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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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Microsoft likes digital photography enthusiasts as customers, and on Thursday plans to release a free new utility designed to keep them wedded to Windows.
Pro Photo Tools is geared for photography professionals and enthusiasts, and its first notable feature is the ability to geotag photos, or add geographic information showing where the picture was taken. Geotagging is an onerous chore with today's technology, but camera makers are working to build it into cameras, and it can pay off down the road.
That's because geotagging, done well, enables people to find photos by searching for the word "Paris" rather than sifting through folders with obscure filenames like IMG_5829.jpg or squinting at hundreds of image thumbnails. Until the still-distant day when computers can recognize your Aunt Polly or the Grand Canyon, geotagging holds potential as a way for people to get a handle on ever-growing digital photo collections.
"People are doing a lot more geotagging, but it's still somewhat cumbersome," said Josh Weisberg, Microsoft's director of digital imaging evangelism. "We want to make it mainstream."
Geotagging is just the opening salvo, though. Pro Photo Tools can be extended with new features; Microsoft is working on some and is considering whether to allow other companies also join in, Weisberg said.
"We've talked about making it extensible to third parties, but...It's a big question. I haven't decided yet whether we're going to do it," Weisberg said.
Looking at the digital photography software market, it's easy to imagine Adobe Systems is a competitor. But it looks to me like this is actually positioned more against Apple whose computers are popular among "creative professionals" and come with iPhoto editing software.
Weisberg shied away from competitive analysis, but agreed that Pro Photo Tools is designed to help make Windows more compelling. "It's focused on making the platform better for photographers," Weisberg said.
He also views Pro Photo Tools as a strong statement about what Microsoft can accomplish by building off its existing Windows infrastructure. "One hundred days ago, I wrote a memo," launching the project. "One hundred days later, we have a product. That's not typical Microsoft."
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Last week, there was talk that Microsoft was considering broadening the way it makes Microsoft Office available over the Web using streaming technology.
(For the record, it wasn’t Microsoft doing the talking; it was some overly enthused partners.)
On April 30, Microsoft shared a bit more about its future plans for streaming, using its SoftGrid technology. But officials wouldn’t talk — except in the most general terms — about how and when the company is planning to expand its use of streaming technologies around Office and other Microsoft apps.
SoftGrid is Microsoft’s application virtualization technology that the company makes available as part of its Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP). MDOP is available only to customers who sign up for Microsoft’s Software Assurance licensing plan. Microsoft released MDOP 2008 lasat year and is readying the MDOP 2008 Release (R) 2 version, which will refresh all of the components of MDOP — SoftGrid, the diagnostics and recovery toolset, advanced group-policy management, inventory-asset service and desktop error-monitoring — is set for fall 2008. A near-final release candidate (RC) test build of SoftGrid 4.5 is coming in June, Microsoft officials said on April 30.
The version of SoftGrid that Microsoft released last year allowed users to stream apps — any version of Microsoft Office, plus other applications — to any desktop inside their firewall. SoftGrid also can be used with Microsoft’s Terminal Services product to run applications that might conflict on a single server.
What’s coming next on the SoftGrid front, is a change in Microsoft licensing that will enable SoftGrid to be used in both offline and online scenarios both inside and outside of the corporate firewall, said Gavriella Schuster, Senior Director in the Windows Product Group. Schuster would not say when this change is coming or what form it would take. She did say that the Office team was working through the details.
Microsft partners, however, say the plans are already in place for adding new licensing options to SoftGrid that would make it more of a head-to-head competitor with Web-based applications like Google Docs.
Microsoft is expected to make its next move in the three-month-old takeover standoff with Yahoo Inc. as early as Wednesday, as the two sides have failed to reach any negotiated acquisition deal.
One option Microsoft has weighed is nominating a proxy slate of directors to replace Yahoo's board, while waiting to put any acquisition offer directly to Yahoo shareholders, say people familiar with the matter.
Such a move could effectively delay Microsoft's fixing any firm new price on its offer for Yahoo for the time being, allowing Microsoft to step back from its $42 billion bid for the Internet company while keeping the option of later going directly to Yahoo shareholders with a hostile acquisition offer. It would represent a largely unanticipated middle path for Microsoft between walking away from its bid and pushing forward an aggressive hostile-takeover campaign.
It isn't clear whether Microsoft will adopt such a maneuver as its final approach in the deal standoff, and any decisions by the company could change between now and when it goes public with its approach. But people close to the software titan say such an approach has been among those on the table.
A Microsoft spokesman declined to comment.
Microsoft has said it would announce its next move in its pursuit of Yahoo this week, and the two sides haven't had any formal negotiations since a deadline Microsoft set for going hostile passed Saturday, say people familiar with the matter.
