All posts tagged Microsoft

The New Exchange Reaches RTM!

Moments ago, the Exchange engineering team signed off on the Release to Manufacturing (RTM) build. This milestone means the coding and testing phase of the project is complete and we are now focused on releasing the new Exchange via multiple distribution channels to our business customers. General availability is planned for the first quarter of 2013.

Link – http://blogs.technet.com/b/exchange/archive/2012/10/11/the-new-exchange-reaches-rtm.aspx

Microsoft to deliver its new small-business server by end of 2012

Microsoft already started rolling out the final versions of most of its Windows Server 2012 SKUs this month. The last of them — Windows Server 2012 Essentials, which is its small/mid-size business server — will be out before year-end, officials said this week.

Windows Server 2012 Essentials is Microsoft’s intended replacement for Windows Small Business Server and Windows Home Server (for those SMBs who were using WHS for business purposes). The Essentials product is a hybrid on-premises/cloud server. It will have a 25-user limit and sell for $425, Microsoft officials have said.

Read More – http://www.zdnet.com/microsoft-to-deliver-its-new-small-business-server-by-end-of-2012-7000003066/

Windows Server 2012 released to manufacturing!

!  Today is the day we’ve all been waiting for.  I’m proud to announce that Windows Server 2012 has been released to manufacturing.  That means the final code is complete and we are delivering it to our hardware and software vendor partners this week.  We will also make the software available to our volume licensing customers in the next couple of weeks.

Read More – http://blogs.technet.com/b/windowsserver/archive/2012/08/01/windows-server-2012-released-to-manufacturing.aspx

Skydrive gets the Metro treatment

Microsoft not only rolled out Outlook.com today but they have also updated SkyDrive to bring it to visual parity of the company’s other properties. The UI change is a dramatic, but familiar, overhaul of the service and none of the core functionality has changed. 

You can see the changes in the images above (and below) but in terms of new features, this appears to mostly be a re-skinning of the cloud service. With the new UI comes a few tweaks to the menu layouts but when compared to the overhaul that Outlook.com received, this is a minor update for the SkyDrive service.

Read More – http://www.neowin.net/news/skydrive-gets-the-metro-treatment-new-ui-rolling-out

Outlook.com, a new email service

Microsoft has been working hard over the past few months to build a new email service and they are ready to show off their hard work. The company is announcing a new email platform, Outlook.com, and Microsoft hopes that with a mature sounding domain and a few time-saving features, you will give it a try. The new email service takes a fresh look at the email experience and is changing everything from privacy and workflow, to advertisement placement and attachments to help you get things done faster with less distraction. 

You can head on over to Outlook.com now and sign up for the preview or if you currently have a Hotmail.com or Live.com email address, you can upgrade your account to the new Outlook.com by going to the “Options” menu and clicking the “Upgrade to Outlook.com”; you will only receive the new UI, not the new domain if you select the upgrade option.

Link – https://outlook.com/

Download Microsoft Exchange Server 2013 Preview

Microsoft Exchange Server 2013 enables you to maintain control, increase user productivity, and keep your organization safe. You can move to the cloud on your terms with flexible migration options. Your users can do more on any device, helping them manage increasing volumes of email and work together more effectively as teams. You can also protect your business communications and sensitive information, while meeting internal and regulatory compliance requirements. With Exchange Server 2013, you can work smarter, anywhere.

Link – http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/hh973395.aspx?wt.mc_id=TEC_116_1_33

Office 2013, Preview download now live

After much excitement, Microsoft has announced Office 2013 and that the new platform will bring the Metro design language to the popular productivity suite. Microsoft made the announcement today in San Francisco and is also announcing that the Office 2013 preview is available for download. 

As you would imagine, the update brings sweeping enhancements across the board for the new platform as it has been nearly three years since Microsoft last pushed out a major release in 2010. Following in the path of the previous releases, Office 2013 is right on time with the two previous platforms launching in 2007 and 2010. 

Download – http://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/officepreview

Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2012 RC

Visual Studio Professional 2012 RC can help you create applications that have innovative user experiences that delight your customers. The integrated environment helps make complex tasks easier so that you can focus on achieving your goals.

Download – http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=29931&WT.mc_id=rss_alldownloads_all

Update Rollup 2 for Exchange 2010 Service Pack 2

Earlier today the Exchange CXP team released Update Rollup 2 for Exchange Server 2010 SP2 to the Download Center.

This update contains a number of customer-reported and internally found issues since the release of SP2 RU1. See KB2661854: Description of Update Rollup 2 for Exchange Server 2010 Service Pack 2 for more details.

Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) 2012

Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) 2012 is the newest version of Microsoft Deployment Toolkit, a Solution Accelerator for operating system and application deployment. MDT 2012 supports deployment of Windows 7, Office 2010 and 365, and Windows Server 2008 R2 in addition to deployment of Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2003, and Windows XP.

Download – http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=25175

Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 Service Pack 2

Microsoft has released an update for Microsoft Office for Mac 2011. This update provides the latest fixes to Office for Mac 2011. Additionally, this update contains stability and reliability improvements.

Download – http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2685940

Windows 8: Where’s our hardware reimagined?

