Web Cosmo Forums / Search Engines / Microsoft

MSN Optimization Techniques

Manik — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 21:01:31 GMT

Many webmaster find it difficult rank better on MSN. MSN search algorithm has in many ways has similarities with Yahoo and Google’s.

Here are some techniques that should be taken into consideration while optimizing for MSN.

[b]Content[/b]
Perhaps the first and probably most important aspect of the MSN Search is the need for good keyword rich content. Relevance of theme and topic appears to be very important to MSN. There are also additional considerations for levels of on page keyword density. MSN seems to strongly dislike keyword stuffing, and will drop a site’s ranking accordingly.

[b]Links[/b]
Links are important to MSN, as they are important to Yahoo and Google. Having your important keywords on the incoming and internal on site link anchor text is important. That link text definitely requires mixing and variation to appear as natural as possible when crawled by the MSN spider.

[b]Clean Code[/b]
Clean coding is a must with MSN Search, as its spider has a strong preference for well written code. If a website code is poorly written, it appears that MSN Search downgrades the site’s search rankings heavily.

[b]Meta Tags[/b]
MSN Search seems to put some importance on meta tags. Same does Yahoo.

Apple Windows Invasion!

chris07 — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 11:45:11 GMT

News Analysis. Apple Software Update is the Mac maker's back door to the Windows desktop.

Earlier today, Apple released the Safari 3.1 Web browser for Mac OS and Windows XP/Vista. A couple hours later, Apple Software Update popped up on my daughter's Sony VAIO, offering Safari 3.1 for download. I didn't recall seeing an earlier version installed on the laptop. And I made no mistake: The Apple updater offered installation of new software, not something that had been there before. Whoa.

Apple distributes its software updater with iTunes. Adobe is among the other developers that also distribute software updaters with some products. But Apple has taken an interesting approach: using its updater as a Trojan horse for promoting software not already installed on the Windows PC.

Apple's approach is atypical. For example, I use Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox on my Vista PC. Mozilla's software updater automatically downloads Firefox updates, but it doesn't prompt me to download Thunderbird, which isn't on the laptop.

Already, Apple uses iTunes as a mechanism for distributing QuickTime. One requires the other. The updater isn't a required install with iTunes, and it can later be removed. But the strategy of using the updater to deliver other Apple software is an aggressive encroachment into the Windows desktop. It's smart business, but is it good for enterprises?

There are reasons why IT organizations use tools like WSUS (Windows Server Update Services) to control and manage software updates. But what about rogue updaters that come with products like Adobe Reader, Firefox or iTunes? Policies can be set to restrict new software installation, but not every IT organization uses them. And where should that line be drawn? It's one thing to let employees install iTunes and something else for Apple Software Update to offer another Web browser.

Enterprises should be concerned about rogue browser installations, for reasons I shouldn't have to state. Safari is fairly new to Windows and has yet to really show that it has can muster the security to withstand the associated attacks. Mac OS X is a quaint neighborhood where little Safari was safe. By comparison, Windows is a gang-ridden ghetto: life is survival, and it's tough going.

Apple has plenty of reasons for pushing out Safari to Windows users:

Google is Safari's default search provider, and Google pays. There's good money to be made in search.
Apple's iTunes software uses Safari as the browsing engine.
There are hidden PC-to-iPhone and iPod Touch synchronization benefits and obvious iPhone SDK benefits with Safari on the computer.
Additional software further propagates the Apple brand.
Apple one-ups Microsoft with a presumably more standards-compliant browser than the Internet Explorer 8 beta.

I'll selectively call out the last point. Microsoft brags about improved CSS support and limited HTML 5 support in IE 8, which won't likely be released until next year (yeah, that's the timing I got from Microsoft). Apple claims support for CSS animations, HTML 5 multimedia and Web fonts. Today. Not someday. And it's available without asking.

Microsoft talks about software plus services. Looks to me like Apple is using a service to push software deep into Microsoft-controlled territory. Enterprises should worry about other developers adopting this kind of practice. But as a competitive tactic, Apple is wisely leveraging its limited resources.

When and Where to get Vista SP1

chris07 — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 11:44:17 GMT

News Brief. I got an unsolicited Microsoft PR response to this afternoon's earlier post, "Vista SP1: It's Here, but Can You Get It?"

The responses I got from Microsoft PR are officially unattributed and were received via e-mail.

Microsoft's response to my paragraph beginning, "The Vista update is surprisingly absent through the OEM channel ...":

"Customers should expect to see Windows Vista SP1 FPP online and on store shelves as soon as retailers can make them available—in Amazon's case, starting tomorrow."