A central issue dividing them has been price, with Yahoo saying that Microsoft's cash-and-stock offer, valued at $29.12 a share as of Tuesday's market close, "substantially undervalues" it. Some major Yahoo shareholders have signaled they want closer to $35 a share. Some have suggested they wouldn't back Microsoft in a hostile acquisition effort unless it raised the offer above its $31 a share value when initially extended Jan. 31. Yahoo shares were up 3.5% to $27.36 at 4 p.m. in Nasdaq trading Tuesday.
The growing use of encryption software -- like Microsoft's own BitLocker -- by cyber criminals has led Microsoft to develop a set of tools that law enforcement agents can use to get around the software, executives at the company said.
Microsoft first released the toolset, called the Computer Online Forensic Evidence Extractor (COFEE), to law enforcement last June and it's now being used by about 2,000 agents around the world, said Anthony Fung, senior regional manager for Asia Pacific in Microsoft's Internet Safety and Anti-Counterfeiting group. Microsoft gives the software to agents for free.
While Microsoft can point to wide usage of COFEE, some experts are skeptical about using that type of tool to recover data, and even the developer of the product at Microsoft acknowledges that it's not accepted by some users.
Fung, who initiated the creation of COFEE, spent 12 years as a police officer in Hong Kong, with the final seven dedicated to fighting cybercrime. When he joined Microsoft, he sought to devise a way that agents could do better at finding valuable information on computers used by cyber criminals.
When he was an officer, the protocol for handling computer crime was to remove a computer from the scene of the crime, taking it back to the lab where computer scientists would search it for information. In many regions of the world this is still the standard procedure. "At that time everybody followed that principle, but they knew that once they unplugged the computer, which was the guideline, a lot of potential information was lost," Fung said.
That's because data on an encrypted system is accessible to police so long as the criminal has logged on and the PC remains on. But if police shut the system down, they need to have the criminal's password to get past the encryption software when the computer boots back up. The release of Vista has accelerated the problem because BitLocker, a data encryption feature, comes with Windows Vista Enterprise and Ultimate versions, Fung said.
Microsoft is ratcheting up the battle against rivals Sony and Nintendo in the hotly contested Asian market, cutting the price of its Xbox 360 between 5 percent and nearly 20 percent in four areas throughout the region.
The price of the 20GB model was cut 17 percent in Taiwan, 10.7 percent in Hong Kong, and 5 percent in South Korea. The steepest reduction was made in Singapore, where that version of the gaming console dropped 19.5 percent and the company cut the price of two other models: The 120GB Elite was reduced 12.5 percent and the Arcade, which has no hard drive, was cut by 13 percent.
At the same time, Sony went in the opposite direction in Singapore and raised prices for its 40GB PlayStation 3 to $394. Nintendo, for its part, said late last week that it had no plans to cut prices on either the Wii console or its DS handheld in any regions.
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Madonna’s exclusive performance at New York City’s famed Roseland Ballroom will be available live to millions of fans via an online broadcast at http://music.msn.com/madonna, it was confirmed today by MSN and Control Room, which announced that the show will stream live Wednesday evening, April 30, at 10 p.m. EDT in the United States and will be available on demand to international audiences on May 15. Along with some past hits, Madonna will be debuting several new songs including her 37th No. 1 smash single “Four Minutes” from her upcoming CD Hard Candy, which is scheduled to be released on April 28. The Control Room-produced show will also include never-before-seen rehearsal footage, a pre-recorded interview with Madonna and her full performance, giving fans around the globe unprecedented access to one of the biggest music events of 2008 by simply logging on to MSN Music In Concert.
“Madonna is a legendary performer, and we’re thrilled to be bringing this live online broadcast to her fans on the heels of her Hall of Fame induction, her record-breaking 37th top-10 single ‘4 Minutes,’ and in conjunction with the launch of this hotly anticipated new album,” said Aaron Grosky, Control Room president. “As experts in bringing live music performances to the Web, Control Room will deliver Madonna fans an online experience that captures the excitement and authenticity of this exclusive show.”
Control Room, the leading producer and distributor of world-class entertainment content, delivers nearly 40 live music shows per year to the MSN Music In Concert series. Past performances have included international superstars such as Rihanna, Jay-Z, Lenny Kravitz, Sheryl Crow and many more. Coming in May, fans can watch performances by Jack Johnson and Daughtry. The Music In Concert series (http://music.msn.com/inconcert), which is available in 42 countries and 21 languages through the international MSN network, gives music fans worldwide the chance to see live music performances from their favorite artists.
