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April 30 ALL-NEW LIVE SEARCH! Your thoughts...This morning sees the release of the latest version of Live Search. Personally I'm a big, big fan of the Image Search, it just feels a lot more rugged than [insert competitor's brand here] and the infinite scroll function has a habit of hypnotizing me... The Video Search has just started to do some nifty things too: the 30sec preview feature is definitely a nice touch. I've made a whole heap of Search related content available on the Windows Live channel, this is just a selection: Unsung Heroes: The Internet Innovators! Why not take our Whose Shakespeare Line Is It Anyway Quiz? Let me know your thoughts on the new technology, what do you like/dislike, does Image Search blow your socks off too? Matt April 04 Friday fun!
Incidentally, if you're experiencing any problems trying to get these games working with Messenger - head on over to mess.be where they've developed a handy games launcher. Regular visitors to this blog will have seen my previous write-up on the 'MSN Webcam Missile Launcher' - well I managed to get hold of one (a big thank you to the good folk at Firebox). The webcam missile launcher (WML for short) is manufactured by Dream Cheeky and (as I'm sure you've already guessed) packs a neat little webcam and foam rocket projectiles into its glossy plastic frame.
In the box you will also find 3 foam missiles and a painted target (shown in pictures) which is great to hang next to unsuspecting victims. Now comes the ingenious part (courtesy of Live Messenger) - you and your friend's can get a live, launcher's eye view of the attack. Simply invite a friend to start the WML activity with you and firey, foamy hell will soon be reigning down on your head (or bouncing off your face) dependent on your friend's preference. The on-screen menu even allows you to tilt and swivel the launcher, and what's more a host of sound effects alert you to every missile-strike - so you still have time to take cover. I'm off now to don my camouflage gear and get my head below ground, have a great weekend everyone. Matt March 28 We need you!Have you visited the MSN Entertainment channel recently? If so you may have spotted a few changes - these changes come in the form of 'auto generated links'. In the same vein as a particularly annoying advert, stick with me while we cover the science bit......
In the example shown 'Nicole Kidman' is highlighted; mouse-over her name and choose to search for Nicole Kidman videos, weblinks, images etc. You will be able to spot an auto generated link because it is underlined with dashes. The theory behind this new breed of linkage is all about maximising the users experience and not wanting your browsing experience to end. So, what do you think? Do you find the links useful, or perhaps you have seen similar technology in action on another website? If you totally hate it, that's cool too - let us know. Matt March 25 MSN Webcam Missile LauncherYes, it is as strange as it sounds..... "The MSN Webcam Missile Launcher...features an integrated webcam and can be controlled via MSN Instant Messenger. Thanks to the quality onboard webcam you'll get a live, launcher's eye view of the attack - mwa-ha-ha! But here's the really good bit: by hooking up to MSN you (or anyone on your MSN list) can control the launcher remotely from anywhere in the world." I'd be interested to get my hands on one, Friday afternoons were made for office hijinks! Matt March 20 Cartoon MSN (beta)Part of my role as editor of the Windows Live Channel involves keeping a beady eye on similar tech blogs and websites. As is often the case, there's some pretty worthwhile stuff out there - one such discovery is 'MSN Cartoon', a nice little application from our friends at MSN China. But, that's not to say it's also a little bit strange.......... Cartoon MSN does exactly what it says on the tin - it caters for anyone who ever dreamed of seeing themselves in cartoon form. We've all created our own 'WeeMee' avatars (if not, create a WeeMee now), but Cartoon MSN uses facial recognition to give your cartoon form a more stylised appearance.
To get the ball rolling head on over to the Cartoon MSN download page.
1. Begin your download by clicking on the magic wand, but make sure you don't close the window. Cartoon MSN will be installed on your hard drive. 2. Once the download has completed, click the second icon.
