ars technica

feature: True story: the making of the Terminator's laser-sighted .45 pistolOne of the most striking images from The Terminator was the weapon he carried and used in his first attempt on Sarah Connor's life: the .45 Longslide, with laser sighting. Who can forget the scene in the gun shop? The gun was likewise such a striking presence on screen it was used on the film's poster. There are T-shirts dedicated to the gun. Terminator was released in 1984, and while laser sights on weapons are common now, when the film was first shown the red laser was able to communicate something subtle and powerful to the audience: this is a machine, deadly accurate and futuristic. It made the Terminator seem other-worldly and terrifying. At a party during CES, Deputy Editor Jon Stokes and I bumped into some representatives from SureF
» 9 Mar 2010, 9:30 pm

HTC lawsuit came after warning by Apple to handset makersApple COO Tim Cook's warning from early 2009 wasn't the only one that handset makers received before Apple sicced the lawyers on HTC last week. According to a research note from Oppenheimer analyst Yal Reiner, Apple began warning top executives at companies such as HTC and Motorola in January that it wasn't too happy about seeing allegedly iPhone-related IP showing up in proposed new products. According to "industry checks," Cook's comments last January during the quarterly analyst call—that Apple "will not stand for having our IP ripped off, and we'll use whatever weapons that we have at our disposal"—were taken seriously by the likes of LG, Samsung, and even Nokia. Though the Palm Pre openly flaunted multitouch capabilities (what mos
» 9 Mar 2010, 7:25 pm

MRI's successes put the brain on trialA typical neuroscience paper (or a typical report on one) is a laundry list of structure:function relationships between brain regions and the mental tasks they perform. The amygdala deals with registering rewards, the hippocampus handles memory, and so on. These relationships have been the result of over a century of work, starting with rare cases of brain injury and building through modern medical imaging, which can detect ever-smaller lesions and associate neural activity with specific cognitive processes. Doctors routinely rely on the combination of brain imaging and structure:function relationships for diagnostic purposes, but is wider society willing to trust it in the courtroom, where it might make the difference between guilt and
» 9 Mar 2010, 5:24 pm

Facebook's location feature expected to launch next monthFacebook is allegedly planning to roll out location sharing capabilities next month, once again playing catch-up to other services that have gained popularity thanks to location data. The rumor comes courtesy of anonymous sources who have been "briefed on the project" speaking to the New York Times, who said that Facebook will announce the feature at Facebook's annual f8 conference in late April. The company's plans for such a feature have not been entirely secret—Facebook hinted at location features when it updated its privacy policy in November. Like other postings made to Facebook, location information will only be made available to the people you decide to broadcast it to. "When you share your location with others or add a location
» 9 Mar 2010, 3:10 pm

Microsoft browser ballot gives Opera, Firefox a boostThe Microsoft browser ballot released this month to Windows users in the EU is already doing Microsoft's rivals a favor. Two of the major competitors to Internet Explorer have seen an increase in downloads, while the other two are not willing to share data. We contacted the makers of Firefox, Chrome, Safari, and Opera; here's what they had to say. Opera, the Norwegian browser maker that first filed a complaint with the European Union in December 2007, accusing Microsoft of violating EU antitrust law by bundling IE with Windows, is pleased with the progress its browser is making. "Since the browser choice screen rollout, Opera downloads have more than tripled in major European countries, such as Belgium, France, Spain, Poland, and the UK,"
» 9 Mar 2010, 2:22 pm

The Internet of tomorrow: 100Gbps to your house by 2030Google's recent announcement of a 1Gbps fiber-to-the-home testbed has communities across the US salivating—but imagine what the Internet might be like if that connection to your home were even faster. Say... 100Gbps. In less than 20 years, such speeds will be possible, but only for companies who installed the right sort of fiber architecture. The UK telecoms regulator Ofcom commissioned a lengthy report on the future of fiber (PDF) (or "fibre," in this case) from the firm Analysys Mason. In it, the company sketched out the future of fiber capacity with a pair of handy charts. Both are clear: between 2025 and 2030, shared fiber tech will be able to offer 10Gpbs to each user; individual fiber can offer a full 100Gbps. Whether ISPs will sup
» 9 Mar 2010, 1:33 pm

FileMaker Pro goes to 11, admits people like spreadsheetsApple subsidiary FileMaker has released version 11 of its flagship FileMaker Pro database. The updated software purports to make building and maintaining databases even easier, while acknowledging that many users are accustomed to using spreadsheets for database purposes by including pivot table-like reporting and Excel-like charting features. FileMaker Pro Server has also been updated, dropping the simultaneous client access limit for the Advanced version. FileMaker Pro already laid claim to being one of the easiest cross-platform database tools available, but the company added additional features designed to enhance that ease of use. The Quick Start screen has been improved, offering clear ways to begin a new database. You can start from
» 9 Mar 2010, 12:06 pm

European Parliament unites against 3 strikes, ACTA secrecyThe European Parliament is fed up with the secrecy surrounding the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). Today, representatives from all the major parliamentary coalitions introduced a resolution demanding that the European Commission release all negotiating texts, inform Parliament about the negotiating process, and absolutely refuse to countenance any sort of "three strikes" Internet disconnection penalty for online copyright infringement. The measure comes up for a vote tomorrow and looks set to pass—it has the support of all the important groups in Parliament, including the EPP, S&D, ALDE, and the Greens/EFA. One notable supporter: Christian Engström, the Pirate Party's lone MEP in Parliament, who aligns with the Greens/EFA gr
» 9 Mar 2010, 10:38 am

Microsoft begins rolling out redesigned MSN homepageMicrosoft today began rolling out its new MSN homepage, but not everyone will be getting it at once: the update will trickle out over the next few weeks to the site's 100 million US customers. The software giant is touting the new version as "its most significant homepage redesign in over a decade." It comes with a new MSN butterfly logo (which complements the Bing logo), a larger Bing search box and tighter integration with the search engine, local information from a new feature dubbed MSN Local Edition, as well as the addition of three social network streams: the Windows Live "What's New" feed of course, Facebook, and Twitter. The above was previewed in November, but Microsoft says the redesign includes more than 30 updates that are base
» 9 Mar 2010, 9:51 am

Plans for .xxx top-level domain pop up againThe .xxx domain is back on the table. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) will reconsider the top-level domain during a meeting in Kenya this week, nearly three years after it was shot down and nine years after it was first introduced as a way to identify pornography sites and hopefully confine them to their own Internet red-light district. The .xxx domain was first proposed in 2001 and approved in 2005 for exclusive (but voluntary) use by the adult entertainment industry. The idea was to provide a place for porn sites online that would be explicitly obvious from the domain, which would not only help consenting adults find the sites, it would also help parents and corporations better block access to them.
» 9 Mar 2010, 9:07 am

"PowerPoint is evil" author to monitor stimulus spendingGovernment and industry bureaucrats addicted to spewing out mind-numbing PowerPoint presentations, be very afraid; Edward Tufte is coming to Washington, DC. The Obama administration has appointed Tufte to serve on the Recovery Independent Advisory Panel, which will suggest ways that the $787 billion stimulus program's watchdog accountability board can do its job. "I'm doing this because I like accountability and transparency, and I believe in public service," Tufte explained on his website on Sunday. "And it is the complete opposite of everything else I do." Read the comments on this post
» 9 Mar 2010, 7:35 am

Bink.nu

MSN Homepage Launch Begins TodayToday is an exciting milestone for MSN. We are beginning the launch of our new homepage to our customers in the U.S. The new MSN homepage cuts through the clutter with a clean, new design and offers search, news, local and social networking – all in one place. We encourage you to try the new homepage today and learn more about the many cool features. Since the preview of our new homepage began in November, we’ve been very busy gathering over 70,000 pieces of customer feedback and introducing over 30 updates in our quest to deliver the best homepage to stay in the know.     Check it out here: http://www.msn.com/preview.aspx  Source: http://msnblog.msn.com/blogpost.aspx?post=1686726 Send via e-mail | Submit to Digg |
» 9 Mar 2010, 2:14 pm

TechNet Magazine March 2010Editor's Note: TechNet Magazine Readers Speak, We Listen We asked TechNet Magazine readers for their input, and you delivered in spades. Read on to find out what new services we're providing based on reader feedback. by Jeff James Virtualization: Shimming Applications for App-V4.6 Chris Jackson explains how to make your applications compatible with Windows 7 in a virtualized environment using Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V). by Chris Jackson Tip of the day Get a Free Set of PowerShell Commands for Managing Hyper-V R2 Windows PowerShell doesn’t include this library of functions. But with them, managing Hyper-V directly from the shell is much simpler. Featured Articles Privacy in the Cloud Computing E
» 9 Mar 2010, 7:21 am

Office 2010 Beta Resource Kit Technical Library in Compiled Help formatDownloadable CHM version of Office 2010 Beta Resource Kit content on TechNet. This downloadable CHM is a copy of content in the Office 2010 Beta Resource Kit technical library. The CHM is current as of the date above. For the latest information, see the technical library on the Web. Download At Source Send via e-mail | Submit to Digg | Add to Live Favorites
» 9 Mar 2010, 7:19 am

Infrastructure Planning and Design Guide for Dynamic Data Center—Join the Beta Now!The Solution Accelerator team is working on a new guide: Dynamic Data Center. The design process in the free Infrastructure Planning and Design Guide for Dynamic Data Center allows your organization to strategically plan a Dynamic Data Center infrastructure that is designed for ease of manageability. Key benefits of the guide include: · The infrastructure is designed using best practices to reduce the administrative burden of managing the Dynamic Data Center. · A single set of requirements is tracked throughout the entire design process and then transferred to the appropriate supporting Infrastructure Planning and Design guides. · The infrastructure design of the virtualization hardware and the management software includes dete
» 9 Mar 2010, 7:18 am

Microsoft sends flowers to Internet Explorer 6 funeralIn Seattle, "IE6" was a trending topic on Twitter thanks to a CNN story on Aten Design Group's funeral for Internet Explorer 6. The tongue-in-cheek memorial is happening this evening in Denver. Those mourning the antiquated Web browser, but unable to attend, were asked to send flowers. So, guess who sent flowers…. Microsoft. In the twitpic photo, a funeral guest is showing off the card that arrived with Microsoft's bouquet. It's a little hard to read, so I asked Microsoft to confirm the text. (Microsoft also confirmed it indeed sent the flowers). The card reads: Thanks for the good times IE6, see you all @ MIX when we show a little piece of IE Heaven. The Internet Explorer Team @ Microsoft SeattlePI Send via e-mail | Submit
» 8 Mar 2010, 11:39 am

