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Exchange Online and SharePoint Online Out of Beta and Ready for Purchase

Admin — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 10:25:56 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — Nov. 17, 2008 — Today, at a launch event in San Francisco, Stephen Elop, president of the Microsoft Business Division at Microsoft Corp., was joined by customers and partners to announce the availability of Microsoft Exchange Online and Microsoft SharePoint Online for businesses of all sizes in the United States. These subscription services offer businesses a new way to purchase, deploy and manage the industry-leading e-mail and calendaring solution, and the industry-leading solution for portals and collaboration.

“Customers are embracing Microsoft’s software and services strategy en masse because of the choice and flexibility it gives them,” Elop said. “Today, we bring business-class communications and collaboration technologies to the cloud, and we are committed to delivering more capabilities in the months ahead. No one has done what we are doing at this scale, and I’m certain that our customers will continue to take on these solutions as our offerings grow.”

Full Article - http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2008/nov08/11-17ExchangeSharePointOnlinePR.mspx?rss_fdn=Press%20Releases

A New Dawn in Home Entertainment for Everyone Begins Nov. 19

Admin — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 10:25:19 GMT

REDMOND, Wash. — Nov. 17, 2008 — In 1954, the introduction of color TV heralded the dawn of a new era in entertainment. On Nov. 19, more than 50 years after that dramatic shift, a new era in home entertainment begins with the New Xbox Experience, as millions of Xbox 360 consoles will transform in an instant through the power of software. A bold new future begins now, where high-definition (HD) entertainment is delivered in an instant, the best games share the stage with the best movies and TV shows, and every experience is shared with friends and family in the same room or around the world.

By the end of this month, Xbox 360 will reach another industry-defining milestone:
25 million Xbox 360 consoles sold worldwide. It has taken the leading next-generation game and entertainment console just three years to eclipse the total lifetime number of original Xbox consoles sold.

“The future of home entertainment is Xbox 360 — it’s on-demand, it’s high-definition, it’s always social, it’s all in one place,” said Don Mattrick, senior vice president for the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft Corp. “With the New Xbox Experience, we will reach the next generation of Xbox owners, 25 million and beyond. We are at a watershed moment, backed by the largest entertainment brands, with an incredible lineup of entertainment unmatched in any industry.”

Full Article - http://www.microsoft.com/Presspass/press/2008/nov08/11-17NXELaunchPR.mspx?rss_fdn=Press%20Releases#

Microsoft Unveils Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio 2008

Admin — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 10:24:55 GMT

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Nov. 17, 2008 — At the RoboDevelopment Conference and Expo in Santa Clara, Calif., Microsoft Corp. today announced the general availability of Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio 2008 (Microsoft RDS), the newest version of its robotics programming platform. Microsoft RDS includes a simple programming model to support building asynchronous applications, a set of visual authoring and simulation tools to aid in application development, and tutorials and sample code to help developers get started.

This is Microsoft’s third major release of Microsoft RDS and builds upon its previous versions, which have received support throughout the robotics community, from students to researchers and commercial developers. More than 250,000 copies of Microsoft RDS have been downloaded and more than 60 hardware and software companies support or use the platform as a part of their products.

Full Article - http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2008/nov08/11-17RoboDevelopmentPR.mspx?rss_fdn=Press%20Releases

Microsoft Announces General Availability of Windows Small Business Server 2008 and Windows Essential Business Server 2008

Admin — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 08:34:17 GMT

REDMOND, Wash. — Nov. 12, 2008 — As part of Microsoft Corp.’s $6.5 billion annual investment in products, support programs and incentives for small and midsize businesses, the company today announced the general availability of Windows Small Business Server 2008 (SBS 2008) and Windows Essential Business Server 2008 (EBS 2008). These solutions bring the power of Microsoft’s enterprise-class server technologies to small and midsize companies in a way that companies can best consume them. They are designed and priced to help customers save money and compete more successfully in the global marketplace.

“If time equals money, then we’re saving a lot of money,” said Rob Harris of Robby Gordon Motorsports. “Our race car business is very performance-based with things constantly changing. I attribute a lot of our growth to Microsoft’s server solutions and the impact they have on our company’s ability to perform in a competitive worldwide arena.”

Full Article - http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2008/nov08/11-12WESSPR.mspx?rss_fdn=Press%20Releases

Microsoft launches Windows 7 cloud apps

Admin — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 08:33:54 GMT

If you’ve already installed one of the pre-beta Windows 7 builds courtesy of BitTorrent, now you can take it a step closer to being the real deal.
Included in today’s worldwide launch of Windows Live Wave 3, the third generation of Microsoft’s online services, are the cloud-based apps that will take care of your email, photos and home movies in Windows 7 rather than use OS-resident software.
Windows Live Mail has been out for some time, of course, but now you can download the new Windows Live Photo Gallery app plus a beta of Windows Live Movie Maker.

