Our friends over in the Office Sustained Engineering team asked us to post this info. You should be sure to check out their blog for updated information on service releases for our supported versions of Office.

Last October, we announced the upcoming release of the 2^nd service pack for the 2007 Microsoft Office System and the 2007 Microsoft Office. Today, we’re happy to provide both a formal release date, and more details on what you should expect to see in SP2.

A fair amount has been said about SP2 already, but there is a lot more to share. We’ll cover the highlights here, but please check back on April 28th when all of our documentation will be published. It is important to remember that the information provided today is by no means a comprehensive list. We worked with the individual teams in Office to come up with a list of changes that they were most proud of and felt would be most beneficial to you, our valued customers.

Full Article – http://blogs.technet.com/mu/archive/2009/04/14/service-pack-2-for-2007-microsoft-office-system-due-april-28th.aspx

Microsoft will release a beta of Exchange Server 2010 on Wednesday, the first product that enterprise customers will see from the next version of Office.

Microsoft is also going public with the official branding of its next productivity suite — Office 2010. Until now Microsoft had been referring to it as Office 14, but the new name had been widely expected.

Exchange Server should be in full release by the end of the year, but the rest of the products in the suite won’t be out until early 2010, said Julia White, director of the Exchange product management team.

Full Article – http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/163130/microsoft_brands_office_2010_releases_exchange_beta.html

n January we blogged about our plan to distribute IE8 via Automatic Update/Windows Update (for simplicity, we’ll refer to this as Automatic Update for the rest of this blog post). This post provides some additional information about how users and administrators are in control of browser upgrades.

Last week, we released IE8 via Automatic Update to users still running pre-release versions of IE8 (Beta 2 or Release Candidate 1). The goal was to make sure users who chose to install IE8 have the latest up-to-date version.

Starting on or about the third week of April, users still running IE6 or IE7 on Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003, or Windows Server 2008 will get will get a notification through Automatic Update about IE8. This rollout will start with a narrow audience and expand over time to the entire user base. On Windows XP and Server 2003, the update will be High-Priority. On Windows Vista and Server 2008 it will be Important.

IE8 will not automatically install on machines. Users must opt-in to install IE8. Users will see a Welcome screen that offers choices: Ask later, install now, or don’t install

Full Article – http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2009/04/10/prepare-for-automatic-update-distribution-of-ie8.aspx

QL Server 2008 Service Pack 1 (SP1) is now available. You can use these packages to upgrade any SQL Server 2008 edition.
Note:We remain committed to our plans to keep service packs contained, focusing on essential updates only, primarily a Roll-up of Cumulative Update 1 to 3, Quick Fix Engineering (QFE) updates, as well as fixes to issues reported through the SQL Server community. While keeping product changes contained, we have made significant investments to ease deployment and management of Service Packs:

• Slipstream – You are now able to integrate the base installation with service packs (or Hotfixes) and install in a single step.
• Service Pack Uninstall – You are now able to uninstall only the Service Pack (without removing the whole instance)
• Report Builder 2.0 Click Once capability

Download – http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=66ab3dbb-bf3e-4f46-9559-ccc6a4f9dc19&displaylang=en

Office 14, the successor of Office 2007 will be named Office 2010. Office 2010 is in limited beta at the moment a more broader beta is expected in the next few months. The final release is expected in Q1 2010.

Service Pack 2 for the 2007 Office System will be made available to Windows Server Update Services in April, classified as a service pack.

Service Pack 2 includes some significant work, including: built-in ability to save as ODF & PDF formats, improvements to Outlook’s performance and calendar reliability, significant bug fixes for charts in core Office applications, the ability for client service packs to be removed using an uninstall tool, and a host of customer-requested improvements to the Office Server products.

It is also a rollup of all fixes that have previously been released for Office 2007 products.  Additional information will be posted to the Office Sustaining Engineering blog later this month.

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Windows Server boss Bill Laing said in an interview Friday that the server version of Windows 7 will ship this calendar year.
Using a little bit of deduction, I’d say that means Windows 7 continues to be tracking ahead of schedule. Although Laing’s comments referred to Windows Server 2008 R2 and not to the desktop version, server products traditionally ship after desktop operating systems based on the same code base, owing to greater testing needs.

Full Article – http://www.osnn.net/comments.php?shownews=15375

With Windows 7, Microsoft is hoping to have an operating system that people won’t want to downgrade from. That said, it does plan on offering users that option.
Downgrade rights have long been a part of the Windows license for certain versions, particularly for businesses. That said, the option gained notoriety with Windows Vista. With Vista, the downgrade right was not only marketed by computer makers, but, once Microsoft stopped selling XP, some PC makers sold Vista machines that were “pre-downgraded” to Windows XP.

