Edit minor flows of your photos in Photo Gallery

Windows Live Photo Gallery can be your best friend in editing some minor flaws in your photos. Retouch, Red Eye, and Noise Reduction are just few from a bunch of tools that you can use to perfect your pictures.

Retouching your photos

1. In the Photo Gallery, double click the photo you want to retouch
2. Click Retouch in the Adjustments Group

1. Drag the mouse pointer to draw a box around the imperfection that you want to retouch.
2. After finishing retouching your photo, click Close file.  Your modification will be automatically saved.  Below is a sample picture before and after using the Retouch tool.

Noise Reduction

A noisy or grainy photo can be fine tuned by using the noise reduction tool.

1. Open your grainy photo by double clicking it.
2. Click the Noise Reduction in the Adjustments group and ta da! A finer looking photo!

Red Eye

The red-eye effect in photography is the common appearance of red pupils in color photographs of eyes. It occurs when using a photographic flash very close to the camera lens (as with most compact cameras), in ambient low light (Wikipedia).

1. To remove a red-eye effect, click the Red Eye in the Adjustments
2. Drag your mouse pointer to draw a box around the eye you want to fix.

There you have it folks! With Windows Live Photo Gallery you can correct and fine tune your photos in just a few clicks! :)

Enable Facebook Chat in Windows Live messenger 2011

With the release of the new Windows Live Essentials 2011, a lot of new features has been added like the Facebook integration and the Facebook chat in Live Messenger.  Unfortunately, the Facebook Chat feature is only available to selected regions and countries, but the team promises they will work as quickly as they can to introduce Facebook chat to more regions and countries over the time.

Here in the Philippines, Facebook chat is not yet available but we can work around to enable it in your Live Messenger. There’s a trick that I have leaned in one of the forums that I visited that I’d like to share with you.  My friend and I used this trick when I was helping and teaching him to with his new Windows Live account.  I also used the same trick in Jazmine Silvestre’s (my officemate’s daughter) new Windows Live account and it also worked. I appears that after following the instructions Facebook chat became available in his Windows Live account.  Now they are both enjoying Facebook chat in their Live Messenger even though it’s not yet available here in the Philippines.  I hope this will work for you too!

Here’s how:

1. For this to work, first disconnect your Facebook integration in your Windows Live account.
2. Using your Windows Live ID go to account.live.com
3. In your account page click Change next to your name and change or modify your name, in my case I just affixed my birthday in my surname so as not to change my whole identity and click Save.

1. Next, click Change in next to the Country/region and change it to United States (since Facebook chat is available in the US) and select your State.  You may or you may not fill up the address since it’s not required so I my case I left it blank. After changing your location click Save.

1. Log out from your Windows Live Account and restart your PC.
2. After restarting login to your Windows Live Account and do the Facebook integration.  And ta da, you will notice an additional checkbox saying “Chat with my Facebook friends in Messenger.”  In your Live Messenger you can now click Facebook chat to go online and chat with your Facebook friends!

And you’re done! You can now enjoy Facebook chat in your Live Messenger without using your browser in chatting with your friends! :)

Basic theme for Increase performance!

Aero features of Windows 7 can slow down your PC  performance when you have limited GPU.  But don’t worry you can always change your theme into Windows 7 Basic or a high contrast theme to improve your PC performance.

You will no longer experience the full Aero features by changing the theme into Windows 7 Basic.  But if you’re more particular in performance and functionality  than aesthetics then the basic theme will be just fine.

Here’s how:

Right click on a blank area in your desktop, a menu will appear and click on Personalize to go to the Personalization Gallery of your Windows 7.

On the Personalization Gallery, scroll down until you see you basic high contrast themes and select the Windows 7 Basic theme.

And you’re done! enjoy increased performance by changing to basic theme!

Learn Windows 7 Deployment for free!

The Windows 7 Deployment Learning Portal is already in TechNet for quite sometime now, waiting for eager IT pros and enthusiast to register for this free training with absolutely no responsibilities! You just have to go to the site, register, select a module and take the test.  Passing rate is 80%.

Did not pass the test? Don’t worry cause it’s not the end.  The good thing about this program is that it will give you or recommend different articles related to the topic for you to read then you may take the test again with f;lying colors! :)

In a Tweet from MSSpringboard, “Peeps! If you haven't logged on to the Windows 7 Deployment Learning Portal yet, you are missing out!”  Take a look now and register!

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/ff470986.aspx?ITPID=rotator

Everything comes to an End…10 Days to Go!

This is all for the Beta testers of Microsoft Office 2010.  The Beta release of the newest productivity suite from Microsoft is about to expire and cease it’s usability.  I just received an email (probably all those beta testers who registered received it too) telling that I have ten days left before the beta software will expire. 

