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Microsoft plans to open up Outlook PST data format

Microsoft said today that it plans to open up the PST data format commonly used within Outlook.

In a MSDN blog posting, Paul Lorimer, Group Manager of Microsoft Office Interoperability, confirmed Microsoft want to improve platform-independent access to email, calendar, contacts, and other data generated by Microsoft Outlook. The PST format is used to store data ranging from email to calendar and contacts and allows for users to export and import that data within Microsoft Outlook.

According to Lorimer: "In order to facilitate interoperability and enable customers and vendors to access the data in .pst files on a variety of platforms, we will be releasing documentation for the .pst file format. This will allow developers to read, create, and interoperate with the data in .pst files in server and client scenarios using the programming language and platform of their choice. The technical documentation will detail how the data is stored, along with guidance for accessing that data from other software applications. It also will highlight the structure of the .pst file, provide details like how to navigate the folder hierarchy, and explain how to access the individual data objects and properties."

Microsoft says the documentation is still being worked on and is in its "early stages". With an Office 2010 public beta due next month it's reasonable to assume we will hear a lot more about Office 2010 in general at next months Professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles. Allowing the PST format to be documented and open will allow web mail providers like Gmail and social networking sites like Facebook to better import data from Microsoft's Outlook application.

Experts warn of Windows 7's abilities to encrypt child porn

Windows 7 can allow potentially incriminating data (such as child pornography) to be encrypted on a user's hard drive and make detection by police "impossible", experts in Australia claim. Speaking to News.com.au, Hetty Johnson, a member of the Federal Government, called on Microsoft to act now and make immediate changes. "If this new product gives paedophiles protection to keep harming children I would be extremely disappointed. I would expect the company to take moves to rectify this."

Australian law states that authorities can obtain warrants to use a Trojan horse to gain access to a computer's data, but unlike British law, refusing to decrypt data when requested by the police is completely legal. Adrian McCullagh, of the Queensland University of Technology, believes that current laws slow down police in their investigations. "They need to act quickly and legal powers to force criminals to surrender decryption keys or face a possible jail term."

Despite encryption being present in Windows for several years, Dr McCullagh fears that "with so many people using Microsoft, within years most people will have access to this technology…there are legitimate reasons for encryption, but there are also criminal reasons."

Sky Player on Xbox 360 off to a shaky start [UK]

British firm BSkyB has joined forces with Microsoft to give Xbox 360 owners the chance to watch live television and on demand content on their consoles.

The two firms launched the new Sky Player service on Xbox 360 today but in a u-turn the service has been switched off for new users until tomorrow due to an "unforeseen technical issue". According to many who were able to use the service today there has been a mixed reaction to the service. Some were able to use it perfectly whilst others struggled getting content streaming correctly. Microsoft issued the following statement:

"The Sky Player on Xbox 360 service did successfully launch early this morning, it has subsequently been suspended due to an unforeseen technical issue. With so much excitement and interest in the service, we'd much prefer to ensure that our customers enjoy the highest possible quality of service. We would like to take this opportunity to apologise to our customers who have attempted to access the service today. Sky Player engineers are hard at work to resolve the problem - we expect to have the full service available tomorrow."

Clearly both companies did not anticipate the high demand for the service and may not have conducted enough large-scale user testing beforehand.

Sky Player for Xbox 360 gives subscribers access to live pay TV channels - including Sky Sports and video on demand content. Neowin exclusively revealed the full channel list and cost earlier this month. Microsoft also plans to launch the Sky Player service in Media Center "soon". We managed to get an early sneak peek at this service at the Windows 7 UK launch last week. Existing Sky TV customers will be able to purchase an online Sky Player multiroom subscription for £9.75 per month. Customers with Sky Multiroom or Sky Broadband Unlimited will be able to access live channels for no extra charge. Non-Sky TV customers will require a monthly subscription that starts at £15 per month to the Base Entertainment Pack. In addition to the live channels, customers will also have access to on-demand programmes from channels they subscribe to.

Fingers crossed that the service is up and running correctly tomorrow. Meanwhile here's a hands on video from one of our Neowin readers, Chris Brown:

Google announces Android 2.0 platform

Google has announced today the new Android 2.0 platform.

Android 2.0 brings new developer APIs for sync, Bluetooth, and some other areas. Developers can now write applications to enable users to sync their devices to various contact sources. With the new Bluetooth API, developers can easily add peer-to-peer connectivity or gaming to their applications.

Google has published a full list of improvements but amongst the improvements here are the best ones we have found:

• Email - Exchange support
• Messaging - Search support
• Camera - Built-in flash support, Digital zoom
• Keyboard - Improved virtual keyboard to help with correct characters and typing speed
• Browser - HTML5 support, double tap zoom, tap the address bar for instant searches and navigation
• Bluetooth 2.1 support, Object Push Profile (OPP) and Phone Book Access Profile (PBAP) support

With the amount of operating system additions and improved support for multiple screen sizes and Bluetooth 2.1, we'd expect to see a whole range of new Android devices ready for when 2.0 is ready.

Microsoft launched their first Microsoft Store last Thursday in Scottsdale, Arizona. With all the hoopla of the Windows 7 launch we thought we'd let that die down before posting a few details on Microsoft's new stores.

Microsoft Silverlight team member Tim Heuer posted a great overview of his own personal experience. According to Heuer he visited the store 4 days after the initial launch which saw people queuing to enter the store and grabbing free Zune HDs.

Upon first entering the store the logo is clearly visible and colourful, similar to Apple, Microsoft have opted for the logo and no mention of "Microsoft". It's clear the whole store is a copycat of Apple's retail stores but is this a bad thing? Apple has perfected its stores over the years and they clearly work.



The first store opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 9:30 a.m with 500 people waiting in line to excitedly enter the store (as shown below in the video). The store is kitted out with Microsoft Surface tables, giant screens across the walls, "gaming zones" where approximately 15% of the store is dedicated to Xbox 360 games and accessories. The store also sells Windows compatible laptops such as Dell, Toshiba, HP, Sony, Acer, Lenovo, etc and a variety of Microsoft hardware.







Copycat?

Microsoft have opted for an "answers desk" which is a clear comparison to Apple's genius bar. Microsoft also offers training sessions aimed at exploring Windows 7, to Zune HD features and understanding Office better. Once again these are similar to the sessions that Apple holds. Imitation is often the sincerest form of flattery and in this case I don't believe Apple will be flattered. The comparisons to the Apple Store will always stick but this shouldn't take away from the effort Microsoft has put into these upcoming stores. The walls are littered with exciting WPF applications that demonstrate products well.

According to Heuer he was most impressed with the employees who seemed to be knowledgeable and polite. The Mission Viejo store is due to open later this week (October 29).