Windows Essential Business Server (EBS) DiscontinuesMicrosoft announced the decision to streamline their server product portfolio and will discontinue future development of EBS, effective June 30th, 2010. Since the launch of EBS, several changes have occurred that drove our decision to streamline our server product portfolio. First, midsize businesses are rapidly turning to technologies such as management, virtualization and cloud computing as a means to cut costs, improve efficiency, and increase competitiveness. Those capabilities are already available through other offerings, including Windows Server 2008 R2, Microsoft System Center and the Microsoft Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS). Secondly, Microsoft remains fully committed to small and medium-sized businesses. We recognize
» 7 Mar 2010, 11:27 am

MS COO Kevin Turner: CeBIT KeynoteCeBIT Global Conference Remarks by Microsoft Chief Operating Officer Kevin Turner Hannover, Germany March 4, 2010 Kevin Turner CeBIT Keynote Transcript Send via e-mail | Submit to Digg | Add to Live Favorites
» 4 Mar 2010, 12:05 pm

I-O Data Signs Linux Software Patent Agreement With MicrosoftI-O Data customers will receive patent covenants for their use of devices running Linux and related open source software. Microsoft Corp. and I-O Data Device Inc. have entered into an agreement that will provide I-O Data’s customers with patent coverage for their use of I-O Data’s products running Linux and other related open source software. Specifically, the patent covenants apply to I-O Data’s network-attached storage devices and its routers, which run Linux. Although the details of the agreement have not been disclosed, the parties indicated that Microsoft is being compensated by I-O Data. “We’re pleased to reach this agreement with I-O Data,” said David Kaefer, general manager of Intellectual Property Licensing at Micros
» 4 Mar 2010, 12:01 pm

Chief Research and Strategy Officer Craig Mundie: Computing, NaturallyChief Research and Strategy Officer Craig Mundie sees technologies converging to transform how humans and computers work together. It’s safe to say that computers have become a bit more powerful over the past 15 years. Cellular technology untethered our phones. The Internet brought the world into our homes and offices. And the power of microprocessors has kept leaping forward. Now we’re embarking on a new era, where all kinds of powerful computers, in all shapes and sizes, will work hand in hand with vast online databases. Craig Mundie, Microsoft’s chief research and strategy officer, calls this the “client plus cloud” era. Mundie, whose job is to interpret the impact of emerging technology trends, says that changes under way
» 4 Mar 2010, 11:57 am

March 2010 Bulletin Release Advance NotificationMSRC Blog: Today we are providing advance notification to customers that we will be releasing two bulletins this month affecting Windows and Microsoft Office products. Both bulletins are rated Important and address a total of 8 vulnerabilities. We recommend that customers review the Advance Notification webpage and prepare to deploy these bulletins as soon as possible. To provide additional guidance for deployment prioritization, customers should note that both bulletins will address issues that would require a user to open a specially crafted file. There are no network based attack vectors. We’re also continuing to monitor the situation with Security Advisory 981169, the VBScript issue disclosed on Monday. There are no known attacks
» 4 Mar 2010, 11:52 am

Software Update Deployment SuperFlow for SCCMThis SuperFlow provides information that helps you to prepare for and deploy software updates after you configure the software updates infrastructure and synchronize software updates. The SuperFlow interactive content model provides a structured and interactive interface for viewing documentation. Each SuperFlow includes comprehensive information about a specific dataflow, workflow, or process. Depending on the focus of the SuperFlow, you will find overview information, steps that include detailed information, procedures, sample log entries, best practices, real-world scenarios, troubleshooting information, security information, animations, or other information. Each SuperFlow also includes links to relevant resources, such as Web sites or
» 4 Mar 2010, 11:48 am

Ed Bott - Windows Expertise

Daylight Saving Time alertAre you ready to spring forward? In the U.S., at least, Daylight Saving Time begins this weekend. I know because Windows told me so: Gosh, it seems like only yesterday that we were falling back. It’s hard to get used to this earlier start for DST.
» 8 Mar 2010, 1:52 pm

How does IE8 keep tabs isolated?Andy Ziegler, a Program Manager on the IE8 team, just published an interesting post on the IE Blog going into some technical details about how Internet Explorer keeps tabs separate from one another. The subject of tab isolation is fascinating, in a geeky way, and extremely relevant even to non-geeks, for two reasons. First, tab [...]
» 4 Mar 2010, 4:03 pm

Microsoft re-releases update MS10-015Remember last month when some Windows customers complained that their systems were crashing after installing a round of patches from Windows Update? It turned out the problem wasn’t the MS10-015 update after all. Instead, the systems were infected with a nasty piece of malware that was actually the root cause of the crashes. Now, roughly three [...]
» 3 Mar 2010, 2:08 pm

My life as a Windows 7 pirateEver wonder how Windows 7 pirates work? So did I. So I did some research and tried a couple of interesting tools commonly used in the hacking community. The results were eye-opening. Details in my new post at ZDNet: Confessions of a Windows 7 pirate Questions? Comments? Feel free to leave them here if you don’t want to endure [...]
» 3 Mar 2010, 7:28 am

Are you concerned about the latest Windows Activation update?This week, Microsoft’s latest update to its Windows Activation technologies started appearing on Windows 7 machines via Windows Update. I’ve written about it at ZDNet: Does that new Windows Activation update really ‘phone home’? I completely understand why people don’t like activation. It can be a nuisance, although in practice it is a non-issue for most people. [...]
» 26 Feb 2010, 7:09 am

New Media Center update releasedThis just showed up overnight via Windows Update: February 2010 Windows Media Center Cumulative Update for Windows 7 Microsoft has released the February 2010 Cumulative Update for Windows Media Center for Windows 7. This update rollup is intended for computers that are running Windows Media Center on Microsoft Windows 7. Issues that this cumulative update package fixes The February [...]
» 24 Feb 2010, 8:53 am

Become a Windows Search ninja with Advanced Query SyntaxMicrosoft has been evolving Windows Search for a long time, starting with an MSN-based add-on to Windows XP about five years ago. The version in Windows 7 has a whole bunch of surprising (in a good way) and useful stuff under the hood (like a GREP search engine that is able to handle some types [...]
» 12 Feb 2010, 5:16 pm

Have you been a victim of counterfeit software?I’m looking for people who have purchased Windows (or Office or PhotoShop or other high-ticket software packages) online or in a swap meet or retail store and later discovered that the copy they were sold was counterfeit. If that’s you, leave a comment below. Be sure to include a real e-mail address on the form (it [...]
» 11 Feb 2010, 4:13 pm

I’m backDid I forget to mention I would be on vacation for the past two weeks? Oops, sorry about that. Our annual mid-winter trip out of the snow and into the warm tropics was pretty perfectly timed this year, achieving the desired re-energizing. Well, except for the bleariness after a redeye back from Honolulu with a two-hour [...]
» 11 Feb 2010, 10:38 am

Can you stump Microsoft’s Windows experts?Microsoft’s Channel 9 at MSDN is airing a pilot episode of a new show called Help Desk this week. It’s a live show with a call-in format. The host is Chris Pirillo, and he’s backed up by a "brain trust" of support superstars from Microsoft–two Senior Windows 7 Test Engineers and a Senior App Compat [...]
» 25 Jan 2010, 2:03 pm

Use this fix-it tool to preview PDF files on 64-bit WindowsI guess today’s my day to write about Adobe. Over at ZDNet, I’ve posted detailed instructions on how to completely remove and reinstall Adobe’s Flash Player to stop crashes and fix slow performance in IE8. Here, I want to circle back to a topic I bring up every few months, and that’s Adobe’s broken PDF Preview [...]
» 25 Jan 2010, 1:09 pm

eWeek Microsoft Watch

Microsoft's Courier Tablet Depends on iPad, HP for SuccessSome additional images and video of Courier, Microsoft's tablet PC that may or may not be the purest vaporware, leaked late last week--Engadget started it off with some nifty photos of what's purported to be the user interface, along with a prediction from an unnamed source that the tablet will launch in either the third or fourth quarter of this year. Other online reports have suggested, through their sources, that a possible release date will be 2011 or even later. If Courier is indeed on a development track, I suppose that Microsoft executives are waiting to see how the tablet PC market fares overall--not only in terms of Apple's iPad, which is due to hit stores on April 3, but also products such as HP's tablet that CEO Steve Ballmer sh
» 8 Mar 2010, 2:11 pm

Opera Debuts Browser Optimized for Windows MobileOpera Software launched the Opera Mini 5 beta for Windows Mobile 5.x and 6.x smartphones March 4. The new browser doesn't need Java, apparently, which makes it optimized for Windows Mobile devices. In addition, the company claims that Opera Mini compresses data traffic by up to 90 percent, which in turn translates into reduced costs in the event that a phone roams or is locked into a pay-per-usage plan. "Windows Mobile deserves a mobile browser that looks better, handles better and delivers better than the default browser," Dag Olav Norem, Opera's vice president of products and evidently not someone to mince words, wrote in a March 4 statement. "We are pleased to offer the world's most popular mobile Web browser as a native Windows Mobile
» 4 Mar 2010, 12:48 pm

Microsoft Shouldn't Think About a Twitter AcquisitionMicrosoft CEO Steve Ballmer left the door open to a possible acquisition of Twitter during an onstage discussion at the Search Marketing Expo (also known as SMX West) in Santa Clara, Calif., March 2. Check out video from the event here, then compare Ballmer in that clip to images of him that I shot at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Vegas back in January: The man really must love that red sweater.Anyway, sartorial issues aside, it was Ballmer's comments on Twitter that started the online community buzzing. "I would hate to not have that partnership," Ballmer said, referring to Bing's incorporation of Twitter feeds. "Whether we need to own the company or not I think is far less clear."Should Microsoft attempt to acquire Twitter?I say
» 3 Mar 2010, 1:50 pm

Microsoft Exec Offers First Look at Windows Phone 7 Series DeviceMicrosoft showed off the prototype for its first Windows Phone 7 Series device, manufactured by LG and featuring a sliding physical keyboard, at The Engadget Show on Feb. 27. The phone apparently includes a 5-megapixel camera with flash, a headphone jack and the requisite three mechanical buttons (Search, Home and Back). This image of the device, which was unveiled by Aaron Woodman, Microsoft's director of Mobile Communications Business for its Consumer Experiences Product Management team, comes from Engadget:My first thought: Droid. But whereas the Motorola Droid was built to be the telecommunications equivalent of a brick, this LG device seems smaller and sleeker. The choice of form factor seems tailor-made to appeal to the broadest possi
» 1 Mar 2010, 10:22 am

Talking Windows Phone 7 Series on Fox NewsOn Feb. 26, I sat down with a group of fellow technology journalists on Clayton Morris' "Gadgets and Games" (Fox News, 3-4 p.m. EST) to talk about a number of topics, including Windows Phone 7 Series. The video is at the link above, and embedded below:Watch the latest news video at video.foxnews.comThe general consensus seems to be that Microsoft is making a very solid attempt in the mobile space with its newest smartphone OS, although the length of time between Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer's unveiling announcement (on Feb. 15, during Barcelona's Mobile World Congress) and the actual release of devices (at some undefined point near the end of the year) could give its competitors something of an advantage in terms of trying to assemble a resp
» 27 Feb 2010, 10:49 am

