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Yesterday, our friends on the Windows Mobile Team have announced Windows Mobile 6.1 at CTIA Wireless 2008 in Las Vegas. Windows Mobile Program Manager Mel Sampat made the announcement on the Windows Mobile Team Blog which also includes information on devices and carriers that will get upgrades to Windows Mobile 6.1. Keep your eyes on their blog for more Windows Mobile 6.1 information in the near future. You can also watch Microsoft President of Entertainment and Devices Division Robbie Bach’s CTIA Keynote from CTIA Wireless 2008 by clicking here!

Full Article – http://windowsvistablog.com/blogs/windowsexperience/archive/2008/04/01/experiencing-the-goodness-that-is-windows-mobile-6-1.aspx

Power Pack 1 for Windows Home Server (WHS) is much like a service pack for any another Microsoft operating system, except that its main focus is to bring new features to the consumer, in addition to the usual bug fixes. One such bug fix that will now be included in the first major update to WHS is for the rather serious file corruption problem that affects a growing list of software.

After 342 replies were made to a topic discussing Power Pack 1’s shipping status, Microsoft has decided to listen to its customers by delaying the shipping of the update and merging the file corruption patch with it. Previously, the software giant was planning to release the two separately; the Power Pack would come first since the code for it had already been finalized for a while now. It is a bit unsettling that a problem that affects a minority of users is delaying a Power Pack, but then again, Microsoft can afford such decisions with new products that need to maintain quality levels on every update.

The bug fix was previously slated for a June 2008 release, so it can be expected that Power Pack 1 will hit sometime around then. The WHS team has announced that it expects private (hardware and software Partners, Microsoft MVPs, Windows Home Server Insiders, and Microsoft Employees) testing to start in April with public beta testing following in May. If you’re interested in the public beta, register now and wait for the notification e-mail. Hopefully the testing won’t cause further delays to the final PP1 release.

The old idea where Microsoft bases an operating system on central pillars? It’s back, and with a complete refocus of priorities. Looking back, the original pillars of Longhorn were Avalon (WPF), Indigo (WCF), and WinFS, as well as the pseudo-pillar which was referred to as “Fundamentals.”

No longer does Microsoft’s basis for an operating system focus on key architectural developments such as the various frameworks of yore. Now, it seems, pillars are at least tentatively being redefined as design and usability concepts upon which to build the operating system.

Over the next five days, I’m going to spend some time on AeroXP presenting to you the separate pillars upon which the Windows® 7 experience (and indeed, Windows® 7 as a whole) will be built. What you’ll see are the five pillars of Windows® 7 and the specific scenarios which the Windows team plans to enhance. Wherever possible, I’ll enhance the scenario depictions with visual aids (read: screenshots). The first pillar is after the jump.

Full Article – http://www.aeroxp.org/index.php?categoryid=23&p2_articleid=164

The old idea where Microsoft bases an operating system on central pillars? It’s back, and with a complete refocus of priorities. Looking back, the original pillars of Longhorn were Avalon (WPF), Indigo (WCF), and WinFS, as well as the pseudo-pillar which was referred to as “Fundamentals.”

No longer does Microsoft’s basis for an operating system focus on key architectural developments such as the various frameworks of yore. Now, it seems, pillars are at least tentatively being redefined as design and usability concepts upon which to build the operating system.

Over the next five days, I’m going to spend some time on AeroXP presenting to you the separate pillars upon which the Windows® 7 experience (and indeed, Windows® 7 as a whole) will be built. What you’ll see are the five pillars of Windows® 7 and the specific scenarios which the Windows team plans to enhance. Wherever possible, I’ll enhance the scenario depictions with visual aids (read: screenshots). The first pillar is after the jump.

Full Article – http://www.aeroxp.org/index.php?categoryid=23&p2_articleid=164

In a seemingly off-the-cuff announcement at IDF today, Intel announced it will be launching solid-state hard disks (SSDs) based on its NAND flash-memory technology.

The devices are designed to replace traditional mechanical hard disk drives. Rumours on the subject have been circulating for a while but the sudden confirmation of their existence is a big surprise.

