this will improve how Messenger Plus! catches various network events (used for notifications, the event viewer, …). For other people, this will solve a rare problem where Messenger crashes upon sign-in (Messenger Plus! will try to detect the faulty behaviour caused by buggy network software and will switch to an alternate hooking method automatically when Messenger is restarted).

Messenger tends to slow down when improper compatibility settings are set for msnmsgr.exe. The setup of Messenger Plus! now resets the compatibility settings set for Messenger in Windows Vista and above.

Fixed: the “Enhance copy/paste” feature in chat windows inserts an Arabic B character instead of an asterisk at the beginning of new messages.

Download the update now for free: Messenger Plus! 5.0.1.706

To use this service, click on “Add people” in your Windows Live Profile or on your Windows Live Home page, and gather all your contacts in Windows Live. Have fun!

Source: http://windowsliveblog.spaces.live.com/Blog/cns!720E46AE746458F7!6064.entry

All 53 defendants in the U.S. face charges of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud, which carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.  Some of the defendants also face additional charges that could lead to longer terms.

Source: www.informationweek.com/news/security/attacks/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=220301571

Invisible additional info

Whether Word, Excel or PowerPoint—the innocent icons don’t tell what is inside them. Normally it is documents like texts. And they contain much additional info. That can be comments, but also revision notes. However, there is surely information which is not suitable for the public.

Awkward potential

In business it is truly important to be careful. When several collaborators work on a document, send it back and forth via e-mail and make corrections, such a document can contain inflammable matters. The problem: when you hide the comments and annotations, they are no longer visible at first sight. And that is exactly what is dangerous. Because, when you send such a document to a customer, for example via mail, resourceful users can make the data visible again anytime. And that’s what can get awkward.

Remove personal data

But private computer users should know, too, that their documents contain a massive amount of data, data that might not be suitable for everybody. That can be data like a counter how often a document was edited—and by whom it was edited last. People who save the texts, spreadsheets or presentations normally and distribute them, is likely to distribute their indiscreet data as well. But: you can change that. The latest Office version can remove all personal data.

Useful feature in Office 2007

Office 2007 has a really useful feature, called “Inspect document”. The feature checks whether there is any hidden information. If yes, these data can be removed from the document with a single click. Only after having done this, you should send the document to other people via e-mail. Older Office and Word versions cannot do this, sadly.

Free tool

However, Microsoft offers a free tool to remove hidden data in Office documents. “Office Add-in: Remove Hidden Data” is the name of this useful extension. Once installed, it can “clean” any document with a single click. Important thing, you should really take a closer look at this, especially when distributing documents, sending them via mail or publishing them on the Web.

Indiscreet photos

Photos can be really indiscreet as well. Not only concerning the motive, that is sure. When you take photos with your digital camera nowadays, you have to be aware that there is a massive amount of data hidden in the photos, data that we normally don’t see. For example, let’s take a photo that I just took of a nice espresso machine. Looks great—and nobody knows what I used to take the photo. Nobody? As if! The photo contains many hidden data. And you can make these data visible. And behold: The photo has been taken with an iPhone. Even the used aperture, time and date date hidden within the photo.

EXIF data

This information hidden in the photo are also known as EXIF data. They can be extraordinarily useful, for instance for hobby photographers, as they can find out easily what aperture and exposure time they used to take a photo. If colleagues extract these data from a photo, that could get uncomfortable. For example, when you are discovered to be skiving off work because your colleagues found a party photo being taken just while you were ill.

JPG & PNG Stripper

Generally, it is very easy to make these EXIF data visible, for example in Windows: Just select the photo and click on details in Windows Explorer, and info like creation time, aperture, exposure time, camera type and much more are shown. The Mac can show these data easily as well. If you want to remove your data from your photos, for example because you want to publish the photos on the Web, you can remove the additional data from the photos. Just use special programs like JPG stripper, and you’re done. The photos are retained. Only the additional data are removed from the photos. If you don’t want everybody to see the additional info, you should always do this. In any case, it is more discreet.

More information

• Office Add-in: Remove Hidden Data
• JPG & PNG Stripper for Windows
• Exchangeable Image File Format (EXIF)

MPLCode

A Messenger Plus! script for sending/receiving programming codes formatted instead of plain-text.

