How To Get A Job At Microsoft

By DustinPosted on

Microsoft is a great company based in Redmond, Washington (just up the freeway from me). There is a lot of great talent there, and they are always looking for more. But, getting into Microsoft’s ranks and becoming a ‘Softie isn’t as easy as it sounds. From their very interesting interview questions to the job requirements, it can be complicated to land your dream job at Microsoft. Mashable has a nice article on how to up your chances on landing a job at the giant software company.

Though recognizing your ideal position is easy, actually getting the job is the hard part. For those looking to start a career at tech giant Microsoft, the sheer size of the company makes the hunt seem even more overwhelming. Resumes can get lost in a sea of applications, and finding the right contact to reach out to can be like searching for a needle in a haystack.

First PC Kinect Game Announced

By DustinPosted on

Although Microsoft hasn’t officially spoken out about PC compatibility of the Kinect for developers, there is a game announced for the PC that will utilize the Kinect. The Kinect was hacked within a week after launch, and many proof of concept applications have already been developed for Linux and Windows (one using a Wii controller for extra interoperability!). I’m sure CES 2011 will bring out a lot of new announcements from several companies, Microsoft included, that use the Kinect for the PC.

GamePrix told IncGamers that its game Divine Soul will include support for Kinect for its combat mode. The company also says that “there are many [PC] game companies that are trying to apply for this system.”

Questions abound concerning the announcement, including why GamePrix is divulging Kinect support when no other PC game company has, and does this mean an announcement about official Windows support for Kinect is coming sooner than later. Or is GamePrix just building support into its game and hoping that hackers take care of the rest? Maybe next month’s CES will provide a more definitive answer.

Microsoft To Stop Selling Family Pack

By DustinPosted on

The popular Windows 7 Family Pack from Microsoft, which gets you 3 licenses of Windows 7 Home Premium for under $150, has been rumored to be discontinued as of December 31st. This information comes from the Amazon site, telling would be buyers of the bundle that the availablity would be until December 31st, 2010 or until supplies last. Microsoft came under fire last year when it took the 3 pack off the shelves without warning. Let’s hope that it doesn’t suffer the same wrath as last year. This promotion has been extremely popular with many people wanting to save some serious cash when upgrading their home PC’s to Windows 7.

The bundle is currently sitting at #8 in the top software purchases on the Amazon site, behind Microsoft Office 2010, TurboTax, PhotoShop Elements, among others. Whether or not Amazon’s crystal ball is going to be true or not and the Family Pack is going to end it’s 13 week long availability is yet to be known. But, we don’t have much time to wait to see if it is true. So, if you are sitting on the fence this Christmas season now might be the time to finally make the decision and buy it while there is still time!

Happy Christmas To All!

By DustinPosted on

For those that celebrate the birth of Christ, otherwise known as Christmas, have a great holiday! Enjoy the times with family and friends, and be safe! For those that don’t celebrate Christmas, have a great weekend!

This new year will usher in a new direction with this website, with a lot more content with reviews on hardware and software. Starting out, we are going to do a series on Home Theater PC’s (HTPC) from start to finish with hardware selection, software to make your experience better (from the Media Center software itself to plugins).

Have a very happy Christmas!

Feel Good Christmas Story From Microsoft

By DustinPosted on

The so-called “Evil Corporation” has once again done good for someone else. With a lot of people hating on Microsoft and their corporate greed, they seem to do a lot of good in the industry.

Clearly, that would mean no netbook for Christmas morning. Fortunately, they elevated my call to the supervisor, Ron, who decided to bend the rules slightly by sending me a new netbook, free of charge, with my word that I would send my defective one back simultaneously. Everything worked out perfectly and soon, my mom will be able to surf the web on her new netbook. Ron even called me after they received my defective netbook to confirm they got it and wished my family a Merry Christmas. I hope you post this story to let people that know big, faceless corporations are still run by people who care.

Office Genuine Advantage Program Shut Down

By DustinPosted on

Microsoft has quietly shut down the Office Genuine Advantage program. You can now go download templates and add-ons for Microsoft Office without having to verify that your legally purchased Microsoft Office program is in fact genuine.

The sudden abandonment of the program appears to have taken other parts of Microsoft by surprise. As of this morning, there’s no hint of the OGA shutdown at Microsoft’s official Office Genuine Advantage Validation Issues forum. And if you search Bing for validate office, you’ll turn up a lot of dead links. The first result from Bing is a page entitled “Why validate Office?” But clicking that link, http://www.microsoft.com/genuine/office/WhyValidate.aspx, leads to Microsoft’s Windows home page.

Revision3 For Windows Media Center Released

By DustinPosted on

Now you can have another way to watch Internet TV, using Revision3 along with a Windows Media Center plugin. I really like WMC, and it’s going to be in a lineup in an upcoming series about HTPC’s.

Revision3 is the leading television network for the internet generation. We create and produce all-original episodic community driven programs watched by a super-committed and passionate fan base. Our hyper-connected audience gets the vast majority of its entertainment, information and social connections through the internet.

XBox Live Arcade Sales Coming

By DustinPosted on

I’m glad I didn’t jump on a few of these XBLA games for Christmas presents! They are going on sale starting the 21st of this month. I know a couple of these that will be in the download queue! For those that can’t decide on what to get the gamer in your family, Microsoft Points work well, and they can be used on anything in the Microsoft Marketplace.

Super Meat Boy (800 MSP, normally 1,200)
Comic Jumper (800 MSP, normally 1,200)
Toy Soldiers (800 MSP, normally 1,200)
Banjo Tooie (600 MSP, normally 1,200)
Castle Crashers (600 MSP, normally 1,200)
The UnderGarden (400 MSP, normally 800)
Risk Factions (400 MSP, normally 800)
After Burner Climax (400 MSP, normally 800)
Borderlands: Claptrap’s New Robot Revolution (400 MSP, normally 800)
Carcassonne (400 MSP, normally 800

Microsoft Security Essentials 2.0 Released

By DustinPosted on

After several betas, Microsoft’s updated free antivirus suite has been released. It has several new additions, which help to increase the security of your Windows machine. Note that there are a couple caveats if using Windows XP, most notably the Network Inspection System which requires Vista or 7.

Microsoft Security Essentials provides real-time protection for your home PC that guards against viruses, spyware, and other malicious software.

Microsoft Security Essentials is a free* download from Microsoft that is simple to install, easy to use, and always kept up to date so you can be assured your PC is protected by the latest technology. It’s easy to tell if your PC is secure — when you’re green, you’re good. It’s that simple.

Microsoft Security Essentials runs quietly and efficiently in the background so that you are free to use your Windows-based PC the way you want—without interruptions or long computer wait times

Free e-book: Moving To Visual Studio 2010

By DustinPosted on

I’ve been asked several times how it was going from an older version of Visual Basic to the newest edition, which is part of Visual Studio 2010. Microsoft has released a free e-book dedicated to help you transition from Visual Studio 2003 and up to Visual Studio 2010. Grab it if you are moving up, or if you are planning on it in the near future.

Moving to Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 was written with three audiences in mind:

Part I is for developers moving from Visual Studio 2003 to Visual Studio 2010.

Part II is for developers moving from Visual Studio 2005.

And Part III is for developers moving from Visual Studio 2008.