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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

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/

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/

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

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/

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 (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