WLMStatus

Allows to display your current Messenger status on a website or forum signature. Several people have notified us of permanent error messages like “Failed to validate download signature,” and the next update will fix this. Also stay tuned for the next server release, which will introduce Messenger Plus! format codes parsing and correct emoticons placing on the images.

Plus! VRT Radiospeler

If you are living in Belgium, this is going to be interesting for you: listen not only to all radio programs broadcast by the VRT, as the upcoming update adds on-demand stations for even more radio fun in Messenger. Get more info about this from Bram Lancsweert.

Skinning work

I am currently working on updates for 3 Messenger skins, including Apple Live Messenger, stormless Messenger and Plus!Patch. Pending any surfacing news about the next version of Messenger, I will release these updates as soon as I finished coding support for Messenger 2009.

Twitter2PSM

Everybody knows Twitter these days, and I have plans to add OAuth support to the next version of Twitter2PSM. What should I add as well? Leave a comment or tweet and we’ll see.

Oh, before I forget: I will change the script name, but am too lazy to think of a new name. The easier way: I ask you! Think about a new, unique name for Twitter2PSM (that does not include the word “Twitter”). If I take the name you suggested, you win $10 USD!

mynetx.net

I don’t want to mention too much in beforehand, but: I will create a corporate site for mynetx Creations. The URL mynetx.net will not redirect to blog.mynetx.net anymore, but there will be a prominent link to it instead. The site contents? Well, that’s a surprise!

Oh, and my secret drawer…

Yes, I have some stuffs in my secret drawer too. When I pull them out, I will tell you. I also started cooperations with some very cool sites, but it’s just too early to talk about those.

Questions? Suggestions? Begging? Tips?

Leave a reply, tweet me, poke me, ping me, contact me however you like to!

Now, compare this idea to the second popular idea: Cloud computing. Cloud computing is using multiple servers for accessing your data anywhere and anytime you need them. However, serving your files and data on many parallel locations requires much energy, as many servers need to be powered. For example, Windows Live SkyDrive is a cloud service—you don’t need to know which of the servers in Microsoft’s data center is actually holding your data and where they are located. They are just there when you need them.

Is the cloud green?

• End of Life reached
• What people think
• Technical reasons
• Get Messenger 2009
• In case of problems

End of Life reached

Starting September 15, 2009, users are required to have the latest version of Messenger installed on their computer in order to sign in and continue using the Messenger service. To download the latest version of Messenger, go to the Windows Live Messenger website.

—help.live.com

Messenger 2008, introduced in late 2007, has many friends. Easy to use, clean glossy design. However, now has come the time to say good-bye to this version that was replaced by Messenger 2009 in January, as the Messenger servers will no longer accept clients using Messenger 8.1—Messenger 8.5 will follow shortly.

What people think about Messenger 2008

I have asked some people what they think of Messenger 2008. Here is what they said:

WLM 8.5 was user-friendly and efficient, while Messenger 2009 is more efficient and comes with a much sleeker design.

—Gregory Sampson, Messenger user

When Messenger 2008 came out, I was very enthusiastic, but then Messenger 2009 has topped this.

—Dennis Ziolkowski, Messenger user

It has now been a while since I used Messenger 8.5. I have completely switched to version 14, except for development purposes.

—Yousef El-Dardiry, BuddyFuse developer

Messenger 8.5 was the first sign of Microsoft maturing in how they designed the client itself. It was good while it lasted, but people really need to move on now…

—Will Ingles, interface and graphic designer

I miss the shared folders, otherwise I am very happy with 2009. I never had problems with it up to now.

—Max Messenger, Community evangelist

I always like the new Messenger versions when they are released, so I also liked Messenger 8.5 when it came out. With the current version in mind, though, I don’t like Messenger 2008 anymore…

—Frank Mänz, Product Manager Windows Live, Microsoft Germany

Messenger has been updated a lot, but it is not enough. Features such as contact card, what’s new, groups feature… need a complete update.

—Zhu Yan, Editor LiveSino.net

Technical reasons to upgrade Messenger

There is a security issue found in the Microsoft’s Active Template Library, which is only fixed in the latest version of Messenger.