Everything really comes to an end.  So to all those who enjoyed the free ride of the Beta release of Office 2010, it’s time to move on.  If like me, you enjoyed the new features and capabilities of this productivity suite, it’s time for you to buy the full version of the product to continue using it.  I know the main concern of some of us here will be the price of the product, it’s a bit costly but I think considering the benefit  you’ll get when you buy the full version, the price is reasonable enough.  If you’re not yet ready to buy because of your tight budget you can always downgrade to the previous versions of Microsoft Office (2003 and 2007) and upgrade later when the time is right for you.   The choice is always yours! 

Not decided yet? Why not try the final version of Office 2010!  You may visit the page here and download a trial version of the product.  Off course the trial version won’t last but it will give you a preview of what you are missing and might convince you to upgrade.

IE 9 Beta : First Impressions

 

In March 2010 IE9 platform preview was introduced.  I was intrigued so I downloaded it and installed it to see how it goes.  The preview indeed was impressive, the browsing speed surpassed my expectations as compared with its predecessors (IE8 and IE7) and competitors.

Just recently, the Beta version of the much anticipated IE9 was released for public testing.  To admit it my first impression was “ay nakigaya na si IE.”  The beta has similarities with it’s competitors but on the brighter side they improved it and added more features, for hassle free browsing in the cloud.

New Features / Pros

OneBox.  The IE9 became minimalist, clean, and simple.  The address bar and search bar was fused together to form the OneBox and a big Back button which is the most used navigational control is located just before the OneBox.

Enhanced Tab Browsing.  In opening a new tab you will see familiar thumbnails (if you know what I mean) of your recently visited sites.  IE9 enhanced this feature by adding site indicators to identify which site is the most frequently visited.

Add-on Performance Advisor.  Identifies add-ons which maybe the cause of the browser to slow down.   With this feature a user can disable a number of add-ons (e.g. Bing Bar, Favorites bar, and Command Bar) to speed up IE9.

Notification Bar.  The new Notification Bar replaced the dialogue boxes that appears every now and then when Internet Explorer needs your attention.  These dialogue boxes can be annoying during the previous versions of IE which can disrupt browsing momentum.

Pinned Sites.  A new feature wherein you can pin your favorite site’s icon such as Facebook and Bing into your Windows 7 taskbar for easier access.  These pinned sites also comes with a Jump List for enhanced browsing experience.

Download Manager.  This is one of my favorite feature.  The new download manager allows me to pause my download and resume it anytime I want.  I tested this feature by downloading a 37MB of file from the cloud, paused it and closed IE9.  Minutes later I re-opened IE9 resume the download and it continued until its completion.

Improved SmartScreen Filter.  Security is the very edge of IE9 from its competitors.  Developers of the IE9 platform invested so much with security to deliver a safe browsing environment to end users.

Cons

I’ve been using the beta since it’s release and I still encounter several crashes and lags while running IE9 despite of some claims that it’s stable enough and seems perfect.  I also miss the old Status Bar, the one that has the green bar indicator while opening or navigating on a website.  Only a few tabs can be opened beside the OneBox and it will be too crowded when opening a handful sites.  A suggestion if I may, I would like the tabs to be on top of the OneBox for better navigation.

Verdict

Since Internet Explorer 9 is still on the Beta stage which still need improvements from user feedbacks, I will be generous with my verdict.  I will give 8.5 (10 being the highest).  I hope that every who finds a bug will submit a feedback to for the improvement of this nice and secure browser.

32-bit and 64-bit Windows: FAQs

Here are answers to some common questions about the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows.

What is the difference between 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows?

The terms 32-bit and 64-bit refer to the way a computer's processor (also called a CPU), handles information. The 64-bit version of Windows handles large amounts of random access memory (RAM) more effectively than a 32-bit system.

How can I tell if my computer is running a 32-bit or a 64-bit version of Windows?

To find out if your computer is running a 32-bit or 64-bit version of Windows in Windows 7 or Windows Vista, do the following:

1. Open System by clicking the Start button , right-clicking Computer, and then clicking Properties.

2. Under System, you can view the system type.

If your computer is running Windows XP, do the following:

1. Click Start.

2. Right-click My Computer, and then click Properties.

   • If you don't see "x64 Edition" listed, then you're running the 32-bit version of Windows XP.

   • If "x64 Edition" is listed under System, you're running the 64-bit version of Windows XP.

Which version of Windows 7 should I install: the 32-bit version or the 64-bit version?

