Windows Vista SP1 RC now available for public download

We're making available today the RC release of Windows Vista SP1, found here on MSDN and here on TechNet, with an FAQ here.  I invite you to download, install and use the SP1 RC and let us know about your experience by providing your feedback here.

Before you install SP1 RC, please bear in mind the following points of advice, detailed in this short article:

• If you have a prior version of SP1 Beta installed, you must uninstall it prior to installing RC.
• This is pre-release code and will change before the final release.
• This pre-release software is provided for testing purposes only.  Microsoft does not recommend installing this software on primary or mission-critical systems.
• Microsoft recommends that you backup your data prior to installing any pre-release software.
• Windows Vista SP1 Release Candidate is time-limited software.  It will no longer operate after June 30, 2008 and should be uninstalled prior to that date.
• Support is through self-help and peer support via the Windows Vista SP1 forum.  Assisted support (phone, email and online chat) is not available from Microsoft Support for this RC release of SP1.  Support is not available via this blog.
• If you install the Service Pack 1 Release Candidate, it is strongly recommended that you also plan to install the final version of Windows Vista SP1 when it is released in the first quarter of 2008.  To do this, you will be required to uninstall this pre-release code.
• You must have a genuine copy of Windows Vista installed on the computer prior to installing the Windows Vista SP1 update.

{via vista team blog}

Office 2008 for Mac available on for January 2008

Microsoft has put up yet another preview of Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac, giving a glimpse of some improvements to Excel, but the main good news in accompanying press release is the phrase "on the eve of Release to Manufacturing (RTM)," which means that Office for Mac looks to be on schedule for its January 2008 release.

There’s still no demo version available, nor will there be. For now you’ll have to make do with the preview site, which today added a showcase demonstrating some new Excel features like Formula Builder, Formula AutoComplete and support for increased rows and columns.

Of course if previews don’t do it for you a little bird tells us that copies of the private beta are floating around on BitTorrent sites if you’re into that sort of thing.

Still, despite the lack of a public beta, the announcement that Office for Mac is about to reach RTM status is good news for Mac users waiting on the Mac equivalent to Office 2007, which will be over a year old by the time the Mac version hits the shelves come January.

Of course, despite the efforts of the Mac for Office team it's hardly surprising that the majority of Microsoft seems to view Mac users as second class citizens. The software is, after all, an important part of a competitor's platform, and what better way to take a jab at your competitor?

 

{via blog wired}

New Google Toolbar 5

Today google announced the latest version of Google Toolbar for Internet Explorer. The beta version is now available in US-English at http://toolbar.google.com/T5. Google Toolbar makes browsing the Internet simpler and more efficient with integrated Google search and other web tools. This release is about improving the way the millions of Toolbar users can engage with content on the web and personalize the browser experience.

Google Toolbar now lets you:

• Add Google Gadgets
• Fill in forms with a single click
• Access your Toolbar from any computer
• Clip and collect content as you browse
• Get suggestions for broken links

More info can be found here

{via tech-today}

Microsoft releases security updates for XP and Vista

The Divx team is again giving away their Divx 6 Pro software for free in a DivX Pro holiday download. All you need to do is download the Divx 6 Pro version and enter your email address to receive the serial number which will unlock the Pro features of the Divx software.

The Divx Pro version has several advantages over the normal Divx version: The DivX Converter, which is the official DivX video creation software application is included as well as the DivX Pro Codec which gives you higher performance and more encoding options.

Divx 6 Pro retails for roughly $20 so make sure you grab your copy before the offer expires. Divx 6 Pro can be downloaded for Windows and Macs, the process is similar although Windows users download Divx 6 first while Mac users have to enter their email address to receive the download instructions.

It seems that the download is also available in four languages including English, German, French and Japanese.

{via Download Squad and ghacks}

Download Yahoo Messenger For Windows Vista

Much after the release of Yahoo Messenger 9 Beta for Windows, everyone was desperately waiting for Yahoo to release the Yahoo Messenger IM client for Windows Vista and the very good news is that Yahoo Messenger For Windows Vista is finally available for download.

Yahoo Messenger For Windows Vista has been specially designed to give it a more unique and prominent look just according to the Aero Glass theme on Windows Vista and now it even has tabbed windows.

This new version for Vista fully integrates as a gadget with the Vista sidebar thus making instant messaging more fun and easy to use for all the users.

Here you can Download Yahoo Messenger for Windows Vista

{via sizlopedia.com and Yahoo!}

Google on the iPhone and iPod Touch

Users know exactly the difference between surfing web on a computer browser and on a mobile web browser. Due to the small size and low performance of mobile web browsers they often do not let you use the features of a site exactly the way you could have used them on your computer browser.

Smart Phones like Nokia N95 and Apple iPhone have made mobile web surfing more fun and realistic but they still lack some basic features.

Steve Kanefsky, a software engineer of the Google Mobile Team has made life easy for all the iPhone users around the world.

Now through the Google iPhone Application, users can easily access all their Google services (Google Search, Google Suggest, Gmail etc) and can interact with them just like they would on their computer browser.

This application is not limited to the iPhone users only. iPod Touch users can take advantage of this new application and can surf the web with more easy now.

This application has been made purely using the AJAX technology offered by the iPhone Safari Browser.

Just point your browser to www.Google.com on your iPhone and experience the new interface.

Here you go with some screenshots of Google Suggest and Gmail on iPhone.

{via sizlopedia.com}

Xbox 360 finally supporting Divx and Xvid

I’m still puzzled as to why it took so long to add Divx and Xvid support to the Xbox 360 and wondered if Microsoft did not ask the users before they produced the Xbox 360 about the features that the users wanted to see. My old Xbox is playing all of those files without a problem and the main reason why I did not make the switch to the new Xbox 360 was, among other things, the non existent support for Xvid and Divx movies.

What I like is that the Xbox 360 plays those movies from CD or DVD instead of streaming them over the network. I’m not that up to date when it comes to modchips for the Xbox 360 and possibilities to add a bigger hard drive to store files on it, but I’m sure some of you know the answer.

I would replace my old Xbox with the new Xbox 360 if I could use it as a media center again. I’d also like to know if the noise of the Xbox 360 has been finally reduced or if it is still that loud which would be another drawback.

Divx is supported back to version 5.0 which means that most movies should play just fine on the Xbox 360.

{By Martin via Ghacks}

Color-Coded Mouse Cursors Offer Higher Visibility

Windows only: Wish your mouse pointer was easier to see? Try installing the smart and colorful XsX alpha blended package of mouse cursors. These cursors change color depending on the possible action (like clicking a link or resizing a window), and blogger Aaron Tiensivu's put together a convenient installer for both Windows XP and Vista. Especially good for laptop screens, be sure to follow Tiensivu's installation instructions to get these going (it's not a regular installation wizard.) Having become a bit of an interface design snob (yes, the Mac's ruined me), I like the idea of these cursors; just wish they were better-looking. The XsX cursor installation package is a free download for Windows only.

Custom alpha blended (semi-transparent) mouse cursors by XsX for Windows XP and Vista - auto-install package v1.0 [Aaron Tiensivu's Blog via Hackszine->LifeHacker]