HilsDB

Windows 7 RTM Availability - Dates

2009-07-22T07:44:31Z

As posted at Windows Team Blog, the dates Windows 7 RTM will be available for download have been announced.

For Partners & OEMs:

ISV (Independent software vendor) and IHV (Independent hardware vendor) Partners will be able to download Windows 7 RTM from Microsoft Connect or MSDN on August 6th. You can also visit www.readyset7.com to learn more about getting ready for Windows 7.

Microsoft Partner Program Gold/Certified Members will be able to download Windows 7 RTM in English through the Microsoft Partner Network (MPN) Portal on August 16th. By October 1st, the remaining languages will become available to download.

Microsoft Action Pack Subscribers will be about to download Windows 7 RTM in English starting August 23rd. By October 1st, the remaining languages will become available to download.

OEMs will receive Windows 7 RTM software images beginning approximately 2 days after we officially RTM, as a little time is required to release and distribute these images.

For Business Customers:

If you are a Volume License (VL) customer with an existing Software Assurance (SA) license you will be able to download Windows 7 RTM in English starting August 7th via the Volume License Service Center (VLSC). The rest of the languages for Windows 7 RTM should be available within a couple of weeks after that.

Volume License customers without a SA license will be able to purchase Windows 7 through Volume Licensing on September 1st as we announced last week at WPC09.

For IT Professionals:

IT Professionals with TechNet Subscriptions will be able to download Windows 7 RTM in English on August 6th and remaining languages by October 1st.

IT Professionals at companies with Volume Licensing see above on how you can get Windows 7 RTM.

We have quite a bit of resources for IT Professionals to use to become experts on Windows 7 and to aid in their deployments. Those resources can be found at the Springboard Series.

For Developers:

Developers with MSDN Subscriptions will be able to download Windows 7 RTM in English on August 6th and remaining languages by October 1st.

To help developers who are developing applications for Windows 7 or updating existing applications to take advantage of new Windows 7 features, check out the Windows 7 for Developers Blog. Also, be sure to check out the Windows 7 Developers Guide on MSDN.

For Consumers:

Windows 7 will be in retail stores and shipping on new PCs starting October 22nd. If you pre-ordered Windows 7, it should be delivered sometime around the October 22nd timeframe (depends on the retailer).

Windows Server 2008 R2 Goodness for IT Pros

2009-07-17T04:24:33Z

One of the changes to Active Directory in Windows Server 2008 R2 is the Active Directory Web Service. This is the Web Service that operations performed against AD using, amongst other things, the Active Directory PowerShell module actually makes calls to. It is enabled by default on a Windows Server 2008 R2 Domain Controller. More information on this can be found here.

What is not so obvious is that there is an installable Web Service for Windows Server 2003 and 2008 domain controllers called the Active Directory Management Gateway Service. This means that calls made to Active Directory in an environment where there are no 2008 R2 domain controllers can still be made. To put this into context for IT operational people who want to either manage or automate the management of Active Directory using PowerShell they do not need a Server 2008 R2 domain controller, they simply need a PowerShell v2 client with the AD Management module.

And for those that do not like PowerShell the new Active Directory Administration Center also makes calls to the Web Service, so it can also be targeted at Server 2003 or 2008 as well.

Thanks to Troy Kirkland for the heads up on this goodness!

Tech Ed 2009 – Register & Win!

2009-06-29T05:48:46Z

Sign up for Tech Ed before 31 July and be in to win!

Don’t miss out on the IT Industry’s best technical training. As you probably already know Tech Ed is New Zealand’s biggest (and we think best) technical training event for IT pros & developers. Planning is well underway for Tech Ed 2009 – we have 14 tracks of content and are starting to lock down speakers. With Windows 7 and many other Microsoft products releasing over the next year, this is your best chance to learn about the new technologies, experience them hands-on, and connect with around 2,000 of your industry peers. You’ll probably have some fun too!

Register for Tech Ed before 31 July and you will automatically go into the draw to win one of seven Canon IXUS 100 IS digital cameras. This is a great camera, with 12.1MP, optical image stabilisation, HD video, and a super-slim design.

If you’ve already registered, don’t worry, you are automatically in the draw to win.

Full details of the Tech Ed special offer are here.

Tech Ed New Zealand 2009
14-16 September 2009
SkyCity Convention Centre
Auckland City

www.microsoft.co.nz/teched

Windows 7 Upgrade Option Program

2009-06-26T08:58:00Z

Today marks the official start of the Windows 7 Upgrade Option Program. You can get ready for Windows 7 now with the Windows Upgrade Option through participating retailers and PC manufacturers.