Get Messenger 2009

You can get Messenger 2009 by downloading its installer from http://download.live.com/messenger.

In case of problems…

Several people have informed me about various error codes when trying to sign in to Messenger with the new version. Here are some troubleshooting tips if you cannot sign in properly:

• Reboot your computer and retry.
• Check for Windows Updates. For example, Messenger 2009 requires at least Windows XP Service Pack 2. To install the latest available updates, visit http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/, using Internet Explorer (even if you are using a different browser normally).
• In the error window, click on and take note of the displayed Error code. Then paste this error code into a web search engine (like Bing), type a space, the word “Messenger”, and submit your query.
• Visit http://people.live.com/ and try using the Web Messenger embedded there.
• I will make more information about solving Messenger sign-in problems available shortly—stay tuned!

The problem seems to have been solved, as said at MessengerSays blog, and we’ve been getting more information about the case.

Today, the MessengerGeek said the problem was, most probably, caused by changes necessary to the mandatory update to Windows Live Messenger 14.0.8089.726 (more information about the mandatory update)

If your system is not supported by Windows Live Messenger 14.0.8089.726, there are no reasons for worries. As confirmed by MessengerSays, official Windows Live Messenger team blog, only the users of supported systems will be forced to upgrade. They are:

• Windows XP 32bit;
• Windows Vista (32bit/64bit);
• Windows 7 (32bit/64bit);
• Windows Server 2008.

1. Start Internet Explorer.
2. In the toolbar’s search box, enter the first letter of a phrase you have search for previously. Then click on “Clear previous searches”.

Notes:

• To repeat a search, click a previous search in the search history.
• You can change the search options and remove the popular searches that other people have searched for, from the search history. More information is available at Search the Internet.

Source: http://windowsliveblog.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!720E46AE746458F7!5753.entry

• How can I upgrade Messenger? Do I have to?
  You can upgrade Messenger by downloading its web installer. Upgrading is recommended, yet not mandatory.
• Do Messenger add-ons work with the updated version?
  Yes. Here is a list of Messenger add-ons that are known to work:
  • Messenger Plus! Live
  • MessengerDiscovery
  • LiveScratcher
  • BuddyFuse
• Do Messenger skins in PLSK format work?
  That depends on the skins and their “restriction” settings. For example, Plus!Patch needs an update to work with this version. (If you are an experienced user, you may safely edit the SkinInfo.xml to get it running; Messenger’s new build number is 8089.) Will Ingles notes:

  People can safely upgrade to this new build without worrying about their skins breaking. Messenger Plus! also seems to be working perfectly fine on this new build.

• Can I still turn those Windows Aero frames off?
  For your convenience, I am working on an updated version of Messenger Aero Switcher. Stay tuned for more information about this soon.

mynetx: Please tell me a bit about yourself. Is your life directly or indirectly involved with Windows Live?

Lance: I go by the name of Salem. I’m 22 right now, originally from South Africa (the country, not Southern Africa); however I am currently residing in the Cambridgeshire in the UK. My life doesn’t directly involve Windows Live actually—in fact, I consider myself rather new to the whole MSN/Windows Live community.

mynetx: New? Since when are you in the Live business? Tell me a bit about your history with it…

Lance: Okay, maybe not “New”; I just see myself as new to the whole community when I compare how long some people have been involved. I first started using MSN software in 2003 when I first moved to the UK from South Africa. As can be expected, the first MSN software application I used was MSN Messenger, that’s when I first became a regular user at least. I tried a couple of times before that back in South Africa to chat to my relatives in the UK, but due to terrible internet access (high cost and unreliable) I was only ever able to sign-in twice. (OK, maybe it wasn’t a South Africa-wide internet issue, maybe just our budget ISP. [laughes])

But yeah, I really got into it in 2003. Don’t ask me what version I used, I can’t remember if it was MSN Messenger 6.2 or 6.5, but somewhere around there. I applied to take part in MSN Messenger Beta testing (thinking I’d never get in) back in, I think, 2004. To my surprise, I got in…

mynetx: Do you think the Windows Live team cares for their users’ demands? Why?

