Kurt Shintaku's Blog

Hey – Free Music from a Video Game.  Cool.

We have created a special Fable album for free download for a limited time!  This includes a wonderful selection of Fable 1 music and 3 brand new tracks from the upcoming Fable II soundtrack.

Go to http://www.sumthingdigital.com, and enter “FableCollection” promotion code.  The entire album is a 42.3MB download.

(Taken from http://gamerscoreblog.com/press/archive/
2008/10/01/fbllecttcge.aspx)

UPDATE 10/9/2008 8:54PM: 
Whoa.  The Fable Collection was written by Danny Elfman of Oingo Boingo fame as well as being the musician that created the themes for Batman, all of Tim Burton’s movies, the Simpson’s theme, all the Spider-man movies, all the Men in Black 1 & 2, Tales from the Crypt, Beetlejuice, and various other major motion pictures & TV shows.  It was written with Russell Shaw, the head of sound & music at Lionhead Studios, creators of Fable.

Whoa.  Check this out:

Interactive Debate Analyzer:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032553/
#scroll_debates

Basically what this is, is the Presidential Debates which have had all the audio dialogue digitally recognized, translated into keywords, and mapped to a timeline of the entire debate.

What this allows is for you, the viewer, to go back and look through the debate to when specific keywords are used by the candidate such as “economy” or “budget” or “Iraq”.  Each keyword has references to markers in the audio/video timeline that are visible and immediately referencable by simply “jumping” to that point in the debate and watching it.

It also breaks out when on candidate is speaking versus the other so that you can select which candidate you’d like to hear from.

We license this technology from a company called nexidia (www.nexidia.com) and what makes this fascinating is that this is really something that can be done in real time.  Conceivably, it’s possible for anybody who speaks in any video online to be recognized word-for-word and be “speech search engine and keyword optimized”.

Live Search Maps Add-In for Microsoft Office Outlook is packed with time-saving features.

Add maps to Outlook

• Send your Microsoft® Office Outlook® meeting requests with maps you can see in road, aerial, bird’s-eye, and amazing 3D views!*
• Use real-time traffic updates to help avoid accident or rush-hour delays and find the best routes.*
• Print driving directions “to go”, then save the details for viewing when you’re offline.
• If you have installed Microsoft MapPoint® 2006 (North America), work with your map when offline.

Make Outlook meeting notices more useful than ever

• Send maps and directions to meeting attendees to help them arrive on time – even those without Live Search Maps for Outlook.
• Create friendly names for frequently used locations, such as "Downtown office."
• Receive meeting reminders based on the estimated travel times.
• Quickly locate nearby places.

Use Live Search Maps to find places near your meeting location, such as restaurants, hotels, office stores, and gas stations.

DOWNLOAD:
http://outlook.local.live.com/minisites/local/outlook/default.aspx

(Note:  All the instructions are included in the accompanying Readme file that is displayable after installing the plug in.)

Webcast: An Overview of the Changes from Excel 2003 to Excel 2007

Date: Thursday, October 21, 2008
Time: 10:00 AM PST (Duration: 30 minutes)

Microsoft and QuickStart Intelligence invite you to join us for a 30 minute complimentary webinar designed to help you understand some of the key changes within Microsoft Excel 2007 that will help increase productivity and return greater value for you and your organization.

If you are using an older version of Microsoft Excel, this event will help you understand why the new enhancements and features will simplify the way you are currently using Microsoft Excel.

Part I. Introduction
Part II. Overview of the User Experience – Ribbon Toolbar
Part III. Overview of Spreadsheets – Enhancements and Tables
Part IV. Overview of Data – Formulas, Formatting, Charts, PivotTables, PivotCharts
Part V. Conclusion

Register Online at http://www.quickstart.com/events/webinars/Excel2007

Who Should Attend: Anyone who is interested in learning more about Excel 2007

To Register:
http://www.quickstart.com/events/webinars/Excel2007

Microsoft IT content shares how we do "IT".  It provides guidelines and documented information to help our customers better understand where to start and what considerations to take in implementing Microsoft technologies.  Links below are external so you can easily download these real-world perspective whitepapers.

• Microsoft IT Enterprise SharePoint Performance and Optimization
  Technical White Paper
  
• Deploying the Live Meeting Service Portal
  Technical White Paper | IT Pro Webcast | WMA | MP3
  
• Deploying PKI Inside Microsoft
  Technical White Paper
• Exchange Hosted Services at Microsoft
  Technical Case Study | IT Pro Webcast | WMA | MP3

We also have numerous upcoming IT Manager Webcasts for people to view instead of read.  These are the ones recently released or upcoming:

• How Microsoft does IT: Managing Network Access Protection
  Tuesday, November 11, 2008
  
• How Microsoft does IT: Management and Operations in Windows Server 2008
  Watch any time on demand
• How Microsoft does IT: Deployment Planning for BitLocker Drive Encryption for Windows Vista
  Thursday, November 16, 2008
• Microsoft IT Compliance: Policy, HBI, SOX, and PCI
  Watch any time on demand
  
• How Microsoft IT Approached the Deployment of Microsoft Application Virtualization v4.5 (SoftGrid)
  Listen any time on demand

At E for All this past weekend, the Epic Games folks dropped by and let everyone play the new multiplayer scenario called ‘Horde’ on Gears of War 2.

One of the chotchkies they handed out during the show-and-tell was a COG tag – something you might recognize from the game itself.  On the tag was an interesting viral inscription that gave you a clue to something special.  It was a URL and a special code.

