So, you’ve just got Windows Vista installed and you’ve been playing around with all the new features. You check your email and someone sends you a link to view a page with a video embedded in the webpage, that is until you notice you can’t play it because Vista doesn’t come with the codecs for FireFox!

Well, I’m happy to report there’s a new plugin for FireFox that will allow you to view all your favourite Media Player videos IN FIREFOX! According to Technet.com, the plugin will work with both 32 and 64 bit editions of Vista including all the different ‘flavours’ (Ultimate, Home Premium, Enterprise, etc).

The download is available on the Technet website, or just click here!

“Spend less time on day-to-day tasks, and more time adding value to your business with this next-generation server operating system” is what the next generation Windows Server is, according Microsoft’s opinion, but stop reading reviews because Microsoft have released the first public beta of the Longhorn code-named Windows Server.

The Beta3 release is available for download at the Microsoft website, and soon an option to order a DVD will be available, although at this present time no cost has been announced. The release is 1.8gig so for anyone with dial-up or a slower broadband, it may be best to wait until the DVD release is available, which shouldn’t be too long.

The system requirements for the new Windows Server is as follows:

• 1GHz Processor (2GHz recommended);
• 512MB Ram (1GB recommended);
• 8GB Hard Drive (40GB recommended);
• DVD-Rom Drive; and
• Other standard devices such as a keyboard and mouse

You should also take note of “This time-limited release of Microsoft Windows Server “Longhorn” Beta 3 will expire on April 7, 2008.”

If you’ve tested this new beta release or have some other questions, feel free to reply to this post with your comments.

Download the Beta3 Release

We have moved the MiCCAS.net Official Blog from http://blogs.miccas.net/miccas to http://blog.miccas.net!

At the old location, we were experiencing many difficulties as we were running  a blog hosting system, instead of just a standalone blog. Therefore, plugins were limited and the domain url was just too long for the “official tag”. So today we’ve moved everything over to this new domain and redirected everyone over here.

Not only that, we’ve installed a new plugin which should cut back on the hundreds of spam comments we were receiving, which will be a lot less work for us!

Please report to us if you find any bugs with the new system, thanks!

Running a Pre-release version of the new Microsoft Windows Vista operating system? Your copy is set to expire, leaving your computer with limited 2 hour access at any one time.

According to the Vista Team Blog “On 31 May 2007, all Customer Preview Program (CPP) pre-release versions of Windows Vista will expire.“ But, not only that. Nick goes on to say “because you are using a pre-release version of Windows Vista Ultimate, you can purchase and use the Upgrade version of Windows Vista.”

So, if you have a BETA copy lying around, you’re entitled to get an UPGRADE copy of Microsoft Windows Vista, which means a substantial discount!

More Info | Windows Vista Team Blog

Windows Live Messenger is coming to Xbox 360! To celebrate, the Xbox Team and Big W have a special “Windows Live Messenger® Member’s only” offer for you.

Go to any Big W store, show your Windows Live Messenger newsletter with the Xbox 360 offer code to receive an Xbox 360 console plus Gears of War, 2 Xbox Live arcade games and 500 Microsoft Points for only $648.00.

Your exclusive offer includes:

• Xbox 360 console - (includes Xbox 360 Pro Console: 20 gig hard drive, wireless controller, Xbox Live silver membership)
• Gears of War
• 2 Xbox Live® arcade games (Roboblitz and Joust)*
• 500 Microsoft points*

Be quick as this is for limited time, only for Windows Live Messenger Members and ends on 7th May 2007.

To Redeem This Offer print THIS EMAIL and take it to your local Big W store and point out the code found at the bottom of the page.

More Info | Thanks for EmZeD for the heads up!