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SDS, Analysis Services in the cloud, and local cubes?
I was just reading through a list of questions and answers about the new, more SQL Server-like SDS, on the SDS team blog
and had a thought. Here’s three points that are made in the post: When? or to quote JamieT “When do I get to party on this new service”? We’re on track to deliver a public CTP mid-calendar year 2009 and ship in the second half of calendar year 2009. The blog entry states “If it works with SQL Server, it will largely work with SQL Data Services.”. That word “largely” bothers me a little – it suggests the functionality is going to be reduced slightly. Details please? We will be providing documentation soon on what is and is not supported in SDS. I’ll post an entry to the blog once the guidance is available and you can also keep an eye out for it on our MSDN Dev Center
. But, to answer the question – We say *largely* due to the fact that there are things that just don’t apply in a cloud based world like setting the location of a data or log file or making server wide configuration changes. In v1 we expect to deliver a surface area that will support the vast majority of SQL Server database applications. Will you offer hosted SSIS/SSAS/SSRS? It’s on the product roadmap, but I can’t comment on specifics or timing. So, we’ll get a CTP in a few months, it’s going to be mostly compatible with existing SQL Server apps, but we’re not going to get Analysis Services in the cloud just yet. What can we do while we’re waiting for cloud-based SSAS then? Well… - It seems highly likely that we’ll be able to hook a normal, server-based instance of SSAS up to SDS and use it as a data source for building cubes. It would be a pretty silly thing to do though, I’m sure, because it would take ages to process a cube, but…
- Wouldn’t that make ROLAP a more attractive option as a storage mode? No processing needed then, just SQL queries generated whenever the data is needed. However, ROLAP is slow now and is likely to be even slower when you’re querying SDS, but…
- For some OLAP apps, you could dispense with a server-based instance of SSAS altogether. One little-known (and little-used) feature of SSAS is the ability to build ROLAP local cubes. As you probably know, a local cube (.cub file) is a portable cube that doesn’t need full Analysis Services installed anywhere. Since storing a local cube file somewhere in the cloud would be dead easy, I can imagine a scenario where you create a ROLAP local cube file – which would be no bigger than a few KB in size – allow people to download it, and then when they connect to their cube from Excel or wherever the local cube would then in turn retrieve the data it needs from SDS. Not exactly SSAS in the cloud, and probably only likely to work for small amounts of data and simple queries, but it’s an approach and not unlike what CubeSlice
has been offering for a few years. - With local cubes you could always convert them to MOLAP storage if you wanted faster query performance (at the expense of having longer processing times) and of course local cubes seem to be an important part of the Gemini story too. What we’d really need are easier ways to create local cubes and support for easy switching of storage modes (from ROLAP to MOLAP/Gemini) to make this as smooth as possible.
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In depth look at the Windows 7 Taskbar and Start Menu
Two critical elements that have been revamped for the better are the Taskbar and Start Menu. Some persons I have had conversations with about Windows 7 think it’s a minor release and it’s just Windows Vista reloaded. Yes, it is built on Vista and that’s a very good thing, which means, your investments in that version of Windows will be brought forward in areas of application and device driver compatibility. Apart from that, what new user experiences does Windows 7 introduce? What about the learning curve? Office 2007, Microsoft’s desktop productivity suite revamped the user interface in applications such as Word and Excel, there was a small learning curve, but there were huge benefits because of what the new Office Fluent UI did for the Standard and Formatting toolbars by exposing more features that some end users didn’t even know exist in the suite. Windows 7 is pretty much based on some of those principles, exposing more benefits in the Windows interface.
