Deciphering the Windows Experience Index
Microsoft's new Windows Experience Index hopes to simplify your software purchases.
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28.1.2007 Windows 7 beta 1 performance test
How does Windows 7 beta 1 compare to Vista and XP in terms of performance? That’s a question that’s been hitting my inbox regularly over the past few weeks. Let’s see if we can’t answer it!
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2.1.2009 Google, Yahoo, Microsoft adopt same Web index tool
Search engine rivals Google, Yahoo and Microsoft are teaming up to make it easier for Web site owners to make sure their sites get included in the Web indexes, the companies are expected to announce Thursday.
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16.11.2006 Engineering the Windows 7 Windows Experience Index
We’re busy going through tons of telemetry from the many people that have downloaded and installed the Windows 7 beta around the world.
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20.1.2009 Windows 7 Performance Tools - Performance Tools Kit 4.1.1
Internet Explorer 8 will be not only an apex of performance, but also the next major iteration of the Windows client, according to Microsoft.
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1.9.2008 Windows Performance Blog
As I said in yesterday’s introduction, my job as an engineer on the Windows Vista team is to improve performance. I wanted to look at a study that measure a key area that we focused on for Windows Vista – consistent responsiveness during the times that matter most to users (when starting up their machine, after being idle, and when you are under the gun running tons of apps, etc.).
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29.12.2006 Windows 7 Performance Pillars
Attempting to avoid the rather sluggish experience that has become inherently associated with Windows Vista RTM, Microsoft promised, through the voice of Steven Sinofsky, that Windows 7 would not set a single “bit” out of Redmond until it would meet a set of performance criteria.
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29.8.2008 Windows 7 Performance, Explained
From startup to the way it handles hardware resources available, power consumption and applications, Windows 7 has been applauded as delivering a level of performance superior to that of Windows Vista, even as early as pre-Beta Build 6801.
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29.11.2008 Windows Vista Performance and Tuning
Windows Vista and SP1 focus on delivering greater performance and overall system responsiveness. By striking a balance between speed and responsiveness, Windows Vista and SP1 deliver a level of performance that has the greatest positive impact on the system’s usability.
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31.7.2008 Windows 7 -- Approach to System Performance
Many folks have commented and written email about the topic of performance of Windows. The dialog has been wide ranging—folks consistently want performance to improve (of course).
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28.8.2008 Squeezing Every Drop of Performance Out of Windows 7
In the sense in which Microsoft is building Windows 7 as the evolution of Windows Vista, the next iteration of the Windows client will perform as if on steroids, compared to its precursor.
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17.12.2008 Windows Vista Imaging and Installation Performance
Ideally, installation of an operating system is two fairly simple steps. First, copy all the OS files to the hard disk.
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4.10.2006 Windows 7 on Steroids – Next-Generation Performance Boosters
Yes, the silence around Windows 7 is certainly deafening, disconcerting and certainly a source of frustration for end users, but Microsoft is building the next iteration of Windows.
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20.5.2008 The Raw Performance Parallel Universe of Windows 7
Windows 7 more so than any other Windows client will be at the core of the transition to manycore hardware.
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11.10.2008 Windows 7 Increased Performance and Optimal Use of Available Hardware
icrosoft is optimizing Windows 7 in order to increase performance, and, in this context, the dispatcher lock is one of the components that has got cut off.
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6.1.2009 Building a High Performance Windows 7 PC
With Windows 7 release candidate just around the corner, the other day I was asked to spec out a high performance PC suitable for Windows 7 64-bit, This system would also be a great Vista system.
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15.4.2009 Understanding Windows 7 New Levels of Performance and Reliability
For an operating system that required unmatched hardware resources, Windows Vista failed to translate the horsepower available into sheer speed. The same is not the case for Windows 7, as the evolution from Vista brings new levels of performance and reliability.
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11.8.2009 Final Names for Windows Vista Performance Features
Windows PC Accelerators is the new term that encompasses Windows Vista's new performance-enhancing technologies.
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7.4.2006 12 Tweaks - Squeeze Every Last Drop of Performance Out of Windows Vista
Windows Vista is a resource hog. Microsoft’s latest operating system will swallow every last bit of hardware resources you throw at it in the race for a top user experience, a concept synonymous with high performance.