Lance: I think people (Messenger users) can be very demanding. Well, Windows Live users can, too; but I’m saying Messenger users as it is by far the most used Windows Live product. Users can be very demanding: wanting things, and expecting to get a feature, just because they ask for it. Yet again, it can be kind of frustrating when specific suggestions/demands get made over and over and over again, and they are just dismissed by the developers.

I think it is easy for the casual users to demand things and not fully understanding the behind-the-scenes work that needs to be done to satisfy that demand.

mynetx: What might be the motivation behind dismissing user’s suggestions, especially when they are made really frequently (example: tabs)?

Lance: Haha, yes, tabs was one of the suggestions I was thinking about. I honestly don’t know, but I think the most likely reason would be, as I mentioned before, the scale of the work involved in getting it to work. However, considering that even a third-party developer (like Patchou) can get it working well enough in an add-on, surely Microsoft can get it working in their own software.

mynetx: Well, the Messenger Plus! creator, Patchou, is just one person and is able to implement it…

Lance: Yes, it is certainly possible. I think of the most frequent suggestions, tabs would be one of the easiest to reliably implement (compared to something like polygamy, the ability to sign-in to multiple accounts from one client).

mynetx: Use your fantasy: how do you think Messenger will look like within the next five years? What new features could it present?

Lance: Wow, really difficult question! I would like to see Silverlight/WPF used more. I mean it is Microsoft’s own technology, yet they are not using it.

mynetx: Like in the Twitter desktop client “blu”, you mean?

Lance: I have not heard of blu myself, will need to look it up!

mynetx:

Lance: I just mean, Messenger needs a total visual overhaul. I like the different look they introduced in the first beta of the renamed Messenger (from MSN to Windows Live), the orange one. I think many people complained at first about it because it was so “different” (people don’t like changes) so Microsoft reverted back to a GUI similar to previous versions.

View Full Album

mynetx: Wasn’t Wave 3 (2009) visually overhauled enough?

Lance: Apart from the new colors etc., there is not that much difference in Windows Live Messenger from MSN Messenger 6.x. Maybe I’m wanting to much but: think of the visual overhaul from Windows 9x to Windows XP, XP to Vista, and Vista to Windows 7—big changes, not these minor “tweaks” we are getting.

mynetx: I see… Apart from the user interface, what new features could Messenger present in five years?

Lance: Well… I don’t know what it could have, but I do know some things I’d like to see. Among the top items on my wish list are (in no particular order):

1. Official Polygamy Support — The ability to sign-in to multiple Messenger accounts from one Windows Live Messenger client, and have separate statuses/personal status messages/display names/display pictures for each account.
2. Tabs (although this can be done in add-ons like Messenger Plus! Live, so not that important to me).
3. Multi-party audio (or even better, video) chats.
4. The ability to export your whole WLM Contact List including the structure (groups, categories, favorites etc.). It’s a real pain when you try and migrate to a new account, as you can now only export and import the contacts, you then have to manually re-sort them in the new account.

mynetx: True, I have recently experienced the need for that, when I changed my Live ID.

Lance: It has taken me 2 years to migrate to a new account for this very reason. I just cant resort/rearrange them all; it’s a pain.

Oh, and “Bring back the MSN video carousel in the UK”, lol.

mynetx: I have always wondered that the “Video Carousel” was in 8.5? *-)

Lance: We had it in the UK when it was introduced in Windows Live Messenger, but it did not last long. It is gone now…

In fact I don’t even know if it made it past WLM 8’s beta.

mynetx: Any bugs that need fixing?

Lance: Yes, here is a “bug” I want fixed: Try adding a Yahoo! contact to your contact list (a localized one, not Yahoo.com) as a buddy. Messenger changes it to Yahoo.com even though you enter the localized one (in my case, Yahoo.co.uk). Thus, you cant add Yahoo! Messenger users who have a localized Yahoo address to your contact list. I have requested this a number of times, still not fixed.

Suggestion No. 2: Get rid of the bloody roll-over flash ads in the contact list! (That’s not a “feature” though.)

mynetx: Interoperability with other IM networks is a great field to improve, in my opinion. Yahoo looks like “hacked” into Messenger, instead of implemented correctly…

Lance: Yes, they need to add support for other Chat / instant messaging clients / protocols: Facebook Chat (as they have a stake in Facebook), definitely Jabber support please. Jabber is an open protocol, so an agreement should not be needed. I could then dump Google Talk for chatting to my MXit contacts.

mynetx: A propos Yahoo, what is your opinion on the final deal to use the Bing engine on Yahoo! websites, after all those never-ending ramblings about a cooperation, search deal, whatsoever?

