Dëar ${token1},
 We have a great issue for you this month. So often the focus on the Web is on Google. This month, Microsoft is in the news with many great new products and some real innovations that are sure to make your computing life easier.
We have taken some time to review several of these new releases and wanted you to know about them in-depth. We feel that this year Microsoft is really on the move and bears close watching.
For additional cool online applications that Microsoft is working on or has recently released, check out www.Live.com. There you'll find the new MSN Messenger with VoIP calling, the new high-powered Hotmail, and several other cool applications that are in the works.
Best Regards,
Nancy McCord
Windows OneCare Live, Use It For a Trouble-Free PC
Ready for a one program PC "service station" that really works? This is it!
Windows OneCare Live is a protection, performance, and backup and restore program. This neat application features a full-fledged antivirus program, an enhanced PC tune-up utility, a file backup facilitator with automatic features, and an enhanced "intelligent" firewall, all rolled into one very nice package. Not only that, but unlike some of the other integrated products that we have tested (like Norton Internet Security), it is rock solid, easy to use, and unobtrusive.
 We feel that Windows OneCare Live's best feature is its user-friendly messaging. When an alert is shown, OneCare gives a meaningful explanation of what program is involved, what action it is blocking for you, and then asks for an approval. You don't have to be a network security analyst to understand what to do.
We have previously been Norton Antivirus users, and recently had such severe problems with system incompatibilities that we were dying to remove Norton Antivirus 2005 from our computer. In fact, the problems were so severe we were actually contemplating wiping our hard disk clean and doing a complete reinstall of our system. Instead, we decided to use Norton's "clean removal" tools and then try installing Windows OneCare Live as our antivirus protection. We like the OneCare Live product and aren't going back to Norton Antivirus. By the way, removing Norton Antivirus has solved our system problems completely.
Windows OneCare Live is a beta product and when released as a full-featured version, it will have a subscription-model, like most other antivirus programs. In the meantime however, it's free to use!
The only difficulty that we have run into so far has been minor. We have to turn off our firewall to access a client's Intranet, but even that is easy. Turning the program on and off is not difficult, as in some of the products we have tested. Best of all, are the gentle reminders that are not bordering on harassment, to turn the firewall back on. If your security is compromised, OneCare shows an icon indicating that an item needs attention. Some programs literally harass you to death to re-enable them or make turning them off or pausing their action nearly impossible. OneCare makes these actions easy.
We also like the system backup and restore utilities, which are enhanced versions of XPs existing utilities. If you have an external drive you use for backups, you will really like OneCare Live as you can schedule automatic backups on your time schedule. We like the fact that Windows OneCare Live allows us to backup our choices of files. However, OneCare does not let you select your own schedule if you are burning the information to a disk. The program's shield icon will turn yellow when it feels that you need to do a backup, based on the number of files that have been changed on your system. Our initial backup took about 2 hours and our second backup took under 30 minutes.
We also like the notices that Windows OneCare Live periodically shows. We just received one last week letting us know that it had taken special action to protect us from the MyWife virus that was in the news. Very nice! When was the last time your antivirus program gave you a personal message with a reference to something in the news?
To download the beta version you will need to give Microsoft your email address, and you must be using Windows XP. We think that you will find this product to be a safe bet for protecting your computer and compatible with all of your Windows products.
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MSN adCenter Unveiled
Pay for performance advertising has just gotten smarter with the introduction of MSN's adCenter. Microsoft's new venture into the world of online advertising is still in beta version, but due for worldwide release in June. Based on what we have seen, watch out Google and Yahoo!
We have been selected as one of 1,000 advertisers worldwide to test this new product. We like what we've seen so far and predict that Google AdWords will try to imitate many of the nicer advanced features that are being shown in MSN adCenter.
In the beta version, we have run into some bugs as expected. Some of the new features that have been rolled out in the beta will forever change the market of pay for performance advertising.
One of the first important new features of MSN adCenter is the ability to show your ads at the time of day and on the day of the week that you desire. For business to business firms, this is of real consequence. Why spend your advertising dollars on a Saturday and Sunday for casual surfers when you know that your buying Web site traffic is on Monday through Friday?
 Taking targeting one step farther, MSN adCenter allows you to pay an additional click amount to show your ads to a specific gender or to a specific age group. Talk about refining your target!
The reporting panel is robust, but buggy at this point. The flash-based graphics of the reports are a real thing of beauty. We wish that there was more instructional information on the reporting menus, but as adCenter moves out of beta, we are sure that the documentation will be enhanced.
