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Several weeks ago, some pundits were quick to dismiss Windows Mobile 6.5’s honeycomb menu as a “glorified grid”, an Engadget editorial put it – “a sign that Microsoft has gone out of its way to avoid a grid”, but that’s what happens when misinformed “journalists” try to appear smart. The truth is, the honeycomb from a usability perspective is superior than traditional square grids for a touch interface. Here’s why.

Contrary to popular belief, the tip of human fingers is not squared, but in fact circle-shaped when depressed against a hard surface like a touchscreen. When you’re space-constrained as you are in something like the applications menu – where there’s a fine balance between how many icons can be displayed at one time and how easy it is to hit the icons, large circular hitareas makes it easier for users to touch the desired icons and avoid accidentally hitting nearby icons.

Full Article – http://www.istartedsomething.com/20090302/windows-mobile-65-honeycomb-menu-simple-ingenuity/

Several weeks ago, some pundits were quick to dismiss Windows Mobile 6.5’s honeycomb menu as a “glorified grid”, an Engadget editorial put it – “a sign that Microsoft has gone out of its way to avoid a grid”, but that’s what happens when misinformed “journalists” try to appear smart. The truth is, the honeycomb from a usability perspective is superior than traditional square grids for a touch interface. Here’s why.

Contrary to popular belief, the tip of human fingers is not squared, but in fact circle-shaped when depressed against a hard surface like a touchscreen. When you’re space-constrained as you are in something like the applications menu – where there’s a fine balance between how many icons can be displayed at one time and how easy it is to hit the icons, large circular hitareas makes it easier for users to touch the desired icons and avoid accidentally hitting nearby icons.

Full Article – http://www.istartedsomething.com/20090302/windows-mobile-65-honeycomb-menu-simple-ingenuity/

March 4, 2009 (Network World) Software that for the first time lets users run native copies of the Windows operating systems on a mainframe will be introduced Friday by data center automation vendor Mantissa.

The company’s z/VOS software is a CMS application that runs on IBM’s z/VM and creates a foundation for Intel-based operating systems.

Users only need a desktop appliance running Microsoft’s Remote Desktop Connection (RDC) client, which is the same technology used to attach to Windows running on Terminal Server or Citrix-based servers.

Users will be able to connect to their virtual and fully functional Windows environments without any knowledge that the operating system and the applications are executing on the mainframe and not the desktop.

Full Article – http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9129024&source=rss_topic125

Shadow Copies is the informal term for Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS), also known as “Previous Versions.” All three names point to the same feature: the automatic saving of copies of files. The purpose of the service is to allow you to restore these backups of files that you have lost for any reason—file corruption, for example. VSS works in conjunction with both System Restore and Windows Backup. If it’s properly set up, simply right-click a file name from within Windows Explorer and choose Restore Previous Versions to access this feature. Vista—or Windows 7, for those already using the beta of Microsoft’s new OS—will open the Properties dialog for the selected file or folder, and from there you’ll select the previous version you want to restore. Some users won’t have to set up VSS, but in case your system isn’t already configured to save versions of files, here’s how to get started.

Full Article – http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2342534,00.asp

The Service Pack 2 Beta is currently available in English, French, German, Japanese, or Spanish. For more information about how to obtain the Service Pack 2 Beta visit one of the following Microsoft Web sites.

• TechNet Customer Preview Program for Windows Vista SP2 Beta and Windows Server 2008 SP2 Beta

  http://technet.microsoft.com/windows/dd262148 (http://technet.microsoft.com/windows/dd262148)

• MSDN Customer Preview Program for Windows Vista 2008 SP2 Beta and Windows Server 2008 SP2 Beta

  http://msdn.microsoft.com/windows/dd262148

I’ve been working with Windows Server 2008 since pre-release betas hit the TechNet download world. Initially, my focus was work-oriented, getting my job done. I had to deploy a few servers, and I found the overall structure to be the same as 2003, so I wasn’t overly frustrated looking for new ways to do old things (like adding a simple user in Active Directory). Slowly, however, I became aware of some really nice enhancements within the latest Windows Server OS.

For example, there’s Server Core. It has a command-line interface, a lighter footprint, and a smaller attack surface (making it a welcome security choice). It has read-only domain controllers, not unlike the NT 4.0 BDC (Backup Domain Controller) concept, but with a solid purpose of remote branch office domain controller deployment and without the security risk that a writable domain controller poses.

Full Article – http://weblog.infoworld.com/enterprisewindows/archives/2009/03/win_server_2008.html

The DHCP server in Windows Server 2008 R2 has invested in the areas of security, reliability, manageability and usability. Similarly on the DHCP Client in Windows 7 has invested on certain optimization for obtaining IP Address.

The following changes are available in DHCP server in Windows Server 2008 R2:

· Supports MAC address based network access control mechanism, with the Link Layer based Filtering feature. With this feature DHCP Administrator can control issuance/denial of DHCP leases/IP addresses.

· Supports prevention of name squatting issues caused due to non-Windows OS machines, with the Name Protection feature. Using this feature one could prevent registration of non-Windows OS machine with a same name that is already registered for another machine in DNS Server.

