More to come,
Mitch
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By now, you’re probably aware of key improvements to the user interface in Windows 7 which optimize for touch. And you realize that it will be an ongoing effort among hardware suppliers and application developers to build touch support into their technologies. But how much do you know about the Windows team’s approach with Windows Touch and what was done with Windows to make the interaction truly remarkable? The team has just added on its Engineering Windows 7 blog a very in-depth piece on what went into making Windows touchable. Read the Touching Windows 7 entry.
Want to understand Virtualization’s Impact on Your Business? Download the Virtualization Self-Assessment Kit. It brings together some of our best resources to help you understand the specific impact virtualization will have on your business. You will be able to clearly see the cost savings you’ll be able to achieve, as well as the impact virtualization will have on your infrastructure.
With so many talked about new features in Windows 7, I have to point out a feature for enterprises that is near and dear to my heart: Direct Access. Anyone who has spent much time accessing their corporate network via a VPN will appreciate this. Direct Access maintains constant direct access between a Windows 7 client and the Internet by using IPv6-over-IPsec to encrypt communications. The new IP-HTTPS protocol for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 allows hosts behind a proxy server or firewall to establish connectivity by tunneling IPv6 packets inside an IPv4-based HTTPS session.
For more on DirectAccess and many of the other benefits for enterprises, check out the new “Learning Snack” video Introducing Windows 7.
The good folks at Windows Sysinternals recently updated several of their invaluable utilities for managing, troubleshooting and diagnosing your Windows systems and applications, including:
· Process Monitor v2.04This update shows file mapping operations in basic mode, adds more translations of error numbers to text, fixes a bug that limited support for more boot log files larger than 4GB, and displays version numbers using the same formatting as Windows.
· TCPView v2.54Version 2.54 fixes bugs that prevented the display of IPv6 TCP endpoints and the correct display of IPv6 UDP endpoints
· VMMap v1.02VMMap now shows all image subsections, even if they reside within the same allocation region. It also fixes a bug in image name sorting and makes the UAC elevation smoother on 64-bit Windows.
I know from past interest in Home Server content in TechNet Flash that many IT Pros have Windows Home Server. Not surprising, I guess. Who would better understand the value of server software for anywhere access and sharing, backup and restore, and the ability to increase storage capacity? If you have Windows Home Server running, you can now get the English version of Power Pack 2 via Windows Update. Power Pack 2 will automatically install as part of Windows Update if you have Windows Home Server with Power Pack 1 already installed and Automatic Updates enabled on the home server.
Power Pack 2 enhancements include improvements to remote access configuration and new Windows Media Center functionality that provide Windows Media Center computers access to content stored in shared folders on the home server. When the Windows Home Server Connector software is installed or updated on a Windows Media Center computer, the next time a user starts Windows Media Center they will be prompted to install the Windows Media Center Connector. For more on the enhancements, check out the Windows Home Server Team Blog.
TechNet Magazine has really elevated the notion of tech tips. When you think of such of a feature, what comes to mind? A few tips that stagnate over time; perhaps a top 10 list, if it’s a really hot topic. Not TechNet Magazine. It’s Tip of the Day updates every business day on its website. And the tips provide a concise explanation of put-to-work-immediately suggestions. Seriously, spend five minutes and make yourself better.
Here are some of the Exchange Server tips you’ll find on the TechNet Magazine site:
· Prevent Internal Servers from Being Filtered
· Set Deleted Item Retention Time on Individual Mailboxes
· Easily Change a User’s Alias and Display Name
For tips on other products, including Windows Vista and Windows 7, check out the TechNet Magazine Tips library.
In its first comprehensive test of web browser protection against socially engineered malware, NSS Labs found that Internet Explorer 8 (RC1) was best among the six browsers tested. More than 154,000 individual tests were run during 12 days of 24x7 testing against Apple Safari v3, Google Chrome 1.0.154, Microsoft Internet Explorer v8 (RC1), Microsoft Internet Explorer v7, Mozilla Firefox v3.07 and Opera 9.64. IE8’s catch rate was 69%, well ahead of the nearest browser in the test, which scored a 30% catch rate.
