Windows 7 Information, Server 2008 R2, Office 2010 Tech Preview, and other goings on at Microsoft

So, as you have probably heard, the code for Windows 7 went gold last week.  I am enjoying it in its full glory on my 2 year old laptop (membership has its privileges, as they say), and while the general public won’t see it until October 22nd, our business customers have a number of avenues of distribution available very soon.  See this post from the Windows Team Blog for all of the details: http://windowsteamblog.com/blogs/windows7/archive/2009/07/21/when-will-you-get-windows-7-rtm.aspx 

I encourage everyone to give it a test drive as soon as you can get your hands on it, I think that you’ll be impressed!  If you still haven’t had the chance to try out the beta or Release Candidate, then have a look at our Windows site, you’ll get the full rundown on why you want to get on Windows 7!  http://www.microsoft.com/windows/

In conjunction with the client operating system, Server 2008 R2 also RTM’d (Release to Manufacturing).  You’ll be able to get your hands on the full bits (via TechNet, MSDN, or Volume Licensing) in a few weeks, shortly after Windows 7 hits: http://blogs.technet.com/windowsserver/archive/2009/07/22/when-to-expect-windows-server-2008-r2-rtm.aspx .  While this is technically a minor release, from a marketing and licensing perspective, I think that you’ll find the feature enhancements very close to what you’d expect from a major release of our software.  For those of you who haven’t gotten moving on Server 2008 yet, then I fully advocate moving forward with R2 directly.  Which is not to say that there’s anything wrong with 2008, it is a great OS that has garnered terrific reviews…but the new features and solutions that are unlocked in R2 are worth an extended look!  Of course, there’s the one significant caveat: R2 is our first 64-bit only OS release.  As in, we’re leaving 32-bit in the rearview mirror.  4 GB of addressable memory is so 2002 – especially in a server!  I also want to call particular attention to Hyper-V in R2 – it now includes Live Migration support, better scalability, VDI enhancements, and more.  The Virtualization Team Blog has all of the dirty details: http://blogs.technet.com/virtualization/ .  Our free Hyper-V Server product will have a new R2 iteration, as well, that will include Live Migration and HA features – also free.

Office 2010 is still a ways away – we’re targeting the end of Q2 in 2010 for release.  But we’re starting to hand out access to the Technical Preview of Office 2010.  I’m using it today as my primary productivity suite, and even being the non-power user (of Office, anyway) type guy that I am, I don’t see myself going back to 2007.  Integration points with Office server applications, refined UI, performance improvements…some great stuff!   Have a look at our site: http://www.microsoft.com/office/2010/ and let your salesperson know if you would like to get access to the bits.

On some other fronts, you’ll likely be seeing Exchange 2010 sometime this fall, and our next generation of security products is being rolled out in waves starting soon and continuing into 2010.  You’ll want to note that we’re also rebranding a number of those solutions: http://blogs.technet.com/forefront/archive/2009/07/13/business-ready-security-news-at-wpc.aspx .  SQL Server 2008 R2 has been announced, as well, and you’re welcome to apply to get access to the CTP release when it ships this summer: http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/2008/en/us/r2.aspx .  Our online services portfolio is growing with the maturation of the Business Productivity Online Suite, upcoming release of Windows Azure, and more.

All in all, it will be a very busy 12 months at the ranch in Redmond.  I’ve really only scratched the surface of what’s coming, keep an eye out for more updates as products release to the public!