The Windows 7 Upgrade Option is available through participating PC manufacturers on selected PCs and through Microsoft on qualifying purchases of the Windows Vista packaged product. The Windows 7 Upgrade Option applies to Windows Vista Home Premium, Business, and Ultimate editions. Your Windows 7 upgrade will be to the comparable version: so you'll get either Windows 7 Home Premium, Windows 7 Professional (the upgrade to Windows Vista Business), or Windows 7 Ultimate, respectively. The Windows 7 Upgrade Option program runs from 26 June 2009 through 31 January 2010. Individual PC manufacturers may choose to offer the option for a shorter period on their PCs. Offer details, prices, and upgrade delivery methods will vary.

Similarly, in New Zealand, retail packaged Windows Vista software products (sold separately from PCs) bought between 26 June 2009 and 31 January 2010 may also qualify for an upgrade to the equivalent Windows 7 product.

The upgrades will be provided to qualifying customers after the Windows 7 product becomes available in the market (also known as "Windows 7 General Availability") which will be the 22nd October 2009.

For all the info check out: http://www.microsoft.com/nz/windows/buy/offers/upgrade.aspx

For Customer Enquiries in NZ call 0800 800 004.

More Bing for your Buck

2009-06-01T12:48:00Z

Why do you search? To find information. What do you do with the information you find? Make decisions. So, why only use a search engine? You need a decision engine.

Enter Bing.

Microsoft’s Bing is a new Decision Engine providing you with a first step in moving beyond search to help make faster, more informed decisions. Bing is specifically designed to build on the benefits of today’s search engines but begins to move beyond this experience with a new approach to user experience and intuitive tools to help you make better decisions, focusing initially on four key vertical areas: making a purchase decision, planning a trip, researching a health condition or finding a local business.

The result of this new approach is an important beginning for a new and more powerful kind of search service, which Microsoft is calling a Decision Engine, designed to empower people to gain insight and knowledge from the Web, moving more quickly to important decisions.

Search engines are out…….decision engines are in. Bing is the new black.

Your time is limited so make the most of it and get more Bing for your buck. www.bing.com

Tech Ed 09 – Registrations Now Open

2009-05-18T02:07:53Z

Registrations for Microsoft Tech Ed 09 are now open at www.microsoft.co.nz/teched

This year’s event is shaping up to be the best one yet and will feature a great line-up of speakers from New Zealand and around the world.

Tech Ed 09 will be held from Monday 14 September to Wednesday 16 September at SKYCITY Convention Centre in Auckland.

A limited number of discounted early bird tickets will be available for the first 600 who register. Last year’s event sold-out in a matter of weeks so if you’re thinking about heading along, sign-up now to avoid disappointment

Tech Ed 09 will feature 11 tracks on the latest Microsoft innovations, with sessions targeted at the specific interests of developers and IT pros. In particular:

· IT Pros will get new insights into Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows 7, hosting, virtualisation, and reducing IT costs

· Developers will get hands-on time with new tools for security, learn about maximising deployments and the Azure Services Platform, as well as building rich web and client applications, and much more.

Tech Ed 09 is a great opportunity to up-skill on the Microsoft platform and network with others in the IT community, plus anyone who registers for the event gets a free ticket to the Tech Fest party.

You can keep up-to-date with Tech Ed 09 announcements as they happen by following the official Twitter feed at http://twitter.com/techedlive.

SharePoint Server 2010 Preliminary System Requirements

2009-05-12T03:04:18Z

The guys over on the Microsoft SharePoint Team Blog have announced the preliminary system requirements for SharePoint Server 2010.

Read their full post here, but in summary:

“We’ve heard loud and clear that you want system requirements information as early as possible to assist in your budgeting and planning, so today we’re happy to announce (and confirm) some preliminary system requirements for SharePoint Server 2010:

SharePoint Server 2010 will be 64-bit only.

SharePoint Server 2010 will require 64-bit Windows Server 2008 or 64-bit Windows Server 2008 R2.

SharePoint Server 2010 will require 64-bit SQL Server 2008 or 64-bit SQL Server 2005.

In addition to the requirements listed above we also wanted to share with you some preliminary detail about SharePoint Server 2010 browser compatibility.

To ensure the best possible experience across multiple browsers we’re focusing our SharePoint 2010 engineering efforts on targeting standards based browsers (XHTML 1.0 compliant) including Internet Explorer 7, Internet Explorer 8 and Firefox 3.x. running on Windows Operating Systems. In addition we’re planning on an increased level of compatibility with Firefox 3.x and Safari 3.x on non-Windows Operating Systems. Due to this focus Internet Explorer 6 will not be a supported browser for SharePoint Server 2010.”

