Officially, Microsoft Security Essentials “is not compatible with Windows 8”. Unofficially, it’s been renamed Windows Defender. If you’ve used Microsoft Security Essentials, the new Windows Defender bundled with Windows 8 will have a very familiar look and feel.

Microsoft Security Essentials has gained a lot of momentum in recent years as a terrific, and free antivirus solution. Some would argue one of the best antivirus solutions at any price. It’s reputation is deserved. It is light on system resources, runs silent, and has good detection and removal. Windows Defender on the other hand was primarily an antispyware application. A remnant of the pop-up ad era, and what remained of the Giant antispyware acquisition. Installing Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) even disables Windows Defender.

So why would Microsoft chose to confuse customers by dropping the Microsoft Security Essentials name in Windows 8? It’s a business decision. Bundling full antivirus protection with Windows 8 is a bold move on Microsoft’s part. One that obviously caught the eye of in-house legal hawks, and angered the antivirus industry. Microsoft recently ended its anti-trust oversight, and while it may be bolder, it’s not stupid. Windows Defender has been bundled since Windows Vista. While Microsoft Security Essentials would technically be a new bundled application, Microsoft can claim Windows Defender has been bundled for years. Windows Defender may not have the reputation of MSE, but that will be changing.

Read the rest of this entry »

Just like with PCs, it’s easy to get hung up on a phone’s technical specifications. How many cores does it have? How fast is the processor? Is it the latest and greatest from your provider? Lost in all the technical details is the phone’s speed in real-world use. In a brilliant marketing move BenThePCGuy issued a $100 challenge at CES 2012. If your smart phone was faster than his Windows 7 phone in real-world tasks, he’d give you a $100 bill. The videos are fun to watch — I bet you can’t watch just one.

Read the rest of this entry »

It was just like out of an old country western movie. So there I am, sitting in the bar minding my own business when a guy walks up to me and says “You work in a school right? Wanna try out a new computer?” Well, not exactly like a country western movie, but close right? Now this conversation may sound really strange to someone looking in, but to understand the context you’ve gotta understand that this bar was in Seattle, Washington and I had spent the day at the Microsoft campus in Redmond for the annual Microsoft MVP Summit. Computer chatter over a beer was commonplace.

The guy I’m talking about works for a fantastic company who wants to give me a Lenovo M90z on a long-term loan to let me play with it and see what I can use it for.   The M90z is an All-In-One (AIO) multi-touch computer from Lenovo.  Everyone knows that touch computing is the way of the future. From smart phones, to tablets, to slate computers, everything is going touch. So why shouldn’t the desktop offer some form of touch component?

Read the rest of this entry »

1) They asked. Microsoft Communication Services is cloud hosted Exchange and Sharepoint + Outlook 2010. Rackspace waived the $12.50/month fee on their plan for 1-year, in exchange for our feedback. I’ll also share my experiences here, and in future posts. $150 in free services didn’t motivate the change. I was curious, and excited to explore an alternative to Google Apps. A 14-day free trial is available to everyone.

2) Gmail performance issues. Randomly, inexplicably, without warning, and without explanation Gmail gets slow. Not usually a big deal for personal email, but a productivity killer, or even loss of business for some. For a company that prides itself on speed, Gmail suffers. Some people are even begging to pay for better performance.

Google, please set a price — any price — that you determine is necessary to keep anyone’s account running smoothly at all times. I’ll gladly pay it. I don’t care if it’s $100 a year or $1,000 a year. It would be worth it.

What if you’re unlucky enough to have your emails accidentally deleted (and later restored)? When’s the last time you backed up your Gmail account?

Read the rest of this entry »

Would you like to learn more about the cool new features in Office 2010 and Windows 7? Still not sure what has changed since previous versions? Do you use Microsoft Office but would like to learn tips and tricks to be more productive at home, school or at work? Perhaps you are a new user who has questions on how to get started with Windows 7 or using the Office ribbon? Or would like to learn how to protect your computer from malware and viruses. Or perhaps you are just stuck and need answers.

