Yes, I’ve been neglecting my blog. Although I have a couple of blog posts in the works (on setting up our Windows 7 home network connected to our Media Center), I have been just too busy with (gasp!) real work. So I obviously need to be better at my organization: helpful that I found this brief article on Bill Gates’ organizational effort with a few of his "top tactics" with a nod of what Bill calls the digital workstyle. Missing from the article: you need a great staff! For me, here’s a quick post that answers one of the popular questions I often get: "How I Work at Microsoft".
First off, I supported @Americares http://www.americares.org/ WRT Haiti earthquake victims as 99% of the goes to the relief effort. You can read more here about Microsoft’s help to relief organizations in Haiti and see a list of charities helping in the country here on MSN. (BTW, I’m an AT&T customer. With all of the press on teh incredible response via text message donations, there’s a bit of a brou-ha-ha WRT AT&T’s note that "Standard text messaging rates may apply" for said donations made on its network. I asked @ATTNews to waive fees like @Verizon & @TMobile for Haiti donations. And it seems that customer response and public pressure has caused AT&T to give in on that surcharge.)
Lots of news on the Microsoft & HP CEOs announcement yesterday on investment in IT infrastructure software, as initially noted here by CIO.com. You can read all about the HP – Microsoft three-year, $250 million deal to advance cloud computing for businesses on Microsoft Presspass and this post from Brad Anderson of the mgmt & services division.
Now, on to a couple of noteworthy bits from my posts on Twitter and on Twitter and from friendfeed:
As noted Microsoft is supporting relief efforts in Haiti + how you can help, MSFT makes initial $1.25 million commitment [Blog] http://bit.ly/8KRBTb
WSJTech reports that PC Shipments Surge in Holiday Quarter http://on.wsj.com/7RfTy3
Sad that Bill Veghte over in Windows Marketing is leaving the company after nearly two decades per @inafried http://news.cnet.com/8301-13…
Sad to read about Apple IMac quality issues (Yellow Discoloration, Fail to Boot) http://www.dailytech.com/An+Appl…
@maryjofoley reports that Visual Studio 2010 gets a new launch date: April 12, 2010: http://blogs.zdnet.com/microso…
@LanceUlanoff reports on Google in China: Pulling Out May Not Be a Good Idea http://www.pcmag.com/article… China’s wrong, but will Google’s exit help anyone? #google #china
@karaswisher: The One-Year Report Card of Yahoo’s Carol Bartz–Management: A- http://kara.allthingsd.com/2010011…
@meridith: The CIO Job Market in 2010: More Opportunities and More Competition http://www.cio.com/article… #CIO #jobs
Run into error code 0x80070005, Windows 7 "is not Genuine"? Disable policy settings or edit permissions: http://support.microsoft.com/kb2008385
A look inside BMW’s Windows 7 rollout to date: "Smooth Driving So Far" on CIO.com http://www.cio.com/article…
Nice too see Michigan and Microsoft teaming up to offer free technology training around the state http://www.bing.com/news… #fb
Microsoft reiterates console generation stance: "Xbox 360 is designed to last longer than normal" http://www.totalvideogames.com/Xbox-36…
Other vendors to follow Apple offering multi-touch tablet PCs in Q1 or Q2, say Taiwan touch panel makers http://www.digitimes.com/print…
From JohnPaczkowski: Google VP of Engineering Andy Rubin: We’re Building a Nexus One for Enterprise http://digitaldaily.allthingsd.com/2010010…
From LanceUlanoff: Why Tablets Need Apple http://www.pcmag.com/article… Everybody’s making tablets, but nobody knows what they’re for. @SaschaSegan is right.
@toddbishop: Miguel de Icaza, Microsoft MVP? Yep, it’s true. http://www.techflash.com/seattle…
From Stephen Rose: RT @MaxTrinidad: RT @MSSpringboard: Four Free Tools that every Administrator should Know About http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us…
@MSFT_IT: The definitive explainer of Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI), by Microsoft IT Evangelist Yung Chou http://blogs.technet.com/windows…
@MSFT_IT: MSFT CIO Tony Scott talks about new directions for IT in 2010. Video and paper available at microsoft.com/everybodysbusiness
@Cisco_Mobile Gotcha – sometimes that download get’s missed. Thx for the info
Troubleshooting Windows 7 with Microsoft’s Built-In Tools: It all began w/ Firefox 3.5, via @tomshardware http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews…
Microsoft Security Advisory 979267: Adobe Flash Player 6 Vulnerability in Windows XP could allow remote code execution http://www.microsoft.com/technet…
Skip Microsoft’s Critical Patch, Focus on Adobe’s, Experts Urge reports @gkeizer via @PCWorld http://www.pcworld.com/article…
Microsoft will report earnings after the market close on Thurs, January 28. Investor Relations page: http://www.microsoft.com/msft…
@edbott: New at ZDNet: Move over, God mode! 94 more secret shortcuts for Windows 7: http://blogs.zdnet.com/Bott…
@msPartner: PartnerNews: What are Microsoft and HP announcing tomorrow? http://www.microsoftpartnernetwork.com/News… What will Ballmer and Hurd unveil? #MPN
@johnhcook: Comcast’s new Data Meter: Like a calorie counter for Internet usage http://www.techflash.com/seattle…
Tags: Microsoft, articles, blogs, what I read, Twitter.
Clubhouse Tags: Clubhouse, Windows Vista, Windows 7, computers, how-to
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As noted on Twitter, even Microsoft employees use the MicrosoftStore, especially when there’s a sale on some of the latest PCs around. Needing to replace an older model (tried and true) Sony Vaio that is headed to the repair shop, I ordered a new PC from the Microsoft Store last week, a new HP Pavilion DM3-1044nr Entertainment Notebook PC. 
As I 