The improved Taskbar and Start menu
Taskbar
What is the Taskbar? First introduced in Windows 95 as a replacement for Program Manager that was a part of previous Windows releases, it houses your running applications as buttons that you can use to switch between windows on screen. Releases of Windows over the years have added new features and functionality such as the ‘Quick Launch’ desk band in Windows 98, ‘Taskbar Grouping’ in Windows XP and ‘Taskbar Thumbnail previews’ in Windows Vista. Windows 7 combines all those innovations and made them even better. When you load the Windows 7 Desktop for the first time, everything might seem familiar except for the Taskbar which has grown a few inches in size. Shortcuts for applications such as Internet Explorer and the User Folder might look like enlarged Quick Launch icons; well it’s a combination of both. By default, application shortcuts, running applications and non-running applications are not labelled. In previous versions of Windows, a running program would display an icon along with the name of the button on the Taskbar. The Windows Team have changed this based on the probability of users experience identifying programs by clear pictorial representations, the Internet Explorer ‘e’ for web browser, a blue ‘w’ for Microsoft Word, the stacked CD icon with the play identifier for Windows Media Player.
 
Taskbar with interactive Thumbnail Previews
 
Improved ways of controlling Notification Behaviour
Of course, if you don’t recognize a program shortcut on your Taskbar, you can hover over its icon which displays a floating balloon describing its purpose. One of the immediate benefits I discovered using the improved Taskbar with applications is a feature called Jump List. What it does is combine the ‘Recent Items’ menu from past versions of Windows and allows each application to have an individual Recent Items menu or Task list right click contextual menu with common activities that you might often associate with the program. Not all applications currently support the new feature, but I have discovered a handful that take advantage of it immediately, such as Microsoft Word, Adobe Photoshop, Windows Media Player, Windows Live Messenger, Live Writer, Windows Programs such as WordPad, Paint and Notepad to name a few. Not all programs will reveal radical features in Jump List, as programs are updated, third party developers I am sure will add functionality to programs to harness the benefits of Jump List.
 
Preview your windows without distractions (left), get a glance at your desktop and Gadgets (right)
Right now, users will mostly see ‘Recent files’ for some applications or your browser History for Internet Explorer, you will discover unique functionality in programs such as Windows Media Player which displays a list of Frequent activity such as your recently played media, search queries, artiste played and Task for playing your library of music in shuffle mode. Windows Live Messenger which is available as a part of Windows Live Essentials includes Task such as changing your status, signing in/out, going to your home page, viewing your Windows Live Profile or check your email. Jump List on the Taskbar is not only restricted to applications, Folders also support it too; users can appreciate seeing a list of the most frequently accessed folders within a directory. If you want to add your favourite application, you can do so by clicking Start, right click a program from the recent programs list or all programs and click the ‘Pin to Taskbar’ link.
  
Color Hot tracking
Appearances – Thumbnail Previews
The Taskbar for some persons might seem radical at first, but I have adjusted to it just fine, beyond Jump List, you will discover some cool effects and features when working with your applications. Thumbnail previews have become interactive. Internet Explorer for example which supports tabbed based browsing benefits from it immediately by displaying previews when you hover over its button on the Taskbar without the need to activate the window. You will be able to see a thumbnail preview of all open tab windows along with the ability see a full size preview when you hover the mouse pointer over each thumbnail. It’s a beautiful effect that saves time and makes working in Windows much faster. Applications and folders that are consolidated into groups automatically compose a group of thumbnails. Windows Media Player 12 Thumbnail supports unique functionality such as Previous, Pause and Next when playing an album. In addition to Thumbnail Previews, users can benefit from another significant productivity effect; the enhanced ‘Show Desktop’ button called ‘Desktop Preview’ allows you to get a glance at your Desktop or Gadgets by simply hovering the mouse pointer in the right hand corner of the screen. Your windows will immediately become transparent frames revealing the contents of the desktop. Another key feature is the progress bar which has been integrated into folder activities. For instance, when you are copying files from folder to folder or a network location or downloading a program in Internet Explorer, a progress indicator is displayed on the Taskbar button for that activity.
 
Various Jump List Activities by supported applications.
