Microsoft has released a beta version of their free security software today. The limited beta is limited to 75,000 downloads. So this is very very limited on the number they are giving out. I have grabbed a copy for my netbook.

Quoting LifeHacker

Also according to ZDNet, you’ll need to be in the U.S., Israel, or Brazil to try out the beta, and like most early downloads from Microsoft, you’ll need to sign in with a Live account to get rolling (I also had to complete a Microsoft Connect registration and a survey). MSE is available for Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7 (including both 32- and 64-bit for Vista and Windows 7).

Another thing worth noting is you must have a genuin version of Windows.

Just 25 minutes from now the Public Beta of Windows 7 will be released upon the consumers. The question is will the servers hold up? I know for sure that many hundreds of thousands will be rushing to download it all at once. So will you be downloading it right away, or will you wait?

Download Windows 7 at Noon PST here

On December 20th, Pidgin launched it new version of the software to the public. While it is mostly bug fixes it seems. You should still go download it. I would recommend this software to anyone out there. Check out this blog post for info on adding Facebook Chat and Twitter to pidgin.

Today Google released It’s non beta version of Google Chrome. I just downloaded it and it is installing as I type this. New features include:

• Better stability and performance of plug-ins
• Even more speed
• Bookmark manager and privacy controls
• And other bug fixes

Download it now

If you find this tutorial helpful please post about it and link to it on your favorite forums, and comment below.

Things You Need

• A Microsoft Zune running 3.1 firmware (or newer)
  
• Zune USB Sync Cable
  
• Zune Software 3.1 (or newer)
  
• Microsoft XNA Game Studio 3.0
  
• Microsoft Visual C# 2008 Express Edition

Places To Get Games

• The Zoone
• ZuneBoards

Installing The Official Games

1. Plug your Zune device into a working USB port on your computer using your Zune Sync Cable

2. Open up the Zune Software 3.1 or newer

3. Click on Settings

4. Go to the Device section

5.  Go to the Device Update menu item and then click on the Install Games button

6. Following the on screen instructions

How to Install User Made Games

1. Download Microsoft XNA Game Studio 3.0 & Microsoft Visual C# 2008 Express Edition

2. Install Microsoft Visual C# 2008 Express Edition first

• Open vcssetup.exe
  
• Click Next
  
• Read agreement and click next after accepting agreement
  
• Uncheck Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Express Edition
  
• Click Install and wait for download and install to finish
  

  3. Install Microsoft XNA Game Studio 3.0
  

• Open XNAGS30_setup.exe
  
• Click Next
  
• Read agreement and click next after accepting agreement
  
• Select No I Do Not Want These Rule Enabled and click Next
  
• Wait for install to finish
  
• Un-check Take me to XNA Creators Club Online Website and click Finish
  

  4. Go to Start > All Programs > Microsoft XNA Game Studio 3.0 and click on XNA Game Studio Device Center
  

  5. Make sure your Zune Software is Closed
  

  6. In the XNA Game Studio Window Click on Add Device
  

  
  

  7.  Choose the Zune
  

  
  

  8. Select your Zune from the list and click Next
  

  
  

  9. Wait for it to Test the Connection
  

  10. Click Finish
  

  11. Close the XNA Game Studio Device Center Window
  

  12. Open up your Favorite Browser and download any game from one of the sites noted above.
  

  13. Download the .ccgame version if available, if not available just grab the zip source and follow one of the two tutorials below.
  

  Install The .ccgame Version Of The Games 1. Make sure the Zune Software is not open and the Zune is plugged in
  

  2. Download the game in the .ccgame format, also known as the Creators Club game package
  

  3. Double click on the Downloaded File and click on Unpack
  

  4. Play the game on your Zune by going to the games menu item on the main menu and selecting the game of choice
  

  Install The Games From Source Files (.Zip) File
  

  1. Make sure the Zune Software is not open and the Zune is plugged in
  

  2. Download the game in the .ZIP format, also known as the Source Files
  

  3. Double Click on the Downloaded File and click on Extract All Files
  

  
  

  4. Click Next
  

  5. Click Next Again
  

  6. Make sure Show Extracted Files and Click Finish
  

  7. Click on the folder if any
  

  8. Double Click on the Game File
  

  
  

  9. Find the Zune Icon over on the right side and Right Click on it and select Deploy
  

  
  

  10. Wait For Deploying to finish, and have fun playing your games.

If you find this tutorial helpful please post about it and link to it on your favorite forums, and comment below.

Tonight WordPress officially released its second release candidate of WordPress 2.7 moving it 1 step closer to releasing the final version of the software. Millions of bloggers out there are using WordPress and loving it and many can’t wait for the features to come in 2.7.  I for one will be one of the first to download the final version.

Download it from this page

I have been a huge fan of pidgin for a long time. There are still 2 services it doesn’t support natively. Those services being Facebook Chat and Twitter. These two free plug-ins will integrate Twitter and Facebook Chats into Pidgin.

Microblog-purple

The project aims is to develop a set of microblog support in LibPurple base client like Pidgin. Currently it only Supports Twitter through the conversation windows.

Pidgin-facebookchat

This is a Facebook chat plug-in for Pidgin and libpurple messengers. It connects to the new Facebook Chat IM service without the need for an API key.

Currently the Plug-in can log into the Facebook servers, grab the buddy list, send/receive messages, add/remove friends, receive notifications, search for Facebook friends and set your Facebook status.

This free game is a mix between F1 racing and Off-roading. It’s a large download but worth every byte of your bandwidth used (503MB). Imagine playing online with 20+ other people on a server to see who can get the best time on thousands of different tracks.  The picture you see here is actually what the graphics look like, not some beefed up version of what you will actually see. So Go download this awesome game, I’ll see you racing.

Download

Since 2006 I have been using and loving pidgin the free IM client. If you have never tried it, boy are missing out.  This light weight piece of software runs in the background and connects to 15 different IM interfaces. So you can keep all your contacts and information in one place and program. You can’t beat it because it doesn’t have ads like the official AIM client does. And it is also light weight, so running it in the background is almost not even noticeable.

Download Pidgin here