Kurt Shintaku's Blog

Love… this… client!  This is a really cool piece of software and it doesn’t require the installation of Adobe AIR.  Instead, it leverages .NET 3.0 & Silverlight v3.0 and it’s totally free.

It’s basically a “social aggregator” that’s under development that currently provides you with search lists, multiple Twitter account views, access to your Facebook page, and more.  It’s Alpha code so it’s still in development but I’m really liking this client and how it’s progressing.

Technobuzz did a better write up of it than I have, so check out their site:
http://www.technobuzz.net/bdule-twitter-facebook-client-windows-7-vista-xp/

DOWNLOAD:
http://www.sobees.com/bdule

"It was the greatest single phone call that I’ve ever taken in business."
– Microsoft COO Kevin Turner, on when Apple’s Legal Dept called him to pull Microsoft’s Laptop Hunter TV ads

What’s he talking about, you ask? 

Here’s the entire quote, as taken from The Worldwide Partner Conference Transcript:
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/exec/elop/07-15-09WPC2009.mspx
(Video available at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/events/wwpc/Default.aspx @ 1hr 51min)

“And so we’ve been running these PC value ads. Just giving people saying, hey, what are you looking to spend? “Oh, I’m looking to spend less than $1,000.” Well we’ll give you $1,000. Go in and look and see what you can buy. And they come out and they just show them. Those are completely unscripted commercials.

And you know why I know they’re working? Because two weeks ago we got a call from the Apple legal department saying, hey — this is a true story — saying, "Hey, you need to stop running those ads, we lowered our prices." They took like $100 off or something. It was the greatest single phone call in the history that I’ve ever taken in business. (Applause.)

I did cartwheels down the hallway. At first I said, "Is this a joke? Who are you?" Not understanding what an opportunity. And so we’re just going to keep running them and running them and running them.

This is out of last Sunday’s paper, the Apple tax. It’s getting out. And when we put Windows 7 in there, which we’ve got coming out in October, what an incredible opportunity for us to fight back. And it feels really good to be on the offensive here. And we know we’ve got plenty of work to do. We don’t have it all figured out. But I want you to know, ladies and gentlemen, we’re doing stuff and we’re in the game and continuing to take some of these hard market share opportunities head on and compete because it’s a test of will, as I said.”

And it looks like this didn’t escape the media either:

• INFORMATION WEEK:  Apple Wanted Microsoft Ads Yanked
  http://www.informationweek.com/news/windows/operatingsystems/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=218500923
• BUSINESS INSIDER:  Microsoft: Scared Apple Asked Us To Stop "Laptop Hunters" Campaign
  http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-asked-microsoft-to-life-laptop-hunters-ad-says-microsoft-coo-2009-7
• VALLEYWAG:  Microsoft Exec Received His ‘Single Greatest Phone Call’ from Apple over Ads
  http://gawker.com/5316220/microsoft-exec-received-his-single-greatest-phone-call-from-apple-over-ads
• BRAND REPUBLIC:  Apple’s Legal Team Calls Microsoft Knocking Ads
  http://www.brandrepublic.com/News/920816/Apples-legal-team-calls-Microsoft-knocking-ads/
• INQUIRER:  Apple Demanded Microsoft Pull Laptop Hunter Ads
  http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1433666/apple-demanded-microsoft-pull-laptop-hunter-ads
• SHORTFORMBLOG:  Lauren Apparently Touched A Nerve with Apple’s Legal Dept
  http://shortformblog.com/tech/lauren-apparently-touched-a-nerve-with-apples-legal-department

I don’t really need to explain what this is do I?

Alright.  For those looking for clarification, it’s a touch enabled client for Twitter.  Capacbilities include, as taken by the Swiss DPE team post:

• Show the 25 most recent Tweets in a “ScatterView” control, making each Tweet a movable and resizable object on the Surface.
• Automatically detect the presence of a TwitPic picture linked in a Tweet and display the picture’s thumbnail attached to the tweet it belongs to.
• Mark Mentions (of the person currently logged in) by coloring the Tweet window blue.
• Send Tweets using the Surface on-screen keyboard.
• Auto-Refresh automatically every minute, marking new Tweets with a star icon. Updating is asynchronous and not blocking the user interface.

