Allen

1,300 MVPs arrive into Redmond today for the 2010 MVP Summit

I have just arrived into Hyatt Regency Bellevue in Washington state, United States after a long a tiring journey. Travelling from Kathmandu to Singapore, spending the 11 hours in transit in Singapore, and then nearly 18 hours flight from Singapore to Seattle with a stopover in Narita Airport in Tokya, where we crossed the dateline and saved one day.  It is quite amazing to be able to board the plane at 7:00 in the morning and after 17 hours of flight arrive into Seattle at 9:05 am in the morning on the same day.

As I check into Hyatt Regency Hotel in Bellevue, WA, I met up with Niraj Bhatt, who was my roommate in Hyderabad during the MVP Open Day last month.

1300 of the world's top leaders from the technical community will spend four days at the Microsoft Corporate headquarters in Redmond, Washington this week for the 2010 Most Valuable Professionals (MVP) Global Summit.

Microsoft’s MVP Award Program is in its 17th year, with MVPs representing 96 countries, speaking 37 different languages and spanning 94 Microsoft technology areas.

Since 2004, I have been awarded the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) award by Microsoft for the Windows Desktop Experience expertise.

The Summit gives Microsoft's product groups an extraordinary opportunity to listen to their MVPs during more than 700 sessions throughout the week.

Summit brings together some of the top leaders within global technical communities,” said Toby Richards, general manager, Community and Online Support for Microsoft. “I always look forward to this week and am extremely excited to engage with technology’s best and brightest and discuss what’s on their minds.”

The buzz on social networks about the 2010 Summit was mounting over the weekend as MVPs anticipated this extraordinary week. You can follow or  join the conversations. On Twitter, MVPs are using #mvp10 to tag their tweets, on facebook ongoing conversations can be found at http://www.facebook.com/mvpawardprogram , and on Asia's most popular social network Plurk, people can follow the week at http://www.plurk.com/msmvp/invite

Everyone at Microsoft is eager to see the MVPs tomorrow when the 2010 MVP Summit officially launches.

FREE ebook: The Complete Windows 7 Shortcuts eBook

I am glad to blog about The Complete Windows 7 Shortcuts eBook, authored by a fellow MVP from India. Windows 7 includes a lot of new keyboard shortcuts that are unknown to a new user. This eBook comprises of more than 200 keyboard shortcuts containing almost all the keyboard shortcuts that are available in Windows 7 and its default programs like Paint, WordPad, MS Office, Calculator, Help, Media Player, Media Center, Windows Journal, Internet Explorer, etc.

The eBook is pretty exhaustive and the topics covered include:

• What is Keyboard & how to use it?
• How keys are organized on a standard Keyboard
• Typing & editing the text using Keyboard
• Using Keyboard Shortcuts
• Find program shortcuts
• Choose menus, commands, and options
• Some useful shortcuts
• Using the keyboard extras
• Using navigation keys
• Using the numeric keypad
• Three odd keys
• Use your keyboard safely
• Create keyboard shortcuts to open programs
• Make the keyboard easier to use
• Type without using the keyboard (On-Screen Keyboard)
• Set On-Screen Keyboard to use for various handy tasks
• The Shortcuts Collection
• General Windows functions keyboard shortcuts
• Dialog box keyboard shortcuts
• Windows logo key keyboard shortcuts
• Windows Explorer keyboard shortcuts
• Ease of Access keyboard shortcuts
• Magnifier keyboard shortcuts
• Remote Desktop Connection keyboard shortcuts
• Keyboard shortcuts for MS Paint
• Keyboard shortcuts for WordPad
• Keyboard shortcuts for Calculator
• Windows Journal keyboard shortcuts
• Windows Help viewer keyboard shortcuts
• Windows Media Player keyboard shortcuts
• Internet Explorer keyboard shortcuts
• Windows Media Center keyboard shortcuts.

Backup your data from any phone… not just Windows Mobile

I was at the Microsoft India Development Center, a demo was provided on this tool, which I thought was pretty cool and wanted to share it with the community.

Microsoft^® Phone Data Manager Beta is an application that is designed to take away the worry of losing data on your phone – specifically contacts, music, pictures and videos. It does that by synchronizing your phone contacts with Microsoft’s Windows Live Contacts store in the cloud, or by helping you download files from the phone to your local computer.

Contacts: Microsoft^® Phone Data Manager Beta synchronizes the contacts present in your phone with your contact store on Windows Live Contacts, which is the same store that your Hotmail contacts uses. This way, your phone contacts are always present on the internet, accessible via the contacts link on Hotmail. If you lose, or simply change your phone, all you need to do is to synchronize the contacts using Microsoft^® Phone Data Manager Beta, and all the contacts that you stored in your Windows Live Contacts store will be downloaded to your phone. You can synchronize your contacts as many times as you like so that the changes you make (edits, additions or deletions) on your phone, or on the computer on Windows Live Contacts are always reflected on both your phone and the Windows Live Contacts store.
Music, Pictures and Video: In its current form, Microsoft^® Phone Data Manager Beta will download the music, pictures and videos present in your phone to a local folder on the computer you are using this application on
Communication with your phone: Microsoft^® Phone Data Manager Beta can communicate with your phone via a wireless standard known as Bluetooth, or via a USB cable.
In order for you to synchronize contacts, you will need to have a Windows Live ID (any Hotmail ID is a valid Windows Live ID). If you do not have one, you will be prompted to create one while you use the application

Click Here to Download

Graveyard Session: Blogging

A session starts at 11 pm when everyone is done with their share of drinks and dinner, with Amit Agrawal of http://labnol.org being showered with questions that always started ‘I have one question’ which never seemed to end in one question but would be shot a battery of questions. The discussion was intense on Google versus Microsoft, the phases of corporate business when they have to show their return on investments after the acquisition phase of pumping money left, right and center into the business development and then into a phase where they will be asked for return on investments for the money that was invested into the technologies.

