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Windows Vista Developer Center Updated

Eliot Graff: The Windows Vista Developer Center on MSDN has been scrubbed, polished, reorganized, blown dry, and is now free to peruse. The developer center now includes easier navigation, links to over fifty "How Do I" videos, RSS feeds for the Windows Shell team's blog, Shell:revealed, and a ton of content about why you should develop applications directly for Windows Vista. Just take a look at the What's New in Windows Vista page, and use that as your springboard to identify useful new technologies and to find relavent materials throughout MSDN and TechNet.




winbeta.org - 07.02.2008

Update: Windows Optimized Desktop for the Enterprise

Chris Flores: We've been talking with a lot of organizations about what they need most from an optimized desktop experience, and we've been making great progress in delivering against those needs. I want to take this opportunity to share details on the Windows Optimized Desktop Scenarios and highlight some news.



If you've been reading this blog regularly, you will have seen updates on the work we're doing with the Optimized Desktop. I contributed a blog on this in January for our Virtualization Strategy Day and a second blog about the announcements we had made at the Microsoft Management Summit (MMS) in Las Vegas in late April. While there are many facets to the Optimized Desktop, the framework is based on technologies that enable decoupling the traditional desktop stack of hardware, operating system, applications, data, settings and user profiles, making desktop management more efficient and easing change and user migration.




winbeta.org - 23.05.2008

Windows Vista Beta 2 Available to Subscribers

According to the Official Windows Vista site, Windows Vista Beta 2 is now available for IT professionals and developers with MSDN and TechNet subscriptions. In the coming weeks, Microsoft will start the Windows Vista Customer Preview Program (CPP) for developers and IT professionals who are not members of the subscription services.

The Windows Vista CPP will also be available to technology enthusiasts that want to install and test a copy of Windows Vista Beta 2. You can get a head start on your Windows Vista CPP preparation by visiting the Get Ready section of this site and downloading the Windows Vista Product Guide.


jcxp.net - 23.05.2006

Windows Vista OS image creation and deployment guide

Thanks Bink for the heads up on this article. Windows Vista OS setup is built on an entirely new set of technologies than previous versions of Windows, and as a result the process of creating OS images and creating and using unattend files is different than you might be used to from the past.

If you are planning to create and deploy OS images for Windows Vista, I encourage you to take a look at the Windows Vista deployment step-by-step guide at http://www.m icrosoft.com/technet/windowsvi ...3dd53bc3fa.mspx for some helpful information. The following sections are included in the deployment guide:

• Tools and technologies - http://www.m icrosoft.com/technet/windowsvi ...mspx#BKMK_TOOLS
• Requirements and prerequisites - http://www.m icrosoft.com/technet/windowsvi ...EQS_AND_PREREQS
• Step 1: building a lab environment - http://www.m icrosoft.com/technet/windowsvi ...#BKMK_BUILD_LAB
• Step 2: building an answer file - http://www.m icrosoft.com/technet/windowsvi ...MK_BUILD_ANSWER
• Step 3: building a master installation - http://www.m icrosoft.com/technet/windowsvi ...MK_BUILD_MASTER
• Step 4: creating an image - http://www.m icrosoft.com/technet/windowsvi ...MK_CREATE_IMAGE
• Step 5: deploying an image - http://www.m icrosoft.com/technet/windowsvi ...MK_DEPLOY_IMAGE
In addition, it is worth reviewing the content of the Windows Automated Installation Kit (WAIK), which is located at http://go.mi crosoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=535 52.


neowin.net - 28.11.2006



How to Hack Windows Vista

Roger Halbheer, Chief Security Advisor of Microsoft EMEA: No, no. For sure. I am not going to give you advise how to hack “ but look at this video: http://www.offensive-security.com/movies/vistahack/vistahack.html. I am always amazed about these kind of videos, which still surprise people. If look years back, we published the 10 Immutable Laws of Security, which contains Law #3: If a bad guy has unrestricted physical access to your computer, it's not your computer anymore. The hack shown above needs physical access¦.