DOWNLOAD: 
http://blogs.msdn.com/swiss_dpe_team/archive/2009/07/16/
welcome-to-surfacetwitter-a-multi-touch-twitter-client-for-the-microsoft-surface.aspx

NEW YORK TIMES:  Bing Delivers Credibility to Microsoft
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/14/technology/companies/
14bing.html?_r=1&th&emc=th

NEW YORK TIMES:  Bing, the Imitator, Often Goes Google One Better
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/09/technology/personaltech/
09pogue.html?_r=2&th&emc=th

NEWSWEEK:  Microsoft, in Search of an Edge
The company’s third attempt at a viable rival to Google is proving to be better than anyone expected.
"….Microsoft has done it the old-fashioned way: by being better and more innovative."
http://www.newsweek.com/id/206449/

CIO TODAY:  Bing Zips Past Yahoo To Be Number Two in Search
http://www.cio-today.com/story.xhtml?story_id=011001BUUTPI&full_skip=1

This was a pleasant surprise.

It turns out that Bill Gates was as fascinated by Richard Feynman as much as I and thousands of others have been, but a man of his resources took his fascination to another level:  He bought the rights to the lectures so that they could be shared on the Internet with everyone.

For FREE.

PROJECT TUVA
The effort to publish these on the Internet for public access was called Project TUVA.  You simply access a web site that is Silverlight driven & developed by Microsoft Research to enable the playback, and you’re on your way. 

The Silverlight driven software provides subtitles, a realtime timeline, and reference links that point to “extras” that people can see.

One of the coolest features of the software is it’s ability to call up other web applications.  For example, at the 39 &40 minute mark, the first lecture pulls up content from the Worldwide Telescope, a project Microsoft put together leveraging research Microsoft published at http://www.worldwidetelescope.com.

The first 4 minutes is hilarious… and that’s just Feynman’s introduction:  ”I could tell you about the time he learned Spanish… in preparation for a trip to Brazil.”

BTW:  If you find this interesting, if not entertaining, I’d encourage you to take a look at these books… my primers to the genius of Professor Feynman:

• Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman! (Adventures of a Curious Character) (Paperback)
• What Do You Care What Other People Think?: Further Adventures of a Curious Character (Paperback)
• The Very Best of the Feynman Lectures (Audio CD)

LINKS

• CNET: Bill Gates offers the world a physics lesson
  http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10286732-56.html
• MICROSOFT RESEARCH: Project Tuva
  http://research.microsoft.com/apps/tools/tuva/index.html
• DOWNLOAD:  Silverlight v3.0 (Required for Project Tuva)
  http://www.microsoft.com/silverlight/handlers/getsilverlight.ashx

Here’s a few notes about Microsoft Hohm.

What is Microsoft Hohm?
Microsoft Hohm is a free online beta application that helps you save energy and money. With Microsoft Hohm you can better understand your home energy usage, get recommendations to conserve energy and start saving. As with any recommendation engine, Hohm will provide increasingly more accurate and relevant suggestions for energy conservation as its users contribute home energy input and feedback. One of the objectives during our beta period is to refine our tool and further increase the value our product can offer to you.

Microsoft Hohm uses advanced analytics licensed from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Department of Energy to give you personalized energy saving recommendations. These recommendations are tailored based on your specific household circumstances including home attributes and use of appliances and systems. You will also be able to compare your energy usage to that of others in your area. In this beta version, the Microsoft Hohm team will learn from its users and communities and will make improvements to the site and analytics.

Microsoft Hohm helps utilities to better serve their customers by providing clear insight into their energy consumption, allowing them to make more informed decisions to save energy and money.

