windowsxlive

Windows 7 Data Corruption

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 16:15:00 +0000

Microsoft has warned that testers of Windows 7 could come across data-corruption issues on various machines including computers from Lenovo and HP.

The Redmond company revealed that the problem was associated with the Beta Build 7000 of Windows 7, but said nothing about any superseding development milestones such as Windows 7 Build 7048, 7057 or the more recently leaked Build 7068. According to the software giant at fault are the Offline Files service and the Client-Side Caching (CSC) driver, which fail to play nice together. Users running Windows 7 on Lenovo T60p, on Lenovo T61p, and on HP portable machines are at risk of having their data corrupted.

“Consider the following scenario. You have a computer that is running Windows 7 Beta. The Offline Files service and the Client-Side Caching (CSC) driver are enabled on the computer. In this scenario, you may encounter a data-corruption issue. This issue affects not only the files that are made available offline in the CSC database but also other files that may reside on the hard disk. For example, when your computer comes out of hibernation, the ChkDsk.exe tool may open and report a data-corruption error,” Microsoft explained.

Both the 32-bit and the 64-bit variants of Windows 7 Beta Build 7000 were affected, the Redmond company informed. Microsoft is currently offering a hotfix designed to resolve the issue, but underlined that users had to be running Windows 7 Beta in order to apply the fix.

How to download and get genuine windows7 beta key from microsoft

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 11:50:00 +0000

Step 1 : Logon to http://technet.microsoft.com (click on Sign in in the upper right corner with your Microsoft Passport ID ie: Hotmail etc.)

Step 2 : Copy (Don’t CLICK IT!) one of the links below to the address bar and press enter :

32-Bit key :
Code: Select all
https://www.microsoft.com/betaexperience/scripts/gcs.aspx?Product=tn-win7-32-ww&LCID=1033

(Copy and Paste!)

64-bit key :
Code: Select all
https://www.microsoft.com/betaexperience/scripts/gcs.aspx?Product=tn-win7-64-ww&LCID=1033

(Copy and Paste!)

Tip : You can use the 64-bit during a 32-bit installation and a 32-bit key during a 64-bit installation (it seems that getting a 64-bit key is faster!)

Step 3 : If you receive an error, just press CTRL & F5 (non cache load) to refresh (I had to refresh more than 10 times before I received the key), if you’re being redirected then you didn’t follow the steps 1 and 2 correctly!

If you followed the steps correct you should see your key (depending on your version it could also say Windows 7 Beta 32-bit Product Key :)

Windows 7 Beta 1 Build 7000 Installation in 45 Screenshots

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 16:03:00 +0000

There shouldn't be any doubt that Windows 7 is the evolution of Windows Vista. And even with the first Beta development milestone, Win7 provides ample proof of this, as you will be able to see from the screenshots at the bottom of this article. Fact is that as Windows 7 evolved from Milestone 1 to M2 and to M3, the operating system was making small steps away from its precursor, small but consistent enough to be felt. So much so that Windows 7 pre-Beta Build 6801 could qualify as the point of no return for the next iteration of the Windows client.

Essentially, the installation of Windows 7 Beta 1 Build 7000 brings almost nothing new to the table. In case users hit the “What to know before installing Windows” link, the operating system will offer advice on “Installing Windows Vista” although the Windows 7 Build 7000 label will accompany the entire deployment process. A major change indeed is related to the End User License Agreement. The EULA now clearly indicates that the bits are Windows 7 Beta. In addition, the new Windows 7 boot animation now feels at home, since it is already old news, as the platform was still in pre-Beta Build 69xx stage.

Still, Windows 7 is in many ways an embryo and the Beta label comes to emphasize just this aspect. While Microsoft is not yet ready for a public release of Win7 Beta, it has already delivered Build 6.1.7000.0.081212-1400 to close partners and to MSDN and TechNet subscribers. According to the full Build number, the code for Windows 7 Beta 1 was signed off internally at Microsoft as early as December 12, 2008. Microsoft is gearing up for what it referred to as the public release of Windows 7 Beta in early January 2009. But with the Beta 1 Bits already out of the oven, it's bound that Microsoft will deliver on the promise of opening up the testing program for Windows Vista's successor come January 2009.

Below you will be able to find 45 screenshots with the installation process of Windows 7 Beta 1 on a virtual machine.

Microsoft windows vista service Pack 2

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 04:57:00 +0000

Windows Vista introduces a breakthrough user experience and is designed to help you feel confident in your ability to view, find, and organize information and to control your computing experience.

The visual sophistication of Windows Vista helps streamline your computing experience by refining common window elements so you can better focus on the content on the screen rather than on how to access it. The desktop experience is more informative, intuitive, and helpful. And new tools bring better clarity to the information on your computer, so you can see what your files contain without opening them, find applications and files instantly, navigate efficiently among open windows, and use wizards and dialog boxes more confidently.

Download : Windows Vista Service Pack 2 Beta - (32-bit) (434 MB)
Download : Windows Vista Service Pack 2 Beta - (64-bit) (726 MB)
Download : Windows Vista Service Pack 2 Beta DVD-ISO (1228.8 MB)

Windows 7 Build 6936 and 6948 on Windows 23rd Anniversary

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 13:37:00 +0000

It was on November 20, 1985 that Microsoft started shipping the Windows operating system. This means that Windows turned 23 years old this week, with the Redmond company keeping the celebrations down to a minimum, namely, to a few disparate mentions of the event.

