Windows tips

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The official Tumblr app just made its debut on Windows Phone 8 this morning. First impression: it’s a great looking app that takes advantage of many of Windows Phone’s unique capabilities. Download it here.

The app lets you post just about anything from just about anywhere—pictures, quotes, music, videos, chats, links, and your random musings. It has full GIF support and works with speech recognition, so you can use your voice to create new posts.  The app plugs seamlessly into the Windows Phone 8 camera via Lenses, making it easier to share snapshots on the service. It can also let you know what people you follow are posting with Live Tile and lock screen updates. Give it a try and tell me what you think.

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I recently got my hands on a Cyborg R.A.T. 9 mouse by MAD CATZ, and was curious to see what this unique pointing device would be like to use, and how it would look on my desk. When I opened the box, I literally exclaimed out loud: RAD! This is one cool looking mouse. I want you all to see it; so here are some pictures I took:

The MAD CATZ Cyborg R.A.T. 9 Gaming Mouse is a work of art - (click to enlarge)

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Today we are announcing new Artist Editions of the Wireless Mobile Mouse 3500 featuring 6 unique designs by artists Dana McClure, Deanne Cheuk, Kustaa Saksi, Matt Lyon, Joy Deangdeelert Cho and Si Scott. These new mice are a great accessory for your Windows PC or tablet and allow you to further personalize and enhance your computing experience. Click here to read more about these new mice and the artists and their artwork from the Microsoft News Center.

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Toshiba announced last Thursday that they have launched KIRA - a new premium brand for consumers. The first device that is part of the new KIRA line up is the KIRAbook, an Ultrabook featuring ultra-high resolution PixelPure display and an AZ91 pressed magnesium alloy chassis. We are excited to announce that they will also be joining us tomorrow during our Tech Tuesday Live Twitter Chat to discuss the new product, the new line and when you can get your hands on one!

Not to mention, we will be giving one lucky winner their own KIRAbook when it is available to ship from stores on May 12th. The KIRAbook has a native resolution of 2560 x 1440 which is over 221 pixels per inch of the devices 13.3” inch diagonal display. What that means is a very sharp image for those who like clear text, photos, movies, games and more.

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At Microsoft, we take our responsibilities for protecting your privacy very seriously. It’s a priority across all our businesses, and an area where we continue to work closely with othersthroughout academia, government and industry. And while we don’t pretend to have all of the answers, we do want to help raise awareness for how you can have greater choice and control as you browse the web.

To that end, today we are launching a new consumer awareness campaign focused on online privacy, with resources at www.Microsoft.com/YourPrivacy. We want to help people learn more about the tools and technologies Microsoft provides that give them have greater control over personal information as they browse the web and use their favorite Microsoft devices. As part of this, we’re also launching an advertising campaign to kick start awareness and conversation. Here’s an example of the TV spot:

You can also take a new online quiz called Your Privacy Typeto help you discover your privacy tendencies and preferences, along with tips on how to turn your newfound awareness into action.

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One of the things I love most about my job is that I get to see thousands of images submitted by artists and photographers from around the world, through the Open Call project. From sweeping landscapes and cityscapes to macro images that show the tiny details of a dried leaf or the reflections in a drop of water, it’s an armchair traveler’s dream job —although we do get so many submissions that it can be a bit overwhelming, too. From the many thousands that are submitted to us, I try to bring you the very best images in themes and as wallpapers on the Personalization Gallery.

Let me bring you along on one of my armchair tours with a set of new Open Call themes that take us from New Zealand to India, with stopovers along the way in Canada, Germany, Sardinia, Macedonia, and the UK.

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Hi, my name is Kirsten, and I’m a writer at Microsoft. My work days are filled with writing, meetings, and getting coffee in the lunch room. But after hours, I swap out my mouse and keyboard for my bass, my guitar, and my other keyboard (or sometimes my keytar). I spend pretty much all of my free time playing music, but I love listening to music too, so I was pretty excited to dive in and try out a few of the music-related apps available in the Windows Store.

Nokia Music

With over 22 million tracks and a free trial, I had to check out Nokia Music.

In Mixes, you can listen to a mix, or search for an artist you like and Nokia Music will set up a playlist for you that features that artists and related artists. I put in Prince and right away "”Little Red Corvette” started playing. Up next were Rick James, Jackson 5, and (wow!) Morris Day and the Time—they were big back in the 80s with hits like The Bird and Jungle Love. Searching for Prince also brought up suggestions for related mixes, including Slow Jamz, Old School R&B, and Best of the 80s. So many great high school memories …sigh.

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What Windows Phone code samples are available to you, and how do you get them? We publish a large number of code samples that cover a solid range of Windows Phone developer scenarios. In this video, we touch on some of the code samples we’ve created to help you design and develop great Windows Phone apps, and where to find them.

Here’s where you can find some of the Windows Phone code samples and resources we discuss in the video.

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Foodie favorite OpenTable just got a major update for Windows Phone 8, with a new look and great new ways to explore restaurants and book a table (as if making reservations with a couple of taps wasn’t fantastic enough). Get it here free.

Here’s what’s new in version 2.0:

Live Tile support

Three sizes of Live Tile show your upcoming reservations—if you don’t have any booked, you’ll see open tables for two.

Calendar integration

Save your reservations to your phone’s calendar so you can see them alongside your other appointments and get reminders.

Lock screen support

Set the app to display your upcoming reservations on your lock screen. If you don’t have any reservations, you’ll see open tables for two.

NFC sharing

Share restaurant details by tapping your phone on another NFC-enabled device.

Map improvements

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This blog post was authored by Sanjeev Dwivedi, a developer evangelist for Microsoft working with Facebook.

- Adam

Today we are pleased to share with you that Facebook has announced the Facebook SDK for .NET as part of the Facebook Technology Partners program. This is a C#/XAML–based SDK that makes integrating your Windows Phone and Windows 8 style apps with Facebook a breeze. The SDK is an open-source project owned and released by the Outercurve Foundation. The Outercurve website for the SDK is http://facebooksdk.net, which hosts tutorials for both Windows 8 and Windows Phone, and has links to the GitHub repository where the source is hosted.

You can easily integrate the SDK into your project using NuGet, which automatically downloads and installs the SDK in your project. To do this, launch the Package Manager Console from the toolbar:Tools > Library Package Manager > Package Manager Console