Microsoft has said that the Internet service provider Fasthosts, which has started offering a hosted version of Microsoft Office 2007, is infringing on the software giant’s license regulations.

Earlier this week, the U.K.-based ISP and hosting company started selling an online version of Microsoft Office, advertised as being “streamed to your PC.” However, unlike most hosted software, or software as a service (SaaS), it requires users to download software to their client PC.

“Fasthosts’ Microsoft Office product uses the SaaS model in that it is delivered and managed via the Internet,” explained Mark Jeffries, Fasthosts’ chief technology officer, on Thursday. Speaking with CNET News.com sister site ZDNet UK via e-mail, Jeffries said that a “full version Microsoft Office, identical to the boxed product, is downloaded using a streaming service and saved locally on a user’s PC.”

Full Article – http://www.news.com/Microsoft-Streaming-Office-infringes-license/2100-1012_3-6229776.html

Microsoft has said that the Internet service provider Fasthosts, which has started offering a hosted version of Microsoft Office 2007, is infringing on the software giant’s license regulations.

Earlier this week, the U.K.-based ISP and hosting company started selling an online version of Microsoft Office, advertised as being “streamed to your PC.” However, unlike most hosted software, or software as a service (SaaS), it requires users to download software to their client PC.

“Fasthosts’ Microsoft Office product uses the SaaS model in that it is delivered and managed via the Internet,” explained Mark Jeffries, Fasthosts’ chief technology officer, on Thursday. Speaking with CNET News.com sister site ZDNet UK via e-mail, Jeffries said that a “full version Microsoft Office, identical to the boxed product, is downloaded using a streaming service and saved locally on a user’s PC.”

Full Article – http://www.news.com/Microsoft-Streaming-Office-infringes-license/2100-1012_3-6229776.html

Hi,

I just wanted to share with you that in the next few weeks we will implement a change to the TechNet Plus Subscriber Downloads experience. It is about to get easier to the get to the product downloads and access the related product keys with a better organization and layout.

Take a peek at TechNet Plus Subscriber Downloads and Product Keys walkthrough for a preview of the changes.

Thanks,

Kathy Dixon

TechNet Plus subscriptions

Microsoft has been promoting Vista’s SP1 as a big performance booster compared to pre-SP1 Vista, particularly when copying files. But my preliminary tests show that Vista SP1 can be as much as 20% slower than pre-SP1 when it comes to copying files. And XP’s copying speed leaves both in the dust.

I found that copying a large file — 2.49 GB — to a local folder under SP1 Vista was 20% slower than performing the same operation in pre-SP1 Vista. Copying that same file to a network folder took essentially the same amount of time in pre-SP1 and SP1 Vista. And copying a 256 MB folder full of files to a local disk and to a network folder took essentially the same amount of time in each as well.

Full Article – http://blogs.computerworld.com/vista_sp1_slow

With so much ROI potential and virtualization built in, Microsoft (NSDQ:MSFT)’s Windows Server 2008 — just released to manufacturing and set to launch later this month — promises to change the way the channel delivers solutions.

After several weeks of testing in the CMP Channel Test Center lab, it is clear that Microsoft’s forthcoming server operating system provides levels of data center functionality never before seen in a single package. Even without considering the implications of Hyper-V—the virtualization application that will officially ship several months after Server 2008—it seems that Microsoft, once again, appears poised to steamroll over more and new (watch out, VMware) competitors.

Full Article – http://www.crn.com/software/206105296?cid=customFeed

Customers who’ve been waiting for Microsoft to release the final Vista Service Pack (SP) 1 bits are going to have to wait another month or two to actually get their hands on them — at least through legal channels.

In a posting to the Windows Vista team blog, Corporate Vice President of Windows Product Management Mike Nash explained how and when users can get the Windows Vista Service Pack (SP) 1 bits. Microsoft released Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008 to manufacturing on February 4.

According to Nash, the schedule looks like this:

Update: Early March: SP1 bits will be made available to TechNet and Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) subscribers.