On Windows' 23rd birthday, the platform evolved well beyond the desktop, although the Windows client continues to be the heart and soul of Microsoft.

Work continues on the development of Windows Vista's successor, Windows 7, and the operating system has managed to jump a few build numbers from the end of October 2008. At the Professional Developers Conference 2008 in Los Angeles, Microsoft served Windows 7 pre-Beta Build 6801 to participants, while demonstrations already featured Build 6936. However, since that point in time, the company has also evolved past the Windows 7 M3 Build 6936 showcase bits.

Windows 7 pre-Beta 6948 is already being tested, as Microsoft is making its way to the first fully fledged Beta of the operating system. Senior Vice President, Windows and Windows Live Engineering Group, Steven Sinofsky, has already revealed that the Beta version of Windows 7 is planned for the start of 2009. In fact, the pre-Beta M3 bits delivered at PDC 2008 and WinHEC 2008 are time-bombed, and set to expire in January 2009. The expiration date remains in place independent of the slmgr method to prolong the initial grace period of Windows 7 Build 6901, or using valid or leaked product keys to activate the bits, or one of the cracks that have started to circulate.

Twenty three years after Windows was launched, the operating system accounts for in excess of 90% of the operating system market, with Windows Vista, now at Service Pack 1, and with SP2 in the making, owning a share of approximately 20%. Still, Microsoft is focusing beyond the desktop, and an illustrative example in this context is the Windows Azure cloud operating system. Having delivered platforms for mobile devices and for servers, Microsoft is now looking to provide an operating system for the Internet.

Windows 7 Will Consume Less Disk Space than Vista

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 13:35:00 +0000

Microsoft promises to optimize the amount of disk space that Windows 7 will consume in comparison to Windows Vista.

Essentially, the Redmond company is laboring to decrease the installation footprint of the operating system with the next iteration of the Windows client. While the software giant failed to indicate just how much occupied disk space it was going to shave off in Windows 7, it did inform that it was looking to have Windows Vista beat in this aspect.

"As we develop Windows 7 it’s likely that the system footprint will be smaller than Windows Vista with the engineering efforts across the team which should allow for greater flexibility in system designs by PC manufacturers. We will do so with more attention to defaults, more control available to OEMs, end-users and IT pros, and will do so without compromising the reliability and robustness of Windows overall," revealed Michael Beck, a program manager in the core OS deployment feature team.

According to Steven Sinofsky, senior vice president, Windows and Windows Live Engineering Group, the total amount of physical disk space used by Windows 7 needs to go down in order for the platform to be accommodated on SSDs. The introduction of solid-state storage into mainstream drastically limits the space available to the end user and ultimately to Windows itself. Microsoft aims to have machines with 16GB SSDs ship with Windows 7, and, given the current footprint of the operating system, it will be quite a challenge.

At this point in time, a clean installation of Windows 7 pre-Beta Build 6801 Milestone 3 takes over 6 GB of disk space. Vista manages to take hostage a similar portion of the hard disk, and in this context Microsoft has quite a lot of work to do to reduce the space occupied by Windows 7.

"Windows disk space consumption has trended larger over time. While not desirable, the degree to which it’s been allowed is due in large part to ever-increasing hard drive capacity, combined with a customer need and engineering focus that focused heavily on recoverability, data protection, increasing breadth of device support, and demand for innovative new features. However, the proliferation of Solid State Drives (SSDs) has challenged this trend, and is pushing us to consider disk footprint in a much more thoughtful way and take that into account for Windows 7," Beck added.

A deep dive into Windows 7 pre-beta

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:19:00 +0000

Microsoft took the wraps off Windows 7 for the first time at the Professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles three weeks ago.

That public unveiling and the widespread availability of a pre-beta release of the Windows 7 code (build 6801) inspired a slew of first looks (including mine). But after that initial flurry of activity, most of the interest quickly subsided.

Since returning from PDC, I’ve been installing and using Windows 7 on a variety of hardware platforms (eight distinct desktop and portable systems so far). My immediate goal is to learn as much as possible so I can begin writing Windows 7 Inside Out. And there’s plenty to learn. The deeper I dive into Windows 7, the more I discover, including subtle changes and tweaks that aren’t obvious in a first look. In this post and its accompanying image gallery, I’ll share some of those details with you.

As I work with the new OS, I’m finding myself paying much more attention to small details. In fact, Windows 7 is the first Windows release I’ve ever used that looks like it was designed and not just bolted together from projects built in parallel by disconnected development teams. In the two-plus years since Windows Vista was released, critics have noted its many user interface inconsistencies – Long Zheng even put together the Aero Taskforce web site to highlight the most egregious examples. Many of those flaws have been fixed in Windows 7. In many cases, you have to compare the two systems side by side to notice the difference. I’ve highlighted many of those examples here.