MSN adCenter is vying for Google AdWords and Yahoo! Sponsored Search Marketing customers full-tilt. They have created an import utility to bring in competitors' ad information directly into their interface. This makes it easy to migrate to MSN adCenter.
If we had to rate MSN adCenter for ease of use, we would rate it at or above the level of complexity for Google AdWords. It has a complicated yet powerful interface, and is really focused on the needs of the professional ad manager. For do-it-yourselfers, Yahoo! Sponsored Search is still the easiest of all three programs to set up and manage.
MSN adCenter has some nice advanced features and shows some real promise for smart, cost efficient online advertising. What MSN just needs now is a strong search and content partner to bump up its reach to really be in the pay for performance competition with Google AdWords.
From our own advertising so far, we have found the quality of clicks provided by MSN adCenter to be good. We have not been inundated with bogus or questionable clicks. It appears to us, that MSN is doing all the right things so far.  We look forward to migrating more of our ad management clients into our "umbrella account" during the beta as click cost is low and Web market exposure high.
MSN adCenter is not available to the public and advertisers are set up on an invitation-only basis at this time. If you are interested in MSN adCenter please contact us.
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Keyboard Shortcut Tip Sheet
You'll love our little keyboard tip sheet. It's small enough to tuck under your keyboard for easy reference. Just download or print our PDF file, trim it along the guides, and start learning some smart new tricks for Windows and Internet Explorer. These simple tips are sure to make your computing life easier.
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Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 Beta, The Future of Browsing
Wow, we love this product! If you have XP, you'll definitely want to try it out.
With Internet Explorer 7 (IE 7), the future of browsing has finally appeared. The version we are testing is the second beta version and the first public release of IE 7. What we have seen so far, we really like.
The Internet Explorer 7 interface has changed significantly from version 6. We have had some trouble remembering that the "Home" button is now on the right, but the other buttons are not so foreign in placement or look that we find them confusing. Here are some of the best features of this great new release.
 One, the favorites center is enhanced. We just love the button to pull down the menu and float it as-needed. Best of all, is the thumbtack that allows you to "nail it" into position when you want. We have tested many browsers and the "foreign feeling" of using the favorites menu has always been a drawback for us on both Firefox and Opera. In fact, the problem of getting used to the various favorites menus is one of the big reasons we always come back to IE, even though we test all IE alternatives. IE is comfortable and familiar. IE 7 builds on this comfort factor nicely while adding new advanced features.
Two, we love the print page control. We've all run into problems printing certain pages on the Web. Now IE 7 allows you to set up the page for your preference for printing. You can scale a page to the size you want and get a readable print version of nearly any Web page. This is really a nice feature that we just discovered by accident.
Three, we love the integrated RSS feed sensor and feed reader that is built right into the favorites center. When you are browsing, just look for the orange icon located just to the right of the Home button. You will only see this orange icon on sites that have an RSS feed. You can easily subscribe to a feed and read its content right inside the favorites center.
Four, we find the Phishing Filter and improved browsing security sniffer very useful. If a site has a security certificate that does not match the Web site's domain, the address bar turns pink to warn you that there is a potential security risk. You can even report the site to Microsoft with one click. Improved security features will help you to shop on the Web with confidence and know who you are trading with.
Five, IE 7 integrates a search tool that allows you to search using any engine on the Web, mind you, the key here is easily. Microsoft appears to have finally learned how to "play nice" with the other search kids on the block. You can select your own default search engine and even search using other engines by using a drop down arrow selector. Microsoft has even provided a page that allows you to add the various engines you choose with one click.
Six, we love tabbed browsing. You can spawn a new browser screen with one click on the new tab icon. This subsequent new browser screen opens up within the same IE page interface in a new tab. The tabbed display allows you to very easily click back and forth between windows which is great for comparison shopping or saving time when browsing.
 Seven, improved security features are now included in IE 7. Click View in the menu bar and now you can see a Privacy Report that includes files and cookies that are found on that particular Web page Under Tools in the menu bar you can delete your browsing history, cookies, history, form data, and even passwords with one click. This is a great feature for shared or pubic computers. Of course IE 7 has an integrated pop-up blocker as well. We're just hoping that they will add a pop-under blocker soon!
Eight, now you can add custom plug-ins to Internet Explorer. Microsoft provides a plug-in page and allows you to customize IE 7. You may want to add parental controls, developer tools, Flash Control, or even additional search tools.
We are still discovering wonderful new features and tools with IE 7 as the public beta version was just released this past week. We consider IE 7 innovative, easy to get comfortable with right away, and the best browser for our needs.
Download the public beta version of Internet Explorer 7 for yourself.
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