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Today at the OSCON open source software convention, the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) got an unexpected new sponsor: Microsoft. The Redmond software giant, which will contribute $100,000 annually to the ASF, joins Google and Yahoo as a platinum sponsor of Apache development.

The ASF is a nonprofit group that exerts loose organizational guidance role over a sprawling ecosystem of autonomously managed software projects, including the Apache web server and a host of libraries, frameworks, toolkits, and programs. The culture of the ASF is built upon what they call the “Apache Way,” a philosophy of consensus-based collaborative stewardship and volunteerism.

Full Article – http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080725-microsoft-to-sponsor-of-the-apache-software-foundation.html

Windows Search 4.0 will begin automatic updates using Windows Update within the next week or so to Windows Vista, but will be an optional update for Windows XP users.

The new version will update the indexes, Search will release most of the requested resources and slow down the indexing process as soon as it detects mouse or keyboard activity, or when another application requires computer resources.

Details of the update are posted on TechNet at Reminder – Windows Search 4 coming to WU soon…

Windows Home Server Power Pack 1 will be automatically downloaded to Windows Home Servers through Windows Update if Automatic Updates is enabled on your home server or you choose “Update Now…” from the Settings tab of your Windows Home Server Console. If you want to install Power Pack 1 before it is available on Windows Update, you can download this update package and then manually apply it.

Download – http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=1A6AEF46-DB57-401F-814F-6EFA26E7A1E8&displaylang=en

Unlike certain technology reporters from, say, major national newspapers, I’ll actually deliver meaningful reviews of the Apple iPhone 3G, iPhone Software 2.0, and MobileMe service after actually using them for reasonable amounts of time and interacting with them via Windows, the operating system that’s used by most of Apple’s customers. That day, alas, has not yet arrived, and in one case–the iPhone 3G–I don’t even have the actual product to review, yet. That said, I’ve already spent some time with the iPhone 3G, and significant amounts of time with the other two products. So I’d like to offer my first look overviews of each, with an eye towards helping Windows users decide whether they should embrace or ignore these trend-setting products. In the coming weeks, I will flesh out these initial views into more thorough reviews. And as was the case last year with my multi-part review of the original iPhone, I think what you’ll find here is something that’s a lot more accurate and relevant than the hype-tastic baloney spewed by Apple’s highly-placed fans.

Full Article – http://www.winsupersite.com/reviews/apple2008_firstlooks.asp

Hello Windows Essential Business Server Beta participants,
We are pleased to announce the availability of the RC1 release of Windows Essential Business Server.
We look forward to your participation in the Windows Essential Business Server connect program and are really excited to receive your feedback on this release. The team is looking for confirmation we have it right. This is your last opportunity to provide feedback on this product before it is released. Your feedback can and will directly impact the final version of this exciting new product!
The preparation and planning wizards are now required to be run before installing the product and you’ll see that this is reflecting in a new disc ordering that begins with the Prerequisite Planning Tools CD. These tools are designed to help catch issues that could cause interruptions during installation, especially in scenarios where Windows Essential Business Server is being installed into an existing infrastructure. As a reminder, RC1 is not for production use but we do encourage you to run Preparation and Planning wizards in a live environment in order to provide useful feedback to us. Se wizards only reports on potential issues found and direct you towards documentation you can follow to correct the issues found.
The following items are Included in the download package on MS Connect:
Prerequisite Planning Tools (Disc1)
Management Server (Disc2)
Security Server (Disc3)
Messaging Server (Disc4)
What you should do next:
. Download the files here http://connect.microsoft.com/centro/Downloads/DownloadDetails.aspx?DownloadID=13068
. Get Product Keys. If you participated in any of the prior releases you can reuse your existing keys provided you use the same hardware. Otherwise you will need to get three product keys, one per server type, from the product keys section on the MS Connect site so you can install the Windows® Essential Business Server software.
. Install the product and let us know what you think.
. Physical Media: You may request media for this release here.(http://connect.microsoft.com/centro/Survey/Survey.aspx?SurveyID=6546)
Reminder: All the information on how to submit feedback, participate in newsgroups, get product & CAL keys etc. are on http://connect.microsoft.com/ebs08. If you have any other questions regarding this beta please email us at [email protected].
Thanks,
The Windows Essential Business Server Product Team

The July Community Technical Preview (CTP) of Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio 2008 is now available for download. This is the 2nd CTP and like the first this one has a lot of new features and improvements. In addition to the list below you can see some of the features in the Welcome Letter and a complete list in the Whats New? document.

