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This Month's Newsletter
Happy New Year! We hope you had a great holiday season and you're ready to get a head start on 2006 by sharing with your user group some great ideas for streamlining, organizing, and securing the data you receive. This month's newsletter passes along information about RSS, wireless security, events, and more. Enjoy!
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What's Next in Technology? Microsoft's Vision from CES 2006
On Wednesday, January 4, 2006 Bill Gates continued a 10-year tradition by opening CES 2006 (the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, NV) with a keynote on Microsoft's vision for the future of computer technology. Each year, Gates' much-anticipated keynote includes some surprise announcement or exciting new offering-and this year was no exception. With an emphasis on the "digital lifestyle" in 2006, Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer, and others demonstrated the exciting changes technology including Microsoft's next operating system Windows Vista, a new music service from MTV called Urge, the ability for Media Center PCs to record HDTV from cable, a new online Starz movie service, and more. Click here to read the transcript of the keynote presentation and watch the webcast.
Windows Vista CTP December Update
Are you keeping your eye on Windows Vista? Microsoft released the December CTP of Windows Vista late last month. The new build showcases some of the significant security advances in Windows Vista (including Windows Defender) and gives users an early look at some of the features that will improve PC reliability and performance. Click here to find out some of the exciting benefits of Windows Vista and read about the latest build.
Mindshare Invites Members to a Supported Windows Beta!
During the keynote address at the APCUG conference during CES, Aaron Coldiron, Manager of the Mindshare Program, announced that all consumer user groups who had logged onto the Mindshare site within the past three months would be invited to a Friends & Family Windows Vista beta, including with free technical support. We are happy to announce that over 150 of our members will be receiving invitations to this beta in the coming weeks!
Please make sure you are active on the site and log in frequently because program benefits are tied to activity in the site.
Stay Organized in 2006!
This year, start the year right by making some resolutions you can actually keep. Go to Microsoft Office Online to download templates to help you get organized for tax time. You'll find templates for your personal and business taxes; advice from the Small Business Center and MSN Money; and articles on using Excel to plan payments, estimate savings, and produce financial reports that will make your accountant smile. Click here to find out more.
Secure Your Wireless Connection
What's easier than browsing the Web with a wireless connection? You open your laptop, your connection manager makes the link, and you're happily surfing the Web and sending e-mail in less than a minute. The problem is that if you haven't set up security on your systems, others in the room (or in the building, or down the block) may be doing the same thing-on your wireless connection. Click here to find out how to protect your wireless system from both unintentional and potentially malicious intrusions, by reading the article, "Security Watch: A Guide to Wireless Security," on Microsoft TechNet.
Streamline Your Subscriptions with RSS
If you're like many of us, you regularly read a number of Web sites that publish information about the topics you're most interested in following. It's great to be able to find so much info online, but getting out to all the sites-and knowing when they are updated-can be a cumbersome task. RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a technology that makes it easier for you to get the information you want from your favorite Web sites, blogs, and online publications. By signing up for RSS feeds on your favorite sites, you can have the headlines delivered directly to your mailbox so that you can click and read the ones you want. For more information on RSS and links to popular Microsoft RSS feeds, click here.
Quick Searches with MSN Messenger
If you use IM for quick communication, here's a tip you can share with your group. You can add a quick search address to your MSN Messenger contact list and get instant information from Encarta, Amazon.com, the Yellow Pages, and more. Here are the addresses:
. encarta@conversagent.com
. chat@insidemessenger.com
. yellowpagesdemo@hotmail.com
Simply add the addresses to your MSN Messenger contact list, double-click the contact name, and the BOT will respond. Type your question and click Send-and you're in!
Free Download: Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool
Don't catch a bug this winter-protect your system by downloading and installing a new free download from Microsoft that checks your computer for malicious software. Click here to download the Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool. Be sure to use this to update your user group computers and pass it along to your group members!
Critical Bug Alert for Outlook and Exchange Server Users
Last week, Microsoft issued a new security bulletin with details and update links related to a new potentially serious bug in Microsoft Outlook and Exchange Server. The TNEF (Transport Neutral Encapsulation Format) vulnerability is a flaw in the way the Outlook client and older versions of Exchange Server decode MIME attachments. According to an expert quoted in an InformationWeek article, if someone decides to exploit the vulnerability, all that's needed to take over an Exchange server is a "single, simple e-mail message." Click here to read the InformationWeek article, but most importantly, click here to read the Microsoft security bulletin and download the important update for your systems (and please pass this notice along to y
Resources for Leaders: Ready-to-Publish Newsletter Articles
Are you looking for some good project-related ideas to share with your user group members in upcoming newsletters? Here at Mindshare we have a collection of articles you can syndicate to add some extra interest in the New Year. Here's just a sampling of articles you might find helpful:
. "Answering Some Common Windows XP networking Questions," by Charlie Russell
. "Brainstorming with OneNote," by Jeff Van West
. "Burn a Movie Maker Project to DVD," by Galan Brigman
. "Control Media Playback with Voice Commands," by Joli Ballew
. "How to Keep Your Computer Safe Using Windows Firewall," by Denny Atkin
To check out the collection of articles available for your newsletter, click the Syndicate MS Content for Your Newsletter link on the Mindshare home page.
Also, don't forget to come to the Mindshare site and find out about other chats, webcasts, and resources you can use in your group!
Mindshare Matters: User Groups Making a Difference
Congratulations to The Rockport Computer Users' Group for placing first in the New classification of this year's Jerry Awards (awarded by AFCUG and sponsored in part by Mindshare). The Rockport Computer Users' Group partnered with local AARP representatives and Tax-Aide to provide income tax preparation for residents of Aransas County, Texas.
The partnership involved allowing the AARP Tax-Aide group to use the computers in the Rockport Computer Users' Group meeting room. The meeting room has five computers set up for use by the community. The computers have broadband Internet access and printers. Rockport Computer Users' Group set up three of the computers to be used for income tax preparation two days a week (Monday and Tuesday) from 9 am until 1 pm, beginning on February 1, 2005 and continuing until April 15, 2005.
The Tax-Aide preparation program allowed volunteers to input a person's tax information, calculate the taxes, print all needed forms, and file refunds electronically. The program is offered to residents as a free service. From February 1 through April 15, the Tax-Aide volunteers worked at the Rockport Computer Users' Group a total of 21 days and eight (8) counselors spent 430 hours, serving more than 435 residents of Aransas County.
Is your group doing something for others you'd like to share with the rest of the Mindshare community? If your group is involved in a social action or outreach program that assists others, we'd love to hear about it! The goal might be large or small-recycling computers and donating them to schools, training seniors on the ins and outs of the PC, or providing repaired laptops to underprivileged teens, for example. Share your ideas with us by clicking here, and help to inspire others in 2006!
Coming Next Month
Here are a few of the stories we're working to bring you next month. Be sure to write to us at mindshar@microsoft.com and let us know what topics you would like to share with your user groups!
. Get ready for tax time with Microsoft Money tips
. Tips for great PowerPoint presentations
. Blocking junk mail and phishing scams
. The latest on new technology updates
. Your stories, events, and more!
Thanks so much for being a part of the Mindshare program! See you next month,
Aaron Coldiron
Mindshare Manager, Microsoft Corporation
mindshar@microsoft.com
www.microsoft.com/mindshare
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Big Blue and Cousins: The Greater Victoria Personal Computer Users' Association—
