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<img alt="" height="1" width="1"> Windows 7: Microsoft says "No Looking Back" Datamation, CT - 16 minutes ago By Ronald Barrett If the Mojave experiment didn’t get you out there buying a new Windows Vista system, and the Seinfeld/Gates ads didn’t have you lining up ... More...

<img alt="" height="1" width="1"> Microsoft's Windows 7 blog helping shape a customer-communicated OS HEXUS, UK - 16 minutes ago ... the Engineering Windows 7 blog has already proven to be far more interesting than the somewhat mundane Windows Vista Blog. ... More...

<img alt="" height="1" width="1"> Maintenance Can Prevent Major Computer Repairs Evening Bulletin, PA - 27 minutes ago By Any Other Name: Vista's built in spyware catcher sounds good but it turns out to be Windows Defender! Microsoft has been working with this product for a ... More...

Hi, my name is Helen Drislane, I am a program manager on the IE team responsible for some of the user interface including tabs and I‘m going to discuss the new Tab Grouping feature (tab color!) with you. We had a lot of fun putting this feature together, so I am going to explain a little bit about the process involved in designing it and then describe the things you can do with it. EVOLUTION OF THE DESIGN AND ALGORITHM After shipping Internet Explorer 7, the IE team collected data from user reviews, from IE Feedback on MS Connect, and from other Microsoft product teams. We formed a list of top user requests which included the new Reopen Closed Tab feature, the new tab Crash Recovery feature, work to ensure that a bad tab would not hang the other tabs, the new Duplicate Tab feature, and many others. That list also included the following two observations: Today, a tab that is opened from another tab is always put at the end of the tab row. Since it is related to the first tab, it is odd that one has to go searching all the way at the end of the tabs to find it. When a tab is closed, the next tab given focus is always the one to the right (it has no relation to the tab just closed). Users found this to be odd. Based on this feedback, we decided to rework the tab open algorithm so a link opened in a new tab, open a new tab adjacent to the original tab and not at the end of the tab row. Here’s a picture to explain where the link on the page opens in IE7 and where it opens with IE8: http://ieblog.members.winisp.net/images/image1.png The result is the following: http://ieblog.members.winisp.net/images/image2.png Based on the above feedback, we similarly reworked the tab close algorithm so that tab selection is not always placed to the right when a tab is closed, but it is placed on a tab related to the recently closed tab, to get the following behavior: http://ieblog.members.winisp.net/images/image3.png In addition to listening to different IE Feedback channels, we worked with user researchers here at Microsoft to hold Usability Studies in which users came in, browsed the web, and explained why and how they were accomplishing their browsing tasks. During these usability studies, we found a few interesting trends: Users queue up a set of tabs. In other words, users will search for something and open up a handful of the search results to read later. This trend also happens with online news sites; users queue up a set of articles they’d like to read later. Users use one window to handle multiple tasks (i.e. I have 4 tabs open on work-related sites, 3 tabs for news articles I want to read later, and 3 tabs for restaurants I’d like to take my mother to when she visits) After switching from another application, users frequently spend a lot of time looking for a specific tab In the trends described above, the related tabs (whether they are search results or news articles opened from the same website) would ideally not only be placed adjacent to one another but would also have some visual indication of being grouped together so that different tasks could be more easily identifiable. This is when colors came in to play. The idea behind tab grouping is that tabs originating from the same source are grouped together. The image below shows MSNBC with two articles from it opened in green, and a Windows Live search on Seattle restaurants with two search results from it opened in blue: http://ieblog.members.winisp.net/images/image4.png Now with visual indicators on my tabs, I can quickly identify the groups of tabs that are related to different tasks. So if I am switching back to Internet Explorer after using another application, I will quickly identify the blue-colored tabs as information related to the hunt for a good restaurant. Another important aspect of designing this feature was deciding upon the visual indicators for groups. A common question we get is “How do color blind users use tab grouping?” We made sure to include these users in our design. The