Full Article - http://apcmag.com/microsoft_launches_windows_7_cloud_apps.htm

Windows 7 to allow PC backups to network share

Admin — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 18:53:28 GMT

One of the most compelling features of the Windows Home Server is the automated image backup to the network share. However if you find a home server a little too much (or expensive) like I do, then you’d be glad to know Windows 7 will make the job of making “Windows Complete PC Backups” at least half as easy by allowing you to backup straight to a network share.

Whereas in Vista you could only do a complete backup to hard disk or DVDs (with files you could backup to network share), taking it one step further to the network share makes it much easier to do backups especially since you can’t backup to the same drive as the operating system. And I don’t think anyone will juggle 71 DVDs to backup their 500GB hard drive. I guess now’s as good a time as any to buy a NAS device.

Windows 7's Calculator Bundles Real-Life Uses

Admin — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 12:58:10 GMT

While mathletes, scientists, coders, and statisticians will appreciate Windows 7's built-in calculator's programmer, statistics, and scientific modes, everyday people will love figuring out things like hourly wages and mortgage payments without a spreadsheet. Yes, it may seem ridiculous to give more than a few lines of attention to something as minor as a calculator, but until you've seen the built-in calculator in the Windows 7 Preview, you haven't known pure calculator bliss. This default calculator goes above and beyond the brick on your desk by including unit conversions, date calculations, and a neat new set of "templates" that let you do things like figure out gas mileage, hourly wages, mortgage payments, leases, and more. Check out some of the calculator goodness in the Windows 7 Preview.

Full Article - http://lifehacker.com/5078756/windows-7s-calculator-bundles-real+life-uses

More Free Software for Students

Admin — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 13:56:20 GMT

If your a student and you haven't seen Microsoft Dreamspark, your missing out on some great offers. Simply signup, verify your student status, and receive FREE Microsoft software.

http://channel8.msdn.com

Windows Embedded Standard 2009 Supports System Center Operations Manager 2007 SP1!

Admin — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 13:50:34 GMT

As part of Windows Embedded Standard 2009, we have added inbox support for System Center Operations Manager 2007 SP1.

System Center Operation Manager is an Enterprise Software Solution that can do end to end monitoring in the enterprise IT environment. System Center Operations Manager provides an easy-to-use monitoring environment that monitors thousands of events and performance counters across hundreds of operating systems and applications to provide a single view of the health of an organization’s IT environment. This view of a service’s health is key to a rapid, agile response to events that may impact the normal running of a business and ultimately cost an enterprise money.

Full Article - http://blogs.msdn.com/embedded/archive/2008/11/07/windows-embedded-standard-2009-supports-system-center-operations-manager-2007-sp1.aspx

Visual Studio 2010 and .NET Framework 4.0 CTP

Admin — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 13:48:15 GMT

Right on the heels of VS 2008 SP1 the VS 2010 CTP is available for download as a Virtual PC 2007 image (so it is HUGE - best to use a tool to download the image).

Check out the new WPF based XML Editor (basically building on top of the new WPF Text Editor) as well as the brand new XML Schema Designer (more of a viewer currently though) which adds to the XML Schema Explorer in Orcas SP1 and add multiple designer views such as a Graph View and a Content Model View to make working with XML Schemas really easy and intuitive.

Here are some screenshots of the improvements that we shipped in this CTP. We would love to hear your feedback about any of these tools.

Windows 7 M3 Interactive Install Screenshot Gallery

Admin — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 17:12:31 GMT

As you can see from the screenshots below, the process of installing Windows 7 using the interactive Setup application is very similar to that of Windows Vista. There are some differences, however. Windows 7 Setup is even more streamlined than that of Vista, and there are some interesting additions, including a Join a Wireless Network wizard (that occurs only when Setup detects wireless networking hardware) and the Setup Homegroup screen. Note, too, that the PC performance step occurs much more quickly than it does in Vista.

Full Article - http://www.winsupersite.com/win7/win7_m3_install.asp

Sandbox users with Windows 7 PC Safeguard

Admin — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 17:08:11 GMT

If you share your PC with many users, some of whom may be messy users with a habit of littering files and changing settings, or you might just be a privacy nut who doesn’t like to leave any traces behind, either way, a new and previously unannounced feature in Windows 7 called “PC Safeguard” might just be what you’re after.

First noticed by the enthusiasts at JCXP.net, “PC Safeguard”, as it is called in the Windows 7 user account settings, prevents specified standard user accounts (cannot be applied to admin accounts) from making permanent and unwanted changes by removing all changes and files saved after the user logs off.