1. New samples and tutorials: This CTP has many new samples and tutorials including:

1. DSS Node Discovery using UPnP: A new UPnP sample illustrates how to use UPnP for discovering DSS nodes across a UPnP network.

2. Transport Extensibility: PipeTransport and PipeTransportHost are two new tutorials on how to write your own transport and load it in your custom host. In addition you will also find the UdpTransport and UdpTransport as additional transport samples.

3. LINQ: Service Tutorial 12 shows how to subscribe to the Directory Service using a LINQ Filter and how to receive filtered notifications.

4. Silverlight: The XBox Controller Viewer sample shows support for use of interactive Silverlight-based UI

5. Embedded Simulation Environment: The sample EmbeddedSim sample shows how to embed the Visual Simulation Environment in a custom Windows Forms user interface.

6. Simulated Pursuit Camera: The PursuitCamera sample shows how to implement a camera entity that follows behind a target and avoids obstacles.

7. Simulated 4×4-drive: The SimulatedFourByFourDrive sample shows how to implement an entity that behaves like a 4×4 off-road car.

2. Global Assembly Cache: Core CCR and DSS assemblies are put into the Global Assembly Cache. means that they are a shared resource for all installations on a single machine.

3. Simulation on 64-bit machines: Simulation now runs on 64-bit systems using the Microsoft Windows-32-on-Windows-64 (WOW64) subsystem. To use simulation on 64-bit machines, make sure you use dsshost32.exe which forces the WOW64 mode.

4. Visual Studio Project Wizards: The Visual Studio Project Wizards have been rewritten to make it much simpler to create new service projects directly from Visual Studio 2005 and 2008. Project wizards are provided for VB.Net and C# targeting .NET Framework.

5. Much Faster DSS Proxy Generation: The DssProxy tool has been completely rewritten to simplify the generation of service proxy assemblies and to make it much faster to compile services. In addition, the tool chain for writing services for .NET Compact Framework has been simplified to no longer need a companion service project targeting the desktop version of .NET Framework. This makes development for .NET Compact Framework much easier.

6. DSS Log Analyzer: The DSS Log Analyzer is a preview of a powerful new debugging and monitoring tool that can visualize and analyze message exchanges between services sent within a DSS node or across nodes. In addition to showing the actual messages that have been sent it also provides message correlations, time lines, and illustrates how multiple message interactions are causally linked over time.

7. Embedded Visual Simulation Environment: In addition to having a stand-alone UI, the Visual Simulation Environment can now be embedded in other applications. This enables other applications to show the Visual Simulation Environment as part of their application.

Please help us making this release better by trying it out and send your comments, suggestions, and bug reports to our MSDN forums.

After a great tip from one of our readers in our first Mesh tutorial, it appears as though the Live Mesh mobile portal has now also been opened up to the public. Available at http://m.mesh.com, the website provides access to the basic functionality of Live Mesh through the browser, albeit without the ability to automatically synchronise folders that comes with a native client application. Its a start however, so here’s our quick walkthrough.

Full Article – http://www.liveside.net/blogs/main/archive/2008/07/17/microsoft-opens-up-live-mesh-for-basic-mobile-access.aspx

It’s official! We’re releasing an update to the desktop products MapPoint 2009 (Desktop Business Intelligence Mapping and Analysis Tool) and Streets & Trips 2009 (Desktop Consumer Trip Planning). Contrary to the release of MapPoint 2006, there are quite a few more features and a whole new interface. MapPoint 2009 will be available September 1, 2008. Streets & Trips will be available in early October at your favorite retailer. For those who don’t know, Streets & Trips has a subset of MapPoint functionality, but if you just want offline trip planning software S&T is the way to go. And, for the Aussies, no, there is still no Australian version – just North America and Europe. I know, I know.

Full Article – http://blogs.msdn.com/virtualearth/archive/2008/07/14/mappoint-2009-streets-trips-2009.aspx

It’s official! We’re releasing an update to the desktop products MapPoint 2009 (Desktop Business Intelligence Mapping and Analysis Tool) and Streets & Trips 2009 (Desktop Consumer Trip Planning). Contrary to the release of MapPoint 2006, there are quite a few more features and a whole new interface. MapPoint 2009 will be available September 1, 2008. Streets & Trips will be available in early October at your favorite retailer. For those who don’t know, Streets & Trips has a subset of MapPoint functionality, but if you just want offline trip planning software S&T is the way to go. And, for the Aussies, no, there is still no Australian version – just North America and Europe. I know, I know.