New Capabilities and Settings
Notification Area or System Tray features new options, in addition to showing full time and date, users can gain more real estate by controlling notification icon behaviours. A ‘Show hidden icons’ button reveals a floating balloon with a small gallery of icons and option for customizing the behaviour. This leads to a new Notification Area Icons Control Panel item. What I like in particular about this new setting is the clear organization of your notifications and ease of controlling the behaviours, from here you can choose to hide or show an icon at all times or show just the notification. To further clarify things, a link to a separate area available just for Windows 7 System Icons such as Clock, Volume, Network, Power and the new Action Center allows you to turn these settings on or off. If you mess something up or get confused, you can simply click the Restore default icon behaviours. The new ‘Eject’ device contextual is more informative too, displaying the name of the device instead of just the drive letter. Safely ejecting a device can be done more confidently too, in prior versions of Windows, you always closed all open programs and windows launched from a USB device before ejecting yet Windows kept insisting that you need to close all activities before removing the device. Now you can ignore that and force a device close and eject without any concern.
Default appearance – Always Combine, hide Labels
Combine when Taskbar is full
Never combine
Never combine with small icons
One of the most requested functionality for the Taskbar over the years has been the ability rearrange your Taskbar buttons just the way you want. Sometimes we have programs setup up a certain way and would like to set a priority over which is closest to the Start button, now you can with a simple drag and drop action rearrange shortcuts and running applications on the fly. The Taskbar adapts the most predominate RGB value of an icon, making each program use a distinguishing colour effect when hovered over. Taskbar Properties appearance includes options for controlling how and where it is displayed on screen. For novices, you can have your Taskbar positioned on the right, top or left of the screen power users can still use the familiar dragging capabilities that you have known since prior releases. Taskbar button behaviour can also be controlled here too, the default layout in Windows 7 is ‘Always combine, hide labels’, in addition to this, there is a more classic look called ‘Combine when taskbar is full’ which simply enables labels with the large pictorial representations. If you want an even more classical yet familiar Vista style layout the third option ‘Never Combine’ along with ‘Use Small icons’ restores this behaviour.
 
Improved Start menu supports Jump List, along with new Power Option Settings
Start Menu
The Start menu has been through a few changes throughout the years, also introduced for the first time in Windows 95, the most radical update since was Windows XP which featured a two pane menu with links to recent applications along with common locations such as My Documents, Music, Pictures and default applications for common programs such as Web Browsing and Email and the ability to set default programs for common activities such as Email, Music and Web browsing. Windows Vista introduced additional functionality such as built in Search, a Connect to link for all your network connections and a simplified Power Options area. A major departure in Vista was the cascading Programs menu which was replaced by a hierarchical listing of programs and application groups. Windows 7’s Start menu is more about refining these features. The Start menu integrates Jump List functionality similar to the Taskbar.
 
Detailed Search Results Windows 7 Start menu (above), comparison in Windows Vista (below) click to enlarge
 
Search is more detailed displaying more categorized results with total listings within each category. New Categories include Documents, Music, Control Panel Items, Pictures and Videos. Appearances have also changed, instead of utilizing just the recently used application pane for search results; the entire pane is utilized for results. An even more simplified Power Options allows users to set the default setting whether you want it to be Shutdown, Hibernate or Sleep, you can still choose another option from a pop out menu. Searching from the Start menu features a new option; you can search for Task Pane links along with the ability to use natural language queries. New Search areas include Public Folder along with the option to display links and menus for Recorded TV and Videos. Old links that have been turned off include ‘Recent Items’ which makes sense since applications carry their own recent activities and the ‘Connect To’ link now replaced by the more convenient Network notification icon which reveals available wireless Networks, Dial up and VPN connections.
So this was a look at using the new Taskbar and Start menu and realizing its new benefits. It’s radical for the better. It makes application switching less of a puzzle while also enhancing the general user experience of working with your programs in a more convenient way. The Taskbar has come a long way since its days of ‘it works just like switching channels’. Users expect a rich experience and the compelling aesthetics such as interactive thumbnail previews and enhanced search functionality provide a cohesive application experience for end users.
