Kurt Shintaku's Blog

What is VideoSurf?
VideoSurf is video search engine that has created a better way for people to search, discover, and watch online videos. Using computer vision VideoSurf has taught computers to “see” inside videos to let users find and watch videos that they really want to see. Whether you’re looking to watch funny videos or scary videos, movie clips or TV full episodes, the hottest new music videos or breaking news clips, VideoSurf’s video search engine is the place to go to find the videos you’ll love. Spend less time searching and more time being entertained!

Microsoft’s Press Release:

REDMOND, Wash., and SAN MATEO, Calif. — Nov. 22, 2011 — Microsoft Corp. has announced the acquisition of California-based video discovery technology company VideoSurf Inc.

Founded in 2006, VideoSurf offers a back-end computer vision technology that “sees” frames inside videos to make discovering content fast, easy and accurate. Over time, Microsoft will integrate this technology across its entertainment platform to augment the Xbox 360 ecosystem and evolve search and discovery of entertainment content on Xbox LIVE.

“VideoSurf’s content analytics technology will enhance the search and discovery of entertainment content across our platform,” said Alex Garden, director of Xbox LIVE for the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft. “This holiday we will launch voice search across our entertainment partners on Xbox LIVE. Over time, as we integrate VideoSurf’s technology into our system, we are excited about the potential to have content tagged in real time to increase the speed and relevance of the search results.”

“Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment Division is at the leading edge of connected entertainment,” said Lior Delgo, CEO and co-founder of VideoSurf. “We are incredibly excited to be working together on our mutual passion for creating amazing consumer experiences and reinventing how consumers search, discover and enjoy content on their televisions.”

In the coming months, Microsoft will bring nearly 40 world-leading TV and entertainment providers to Xbox LIVE, including Bravo, Comcast, HBO GO, Verizon FiOS and Syfy in the U.S.; BBC in the U.K.; Telefónica in Spain; Rogers On Demand in Canada; Televisa in Mexico; ZDF in Germany; and Mediaset in Italy. This acquisition will also make it easier for world-class video partners to take full advantage of advanced features such as voice search enabled by Kinect for Xbox 360. With Kinect, users will be able to easily search and discover content across multiple entertainment providers within Xbox LIVE and then interact with and enjoy content in extraordinary ways using voice search powered by Bing on the Xbox 360.

• Microsoft Acquires Video Content Discovery Company VideoSurf
  http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2011/nov11/11-22XboxNovemberPR.mspx

The announcement details have come out for the greatest database conference… ever!

PASS Summit is the world’s largest and most intensive technical training conference for Microsoft SQL Server and BI professionals. But more than that, it’s your conference – planned and presented by the SQL Server community for the SQL Server community. Join us and get the top-notch training, technical tips and tricks, and networking and connections you need to take your SQL Server skills to the next level.

Washington State Convention & Trade Center
November 6-9, 2012
Seattle, WA

COST:

• Full Summit for $1,095 (Early-Bird Rate Until Jan. 31, 2012)
• Group rate for 5 or more attendees – only $995 each until Mar. 31, 2012

AGENDA:

• 170+ technical sessions
• 2 full days of deep-dive pre-cons
• DBA, Dev, BI, SQL Azure & Professional Development tracks
• Hands-on Labs
• SQL Server Clinic with Microsoft CSS & SQLCAT
• Expert Pods
• Can’t miss keynotes

EVENT DETAILS:
http://www.sqlpass.org/summit/2012/default.aspx

REGISTRATION:
https://www.regonline.com/register/checkin.aspx?MethodId=0&eventsessionId=c09266791bfa4138b026b094a3a7eb89&eventID=1018613

Looks like we’ve announced TechEd North America 2012.  It’s going to be in Orlando next year from June 11-14.

Join Us for TechEd North America 2012

Celebrate 20 years of Microsoft TechEd North America! TechEd is Microsoft’s premier technology conference for IT professionals and developers, offering the most comprehensive technical education across Microsoft’s current and soon-to-be-released suite of products, solutions, tools, and services. Our four day event in Orlando, Florida offers hands-on learning, deep product exploration and countless opportunities to connect with a community of industry and Microsoft experts.

There are many reasons why you can’t miss TechEd 2012. If you are developing, deploying, managing, securing and mobilizing Microsoft solutions, TechEd is your best opportunity to focus on the key technology and business issues that will help you solve today’s real-world IT challenges and prepare you for tomorrow’s innovations.