Microsoft 'Spy Guide' Is Worth a ReadFor a while there, it looked like watchdog site Cryptome was no more, finally sunk by a takedown request from Microsoft after publishing one of the company's internal documents. Now that it's been revived (with the whole e-mail thread between the site's administrators and Microsoft's legal counsel reprinted on its home page), you can take a look at the offending document in question, labeled the "spy guide" by many of my colleagues in the media. Saddled with the hefty title, "Microsoft Online Services Global Criminal Compliance Handbook," and dated March 2008, the document contains information for law enforcement on just what sorts of personal data Microsoft stores as part of its online services. Specific services covered include Microsoft
» 25 Feb 2010, 1:48 pm

Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 Series Could Come in Three FlavorsDuring the Windows Phone 7 Series unveiling on Feb. 15--and afterward, in discussions with Microsoft executives--it became very clear that Microsoft intended to work with its hardware partners to streamline the number of devices running the new smartphone operating system.This seems the logical move, given that an operating system centered on touch screens will work on a more limited number of form factors. Also, as demonstrated by Microsoft's booth at January's Consumer Electronics Show, Windows Mobile runs on enough (wildly) different models of phone to make it a hair-tearing nightmare for any marketing guru attempting to establish a consistent brand "look" in the manner of BlackBerry or Apple. (Google Android is on the verge of experienc
» 24 Feb 2010, 1:34 pm

Microsoft Signs Patent Agreement with AmazonMicrosoft announced a cross-licensing agreement with Amazon.com, opening at least a portion of their respective patent portfolios to each other, on Feb. 22. "We are pleased to have entered into this patent license agreement with Amazon.com," Horacio Gutierrez, Microsoft's corporate vice president and deputy general counsel for IP (intellectual property) and licensing, said in a statement. "Microsoft's patent portfolio is the largest and strongest in the software industry, and this agreement demonstrates our mutual respect for intellectual property as well as our ability to reach pragmatic solutions to IP issues regardless of whether proprietary or open-source software is involved." Details of the agreement, and the actual amount of money
» 23 Feb 2010, 12:59 pm

Windows 7 Tech Blogger Admits Being Devil Mountain Software 'CTO'On Feb. 20, an e-mail popped in my editor-in-chief's inbox from Randall Kennedy, a tech blogger for InfoWorld, with a somewhat ominous opening sentence: "It is my understanding that eWEEK is currently conducting an investigation of the company I founded, Devil Mountain Software, Inc., and both myself and the individual known as 'Craig Barth.'" "Craig Barth" was CTO of a company called Devil Mountain Software, the Website of which bills its "research and engineering staff" as generators of the "most accurate, authoritative data on Microsoft Windows performance metrics, market share trends and composition." As it turns out, "Craig Barth" and Randall Kennedy are one and the same, sort of like Verbal Kint and Keyser Soze in "The Usual Suspects
» 22 Feb 2010, 1:19 pm

Microsoft May Introduce Branded Smartphone in 2011, Says AnalystMicrosoft may roll out its own Nexus One competitor next year, according to a Northeast Securities analyst who reportedly discussed the possibility of a branded phone with Microsoft's suppliers and design partners. As reported by TheStreet.com and other sources, analyst Ashok Kumar suggested that a branded phone would roll out early in 2011, manufactured by Asustek Computer. The device would presumably run Microsoft's new smartphone operating system, Windows Phone 7, which the company unveiled in a Feb. 15 press conference during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. Scuttlebutt about a Microsoft-branded smartphone has been longstanding, even before competitors such as Google began introducing their own devices into the wild. In
» 19 Feb 2010, 2:12 pm

Microsoft and Yahoo Cleared for Search and Advertising DealMicrosoft and Yahoo apparently received clearance from both the European Commission--that's the EU's antitrust regulatory body--and the U.S. Department of Justice to complete their proposed search and advertising deal. The 10-year agreement will see Microsoft taking over Yahoo's algorithmic and paid search platforms, while Yahoo handles sales-relationship duties for a substantial segment of both companies' online search advertisers (specifically, high-volume advertisers, SEO and SEM agencies, and resellers; Microsoft will apparently handle self-service advertisers). In other words, Bing will become Yahoo's underlying search engine, although Yahoo will continue to offer its own branded content and applications. "The European Commission has
» 18 Feb 2010, 12:42 pm

I Started Something

Microsoft’s abandoned “Sputnik” wireless webcamA promotional video shown to Microsoft sales staff has revealed a Microsoft wireless webcam codename “Sputnik” – a nod to the Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite in space. Unlike its spacefaring counterpart however, it appears this product never quite made it off the ground. Elements of the video including Windows XP, Windows Live Messenger 8 [...]
» 9 Mar 2010, 1:12 am

Microsoft MIX10 “We’re all in” Group Liveblog: mark your calendarsOnce in a while, what happens in Vegas gets liveblogged to the rest of the world. To bring you the thrill and spills of Microsoft’s MIX10 conference next week join Ed Bott, Mary Jo Foley, Kip Kniskern, Benjamin Rubenstein, Paul Thurrott and myself as we’re all in to group liveblog both keynotes where they’re expected [...]
» 8 Mar 2010, 6:23 am

Alternate WP7S start screen concept spottedThe first layer of wrapping on the giftbox that is the Windows Phone 7 Series development platform is being teared down today as Charlie Kindel on the Windows Phone team revealed some ever-slight details on what developers might be able to do on WP7S and how. One detail that caught my eye was a picture attached [...]
» 4 Mar 2010, 6:16 pm

Geosense for Windows: location, location, locationUnless you’ve been living under a rock without any GPS reception, you might have heard of location-based applications. From the fun to the useful, letting software know where you are in the world is a powerful way to make information more relevant, but why should smartphones have all the fun? Half a year ago, Firefox 3.5 [...]
» 28 Feb 2010, 10:38 pm

Windows Phone 7 Series & Classic to co-existWhilst the exciting announcement of Windows Phone 7 Series yesterday raises many questions itself, a lot of existing Windows Phone, specifically Windows Mobile 6.5 users are also left pondering what will happen to the current platform and more importantly the devices we have today. During an interview with Microsoft today, I found out the short [...]
» 16 Feb 2010, 2:18 am

Windows Phone 7 Series promo video[See post to watch Flash video] Here is the Windows Phone 7 Series promotional video which Microsoft showed during their Mobile World Congress 2010 press conference today for your viewing or re-viewing pleasure. In a video clearly positioned against the Apple iPhone, Microsoft insists the industry has “become a sea of sameness and a focus on [...]
» 15 Feb 2010, 2:15 pm

Windows Phone 7 Series to have unified marketplace for apps, games and musicAlthough Microsoft is not talking about third party applications or the marketplace on the Windows Phone 7 Series here this week at Mobile World Congress 2010, a promotional interactive banner at the event is indicating that there will be one unified “Marketplace” for applications, games and music. With the inclusion of music in this marketplace [...]
» 15 Feb 2010, 9:38 am

Windows Phone 7 Series live demonstrationTom Warren and I just got out of a short but sweet private demonstration of Windows Phone 7 Series in a series of dungeon-like rooms here at Mobile World Congress 2010. Suffice to say the Zune HD-like user experience looks even better upfront and personal. Here’s a bunch of closeup photos of the phone, user [...]
» 15 Feb 2010, 9:06 am

Live from Microsoft Press Conference @ MWC 2010Today is Windows phone day. Join Tom Warren and I as we bring you the Microsoft Press Conference live from Mobile World Congress 2010 where Microsoft is expected to make several announcements relating to its mobile strategy including but not limited to Windows Mobile 7. If you’d like to follow along the webcast, the video stream [...]
» 15 Feb 2010, 4:19 am

Microsoft’s Pink “Turtle” crawls its way through FCCAn amphibious creature has been caught sneaking in the Federal Communication Commissions by ZuneBoards.com which has been identified to be strikingly similar to a device that’s hot in the minds of everyone following Windows Mobile 7 and the Zune, the rumored Project Pink “Turtle” phone. Using CSI-caliber pixel forensics, the details from the FCC filing diagram [...]
» 13 Feb 2010, 1:55 am

James.Random()

Farewell Technet!I'm moving home to a new blog at www.jamessenior.com!  This move also represents a rebrand for both myself and my content but more explained in my first post: Welcome from Microsoft's Social Web Guy! It has been an emotional three years on the TechNet platform and I want to say thank you for all the loyal readers out there that have put up with all my ramblings for long enough.  See you on the other side, and have fun! :-) All the best, James
» 18 May 2009, 8:46 pm

Code using Live Search APIs and win $10kThe Live Search team have just launched a cool competition in partnership with the Gnomedex conference where developers can win $10,000 and other cash prizes that have in impact on the economy or earth’s ecology.  The only caveat is that submitted applications must use Live Search APIs! You can create apps on whatever platform or language you prefer and you can also use any other APIs that you want from other service providers. Why not take this opportunity to check out the other APIs provided by Live Services so you can build them in too! http://dev.live.com IDEA: An app that incorporates search and Messenger would be pretty cool for sharing interesting search results with your friends. More information on the competition here
» 20 Apr 2009, 4:44 pm

Client or the Cloud?Paisano writes a punchy post about the death of desktop apps that I commented on and I wanted to share a bit more insight into where we’re taking the concept of Mesh in order to solve some of the problems that he identified. Whilst the browser is great for some types of apps like collaboration, sharing, broadcasting it’s far from perfect.  The number one problem is speed.  A browser is slow.  Why do you think Google have been trying so hard to speed up their JavaScript engine? No matter how much tweaking they do they’ll always be slower though.  Client apps, i.e. ones that can harness the power of the device they are running on are much quicker, have richer experiences and can do things the browser simply can’t, utilize multi-c
» 10 Apr 2009, 3:47 pm

Brazil rocking Windows 1.01Well their website for their IT Pro/Developer event is anyway! Check it out here!  Way retro! Nice work guys. http://www.puertadeenlace.net/run09/ Oh and check out the Silverlight version of Windows 7 too…
» 24 Mar 2009, 8:55 pm

Announcing the Live Framework Explorer for Visual StudioAt PDC back in October we launched the Live Framework into CTP and with that we provided a cool tool called the Live Framework Resource Model Browser which you could use to explore the data that you stored in the Mesh.  The tool was good but limited.  It was difficult to navigate the data, find what you were looking for and also make changes to the data itself.  Furthermore, it was a separate tool so I had to jump out of Visual Studio to navigate the data in Mesh. We worked with Wygwam to build a cool tool for Visual Studio 2008 that allows you to tap into the Mesh and browse the data in your Live Framework apps.  Here’s what you can do with the Live Framework Explorer: Integrates seamlessly with Visual Studio 2008 Read, Edit,
» 19 Mar 2009, 3:02 pm