Previously:
A Look at Windows Backup and Windows Update in 7
Playing with Windows Media Player 12
Technorati Tags: Windows 7, Taskbar, Start Menu, Superbar, Task Switching, Windows, Desktop Preview, Instant Search, Search, Jump List, Icon Pining, Operating System, Notification Area, Power Options Up Link Partner adacosta.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!E8E5CC039D51E3DB!21830.entry
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UPDATE: Windows Internet Explorer 8 RTM Review
I have added some performance results for Internet Explorer 8 vs Firefox 3.0.7 using a broad band connection, you can see them in the second table below. Thanks to Jeff Hatfield for the help with this test. It has been in development for a long time now with the first beta released back in March of 2008. Microsoft is once again back on track with regular releases of the Internet Explorer. Version 7 released back in November of 2006 was what some would say a necessary release that infused the platform with new momentum and reinsured its trust in end users while keeping Mozilla Firefox at bay, who are also continuing their fight against IE with the Firefox 3.5 release which by the way offers some new nifty features. The fundamentals of this Internet Explorer release revolve around Microsoft’s security initiatives, improved compatibility and developer experience. Microsoft also took a different approach to beta testing this release of Internet Explorer, instead of the usual private testing phase then a public test, the Company started out the gate with a public release for the first beta which I consider to be a welcome change to how it engages with customers. It proves that the Company is interested in what we say and want us to help shape the future of the browser which should be a good opportunity.   
 
Installing Windows Internet Explorer 8 RTM 64-bit Setup: Internet Explorer 8 is available for Windows XP x86, x64, Server 2003 x86, x64, Vista x86, x64, Server 2008 x86 and x64. Phew, that’s a lot; I wish the IE Team would just consolidate this down to just two executables, 32 and 64 bit. I focused on testing IE 8 on Vista 64 bit. Installation is a quick and easy 5 step process requiring one restart to complete setup. When you launch Internet Explorer 8 for the first time, you are presented with a configuration wizard; this basically enables features such as Suggested Sites for discovering similar sites of interest based sites you visit. Also, you can let IE gives you the option of choosing a whole sale of Windows Live branded services and tools for Internet task such as Search, Translation, Mapping, Email, Definition and Blogging along with search and compatibility.   
Post setup First Experience It seems the toolbar area has taken a definite step back, especially where it concerns screen real estate. I respected IE 7’s focus on consolidating and simplifying the Interface. Now with IE 8 where there were only two toolbars, now there are three layers, not to mention the occasional pop-up banner and the fact that the Tab toolbar shares space with a set of browser controls such as Home, RSS, Email, Print, Page and Tools makes the Interface look like a total kludge. I will admit, I don’t own a 24 inch wide screen Dell LCD, but I do own a 17 inch Dell CRT which maxes out at 1024 by 768, so you basically get the idea that I am in a squeeze here. As for that additional toolbar, it’s called Favorites Bar, a place that host snippets of subscribed content from sites you regularly visit. Although you can remove it by right clicking the toolbar and uncheck the Favorites Bar option, it will return to its original state when the Web slices feature is invoked. What the IE Team could have done here was to make the IE 8 Add Favorites buttons be integrated to left of address bar similar to the Refresh and Stop buttons. It would seem like a logical idea that un-clutters the interface and streamline its look and feel, Firefox 3 already has a similar feature. Checkout: What I like about Internet Explorer 8
Internet Explorer 8 introduces a lot of ease of use comforts though; areas such as the Address Bar are now streamlined to make navigating the interface a sure pleasure for surfers. Auto Completion now suggest websites that you might want to go to, suggestions are based on your history of websites you like to visit, your personal web browsing history and Feeds that you have subscribed to. Typing in a URL offers some address bar tricks, if you click the arrow below the URL in the middle, it will reveal a number of commands: -
Go to – Enter -
Navigate to – Ctrl + Enter -
Open in a new tab – Alt + Enter -
Open in a background tab – Alt + Shift + Enter Hands down, this beats Firefox in the Power User category, offering a faster, more intelligent browsing experience. It also lessens the repetitiveness of common takes that users often do in the browser. One thing would have made this feature even more friendly and powerful, an actual command key to reveal the commands, instead of shifting between the keyboard and mouse. Changes such as a single Favourites button, chrome based skin with a flatter appearance and removal of the Tools and Feeds menu (but changes back to Feeds when browsing), are now pushed under the chevron. Taking the spotlight are Web Slices, Read Mail and Safety. Internet Explorer 8’s Address bar also details information such as the type of application protocol along with the domain name and top level domain name. It might not seem readily useful but makes it easier to identify the security of a website along with the