Playing Blu-Ray Discs And DVDs In Windows 8

Windows 8 is the latest operating system released by tech giant Microsoft. In fact, Windows 8 was released by Microsoft after incorporating many features that make it into one of the most versatile of OS that Microsoft have ever produced. After downloading Windows 8 OS, you need to install it for access to the numerous features it contains.

Some of these features are clear upgrades to those in older versions of the OS, while some of them are only side grades. The latter is the case with the DVD playback. There was an in-built DVD player in the earlier versions of Windows OS whereas in the latest OS by Microsoft i.e. in Windows 8 and Windows 8.1, do not feature this and need to choose some other techniques. Now, let’s look on the different options available to play DVDs and blu-ray discs in Windows 8.

Give it a try anyway

Before going for any steps, you first need to make sure that your system will not be able to play DVDs. The manufacturer would have preloaded with DVD playback software, when you buy a laptop or a computer loaded with Windows 8 operating system. Put the DVD in your drive and make sure that it is not working.

Download a player like VLC

If you have a PC that has been made from scratch or if you are upgrading to Windows 8 from any other OS, then it is necessary to download a player like VLC to play DVD files. VLC is a powerful media player released by VideoLAN, and is absolutely free. This is a player that is capable of playing files that the Windows media player cannot play. Moreover, there is also a codec pack available to play the Blu-ray files.

Installing the Windows Media Center Pack

The tech giant has not included the option to play DVDs entirely, and in fact, they have included it with a Windows Media Center pack, which costs around $10. Only users of Windows 8 Pro version can download this and if you have a basic version of Windows, then you will not be able to upgrade even if you pay an upgrade fee of $100. If you do not want any other Windows 8 pro features, but only just DVD playback, then it is best to choose VLC player.

The above-mentioned points will help you to play DVDs and Blu-rays discs in the new Windows 8 operating system. For more on downloading Windows 8, contact Windows 8 support number.

Outlook.Com Now Supports IMAP-Based Email Accounts

Outlook.com is a free web-based email service from Microsoft, which offers numerous simple and effective tools for email management. Users import all the data in other email accounts to Outlook.com using the inbuilt wizard offered by the email service, and manage all the emails collectively. Microsoft earlier restricted the service to only POP3 email account users, but has recently revived the policy to include IMAP email services as well.

Announcing the move in last month’s blog post, Principal Group Program Manager for Outlook.com, Mike Schackwitz said, “After receiving a great response from the customers who imported their email from Gmail to Outlook.com, we’re excited to announce that, as of today, you can use Outlook.com to import and manage your email from Yahoo Mail and many other IMAP-enabled email providers.”

This means that now, IMAP-enabled Yahoo Mail users would also be allowed to setup email in Outlook website, and import their emails and manage them with Microsoft’s email service. Following are the instructions to import the emails from Yahoo email account to Outlook.com.

Steps to follow

• Access your Outlook.com account and click on the Options button. 
• Select Import email accounts from the resulting menu, and click on the option specified for Yahoo. 
• Enter your Yahoo email address and password in the required boxes, and click on the Import button. 

When you are done with the above steps, a send from option for your Yahoo email address will be added to your Outlook.com account as well. This will allow you to send emails from your Yahoo Mail account via Outlook.com. You can also configure your Yahoo email account with Outlook.com and import the contacts to the database easily.

The above steps can be followed for importing data from other IMAP-based email services as well. However, be specific to choose the Other email provider option in the Import email accounts page to configure your email account in Outlook.com. Microsoft has not made it clear which of the IMAP-based email providers are supported by Outlook.com though, and has only said that most popular email services will be supported.

Microsoft further highlights that after you setup email in Outlook website, all the importing of data takes place in the background, and thus, you are allowed to continue using the service or even sign out during the process. An email will be sent to your inbox to notify you when the synchronizing is complete.

Outlook.com now supports two of the most widely used email services, and allows users to manage their data collectively. Nevertheless, Microsoft will have to wait and watch if this move works out for its email service and helps it to gain more users.

“Windows Azure” Now Becomes “Microsoft Azure”

Microsoft has recently announced public statements renaming its Cloud operating system “Windows Azure” to “Microsoft Azure”. The announcement was held on March 25, and the changes have been effective since April 3, 2014, which coincides with the second day of Microsoft's Build conference in San Francisco. Unnamed tipsters were the first to reveal this development, long before Microsoft officially announced the plan.

The rebranding of the cloud operating system seems like a strategy to distract customers from its rivals. The Marketing team wants to move away from the old Windows Branding and focus on making Microsoft a “Devices and Services” company. Facing stiff competition from other cloud service providers like Amazon and Google, these new strategies seem to be the need of the hour.

This rebranding makes sense because, unlike Windows products, Azure users can run on Oracle databases and middleware. Azure customers can even use non-Windows-specific development tools like Python, PHP, Oracle, Ruby and Java without any issues. Since the share of Microsoft products in the market has reduced, the company has also started to focus on running multiple-platforms.

Steve Martin, General Manager of Microsoft Azure, issued a statement on the occasion, promising its customers a platform which can support their needs, whatever they may be. The move seems appropriate since people are shifting their focus on to Cloud Services sooner than most Tech-Moguls had predicted.

The announcement of this news was followed by a huge traffic to the Microsoft Support Services team from users who wished to know if there would be any disruption of services. No changes to the services were brought about and the entire renaming process was just a marketing ploy.

In 2008, before Azure was officially released, the product was still known by the code name “Red dog”. It was even rumored to be a cloud version of Windows Server. Even though it only happened in late 2009, the merging of Server and Cloud teams worked well for providing seamless private/public/hybrid cloud messaging.

As on date, even when Windows is still crucial to Microsoft, the company continues to emphasize it is not “Windows-only”. Microsoft's Office on iPad Suite is another example of the shift in corporate positioning to fit the new image. The move is part of a broader shift under the new CEO Satya Nadella, tying other Microsoft products away from its Operating System, Microsoft Windows.

If you have any questions or queries regarding the same, feel free to contact the Microsoft Support Services team.

Fixing Outlook Issues

Although Microsoft Outlook appears to be an advanced email application for the users, sometimes it may cause issues. According to the Outlook tech support center, several users contact them complaining about the various Outlook problems they encounter while using the application. One of the most common problems cited by the users is when they are not able to access the email program.

In such cases, you can use the following instructions provided by the Outlook tech support team to troubleshoot and fix the issue.

Issues related to browser

• If such Outlook problems arise due to browser related issues, you need to first refresh the site. For this, press CTRL + F5 keys at the same time on your browser i.e. Firefox, Explorer, Chrome etc. 
• You can also try using alternative urls such as m.outook.com to open the Microsoft Outlook application. 
• You can also try deleting the temporary cache and cookies on your browser. This is advised in order to make sure that you are using the most recent version of the web page. At any point of time, you can also contact the Outlook tech support team to get more information on clearing the cache files. 

DNS problems

• DNS or a Domain Name System enables the identification of a site IP address (192.168.x.x) with words (*.com) so that it can be remembered easily by the users. The DNS services are usually provided by the Internet Service Providers.
• So, if the issue in Outlook is related to Outlook, you can first clear your local DNS cache and enable the most recent cache that your ISP has. If you are using Windows OS, you can click on Start, Command Prompt and then type "ipconfig /flushdns". Now, press Enter.
• Sometimes, you may be able to access a specific website at office or from a 3G network, but it may not work on your computer. In such cases, it is always recommended to use an alternative DNS service different from that provided by your ISPs. You can consider using OpenDNS or Google Public DNS as both these are excellent and free public DNS services.
• But before changing the DNS, make sure the Outlook issue is caused due to it.

These steps can help in troubleshooting and fixing the Outlook issues, where you cannot access the application. To get more information on the Outlook features, feel free to dial our 24/7 technical support number.

Why You Should Upgrade To Windows 7?

Since Microsoft has ended the support for Windows XP, it is better to upgrade to the more advanced versions of the OS i.e. Windows 7, 8 or 8.1. But if you find the Windows 8 and 8.1 features to be complicated, switching over to Windows 7 is the only viable option. This is because Windows 7 ranks among the simpler yet advanced versions of the OS along with Windows XP.

If you are using SolidWorks to design products, using Windows 7 can be a great option. SolidWorks is a 3D computer aided design program, which enables users to easily transform new ideas into great products. This advanced design program is compatible to run on a Microsoft Windows platform, and used by many engineers and designers around the world. Now, the latest update of the program is ready to get launched and the users who run Windows 7 in their systems will find it much easier to operate. According to Windows 7 help, it is recommended to upgrade the computer hardware to 64 bit technology and use the Windows 7 64-bit OS to enjoy a convenient computing experience. Thus, upgrading from XP and Vista to Windows 7 will definitely help the designers in their work.

As stated by the Windows 7 help, some of the benefits of using Windows 7 computers with the latest update of SolidWorks include:

• The first and foremost thing you will experience is an increase in the performance of your computer as compared to the earlier cases when Vista and XP used to run in your system.
• You will also be able to notice improved stability of your system with higher memory limits and minimal storage issues.
• The functionality of the computer would have been increased to suit the 64-bit environment.
• The best aspect is that now you will be able to customize your computer more easily. This includes arranging programs and files at a mouse click with revised task bars, jump lists, file previews, and even setting up alert notifications.
• As mentioned earlier, Microsoft Windows 7 is much simpler to use and more responsive when compared to the earlier versions such as XP and Vista.

So, instead of still relying on Vista or XP operating system in your computer, upgrade your computer to Windows 7. This way, you will be able to enjoy a more sophisticated experience with complete cyber security protection from Microsoft.

Making A Call Using Windows Live Messenger

Windows Live Messenger is an application released by Microsoft, which helps the users to be in touch with friends and relatives no matter in which part of the world they live. It is easy to make calls using this Windows Live messenger application. Well, given below are some easy instructions given by the Windows online support team to make a call using the program.

Instructions

• Start the process by opening the Windows Live Messenger application in your system by accessing the Start menu.
• Then, you need to click the button named Menu from the Windows Live Messenger window. 
• Then, click the option called Actions followed by selecting Call.
• If you need to make a call to a person who is in the contact list of your computer, then click the option called Call a Computer. Now a dialog box named Select a Contact will open in your desktop screen. Select the name of the contact that you want to call followed by clicking the button called OK. Now, you will be sending an invitation to the contact you have dialed and his computer will start ringing. This step is to call a person who is there in the contact list of your computer.
• However, if you need to call any person who is in the contact list of your phone, you need to click the option named Call a Contact’s Phone. Next step is choosing the contact that you need to make a call. This is done by selecting the name of the contact that you want to call from the dialog box named Select a Contact. Now, the phone of the person whom you have dialed will start ringing. This step is to call a person who is in the contact list of your mobile phone.
• There is an option to make calls to all people who are not in your contact list including both computer and phone. For this purpose, you need to click the option called Call a Phone.
• Now a Windows Live Dialer will be seen on your screen. Now, just enter the phone number that you want to call followed by clicking the option called Call. This step will help you to make a call to a contact that is not in your contact list.

The above said instructions will help you to make a call using the Windows Live Messenger. To know more about, contact the Windows online support center.

How To Configure Outlook To Use SkyDrive For Attachments

When it comes to sending files and attachments through email messages, users have quite a few options at their disposal. Most of the email service providers limit the maximum size of the attachment per email message. Usually this is in the 20MB size range but in some cases, it may rarely go above 30 MB or more. The users always have the option to send multiple email messages if they need to transfer files larger than this size to the recipients, but they can also use much more comfortable options.

When it comes to the Outlook.com service from Microsoft, users have two options at their disposal for sending file and email attachments. The Files to be sent can be attached directly to the email message or can be uploaded to the file hosting service SkyDrive of Microsoft. It is always better to use SkyDrive as it enables the user to bypass the attachment size per email message. The users can upload the files that they wish to share with the recipients to SkyDrive, outlook.com adds a link in the email message, and the recipient can click on this link to download the file that is uploaded in SkyDrive.

Outlook.com is set to decide whether to make use of SkyDrive to host the attachments or not. It usually does this for Office documents and attachments that are large. The user will be able to change that behavior so that SkyDrive can be used every time the user is sending attachments. The Outlook setting steps to be done to make Outlook use SkyDrive for sending attachments are explained below.

Instructions

• Turn on your PC, navigate to Outlook.com and sign into your Outlook account. 
• At the top right corner, you will be able to see the Settings button. Click on it and then select More Mail Settings from the context menu. 
• Find out Writing email and then click on the attachments there. 

To configure attachments, follow the below discussed steps.

• Always send the files using SkyDrive. 
• Send the files as attachments only. 
• Allow the Outlook program to make the selection. 

These are the Outlook setting steps to make the Outlook program use SkyDrive for sending attachments. If you have any doubts in any of the steps, you may contact our tech support team. They will help you to finish the steps successfully.