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Mar

31

Windows 7 themes: Reusing “custom” sound-schemes

Category: Vista News | Leave a Comment

A Facebook reader writes: “I love the Celtic sounds!  So if I download the Ireland theme can I use the Irish sounds with any other theme I want?  I am having trouble finding the sounds on my list when I use another theme.”

Great question! Yes, you can do this, and I’ll tell you how. First, though, I’ll explain this behavior a little bit more.

By default, the Sound control panel only includes the sound-schemes that are shipped with Windows 7.

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The list of sound-schemes that come with Windows 7.

You may notice that while you are using a theme that contains a custom sound-scheme, the sound-scheme shows up in the list:

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While the Ireland theme is being used, the Celtic sound-scheme appears in the list.

…but when you switch to another theme, the custom sound-scheme no longer appears.

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When I switch to a different theme, the Celtic sound-scheme does not appear in the list anymore.

Because the sound-scheme settings and .WAV files for the Celtic sound-scheme were downloaded to your computer as part of the Ireland .themepack file, Windows “forgets” about them when you are no longer using that .themepack. This will happen with any sound-scheme that was downloaded to your computer as part of a .themepack file.

To re-use a custom sound-scheme with a different theme, follow these steps:

1. Click on the theme that contains the sound-scheme you want to re-use. This applies the theme to your desktop.

2. Click Sounds to open the Sound control panel.

3. Click the Save As button.

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4. Give the sound-scheme a name, and click OK.

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Now when you switch to a different theme, the sound-scheme you saved will appear in the list.

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Now you can use this sound-scheme with a different theme. To do so, just follow these steps:

1. Click on the theme that you want to add the sound-scheme to. This applies the theme to your desktop.

2. Click Sounds to open the Sound control panel.

3. Choose the sound-scheme you just saved, and click Apply.

4. Right-click on the Unsaved Theme icon and choose either Save theme or Save theme for sharing.

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What’s the difference between these two options? Well, if you choose Save theme, Windows will only save these new settings for your own Windows profile, on your own PC. More importantly, if you ever delete the theme that the sounds originally came with (in this case, the Ireland theme), the sounds will be deleted too. (The name you gave the sound-scheme will still appear in the list, but if you listen to the sounds, you will hear that they are now actually just the Windows default sounds.)

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If you want to share your updated theme, or ensure that the sounds will remain even if you eventually delete the theme they came with, choose Save theme for sharing. This “packages” the .WAV files into a new .themepack file, instead of just “pointing to” their location on your PC.

If you are wondering which of the themes on the gallery include custom sounds, here are the ones we’ve released so far:

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Alan Wake

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Gears of War

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Gears of War 2

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Gears of War 3

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Eerie Autumn

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Halo: Reach

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Halo: Reach – Art Inspiration

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Ireland

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Sailing

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Surfing

Of course, you can always modify a theme that contains a custom sound-scheme so that it uses a standard sound-scheme instead – or you can turn the sounds off altogether. For more information on changing your sound settings, see “Changing Windows 7 sounds.”

I hope these tips help you get more enjoyment from the custom sound-schemes we’ve included in these themes. And as always, keep checking back for new Windows 7 themes – I add more almost every week.

Mar

31

Higher Learning and Cost Savings with Windows MultiPoint Server 2011

Category: Vista News | Leave a Comment

A debate is currently underway in education. Should schools focus on cutting costs or should they invest in more technology access for the classroom and resource labs? Technology in schools helps students prepare for the 21st century workplace. For educators, technology can help them keep students engaged which catalyzes learning. Naturally, many education institutions aspire to have a PC for every student. To have technology fully integrated into the curriculum. However, making this vision a reality can be challenging. School budgets are under tremendous pressure. Teachers often don’t have the IT skills to set up computer labs and don’t have additional IT resources to help. When students do get access to computers, it may be hard for teachers to monitor their work and keep them focused on learning. Schools worldwide are looking for practical, affordable ways to attain their education goals but stay within their budget.