domain name. The search box features new convenience improvements to its search facilities, providing more detailed options when text is typed in called Visual Search. For instance, based on your search history, a list of Search option links are listed by the Search Engine of choice. Type in ‘Mariah Carey’ for example and you will see a number of query filters, which could range from lyrics, songs, soundboard, news, jokes or popular topics. Search suggestions can also be populated based on your history. If you want to get the latest weather report without going to a weather site, Live Search provides results right there, simply enter your location. I also love the new tabbed Search on the fly option which allows you to quickly change Search engines based on your query. I use Wikipedia a lot, it’s very cumbersome having to type in the query through Google, search for it then open Wikipedia. With this feature, you are take immediacy to the source, which is sure to be a hit with those who want a more detailed browsing experience with better results. Internet Explorer 8 also improves Tab management with Color coordinated tabs a fun, useful way to keep track of the many websites you might have open in the web browser. Whenever you open a link in a tab from within an existing tab, it creates a color set indicating the tab from which it was opened. Coordinated Tabs also works in ‘Quick Tabs’ view and ‘Tabs List’. Accelerator and Web Slices Integration with Windows Live would of course be a must. You can see this already through the Search Field, but version 8 takes it a little further by integrating it deep into other parts of the browser, such as the contextual menus called Accelerators. For instance, right clicking a link gives you a choice of options such as blogging with Windows Live Spaces, email with Live Mail or Translate through Windows Live. Highlighted text on a page adds additional options such as Searching through your Default search engine define with Encarta and even search through Live Maps. Users familiar with Smart Tags in Microsoft Office might also find the Accelerator menu share some distant similarities; it gives you additional options for finding and management of these extensions. It ultimately eliminates the mundane task of copying text back and forth between web pages. Internet Explorer 8 introduces Favorites Bar which includes the new Web Suggestions feature for finding similar sites of interest for a particular website you are browsing. Another unique addition in IE 8 is Web Slices which allow for sections of a web page to be subscribed, stored and monitored from the Favourites Bar without having to go to the actual site. The success of Web Slices will ultimately depend on how many web pages out there decide to support it, also It doesn’t work for me sometimes, for example, I tried to get the weather update from a web slice I created for ‘Kingston, Jamaica’ but IE refused to display the results, instead, displaying only a ‘page not available message’. It’s a neat idea though that promises to make information obtained from the Internet more personalized. Developer and Compatibility Microsoft has not forgotten about improved performance and compatibility. The browser definitely feels snappier, using IE 8 on a mobile phone connection web pages load respectably faster, it seems like some significant changes have been made to the caching engine itself. The IE 8 Team have noted that considerable improvements have been made to the HTML parse, CSS engine, Jscript runtime and the associated garbage collector. Version 8 offers a compatibility layer, so that sites designed for an older version of the browser will continue functioning as normal. Common problems you might see if a website is not updated to support the latest features in the browser include, out of place menus, images, or text. An integrated contextual compatibility button built into the address bar appears next to the Refresh and Stop button whenever compatibility issues are detected, when clicked it refreshes the website and presents it in its original state as if you were browsing in a supported version of the browser, nice! What I notice when you do enable Compatibility mode is, you lose access to some of the new features of the browser. Performance To really gauge its performance I believe I have the perfect setup, my Motorola 350 cellular phone which I use as a dial up modem. To be honest, you are not gonna notice any major difference between the browsers speed if you are running on a DSL connection since pages just load instantly. With the dial up configuration I was able to see some nuances and indicators that proved which browser and which version definitely is faster when it comes to surfing. Dial up | | Windows Internet 8 Explorer RTM | Mozilla Firefox 3.0.7 | | ActiveWin.com | 2 mins 01 sec | 31 seconds | | NeoWin.net | 1 min 17 secs | 44 seconds | | MSN | 2 mins 50 secs (NA) | 2 min 53 secs (NA) | | Yahoo.com | 40 seconds | 1 min 05 secs | | OSNews.com | 53 seconds | 20 seconds | | Arstechnica.com | 40 seconds | 40 seconds | | Twitter.com | 35 seconds | 44 seconds | | Microsoft.com | 1 min 39 secs | 1 min 48 secs | | YouTube.com | 57 seconds | 1 min 24 secs | | Google.com | 25 seconds | 6 seconds | | My Blog – Live Spaces | 2 mins 15 seconds | 1 min 15 secs | | CNET News | 45 seconds | 36 seconds | | eWeek.com | 3 mins (NA) | 59 seconds | | Microsoft-Watch.com | 40 seconds | 14 seconds | | Macworld.com | 1 min 12 secs | 1 min 12 secs | NA – Website did not load in a reasonable amount of time to be considered acceptable.
