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.

Create a desktop shortcut to lock your workstation

By DustinPosted on

Some may know about the Windows Key + L to lock your workstation, others may not. To keep your PC secure, it is a good idea to lock it when you are away from your desk. Many times, you just want a simple click to lock your PC. Here is how.

1. Right click the desktop and select New and Shortcut.

2. Type C:WindowsSystem32rundll32.exe user32.dll, LockWorkStation in the box.

3. You can name it anything you would like.

And that is it! You now have an icon on your desktop to lock your workstation! You can also change the icon to whatever you’d like using this knowledge base entry.

Launch multiple instances of an application

By DustinPosted on

In Windows, it is easy to run more than one instance of an application, with each running in it’s own memory space. If you wanted to run two versions of Notepad and have both open at the same time, or FileZilla in this example, this is how to do it.

1. Start the first instance of the program. It’s as simple as launching the program. You may already have it running.

2. Hold Shift and Left click the program icon in the Taskbar.

3. A new instance of the program will start, running as it’s own task and in it’s own memory space.

How To Flush DNS Cache

By DustinPosted on

There are times when you need to flush the DNS cache of Windows. This may be you changed hosts, and it takes a while for the DNS cache to query the DNS server again. Here is a quick and easy way to flush the cache.

1. Open an elevated Command Prompt by going to Start, All Programs, Accessories. Right click the Command Prompt icon and select Run As Administrator.

2. Type IPCONFIG /FLUSHDNS and press Enter. You will get the message: Successfully flushed the DNS Resolver Cache. Then, you can visit sites again, and it will re-query the DNS server for host names.

Windows 8 At CES?

By DustinPosted on

The rumor mill continues to churn, with an announcement of Windows 8 demoed on new Slate PC’s. It looks like I picked a great year to go to CES! I have plans on going this January, and having a blast! If I could see Windows 8, it will be very well worth it! I’ll definitely keep everyone updated on how this turns out.

According to the New York Times, Balmer will unveil several devices made from Dell, Samsung and several others onstage. Most interesting in the rumors is the information about a new layered interface to the Windows 7platform. The insider states, “people familiar with this device said it will run the Windows 7 operating system when in landscape mode, but will also have a layered interface that will appear when the keyboard is hidden and the device is held in a portrait mode. “

Microsoft Community Contributor Award: 2011

By DustinPosted on

I was recently awarded the Microsoft Community Contributor Award for 2011 for my contributions within the Microsoft community. Thank you very much, Microsoft! It is very appreciated! For all those that are volunteering your time and expertise in the Microsoft forums, Microsoft Answers, TechNet, etc., this is a great way to be recognized. In addition to my forum work, I also author a segment in the online magazine The Active Geek, I run this website, I help individuals with Windows products in person and on other various forums, and am a big supporter of Microsoft.

Thank you, Microsoft!

Assign Keyboard Shortcut To Any Application

By DustinPosted on

There is a way to assign a shortcut keystroke to applications. This is handy for a lot of us that were from before the mouse, and prefer the keyboard over the mouse. It seems faster.

Here is how to create a keyboard shortcut for an application.

1. Right click the program icon and click Properties.

2. Click the Shortcut tab.

3. In the middle of the box, under Shortcut Key, click the empty box.

4. Enter the keyboard shortcut that you would like to use (CTRL/ALT/SHIFT and a letter/number work great).

5. Press OK.

From then on, you can use the shortcut keyboard strokes to launch the application. For a lot of most-used apps, this can be handy.

Download Xbox Live DLC To Multiple Consoles

By DustinPosted on

There is a way to share DLC (downloadable content) to more than one XBox. It is a little known trick to get it working. Some people have multiple XBox 360’s in the home, with two XBox Live accounts. Here is how to buy DLC once, and apply it to both Xboxes.

1. First, you go to the second console (the one you don’t play all the time). Sign in using YOUR Xbox Live account (use the Recover Gamertag option). Puchase the DLC and download it to that console. Sign out of XBox Live. Everyone that logs into the console will have access to the DLC.

2. Now, go to your main console and sign into your account (you may need to use the Recover Gamertag, if needed). Download the DLC again. You will get a notice that you already puchased the content and ask if you want to download it again. Choose Yes. It will download it and you will have the DLC on both consoles. Only the XBox Live account that downloaded the content will be able to use it.