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Windows 7 for XP ProfessionalsUpdating Support Skills from XP to Windows 7by Bink.nu's Raymond Comvalius
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Last week we released Exchange Server 2010 Service Pack 1. It has received some great feedback and reviews from customers, experts, analysts, and the Exchange community.
The starting point for SP1 setup/upgrade should be the What's New in SP1, SP1 Release Notes, and Prerequisites docs. As with any new release, there are some frequently asked deployment questions, and known issues, or issues reported by some customers. You may not face these in your environment, but we're posting these here along with some workarounds so you're aware of them as you test and deploy SP1.
As part of my job as a full-time Microsoft watcher, I get a lot of tips about Microsoft from customers, competitors, partners and even some Softies themselves. However, ever since I worked for PCWeek as a reporter more than 15 years ago, I had it drilled into my head that until I could get three independent sources — none of whom was repeating something s/he heard in an echo chamber — to corroborate a tip, I couldn’t run it as a story.
Let’s start things off with a rumor that just won’t die — and one that is fitting to run on the day Apple announced a revamped iPod Touch line, plus social/streaming music capabilities along the lines of what Microsoft already offers with ZunePass.
I keep hearing from a source of mine who has been a solid tipster on Microsoft-consumerish things in the past that Microsoft is still considering rolling out at least one more Zune HD media player. Let’s call it, just for fun, the Zune HD2 (though maybe Zune HD7 (potentially stealing a good name away from HTC) is a more likely name, given the Softies’ love of all things numbered 7 these days).Last I heard, iIt was supposed to be Microsoft’s iPod Touch competitor.
Full Story at All About Microsoft
The Microsoft Volume Licensing Service Center (VLSC) will release new improvements in November, 2010. We have reached out to many partners and customers around the world through Live Meetings, interviews, hands-on usability studies, forums, and events to gather input and feedback on how to improve the VLSC. We take this feedback seriously and are continually incorporating suggestions into the VLSC.
Improvements coming in November include:
Source
TMG can be configured in a Mail protection role. In such configurations Forefront Protection for Exchange and Exchange Server (edge transport role) are installed on the same machine as TMG.
We have identified problems when installing Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 Service Pack 1 (SP1) that was released last week on such deployments.
When Email protection is configured on TMG and Spam Filtering functionality is enabled, TMG uses one of the cmdlets that has been removed (get-antispamupdates) in SP1. As a result, Microsoft Forefront TMG Managed Control service fails to start and the event viewer will contain a message that the service terminated with the following error : %%-2146233088 : What we are doing to address this problem
The TMG team is fully committed to addressing this problem and is working on a fix which will be publically available soon. We recommend refraining from installing Exchange 2010 SP1 on TMG machines until the fix is available. We will publish another blog post when the fix becomes available.
If you are already affected by this problem and need urgent assistance, please contact Microsoft support (http://support.microsoft.com).
Source: ISABLOG
Today is the day that the Windows Phone team has been driving towards, and we’re very excited to say that we’ve reached the biggest milestone for our internal team – the release to manufacturing (RTM) of Windows Phone 7! While the final integration of Windows Phone 7 with our partners’ hardware, software, and networks is underway, the work of our internal engineering team is largely complete.
Windows Phone 7 is the most thoroughly tested mobile platform Microsoft has ever released. We had nearly ten thousand devices running automated tests daily, over a half million hours of active self-hosting use, over three and a half million hours of stress test passes, and eight and a half million hours of fully automated test passes. We’ve had thousands of independent software vendors and early adopters testing our software and giving us great feedback. We are ready.
I last posted on this blog when we reached the Technical Preview milestone, and we’ve received some great feedback since then which we’ve been able to respond to and improve the smart design throughout the OS. For example, folks loved the Facebook integration in the People Hub, but they also wanted ways to filter their contacts so only the Facebook friends they really know will show up in their contact list – we’ve added support for that. We’ve also made it easy to “like” a post right from the People Hub, or quickly post a message to someone’s Facebook wall directly.
