Darren Straight's Blog

ICT Enthusiast and photographer.

By - Darren Straight

Microsoft Windows Live Trademark Guidelines

Has anybody read the Microsoft Windows Live Trademark Guidelines before? I was just checking them again now after seeing a Windows Live graphics design logo by Emexci titled “Live is Good” which made me think about some trademark issues that may arise with Emexci’s Design Logo by referring to Windows Live as Live! Overview Follow these guidelines to ensure that you are referring

By - Darren Straight

Windows Media Player 11 for Windows XP Released

Microsoft Corp. today released to the public Microsoft Windows Media Player 11 for Windows XP, a significant milestone for music fans and the digital entertainment experience on Windows. This latest version of Windows Media Player offers consumers a test-drive of the breakthrough capabilities in Windows Media Player 11 for Windows Vista, including enhanced search and media management technologies, a visually

By - Darren Straight

Upload your videos to Soapbox on MSN Video and Win Prizes!

Just post a video on the Soapbox and you could win a digital camcorder and video editing software worth over $400 Just Post a Video Choose Upload Videos Enter your video title, descriptions, tag, category Browse your computer to choose a video Hit Upload Be fun. Be entertaining. Be serious. Be bizarre. Just Don’t be Ordinary! For more info check

By - Darren Straight

Vista Lanyard Competition!

James Senior a technical specialist for Microsoft in the UK has got hold of 10 high-quality Vista lanyards to give away which will allow you to be the most envied person around the office! But to be in with a chance of winning yourself one of these never-to-be-seen-again slices of technological history, you’re going to have to tell James: Q: How often do you wear a Lanyard? 

By - Darren Straight

Smartphone: Windows Mobile 6.0 Codenamed Crossbow!

You’ve seen the Pocket PC screenshots of Crossbow, the next iteration of the Windows Mobile operating system (OS), now check out the Smartphone version! It mirrors what we saw on the Pocket PC version with a new visual style, but also seems to feature Word Mobile, Excel Mobile and PowerPoint Mobile, potentially putting to bed the whole debate of whether Windows

By - Darren Straight

Pocket PC: Windows Mobile 6.0 Codenamed Crossbow!

Windows Mobile 5 is the current OS of choice for Windows Mobile users however the next iteration, codenamed Crossbow, has shown its face, check out the full Pocket PC homescreen shown below! It has a glossy title bar and soft keys and will feature Vista-esque folder icons etc. Pieter Knook, a Microsoft Sr. VP, has commented that Microsoft plan to

By - Darren Straight

Royale Noir: secret XP theme uncovered!

During Royale‘s development (the XP Media Center theme), the graphic artists also produced a black version of the skin, sans the overused glass effect. The result is an aesthetic black skin named Royale Noir, it even works with Office 2003. Since the skin was never released (or reached final adjustments) there are a few issues with it: some of the

By - Darren Straight

Happy 4th Birthday, Windows XP Media Center Edition!

While Windows XP might be celebrating its 5th Birthday, Windows XP Media Center Edition is celebrating its 4th Birthday today!  It’s been a long ride, but it all started on October 29, 2002 when HP started shipping their first Media Center PC. It launched with the help of this guy (pictured below) and sported features such as use of a single

By - Darren Straight

Happy 5th Birthday, Windows XP, We Love You!

This week marks the fifth anniversary of the beloved Windows XP operating system. And Travis Hudson from Gizmodo thinks in honor of this birthday, we should spread the love towards the often-hated Windows XP operating system.With Windows Vista on the horizon, it is important to look back at the life of Windows XP and commemorate it with a list of why we