BumpTop is a real cool virtual 3D desktop. It aims to enrich the desktop metaphor with expressive, lightweight techniques found in the real world. check it out.

Watch the video demo


Lo-Res YouTube

I just received an invitation to try out the beta version of Windows Live Mail Desktop a email client like Microsoft Outlook Express.

What it gives you

Try WLM Desktop Beta

Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Everywhere Edition CTP is the compact database for rapidly developing applications in both native and the managed environment that extend enterprise data management capabilities to desktop applications

Download

The goal of the Microsoft Robotics Studio is to supply a software platform for the robotics community that can be used across a wide variety of hardware, applicable to a wide audience of users, and development of a wide variety of applications. As a platform, our intent is also to enable a third parties to supply support for new hardware, technologies, and tools, just as Microsoft Windows provides a platform for others to bring their products and technologies to the community of PC users. So while we may populate our platform with some of our own contributions, those should not be considered exclusive to tools or libraries provided by other parties looking to provide interesting technologies for this platform.

The Microsoft Robotics Studio delivers three areas of software:

1. A scalable, extensible runtime architecture that can span a wide variety of hardware and devices. The programming interface can be used to address robots using 8-bit or 16-bit processors as well as 32-bit systems with multi-core processors and devices from simple touch sensors to laser distance finding devices.
2. A set of useful tools that make programming and debugging robot applications scenarios easier. These include a high quality visual simulation environment that uses the Ageia Technologies™ PhysX™ engine.
3. A set of useful technology libraries services samples to help developers get started with writing robot applications.

While our development environment runs on Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 R2, it can be used to support not only robots that support Windows, but also robots that can operate as clients to a PC running Windows. We provide information that can be used by hardware or software vendors to make their products compatible with our development platform.

We are pleased to present our community technical preview (CTP). As a preview this represents an early release not yet intended for commercial use, however, it should enable you to try out and see what we are working on. Similarly, this CTP does not include all the components we hope to deliver, so there may be subsequent updates we provide. Also as a preview, some of what here may be subject to change before commercial release

See Microsoft Robotics Studio demos first hand and listen in as Channel9 interviews the Robotics team.

Download Robotics Studio June 2006 CTP

Microsoft Corp. today announced that effective July 2008 Bill Gates, chairman, will transition out of a day-to-day role in the company to spend more time on his global health and education work at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The company announced a two-year transition process to ensure that there is a smooth and orderly transfer of Gates’ daily responsibilities, and said that after July 2008 Gates would continue to serve as the company’s chairman and an advisor on key development projects.

http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2006/jun06/06-15CorpNewsPR.mspx

On 20th June two new domains will be available for users signing up for a new Windows Live ID @live.com and @windowslive.com. These new domains will be available when you sign up for a new account with Windows Live Messenger, Windows Live Family Safety Settings, and www.live.com.

Check out WLM Support Blog.

A new developer community for .NET Framework 3.0 (formerly WinFX) has been launched.

check it out: www.netfx3.com

S. Somasegar describes the decision to rename WinFX to the .NET Framework 3.0. Now the WinFX technology you know has a name that identifies it for exactly what it is—the next version of Microsoft’s developer framework.

Windows Live Developer community site is launched.

Windows Live Developer community is your one-stop shop for the Windows Live Platform, including information on getting started with Windows Live services, latest documentation and APIs, samples, access to community areas and relevant blogs, and announcements of future releases and innovations.

Yahoo! has not introduced anything new they have just customized IE 7 beta 2 to meet their needs. Yahoo! has used the beta version of the Internet Explorer Administration Kit (IEAK) to customize IE7 beta 2. It is available to all developers and partners who want to create their own customized versions of IE7, as well as IT pros who want to use it to ease enterprise deployment.

Download Yahoo! optimized IE7 beta 2

Windows Vista is now available to all developers. Download or order Windows Vista Beta 2 via the Customer Preview Program (CPP) or the Beta Experience program.

Check it out

This is a real useful site if your looking for creating buttons. It lets you create buttons online in a variety of different formats and the output quality is quite nice compared to stock buttons or plain text buttons.

Check it out

Google Spreadsheets is ready to launch according to the Wall Street Journal (subscription required), Google will release a Web-based spreadsheet application on Tuesday. It will first be available on a limited basis. Microsoft is well aware and continues to invest in its own on-line services.

Click here for Google's Sneak Peak

This website provides a good flash presentation and short videos on how customers and partners are finding Windows Vista more productive and a better platform to building innovative apps.

Check it out: www.seewindowsvista.com

Yes, this is the easiest & cheapest way to check out how your website will render in IE7 & Safari without installing any of them in your box. 

Check it out iCapture, ieCapture