Full Story Here
Earlier today, Eurogamer Spain reported that the upcoming motion-sensing peripheral would not support Spanish-speaking users for its voice commands. According to Microsoft Spain's PR & Event Manager Lydia Pitzalis, the device's voice-recognition feature is only set to support users in the U.S., U.K., Mexico and Japan at launch. Other regions would see voice support added in Spring 2011.
Although Pitzalis also stated that Canadian users would be left without the feature, Microsoft has told Shacknews that this was a misunderstanding.
"In Canada, English voice controls for Kinect will be available on November 4, 2010, with French support available in Spring 2011," a Microsoft Canada representative told Shacknews.
Continue at Source
Deploying Windows 7, but still running Web applications based on Internet Explorer 6? Join us live at 9:00 AM Pacific Time on Thursday, September 30, 2010 for a virtual, interactive roundtable discussion on migration strategies, standards, and support for organizations moving from Internet Explorer 6 to Internet Explorer 8. As organizations deploy Windows 7, many still depend on web applications that were designed for Internet Explorer 6. Will they still work, and what can you do when they don’t? Join a panel of IT Professionals, Microsoft specialists and technical experts to discuss best practices to simplify and accelerate the migration to Internet Explorer 8. Topics will include an explanation of the causes of and solutions for application compatibility issues (including policy, code, and virtualization solutions), an introduction to tools, and a review of best practices.
Ask your questions live during the event with our online tool - or submit your questions in advance to vrtable@microsoft.com.
Missed a previous Springboard Series Virtual Roundtable? Watch them on demand.
Some say the mouse’s days are numbered, but today Microsoft Corp. proves the gadget is alive and well by unveiling the Arc Touch Mouse, the first mouse designed to flatten for portability and pop up for comfort. The new mouse features Microsoft’s first touch scroll strip for easy navigation — just move a finger slowly for controlled scrolling or flick for hyperfast scrolling. Windows-based PC users will love packing up their laptop bags without the added bump of a mouse, as the Arc Touch Mouse flattens with just the touch of a finger.
As the computing landscape evolves to offer new ways of interacting, such as touch screens and touch pads, the mouse is also evolving but holds true to its core purpose: providing comfort and precision to users when navigating the PC.
“This is not the first time that the mouse has been threatened — look at 10 years ago when people started buying laptops that had integrated pointers and touch pads. Still, the mouse category continued to grow and grow,” said Brett Ostrum, general manager for the Hardware Group at Microsoft. “The reasons people need external mice will not change: comfort and precision. The Arc Touch Mouse just demonstrates again how committed Microsoft is to continuing to bring great new mice to consumers.”
Continue for the Press Release
We continue to see momentum for Internet Explorer 8 worldwide with the share numbers released today. Net Applications’ August browser usage share figures confirm that as IE8 moves into its 18th month, it remains the fastest growing browser worldwide. Internet Explorer 8 grew 1.17% to account for 32.04% of usage share worldwide – more than three times that of Chrome’s 0.36% share growth. Firefox remained largely flat for August with a slight gain of 0.02% worldwide.
An additional piece of encouraging news was the further drop of Internet Explorer 6, particularly in developed markets. As Net Applications is reporting that IE6 share is now at its lowest point ever, I thought it would be a good time to address how we think about the aging browser. As we have said in the past, one of our main missions is to get people off IE6 as fast as humanly possible. And while IE6 was a great browser for its time, we all need the web to move forward. First, this is good for developers who we want to be able to write the same markup across their sites. It’s good for consumers who should have the protections afforded by a modern browser. Finally, it’s good for the web, particularly as we look ahead to IE9 and begin to see what’s possible.
Full Story at Windows Team Blog
All summer long we’ve given you some great reasons to purchase a new PC and make the move to Windows 7, an operating system loved by a whopping 94% of folks who use it! Here’s one more: starting October 3 in the U.S., Windows 7 Family Pack will be available for purchase at participating retailers and online at the Microsoft Store.