Windows Live Messenger Web ToolkitJust announced this at Mix09. Here’s what you need to know.  Here’s where you need to go for more information: http://dev.live.com/messenger
» 18 Mar 2009, 6:34 pm

Live Framework SDK and Tools April CTPWhat is the Live Framework? – see my video on Channel 9 Bit late to the press with this one, but that’s because I’ve been working on some way cool stuff for next week at Mix :-) The Live Framework SDK and Tools April CTP has just been launched!  Not really sure why they launched mid-March and called it an April CTP – but hey, I’m not complaining when you get: All-in-one installer (like a multivitamin – lots of goodness in one capsule) Support for Win7 and IE8 (satisfies even the most demanding dogfooder) Side-by-side installation of Live Framework CTP and Live Mesh Beta (now be a consumer and dev – all at the same time!) Performance Improvements (we’re super slick, just like Win7) and more For the ful
» 14 Mar 2009, 8:36 pm

Live Messenger: our network is your networkI was doing some background reading on Live Messenger today via Wikipedia and it said that the first version of messenger (then MSN Messenger) came out in 1999! wow that seems so long ago, and look how much has changed since then! Above – Messenger then and now. Since then, we’ve had many new versions culminating in the latest, a part of Windows Live Essentials and there have been some very cool features along the way.  It’s crazy to think we had voice call (voip) in 2000 (Skype wasn’t in beta until 2003) and then video calls followed in version 5 in 2002! What’s perhaps more impressive is the back end infrastructure that Live Messenger runs on in the cloud.  With over 320 million users worldwide and being the world’s #1
» 11 Mar 2009, 3:49 pm

LiveWIM using customized sign-in pages for Live IDI blogged last week about the new documentation available for customizing the registration and sigin-in pages for Live ID and we’re already starting to see some examples in the wild. LiveWIM, a site for tracking your whereabouts and letting your friends know, have gone and implemented and the results are pretty cool.  The thing I like, as well as the familiarity of the LiveWIM logo is that I get a list of remembered Live IDs so I don’t have to type in my credentials.  If I’ve actually asked Live ID to remember my password then I can just click the Live ID and it signs me in no hassle – also a cool feature.
» 9 Mar 2009, 11:43 am

Customize Live ID Sign in and Registration experienceOne of the biggest bits of feedback from customers that use Live ID on their website is that the Live ID sign-in and registration experiences should be customizable so that instead of a Windows Live brand and look and feel, the user gets a look and feel consistent with your website so they aren’t confused as to why the brand has changed. Old Sign-in Experience New Sign-in Experience We’ve just launched the ability to customize the sign-in experience so that you can now achieve something that looks like this: New Sign-in Experience Customization Areas You can customize everything in orange: The technical documentation is here: Overview on Customizing the Sign-in Experience  Customizing the Sign-in page
» 6 Mar 2009, 5:34 pm

Imagine a killer Live Services app – win a pass to Mix09This year I’m in the privileged position of being involved in possibly the greatest conference the world has ever seen.  Yes, I’m talking about Mix09 – Microsoft’s annual web conference held at the Venetian in Las Vegas.  This year’s conference is being held 18-20th Match and promises to be a stunning affair with jar dropping keynotes, industry leading speakers and inspiring sessions all set amongst the best place to party! :-) For your chance to win a free pass (worth $1400) to this year’s event all you have to do is: Dream up a killer app that uses services from Live Services and/or Live Framework and record a one minute video of yourself presenting it via Soapbox or YouTube. As part of your pass you get full access to t
» 17 Feb 2009, 5:37 pm

LiveSide

Office Web Apps to graduate with Windows Live Wave 4: gives clue to final release date?Today we noticed a tweet coming from our good friend Long Zheng who noted the following: While this is not surprising as Office Web Apps is part of Windows Live SkyDrive (or to be potentially called Windows Live Docs), it does leaves us some speculation as to when the final version of Windows Live Wave 4 will ship. When Office Web Apps was released as technical preview back in September last year, Microsoft announced that the final version of Office Web Apps would be released “in the first half of 2010”. Not only this, but the Office 2010 blog also recently announced that Office 2010 final will become available to businesses on May 12, and to general consumers by June 2010. Given that Office Web Apps is supposed to be released aroun
» 10 Mar 2010, 12:59 am

XNA Game Studio 4.0 unveiled at GDCThe big news for Windows Phone 7 Series is still to come at Mix next week, but today at the Game Developer’s Conference, Microsoft unveiled XNA Game Studio 4.0, part of a comprehensive plan to get app development for Windows Phones on a roll.  New to XNA Game Studio 4.0: Hardware accelerated 3D API’s on Windows Phone 7 Series Visual Studio 2010 integration with our toolset Added buffered audio support to the Audio API’s And much, much more! We admit to not having had much time to play with XNA, but it’s definitely on our list.  You can learn more about XNA at the XNA Creator’s Club site (edit: added link, oops), and once the details of the Visual Studio integration etc. come to life at Mix, you’ll be able to start devel
» 9 Mar 2010, 10:03 am

Bing Earth Day homepage contest, students (US) only!The next Bing homepage contest got announced at NCCE Seattle. This time the Bing team asks students in the United States to submit photos to help celebrate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. The contest kicks off on March 29 and the winning photo will be displayed on the Bing homepage on Earth Day itself, April 22nd! Not only will the winning photo be displayed on the Bing homepage, there are also prizes for individual winners and their schools: · 1st place: Individuals receive an HP Pavilion desktop and monitor and a “Digital Photo Lab” for their school. · 2nd place: Individuals receive an HP Pavilion desktop and monitor and a “Digital Photo Kit” for their school. · 3rd place: Individuals receive an HP Pavilion
» 9 Mar 2010, 4:41 am

Introducing the new Windows Live Solution Center – now expanded beyond Hotmail supportBack in 2008, Microsoft introduced the Windows Live Solution Center (WLSC), originally intended to focus on problems and solutions specifically for Hotmail. Today upon visiting the website, it seems like Microsoft recently updated Solution Center to support all Windows Live services. Not only this, but Microsoft is making WLSC the “evolution of consumer support for all Windows Live products”. What this means is that Microsoft no longer offers Windows Live email support to its users, and instead the Windows Live support team (those tagged with “Windows Live” or “MSFT” in their username in the Solution Center) will provide 24/7 support to its customers using the forums on Solution Center. Do note that email support is still availa
» 9 Mar 2010, 2:48 am

More Wave 4 screenshots on LiveSino.net, only this time they’re blocked in China!This morning our friend Picturepan2, as he likes to be called, posted a couple more Wave 4 screenshots, which to be honest are pretty much just more of the same (although the Windows Live Photo Gallery image manipulation is starting to look very cool) – we’re getting to the point where screenshots aren’t quite cutting it, we need bits!  Here’s the shots: (still lots of placeholders in the Ribbon, but we could use that “blemish remover”!) What is a bit more interesting, however, is that Picturepan2 is reporting that this post is apparently now blocked in China by the “Great Firewall”.  This seems awfully strange, since LiveSino.net has only been blocked once before (for a post on how to get live.com addresses, and tha
» 8 Mar 2010, 9:51 pm

Bing to “take on Goliath” in the UK with new ad campaignMicrosoft is readying a new ad campaign for its “decision engine”, Bing, in the UK, set to begin soon and run through June, according to NewMediaAge: The TV campaign will run regularly for a month and then in two-week bursts until mid-June. It will be backed by a digital campaign across Microsoft’s network and on media including social networks. The campaign, run by JWT, will be similar to the ads run in the US, with confused searchers overcome by “information overload” told to “Bing and decide”. Bing has been making modest gains in the US, after a similar campaign started things off last June, but Google holds an even more commanding lead in the UK, with over 90% search market share, with Bing holding only about 3%.
» 8 Mar 2010, 9:17 pm

Windows Live Wave 4 at Mix? Follow our liveblog and find outBack in November at PDC, Ray Ozzie announced onstage that Microsoft would share more about the latest from Windows Live “in the Mix timeframe”.  Since then, we’ve been getting some peephole views of what’s to come, but when are we going to get our hands on the bits?  Since the Windows Live Platform won’t be ready until later in the year, we’re not seeing any developer focused Windows Live sessions at Mix, but will there be any announcements?  A Wave 4 release at Mix was the overwhelming favorite in our poll (updated to fix url), and one LiveSide reader, Lituus, may be on to something (and he’s been prescient before): We know we’ll be hearing at least something about IE9 at Mix, with Dean Hachamovitch keynoting, and of c
» 8 Mar 2010, 3:36 pm

TechFest 2010: Next generation Image Composite Editor with Multi-Image Fusion technologiesLast week we presented you with one of TechFest 2010’s new research projects: OneAlbum. Today we’ll introduce you to another piece of new technology from Microsoft Research labs – Image Composite Editor (ICE) with Multi-Image Fusion. To some of you who had been reading the Digital Memories Experience (DMX) team blog (the team who created Windows Live Photo Gallery and Movie Maker), ICE is probably not new to you, as the research team who developed the photo stitching technology behind Photo Gallery also developed ICE. In the current version of ICE, it provides advanced features for panoramic stitching such as choosing the stitch’s orientation, custom projection, and selecting a 360 stitch’s mid-point, and this tool also integrates
» 8 Mar 2010, 2:45 am

Gary Flake’s TED talk on Pivot now availableA few weeks ago Microsoft made quite a splash at TED, with talks by Blaise Aguera y Arcas on some amazing stuff to come for Bing Maps, Bill Gates on energy, and Dr. Gary Flake from Live Labs on one of our pet projects, Pivot: Gary Flake with Pivot on TED.com We’re hoping to be able to get to the Pivot session at Mix, but in the meantime don’t forget you can now download Pivot (without an access code), and check out our trial Pivot at MSOrgPivot.net
» 7 Mar 2010, 8:46 pm

Keep up with the latest Windows Phone news, tweets (all on LiveSide!)The news around Windows Phone 7 Series is really starting to heat up: today Sunshine pointed to a video coming from TechEd Middle East, where Eric Rudder showed a game played on a PC, then a Windows Phone, then on Xbox, all without missing a beat, and all developed in a single Visual Studio solution.  Rudder even showed a bit of code, too.  Next up is #GDC, the Game Developer Conference, held in San Francisco this upcoming week.  Many of the Windows Phone guys are heading there, with promises of more sneak peeks at game development on Windows Phones.  How do we know?  Well a new Windows blog just launched today, The Windows Phone Developer Blog, and Charlie Kindel listed all their Twitter accounts.  So we gathered them together in a
» 6 Mar 2010, 9:29 pm