My Blog – Live Spaces – http://adacosta.spaces.live.com
ZDNET Blog – http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft Connection – GPRS
ISP – LIME (formerly Cable & Wireless)
Speed – 5 KBs per second Broad band | | Windows Internet 8 Explorer RTM | Mozilla Firefox 3.0.7 | | ActiveWin.com | 15 seconds | 15 seconds | | NeoWin.net | 7 seconds | 7 seconds | | MSN | 5 seconds | 6 seconds | | Yahoo.com | 4 seconds | 5 seconds | | OSNews.com | 4 seconds | 4 seconds | | Arstechnica.com | 10 seconds | 3 seconds | | Twitter.com | 12 seconds | 6 seconds | | Microsoft.com | 7 seconds | 5 seconds | | YouTube.com | 5 seconds | 4 seconds | | Google.com | 2 seconds | 1 seconds | | My Blog – Live Spaces | 1 second | 1 second | | CNET News | 3 seconds | 3 seconds | | eWeek.com | 4 seconds | 4 seconds | | Microsoft-Watch.com | 5 seconds | 10 seconds | | Macworld.com | 1 min 12 secs | 1 min 12 secs | Connection – Cable
ISP – Comcast
Speed – 1.5 MBs per second As you can see in the above table, performance is negligible, this also indicates that results will always vary depending on your Internet Connection. Internet Explorer 8 has improved performance in some scenario’s especially with the proliferation of broadband these days. The majority of users won’t notice a difference in load time for pages, but if you are still using dial up, I will conclude though that Firefox remains faster compared to Internet Explorer 8. The table features a list of some of the sites I visit daily. Well, given the above indications, IE 8 is not so fast and I have even tried comparing a Firefox 3.0.7 install where web pages are not cached and it still beats IE. What Microsoft does best though is fidelity. I notice when I was trying to load the new Facebook, Firefox loaded it quickly enough, but it would not load properly, while Internet Explorer 8 took its time, but loaded up the web page properly. It’s a weird performance test I know, but this how I prove which is faster. My personal satisfaction really depends on the web paging loading fast enough for me to interact with, not necessarily to load all features of the site immediately. Security, Reliability and Add On Management The new InPrivate mode allows users to clear any private information such as cookies, visited web pages and the entire session itself. There is also an improvement to Phishing Filter through Smart Screen which puts greater focus on web pages that try to collect personal information from users; it’s great for preventing scamming sites that utilize URLs such as PayPal or known banking merchants. This is done through a black list of known or suspected phishing sites so it’s an ongoing game of cat and mouse, users should still be cautious about how they enter personal information on the web. Internet Explorer 8 ActiveX permissions are more independent allowing users to define how they run depending on the site. Improved reliability (including automated crash recovery and tab restoration), and enhanced support for accessibility standards. IE 8 has a much cleaner, organized way to manage all your Internet Explorer add-ons in simplified categories. This is one area; I had hoped the IE Team would have also applied to the Internet Explorer 8 Options dialog. Some things I would have liked: - Download Manager - trust me, it needs it, I find it very handy in FireFox and Safari - Pause/Resume, Manage.
- Non-adjacent Selection of text on web pages.
- Customizable toolbar, I personally wouldn't mind if buttons such as Home, Feeds, Print, Page, Tools and Help were on a another toolbar group such as the Address bar group, I need more real estate for Tab's that's much cleaner. The new Favorites Bar in particular eats up a lot of space.