COST:
Super Early Bird Savings: US $1,895
(Save $300 off the regular $2195 price if you register by December 31, 2011)

LOCATION:
Orlando, Fl

DATES:
June 11-14, 2012

DETAILS:
Event details are available at:
http://northamerica.msteched.com/

REGISTRATION:
http://northamerica.msteched.com/registration

Looks like we’ve made all the SharePoint Conference 2011 content and videos available online for $199, in case you didn’t make it.

Good news! Even though you missed Microsoft SharePoint Conference 2011 in person, you can still attend the conference virtually and on-demand through MySPC.

By purchasing exclusive access to MySPC, you get unlimited access to:

• Over 200 recorded session videos
• Over 200 Microsoft PowerPoint slide decks
• Hands-On Lab Manuals from over 50 labs.

This content will be available until April 30, 2012.

Purchase & connect to the SPC2011 content here:
https://dynamicevents.emeetingsonline.com/emeetings/websitev2.asp?mmnno=384&pagename=SITE140650&dd_am_amcmsc48=
d951861431b7a211fce8a13da37732ec&member_lookup=URL

It’s been announced!

SharePoint Conference 2012 is making its debut in Las Vegas!  Given past history, it’s probably either in the Venetian or Mandalay Bay.  They didn’t say which but that’s my bet.

DATE:
Nov 12-15, 2012

REGISTRATION:
Sign up for the notification newsletter for when more details are available at:
http://www.mssharepointconference.com/Pages/default.aspx

Check this out:

Best Buy has an early Black Friday deal on right now for Silver Best Buy members:  Xbox 360 4GB Console with Kinect and $100 Gift Card Package – $299.

So basically, the deal is the same in some sense as the Walmart deal but instead of a discount, you get a $100 gift card.  Which is probably okay with you too.

• DEAL: Xbox 360 4GB Console with Kinect and $100 Gift Card Package – $299
  http://bit.ly/tEp0sk

Recently malicious QR codes made headlines after being uncovered on a Russian website. The codes were placed on the site telling people they led to an instant messenger app that users should download to their phone. If users downloaded the malware they thought was the messenger app, it then began sending messages to a premium subscriber that netted the cybercriminals between $5 and $10 each.

Following this news, the Tag team was asked if Tag was better suited than current QR services in the market for handling this kind of issue. The short answer is yes. Because all Tags are re-routed through the cloud, there is a means of blacklisting codes that are reported as malicious. Since anyone can create QR codes that link directly to a site instead of being routed through the cloud, the ability to blacklist a link and protect against future scams simply isn’t there.

The concern that has been driving discussions regarding malicious codes is a legitimate one and one that Tag takes very seriously. Our platform maintains a backend process with filters and safeguards that help detect and prevent malicious links from infecting Tags. We want our customers to also be aware of the protections Tag has in place to help protect their security.

To learn more about QR malware and what precautions you can take read the full blog post here.

In case you’re interested in eLearning for your end users, here’s a list of all the eLearning courses available for Windows 7 & Office 2010 for customers that have Software Assurance benefits on their volume licensing contract as of 10/21/11: (Note:  This list changes and grows so check http://www.microsoft.com/learning/sa-vl-catalog/savldefault.aspx for any changes)