Picture perfect If successful, Cartoon MSN will launch. To progress you'll need to upload a photo of yourself. To get the best results the software requires a good, clear, head-shot - so none of this facing away from the camera nonsense. In fact, liken this step to choosing a passport picture - the difference being you won't get stung for £3 of your cash. To launch the upload browser, click the folder icon - a dialog box will appear.
Confirm your selection by hitting the 'action' button. Cartoon heroes You may need to crop your photo; this is easily achieved by moving the red bounding box. When you are happy with the selection you'll need to select a facial-type from 6 different options. Voila! The beginnings of your new life in cartoon form are unveiled - but we're not done yet. The software doesn't always get it right so you might need to adjust the facial recognition settings; to do this, click the button shown.
Click on a dot to select; drag to move.
Cartoon MSN has taught me a few things: Just because I look a bit like a cartoon character (I think it's the bright red hair) doesn't mean I make a convincing cartoon...... This aside, I'll leave you with a video that explores a few more of Cartoon MSN's features. Let me know how you get on, leave a comment below.
Technorati Tags: live messenger,emoticons,MSN,cartoon msn,windows live,weemee,windows,microsoft,south park,simpsons March 14 Everybody loves a freebie!In my article 'Music in the Cloud' I showed you how to add music to SkyDrive and then embed it into your Spaces page. Free music is great. Regular readers of my blog will already know my feelings on the subject, if not read my post a few entries down! Top up your music collection today - all of these bands are offering their music for free: Radiohead - 'In Rainbows' If you haven't done already go and check out 'Ghosts'. As an instrumental album, it's fantastic mood music. I almost prefer it to Year Zero........ As ever, leave your own links and recommendations in the comments box below - and I'll go check them out. Matt March 05 Smiley happy peopleIn my tribute to the humble Smiley I cited a number of popular references to the yellow one. Space constraints being so, I had to make a few omissions so I'll use the power of the blog to add a few of my favourites. Unreal Tournament (PC) When using secondary fire on the Flak Cannon, a smiley can be seen flying from the flaming barrels. Randall Flagg Randall Flagg is a fictional character created by Stephen King. He has featured in numerous novels and is noted for the smiley badge that he often wears. Have you ever read "The Stand"? King's masterstroke; an almost dystopic epic with an amazing narrative. The movie version with Gary Sinese is also pretty good. Now it's your turn: I want to hear your tales and uses for the smiley. You never know, we might even run another gallery! February 27 Messenger/Hotmail woes?Messenger
I've been reading a lot of blogs over the last few days and it seems like some people are still struggling with the upgrade to Messenger 8.5 Final. Let me try and offer some assistance by sharing some info I've picked up.
First of all, Messenger 8.5 Final was rolled out towards the end of 2007. Most people SHOULD have received an update request by now, but I know for a fact some are still waiting. Try the following, as this first tip is for you:
Before you attempt the upgrade, make sure that you're signed into your Live account (http://www.live.com/) - also, run Messenger if it isn't already open.
Next, go to this page http://get.live.com/messenger/config and click to download the installer. By doing this the installer SHOULD detect your Messenger and update on the fly. It might take a while, so leave it to do its thing - you know how temperamental these things can be...
You may have read that the final version of Messenger 8.5 is incompatible with people running Windows XP 64-bit or Windows 2003 Server. Therefore you should stick with Messenger 8.1. However there are increasing reports that this is a load of hogwash - MessengerGeek carries an interesting piece on this.
For those REALLY REALLY stuck, you can always pay a visit to this site to download the Messenger setup files only.
Hotmail
Sign-in problems seem to be on the rise. If this is affecting you why not pop along to https://accountservices.passport.net/ and try signing in from there.
You can read more about LiveID at the team blog.
Alternatively, the MSN UK homepage has just been given Hotmail functionality - if signed in, a mini version of your inbox will appear in the right-hand panel. When one of my colleagues needed help with their Hotmail I recommended this!
Some people have also had issues with their passwords. There is a great post at http://emailsupport.spaces.live.com/ which invites users to e-mail in if you have received unwanted 'Password reset' notifications.