- List View layout for Options, similar to Office 2007 Options dialog. Also make the Advance settings a part of the list view Options, this includes: Accessibility, Browsing, International, Multimedia.
- Make Print Preview utilize a Tab instead of opening a separate window.
- Close button Tabs like Firefox.
- One unified 32-bit and one unified 64-bit installer.
Internet Explorer 8 is an excellent update, the focus on improving the browsing experience, relevancy and synergy with Windows Live services, developer productivity and easing compatibility in addition to the features that focus on making the browsing experience more secure, personal and not intrusive will surely give users reason to stick with the platform and might even bring some users over from Firefox which I personally have had problems with in the memory resource department. Resources: Download Windows Internet Explorer 8 RTM
Windows Internet Explorer 8 Compatibility View List
Internet Explorer Team Blog
Internet Explorer 8 Add-ons Gallery Windows Live Tags: Clubhouse, Internet Explorer 8, RTM, RTW, Web Browser, Microsoft, Review, Windows Vista, 64 bit, 32 bit, Software, Internet, Firefox, Windows Live Technorati Tags: Internet Explorer 8, RTM, RTW, Web Browser, Microsoft, Review, Windows Vista, 64 bit, 32 bit, Software, Internet, Firefox, Windows Live, ActiveWin Up Link Partner adacosta.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!E8E5CC039D51E3DB!22066.entry
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UPDATE: Windows Live: Talking about Duplicate Entries in your What’s New Page
Windows Live features a lot of rich social networking features more than ever. Tightly integrated across services such as Windows Live Spaces, Messenger your Windows Live Profile and third party services such as Twitter, you can keep everyone in your network ‘in the know’ about your activities on the web. However, there are some issues I discovered thanks to Brandon Leblanc in a blog post he made last December about ‘Duplicate Entries’ on your Windows Live Profile Page.
“Not to pick on Andre Da Costa here but I’m noticing that he and a few others have duplicate blog entries hitting What’s New on my Windows Live Homage page. It appears folks are adding their Windows Live Space as a Custom Blog activity for What’s New. Because Windows Live Spaces is part of Windows Live – you do NOT need to add it as a Custom Blog as it will automatically appear in What’s New by default. Please remove your Windows Live Space as a Custom Blog activity for What’s New. Thanks” LOL! Thanks Brandon! Just to make it a little clearer how to avoid this, here is a quick tutorial: 
1. On your Windows Live Profile Page, click Options > More Options 
2. Under Notifications, click the ‘What’s new with you’ link 
3. Under Web Activities, you will see a list of Custom Blog RSS Feed, click Edit 
4. Under ‘Settings:’, uncheck ‘Show Updates in the what’s new list. Personally, I never realized that setting up this option would already conflict with the Show Blog updates for Windows Live Spaces on your ‘What’s New’ page. I thought that exposing updates to your Live Space was not a part of Live Profile page options in the first place, so I added an RSS feed. Sorry for any confusion caused. Up Link Partner adacosta.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!E8E5CC039D51E3DB!21303.entry
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Installing Windows Live Essentials
So far I have looked at working with core applications in the Windows Live Essentials suite: Photo Gallery, Messenger, Mail and Writer. I want to take a little time out to look at how you get the suite of these free applications installed on your PC. 
Windows Live Essentials Download web page. One thing users must note is that Windows Live Essentials is free! The only thing required is an Internet connection and going to the Windows Live Essential’s home page and download it. Microsoft recently created partnerships with PC OEMs such as Dell to have Live Essentials bundled on their systems world wide. 
The 1 MB Windows Live Web installer makes it easy to install just the applications you need. What’s included in Windows Live Essentials? - Windows Live Mail – For sending and receiving email and managing it off line, includes support for HTTP, POP3 and IMAP along with support for popular mail services such as Hotmail and GMAIL. Live Mail also features an integrated Calendar that supports synchronization with your Windows Live Calendar.
- Windows Live Photo Gallery – For managing photos, videos and publishing to online services, includes basic photo editing tools.
- Windows Live Messenger – Instant Messaging client with support for video conferencing and support for Yahoo! Contacts.