Lance: Well, Microsoft needs to do something especially in search/online advertising, as Google is way ahead in market share.

mynetx: How does Bing relate?

Lance: I have tried Bing a few times. It is definitely much better than MSN Search/Windows Live Search/Live Search (whatever the last time was, lol). It also seems to be improving Microsoft’s market share. Though, I am wondering if this is because people like it, or if people are just “trying it out” as it is new—only time will tell.

mynetx: Mentioning the word “Butterfly”, what comes into your mind?

Lance: A colorful insect that flies!

mynetx: And adding “Windows Live…”?

Lance: Ahh, lol, I knew what you meant.

mynetx: What comes into your mind? What was so special about this group of exclusive people?

Lance: The Windows Live Butterfly program/group goes way back to the MSN days (hence the groups name being “Butterfly”). It was a group of beta testers who have “excelled” in Beta testing Windows Live products. Participants of the group were chosen by Microsoft and in some cases by those who were already butterflies from testers of Windows Live (and previously MSN) products/services. The group had a private discussion “area” on the Microsoft newsgroups. That’s just one of the benefits of being a member of the group. You can think of it as something similar to the MVP program, although only for MSN/Windows Live products, and lower down the hierarchy.

mynetx: Did you like being a butterfly?

Lance: I certainly did enjoy most of my time being a butterfly. It was a really good experience, not only testing, but also socializing and getting to know those with similar interests as yourself. As with any “cyber-community”, the group had its ups and downs but generally it was a good experience. It’s a shame to see the community go!

I think also what made the community so good was the way main person who managed it as he really helped things out.

mynetx: Let’s bring out a toast on Eric Chen!

Lance: Haha indeed.

mynetx: Please provide two positive and negative comments about any outstanding Windows Live product.

Lance: Hm… I choose Windows Live Mail.

Positives: Contact list/Address book synchronized with Live Messenger—that is my main reason for choosing it over other applications.

Negative: Slow (!), especially in IMAP mail downloading; furthermore it can only synchronize/use Contact list of one Windows Live ID even if you add a different Windows Live ID as account to Live Mail.

— Look how easy it was to think of negatives, and how hard it was to think of positives: it makes Live Mail not look good at all…

mynetx: OK, thanks for these.

Let’s talk a bit about your personal customs. Do you run Windows Live Messenger 24/7? Do you have some kind of a routine with Messenger and the other parts of Windows Live?

Lance: Yes, Windows Live Messenger is on 24/7—as long a PC is on it is running and signed in. Routine? Not really. I usually check if any people I chat to often are online (Messenger Plus! Live Desktop Contacts), see if I want to talk to them. I may then open Live Mail, but as it doesn’t auto-run on startup/login nor auto-run in system tray, I have to do this manually, so I often forget. However, as these are the Windows Live applications I use most, that is usually the order I would do things.

mynetx: Comparing your ideas we talked about before (like UI enhancements, tabs, multiple accounts per endpoint, more IM networks, etc), with Messenger’s current features, which of these might be added in the next release, Wave 4?

Lance: I think more IM network interoperability may be the most likely, especially as we heard rumblings about it for this version (although unconfirmed). Like I said also, Jabber could come as it is an open standard and wouldn’t need any agreements (as with other IMs like AIM).

I’d say UI change is next—but not likely. (Again, by UI change I mean a big change, not minor tweaks/changes.) Tabs would be next, and polygamy last, as I foresee this to be more work.

mynetx: Are you satisfied with the Windows Live services that are provided to you? Why?

Lance: Mostly yes. They just satisfy my communications needs, whether it be IM, social networking or e-mail. They are things I think that can be worked on (as mentioned earlier); but yes, overall I am satisfied.

mynetx: Will Windows Live be able to fill the position as overall Windows (and Office) add-on, especially when looking at Windows 7?

