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Category Archives: Microsoft

Flickr, PhotoBucket & SmugMug for Windows Phone

19 May

Windows Phone’s market share is growing, no doubt about it, and it might be growing faster than you think despite what those pessimistic analysts may have told you. One of the clues that proves this is the fast pace of the platform’s adoption from major companies including those in the image hosting sector.

As of today, users can find Flickr, PhotoBucket and SmugMug apps in the Windows Phone Marketplace. So if you are a user of one of those services and own a Windows Phone, you’ll be glad to know that you are now covered and can start uploading those priceless Kodak moments of your cat.

One of the unique things about Windows Phone is its metro interface that got positive feedback all over the world. That same metro interface experience is used in most of the apps in the Marketplace including the three mentioned in this post. The experience is so delightful and fluid that it almost makes you feel guilty for not uploading photos.

 
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Posted by on May 19, 2012 in Microsoft, Smartphones, Windows Phone

 

No dice for Skype & Netflix on BlackBerry PlayBook

19 May

It’s crystal clear that the BlackBerry community want both Netflix and Skype apps on either (or on both) their BlackBerry smartphone or PlayBook but their wishes and requests have always gone unanswered and for reasons that are still unknown.

We keep hearing from BlackBerry (unofficially) that they are willing to help Netflix or Skype to build those apps on their BlackBerry PlayBook QNX platform if they just asked but still their tweets get no replies (as far as we know). Why? Why is it almost impossible to get Netflix and Skype on board the BlackBerry platform considering that BlackBerry has been around way before iPhone, Android and Windows Phone? This might come as a shock to all of you but even Nokia’s old, slow and outdated Symbian OS has an official Skype and Netflix apps.

The BlackBerry community has been very vocal about this issue through tweets, Facebook posts, petitions and even sending letters to Netflix and Skype’s headquarters to spread the awareness hoping it gives them the push they need to start the development but we haven’t heard or seen any positive outcome.

Look, before I say anything more I would like to mention that as a Canadian I am proud of the BlackBerry brand and support RIM. If it wasn’t for them we would probably still be using dumb phones today. That being said, I must say that I believe it isn’t completely Netflix or Skype’s fault for not building apps for the PlayBook’s QNX platform, RIM is to be greatly blamed as well.

Ponder about this for a minute. Those Twitter and Facebook apps on BlackBerry smartphones weren’t even created by Twitter nor Facebook, respectively. They were built by RIM. So it isn’t just Netflix and Skype that aren’t interested in developing apps for the BlackBerry OS (or the PlayBook’s QNX platform), it seems that both popular social networks aren’t interested either which is probably why RIM took it on themselves to create Twitter and Facebook apps.

Here is another point to think about. As I mentioned above, BlackBerry has been around way before iPhone, Android or Windows Phone, yet all those mobile platforms got official apps from Twitter, Facebook, Skype and Netflix either at launch or during a period of at most one year after launch yet BlackBerry still gets neglected. So how did, for instance, Microsoft get Netflix and Skype to develop apps for their Windows Phone platform even though Windows Phone’s market share is below all mobile operating systems on the market? The BlackBerry PlayBook is in this same spot right now with a small market share (just like Windows Phone) yet, a year later, there isn’t a single evidence that says both Netflix and Skype are working on a PlayBook app. Why is that?

Microsoft, Google and Apple all seem to have that power or influence (or whatever you want to call it) that pushes third party companies to support their mobile platforms. Microsoft definitely did something behind the scenes to get those deal breaker apps on board the Windows Phone platform before the OS had any decent market share. So it is obvious that RIM has a role to play to get those ‘must-have’ apps on their PlayBook as well.

In other words, we can’t just blame Netflix and Skype for not developing apps for the PlayBook or the BlackBerry OS. RIM, just like Microsoft, Apple and Google, has to play their part of the game or else it will always be ‘no-dice’.

 
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Posted by on May 19, 2012 in Apple, BlackBerry, Google, Microsoft, Smartphones

 

Microsoft Xbox, it’s all about entertainment

14 May

My problem with Microsoft at the moment is with their entertainment division. Xbox, Zune, Games for Windows, Windows Media Center, Windows Media Player, etc. They are scattered everywhere and each has its own store or software that runs of it.

Why not consolidate? I mean, it’s all about entertainment in the end.