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15.9.2007 Check PC Performance Details with WinSAT in Windows 7 or Vista
Since Windows Vista, including in Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows System Assessment Tool (WinSAT) has been added into the operating system. WinSAT is a free benchmarking tool that measures various computer performance ratings, characteristics and capabilities, and display the ratings as Windows Experience Index or WEI score.
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20.4.2009 Microsoft releases the Windows Vista Performance and Reliability fix packages
These are the fixes that leaked last week, now the fix packs are publicly available (Validation Required).
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8.8.2007 Windows XP SP3 Yields Performance Gains Over Vista SP1
After a disappointing showing by Windows Vista SP1 (see previous post), we were pleasantly surprised to discover that Windows XP Service Pack 3 (v.3244) delivers a measurable performance boost to this aging desktop OS.
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24.11.2007 Windows 7 Search Performance – Superior to Vista SP1 and XP SP3
Get ready for the Windows 7 indexer on steroids, as Microsoft will deliver the first taste of the operating system to the world at the end of this month.
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14.10.2008 Windows 7 build 7057 - Performance that blasts past XP, Vista
Over the weekend I’ve been spending time with the latest leaked build of Windows 7 - build 7057. While this isn’t the release candidate (RC) build that some people claim it is, this build is certainly pretty close to being RC.
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16.3.2009 Access Windows Server 2008 SP2 Performance Tuning Guidelines
The need to squeeze every last drop of performance out of a specific system running Windows is even more stringent when it comes down to server infrastructures compared to client machines.
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29.7.2009 Microsoft tweaks IE 7 for performance
Microsoft has quietly released a patch aimed at improving the performance of Internet Explorer 7's phishing filter ahead of the company's regular patching schedule, which occurs on the Tuesday of every month.
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8.2.2007 Microsoft IE 8 - Great Performance
This morning, my editor asked why I hadn't blogged about Internet Explorer 8. My response: "Who cares?" Do you? Maybe we both should.
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27.8.2008 How Microsoft really does employee performance reviews
You don't need to ask your boss for a raise at Microsoft, because each year we have an annual performance evaluation where managers review employee accomplishments in a process used for deciding things like salary increases or bonuses.
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22.12.2006 Vista SP1 a Performance Dud
With the initial performance characteristics of Windows Vista leaving much to be desired (see our previous post on the subject), many IT organizations have put off deploying the new OS until the first service pack (SP1) is released by Microsoft early next year.
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20.11.2007 Another Vista Reliability & Performance Update
Vista’s performance is one of those topics that won’t be exhausted until Windows Seven hits RTM. It all comes down to trade-offs.
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12.12.2007Understand and improve your computer's performance using the Windows Experience Index
Columnist Stephanie Krieger
has been working extensively
with Windows Vista over the
past year. In this article,
she gives you the facts you
need to reap the benefits of
the new Windows Experience
Index...
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22.12.2006Beta 2 of Windows for supercomputers arrives
One month ahead of the next round of Top 500 supercomputer rankings, Microsoft has released online its Beta 2 for its high-performance data center
version of Windows. But is Windows accelerating fast enough to keep up with Linux clusters?..
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20.05.2008Engineering the Windows 7 "Windows Experience Index"
Steven Sinofsky: We're busy going through tons of telemetry from the many people that have downloaded and installed the Windows 7 beta around the
world. Were super excited to see the excitement around kicking the tires. Since most folks on the beta are well-versed in the hardware they use and
very tuned into the choices they make, weve received a few questions about the
Windows Experience Index (WEI) in Windows 7 and how that has
been changed and improved in Windows 7 to take into account new hardware available for each of the major classes in the metric. In this post Michael
Fortin returns to dive into the engineering details of the WEI.
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19.01.2009Quake Wars headed to Beta 2
The long-awaited Enemy
Territory: Quake Wars is
about
to enter a second public
beta. You'll still need a
beta key to participate,
though. Beta keys were
previously offered through
FilePlanet, and it's unclear
whether an additional batch
will be made available for
this latest release.
Quakecon attendees will
have the first crack at
nabbing the new Quake Wars
beta, but it will be released
on FilePlanet "within the
next week or two." Gamers can
look forward to a new map,
various balancing refinements
and bug fixes, and
improvements to everything
from bots to physics to the
user interface. Performance
has apparently improved over
the first beta, toosupposedly
by up to 30%. Players
interested in their own
performance will also have
access to a new statistics
site that tracks achievements,
rankings, and will presumably
dole out gold stars.
