Darren Straight's Blog

A behind-the-scenes look at the research and technology that brought Project Natal to life.

Many human-computer interaction technologies are currently mediated by physical transducers such as mice, keyboards, pens, dials, and touch-sensitive surfaces. While these transducers have enabled powerful interaction paradigms and leverage our human expertise in interacting with physical objects, they tether computation to a physical artifact that has to be within reach of the user.

As computing and displays begin to integrate more seamlessly into our environment and are used in situations where the user is not always focused on the computing task, it is important to consider mechanisms for acquiring human input that may not necessarily require direct manipulation of a physical implement. For that reason Microsoft are exploring the feasibility of muscle-computer input: an interaction methodology that directly senses and decodes human muscular activity rather than relying on physical device actuation or user actions that are externally visible or audible.

Download and run the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor to see if your PC is ready for Windows 7. It scans your hardware, devices, and installed programs for known compatibility issues, gives you guidance on how to resolve potential issues found, and recommends what to do before you upgrade.

Download Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor here

Microsoft has recentntly announced the availability of Windows 7 Enterprise trial edition. This evaluation version is for IT Professionals who do not yet have access to Windows 7 RTM through one of the following means:

• Partner Program
• MSDN Subscriber (Developer)
• TechNet Plus Subscriber
• Volume License/Software Assurance customer

This is trial software designed for IT Professionals interested in experiencing the Windows 7 Enterprise on behalf of their organization so please read the following to get an idea of the risks and key things you need to know before you install. It is not recommend that you install this if you are a not an IT Professional or not professionally managing corporate networks.

Guidelines on usage:

• Protect your PC and data. Be sure to back up your data and please don’t test Windows 7 on your primary home or business PC.
• You have 10 days to activate the product. If not activated within 10 days, the system will shut down once every hour until activated. Unsure on how to activate? Visit the FAQ on the Download page.
• The 90-day Trial is the full working version of the Windows 7 Enterprise, the version most of you will be working with in your corporate environment. It will not require a product key (it is embedded with the download).
• The 90-day Trial will shut down once every hour when you have reached the end of the 90-day evaluation period.
• The 90-day Trial is offered for a limited time and in limited quantity. The download will be available through March 31, 2010, while supplies last.
• After the 90-day Trial expires, if you wish to continue to use Windows 7 Enterprise, please note that you will be required to purchase and perform a clean installation of Windows 7, including drivers and applications. Please keep this in mind; Windows 7 Enterprise is not available through retail channels.
• Technical details/updates/questions: Please review the FAQ or visit the Windows 7 support forum.
• Stay informed. You can keep up with general technical information and news by following the Springboard Series blog. Want technical guidance, tips, and tools? Visit the Springboard Series on TechNet.
• Keep your PC updated: Be sure to turn on automatic updates in Windows Update in case Microsoft publish updates for the 90-day Trial.
• Microsoft Partners-: Learn more about Windows 7 on the Microsoft Partner Portal.

Minimum System Requirements*:

• 1 GHz or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
• 1 GB of RAM (32-bit) / 2 GB RAM (64-bit)
• 16 GB available disk space (32-bit) / 20 GB (64-bit)
• DirectX 9 graphics processor with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver
• DVD-compatible drive
• Internet access (fees may apply)

*Note: Some product features of Windows 7, such as the ability to watch and record live TV, BitLocker, or navigation through the use of “touch,” may require advanced or additional hardware. Windows XP Mode requires an additional 1 GB of RAM and 15 GB of available disk space; and a processor capable of hardware virtualization, with Intel VT or AMD-V turned on.

Download: Windows 7 Enterprise Trial Edition (7600.16385.090713-1255_x86fre_enterprise_en-us_EVAL_Eval_Enterprise-GRMCENEVAL_EN_DVD.iso)

Finally received my copy of Windows 7 Professional through the post this morning.

See postal strikes aren’t all that bad here in the UK, they can work in your favour, giving Microsoft an opportunity to be nice and and release it’s goodies to us early. Not that Microsoft aren’t nice! ;)

Time for a fresh install of Windows I think.

Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2 and Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 are designed to help you be a leader in the new efficiency, or at least that what’s Microsoft hopes are. So why not sign up for the UK’s live launch event to experience live demos and hear Microsoft’s technology specialists demonstrate how these products can work for you. This is the best chance to learn and network with 1,000 of your peers and explore the new efficiency.

More info located here!

As of the 31st of August 2009, it’s the end of the road for Microsoft’s MSN Soapbox, Microsoft attempt of creating a YouTube.  From the 29th of July 2009 you will no longer be able to upload videos to Soapbox and have till the 31st of August 2009 to download them. Guess I better start downloading my videos next week then and host them on YouTube!

