Microsoft just rolled out a nifty overhaul to its Fix It program, a neat Solution Center that makes it easier to find out quickly if a known fix is available for a specific problem. The idea behind the program is to give you a big Fix It button that runs a repair script, changes some registry keys, or otherwise does the sort of tweak even experienced Windows users aren’t comfortable with doing manually.

I’ve only taken a quick look around the new Fix it Solution Center website, but so far I like what I see.

After the jump, a quick visual tour.

Continue reading “Got a Windows or Xbox or Office problem? Try the Fix It center” →

Microsoft just released a new Platform Preview build of Internet Explorer 9. (This is PP7, for those who are keeping track.) It’s available for download at the IE Test Drive site.

The Platform Previews are intended for developers to test performance and compatibility; they don’t have a user interface and aren’t suitable for day-to-day use. But the good news is you can install them alongside any other Internet Explorer version (including the IE9 beta) without conflict.  I’ll be testing PP7 today and will have more to say about it later.

If you’re interested in testing one of these builds on Windows Vista or Windows 7 (the only two supported platforms), you might need to install some updates first. You can find the full list, with instructions and download links, here:

Required Update Installation Instructions

The Platform Preview builds require updates to be installed on both Windows Vista and Windows 7 systems. These updates support Platform Preview graphics, media, and printing functionality. The Platform Preview is designed to install the prerequisites automatically. However, if the Platform Preview encounters an error while installing the prerequisites, you can install them manually using the below instructions prior to installing the Platform Preview.

I assume (but haven’t yet confirmed) that these same updates will be required for the final version of IE9 and will probably also be in Windows 7 Service Pack 1.

When I was in Redmond a couple weeks ago I had a chance to try out the new Kinect. When I got home, I decided to plunk down the $299 to replace my ancient, mothballed, haven’t-used-it-since-2006 original Xbox 360. It was so noisy that I honestly couldn’t find a place for it, even though it would have been a useful Media Center Extender device somewhere.

The package arrived last week, along with two games. Over the weekend, I set it up, taking advantage of the opportunity to do some wiring cleanup as well.

I don’t have time to do a full review, but I can do this short one: It rocks. It’s not perfect, but it is awesome and feels almost magical. The technology takes a little getting used to (and I suspect will improve with updates in the next 6 months or so), but once you adjust, it is a blast to dance, bowl, or play table tennis by just jumping around in front of the TV. It’s also giving me a chance to rediscover the other parts of the Xbox experience that have gone under my radar because I never used it.

Amusingly, the Kinect controller doesn’t just watch, it snaps pictures along the way, which you can save and share. This one, for example, shows a completely bewildered Lucy the Springer Spaniel, who cannot quite figure out why her human is holding her arm up:

Anyone else get a Kinect yet? If you’re thinking about getting one and you’ve got questions, ask away in the comments.

Several commenters here and at Amazon.com have made it very clear that they were not happy about a recent change in the format of the Inside Out books.

Over the years, every Inside Out book that has had my name on it has included a CD that contains a full copy of the book in PDF format, which you can copy, search, and read to your heart’s content.

For our new title in the series, Office 2010 Inside Out, that policy changed, and instead of a CD with a PDF file the book included a voucher good for access to the book via the Safari Online service.

Many of you made it very clear in comments and via e-mail that you didn’t like that change. We didn’t like the new arrangement either. We communicated that feedback to Microsoft Press, and they listened. This post from Microsoft Press’s Editorial Director, Kimberly Kim, was published earlier today:

Microsoft Press knows that the inclusion of a fully searchable ebook version of your Step by Step or Inside Out title is an important part of the book’s value to you. Thanks to your recent feedback through our book survey and reviews on Amazon.com, we now know that providing you unlimited online access to your ebook is simply not enough. You want to download your ebook so that you can read it even when you’re not connected to the Internet.

Today, I am pleased to inform you that Safari has enabled a download option for Step by Step and Inside Out titles, allowing you to choose the method that works best for you. The instructions for downloading your ebook are listed below.