Sometimes flight delays are good:

I was to take the noon flight from Kathmandu to New Delhi which was delayed slightly over 5 hours due to the bad weather in Delhi.  I checked in at 10:20 into the chaotic Jet Airiness counter, got my boarding pass and headed towards office to catch up with some work since I had been away from my desk for quite a long time due to the trip to Osaka, Japan. Initially wanted to stop in New Banesor and head towards a cybercafé and just work there to beat the traffic but due to the load-shedding in that area at that time, this plan did not work out. The Admin person from our office kept on calling the airline people to find out if the plane had left Delhi airport, at which time I headed towards the airport just in time at the boarding of the plane and literally became the last person to board the plane.

Having a virgin on the beach:

Having gone to the bar counter, I asked for some juice and was offered orange.  the bar tender ran out of juice after having poured one third glass and then offered me if he can add the rest with cranberry juice.  I asked him if it would be good, his reply was “try it, it will be like having a virgin on the beach”.  Never tried that before so said why not.

Need for the Date Converter in the mobile phone:

Normally in flights I do not converse with the people sitting next to me, and pretty much keep to myself, my music, my book and many times being engrossed with the movie. There were two Nepalese ladies from Kathmandu who were going for a holiday to New Delhi and requested me to fill up the disembarkation form.  they handed me their boarding pass and their Citizenship Card.  When trying to fill up the date of birth, they only had the Bikram Sambat date in their cards, which would not be acceptable to the Indian Immigrations.  This is when I felt the need to have a Bikram Sambat to Gregorian calendar date converter in my mobile to help these fellow citizens in need.

MVP Open Day in Hyderabad, India

All the Microsoft MVPs from South Asia is going to be gathering in the Microsoft India Development Center from January 20 for a 4 day event to discuss newer and cutting edge technologies.

The days are divided into three tracks for Developers, IT Pros and Consumers.  I plan to be attending sessions in all the three tracks depending upon my topic of interest and also to be blogging about it extensively in this portal.

Microsoft India Development Center:

Microsoft India Development Center (MSIDC) is one of Microsoft’s  largest development centers outside the headquarters in Redmond. Set up in 1998 by Srini Koppolu, Corporate Vice-President & Managing Director, along with a group of 20 people, MSIDC has grown over the last 11 years to 1500 plus employees.

MSIDC is a major player in Microsoft’s strategy of global shared development where teams across geographies collaborate effectively to build great software. Major components of flagship products such as Vista and Win 7 have been engineered here. MSIDC teams have also engineered several end-to-end products, features and technologies such as BizTalk, Office Mobile and Data Protection Manager.  Innovative work by MSIDC has led to the filing of more than 272 patents for Microsoft Corporation in the past five years.
MSIDC works on more than 20 focus areas around six key domains aligned to Microsoft lines of business. These domains are Data, Tools, Mobile, Windows®, Windows Live™ and Business Applications (Biz Apps). In addition to these domains, MSIDC is also working on technologies and solutions to deepen computing penetration in emerging markets around the globe, through its Emerging Markets Labs (EM Labs) initiative.

What is MVP Open Day?

The MVP Open Day is a three day invitation-only event that is hosted at MSIDC. The event will feature a roster of keynotes and deep dive technical sessions delivered by experts from the product group as well as a variety of social networking opportunities to enable MVPs to network and socialize with their technical peers, build new relationships with Microsoft Development Centre teams, and share real world feedback. This is a great opportunity for MVPs to connect with each other; with Microsoft Development Centre, and visiting Redmond Product Group as well as MVP team staff.

Agenda:

Wednesday, Jan 20 [Ista, Hyderabad]

10:00 AM - Registration Opens

1:00 - LUNCH (at hotel)

3:00 - 4:00 - IT Pro Roundtable with IT Pro Evangelist, DPE India

4:00 - 6:00 - DPE Roundtable with Stuti Shukla, Director (Marketing), DPE

5:00 PM – Networking with MVPs and IDC team

7:00 PM - Karoke Party & Dinner (at Hotel)

11:00 - Open Session

Thursday, Jan 21 [MSIDC]

8:00 – 9:30 - BREAKFAST

9:00 - 10:00 - Windows 7 Deployment Roundtable [Optional]

9:30 – 10:15 – Bus transport to MS Office

10:30 – 11:30 – Technical Opening Session by Srini Koppolu (CVP & MD, MSIDC)

11:30 – 11:45 – Group Photo

11:45 – 12:00 – Tea Break

12:00 – 1:00 – Sessions (3 TRACKS)

1:00 – 2:00 – LUNCH

2:00 – 3:00 – Sessions (3 Tracks)

3:00 – 4:00 – Sessions (3 tracks)

4:00 - 4:15 - Tea

4:15 – 5:15 – Sessions (3 Tracks)

5:30 – Hyderabad Outing

9:00 - Dinner

Friday, Jan 22 [MSIDC]

8:00 – 9:30 - BREAKFAST

9:00 - 10:00 - Office 2010 Roundtable [Optional]

9:30 – 10:15 – Bus transport to MS Office

10:30 – 11:30: Technical Opening Session by Rajiv Kumar, GM, MBD, MSIDC

11:45 – 12:00 – TEA

12:00 – 1:00 – Sessions (3 tracks)

1:00 – 2:00 – LUNCH

2:00 – 4:00 – FEEDBACK Chalk Talks (4 tracks)

4:00 – 4:15 – TEA BREAK

4:15 – 5:15 – Self Development Training

5:15 – 6:00 – Transfer to Hotel

7:00 - Attendee Party

11:00 - Open Session

Saturday, Jan 23 [MSIDC]