Full Article – http://blogs.technet.com/teamdhcp/archive/2009/02/26/new-features-in-dhcp-for-windows-server-2008-r2-windows-7.aspx

The Windows Server® 2008 R2 operating system includes changes to Windows Server® 2008 features and technologies that help improve the security of computers running Windows Server 2008 R2, increase productivity, and reduce administrative overhead. The following topics describe some of these features and technologies.

Full Article – http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd391932.aspx

It’s been almost two years since I’ve looked at Apple’s Safari browser in any official capacity (see my overview of Safari 3), and for good reason: Safari simply isn’t a good option for Windows users. It never has been. And, I suspect, it never will be.

Well, kudos to Apple for keeping up the good fight. They’re back this week with a beta version of their upcoming Safari 4 browser, which appears to be Google Chrome with a few UI changes. As an Apple product, it’s immediately interesting of course. But as an Apple product, it’s also uniquely unsuitable for Windows users. And that’s too bad, because the underlying Web rendering technology utilized by Safari–WebKit–has a better than average chance of becoming the technology layer through which most of us access the Web and cloud-based services of the future. I just wish Apple could get the basics right on Windows. Safari 4, like its predecessors, is just a horrible Windows application.

Full Article – http://www.winsupersite.com/alt/safari4.asp

Windows 7 includes a nearly-hidden feature called PC Safeguard that is primarily aimed at shared consumer PCs that need to be returned to their original running state after being used by a child or guest. The feature can be enabled on individual user accounts; when user logs off or the PC reboots, those accounts are wiped clean and returned to their original configuration. PC Safeguard is useful for small classrooms, libraries, and other shared computing scenarios, but is really designed for home use, where parents may want to configure the feature for their children.

Full Article – http://www.winsupersite.com/win7/ff_pcsafeguard.asp

A new report claims that around 90% of UK homes will have access to 32Mb/sec broadband connections in ten years’ time.

The claim comes from research firm Point Topic which has released a report charting the evolution of internet access in the UK over the past ten years.

The report praises the Universal Service Commitment for broadband mandated by Lord Carter in the recent Digital Britain report, claiming it could drive broadband to areas that might miss out.

Full Article – http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/248442/90-of-uk-to-have-32mbsec-broadband-by-2019.html

A new report claims that around 90% of UK homes will have access to 32Mb/sec broadband connections in ten years’ time.

The claim comes from research firm Point Topic which has released a report charting the evolution of internet access in the UK over the past ten years.

The report praises the Universal Service Commitment for broadband mandated by Lord Carter in the recent Digital Britain report, claiming it could drive broadband to areas that might miss out.

Full Article – http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/248442/90-of-uk-to-have-32mbsec-broadband-by-2019.html

February 24, 2009 (Computerworld) Microsoft Corp. will turn Windows 7’s background picture black and put up persistent notices on the screen if users don’t activate the new operating system, a company manager said yesterday.

The Windows 7 beta, the public preview Microsoft launched Jan. 10 but has since stopped offering, exhibits much of the same behavior as Windows Vista if it is not activated within 30 days, said Alex Kochis, senior product manager for Microsoft’s Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) program.

“If you do not activate the software within the grace period, you will receive persistent notifications, including a message from the system tray every 60 minutes that reminds you to ‘Activate Windows Now,’ ” said Kochis in a long entry to the WGA blog. Also on-screen, he said, is a permanent notice that the copy of Windows is “non-genuine,” Microsoft’s term for pirated or not-yet-activated versions of the operating system; a similar message appears whenever the user launches the Control Panel, which houses Windows’ settings and options.

Full Article – http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9128544

We wanted to let you know that an update was released earlier today that will improve Internet Explorer’s reliability for users running the Windows 7 Beta. The update is now available via Windows Update, and can also be downloaded via Microsoft Update.

In this post we’ll discuss how we used the information that we’re receiving from Windows 7 Beta customers to determine the reliability fixes to include in this update.

We use the term “reliability” to broadly encompass all types of stability problems including crashes, hangs, memory leaks, etc. When we measure reliability we rely primarily on instrumentation built into Internet Explorer 8 and Windows 7. For example, the Customer Experience Improvement Program enables us to better understand how customers use our products, and Windows Error Reporting provides detailed information about the problems customers encounter. Shortly after the Windows 7 Beta became publically available these systems began to send information back to Microsoft.

Full Article – http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2009/02/24/IE8-Reliability-Update-for-Windows-7-Beta-Now-Available.aspx

REDMOND, Wash.–Among the many tidbits in Steve Ballmer’s talk to financial analysts Tuesday was the fact that folks should not expect the next version of Office, code-named Office 14, to come out this year.

“From a strategy perspective, the next big innovation milestone is Office 14, our next Office release, which will not be this year,” Ballmer told the Wall Street crowd. “There’s a version of SharePoint. There’s a version of Exchange. There’s a new version of Office Live.”

As it has been with Windows 7, Microsoft has been cagey about when to expect Office 14, though some thought it might yet come out this year. Windows 7 is still expected to come out later this year, in time to be on PCs sold during the holiday shopping season.

Full Article – http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10171831-56.html?tag=newsLatestHeadlinesArea.0