If you want to offer a tip, leave a reply below.
Matt
February 22 Illegal digital downloads - a necessary evil?A subject I find most fascinating is that of digital music and the legality of downloads. This has been further exacerbated by the recent news stories and threats by the Government to enforce controls on ISP’s. A year ago (to this day) The Media Guardian (22/02/07) carried a piece on Hollywood's sadness in relation to the failure of DRM (digital rights management). Oh happy days! Does anybody remember the headaches suffered by Foo Fighters fans a few years back? Their ‘One by One’ album was (unlucky enough) to one of the first 'pioneers' of DRM technology - a move that the fans have never let the record company forget. What's that saying about sleeping dogs? Not a chance. Somebody must have forgotten that we’ve entered a new millennium, and people don't listen to music purely on CD anymore. Zune, iPod, Sansa, iTunes, Windows Media, Real Player - hello, we’ll living in a time of technical innovation – did you miss the e-mail? More on the music business in a bit - let me return to the jist of the Guardian article: Hollywood and big bucks. To cut a long story short, the movie industry were a little peeved that somebody found a way to hack the DRM in the latest film releases. This got me thinking - these films are now freely available over the internet for download and nobody makes a penny (at least, in theory). Now, while I'm hardly condoning the everyday pirate or illegal practices -the uploaders are always going to win. They're cleverer, faster, and more passionate about their vice than anyone in a posh suit and fancy salary. While piracy is generally a BAD thing, it is this very practice that keeps the market ticking over. The fact that most US television shows are available (freely) over the internet is a beautiful thing. To get our latest Lost/24/Heroes/House/CSI fix, traditionally we’ve been expected to twiddle our thumbs for anything from 6-12months. These days, shows are hitting our screens at a rate of knots and you could argue this has only come about by the pressure the industry is feeling from the uploaders. The public are getting what they want faster; there are more 'hit' shows than ever before, and DVD’s are getting onto the shelf shortly after their run on TV. The buzz is still there as the show is still fresh in people’s minds. At this point I’m going to tie this back into digital music downloads. Digital online music should not be subject to vigorously enforced control (after all - we’re only trying to download music for Christ’s sake). Free downloads are GREAT. I for one regularly take advantage of the ITunes pick of the week, and am discovering both things I like very much and things that are generally just pants. Like it or lump it, but free stuff has its place and does a good job. Well, it does a good job 98% of the time, as 2% of people are constantly spoiling it for the other 98%. You see there are always those who like to take things to the extreme; like that oversized person at the buffet cart - who piles food high onto not one but TWO flimsy paper plates and then proceeds to wobble back to their seat. It seems that downloading is still a hotly contested issue. Arctic Monkeys, love 'em or loathe them (personally I couldn’t care less, but they help me prove a point) made no qualms when the un-mastered recordings of their debut album were shared amongst their growing fanbase. Word of mouth spread; their MySpace attracted thousands more friends a day, this new-found voice from the underground was shouting a message for all the online kidz to hear. Such new founded promotion is a brilliant thing, and they say illegal downloads are hurting sales of the physical CD! While, in the same breath, sales of legal downloads are reaching an all time high. The funny thing is - where do the majority of these people hear this music? I'll give you two guesses, one can be educated, the other silly. Maybe they should face the fact that CD's are a dying medium. Now, I can't see digital downloads taking over altogether, as there will always be a place in people's hearts and their front room for music we can touch. However, they are definitely here to stay and while this fad of downloading music is still a hotly contested issue – digital downloads will continue to boom. February 20 Sin CityToday's article is a strange one, in 7 Deadly Blogging Sins I look at the most common mistakes bloggers make when blogging their daily exploits. Do you feel that sense of deju-vu creeping over you? Yep, me too. We've all been there, but the experience has hopefully made us better bloggers!
Do you have anything to add? Maybe you agree or disagree with my list - leave a comment below and get involved.
Matt
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