See the Microsoft security bulletin summary for March 2009.
The Microsoft Web Platform Installer 2.0 (Web PI) is a free tool that makes it simple to download, install and keep up-to-date with the latest components of the Microsoft Web Platform, including Internet Information Services (IIS), SQL Server Express, .NET Framework and Visual Web Developer. In addition, you can install popular open source ASP.NET and PHP Web applications with the Web PI. Download the Web PI 2.0 beta.
Also, see how you can get free hosting on the Microsoft Web Platform.
Just announced during MIX09 in Las Vegas this week, the Silverlight 3 beta is a preview release which introduces more than 50 new features, including support for running Silverlight applications out of the browser, dramatic video performance and quality improvements, and features that radically improve developer productivity. Note that this is a developer release, meaning is no “go-live” licensing and the end-user runtime is not available. The tools available in this release are intended for software developers only. But what a set a tools, including:
It’s official. Internet Explorer is available for download; in itself great news and great advances in safety, speed and ease of use. And as IT professionals, you’ve no doubt heard about the new deployment, administration and network management capabilities. But you need to go beyond the new features and ask yourself, “Are my Websites ready for IE8?” Microsoft has developed a growing set of resources to help in that regard. For instance, you can take the virtual lab Preparing for Internet Explorer 8- Application Compatibility. And by all means stop by the Internet Explorer Compatibility Center and check out the Internet Explorer 8 Readiness Toolkit For IT Professionals.
Protect your Office Communications Server 2007 instant messaging environment against malware and out-of-policy content with the newly released Forefront Security for Office Communications Server. The on-premise solution includes multiple scanning engines It supports Office Communications Server Standard Edition and Office Communications Server Enterprise Edition, including Access Edge, Director, and Front End server roles.
Download the 120-day evaluation.
Microsoft has released Commerce Server 2009, the out-of-the-box e-commerce platform that enables businesses to create consistent user experiences across e-commerce channels. Whether you’re a developer, IT professional, designer, marketing manager, merchandiser, or customer service representative, you’ll enjoy the new page templating features, the fast and easy information-editing and smooth content management with workflow approvals with Microsoft SharePoint Commerce Services. You’ll also get more than 30 out-of-the-box e-commerce Web parts and controls.
Here’s how to get Commerce Server 2009 today. MSDN Subscribers can download Commerce Server 2009 here.
You may have heard that the MDT 2010 beta, the next version of the solution accelerator for operating system and application deployment, is ideal for deploying the Windows 7 beta in your test environments. What you may not know is that is also very useful for migrating from Windows XP to Windows 7 beta. Check out the TechNet Edge video Migrating from Windows XP to Windows 7 Beta and learn how the User State Migration Tool can transfer user settings and files from Windows XP to a new install of Win7 on the same PC. Benchmarks are showing you can get a fresh install, with all your XP files and settings, in as few as 30 minutes.
Then download the MDT 2010 beta.
The beta of System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2 is now available via Microsoft Connect. VMM 2008 R2 beta supports new Windows Server 2008 R2 beta features such as Live Migration and Hyper-V host management. It also supports multiple VMs per LUN using clustered share volumes and offers hot add of VM storage.
For more details on the R2 beta release check out rakeshm's VM Management Blog.
For the legions of IT pros current testing Windows 7, the Windows team blog, Engineering Windows 7 has posted details on some of the changes from the beta version to the release candidate. This is not the exhaustive list of changes, but some of the more visible changes based on feedback that go beyond “bug fixes”, although some of the more widely reported bugs are included.
Microsoft kicks off Skills Week
Today marked the launch of more than 175 partner-led events in North America designed to help IT professionals and developers develop and validate their skills, network with industry leaders and achieve Microsoft Certified Professional status. Microsoft Skills Week will run March 9-13, followed by a series of events culminating at Tech•Ed in May. The Skills Week events will showcase more than 100 Microsoft Certified Partners for Learning Solutions and draw upon each partner’s expertise and provide access to Microsoft technical specialists and reduced rates on training resources.
