I like this. No more web mail. Offline access to Hotmail messages. Yay!
We released this a couple o0f weeks ago…
With Microsoft Office Outlook Connector Beta, you can use Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 or Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 to access and manage your Microsoft Windows Live Hotmail or Microsoft Office Live Mail accounts, including e-mail messages and contacts for free!
Download it from here...
I saved this mail because it made my day. Most of the mails I answer through my blog disappear into the ether. In 99% of cases I never get to hear whether my answer was any use at all, but this mail made me smile all day.
Steve was on holiday, and his OOF message advised people to contact me for help. Lester sent me this:
Sometime in the last few days, you(i.e.microsoft) have loaded a flashing icon representing SECURITY plus I get constant pop ups warning me about Viruses and Worms etc plus downloads trying to sell me anti virus systems; anti worm systems etc, etc. If I go to Start/Control Panel/Security Centre(Related Topics) to Click = Change the way Security Centre Alerts Me – Clear Check Boxes – then Click OK, ALL THE ABOVE HAS BEEN SWITCHED OFF and I cant use it
The point is that I have (Symantec) Norton Anti everything, which has cost me a lot of money. Furthermore it automatically stops me downloading everything from Microsoft and I am very happy with Norton.
I am sure that something can be done to stop all this flashing and pop ups. What can I do? What can you do? Please, please help me as soon as you can manage it.
It was late, I was still working, so I responded…
Microsoft NEVER send anything that will install on your machine and flashes. We only send information that points you to our www.Microsoft.com site. From your description, you may have introduced a worm onto your machine. I’d recommend that you install Windows Defender which will check your system for any worm or suspicious activity occurring on your PC. Also, check that your Norton antivirus signatures are up to date and that you have continued with the paid (annual) subscription
And received this response…
Dear Eileen – You are a princess amongst women. Loud and long are the hosannas shouted in your honour for saving my sanity.
Bless you for being smart and efficient.
Sweet. And well worth me staying online a little bit later…
I’ve been intrigued by Milan (Microsoft Surface, not the place name) since it was announced last month. I remember Bill Gates doing an amazing demo at the Microsoft Global Briefing (MGB) a couple of years ago where not only had surface on the desk, but also a huge wrap around set of vertical screens with business notes on them and (I think it was presence and location indicators too). all really amazing and futuristic. And now it’s here and branded as Surface. I watched the gossip and stuff going round the blogosphere, and have giggled at the parody over on youtube
There are a few genuine demos of Surface too out there
and Arunkurup has some history of how it all started (I LOVE the prototype version!)
![[2.jpg]](https://i0.wp.com/bp0.blogger.com/_GaUx5VdBhPE/RoNKJNbjoeI/AAAAAAAAABI/uZ0CAYRY3rk/s1600/2.jpg)
Wikipedia has some amazing insights onto Surface though. Apparently when a diner sets down a wine glass, for example, the table can automatically offer additional wine choices tailored to the dinner being eaten. (Or with the sound added, could cackle scornfully at your choice of Liebfraumilch with meat). Now this has got me worried.
Both of my kittens get onto my old PC monitor as it’s warm. So what if the cat decides to jump onto the table for a sleep? Object recognition tells you that the cat is overweight, and more like a cushion than a cat, You lose all your photos as his paw has pressed something he shouldn’t and the static from the screen makes all his fur stand on end. And where’s the Ctrl Alt Delete key to lock the damn thing so the secrets in your wallet don’t come spilling out in front of your neighbours at just the wrong time? I’m thinking finances, not the secrets you may have in there.
I may just wait for version 2.0…
Well I’m an encouraging leader then according to my personal DNA map
But only a bit of an Extrovert. I’ve done similar tests to this personal DNA test a few times and it always comes back with either slight Introvert, or slight Extrovert. This surprises almost everyone who sees me on stage or in public arenas where I seem to be having a great time with loads and loads of people, but really I love being home alone in front of the TV with a glass of wine and a good book. The guy I’m closest to is a total introvert and even he was surprised at how different I am “off stage”. I was at a training event yesterday and Salma expressed surprise at my admission (she’s been on a panel with me at the Women in technology event).
So, I appear to have fooled most people then about the real me. But it’s only a bit of fun after all…
I went to lunch yesterday in a really amazing place – Lancaster house – part of St James’s palace complex (where Prince Charles lives). The lunch was held for the women’s enterprise ambassadors network sponsored by girls make your mark. I went there to talk to some of our influencers about encouraging women to be ambassadors for business and for IT. Some very interesting women were there too including Claire, who sits on the task force, did a great job explaining how we support women in business and technology, and the tools we have to support small businesses through the partner channel.
One story really struck a chord though. one of the attendees had asked her local regional development agency if she could claim expenses for her trip up to London and was refused. Totally undeterred, she approached Jaguar cars – and got a car and chauffer for the day.