Summary: I want to see, touch or buy a Windows tablet that will get me excited about Windows 8. Six months or so from launch, there’s still nothing filling that gap.

Along with “fast and fluid,” one of the most (over) used catch phrases about Windows 8 is “Windows reimagined.” I’d assume we also are going to see some “reimagined” PCs, too, that will make using the touch-centric Windows 8 less painful and more compelling.

Link – http://www.zdnet.com/blog/microsoft/windows-8-wheres-our-hardware-reimagined/12340?tag=search-results-rivers;item17

System Center 2012 Downloads

System Center Monitoring pack for SQL Server

The Monitoring pack for SQL Server provides the capabilities for Operations Manager 2007 R2 and Operations Manager 2012 to discover SQL Server 2005, 2008, 2008 R2, and SQL Server 2012. It monitors SQL Server components such as database engine instances, databases, and SQL Server agents.

System Center Monitoring Pack for System Center 2012 – Orchestrator

The monitoring pack fmonitors the health and availability of Microsoft System Center 2012 – Orchestrator.

System Center Security Monitoring Pack for Endpoint Protection

This monitoring pack provides real time monitoring capabilities of security incidents detected by Endpoint Protection clients.

System Center Integration Pack for IBM Tivoli Netcool/OMNIbus

The Integration Pack for IBM Tivoli Netcool/OMNIbus is an add-on for System Center 2012 – Orchestrator that enables you to automate actions in response to alerts that are raised within IBM Tivoli Netcool/OMNIbus.

System Center Integration Pack for HP Operations Manager

The Integration Pack for HP Operations Manager is an add-on for System Center 2012 – Orchestrator that enables you to automate the consolidation and correlation of fault and performance events across you entire physical and virtual IT infrastructure.

System Center Integration Pack for Active Directory

The Integration Pack for Active Directory is an add-on for System Center 2012 – Orchestrator that enables you to connect Orchestrator to your Active Directory Server to automate its management.

System Center Integration Pack for HP Service Manager

The Integration Pack for HP Service Manager is an add-on for System Center 2012 – Orchestrator that enables you to retrieve, create, update and monitor tickets in HP Service Manager.

System Center Integration Pack for VMware vSphere

The Integration Pack for VMware vSphere is an add-on for System Center 2012 – Orchestrator that enables you to connect System Center Orchestrator to your VMware vSphere server to automate actions in VMware vSphere to enable full management of the virtualized computing infrastructure.

System Center Integration Pack for HP iLO and OA

The Integration Pack for HP Lights-Out (iLO) and Onboard Administrator (OA) is an add-on for System Center 2012 – Orchestrator that enables you to automate HP iLO and OA commands.

System Center 2012 – Operations Manager Component Add – On

This page contains an additional tool that applies to System Center 2012 – Operations Manager

System Center Monitoring Pack for System Center 2012 – Configuration Manager

This monitoring pack helps administrators manage and administer Configuration Manager servers, computers, databases, services, disks, applications, or any other kind of object that requires monitoring..

Microsoft Visio 2010 and SharePoint 2010 Extensions for System Center 2012

Enable Visio diagram to integrate current health state from System Center 2012 – Operations Manager

System Center Monitoring Pack for WS-Management and SMASH Device Discovery

This monitoring pack adds a new template to System Center 2012 – Operations Manage to enable discovery and management of WS-Management/SMASH compliant devices..

System Center 2012 – Configuration Manager Component Add-ons and Extensions

Download and install add-ons and extensions for the System Center 2012 – Configuration Manager component.

System Center 2012 – Service Manager Component Add-ons and Extensions

Download and install add-ons and extensions for the System Center 2012 – Service Manager component.

System Center 2012 – Orchestrator Component Add-ons and Extensions

Download and install add-ons and extensions for the System Center 2012 – Orchestrator component.

System Center 2012 Configuration Manager

Configuration Manager 2012 was built on the vision of a user-centric client-management model with the vision of empowering the user, unifying infrastructure, and extending management control across the platform. With Configuration Manager 2012, we have improved Client Patching, end point protection, better compliance/reporting and management of devices synching with the network.

Technical Documentation Download for System Center 2012 – Service Manager

This page lists the technical documentation downloads that are available for the Service Manager component of System Center 2012.

Technical Documentation Download for System Center 2012 – Unified Installer

This page lists the technical documentation downloads that are available for System Center 2012 – Unified Installer.

Technical Documentation Download for System Center 2012 – Operations Manager

This page lists the technical documentation downloads that are available for the Operations Manager component of System Center 2012.

Technical Documentation Download for System Center 2012 – Virtual Machine Manager

This page lists the technical documentation downloads that are available for the Virtual Machine Manager component of System Center 2012.

Technical Documentation Download for System Center 2012 – Orchestrator

This page lists the technical documentation downloads that are available for the Orchestrator component of System Center 2012.

System Center Monitoring Pack for Active Directory (AD)

The Monitoring Pack for Active Directory (AD) provides both proactive and reactive monitoring of your Active Directory deployment.

Internet Information Services (IIS) 8.0 Express Beta

IIS 8.0 Express is a simple and self-contained version of IIS 8.0 that is optimized for developers.

Link – http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=29055