Full Article - http://www.istartedsomething.com/20081104/sandbox-users-with-windows-7-pc-safeguard/

Shake up your Windows 7 with Aero Shake

Admin — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 17:06:48 GMT

One feature of the Windows 7 user experience that wasn’t demoed or even talked about last week at PDC 2008 is called “Aero Shake” - the same feature that led Rafael on an epic journey to unravel the secrets of build 6801 superbar. What Aero Shake does is allows you to shake your application windows furiously, to quickly minimize all other windows, at the same time experiencing a seizure in your hand.

It’s a pretty cool feature that I can see some practical use for it, but I think they need to work on the sensitivity so users don’t wear out their desk.

Full Article - http://www.istartedsomething.com/20081103/shake-up-your-windows-7-with-aero-shake/

Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkt 3.2 New Features

Admin — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 17:06:03 GMT

Many of you are in the midst of an IT migration or upgrade planning but do not know with 100% certainty what computers are in your IT environment or what applications have been deployed. The Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit 3.2 makes it easier for customers and partners like you to quickly identify what servers, workstations, and network devices are in your IT environment. MAP also provides specific and actionable IT proposals and reports to help you get the most value out of Microsoft products and infrastructure.

Full article - http://blogs.technet.com/mapblog/archive/2008/11/03/rtm-news-microsoft-assessment-and-planning-toolkit-3-2-now-available.aspx

Windows 7 to let users create a Desktop Slideshow from files, feeds

Admin — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 17:05:07 GMT

Curious as to what else was under Microsoft’s elaborate lock, key, and duct-tape protection scheme mentioned earlier, I had my friend Chris Holmes run a scan of his 7 system, as I’m still babying my laptop’s SSD drive. What we found were ties into system files littered across the entire operating system. Post-analysis revealed another feature tucked away in the corner – Say hello to (what I think should be called) Desktop Slideshow. If your memory is sharp, you’ll remember Long Zheng found mention of this very feature on MSDN first, of which was quickly sanitized by Sinofsky’s secret police.

Full article- http://www.withinwindows.com/2008/11/03/windows-7-to-let-users-create-a-desktop-slideshow-from-files-rss-feeds/

Visual Studio 2010 and .NET Framework 4.0 CTP now available!

Admin — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 17:50:19 GMT

The Visual Studio 2010 and .NET Framework 4.0 CTP is now available, featuring Parallel Extensions to .NET! Parallel Extensions has been introduced before, but what sets this CTP apart from the previous two is that it’s not a CTP of Parallel Extensions alone but of Visual Studio 2010 and .NET 4.0. And excitingly, the Task Parallel Library, PLINQ, and Coordination Data Structures have made their way deep into the heart of the Framework.

Full article - http://blogs.msdn.com/pfxteam/archive/2008/10/31/9026988.aspx

How Libraries & HomeGroup Work Together in Windows 7

Admin — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 17:25:43 GMT

I’ve gotten the chance to play around with the Windows 7 pre-beta build and I feel like a kid in a candy store. There are many new features that I personally am excited about that I hope to blog about over time. To kick things off I wanted to discuss the several new features in Windows 7 that make managing and sharing your files on your home network a much easier experience than ever before. Using Windows 7’s Libraries along with its HomeGroup network sharing feature, I was able to share content with other PC users on my home network. I’m going to go into detail on my experience with Libraries and setting up a HomeGroup on my network with Windows 7 to illustrate these new features for you. And believe it or not… it all starts with the relatively minor changes made to the naming of folders within User Profiles in Windows 7.

Full Article - http://windowsteamblog.com/blogs/windowsexperience/archive/2008/10/28/how-libraries-amp-homegroup-work-together-in-windows-7.aspx

Microsoft Office 14 Web Applications Preview

Admin — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 16:46:01 GMT

On Tuesday, Microsoft will unveil details about its next office productivity offering, Office 14. Among other things, the Office 14 wave of products will include the oft-rumored Web versions of certain Office applications, giving customers a way to both view and edit rich Office documents in the Web. For this first version of Office Web Applications--which may or may not be the final name--Microsoft is providing Web-based versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote.

Full Article - http://www.winsupersite.com/office/office14_web_preview.asp

Next version of Office heads to the browser

Admin — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 16:40:58 GMT

LOS ANGELES--After years of questioning the value of Net-based productivity applications, Microsoft confirmed Tuesday that it will offer new versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint that can run from within a standard Web browser.

As first reported by CNET News last week, Microsoft will use its Professional Developer Conference here to show off browser-based versions of its Office programs.