Full Article – http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/183714/intels-shock-entry-into-hard-disks.html

Creating_and_Deploying_Active_Directory_Rights_Management_Services_Templates_Step-by-Step_Guide.doc

Deploying Active Directory Rights Management Services in a Multiple Forest Environment Step-by-Step Guide.doc

Deploying Active Directory Rights Management Services in an Extranet Step-by-Step Guide.doc

Deploying Active Directory Rights Management Services with Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Step-By-Step Guide.doc

Deploying an Active Directory Rights Management Services Licensing-only Cluster Step-by-Step Guide.doc

Deploying SSTP Remote Access Step by Step Guide.doc

Removing Active Directory Rights Management Services Step-by-Step Guide.doc

Server Manager Scenarios Step-by-Step Guide.doc

Server_Core_Installation_Option_of_Windows_Server_2008_Step-By-Step_Guide.doc

Step_by_Step_Guide_to_Customizing_TS_Web_Access_by_Using_Windows_SharePoint_Services.doc

Step-by-Step Guide for Configuring a Two-Node File Server Failover Cluster in Windows Server 2008.doc

Step-by-Step Guide for Configuring a Two-Node Print Server Failover Cluster in Windows Server 2008.doc

Step-by-Step Guide for File Server Resource Manager in Windows Server 2008.doc

Step-by-Step Guide for Storage Manager for SANs in Windows Server 2008.doc

Step-by-Step Guide to Deploying Policies for Windows Firewall with Advanced Security.doc

Step-by-Step_Guide_for_Configuring_Network_Load_Balancing_with_Terminal_Services_in_Windows_Server_2008.doc

Step-by-Step_Guide_for_Windows_Deployment_Services_in_Windows_Server_2008.doc

Using Identity Federation with Active Directory Rights Management Services Step-by-Step Guide.doc

Windows Firewall with Advanced Security Design Guide.doc

Windows Server 2008 Active Directory Certificate Services Step-By-Step Guide.doc

Windows Server 2008 Foundation Network Guide.doc

Windows Server 2008 Step-by-Step Guide for DNS in Small Networks.doc

Windows Server 2008 TS Gateway Server Step-By-Step Setup Guide.doc

Windows_ Server_Active_Directory_Rights_Management_Services_Step-by-Step_Guide.doc

Windows_Server_2008_Terminal_Services_RemoteApp_Step-by-Step_Guide.doc

Windows_Server_2008_TS_Licensing_Step-By-Step_Setup_Guide.doc

Windows_Server_2008_TS_Session_Broker_Load_Balancing_Step-By-Step_Guide.doc

Download Links – http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=518d870c-fa3e-4f6a-97f5-acaf31de6dce&DisplayLang=en

LAS VEGAS — April 1, 2008 — AT&T (NYSE: T) and Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) today announced a collaborative alliance that will transform the way consumers shop for mobile devices. AT&T will become the first company in the world to bring Microsoft Surface to life in a retail environment, giving customers the ability to explore their mobile worlds using touch and device recognition technology. Microsoft Surface is the first commercially available surface computer from Microsoft. Beginning April 17, customers can experience Microsoft Surface in select AT&T retail locations, including stores in New York City, Atlanta, San Antonio and San Francisco. Based on the success and learning from these initial pilot deployments, plans for further expansion across AT&T’s 2,200 U.S. retail stores will be determined.

Full Article – http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2008/apr08/04-01SurfaceRetailPR.mspx

LAS VEGAS — April 1, 2008 — AT&T (NYSE: T) and Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) today announced a collaborative alliance that will transform the way consumers shop for mobile devices. AT&T will become the first company in the world to bring Microsoft Surface to life in a retail environment, giving customers the ability to explore their mobile worlds using touch and device recognition technology. Microsoft Surface is the first commercially available surface computer from Microsoft. Beginning April 17, customers can experience Microsoft Surface in select AT&T retail locations, including stores in New York City, Atlanta, San Antonio and San Francisco. Based on the success and learning from these initial pilot deployments, plans for further expansion across AT&T’s 2,200 U.S. retail stores will be determined.