• Course Collection 10348 : Skills Training in Microsoft® Project 2010
• Course 10378 : Setting Up Projects in Microsoft® Project 2010
• Course 10379 : Building a Project Schedule in Microsoft® Project 2010
• Course 10380 : Tracking and Managing Projects in Microsoft® Project 2010
• Course 10381 : Customizing and Sharing Projects in Microsoft® Project 2010
• Course Collection 10349 : Skills Training in Microsoft® Access® 2010
• Course Collection 10350 : Skills Training in Microsoft® Outlook® 2010
• Course 10293 : Beginner Skills in Microsoft® Outlook® 2010
• Course 10385 : Advanced Skills in Microsoft® Outlook® 2010
• Course Collection 10351 : Skills Training in Microsoft® PowerPoint® 2010
• Course 10295 : Beginner Skills in Microsoft® PowerPoint® 2010
• Course 10386 : Advanced Skills in Microsoft® PowerPoint® 2010
• Course Collection 10352 : Skills Training in Microsoft® SharePoint® Designer 2010
• Course Collection 10357 : Skills Training in Microsoft® Word 2010
• Course 10294 : Beginner Skills in Microsoft® Word 2010
• Course 10391 : Intermediate Skills in Microsoft® Word 2010
• Course 10392 : Advanced Skills in Microsoft® Word 2010
• Course Collection 10358 : Skills Training in Microsoft® Excel® 2010
• Course 10296 : Beginner Skills in Microsoft® Excel® 2010
• Course 10393 : Intermediate Skills in Microsoft® Excel® 2010
• Course 10394 : Advanced Skills in Microsoft® Excel® 2010
• Course Collection 10359 : What’s New in Microsoft® Office 2010 Applications
• Course 10395 : What’s New in Microsoft® Access® 2010
• Course 10396 : What’s New in Microsoft® InfoPath® 2010
• Course 10397 : What’s New in Microsoft® OneNote® 2010
• Course 10398 : What’s New in Microsoft® Project 2010
• Course 10399 : What’s New in Microsoft® Publisher 2010
• Course 10400 : What’s New in Microsoft® SharePoint® Designer 2010
• Course 10402 : What’s New in Microsoft® Visio® 2010
• Course 10166 : Windows 7 Essentials I
• Course 10167 : Windows 7 Essentials II
• Course 10353 : Beginner Skills Training in Microsoft® OneNote® 2010
• Course 10354 : Beginner Skills Training in Microsoft® Publisher 2010
• Course 10355 : Taking Content Offline using Microsoft® SharePoint® Workspace 2010
• Course 10356 : Beginner Skills Training in Microsoft® Visio® 2010
• Course 10360 : Working with Microsoft® Lync 2010 for Collaboration
• Course 10403 : Beginner Skills Training in Microsoft® InfoPath® 2010

David Anson wrote a tool that will keep your computer awake by disabling Sleep mode as long as the application is on.  It stays in the foreground so you can’t forget about it but it’s a very useful little tool for folks that work at companies with draconian Power Management policies.  (AHEM)

The default power settings for Windows are set up so a computer will go to sleep after 15 to 30 minutes of inactivity (i.e., no mouse or keyboard input). This is great because a computer that’s not being used doesn’t need to be running at full power. By letting an idle machine enter sleep mode, the user benefits from a significant reduction in electricity use, heat generation, component wear, etc.. And because sleep mode preserves the state of everything in memory, it’s quick to enter, quick to exit, and doesn’t affect the user’s work-flow. All the same applications continue running, windows stay open and where they were, etc.. So sleep mode is a Good Thing and I’m a fan.

However, sometimes a computer is busy even though someone isn’t actively using the mouse and keyboard; common examples include playing a movie, burning a DVD, streaming music, etc.. In these cases, you don’t want the machine to go to sleep because you’re using it – even though you’re not actually using it! So most media players and disc burners tell Windows not to go to sleep while they’re running. In fact, there’s a dedicated API for exactly this purpose: the SetThreadExecutionState Win32 Function.

But what about those times when the computer is busy doing something and the relevant program doesn’t suppress the default sleep behavior? For example, it might be downloading a large file, re-encoding a music collection, backing up the hard drive, or hashing the entire contents of the disk. You don’t want the machine to go to sleep for now, but are otherwise happy with the default sleep behavior. Unfortunately, the easiest way I know of to temporarily suppress sleeping is to go to Control Panel, open the Power Options page, change the power plan settings, commit them – and then remember to undo everything once the task is finished. It’s not hard; but it’s kind of annoying…

…

Read more here:
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/delay/archive/2009/09/30/give-your-computer-insomnia-free-tool-and-source-code-to-temporarily-prevent-a-machine-from-going-to-sleep.aspx

• DOWNLOAD:  Insomnia – Executable + Source Code
  http://cesso.org/Samples/Insomnia/Insomnia.zip

Information Week did a study of the effectiveness of search engines and look at what turned up?

Bing Beats Google On Search Effectiveness

Microsoft’s "decision engine" more likely to lead users to a Web page than searches through rival Google, study finds.

By Paul McDougall – InformationWeek
August 12, 2011 10:57 AM

While Google may control the lion’s share of the search market, queries made through Microsoft’s Bing search engine lead users to click on a Web page at a significantly higher rate than queries made through Google, according to data released Thursday.

The success rate for Bing searches in the U.S. in July was 80.04%, compared to 67.56% for Google, according to Experian Hitwise. The market watcher defines "success rate" as the percentage of search queries that result in a visit to a website. Searches made through sites owned by Yahoo, which farmed out search to Bing under a deal struck in 2009, were also more efficient than Google. Those searches yielded a success rate of 81.36%.

…

Read the full article here:

• NEWS: Bing Beats Google On Search Effectiveness
  http://www.informationweek.com/news/windows/microsoft_news/231400134