difference between the colors below is great enough that many color blind users can differentiate between the different groups: http://ieblog.members.winisp.net/images/image5.png In addition, for users who have a screen reader running, we include names of the tab groups (i.e. Tab Group 1, Tab Group 2) on each of the tabs after the title. The picture below shows the two tab groups and the tooltip on the fourth tab containing the tab group information: http://ieblog.members.winisp.net/images/screen%20reader2.png Now that you know a little bit about the design of tab groups, I will explain how tab groups are created and what you can do with them. HOW IS A TAB GROUP CREATED? If, for example, you're viewing a newspaper website, and would like to queue up some articles to read, there are a few ways in which you can open these articles (links to articles) in new tabs and keep them grouped: Right-click on a link and select the “Open in New Tab” option Ctrl-click on a link Middle-click on a link (The middle-click can be done by either by pressing the mouse scroll-wheel, or if your mouse does not have a middle button/scroll-wheel, simply right and left-click at the same time) In addition, if you right-click on a specific tab and select the “Open a New Tab” option, a new tab will open up and will be grouped with the aforementioned source tab. If you do any of the above in IE8, the original tab and all tabs opened up from it will be grouped. WHAT CAN I DO WITH TAB GROUPS? If you accidentally close a tab within a group, using the new “Reopen Closed Tab” option in the menu will not only restore that recently closed tab, but will also restore that tab into the right group. Also, when you have completed a task, tab grouping now makes it easier to close everything related to that task by allowing a one click “Close this Tab Group” option in the tab context menu. If you would rather have a tab not be associated with the other tabs in the group, you can easily “Ungroup This Tab”. All of these options are available in the context menu that appears if you right-click on a tab: http://ieblog.members.winisp.net/images/image6.png In addition to the right-click context menu options, users can drag and drop tabs. Although the main appeal of this feature is that it works seamlessly in the background (there is no work on the user’s side to get this enhanced tab functionality), there are a couple of us who like to over-organize. For the over-organizers out there, dragging tabs into an existing group will make them part of that group. In addition, you can ungroup a tab by dragging it between two un-grouped tabs. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Why does the tab stay in the group if I navigate to another page on that tab? If you are using a specific tab to navigate, the algorithm assumes that your new destination is somehow related to the group. If you don’t want the new navigation to be part of the group, you can either ungroup the tab, or open a new tab to navigate. Why does duplicating a tab not group the two identical tabs together? The new duplicate tab feature (found in the right click context menu for tabs) allows you to take the same tab down a completely different path. So although the tabs are identical, the idea is that the user wants to take them in two different directions. Why are my home pages not grouped together? Similar to the response above for duplicating a tab, the home pages usually consist of your mail client, your online newspaper, etc. They are not usually related (except that you’d like them all to open when you start the browser). How can I turn Tab Grouping off? From the “Tools” button in the Command Bar select “Internet Options”. Select the “Settings” button under Tabs. Uncheck the “Enable Tab Groups” setting. I hope the content above not only provides a bit of background into the evolution of this feature but also is informative in explaining what you can do with tab grouping. Thank you for trying out the Beta and I look forward to hearing your feedback! Helen Drislane Program Manager http://blogs.msdn.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=8969704 More...

<img src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=ApD7LXWO8DcJ&imgurl=www.siliconrepublic.com/fs/img/news/200809/378x/windows7desktop.jpg width=80 height=63 alt="" border=1> Siliconrepublic.com <img alt="" height="1" width="1"> PDC attendees will get pre-beta Windows 7 CNET News, CA - Sep 24, 2008 ... that were part of Windows Vista. Microsoft plans to make those available as downloadable Windows Live applications. The blog posting as well as several ... Windows 7 alpha to ship Oct 27; Microsoft NZer: we’ve taken punches National Business Review Developers to get Windows 7 pre beta next month Register Microsoft to Deliver 'Pre-Beta' of Windows 7 in Oct. PC Magazine Tech2 - Computerworld all 89 news articles More...

