Welcome to my blog! Here you will find all of my articles and editorials that are syndicated to various sites. If you don’t know me, I’m a PC enthusiast, Microsoft MVP, Developer, Author and run a few sites.

Flip3D was a fun and cool looking feature in Windows Vista that can be very useful for switching between windows. With the improved Windows 7 taskbar, Flip3D was replaced with improved thumbnails and Aero Peek. Those are both good alternatives but I like the speed of viewing all my open windows at once and switching with just two clicks.

This article will show you how to create a Flip3D icon on the Windows 7 taskbar:

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Every time I connect the iPhone to my PC Windows shows an AutoPlay dialog with four useless options. I want Windows to do nothing because iTunes automatically starts to charge and sync my device. Unfortunately, there is not a “do nothing” option on this screen like other AutoPlay dialogs.

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Today Microsoft launched the virtual press room for the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) at Microsoft.com/CES

Welcome to PressPass’s virtual press room for the International Consumer Electronics Show 2009. Visit here often to find the latest news about Microsoft and Microsoft-related announcements during the Consumer Electronics Show, which runs January 7-11 in Las Vegas.

Live Webcast - Steve Ballmer Keynote: 6:30 p.m. PST, Jan. 7: 100k | 300k | 750k

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Yesterday many Microsoft Zune 30 Gb versions suffered from crippling bug caused by the way the device accounts for leap years, Microsoft said.

In a statement on the Zune website posted late on Wednesday, the company blamed "a bug in the internal clock driver related to the way the device handles a leap year," adding: "The issue should be resolved over the next 24 hours as the time change moves to January 1, 2009."

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About a year about I posted a detailed article about customizing the new screensavers in Windows Vista that are also included in Windows 7. Since then a Windows developer known as Onmicoder has taken the tweaks a step further and built a GUI around the registry values. Now users that don’t want to modify the registry manually can customize screensavers with just a few clicks.

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U.S. patent application number 20080319910, published on Christmas Day, details Microsoft's vision of a situation where a "standard model" of PC is given away or heavily subsidized by someone in the supply chain. The end user then pays to use the computer, with charges based on both the length of usage time and the performance levels utilized, along with a "one-time charge."

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Reports surfacing on various Chinese and Russian forums today indicate that Windows 7 beta 1 (build 7000) has leaked. Neowin members have posted screenshots of the beta and we can confirm the 7000.0.081212-1400_client_en-us_Ultimate-GB1CULFRE_EN_DVD version is legitimate. Microsoft is expected to announce the availability of Windows 7 beta 1 at CES in January.

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Microsoft has released an updated Windows Live Essentials package that includes updates to Messenger and more. In one installation, Windows Live Essentials gives you instant messaging, e-mail, blogging, photos, and more.

Download Now

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The minimize and maximize window animations that first debuted in Windows Vista were an improvement over the effect in Windows XP. While this new effect had a high “cool factor” (especially with the slow motion key) it eventually wore off and created an unnecessary delay when switching between windows.  

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The taskbar in Windows 7 can be configured in many ways that will dramatically change the look and style. In my last article I talked about the many looks of the taskbar and now I am going to show you how to customize the looks.

By default when you install Windows 7 you will see the Taskbar with big icons and with program combining enabled as shown below.

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