7:00 – 8:30 - BREAKFAST & Hotel Checkout

8:30 - 9:30 - Media RoundTable

9:15 - 9:45 - Bus Transport to MS Office

10:00 – 11:00 – Keynote by Chandrasekar Gopalan, Director (Dev Support), GTSC

11:00 - 11:15 - Address by MVP Lead, Abhishek Kant

11:15 – 11:30 - TEA

11:30 – 2:00 – DEMO EXTRAVAGANZA

2:00 - 3:00 - LUNCH

3:00 – 3:15 – Bus Transport to Hotel

4:00 - 6:00 - Meeting with PASS President, Rushabh Mehta [Optional]

Student-Partners.com Portal: A Great New Look With Great New Technologies

In Nepal, 32 engineering colleges now have 58 Microsoft Student Partners.  These are student ambassadors who are passionate about technology, are wiling to share it with others and want to develop their skills and knowledge outside their field of study.  They also have their own portal: Microsoft Student Partners home page. This portal now has a new look and also using quite a few of the newer technologies. We personified the program with the many faces of the real people who make the MSP program a success.

You can find the top MSPs profiles or you can see almost all of them in a cool Photo Chain.  Nearly 30 MSPs from Nepal are part of the the Photo Chain.

We used the latest and coolest technologies. The profiles are based on Silverlight, and the PhotoChain was developed using DeepZoom and Microsoft Tag.

New year Message

I have received messages for New Year Greetings from a lots of people for this Bikram Sambat New Year, from the President, Prime Minister, the former King and the most surprising of all was this New Year Greeting message from the Secretary of State, US Government, Hillary Clinton: http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2009a/04/121600.htm

Add Nepali Calendar (Bikram Sambat) and Holidays to your Microsoft Outlook 2007

I have created a small file called outlook which is uploaded in my skydrive: http://cid-8c2b3862f798f0a2.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/Bikram%20Sambat%20Calendar%20%7C0%20Holiday%20Add-on%20tool%20for%20Microsoft%20Outlook%202007

You can download this file totally free of charges. To install this, you should already have installed Microsoft Outlook 2007 in your computer.

Once you have downloaded this file, you can double click this file and a small windows would open up that says Add Holidays to Calendar

.

Here you will see the list of all the countries for which the holidays are added on this file.  I have also customized Nepal Unlimited, please check it on.

Once you click okay, this tool will start to add the calendar into your Outlook Calendar.

Once it is done, it will will pop up a dialog box that says “The holidays were added to your Calendar.” Click okay to get rid of this dialog box.

You are all set to start using the Bikram Sambat calendar in your Outlook Calendar. This is how the calendar shows in your Outlook calendar and you can also see all the holidays for 2066 BS as well in your calendar:

Since this is a table based calendar, there is no logic to this calendar,  I have only gotten the calendar from the recently published calendar and have uploaded it and hence it only has 2066 BS dates in it.

Discount on Microsoft Certification Exams Extended

Watch this YouTube video to hear what Microsoft Most Valuable Professional and hiring manager has to say about the best course of action for MCPs in this challenging economy. (One of Asia’s MVP is featured in the video) If you are interested in getting a Microsoft Certification, here’s the good news … go to www.learnANDcertify.com by April 30, 2009 and key in the MVP Certification Promo Code : NP95C3B4 to enjoy a 10% discount on your next Microsoft Certification exam. Even better, you will enjoy a free retake if you fail the exam. (Limited to Nepal only usage only and both exams must be taken by May 31, 2009).

Everyone has to use this unique code to avail this discount: NP95C3B4

From now till May 31, 2009, anyone in Nepal can use this Promotion Code to obtain a Microsoft Certification Exam Voucher Code at a 10% discount and free retake offer. The Exam Voucher Code is valid for exams taken by May 31, 2009 in Nepal. Note that the limited time offer is valid for Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS), Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP) and Microsoft Certified Professional Developer (MCPD) exams only. More information on how to obtain the vouchers and the Terms & Conditions of Usage are available to your community at www.learnandcertify.com.

Blogging Workshop: A Journey of Discovery

Microsoft MDP Nepal organized a two day Journey of Discovery: A Blogging Workshop on March 22 and 23, 2009 in Kathmandu, Nepal.

On the first day, slightly over 350 people attended the event at the Staff College in Jawlakhel despite the transport strike.  The inauguration of the workshop was done by Ganesh Shah, Honorable Minister of Environment, Science & Technology along with a keynote address on alternative energy to help bloggers in this power crisis where Nepal is facing scheduled power outages for 20 hours every day.

The audience of both developers, IT professionals, hobbyists, technology enthusiasts along with the media and students were pleasantly surprised that the Minister did not just give a speech, but rather made his point across as a blogger himself with a Powerpoint presentation.

I presented on Windows Azure to educate the audience about the OS of the cloud and Suran Maharjan from Xplore Intl gave the concepts of web 2.0 and other technologies in social media, blogging, the information architecture and technologies.

A training how-to was also done on Internet Explorer 8.0 along with Windows Live Essentials, all the tools required for the power blogger.

DAY 2:

The second day was for an exclusive small crowd of enthusiasts bloggers with hands-on tutorials on the various tools available for the power blogger from Microsoft.  This was held at KEC, Kalimati with 58 attendees, many of whom were Microsoft Student Partners from 30 engineering colleges of Kathmandu.

Each participant shared a laptop with internet connectivity on the second day whereby they were able to start using the various tools

A project for the MSPs were also done with each MSP being taken a photograph holding a blank A4 sheet of paper where another MSPs photo would be positioned inside this A4 sheet and to be allowed to zoom in with the Microsoft Deep  Zoom technology.  Wait for more information on this.  I will be blogging more on this later. Each photo was also given a Microsoft tag so that readers would be able to get more information on the tag itself.