My suggestion is a unified experience and software across multiple platforms (Xbox, Windows and Windows Phone) that is simply called Xbox. Yes, Xbox. It’s time for Microsoft to piggy back on the Xbox’s success and make it the official place and store to download and play movies, TV shows, music and games.

 
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Posted by on May 14, 2012 in Microsoft

 

Windows Phone Feature Suggestion

12 May

It’s great that Microsoft gave their customers the ability to share their ideas through UserVoice to help improve Windows Phone. But is that enough? Absolutely not.

Microsoft allowed Windows Phone owners to add feature suggestions on the website since the product launched (or maybe a few weeks after) but never really showed us how those features are ever taken into consideration or even being talked about among the Windows Phone development team.

There are feature suggestions on the website that have been at the top of the list for over a year without any indication that they will be added in a future release or that they’re being discussed yet Windows Phone received several updates since it launched without including those items. There is a clear missing link between those feature suggestions and the development team.

Just like Windows 8, the team shows the world how they’re taking customer feedback into their next major release through Twitter, YouTube and even adding many detailed blog posts. Why isn’t Windows Phone following the same approach? In the end, Windows Phone is an operating system that is currently powering more than a million of smartphones today.

All I am saying is that Microsoft can’t just tell people to go and add their ideas on another website and then be completely silent about it. They need to engage and converse closely with their Windows Phone customers just like the Windows team are doing with Windows 8.

 
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Posted by on May 12, 2012 in Microsoft, Smartphones, Windows, Windows Phone

 

Windows 8 on ARM

13 Feb

The thought of Windows on ARM based devices is great and opens up a lot of new areas for Windows to live on. But will it be a real competitor to other popular tabular based computing devices (shall I say iPad, Android tablets)?

The new Windows on ARM may definitely prove worthy but it could be for a niche market (initially), but then again we did say the same when Android started to show up on tablets.

I must say I always wanted to use Windows through a touch experience but it never did work out the way it meant to be through all the iterations of Windows and including Windows 7. Now that Windows 8 is ‘reimagined’ for an elegant metro style touch experience, I couldn’t be more excited to get some serious hands-on experience.

Having said all that, maybe Windows is finally at a stage where people need it on ARM hardware. Something super light, highly portable, consumer based and (most importantly) FUN to use for all ages. I mean when you think about, it’s all about the experience in the end.

 
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Posted by on February 13, 2012 in Microsoft, Windows

 

Tuesday, August 9 2011

09 Aug

As mush as I love the original concept behind Windows Phone’s start screen, I still have a few things to complain about.

There just seems to be a lot of wasted space on the start screen. You will notice there is a quite spacious black empty space at the top and at the right of the tiles. I understand why the top was left blank (for toast notifications) but it just doesn’t look right with all that space left blank.

The same thing applies to the empty space to the tight of the tiles. It just doesn’t make sense to me to see all that wasted space for displaying an arrow.

I don’t know if you also noticed, but the length of the home screen doesn’t fit the amount of tiles it can display. When you first see the start screen in its default position (scrolled all the way to the top) you will notice that your screen will only show the complete length of 3 tiles with part of the 4th tile covered where you have to scroll to see the rest of it. Even though it’s only a tiny part of it that is covered, that still feels like a flaw in the UI design.

Apart from those three design flaws (in my opinion at least) Windows Phone has proved itself to be the most enjoyable experience you can get on a mobile operating system.

 
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Posted by on August 9, 2011 in Microsoft, Rants, Windows Phone

 

Sunday, June 26th 2011

27 Jun

Windows Phones are great devices and they run on a wonderfully unique platform that seems to simply make sense right out of the box. But of course nothing is perfect and no matter how great the operating system is it also comes with its own quirks.

Hardware wise, since I am using a Samsung Focus, my main disappointment is the touch buttons that I keep mistakenly hit whenever I try to rotate the device to landscape mode to view a video for instance or whenever I try to take a picture.

The other hardware issue I am facing is due to the locations of both the power button and the volume control buttons on either side of the device. They are located exactly opposite to one another which causes me to hit them both accidentally when I try to hit the power button to wake up the device. That usually confuses the device or me personally.

On the software side, I can’t complain much since it’s in its first stages of maturity, so there is still a long road ahead before I could state my criticism. Maybe I could start complaining after Mango is released, if there is anything to complain about.

