Microsoft unveiled that they will finally be launching a Windows Store with applications and games developed in HTML5/CSS with JavaScript, C, C#, C++, VB or XAML. The Windows Store will only be accessible through the new Metro interface and feature free and paid applications.
Link – http://www.neowin.net/news/windows-8-the-windows-store
The Windows Developer Preview is a pre-beta version of Windows 8 for developers. These downloads include prerelease software that may change without notice. The software is provided as is, and you bear the risk of using it. It may not be stable, operate correctly or work the way the final version of the software will. It should not be used in a production environment. The features and functionality in the prerelease software may not appear in the final version. Some product features and functionality may require advanced or additional hardware, or installation of other software.
The next release of Windows Phone 7 Connector landed in the Mac App Store today. The software, which requires OS X 10.6 or later, makes it easy to sync media files from your Mac to your Windows Phone and vice versa. It’s also how Mac users update their Windows Phone software.
Link – http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/windows-phone-7-connector/id415571499?mt=12
In continuing with the improvements in core Windows functionality and also oft-requested features, we are adding native Explorer support for ISO and VHD files in Windows 8. While terabytes of storage are available to all of us, managing disk (or disc) image formats remains important for a number of mission-critical operations in many organizations and among power users. We know even more support for VHD is a big request, so stay tuned.
Link – http://blogs.msdn.com/b/b8/archive/2011/08/30/accessing-data-in-iso-and-vhd-files.aspx
Link – http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=27122
Building the next release of Microsoft Windows is an industry-wide effort that Microsoft approaches with a strong sense of responsibility and humility. Windows 8 reimagines Windows for a new generation of computing devices, and will be the very best operating system for hundreds of millions of PCs, new and old, used by well over a billion people globally.
Link – http://blogs.msdn.com/b/b8/archive/2011/08/15/welcome-to-building-windows-8.aspx
On July 26, Microsoft made it official: The “Mango†operating system update for Windows Phones has RTM’d (released to manfucturing).
From a note on the Windows Phone blog:
“This marks the point in the development process where we hand code to our handset and mobile operator partners to optimize Mango for their specific phone and network configurations. Here on the Windows Phone team, we now turn to preparing for the update process.â€
I’m prepared to give Microsoft the benefit of the doubt and am counting on Windows Phone team members to have put the squeeze on their mobile operator partners. Hopefully, Microsoft has “convinced†them to sign off on the testing process quicker than they did with “NoDo,†the first Windows Phone operating system update that took months to get into users’ hands.
The Microsoft Touch Pack for Windows 7 is a collection of games and applications that are made available to computers with multi-touch enabled displays running Windows 7.
Link – http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=17368
The Windows Server Solutions Phone Connector add-in enables you to connect to your home, business, or storage server by using your Windows Phone 7 phone. This document provides help for the integration of Windows Phone 7 into Windows Home Server 2011, Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials, and Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials.
Microsoft officials showed off on July 12 at the company’s Worldwide Partner Conference a first public glimpse of its coming Windows Server 8 operating system.
Windows Server 8, the server complement of Windows 8 client, is on the same development track and path as Windows 8 client. If we Microsoft watchers are right, both Windows 8 client and server should be out in 2012, possibly in the first half of the year.
Link – http://www.zdnet.com/blog/microsoft/microsoft-shows-off-early-peek-at-windows-server-8/10002
You can go to Windows Intune Springboard site for information on signing up for your beta subscription. Once you have completed the sign-up process and activated your account, you can go to https://beta.manage.microsoft.com to begin evaluating the beta. A beta subscription will allow you to deploy to up to 10 PCs, which should allow you to evaluate the improvements we’ve made.
Link – http://blogs.technet.com/b/windowsintune/archive/2011/07/11/windows-intune-beta-now-available.aspx
This week, we will release an update to Windows Live Essentials 2011. In addition to changes that improve performance and quality of service, the update also includes full support for SSL in Windows Live Mail, and the latest Bing bar. Here are a few of things we think you’ll find the most interesting:
It’s been a while since I blogged about another of my (not so) crazy Microsoft rumors. It’s also been a while since I’ve heard any kind of an update on Windows 8 timing. In that spirit — here’s the latest, plus the ground rules for those weighing how believable this information may or may not be.
A year ago, when I blogged about possible plans by Microsoft to include a hypervisor in its Windows 8 client — and not just the server — I was told a lot of things. I heard it was impossible, that I was off-base, that it was nothing but a pipe dream.
Cut to June 20, 2011 — a few days after a new Windows 8 Milestone 3 (M3) build, No. 7989, leaked to the Web. While dissecting the latest bits, WindowsNow.com blogger Robert McLaws discovered that there is, indeed, a Hyper-V 3.0 in the Windows 8 client code base.
It has been revealed in a recent leaked build of Windows 8, that the operating system Microsoft currently code names Windows 8, contains Hyper-V 3.0 technology and a new virtual hard drive format called VHDX.
It has been assumed by several sites that the features have been a part of Windows 8 for quite some time, however due to the lack of 64-bit builds and more focus being placed on mainstream consumer features, they were yet to be picked up by enthusiasts.
Link – http://www.neowin.net/news/hyper-v-30-coming-to-windows-8