A very interactive hands on demo was also given on officelive workspaces by Ganesh Ghimire ‘Shisir’, Office Manager of Brain Works Learning Solutions Center, a Microsoft Gold Certified Certified Learning Solutions Partner.

Yuytshu Banjara wrote an email back to me to thank me for the event, which reads as follows: “I deeply want to thank you for today's blogging workshop at the KEC, Kalimati. It was much more better than as expected from my point of view. The workshop was much knowledgeable for me and hope was for all the MSP's. Those who missed was a great miss for them, I believe.”

The day ended with a group photo of all the participants: 

Deep Zooming your pictures

In preparation of the upcoming Journey to Discover: A Blogging Workshop, I uploaded all the pictures of the Microsoft Student Partners 9th meeting to photozoom site with expression Deep Zoom Composer.  You can see the photos here: http://photozoom.mslivelabs.com/Album.aspx?alias=allentuladhar&album=1.

This site will allow you to zoom in a very fluid and fast method to any level to ensure that you get the details of the pictures.

9th Meeting of Nepalese MSPs

On March 14, 2009 a half day long meeting of the 56 MSPs from 28 engineering & IT colleges of Nepal was held at the Microsoft MDP Nepal’s meeting room in Kathmandu where 46 MSPs attended.

It started off with a video of the Computing One-On-One (CO3) project of Microsoft and Intel where Class 6 students of Yagyamati School, Kapan, Kathmandu were given laptops to learn Science, Maths and English.

Next, a training presentation on how to prepare yourself to give presentations was given to empower the MSPs with the skills to be able to provide better presentation were given.

View Full Album

The next 2 .5 hours were spent on discussing the various issues, events, programs and initiatives of the MSP program in Nepal, which covered the following topics:

• Maria Green's trip review: CIT Meeting; JEC Meeting; TechNetnepal.net launch; IT Pro and Developer event.
• Visual Studio 2008 Training DVDs
• Blogging Workshop on March 27-28, 2009
• Free blogspace for each MSP
• Ten (10) free exam vouchers for each MSP:  What is Microsoft Certification?
• Update database of MSPs
• Status of ELMS Server / hard Disk / NDA
• Certificates to MSPs
• Install Fests in each of the colleges
• Live@Edu at each of the colleges
• PASS Nepal Chapter ?
• Student Tech-clubs: How to start them
• Faculty Members from Each college

There was also a presentation on Microsoft Certification and how the 10 free vouchers can be used to take each of the MSPs forward.

Lastly an introductory presentation was also given on Professional Association of SQL Server (PASS) with the intentions of making the Nepal Chapter started and stronger.

Putting my thoughts down on voice and Searching them again in voice

Ideas… they happen when people are under a tree and an apple falls on their head.  When people are on tubs and they get an idea… eureka.  For me, many times when I am driving or when I am watching TV sitting on my sofa or lying on my bed, I get ideas.  I blogged earlier about my writing tool to record them on paper. These are normally reminders to my self to do certain things, like for example to call someone, send someone an email, etc.

I have begun to Microsoft Recite to help me put some order in the chaos.

Microsoft Recite is a search technology for your voice that runs on Windows Mobile* devices. With Microsoft Recite, you can use your voice to easily store, search and retrieve the things you want to remember, where and when you need them.

How does it work?

Well, its voice search makes it easy to retrieve your stored thoughts and notes by using voice pattern matching. It analyzes the patterns in your speech and finds matches between two recordings -- the notes you stored on your phone, and the search you do using your voice. With Recite you can store your spoken notes, and then later retrieve the notes you want based on a match with your search term(s). This is different from speech recognition, which has to accurately convert spoken words to application-readable input.

Geeked-out version: Microsoft Recite analyses speech features using an ensemble of supervised and unsupervised classifiers and employs a noise robust approximate indexing and scoring of generic symbol streams for matching

Benjamin Gauthey, a former MSP in France, today working in the Startup Business Accelerator team at Microsoft, just told us that the free technology preview is available, now…

Microsoft Recite is a free download for Windows Mobile devices (version 6.0 and higher). Simply direct the browser of your Windows Mobile device to http://recite.microsoft.com/download.  Standard carrier rates apply to the data sessions and download time on your mobile device. Those fees are dependent on your data plan with your carrier

Happy thoughts!

*Microsoft Recite can be used on devices running Windows Mobile version 6.0 or higher with up/down/left/right controls

100 Reasons for Wow: Vista Adoption Series

1. It makes using your PC a breeze

Windows Vista features a breakthrough design and easy-to-use organizational tools that make it simpler to get things done and get on with life! Find what you need instantly, on your PC or on the web, with Instant Search. Bring more clarity to your tasks with the spectacular Windows Aero user experience and Windows Flip 3D, allowing you to see everything you're working on at a glance.

2. Because all of your music is just a remote control click away

Navigate and play your music collection with just the click of a remote control! Windows Media Center and a compatible remote control let you quickly search and select tracks visually by album art, or by artist, album title, song, year, or genre. Share your Media Center screen and remote and give everyone the chance to mix and play their favorites.

3. It's the safest version of Windows ever

Windows Vista provides better protection for your PC, your personal information, and your family than any previous version of Windows—with new security tools like Windows Defender, anti-spam and phishing filters, and Parental Controls. Automatic backups, Performance Self-Tuning, and built-in diagnostics help you keep your data protected and your PC running smoothly.

4. See your world in a whole new light

The breakthrough design of the Windows Aero user interface brings new clarity to your PC experience. With spectacular visual effects, like translucent glass-like menu bars that let you see behind your application window, you're one click away from everything you're working with.

5. It can find your stuff

All-new search and organization tools in Windows Vista will help you quickly find what you need on your hard drive or on the web. Instantly find and launch a document, photo, e-mail, song, video, file, or program on your PC with Instant Search.