Lance: I think so, it is a good suite of applications for the average computer user. I think it would be better to be just integrated with Windows, but the European Union will not be happy.

mynetx: Windows Live and Office Live, along with cloud power in behind—is this the solution? Better than legacy software?

Lance: That depends on the market, in my opinion. In markets where a decent (that is, broadband) Internet connection is easily available/accessible, it is good; but otherwise it isn’t, no. I think people in Europe/the US forget about computer users in places without broadband Internet connections, not to mention those with no Internet at all.

mynetx: So, is the gap between industry lands (high-tech nations) and economically less strong areas increasing?

Lance: I don’t know whether it is increasing, but I don’t think it’s getting smaller. Take my home country for example, South Africa. Broadband Internet (ADSL) access has only become available to the general public (that is, not business) in the last 3-4 years. Here though (in the UK), it was already very common. Now, in South Africa citizens can get a broadband connection, but at a price: for example, they pay the ISP and phone line (as we do), but they also pay a charge for the phone line to be used for broadband/ADSL. So it costs at least three times as much there, plus they still have ridiculous caps/quotas making only basic net usage possible; whereas here, we are using it for much more. Just imagine cloud computing in places like that…

mynetx: To summarize: using cloud web applications is problematic for regions where no broadband web access is available.

Lance: Exactly! I’m all for it, but I wouldn’t want everything to go “to the cloud” soon as it will leave such nations behind.

mynetx: What is your favorite feature in Messenger?

Lance: Video chat is got to be.

mynetx: Why?

Lance: Being someone that lives in a different country than family and friends he grew up with, it’s good to be able to see and hear them.

mynetx: What was your first impression of Live Mesh? Could it be a new diverse method of file sharing among peers, or could it improve the current system at hand?

Lance: I loved it as soon as I tried it, and I am using it all the time now. It is what Windows Live Messenger Sharing Folders should have been. Well, apparently Mesh is intended to be more than just a file sharing service. I’m yet to see the others though, but it makes file sharing/synchronization available to the masses, for free.

mynetx: We can expect some Mesh love in Windows Live Wave 4, as it will play an important role in the upcoming “Windows Live Devices” service. How could it be connected tighter with the other services? What might we see?

Lance: No idea actually; though, I am excited and looking forward to see what they have planned.

mynetx: Me too. I will tell you as soon as I know more details…

Lance: It looks like Wave 4 will be a better release than Wave 3 (I honestly wasn’t happy with Wave 3 at all.)

mynetx: What was wrong or missing in Wave 3, the 2008-2009 release of Windows Live?

Lance: The beta ran extremely long to me—too long for what we saw as changes. Sure, Movie Maker joined Windows Live; but apart from that and minor visual changes, there wasn’t much. I don’t know, maybe I just expected too much.

mynetx: Do you wish Messenger would have a feature that a third-party IM software already has?

Lance: Well, I don’t use any other IM apps (apart from Google Talk, which is crap considering its features; the only reason I use it is for communicating with MXit people), so I don’t really know what other IM applications offer.

mynetx: Ahh, so you are a loyal Windows Live user?

Lance: (laughes) Not loyal; there is just no real need to use anything else. Most of my contacts are on WLM or Skype, but Skype doesn’t offer anything different that I want in Messenger.

mynetx: As Messenger user, I’m sure you’ve got a good tip that not everybody might know about yet—any tweak, counsel, suggestion, whatever comes into your mind.

Lance: One good tip is allowing two WLM instances to run at the same time. It is a registry setting that needs modifying; the only thing is it won’t auto sign-in to a second account (Live ID). [Read more about this tip soon.]

mynetx: How would you summarize your overall experience with Windows Live in a brief sentence?

Lance: Windows Live services help me keep in touch and share my views/stories.

mynetx: Lance, I found it very interesting to talk with you about all of this!

Lance: I enjoyed it too; thanks for thinking of me as some to interview and for taking the time to do so.

Thanks to thirteen23 labs, Alto Voltaje Design, Bram Vandeperre, Messenger Stuff, BuddyFuse and LiveSino for the images.

When you delete or block a contact person, Messenger will try to synchronize your local contact list with the server, and this connection cannot be established properly on some organizational environments.