How does Microsoft Hohm work?
After signing up for Microsoft Hohm with your Windows Live ID and postal code, you simply enter some information about your home (e.g., occupants, appliances and systems) and receive your energy report with personalized recommendations. The more information you provide, the more accurate and relevant the recommendations will be. As a default, Hohm will base its recommendations on local and national averages.

Alternatively, if you are a customer of a Hohm-partnered utility company you can choose to automatically upload your energy usage data into the application in the near future.

The recommendations will be refined as the beta application evolves with feedback from users, their communities and the energy industry.

On average, how much money will Microsoft Hohm help me save on my energy bill?
The financial savings varies widely based on the information you provide on your Microsoft Hohm profile, the characteristics of your household and the changes you implement. Customers are encouraged to run the Hohm application to determine the potential savings for their household. Note that this beta version of Hohm will be evolving over time, so initial recommendations may not optimal.

How can I get Microsoft Hohm?

Hohm is an online Microsoft application available at no cost to anyone in the United States with Internet access and a modern Internet browser (e.g., Internet Explorer 7 or later, Firefox, Safari). It can be accessed from the Microsoft Hohm Web site, www.microsoft-hohm.com.

Who is Microsoft Hohm for? Who do you expect will find it useful?
Microsoft Hohm is for residential consumers of energy wanting to save money and reduce their impact on the environment. We hope to hear your story on how you are saving and what you would like to see next.

For more information go to our website at www.microsoft-hohm.com.

WARNING:  If you’ve been using Windows Live Movie Maker Beta, you’ll need to install a software update in order to keep it working.  The current Movie Maker beta will stop working on June 30, 2009 and with the beta extension software update, you won’t be able to continue to use it.

• Windows Live Movie Maker Beta Expiration Update:
  http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=e7446634-e033-4053-acd3-a7a18ea8a1a2&displaylang=en

If you attempt to run Windows Live Movie Maker without applying the download you’ll get this dialog box:

The download is less than 3MB.  The official release of Windows Live Movie Maker is expected to release later as part of Windows Live Essentials. (http://download.live.com/)

Motley Fool is recommending Microsoft in ‘This weeks 5 smartest stock moves’:

Cooler beans for Mr. Softy
Can I have a slice of crow pie? I poked fun at Microsoft‘s (Nasdaq: MSFT) launch of its Bing.com search engine last month. I liked what the world’s largest software company did with the site, but was wondering why Microsoft goes through search platform brands like Spinal Tap goes through exploding drummers.

Well, it appears as if the fifth time is the charm. Bing is a hit. Instead of fading after the initial popularity, traffic to Bing continues to grow, according to marketing research specialist comScore. Its stateside penetration of users has gone from 13.7% to 16.7% since its launch in late May.

This wouldn’t be happening if the ad campaign wasn’t working or if users weren’t recommending Bing to their friends and families. As long as Microsoft’s next step isn’t to rebrand this as Bing Vista or Bing-a-Zune, the company finally has the ticket it always wanted to matter in paid search.

LINK:  http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2009/06/19/this-weeks-5-smartest-stock-moves.aspx

Like everyone else, I’m always on the prowl to find a cheap deal on Microsoft Points to get my fix of Xbox Live Arcade games, Xbox Live Downloadable Content, or Zune Marketplace downloadable music.  The problem is… like everyone else in the world, I don’t feel like paying retail, and believe it or not, I don’t get a discount on Microsoft Points, contrary to the belief of some.

The way to do this is to use eBay & Bing Cashback.  Basically here’s the difference in pricing using this method of purchasing Microsoft Points:

• 4000 points is $50[RETAIL/AMAZON], or $1.25/100pts.
• 4000 points is $35.88[eBAY+CASHBACK], or $.90/100pts.

This is essentially a 29% discount off retail Microsoft Points. 

Interested?  Then follow along:

1. Search BING.COM for “Buy Microsoft Points” by clicking HERE.
   1. …or go to http://www.bing.com
   2. Type “Buy Microsoft Points” into the search
2. Click on the link that has “www.eBay.com”  “Bing cashback” and “You may get x% off with PayPal if eligible.”  This link should be the same as clicking HERE. 