Amazon lists two separate dates on its Web site, March 18 and 19. I reported March 19 yesterday.

Microsoft's response to my paragraph beginning, "Automatic update delivery ...":

"We are targeting mid-April for automatic updates."

Right, I previously reported that date.

Microsoft's response to my paragraph beginning, "The question: Why hasn't SP1 flooded the channel ...":

"We released Windows Vista SP1 to manufacturers on February 4—since then, retailers have been working to build PCs with Windows Vista SP1 and make them available to consumers as soon as possible. Based on what we understand from our partners in retail and OEMs, April is our best estimate for availability for PCs with SP1. However, there will be certain exceptions based on individual companies' distribution models."

The response is inconsistent with February's Microsoft spokesperson comment about dealing with driver incompatibilities. David Zipkin, a Windows Client senior product manager, said Microsoft will "ensure that new PCs from PC manufacturers [will] begin shipping with SP1 preinstalled as soon as possible." In the context given, timing implied before retail box availability.

Windows XP SP2 released to manufacturing in early August 2004. The software started shipping on some new PCs in September and the majority in October. April would be at the long end of the XP SP2 comparison, but comparable enough if not for those driver incompatibility problems.

Build a Vista Green Machine~!!

chris07 — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 11:43:28 GMT

News Brief. St. Pat's Day is passed, but green computing is here to stay.

My Channel Insider colleague Frank Ohlhorst put together a slide show on how to build a Green PC. It's a handy Green Computing primer for enthusiasts or system builders.

On the last slide, Frank notes that "Vista offers several features that are aimed at reducing power usage, ranging from an advanced sleep mode to better support of chip-set technology to throttle CPUs and shut down unused devices."

I'll chime with some extra eco-friendly advice related to Vista.

Vista's power setting defaults blank the screen after 15 minutes and put the computer to sleep in about an hour.
Screen savers increase power consumption. Taken further, one could call Windows Vista Ultimate the least eco-friendly version of the operating system. DreamScene is a constantly active component taxing the graphics accelerator and microprocessor and increasing power consumption. DreamScene is an optional download, but one exclusively available to Ultimate users.
For some people, Windows Vista's heftier hardware requirements will negate some of the operating system's green features compared to Windows XP. There's no pat answer. Many newer notebooks will consume less power, even while meeting Vista's heftier hardware requirements. For example, Gateway and Sony ship notebooks with integrated and discreet graphics, for conserving power or providing better performance, depending on usage. That said, some older PCs running XP already are better optimized by the OEM.

Have you built a Green Machine? Please tell everyone about it in the comments.

Microsoft Search Retreat Continues

chris07 — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 11:22:19 GMT

Check the link for the charts

http://www.microsoft-watch.com/content/web_services_browser/microsoft_search_retreat_continues.html

Bill Gates urges more visas for tech workers

webdigo — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 00:45:31 GMT

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates on Wednesday asked Congress to make it easier for tech companies to hire foreign workers — even though some members of Congress want to make it harder.

Gates, testifying before the House Committee on Science and Technology, said that the USA faces "a critical shortfall of skilled scientists and engineers." Improvements in education would help, but more visas for skilled workers are desperately needed, he said.

He wants Congress to raise the number of the most common type of skilled worker visa, called an H-1B. So do many other big tech companies, including Google, Intel and Hewlett-Packard.

Critics such as Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., want to make H-1Bs harder to obtain. They say visa holders take American jobs and reduce wages by working for less than their U.S. counterparts.

This battle, waging for years, is at a stalemate. The number of the main type of H-1B visas has not changed since 2002. But neither side plans to back down.

IE 8 bugs

chris07 — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 12:33:44 GMT

IE8 on vista seems to have some major bugs on how it translates websites. Seems users are reporting blank boxes appearing all over various websites. Might be a java scripting issue.

Customers can sue microsoft for vista? haha good luck

chris07 — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 12:36:01 GMT

A federal judge said Friday that consumers may go ahead with a class action lawsuit against Microsoft Corp. over the way it advertised computers loaded with Windows XP as capable of running the Vista operating system.

The lawsuit said Microsoft's labeling of some PCs as "Windows Vista Capable" was misleading because many of those computers were not powerful enough to run all of Vista's features, including the much-touted "Aero" user interface.

U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman certified the class action suit but whittled down its scope to focus primarily on whether Microsoft's "Vista Capable" labels created artificial demand for computers during the 2006 holiday shopping season, and inflated prices for computers that couldn't be upgraded to the full-featured version of Vista, which was released at the end of January 2007.