Windows Phone 7 cross platform game coding, playingMore and more is revealed about coding for Windows 7 series phones. We don’t even have to wait for MIX10 to catch a glimpse! WMPoweruser.com discovered a video from TechEd Middle East showing off a game being started on the desktop, continued on the Windows phone 7 and then finished on an XBox. It also shows the coding process! Enjoy! (Please visit the site to view this media)
» 6 Mar 2010, 8:56 am

Microsoft PressPass

Chuck Thacker Attains Computing’s PeakChuck Thacker, a pioneer in computer science and a technical fellow with Microsoft Research, has been named winner of the 2009 A.M. Turing Award, the most prestigious honor in computing.
» 9 Mar 2010, 6:00 am

Technology Skills Training Initiative Aims to Elevate America’s VeteransMicrosoft today launched the Elevate America’s Veterans Initiative to provide technology skills and other resources to veterans and their spouses.
» 8 Mar 2010, 9:00 am

New Tool Creates Arabic Script From Roman Alphabet KeyboardsMicrosoft Maren helps Arabic speakers communicate using a completely different writing system.
» 5 Mar 2010, 6:00 am

Computing, NaturallyChief Research and Strategy Officer Craig Mundie sees technologies converging to transform how humans and computers work together.
» 2 Mar 2010, 12:00 pm

Connected Healthcare on Display at HIMSS10Microsoft and industry partners will showcase solutions that help providers and patients simplify care, integrate vital data and visualize treatment options.
» 1 Mar 2010, 4:00 am

Microsoft Virtualization

Virtualization for Server Workloads: Avanade Case Study, NetApp WhitepaperOur customers often deploy Microsoft server workloads, such as SQL Server, SharePoint and Exchange, on Microsoft Hyper-V and System Center, and want to know how other customers have deployed these workloads and if there are deployment guidelines from specific solution partners that can help optimize for scale and business continuity. A case in point is our customer Avanade. Avanade wanted to reduce their datacenter costs and turned to Microsoft Virtualization, even for their most demanding workloads. Avanade designed a series of tests to evaluate virtualization of SQL Server in production environments. In one test, Avanade was impressed to see Hyper-V support 6,000 Microsoft Dynamics CRM users on the SQL Server 2005 cluster. “We felt extr
» 8 Mar 2010, 3:18 pm

Guest post: Intel discusses iSCSI and 1 million IOPsHi, I'm Jordan Plawner, storage networking product planner from Intel. Today I'm doing a recap of the Intel Server and Ethernet Adapters and Windows 2008 R2 1m iSCSI IOPs announcement and HyperV performance webcast.  The number of comments and ongoing discussions by end users have been impressive.  There were two themes that ran through the blog questions and comments that I want to address. 1st:   What does 1 million IOPs on a single 10GbE port performance mean?  What this performance means is that you do not have to worry about iSCSI performance.  There is no server I/O bottleneck.  If you are going with an iSCSI SAN use the native infrastructure built into the server, OS and adapter.  If you are deciding between iSCSI and FC, k
» 24 Feb 2010, 10:48 pm

Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Hyper-VHyper-V customers are running both SUSE Linux Enterprise Server and Red Hat Enterprise Linux as guests. We have provided Linux integration components for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, but customers did not have the same level of performance with Red Hat Enterprise Linux as a guest since the IC’s were not supported for RHEL.   We are excited to announce the availability of Linux integration components for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL 5.2, 5.3, and 5.4) which provides synthetic network and storage drivers enabling RHEL to work with the optimized devices provided by Hyper-V.  We’ve already submitted these drivers to the upstream Linux kernel in July 2009 (read here for more information) and are looking forward to these being integrate
» 23 Feb 2010, 10:08 am

MDOP 2010 Launches, with 64-bit version of App-V 4.6Earlier today we announced important updates for IT pros considering Windows 7 deployment. Specifically, we released Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) 2010, which includes App-V 4.6, supporting Windows Server 2008 R2 x64 for RDS and Office 2010. The App-V support for Office 2010 means you can do a one-touch deployment and don't have to wait for Office 2010 to deploy Windows 7.   Additionally we released the MED-V 1.0 SP1 Release Candidate, which creates managed virtual machines running previous versions of Windows and Internet Explorer so users can upgrade to Windows 7. The RTM version of MED-V 1.0 service pack 1 will be available in April, but you can start today by downloading the release candidate.   For more information
» 22 Feb 2010, 9:09 pm

RT: Happy Data Privacy Day from System CenterAs many of you are using Hyper-V to host Exchange, SQL and Sharepoint, I'm sure many of you think about backup and recovery of those workloads. If you do, then you'll be interested to read Jason's blog post in honor of Data Privacy Day, which is today if you didn't already have parties planned ;-). Jason's post asks the question "how private is your backup?" and the ways System Center Data Protection Manager 2010 can help. Here's an excerpt: Is your data protected on Tape?   Are the tapes encrypted?   It seems like a simple question, and the process is straightforward.  You check the box that says “Encrypt Tapes”.  But so many folks forget or choose not to.  Sometimes, these kinds of settings are mandated at corporate, but see
» 28 Jan 2010, 10:45 am

SQL Server is a Great Workload to Consolidate on Microsoft VirtualizationYesterday, Vipul Shah, a Senior Product Manager with the Virtualization Team, guest posted on Virtualization Planet about how Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V and System Center is a great platform for running SQL Server consolidated workloads. He pointed to a newly released video by Ted Kummert, Senior Vice President, Microsoft Business Platform Division that outlines how virtualization enables consolidation. This is exciting as we ran some performance tests against a complex stock trading application using a machine with Second Level Address Translation (SLAT) and saw good performance throughout the tests. We recently discussed in the Best Practices for SQL Server Virtualization webcast (click here) and in the SQL Server Consolidation Guid
» 26 Jan 2010, 5:51 am

Hyper-V Network Command Line Tool NVSPBIND Now Available ExternallyHello all,   I’m Paul Despe and I work as a program manager on the Microsoft Hyper-V team.   Until now, Hyper-V administrators using Server Core installs of Windows Server 2008 or Microsoft Hyper-V Server were unable to enable and disable protocol bindings from the parent partition due to the lack of a graphical network control panel only available in full installs of Windows Server.   I'm pleased to announce one of our developers on the Hyper-V team, Keith Mange, recently addressed this gap with the release of his (previously Microsoft internal-only) networking tool NVSPBIND.EXE publicly on. See it here.    This command line tool gives users easier granular control over network items they want enabled for their physical NICs and he
» 25 Jan 2010, 4:51 pm

Guest post: "Setting the Record Straight - 9 Reasons Why Hyper-V is a Great Choice for Enterprises"Hi, my name is Chris Steffen, architect with Kroll Factual Data. You may have read one of my prior guest posts.   Recently, I came across an InformationWeek Analytics Weblog that asserted a bunch of half truths and misinformation about Microsoft’s Hyper-V virtualization solution. Usually, I can just let it go (everyone’s entitled to their own opinion, right?), but in this case, the article was so skewed and so misleading that I felt that I needed to respond.Full disclosure – I am a Microsoft MVP for virtualization and a very happy Microsoft Hyper-V customer. Over the years, I have written about and presented many times on the topic of virtualization in general (including Hyper-V, ESX and Xen), and the benefits my company has expe
» 18 Jan 2010, 1:21 pm

Big news: Microsoft and HP team up to move IT forwardThis morning Microsoft and HP announced a three-year, $250 million agreement to jointly deliver a new infrastructure-to-application model, advance cloud computing and generally reduce the costs and complexities of IT.      The press release, executive videos and other information about the agreement are available here.   This is a big commitment on the part of both companies, representing the industry’s most comprehensive technology stack integration to date.  There are three main components to the agreement:    ·         A shared engineering roadmap to ensure strong integration between hardware and software - both on premises and in the cloud. ·         Joint solutions to optimize and simplify the deployment, ma
» 13 Jan 2010, 8:11 am

Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V iSCSI Performance WebcastMy friend and teammate Jim Schwartz on our Virtualization Solutions Marketing Team has asked me to post this entry about a very exciting webcast coming up, but he can describe it much better than me...   Hi, I’m Jim Schwartz, a director of virtualization solutions marketing with Microsoft in Redmond.   Over the past year we’ve seen more customers moving from basic deployment scenarios like dev/test and consolidation into more advanced deployments that take full advantage of VM mobility for high availability and site recovery.  Deployment of critical business workloads shows how virtualization features like Live Migration are driving IT agility.  Shared storage offers significant benefits for storage consolidation including centra
» 12 Jan 2010, 7:20 pm

Live Meeting for Influencers, 1.12.10 at 10:00 am PST: Moving from VMware to MicrosoftOn Tuesday, January 12, 2010 10:00 AM-11:00 AM., we are hosting a Live Meeting presentation for System Center influencers entitled, “So you Want To Move from a VMware Infrastructure to Microsoft,” presented by Kenon Owens, Microsoft Virtualization product manager. Please note: This Live Meeting presentation is exclusive to members of the System Center Influencers Program.  Not a member?  Visit the program information page on TechNet to learn more and apply to join. Join information is available on the System Center Influencers Program portal.  Members of the program will need to log into the Connect site to access the Live Meeting join information. Abstract: Many customers are making the decision every day to move
» 5 Jan 2010, 6:19 pm

MSDN Blogs - Front Page

Understanding where your virtual machine files are [Hyper-V]tweetmeme_url = 'http://blogs.msdn.com/virtual_pc_guy/archive/2010/03/10/understanding-where-your-virtual-machine-files-are-hyper-v.aspx'; To be honest, I am surprised that I have not blogged about this before, but today I would like to talk about how virtual machine files are placed on the hard disk.  Virtual Machine files The first thing to know is what files are used to create a virtual machine: .XML files These files contain the virtual machine configuration details.  There is one of these for each virtual machine and each snapshot of a virtual machine.  They are always named with the GUID used to internally identify the virtual machine or snapshot in question. .BIN files This file contains the memory of a virtual machine or
» 10 Mar 2010, 12:13 am

Teaching Kids Programming March / April UpdatesLlewellyn and I have continued to work on the Teaching Kids Programming Resources, we’d like to share progress here: 1) We registered the domain names www.TeachingKidsProgramming.org and www.TeachingKidsProgramming.com and will be migrating resources there over the next few months. 2) We created a calendar of live events for us to deliver for 2010.  We plan to visit a good number of US States, Africa and Canada this year.  When we visit a city, we plan to conduct a live event with kids and another one to train teachers locally.  We’ll publish this calendar on our website soon! 3) We will begin remote training of interested teachers.  We plan to record all remote trainings.  We will start a regular schedule of remote trainings la
» 9 Mar 2010, 11:30 pm