Full Article – http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2008/apr08/04-01SurfaceRetailPR.mspx

Windows XP Embedded is a modular version of Windows XP Pro that comes with specific tools to create the OS, and Embedded features that enable scenarios specific to the Embedded area. So the first thing you have to do to build a first Windows XP Embedded is to get the list of peripherals installed on the hardware you are targeting. This can be done using a tool called Target Analyzer. This tool can be run from DOS, Windows or WinPE.

OK, here we are with a virgin hardware (no OS, no DOS, and HD or Flash not even formatted), no floppy disk reader (that could have been useful to boot a DOS from a floppy and run the Target Analyzer tool from there).

Full Article – http://blogs.msdn.com/obloch/archive/2008/04/01/windows-xp-embedded-usb-starting-point.aspx

Mac users have long gloated that the Mac OS is safer than Windows. The gloating should stop: There’s plenty of recent evidence that Vista is, in fact, a safer operating system than Mac OS X.

The most public piece of evidence is the recent “Pwn to Own” challenge, in which security pros were issued the challenge of trying to break into three laptops, a Mac, a PC laptop running Vista SP1, and a laptop running Ubuntu.

Full Article – http://blogs.computerworld.com/why_windows_is_safer_than_the_mac

Laptops sporting Intel’s new Atom processor have finally broken cover at “day zero” of the Intel Developer Forum in Shanghai, and if the claims over their price are to be believed, Asus’ Eee PC is in serious trouble.

As well as two Intel designs based on a reference chassis which will be made available to OEMs, a gorgeous-looking laptop with Apple-esque curves and a 10in screen was sitting unobtrusively on one of the showcase shelves.

Full Article – http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/183279/the-stunning-laptop-that-undercuts-the-asus-eee-pc.html

In my post about Windows 7 back in January (“Windows 7 = Vista Release 2″), I ended with a statement that deserves some follow-up:

Those who are predicting that Windows 7 will include some radically stripped-down kernel (the so-called MinWin project) or a new file system are missing the point completely.

Many of the articles and blog posts I’ve read about Windows 7 in recent days mention MinWin, usually following up with the observation that it’s the new lean kernel that’s going to be at the heart of Windows 7. That misinterpretation was widely reported in October, when this story first appeared, and it’s become conventional wisdom since then. Australia’s IDM, for example, included this authoritative-sounding statement in a March 17 report:

Full Article – http://blogs.zdnet.com/Bott/?p=418

Windows Help (WinHlp32.exe) is a Help program that has been included with Microsoft Windows versions starting with the Microsoft Windows 3.1 operating system. However, the Windows Help program has not had a major update for many releases and no longer meets Microsoft’s standards. Therefore, starting with the release of Windows Server 2008, the Windows Help program will not ship as a feature of Windows. If you want to view 32-bit .hlp files, you must download and install the program (WinHlp32.exe) from the Microsoft Download Center.

Download Link – http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=0468fefd-b54f-4c57-8340-c6dd2ec20c0a&DisplayLang=en

BT has issued details of the first 868 exchanges to get its next-generation 21CN broadband service.

The 21CN network offers speeds up to a theoretical maximum of 24Mb/sec, although actual throughput will be significantly slower for many customers, according to BT’s own figures.

82 exchanges will be switched on to BT’s new Wholesale Broadband Connect by the end of April, covering roughly 5% of the country. BT has already enabled 39 of those exchanges, a full list of which can found on http://www.samknows.com/broadband/search.php

With Microsoft Corp.’s aggressive strategy to build out its Software-as-a-Service capability to online storage—even as physical, hardware-based storage remains ubiquitous and competitive—some businesses may find it tempting to allow employees and workgroups to jump into Microsoft’s SkyDrive for some limited purpose.

SkyDrive, Microsoft’s Office Live storage arm, is a free, Web-based service that is loosely integrated with some Office applications and, because of how it’s organized, outflanks its biggest rival, Google Inc., in online storage. The Test Center has taken a look at SkyDrive, formally launched last month after a short beta run, in the ever-expanding shadow of high-powered NAS, SAN and desktop storage solutions.

Full Article – http://www.crn.com/storage/206905860?cid=customFeed