It seems like Microsoft’s got big plans for its Windows Phone 7 devices. The Windows Home Server team recently posted a blog post about an upcoming WP7 app called “My Server” which allows you to access your Windows Home Server Code Name “Vail” over the internet. This feature requires the Remote Web feature enabled on the Windows Home Server and once authenticated it allows you to:
Windows Phone 7 comes to Windows Home Server Codename “Vail” and Media Center set-top boxes
It seems like Microsoft’s got big plans for its Windows Phone 7 devices. The Windows Home Server team recently posted a blog post about an upcoming WP7 app called “My Server†which allows you to access your Windows Home Server Code Name “Vail†over the internet. This feature requires the Remote Web feature enabled on the Windows Home Server and once authenticated it allows you to:
What happened in the recent Hotmail outage
On December 31, 2010, a number of our users reported their email messages and folders were missing from their Hotmail accounts. I want to take a little time to explain what happened, and what steps we’ve taken to fix this problem and prevent it from happening in the future.
Next Generation Surface Unveiled at CES 2011
Yesterday, we lifted the covers off the next generation Microsoft Surface – or Surface 2.0 – at CES. Surface 2.0 represents an incredible collaboration between Microsoft and Samsung on the Samsung SUR40 for Microsoft Surface.
Windows Phone 7 Updates
One question we hear often is: What’s next for Windows Phone? We’re obsessive about listening closely to our customers and improving our phone software. So over the next few months, look for updates that add some new features you’ve asked for and also tune up your phone’s performance.
Here’s a peek at some of what’s ahead:
Link – http://www.microsoft.com/windowsphone/en-us/features/update-info.aspx
Active Directory Federation Services 2.0 RTW
Active Directory Federation Services 2.0 helps IT enable users to collaborate across organizational boundaries and easily access applications on-premises and in the cloud, while maintaining application security.
Link – http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=118c3588-9070-426a-b655-6cec0a92c10b
Microsoft Server Application Virtualization CTP Released – Run More of your Applications on Windows Azure
Today we are excited to announce the Community Technology Preview of Microsoft Server Application Virtualization (Server App-V), and the Server Application Virtualization Packaging Tool.
Microsoft Server Application Virtualization builds on the technology used in client Application Virtualization, allowing for the separation of application configuration and state from the underlying operating system. This separation and packaging enables existing Windows applications, not specifically designed for Windows Azure, to be deployed on a Windows Azure worker role.
Microsoft Server Application Virtualization CTP Released – Run More of your Applications on Windows Azure
Today we are excited to announce the Community Technology Preview of Microsoft Server Application Virtualization (Server App-V), and the Server Application Virtualization Packaging Tool.
Microsoft Server Application Virtualization builds on the technology used in client Application Virtualization, allowing for the separation of application configuration and state from the underlying operating system. This separation and packaging enables existing Windows applications, not specifically designed for Windows Azure, to be deployed on a Windows Azure worker role.
Microsoft quietly shuts down Office Genuine Advantage program
Late last week, with absolutely no public announcement, Microsoft quietly retired one cog in its antipiracy machine.
An anonymous tipster informed me on Friday that Microsoft had shut down its Office Genuine Advantage (OGA) program as of Thursday, December 16. Previously, if you wanted to download an Office add-in or template, you had to pass through a validation step first, confirming that your copy of Office was “genuine.â€
Link – http://www.zdnet.com/blog/bott/microsoft-quietly-shuts-down-office-genuine-advantage-program/2798
Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 4 RTM
Service Pack 4 (SP4) for Microsoft SQL Server 2005 is now available for download. SQL Server 2005 service packs are cumulative, and this service pack upgrades all service levels of SQL Server 2005 to SP4 . You can use these packages to upgrade any of the following SQL Server 2005 editions:
- Enterprise
- Enterprise Evaluation
- Developer
- Standard
- Workgroup
Link – http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=b953e84f-9307-405e-bceb-47bd345baece
Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2011 Best Practices Analyzer
Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2011 BPA (Windows SBS 2011 BPA) is a diagnostic tool that is built on the Microsoft Baseline Configuration Analyzer (MBCA) technology. Windows SBS 2011 BPA scans a computer that is running the Windows SBS 2011 server software, and compares the existing server settings to a predefined set of recommended best practices.
Windows SBS 2011 BPA performs the following tasks:
- Gathers information about a computer that is running the Windows Small Business Server 2011 server software
- Determines if the server settings comply with a set of best practices that are recommended by Microsoft
- Provides a report of the scan results, which identifies variances from the recommended best practices
- Identifies conditions that may lead to problems with the server
- Recommends solutions to potential problems
Link – http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=bbf35af9-f1ee-4397-b544-af3f31d7e32f
Microsoft Security Essentials 2.0 released
Microsoft Security Essentials, released back in September 2009 as a free replacement for the subscription-based Windows Live OneCare, has been updated to version 2.0 today.
- Windows Firewall integration – During setup, Microsoft Security Essentials will now ask if you would like to turn the Windows Firewall on or off.
- Enhanced protection for web-based threats – Microsoft Security Essentials now integrates with Internet Explorer to provide protection against web-based threats.
- New protection engine – The updated anti-malware engine offers enhanced detection and cleanup capabilities with better performance.
- Network inspection system – Protection against network-based exploits is now built in to Microsoft Security Essentials.
Link – http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=e1605e70-9649-4a87-8532-33d813687a7f
System Center Service Manager 2010 SP1 Evaluation
Microsoft System Center Service Manager 2010 SP1 is available for download at the Microsoft Download website. This SP1 release is a rollup of fixes for System Center Service Manager 2010. It contains a number of bug fixes and performance improvements to the System Center Service Manager 2010 release. It is a full release that can be installed stand-alone or as an upgrade from System Center Service Manager 2010 RTM release.
Link – http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=5118055b-9cd7-45cd-bae6-7fc287d832d7
Hotmail introduces interactive email using Active Views
Starting today, Hotmail and select partners are introducing a new type of interactive and dynamic email that runs on the Hotmail Active Views platform.
Beginning in the late 90s, email services evolved from supporting just plain text and attachments to supporting rich, HTML-based email. This was a big development, and it ushered in an era of structured email templates and embedded photos and links. Today, nearly all messages sent by businesses and websites use HTML.
Windows Live launches new plug-ins website
This week we are introducing a new Windows Live plug-ins website, which allows you to download and submit plug-ins for Windows Live Photo Gallery, Movie Maker, and Writer.
From the new plug-ins site, you can download and add the Inkubook Photo Book Uploader to Windows Live Photo Gallery to create beautiful professional quality photo books, or get the Insert Video plug-in for Windows Live Writer, which allows you to insert videos into your blog posts from places like YouTube and MySpace.