How To: Enable multiple netTcp port sharing for WCF end-pointsGetting straight to the point, the checklist for this can be found here . 3 basic tasks need to be done: - 1. Enable port sharing by either adding an attribute in your code like below NetTcpBinding binding = new NetTcpBinding ( "netTcpBinding" ); binding.PortSharingEnabled = true ; serviceHost = new ServiceHost ( typeof ( MsiFacade35Service )); serviceHost.AddServiceEndpoint( typeof ( IMsiFacade35Service ), binding, "net.tcp://MyServer/MyServiceEndpoint" ); Or by setting in the app.config like below=...(read more)
» 9 Mar 2010, 10:55 pm

Contract Position in the F# Team: Compiler and Visual Tools Software Engineer for Cross-Platform F#We are now seeking applications for a contract position with the F# team! Contract length: 6 months – 1 yearHiring Group: Microsoft Research, CambridgeLocation: Cambridge UK. Remote working possible. F# is a cross-platform language executing on any CLI implementation, including those found on Windows, Mac OS/X, Linux, Silverlight, XBox 360 and mobile phones. We are seeking a talented and highly motivated software engineer with experience in compilers and/or visual tools to make targeted improvements to the support the execution, development and tools experience across these platforms. Other tasks will include working with implementors of these CLI implementations, preparing web hosted material, preparing components for shared and open
» 9 Mar 2010, 10:53 pm

Architect Cafe Online Webcasts March 2010 SeriesMarch 25, 2010 at 1:00pm – 2:00pm EST Title: Extending Your Sites Reach with IE8 Add On Features Abstract Today's users are getting more sophisticated and they expect more features from the sites and services they use. In this session learn about how to implement low effort, high value add-ons that expand your sites reach and bring value to your customer base . Link to Register: https://swrt.worktankseattle.com/webcast/4240/preview.aspx Presenter: Jim Cirone Architect Evangelist, Microsoft Jim Cirone is an Architect Evangelist with Microsoft's Developer and Platform Evangelism team. He joined the DPE team 3 years ago after spending 10 years in Microsoft's services group architecting and delivering complex solutions. In his
» 9 Mar 2010, 10:45 pm

Surviving SXSW in Austin: A few helpful hintsOnce again, I was asked not once, not twice but a half dozen times in the last day for a couple of restaurant recommendations in Austin as SXSW is just around the virtual corner. And another person asked today if I planned to reprise a past, popular post, "Surviving CES in Las Vegas: A few helpful hints" for SXSW, given I have family in and around the Great State of Texas. So with a tip of the hat to my old friends and foodies, I offer a few tips for those heading off to Austin this week for the event, with a few recycled bits. This weekend will be another busy one for us at home, otherwise I would have found a way to travel to Austin with several of my friends to attend South by Southwest Conference in Austin, Texas. Toby, I expect you
» 9 Mar 2010, 10:37 pm

Going Back to Uni with Windows 7With students across the country going back to Uni over the last few weeks, we at Microsoft have been busy pulling together some plans that we think will help make their school year just that little bit sweeter. To celebrate how the new features of Windows 7 help students share more stuff with their mates, we are giving University and TAFE students the chance to create their own ultimate sharehouse. Over the next 5 weeks, we’ll be on the lookout for a Uni or TAFE student who can help us spread the...(read more)
» 9 Mar 2010, 10:18 pm

Security Compliance Management ToolkitMonitor the Security Compliance of Your IT Environment for Computers Running Windows The Security Compliance Management Toolkit Series builds on previous Solution Accelerators to provide you with expanded best practices and additional automation tools to help configure and deploy security settings for the following operating systems and applications: Windows® 7, BitLocker™ Drive Encryption, Windows® Internet Explorer® 8, Windows Server® 2008, Windows Server® 2003 Service Pack 2 (SP2), Windows Vista® SP1, Windows XP® Professional SP3, and 2007 Microsoft Office SP1. After deploying the security settings, you can verify the accuracy of the setting policies and monitor policy changes by using the desired configuration management
» 9 Mar 2010, 10:13 pm

My new home page, refreshed [Updated collection of great Silverlight/WPF Data Visualization resources!]Some great content has been published since I posted my previous collection of Silverlight/WPF Charting links. What's more, the November 2009 release of the Silverlight Toolkit and the February 2010 release of the WPF Toolkit have both been released, so please have a look at them if you haven't already! Now, without further ado, here are all links that are fit to print (FYI: previously published links are gray): Overviews (100 level) Silverlight Toolkit Released – More controls! - Tim Heuer's during the PDC keynote overview set the stage for good Charting content. Silverlight Toolkit (Silverlight 2 Control Pack) - Charting - Pete Brown followed up minutes later with another good overview. (Party trivia: The styles seen in his blog of
» 9 Mar 2010, 9:54 pm

IT Trend 2010 :: #10 Green IT  영상이 보이지 않으면 이곳을 클릭해서 실버라이트를 설치하세요 IT Trend 2010 10번째 이야기 "Green IT" 2010년 주목해야 할 IT Trend TOP 10 더 많은 내용을 원하시는 분들은 IT 트렌드 2010 (http://www.msittrend.com/) 사이트와 MSDN 뉴스레터와 TechNet 뉴스레터를 확인 하시기 바랍니다.   MSDN 뉴스레터 최신호: http://www.microsoft.com/korea/msdn/flash/currentissue/default.aspx MSDN 뉴스레터 지난호 http://msdn.microsoft.com/ko-kr/aa940986.aspx TechNet 뉴스레터 : http://www.microsoft.com/korea/technet/flash/archive/default.mspx   Windows Media Video (WMV) Windows Media Audio (WMA) iPod Video (MP4) MP3 Audio Zune Video (WMV)
» 9 Mar 2010, 9:42 pm

Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Training ContentTime to be SharePoint 2010 Ready! Check out the following from MSFT: Microsoft SharePoint – Training Portal http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/training/sharepoint.aspx Getting Started with Microsoft SharePoint 2010 (Beta) http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/ee518660.aspx Get Started Developing on SharePoint 2010: http://MSSharePointDeveloper.com
» 9 Mar 2010, 9:35 pm

SuperSite for Windows

R.I.P. EBS: On-Premise Servers Not So Essential After AllThis month's unexpected early retirement of Essential Business Server says more about the rise of cloud computing than it does about the complexity and cost of the product.
» 9 Mar 2010, 7:41 am

Mailbag: March 7, 2010In this week's mailbag: Save money on Office 2010 while helping the SuperSite, why there are two Program Files folders in x64 versions of Windows 7, what is the Windows.Old folder, will Windows Media Player 12 ever be ported to XP or Vista, excessive processor usage with Microsoft Security Essentials, and how to remove crapware from a new PC.
» 7 Mar 2010, 8:58 am

Making Windows 7 Home Premium the Ultimate OS, Part 3: Remote AccessIn Part 3 of this series about adding Windows 7 Professional and Ultimate features to Windows 7 Home Premium, I take a look at some add-ons that can replace the Remote Desktop Host remote access utility.
» 6 Mar 2010, 9:51 am

Windows Weekly 146: Google FatigueIn the latest episode of the Windows Weekly podcast, Leo and I discuss the amazing success of Windows 7, Microsoft's controversial initiative to make the Internet safer for everyone, the Office 2010 Technology Guarantee, Google fatigue, Apple's lawsuit against HTC, and more...
» 6 Mar 2010, 6:15 am

Windows 7 Tip of the Week: Computer ManagementComputer Management is a Microsoft Management Console (MMC)-based tool that combines a number of administrative utilities into a single UI. But you have to know it exists before you can use it.
» 5 Mar 2010, 2:37 pm

What I Use: March 2010 UpdateSome minor changes this month, including a new Media Center-based workout station, which includes an Acer AspireRevo netbook-class PC and a LifeFitness X3 Elliptical Cross-Trainer.
» 5 Mar 2010, 11:47 am

Making Windows 7 Home Premium the Ultimate OSIntroducing a new mini-series about turning Windows 7 Home Premium into a more capable product with Windows 7 Professional and Ultimate features. Parts 1 and 2 are now available.
» 4 Mar 2010, 4:33 pm

Windows 7 Deployment: Application CompatibilityAny business that is considering a Windows 7 deployment will have many issues to consider. Key among these issues is application compatibility.
» 2 Mar 2010, 1:15 pm

Mailbag: February 28, 2010In this week's mailbag: Installing and reusing Windows 7 upgrade versions on different PCs, some application compatibility updates for various Windows versions, a free PDF guide to Windows 7 search, questions about upgrading from Windows Home Server to "Vail," clean installing Windows 7 on a new computer, and Minasi Conference 2010.
» 28 Feb 2010, 1:34 pm

Windows Weekly 145: The Browser BallotIn the latest episode of the Windows Weekly podcast, Leo and I discuss Microsoft's innovative new Metro UI and what it means for non-phone devices, the Microsoft/Yahoo deal moves forward, the browser ballot screen is finalized for the EU, the WATU update goes live, Microsoft shuts down a major Botnet, and more...
» 27 Feb 2010, 2:17 pm

Windows 7 Tip of the Week: They Don't Call Them "Essentials" For NothingWindows 7 is an impressive and refined OS with fun and productive new features. But there are some important pieces missing. The good news is that this was all by design, and thanks to free downloads like Windows Live Essentials and Microsoft Security Essentials, you can complete Windows 7.
» 26 Feb 2010, 11:55 am

Toms Hardware

Report: Windows 7 SP1 Release Pushed to Q4'10Waiting for SP1 before jumping to Windows 7? It could still happen this year. Windows 7 - Operating system - Microsoft Windows - Microsoft - Windows Vista
» 9 Mar 2010, 5:30 pm

Nvidia is Looking Forward to Fight Intel in CourtNvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang is ready to do battle against Intel. Jen-hsunHuang - Nvidia - Intel Corporation - Chipset - Graphics processing unit
» 9 Mar 2010, 5:30 pm

Ubisoft Revive DRM Servers After DDoS AttackThe DRM servers come back just in time to greet the new North American Assassin's Creed II PC gamers. Assassin's Creed - Ubisoft - Denial-of-service attack - Digital rights management - DRM
» 9 Mar 2010, 5:20 pm

Presented By:» 9 Mar 2010, 5:20 pm

Samsung Shows How Super AMOLED is BetterForget just regular OLED, Samsung has SUPER AMOLED to show you. Samsung Group - Organic light-emitting diode - Samsung - Engadget - Video Games
» 9 Mar 2010, 3:00 pm

Blizzard: World of Warcraft Not for ConsolesIf Blizzard is to make an MMO for a console, it won't be World of Warcraft. World of Warcraft - Blizzard Entertainment - Game - Video Games - Massive Multiplayer Online
» 9 Mar 2010, 2:40 pm