In general, I do like (maybe even love) the user experience and the concept behind combining similar activities in hubs, it just makes sense instead of jumping from one app to another.

I am certain that Mango is gonna make things even better for Windows Phones, not to mention Nokia’s adoption for the platform over MeeGo.

 
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Posted by on June 27, 2011 in Microsoft, Windows Phone

 

What’s New With Microsoft Zune?

13 Mar

Ever since Microsoft shifted focus to Windows Phone 7 there has been nothing new in the Zune department. It’s like Microsoft completely switched all its resources and dedication to marketing and pushing the Windows Phone 7 platform, and I don’t blame them. Windows Phone 7 is the new kid in town when it comes to mobile operating systems and Microsoft needs to prove themselves to phone manufacturers and wireless carriers. But that doesn’t mean they should forget about Zune players completely.

There are still thousands (if not millions) of owners of the original Zune and Zune HD and I believe they would like to know “what’s next” when it comes to Zune. Microsoft seems to release an app in the Zune Marketplace not very often and it has to come from them and not from any third party developer which raises concerns on how will it continue to evolve and gain market share like that.

I believe Microsoft is trying to (and will) build an ecosystem that encompasses Zune players, Windows Phones and Windows 7. Doing so might take time and money to get there. All I am saying is that recently it feels like there is no one working in the Zune department and I am sure lots of people are interested in knowing where Zune sits in Microsoft’s roadmap.

 
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Posted by on March 13, 2011 in Microsoft, Windows Phone

 

Delete a project saved on Project Server 2010

23 Dec

After googling and searching all over the web for a way to properly delete a project off Project Server 2007 or 2010, I found a Microsoft Support document that finally shed some light on my dilemma. I guess Microsoft doesn’t really want you deleting project files off the server. You sort of have to do the opposite of your actions.

Allow me to explain. So you have a project saved under Project Server 2010 and now you want to delete it for whatever reason you can come up with. You look everywhere for a delete button, but there is none. Not even on the project portal site, which you can actually delete off Sharepoint (while still keeping the Office Project file on Project Server).

So you raise your white flag and start asking Google. And what does Microsoft tell you to do?

  • Open Microsoft Project 2010
  • Click “Open”
  • In the Look in list, select “Enterprise Projects”.
  • Double-click “Retrieve the list of all projects from Project Server”.
  • Right-click the project that you want to delete, and then click Delete on the shortcut menu.

You hear that? Microsoft wants us to perform an “Open” action in order to “Delete” a file!

So next time you can’t figure out how to perform a certain action with an Office product, try to think not just outside the box, but without any common sense whatsoever.

Thanks Microsoft.

Source: Delete a project – Project – Microsoft Office.

 
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Posted by on December 23, 2010 in Microsoft

 

Attaching Expression Web 4 to Team Foundation 2010

12 Dec

Expression Web is a great website development environment that could entirely replace Adobe Dreamweaver if you have the courage to make the jump. One great feature in Expression Web is the ability to work off Team Foundation 2010. But Microsoft’s doesn’t really show you how to enable source control in Expression Web 4 in order to hook your website to TFS 2010. They do tell you that you need to install Team Explorer 2008 or 2010 and that will enable source control in Expression Web. But that didn’t work for me and many others on the internet trying to do the same thing.

So after days of searching the web for a solution, I went to Twitter for help. Apparently Microsoft Expression has an official twitter account for the entire Expression community at @MSExpression. After explaining my dilemma to one of the account representatives they managed to lead me to a Google Blogger blog post that had the answer.

Thanks to the post’s author on teamfoundationserverhelp.blogpost.com.

Attaching Microsoft Expression Web 4 to a Team Foundation Server 2010 project is very simple but NOT intuitive.

(Assumes you have created a web in Visual Studio 2010)
1. Open Expression Web 4.
2. Site (top tool bar) > Manage Sites List… > Add > point to the root directory of the website in the filesystem.
3. Save
4. Site (top tool bar) > Open Site (select the site you just added).
If you have already added the site through VS 2010 to TFS and its under source control the Site will open with version control after step 4 and you can checkin, checkout, etc.
Good luck
Beau Claar
Virtual Premise, Inc.
 
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Posted by on December 12, 2010 in Microsoft

 
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