“MSN Music In Concert is one way we are bringing together the best and most compelling entertainment content on the Web,” said Rob Bennett, general manager, entertainment, video and sports, MSN. “Madonna has a huge international following, and we are very excited that we’re able to offer the exclusive webcast of her concert to her fans around the world.”
Messenger for Mac 7 is an integrated communications client that enables you to communicate with contacts within and outside your organization. Messenger for Mac 7 is a Universal application that is built to run on both PowerPC-based and Intel-based Macs and makes it easy to take advantage of the full power of real-time communications.For more information see the Messenger section of the Microsoft Web site at www.microsoft.com/mac.
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Microsoft has decided not to release Windows XP Service Pack (SP) 3 to Windows Update and the Microsoft Download Center as planned on April 29. The reason? A last-minute compatibility issue with a Microsoft application — Microsoft Dynamics Retail Management System (RMS).
Here’s the latest from a company spokesperson:
“I wanted to update you on today’s planned release to web (RTW) (of XP SP3). In the last few days, we have uncovered a compatibility issue between Microsoft Dynamics Retail Management System (RMS) and Windows XP SP3 and Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1).
“In order to make sure customers have the best possible experience we have decided to delay releasing Windows XP SP3 to Windows Update and Microsoft Download Center. “To help protect our customers, we plan to put filtering in place shortly to prevent Windows Update from offering both service packs to systems running Microsoft Dynamics RMS. Once filtering is in place, we expect to release Windows XP SP3 to Windows Update and Download Center. “Until we have published a fix for this issue, we advise Microsoft Dynamics RMS customers to not install either service pack. Microsoft Dynamics RMS customers running Windows XP SP3 or Windows Vista SP1 should contact Microsoft Customer Support Services for additional information. “The fix is currently in testing and will be available as soon as that process is complete.” As a result of this RMS glitch, Microsoft also is temporarily halting the Automatic Download of Vista SP1, as it is affected, as well. But Microsoft is not pulling Vista SP1 from the Download Center or Windows Update. From a Microsoft spokeswoman: “Microsoft is temporarily holding any additional automatic distribution of Windows Vista SP1. However, they continue to offer Windows Vista SP1 via Windows Update for interactive installation. While we are recommending that customers running Microsoft Dynamics RMS should not install SP1, there are many other customers who can benefit from installing Windows Vista SP1 immediately, so we are maintaining availability via WU.” Full Story At Source Seems weird that for such a niche application MS holds SP3 and Vista SP1, I suspect the glitch might be wider than just RMS.
“In order to make sure customers have the best possible experience we have decided to delay releasing Windows XP SP3 to Windows Update and Microsoft Download Center.
“To help protect our customers, we plan to put filtering in place shortly to prevent Windows Update from offering both service packs to systems running Microsoft Dynamics RMS. Once filtering is in place, we expect to release Windows XP SP3 to Windows Update and Download Center.
“Until we have published a fix for this issue, we advise Microsoft Dynamics RMS customers to not install either service pack. Microsoft Dynamics RMS customers running Windows XP SP3 or Windows Vista SP1 should contact Microsoft Customer Support Services for additional information.
“The fix is currently in testing and will be available as soon as that process is complete.”
As a result of this RMS glitch, Microsoft also is temporarily halting the Automatic Download of Vista SP1, as it is affected, as well. But Microsoft is not pulling Vista SP1 from the Download Center or Windows Update.
From a Microsoft spokeswoman:
“Microsoft is temporarily holding any additional automatic distribution of Windows Vista SP1. However, they continue to offer Windows Vista SP1 via Windows Update for interactive installation. While we are recommending that customers running Microsoft Dynamics RMS should not install SP1, there are many other customers who can benefit from installing Windows Vista SP1 immediately, so we are maintaining availability via WU.” Full Story At Source Seems weird that for such a niche application MS holds SP3 and Vista SP1, I suspect the glitch might be wider than just RMS.
“Microsoft is temporarily holding any additional automatic distribution of Windows Vista SP1. However, they continue to offer Windows Vista SP1 via Windows Update for interactive installation. While we are recommending that customers running Microsoft Dynamics RMS should not install SP1, there are many other customers who can benefit from installing Windows Vista SP1 immediately, so we are maintaining availability via WU.”
Seems weird that for such a niche application MS holds SP3 and Vista SP1, I suspect the glitch might be wider than just RMS.
Today in Vegas at the Microsoft Management Summit, Bob Muglia announced the beta of System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008, yes this is the one that can manage Hyper-V hosts!
It should be available on connect, though I can't connect to connect right now.