Way to go girl! (and huge kudos to Jaguar for their support). We need to see more gestures like that…
So fresh from my exposure to all of those teenagers on Friday, I found out that I was also featured on woman’s hour (which is preceived as being middle England, middle aged) on Friday talking about girly geeks with Sarah. For those of you not in the UK, Radio 4 is our “serious” radio station mainly talk, political commentary plays and opinion. I chatted to Angela from the bbc a few weeks ago about how much Microsoft were doing to support social networking for women across the UK. You can listen to the article here (it’s only 9 minutes or so).
So as the strapline for the article suggests – who can name a famous female techie? Outside of Microsoft I struggled and could only come up with Carly Fiorina (ex hp). and she’s not technical. I’d love to change that so in a few years, I can quote several names – but for now, hmmm…
Phew! – I don’t think I’ve ever worked so hard in my life! I’m totally exhausted, wired, pumped and brimming over with energy after today’s Digigirlz event (press release here...). We had over 200 girls on campus for the day. Katie got everyone fired up instantly and the room was soon like a girly pop concert with whooping and hollering. We split the girls up into teams of 12 – 15 girls and their mission was to design a 2 minute video clip using Movie Maker for either the Xbox 360 or the Creative Zen V+ that would appeal to girls of their own age
We had a shoutathon to decide the winner (my poor ears!) and the winning teams went back to their schools with digital cameras or Creative Zens as their prizes.
There are far too many people to thank here who made this day possible, but lots of kudos for making this happen must go to my core team of Kelly, Claire and Amanda. Special thanks also to Marc, Lars, Jason and Steve for helping us out with demos, trips round the Technology centre, and loans of hardware, Tony, for demoing the cool mobile phones, Paul for driving his robots like an expert and Jane for all the moral support as we panicked more and more…
I’ll post some photo’s next week. now I just need to lie down in a darkened room – with no screaming (echoes of the gorls) or by me…
I’ve been running in between two places today, half my time was spent at today’s user groups day, and the other running around sorting out pink t-shirts for tomorrows Digigirlz event. I’m actually terrified about tomorrow, put me in front of an audience of 500 people talking about technology and I’m fine. But 200 teenagers – aargh!
It was great to see the level of interaction today. usually at TechNet events,. people tend to stand around on their own not talking to each other, but today, the noise was really energising. We’d provided areas for all of the user groups to congregate and it was interesting to see where the majority of the audience were focused. SharePoint. and Groove. Hmm – it’s a great job I’ve hired a great SharePoint and Groove Evangelist (more soon). I also managed to hook up with a few people I haven?t seen for a while – Susanne (who’s I’m always making and breaking coffee dates for) and Steven who I’ve cajoled into writing some articles for me. Also kudos to the following groups for pulling such a great day together :
I hope we can have a similar success tomorrow – all in pink!…
On Friday we’ve got over 200 girls attending campus for our first Digigirlz day in the UK. For the first time since I’ve delivered sessions to audiences, I’ve realised that I don’t actually know my audience at all! The planning team have spent the last 2 months pulling strands of the event together (what interests 13-15 year olds, technology wise). We’ve gone cap in hand to several departments begging for funding (as it’s not something that is actually in the budget for this financial year). We’ve talked to news, journalists, media people to come and inspire the audience and talk about it afterwards, we have a day full of demos, an opportunity to create a marketing campaign (in conjunction with Computer Clubs for Girls). Thank goodness Katie is on hand to corral everyone and keep them in check.
Well why are we doing this? I went to a school that wasn’t very progressive. I wasn’t permitted to do any of the typical male activities like Technical Drawing, Woodwork or Metalwork and was pushed towards the traditional girly subjects. And yet, because I had a supportive family who allowed me to totally believe in myself, I was encouraged to pursue my dream and went to sea. So I really believe that if girls want to get into technology, then we’re not going to discourage them.
Heck, if a 12 year old girl can motivate everyone from the United Nations at their conference (thanks again to Katie for the link) then hopefully we’ll be able to motivate and encourage a couple of technically savvy girls who are interested in what technology can do for them.
You never know – there may be the next IT tycoon in our audience – and that’s why it’s so worthwhile doing this…
Microsoft Office System Webcast: Top Tips for Word 2007 (Level 100)
Tuesday, July 17, 2007 – 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM Pacific Time
Andrew Reed, Senior Training Specialist, Microsoft Corporation
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032343875&Culture=en-US
Microsoft Office System Webcast: Top Tips for Groove 2007 (Level 100)
Tuesday, July 24, 2007 – 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM Pacific Time
Andrew Reed, Senior Training Specialist, Microsoft Corporation
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032343884&Culture=en-US
Momentum Webcast: Windows SharePoint Services 3.0, Templates and SharePoint Server Introduction (Level 100)
Monday, July 16, 2007 – 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM Pacific Time
Hila Grinberger, SharePoint Product Manager IW US BMO, Microsoft Corporation
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032343799&Culture=en-US
Eileen's Digital Technology 