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

In Windows Vista, we introduced the Games Explorer. This is the place where you can launch and manage your games, including built-in Windows games such as Solitaire and Chess Titans, and also PC games such as Games for Windows (and Games for Windows – LIVE) titles.

In Windows 7, we are introducing new functionality to Games Explorer that we think people will enjoy. These new features in Games Explorer can not only be appreciated by the casual gamer looking to play one of Windows 7’s many built-in games, but also the more advanced PC gamer too.

Full Article – http://windowsteamblog.com/blogs/windowsexperience/archive/2009/02/18/windows-7-beta-brings-new-functionality-to-games-explorer.aspx

Starting February 24, we will be releasing up to 5 test updates to PCs running the Windows 7 Beta (Build 7000) via Windows Update. These updates allow us to test and verify our ability to deliver and manage the updating of Windows 7. We typically verify servicing scenarios during a beta.

Windows 7 Beta users will be notified that new updates are available beginning February 24 through Windows Update. Even if the user has Windows Update configured for automatic update – these test updates will not install automatically. Users will need to manually install the test updates through Windows Update.

Full Article – http://windowsteamblog.com/blogs/windows7/archive/2009/02/19/test-updates-for-windows-7-beta-users.aspx

There are any number of bits of information you might want to query from the file system, such as the number of files in a directory or the total size of the files in a directory. Why doesn’t the file system keep track of these things?

Well, of course, one answer is that it certainly couldn’t keep track of every possible fragment of information anybody could possibly want, because that would be an infinite amount of information. But another reason is simply a restatement of the principle we learned last time: Because the file system doesn’t keep track of information it doesn’t need.

Full Article – http://blogs.msdn.com/oldnewthing/archive/2009/02/17/9426787.aspx

There are any number of bits of information you might want to query from the file system, such as the number of files in a directory or the total size of the files in a directory. Why doesn’t the file system keep track of these things?

Well, of course, one answer is that it certainly couldn’t keep track of every possible fragment of information anybody could possibly want, because that would be an infinite amount of information. But another reason is simply a restatement of the principle we learned last time: Because the file system doesn’t keep track of information it doesn’t need.

Full Article – http://blogs.msdn.com/oldnewthing/archive/2009/02/17/9426787.aspx

When you view the properties of a file and go to the General page, there are some check boxes at the bottom for file attributes. There’s one for Read-only and one for Hidden, and then it gets weird. Sometimes you get Archive and sometimes you get an Advanced button. What controls which one you get?

It depends on whether there is anything interesting in the Advanced dialog.

If the volume supports either compression or encryption (or both), then you will get an Advanced dialog with check boxes for Archive, Compress and Encrypt. On the other hand, if the volume supports neither compression nor encryption, then you will just get an Archive check box, since it looks kind of silly having an Advanced button that shows you a dialog box with just one check box on it. (Note that these features can also be disabled by group policy, so it’s not purely a file system decision.)

In Windows, the most commonly encountered file system that does not support compression or encryption is probably FAT, and the most commonly encountered one that does is almost certainly NTFS, so in a rough sense, you can say that FAT gives you an Archive check box and NTFS gives you an Advanced button.

Trend Micro has unveiled a new service that claims to protect the entire home network by installing security software on the router.

The security firm has teamed up with router manufacturer Cisco to install the software on selected Linksys-branded routers.

The router software prevents any device on the network from accessing sites hosting malware, phishing scams and other malware threats.

Full Article – http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/247859/trend-micro-launches-security-software-for-routers.html

A. Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2 add the ability for an OS to be installed onto a virtual hard disk (VHD) file to boot physical hardware. To do this, perform the following steps:

1. Boot from the Windows 7 or Server 2008 R2 media.
2. Select language options and click Next.
3. At the Install Now screen, press Shift and F10 simultaneously to open a command prompt window. You’ll partition the disks and create your VHD file in this window.
4. Select the disk and wipe all of its existing content using the following commands.

Full Article – http://bink.nu/news/how-can-i-install-windows-7-or-windows-server-2008-r2-to-a-virtual-hard-disk-vhd-file.aspx

Given the current economic conditions, I’m sure you’ve had financial discussions with your spouse or significant other that are similar to the ones I’ve been having lately with my wife. Money is tight, and getting tighter, and I know more than one person who’s just happy to have a job at the moment. But there’s a problem with blindly just tightening the proverbial belt: Because sometimes, it actually makes sense to spend money to save money. Economists think of this as the difference between “investing” and “spending” or “consuming.”

Full Article – http://www.winsupersite.com/win7/win7_deploy.asp

Microsoft’s “Windows. Life Without Walls” marketing campaign shifts focus away from any particular operating system back to master brand—uberbrand, if you like—Windows. In past branding talks with Microsoft executives, Windows was emphasized as being a hugely recognizable brand. It’s a reason, perhaps the only one, that “Windows” precedes so many Live services or that Windows Live replaced so many MSN products and services.

But Microsoft has a problem with bloggers, competitors, critics, enthusiasts and journalists. The majority tend to use shorthand. Windows gets dropped from XP or Vista. The brand impact diminishes. Vista isn’t the same as Windows Vista.

Full Article – http://www.microsoft-watch.com/content/windows_7/theres_a_reason_for_windows_7s_name.html?kc=MWRSS02129TX1K0000535

Microsoft’s “Windows. Life Without Walls” marketing campaign shifts focus away from any particular operating system back to master brand—uberbrand, if you like—Windows. In past branding talks with Microsoft executives, Windows was emphasized as being a hugely recognizable brand. It’s a reason, perhaps the only one, that “Windows” precedes so many Live services or that Windows Live replaced so many MSN products and services.

But Microsoft has a problem with bloggers, competitors, critics, enthusiasts and journalists. The majority tend to use shorthand. Windows gets dropped from XP or Vista. The brand impact diminishes. Vista isn’t the same as Windows Vista.

Full Article – http://www.microsoft-watch.com/content/windows_7/theres_a_reason_for_windows_7s_name.html?kc=MWRSS02129TX1K0000535