But if you want to protect Windows Vista from these kind of physical attacks, why do you not just switch on Bitlocker (and here on Technet)? If you switch it on, these problems are gone and this attack would fail “ and it is part of the OS, no additional fees, nothing¦




winbeta.org - 27.05.2008



Need answers about Windows Vista? New Windows Client TechCenter Launches

Chris Flores: This year at TechEd we are launching the new unified Windows Client TechCenter. The new TechCenter is now the official new home to the Springboard Series of online resources (www.microsoft.com/springboard ) . This is a critical component of the Windows Vista deployment and management story.



With Windows Vista we built a number of capabilities into the product itself, as well as number of tools to prepare for implementation. The piece that's been missing is structured guidance along adoption path that helps IT Professionals learn how new features and capabilities can assist common tasks and also how to pre-empt and address key challenges upfront... We're aiming to deliver this final piece through the new Windows Client TechCenter, which shares candid best practices from real-world experiences. For instance, check out Springboard Series articles such as Five Windows Vista adoption "Gotchas" and how to get beyond them. The new site offers a consolidated repository of resources across the adoption lifecycle, new troubleshooting zones and community components.




winbeta.org - 10.06.2008



Microsoft confirms Windows 7 is final name

Microsoft has confirmed that Windows 7 will be the final name for next generation operating system.

In a blog, Mike Nash, Corporate Vice President, Windows Product Management confirmed the news.

And, as you probably know, since we began development of the next version of the Windows client operating system we have been referring to it by a codename, "Windows 7." But now is a good time to announce that we've decided to officially call the next version of Windows, "Windows 7" Nash said.

This is the first time a Windows OS has been named by its codename. The decision was made for simplicity. Nash added "this is the seventh release of Windows, so therefore "Windows 7" just makes sense."

Microsoft is set to reveal a lot more about Windows 7 at its professional developers conference which starts on the 27th October. Neowin will be live all week so look out for some great information about the future of Windows right here.


neowin.net - 14.10.2008



Check it out: Speech@Microsoft

Nope, it's not a new email address -- it's a new blog. The team responsible for incorporating speech technology into Windows Vista, among other products, has a new blog called Speech @ Microsoft. Their blog started just this month and inaugural posts cover such topics as using speech APIs (COM or .NET) in applications and which languages are supported by Windows Speech Recognition and TTS (text-to-speech) in Windows Vista. If you're interested in Windows Vista's speech recognition capabilities (you did know that it's present in all editions of Windows Vista, didn't you?), then keep this blog on your radar.




winbeta.org - 20.09.2007



Windows Vista Application Compatibility - Useful Links

MCS Ireland: If you're working on a Vista rollout, one of the key aspects of such a project will be application compatibility testing. This is not as complex or time-consuming as most people think - the Application Compatibility Tool can automate a lot of this, and the level of application issues found is typically a lot less than you would expect; that's certainly what we're finding in our work with customers - with one customer who had approximately 600 applications, 2 were found to be incompatible with Vista. For both of these the vendor has new versions that are Vista-supported.



Anyway, back to the topic of links...



For a very quick analysis of an application's status, check out http://www.windowsvista.com/appreadiness. This site is updated weekly, and enables you to search by product or vendor name. You should still use the ACT for a more detailed check for your own environment, but this site is a handy one if you haven't got ACT in place yet.



All our application compatibility information is now in one place. Technet now has a TechCenter for all things appcompat related, covering tools, guidance, communities etc. The link is http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/appcompat/default.aspx.




winbeta.org - 11.02.2008



Flexible Desktop Computing White Paper Released

For the past couple of months Microsoft has been working on a white paper that discusses the variety of both established and emerging desktop deployment technologies in the industry today. For most organizations rich clients have been proven to be the most productive way from a desktop angle and with Windows Vista there are big improvements to make everyone even more productive.