The Microsoft Most Valuable Professionals (MVPs) are here to help!

The MVPs are the same people you see in the technical community as authors, trainers, user groups leaders and answerers in the Microsoft forums. For the first time ever Microsoft has brought these experts together as a collective group to answer your questions live. MVPs will be on hand to take questions about Microsoft Office 2010 or Office 2007 products such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Access, Project, OneNote and more. As well as Windows 7 and earlier versions such as Windows Vista. In addition to Microsoft Office, the chat will cover Windows related topics such as upgrading, setup and installation, securing your PC, Internet Explorer, personalizing your computer desktop or having fun with Windows Live Essentials to share photos, make movies and more. All levels of experience are welcome from beginners and students to intermediate power users. Please join Microsoft and the MVPs for this informative Q&A style chat and bring on your basic and your tough questions!

Join the Chat!

When: October 14, 2010 – 10:00 A.M. – 11:00 A.M. Pacific Time

Additional Time Zones

Add to Calendar

You can follow this on Twitter at #msmvpchat

Join the event on Facebook: Chat about Microsoft Office & Windows with MVP Experts!

What is a Windows 7 Family Pack? It’s a discounted 3-user pack of Windows 7 Home Premium (upgrade versions). Available for $150 from Microsoft (or $140 from Amazon), you’ll save $200+ if you’re upgrading 3 PCs!

Already running Windows XP or Vista? Then you’re eligible for this upgrade offer (Vista can be upgraded using Windows 7, but XP will require a clean install).

Is Home Premium the right version for you? Unless you need to join a domain (mostly corporate networks), or require XP mode, then yes it probably is. Do you need 32-bit or 64-bit? Don’t worry, they are both included.

Read the rest of this entry »

On September 15 2010, Microsoft announced a public beta version of their web browser Internet Explorer (IE). Microsoft claims that this new version, IE9, is going to be a more secure, stable and faster browsing experience. Being a little skeptical toward Internet Explorer, I wanted to see this for myself, so I set out to get my copy of IE9 over at The Beauty of the Web.

Quoting The Beauty of the Web;

“As amazing as the web is, its potential is immeasurably greater. Internet Explorer 9 was designed to let that potential shine through. Click below to see how developers and designers are creating a more beautiful web using HTML5 and advancements in Internet Explorer 9.”

I myself am a big fan of Google Chrome. I love the speed it offers and the minimalistic UI it offers, therefore I won’t only be comparing IE9 to IE8, but I will also write about my experience in the difference between the two different browsers. Now I am just hoping that Internet Explorer can live up to the expectations I have as a frequent web user.

Read the rest of this entry »

In the early days of computers and computer games, flight simulators were king. The latest versions were waited for with eager anticipation. Realism in gauges, physics and controls left even seasoned pilots impressed.

Whether it was a combat sim in an F4, F16 fighter jet or Red Baron’s bi-plane, or a realistic airplane simulator like Microsoft Flight Simulator, I played a lot of these games. However, I haven’t played one for years. If this short video is any indication, that is about to change. The graphics are jaw-dropping:

Microsoft Flight announced on Tuesday as part of it’s plans for Games for Windows and Windows Phone 7. Looks like Flight will also have an online component as it will be, “Live-enabled”.

Microsoft this week introduced the beta Fix it Center Online. It features both a software client, and an online component. If you’ve used Windows 7, it may look familiar to you, as it’s quite similar to the action center. or troubleshooters. However it expands on that offering with over 300 fixes, and more on the way. It also brings the experience to Windows XP and Vista users.

(screenshots after the break)

Read the rest of this entry »

Windows XP users are not very happy campers this week. Microsoft is busy investigating a multitude of reports that claim MS10-015, which was rolled out on Tuesday, is causing XP installations to blue-screen. Microsoft has acknowledged that this particular patch appears to be at fault, but are still unwilling to state that the issues are related solely to that. Instead, they are looking in to the situation further, trying to determine if this could possibly be the result of interoperability issues with another component, or even third-party software.

Read the rest of this entry »