Unannounced Dell All-in-One Shows Up at WalmartDell's Japan-only Dell Inspiron One 19 has been spotted at a Walmart branch here in the U.S. Walmart - Dell - Japan - Vudu - Online Media
» 9 Mar 2010, 1:40 pm

TEARDOWN: Alienware's M11x Gaming NetbookOpened up and photographed in cold, harsh lighting. Just how we like it! Alienware - Business - Gaming - Dell - Arts and Entertainment
» 9 Mar 2010, 10:30 am

Crysis 2: Lower System Req, Better GraphicsThe sequel will require less while providing more. Sounds like a good woman. Crysis - Video game - Crytek - Crysis 2 - Games
» 9 Mar 2010, 10:20 am

Presented By:» 9 Mar 2010, 10:20 am

Nvidia Pulls Linux, BSD, Solaris Drivers Due to BugMore drivers have popped up with the mysterious overheating bug, this time affecting Linux, FreeBSD, and Solaris systems. FreeBSD - Linux - Berkeley Software Distribution - Operating system - Unix
» 9 Mar 2010, 9:40 am

WannaBeGeek

Windows 7 StarterThere has been a lot of talk recently about Windows 7 Starter, so I thought I’d dive a little deeper into what it means to have this edition of Windows 7 running on a small notebook PC (a.k.a. a netbook) Today, the Starter edition of Windows is designed for entry level PCs and available only in certain regions. We first introduced a “Starter edition” with Windows XP, and did again with Windows Vista. Starter comes with limitations, such as being able to run only 3 concurrent applications on a PC at a time (this excludes background processes such as anti-virus applications, wireless and Bluetooth, and system tools like Explorer and Control Panel). There of course will also be Windows 7 Starter edition, but based on the feedback we
» 30 May 2009, 6:18 pm

Windows 7 Will your old PC run thisIt is well known that Windows 7 is a huge step up from Vista as well as XP. It allows users with computers that could barely run Vista to run 7 much faster and more efficiently. It is relatively safe to say, that Windows 7 will be the first version of Windows, that does not constantly remind you that you need to upgrade your computer. Since the first beta was released a few months ago, I have done around 25-30 installs of Windows 7. On every type of system, from a 3 GHz quad core system, to a 1.3 GHz single core laptop. On every single one of those installs Windows 7 greatly improved performance and reliability. The install we want to highlight here is the 1.3 GHz laptop. Even by today's net book crazy market, this is an under powered
» 24 May 2009, 2:44 am

Windows 7 launch planned for October 15?Three weeks ago, Acer let slip some pretty strong hints about Windows 7's release schedule, saying it would release an all-in-one desktop based on the OS on October 23. Today, Paul Thurrott of the SuperSite for Windows has also revealed a release date while discussing another topic. Thurrott states plainly in his review of the Windows 7 release candidate, You'll be able to get the final version of Windows 7 publicly on October 15, 2009, according to the current schedule. . . . Mark your calendar. That statement leaves room for Microsoft to move things around, although coupled with the Acer slip-up, it certainly makes a mid- to late-October launch sound that much likelier. Microsoft itself hasn't been anywhere near that specific when t
» 20 May 2009, 6:20 am

Office 2010 Has Leaked!The Technical Preview of Office 2010 has officially leaked! WZor.net uploaded a torrent a few hoursago for both the x86 and x64 versions of the new Office suite. Without further ado, I present: Microsoft Office 2010 (x86) AND Microsoft Office 2010 (x64) The x64 torrent doesn't seem to be very active at the moment, but over time, as it gains more seeders, hopefully it will pick up. We were achieving speeds of up to 1000kbps during our download of the x86 version, so the torrent is going strong... That is, until the rest of the world picks up on it... Download quickly! While you eagerly await the end of your download, check out a screenshot gallery from WZor as well (the version pictured in the screenshots is the x64 ver
» 18 May 2009, 5:48 am

Windows 7 Build 7127 Is LiveWindows 7 RC's public availability might have slowed Microsoft down a tad when it comes to the development process of the next iteration of Windows 7, but the Redmond company has rapidly gained back any lost momentum In this context, Windows 7 Build 7127 is already live. Build 7127 is post-Release Candidate, namely from the RTM-branch of the operating system. Microsoft has already confirmed officially that there will be no additional development milestone between the RC and RTM. There will be, however, interim builds, as the company will focus on preparing the platform for general availability. Jon DeVaan, senior vice president, Windows Core Operating System Division, and Steven Sinofsky, senior vice president, Windows and Windows Live En
» 15 May 2009, 6:02 am

Windows 7 (RC) Release Candidate: DownloadWindows 7 is the next version of the Windows client operating system. This version incorporates hundreds of improvements based on your feedback. It works the way you want: it's responsive, reliable, and runs smoothly. It starts and shuts down faster, and is designed to make your battery last longer. Windows 7 RC will expire on June 1, 2010. Starting on March 1, 2010, your PC will begin shutting down every two hours. Windows will notify you two weeks before the bi-hourly shutdowns start. To avoid interruption, you’ll need to install a non-expired version of Windows before March 1, 2010. Both the 32- and 64-bit versions of Windows 7 RC are available in five languages: English, German, Japanese, French, and Spanish. Just choose the version
» 29 Nov 1999, 3:00 pm

Windows 7 - XP Mode and Windows Virtual PCApril 30, 2009 is not only synonymous with the broadening of the Windows 7 Release Candidate testing pool, but also with the delivery of additional features for the RC development milestone. MSDN and TechNet subscribers not only got the fully-fledged Windows 7 RC Build 7100 bits today, but also the Beta builds of Windows XP Mode and Windows Virtual PC. The two releases are designed to work in tandem, in order to provide Windows 7 customers with 100% compatibility with Windows XP-centric applications. What Microsoft is essentially offering is a virtualized XP environment running in Windows Virtual PC. “Windows XP Mode standalone is suitable for small and medium business users, who are able to set their XP applications thems
» 3 May 2009, 5:28 am

Top 10 reasons why you should upgrade to Windows 7With the Windows 7 Release Candidate already leaked to the public, and the the official bits coming May 5, there's been a lot of hype surrounding Windows 7, with generally positive reviews from the community. Windows 7 is everything Vista wasn't... and some of what it should of been. Virtual XP Mode A fast install time, faster boot up, and snappier UI Netbook support Removal of IE 8 and other Windows Components Better driver and program support Updates to programs like Calculator, Paint, and Wordpad Less Bloat Better UAC control New Aero features Problem Steps Recorder Is Windows 7 is shaping up to be the best Windows release yet! ? Full details next page
» 29 Apr 2009, 5:58 am

Windows 7 RC download page goes up early and then goes down againars technica (http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2009/03/windows-7-rc-download-page-goes-up-early-coming-in-may.ars)
» 26 Apr 2009, 5:48 am

Windows 7 RC is Build 7100Sources have informed us that Microsoft has stamped the RC build of Windows 7 last night. The build is 7100 and carries the build tag 7100.0.winmain_win7rc.090421-1700. Windows 7 brings many new features, compatibility improvements and speed improvements over that of Windows Vista. Expect to see an announcement from Microsoft about the RC of Windows 7 on May 5th, with a public release somewhere around the 9th. Source: geeksmack.net
» 24 Apr 2009, 5:29 am

WinBeta

Ex-Sun chief dishes dirt on Gates, JobsDon't expect Jonathan Schwartz to go quietly. The former CEO of Sun Microsystems has taken to his personal blog, provocatively titled "What I couldn't say...," to dish some industry dirt and tell his side of the story about the demise of Sun. He has already hinted at plans to write a book, and a new post Tuesday suggests a tell-all tome could indeed be in the offing... View Full Article: Computerworld
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Hard Drives' 2011 Sector Shift May Slow Windows XP UseIt's been (somewhat) common knowledge for a while now that hard drives are slowly transitioning from using 512-byte sectors to using 4KB sectors. (ExtremeTech reported on it in 2005, for example.) But, as a recent BBC story points out, Windows XP users may be in for trouble when what is currently an "advanced format" becomes the standard next year... View Full Article: ExtremeTech
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The Secret Origin of WindowsDavid Worthington: Few people understand Microsoft better than Tandy Trower, who worked at the company from 1981-2009. Trower was the product manager who ultimately shipped Windows 1.0, an endeavor that some advised him was a path toward a ruined career. Four product managers had already tried and failed to ship Windows before him, and he initially thought that he was being assigned an impossible task. In this follow-up to yesterday’s story on the future of Windows, Trower recounts the inside story of his experience in transforming Windows from vaporware into a product that has left an unmistakable imprint on the world, 25 years after it was first released... View Full Article: Technologizer
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Microsoft changes algorithm behind its browser ballotMicrosoft has tweaked the algorithm generating the browser choice screen that it is pushing out to European Union users as a result of the European Commission’s findings in an antitrust case there. Shortly after Microsoft began pushing the browser ballot to Windows users in the EC who have Internet Explorer installed as their default browser (on March 1), various parties began complaining about it... View Full Article: Mary Jo Foley's Blog
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Musings on the future of Microsoft, WindowsIna Fried: Predicting the decline of Microsoft is a favorite sport for some, and indeed, there is plenty of reason to argue that Redmond will struggle as Google and others provide cheaper alternatives to the powerfully profitable combination of Windows and Office. But efforts ranging from Surface to Windows Phone to Project Natal also provide reason to think that Microsoft might yet be able to innovate its way through some of these challenges. The future of the world's largest software maker was the topic of Friday's CNET Reporters' Roundtable, where Robert Scoble and Don Dodge joined Rafe Needleman and me to talk about the challenges facing the company... View Full Article: CNET News
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Microsoft delivers feature-rich SSL-VPNNetwork World: We tested Whale Communications' SSL VPN in 2003 and the product didn't fare very well. Microsoft bought Whale in 2006, jettisoned some of the strange idiosyncrasies of the product, dramatically simplified management, and subsequently integrated several Vista and Windows 7 technologies. The latest version of the product, now called Forefront Unified Access Gateway 2010, offers a great SSL VPN feature set, especially when integrated into an existing Microsoft Windows network and when used to provide staff access to enterprise applications... View Full Article: Network World
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Office 2010 nearly ready; upgrade offer launchedMicrosoft said on Friday that it plans to finalize the code for Office 2010 next month and, as expected, it kicked off a program enabling those who buy Office 2007 in the coming months to get a free upgrade to the new version. In a blog posting, Microsoft said that it will have a business launch for the Office 2010 products on May 12. The company has said it expects the software to be broadly available in June... View Full Article: CNET News
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Microsoft to discontinue its mid-market server lineMicrosoft is discontinuing its Essential Business Server (EBS) product family, company officials said on March 5, and have decided against releasing an EBS 2010 product. According to a post on the Essential Business Server team blog, Microsoft is ceasing development of future iterations of EBS as of June 30, 2010. Microsoft is attributing the shift to “a natural market shift in midsize business’ preferences toward creating their own IT solutions.” View Full Article: Mary Jo Foley's Blog
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Microsoft to Spend $9.5 Billion on Research in 2010Microsoft plans to spend $9.5 billion on research and development this year, which a senior executive said Thursday is more than any competitor. The figure is $3 billion more than the next closest technology company, said Kevin Turner, Microsoft's chief operating officer, who gave a keynote speech on Thursday at the Cebit trade show. Much of Microsoft's investments center around "cloud" services, or online computing provided to users from hosted data centers... View Full Article: PC World
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Patriot crams 40 Torqx SSDs into one box: Project Artemis is bornHEXUS: There's always one company at CeBIT that brings a semi-crazed experiment to the show floor. This time around that company appears to be Patriot. Perhaps known to our readers and viewers as the purveyor of memory modules, it's jumped on the solid-state drive (SSD) bandwagon early with a range of Torqx-branded models. A single 256GB Torqx is fast enough for most people's needs. Put two together in RAID0 and the system will fly along at over 400MB/s read. But what happens when you position 40 such drives in a single box? Watch the video and find out... View Full Article: HEXUS.net
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Google Index to Go Real TimeGoogle is developing a system that will enable web publishers of any size to automatically submit new content to Google for indexing within seconds of that content being published. Search industry analyst Danny Sullivan told us today that this could be "the next chapter" for Google... View Full Article: ReadWriteWeb
»