In an interview, Microsoft Business Division President Stephen Elop said that the browser-based editing capabilities are being developed in conjunction with the next version of Office, known as Office 14. Microsoft won't say when that version will arrive, but Elop said that a technology preview of the browser-based products will come later this year and that a beta version will be released in 2009.

Full Article - http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-10076883-75.html?tag=mncol;posts

PDC 2008: 'Windows Azure' is Microsoft's cloud-based hosting service

Admin — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 18:42:54 GMT

A few weeks ago, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer gave clear hints of a Windows-branded product that will be deployed in the cloud. At 8:55 am PDT Monday, Ozzie christened this service Windows Azure.

As expected, Microsoft Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie began his first day keynote speech at PDC 2008 (he'll be back for Day 2) by staking his company's new claim to software as services. "The Web has become a key demand generation mechanism," he said in his characteristic high-flying style, "becoming Web services' front door."

Full Article - http://www.betanews.com/article/Windows_Azure_is_Microsofts_cloudbased_hosting_service/1225123288

Windows Server 2008 R2 Overview Feature Overview

Admin — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 18:39:29 GMT

This week at PDC 2008 in LA and next week at WinHEC 2008 Microsoft will announce details about the next release of Windows codename Windows Seven. In this article I will inform you about what is coming to Windows Seven Server, which will be released as Windows Server 2008 R2, this is the same release schedule as first used with Window Server 2003 (Major release, Minor Release). For this reason I still find it strange that Microsoft used "Seven" as a codename (for client even releasename). For both client and server this is a minor release or point release, the kernel version is 6.x and not 7.0. Ah well, marketing is not my thing I guess.

Full Article - http://bink.nu/news/windows-server-2008-r2-overview-feature-overview.aspx

Microsoft readies pre-beta release of ‘Windows 7 Server’

Admin — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 18:38:52 GMT

Microsoft is readying a beta of Windows Server 2008 R2, a k a “Windows 7 Server,” and will share some more details about the features and rollout plans for that product during the company’s Professional Developers Conference kick-off keynote on October 27.

Microsoft officials are expected to show off M3 (Milestone 3) pre-beta build of Windows 7 at PDC. It sounds like they also will show off the M3 of Windows Server 2008 R2, which my sources said is either done or close to done. In either case, Microsoft is expected to release to a select group of testers a pre-beta of Windows Server 2008 R2 in the next week or so, sources said.

Full Article - http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=1668

Windows Vista Service Pack 2 Beta

Admin — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 06:56:33 GMT

Hi there, Mike Nash here.

As you know we are getting ready to talk about Windows 7 at the PDC next week. Before we do that, I thought I would give you an update on our latest work for Windows Vista.

We are committed to continually improving Windows, and we've been getting some questions about the timing of the next service pack for Windows Vista. Following the success of Windows Vista Service Pack 1 last spring, we have been working hard on Windows Vista Service Pack 2. As a part of the development and testing process, we're going to start by providing a small group of Technology Adoption Program customers with Windows Vista SP2 Beta for evaluation next Wednesday, October 29. The final release date for Windows Vista SP2 will be based on quality. So we'll track customer and partner feedback from the beta program before setting a final date for the release.

Full Article - http://windowsvistablog.com/blogs/windowsvista/archive/2008/10/24/windows-vista-service-pack-2-beta.aspx

Here Comes Windows 7: A PDC 2008 Preview

Admin — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 15:35:37 GMT

With Microsofties already descending on Los Angeles in anticipation of next week's Professional Developers Conference (PDC) 2008, the wider computing-using public is eagerly awaiting news of Windows 7, Microsoft's next desktop OS. The software giant will ship a pre-beta version of the system to attendees, the first such release of Vista's successor. I'll be in Los Angeles for the next week covering the show and all of the Windows 7-related developments and you should bookmark my PDC 2008 page, which will include a live blog and ongoing updates during the show.

Here's what to expect.

Full Article - http://www.winsupersite.com/win7/win7_hereitcomes.asp

Microsoft Preps SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 3

Admin — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 15:34:51 GMT

Microsoft (NSDQ:MSFT) has reiterated its intention to release a third service pack for SQL Server 2005 by the end of the year, after making a similar announcement in April.

In a Monday blog post, Nosheen Syed, lead program manager in Microsoft's SQL Server Sustained Engineering group, said SQL Server 2005 SP3 will consist of all Cumulative Updates Microsoft has issued for the software, up to and including Cumulative Update 9 from SQL Server 2005 SP2.

SQL Server 2005 caused headaches for early Vista users, because Vista required SQL Server 2005 SP2, but Microsoft didn't release SQL Server SP2 until February 2007, more than two months after it released Vista to business users.

Full Article - http://www.crn.com/software/211300549?cid=microsoftFeed