liberté » Microsoft

MCSA Certified

Mark Tan — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 05:55:30 +0000

Hurray! Just cleared all my 4 exams to get MCSA certified as of 11 June 2010.

For those taking, a nice and fantastic site for braindumps: examcollection.

1 Paper down, 3 more to go

Mark Tan — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 07:35:40 +0000

Just cleared my 2285B Managing Windows Server 2003 Environment, Exam 70-290 this morning at New Horizons, Prometric Testing Centre.

Luckily for me, I manage to scrap through the paper with the help from braindumps provided from examcollection. Currently, the braindumps by TestInsider is valid, out of 40 questions, 22 came out from it.

Now focusing on 3 more papers, hopefully, to clear all before my Hong Kong trip.

My First Post using Windows Live Writer

Mark Tan — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 04:32:14 +0000

I have tried a number of times to create an account in Windows Live Writer after I have installed the program. Many of the times, it simply rejected my request with errors like

The blog account could not accessed using the specified username and password.

Please ensure that these values are collect before proceeding.

I have verified that I have enabled XML-RPC in remote publishing. After googling for solution, I realised the source cause of the error; I have enabled SI-Captcha Plugin on my login form, which affects the login process as Windows Live Writer does not have a Captcha field. After disabling the option, the account creation process runs smoothly. Probably, Microsoft should provide a more informative error message.

Other than the account setup, the rest of the features are nice and sleek. Definitely nice to have for an offline blogger who has limited access to the Net.

Technorati Tags: Microsoft,Windows Live Writer,WordPress,Remote Publishing

Windows 7 Official Launched 22 Oct 09

Mark Tan — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 07:29:03 +0000

Windows 7 official launched on 22 Oct 2009 worldwide.

Key features includes 64-bit processing, Next-gen PC gaming, Content streaming and Speedy transfers.

How much does it cost?

Home Premium (S$359)
Home Premium Upgrade (S$219)
Professional (S$529)
Professional Upgrade (S$359)
Ultimate (S$549)
Ultimate Upgrade (S$379)

What are the edition difference?

Home Premium comes with improved desktop navigation, easy and fast program loading, web experience with IE8, Internet TV shows and HomeGroup for home networking.
Professional bundled with Home Premium features, with additional Window XP mode backward compatible features, Domain Join for corporate networking and System and Network Backup and Restore.
Ultimate has Professional features and BitLocker to protect data against loss or theft and support switching between 35 different languages.

Are you eligible for an upgrade from Windows Vista?

If you bought your computer between 26 Jun 2009 – 31 Jan 2010.
Upgrade only eligible for Vista Home Premium, Business and Ultimate.
Order your Windows 7 upgrade Disc.

New Microsoft Anti-virus

Mark Tan — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 09:24:30 +0000

Microsoft launched their new Anti-virus tool named Microsoft Security Essentials. The best catch is IT IS FREE!

Key features of Microsoft Security Essentials include:

Comprehensive Malware Protection
Simple, Free Download
Automatic Updates
Easy to Use – Runs quietly and efficiently in background.
Windows loads faster using MS Anti-virus than AVG.

Get it for free. Microsoft Security Essentials

Read the reviews of MS Security Essentials from

More on Microsoft Surface

Mark Tan — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 08:59:00 +0000

The current cost for Microsoft Surface unit is priced @ US$12,500.
The developer Surface unit which includes a developer unit, support and 5 site licenses to access SDK is priced @ $15,000.

An anatomy of Microsoft Coffee Table
1. Screen. It is make up of an acryclic tabletop with large touch surface. However, the multi-touch capability is generated by the cameras build below the screen.

2. Cameras. It uses 5 near-infra cameras to detect static objects and finger motions. 5 is used instead of a wide angle camera, as 5 provide better resolution and speed. In addition, the cameras can detect static object which are coded with 3/4″ square “Domino” tags.

3. CPU. Computer hardware needed is any PC with Core 2 DUO processor, 2GB RAM and 512MB graphics card. The underlying OS is Windows Vista. Currently wireless communication used is WiFi and Bluetooth technology.

4. Display. It uses Digital Light Processing (DLP) engine found in HDTV.

Surface application is developed in Windows Presentation Framework (WPF) or XNA. IDE Tools such as Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 and Microsoft Expression Blend assist developers to develop WPF windows for Surface.

Although, currently MS surface is market to corporate businesses in US region with a big price tag, i believe, in near future, it will be sitting in everyone’s home.

~Jotting down my memories, creating new life’s chapter~

Windows Mobile 6.5 Mix-up Session

Mark Tan — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 14:02:00 +0000

My boss, Jas and I attended the Windows Mobile 6.5 development session this evening in Microsoft HQ Auditorium on the 21 floor of the NTUC Centre; the office is overlooking Suntec City, the integrated resorts (IR) and marina barrage. The view is simply fantastic! How I wish I am working in this type of environment.

The session summarizes the features of Windows Mobile 6.5 and the availability of Windows Marketplace towards the end of the year.

Windows Marketplace is an equivalent to Apple concept of iTunes Appstore; it is a central depository of applications (widgets) where users can search, create and purchase. It provides a platform for mobile developers to monetize their applications in the Marketplace with fee.

Mobile 6.5 features include:

Content riched internet applications known as widget
Better user interface; provides better thumb interaction with the device such as scroll, pan, zoom, flick etc… (Single Touch Capability, Only Windows 7 provides Multi-Touch Capability)
Incorporated with Internet Explorer 8.

Most of the 6.5 features are some what similar to Android and iPhone OS applications. In addition, Microsoft has launched a beta version of Microsoft My Phone, which the equivalent of Apple’s Mobile Me.

Microsoft is intensifying the mobile market competition, which i feel that it is beneficial for us as consumers.

Sleek and neat! UI of the Future Now…

Mark Tan — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 14:58:00 +0000

Imagine the abilities to manipulate digital information not by using traditional input devices, but by hand gestures, natural motions or with any physical objects. Wowwww! Welcome Microsoft Surface (codename Milan Project). Endless possibilities.

Guess what, I may get a chance to build applications using it!

Some neat videos on Surface:

And all these made possible by Jefferson Han, the research scientist.

~Jotting down my memories, creating new life’s chapter~