It turns out the clue leads you to all sorts of interesting pre-release material.  Here’s some useful tips from Kotaku that shows you how to get all of this to work:

• Go to http://gearsofwar.xbox.com/lastday/
• After the age gate and the flash site loads, click the cog icon at the bottom of the log in screen to activate the code entry.
• The code is: 617461-ZMTDP-EL
• After that’s entered, you can explore by clicking on the blue bars that radiate up on each side.
• Look for things to click on in the screen after that.

Free RSS & News reader available for download for your Windows Mobile device

Get the latest news, sports, technology updates, and blog feeds right on your Windows Mobile phone, anytime and anywhere! Add your favorite feeds and then sync to download the latest content on the go. SplashNews is a free, ad-supported mobile application that automatically downloads and displays feeds from your favorite news sources. Advertising in SplashNews stays in an unobtrusive banner space at the top of the application screen. There are no pop-up ads, and no personally identifiable information is collected.

Registration required for downloads. Connectivity charges may apply. Limited time offer. Available in the U.S. only.

Download:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/en-us/totalaccess/software/software/splashnews.mspx

FREE color matching blocks game for your Windows Mobile device

Ka-Glom, a high-pressure game of falling blocks, is now available for Windows Mobile. In this popular mobile game, you combine the explosive Ka-Glom jelly and connect Ka-Gloms to start an explosive reaction that blows away connecting blocks of one color. As you build huge chain-reaction explosions, your Ka-Glom factor increases and your bonus points multiply. Play in Survival mode for a classic puzzle experience, or try some deep thinking with the Puzzle mode… all for free!

Features

• Three play modes so you can vary the game experience.

• Hidden modes that you can unlock as your skill builds.

• An easy and quick tutorial so you can get on with the fun.

Download:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/en-us/totalaccess/software/games/kaglom.mspx

FREE download of Real Dice’s Texas Hold ‘em now available on Microsoft.com

Finally, play Texas Hold’em like it was meant to be played—live online against thousands of real people, right from your Windows Mobile device!

Enjoy stunning graphics, 10-player tables, and a free comprehensive strategy guide for all levels. Play alone offline and start a poker career against 200 unique opponents. When you’re ready for the real-time action, sign in to take on the world in ring games, sit-n-go tourneys, and multi-table events… all for FREE. Are you all in?

Features:

• Support for every Windows Mobile device.

• Free Desktop and Facebook version for when it’s more convenient to play on the big screen.

• Full tables 24/7, meet and chat with people from around the world.

• Live tournaments every 15 minutes!

• Beautiful 3D hi-res graphics for the ultimate hold’em experience.

• Offline play for practice, airplanes, or privacy.

• Winner “Poker Game of the Year,” Windows Mobile Magazine in ’05, ’06, ’07.

• For more great Windows Mobile games, visit www.realdice.com.

Download:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/components/downloadreg/downloadinfo.aspx?ProductID=941

Yesterday, we published 4 new whitepapers on various solution scenarios for Office Sharepoint Server 2007.

• SharePoint Server 2007 Workflow
  Over the last decade, business process management solutions have been gaining considerable momentum as organizations are struggling to maintain consistency and efficiency in executing their core business processes. Workflow for automating formal business processes has been built into enterprise solutions and line-of-business applications, and business process management point solutions have emerged for more comprehensive process management capabilities. Despite these advancements in business process management technologies, workflow and business process management solutions are typically used to address only a small percentage of the work that is done within an enterprise. By focusing exclusively on highly structured business processes designed by a small number of employees, organizations have historically neglected to address and enable the less formal and more iterative work that is completed by the vast majority of employees.

  Microsoft has responded to these industry challenges by providing the Microsoft® Office SharePoint® Server 2007 Workflow solution that delivers highly flexible tools like InfoPath Forms Services for data collection and workflow interaction and SharePoint® Designer for easy workflow design and customization including robust out of the box features to enable the rapid deployment and adoption of business process solutions across the enterprise. By supplementing formalized process execution with collaborative human interaction, employees can work more effectively in the context of the larger goals of the enterprise.

  http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=15d9d316-2ff3-40c9-85ed-4537657fa965&DisplayLang=en

• SharePoint Server 2007 Records Management
  Microsoft delivers a records management platform that can be extended to every information worker. By viewing retention and records management as a component of the overall document lifecycle, organizations can reduce risk and improve compliance with increased adoption of records management practices.
  http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=717a3870-520e-4e4f-b996-a067d13cd4ad&DisplayLang=en
• SharePoint Server 2007 Web Content Management
  Over the last few decades, Web technologies have dramatically changed the way that companies conduct business with their customers, partners, and employees. What began as a static store for public information has become a dynamic, evolving environment for managing customer relationships, collaborating with partners, and communicating with employees. Because of the explosive growth of online channels, companies are struggling to manage Web sites and applications, especially in terms of managing content targeted for different audiences in a global environment. As the reliance on Web content has increased, so has the demand for a solution that empowers both business and IT users with the tools they need to efficiently and effectively manage multiple, complex Web sites.

  Microsoft has responded to these changes by delivering a WCM solution that combines the rich features of a traditional content management system with a unified, enterprise WCM platform—all delivered with the usability of Microsoft® Office SharePoint® Server 2007.

  http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=5dda96c8-3744-48c4-9bda-c271929fd4aa&DisplayLang=en

• SharePoint Server 2007 Document Management
  Microsoft delivers an integrated solution that extends document management to all employees. By recognizing that a document’s lifecycle begins the moment it is created and does not end until it is destroyed, organizations can achieve wide adoption and enforcement of enterprise standards, resulting in decreased management costs and reduced corporate risk.
  http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=d1aa2974-7b03-4ff3-86ff-58db2819c1dd&DisplayLang=en