Office 2010 The Movie – Sign Up for the Technical Preview

2009-05-12T02:50:31Z

Check out www.office2010themovie.com

From there, you can sign up for the Microsoft Office 2010 Technical Preview - a limited, invitation only program which will provide you with the opportunity to experience early, pre-release versions of Office 2010 which will include the following applications: Word 2010, Excel 2010, Outlook 2010, PowerPoint 2010, OneNote 2010, Communicator 2010, Access 2010, InfoPath 2010 and Publisher 2010.

By registering you are signing up to be considered for the Technical Preview Program, you will be waitlisted for consideration to be invited into the Technical Preview Program. We will notify invitees in early to mid July.

Windows 7 & Windows Server 2008 R2 RTM Timeframes

2009-05-12T02:43:11Z

At TechEd 2009 in the US today, we announced that we expect Windows 7 to RTM in time for the holiday shopping season. (RTM = Release To Manufacturing)

According to the Windows Team Blog -

“If the telemetry we receive from the Windows 7 RC meets our expectations in terms of quality, then we expect to hit RTM in 3 months or so.

Again, check out Steven’s blog post on this process. If this happens, it looks like we’ll be able to have Windows 7 done in time for the holidays. I want to underscore that our top priority remains QUALITY. This guidance does not alter that principle.”

In addition, Windows Server 2008 R2 Release Candidate (RC) is available today with the final product releasing to market in the same timeframe as Windows 7.

Info on the Windows 7 RC is available in earlier posts, here, here and here.

Windows 7 Release Candidate Customer Preview – Available Now

2009-05-05T07:55:11Z

If you didn’t have access to TechNet or MSDN and couldn’t download the Windows 7 RC, you can now. The Windows 7 RC Customer Preview Program is now open.

You can access it here.

This is the really fun part of the testing process: you help by simply using the RC. When you do, your PC will automatically and anonymously send our engineers the information they need to validate the changes and fixes they made based on the Beta tests and your feedback.

Here's what you need to know before you get started:

You don't need to rush! The RC will be available at least through July, and we're not limiting the number of downloads or product keys. So you have plenty of time.
Installation: If you are running Windows 7 Beta you’ll need to back up your data (preferably on an external device) and then do a clean install of the Windows 7 Release Candidate. Then, you’ll need to reinstall applications and restore your files. If you need help, please see the Installation Instructions.
Tech details/updates: before installing the RC, please read the Release Notes and Things to Know for important information about the release.
Routine news: For day-to-day news, keep an eye on the team blog. And, you can get non-technical news, tips, and offers by subscribing to the monthly Exploring Windows newsletter.
Back up your data: We know you know this already, but please back up your data and please don't test the RC on your primary home or business PC.
Keep your PC updated: To get critical updates, be sure to turn on automatic updates in Windows Update.
Remember expiration dates: Please plan ahead for the Beta and RC expiration dates. To avoid interruption, you’ll need to rebuild your test machine using a valid version of Windows before the software expires. Windows will notify you that the expiration process is beginning and two weeks later your PC will begin shutting down every two hours. The Beta expires on August 1, 2009, and bi-hourly shutdowns will begin July 1, 2009. The RC will expire June 1, 2010, and the bi-hourly shutdowns will begin on March 1, 2010. In both cases, you’ll need to rebuild your test PC to replace the OS and reinstall all your programs and data.

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 that fits the system you'll be using for the test, pick your language and click go to register for and download the software.

Downloading Windows 7 RC could take a few hours. The exact time will depend on your internet provider, bandwidth, and traffic. The good news is that once you start the download, you won't have to answer any more questions – you can walk away while it finishes. If it gets interrupted, it'll restart where it left off. See this FAQ for details.

Windows 7 RC – Available Now & Packed Full of Features

2009-05-01T01:35:00Z

The Release Candidate (RC) of the highly anticipated Windows 7 operating system is now available for download to MSDN and TechNet subscribers here. As per my last post, broader public availability will begin May 6 (NZ time) on the Microsoft Download Center here.

The RC milestone is a result of feedback from millions of customers and partners around the world. It indicates the operating system is entering the final phases of development and is ready for partners to develop new applications, device drivers and services, and ready for IT pros to evaluate Windows 7 and examine how it will operate in their environment.

With Windows 7, customers will have access to the broadest array of software and hardware options the industry has to offer, and we are committed to delivering tools and support that enhance software compatibility as well as ease deployment and migration concerns for businesses and consumers alike. Customers also will benefit from the strong industry and partner support of Windows 7.

