BarboraZychova.com Blog - English Version

LET´S PARTY IN SECOND LIFE

2008-04-17T11:30:00Z

Have you missed Prague´s Server Launch and therefore haven´t seen a short film
"Serveronauti: Cesta ke hvězdám" ("Serveronauts: A Journey towards the Stars")?
Well, now is your chance to watch it here.
If you prefer to stay at home instead of going out to events you can still enjoy the Server Launch - this time
in Second Life.
This one will take place on the Microsoft User Group Island on 26th of April from 6pm to 1am (CET).
It´s very easy to get there. Just go to: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Microsoft%20island/190/73/22.
You can also read more about it at Zain´s blog.
If you are new to Second Life just go to www.secondlife.com and register your avatar first. It´s for free.
You´ll also need to download LiveMeeting for this particular program so you don´t miss any demos that will be presented live to you.
And most importantly - don´t miss the after party. Belgian blogger Miel Van Opstal is going to be a DJ for this occasion
and believe me, if Miel is going to be in charge of that it will be definitely worth attending!

LET'S WRITE UPSIDE DOWN

2008-04-15T11:52:00Z

You can find so many interesting sites on the Internet that no one is probably going to be surprised if I say that you can use it also for writing upside down and backwards.
I have received funny email written this way from a Mexican fellow blogger Armando Halbinger Perez.
So, if you would like to write e.g. your next blog post or email this way as well just go to this website.
Put your text in the "original" window provided and you´ll see it´s "flipped" version straight away. Enjoy!
¡ʎoɾuǝ ˙ʎɐʍɐ ʇɥƃıɐɹʇs uoısɹǝʌ "pǝddılɟ" s´ʇı ǝǝs ll´noʎ puɐ pǝpıʌoɹd ʍopuıʍ "lɐuıƃıɹo" ǝɥʇ uı ʇxǝʇ ɹnoʎ ʇnd
˙ǝʇısqǝʍ sıɥʇ oʇ oƃ ʇsnɾ llǝʍ sɐ ʎɐʍ sıɥʇ lıɐɯǝ ɹo ʇsod ƃolq ʇxǝu ɹnoʎ ˙ƃ˙ǝ ǝʇıɹʍ oʇ ǝʞıl plnoʍ noʎ ɟı 'os
˙zǝɹǝd ɹǝƃuıqlɐɥ opuɐɯɹɐ ɹǝƃƃolq ʍollǝɟ uɐɔıxǝɯ ɐ ɯoɹɟ ʎɐʍ sıɥʇ uǝʇʇıɹʍ lıɐɯǝ ʎuunɟ pǝʌıǝɔǝɹ ǝʌɐɥ ı
˙spɹɐʍʞɔɐq puɐ uʍop ǝpısdn ƃuıʇıɹʍ ɹoɟ oslɐ ʇı ǝsn uɐɔ noʎ ʇɐɥʇ ʎɐs ı ɟı pǝsıɹdɹns ǝq oʇ ƃuıoƃ ʎlqɐqoɹd sı ǝuo ou ʇɐɥʇ ʇǝuɹǝʇuı ǝɥʇ uo sǝʇıs ƃuıʇsǝɹǝʇuı ʎuɐɯ os puıɟ uɐɔ noʎ

MS QUICK TIP - MOBILE

2008-03-25T13:50:00Z

Have you ever thought how great it would be if you were more skillful with you mobile?... BUT there was never enough time to actually sit down and learn some new stuff?
Well, here is your chance. Just have a look at this new video.
It's short. I promise...

Video: MS Quick Tip - Mobile 1

HAVE A GREAT EASTER!

2008-03-20T20:26:00Z

If you would like to create in Silverlight a similar Easter card, it's very easy.
All you have to do is to click this link and then just insert your photo and some text.
Have a great Easter!

MICROSOFT: VIRTUAL UNIVERSE TOURS COMING SOON

2008-03-01T08:25:00Z

Would you like to be one of those who is able to go on a tour through the universe but simply can't afford it right now?
You will be able to do so now - well, in a matter of few weeks. You will not have to even leave your home or spend any money.

