eLearning Service

Microsoft making news at CES
Friday Microsoft will open Windows 7 beta download to about 3 million members of the public.  It has previously only been available to developers.

The new OS, expected to replace unpopular Vista in 2010, has new features designed to make it work more easily with devices like digital cameras and home networks.  It is expected to be speedy and to run well on everything from high-performance PCs to inexpensive laptops.

The company also announced significant deals with Dell and Verizon which will make Windows Live Search the default search engine on its products.  The agreement with Verizon, starting in the first half of this year, will make Microsoft’s search engine easily accessible from nearly all of the handsets from the carrier.  [via Wall Street Journal]

Facebook: two pieces of news
Facebook announced yesterday that it now has 150 million users globally.  Every continent is accounted for, including Antarctica.  Lifehacker is running a poll asking how people use Facebook.  Might as well add your two-cents.

A new app has also been announced.  My Web Portfolio is a Facebook application that’s “designed to help web designers at least strut their stuff on the popular social network.  Just as the name implies, it allows you to build and share a portfolio of your web sites and share them with other Facebook users.”

Add the My Web Portfolio application to your Facebook account and access the dashboard where you can see a random featured website, and the most popular, largest, and most recently added designs from users.  Users have to add the application to their Facebook profile in order to take full advantage of the service.  You can add the “my websites” tab to your profile.

Article author Darrell Etherington says that for him the main advantage of the app doesn’t actually reside in its usefulness as a promotional tool, but in its ability to inspire and provide a space where ideas can be shared.  He thinks it has a lot of promise as a web designer community with a focus on actual products.  “Whatever your motivation, it’s free, easy to set up, so there’s not much arguing against adding it to your existing toolset.”