Combined with some server based elements, (e.g. Softgrid Application Virtualization, Folder Redirection, etc...) Windows Vista provides key benefits to enhance user productivity while increasing data security and management capabilities. Still, for some organizations, the complexity of their environments have grown as some workers have very limited tasks in their desktop environments yet deal with massive amounts of sensitive data while other workers need full capabilities on their desktops. So the purpose of this paper is to provide an overview and a starting point for a discussion on some of the different desktop architectures out there as well as showing how Windows Vista can play an integral part in their deployment.

You can find and download the paper at www.windowsvista.com/flex ibledesktop or you can read it right away on this blog if you click here. At both the first site and this blog you will continue to find more and more information on what Microsoft is doing to make it easier to manage and customize your IT infrastructure.


winbeta.org - 26.06.2007



Windows Vista Facts

James Senior: It's always nice to have a few throwaway stats about Windows Vista that you can give to someone when you are combating someone who believes that XP is "good enough" for them. I'd like to share a few with you over the coming weeks and I'll start with a new page on www.windowsvista.com that has some interesting stats on Vista that you might not know about.


• Windows Vista-based PCs resume from sleep in less than 6 seconds.
  
• PCs running Windows Vista that are equipped with 512 MB memory experience a performance boost of up to 40% with ReadyBoost technology
  
• Windows Vista users generally experience 20 percent fewer application "hangs" than those running Windows XP
  
• Superfetch, an ingenious new Windows Vista technology, helps your computer adjust to your schedule, so your apps are ready to go before you even launch them. Use Microsoft Outlook every morning? Superfetch will serve it up just in time for breakfast. Play the same game every night? Superfetch gets your computer ready for the next big win. Waiting less means you can do more. Only on Windows Vista.
  
• Based on their first 180 days of availability, Windows Vista has been shown to have fewer vulnerabilities than Windows XP or MacOS X 10.4
  
• PCs running it are 60 percent less likely to be infected with viruses, worms, and rootkits than PCs running Windows XP SP2
  
• Windows Vista-based PCs are almost three times less likely to be infected with potentially unwanted software than Windows XP-based PCs.
  
• Internet Explorer 7 is now blocking nearly 1 million attempts to access these fake sites per week


For the full article check out:



http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/facts.mspx




winbeta.org - 17.01.2008



.NET Framework 3.0 SP1 & 2.0 SP1 on Vista RTM?

Aaron Ruckman: I've received the following type of question a few times and would like to give the answer with some background:



Q. Where is the .NET Framework 3.0 SP1 & 2.0 SP1 for Vista RTM?



A. .NET Framework 3.0 & 2.0 released with Vista as OS Windows Components, which means that they are serviced as any other windows Component.  Therefore, the .NET Framework 3.0 & 2.0 Service packages will be officially released as part of the Vista Service packages. When Vista SPX is shipped then .NET Framework 2.0 & 3.0 might also include updates in that service package. 



In this case the .NET Framework 3.0 & 2.0 have a service package that will be shipped with Vista SP1.  Vista SP1 RC is available now (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsvista/bb738089.aspx)



NOTE: The same logic stated for Vista and .NET Framework will also be true for Windows2008 & .NET Framework 2.0 & 3.0, only Windows Server2008 will release with .NET Framework 2.0 SP1 & 3.0 SP1 in the OS.




winbeta.org - 21.01.2008



Microsoft Assessment and Planning Beta Refresh Available

Baldwin Ng: For those of you who are considering the migration of your desktop and server infrastructure to Windows Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008, we have good news for you!



As we've announced at TechEd IT Forum 2007 in Barcelona last November, the Microsoft Solution Accelerators team is going to release the expanded version of Windows Vista Hardware Assessment 2.1 called Microsoft Assessment and Planning 3.0 (aka MAP).