<img alt="" height="1" width="1"> The Real Deal 130: Road Test CNET News, CA - 25 minutes ago Windows Home Server - not using backup app, restoring from Vista 64- Rafe -Maxtor encrypted drive TrueCrypt ? -Rafe Please explain the 250GB restriction ... More...

In the second part of my Windows Live Wave 3 preview, I take a look at the Windows Live Wave 3 apps suite, which picks up a few new additions this year! More...

<img alt="" height="1" width="1"> Amazon plugs hole in free-movie offerings Computerworld, MA - 59 minutes ago ... offers about 40000 movies and TV shows for streaming to a Windows or Mac browser, or for downloading to a PC running Windows XP or Vista. More...

<img alt="" height="1" width="1"> Snipping Tool in Vista Mobility Site, AL - 46 minutes ago Vista includes now tools that were part of Windows Tablet PC Edition and not included in XP. One of them is the Snipping Tool, one of the most useful tools ... More...

<img src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=h7XMQBXi5fsJ&imgurl=www.e-linux.it/news_images/newsimg_6450.jpg width=66 height=80 alt="" border=1> e-linux.it <img alt="" height="1" width="1"> 100 reasons Linux beats Windows e-linux.it, Italy - 1 hour ago Here’sa nice blog entry where the number of steps required to install Windows XP, Windows Vista and Ubuntu Linux have been documented in the form of ... More...

<img alt="" height="1" width="1"> LIVE EVENT: SANS Network Security 2008 Dark Reading, NY - 12 minutes ago Mantech’s MDD, Guidance Software’s winen, and Matthieu Suiche’s win32dd are for imaging memory on running Windows systems including Windows Vista and Server ... More...

<img alt="" height="1" width="1"> Microsoft shipping Vista add-ons. Tom's Hardware Guide, CA - 16 minutes ago For the first time in five months, Microsoft has released three new add-ons for Windows Vista Ultimate edition. Free downloadable add-ons were one of the ... More...

Greetings, I’m Russ McRee of Microsoft’s Online Services Security & Compliance Incident Management team. My team serves as incident handlers for the various types of attacks our online services face. High on the list of incidents we handle are cross-site scripting attacks. There’s an unfortunate misconception surrounding cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks that result in them being perceived as less impactful than other types of attacks, and often more theoretical than practical. I believe this mindset increases inherent risk for Internet users. I wanted to share some statistics that show why I think the addition of the XSS Filter to Internet Explorer is so significant. The Web Application Security Consortium (WASC) recently released its findings from the Web Application Security Statistics Project 2007. The data in this report adds to the statistics I cited in The Anatomy of an XSS Attack, for the June 2008 ISSA Journal. Some highlights from the WASC study: Of the most prevalent vulnerabilities, including SQL injections, information leakage, predictable resource location, and cross-site scripting, XSS was the most prevalent at 41%. Of 10,297 sites analyzed for the WASC study, 28,796 XSS vulnerabilities were discovered, accounting for 31% of all sites surveyed. Additional statistics: According to the Internet Security Threat Report from Symantec, during the last six months of 2007, 11,253 site-specific, cross-site scripting vulnerabilities were documented, compared to 6,961 between February and June in the first half of the year, for a 62% increase in six months. According to a WhiteHat Security Statistics Report, 90% of all websites have at least one vulnerability, and 70% of all vulnerabilities are XSS. While statistics can always be used to prove a point, more important are the actions taken to alleviate a problem. Since XSS vulnerabilities are of epidemic proportions, the XSS Filter in IE8 (intended to protect consumers from this massive attack vector) is a great thing. David Ross, Security Software Engineer on the SWI team has driven the effort that discovers likely XSS in a cross-site request, and identifies & neuters the attack if it is replayed in the server’s response. Users are not presented with questions they are unable to answer – IE simply blocks the malicious script from executing. Simply put, IE 8’s XSS Filter seeks to provide defense in depth via automatic detection and prevention of common XSS attacks, a pervasive security threat facing Internet users, without deterring performance or compatibility. Referring back the statistics above, this translates into 70% of possible threats faced by IE 8 users deterred by the XSS Filter. I’m really excited about the work that the Internet Explorer and SWI teams have been doing here to provide new levels of protection for users. Russ McRee http://blogs.msdn.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=8969259 More...