6. Because you're always on the run

Windows Vista offers new mobility features that let you stay productive and entertained on the go. Windows Mobility Center, Network and Sharing Center, and Sync Center help you stay connected and keep your PC and portable devices up to date with your latest calendar, contacts, and music. Choose an ultra-light Tablet PC and use a digital pen to handwrite notes or make sketches on the run. Take a break and enjoy your favorite TV shows, movies, music, and games wherever you find yourself, with Windows Media Center on your notebook PC.

7. Because you can freeze time

Organize a lifetime of photos and home movies with ease using Windows Photo Gallery. Tag your photos by date, keyword, star rating, or any identifying label you choose—so you can find them when you want them.

8. Your PC can take care of itself

Performance Self Tuning, Self-Healing technologies, Built-in Diagnostics, and repair tools keep your computer running at its best and provide automatic fixes, so you can spend less time dealing with problems and enjoy a more reliable PC experience.

9. Unchain your mobile PC

Network and Sharing Center lets you set up a wireless network at home so you can experience the freedom of working from your living room, backyard, or anywhere in your home.

10. Surf more safely

Dynamic Security Protection in Windows Internet Explorer 7 helps protect your PC and your personal information when you're online. Internet Explorer 7 also includes many new features designed to help protect you against malware.

11. Help protect your kids online

Manage family access to Internet sites through centralized Parental Controls that let you set browsing controls that restrict access to inappropriate sites and give your children a safer Internet experience.

12. Schedule showtime on your time

Windows Media Center makes it simple to get your favorite television shows on your own time. Use a compatible remote control and the built-in television guide to find, schedule, and record live TV—and watch your shows on your desktop PC, laptop, or television screen. Don't miss a single episode!

13. Because you need to know who the bad guys are

The Phishing Filter and anti-phishing technology in Windows Internet Explorer 7 give you a warning when you browse suspicious or known malicious websites—so you can help protect your personal information against fraud.

14. Make any room a media room

With Windows Media Center, you can access and project your TV, music, photos, and movies to any room in your house when you connect an Xbox 360 and other Media Center Extenders through your wired or wireless home networkN. Just grab the remote control, select your favorite entertainment from your TV or PC screen, and let the fun begin!

15. Because your PC remembers to back up for you

Windows Backup and Restore Center offers improved backup and restore functions, with automatically scheduled backups to preserve priceless digital photos, music, movies, and documents.

16. Get your new computer up and running in no time

Windows Easy Transfer makes it easier to set up your new computer by automatically transferring your important content, like files, folders, settings, and e-mail messages, from your old computer to your new one.

17. It’s like having your own personal anchorman

Windows Sidebar brings live information, like weather and news, as well as your calendar and other applications—directly to your desktop for instant access. Just click, and you're up to date!

18. Create your own personal archive

Scheduled and network backup features help you to protect yourself from data loss and to preserve everything on your PC to the backup location of your choice. Automatically schedule your PC to archive your priceless digital photos, music, movies, TV shows, and documents to another computer or hard drive on your networkN or other media.

19. Watch live TV on your PC

Windows Media Center makes your PC a super-powered TV set! Connect your television input to your desktop or laptop PC, and use a compatible remote control to watch live TV—and pause the action so you never have to miss a moment.

20. Set up your home network in a flash

Network and Sharing Center puts you in control of your network experience so that setting up, using, and managing your home network is a snap! Connect to your wired or wireless network, share a high-speed Internet connection and printers, copy files between computers, or take a break and enjoy your favorite online entertainment at home.

21. Put more playtime in family time

Bring the whole family together to enjoy Chess Titans, Mahjong Titans, an exciting new kids learning game, Purble Place, and other third-party games using Windows Media Center to play and watch on your TV screen.

22. See everything you're working on at a glance

New Windows Flip 3D lets you flip through all of your open files and windows with a simple click of your mouse—so you can easily see and manage all of your tasks.

23. Because it's like a digital candy store

You choose the fun—TV, games, music, movies, home videos, or photo slide shows—Windows Vista has all of your entertainment in one convenient place. Enjoy it on your PC, or gather friends and family around your home entertainment center, and let the good times roll!M

24. Because you don't want to worry about spyware

Relax, you're better protected—Windows Defender helps defend your PC against pop-ups, security threats, and slow performance caused by spyware by automatically scanning your computer and offering to remove any unwanted software that it finds.

25. It works with the software, hardware, and services you want

Windows Vista is compatible with a wide array of software applications, hardware devices, and services to meet your computing needs. Just look for the Certified for Windows Vista logo to ensure you'll get a superior Windows Vista experience.

26. Because you're a multitasker

Like to follow cross-links and jump from website to website? Quick Tabs in Windows Internet Explorer 7 allows you to view thumbnail images of all of your open web pages at a glance.

27. Because your computer can keep up with you while you're on the go

Windows Mobility Center gives you a central place to quickly access and set all of your important mobile system settings, such as power, wireless networking, synchronization, and external display.

28. Enjoy your memories, larger than life

Use Windows Media CenterM to share big, beautiful photos and home videos in full glory on your TV screen. Your entire digital photo and video library is all right there. Add your own soundtrack to set a party mood, or pass the remote to let friends and family join in the fun!M

29. Take the handwritten approach

Windows Vista offers digital ink input and handwriting so you can be more productive on the run. Tablet and Touch TechnologyA, allows you to handwrite notes, make sketches, and quickly navigate through files or websites with a flick of a digital pen on an ultra-light Tablet PC.

30. Restore your PC in an instant

Windows Complete PC Backup and RestoreB takes a perfect "picture" of your PC's hard disks, allowing you to create a complete backup of your entire PC—including personal files, system files, programs, and settings—which can be used if the system ever has to be completely restored.

