Social Desktop

Microsoft Research demoed a concept for bringing the social web and it's power for collaboration directly to your desktop from the cloud.

The Social Desktop blends the Web and PC by embedding Web oriented sharing inside your desktop,  allowing every document to have the ability to have a backing social URL for sharing without having to upload or copy or move it from it's natural location. This url provides access not just to the file, but to a built in social experience which includes a rich preview of each item, comments, related items, tags, etc. Whenever friends comment with this social link via the web browser, the conversation is also available directly in Windows, and vice versa.

The social preview is a Silverlight web page which is accessible via a url, and so any mechanism for distributing links to your friends can be used such as Twitter, Digg, Windows Live Messenger, etc.  Previews and/or files are stored on the web using Windows Azure.

Social networks have become our public square and market place as the traditional office disappears. You can find me on Twitter and engage me in real-time, or you can send an email and wait for my response. Microsoft hasn't embraced social networking, they still live in an email culture

We're #1 In Broadband (Sort Of)

According to OECD data the USA  ranks fifteenth in penetration, thirteenth in price per connection, and nineteenth in download speed,  but Saul Hansell in today's NYTimes repeats the broadband FUD the wireless industry wants us to hear.

Follow the money trail of these conferences and studies stright to the instutional investers of the wireless industry, can you hear me now?

What Is Microsoft Recite?

Voice search technology has arrived for your phone, Microsoft Recite can be used on devices running Windows Mobile version 6 +.

Press Remember to record a thought. Press Search to retrieve your thoughts. Here's a video demo.

Download the technology preview today from your phone or PC.

 

Stimulus package to expand Net's reach

How did the country that created the Internet fall to 17th place in broadband adoption?

The Telecoms haven't provided adequate service to all Americans, yet they and the powerful investors who control their mountain of debt have been spending frantically to stop the Stimulus package. The Republican members of Congress voted unanimously against the interests of the American people and with the Telecoms who are responsible for the abysmal state of our nations network.

Innovation and ideas can come from anywhere and we need to insure that every hilltop, valley and plain of our great nation is wired and ready to meet the challenges of the 21st century. 

Engineering Windows 7

The first issue to untangle is about the difference between malware making it onto a PC and being run, versus what it can do once it is running. There has been no report of a way for malware to make it onto a PC without consent. All of the feedback so far concerns the behavior of UAC once malware has found its way onto the PC and is running

The Microsoft Security Response Center monitors the ecosystem for security threats and manages the response to any threat or vulnerability related to Microsoft products.

Internet Explorer 8 has also introduced many new features to thwart malware distribution.

Much of the recent feedback has failed to take into account the ways that Windows 7 has improved the ability to stop malware before it's installed or running on your PC.

If you want to learn more about the UAC see the video of Mark Russinovich's talk on Windows Securities Boundaries

Update UAC Feedback and Follow-Up

See where your friends are with Google Latitude.

Do you find yourself sometimes wondering, where's Paul and what kind of crazy thing is he up to? Now you can find me at anytime by using Google Latitude.

Latitude is a new feature for Google Maps on a mobile device or an iGoogle gadget on your computer. Once you've opted in to Latitude, you can see the approximate location of your friends and family who have decided to share their location with you.

Yes I realize that being tracked scares some people, but you need to opt in before anyone can find you. I can also see new services coming on stream spoofing your location so you can go somewhere without someone noticing.

Dive into the new Google earth

At last we can explore our ocean with a few keystrokes and mouse clicks. For the first time many of us will discover our planet and ourselves are composed of 70% water.

I've spent most of my life living neer the ocean and I love to swin, dive and dream about where we came from.

Explore New York City with Google -- from your home, phone, and in person

My hometown New York City is  the ultimate destination for work or play and along with Google this morning they launched a new website and Information Center  at 810 Seventh Avenue to help make it easier for both visitors and New Yorkers to explore the energy, excitement and diversity of the City's five boroughs. nycgo.com is the official resource on the web for all there is to see, do in the City. This dynamic site uses Google Maps to help you plan your next New York experience and who knows I might see you there. 

Update on Windows 7 Beta Availability

 

Windows Live Messenger translation bot now available!

The Microsoft Translator team from Microsoft Research has released new translation bot into the wild for Windows Live Messenger.

This Messenger bot does translations when you add mtbot@hotmail.com to your contacts. You can do one-on-one conversations with the bot for your own translations, or you can invite a friend from a far off land to chat as the bot translates your conversation. 

As always when it comes to machine translation you’ll need some familiarly with the language you are translating to, this is where my High School French let’s me parler comme un natif.

The translator bot is localized into all of the languages supported at www.windowslivetranslator.com