The first wave of Windows 7 coverage included plenty of praise for its stability and polish. That’s true, but it’s also an incomplete picture. The more I work with this early release of Windows 7, the more I see the little glitches, the unfinished pieces, and the bugs. Despite its impressive stability and polish relative to other Windows projects at similar stages of development, this is truly a pre-beta release. Given that this build was locked down three months ago, those little flaws don’t bother me too much.

The purpose of this post is not to review Windows 7. It’s way too early for that. Rather, my objective is to call attention to the changes and design decisions that have gone into the product so far and to highlight features and changes you might not have noticed in the flurry of initial coverage. I’ve done no performance testing, and have no plans to do any, at least with this build. Any publication that would devote more than a paragraph to benchmarking an early build like this one is guilty of journalistic malpractice, in my opinion.

For this deep dive, I’ve taken a closer look at five areas of Windows 7, all of which are significantly changed in this release.

Ultimately, Touch Will Make the Killer Windows 7 Applications

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 11:32:00 +0000

Undoubtedly it is the ecosystem of third-party software solutions that make Windows the platform that it is today, sharing the operating system's success.

And one measure of the success that was a business strategy based on Windows as a platform is the fact that Microsoft has gone beyond the PC to the server, mobile devices and even the Cloud with its operating system. However, what the Windows client has been missing for quite a few releases are Killer applications. In this context, Windows 7 has the greatest chance out of its precursors to act as the platform for a new breed of killer apps based on its touch capabilities.

“With Windows 7, users can directly manipulate their computer environment through multitouch for the first time. This fundamental shift in the end-user experience is similar to that which occurred with the introduction of the mouse. Users spontaneously report that they perceive touch features as an evolution toward a more 'intuitive' way of computing. They expect that touch features will make their daily PC activities easier, faster, and more convenient,” Microsoft revealed.

Early in the life of Windows, Microsoft made a bet on the graphical user interface. Now the Redmond giant is making another by integrating touch computing capabilities by default into Windows 7. Still, the successor of Windows Vista has little chance of making an impact with just hardware support. This situation changes dramatically when applications come into play. Taking advantage of Windows 7's Natural User Interface and touch and gesture based interaction model will mean a greater chance for developers to build a killer application.

“The challenge to manufacturers, developers, and designers is to create both natural and intuitive touch elements in their applications. Touch is at its most artful when there are elements of both. The question is then, what is natural and what is intuitive? Consider 'natural' input to be an onscreen touch action that has a real world equivalent. That is to say manipulating a screen object is identical to what you would do with an object in the physical world,” the software giant added.

Microsoft has had no killer applications with Windows 2000, nor with Windows XP, and certainly not with Windows Vista. And perhaps the Windows 7 touch killer applications will themselves emerge as such in hindsight, and not be NUI revelations. However, Windows 7 is ready to share some of the immense success of other NUI-enabled products such as the iPhone or the Wii console.

Windows 7 Domain Name System

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 11:31:00 +0000

Windows 7 and Windows 7 Server (Windows Server 2008 R2) are due to come, bringing to the table enhancements designed to increase the security of Domain Name System (DNS) infrastructures.

In this regard, DNS Security Extensions (DNSSEC) proposes a solution for delivering increased protection. Testing DNSSEC at this point in time is rather simple, since Microsoft made available the bits for Windows 7 pre-Beta Build 6801 at the Professional Developers Conference 2008 and at the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference 2008.

“DNSSEC is a suite of security extensions to the DNS, which provide origin authority, data integrity and authenticated denial of existence. Putting that in plain English, DNSSEC allows for a DNS zone to be cryptographically signed (which produces digital signatures), and provides a mechanism for validating the authenticity of the data received using these digital signatures. Validating resolvers and servers must be pre-configured with a Trust Anchor, using which a ‘chain of trust’ will be established to the signed zone. Data from this signed zone can then be validated,” explained Shyam Seshadri, program manager, Windows Core Networking.

Seshadri refers to the Windows 7 DNS client as a non-validating security-aware stub resolver. This means that, in the successor of Windows Vista, the DNS client is intimately connected with the DNS server. Because the client is unable of performing DNSSEC validation on its own, it has to turn to the server for this specific task.

“One positive side-effect of this is that Trust Anchors do not need to be configured on the clients, thus saving a big chunk of the deployment burden. It is, however, security-aware, so it will expect the configured DNS server to indicate results of the validation when returning the response. This is done so by setting the ‘AD’ bit in the response. If the DNS server failed to validate successfully (indicated by the AD bit not being set in the response), the DNS client will fail the query,” Seshadri added.

In its turn, the DNS server is not only capable of generating keys, but also of taking advantage of a sign-tool in order to sign DNS zones.

Unofficial Windows 7 Wallapapers

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 06:21:00 +0000

Download Pack1
Download Pack 2
Download Plus+1 (only widescreen)

Windows 7 updated topic and key + real downlaod links

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 11:05:00 +0000

Well , dear readers , We are giving away the activation key for Windows 7 . No limit of this Key , can activate any number of Windows 7 . Note:- Use before its blacklisted . RTill today its working . Windows 7 is a new operating system from Mirosoft that seems to fullfill all what the Windows Lovers always wanted ; the pre-beta is much better than what we expected . This is the operating system that will really replace windows xp from the xp lovers , time to move on buddies . Microsoft rocks .... and please who really appereciate windows 7 buy trying it for free , BUY it whe nits released , which will help the microsoft developers to bring us more eyecandies and security right under our personal computing hoods . Our windowsxlive also runs genuine Microsoft products .