31. Because your PC lets you know if something's wrong—and helps you fix it

Windows Vista alerts you when potentially dangerous software is trying to run on your computer and helps keep your PC running smoothly by warning you when critical resources are low. Windows Internet Explorer 7 also lets you know when your current settings may put you at risk when you're browsing online and enables you to fix them easily.

32. Streamline IT management across your business

Centralize management of PCs across your business network with expanded Group Policy supportD in Windows Vista. Configure security and network settings, and allow users to access data from servers offline or from multiple PCs on your network.N

33. Preserve a lifetime of memories

Scheduled and network backupA features help you automatically back up your photos and videos to another PC or hard drive on your home networkN—so you'll never worry about losing your priceless memories. Burn your photos and videos to CD or to DVDs with Windows DVD MakerU so you can pass them on and enjoy them on a PC or on a DVD player for years to come.

34. Connect to the network at work or school

Domain JoinD makes it easy to connect your computer to corporate or school networks that are set up to restrict access to users with a domain user name and password.

35. Because you'll know it when you see it

Search and identify your files faster—by sight. Each file icon in Windows Vista is a small visual of the actual file, so you can view it at a glance and decide if it's the one you want. A video file plays a short snippet of the full video. Adjust your icon size to your own preference to make searching even easier.

36. Get a "do-over" when you need it

Experiment any way you like with your photo images. With Windows Photo Gallery Viewer, your original photo is automatically saved in case you want to see it or reuse it in a different way.

37. Keep your info under lock and key

Windows BitLocker Drive EncryptionB provides full-volume encryption and boot integrity checking to help ensure that the data on your compatible laptop PC stays confidential, even if it has been lost or stolen.

38. It's the cure for red-eye

Make every picture perfect with the easy, built-in tools in Windows Photo Gallery—like Cropping, Red-Eye Removal, and one-click Auto Adjust to correct the color and exposure of your digital photos.

39. Relive your memories…each and every one

Windows Photo Gallery makes it much easier to find, enjoy, and share that extra-special shot. Organize your images by date, place, person, star rating—or any keyword tag you choose. Find your pictures at a glance, or use built-in instant search to sort through hundreds—or thousands!—of photos in a flash.

40. Because you love what you do

With a myriad of new navigation and organization tools, Windows Vista makes it faster and easier to do nearly anything on your PC. Flexible information management tools let you instantly find and view your files any way that you want, so you can get through your "to do" list quickly and focus on what you love.

41. Because your PC will stay up to date, automatically

Windows Update routinely checks for the latest important updates for your computer and automatically downloads and installs them, so you can always be sure that your computer is current.

42. E-mail your photos without worrying about the file size

Windows Photo Gallery lets you easily compress your photos and home videos for convenient sharing over e-mail. The photo-video e-mail wizard walks you through the process of reducing the file size and sends off your memories in just a few steps!

43. It's parent friendly

Set the rules for your kids' PC time. With easy-to-use parental controls in Windows Vista, you can set limits on games, Internet use, applications, even hours of use, so you can help your kids use the PC more productively.

44. Because you have a need for speed

Need to speed up your computer? Simply plug a USB memory stick into your desktop or notebook computer and let Windows ReadyBoost do the rest.

45. Because you hate all those boxes and wires

With Windows Media CenterM, you can bring together all of your favorite consumer electronics devices—TV, stereo, DVR, gaming device, and personal computer—in one neat package, making a PC with Windows Vista the perfect entertainment solution for small spaces.

46. Your music can look as good as it sounds

See your music more clearly with Windows Media Player 11: Customizable album art and a stacking view of your music collection let you easily find and enjoy your favorites.

47. Let the fun start now

Find your favorite entertainment faster—by sight. Windows Media CenterM shows you thumbnail pictures that allow you to quickly identify your music by album art, as well as photos, movies, or TV shows—by image—so you can enjoy them as soon as you spot them.

48. Stay connected wherever you go

When you're out and about, improved wireless networking in Windows Vista makes it simple to find and join a wireless network at work, at home, or at your favorite public hotspot—so you can surf the Internet, take care of business, or stay in touch wherever you go.

49. Take your workspace with you

Stay connected and effective wherever you are! Sync Center lets you keep other PCs, server shares, shared documents, digital media players, Smartphones, Pocket PCs, and other devices synchronized with your PC—easily in one common place.

50. Get more out of the web

Tabbed Browsing in Windows Internet Explorer 7 enables you to simultaneously browse multiple pages on the Internet in one window.

51. Because you live to play

Windows Games Explorer makes it easier to install, organize, and play your games. Thumbnail graphics for each game give you easy access and detailed information, such as the game publisher, the genre and rating for each game, and when you last played.

52. Take control of game time

Manage playtime with tools that set time limits and control access to games with appropriate content for your family. Games Explorer lets you review and organize games according to game title, rating, category, or content. Parental Controls make it easy to monitor children's gaming activity and to restrict access to inappropriate games.

53. Because you can get more done when you work together

Use Windows Meeting SpaceA to invite friends or colleagues to work with you on projects over the Internet, a company network, or an ad-hoc wireless network.N Pass notes in class, swap photos at a favorite hotspot, or share your desktop to edit documents or take notes.

54. Stay entertained wherever you go

Use your portable notebook PC to record and watch your favorite programs and movies with Windows Media CenterM—then watch them on the plane or in your hotel room.

55. Because success tomorrow starts today

Windows Vista makes it easier to find, use, and share your documents, research, and other schoolwork. Organize files by date, place, or person—or label them with any word you choose—and find them in an instant.

56. Print what you see

Windows Internet Explorer 7 lets you print out exactly what you see on the web and reduces printing waste by automatically shrinking pages to fit your paper so images don't get cut out and by allowing you to print only selected text or pictures.