Microsoft has announced the formal name and beta availability of System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008, a member of the System Center suite of server management products. The announcements came April 29 at the Microsoft Management Summit in Las Vegas, which showcased the beta of the System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 (VMM), managing both Hyper-V and VMware virtual infrastructure. Additional functionality new to this version of VMM includes Performance and Resource Optimization (Pro), which dynamically tunes virtual infrastructure, simplified virtual host cluster support, and other improvements and enhancements.
What’s New in VMM 2008 Beta
VMM 2008 Questions and Answers
Introduction to VMM 2008 Whitepaper
VMM 2008 datasheet
VMM System Requirements
Top 10 Benefits of VMM 2008
See also: Microsoft Expands Data Center Management Capabilities With Cross Platform and Virtualization Support
OK another benchmark test, just one system, but allways nice to look at the scores:
It is available on public WIndows Update servers:
http://download.windowsupdate.com/msdownload/update/software/svpk/2008/04/windowsxp-kb936929-sp3-x86-enu_c81472f7eeea2eca421e116cd4c03e2300ebfde4.exe
Thanks Yval for the tip!
Core is cool, but a bit of GUI can help a lot:
At first look, developing a GUI utility for configuration of Windows Server Core might sound quite absurd. Alas, the whole point of Server Core is a cut down version of Server OS without the overhead of GUI and having some GUI tool to help you configure it would be like walking backwards.
Yet, if you look back at various blogs and articles, you will see that there is a repeating pattern: there is more-or-less predefined set of tasks that you need to do in order to get the installation of Server Core up and running (activation, IP and firewall configuration, domain join, feature installation, configuration of Remote Desktop and etc...). All the tasks are performed at command line, but there is no single utility/interface and for each task you need to know what command to use and what are the parameters required in order to complete the task.
For the IT veterans this will not be an issue, but being Core enthusiast I was also thinking about those that the steep learning curve of Server Core might scare them away and prevent them from enjoying the benefits Server Core brings with it. At this point the idea of developing a small GUI utility for basic configuration of Server Core was born. Well... that and the fact that my good friend Daniel Petri was sitting on my neck and promising a LOT of beer for writing a tool to do the basic configuration stuff (see his article about the tool here).
So here it goes: Daniel, thanks for pushing me to write the tool! Looks like people liked the idea.
Features:
After installing CoreConfigurator (supplied as MSI package), navigate to the folder where it has been installed and execute CoreConfigurator.exe
Tip: you do not actually need to install the application. The 4 files in the program's folder can be copied and used on other Server Core computers without installing the application)
The main screen:
Continue and download ste source
VIA http://absolutevista.com/
While in Europe this week, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer offered up two tantalizing tidbits about some of the more controversial issues surrounding the company. He said that Microsoft could "wake up" if enough people complain about the June 2008 expiration of Windows XP sales and noted that he would walk away from his proposed merger with Yahoo! if the deal didn't make sense.
This is what MICROSOFT SUPPORT LIFECYCLE BLOG says :
I want to take another break from the discussion of the overall Support Lifecycle policies to address some common confusion that we’ve been hearing regarding the support dates for Windows XP. Recently, there have been a number of posts in the blogosphere about Windows XP and the upcoming end of Direct OEM and Retail License availability. Some people are interpreting this as the end of support for Windows XP.Please let me try and clear this up… Support for Windows XP will continue, in accordance with the Microsoft Support Lifecycle policy. This means that the Mainstream Support phase will end on April 14, 2009 and the Extended Support phase will end on April 8, 2014. That’s at least another 6 years of support remaining for Windows XP!Remember, that Windows XP was launched in 2001 and Microsoft committed to providing a minimum of 10 years of support (5 years of Mainstream Support and 5 years of Extended Support) at the time it was released. In accordance with the policy, when we announced the updated release date of Windows Vista, Microsoft also provided additional 2 years Mainstream Support for Windows XP. Last year, we also announced the addition of an Extended Support phase to the consumer editions of Windows XP. Supporting products for this length of time is not something that is typical in the software industry. This is a significant advantage for Microsoft customers, because it allows for future business planning and allows our customers to maximize their investment in Microsoft technologies by understanding how to achieve the most productive use of the product.So, what is really changing on June 30th? To understand this, I would recommend reading the Windows Lifecycle Policy page and the official Support Lifecycle pages for Windows XP. Essentially, this means that OEMs and Retailers will not be able to obtain new copies of Windows XP. That’s it. System Builders will continue to be able to obtain XP through January 31st, 2009. There is still plenty of support left for Windows XP. If you read any stories that say otherwise, don't believe them. :) Have you seen any posts that don't tell the full story about Windows XP support? What has been your experience with understanding the Windows XP Support Lifecycle policy? What are your thoughts on the length of support for Windows XP? Please leave us some comments and tell us about it!*This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.*