Here is the key free to distribute and share :-
###################################
## J7PYM-6X6FJ-QRKYT-TW4KF-BY7H9 ##
###################################

The real download links for windows 7 build 6801 are only these :-
32bit:
http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/4475431

64bit:
http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/4476097

for getting the superbar (the new taskbar only in windows 7) follow these steps :-
1)Download this on your desktop
Unlocker its a exe (no virus )

2)go to control panel>user accounts>turn off UAC>restart

3) now run the downloaded ulocker !

customized Windows 7 Wallpapers coming soon **
Enjoy Widnows 7 .

Windows Vista & Server 2008 SP2 Beta released to testers

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 12:07:00 +0000

Microsoft have made available build v6002-16497 of Service Pack 2 for both Windows Vista and Server 2008 to testers late last night. The bits show a compile date of October 17th and weigh in on average around the 3 Gigabyte mark.

Early reports show that the build has a smaller memory footprint, you can find more discussion here on our forums, we'll update this post when more information becomes available.

So far, x86 & x64 versions of English, German, Japanese, Spanish and French language have been made available for testing. If you were lucky enough to be selected, head on over to Microsoft Connect to pick up your flavor of the test build.

Link: Microsoft Connect (Registration required)

For people without a Connect account, you can register here with your Windows Live ID (required) for consideration to test current and future products on offer from Microsoft

Activate Windows 7 Pre-Beta 6801 with Vista Beta or RC Product Key without Crack

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 08:23:00 +0000

Already download and install Windows 7 Pre-Beta build 6801? You probably have to leave the product key field blank during installation in order to complete the setup of Windows 7.

However, without proper activation, Windows 7, although it’s only an alpha release, can only be used for 30 days maximum (probably can use for up to 120 days as similar with activation free period of Vista with 3 rearms available - see how to rearm for more details).

People who is more nostalgia and loves to keep old things may have hit a jackpot lottery in the case of Windows 7 pre-beta activation. For Windows enthusiasts who still remembers, back in 2006, Microsoft launched Windows Vista Customer Preview Program (CPP) that gave out free beta (including beta 2) and RC (for RC1 and RC2) product key to users who participated. The Windows Vista Beta or RC1 product key arrived in the email that looked similar to this:

**********************************
Please keep this e-mail for your records.
**********************************

Thank you for your interest in Microsoft Windows Vista RC1. Your Product Key is included at the bottom of this message. You may install RC1 on up to 10 PCs using the same Product Key.

To help answer questions you may have related to installation and use, we have created newsgroups for Windows Vista RC1. To join or read postings in these newsgroups please visit http://windowshelp.microsoft.com.

For the latest information on Windows Vista, please visit http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=65938.

Thank You,
Microsoft

Product Key:
XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX

In fact, the product key for Windows Vista beta or RC edition can be used to activate Windows 7 Pre-Beta build 6.1.6801.0. To do so, simply go back to the very very old email archive to search for email from service@microsoft.com that titled with subject of “Microsoft Windows Vista Beta 2 Order Confirmation and Product Key”, “Microsoft Windows Vista RC1 Product Key” or other similar product key delivery email, and then get the product key in the email. The testing product key can be used to activate up to 10 PCs using the same product key.

To activate Windows 7 online, just enter the product key in Control Panel -> System and Security - System Properties by clicking on Activate Windows now or Change product key link. However, do note that for Windows 7 pre-beta build version 6801, even after permanently activated, the operating system will still expire on August 1, 2009.

Windows 7 (15-Seconds-Boot) No Match for Windows “Instant On” (8-Seconds-Boot)

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 17:59:00 +0000

Microsoft revealed that it is targeting a 15 seconds boot time for Windows 7 in laboratory conditions, but the fact is that the Redmond company is cooking even something better.

While Michael Fortin, Microsoft distinguished engineer and lead of the Fundamentals feature team in the Core Operating System group, indicated that Windows starting up in 15 seconds in the lab is a satisfactory boot time, the software giant is exploring the possibility of the 8-seconds-boot for Windows via a concept dubbed “Instant On”.

“Instant On” is nothing more than a concept at this point in time in a user feedback survey (courtesy of Engadget), with Microsoft offering little additional details. “The concept is called 'Instant On'”, Microsoft reveals via the feedback request. “Instant On takes your computer from being completely powered down or 'turned off' to being usable for a few specific activities in a very short amount of time. The Instant On experience is different from 'Full Windows' because it limits what activities you can do and what applications you have access to.”

In this regard, Microsoft is looking to do nothing more than a stripped down installation of Windows. The Redmond company is already working on componentizing the operating system, and the MinWin project is the basic, bare-bone, standalone core of the operating system that is still capable of booting and running by itself. The Windows “Instant On” slimmed down variant of the operating system would in fact permit access to only a subset of features and components including email, media player, instant messaging, the browser, limiting the user experience to only a handful of scenarios for the sake of boot performance.