<img alt="" height="1" width="1"> Windows 7: Seven developments you should know about NetworkWorld.com, MA - Sep 23, 2008 What is known beyond the Windows 7 code name is that Microsoft is building the operating system on the Windows Vista code base in order to avoid the sort of ... More...

<img alt="" height="1" width="1"> LXer Weekly Roundup for 28-Sept-2008 LXer (press release), TX - 4 minutes ago So I thought it would be interesting for the open source crowd to get my initial reaction to my explorations with Windows Vista. ... More...

<img alt="" height="1" width="1"> New software turns PC into TiVo TV recorder Times Record News, TX - 4 minutes ago s Windows Vista operating system include the necessary software. But it will be the first time that both the TiVo interface and functions have been ... More...

<img alt="" height="1" width="1"> Windows 7 promises fixes for Vista taskbar screw-ups Australian Personal Computer, Australia - 25 minutes ago In the latest post on the Engineering Windows 7 blog , Microsoft core user experience program manager Chaitanya Sareen effectively admits that this plan ... More...

<img alt="" height="1" width="1"> This week's letters and blog pingbacks in full guardian.co.uk, UK - 57 minutes ago Chairman Bill is using Jerry Seinfeld to try and connect with real people using Windows Vista. Sad to say, the ads aren't working for me. On a side note, ... More...

Microsoft didn't change the form factor of its Zune devices at all this year, but major improvements to the firmware makes all the difference. Find out more in Part 2 of my Zune 3 review, which focuses on changes to the devices! More...

In the latest episode of the Windows Weekly podcast, Leo and I discuss Microsoft's I'm a PC ads, the Android phone platform, Windows Live Wave 3, Zune 3, new Microsoft hardware, PDC 2008, and Windows Vista Secrets! More...

<img alt="" height="1" width="1"> Ubuntu deadlines causes dead cards. IT PRO, UK - 1 hour ago Anyone who wants to know the gory details can read about it on my personal blog. Finally, I got the hardware working, but the hard drive I pulled from my ... More...

<img src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=YkPWgr3DgE8J&imgurl=images.digitalmedianet.com/2008/Week_36/aq0jjwdn/story/digitalconceptsgroup250.jpg width=80 height=66 alt="" border=1> Digital Game Developer <img alt="" height="1" width="1"> Just announced, the THX certified.......Door! Digital Video Editing, CA - Sep 13, 2008 The XENA 2K video card is AJAs topoftheline card for Windows Vista 32bit and XP delivering uncompressed SD HD and Dual Link HD and enabling customers to ... Just announced, the THX certified.......Door! Digital Post Production all 236 news articles More...

<img alt="" height="1" width="1"> PC Serve Blog ZDNet UK, UK - Sep 20, 2008 Needed to recover from a crashed system running XP and Outlook Express onto a new PC running Windows Vista which comes with Windows Mail and I had had a ... More...

<img src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=YkPWgr3DgE8J&imgurl=images.digitalmedianet.com/2008/Week_36/aq0jjwdn/story/digitalconceptsgroup250.jpg width=80 height=66 alt="" border=1> Digital Game Developer <img alt="" height="1" width="1"> iTunes update for Windows Vista addresses BSOD IT Business Net, CA - Sep 13, 2008 Read More This article is designed to help you create a custom Blog Theme in Blogger. I like Blogger because it is free, it works with Windows Live Writer ... Just announced, the THX certified.......Door! Digital Video Editing Just announced, the THX certified.......Door! Digital Post Production all 236 news articles More...

<img alt="" height="1" width="1"> Microsoft Ships Add-ons for Vista Ultimate PC World - 15 minutes ago Microsoft last week unveiled three free downloadable add-ons for Windows Vista Ultimate, the first time in five months that the company has refreshed its ... More...