This all because Microsoft has announced it's latest invention - World Wide Telescope that will enable guided explorations of the universe to everyone since it brings together imagery from the best ground and space telescopes.
Read more about it at http://wwtelescope.com and see also reactions from people who have already played with this technology.
World Wide Telescope will be available in spring.

FRAME YOUR FRIENDS!

2008-02-28T11:55:00Z

There are 17,375 applications on Facebook today, including two new ones I'm going to write about - Framed Again! Gadget and Office Poke! Gadget.
The first one allowes you to make an exchange of photos more fun. All you have to do is go
to the special Framed Again! gallery, choose a frame with head-shaped cutout you like, include your friend's photo and save it.
Frames include office-related themes such as "Employee of the Day", magazines, album covers or fantasy business cards. Users can upload their photo directly into the frames and post them
on a friend’s Facebook page. It's very easy to resize, rotate and color the photo in a way that it will fit right into the pre-made frame.
Office Poke! Gadget gives more options to all those who already like to SuperPoke! their friends. Users can engage in a common office-based behavior from having lunch with friends/co-workers to throwing
a stapler at them. You can even explain why have you decided to punish them - e.g. for having
a questionable bathroom hygiene or having a really, really bad haircut.
More Office Poke! you use, more poking powers you get. After sending just 5 of them you get promoted from an Intern to the Office Gossip Coordinator.
Over the time you'll gain the authority to fire, hire, promote or demote your employees... ehm friends.

OFFICE 2007 EVEN FOR RABBITS

2008-02-26T09:34:00Z

This is a great video that a friend of mine, Michal Svoboda, sent me a link to. I haven't seen anything that would be soooo cute for some time. It's definitely worth it to check it out.
It clearly shows that the Office 2007 is so easy to use that even rabbits can do it.

HUMOROUS SEARCH

2008-02-08T11:09:00Z

The election of the president of the Czech Republic has begun only moments ago. As the Live Search team proves with their latest project, it´s possible to have fun even during these times.
Well, at least in the US...
Once you get to the site Left vs. Right you'll see two news anchors - left-wing Patrick O´Neil and right-leaning Britt Hayes. There is a search box in between them where you can insert your desired topic and via Live Search engine find what you are looking for.
TV personalities then comment on it. If they don't have any knowledge about the topic they start various humorous discussions and sometimes even insult each other. Most of their funny commentaries are related to
the US presidential election. Just try to insert names of some of the candidates and see for yourself...
Live Search team continues its success with interactive search projects such as Tafiti and Ms Dewey.
It's definitely worth it to give it a try.

STRAWBERRIES NEED SPACEs

2008-01-23T12:09:00Z

Until recently I have known only one person who loves strawberries ("jahody" in Czech) so much that he names his stuff after them.
He even owns a Strawberry Island in online world of Second Life where you can get various T-shirts, drinks and also tattoos. With strawberries, of course...
I was offered a friendship by a young woman called Yahoodka through my Spaces few days ago.
I have never accepted any similar requests from strangers. Neither on Spaces nor on Facebook.
However, I have decided to make an exemption this time since I have realized that we both have something in common - we had both lived in Australia for few years.
Today I have decided to check out her Spaces and was fascinated by a sentence "I was not able to add any more strawberry photos since I have reached my maximum monthly allowance".
You can add up to 500 photos per month there, so I was curious to see this "strawberry usage". Well, have a look for yourself. It´s worth it and as Yahoodka promises more will come next month...
In general, Spaces are becoming more and more popular. Nowadays even TV personalities have their account there. As Filip Rozanek mentioned in the Czech magazine Reflex, for example TV news host Petr Tichy is amongs them .
If you or someone you know has Spaces worth looking at, let me know. I´ll write about them in some of my next blog posts.

THE BEST THINGS ARE FOR FREE...

