Daniel Pankiller

"I recently had the pleasure of
visiting the Microsoft campus in Redmond, Wash. to experience Windows
Media Player 11 for Windows Vista.

While there, I got a hands-on, close-up look at the coolest new Media
Player features. I spent time exploring the streamlined interface; I
downloaded music from the upcoming MTV Networks music service URGE; and
I spent hours customizing views, album art size, and song lists. Media
Player 11 had everything I had hoped the new version would and more, as
well as just about everything I’d read from the wish lists of community
newsgroup posters in the past. It didn’t take long to figure out that
this was a total makeover of the last version.

Some of the unique features of Media Player 11 are a deeply integrated
music library for both online and offline content, a new and improved
interface, the ability to connect to additional hardware easily, and
integrated, easy-to-use tools for following the process of any task
(downloading music, burning CDs, synching music, or streaming video,
just to name a few). Media Player 11 has a new integrated feel, too—one
that makes online, network, and offline content indistinguishable.

Many of the improvements are due to the redesigned interface, which
includes simplified trees, helpful shortcuts on the menus and menu
bars, and an advanced and improved media library. There are now Back
and Forward buttons, giving Media Player a web-browser feel; a
lightning-fast WordWheel search tool for getting through the library;
and Xbox 360 support. And I’m just getting started! In this article,
I’ll introduce the features I found most exciting, and features you’re
going to love when you get your hands on Media Player 11.

Reliability, ease of use, and hardware support
Windows Media Player 11 is by far the most reliable, easy to use, and
complete music experience available. In my time with it, I found it to
be extremely dependable. It’s fast too, and it reminded me of expensive
Internet jukeboxes normally found only in nightclubs and bars. As with
those high-end players, the line between what’s actually on the jukebox
and what comes from the Internet is nearly indistinguishable. Media
Player 11, in my opinion, is the best jukebox I’ve ever experienced.

Enhanced, user-friendly interface
The Media Player 11 interface makes finding the media you want easier
than ever. The complicated (and sometimes convoluted) trees that once
appeared in the Media Player Library are gone. Now when you select a
category from the Library, the content in that category appears off to
the right instead of under the category on the left. Finally, no more
long album and artist listings that scroll into infinity!

With the trees gone, Media Player 11 is easier to navigate than any of
its predecessors. There aren’t any lines between the trees, album
information, or CD cover art, and the default album art view now shows
album art and track information in the center of the screen. All of
this makes finding the information you want a lot easier.

Along with enhanced views, the buttons at the top of the interface
contain new shortcuts. Some of my favorites include adjusting format
and bitrate on the fly for CD ripping, and switching back and forth
from audio to data settings for CD burning. With these new shortcuts,
you’ll spend more time viewing and listening to your media, and less
time managing it.

Finally, I love the new playback controls at the bottom of the screen.
They’re large and easy to use, and intuitive enough for anyone to
easily operate. No more fumbling around trying to click those small
controls from the old Media Player, and no more awkward scrambling for
the mute button when your boss enters the room"

by Daniel Painkiller
                   
                    PLEASE DO NOT COPY THIS ARTICLE

Takeaway:
Windows Defender became available to the public in October 2006 as a
download for Windows XP and 2003. Now it’s built into Windows Vista. IT
pro Deb Shinder offers this look at the Vista Defender interface, the
three types of spyware scans, configuration options, and the SpyNet
community.

Spyware is acknowledged by most IT professionals as one of
the biggest problems facing both consumer and business computer users. Spyware
is a type of malicious software that is installed usually without the knowledge
or permission of the user and then collects information from the computer that
it may send back to its maker.

Many varieties of spyware collect information such as Web sites
visited, for advertising purposes. But other types are more malevolent and
steal users’ passwords, credit card, or bank account numbers or even log
keystrokes and capture screenshots of what users do on the computer. Some
spyware programs also display unwanted advertising, and spyware is often
responsible for computer performance slowdowns.

Some jurisdictions have passed laws making certain types of
spyware illegal; however, enforcement can be difficult. To control the problem,
you need a technological solution. A number of third party anti-spyware
programs are available. Early last year, Microsoft released its free anti-spyware
program, Windows Defender, to beta testing. The product was made available to
the public in October 2006 as a download for Windows XP and 2003. Windows
Defender is built into Windows Vista, making it more convenient than ever for
users to defend against this insidious type of malware.

The SpyNet community

SpyNet is an online community in
which you can participate (but are not required to) when you use Windows
Defender. You join the SpyNet community via the
Microsoft SpyNet selection in Tools | Settings. There
are two participation options:

• 
  You can join with a basic membership, in which
  case Defender will send basic information to Microsoft about the software it
  detects and what actions you apply.
• 
  You can join with an advanced membership, in
  which case you get an alert when Defender detects any software that hasn’t been
  analyzed for risk (or changes made by such software). Defender also sends more
  information to Microsoft about detected software. This includes where the
  software was located on your hard disk, filenames, and how the software has
  affected your computer.

Summary

With Vista, you don’t have to buy third-party software to
scan for and remove spyware (although some people will want the added features
of commercial anti-spyware programs). Windows Defender, which is included with
the operating system, can be used alone or in conjunction with other
anti-spyware programs to help keep your computer safe.

       "PLEASE DO NOT COPY THIS ARTICLES…."