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01.08.2007Hyper-V performance - feedback wanted
Tony Voellm (Principle Development Lead) is after feedback on Hyper-V performance:
Check his post "
Windows Hyper-V Beta" for more
details and a snippet is below
As the person responsible for performance inside the Hyper-V product team Im confident is saying
youll see the hypervisor investment is really paying off. As you use the product Id love to get your feedback on Hyper-V performance.
If youve got feedback,
get in touch with Tony =)
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07.12.2007Windows 7 beta 1 performance - How does the OS compare to Vista and XP?
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes: How does Windows 7 beta 1 compare to Vista and XP in terms of performance? Thats a question thats been hitting my inbox
regularly over the past few weeks. Lets see if we cant answer it!
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02.01.2009A new way to monitor your Windows systems' performance
Windows Sentinel is a joint project with the exo.performance.network, founded by InfoWorld Contributing Editor Randall C. Kennedy, that enables
InfoWorld readers to monitor system, process, and network performance while contributing to a global repository of information that will yield an
unprecedented, real-time image of Windows-based system performance and behavior.
Register below to download the Windows Sentinel
software agent, which enables you to monitor the performance of up to three Windows desktop or server systems (including Vista systems) and set alerts
for when your thresholds are exceeded. You can display this performance information on a personalized Web page, a desktop widget, or a widget that
works on iPhone, iPod Touch, and Symbian devices.
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15.04.2008First Post-Beta 2 Vista Build
Released
Microsoft late Friday
delivered the first build of
Windows Vista to follow the
release of Beta 2 at WinHEC in
May. Build 5456 is available
to technical beta testers, and
includes better user interface
performance along with User
Account Control tweaks to
lessen the number of
authentication notices...
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26.06.2006Windows 7 build 7048 vs. Windows 7 beta 1 vs. Vista vs. XP performance shootout
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes: How does the latest leaked build of Windows 7 (7048) compare to the beta 1 (build 7000), Vista SP1 and XP SP3 in terms of
performance? According to my Hardware 2.0 inbox, this is a question that you want answered. Lets see if I can answer it for those of you who are
interested!
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10.03.2009Windows Media Player 11 Beta 2
Out
Microsoft on Thursday released
a second beta of Windows Media
Player 11, providing some
performance enhancements, bug
fixes and the integration of
Windows Media Connect
functionality into the player
itself...
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01.09.2006Beta Patches Hint at Vista SP1 Features
Microsoft has released to
Windows Server 2008 beta
testers two new hot-fix packs
for Windows Vista, which
improve performance and
reliability, along with the
operating system's
compatibility with drivers and
hardware. The 12MB worth of
fixes are expected to make
their way into Vista Service
Pack 1 later this year...
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30.07.2007Win 7 Beta 1 targeted for December
Seems as if Microsoft is planning a little Christmas present for all its users with Windows 7 Beta 1 on track to be released a week before Christmas.
Nothing is written in stone or been officially announced as of yet but inside sources are reporting December for the launch. Microsoft is planning on
a Connect Beta program for Windows 7 so testers keep your eyes open for something to come in the following months involving a possible beta.
“When we release the Windows 7 beta we will also be collecting feedback from this (Windows Feedback) panel and asking for participation from a
set of Windows 7 beta users.Our current plans call for signing up for the beta to happen in the standard Microsoft manner on Connect. Stay tuned!
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12.09.2008NVIDIA releases graphics drivers for Windows 7 Beta
In a press article today, NVIDIA announced that it has released new graphics drivers for Windows 7 Beta, which it says will be "the start of regular
NVIDIA driver updates for the forthcoming operating system". The new drivers, released today, have support for the new Windows Display Driver Model
(WDDM) v1.1 which is used in Windows 7 Beta. The new WDDM offers improved performance in both 2D and 3D applications. The new GeForce drivers,
version 181.71, are currently available from the NVIDIA website.
Read full story.....
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02.03.2009Microsoft postpones Windows 7 public beta
Microsoft Corp. postponed the rollout of the Windows 7 beta today, citing "very heavy traffic" on its Web site.