57. Because you don't need a PC to watch your home movies

Windows DVD MakerU lets you create professional-looking DVDs of your photos and home movies—complete with transitions and chapters—that you can watch on your home DVD player. That makes it easier to share digital photos and videos of your family events with all of the relatives—even if they don't have a PC of their own.

58. Fill your home with music

The media sharing feature in Windows Media Player 11 lets you find, access, and listen to your digital music collection anywhere on your home network.N With PC-to-PC sharing, digital media receivers, and other devices connected to your network, you can rock out in any room of your house—or in multiple rooms.

59. Make a masterpiece

Blend your photos and home videos into a rich movie experience, complete with soundtrack, titles and credits, and creative transitions.

60. Because you want your video memories to stay true to life

Windows Movie Maker lets you retain high-definition quality as you capture, edit, and publish movies from your HD camcorder.U

61. Stand strong against hackers

The easy-to-use Windows Firewall with Advanced Security provides advanced protection to help shield you and your PC from malicious attacks.

62. Because it remembers what you like to do—and helps you do it faster

Windows SuperFetch helps improve PC responsiveness and helps make system performance more consistent by tracking which applications you use most often and preloading them into memory for quick access.

63. Help is always available

Whether you're a first-time user or an expert, the built-in Help System is designed to aid you in quickly learning new tasks, providing step-by-step support, and solving problems that Windows Vista has not automatically taken care of for you.

64. Keep your files confidential

Encrypting File SystemD (EFS) allows you to encrypt files and folders—so if two people are sharing a PC, the data of each user is not available to the other. Windows Vista makes EFS easier to manage by allowing you to store EFS keys on smart cards.

65. Send a fax on the spot

Windows Fax and ScanD makes sending and receiving faxes directly from your PC as simple as using e-mail. With fax templates linked to your address book, it's easy to retrieve a fax number, attach your documents, and just click to send.

66. Because everyone goofs sometimes

Have you ever accidentally overwritten, deleted, or failed to save a file you were working on? Shadow CopyD helps you protect your data from accidental loss by automatically creating daily "restore points" that capture older versions of your files as you work. Quickly and easily retrieve documents that you might have accidentally deleted—even if you've never backed up your files.

67. Because e-mail is your lifeline

Windows Mail has new tools to help you stay in touch and focus on the e-mail that matters most, with new mail filters to help protect you from spam, phishing attacks, and malicious attachments. Built-in Instant Search lets you quickly find any e-mail, even if you have to sort through thousands.

68. Stay on top of your family's schedule

Windows Calendar lets you set up shared family calendars and automatic alerts, so you never miss an important event—whether it's a family celebration or just a reminder to pay the monthly bills.

69. Because you want the quality of your printouts to match the quality of your work

Windows Vista brings next-generation printing technology to your compatible printer, helping it to deliver richer color for more lifelike photos, high-fidelity printouts, less waste from misprints, and improved performance that may reduce your printing time.

70. Your PC is ready when you are

Windows Vista has a new Sleep power state that enables you to use your computer whenever you want, without having to wait for the computer to boot up. Put your PC to sleep to save documents, applications, and data to both the hard drive and memory, then restore your previous work session within seconds.

71. Keep your favorite things at your fingertips

Search Folders let you save a search and instantly run it anytime with just a click. Design and save a search based on frequently used keywords or other criteria, and your existing and new files will automatically show up in your Search Folder any time the search is run—regardless of where on your PC you put them.

72. Get the latest news delivered right to your desktop

Windows Internet Explorer 7 automatically detects RSS feeds so you can have personalized sports, news, or shopping feeds delivered directly to you, and you can stay up to date with new entries all in one place without visiting individual websites.

73. Because your photos and home movies don't have to be stuck in your PC anymore

Windows Vista makes it simple to share your memories with friends and family—whether they're right with you or thousands of miles away. Present a rich multimedia slide show on your PC or TV screen at home. Easily burn photos and home videos with a soundtrack to CD or DVDU with a compatible remote controlM—or automatically resize and send photos using the e-mail wizard in Windows Photo Gallery.

74. Because your memories need a little mood music

Windows Media CenterM lets you set a cinematic slide show of your favorite photos to music—just use the remote controlM to select tunes from your music library to create the right nostalgic mood.

75. Because you want professional-looking photos from your own printer

Windows Photo Gallery guides you through an easy-to-use, high-fidelity photo print experience at home. Custom-print your pictures in crisp, accurate color with borderless printing, larger paper sizes, and international picture sizes.

76. Because all the relatives want a copy of that special shot

Windows Photo Gallery makes it easy for you to order professional photo prints in a variety of sizes, finishes, and quantities over the InternetI, for mail delivery or pickup at a nearby store. Order prints instantly—just one click takes you online to order from your preferred retail photo finisher.

77. Capture a moment in an instant. Now release it just as quickly

Transfer photos from your camera to your computer in a flash with a simple import process into Windows Photo Gallery.

78. Because you've got more ways to take your music with you wherever you go

Using Windows Media Player 11, it's speedy and simple to send music files from your PC to your favorite compatible portable music device. PlaysForSure lets you know your music will come through loud and clear, so you can enjoy it anywhere you go!

79. Let your music collection grow with you

Windows Media Player 11 makes digital music collecting easier, with new tools that make it simple and quick to rip CDs to your PC, get new tracks or a subscription from an online music serviceI, and enjoy a seamless connection to your portable devices.

80. Because you're a media master

Watch TV, burn shows to CD or DVDU, download a movie, and record the big game—all at the same time, with Windows Media Center.M

81. Because it makes your TV smarter

Connect your PC to your television set, and Windows Media CenterM lets you access news, download movies, and get other information and entertainment from leading companies—right from your TV. Schedule recordings of your favorite series from your TV screen using the Media Center television guide, and watch them when you want—not when the networks schedule them. Take your TV to the next level, and use it to enjoy all of your digital entertainment—including photos, home videos, and music—on the big screen.M

82. Presenting your new home entertainment hub: your PC

Record and watch live TV. Play movies. Listen to your favorite music. View your photos and home videos. With high-fidelity visuals and surround sound—from the comfort of your couch—using Windows Media CenterM and a compatible remote control. Connect your PC to your TV and enjoy it on the big screen. And with an Xbox 360 connected to your wired or wireless home networkN, you can get your entertainment in any room of your house!