Full Article – http://www.osnn.net/comments.php?shownews=15377

For what it’s worth, Windows Mobile 6.5 is shaping up to be quite a modern-looking mobile operating system, even if its new looks are only skin deep.

In one of the latest builds to have leaked (among the many that has), build 21202 for those of you playing at home, are the much talked about bundled designer themes, including but not limited to the pink and white Gingham by Isaac Misrahi. It is now revealed some of the other designers are Ron Arad, Vera Wang, Rock and Republic and Diane von Fürstenberg. Simply said, they look great.

Full Article – http://www.istartedsomething.com/20090406/sneak-peek-at-windows-mobile-65-themes/

Back in February, I wrote an article, Windows 7 Product Editions, in which I discussed the various SKUs (stock keeping units, or product editions) that Microsoft would provide with its next operating system. Now, with nearly fully-functional versions of each product edition available to the public, I thought I’d provide a series of tables comparing each Windows 7 product editon, similar in scope to the work I did documenting Windows Vista. It’s early yet, and things will no doubt change, so I’ll be updating these tables as needed going forward. But even at this early stage, I believe these tables will help you pick which Windows 7 product edition makes the most sense for you, based on your needs and wants. Let’s dive right in.

Note: This is a preliminary list. If you see anything missing, or would like to see a certain feature added, please contact me.

Full Article – http://www.winsupersite.com/win7/win7_skus_compare.asp

As an early and vocal proponent of Amazon’s Kindle e-book reader (see my review), and a daily user ever since the first generation device showed up at my home in November 2007, I feel more experienced than most to review its sequel, the Kindle 2. Other reviewers have spent, perhaps, too much time focused on the Kindle 2’s svelte, more iPod-like form factor and too little time on what really matters in what is, after all, just an electronic book. That is, while the Kindle 2 is certainly prettier than its predecessor, I feel that a more important question is whether the new device is “better” than the original. And I mean that from a number of perspectives: Value and cost, usability, and functionality.

Full Article – http://www.winsupersite.com/mobile/kindle2.asp

Windows Server 2008 R2 and the Windows 7 client were made for each other – and made to provide better and more secure computing when used together. DirectAccess is a new feature that allows Windows 7 users to establish a remote connection without a VPN, and the Remote Workspace, along with Presentation Virtualization and Remote Desktop Gateway can allow users to access their company desktops from anywhere, safely and securely. In this article, we will look at these and other features that make the Server 2008 R2/Windows 7 combination the best bet for organizations looking to improve the security of their Windows-based networks.

With the emphasis at Microsoft on trustworthy computing, each edition of the server and client operating systems gets more secure. Windows Server 2008, and especially its latest incarnation, R2, provides IT administrators with many built-in security mechanisms. However, securing the server is only half the battle. The client machine is often targeted for exploit – especially in today’s mobile world where users connect from laptops that leave the company premises and thus are not always under the absolute control of the IT department. If your organization needs a high level of security (and in the current compliance-mandated environment, who doesn’t?), you should be planning ahead for the deployment of the Windows 7 client in combination with Windows Server 2008 R2 as soon after the Win 7 release as possible. Let’s look at some of the advanced security features you’ll be able to take advantage of by doing so.

Full Article – http://www.windowsecurity.com/articles/Windows-Server-2008-R2-Windows-7-More-Secure-Together.html

Just when I thought the flood of interim Windows 7 builds had come to a close, Microsoft contacted its TAP partners this week and alerted them that a new build, build 7068, was being made available for testing. This build gives us the best look yet at what’s coming in the Windows 7 release candidate (RC), and it’s the first to include the option to install any of the final SKUs (product editions), as shown in the shots below.

Full Article – http://www.winsupersite.com/win7/win7_7068.asp

Windows 7 Home Basic, like Starter, does not allow the user to change the desktop background from a Personalize interface, though you can right-click images and use them as wallpaper in this version. I can only assume this is a temporary condition, as Microsoft has stated again and again how much its users love to customize their PCs with photos and other wallpapers. As one might expect, Home Basic is much like Starter in other areas. While there’s no three-app limit, there’s no Aero and the system only comes with basic features and games.

Full Article – http://www.winsupersite.com/win7/win7_7068_06.asp

On Wednesday, April 1, the latest variant of the Conficker (also known as Downadup and Kido) work will download new instructions. The sophistication of this worm and its botnet have many concerned, although the amount of legitimate concern is a matter of debate.

If you’re concerned, then here are the eight most important things to know about Conficker, updated on Monday morning:

1. Researchers have discovered what they’re calling a signature for Conficker, and developed a scanner based upon the technology.

Full Article – http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2344074,00.asp