2008-01-21T14:06:00Z

I have some great news for those of you who are Xbox fans - a game Undertow free of charge!
The full version of this award-winning Xbox LIVE Arcade game will be available for download from next Wednesday
2 a.m. PST till Sunday 11:59 p.m. PST.
It's free for silver and gold Xbox LIVE subscribers worldwide. More info is available in this article on Channel 8.
Just to make it clear - Channel 8 is mainly for students, Channel 9 for developers and Channel 10 for technology enthusiasts.

DON'T BE BORING!

2008-01-17T13:45:00Z

Posts that you write for your blog on Spaces don't have to look ordinary = boring. I have a tip for you.
A tip for a website where you can find various different backgrounds.
Each of your blog posts could have a different theme from now on. It will be appreciated especially by those of you who are into fantasy.
All you have to do is: click here, choose your preferred background and download and insert html into your blog.
You can find more instructions here. Don't forget to send me a link to your modified post!

ALWAYS READY TO CHAT

2008-01-09T13:26:00Z

If you've ever dreamed about how great it would be to have the possibility to chat with your friends while using a public computer e.g. in the library, Internet café or in your friend's house but you coudn't because there was no Messenger installed I have some news for you.
You can do it with new MSN Web Messenger now. It differs from the "traditional" Windows Live Messenger since it doesn't have to be installed on the computer you are going to use for your chatting.
All you need is a computer with the Internet connection and then just type http://webmessenger.msn.com in your web browser (no later versions than Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0, Netscape 7.1 or Mozilla 1.6).
If you use Explorer you can also add this site to your "favourites" straight away by clicking Ctrl+D. Happy chatting!

"HALF THE PLANET" HAS MOBILES

2007-11-30T15:56:00Z

There are so many mobile phones in use nowadays that it would be enough for half of our planet's population.
The first mobiles appered 26 years ago. According to the latest survey there are 3.3 billion phones in use worldwide today. Of course, it doesn't necessarily mean that every second person on Earth owns a mobile phone. The reason is that it is common to have two or even more devices per person in almost 60 countries while there are no phones at all in some parts of the globe.
People don't use their phones for-calls-only anymore. Also devices with Windows Mobile system are becoming increasingly popular.
When I'd visited Redmond campus (Microsoft headquaters) I was lucky enough to be introduced to the musician who composes ringtones for these mobiles. Benjamin Bethurum is one of the coolest and most energetic people I've ever met. You could've come across his music also on the Czech radio station - Radio 1 few months ago. Benjamin is going to release a new CD soon and it is going to compete also in one of the Czech hitparades.

DEVDAYS 2007

2007-11-20T13:47:00Z

I´m sitting on a train right now and heading back to Prague. I´d spent last two days in Ostrava city. I was the host and one of the speakers during the Developer Days 2007 conference. There were about 400 people attending this event.
I was staying in a nice hotel on the Stodolni street that is famous for dozens of great bars. As I´ve realized it wasn´t the best idea to try to get a good night sleep in such a location. Various drunks kept me awake until 3am. No wonder that I´d decided to reflect this in one of my demos. I was showing Windows Live Messenger and the possibility to chat with various agents/bots. When Encarta asked me "How are you?" I was honest - I admited that I´m tired. The agent recommended to me to have a rest and assured me that it will be waiting for me once I´m ready again...
Apart from Messenger I was also talking about Windows Live services. The most amazement caused demos of search engine Tafiti and 3D collection of Piazza San Marco in Venezia created in Photosynth.
I´ll share all these demos with you shortly here - but not yet since Developer Days conference continues in Prague tomorrow.

ZUNE "GALLERY"

2007-11-12T15:19:00Z

Here is a way how to be truly original. Dress up your player into some nice piece of art. Zune Originals is a new website that will be launched tomorrow where you can find 27 original art works created by 18 international artists. These are designed to be engraved onto the back of the device. Visitors of the site will be able to customize their Zune by size, color, illustration and also with up to four lines of text. This all will come free of charge. If you can´t wait till tomorrow and want to see some of these pictures today have a look here.