In short, MAP is an automated agent-less network-wide inventory and assessment tool that can quickly determine if your organization's desktops and servers are ready for migration to Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008.




winbeta.org - 28.01.2008



New and Improved Windows Vista Developer Story

Come and read the new and improved Windows Vista Developer Story. The developer story used to include only abstracts of each article in the MSDN Library, requiring you to download the documentation file to read the complete content. Now we've published the complete articles in the Library for easier browsing. You can, of course, still download the documentation file.



Come back often to the main Windows Vista Developer Story page on the Windows Vista Developer Center to see what's new.



Enjoy!




winbeta.org - 27.09.2007



Update on Windows Vista SP1 Prerequisite KB937287

Nick White: We've heard a few reports about problems customers may be experiencing as a result of KB937287, the servicing stack update I blogged about last week, and I wanted to provide a quick update for you. Immediately after receiving reports of this error, we made the decision to temporarily suspend automatic distribution of the update to avoid further customer impact while we investigate possible causes.  



So far, we've been able to determine that this problem only affects a small number of customers in unique circumstances. We are working to identify possible solutions and will make the update available again shortly after we address the issue.



Customers who may be experiencing this issue can use system restore to correct it or contact 1-866-PC-Safety for help troubleshooting.  Additional guidance will be available via Microsoft's free Update Support Center soon.




winbeta.org - 20.02.2008



Microsoft launches Windows (PRODUCT) RED

Long Zheng: Slightly few hours before the official launch, Microsoft’s switched on the official Windows Vista Ultimate (PRODUCT) RED website and Dell (PRODUCT) RED PC website. Have a look through to see some of the special extras included in Vista Ultimate (RED) as well as check out the Dell (RED) PCs. Robert McLaws has a higher-resolution screenshot of what the exclusive wallpapers look like. Bear in mind all this comes at no extra cost to the consumer, but it can make a life-changing difference for someone else in the world.



Update: Dell’s (PRODUCT) RED website has also been switch on, although obviously not completely updated.




winbeta.org - 24.01.2008



Windows Vista Hradware: Guide

Just wanted to inform everyone with Windows Vista hardware issues and questions to check out this TeckNet guide! -Enjoy

http://www.microsoft.com....
winbeta.org - 29.12.2005



Has your Office eXPired?

From the Windows Vista Team Blog, Nick White writes:

The other day I was wandering through Building 27 here on the MS campus and found that Michael Howard has a great little poster hanging on his office door. I thought you folks might be interested.


neowin.net - 04.01.2007



Windows Vista Custom PC Design

Microsoft and Dell recently partnered up to create a super-cool custom PC in celebration of Microsoft releasing Windows Vista to manufacturing earlier this month. Our own Sean Alexander had a friend on the Windows Team forward on some pictures and information regarding the high end PC. Here are the system specs:
• Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 Processor
• 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GTX
• 4GB RAM Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM @ 667mhz
• 1Terabyte RAID0 SATA HDDs (2x500MB)
• 48x Combo + 16x DVD+/-RW Double Layer Burner
• Dual TV Tuners (Analog)
• Dell 30" Widescreen Flat Panel Monitor
• Full 5.1 Surround Sound
This PC screams -- it has a Windows Experience Index rating of 5.2!


neowin.net - 22.11.2006



Speech @ Microsoft Blog Online

The team responsible for incorporating speech technology into Windows Vista, among other products, has a new blog called Speech @ Microsoft. Their blog started just this month and inaugural posts cover such topics as using speech APIs (COM or .NET) in applications and which languages are supported by Windows Speech Recognition and TTS (text-to-speech) in Windows Vista. If you're interested in Windows Vista's speech recognition capabilities (you did know that it's present in all editions of Windows Vista, didn't you?), then keep this blog on your radar.

I'm sure they have come a long way since the red faced reception at Redmond demoing the speech wreck-cognition in which the screen displayed anything but what was being said. Microsoft later blamed this on "ambient background noise".


neowin.net - 20.09.2007