Darren Straight's Blog

ICT Enthusiast and photographer.

By - Darren Straight

Windows Live Mail M8 now officially released!

Following my recent post about Windows Live Mail M8 finally being rolled out onto some server bays, Windows Live Mail M8 is now officially released and availbale to all! Windows Live Mail is Friendlier Check out these new M8 features that make WLM friendlier to you, your browser, and your friends: Choose which of your multiple email addresses an email should

By - Darren Straight

Early Internet Explorer 7 Final Release Download!

As you may have already noticed today, neowin have been pointing to what is supposedly the final version of Internet Explorer 7 packaged into a Yahoo Mail Download, now I’m not sure if the version which is included in Yahoo Mail is really the final version of IE7 or not but it does seem to be, plus this same version of IE7 can

By - Darren Straight

Microsoft Signs New Book Search Deals

Cornell University and Kirtas Technologies, a maker of scanners and digitization software said Tuesday that they had signed deals with Microsoft to support its Windows Live Book Search Project. Microsofts answer to Google Book Search, announced in late 2004. Microsoft has brought on board Kirtas Technologies, whose robotic scanners can scan at a rate of 2,400 pages per hour. Books scanned

By - Darren Straight

What Happens to Your body if you stop smoking Right now?

If you are a smoker and were to stop smoking right now, this is what apparently would happen to your body: In 20 minutes your blood pressure will drop back down to normal. In 8 hours the carbon monoxide (a toxic gas) levels in your blood stream will drop by half, and oxygen levels will return to normal. In 48

By - Darren Straight

17 October 2006 – One Day in History

Make your life history and join the nation…including a host of celebrities…in the biggest blog ever! The heritage organisations behind the History Matters – pass it on campaign*, including the National Trust and English Heritage, are urging everyone in the UK to take part in a mass blog recording how we lived on one single day – Tuesday, 17th October

By - Darren Straight

Accepted for Microsoft Student Partner Programme 2006/2007

Hey everyone, if you haven’t already heard, I’ve been accepted onto the Microsoft Student Partner (MSP) Programme for the term 2006/2007 so as you can imagine I’m feeling pretty happy right now, you should have seen how much I was smiling earlier today when I read the email congratulating me onto the programme! Because to be part of the Microsoft Student Partner

By - Darren Straight

Amazons Askville Beta US/Canada Only!

Well I just got invited by techstartups to Amazons Askville Beta to see the comparison of it between Windows Live QnA, Yahoo Answers and other Question and Answers sites and well I’m quite disappointed to see that in order to try out the service I need to enter my Mobile Phone number to receive a text with a conformation code!

By - Darren Straight

Motorists must switch on lights during day, EU says

MOTORISTS may be forced to switch on their headlights when driving in daylight under European proposals aimed at improving road safety.The European Commission wants all EU states to set a common date for making daytime running lights mandatory. It is also proposing that all new cars be fitted with lights that turn on automatically whenever the engine is started. It

By - Darren Straight

Google recommends Windows Live Search for Search!

Type ‘search’ into Google, press ‘I’m feeling lucky’ and you could be in for a big surprise – suddenly, Google is transformed into Windows Live. Yes, Live Search has just released so why is it at the top of google’s results despite their PageRank algorithm… well the top results used to be http://search.msn.com/ which now redirects to http://search.live.com/ so thats why,