Windows Live Messenger

To remove advertisements from Windows Live Messenger without installing a patch or crack:

1. Run "Notepad.exe"
   Note: In Windows Vista, run "Notepad.exe" as an Administrator by right-clicking on the shortcut and selecting "Run as administrator"
   
   
2. Open the host file
   "C:\Windows\System32\drivers\Etc\host"
   
   
3. Add the following lines to the bottom of the file:
   127.0.0.1    rad.msn.com
   127.0.0.1    rad.live.com
   
   
4. Save the file and restart Windows Live Messenger
   (if it was already running)

To restore advertisements in Windows Live Messenger:

1. Run "Notepad.exe"
   Note: In Windows Vista, run "Notepad.exe" as an Administrator by right-clicking on the shortcut and selecting "Run as administrator"
   
   
2. Open the host file
   "C:\Windows\System32\drivers\Etc\host"
   
   
3. Remove the following lines from the file:
   127.0.0.1    rad.msn.com
   127.0.0.1    rad.live.com
   
   
4. Save the file and restart Windows Live Messenger
   (if it was already running)

Windows Live Alerts

Microsoft recently released a new version of Windows Live Alerts, which provides several exciting new features:

Windows Live Alerts enables customers to instantly connect to the information that they care most about via Windows Live Messenger, Mobile, and Hotmail.

When you update your blog or other RSS feed, Windows Live Alerts will automatically send a headline to all subscribed readers. The power of Windows Live Alerts is that users can choose where and when to receive alerts.

Learn about the new RSS feature of Windows Live Alerts.

Subscribe to Windows Live Alerts for this website by clicking on the following button (you can unsubscribe at any time by visiting alerts.live.com):

Fuel Tracking Websites

Recently I stumbled across several websites that let users track gas mileage and compare it with other people driving similar vehicles. The site that looks the most promising is Fuelly.

Fuelly is a site that lets you track, share, and compare your gas mileage.

Sky High Wi-Fi

According to a News.com article, "Delta Air Lines passengers will get Wi-Fi access on all domestic flights by the middle of next year, the company said Tuesday."

The optional service will cost $9.95 for flights less than three hours and $12.95 for flights over three hours, which is great for business travelers who are currently limited to working on offline documents.

According to the article, other airlines are also testing similar services.

Amazon Web Services

The new TiltedAxis website is written in ASP.NET (C#) and integrates seamlessly with Amazon Web Services.

WPF TransitionContainer Control

The following video demonstrates the Microsoft WPF TransitionContainer control, which provides animated transitions between ViewStates:

The TransitionContainer control was written by Pavan Podila.

WPF ElementFlow Control

The following videos demonstrate the Microsoft WPF ElementFlow control, which supports CoverFlow, Carousel, and many other ViewStates:

CoverFlow ViewState (with reflections)

Carousel ViewState

Other ViewStates

The ElementFlow control was written by Pavan Podila.

Self Destruct

Self Destruct is a fun and fast paced shoot'em up game programmed by Terry Cavanagh with graphics by Annabelle Kennedy:

Download Self Destruct

XNA Animation Library

XNAnimation is a skeletal animation library for XNA. The library allows developers to easily manipulate, playback, interpolate and blend animations. See the following video for a demonstration:

Yahoo! Chart API

Yahoo! has released version 2.5.2 of the Yahoo! User Interface (YUI) Chart Library. The Chart Library requires Flash Player 9.0.45 or higher. Supported chart types include:

• Horizontal & Vertical Bar Charts
• Line Charts
• Pie Charts

Google Chart API

Google has recently published the Google Chart API, which lets developers dynamically generate and embed static charts into Web pages.

Some of the supported chart types include:

• Pie Chart

• 3D Pie Chart

• Line Chart

• Bar Chart

• Stacked Bar Chart

• Venn Diagram

• Scatter Plot

• Radar Chart

• Maps

XNA Creators Club Tour

Checkout the following video for a quick introduction to Community Games Beta on Xbox Live. The video covers the following topics:

• How to join XNA Creators Club
• Creating and sharing games on Xbox Live

Dream. Build. Play. 2008

Microsoft is holding another "Dream. Build. Play." competition for aspiring game developers. The games must target the Xbox 360 platform. Prizes includes the following:

• First Prize $40,000 (USD)
• Second Prize $20,000 (USD)
• Third Prize $10,000 (USD)
• Fourth Prize $5,000 (USD)

This year all entrants will receive a free 12-month XNA Creators Club trial membership.

The entry deadline is September 23, 2008.

Multi-Touch Technology

According to a News.com article, Microsoft plans to include a multitouch interface in Windows 7. The really exciting news is the multitouch interface should work with existing touchscreen hardware as demonstrated on a Dell laptop in the following video:

Microsoft Surface Demonstration

Sheraton Hotel demonstrates Microsoft Surface: