Microsoft rolls out Vista SP1 to testers

Microsoft may still be running behind the schedule that we had all hoped for but at least in this case it delivered on its promise to deliver Vista SP1 to testers before the end of the month. Vista SP1 contains some notable improvements and it's really too bad the rest of us can't get our hands on it.

According to a post over on the Windows Vista Blog, SP1 beta was rolled out to testers today, for, testing and offers several small but significant improvements. So far, Vista SP1 isn't so much about security improvements as it is about making Vista the release it should have been in the first place.

Engadget reports that Vista SP1 will improve logon times, new options in the disk defragmenter that allows you to choose which volume gets defragmented, improved responsiveness when resuming from Hibernate and Sleep modes and "slightly improved" battery life on a laptop.

In addition to SP1, Microsoft has also released to testers five more reliability packages which will be part of the final version of Vista SP1.

Credit : http://vista.blorge.com/2007/09/24/microsoft-rolls-out-vista-sp1-to-testers/

Autodesk upgrades AREA

Michael French September 24, 9:49am

Online community for 3D animators and artists celebrates first anniversary with new content

Autodesk has boosted its online community AREA with an overhaul of the main site with lots of added content.

AREA was opened last year and has in that time built a membership of 150,000 registered users, all of which are users of Autodesk's 3ds Max, Maya 3D, MotionBuilder, VIZ 3D and FBX file format.

The site's content, a mix of tutorials, tips, forums and galleries, is largely user-generated - but Autodesk has upgraded the site itself following a successful first 12 months.

Additions include an entirely new cross-platform architecture that supports Windows, Macintosh and Linux OSs, and a new tutorial system that lets users quickly and easily lay out and submit tutorials.

60 new user-generated tutorials for 3ds Max and Maya, covering game development, post-production and design visualization, have also been uploaded and a new gallery and script, materials and plug-in sharing facility have been added, too.

Credit : http://www.developmag.com/news/28506/Autodesk-upgrades-AREA