I can’t stress enough how valuable your feedback is to us. Using the information from your survey responses, we can spot customer satisfaction trends within weeks of publication. This helps us put our time and effort into the activities that matter most to you. Please keep the feedback coming via our survey!

http://www.microsoft.com/learning/booksurvey

Having a fully searchable copy of the book in PDF format has always been one of the great strengths of this series, in my opinion. I rarely open the print edition here, preferring to be able to search the PDF edition, which is just a click or two away.

If you own Office 2010 Inside Out, you should go read the rest of Kim’s post to get the full instructions. And you should know that our next book, Windows 7 Inside Out Deluxe Edition, will include a CD with a full copy of the book and more.

I just about did a spit take when I saw this listing at the Microsoft Company Store.

Yes, that says "I’m in GodMode." And yes, it contains the GUID that unlocks a secret list of Control Panel shortcuts. [*] The description is equally priceless:

32 oz BPA free water bottle with GodMode code screenprinted on face. Hand washable. Do not place in microwave.Color:Translucent Orange

I’m thinking of getting a case of these for Christmas presents.

[*] More GodMode stuff here.

I’ve heard a lot of complaints today about Windows Live users being subjected to frequent pop-up ads taking them to the Windows Live Essentials download page. I haven’t seen it happen personally, but Microsoft has now acknowledged that the issue exists. Via a spokesperson, I’m told:

“We are aware that some Windows Live Messenger customers may be experiencing an issue where Messenger automatically launches an unneeded webpage, and we are currently investigating. We are working aggressively to address and fix the situation once we isolate the cause. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may be causing our customers.”

One temporary workaround is to place rad.msn.com in the Restricted Sites zone for Internet Explorer. You can find the instructions in this post on a Microsoft-run forum.

The phrase kill switch gets overused, but it looks like it might apply here.

I noticed several stories this week from people reporting problems with their Linksys DMA2100 Media Center Extenders. I have one of those devices hooked up to our TV in the bedroom. I’ve been traveling for the past two weeks and didn’t have time to read the details. And because we tend to watch TV in the living room (where the Media Center PC is directly connected), I haven’t had a chance to see whether I was affected until today.

This morning I read an excellent summary of the issue from Dave Zatz:

Now we’re hearing dozens of reports that those extenders mysteriously stopped working over the past few days, and indeed a thread over at The Green Button is full of hundreds rightfully disgruntled users. Thanks to a lot of investigations by members it’s been determined that the boxes are trying to dial home to an address that no longer exists. Naturally this is causing wild speculation about DRM checks and the boxes being remotely disabled, but for now there are some manual work-arounds, including configuring your router to explicitly block any traffic from the Extender or simply assign an invalid gateway. This seems to work for many, but not for all.

Here’s the Green Button forum thread, which started on November 4.

I just tried to use my Linksys extender and can confirm that it is unable to connect to the Media Center PC. It powers on, but all I get is a black screen. At some point I’ll try the suggestions in that thread, but knowing my router and its capabilities I’m not optimistic that it will work for me.

This is, of course, an abandoned product, so I don’t expect updates or improvements. But as a consumer I do have a right for that device to continue working as long as it’s not damaged. For Cisco to pull the plug, either deliberately or through incompetence, is unacceptable.

I also know from experience that trying to reach anyone at Cisco to discuss this issue will be an exercise in frustration. Nevertheless, I’ll try.

Anyone else affected by this issue?

Update: As predicted it was difficult to reach anyone at Cisco. I did, however, ultimately hear back from Cisco’s Director of Corporate Communications, who apologizes to customers and notes that the issue is now resolved. See the comments at the end of this ZDNet post.

I’ve been writing books for 17 years. In that time, I’ve watched the publishing industry change pretty drastically.

With the popularity of the Kindle and the iPad, we’ve reached an inflection point that’s pretty much equal to the change from analog music (LPs and tapes) to digital formats, first on CD and then in downloadable files.