   This will take you to eBay.  At the top of the screen, you should see logo & text that reads, “Microsoft cashback"  “Must use Buy It Now and PayPal.  See conditions” 
   (Note:  You may NOT see any useful search results yet, so don’t freak yet.)

3. Type “Microsoft Points” in the ‘Find’ text box instead of what’s already in there.  (Which is likely something like, “buy+microsoft+points”)  This will display various new results.
   
4. Click on the “Buy It Now only” tab.  This will identify the auctions that you can use for this discount.

   Amongst these auctions, there will USUALLY be someone selling for $39.99/4000 Microsoft Points. 
   (Note:  Sometimes you’re a little less lucky and you’ll find only deals for $41.99/4000 Microsoft Points which after discounting comes out to be a 22% discount, but it’s still a good deal.)

5. Click on an auction that says “US Server” in the description and purchase it via “Buy It Now”.  Be sure to use PayPal to pay for the transaction to ensure your rebate.

   Buy doing this, you shouldn’t need to pay for shipping since the code will be mailed to you via email and you’ll get an 8% rebate through Bing Cashback.  (The 8% rebate is paid at a later date through your Bing cashback account. Read more at http://cashback.bing.com for more information.)

That’s it.  You’ll get about a 21% discount with the remaining 8% in your Bing Cashback account which will land in 60 days.

Did you ever wish you could copy & paste from that site that prevents you from copying & pasting content from it?  Have you gotten tired of visiting certain favorite web sites and find yourself having to close all those annoying pop ups / pop unders?

The answer is quite simple most of the time: 
Disable Active Scripting. 

Active Scripting is a set of commands that a web site sends to your web browser along with the text/pictures on a web page that instruct it to do certain things.  Among the many things good things that Active Scripting does is enable you to see Flash & Silverlight animations, and interact with rich interfaces.  Unfortunately there are some rather questionable things that Active Scripting also does like:

• prevent you from copying & pasting from your own web browser.
• enable all those pop up ads that you see appearing on your screen on certain web sites to appear

INSTRUCTIONS:
If you’re using Internet Explorer 7 or 8, the easiest way to disable Active Scripting for a given site is to simply list the site in Internet Explorer as a “Restricted site”.  This effectively prevents the site from executing any script or plug ins.  It’s rather trivial to simply ‘turn this off’ for SPECIFIC WEB SITES:

1. Open Internet Explorer 7/8.  Look at the menu bar.
2. Click TOOLS – INTERNET OPTIONS from the menus.  The Internet Options window will appear.
3. Click the Security Tab.  You should see a set of Zone icons, including one called “Restricted Sites”.
4. Click the “Restricted Sites” icon.  The “Sites” button should be enabled now.
5. Click the “Sites” button.  The Restricted sites windows should appear.
6. Type the URL of the site you wish to disable Active Scripting on in the “Add this website to the zone” text field. 
7. Click “Add” button.  The site should be added to your Restricted Sites list.
8. Click “Close” button.
9. Click “OK” button.

From here on out, every time you visit that site, pop ups/ pop unders should not occur and you should now be able to copy & paste from the site you disabled Active Scripting on.

One application of this, for example, is to SNOPES.COM which is famous from disabling people’s ability to copy & paste their content.  This makes sense being that they’re in the business of getting clickthroughs based on their content for ad revenue.  The problem is that it’s hard to quote from a source that publishes articles that span 5 pages of content but has no reference bookmarks to refer people to specific passages or paragraphs.

The only way to point to specific content easily is to copy & paste it.  By disabling Active Scripting on SNOPES.COM, it’s easy to copy & paste content.

DRAWBACKS:
The obvious problem with doing this is that there’s a lot that won’t work on the site once you’ve prevented scripting from working on it.  Flash won’t work, menus may not function, drag & drop will definitely be disabled, buttons may not function, etc. so be aware that we great power comes great responsibility.  This is something that you probably only want on specific select sites.