“In the 'Instant On' scenario, your computer would be usable in eight (8) seconds,” Microsoft promises. “You have the ability to browse the web, do instant messaging, watch DVDs and listen to music, but you would not have full access to Windows or all of your applications. This means that you would not have access to your files or data and could not change the configuration of the computer. You would be limited to using only the applications presented in the Instant ON scenario: web browsing, media playback and instant messaging.”

Microsoft sends Vista SP2 invites - beta release in 4 weeks

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 17:57:00 +0000

Thanks to a tipster we have learned Microsoft has started sending Vista SP2 and Windows Server 2008 SP2 invites to select testers today.

Earlier this week it was revealed the company will release SP2 before Windows 7. Microsoft recently put a placeholder online for the upcoming betas of Windows Vista SP2 and Windows Server 2008 SP2.

Microsoft will include Windows Search 4 in Vista SP2 along with Bluetooth wireless support (including latest BT 2.1 fixes), support for the new VIA 64-bit CPU and additional application compatibility updates.

For Windows Server 2008 SP2, Microsoft will include Backwards compatibility with Terminal Services licensing keys, improved manageability features with DFS/FRS console, and Storage Resource Manager, print server and spooler performance improvements for printers in Windows Vista and Server 2008 and improved error reporting in DFSR to help identify incorrectly configured deployments which lead to failed replication.

Both builds are "anticipated" to be released within the next four weeks.

Symbian Series 60 takes on Apple and Google

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 10:16:00 +0000

Symbian has released the latest version of its Series 60 (S60) mobile phone operating system, and has added features to make it more competitive with Apple's iPhone and Google's Android.

The fifth edition of the S60 will integrate touch screen control to new handsets, support for higher screen resolutions and a widescreen mode for viewing.

Mobile internet use has also been improved, with touch scrolling of web pages and support for Adobe's Flash Lite 3 built in.

Motion control has been added, so that users can silence an incoming call by simply turning the handset upside down.

"S60 5th Edition's new features and added functionality significantly enhances the products that intend to provide rich multimedia and internet experiences for consumers," said Lee Williams, senior vice president of S60 Software at Nokia.

"With this release we will now see manufacturers create and extend their portfolio of products with new types of devices addressing a broader range of consumer needs."

The new operating system also comes with a new software developer kit which includes full support for Open C and Open C++, including the Standard Template Library.

"The versatile developer support offered by S60 5th Edition enables developers to write applications in a range of languages that they are already very familiar with," said Tom Libretto, vice president of Forum Nokia.

"That familiarity, and being able to arm developers with the tools and technologies that best suit their needs, will allow for further new applications and services, not only for S60 5th Edition, but for S60 3rd Edition Feature Packs 1 and 2."

Unsurprisingly Nokia, which has a majority stake in Symbian, has announced a new handset using the operating system, the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic.

Microsoft will soon release 'Windows Cloud' OS

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 10:15:00 +0000

Microsoft Corp. CEO Steve Ballmer revealed a few details on Wednesday of a forthcoming operating system that will help developers write Internet-based applications.

Within a month, Microsoft will unveil what Ballmer called "Windows Cloud." The operating system, which will likely have a different name, is intended for developers writing cloud-computing applications, said Ballmer, who spoke to an auditorium of IT managers at a Microsoft-sponsored conference in London.

Ballmer was short on details, saying more information would spoil the announcement. Windows Cloud is a separate project from Windows 7, the operating system that Microsoft is developing to succeed Windows Vista.

Free Windows for Supercomputers Available for Download - Windows HPC Server 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 16:30:00 +0000

Microsoft made the latest iteration of its Windows operating system for supercomputers available as a free download.

On September 22, 2008, the same day the high performance computing platform was released to manufacturing, the gold bits of Windows HCP Server 2008 went live on the Microsoft Download Center. The Redmond giant has bundled Windows Server 2008 HPC Edition and the Microsoft HPC Pack 2008 in a single package including a pair of DVDs weighing in at over 2.6 GB.

“Windows HPC Server 2008 is very much a part of our total server family, which represents an $11 billion business for Microsoft. It’s no secret that currently our HPC server business is one we’re working to build, but make no mistake: Microsoft is committed to high-performance computing,” stated Vince Mendillo, director of the HPC Marketing Group at Microsoft.

Windows HPC Server 2008 is designed as the successor of Windows Compute Cluster 2003 and was shipped just two years after its precursor. The latest version of Windows for supercomputers essentially offers the 64-bit flavor of Windows Server 2008 which can be scaled and adapted to thousands of processing cores.

“Windows HPC Server 2008, along with other Microsoft applications, servers and tools, will together take HPC mainstream. Our goal is to make it a part of mainstream computing, make it available to companies that could previously not afford it, to IT pros who found HPC too daunting to consider and to users who have problems that require supercomputing performance but have never had access to it before,” Mendillo added.

Via the Windows HPC Server 2008 package, Microsoft is offering a free trial version of the Windows for supercomputers platform as well as the HPC Pack 2008 including tools, interfaces, and management solutions spanning from job scheduling to networking.