Full Article – http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=1151

Windows Vista SP1 includes a number of enhancements over the original Vista release in the areas of application compatibility, device support, power management, security and reliability. You can see a detailed list of the changes in the Notable Changes in Windows Vista Service Pack 1 whitepaper that you can download here. One of the improvements highlighted in the document is the increased performance of file copying for multiple scenarios, including local copies on the same disk, copying files from remote non-Windows Vista systems, and copying files between SP1 systems. How were these gains achieved? The answer is a complex one and lies in the changes to the file copy engine between Windows XP and Vista and further changes in SP1. Everyone copies files, so I thought it would be worth taking a break from the “Case of…” posts and dive deep into the evolution of the copy engine to show how SP1 improves its performance.

Full Article – http://blogs.technet.com/markrussinovich/archive/2008/02/04/2826167.aspx

Networking enhancements, a reduced attack surface and virtualization capabilities earn Windows Server 2008 eWEEK Labs’ Analyst’s Choice award.

“Faster” and “slimmer” are two adjectives to which few software product upgrades can lay legitimate claim—particularly if the software upgrade in question is a Windows operating system.

Full Article – http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Infrastructure/Windows-Server-2008-Is-Microsofts-Leanest-Meanest-Yet/

This document provides more detail about the notable changes made to Windows Vista in Service Pack 1, which were focused on addressing specific reliability, performance, and compatibility issues, supporting new types of hardware, and adding support for several emerging standards.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=d69c4e1b-c81a-41be-b1f5-66e615ba5912&DisplayLang=en

These Release Notes provide important information you should know prior to deploying and using the Windows Vista SP1 operating system, including known issues. You should familiarize yourself with all of the known issues listed here prior to installing the software.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=b5b681f5-f366-4ad2-ba10-6a7d209de7bd&displaylang=en&tm

For plenty of people, a big reason to upgrade to Vista SP1 will be the death of the dreaded “Kill Switch,” which in essence kills Windows if for some reason Microsoft determines your copy isn’t a validly bought version. Good move…but getting rid of the Kill Switch is something that Microsoft can easily do as an update without bundling into SP1. So why hold it hostage until SP1 ships? To force you to upgrade, and make the service pack’s uptake numbers look better.

Full Article – http://blogs.computerworld.com/microsoft_holds_end_of_the_kill_switch_hostage_to_vista_sp1

For plenty of people, a big reason to upgrade to Vista SP1 will be the death of the dreaded “Kill Switch,” which in essence kills Windows if for some reason Microsoft determines your copy isn’t a validly bought version. Good move…but getting rid of the Kill Switch is something that Microsoft can easily do as an update without bundling into SP1. So why hold it hostage until SP1 ships? To force you to upgrade, and make the service pack’s uptake numbers look better.

Full Article – http://blogs.computerworld.com/microsoft_holds_end_of_the_kill_switch_hostage_to_vista_sp1

You got an Excel 2007 spreadsheet in your Inbox but there’s no Microsoft Office on you computer to open that file.

You could either buy Office 2007 or just grab the free Microsoft Excel 2007 viewer that was released this week. This program has been available since long but only the new version supports the xlsx format.

With this new Excel 2007 Viewer, you can view and even print spreadsheets created using any version of Microsoft Excel. You can also copy data from Excel Viewer to another program.

The other option for opening xlsx files is the Office Compatibility pack but that works only if you have a copy of Office 2003 or Office XP.

Excel Viewer [Microsoft Download Center]

I’ve written a great deal about how Windows Vista’s Performance and Reliability tools help users understand and solve problems and how greater levels of instrumentation and error reporting are what drives Vista’s now native update application. It’s time to share a bit more and perhaps help Windows Vista users discover the details around the real causes for the problems and errors they encounter.

Full Article – http://blog.libertech.net/blogs/lketchum/archive/2008/01/31/problem-caused-by-windows-quot-oh-really-quot.aspx

I’ve written a great deal about how Windows Vista’s Performance and Reliability tools help users understand and solve problems and how greater levels of instrumentation and error reporting are what drives Vista’s now native update application. It’s time to share a bit more and perhaps help Windows Vista users discover the details around the real causes for the problems and errors they encounter.

Full Article – http://blog.libertech.net/blogs/lketchum/archive/2008/01/31/problem-caused-by-windows-quot-oh-really-quot.aspx