- Windows Live Writer – Blogging tool for publishing content to online journals such as Windows Live Space, Blogger, Live Journal and more.
- Windows Live Movie Maker – Still in beta, this simple video editor features basic capabilities for putting together short movies that can be published to MSN Soapbox.
Those five core applications make up a complete experience, but the suite goes beyond that. Windows Live Essentials includes add on’s for Internet Explorer, Microsoft Outlook, and file synchronization and collaboration. System Requirements Operating system: Windows XP with Service Pack 2 (32-bit edition only), Windows Vista (32-bit or 64-bit editions), Windows 7 Beta (32-bit or 64-bit editions), or Windows Server 2008. Note: Windows Live Movie Maker is not supported on Windows XP - Processor: 1 GHz or higher for Windows Vista; 800 MHz or higher for Windows XP
- Memory: 128 MB of RAM (256 MB or more recommended) for Windows XP; 512 MB for Windows Vista
- Resolution: Minimum 1024 x 768
- Internet connection: Internet functionality requires dial-up or broadband Internet access (provided separately). Local or long-distance charges may apply.
- Browser: Windows Live Toolbar requires Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 or later.
- Graphics or video card: Windows Live Movie Maker requires ATI Radeon 9500 (or higher) or nVidia GeForce FX 5900 (or higher). I have Live Movie Maker working with a nVidia Geforce FX 5200 128 MB AGP, but if you like the Photo Gallery collages, you will need a video card that supports pixel shader 3.0.
Additional requirements The following components are needed for specific Windows Live programs, and may be installed for you if they’re not already on your computer. - For Writer: Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 or higher*.
- For Photo Gallery: SQL 2005 Compact Edition and Windows Imaging Codecs*.
- For Photo Gallery and Movie Maker: Some components of DirectX9.
- * Not required when installing on Windows Vista.
Note: To install or uninstall Windows Live products, you must have administrator rights on the computer.   
Setup: After launching the Windows Live Essentials setup, the Welcome Screen is displayed, next is the Service agreement page, which you must agree to then the programs page which list all the programs that come with Windows Live Essentials. 
Checking for open programs: Before Windows Live begins the installation, you must ensure that certain programs are closed such as Internet Explorer which installs add on programs such as the Live Toolbar, Silverlight for viewing dynamic content on web pages and for persons who use Microsoft Outlook, the Office Outlook Connector for managing your Live Hotmail email, Live Calendar and Contacts.    
Installing the applications: During the install wizard, you are given a quick over view of some of the capabilities of Windows Live Essentials.  
Completing Setup: Once installation is completed, you can have Live do some post setup task such as default your Search provider to ‘Windows Live Search’, set your default home page to MSN, submit feedback when you encounters an error using Windows Live Essentials applications and help improve Windows Live Search results – all of course optional. 
Accessing your Windows Live apps: You can start using your Windows Live applications by going Start > All Programs > Windows Live or click Start and type ‘Windows Live’. There are two ways of installing Windows Live Essentials, you can download the 1 MB web installer from http://download.live.com then pick and choose what you would like to have installed. You can run the program at a later date if you decide to install more applications. If you are on a slow connection and would prefer to avoid killing your bandwidth, you can download the full suite, but there is a bit of trick to doing so, I honestly wish Microsoft would just provide a direct link to the full installer, someone with 4 Windows based PC’s is not gonna want to run the web installer on all 4 when they could easily download the entire package and run it across three. Here’s how you get the full suite. Click the download link for the Live Suite, and then cancel it when the 1 MB download option appears. Click the Try Again button and you will be presented with the 134 MB installer, this option includes everything. Technorati Tags: Windows Live, Windows Live Essentials, Installation, Setup, Microsoft , Photo Gallery, Mail, Messenger, Blogging, Applications, Windows 7 Beta Windows Live Tags: Clubhouse, Windows Live, Windows Live Essentials, Installation, Setup, Microsoft, Photo Gallery, Mail, Messenger, Blogging, Applications, Windows 7 Beta, How-to, Story Up Link Partner adacosta.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!E8E5CC039D51E3DB!21485.entry
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