83. It makes your desktop come alive

Windows DreamSceneC transforms your PC desktop beyond simple static wallpaper images, by enabling you to showcase full-motion visuals like home movies or other video clips.

84. Sit back, relax, and pass the remote

Windows Media CenterM makes it easier than ever to access and enjoy all of your favorite digital entertainment using a remote control. Watch live or recorded TV shows, download movies, project your home video creations, and view a cinematic slide show set to music on your TV or PC screen—then pass the remote to share the fun with friends and family!

85. Your PC can be multilingual

Support for multiple user interface languagesB means that multilingual households or people learning a language can install multiple languages on their PC and switch from one language to another without restarting the computer.

86. Archive your media library

Scheduled and network backupA features help you to automatically back up your recorded TV shows, songs, albums, and playlists to another PC or hard drive on your home networkN—so you'll never worry about losing your favorite entertainment. Burn your digital media to DVD with Windows DVD Maker and create a media archive you can enjoy anytime on a PC or on a DVD player.U

87. Play the hottest new games

From simple to spectacular, there's a game for every age and ability—on your PC or online. Have more fun on your PC with cool new premium Windows Vista games like Chess Titans, Mahjong Titans, Purble Place, and Inkball.G

88. Take your game beyond the next level

Hit the latest high-performance games with ultra-vivid 3-D graphics. DirectX 10 technology makes gameplay more engaging and allows you to use the same game controller with both your PC and your Xbox 360. With faster performance and more stable connectivity, it's a blast to go head-to-head online against your best friends or other gamers anywhere in the world.

89. Take your games to go

Enjoy your favorite PC or online games—wherever you go—on your laptop PC with Windows Vista. Faster, more stable connectivity lets you stay connected with gamers back home—or anywhere in the world.

90. Check your e-mail without booting up your PC

Windows SideShowA lets you read an e-mail message, confirm a meeting location, or check an airline flight reservation—even when your PC is off! Portable computers and other devices equipped with secondary screens allow you to view important information regardless of whether your laptop is closed or in Sleep mode.

91. Take your fun with you

Sync Center gives you one easy place to sync up your pictures, music, recorded TV, and other digital entertainment with other PCs, server shares, shared documents, digital media devices, Smartphones, Pocket PCs, and other devices.

92. Showing is more powerful than telling

With a Tablet PC and a digital penA, you can easily capture a snip or screenshot of any object on your screen—whether it's part of a website, document, or program. Paste your snippet into e-mails, documents, IM, or other digital conversations to illustrate your point exactly.

93. Work your own way

Tablet and Touch TechnologyA gives you new options for interacting with your PC—if touch input is available on your computer, you can use your finger to do many of the things you do with a mouse or a tablet pen.

94. Because you want your wireless connection to be more secure

Windows Vista offers enhanced support for new Wireless Security Protocols, including WPA2, to help give you the confidence that your wireless connection will be safer.

95. Take network files and folders with you

Be more productive when working offline. Corporate Roaming and Offline Files and FoldersD allow you to take network files and folders with you on your PC and automatically synchronize with the server more efficiently when you reconnect with the corporate network.

96. Access your desktop wherever you go

Remote DesktopD helps make it easier to more securely access documents and programs on your computer remotely from across your home network or across the Internet from another computer, enabling you to get work done wherever you have an Internet connection.N,I

97. Because your business doesn't need more than one scanner

With Windows Fax and ScanD, just one click lets you scan documents and images from scanners and multifunction devices connected directly to your PC or elsewhere on your network. Adjust your image settings, get a live preview, and share scanned documents via a routing list.

98. Make your presentations more professional

Network ProjectionA lets you share presentations, photos, and slide shows by making it easy to connect to wired or wireless networked projectors.N Connect wirelessly so you don't have to share cables or move equipment, and choose the appearance of your on-screen desktop display to leave a polished impression.

99. Because you get more out of information when you share it

Improved File and Folder Sharing allows you to more effectively share folders and files with others on your networkN by making it easier to find and configure sharing features, like specifying who you want to share a file with and the level of access you want to enable.

100. Because your network is the backbone of your business

Network Diagnostics and Troubleshooting provides built-in diagnostics designed to help you identify and quickly solve network connectivity problems.

Paper Notebook Now a Replacement for my Tablet PC

During my last trip to Bangkok, I was walking the aisles of Power Buy when I saw quite a unique notebook.  This one was A4 sized.  And it had regular ruled paper for you to write on.  No… I am not talking of a notebook PC, but a regular notebook.  Except that everything you wrote, could be transferred to your PC thru the USB cable and it came with 32 Mb of memory, enough for about 100 pages of notes. It was called Genius G-7100 and came with two pens, one black and the other red and both needed small batteries, like the ones that you add to your wrist-watch. Behind the paper notebook was the electronic device that recorded everything I wrote on the paper, which would get transferred into the computer.  It also came with three extra refills for the pens, which tucked in neatly behind the unit.  It had a nice portfolio bag to attach the notebook into.

I have been using the HP Tablet PC for quite sometime now, and find that it is a major distractions when I start using it at meetings.  I have been able to write all the notes in airports, in the plane and even when my driver is driving my car and able to send the notes (as text after my PC converts my handwritten script to text) as emails or even save it as word documents for lengthy reports.  The first report I have created on this is my trip report and my expense report.

I am a gadget freak and I love this new toy of mine!