To install a 64-bit version of Windows 7, you need a CPU that's capable of running a 64-bit version of Windows. The benefits of using a 64-bit operating system are most apparent when you have a large amount of random access memory (RAM) installed on your computer, typically 4 GB of RAM or more. In such cases, because a 64-bit operating system can handle large amounts of memory more efficiently than a 32-bit operating system, a 64-bit system can be more responsive when running several programs at the same time and switching between them frequently. For more information, see Installing and reinstalling Windows 7‍.

Read More…

Windows Live and Bing Photo Contest

Bing and Windows Live will throw a contest to celebrate the arrival of the final version of the new of the new Windows Live Essentials 2011.  This contest will highlight the Windows Live Photo Gallery.

The Photo Gallery is one great application in organizing, editing, and sharing photos with friends or even fusing / stitching photos to make a one great panoramic and amazing photos!  With this great app Windows Live is looking for some breath taking and stunning photos of clouds!  They are looking for photos of clouds that illustrate and show how Windows Live connects your PC to the cloud!  The lucky winner’s photo of clouds will be featured / displayed on Bing’s homepage for the day.  Any photo will do as long as the main theme or primary focus of the photo are clouds.   You should also consider how your photo can invite / draw people in as a starting place in exploring Bing.

The following are a the requirements for your photo submission (5 entries per person):

• No recognizable people.
• No 3rd party trademarks or logos (such as distinctive packaging or building exteriors / interiors) owned by others.
• No objectionable content, such as alcohol, smoking, guns, violence, or nudity.
• No content that is defamatory to any group or individual and/or violates any law.
• JPEG format only.
• Minimum photo dimensions 970px width by 528px height.
• We prefer to have the image submitted in its original size and aspect ratio, which will allow us the most flexibility when sizing and cropping to meet the needs of the homepage.
• Horizontal orientation.
• At least 1MB in size.
• No watermark, signature or photographer name can be included in the image file. The photographer credit for the winner will be added to the page separately.

To join the contest, send in your entries to WLcontest@hotmail.com on or before Friday October 22, 2010.  Attach in your photo (s), image title, short description of the photo(s), your first and last name, and a contact email address.

Ten (10) winners will be selected after a panel of judges will review all eligible photos.   Winner’s photos will be featured in a Windows Theme Pack in the Personalization Gallery.  The grand prize photo will be featured on the Bing homepage US-English on the 8th of November 2010.  The wining photographer will be given credit for the photo.

Before submitting your photos please READ the complete contest rules and guidelines.

Forgot your laser pointer? PowerPoint can give you one!

Microsoft PowerPoint is very useful in many ways, business presentations, reports, or just simply doing a simple good looking audio video presentation for your family and friends.  As for me I’m using Microsoft PowerPoint for my lecture presentations every time a school or organizations invites the windows7ako team (I included) to educate them about the new and emerging technologies from Microsoft and every Sunday I used PowerPoint to make a presentation of our choir anthem. 

Enough of that what I’m trying to say here is that what if you forgot your laser pointer or if you don’t have one for your presentation? I’m sure it’s a little bit embarrassing if you’re going to present using your finger to point a specific area of your presentation.  With that I want you to know that PowerPoint 2010 can help you with your small problem! A lot of features of MS PowerPoint are disregarded or taken for granted because some of us doesn’t know these features.

Now for your instant laser pointer in Microsoft PowerPoint 2010 just hit Control + Left Click on your mouse and instantly you will see a glowing red dot in your PowerPoint presentation!  Just hold on to those keys for as long as you need the pointer.

Windows Live Essentials 2011 now available!

The much awaited Windows Live Essentials 2011 has just reached RTM status and no available for download.  After a couple of months of beta testing we can now enjoy the full version of Windows Live Essentials 2011 which will be also be available in 48 languages. 

Mesh is Back

There’s not much changes from the beta to the RTM but one thing that I have notice was the return of the Live Mesh which was abandoned after the debut of the Live Essentials 2011 beta. During the reign  of the old Live Essentials the Live Mesh was a separate application which was very useful to me in synching my three PCs.  With the Introduction of the Live Essentials 2011 Beta, the Mesh was abandoned and replaced by the Live Sync which has the same features  and function.  I remember talking to Sir Jojo Ayson about the Live Sync and were disappointed since it has only 2GB of online storage capacity compared to the Mesh which has 5GB.  Now the Mesh is back again and it seems the Live Essentials team has heard our complain, the 5GB storage is back!

Changes?

If you’ll ask me, there’s not much changes except the return of the Mesh, the partnership with WordPress which can be noticeable in the Live Writer -  the default blogging solution is now WordPress and not Spaces since the Live Essentials team decided to abolish spaces and migrate to WordPress.  Some additional plugins in several Live Essential 2011 applications can also be noticed.

You may download the new Windows Live Essentials 2011 here