M3 Sweatt

I’ve posted in the past about ensuring your hardware is ready for Vista.

Today, EWeek reports that…

“The effort, which comes ahead of the annual WinHec (Windows Hardware Engineering Conference) that in 2006 kicks off in Seattle on May 22, will include the unveiling of a Get Ready Web site, which play host to an application that can assess PCs’ readiness for the OS upgrade.

“Microsoft will also unveil of a set of minimum PC hardware specifications for systems being upgraded—some of which call for 1GHz processors and 1GB of memory allotments for certain machines—persons familiar with the plan said.

As noted in a related story, Gartner recommends Intel’s chip sets for desktops (the 945G) and mobile PCs (in the 945GM):

As I mentioned previously, re: the Windows Vista Capable PC Program, I’ll stick by my plans for at least 1GB of RAM and at a minimum a 128MB graphics card, bu I expect that by this time next year we’ll see great deals on 256MB, multifunction graphics cards. 

“Microsoft has communicated a large part of the hardware requirement information in advance. But the May 18 announcement is expected to make it official.”

So watch the site today for more details, and next week during WinHEC.

Tags: Microsoft, Windows, Vista.

Today there is a new email from Bill Gates posted on the executive email page on Microsoft.com, “Delivering a Comprehensive Approach to Enterprise Information Management.” In it, he discusses how technology has transformed the way businesses work over the last ten years, and how our upcoming product releases will continue to change the landscape. The mail is on the Executive Email Web site at http://www.microsoft.com/mscorp/execmail (you can also subscribe to get future emails).

From Bill’s mail:

“…there are times when it feels like all of these changes have overwhelmed the tools we use to do our day-to-day jobs. I wanted to share my thoughts on this important issue with you and other business decision makers and IT professionals.

“The problem, really, is twofold. The first is information overload. Faced with the endless deluge of data that is generated every second of every day, how can we hope to keep up? And in the struggle to keep up, how can we stay focused on the tasks that are most important and deliver the greatest value?

“The other problem is something I call information underload. We’re flooded with information, but that doesn’t mean we have tools that let us use the information effectively. Companies pay a high price for information overload and underload. Estimates are that information workers spend as much as 30 percent of their time searching for information, at a cost of $18,000 each year per employee in lost productivity. Meanwhile, the University of California, Berkeley predicts that the volume of digital data we store will nearly double in the next two years.”

Bill goes on to note that Microsoft is focused on creating software that addresses specific businesses priorities:

• Productivity


• Collaboration


• Business intelligence


• Workflow optimization

See the email for more on this and a mention of an enhanced search tool called Knowledge Network for Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and a test version of Windows Live Search “as a one-stop entry point for finding information on the desktop, the intranet and the Web.”

If you run into a problem or have a technical issue with MSN Music, you can contact MSN Music tech support for assistance. To see all of the available support options, sign in to your MSN Music account before accessing the support site.

For general help with MSN Music and Radio, please visit the customer service site at http://music.msn.com/help/customer.aspx.

And if you’d like to talk with a customer service representative about Windows Media Player, start at the Windows Media Player Support page.

Tags: Microsoft, MSN, digital music, PlaysForSure.

CNET reports today that Windows Media Player 11 is now available via a few different pipelines:

“Although the official launch of the media player beta isn’t expected until Wednesday, consumers could find the software inside iRiver’s Clix digital music player, which went on sale Monday. The Inquirer.net also was offering free copies of WMP 11 on its site.

“WMP 11 has, so far, received favorable reviews (click here for comments from CNET.com). And even though it doesn’t work with the iPod, WMP 11 includes several features to help it compete with iTunes.”

Tags: Microsoft, WMP 11, digital music, PlaysForSure.

CNN has their E3 Show wrap-up online, with “a look at some of the highlights (and lowlights) of the show, and a few other interesting and humorous tidbits worth sharing.”

Some of the recognized products:

• Most ingenious game: Electronic Arts’ “Spore,” designed by Will Wright (of SimCity fame)


• Best surprise: Nintendo’s new controller for the Wii (pronounced “we”) console, which looks and feels like a DVD remote and features a built-in motion sensor.

For more, see the full article.