Windows Networking

Group Policy Object Backups (Part 1)The options available for a Group Policy backup to be completed manually.
» 8 Mar 2010, 10:00 pm

Deploying Windows 7 - Part 18: Determining the UUID of a ComputerThis series of articles on deploying Windows 7 continues examining how to create a script in order to determine the UUID of a computer.
» 2 Mar 2010, 11:00 pm

Windows 7 Compatibility Testing (Part 1)Demonstrating the need for comprehensive compatibility testing prior to a Windows 7 deployment, discussing also the various tools available to help you do so.
» 1 Mar 2010, 10:00 pm

10 Core Concepts that Every Windows Network Admin Must KnowThe 10 core concepts that every Windows network admin must know. These are the things that you not only need to know in your day to day job as a Windows Network Admin but for anyone who is interviewing as a network admin.
» 24 Feb 2010, 11:00 pm

DameWare NT Utilities - Voted WindowsNetworking.com Readers' Choice Award Winner - Remote ControlDameWare NT Utilities was selected the winner in the Remote Control category of the WindowsNetworking.com Readers' Choice Awards. VNC Enterprise Edition and Radmin 3 Remote Control Software were runner-up and second runner-up respectively.
» 24 Feb 2010, 12:00 am

Deploying Windows 7 - Part 17: Deploying Applications Based on Make and ModelHow to use the MDT database to deploy Windows 7 together with Microsoft Office 2007 based on the make and model of your target computers.
» 22 Feb 2010, 11:00 pm

Getting to Know the Windows Server 2008 R2 Name Resolution Policy Table (NRPT)Taking a look at the Name Resolution Policy Table (NRPT) in Windows Server 2008 R2.
» 17 Feb 2010, 10:00 pm

Using Custom ADM Templates with Windows Server 2008/Vista/7What ADM templates do and how to edit them in your new Windows Server 2008/Vista/7 environment.
» 15 Feb 2010, 11:00 pm

Windows Vista Team Blog

Piloting Windows 7: Part 4: Installation Options and Collecting Feedback  This is the fourth and final installment of this series from Jeremy Chapman After user targeting and planning is complete, you can start your Proof of Concept testing and begin building Windows 7 images. There are many ways to build Windows 7 images or standard builds and depending on the tools you have in place, you may want to test a couple of options. For organizations with System Center Configuration Manager 2007, you can use that to create standard Windows builds with complete automation of OS, applications, drivers, data and profile migration, etc. If you won’t have Configuration Manager available for the pilot, you can download the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) to create standard builds with similar automation capabilitie
» 9 Mar 2010, 6:54 pm

Denon Announces A/V Receivers Compatible with Windows 7Yesterday, Denon announced that much of their current line of audio and video (A/V) receivers have earned Compatible with Windows 7 logo. The following models have received the logo: AVR-4310CI AVR-3310CI AVR-990 AVR-4810CI (recently released and shown above) ASD-51W ASD-51N Denon has also said that their new A/V receivers, scheduled to be announced in 2010, will also carry the Compatible with Windows 7 logo. As you’re building your stereo system at home or looking to update an existing stereo system, you should definitely consider A/V receivers such as Denon’s models that carry the Compatible with Windows 7 logo. That means these receivers work great and can take advantage of Windows 7. For example if
» 9 Mar 2010, 5:25 pm

New, Modern PCs Can Save Small Businesses Time and MoneyHelping small businesses not just survive but thrive is key to our global economic recovery. Together, small and midsize businesses employ the majority of the world’s workforce and as we all know, will be the key to future job creation. Cutting costs and being more productive are top of mind for all of us, including small business owners who had to hunker down over the past couple of years. As a result, many are now faced with aging hardware that doesn’t meet the demands of today’s business environment. Small business owners are ready for new PCs but are wondering if now is the right time to make that investment. Market research firm Techaisle conducted a survey with 1000 small businesses in the US, UK, China, Brazil and India, fund
» 9 Mar 2010, 12:02 pm

Dell Introduces Vostro 3000 Series Windows PCsDell today, is introducing the Vostro 3000 series of Windows PCs targeting specifically at the Small Business customer. The new thin, lightweight and durable laptop computers feature powerful processors, high-end graphics and built-in security, and are designed for small businesses; helping them stretch their budget and protect their data, and come with dedicated small business services and support to keep a small businesses moving. Vostro 3000 series consists of a 17” model (Vostro 3700), a 15” model (Vostro 3500), a 14” model (Vostro 3400), and a 13” model (Vostro 3300). And they come packing quite a “punch”. The Vostro 3000 series will come with the latest Intel Core processors, including, the optional the quad-core I
» 9 Mar 2010, 10:30 am

Windows Phone Sessions at MIX10MIX is right around the corner, and the Windows Phone 7 Series developer team (@wp7dev) is very excited to be talking about the development platform. This is a guest post by Joey deVilla, Microsoft Developer Evangelist, about our upcoming sessions at MIX. We’d love to see you at MIX, but if you can’t make it, all the sessions will be streamed over at http://live.visitmix.com/ We’ll also have content making it over to Channel9 over the course of next week. Monday, 3/15/2010   Changing Our Game: An Introduction to Windows Phone 7 Series Joe Belfiore Monday, March 15th 11:30 a.m. Major changes are coming to Windows
» 8 Mar 2010, 2:04 pm

Street Fighter IV 50% off via Games on DemandLast Friday I posted about the first of a series of hot deals that will happen at the end of every week this month. Last week it was a hot deal for Batman: Arkham Asylum. This week it’s Street Fighter IV. Starting today and running through to Monday March 8th 5:00pm Redmond time, Street Fighter IV will be available through Games on Demand at 50% off. That’s $19.99 (or 1600 Microsoft Points). Keep checking this page for hot deals for game titles available through Games on Demand. Remember, to take advantage of Games on Demand, you will need the Games for Windows – LIVE client installed. You can download it here.
» 5 Mar 2010, 5:10 pm

Internet Explorer 8 Still the Best at Staying Safe While Browsing the WebBack in August, I wrote a blog post about how Internet Explorer 8 offers the best protection against socially engineered malware threats. This week, NSS Labs released a new study that continues to show Internet Explorer 8 to be the #1 browser in blocking malware! When the first study was revealed, the Internet Explorer Team announced that Internet Explorer 8’s SmartScreen Filter had provided over 80 million blocks of malware. Almost a year after Internet Explorer 8 shipped, Internet Explorer 8’s SmartScreen Filter has provided over 560 million blocks of malware – averaging over 3 million blocks per day! Wow. The SmartScreen Filter uses a special URL Reputation Service (URS) with data centers hosted around the world and has evaluated
» 5 Mar 2010, 4:42 pm

Announcing the Windows Home Server YouTube channelWhenever I’m confused on how to do something and am looking for some help, YouTube is one of the first places I go. Without fail, I can always find some form of video that gives me the answer I need. The Windows Home Server team has also seen the benefits of YouTube, and we thought it would be helpful and fun for our customers if we started making our own videos! Now, with the new creation of our Windows Home Server videos, we have made our very own Windows Home Server channel on YouTube. On the channel, you will find variety of different videos including: Team interviews – learn about Windows Home Server’s team members and how they use the product in their day-to-day lives. Windows Home Server overviews – if you are still learnin
» 5 Mar 2010, 4:37 pm

Welcome to the new Windows Phone Developer BlogAs we roll towards full public disclosure of the details of the Windows Phone 7 Series development platform there needs to be a place where members of the team building it can engage in conversations with the community. This is the place. Subscribe to this feed to get deep technical information on the tools, platform capabilities, and so forth. We’ll be linking to other blogs and content sites as well. We’ll do our best to keep away from marketing spiel and instead focus on great technical conversations. On twitter we are @wp7dev.  We use #wp7dev to track twitter conversations on the platform. Here are a set great blogs from some of the team members you’ll be getting to know: Charlie Kindel:Topics: Everything Blog: blogs.msdn.com/ck
» 5 Mar 2010, 10:37 am

New IT Trends Bring Change to Mid-Market Product LineToday Microsoft announced that effective June 30, 2010, Microsoft will discontinue future development of Windows Essential Business Server (EBS)the infrastructure solution we designed specifically for midsize businesses. This blog post is to specifically answer the question around whether the change affects other Microsoft solution products. The short answer is, no. In no way does today’s EBS announcement impact Windows Small Business Server, Windows Home Server and Windows Server 2008 and R2. Our decision to discontinue future plans for Windows Essential Business Server was based on several factors, but most notably in response to midsize businesses making a rapid shift towards technologies such as management, virtualization and cloud co
» 5 Mar 2010, 8:01 am

Microsoft & the CloudToday at the University of Washington’s Department of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE), Steve Ballmer spoke to students about Microsoft and cloud services. You can watch his speech on-demand below. As Steve mentions, at Microsoft we’re “all in” for the cloud– including Windows. We have Windows Azure, a platform and environment for creating applications and services for the cloud. And we also have Windows Live ID as an identity and authentication system – which today represents 460 million users! Speaking of Windows Live, I suggest reading the posts on Inside Windows Live from members of the Windows Live engineering team. Their posts offer some great insight into the work being done in supporting the massive scale of man
» 4 Mar 2010, 6:09 pm