Windows HPC Server 2008 is available for download: Windows HPC Server 2008

Windows 7 Pre-Beta Availability Confirmed

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 15:55:00 +0000

Microsoft is making headway with the building process of Windows 7, the next iteration of the Windows client, and is gearing up to release a development milestone of the operating system at the end of next month.

Microsoft's professional Developers Conference in Las Vegas, between October 27-30, 2008 will be synonymous with the broadening of the Windows 7 testing program past the limited testing pool of the company's close partners that was given access to early builds including Milestone 1, Milestone 2 and Milestone 3. The Redmond giant will in fact offer a pre-Beta build of Windows 7 to all PDC2008 participants.

"We're (...) giving every attendee a pre-beta copy of Windows 7. Yes, you heard that right. You'll be able to install your own copy of Windows 7 and play with it on your hardware. This is a very limited release, and PDC2008 attendees will be the first to get it. Gotta love the PDC," revealed Mike Swanson, Microsoft technical evangelist.

In just one month Microsoft plans to deliver the first consistent taste of Windows 7. The company demonstrated the operating system's touch computing capabilities earlier this year, but otherwise detailed in no way M1, M2 or even M3. Screenshots, videos and a tad of information on the recently dropped Windows 7 Milestone 3 Build 6780 were made available from third party sources, but Microsoft continued to be mute on the matter. At PDC2008 Steven Sinofsky, senior vice president, Windows and Windows Live Engineering Group, will be the one to introduce Windows 7 to the world.

"In our first keynote at PDC2008 Ray Ozzie will talk about the new world of Software Plus Services, with Bob Muglia joining him, to unveil our new Cloud Computing platform," Microsoft revealed. "In a second keynote, Ray will return to talk about building immersive user experiences and introduce Steven Sinofsky, who will give developers a first look at the next version of Windows, Windows 7. Scott Guthrie and David Treadwell will join Ray and Steven to dive deep on the latest Win32 and .NET platform advances that enable a next generation of user experiences spanning multiple devices, including a look at the latest developments in .NET, Silverlight, "Live Mesh", and the rest of the client platform."

Windows 7 Beta 1 available for download on December 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 13:33:00 +0000

The constant wave of Windows 7 Beta chatter from Redmond, even without an official confirmation from Microsoft, is a clear indication that the company is gearing up to move the next iteration of the Windows client beyond the development milestone (M) stages.

With the Windows 7 roadshow approaching at a fast pace, as Microsoft is getting closer and closer to events such as the Professional Developer Conference 2008 (October), Windows Hardware Engineering Conference 2008 (November) and TechEd 2008 EMEA (November), the first Beta build of the operating system is starting to take contour. Still, Windows 7 Beta 1 will not make it to the October and November conferences, as it is planned for availability in mid-December 2008.

Microsoft has failed to either confirm or deny this piece of information at this point in time, but according to Mary Jo Foley, citing unnamed sources, Windows 7 beta 1 will drop just ahead of Christmas 2008. On Vista WinHEC 2008 homepage, Microsoft is claiming that Windows 7 “is coming soon” but doesn't give any indication of the actual deadline, although it is rushing hardware manufacturers to get ready for the operating system.

The Redmond giant released the first taste of Windows 7 back in December 2007. At that time, Milestone 1 was virtually indistinguishable from Windows Vista. Moving forward into the development process, the Redmond company has also produced a Milestone 2 Build of Windows 7, which was kept tight under wraps and wasn't leaked like M1. The next move as far as the evolution of Windows 7 is concerned is a Milestone 3 release, which in its turn will be followed by the first Beta build of the platform. One thing is for sure, under the leadership of Steven Sinofsky, Senior Vice President, Windows and Windows Live Engineering Group, Windows 7 will have a short Beta life, approximately a year. Microsoft is reportedly not preparing a wide release of Windows 7 Beta until the client is either feature-complete or very close to the final version.

Microsoft: a "Good Enough" Windows 7 Beta with Room for Refinement

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 13:31:00 +0000

Microsoft is in no rush to deliver the first beta of Windows 7. Even according to the official time table for the delivery of Windows Vista's successor, the Redmond company is just a few months short of the final deadline, and yet there is no Beta on the immediate horizon.

This, even if at the end of 2007, Windows 7 Milestone 1 was offered for testing to the software giant's closest partners, as well as antitrust regulators. However, the first contours of the Windows 7 Beta are beginning to emerge, with Microsoft cranking up a notch the references to a development build beyond Alpha and Milestone releases.

"We’re going to deliver a Beta that is good enough to experience and leaves us enough time to address areas where we need more refinement," revealed Mike Angiulo, Windows PC Ecosystem and Planning team lead. The Windows 7 Beta reference comes after the August availability of Windows 7 Client drivers and updates going live on the Microsoft Update Catalog. In fact, at the end of the past month, Microsoft was gearing up to start publishing the first Windows 7 beta drivers and updates.

"We work to find the best possible timing for sharing the product and gathering final feedback. If we release it too early it’s usually not in any shape to evaluate, especially with respect to performance, security, compatibility and other critical fundamentals. If we release too late we can’t actually take any of the feedback you give us, and I can’t think of a worse recipe for customer satisfaction than to ask for feedback which gets systematically ignored. I was just looking at another software "feedback" site where a bunch of the comments just asked the company to "please read this site!"," Angiulo added.