In addition to the features I discussed in a previous post, the RC comes with some new features, such as Remote Media Streaming, Windows XP Mode (beta) and the upcoming beta of the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor:

Remote Media Streaming. Enables highly secure, remote Internet access to home-based digital media libraries from another Windows 7-based PC outside the home.

Windows XP Mode. Utilizing Windows Virtual PC, Windows XP Mode allows Windows 7 users to run many Windows XP productivity applications, launched right from the Windows 7 desktop. Windows XP Mode will be available to Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Ultimate customers via download or, for the best experience, pre-installed directly on new PCs.

The beta of Windows XP Mode and Windows Virtual PC is being released with the RC.

For larger businesses where management is important to reduce the total cost of ownership, Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization (MED-V) within MDOP adds management to Windows Virtual PC including centralized policy, administration experience and deployment.

Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor. To help enable a smooth transition, Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor will help people analyze their PCs in preparation for a Windows 7 upgrade.

Available soon, Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor will be a downloadable tool that will help people determine their ability to upgrade from their Windows XP-based or Windows Vista-based PC to Windows 7.

In addition, a number of enhancements were made to existing features based on feedback from beta testers, including the following:

Refined navigation. Several enhancements to the Windows taskbar, JumpLists and search make navigation and finding exactly what you want much easier.

Internet Explorer 8. InPrivate browsing in Internet Explorer 8 prevents browsing history, temporary Internet files, form data, cookies, and usernames and passwords from being retained by the browser. With Windows 7, you can start an InPrivate session straight from the JumpList. You can also open a new tab from the JumpList.

Windows Touch. Controlling the computer by touching a touch-enabled screen or monitor is a core Windows 7 user experience. Improvements in the RC include several Windows Touch updates, including the ability to drag, drop and select items with touch, even inside Web sites that scroll both horizontally and vertically.

System Requirements for Windows 7

With the RC, we are also providing guidance on the minimum system requirements for Windows 7, showing that Windows 7 will work on a broader array of hardware than any other release of Windows at launch:

1GHz or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
1 GB of RAM (32-bit)/2 GB of RAM (64-bit)
16 GB of available disk space (32-bit)/20 GB (64-bit)
DirectX 9 graphics device with Windows Display Driver Model 1.0 or higher driver

So, to recap the RC is available now for download to MSDN and TechNet subscribers here, and broader public availability will begin May 6 (NZ time) on the Microsoft Download Center here.

Windows 7 Release Candidate Update

2009-04-30T01:48:41Z

As per the Windows Team Blog, the RC is on track for April 30th for download by MSDN and TechNet subscribers. Broader, public availability will begin on May 5th – these are the US dates, so for NZ expect May 1 for MSDN/TechNet downloads and May 6 for broad availability.

Short and sweet.

Office 2007 SP2 – Download Now

2009-04-30T01:42:36Z

The 2007 Microsoft Office Suite Service Pack 2 (SP2) is available now and provides customers with the latest updates to the 2007 Office suite. This download includes two types of fixes:

Previously unreleased fixes that were made specifically for this service pack.
- In addition to general product fixes, this includes improvements in stability, performance, and security.
- You can find out more information in Knowledge Base Article 953195, where product-specific changes are described.
All of the Public Updates, Security Updates, Cumulative Updates, and Hotfixes released through February 2009.

Before installing this service pack, you are strongly encouraged to read 953195, which describes some big improvements introduced by SP2, and also calls out some important information that you should be aware of before installing.

For more info, and the download, click here.

Virtualisation - Never Been Easier

2009-04-21T12:55:13Z

Earlier this week I talked about System Center (One Tool to Rule Them All), and how you can manage both server and desktop resources, both virtual and physical assets, and both Microsoft and third-party hypervisors, all with the same platform; as well as System Center Server Management Suite Enterprise (SMSE) which gives you the right to manage an unlimited number of operating system environments on a single physical server.

Following on with the theme of virtualisation and ways to lower costs with Microsoft is how you can easily license Windows Server 2008 for virtualisation.

Windows Server 2008 Datacenter Edition makes licensing Windows Server for virtual machines easy. You license Windows by the processors on the physical server and get unlimited product use rights for the virtual guests. There’s no need to count, track, or license the virtual machines. Very compelling. It’s worth remembering that by running Hyper-V you don’t need separate drivers for the hypervisor, and you don’t pay additional licensing fees.

You can also buy Windows Server 2008 Enterprise Edition should it suit your situation better – in regards virtualisation the primary difference to Datacenter Edition is that Enterprise Edition allows only four simultaneous virtual instances per server license.