Needless to say, I’ve been thinking a lot about the issues of analog and digital publishing lately, trying to figure out ways to make my books more digital and less analog.

To help with my thought process, I’d like your input. Are you still interested in books as an information source? If you use digital formats, which ones do you use and why? If print editions went away, would you shift to digital?

Amazon recently introduced a new initiative of shorter digital products called Kindle Singles, which it describes thusly:

Less than 10,000 words or more than 50,000: that is the choice writers have generally faced for more than a century–works either had to be short enough for a magazine article or long enough to deliver the “heft” required for book marketing and distribution. But in many cases, 10,000 to 30,000 words (roughly 30 to 90 pages) might be the perfect, natural length to lay out a single killer idea, well researched, well argued and well illustrated–whether it’s a business lesson, a political point of view, a scientific argument, or a beautifully crafted essay on a current event.

Today, Amazon is announcing that it will launch “Kindle Singles”–Kindle books that are twice the length of a New Yorker feature or as much as a few chapters of a typical book. Kindle Singles will have their own section in the Kindle Store and be priced much less than a typical book. Today’s announcement is a call to serious writers, thinkers, scientists, business leaders, historians, politicians and publishers to join Amazon in making such works available to readers around the world.

Would you be interested in shorter books (with smaller price tags), in digital formats only?

I welcome a candid discussion in the comments section here. Apologies in advance if my spam filters hold your comment for moderation. I’ll be making a special effort to release comments as soon as possible after they come in, but if you’ve never commented here those filters will probably block you.

I’m also tinkering with the site design today, so don’t be too surprised if you see pages that look a little off.

Update: A quirk in the design of this site makes it harder than it should for you to see what others have already said. To start at the beginning of the comments thread, click here. And then please add your comments!

I read two reviews of the new Windows Phone platform today, and one sentence from each one jumped out at me.

First, from John Timmer at Ars Technica, Windows Phone 7 from an iPhone user’s perspective:

The behavior of the status bar, which contains things like signal strength and battery level is completely mystifying. By default, it’s invisible; you need to tap the top of the screen to get it to appear. Once it does, by default, it vanishes again after a short period of time. This may free up a tiny bit of screen space for applications, but for someone who likes to pay attention to these things, I found the behavior infuriating. If there’s an option to tweak how this operates, I can’t seem to find it.

Infuriating? Ouch, that’s a strong word to use. Surely Microsoft will change that behavior ASAP. Right?

Oh, wait. If they do, how will Andy Ihnatko of the Chicago Sun-Times react? This is what he had to say about the exact same feature in his review, which calls Windows Phone 7 a "worthy addition to the smartphone market":

Overall, though, this interface is an exciting victory. There’s been an obvious attempt to reduce visual clutter and find clever solutions. After seeing a permanent hardware status bar on the top of every phone I’ve owned over the past decade, it’s almost upsetting to find that it’s gone from Windows Phone 7. But if you really do want to check your battery or signal level, just give the top of the screen a little swipe and the familiar bar will drop down. Nice.

Nice, he calls it. Which is more or less the opposite of infuriating.

So who are product managers supposed to listen to? It’s a problem I’ve pointed out before:

Sometimes there is no right answer. I talked with a usability professional at Microsoft recently who described an all-too-common real-world dilemma. The interface designers had to decide how the up arrow should work in a particular feature. There were only two possible choices. The trouble is, usability testing proved conclusively that 50% of the test subjects thought it should work one way, and 50% thought it should work the other way. No matter which design you choose, half of your customers will think you designed an unintuitive interface.

Sometimes, the developer just has to think hard, listen to customers, and then make a choice, knowing that some non-trivial number of people will disagree. Can’t be helped.

By the way, both of the Windows Phone reviews I cite above are thoughtful and well worth reading, especially if you’re currently an iPhone user and you want to read about the new system from the perspective of someone who knows and loves the iPhone.