The fact of the matter is that all the signs coming from Microsoft point to an upcoming availability of a Windows 7 Beta release. The Redmond company has been shy of confirming anything official yet, and probably will hold all details under a sealed lid for quite some time. There are a variety of events and conferences at the end of the year, in the October-November timeframe with Windows 7 set to take center stage including the Professional Developer Conference (PDC) 2008, Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) 2008, as well as TechEd EMEA 2008. Delivering Windows 7 Beta in October – November 2008 will still give Microsoft approximately a year of development just for the Beta stage.

Windows Application Specific Glass Colorization?

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 13:30:00 +0000

Microsoft might be introducing application specific glass renderings. The color of the glass frame around a window can be changed in Vista, but the change is global to the system.

The color of any particular window glass frame can not be set by choice. But, how about being able to change the color/opacity level of a the glass frame of any application through defined events or commands?

Microsoft might be introducing application specific glass renderings. The color of the glass frame around a window can be changed in Vista, but the change is global to the system. The color of any particular window glass frame can not be set by choice. But, how about being able to change the color/opacity level of a the glass frame of any application through defined events or commands? According to a Patent number 7418668

A method for changing a color value and/or level of opacity value of a glass appearance window frame for an application window is described. The method includes steps of determining a defined color value and a defined level of opacity value to apply to a glass appearance window frame and displaying the glass appearance window frame in accordance with the defined color value and the defined level of opacity value. A command may be received to apply the defined color value and the defined level of opacity value to the glass appearance window frame, thereby applying the defined color value and level of opacity value to the glass appearance window frame. Color values and/or level of opacity values may be changed automatically, be application specific, and/or be changed in response to receipt of an input from a user to change one or more portions of a default configuration.

Further more, the summary of this patent says:

Increasing a user experience in an operating environment and additional manners for identification of application windows, property sheets, and dialogs for the user are always under development. Creating real world environments during a user experience facilitates an easier understanding of use of an application window and other user interface elements displayed as part of an operating system. Aspects of the invention include a system for rendering colorization to a glass appearance window frame. Aspects are directed to methods for displaying and/or changing a glass appearance window frame’s visual appearance in the event of an action and/or based upon user-defined or system defined values.

Keeping in mind, that in Vista, the active window has a blurred glass frame while the inactive ones have an opaque one, the color stays the same, which is defined in the Windows Color and Appearance settings of the Operating System. Allowing the color of the glass frame to react to different events/actions could be very interesting. This could mean that the glass frame of an application demanding your attention could blink in a different color rather than the current method of an orange blinking taskbar button. Also, this method would not be just enabled on application windows but also property sheets, dialogue boxes and the sidebar. While it sounds very interactive, I can already hear people complaining about the annoyance.

Microsoft IE 8 - Great Performance

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 16:09:00 +0000

This morning, my editor asked why I hadn't blogged about Internet Explorer 8. My response: "Who cares?" Do you? Maybe we both should.

For weeks, Microsoft has been dribbling out information about IE 8, which has to be released as a public beta this week to make the self-pronounced August release. The most recent IE 8 blog post discusses new privacy features.

In rereading the post, from yesterday, Aug. 25, I'm thinking that I should have cared more about IE 8. Ridiculous blogs have interpreted new IE 8 privacy features as "porn mode." That's a dramatic mischaracterization of privacy enhancements that are arguably trendsetting. IE 8 will give users more control over privacy than any other browser. It's not "porn mode" but something much bigger. After deciding to write this post, I IMed my editor: "Someone should send dunce caps to ... every other blogger using that term. Idiots." I wanted to say something else, but, hey, there's nothing private about instant messaging.

Simply put: IE 8 will let its users decide to whom they release information about their browsing habits. There are also security benefits to the new privacy features, which could be useful for limiting increasing malware risks posed by file-sharing or social networking sites. I'll be interested to see how the new privacy features work with parental controls, seeing as how IE 8 also could allow troublesome teens to better hide online activities from parents.

Internet Explorer has long had better privacy controls than competing browsers because it supports P3P, or Platform for Privacy Preferences. Because of P3P, IE has more granular control over first-party and third-party cookies and what users do about them. For years, I've used custom settings under IE's Privacy control to "block" third-party cookies and to "prompt" for first-party cookies. P3P support offers some opt-in, where the user can once and for all accept or reject all cookies from the originating site.

Firefox 3 improves the open-source browser's cookie controls with an option to "accept third-party cookies," which is on by default. The user can also specifically designate Web sites for which cookies are always accepted or rejected. It's a nice implementation, but IE 8 is set to greatly extend cookie control and how session data is handled. Microsoft is catching up on its early privacy lead and, in some respects, retaking it from Firefox.

Great Performance: How to build a faster browser
As we started planning what we wanted to accomplish with IE8, we made a conscious decision to improve how people use Internet Explorer to browse the web. Broadly stated, some of the areas we pinpointed for improvement include browser startup, navigation, and user interactions (including AJAX-style interactions within a webpage).

