Research in Motion (RIM) and Microsoft have struck a deal via which Blackberry users will be able to run Windows Live Hotmail and Windows Live Messenger on their devices.

The two companies announced the deal on May 12; actual availability is slated for some time this summer with support for multiple languages.

Source: All about Microsoft

The release of Windows Vista Service Pack 1 not only heralded a long-awaited update of the operating system, it also meant the end of two common Windows Vista anti-activation exploits - the Grace Timer exploit and the Paradox OEM BIOS activation crack. But those who think they can escape by not updating to Service Pack 1 would be sadly mistaken.

That's because Microsoft has surreptitiously released an anti-hack detection update via Windows Update. Those who chose to have Windows Vista install updates automatically would have this update installed and running by now. If you chose to manually select updates to be installed, you should find this update listed.

Read More @ TechARP

It looks like Mark Hamburg, an Adobe Systems Photoshop and Lightroom programming guru, will be leading work to give Microsoft Windows a better user interface.

And given the dramatic user interface differences between earlier and later Adobe projects that Hamburg worked on, that raises some very intriguing possibilities.

Microsoft and Adobe Systems confirmed Hamburg's move on Monday, but at the time, Microsoft wouldn't share details beyond saying Hamburg would work on "user experience" for the company. However, Chicago photographer and Photoshop consultant Jeff Schewe, who caught a plane to California to attend Hamburg's going-away party, shared a lot more on his blog.

Read more @ News.com

The Live Search team, which has said that it is "building more than a search engine," has been working on updating the many Live Search services this spring, under the codename of Rome. There have been many improvements so far, including the launch of my.live.com—a copy of the personalized live.com page. This left the door open for a live.com revamp, and today it has finally arrived.

The new site does not seem to follow any previously used designs on the various Windows Live pages, and it really doesn't innovate far away from what other search engines are doing. There's more blue and green everywhere, but not many changes to functionality or usability from the end-user perspective

Read more @ Ars

You knew it was coming. Gateway, to our knowledge, has become the first large PC vendor to ship most of its retail PCs with the 64-bit version of Windows Vista Home Premium. The refreshed product line also brings back an Intel quad-core processor, which had been dumped by the company in the previous product cycle.

When we wrote about Gateway’s spring retail PCs back in January of this year, it was quite obvious that, at least for that product cycle, Gateway had thrown out Intel’s Core 2 Quad Q6600 quad-core processor in favor of an AMD Phenom X4 chip. Back then, company representatives assured us that an Intel quad-core would return soon. It took some time (four months), but an Intel chip is back, but only for the pricey “FX” version. The more affordable “GT” versions - four of them - continue to rely on AMD and integrate triple-core and quad-core processors.  

Read more @ TG Daily

The mobile interface called Smart Touch UI, designed to run on Gigabyte's GSmart Windows Mobile phones, is an innovative UI that lets you interact with your phone by pressing buttons on your phone's LCD screen as well as sliding your finger across the screen to interact with various features, like the analog/digital clock. The interface proved to be popular enough for an unofficial version to appear on the net, in the form of the "Gmart Today Plugin," a download from the site Freeware for Pocket PC. According to the download page, the plugin runs on both Windows Mobile 5 & 6. Once installed, you can flip between the GSmart interface and the default Windows Mobile interface by pressing the "Today" icon.

Read more @ On10

Yahoo shares fell 14 percent Monday as hopes for the once-dominant Internet icon dimmed following Microsoft's withdrawal of a $47.5 billion takeover bid.
The sell-off wiped out nearly half the gain in Yahoo Inc.'s stock price since Microsoft Corp. made its initial offer on Jan. 31 in an effort to challenge online advertising and search leader Google Inc. The downturn left Yahoo's market value about $13 billion below Microsoft's last offer.
 
Last-ditch talks between Yahoo and Microsoft were fruitless, leading Microsoft to walk away from a deal Saturday.

In early-afternoon trading Monday, Yahoo shares shed $4.04, or 14.1 percent, to $24.63, below Friday's close of $28.67, when investors were still hopeful about a deal.

Despite the backlash, analysts doubt Yahoo shares will fall back to their $19.18 pre-bid price, partly because some investors may still be holding out hope that the software maker will renew its takeover attempt if Yahoo continues to struggle.

Microsoft shares rose less than 1 percent, or 18 cents, to $29.42. The shares had declined 10 percent to $29.24 since the bid, reflecting concerns that the proposed marriage would turn into a complicated mess that would enable Google to grow even stronger.

Shares in Google went up nearly 2 percent, or $9.49, to $590.78. The company not only averted a marriage it had fiercely objected but also began discussions that could lead to a long-term advertising partnership with Yahoo, a deal made more likely with Microsoft's withdrawal. Any Google-Yahoo alliance, though, would likely face antitrust hurdles.

Yahoo Chief Executive Jerry Yang remained convinced that the company he started in a Silicon Valley trailer 14 years ago, was worth more than the money Microsoft had offered.

Read more @ MarketWatch

Microsoft has posted the Windows XP SP3 RTM download early.  Download the 32-bit version here.

Source Bink.nu

Windows Ultimate users finally have some new Ultimate Extras to download.  Released today was two new sound schemes and additional DreamScene content.  Windows Ultimate users can download the new extras now by going to Windows Update in Control Panel.

New Sounds

Two new sound schemes have been released:

• Ultimate Extras Glass – Similar to the default sound scheme but with a “glassy edge.”
• Ultimate Extras Pearl – Cleaner, clearer and brighter than the glass scheme.

Read more

New Dreamscene content

Dreamscene Content Pack #3 is now available with three nature scenes.

Read more

This time it’s the 2nd release of Windows 7 Milestone 1. Version 6.1 (build 6574.1.{SECRET}). The {SECRET} here means I won’t expose detail.

No, even Milestone 1 isn’t a single release. Microsoft releases multiple versions of M1 with different minor version numbers. Well, for me it is the 2nd one I’ve gotten but I’ve no idea about how many releases Microsoft did before. I’ll use Win7 M1 R2, which stands for Windows 7 Milestone 1 Release 2, to describe it in the following. Please be noted, ‘Release 2’ is my naming convention, not Microsoft’s.

Source: ThinkNext