For more info on Windows Server 2008 and the editions see here.

To help customers take advantage of virtualisation on the desktop side, Microsoft included Microsoft Application Virtualisation (App-V) in the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack. The Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) for Software Assurance is a suite of six products sold as an add-on subscription license available to Software Assurance customers on a per user / per year basis.

In addition to App-V, MDOP incorporates five further Microsoft technologies that can be combined to address key business and technical challenges:

Application Virtualisation (App-V). Deploy software applications that are never installed and never require regression testing, yet follow users anywhere, on demand.
Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualisation (MED-V). Enhance deployment and management of Virtual PC images on a desktop running the Windows operating system. Simultaneously provide a seamless user experience on a virtual PC environment independent of the local desktop configuration and operating system.
Advanced Group Policy Manager. Help IT take control of the desktop through effective change management, versioning and resets.
Asset Inventory Service. Scan software inventory and transform title data into information that can help administrators make better asset-management decisions.
Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset. Quickly repair unbootable or locked-out systems, restore lost data, remove malware from infected systems and diagnose problems.
Microsoft System Center Desktop Error Monitoring. Prevent or reduce the response time for system crashes and freezes with granular error filtering and automated alerts

For more information on MDOP have a look here. If you have further questions your local Microsoft Account Team will be happy to help, so give us a call!

Between Hyper-V in Windows Server 2008 and the low per user / per year cost of MDOP for Software Assurance, virtualisation with Microsoft enables savings through innovative pricing and licensing, which lower both acquisition and ongoing ownership costs.

Furthermore, with server virtualisation in Windows Server 2008, application & enterprise desktop virtualisation in MDOP, and the deep integration of virtualisation into our end-to-end management solution, Microsoft makes virtualisation part of the everyday IT environment.

It’s never been easier.

Exchange 2010 Public Beta

2009-04-21T01:14:21Z

Exchange 2010 is part of the next wave of Microsoft Office-related products and is the first server in a new generation of Microsoft server technology built from the ground up to work on-premises and as an online service.

This release of Exchange 2010 introduces a new integrated e-mail archive and features to help reduce costs and improve the user experience.

A public beta of the server is available for download at http://www.microsoft.com/exchange/2010.

Exchange Server 2010 will become available in the second half of 2009. Microsoft Office 2010 and related products will enter technical preview in the third quarter of 2009 and become available in the first half of 2010.

Exchange 2010 will help organizations reduce costs, protect communications and delight e-mail users with capabilities to do the following:

Lower costs with more flexible deployment and management options. Exchange 2010 provides organizations with the same enterprise-grade capabilities whether deployed on-premises or as a service from Microsoft or partners — or as a mix of both. Further, for customers deploying the server, the new release simplifies the way organizations provide always-on communications and disaster recovery, meaning administrators spend less time managing their e-mail system. Exchange 2010 further improves performance running on lower-cost direct-attached storage, enabling organizations to dramatically reduce storage costs by up to 85 percent without sacrificing performance or reliability.

Protect information and meet compliance requirements with the new e-mail archive. As e-mail volume grows, companies must address increasing compliance, legal and e-discovery concerns, but today, according to Osterman Research, only 28 percent of organizations currently archive their e-mail content (Osterman Research, 2008). Exchange 2010 introduces an integrated e-mail archive. The new solution makes it easier to store and query e-mail across the organization using the Exchange software that organizations already know and use.

Improve user productivity with the ultimate inbox experience. Basex Inc. recently estimated that the average number of corporate e-mail messages received per person per day is expected to reach more than 93 by 2010. In addition, businesses lose $650 billion annually in productivity due to unnecessary interruptions including those from e-mail (Basex, 2008). Exchange 2010, together with Microsoft Outlook 2010, will give people more control over their communications with features such as these:

- MailTips. Warn users before they commit an e-mail faux pas such as sending mail to large distribution groups, to recipients who are out of the office or to recipients outside the organization, helping protect against information leaks and reduce unnecessary e-mail messages.

- Voice Mail Preview. See text previews of voice mail directly in Outlook.

- Ignore Conversation. This e-mail “mute button” allows people to remove themselves from an irrelevant e-mail string, reducing unwanted e-mail and runaway reply-all threads.

- Conversation View. Combine related e-mail messages in a single conversation to reduce inbox clutter.

- Call Answering Rules. Create customized “Press 1 for …” call-routing menus with Exchange voice mail.

- Consistent Experience. Use Outlook on the PC, a mobile phone or a browser for the same experience with enhancements in Outlook Mobile and Outlook Web Access.

Download today at http://www.microsoft.com/exchange/2010.