Full Article – http://blogs.msdn.com/virtualearth/archive/2008/07/14/mappoint-2009-streets-trips-2009.aspx

Verdict: The iPhone 3G is an evolution rather than a new species, beyond adding 3G and GPS support, it is the original phone in a new skin.

The first thing that will strike you with the iPhone 3G is that it is looks very similar to the original. It comes in the same 8GB and 16GB configurations as the previous 2G model and has the same two megapixel camera.

The software is also the familiar iPhone interface and all the same applications. There are some additional features debuting in the new release, which focus on business users looking to use the iPhone in place of a BlackBerry.

Full Article – http://www.pcpro.co.uk/reviews/211809/apple-iphone-3g.html

I’m guessing that many of you have attempted to download the latest version of Windows Live Messenger or other Windows Live Software but have been prompted with the following error:

“Sorry, Windows Live programs cannot be installed on Windows Server, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, or Windows operating systems earlier than Windows XP Service Pack 2.”

You’re not alone, as I have received the same error when trying to install the latest version on Windows Server 2008 64bit.

The folks at Microsoft included support in the installer for all operating systems during the Windows Live beta(s). However when Messenger 8.5 went RTM, they removed support for all of the operating systems mentioned above. Many are outraged that Microsoft took this stance because they supported it while it was in beta, and then launch and say we don’t support it and won’t ever support it.

“A special note for those of you running Messenger 8.5 Beta on Windows XP 64-bit or Windows 2003 Server: the final version of Messenger 8.5 will not install or run on your OS. We don’t want you to get stuck out in the cold so you will not receive the mandatory upgrade to the final version. However, these operating systems won’t be supported by future Messenger versions. You may stay on your current beta version, or to get to a more stable final version we recommend that you uninstall Messenger 8.5 and go back to Messenger 8.1.” ( Windows Live Messenger Blog ).

Many are wishing Microsoft would remove this limitation from the Windows Live installer. For more information visit the messengergeek blog.

Luckily there is an easy work around to installing Windows Live on Windows 64bit operating systems and Windows Server operating systems if you have a 32bit windows operating system available. Just follow the steps below and you will be up and running in a few minutes with the latest version of Windows Live Messenger, Windows Live Writer and various other Windows Live programs.

1. Download the installer on your 32bit Windows machine from http://get.live.com. Note: I used Windows XP Service pack 3.
2. Run the Installer (WLinstaller.exe). Note: It will download and install the latest version of Windows Live onto your machine.
3. Go to the following folder(C:\Program Files\Common Files\WindowsLiveInstaller\MsiSources or C:\Windows\System32\config\systemprofile\AppData\Local\WindowsLiveInstaller\MsiSources\).
4. Copy or email the executables of the various Windows Live programs installers to your Windows 64bit or Windows Server operating system. Below is a list of applications names that correspond to the filename (diTii.com ).

Windows Live Writer
Install_{9176251A-4CC1-4DDB-B343-B487195EB397}.msi
Windows Live Messenger
Install_{508CE775-4BA4-4748-82DF-FE28DA9F03B0}.msi
Windows Live Sign-In Assistant
Install_{AFA4E5FD-ED70-4D92-99D0-162FD56DC986}.msi
Windows Live Mail
Install_{EDB619FD-4E71-403C-8E99-DFC9CF9DD345}.msi
Windows Live Toolbar
Install_{C6876FE6-A314-4628-B0D7-F3EE5E35C4B4}.msi
Windows Live Photo Gallery
Install_{AA436FBD-2595-479B-8DDE-E9C36F50D99D}.msi

1. Finally install the above msi’s onto your machine. You should now be on the latest and greatest version of your favorite software.

Article – http://windowscoding.com/blogs/blake/archive/2008/07/01/how-to-run-windows-live-software-on-64bit-windows.aspx

Wondering what the experience is going to be like next week when Apple makes its long-awaited iPhone Software 2.0 (see my preview) available? Well, wonder no more: I’ve gotten my hands on near-final versions of iPhone Software 2.0 and the Windows and PC versions of iTunes 7.7, and can show you the install experience as well as some of the MobileMe and Microsoft Exchange integration pieces. Let’s jump right in.