Neither of the two people who filed the original lawsuit participated in a program Microsoft devised to help people who bought new computers before Vista's launch upgrade later to the new operating system, but they argued nonetheless that people who bought "Vista Capable" computers were harmed because they could only run a basic version of Vista.

The judge said if they added a named plaintiff who did take part in Microsoft's "Express Upgrade" program, they could pursue that claim as well.

Microsoft said it was reviewing the ruling.

Source: http://www.tech2.com/india/news/soft...-vista/29621/0

Microsoft Windows Vienna / Windows 7 : The New OS

chris07 — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 12:39:51 GMT

Microsoft Windows Vienna / Windows 7 : The New OS
Windows “Vienna” (formerly known as Blackcomb) is Microsoft’s codename for a future version of Microsoft Windows, originally announced in February 2000, but has since been subject to major delays and rescheduling.
The code name “Blackcomb” was originally assigned to a version of Windows that was planned to follow Windows XP (codenamed “Whistler”; both named after the Whistler-Blackcomb resort) in both client and server versions. However, in August 2001, the release of Blackcomb was pushed back several years and Vista (originally codenamed “Longhorn” after a bar in the Whistler Blackcomb Resort) was announced as a release between XP and Blackcomb.

Since then, the status of Blackcomb has undergone many alterations and PR manipulations, ranging from Blackcomb being scrapped entirely, to becoming a server-only release. As of 2006, it is still planned as both a client and server release with a current release estimate of anytime between 2009 and 2012, although no firm release date or target has yet been publicized.

Vote: Who you think will win the battle over Yahoo; Microsoft or Google

webdigo — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 16:49:41 GMT

As we know Microsoft is fighting hard to get Yahoo. Yahoo already rejected the bid. But MS still have chance to get Yahoo by changing their board. Yahoo stretched the deadline to until June (approx).

Now where does Google stand with all these? As you know Google is the most powerful internet giant. Not even Microsoft can touch them. MS tried with their AdCenter, didn't really get them any ground on that. Rumor is Google is behind the scene getting MS rejected by Yahoo.

So the battle continues. Lets hear your opinion who will win the battle.

VIDEO: Last Day of Bill Gates at Office - Retirement of Bill Gates

webdigo — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 14:17:16 GMT

This may be what happen to Bill Gates when he retire soon. Watch the video.

Microsoft cutting vista prices.

chris07 — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 12:49:29 GMT

Microsoft appears to be attempting to increase Windows Vista sales by making the operating system more affordable both in the United States and abroad.

In the US, the changes will only apply to the Premium and Ultimate upgrade versions of the software. Premium will fall from $159 to $129, while the Ultimate version will now be $219, down from $299.

Vista SP1 update damages/stops useage of third party anti virus

chris07 — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 12:07:46 GMT

Microsoft has admitted that Windows Vista service pack one (SP1) renders useless a number of well-known third party security products.

Redmond said in a knowledge base article yesterday that due to "reliability" issues with Vista SP1, it has been forced to prevent some security products from running after the service pack is installed.

So, customers who currently have versions of Jiangmin KV Antivirus or Trend Micro's Internet Security on their Vista computers will no longer be able to use the software, which are suppose to safeguard their machines against hackers and malware, after SP1 is installed.

The two other security products deemed by Microsoft to make Vista SP1 "unreliable" are versions of BitDefender AV and Zone Alarm Security Suite.

It added that it has put a block on Fujitsu's Shock Sensor utility, which protects laptop hard-drives against sudden shocks.

Microsoft also pinpointed a number of products that simply won't work after the service pack, which is expected to be available for download to everyone by the middle of next month, has been installed.

Versions of Iron Speed Designer, Xheo Licensing, and Free Allegiance software are on that particular blacklist.

Meanwhile, Novell's ZCM Agent and the New York Times reader software are among the products listed as having severely reduced functionality post Vista-SP1.

Microsoft said in the article: "A program may experience a loss of functionality after you install Windows Vista SP1. However, most programs will continue to work as expected after you install Windows Vista SP1."

This latest embarrassing cock-up comes just days after Microsoft snatched back a key pre-requisite update for Vista SP1 from its Windows Update website.

It was forced to suspend distribution of its servicing stack KB937287 update after customers complained that their PCs wouldn't boot up properly once it had been applied. ®

Do you like Vista?

webdigo — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 23:43:49 GMT

Microsoft is bringing another update of Vista this March. With old Vista there been lot of problems running third part software. Now this update will make more of third-party softwares obsolete on windows. But it supposed to make Vista more secure and fast.

What is your opinion on Windows Vista?