• Solution 1: Add Messenger servers to exception list
  1. Click Start, Control Panel, Internet options.
  2. Switch to the Zones tab.
  3. Mark the entry Trusted sites, and click the Sites… button.
  4. Add the following entry to the list of trusted sites:
     https://*.contacts.msn.com
  5. Click OK, and switch to the Connections tab.
  6. Click the LAN settings button. If the Advanced button is active, click it and add *.contacts.msn.com to the Exceptions list.
  7. Click OK to close the dialogs.
  8. Retry to sign in to Messenger.

• Solution 2: Choose a different place where to synchronize your contact list
  1. Take your notebook home and connect to your private Internet.
  2. Sign in to Windows Live Messenger.
  3. It will synchronize the contact lists.
  4. Now, Messenger will also sign in at your corporate intranet, as long as you do not change your contact people.
• Solution 3: Switch back to Messenger 2008
  • The last resort is to uninstall Messenger 2009 and start using Messenger 2008 (8.5) again.
    Update 15 September 2009: Since Messenger 2008 does not work anymore, you will have to contact the Messenger support (see below).

If you have a different strategy how to fix this error, please comment on this post. You might also want to contact the Windows Live support at http://support.live.com/.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Live_Messenger

Messaging spam, sometimes called SPIM, is a type of spam targeting users of instant messaging (IM) services. SPIM is more than just an annoyance. It’s a serious threat to online privacy and security. SPIM campaigns that employ phishing tactics to get your account information can put all the personal information associated with your account at risk.

Today, Microsoft has filed a civil lawsuit against several people and businesses in which they are alleged to undermine the security and privacy of Windows Live customers. This case alleges that the defendants engaged in instant messaging spam and phishing on Windows Live Messenger.

Funmobile Ltd., a Hong Kong-based company owned by brothers Christian and Henrick Heilesen, has spimmed thousands of Windows Live Messenger customers since March 2009. Customers who clicked on the link in the bogus instant messages sent by Funmobile were then “phished”— that is, asked for their IM username and password to log in, according to the complaint. Those who provided the log-in information were often redirected to an adult Web site or, in some cases, a site that claimed to be a social networking community for Windows Live Messenger users.

Meanwhile, Microsoft alleges, the defendants collected the wrongfully-obtained usernames and passwords and used them to access Microsoft’s proprietary systems and our customers’ accounts. They then “scraped” or “harvested” the contacts within each user’s account, and sent unsolicited bulk IMs to each of his or her contacts.

Protect yourself against SPIM

• Do NOT click any SPIM links you receive, but close the conversation window.
• Tell your friend that you have received SPIM from his account.
• Change your Windows Live ID password. (Change your password here.)
• Do not tell your password anybody.
• Only enter your password on a website where you see the green encryption mark in its title bar. The address should always start with “https://login.live.com”.
• Remember to sign out properly after chatting at public places.
• Check your hard disk for viruses.

Sources:
http://windowslivewire.spaces.live.com/Blog/cns!2F7EB29B42641D59!41246.entry
http://microsoftontheissues.com/cs/blogs/mscorp/archive/2009/07/16/saying-no-to-spim.aspx

Marking mail as junk

The Junk filters in Hotmail are very good, as they filter most unsolicited e-mail I receive. However, some e-mail gets delivered to my inbox nevertheless, and when I try to mark it as junk, it just—fails.

See yourself:

Wrong character encoding

Also, Hotmail fails to display some non-English mail correctly, and I don’t know why. Here you see an example, sent from Microsoft Outlook:

The question is: why doesn’t Hotmail display a “Character encoding:” dropdown, as usual?

Fonts in the Rich text editor

Being able to edit the body of my messages in a WYSIWYG editor is great—but why so few fonts? Having few fonts is something I could live with; what I do not like at all though, is that there is no option for “Segoe UI”. Come on, Windows Live Wave 3 introduced Segoe UI as successor of Tahoma, why can’t I use it for my mails as well?

Calendar language

Multi-language support in Windows Live is well implemented. But not in Windows Live Calendar. On opening Hotmail with a browser whose language is set to English, displays Hotmail in English. I open “People”: English. I open “Windows Live Home”: … English.

Then I hit “Calendar”, and what do I see? German. Cool.

Your problems

You are using Windows Live Hotmail as well, and there is something that annoys you in it?
Let me know.