The company did
not offer a new schedule for delivering the beta of its newest operating system.
"Due to very heavy traffic we're seeing as a
result of interest in the Windows 7 Beta, we are adding some additional infrastructure support to Microsoft.com properties before we post the public
Beta today," a spokeswoman said in an instant message reply to earlier questions about Microsoft.com's performance. "We want to ensure customers
have the best possible experience when downloading the Beta."
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10.01.2009Want Windows 7 Beta 1? Here's what you have to do...
PDC attendees got the Windows 7 pre-beta build, and Microsoft told them that a public beta would be available in early 2009. But you don't want to
wait until then, right? You want Beta 1, right now. Well, I can't give you that, but I can tell you how you can get your hands on a physical copy
of the Windows 7 Beta 1 DVD. You'll need $100 and a desire to visit one of the upcoming episodes of the MSDN Developer Conference (MDC).
Read full story.....
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04.12.2008Windows 7 -- Approach to System Performance
Steven Sinofsky: Many folks have commented and written email about the topic of performance of Windows. The dialog has been wide rangingfolks
consistently want performance to improve (of course). As with many topics we will discuss, performance, as absolute and measurable as it might seem,
also has a lot of subtlety. There are many elements and many tradeoffs involved in achieving performance that meets everyones expectations. We know
that even meeting expectations, folks will want even more out of their Windows PCs (and thats expected). Weve re-dedicated ourselves to work in this
area in Windows 7 (and IE 8). This is a major initiative across each of our feature teams as well as the primary mission of one of our feature teams
(Fundamentals). For this post, I just wanted to frame the discussion as we dig into the topic of performance in subsequent posts. Folks might
find this post on
IE8 performance relevant along with the
beta 2 release of IE 8.
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28.08.2008Windows Live Messenger Managed
Beta Ends
A few minutes ago, Microsoft
sent a very special e-mail
message to all Windows Live
Messenger Managed Beta
testers, which marks the end
of the program. The e-mail
message mentions a few of the
improved areas in Windows Live
Messenger and of course,
thanks all beta-testers for
their bug reporting and
such.
Quote:
Dear Windows
Live Messenger Beta Tester,
As we get
closer to the final release of
Windows Live Messenger 8.0, it
is time that the managed beta
come to a close. Thank you for
all your wonderful
contributions to this beta and
for putting the voice of the
customer into our best version
of Messenger yet. Here are few
of the many areas where your
feedback made a difference:
-Improved
sign-in performance. Thanks to
your feedback, Windows Live
Messenger 8.0 has the fastest
sign-in of any version of
Messenger.
-New UI and
color changing. After many
tries, your feedback helped us
"get it right."
-Great new features such as
Sharing Folders, Offline IM
and Live Contacts. You found
many great bugs that improved
the quality of each of
these.
-Overall
quality. Your relentless
testing and reporting of
memory leaks, crashes and UI
glitches greatly improved this
version of Messenger.
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13.06.2006Windows 7 beta on MSDN?
Just as many are waiting for the Windows 7 beta to be announced at CES, we have a Microsoft blog saying its available on MSDN! Image Courtesy: MSDN
Blogs It is not sure whether it is available now or will be available soon, but you get the word. MSDN subscribers would be lucky enough to get hold
of Windows 7 beta. If you are a MSDN subsriber, can you see Windows 7 listed in there already?
Read full story.....
neowin.net -
08.01.2009Microsoft Refreshes Live Mail
Beta
Windows Live Mail, the
successor to Hotmail currently
in limited beta testing, was
given a facelift Tuesday in
what Microsoft calls the
"M6" release of the
service. Notable additions
include support for Firefox,
mail signatures and vastly
improved performance...
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17.05.2006Bright future ahead for Windows 7 and netbooks
Craig Marcho, a support engineer with the Performance Team of Microsoft has blogged his recent experiences with Windows 7 on netbook. A pre-beta build
of Windows 7 loaded on a netbook helped him to run Microsoft Outlook 2007, a number of internal applications, and IE 8 without any issues. Though
Craig hasn't mentioned which version he installed, since it is a pre-beta build of Windows 7, I think we can assume it to be Windows 7 Ultimate.
Read full story.....
neowin.net -
04.03.2009