Attention Soapbox Users,
MSN will no longer offer Soapbox, the user generated video service within MSN Video, as of August 31, 2009. Beginning on July 29, you will no longer be able to upload videos to Soapbox. People who have uploaded videos to Soapbox will have until August 31, 2009 to download them. Please make sure you download your videos by this date if you would like to keep them. We will have a notice running in the Soapbox service to remind you to download your videos. It is our goal that you download and keep all of the videos you uploaded that are important to you. Online video is a key part of the MSN experience and we will continue to offer a rich experience on MSN Video. We will also continue to invest in delivering great customer experiences, while keeping a keen eye on our business objectives during this tough economic climate. Thank you for your support of MSN Video. More details and download instructions are available at: http://video.msn.com/shutdown.html
Thank you for using Soapbox.
The MSN Video Team

 John Montgomery from the Microsoft Popfly Team has confirmed via a blog post on the Microsoft Popfly Blog and via email that as of the 24th of August 2009, Popfly (Beta) is closing down. Popfly is/was a fun, easy way to build and share mashups, games, gadgets, Web pages, and applications. Popfly consists of a set of online visual tools for building Web pages and mashups, and a social network of creators where you can host, share, rate, comment and even remix creations from other Popfly users.

I’m writing to thank you for registering and using Microsoft Popfly. I’ve been fortunate enough to see all the innovative mashups, Web pages, and games created by the Popfly community since we launched Popfly two years ago. It has truly been a pleasure to watch the spirit of creativity flow through a growing Popfly community over the life of the product.

It’s with a heavy heart that I share some news with you today: on August 24, 2009, the Popfly service will be discontinued and all sites, references, and resources will be taken down.

After August 24^th, your access to your Popfly account, including any games and mashups that you’ve created, will be discontinued. However, Microsoft is still very much dedicated to helping you express your creativity and pursuing a path to software development. If you’re interested in refining your skills in Web applications, please visit Microsoft Web Platform Installer. For those interested in programming on the Xbox, then please visit Microsoft XNA or Microsoft Kodu. And for those who are interested in Windows programming, please visit Microsoft Express.

Thanks again for your support and please don’t hesitate to contact us at popfly@microsoft.com if you have any questions.

Regards,
John Montgomery
for the Popfly Team

At 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday 15 July, Microsoft’s new operating system, Windows 7, goes on pre-sale to people in the UK at a special promotional price, but you’ll have to be quick as prices are low, stocks are limited and it is first come first served!

To say thanks to its loyal customers and enthusiasts, especially those who have taken part in the Beta and Release Candidate (RC) programmes, Microsoft is making pre-order copies of Windows 7 available through selected retail partners at one-off promotional prices* of around £49.99 for Home Premium and £99.99 for Professional. This is a great opportunity for your readers to get their hands on the best Windows operating system of all time and save plenty of money in the process.

The Windows 7 Beta and RC versions have been very well received by consumers and media alike. Pre-order copies of the final version of Windows 7 have already been selling fast in Japan, Canada and the US. To pre-order a discounted copy of the final version of Windows 7 you need to contact Microsoft’s retail partners after 12:01 a.m. on 15 July or go to http://www.microsoft.com/uk/win7preorder.

Retail partners in the UK taking part in the promotion are Amazon.co.uk, Argos, Comet, Currys, Dixons, Ebuyer.com, John Lewis Partnership, Littlewoods, Micro Anvika, PC World, Play.com, Staples and Tesco. Links to pre-order offer webpages are listed below.

Finally, a quick reminder for Microsoft’s UK customers: if you are replacing an older version of Windows with Windows 7 once it arrives on 22 October, a clean install of the operating system and the installation of an internet browser will be required. For more information on how to do this, and for general information on other aspects of Windows 7, please visit http://www.microsoft.com/windows/.

Retailer website links:
Microsoft Store – http://emea.microsoftstore.com/UK/Microsoft/Windows/Windows-Vista/Windows-7-Preview
Amazon.co.uk – http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3AB002DUCMT2|B002DUCMTC|B001XCWGII
Currys – www.currys.co.uk/preorder
Dixons – www.dixons.co.uk/preorder
Micro Anvika – www.anvika.com/windows7preorder
PC World – www.pcworld.co.uk/preorder
Play.com – http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/3-/379971/2-/Promo.html
Tesco – http://direct.tesco.com/p/inc/specials/windows7/

* Estimated retail prices, actual retail prices may vary by retailer.

More at http://www.office2010themovie.com/