Windows MultiPoint Server 2011 Goes to the American Heartlands:

Located in the South Western corner of Iowa, The Tri-Center Community School serves the needs of more than 800 students from K-12. As a school administrator stated, their school is situated between corn and beans with a lot of farmland. Many of the school parents don’t know how to use computers. So, giving students that experience at school is critical for their future success. Tri-Center teachers and school leaders looked for a solution that gave them the biggest bang for their buck. Windows MultiPoint Server 2011 (WMS 2011) was the answer for them.

Affordable: By repurposing 6 year old Wyse terminals and outdated computers as network-connected thin clients, Tri- Center schools were able to make the most of their existing hardware investments saving considerable costs.

Easy to set up: With the support of a Microsoft partner, they were able to pop in the DVD, go through the basic install process, a make a few quick configuration choices and DONE. WMS 2011 fit right into their existing network, running both physically and virtually on servers they already had.

Empower teachers: From their own desk, teachers can easily monitor, interact and control student desktops keeping them on task.

A big hit with students: They love having a familiar, modern Windows experience at school, especially when it’s their own personalized Windows 7 session.

Watch the video below to hear more about Tri-Center Community School’s experience with WMS 2011:

Windows MultiPoint Server 2011 Makes a Difference in the Czech Republic

Similar to many schools worldwide, administrators and teachers from the Gymnázium SOŠ, a secondary school about 40 kilometers outside of Prague in the Czech Republic, wanted to use technology in every aspect of learning as a means to help their students to be ready to compete in the job market. They also need a way to save on power and equipment costs, so they deployed WMS 2011 in their learning labs. The result:

With their WMS 2011 deployment, the school can use the money it has saved on power, licensing and equipment to enhance students’ educational experience.

Hear more details from teachers and students below:

Research Shows that Windows MultiPoint Server 2011 Delivers Proven Savings for Schools

Forrester Research recently completed a study examining the total economic impact (TEI) and potential return on investment (ROI) for WMS 2011 in emerging markets (PDF download). The data for the study was based on in-depth interviews with five learning institutions in five emerging markets across the globe. All of the participating schools made the decision to focus on increased access to technology for more students, trading off certain rich features only available on Windows 7 PCs.

The financial analysis and results show that education institutions who did select Windows MultiPoint Server 2011 can realize a 65% reduction in the overall costs resulting from a combination of hardware savings, significant decrease of labor and maintenance expenses and considerable energy use reductions. To learn how these savings were possible, click to read the full report.

Learn More:

As educators continue to debate how to cut costs without compromising education, WMS 2011 is a practical and affordable solution to this challenge. Please visit the Windows MultiPoint Server site to read more customer stories and see how WMS 2011 can help your school.

Mar

31

Evolving Hotmail with IE9 desktop notifications

Category: Vista News | Leave a Comment

One way we are evolving Hotmail is to help you do more with your email right from the inbox. Another way is to bring the features you expect from traditional desktop mail experiences into Hotmail. With Internet Explorer 9, we can now tailor Hotmail and deliver application-like experiences on Windows 7.

Most of you know that you can now launch Hotmail just like you launch other Windows applications by pinning Hotmail to your Windows taskbar. To do this, sign in to Hotmail in IE9 and go to your Inbox. Now, drag the Hotmail tab from the address bar in IE down to the taskbar, and drop it there. Once you’ve pinned Hotmail, you can check your email just by clicking the icon – no need to open IE and navigate to a bookmark. Hotmail also uses IE 9’s new jump list feature to let you compose a new email or go straight to your Calendar or Contacts just by right-clicking on the Hotmail icon in the taskbar.

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This week, we’ve been working on taking the next step and supporting notifications. Some of you may have seen this in the past few days, and we’re finishing the release of this feature today. This means when you’re signed into Hotmail and you’ve pinned it, we’ll show you a notification of how many new messages have arrived since you last checked your inbox.

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This works like the mail tile in Windows Phone: the icon updates to show the count of messages that have been delivered since you last did something in Hotmail, and it clears when you do something in Hotmail like visit your inbox or read a message. So, now I can leave Hotmail open in the background while I do other work, and I can tell at a glance whether I have new mail.

If you’re running Windows 7 and using Hotmail, download Internet Explorer 9 today and try pinning Hotmail to your taskbar – we think you’ll like what you see.

Dick Craddock
Group Program Manager, Hotmail

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