Part of that focus has translated into our investment into new features like Web Slices, because in some cases the fastest browser is the one that does not need to load a webpage at all. Beyond these efforts, we have also concentrated on improving IE as a web platform.

When we took a hard look at our goals and considered what we could do to build the best browser we were presented with a quandary. On the one hand, we could focus very narrowly on scripting performance, trusting that our investment would noticeably improve our users’ browsing experience. Alternatively, we could invest more broadly in realistic scenarios, measuring heavily-used subsystems and investing our optimization effort accordingly. We opted for the latter approach.

After some analysis, what we found was that investing the entirety of our effort on improving JScript would not substantially improve our users’ browsing experience in most cases. For a sample of the type of data we used in our analysis, I’ve included below a breakdown of the CPU cycles consumed by some of our key subsystems when navigating to the top 100 sites in IE8 Beta 1:

Layout Rendering HTML Parsing Marshalling CSS Formatting DOM JScript Other
43.16% 27.25% 2.81% 7.34% 8.66% 5.05% 3.23% 2.49%

Notice that when navigating to the top 100 sites the systems exercised in typical JScript/DOM benchmarks (e.g. SunSpider) account for less than 10% of the total time. Furthermore, we analyzed several common AJAX applications and performed similar analyses, with similarly surprising results:

Layout Rendering HTML Parsing Marshalling CSS Formatting DOM JScript Other
8.87% 8.68% 1.48% 7.40% 36.72% 11.72% 13.59% 11.54%

source: microsoft-watch.com

Microsoft IE8 Beta 2

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 16:04:00 +0000

We’re excited to release IE8 Beta 2 today for public download. You can find it at http://www.microsoft.com/ie8. Please try it out!

You’ll find versions for 32- and 64-bit editions of Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, and Windows Server 2008. In addition to English, IE8 Beta 2 is available in Japanese, Chinese (Simplified), and German. Additional languages will be available soon.

While Beta 1 was for developers, we think that anyone who browses or works on the web will enjoy IE8 Beta 2. Before the team blogs about our Beta 2 in detail, here’s an overview of what you’ll find in IE8.

We focused our work around three themes: everyday browsing (the things that real people do all the time), safety (the term most people use for what we’ve called ‘trustworthy’ in previous posts), and the platform (the focus of Beta 1, how developers around the world will build the next billion web pages and the next waves of great services).

Everyday Browsing

We looked very hard at how people really browse the web. We looked at a lot of data about how people browse and tried a lot of different designs in front of many kinds of people, not just technologists. As tempting as it is to list here all the changes both big and small in IE8, we’ll take a more holistic approach. That’s how we built the product and how we’d like to talk about it.

From our customer research, we saw that the bulk of user activity outside of web pages involved tabs and “navigation” – the act of getting to the site the user wants to get to. We also knew that adding features has an impact only if they’re “in the flow” of how people actually use the product. Another menu item might matter in a checklist on a blog somewhere, but won’t matter to real people browsing. That’s why IE8’s New Tab experience is so remarkable: it’s obvious – after you see it:

Download: Internet Explorer 8 (English, German, Japanese, Simplified Chinese)

SQL Server 2008 Has Been Released to Manufacturing

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 16:41:00 +0000

SQL Server 2008 was launched on February 27, 2008 alongside Windows Server 2008 and Visual Studio 2008, but the platform was only released to manufacturing on August 6, 2008, and is available for download only to MSDN and TechNet subscribers.

The Redmond company promised that the downloads for the SQL Server 2008 Express and SQL Server Compact SKUs will go live on August 7 on the official website for SQL Server 2008, but at the time of this article this was not yet the case. Still, the software giant's data management and business intelligence platform has gone gold, and in the end availability is only a matter of time.

"Microsoft developed this release of SQL Server with the customer in mind. SQL Server 2008 is the only major database that includes comprehensive, tightly integrated functionality for data management as well as advanced business intelligence out of the box. By offering a complete solution, we save customers time and money and allow them to focus on deriving the most value from their data assets," revealed Ted Kummert, corporate vice president of the Data and Storage Platform Division at Microsoft.

With the Redmond giant applauding the finalization of what it referred to as a component of the Microsoft Application Platform, customers will be able to leverage new features and capabilities including: Transparent Data Encryption, Auditing, Enhanced Database Mirroring, Automatic Recovery of Data Pages, Hot Add CPU and more. SQL Server 2008 will be offered in no less than eight flavors, including SQL Server 2008 Enterprise, SQL Server 2008 Standard, SQL Server 2008 Workgroup, SQL Server 2008 Web, SQL Server 2008 Developer, SQL Server 2008 Express and SQL Server Compact 3.5.

"The wait is over. SQL Server 2008 has been released and is ready to deliver a rich set of integrated services that enable you to do more with your data, such as query, search, synchronize, report, and analyze. Many of you have been evaluating the SQL Server 2008 betas, and may be ready to try out the RTM version," revealed Mitch Irsfeld, editor, TechNet Flash via "Is This Thing On?"

And indeed SQL Server 2008 is already a success with Microsoft applauding in excess of 450,000 community technology preview (CTP) downloads of the product.