Purchasing the Windows 7 Family Pack gives you three upgrade licenses of Windows 7 Home Premium for the low price of $149.99. To take advantage of Family Pack, you’ll need a PC running a genuine copy of either Windows Vista or Windows XP that is capable of running Windows 7. The Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor can tell you which features and editions of Windows 7 will run on your computer(s).
For those of you who don’t live in the U.S., Family Pack may be coming your way too. It goes on sale in Canada, UK, Germany, France, Australia and many other markets on or after Oct. 22 (Windows 7’s 1 year anniversary!)
Source: WindowsTeamBlog
We’ve just made the Xbox 360 Wireless controller even better with a brand new version that includes a transforming D-pad. The engineers have come up with an ingenious solution with a d-pad that can go from a plus to a disc with the twist of the wrist.
From this: To this instantly:
Here is a video that shows how it work:
In addition to the new d-pad, the matte silver controller also features concave analog sticks and gray A,B,X,Y buttons for added style.
The controller will only be available with the new Play & Charge Kit that will launch on November 9th for US $64.99.
More photos on my flickr
If you are headed to PAX Prime this weekend in Seattle, drop by the recording of my LIVE Podcast on Sunday where I’ll have a few of these controllers to give away for free.
Edit: It’s now up on Xbox.com Source: Major Nelson
Today we are happy to announce the first official Bing for Mobile Android App available to Verizon customers. You can now download the free Bing App from your Verizon Wireless Android phones’ Marketplace.
The app homepage features the Bing image of the day, complete with clickable hotspots that you can explore and discover related trivia. Did you miss one of the latest images? Don’t worry; you can still swipe through up to 7 days’ worth of Bing images.
Are you a visual person? Try the image search feature that has endless scrolling results (Tip: this also works for any search result). Then easily swipe through image previews and click straight through to the image host site.
Full Story at Bing Community
Hotmail is making it easier for you to stay up-to-date and be productive on your phone. Starting today, you can get your email, calendar, and contacts pushed automatically to your phone using Exchange ActiveSync (EAS). EAS keeps everything in sync between your phone and Hotmail, so whatever you do on your phone, like delete an email, add an appointment, or update one of your contacts with a new number, will also be reflected on the web, and vice-versa. If you use an email client on your PC that already syncs with Hotmail, like Outlook with the Outlook Connector or Windows Live Mail, what you do on your phone will show up there as well, delivering a seamless experience for managing your stuff between your PC email client, your browser, and your phone.
Settings
Server / URL m.hotmail.com
Username Enter full email address, for example: someone@example.com
Domain Leave this blank
SSL Enable this
CertificateAccept the SSL certificate when prompted
Mail, Contacts, Calendar, Tasks All can be enabled (see the Solution Center article for exceptions on some phones)
For more information go here
I wanted to let you know that as of November 1, 2010 we are increasing the price of an Xbox LIVE for some members. This price increase only affects Xbox LIVE Members in Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom or the United States.
Unless listed above, there is no change in any other subscription packages.
Since launching Xbox LIVE in 2002 we have continually added more content and entertainment experiences for our members, while keeping the price the same. We’re confident that when the new pricing takes effect, an Xbox LIVE Gold membership will continue to offer the best value in the industry.
However, we do want to thank our loyal members and give you the opportunity to lock in your current price with an additional discount, so now would be a good time to renew your subscription.
Source: Major Nelson
Today I am releasing PHP Manager for IIS 7 – beta, which is an IIS extension for setting up and managing multiple PHP installations on IIS 7 servers. It can be used to:
The PHP Manager installation packages can be downloaded from these locations:
The project’s home page and documentation are located at http://phpmanager.codeplex.com/. This blog post describes how the PHP Manager for IIS can be used.
Full Story at iis.net