The offerings include access to Career Assist, which gives individuals who register for Second Shot by June 30 the opportunity to purchase a Microsoft E-Learning Collection for $35 (U.S.) — a 90 percent price discount in most cases. It also includes quick study sessions to prepare individuals for Microsoft Certification exams, Live Meeting sessions with Microsoft technical specialists and Certified Trainers, and exam discounts providing certified on-site at events while saving up to 40 percent on exam fees.
Another milestone was reached yesterday on the timeline for the Windows Vista Service Pack 2 and Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 release. The release candidate (RC) was made available to the general public as part of the Customer Preview Program (CPP). So without further ado, you can download the Windows Vista SP2 RC and Windows Server 2008 SP2 RC here.
A couple things to note: You must have a genuine copy of Windows Server 2008 with SP1 or Windows Vista with SP1 installed on the computer prior to installing SP2. If your scratching your head over whether or not you have Windows Server 2008 SP1, it was released with the Service Pack 1 code included, so SP2 is the first post-release Service Pack for Windows Server 2008. If you have a prior beta version of SP2 installed, it must be un-installed prior to installing RC. and just in case this is your first time testing an RC, this is time-limited software. In this case it will operate until June 1, 2010.
As previously reported, Fast Track Data Warehouses offer a solid roadmap to large-scale enterprise data warehousing on SQL Server. Data warehouses built on Fast Track configurations today can be fully integrated SMP “spokes” in a hub-and-spoke architecture. Customers can buy their SQL Server 2008 licenses through their preferred Microsoft Partner and the hardware from Dell, HP or Bull.
Also, see these related resources:
· Hub-And-Spoke: Building an EDW with SQL Server and Strategies of Implementation
· Project codename "Madison"
Find a new Exchange Server 2007 tip every business day. TechNet Magazine has kicked off its next monthly theme for its Tip of the Day. Discover useful tips like how to Use the Exchange Management Shell to Create New Mail Users and Mailboxes, Quickly Discover Deleted Mailboxes in Exchange Server 2007, or Create Forwarding Mailboxes for Custom Recipients.
And be sure to check the Tips library for tips on other products, including Windows Vista and Windows 7.
Here’s a topic on everyone’s mind when it comes to preparing for Windows 7: application compatibility. Every time Microsoft begins rolling out a new version of Windows, this is huge for our enterprise customers, and I’m happy to report that it is huge, as well, for the Windows engineering team. To wit, the new post on the Engineering Windows 7 Blog is devoted to the topic. See the Application Compatibility Testing -- Overview for rundown on what the team is doing in this regard.
Once again, big props to Gavriella Schuster for her level of detail on Windows 7 development for enterprise customers. In her latest post on the Windows Team Blog, she explains exactly how our enterprise customers and partners have helped us focus on end-to-end customer scenarios and build business value into the new operating system. It goes beyond lip service. She not only explains the programmatic vehicles that facilitate the important feedback, she goes on to provide detail on the resulting new technologies, features and fixes, and how the process continues today.
Check out Behind the Scenes of Windows 7 Enterprise. And for more on the under-the-hood changes to Windows 7 during this beta phase, be sure to see Some Changes since Beta for the RC in the Engineering Windows 7 Blog.
If you haven’t dropped by the Windows Sysinternals site recently, there are a couple updated utilities to check out. First off, version 1.6 of the Sigcheck utility adds checking for .NET signatures, among other extensions. Sigcheck verifies that images are digitally signed. In addition, a new utility, VMMap V1.0 analyzes process address spaces and working sets and allows you to identify the sources of process memory usage and the memory cost of application features.
And, if you haven’t already, check out Sysinternals Live, the service that lets you execute Sysinternals tools directly from the Web without hunting for and manually downloading them.