Note: This is a first look only and should not be construed as a review of any kind. I will be reviewing iPhone Software 2.0, the iPhone 3G, and Apple MobileMe separately in the weeks ahead.

Full Article – http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/iphone2_upgrade_preview.asp

Brief Description
Windows® SteadyState™ 2.5 is now available on Windows XP and Windows Vista. Whether you manage computers in a school computer lab or an Internet café, a library, or even in your home, Windows SteadyState helps make it easy for you to keep your computers running the way you want them to, no matter who uses them.
Windows SteadyState runs on genuine copies of Windows XP Professional, Windows XP Home Edition, Windows XP Tablet PC Edition, Windows Vista Business, Windows Vista Ultimate, Windows Vista Home Basic, Windows Vista Home Premium, and Windows Vista Starter. And, Windows SteadyState is offered free of charge to Windows Genuine Advantage customers!
Validation Required
Before Windows SteadyState can be installed, you are required to validate that your computer is running genuine Microsoft Windows. As described in the privacy statement, Microsoft will not use the information collected during the validation process to identify or contact you. By running genuine Microsoft Windows®, you can download and install Windows SteadyState, as well as enable certain product features and obtain non-security updates and product support from Microsoft. For more information, see the Windows Genuine Advantage Web site.
SteadyState Helps Make it Easier to Manage Your Shared Computers Shared computers are commonly found in schools, Internet and gaming cafés, libraries, and community centers. It is increasingly common for owners, teachers, or non-technical personnel to manage shared computers in addition to their many other responsibilities.
Managing shared computers can be difficult, technically challenging, time-consuming, and expensive. And what’s more, without system restrictions and protections, users can inadvertently change the desktop appearance, reconfigure system settings, and introduce unwanted software, viruses, and other harmful programs. Repairing damaged shared computers can require significant time and effort.
User privacy is also an issue for shared computer environments. Shared computers often use shared user accounts that make Internet history, saved documents, and cached Web pages available to subsequent users.
Windows SteadyState provides a more effective way to help defend shared computers from changes by untrusted users and unwanted software installations. It can also help safeguard system resources.
Windows SteadyState Features Windows SteadyState includes the following features to help you manage your shared computers:

• Getting Started – Provides the initial steps to help you during your first time use of Windows SteadyState.
• Windows Disk Protection – Help protect the Windows partition, which contains the Windows operating system and other programs, from being modified without administrator approval.Windows SteadyState allows you to set Windows Disk Protection to remove all changes upon restart, to remove changes at a certain date and time, or to not remove changes at all. If you choose to use Windows Disk Protection to remove changes, any changes made by shared users when they are logged on to the computer are removed when the computer is restarted
• User Restrictions and Settings – The user restrictions and settings can help to enhance and simplify the user experience. Restrict user access to programs, settings, Start menu items, and options in Windows. You can also lock shared user accounts to prevent changes from being retained from one session to the next.
• User Account Manager – Create and delete user accounts. You can use Windows SteadyState to create user accounts on alternative drives that will retain user data and settings even when Windows Disk Protection is turned on. You can also import and export user settings from one computer to another—saving valuable time and resources.
• Computer Restrictions – Control security settings, privacy settings, and more, such as preventing users from creating and storing folders in drive C and from opening Microsoft Office documents from Internet Explorer®.
• Schedule Software Updates – Update your shared computer with the latest software and security updates when it is convenient for you and your shared users.

Download Link – http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=d077a52d-93e9-4b02-bd95-9d770ccdb431&DisplayLang=en

In August, Microsoft will ship Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2, the second major milestone of its upcoming Web browser. Whereas Beta 1, released in March, focused primarily on developer features, Beta 2 will be about end users. And while I wish I had some new UI bits to show you today, that will have to wait. Instead, this week, Microsoft is talking about the new and improved security features that it will debut in IE 8 Beta 2. These features constitute the bulk of the work Microsoft is doing around security in IE 8, so this overview will provide an interesting snapshot of what we can expect.

Full Article – http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/ie8_security.asp

Adobe announced Tuesday that Google and Yahoo are adding search capabilities that will enable users to look inside the content of files encoded in Adobe’s Flash file format — SWF.

The content inside SWF files has heretofore been ignored by the search engine giants, but Adobe has worked with both companies to make sure that their search engine technology can now look inside existing and future SWF content, including text, hyperlinks, audio and video content

Full Article – http://www.macworld.com/article/134229/2008/06/googleyahooflash.html?t=201